|
|
Show Of ShowsThe ALL-FORD CARLISLE EVENT Is A Must Show To Attend From the November, 2010 issue of Modified Mustangs & Fords All contributors: Mark Houlahan
|
|
Could this be the line for... Could this be the line for the restrooms, or maybe these people are patiently waiting for a chance to see some rare Ford drag racing iron? No, they're a bunch of hungry people at the Boss Cars National event, held within the All-Ford Carlisle show, waiting their turn for some good old-fashioned barbeque on Saturday evening. The Boss Nationals had more than 275 Boss 302 Mustangs and Cougars, and Boss 351 and 429 Mustangs in attendance of just about every color and model year built from low-mileage concours to tricked-out restomod. It's been a few years since I've had the good fortune of attending the Carlisle All-Ford Nationals, and I'm here to tell you it was another great year at the Carlisle fairgrounds. Sure, there was a bit of rain, but as usual it was far from a deterrent for the Ford faithful that attended. Going to the same show year after year can sometimes get a little old, but when it comes to the All-Ford Carlisle show, it never does. Every year we've attended there's been something new to see or do. Whether it's the interesting and rare vehicles found in Building T, the special invitational guests, the hundreds upon hundreds of Fun Field participants, or the rows and rows of new and used parts deals, you'll always have a great time. Some people think attending the Carlisle show is only for people that are looking for hard-to-find parts. While it's true there are interesting and rare parts to be found walking the rows of vendors, there's also so much more offered amongst the Carlisle fairgrounds and surrounding communities that you owe it to yourself to attend the Carlisle All-Ford show if you've never been. The Women's Oasis tent has bingo, wine tasting, massages, and manicures for the ladies (and it's air conditioned too!). There are also seminars, drag racing, a beauty contest, children's activities, and more on the fairgrounds. Did we mention there are a lot of display cars and parts to be seen too? Take a long weekend and spend a few days sightseeing in the area. There's much to offer in the area, such as Gettysburg, which is rich in civil war history. In Gettysburg you can visit the Gettysburg National Military Park, see the sight of the Gettysburg Address, and even General Robert E. Lee's headquarters. There's also Hershey Park in neighboring Hershey, where you can ride roller coasters and tour the Hershey chocolate factory. Maybe you'd like to take a ride on a riverboat cruise down the historic Susquehanna River. There's also plenty of antique districts and outlet shopping. There's truly something for everyone in the family. Check out our photos for a recap of this year's All-Ford show.  Each year Carlisle Events...  Each year Carlisle Events places emphasis on a certain marque or model, usually coinciding with an anniversary or other special circumstances. This year's highlight was the 50th anniversary of the Ford Thunderbird. A special "evolution" display was created showing one model from each year of production. It was really interesting to see the styling changes from year to year, and to see where the T-Bird started, and how it progressed through its build time.  The Merkur Club of America...  The Merkur Club of America (www.merkurclub.com) hoped for over 200 of the European built/U.S. sold cars, and they hit 236 XR4Ti and Scorpio models from every year. While the XR4Ti was originally powered by the 2.3 turbo engine from the Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, this one had a nice small-block Ford transplant in it. The Merkur might be a bit too new for our magazine, but the oldest U.S. models are now hitting 20 years old.  If you're any sort of Torino...  If you're any sort of Torino fan you have to smile when you see the Starsky & Hutch models. There was well over a dozen on display this year, and many of the "Zebra Threes" looked like they were ready for their close-up.  If it's parts you're looking...  If it's parts you're looking for, there's no doubt you'll find it at Carlisle. I distinctly remember trying to stuff my '66 Mustang's woodgrain steering wheel in the airplane's overhead compartment after buying it at Carlisle one year. This vendor had small-block ford short-blocks in various displacements and options ready for your induction and heads. There's plenty of EFI stuff around the show grounds for anyone considering a conversion as well.  Revelation Racing Supplies...  Revelation Racing Supplies (RRS) spoke at one of Carlisle's technical seminars, sponsored by Mustang Monthly and Mustang & Fords magazines. Jeff Ford, past editor, now heads up the U.S. division of RRS and was the speaker at the seminar.  The silver hardtop on display...  The silver hardtop on display at the RRS booth features the full brace of RRS suspension goodies, trick paint and wheels, and more. Look for a full feature on this car in an upcoming issue. Getting Boss'd Around
The Boss Car Nationals was held within the confines of the All-Ford show at Carlisle, and it was the most amazing display of cars I've seen in a long, long time. I'm partial to yellow '69 Boss 302s (I can get picky about year and color since I know I'll never own one), but no matter the year or color, there was an example on the grounds for you to drool over. From ultra-low-mileage concours examples to built-to-the-hilt Restomods, you could have seen it all. Activities included the aforementioned barbeque dinner along with a cruise to the local Hooters, raffle prizes, photography, plaques, racing displays, racing footage, and more. One of the highlights for many was the ability to speak with and get autographs from Bud Moore (of Trans-Am racing fame) and our very own Donald Farr, author of Mustang Boss 302, Ford's Trans-Am Pony Car. Here's a few snapshots of the happenings within the Boss Car Nationals itself.  The inside display in the...  The inside display in the Boss area contained many low-mileage and ultra-rare Boss cars: the Tasca Boss 429 race car, a 32,000-mile unrestored '69 Boss 302, a '70 Mercury Boss Cyclone Spoiler II prototype experimental for NASCAR, the Checkerboard Maverick race car, Bob Perkins' 2,800-mile Boss 351, a '69 Boss 429 (S Code) with just 54 miles on it, and George Follmer's '70 Boss 302 Trans-Am Mustang, to name a few.  Outside the building displaying...  Outside the building displaying the Boss collection was one of Bud Moore's Cougars, originally driven by Dan Gurney. What was amazing about this display was the original transporter restored to use for hauling the car. This transporter held everything needed to handle a race, including spare engines, tires, gears, and much more. Notice the fiberglass box mounted in place of the right-side window of the cab unit. That was the sleeping area for the driver, and the driver's head or feet used that spot when sleeping in the cab behind the seats.  The evening of the barbeque,...  The evening of the barbeque, Boss Car Nationals coordinator and registrar of the Boss 302 registry, Randy Ream, drew door prize tickets (with the help of Donald Farr from Mustang Monthly and some enthusiastic youngsters) for some great door prizes. Would you believe I won a set of rear frame tie-down brackets for a Boss 302? I guess I could say I was working on my Boss 302 one part at a time, but I was a good sport and returned them to the table for someone else to win.  On display at the barbeque...  On display at the barbeque dinner was this Boss Reunion banner that car owners, celebrities, and so forth signed. Gary Pechman, who designed the Reunion glass mugs offered to Boss owners, brought it to the Reunion. The banner now resides on the basement wall in the Pechman home. Gary, I signed it, so let me know if you find my name.  Carlisle is also a great place...  Carlisle is also a great place if you are into displays, signs, die-cast cars, models, shirts, hats, and more depicting your favorite Fords.  How about a restored gas pump...  How about a restored gas pump or a display case for your die-cast cars?  We also found these original...  We also found these original programs from the Trans Am racing days. If I only had more garage and less house!  I'll take that one, that one,...  I'll take that one, that one, and that one over there, oh, and give me the red one on the end too. Sorry, just making my shopping list for the day I win the lottery. There were Boss-powered cars as far as the eye could see.  We spotted this lone classic...  We spotted this lone classic yellow Mustang in a sea of late-model yellow Mustangs, all displayed in the same area for the Yellow Mustang Registry (YMR). The YMR is open to all years of Mustangs in any shade of yellow, original color or not. You can check them out at major events throughout the year or see their web site at www.yellowmustangregistry.com.  Art Nigro's '67 GT350 took...  Art Nigro's '67 GT350 took our Celebrity Pick choice award home to New Hampshire with him. This awesome fastback sits just right on its Minilite wheels, and it doesn't hurt matters that the power comes from a Boss 302 with an ultra-rare Autolite Inline carburetor! As soon as we can get back to the northeast, we'll be meeting up with Art for a photo shoot. So if you want to see more, stay tuned.  Ford's SVT trailer was displaying...  Ford's SVT trailer was displaying all the fun hardware to make your restomod go fast, stop fast, and look good, but the real crowd pleasers were the Ford GT and the concept '07 Shelby Mustang GT 500 on display. It nearly took an act of Congress to keep people away from it long enough to get this photo.  CJ Pony Parts was ready for...  CJ Pony Parts was ready for the Carlisle rain and had their "pallet floor" installed and ready to keep everyone's feet dry. The guys at CJs were displaying this new one-piece floor pan replacement panel, which retails for $649. We're planning an installation of one of these soon, so stay tuned.  Sometimes just walking the...  Sometimes just walking the aisles, you come across a brand-new product just being released at the Carlisle show. We dropped by the booth for Pypes Exhaust [(800) 421-3890; www.pypesexhaust.com] where they were displaying their brand-new Tri-Y headers for '64-'70 Mustangs. They also offer shorty style headers for '65-'70 Mustang, Falcon, and Fairlane models.  If you think the show is all...  If you think the show is all Mustangs, you'd be mistaken. While there's a wide selection of Mustangs from all years and models, there's also proud owners of just about every other Ford model and division on display, as evidenced by the rows of Fairlanes, Mavericks, trucks, Galaxies, Falcons, street rods, wagons, Cougars, and much more.
|
|
|