Our Tour to the 2011 Eastern National Meet

Saratoga Springs, NY

By Ken Bounds

We always start planning these tours to the National Meets way in advance.  We began talking about going to Saratoga Springs in the parking lot during the 2010 Eastern Meet.  As the planning progressed, it looked like about 10 NIRG members would make the trip; but time changes everything and illness took a toll.  By the time the meet rolled around on the calendar, only Joe Kozmic in his ’53 Mercury and Ken & Carolyn Bounds in their ’50 Convertible made the drive from Chicago.  We were, however, joined by other NIRG members at the meet from Wisconsin and Oklahoma.  More on that later.

We left the Chicago area early Saturday morning, July 9, in perfect weather.  After a quick top-off at the Lincoln Oasis, we made it well into Ohio, past Toledo, for lunch and our first fuel stop.  The number of gallons of gas that the Merc took told us that the 242 miles we had just traveled from the Oasis was the limit for a tankful.  The afternoon drive was uneventful except for a slight miss that our Ford started to experience.  We made it through Cleveland and pulled into Erie, PA, for the evening.  With 488 miles under our belts, a couple of cold ones and dinner at the Texas Roadhouse were welcome.

Back on the road for day two, we hit the New York Thruway flying, but noticed the miss was becoming more frequent.  With 676 miles down and about 190 left to the hotel, I decided to check under the hood at the next gas stop.  Nothing seemed amiss, so we prepared to gas up and get back on the road.  But the starter just spun – something had happened to the Bendix.  We pushed the Ford to start it, but as soon as we got on the road the miss was now constant and we needed to address it.  At the next service area as I changed the coil and condenser I looked up and saw familiar faces.  V-8ers Frank & Millie Scheidt in their ‘40 Sedan and Bruce Nelson & Mary Hyberg had just happened to stop at the same travel plaza on their way to Saratoga Springs.  I placed a call to      V-8er Dick Spadaro in Altamont, NY, who had made the generous offer to use his garage if anyone going to the meet had a problem.  Dick gave us great directions to his place in the wilderness and with another push from Joe, Carolyn, and Bruce, we were back on the road.  There was also good news; the miss was gone.

We found our way to Spadaro’s garage and with Dick’s able assistance, repaired the Bendix which had simply sheared a bolt.  Dick is a great example of what the V-8 Club is all about.  We truly appreciate his generosity and assistance.  Then it was just a short drive to the Gideon Putnam hotel where the real fun began.  We took advantage of early registration and renewed old friendships with our V-8 friends from all over the country.  It is always great to see everyone.  The cars and the tours are important parts of the meet, but it is the people that mean the most. 

The meet officially began on Monday and Joe and I got an early start cleaning up the cars and going through the operational check while Carolyn explored the beautiful grounds around the hotel and the Saratoga Spa State Park.  There was a little time for exploring the rather nice swap meet where we dropped a bag of money on some good parts, including some hard-to-find items for our ’36 Roadster.  After lunch we attended part of a seminar, the President’s meeting, and the owners/judges meeting.  Here we ran into NIRG member Mike Kubarth from Union Grove, WI, who was judging ’40 Fords and showing an incredible ’39 Woody restoration he had just completed.  Then it was off to the welcome party at the Saratoga Auto Museum which featured a Stainless ’36 Sedan on loan from Allegheny Ludlum.

Tuesday we participated along with over 70 Early V-8s and many modern cars on a well-organized and scenic covered bridge tour.  We crossed 8 covered bridges, drove through a National Cemetery, visited the Saratoga National Historical Park, enjoyed a picnic lunch, and explored the Hemmings Motor News headquarters and museum in Bennington, VT.  Joining us on this tour in rental cars were our long-distance members from Oklahoma who had flown in for the meet.  It is always a special treat to see them:  Rick & Marissa Claybaugh with daughter Kim and a friend along with Rick’s brother Earl and his wife Marguerite, and Joe & Paula Baughn.  After a long, interesting day and over 150 miles, we spent a relaxing evening visiting with friends and admiring cars in the parking lot.

Wednesday was concourse day; a very busy day for everyone.  Carolyn and I attended the judges’ breakfast as Carolyn is responsible for tabulating the voting for Touring vehicles.  Meanwhile Joe was doing final detailing on his Mercury; he was going for his Dearborn Medallion, having been awarded a Dearborn last year at the Charlotte meet.  Carolyn and I got our Convertible in its place on the concourse and began our job of vehicle verification.  As Carolyn got set up in the tabulation room in the nearby Saratoga Auto Museum I attempted to take pictures on the concourse.  Joe’s judging team came by and spent quite a bit of time on the Mercury.  We all had to dodge several light showers, then one very heavy cloudburst.  By the time the judging and voting was complete, clearer skies had returned.  Soon after the concourse was released, Carolyn completed her tabulation of the touring voting and turned over the list of winners to the Concourse Chairman.  Of course, she would not let me see how the Convertible had fared.

A few hours later we enjoyed a very nice final evening meal in Saratoga Springs, along with some of our good friends from the Cleveland and Pittsburgh areas.  We were all pretty tired and pleased with the meet, so we did not spend much time in the parking lot.  It also didn’t help that it was hot and the mosquitos were the size of small squirrels.

Thursday morning brought the awards brunch.  It is always nice to see all the proud owners of these beautiful V-8s being rewarded for their hard work.  Our Convertible took a “Win” (1st place) in Touring, while Joe was awarded his Dearborn Medallion.  The big surprise, though, was when National President Bob York presented Joe the President’s Choice Award for his favorite car at the meet.  What a thrill!  Our congratulations to Joe for both awards on a beautiful car.

These meets always come to a conclusion all too quickly.  With time for only the quickest of goodbyes to so many great friends, we were in the cars and on the road.  We were thrilled that our good friends Jeep and Georgene Iacobucci from Ohio decided to run with us most of the day.  Even though we didn’t start our trip until almost noon, we made it all the way back to Erie without incident.  Although we had planned to take three days to complete the trip home, our progress Thursday allowed us to arrive home by mid-afternoon Friday.  We were happy that our I-Pass transponders worked perfectly on the toll roads in four states.  I was also pleased that our Convertible got nearly 19 mpg on the 1,958 mile trip.

With Saratoga Springs in the rearview mirror, we can see Auburn on the horizon.  The 2012 Eastern National Meet in Hiawassee, GA, is only 46 weeks away!  We’ve sent our registration forms in; will you?  Keep on V-8ing!