DSCC Atlanta Meet Great Success!

[jerry rowley]

In spite of bad weather and intermitent rain, 45 Cobras, GT40s & Mustangs showed up along with others w/o their cars! Doug Reed of Superformance South hosted a welcome party Friday Night with cajun Chicken Jumbalaya and finger sandwiches. Most of the group met at Southern Automotive's showroom and enjoyed the comraderie and food. Saturday morning saw drizzle, but 42 brave souls came on down for the car show. We had some rain until in the afternoon. Southern Automotive catered a BBQ lunch followed by two seminars: Bilstein Shocks' Jim Hiland on racing setup and general shock/spring theory; then Dennis Olthoff, of Superformance Distributors talked about racing your Cobra and some basic "Dos & don'ts". Both were well received by a large group. We cancelled the Poker Rally due to weather. If only it had cleared a bit earlier.........! Oh well, next time! The dinner meeting at Holiday Inn was a great success. We had cocktails at 7:30 followed by the best food I've ever seen at a banquet party. 87 of us ate food for 100! Some had thirds! We gave the catering Mgr and staff a big hand for "well done". Since we did the seminars on Saturday, Sunday was cancelled and everyone headed home. Trudy and I had a safe trip back to south Alabama,arrived at noon in time for lunch at the local fish lodge.

New officers were elected as follows:

Dan Wulff - President

Keith McFarland - Vice President

Ruble Moore - Secretary/Treasurer

We made a net of just about $1,000 on goods sold. Treasury now about $1,400, yeah team! And still NO DUES!

See complete article and pictures on our web site by tomorrow night. I took 109 pictures and saved 99 decent ones. I'll post a bunch with a detailed article.

I want to thank all those brave souls that came and made this event a success, and a hugh Thank You to our hosts, Susan and Bill Parham at Southern Automotive. They went way beyond the call of duty to make this a great meeting and help us make a little money for the treasury too! I want to thank Doug Reed of Superformance South for the party Friday night, Alan and Maurice Weaver of Unique Motorcars for their attendance and participation, and Randy Hunter of Hunter Cobras for the same, and of course Dennis Olthoff and Jim Hiland for the seminars. Thank you Enzo, Paula and Finishline Products for the great door prizes. Also a "well done" to Keith McFarland for organizing this meet and doing a bang up job!

For those that coudn't make this event I want you to know we have estblished a club with some really fine people and standout cars. We have a firm base now with over 250 members and money in the bank. This coming year we need to stress more local group events in each area of our eight Southern States. I task each member with finding a real "spark plug" in your respective area and to help them get rolling on frequent local events. Dan Wulff and I both feel this is the big priority job for 2002-2003 for our club. Next year we want to see 100 cars at the annual meet!

Check our web site http://www.jerryrowley.com/2002meeting.htm
for story and pictures.

[Bumpster]

Jerry - I second every word you said about this past weekend. I've been to SAAC events a few times and never had as much fun, seen as many Cobras "up close", met as many friendly people, or gotten as much information on Cobras, as I did this weekend. Since I am still without a Cobra, all of this will help me make my decision when the time comes. I thank you, as outgoing President, and all others involved in making this weekend possible, for your hard work and dedication to the DSCC and the Cobra community.

I know the weather could have been better, but the number of cars and people who attended was impressive and filled the space available at Southern Automotive quite nicely. I thought the number of cars and people was just about perfect. The food was very good, as you mentioned, and it sometimes is not at events like this. Anybody go to SAAC 5 in Las Vegas? I rest my case.

Two more things. If you need advice on setting up a Cobra suspension, call Dennis Olthoff. If you need any information about Ford engines, call Bill Parham. If there are any more knowledgable sources of information out there, somebody please tell me.

Thanks again, Jerry. We owe you all a big one.

Bumpster


P.S. Special thanks to FIA FRED for giving me a ride in his Cobra. I owe you a double big one with cheese.

[excelguru]

When Jerry mentions that 45 brave souls came down for the car show on Saturday, what he means is that 45 cars came to the show in the rain. We easily had 100 people there. I would like to thank everyone for making this event a real blast. Dispite the annoying rain, I believe (and hope) that everyone had as much fun as I did. I know that many of you trailered and drove your cars from great distances (sometimes in the rain) to attend this event and I, for one, appreciate it greatly.

A special thanks to Bill, Susan, Lewis, and the other employees at Southern Automotive for setting up my engine parts on display. It was a specail treat for me to walk in and see my dual-quad setup. Very cool.

And I would be amiss if I didn't thank the people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make the registration and purchasing run smoothly. My wife didn't get many chances to see the cars on Friday and Saturday because she and Susan were working very hard getting everyone registered, collecting money, and keeping up with it all. It's a lot more work than it looks like, and I would like to thank both of them. Also a special thanks to Trudy Rowley and Jennifer (what's-her-name) who also worked at collecting money for T-shirt sales, drink sales, etc. and keeping up with all of it. Again, it appears easier than it is.

Overall, I was disappointed in the weather, but I did have a lot of fun and I met a bunch of terrific people. I would also like to thank Fred Savill for letting me take his Unique FIA for a spin. What a nice car!

Does anyone know who car #30 was (I think that's the right number). He won a prize. Jerry or Ruble - Correct me if I'm wrong about that number.

Keith

[Engineer Ed]

What a great weekend despite the weather.
I'm so glad I went and thanks to all who came.
Foul weather was no big suprise and you all still made the trip.
That says so much for our group and I am proud to be a part of it.
We had no rain on our return trip.

Thank you to all who helped put on this event.
Maybe next year the DSCC will get some better weather and have an even larger event.

I am still trying to wipe the grin off my face after the GT40 ride.
I want to say a special thanks to John for the experience.
Now I've got to find a way to build one for myself.

Wow !

Ed
FFR1997K

[Johan]

Boy that was great ! I had a lot of fun. Thanks to all the folks that worked so hard to put that together, and a special thanks to Bill Parham for giving me a model of a GT350 for my model garage.
It was nice to meet the people I have been talking with for a year now face to car, and the rain was not so bad until my top blew off on the ride home. Sorry i had to miss the dinner but my wife and I celebrated our 16th anniversary and she hates cars and does not even know I have a Cobra.
Looking forward to next year,
J.W.

[ToyCollector]

I also want to pipe in with a "thank you" to everyone who helped put this together--especially the McFarlands, Parhams, and Rowleys who made it a success as well as the folks who braved the weather and long distances to participate. I also enjoyed the technical seminars put on by Dennis and Bilstein.

It is amazing how I learn something from Bill Parham everytime I hear him talk about Ford engines and their racing past. JW, thanks for the video showing you overtake me at AMS

Constructive input for next year's event--we need LOTS of space at next event and hotel for trailers, if this year's event was any indication. That hotel parking lot got tight real quick!!

Flying Freddie--sorry I didn't have time to check out your trailer and chat, which I had wanted to do. See y'all next year.

[jerry rowley]

Thank you all for your kind words and support! It means a lot to me and Trudy. I owe Trudy more than you will ever know for her help with this whole club thing, believe me. She has made three trips to McDonough and listened to all my BS and helped sell lots of items this weekend that made our treasury well. Ruble gave me the final count today --- we now have around $1800 in the account!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's pretty good for a club with NO DUES!

BTW, we have identified Kent Berry of Bremen, GA as car No. 40, and his trophy (wall plaque) for 1st Place is on it's way to him tomorrow from Ruble. Congrats Kent, wish you had made the meeting to recieve the trophy! Now we don't have your picture for the scrapebook. Nice car, keep it going fast and pretty!

Also, those that missed the event, we have a small number of Dash Plaques left for sale (only 14 of 100) at $5/each. Send a note and a check to Ruble and we will sell them out. We have a couple dozen tee-shirts also at $15/each. Only size left is 2X (but you can shrink them some in hot water). Send Ruble the check and requests please.

[Mike I]

maybe our 3rd Annual meeting will be held under sunny skies?

Rain or not, I really had a great time.

As much as I love cars in general, especially Cobras & GT-40s, it's the people who support this hobby that make it all worthwhile. In and of itself, a car show or a race is really nothing special. Interacting with entertaining people who share the same passion for high performance cars as I do is, however, something very special. Some of you I've had the pleasure of meeting before and it's always nice to see familiar faces again. I'm happy I got to meet many more of you this weekend. Everyone I met and talked to was open to discussion and eager to talk about their cars or about themselves. Some of you are real characters and had me in stitches quite often.

I hope everyone made it home okay.

Susan & Bill Parham, you are super nice people. Thank you for your gracious hospitality. I hope your business remains ever successful and your personal lives enjoy much happiness. I really did enjoy my little trip to "Mayberry."

Doug Reed, your jokes were old, they were scripted and they were poorly told. So why am I still laughing??

John Woerhide (sp?), thanks so much for bringing some of your very cool toys to the party. Your cars are anything but show queens, but they were the icing on a very pretty cake as far as I was concerned. The patina of obvious regular use, the IDA Webers with no filters and the fact that you took them out in the rain makes you all the more of a character and adds to your legend!

Ed Kamptner and Jim Pomroy. Thanks for teaming up with me on the trip up and back. You're good guys to hang with. I guess I'll see you boys again at Gainesville in June. Ed, start saving for the 40...

Fred Savage (a.k.a. FIA FRED), what can I say. I love your car and I'm buying stock in any company that makes duct tape.

Jim and Tina Broome. I've really got to give you folks credit, driving together all the way to McDonough, in the rain, in a Cobra, and with no top!!! You two are real "car people". You're a credit to this club and I'm very glad I got to meet you both. BTW, your car is beautiful and it looked great out on the open road yesterday on the way back south. When you pulled up along side of me, your rotating wheel hubs looked invisible and I could clearly see the rotors and calipers, it looked sooo cool.....

Jerry and Trudy Rowley. You are and have been the glue that brings us all together. Thank you and be well.

Dan and Jean Wulff. You've become like family to me. I always enjoy your company and I look forward to your reign as President and first lady.

Ruble (a.k.a. the LootKeeper). Funny, at Gainesville in February, you told me you couldn't afford new rearend gears. So how'd you come up with the money for the 3.73's so soon??? We'll have to start keeping an eye on you from now on....

Jerry Cowing. Your car is too nice looking to be seeing track time. Your hard work is evident and deserving of the trophies you took home. Good job, but you've got to decide if you're going to be a waxer or a racer.....

To those of you I have yet to meet. Don't let a little thing like rain stop you from coming next time.

Mike

[Johan]

Thanks Mike for calling it "patina" instead of "wear". I was out in the rain Sat. morning actually washing my cars to bring them down to Mcdonough, and my buddy Paul had to take a picture for proof that the cars were being cared for cosmetically. I looked around at the show and could not believe how clean the other guys cars were. I leave the dirt cause it hides the paint chips and scratches. I am going to get some wax, read the directions, and go for it. Look out next year.

[Mike I]

you're cracking me up....be careful it doesn't become an obsession with you. I can just see it now, no more Roebling Road or Sebring....just Concours d'Elegance for you from now on....

You don't fool me one little bit, you love showing off those paint chips and scratches as much as I would, they're like little badges of honour!!

BTW, I've been meaning to ask you something for a while, which one of your cars did you once describe (in your profile?) as being a "little bit peppy?"

[FIAFRED]

I would also like to echo the many sentiments expressed by all of you regarding this past weekend's gathering:

Bill and Susan Parham- Absolutely the most heart felt thanks to both of you for the monumental effort of hosting our gang!!! I can only try to imagine how much time and effort that you'all expended on our behalf. Given the weather circumstances, and the worry that it must have been for the both of you, the event came off without a single hitch...all things considered. You are so generous and such special folks!! PS: SUSAN, keep your eye out for the UPS man. Sometimes surprises are more fun than the "expected".

Jerry and Trudy- What can I say. You'all have been single handedly (next to Keith), the most supportive of all our members in making these events happen. I'm not always sure that everyone realizes how much you do behind the scenes, as well as, going out on a limb financially to insure such a GOOD value for all us members. I sure do! Thank you, SO much!!

Keith and Elizabeth- Ah, to be young and energetic...and then to apply these qualities for the well being of so many, unconditionally. I can't wait for the day Keith, that you turn the key to your very own Cobra, and hear that roar and feel that exhileration!! Or should I say, ACCELERATION! You can be absolutely assurred, that the love which goes into your car by Unique and Southern Automotive will make your experience as fine as any Cobra owner ever had. Your very welcome in getting to drive my FIA. I only wish that you could have had much more time behind the wheel, in more favorable weather. Thank you.

To the Club Members at Large: Much thanks and glad feelings to you all for supporting the event, when the weather circunstances could easily have given you an out. To have seen almost 50 cars of such style and beauty, together with the shared enthusiasm for our hobby made it all worthwhile.

Super Performance, Unique, Hunter, Dennis- Without your expertise and technical sharing, none of us racer wannabes, would have the opportunity to experience this rare slice of life. Thank you!


Fred Savill / FIAFRED

[CobraDan]

First I have to thank Bill & Susan Parham for having us at Southern Automotive. I also want some of what ever Bill has that lovely wife of his on, what a ball of fire. Then we had plenty of representation from Superformance With Doug Reed the Cajun Chef who fed us all on Friday, and Dennis Olthoff who wanted to make us all race car drivers. I even have a picture of the two black tire stripes that run from one end to the other end of the Holiday Inn's drive way made by Dennis's SPF Cobra. I finally met my buddy John Woerhide, and I must thank him personally for taking Ed Kamptner on a ride in his GT40, since Ed is thinking of building one, as his next kit, that one jester made Ed's day. John, I really like your toys. We also had two reps from Hunters Cobra's with Randy Hunter and Robert Lightsey. Robert just repainted his Cobra again and almost won the award for most painted Cobra. We also have to thank Paula and Enzo from FinishLine for donated many door prizes as the have done in the past. I actually would rather they both come to our next meeting in person, so we could all thank them. Of course I have to thank all the brave Cobra nuts who came out in the rain and it gets better each time we get together because the people are so great the weather doesn't matter. As your newly elected President I will try my best to have our next outing dry, or maybe we can rent a large indoor hall I also want to thank our new Vice President for helping put this thing together, Keith McFarland, Thank You. I almost forgot our past president (Diesel) infact we stopped calling him Jerry Rowley. I guess you will have to attend our next outing to find out why Jerry has a new name.


Thanks to everyone who made this a great event.
Dan

[patrija]

Not too much else to add beyone everyone's comments ... a simple thank you to all involved and a pleasure to finally meet the brave and wet!

On another note, when we look at possibly moving the 2003 DSCC meeting May is perhaps not the best month. This is historically the month of the Unique Cobrafest/Homecoming. Just to throw another wrench into the planning. Sounds like another poll to be had!

Jason

[Bumpster]

I heard from a reliable source that this year's Unique reunion will be the last one, and if that is true then there would be no conflict next May. Perhaps the new officers could offer three or four different dates and sites for members to vote on here on the website. There was some discussion about this at the meeting Saturday night but nothing was decided. It would have to be done soon, as I am sure it takes the better part of a year to organize one of these events.

Bumpster

[aumoore]

Mike
The Club's loot is safe with me. If you don't believe me ask my wife when she quits Bi^$*ing about me spending money on the Garage tramp. It is always easier to ask for forgiveness than premision.

[Mike I]

Ruble,

Why don't you just do like John W., his wife doesn't even know he owns a Cobra....

[Joe Smith]

I would like to offer my sincere congratulations and best wishes to our new
president, Dan Wulff, our new vice president, Keith McFarland, and our slightly
used, but road ready, secretary Ruble Moore. Welcome aboard, gentlemen!

I would also like to extend an offer to all of our officers to attend our 3rd
DSCC Gainesville Test Track event this June 8th. It would be a good chance
get the wax off of your machines and "step on it" a little bit.

Remember, the amount of fun you have in life, is directly proportional to the
amount of petro-carbons you consume......

[CobraDan]

Thanks Joe, Isn't it enough that we have Dennis Olthoff talked in to coming to Gainsville in June. He will teach you boys how to beat those Corvettes. I think I'm going to start planning something closer to home but will always try and make it to our annual meetings. See everyone in the DSCC at our 3rd. annual meet.
Dan