Any major kit car show events near SC?

[Road Dawg]

New member asking if there are ever any major kit car shows being held near South Carolina?

[Rickd]

If you have some frequent flyer miles open it would be worth taking a trip to New Britain Ct to visit the ERA factory. They do it all there. One shop has the welding shop and jigs for the 289 and 427 chassis, and they also do their glass work in this shop and install the interior aluminum panels. They have two other shops - one is 'finished assembly' where the painted rollers and turn key cars are completed - normally have 10 - 12 cars on the floor being finished, mix of 427 and 289 bodies. The other shop - the 'skunk works', is where they build the GT 40's. Stainless steel monocoque chassis - real high tech machine. Glass work is impecable and the 'fit and finish' of the ERA cars make it - in my opinion - the standard against which all others are measured. I had a previous cobra, another brand, had a chance to drive an ERA, sold my old one and "upgraded" to an ERA.

For an aluminum bodied car and a jewel of craftsmanship - go to Provo, Utah and visit the Kirkham Motorsports shop. Aluminum bodies built in a former Mig fighter factory in Poland, and a real high tech machine shop - cad cam everything and CNC machines. The Kirkham brothers are also tremendous assets to the replicar industry - real fans of the cobra and coupe - and unmatched in attention to detail anywhere.

I've been to the ERA factory 4 times, and I look forward to visiting Kirkham one day soon. Bear in mind that the opinions expressed are mine, although they are also shared by quite a few others. Good luck and enjoy the research.

[Road Dawg]

Thanks for the reply. I'll check them out on line, maybe make a trip some day.
Bill

[ENTDOC]

I have checked with the Fontana Lodge Resort and some cobra members have registered. The lodge is rather large, but at this time all the standard rooms are fully booked for the two days-Sept 3rd and 4th. They do have 33 cabins left, so if you are planning on going to this event, please reserve your rooms immediately. The phone numbers are 828-498-2211 and 828-498-2107.

The attached itinerary details information regarding meeting and the driving tours. I would appreciate a return email to let me know if you want to caravan up to Fontana from canton on the morning of Sept.3rd.
There is a much more detailed description of each drive which will be handed out at the lodge.
If anyone has questions please call me at 770-330-1515 or reply to this email.

Thank you,
DSCC
Tail of the Dragon event coordinator

Ed Gollob

Attachment:
Tail of the Dragon Tours

Sept 3rd & 4th 2009 ( Thursday & Friday )

PLEASE PRINT THIS ITINERARY

• Members will either be driving their Cobras or trailering.
• Members will either caravan up to Fontana with me from Canton, GA on Thursday morning OR meet at Fontana Lodge which will be our headquarters for all the events.
• If you are going to stay the night of Sept 2nd. In Canton I have trailer parking at my business if you need same. We can move trailers at 6PM Tuesday Sept 2nd. The location is only ¼ mile from the Comfort Inn.
• The hotel I recommend is the Comfort Inn at exit #20 off I-575 in Canton, GA. Their phone number is 770-345-1994
• We will start the caravan Thursday at 8:30AM sharp in front of the Comfort Inn.
• We will arrive at Fontana Lodge about 11:30AM ( includes 1 pit stop & 1 fuel stop in Robbinsville )
• There should be adequate parking in front of the Fontana Lodge lobby.

All events will start from the lodge parking lot
I will distribute hand outs with directions and maps for all the rides at 1PM.

• Tour #1
Our 1st trip is scheduled to start at 1PM Thursday and is The Tail of the Dragon. This is the only ride scheduled for Thursday. We will travel to Deals Gap where we can take a break, visit the motorcycle & souvenir shop and photograph the tree of shame. Bring your camera for all the trips. Then we slay the dragon in both directions. Meet back at the lodge.

Friday Sept 4th is your choice of rides. A team leader will be nominated for some of the shorter trips.

• Tour #2 is a brief side trip to Fontana Dam & visitor center and can be completed any time without a guide.
• Tour #3 Starts at 9AM. This is a scenic loop ride to Robbinsville NC and back. The trip takes us to Deals Gap and then turns to follow the river coming from Fontana dam and passes by Santeetlah Lake on route to Robbinsville. Taking a different route back we should arrive at the lodge in time for lunch.

Note we are now going to Tour #5 and then discuss Tour #4

• Tour #5 Starts at 1PM. This is a very scenic trip through the Nantahala River Gorge.There will be rafting busses and possibly Kayaks crossing the highway. If there is not too much traffic we can stop and view rafters navigating the rapids. Taking a different path back we should return to the lodge in time to socialize and have a drink before dinner.

• Tour #4 Starts at 8:30 AM. This trip will take most of the day. We call it the Cherohala Skyway Drive. We actually do the dragon again on route to Pumpkin Center and on to the Tellico Plains. Along this stretch we will stop for lunch. Then we do the Cherohala Skyway with it’s may scenic overlooks. We will stop a few times and take in the scenery. We travel through Robbinsville on route back to the lodge. We should have time to relax before dinner.

The trip is planned for Thursday and Friday as the area gets very busy on weekends ( especially this labor day weekend ). If anyone has questions please email me at edgollob@windstream.net or call my cell 770-330-1515.

Ed Gollob

[sllib]

Gee, guys, isn't Alabama closer than CT or UT? I would visit Unique first. You'll be pleasantly surprised.
Bill Stradtner

[ground zero]

but you can come down and catch a couple of local shows and get a ride in #1967 if you would like!!! PM me if you are interested.

[Bobcat]

ground zero .... ever been to the cruise in at Fat Boy`s on US 1 ? Not a Cobra show , but plenty of cars . Soon as I get some kinks worked out on my ERA , I`ll drive up one Saturday from Aiken .
If you want to know what`s what with cars in the Carolinas , subscribe to Cruisin Carolina magazine .... covers NC and SC .

[ground zero]

Bobcat..get those kinks out and so we can cruise the Carolina's, been to the cruise-in/show on #1 a few times, usually lots of nice cars/trucks