Mullinax Ford Car Show, July 3, 2010.

After watching the weather all week wondering about the chance of rain for today, decided "late afternoon rain" would not spoil the fun one bit. Woke up this morning bright and early to go meet some members of the MFMC for breakfast: Jim, Vic, and Val as usual... However, there were other members that showed up to the show: Steve, Jeff, and a member unknown to me.

Mullinax Ford enlisted the Muscle Car Network to put on their show with them, and had the start time advertised as 10am. Jim noticed that at the dealership it was advertised as 9am so we got there earlier than pretty much everybody, we were awarded with a nice shady spot by a tree. More cars turned out than I had expected, we filled up the small lot they had us in pretty quickly. There was a wide variety of makes of car in attendance, mostly muscle cars, classic cars, and hot rods. I have been to 2 MCN organized car shows, and am a member of the network. I thought both shows were a good time, and enjoyed them, but the lack of anything to do with late model cars is a little disappointing.

There were a few cars that stood out as something special for me, they are as follows:

A group of early 70's Mustangs owned by a family with the last name "Speed".


A 1954 Ford "Skyliner".


And a MG "Midget".

Mullinax Ford had a few cars on display as well, mot surprising it was mostly Mustangs. A couple of Shelby 500's, a Roush stage 1 & 427R, and some of the new 2011 GT 5.0's were out. Amongst all that muscle was a car making a comeback for 2011, the Ford "Festiva" is back!

At the end of the day, I had a really good time. I saw a couple of people I haven't seen in a while, and some folks I see all the time and enjoy their company. Also, I was able to take more pictures of cars, which is always fun for me...

Renninger's Car Show And Chili Cook Off, June 27, 2010.

Last night after the show at Harley Davidson I cooked up some contest winning chili to bring up to Mt. Dora today for the car show at Renninger's Antique Mall. However, upon arrival at the show the lady looked at me as though I had 3 eyes when I said I was there for the Car Show and Cook Off. I had found out about this event on "The Muscle Car Network", and it seems as though the information was not exactly accurate. The lady I had originally talked with had her supervisor talk with me, she felt bad for the mix up and waived my fee for the show today and gave me a V.I.P. card for when they DO have the cook off in October. She explained that the guy that organized the event was way to premature on advertising the event, and was unable to make it happen. October seems a much better time for a chili cook of anyway, so I went in to enjoy the show and share my chili with new friends.

Renninger's property seemed massive, with many things going on at once. There was an indoor area with permanent antique shoppes, People selling their junk a swap meet outside, and a car and bike show every last Sunday in the back area. Further back there appeared to be bleachers, after investigating I learned they have demolition derbies, tractor pulls, and all manner of motorized events.

There were about 50 cars in attendance, mostly classic like usual with some Late Models scattered here and there. When I arrived I parked under some trees to get the shade, but that quickly went away for the car. I set up my spot back under these great live oak trees draped with Spanish Moss. I swear I should have been drinking mint juleps and eating some fried green tomatoes. About an hour after I arrived 3 other Mustangs showed up and parked right by me, they got to partake in the chili I had made.

For being such a HOT day I was surprisingly comfortable, a combination of the great shade of those live oaks and a pretty constant breeze made it quite bearable.

The show was judged, and trophies for "Best GM", "Best Ford", and "Best Mopar" in pre and post 1970. Also, there was "Top 25", "Best of Show", "Best Paint", and "Best Interior". I ended up with a "Top 25" trophy for the day, and should have had a "Best Chili" win too.

I am looking forward to October when my Chili and my Car will win awards for the day, it will be a fun day I am sure...

Motorcycles And Muscle Cars, June 26, 2010.

Harley Davidson East-Orlando had a car and bike show today, with free food, free beer, and free music. They were even handing out wall plaques to people that preregistered for the show, usually it's just a dash plaque (always a nice touch).

It was a small show with some very nice cars and bikes, and aside from the 110 heat index it was a great time. There was a pretty large group from the "Central Florida Cruisers" out for the day, it was nice to see those folks. Wanting to spend most of my time in the shade of the tents I was a little light on the picture taking today. I just photoed my car with a great bike, and a selection of my favorites scattered about.

The food was pretty good, even better because it was free. Though BBQ pork is usually done with Butt not Loin, but can you really complain if it's free? They had beer, soda, and water for free as well, though I didn't have any of the beer (I am sort of a beer snob).

The band, also free, was not bad at all for a cover band. They sang rock and roll songs from "Van Halen", "The Cure", and I think I even heard a "Flock Of Seagulls" song too. They weren't too loud, it was a perfect volume where we were sitting, we could hear them but still talk over them.

For all the show had to offer, and 90% of free (there was a liquid nitrogen ice cream maker for $5), it was worth being out for the show. Braving the 101 degrees with 76% humidity for a heat index of 110 degrees, and a UV level of 8, was easier because the show was a lot of fun. Shade, hats, sunglasses, and sunscreen are your best friends on days like today...