Volvo Club of America
Atlanta Area Chapter
Events 1997
1 Picnic Stone Mountain April 1997
2 Atlanta Historic Races HSR Road Atlanta September
21, 1997
3 Euro '97, Spartanburg, SC, October 17 - 19, 1997
4 Fall Colors Fun Drive, North Georgia Mountains
- November 2, 1997
5 Lake Placid Tri-Club Meet 1997
1, Picnic at Stone Mountain, GA - April 10, 1997
Our chapter held it's inagural event at Stone Mountain
Park. 15 Volvos were present. We had enough enthusiastic turnout to get
our VCOA Chapter Charter signed! Representatives from Volvo Cars of North
America were in attendance as well as folks from Chris Volvo and Athens
Volvo. Dyer and Dyer Volvo also supplied support for the event.
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| Cars from left to right: Eric Barr's 64 1800S (a work in
progress); Eric Myracle's 67 1800S; Kirk Houser's 69 1800S; Matt Podowitz's
67 1800S; Mark Downing's 75 244 (388,000 miles!); Balu Vandor's 1980 245
(300,000 miles!); James Kilby's 66 122S Wagon (barely visible); Ken Harrigan's
81 244 (tragically totalled soon after picnic). |
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Mark Downing, VCOA National Chapter Coordinator, and Paul Kitchen
of VCNA compare James Kilby's 66 122S wagon against a 1997 V90. |
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Early Arrivals |
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A couple more lineups |
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After the picnic, Eric Myracle's 1800 and Balu Vandor's 245 near
the Covered Bridge by the Grist Mill in Stone Mountain Park |
2, Atlanta Historic Races HSR Road Atlanta September
21, 1997
The Atlanta Area Chapter got together on the infield of Road Atlanta
for an afternoon of vintage racing. No Volvos were in any of the races
but the featured marques were Porsche and Jaguar. Seeing a dozen Porsche
Speedsters taking the turns at speed is quite a feast to the eyes. Notable
Volvos in attendance included Harvard Kniffen's newly restored 1972 1800E.
We will be attending more of these races next season.
Harvard's car with race cars speeding by in the background
3, Euro '97, Spartanburg, SC, October 17 - 19, 1997
Kirk's Report:
What do you get when you locate a BMW assembly plant in the same town
that's home to a very active British Car Club? A great excuse for all European
Car Show. Atlanta Area VCOA Chapter members ignored the weatherman's projections
of doom and joined South Carolina VCOA Chapter members for this show at
the BMW plant in Spartanburg. Included in the schedule of events was a
complimentary tour of the plant. This is the plant where the Z3 is being
produced. That was very interesting. It is a clean and modern facility.
It was intriguing seeing the cars being produced for European consumption
and test models of the soon to be produced hardtop coupe. The Z3 coupe
is sort of similar to an 1800ES crossed with a MG C GT (with that Miata-like
front). It looks good - except when viewed from directly behind, where
it looks a little Volkswagonish. While parked outside the plant Friday
afternoon, an English expatriate who owned an immaculate 1972 BMW 3.0CS,
approached and said: "I haven't seen a P1800 in years." Later on that evening
I saw him again at the show's reception and he added: "Two P1800's parked
on the same street, I don't know about that." My reply was, "Wait until
tomorrow!" Who was the owner of that second 1800, you ask? None other than
Irv Gordon, himself. It seems that John Crabtree, SC Chapter president,
had forwarded a flier on to Irv and he decided to swing by on his way back
from the West Coast VSA meet in California. I first stumbled upon Irv in
the registration room reading an article about himself in the latest Automobile
Magazine. The article was about high mileage cars. Irv's is just shy of
1.6 million, there was a BMW with 400,000+, a Volkswagon Beetle with 300,000+
and a 1985 Toyota Van with (sit down) 200,000+ miles! I said "Wow, over
200,000!" and Irv said "Amazing isn't it..." For the actual show on Saturday,
cars were gathered by marque and there were 6 Volvos.
The rain probably scared a few people away, but those of us who
made it this far were determined to stick it out. While Irv and myself
debated over which kind of valve cover makes an B18/B20 go faster: chromed,
regular, or cast aluminum, word spread that the infamous Million-Mile Volvo
was there. From that point on, Irv was unable to get more than 10 feet
from his car due to the constant stream of admirers. That afternoon, the
organisers of the meet came to us and broke the news that they had not
expected many Volvos and had not arranged for a judge. Fortunately, we
dug up a Volvo enthusiast who didn't bring a car. The outcome: Duncan Rabey
of Clemson, SC repeated his success from Knoxville in '96 by winning the
award for Best Volvo with his green 1972 1800ES.
On Sunday, the weekend concluded with a Fun Rally through the country
surrounding Spartanburg. Balu Vandor, myself and my son, Graham, proceeded
to get lost (oops), while Eric Myracle, my wife, Teresa, and my daughter,
Elaine, did quite well in Eric's '67 1800S. At the checkpoints, they handed
out playing cards randomly and Rally results were based solely upon best
poker hand at the finish. Irv "the shark" Gordon, had 3 aces and a joker
(wild) which was good enough for a Porsche T-shirt while John Crabtree's
wife scored a nice jacket courtesy of Michelin. After lunch and pleasant
goodbyes we turned our sights back towards home.
4, Fall Colors Fun Drive, North Georgia Mountains
- November 2, 1997
We got together to enjoy some twisty roads and admire
the beautiful fall foliage. Here's Kirk's description of the trip:
Four Volvos noodled through the byways in North Georgia. Eric Myracle
showed off his new 1972 1800ES. We made a few scenery stops, a few pit
stops (human and car), and found an Apple Cider stand. After taking in
the scenic vistas and the leaves of the Chattahoochee National Forest,
we stopped at Amicalola Falls State Park. We hiked up to the base of the
falls and then dined at the lodge after the sunset.
Kirk Houser's '69 1800S leads Eric Myracle's '72 1800ES
The four participating cars. Balu Vandor's '80 245 in the foreground,
than the aforementioned '72 1800ES, a beautiful '81 262C Bertone with a
4-cylinder transplant, and Kirk's black '69 1800S.
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