| NOVAMOG The Northern Virginia Merkur Owners Group |
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| 18 May 2002 Carlisle Import/Kit/Replicar Show, Carlisle, PA Post-event write up by Richard Curtis |
| It was cold and overcast in Carlisle this Saturday but luckily, no rain. Several NOVAMOGers convoyed up to see what all the fuss was about with the Import Car show there at the Fairgrounds. Ran into Jay Ertl and Russ Harness (Rapido). Jay had brought two XRs and two Scorpios. It was interesting to meet Russ after buying parts from him all these years, and reading his helpful newsletters. Turns out that he owns "about 50" Merkurs and is slowly building up a collection that he hopes some day to rescue/restore/rebuild and put back on the road. Would that we all could do that. Nice guy, too. I forgot to ask him if he were returning for the All-Ford Nationals weekend when there will be 150-200 Merkurs there. We met at Starbucks in Leesburg at 8:00am and convoyed up Route 15 North all the way. Rich and Richie Franco drove up in their red one-owner 87; David Lockhart ferried me up in his blue 87 with new Dave Planakis 3" exhaust (nice mellow sound; I like it); and Jeff Webb drove up in his very nice VW Jetta 1.8T (his XR is being painted for Carlisle). Paul West arrived later in the day with his son, but no Merkur in sight (did you park it in spectator parking?!). Jason Yancey with a friend drove up in Jason's very nice white 88XR. And a fellow from western Pa. whom I didn't know arrived in a black 87XR. Jay had a very nice tent with Merkur and Ford flags flying set up with chairs, etc., but it was too cold and windy to spend much time in the shade! The vendor aisles were about a third of what they'll be for the All-Ford Nationals in less than two weeks. For those of you who haven't been to Carlisle before, these vendors stretch in aisles for hundreds and hundreds of yards, all cheek-by-jowl. They're selling parts off MGs, wheels off VWs (and Merkurs last year!), radios, obscure trim parts, and tent after tent filled with relatively cheap tools and things such as tweezers, bungee cords, jackstands, air hoses (100 foot hoses!), tarps, welders, Ford ignition tools ($4!), bodyworking tools, Meguiars car-care products, demonstrations, etc. We ran into Phil Dorsey also, who had a booth set up for his OPMD products (he'll be at All-Ford Nationals weekend with a lot of Merkur-specific parts). The showfield was actually empty-appearing although there were enough Cobra replicas, BMWs, MGs, Lamborghinis, a few Porsches, and kit cars of all stripes to keep you occupied. One of the exhibit buildings was chockablock with Cobra replicas and other interesting cars (it was also warmer there). The food, as usual, was Pa.-Dutch good (there were reports that the chicken corn soup was excellent). With fewer spectators there, it was very easy to get around, and there was no waiting at registration. It looked like a lot of spectactors actually parked their cars on the showfield in specially marked areas. Just before we left, Dave Lockhart put his car on the dyno and got some comfortable baseline figures (about 196 hp corrected at the crank). All in all, time spent at any car show is time well spent and that's how this one turned out. |