Garagapalooza

Big doings in Garagetown this weekend.

The day started with a trip to Lynnwood to pick up my 955i. I decided that the hiccups and the preceding 3 years were sufficient reason to take it to a dealer to have it checked out.

Then I went to the All British Field Meet. (Since I'm not too bright I forgot to bring a camera.) I noticed a few things:
a) "Free event" does not mean "free parking"
2) Old British cars are mostly owned by middle-aged men. The most common phrase heard all day: "I wanted one when I was in high school. When I saw this one for sale I couldn't resist."
iii) The size of the crowd was inversely proportional to the cost of the car. This wasn't universal but new expensive cars (like an Aston Martin DB9) were definitely less popular than the old cheap ones (like a road weary MGB).
4) Swap meet sellers either expect alot of haggling or don't understand the difference between "I'd like to have this part" and "my car is a giant useless planter box without this part and you have the only one in the free world".

ABFM was much bigger than I expected. Probably 150-200 show cars from just about every British make you can think of. (At least 50 Triumphs.) And most were not from Washington. Alot of Oregonians and Canadians. It was a casual comfortable event. 20% of the owners were sitting with their cars and were more than happy to chat about them. [Insert reference to middle-aged men and their toys here.]

The number of cars for sale was smaller. Maybe 50 total. Five TR6s. From a complete but trailered project car ($5200) to a restored but not perfect drivers car ($18200). Comparing them makes me think the money to fix the cosmetics of my green one would pay off. ... Assuming anyone actually sells the cars near the asking price.

On the way out of the show I found my next car. Well, maybe not, but I'd certainly like to find a way to get one in my garage. A Bentley Speed 6. Cars from that era are just ginormous in every sense. But this one somehow incorporated "elegant" and "sporty" with "massive". The owner claimed it drove well and covers 2400 miles/year. He also said it isn't difficult to maintain. Good to hear since the buy-in to the Speed 6 club is probably deep into the 6-figures.

So that was Saturday.

Sunday will also be filled with garage-centric activities because I have a track day on Monday.
- Take the 955i out for a little test ride. Why? Because I just don't trust dealers and I'd rather find a problem at 15mph than at 115mph.
- Pack up the trailer.
- Get the Ducati ready. (Where did I leave that data collection widget? Oh yes, it's behind the couch where I threw it after it called me a chicken last time.)
- Get all the supporting stuff together. Like gas, food, shade, tools, etc.