Author Archives: Warwick

See You There: Westwood 50 this weekend!

This is your Friday reminder to top up the fluids, fix that electrical fault, and drive out to Mission, BC for this weekend’s “Westwood 50” vintage races! Fifty years ago this month, Canada’s first dedicated road race course opened near Vancouver, and provided lots of world-class racing entertainment until real estate development took over in the 90’s.  This weekend will be a show you won’t want to miss.  See you there!

Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally XXI

For those of you interested in a lovely high-end TSD-type rally, the NW Classic Rally on August 6-9 is not one to miss!  The early entry deal ends on July 8th, so be sure to get your entry in! Event chairman, Reid Trummel was a participant in the Spring Thaw this year, and we would love to come down for his event – alas, neither Dave or I have that weekend open in our calendar.  Here’s some more info…

“The Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally is a celebration of classic cars.  It is conducted over the course of four days in August and begins in Portland, Oregon.  It is organized around a traditional time-speed-distance rally and comprised of pre-1981 collector cars and their enthusiastic owners.  Organized by the Alfa Romeo Owners of Oregon and with Monte Shelton Jaguar as the primary sponsor, the event is a benefit for the March of Dimes.”

“The Monte Shelton Northwest Classic Rally is the oldest still-running classic rally in America.  For over twenty years we have assembled a rich variety of classic cars whose owners share a common passion – driving and enjoying them.  We do this in a spirit of friendly competition over some of the Pacific Northwest’s most-scenic roads, combined with delicious meals and always in an atmosphere of outstanding camaraderie.  Participants form a family who look forward to the event all year long.”

www.nwclassicrally.org

Stirling Moss at Westwood

With the Westwood 50th Reunion coming up, I recently stumbled across this great video on YouTube featuring a lap of Westwood with Sterling Moss. Westwood Racing Circuit was Canada’s first purpose-built road race track, and was located in Coquitlam. Sadly, the track is long gone, but you can still see vintage cars in action, and bench race with the Westwood veterans at the River’s Edge Road Course in Mission, BC on July 17-19, 2009. See you there!

Knox Mountain Hill Climb Day Trip

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The Knox Mountain Hillclimb in Kelowna is one of the longest running hillclimbs in North America, and is unique in that it occurs almost in the centre of town. A popular area for mountain bikers and hikers, the road normally has a 30km/h speed limit and harsh speed bumps. Once a year, those annoyances are removed, and racers blast up the narrow climb in an effort to win their class – or the overall King of the Hill time. The competitors range from rollbar-equipped Solo cars to all-out motorcycle engined hillclimb beasts – and everything in between. We jumped in Dave’s Beetle at 6am to go watch for the first time. Five hours each way, just to watch a race?  Sure…why not! Once in Kelowna, we met up with fellow Spring Thaw’er Ben Cheng, relaxed in the summer weather, and watched race cars all day! Not a bad way to spend a Sunday at all!  Here’s some photos of the vintage cars in the event…
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Vancouver ABFM 2009 Photos

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I stopped in at the Vancouver All British Field Meet today to drool over cars and play the “what will I buy when I win the lottery” game! I ran into some fellow Spring Thaw’ers there, some of whom were still sporting their Spring Thaw number plates – thanks!  In the vendor area, I picked up a period dealer brochure for my ’66 Mini (“…now with Hydrolastic suspension!”) and an old repair manual I had never seen before. With over 500 british cars in attendance, it was quite the show. Photos after the jump… Continue reading →

Vancouver Mini Club: Spring Thaw Stories

A big thanks to Steve Malins and Larry Sutton from the Vancouver Mini Club, who have written a couple of stories about the 2009 Spring Thaw Adventure for the club’s “Mini Scooper” newsletter. We’ve reprinted their stories for you below!

Spring Thaw Classic Car Adventure 2009
by Steve Malins

I must admit I’m a little sceptical of something new, I like to see something proven before I’ll jump in. This is due to the fact that I’ve seen some good ideas go in the toilet because nobody thought things through. Often our club will hear about a new event someone has just created but in the end it’s a big letdown. There are occasions though when I am pleasantly surprised (and even wowed) by the precision of a first-time event. The Chinatown Mini Dragon a few years ago was one of those times. The 2009 Spring Thaw was absolutely another. Continue reading →