The Squamish Chief has a short article about the Spring Thaw in today’s paper (April 24, 2009), encouraging locals to come check out the cars at the start of the event. One week to go! (Click image to see full size)

The Spring Thaw is fast approaching, participants are busy in their garages getting cars ready, and the route is looking great!  All registered participants were sent an email on Sunday with more info about preparation, start location, and other details (if you didn't get it, let us know!). For those of you unable to make the full weekend, there is still an opportunity to join us at various points along the route.  Here are some details to help you rendezvous with us!

FRIDAY, MAY 1 – OFFICIAL START – SQUAMISH, BC
We know you probably like historic machinery of all kinds, so we thought we’d start the event at the West Coast Railway Association’s Heritage Park in Squamish. Google Map

The best time to come check out all the cars would be between 12:00-2:00pm when everyone has signed in and final preparations are being made before the start. Take some extra time and check out the Railway Heritage Park!

SATURDAY, MAY 2 – SUNPEAKS RESORT, BC
Perhaps you're located closer to the interior of BC?  Well, head on over to Sunpeaks in the Kamloops area on Saturday afternoon! Spring Thaw cars will be arriving around 4:00pm, and we're planning to meet up with some local car club members outside the Village Day Lodge. The drive up to Sunpeaks is a great road, so come join us!  Google Map

SUNDAY, MAY 3 – HOPE, BC
And finally, after a weekend of adventuring through BC, the cars will be arriving in Hope, BC for a Lion's Club fundraiser BBQ lunch, where the cars will be on display. We will be arriving around 12:30pm at the Hope Curling Rink – about an hour's drive from Vancouver. Google Map

We hope to see you out there, and hopefully next year, you can play hooky from work too and join us for the whole trip!

We've had a
few emails asking what would be good to bring. Some teams may prefer to
travel a little over-prepared, while others are relying on their
ingenuity and wit. If you'd like to find yourself somewhere in the
middle, well prepared but not weighed down by a full shop, follow the link for
Dave's suggested list of tools.

Suggested Packing List

As April fast approaches, we are very excited to see the entry list filling up with some fantastic cars! If you're considering entering the event, but haven't sent in your entry yet – don't miss out!  We only have 11 more spots left and we've heard from several people who are sending their forms soon!  April 10th is the deadline!

This week, we firmed up details of our start location on Friday in Squamish. Registration and Official Start will be at the West Coast Railway Museum – a fantastic collection of Canadian railway heritage. Spring Thaw entrants will have discounted access to the museum, so we encourage everyone to arrive early! We will have full details and revised Friday schedule shortly.

Stay tuned for more news and updates!

Any competitors looking to take advantage of the early entry discounts need to have their registrations in the mail asap!  The early entry rates of $325 CDN (or $285 USD) must be received in our office by Midnight on March 15th. Unfortunately we don't have much flexibility with this, as our hotel booking rates are dependent on these dates. Our entry list will be capped at 50 cars, and we're almost halfway there! I can promise that you definitely don't want to miss out on the inaugural run. If anyone would like Spring Thaw Classic Car Adventure post cards for their next club meeting, please send us an email and we'll be sure to ship some out to you (or if you're meeting in the Lower Mainland, we'd be happy to come visit!).

Entry List Highlights
We now have twenty entries for the Spring Thaw Classic Car Adventure. The British are still in the lead with 10 cars, followed by the German entries with four cars. The Italians are starting a charge with two gorgeous Alfa Romeo entries. The Swedes remain at two entries and the list is rounded out by a unique American Studebaker. We've been talking with the local Datsun and 510 clubs, so we may see some Japanese entries come in over the next two weeks.

Don't Think You'll be Ready???
Quite a few potential entrants have emailed us to let us know that they won't be ready in time for the 2009 event, but they're looking forward to the 2010 running of the Spring Thaw Classic. The common theme for the emails is a comment or two of what state the project is currently in. After giving it some thought, I can't help but think that this is the perfect reason to motivate us all to finish the project in time!  Think your car needs too much to participate? Take a look at our new Entrant's Gallery…some of our current entries are very ambitious with their plans! We're still waiting on photos, but I've heard rumors that one entrant doesn't even have floorboards in his vehicle yet. I guess for some of us the Adventure isn't enough on it's own…just getting to the Spring Thaw is going to be an Adventure!

As the event draws closer, your organizing team has been working hard to secure prizes and swag deals for all participants in our event. Classic Motorsports Magazine will be sending some gifts for the competitors, as well as helping us out with the awards at the end of the event. If you aren't already a subscriber to Classic Motorsports, you'll have an opportunity to check out the magazine and their no-nonsense approach to classic cars and vintage racing.

Wilkinson's Automobilia in Vancouver BC is THE stop for Automotive literature, scale models and other memorabilia. Looking for a rare factory repair manual for your classic? It wouldn't surprise us at all to find one sitting on the many shelves in the back of the store. Whether you're looking for books, magazines, repair manuals, models or classic advertising…the crew at Wilkinson's will either have it in stock, or they'll be able to find it for you. For our competitors not located in Vancouver, head over to eAutomobilia, Wilkinson's website, for a searchable database product.

A big thanks to both Classic Motorsports and Wilkinson's (and our first sponsor, Bring a Trailer, for offering to help us out!