Gary Freelen
Jeff Spratt’s 1970 AMX
Anyone who has ever prepared a car for concours judging knows what’s involved! After the rebuild, which took 30 months, Jeff (and his “partner in crime”, Carol Anderson), brought Jeff’s 1970 AMX to Rockford, Illinois, the site of the 2016 AMO Convention. It was entered in the American Heritage Cup class so you all know he had to have it shown for at least two years; first year in Junior where he had to achieve Gold; second year in Senior where he had to win Best of Show in his class! Achieving these two goals is no easy feat! The hours and hours and hours spent detailing and cleaning at home are “usually” followed up by hours of detailing and cleaning before the show! Now, having an enclosed trailer certainly helps to cut down this last piece, but dirt invariably finds its way onto the car.
Many of our AMO+ members have judged before, or at the very least, have had their cars judged. Now imagine – you’re in the top class for AMO! Points are deducted by .25 increments for what you might consider very trivial issues! When you’re at this level, the judges have to be ruthless because the cars are often too close in quality. This was also NOT Jeff’s first time showing in this class so he knew exactly what he was in for. He had previously competed in American Heritage with his 1969 SC/Rambler. Another excellent example of his restoration skills! Apparently, it’s a real challenge for Jeff to NOT drive the heck out of the SC/Rambler so he was itching to bring another car to show. Through an unforeseen set of circumstances, he acquired this AMX and set about completing the rebuild.
Came the day of “reckoning”, we were all faced with a deluge of rain which fell the night before into the overnight! The organizers, in the last 12 hours before the show, had to come up with an entirely different (and much drier) location because the original grounds were so saturated that the cars would certainly have gotten stuck (except for the Jeep class of course)!
Once at the new show field, the car was unloaded and was seen for the first time by many! There was even a roving television crew there that immediately saw the quality of this car and wanted to interview Jeff! I’m sure by now you have all seen the video which circulated but if you haven’t, here’s the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVu7CMp8usk. Both the car and driver were very photogenic, don’t you think?
As he waited that long day in the sun, through cocktail hour and then dinner at the banquet, I’m sure Jeff was going over in his mind all the “flaws” he felt his car had (which the judges may or may not have caught). He told me he really didn’t feel his car was the best on the field that day but the Car Judging Gods were in his favour! If there WERE imperfections, they were minor! All the entrants in that class were called to the front and, to Jeff’s total shock, he was named winner of the American Heritage Cup!!
I realize this win was about 18 months ago, but it’s significant for a couple of reasons. Number 1 and perhaps most astounding is that this was his second car to have competed in the highest class! Number 2 – only 1 Canadian before him (Don Bennett) had achieved this level twice (Rebel convertible and Gremlin) and 1 Canadian since (Tony Lucas) with another 1970 AMX!
Congratulations to Jeff! So, will we be seeing a third car??
Written by Barb van der Veen
Tip of the day
When restoring your ride and it comes time to fit the doors, a trick learned working at General Motors was to weigh all internal and external components, add a pound for paint and clearcoat. Now make a flat weight that can be hung inside the door, adjust your for a perfect fit, be sure the weight doesn’t bounce off the the outer skin or all of your metal work will need to be done again. When the weight is removed you will notice that the door doesn’t fit anymore. No worries, when all the hardware is re installed your doors will fit perfect....
Q1 ROAR
Ramblings Of A Retiree (First Quarter of 2018)
Hello there, this is something that I would like to create to communicate some automobile items that I have had the chance to research, now that I am retired. I certainly wasn’t anticipating to be directed to this path in life, but I really had no choice. I am very lucky to be able to move to a paying, non-working position. It has certainly taken a bit of time to get over the shock, but I know that I have moved in a positive direction. This column will give me a sense of purpose, and I hope that you find it interesting.
In January (13th to the 21st), the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Arizona auction was over-televised on the Discovery Velocity channel. I say over-televised, but it was well under-televised when it came to our AMC brand. When I recorded the day of the BBO AMX auction, it never made it past the cutting room floor. I would have liked to hear how they described it, and how it sounded. It went for a reasonable price, as a ground up restoration. The other AMX was a solid car, with original interior, and would have been my choice (and would have saved 20 Gs).
I tried to watch some of the coverage, but eventually fast forwarded anything that I dedicated some TV gigabits to. It was really annoying after a while. There may have been almost 2,000 cars go through the dockets for the duration, and money spent on the vehicles was astronomical in some cases.
I have included below some of the few AMC/Rambler vehicles involved in the auction, and the many Jeeps that were turned over to new owners. Some of the Jeep prices were very high in my opinion. They appear to be high in demand, that’s for sure. That Wagoneer was quite pricey, but it must be in great condition. How about that Rambler sign for over 8K?
I hope you find this article interesting, and I hope to see you at the Spring meeting at Harm and Barb’s place. Please check the calendar of events on the website for more details.
Thanks for reading. (As of April 15, 2020, I have removed the auction items, in order to remove them from the website. Thanks.
Marty and the Mojos, September 30th, 2017
Randy Weales has been playing drums most, if not all, of his life! In that time, due to repetitive stress on his arms and legs, he has to completely reverse how his drums are set out. But he hasn't let that stop him. He's an amazing drummer in a great band called "Marty and the Mojos"! They do mostly blues but some other types as well. On September 30th, 2017, a few AMO+ members went down to Port Hope to hear them play one of three sets they were doing that weekend! As we are all getting on in age, we decided to go for the Saturday afternoon set and they did not disappoint! The music was amazing, the beer was cold and the friendship was fabulous!
Between sets, Randy and Michelle Weales invited those who could go back to their home in Cobourg for a pot-luck dinner. Unfortunately, Harm and I had a 60th birthday party to go to in Peterborough but we wouldn't have missed this afternoon for the world! The next time I hear about them playing near by, we're going to go again. This is yet another example of the cars bringing us together (in our case, about 30+ years ago when Michelle and Randy were very young) but the friendships we've made along the way being the biggest reason why our chapter has stayed intact for so long.
Barb van der Veen
Fall Colours Tour, October 15th, 2017
Okay, so I'm a "little" late in reporting about the Fall Colours Tour this year!! I think it took me this long to get dried off and over the problems we had with the Hornet! But, I am a little ahead of myself.
Ken and Irene Perrier planned a wonderful tour for us this year! They had spent hours mapping out the route, putting together the menu of items needed for dinner and gathering prizes for the winner (and loser) of the poker run portion of the tour. Thanks so much, Ken and Irene, for doing that! All of those in attendance had a blast!
The one thing they had no control over was the weather! To say it "rained" would be an understatement. It poured!! Now, by itself, that wouldn't have been too bad except for a few things. Number 1 - these are AMCs we're talking about and their windshield wiper system was never the best. Number 2 - the windows never fit all that well so those who braved the afternoon in our old gals found a bit of a lake forming by our feet in the front! Number 3 (and most troubling) - the choke in our SC 360 was sticking open at about 3,000 rpms. Harm tried a few fixes which worked for a bit but ultimately we were revving pretty high as we were careening around corners in the blinding rain! And I'm pretty sure our tires were not always in full contact with the road! I was really glad Harm was the one driving that day because I became his eyes so we were able to stay within the lines! To top it all off, because we were concentrating on staying alive, we missed a LOT of clues so we got the "prize" for the fewest correct answers.
Once we all made it back to Dunsford, we were treated to good food and conversation.
AMO Christmas Party 2017
Although I am writing this post on January 2nd, 2018, it by no means minimizes the fun had at this year's Christmas Party/70th birthday celebration for Roberta Sommerville! Ken and Roberta opened their home to, I think, 22 of us! No small feat but thanks to everyone for contributing towards the feast (and to Ken and Roberta for providing the turkey especially). As usual, there was lots of catching up - especially with a couple of "long lost" members! Henry has been so busy lately that he's been unable to get out (really hard when he's sent to the States for his work).
Dave and Donna Nalepa were able to combine their trip to visit family in Kingston and Toronto with a side trip to the party! He brought gifts for everyone - his family recipe of Christmas cake! He had started putting this together in September so it was well "seasoned" by November!
We all visited with each other and basically ate our faces off before we began our Secret Santa tradition. The fun lasted for almost an hour as each person either took from under the tree or stole gifts that looked promising! One such box was of particular interest and if I were to count, it was probably stolen at least a dozen times! Finally, we had come to the end and one by one we opened our gifts. It's always incredible to see what people have come up with!
We ended the evening by wishing Roberta a very happy birthday with many more to come! Spoiler alert - Ken will be 70 in June!!
I would like to wish everyone a very (belated) Merry Christmas and here's hoping your New Year is full of good health, happiness and many opportunities to get out in your AMCs!
Barb
Fall Colours Tour – Hold the Date
As I write this on Saturday morning, I'm waiting for the sun to come up. I've just been watching the news about the devastation of Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean and what's about to happen in Florida. I'm sure we all hope (and pray) that our friends in the affected areas of the US were able to get safety ahead of this monster storm.
On a brighter note, Ken and Irene Perrier are hosting this year's Fall Colours Tour on October 15th (that's the Sunday). I don't have any further details but as soon as "the boys" return from their Nascar trip to Richmond, VA, I'll get that information for you.
AMC Race Day
This is a reminder that AMC Race Day is on September 17th at St. Thomas Raceway. Angelo Fedele has been providing all the details about this event so if you plan to attend, give him a shout.
New Event – September 30th
Randy Weales is a very talented musician (drummer) who has played with the group called "Marty and the Mojos" for 20 years! They will be doing an afternoon matinee on September 30th at the Ganaraska Hotel in Port Hope and have invited members back to their home in Cobourg after the gig. This would be an amazing opportunity for a club event, hear some great blues music and connect with friends. How much better could life get!!
Details:
Ganaraska Hotel, 30 Ontario Street, Port Hope
2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Dinner at Randy and Michelle's: 868 Chipping Park Boulevard, Cobourg
BYOB, bathing suits (hot tub is open). Just let Randy know what you can contribute (they will be doing the meat).
RSVP: September 17th
See you there!
Rambler Rama 2017 and 2017 AGM
Written by Barb van der Veen
Rambler Rama was held quite early this year (June 10th) due to the AMO convention in Gettysburg, PA. Normally, it falls on Fathers' Day weekend and Northern Ramblers wisely followed the suggestion to change the date. In retrospect, at least from a weather stand-point, it was the right choice - it was a beautiful day with no rain and warm temperatures! What a fabulous change!!
As usual, our club was integral in putting this event on - from providing some give-away prizes, stuffing goodie bags, "manning" the gate, registration desk, and voter tallying. Thanks to all those in AMO+ who assisted - Jodee, Harm, Barb, Ken Edwards, Ken and Irene Perrier, Darryl and Chantelle Rae, and anyone else I may have forgotten. We may be a small club but we are mighty!
Our East Coast representative, Dave Nalepa, drove his 1970 AMX all the way from Cape Breton (2,200 kms), partly for this event but also to hook up with those going to Gettysburg. In fact, he was the clear winner of the Long Distance Award from Northern Ramblers. Ken Perrier won for his 1968 AMX; and I received an award for my 1971 Hornet SC360.
What kept many waiting until the final awards were presented was the chance to win the 50/50 draw. Luck was with Ken Perrier who held the winning ticket. Drinks were on him!!
Once the dust had died down (and my car boosted - I left the headlights on), we moved over to Haugen's Restaurant for our AGM and dinner. The minutes of that meeting are posted in a separate section.
During the AMG, our President, Jodee Scott, formally announced her intention to not only step down as President, but to retire completely from the hobby. As many of you will remember, she received a beautiful 1967 Ambassador DPL from Bill Putnam from Nevada about six or so years ago – they hadn’t known each other but Bill had a car he wanted to give to a deserving person and who more deserving than Jodee! She had been involved with AMO+ for many years despite not having an AMC vehicle. What an amazing gift! Well, now it’s her time to “pay it forward” and she will be gifting the car to her nephew, Mike Scott, from Lockport, NY later this summer. Her only qualification is that he joins AMO to ensure the younger generation becomes involved in preserving these fabulous cars! We will miss Jodee with her enthusiasm and humour, but we know this is a year of transition for her as she moves to retirement from her work career. All the best, Jodee, as you start the next journey in your life!
There were elections for the officer positions that had come due and this is the list of current/new executive:
President – Gary Freelen (it doesn’t pay to leave the meeting early)
Vice-President – Henry Joneit remains as VP but gives up Membership
Membership – Gail Putz (for one year)
Secretary – Joanne Legon
Treasurer – Mike Putz remains for one more year
Website Editor/Social Convenor – Barb van der Veen agreed to remain for a further term
Thanks to everyone for participating in the Executive! It doesn’t require a lot of time and effort, just dedication to the club. As I mentioned at the outset, we are not a large club but we have a strong core with many having known each other for decades! That certainly doesn’t mean we don’t embrace new members though! They simply add to an amazing mix of personalities, strengths and abilities.