Over 600 British cars gathered on the grass at Portland International
Raceway last Saturday at the 22nd annual Portland All British Field Meet.
We on this list can be proud that there were 8 series Alpines and a Talbot
Alpine, and only 3 Tigers present. There were also a Sunbeam Talbot
Drophead, an Imp, and a Humber. If we could do that ratio at SUNI, we would
probably have close to 600 cars too. Alpine entries were as follows:
Bob Flak, Sandy, OR S V Blue
Rex Funk , Grants Pass, OR S II Red
Larry Lafleur, Corvallis, OR S V Red
Tony Leeming, Gabriola Island, BC, Canada S II Red
Bill and Irita Minniear, Vancouver, Wa. S IV Red
Chuck Nicodemus, Clackamas, OR S II Orange
Peter Parslow, Portland, S V Blue
Dick Sanders, Seattle, WA SV Yellow
Peter Woodall, Ridgefield, WA 1953 or 54? "Propah" Alpine (also Sunbeam
Talbot Drophead Saloon)
Dave and Karen Wedeking, Gary and Carol Christiansen, and Dave Fullerton had
the Tigers.
When the greetings and stories had been exchanged, the beer had been drunk,
and the dust had cleared, Peter woodall swept first place, Tony Leeming ran
away with second, and Larry Lafleur snagged 3rd in the Alpine Division.
Peter also won the Saloon division with his drophead.
It was a great show, with lots of interesting cars and bikes. This year
Land Rover was the honored marque, and what a mixed collection of vehicles
(and owners) showed up. Lots of these guys pride themselves in how beat up
and rough their vehicles are. Some look like they just emerged from the
swamp. Some of these guys think it's bad luck to wash them. A very
spirited bunch. I camped out at the track, and could hear them all night.
The next day there was a giant swap meet, and we Sunbeam guys scored some
major finds among the predominantly BMC/TR/Jag parts. I got a Color Tune
kit for $5, an early Alpine grille for $10, and a pair of lever action
shocks for $10, all in good shape. There were no major breakdowns that I
heard of, and my S II ran like a top on the 230 mi. trip from Grants Pass to
Portland and back (50 psi oil pressure, and 4K RPM, despite 100+ degree
heat. There are ABFMs all over the country, and I heartily recommend them
to Alpiners. We got the chance to talk to a lot of people about the marque,
and made some excellent contacts. Thanks to Tony, Chuck and Dick for
showing us the ropes.
We're already talking about getting a NW caravan together for SUNI III next
year. We're thinking about meeting in Spokane, WA, and motoring out as a
convoy to Montana. Anyone interested, contact Tony, Dick, Chuck or Me.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Sep 05 2000 - 10:15:39 CDT