2021 NC Region Spring Meet at New Bern May 8, 2021
Here are two stories with pictures of the NC Region Spring Meet hosted by the First Capital Chapter. The first story is submitted by Bill Cox about preparing and bringing his Corvette rolling chassis to the meet. The second story is by Denny Oestreich about the event and those who attended. Be sure to look at the pictures are at the end of each story. Many thanks to the First Capital Chapter.
To see the Spring Meet Judging Results/Winner List Click Here
NC Region Meet Spring Meet – New Bern! May 8, 2021
By Bill Cox
Lin and I love Newbern… especially during the beautiful Spring weather; and it’s even better with the NC Region Spring meet filling the downtown streets with beautiful antique vehicles. The hospitality from the folks in town is always warm and friendly. They close off Middle Street and Pollack Street and we bring on the bling that makes people flock to town for a spectacular day of antique cars and visiting the shops and restaurants. Downtown Newbern is filled with great spots to eat amongst historic homes, buildings and churches… and a Palace!
I woke up Saturday morning at 6:00 with a little help- well, a lot of help, and started off to the show field. It was not a typical show for me as I had arranged to bring the rolling chassis for my 1965 Corvette Coupe project. It’s been almost 2 years in the making; and a couple of months ago, I realized that I just might have the frame and motor all together at about the same time as the N.C. Region Spring Meet. I began to think how cool it would be to display a finished rolling chassis of a ’65 Corvette for everyone to see what’s underneath the fiberglass body. The chassis judges can look at all they want without having to get down on one knee… or getting back up!
My project began like most projects – trying to plan a strategy for restoration. Like how in depth do you want to go? Do you want to clean and replace worn parts, or repair, replace and repaint? Or go all in and take it completely apart? In this case, it just grew and grew into a full body off restoration… yikes, what was I doing! Once I started planning replacing things like fuel lines and brake lines, and I had the steering column out because the gauges, clock and radio all needed restoration, then it became just 8 more bolts and a bunch of ground straps away from taking the body off the frame. Besides, I wanted to learn more about restoring a car to this level and specifically, more about the Corvette. Believe me, I have learned more than I intended to!
So, back to the car show… a lot had to come together for me to pull this off. I had to rush order new tires for the new rims I had bought and I wanted the motor and transmission as complete as possible so that it was interesting for folks to see. The last two weeks before the show, it was a day-to-day test to see if I was going to make it to the show. I spent an all-nighter, and several late, late-nighters working on this chassis and motor. I was exhausted before I ever got to the show. The Friday we were supposed to leave, I called for reinforcements to help me put the bling on the motor. All the ignition wiring with the brackets and chrome trim was a daunting task when you’re under pressure to get loaded into the trailer and drive to the coast from Hillsborough.
By 2:00 on Friday before the show, I had done as much as I could and with more help from neighbors, we loaded her into the trailer… in the rain. After grabbing a shower and a suitcase, this put us in Newbern about 8PM. Not exactly what I wanted, but we made it.
I had made arrangements with Zach Simons to let me trailer the chassis onto the show field early Saturday morning. I was feeling pretty good by then and cruised down Middle Street at 7:00 AM and with the help of several 1st Capital members, we pushed the chassis in to place and moved the trailer out of the show field. The organization for this show was nothing short of spectacular and everything ran like clockwork! As I was getting settled in my space, a restaurant worker from the breakfast café was sitting outside watching me and looking at the chassis. He had to ask… “You working on that?” Well, after containing my laughter, I just said Yep… sure am, and that was just the start of the crazy comments that just came one right after another all day….
I had a lot of strange looks from just about everyone… but there were some crazy comments that just got funnier as the day went on. “How did you drive that in here?” was next, then there was “You didn’t quite make the deadline for the show, did ya?” I also liked, “Where do you sit?” and “Oh, you brought it like that!” Or, “that must be a convertible” and “well where’s the body?”
Then there were all the helpful suggestions like “you ought to get a couple of buckets to sit on… it’d be like bucket seats!” Then there was the guy who took the chrome oil filler cap and got a napkin and with a little sugar from the sandwich shop and with a little spit, cleaned off some of the corrosion and pitting… he was actually quite helpful. Of course, Randy Stone had to explain to spectators that the reason it was in this condition is that a Mustang flew by me so fast on the way down here that it blew the whole body off the frame.
There were plenty of parents with their kids taking a look… it presented a good teachable moment… like the lady who told her daughter that it was a car without its shell. I pointed out that it was going to look just like the one sitting beside it, since Bennett Kennedy’s beautiful ’65 coupe was parked beside me. I enjoyed the young folks seeing the guts of a vehicle for the first time. It showed the major components of the drive train and allowed moms and dads to explain some things to their kids. It was all worth the effort to bring it to the show to see the light bulb come on in the minds of some of the folks who saw it. Even Randy Stone might now understand how to put a car back together!
Finally, as the show neared the end, there was “how are you going to get it home?” That one hit home, because after a fun filled day the party was winding down and the rolling chassis had to roll back in the trailer and head back to Hillsborough. We loaded up with the help of a few friends who’d been hanging around having fun all day. The show was one of the best I have attended in several years. The weather was outstanding, the group of participants and spectators were all in such a good mood and having so much fun we didn’t want it to end. What a great way to kick off 2021 and provide some relief from the restrictions of the Covid 19 virus. Everyone has been looking forward to moving on and getting back to normal life without the threat of the virus. I have been looking forward to getting back together with my friends in the NC Region and today was a reward for our patience last year and our efforts to keep our members safe.
I look forward to more events this year, even if there are more adjustments and postponements, we will get together again. Be sure and make it out to the next event if you can… one of these days you might get to see the whole car!
To see more of Bill Cox Pictures 2021 NC Region Spring Meet Pictures
NC Region Meet New Bern May 8, 2021
By Denny Oestreich
The First Capital Chapter hosted a very successful meet in New Bern, NC this year. It was the first NC Region and Chapter activity since Covid restrictions were imposed in March of 2020. The venue on the streets in downtown New Bern was excellent. There were 75 NC Region vehicles registered. The public turnout was tremendous and the enthusiasm was good to see. Many of us stayed over Friday night in New Bern and enjoyed touring the city and finding a great restaurant for dinner. The First Capital Chapter had the registration and parking well prepared. There was a good combination of DPC, HPOF, and Class Judged Vehicles. The judging went well with many teams assigned to judge 5-7 cars per team.
To see more of Denny Oestreich’s Pictures Click on: 2021 NC Region Spring Meet Pictures DO
