There was a slight heaviness to the morning air as the sunlight?s beams pierced through it at a shallow angle highlighting the twists and turns of the narrow road in a play of glare and shadow. Amidst the chorus of birdsong, the sound of engines grew louder as two classic sports cars sped towards each other; neither knew the other was coming, but as they passed and waved approvingly, the drivers smiled knowing that shortly they?d meet up again in the company of many others who were doing exactly the same thing on this fine Sunday morning.
It was barely 7:45 when your correspondent slotted the Marcos into position beside Bill and Judy Aitken?s Healey 3000 ? the car park was filling quickly and a rough count revealed thirty sports and classic cars already in position. Convertibles celebrated the Spring sunshine by baring all, whilst others showed off the bling beneath their bonnets.
Several cars were making their Breakfast Club debut, Richard Rowley brought along his new 1994 Mustang convertible, Ian and Carol Mallows showed up in their MX5 replacement ? a silver Mercedes SLK, and Bob Russell showed off his latest classic Valiant ? a very original, low mileage S-Type from 1962/63. I?m not sure who owned the V10 Dodge Viper in yellow and black, but it seemed to draw plenty of attention. It was nice to see Steve Trapnell?s original-looking Brock Commodore making another appearance and parked not far from a beautifully presented Torana SLR 5000 which had recently been Club-plated.
Japanese sporting cars were well represented with a bevy of MX5s, Ian Holdsworth?s turbo RX7 and the Subarus of Mark Biggs (WRX) and Alan Humpreys (BRZ). Nissan Z-cars were also out in force this month, Locky Fowler brought along one of his customer?s cars, a 240 or 260Z to contrast with the later model 300, 350 and 370 Z models – one day we might see a return of Locky?s own 240Z, but we?re not holding our breath! English and European classic were well represented as usual with MGs, Jaguars, Triumphs, Rileys, Healeys, Minis and a Humber from one side of the Channel, lining up against Lancia, Fiat, Alfa, VW, Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Saab and Volvo from the other.
Not to be outdone, Mustangs – classic and modern, a powder-blue Customline and modified 50’s Ford Ute supported the Viper in representing the US of A.
It was an impressive turnout of almost 100 special-interest vehicles which included a couple on two wheels as well. At 9:30 a convoy of twenty cars led by Allan and Lorraine Richards in the Cooper S departed the Breakfast Club gathering for a run through up through Nayook and Powelltown on the way to a view a private car collection at Kilsyth ? a report and photos on this run can be found elsewhere.
