September 16th

Now this is what I moved to Central Florida to experience. This Friday night is picture perfect. The temperature was warm but not too hot and not a rain drop to be found. At Last. Another piece of good news is that PT didn't suffer a real bad case of the transmission flu. Resetting the computer and changing the fluid and filter and she was good as new.

Although a little while after arriving at Old Town I thought I might be suffering from some ailment that affected my vision and I didn't have anything to drink so I know it wasn't the Budweiser flu. I was talking to a spectator over near the cruise registration office and I thought I saw Ken and Wanda Tiggleman round the corner in their 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car. I waved to them as they drove by and continued my conversation. A few moments later I saw a black and silver 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car round the corner again. I thought I was seeing things because I thought I had just seen the Tigglemans go by. This time however if it was Wanda in the passenger seat she needed a shave pretty badly. Nope this time it wasn't Ken and Wanda but it was a duplicate of their Pace Car except this one had fewer miles, was an automatic and didn't have the rear window louvers. I'm glad I wasn't feeling ill.

Friday night I saw a few other automotive oddities and learned something new. Down on one corner of trophy row I found a group of four Chevys sitting side by side. Now you might ask what is so unusual about four Chevys sitting side by side at Old Town on the weekend, I see that almost every weekend? Well when was the last time you saw four Chevy Vega hatchbacks sitting side by side? I have not seen this for almost twenty years when I worked in the salvage yard in Vermont and we stacked them side by side like cord wood waiting for the crusher. But even back then I never saw three Vega Cosworths side by side. Friday night there was a blue 76 Vega hatchback that many of us have seen with its small block under the hood complete with its pro street goodies. Parked next to this was an orange 76 Cosworth Vega that was parked next to a black 1975 Cosworth Vega that was parked next to another orange 1976 Cosworth Vega.

Now I know you are asking what on Gods green earth is so special about a Vega. The answer is this. In 1975 and 1976 a lucky few buyers were given the opportunity to buy a very special Chevrolet hot rod in the Cosworth Vega. Cosworth were the folks putting together some very successful Indy race cars in the 70's and they teamed up with Chevrolet to put some polish on a car that had earned a very poor reputation in the eyes of the public with some engine issues in the first couple years of production. Cosworth reworked the Vega engine and added a double overhead cam head to what was now a decent engine. You also got a better cooling system, Cosworth Vega name plates, gold pin striping, and most of the Vega GT options. In 1975 you could have any color so long as you wanted black. In 1976 toward the end of the production run you had a choice of about six colors. All in all it was a very attractive package and the car did move. So now you ask why if it was such a nice car then why is it so rare? The answer to this is cost. For the amount required to

buy one Cosworth Vega you could have bought two regular Chevrolet Vegas, or one of any other car in the Chevrolet Showroom in 1975 and 1976 and that included a stripped down Chevrolet Corvette. Now if you had a choice between a Vega and a Corvette, what would you chose? A lucky few chose the Vega instead of the anemic Corvette.

Also in attendance on trophy row was a very nice black 2001 Cadillac Eldorado coupe with dove gray leather interior. This Eldorado was out fitted with Chrome mags and Vogue white and gold tires. It had gold plated trim, a sunroof and was loaded. It was a pretty new version of what Cadillac had to offer.

We had a total of 118 Cruisers that registered for tonight's event and among them were four checker flag winners.

The first went to Edgar Mac Donald with a yellow 1987 Cadillac Sedan De Ville. This Caddy had the 4.5 L V-8 powering the front wheels. This one was yellow front to back, inside and out and was sharp.

The second flag went to Glenn Bunker with a blue 1973 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Glenn's car is a fine example of the last year the Corvette was available with a chrome metal bumper, at least on the back anyway.

The third flag went to Angel Hance with a mildly customized 2002 Lincoln Navigator SUV. This rig sported headlight covers, a stainless grille insert, neon lights under it and custom tail lights.

The fourth flag was presented to Leon Jones with his green 2000 Mitsubishi Galant four door sedan. This car had custom paint that changed from green to blue depending upon which angle it is viewed. It also had custom suede seats, custom wheels, DVD player, and after market lights. This was another Old Town event with a little something for everyone. This concludes another report, so until next week cruise safely and have fun.