Mustang 40th Anniversary Celebration, Saturday April 17, Nashville, TN.

    As to be expected, Saturday was the largest turnout for the show. We had left our cars overnight (most of us) so we managed to retain our parking as a group...which was a good thing, since the Bullitt's parked next to us were lined up almost down to the fence! The crowds were huge, and people seemed to really enjoy the cars. I had printed up 250 magnets and 200 pens to give away, and by the end of the day, I only had a handful left! Weather once again perfect.

    There was more Open Track stuff to watch, and I got to take a closer look at some of the display cars. When there's so much to look at, it's easy to pass by stuff and not realize what it is-for example, I almost walked right by the very first Mustang, the Wimbledon White convertible, because it was a bit out of the way and didn't have a huge sign in front! Not sure how much ground we covered over the several days, but it had to be a lot.

    We again made friends with the local law enforcement crowd...seems they saw us driving by without stopping each day, so Stu Blank managed to get us hooked up with the THP detail working at the entrance to the Speedway. Check out the photos below, I can only imagine what the people leaving the show thought, with 6 or 7 THP cars mixed in with all the SSP's. Everyone got to hang out and swap stories with the guys, I gave out the rest of my pens, with the stipulation they not be used against Mustang drivers of course!

    We would have liked to stay for Sunday, but we had a long ride home (700 + miles), plus we lost an hour since Nashville is CST. Never seems to be enough time to see and do everything, especially at a show this size. Let's hope this sets a tradition for future events. I'm glad we got so many SSP owners to attend, and thanks to Tony Scharp of the Houston MCA who worked hard with the national MCA group to get us our own class and parking, as well as the cruise participation.

    See you at Lowe's 2005!

Here's the one that started it all...Wimbledon White convertible, mistakenly sold to a Canadian pilot for almost two years before Ford managed to persuade him to trade it back. You can easily walk right by it as I did, but it definitely a big part of FoMoCo history!

Speaking of convertibles, this Shelby would have made a nice addition to the garage! It was being raffled.

This needs no explanation of course..I think they had someone full time there just to wipe the smears off the windows! There were quite a few cars in Concours with a similar metallic color.

The new GT-40, world class sportscar...for only $165 large.

As I said, there was more to look at besides cars. I don't think the tattoo was the stick on kind. The lady on the left looks slightly bemused at us gawking. 07.19.04: Turns out, the woman looking at the camera is Gregg Henderson's wife..he sent me an email after the show, and I had a chance to talk with him there, but I didn't meet his wife..until now! Small world, no doubt. I'm sure she still thinks I'm a jerk anyway :-).

Check out the view from the stands...the tent marked SVT is across from Ford main display. The object on the lower corner of the building with the blue roof is the tracks' one-and only-pay phone!

A view of one end of the SSP lineup, you can see we had a pretty good spot, close to the stands and shade! I felt bad for the Saleens(if one can feel bad for a Saleen owner) squeezed up against the fence (and gravel).

The rest of the SSP group..awesome or what? Check out the Bullitts next to us..big groups of cars. Most were Highland Green.

A little more expanded view...remember, this is only about one third of cars, you're not seeing the older models Stangs and Concours entries! The line of cars coming in against the rock streched all the way out.

One more aerial shot, little higher this time, just couldn't resist...

Couple of THP bike guys came by to check out the cars with Mark and I...they called themselves 'Chocolate Chips'-hey, who says cops don't have a sense of humor?

Steve Collins and the guys pose for us again. Tpr Jennings on the left played two years pro ball with the Tampa Bay Bucs.

Another look at Mark Cool's 1985 KSP car..rare. A very nice ride.

A nice look inside Mark's car..he drove one for about 6 months when it was in service. Check out the VASCAR unit.

We managed to check out some of the vintage racers..they sounded awesome.

Another shot of the vendor area..most of the big names were on hand.

Angry about not getting a new GT during the 100th plant tour, this young lady now wants a Saleen. Track security had to be called.

Now I would have to say, here is where the week really got interesting-These THP guys weren't going to let us by without a closer look at the cars...not that we weren't happy to comply! My Fire Chief's vehicle is in the foreground.

A little better shot of the SSP's once again taking over. The line of cars coming down from the event had a bird's eye view of all pulled over..I'm sure they were probably all thinking the same thing-"Those jerks finally got what they deserved!".

This Trooper tries on Mark Woodhouse's unmarked FHP car for size..judging by the smile, I'd say it was a pretty good fit.

Yet another great photo op.. We wedged a couple of Crown Vic's in among us..nice.

One half...

and the other!

Here Mark and John discuss the finer points of making a traffic stop with the THP....

Couple more of the guys pose with Rob Christman's TX DPS car..

Don and Teresa check out the action.

Mark, Teresa and the THP.

Teresa with a couple of the guys in front of Scott's car.

Nice shot of the group...Mark's 92 in front

Here's the other side. Check out the long line of cars coming down from the show.

Another view stretched out..Ron's ISP car and Dale's NY car between me and Don Brink's.

Couple of the THP cars near the end of the group. Note the line is still long. We didn't make many friends tying up traffic like that!

Nice shot of a newer Crown Vic with quarter mounted whip antenna.

Another nice shot of several THP cars.

It was tough to get all the cars in one shot, but this looks pretty close! I count 11 SSP's here. Stu and Ron on the end.

THP Lt. Shirley and his guys were just great about the photos..we promised not to cause any accidents while we took them!

Yup.

The cruise on back.this was almost as much fun as the Open Track event..and didn't cost a dime!

A quick stop off at Lookout Mtn on the way back...being too cheap to pay the park entrance fee, we made our own photo op and of course PO'd the locals. The view is unreal.

Ah yes, the only downside (besides the Atlanta traffic)...spending an hour removing every type of bug possible once home. Four eyed cars have plenty of surface area for this unfortunately.

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