This morning a Google Photos popped up on my phone with a photo collage. The photos were of our trusty little Barn Finds Mustang at the 2014 Northwest Classic Rally. It then hit me that exactly 4 years ago to the day, we were rallying across Oregon. We’ve attended several rallies since, but none have been quite as exciting or as incredible as that very first one. Maybe it was the roads, the car, the way the rally was put together or simply because it was our first TSD (time speed distance) rally? I don’t know, but whatever it was, that experience will go down as one of our all-time greatest automotive adventures. I thought it would be fun to take a look back at that experience and to open up the comments to hear from you about your greatest automotive adventure! Whether it was attending an event or the first time you found a barn find, we want to hear about it. So post your stories in the comments and the one with the most likes will be featured on the site!
Today Barn Finds comes to you from the passenger seat of our 1965 Mustang. We’ve spent the past three weeks in a frantic dash to get her put together and ready to take on the Northwest Classic Rally. Well after many long days and sleepless nights, we are underway. We started out in Boise, Idaho and just left the small town of Bakers, Oregon without so much add a hiccup. Read about the rest of Day 1 here.
Well, day 2 is finally over. It was our first day of actually rally time and we have to say, it was far more intense and challenging than expected. We also discovered that while our Mustang was a bit out of place among all the other beautiful pristine cars we were competing against, it is able to keep up with the best of them! Throughout the day, we saw a number of areas and a wide variety of roads, from deep forest valleys to mountainous logging roads. We pushed our little Mustang to her limits and in return, she gave us one amazing day! You can read more about Day 2 here.
What a day! Josh and I just finished our second day of rallying. We were up bright and early after a good night’s rest feeling refreshed and focused. Yesterday’s results were less than stellar, so we were determined to improve upon our score and boy did we ever! We still don’t know the official rankings, so we can’t share our times yet, but we can say that we cut our penalties by 60 percent. The most astonishing part though is that our old Mustang is still kicking around after covering nearly 1,000 miles in three days! Read more here.
I’m sure there are lots of great adventures ahead of us, but it sure was fantastic to look back at this one! Classic cars are so much more than just transportation, they are experiences, frustrations and good memories. I for one, am excited to read about your best adventure, so be sure to share. And if you have photos from said adventure, be sure to post those too!
I remember this event—as recorded on BF—a rally tour in the Pacific NW in your 6-cylinder Mustang coupe with 3-speed IIRC, running with 300SLs and various other classics. It was lots of fun you said, and the BF crew were welcomed warmly. It must have been a hoot.
I can’t recall what happened with the Stang after that…..
Back in 1976 I bought a 1934 Austin 10/4 (i.e. Ten hp. 4 doors.) I entered several of the same type of rally’s as you guys and managed to collect a few second and third place trophies. The guys I was up against were near professionals so I didn’t expect to ever actually win one, however, on the club’s most prestigious event I felt I was doing o.k. but then had a puncture! Out with the jack, wheel spanner etc. fit the spare, replace tools and tyre and we were off again at the high port as I figured that according to the route schedule, and the time I was supposed to start off from the next control, if I wound it up a bit I might just get to somewhere near my correct time. Eventually I knew that I must have flown through the secret starting control so settled down to try and get to the end without any more problems, or killing the wife and kids. When the organiser started to read out the results from the last place up I was astounded to discover that I had come first! I have been a member of the Veteran Car Club of South Africa for 42 years, have entered many, many rallies but that was the only rally that I ever won! Great times.
The winner! This was in about 2010 with the new owner who had let it go to rack and ruin with the old South African flag still on the side of the hood. It has since been restored to absolutely original specifications and looks beautiful
And now!
Joss, first I have to ask you, were your parents out of names?
Nw your topic:
About 25 years ago me and one of my best buddies had built a kit Cobra from Dax. A year later, early March, we went to our first international roadster meeting/rally in the south of Belgium (I’m from the Netherlands). It was a more than 3 hours drive so we left at 6 am. Without any warning from what ever wheaterstation it was freezing 10 degrees Celsius. Driving in an open Cobra 120-140 km/h it felt like 30 minus. But we had hot feet!
After a little more than an hour we reached the Belgian border and the sun came out, things were looking good! Out of the blue dark clouds appeared and we had all the wet, from (ice-) rain to hail. The hailstorm accompanied us untill we reached our destination. But we had hot feet!
Needless to say that the clouds disappeared at the moment of arrival.
In the afternoon we left home and noticed that we, while driving north again, were following another storm. Arriving in our hometown we saw some damage to trees and other minor stuff. Wanting to enter my street we were stopped by the fire department telling us that at across number 24 a tree had fallen down. I told the guy that I was living at number 22, so I could park the car in my garage and that we really were up to a beer or two (or more). No problem, sir Go on.
Arriving at my house we saw the tree a cross number 24 only to find it had fallen on my drive way. About 3 feet from my buddy’s ’72 Cadillac Sedan de Ville. But we still had hot feet!
Photo’s are still in the estate of my late buddy who unfortunatelly past away just before Christmas last year.
Well, a before, during and after rally story. Inclusive enough? :)
more interested in the silver gul wing, foregrnd 1st pic.