917 at GAF?

[Zeke]

From Wayne's post that quoted Bab Campbell, GAF promoter:
"Carl Thompson will have his (")brand new(") Porsche 917 there on Saturday, and we expect some parade laps from him during the day...."

Did anyone see it? I didn't. I would have heard it for sure, but it didn't run before 2:30, when I left, if it was hiding somewhere.

BTW, I'd never been on a Sat. before. Two times before on Sun. Saw Wayne there and kept running into him, he was everywhere. In Chuck Moreland's booth, in the For Sale Corral, taking pics of the R Gruppe and Early S Registry cars and more. He said he thought attendance was light. It was managable, to say the least.

I went to see some 356's as well as the 917. And, of course, the 911's. Did I have to mention that? Not too many 356's and only 2 Roadsters, neither one stock as a prime example. I learned nothing.

Good show in all, but Dunkels is(was) better, IMHO.

Hope you guys see a good show tomorrow. If I'd have known I would miss the 917, I would have gone tomorrow to see the Carrera GT. I've not seen one yet, much less heard it.

[das908kind]

I was looking for the 917 as well, but didn't see it anywhere. Great even't though; had lots of fun. Wish I could have spent more time leering at the R Gruppe stable, but by the time I got back to them, everyone had left.

Oh well, Dunkel's is just around the corner.

PS - fascinating seminar on the 908/3 restoration. Your 911 project will never look challenging again. Anyone going on Sunday, don't miss it.

[sammyg2]

Is there going to be a dunkel's this year?

[nostatic]

Milt, you doing breakfast at Super Tommys?

[Zeke]

Originally posted by sammyg2
Is there going to be a dunkel's this year?

Probably not, but the thing is in other peoples hands now. The GAF promoter, Bob Campbell mentioned to me that he is one that may take the reigns.

That having been said, one must remember that Dunkels is a 356 deal from the beginning. So, the guys at the 356 Registry and the local 356 group are working, I'm sure, to find a venue and a sponsor to carry on.

We'll all have to wait it out.

If the 917 wasn't there today, I would like to know why. I hate it that something is promised and not delivered. I went to see that car as much as anything else. Frankly, the overall lack of Porsche race cars at the GAF is a difficiency. To depend on one, and a reconstruct (or new construct) at that, is a folly.

I see a post below here in the topic review as I type about tomorrow. No, I'm promised to other endeavors tomorrow. And after that, I'm going to get my nose down and so some serious work on my car. (I know, I've said that before, but I will do it now.) One thing GAF did for me in a positive way is get me revved up. I was watching videos of the POC school last week and talking to a very nice 914 racer named Carol in the POC booth. I'm going to get there in Jan 05 this time. I will be done a month early so I don't miss it. With my luck, I need at least that much extra time. Zeke will be back at Willow with a vengence.

[SteveStromberg]

The Novelty of GAF has worn Off. You know been there done that.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by SteveStromberg
The Novelty of GAF has worn Off. You know been there done that.

Why, then, is Dunkels bigger every year? I don't know if it's a novelty thing. Something might be missing, but the first question I have is why 2 days? Some accompanying activities would be handy on one day, but for the swap and show, one day would do the trick.

It's kind of like the literature show the same weekend as Dunkels. The talk is to bring the 2 closer together, but keep them as separate events, each to thier own day. This gives reason for people to travel in from a distance.

Two days of the same thing doesn't do anything for anyone except give the public a chioce of days. If my last two year's of experience tells me anything, half the early cars will not be there tomorrow that were there today. The first year I went, was the year of the Speedster. On Sat, there were purportedly 70 cars. On Sun, I saw 15 when I arrived with another 5 strolling in later. By noon, it was back to 15 and dwindling.

Anyway, this isn't so much about novelty except it would have been novel to have seen the 917 as promissed. I hate to keep harping, but where was the damn thing?

[Bob's Flat-Six]

I was there most of the day 8 to 2:30 and attendence did seem light in some areas but better in others ( around the early cars ) It's a pretty big area to pack with people. If it was the size of Dunkles it would probably seem very busy.
It's hard to say what will become of the GAF? I did notice the the name was changed or is changing to the Ventura show, So maybe their thinking of attracting cars other than Porsches ??

All in all I had a very good time. The weather was perfect.

[campbellcj]

Honestly I was "done" with the GAF today in about an hour and a half. I said hi to just about everyone I knew who was there, at least glanced at each car and looked at a few close-up, and made one parts purchase.

As weird as this may sound to those outside of California or other Porsche-rich areas, these events are kind of "same **** different year" at this point.

As Milt mentioned I was also shocked at how 911-dominated this year's event was. There were very few race cars or other esoteric models present, and a poor showing of 356's, 914's, or front-engined models. (Probably more will show for tomorrow's PCA Concours and the swapmeet.) Dunkels' meet is far more interesting in terms of exotica. I hope it happens in '05.

I'm not complaining by any means as the organizers of GAF and the other major events generally do a stellar job and we all appreciate it and look forward to attending. But, for me, there is nothing particularly "magical" about these gatherings after experiencing them a few years in a row.

[kstar]

-sorry, wrong thread!-

[nostatic]

it's "trade show" phenomenon. The novelty wears off after a few years. I've been going to the NAMM show for over 15 years now. The first year was magic...I was spinning. Second year, still fun, but less magic. Third year, not much magic, but still some fun.

The best part of GAF is seeing people not cars. But the cars are cool too

[speeder]

GAF is a social gathering and chance to stop by every vendor in the Porsche parts game in one fell swoop. Got to see everyone's latest greatest offerings, and have some nice converations w/ the top people in Porsche aftermarket tuning/performance/racing prep/etc......

How many chances do you get to chat w/ Steve Weiner, Hayden (WEVO), Chuck Moreland, Wayne Dempsey, and anyone else w/ a booth? This is it, as far as I know. It's a trade show, but it is THE trade show for our hobby.

I was there for a couple of hours this AM, drove up w/ Rgruppe along w/ Tyson and Jack, stopped for a nice breakfast @ Camarillo airport, saw lots of "once or twice a year" pals, it was all good.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

I'm going back today to see what MikeZ will be wearing

[Jim Garfield]

Carl Thompson's 917 was at Rennsport..... a very impressive piece of work. It is pretty much a NOS 917. Actually they did fabricate quite a few of the parts and used many that were still "on the shelf".
Very cool, and signed by many of the factory engineers present at Rennsport.

[Zeke]

Denis, I think you nailed it.

[cvfncrew]

It is a Trade show, And I thought we could get better deals on things. I bought Waynes book at Pelican booth and they charged me $5 more than on the web site. What's up with that?

[SteveStromberg]

I can go look at a Nice Cars on any Sat Morning at Crystal Cove .Why would I drive to Ventura? CC is 10 minutes from my front door. Vendors? You can get anything you want off the net without hassling the crowd. Been to Pomona lately.

Dunkles is nice but in an hour you see everything.

There should be more Fun Run Cruises. that will be far more popular and have great turn out.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

About 10 of us met in Thousand Oaks for breakfast and then up 101 to the fest.
I was impressed with the turn out today. The place seem to come alive. Just a lot bigger turn out ( the babes were out too ) It looked to me like most the early cars that were there yesterday were there today and probably more.
I had another good time today, but I'm easy to please and make my own good times. I figure I might as well while I'm breathing.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by cvfncrew
It is a Trade show, And I thought we could get better deals on things. I bought Waynes book at Pelican booth and they charged me $5 more than on the web site. What's up with that?

I bet you didn't pay tax or shipping. You might have made out OK. Did he sign it? You know that makes it worth more .

Also, did you get any kind of a CD with it? I don't remember all there is to this, but the ones at Barnes and Noble don't have a CD, IIRC.

I go on Sunday for 2 years and everyone tells me about all the stuff they saw on Sat. So, I go on Sat this year and it all comes toghether on Sun. Fuch it.

I'm almost ready (almost) to agree with Stromberg.

[88cs]

I was really disappointed. I'm a literature guy, two of the promoted sponsors of the mobilia show weren't there, and I'll have to go find my flyer again, but it said either 200 tables or 200 vendors would be there. So, I paid my $20 to get in early, and there were 20 vendors there over the course of the day, tops. Probably 15. There may have been 200 tables stacked in a corner somewhere, but that's it.

The swap meet felt like half size from last year, Pomona on a good day.

I would have marketed the show differently, and not promoted a couple of the clubs out there. It feels exclusionary.

Nice cars there, though.