VTCI International Convention, Portland, Oregon—August 4-8, 2021
The 2021 VTCI International Convention was held in Portland, Oregon at the Red Lion On The River on Hayden Island from August 4-8, 2021. Several RSSVTC members were in attendance: Michael Campsmith, Andrea and Gary Hatley, Joel and Aaron Cohn, Tom and Sarina Cofield, and Alan Olson. Michael caravanned down with Andrea and Gary on Wednesday; when driving old cars it is a good idea to travel with others just in case something goes wrong—thankfully nothing did. The 2020 International convention was supposed to be held in Portland last year, but due to the coronavirus pandemic it was rescheduled to this year. Unfortunately the US border was still closed to Canadians for non-essential travel and thus there were no attendees from the Thunderbird clubs in British Columbia. Their beautiful cars and fun-loving attitude were sorely missed.
On Thursday there was a bus trip to Fort Vancouver, on the Washington side of the Columbia River. The fort started out as a fur trading outpost of the Hudson Bay Company, and through the early 1800s was an important source of commerce and settlement in the Pacific Northwest. Subsequent to the fort’s use as a fur trading center, it was taken over as an active fort of the United States Army. The tour led us through the English garden, the fur storage house, the commandant’s house and the blacksmith’s shop. The fort is well-preserved and the docents gave us a great insight into the hard life on the frontier.
Friday was the day of the judging. The VTCI has several divisions for judging, and all cars are judged against standards for when the car was new off the assembly line. This summer has been very warm and dry, which are perfect conditions for judging cars. So wouldn’t you know it, on the morning of the judging there was a light mist (the first precipitation in over 45 days!) that complicated the judging and threatened to really mess up the process. Luckily everyone kept a good attitude and the judges were able to finish their work by early afternoon. Friday evening there was a reception with live bluegrass music while participants renewed old friendships and made new friends.
On Saturday there was a bus tour to Mt. Hood in the Oregon Cascades. Participants report that it was chilly at the top of the mountain and that people were still skiing above the parking lot. Saturday night was the awards banquet. After a fine dinner awards were given in several categories, and I am pleased to report that RSSVTC members took home several trophies. The most prestigious acknowledgement of the convention was presentation of the “Wixom Preservation Award” to Tom and Sarina Cofield for their 1962 Thunderbird coupe. The Wixom award acknowledges a superior original unrestored example of the Thunderbird marque, and has only been awarded to a handful of cars throughout the history of the VTCI. Congratulations to Tom and Sarina!!
Other RSSVTC members receiving awards were Michael Campsmith, Andrea and Gary Hatley, Joel and Aaron Cohn and Tom and Sarina for a second entry. All in all it was quite a fine showing for the RSSVTC.
Sunday after breakfast we said our goodbyes and headed for home. On the return we had a 3-car caravan with Michael, Andrea and Gary, and Joel and Aaron back to the Seattle area.
Congratulations to all the award winners at the 2021 VTCI Convention, and many thanks to the Portland Thunderbird club for making the convention a success against some major challenges.
Michael Campsmith, President, RSSVTC
Port Orchard Car Show
Joel’s award
Trophy Winning Thunderbird with Joel and Son
The Motley Crew from Rainier South Sound Vintage Thunderbird club
Port Orchard Antique Engine show and Tractor Pull 2023
On June 3rd we caravanned to the Port Orchard air port to see the antique engine displays and tractor pull competition after the club meeting in Tacoma.
We enjoyed the day and the ride out there in our vintage cars. A very interesting show. Many odd machines that work. Try it next year!
Tim Crawford, member.
LeMay Auto Museum Car Show 2023
On Thursday June 8th A member drove their Vintage Bird to America’s Auto Museum’s parking lot to attend an evening open car show.
It was our first real car show and we met a few good folks and enjoyed the community.
Tim Crawford member.
Fircrest Picnic and Rod Run 2023
The club participated in the annual Fircrest car show on July 3rd 2023. We had 4 cars and more members there. We ate chicken and potato and green salads, deserts and soft drinks. The weather was nice and there were over 350 cars entered. T-shirts were for sale there as well as raffle tickets and some food. It is a very nice park to have an event like this in as it is all grass. Awards were given out in many categories. we were able to chat with many other enthusiasts and even get good advice and answers to troubleshooting questions from some resident experts. So many beautiful cars and types were there it was a paradise of cars that really drove around on roads that day to get there. It was quite a thrill for a newbie to car shows like me.
This is one event you’ll not want to miss if you like events. Member, Tim Crawford
Harborview Fellowship car show July 15th, 2023
In July their are many car shows in our area. One that was attended by a member (me) was in Gig Harbor at a church, Harborview Fellowship. It was their first car show and all types were invited. I found out about it through a flyer at the Fircrest show. It was a local church to me and I knew of the church and their efforts in the community so I entered the event and was not disappointed. It was a good event with food served, awards given information about current happenings in the government and “live” music from a stage. All outdoors with shade tents and handy cans. Their were about 50 cars. some very nice ones and some in progress. The awards were based on the fruits of the spirit and given in a unique way. The Judges would go around and talk with each owner and ask questions about their cars/ vehicles. then they each had a different award to give out, one for each judge. The show winner or grand prize would be the last one and was an interesting array of stories attached to each award. I highly recommend this show for any that can attend.
Member, Tim Crawford rssvtc.org
Cruise the Narrows car show August 5th 2023
This event was attended by a member (me) in august at the Uptown Center in Gig Harbor. It is a well attended event for locals and was very nice to see the great examples of classics and high end kit cars. Their were all kinds of vehicles displayed from offroad racers to antique restorations. local businesses were well represented as sponsors and some even entered vehicles. I was especially attracted to a 1969 Ford Mustang as it was the exact model I once owned and was done with many of my own desired parts. It is a good event to see and would be well worth the trip.
Member rssvtc.org Tim Crawford
Our first TSD event; “Trees to Seas” 2023
The event went from Monroe to Oak Harbor, WA. It started at 9am and each car was given a stick-on number assigned to them and a route book. After the meeting of drivers and staff we went out one by one separated by a minute’s gap. We used an app through our phones (the Richta app) to keep us on time. The participants ranged from seasoned veterans with a lot of timing devices and performance to enthusiastic novices in their everyday vehicles all wanting to get out on the road and try their skill at driving and navigating on rural roads with high speed limits and slow corners.
Time. Speed. Distance. events have you follow rally notes to navigate through the route and try to maintain a precise speed to reach checkpoints at exact times. each second you are off is a point. lowest points win.
The route from Monroe to Oak Harbor is a scenic one, stretching approximately 85 miles. It winds through beautiful landscapes of evergreen forests to the seawater views of Puget Sound. It’s not a slow trek on a TSD however as you’re constantly trying to estimate whether you are ahead or behind. The roads were selected by the Rainier Auto Sports club to be higher speeds with sharp corners so you could take them as fast as you dare and stay within the law. We were OK in our calculations as the scores were given out. All in all it was a fun way to use your car and play a game of skill on real roads. We ate dinner in O.H. and made our way back home to Pierce County in plenty of time. There were some from BC that must’ve taken a bit longer than we did to get home. You should try it. Go to http://rainierautosports.com to find out more. There are other clubs linked there with many more TSD events to come. I have a dream of making our ’65 coupe able to do these without a problem… someday.
Tim Crawford, member rssvtc