Well, Dave Smith graciously came down from Massachusetts last night to be the 1st 2004 NJRC guest speaker. With the impending bad weather rolling in, we were not sure if anyone was going to show up (including Dave). As the 7pm time came creeping closer, and with a light dusting of snow just starting to cover the ground outside, the side door to the warehouse became quite active, with the usual NJRC members arriving(a hearty bunch), then a total of 23 additional "Cobra enthusiasts" showed up, including Dave Smith, who it seems, only three people noticed in the first five minutes he was there (myself included of course). For the next few minutes everyone spoke and got to know one another, old summer friendships rekindled, new friendships forged as they alternated between a British Racing Green FFR (2421K) fresh from a Russ Thompson trunk hoop, Mike Everson trunk support, and new style FFR hood hinge conversion (from originally being a pinned hood only), and Warren Seifer's stunning jet black "Aurora" Cobra (with power roll up windows, plush leather interior, air conditioning, and a corvette style folding convertible top). Dave Smith seemed to be particularly interested in the folding top and hard tonneau cover, and spent a few uninterrupted minutes surveying that...As the public portion of the meeting started, Dave Smith spoke about where his company is going, and where it's been, some new innovations and improvements coming along down the road a bit, the new Mark III coming out in the semi near future(with a singular frame able to use both original fox, or SN95+ parts, or a combination of both in it's design), the new GTM, why there is no 289FIA (hey, I promised that I would not ask, but that does not mean I could not get someone else to ask in my place), and a bevy of other questions thrown at him by the crowd of enthusiasts. All that were in attendance had a good time(members and non members of the NJRC alike), or so they told me as they were leaving the building...As the night winded down, a few kind soles assisted me in the loading of 2421K back in to it's enclosed trailer(sorry guys, with the temps at 4-6 degrees, the risk of frostbite was too great for me to drive it all the way home). Paid Dave Smith his fee (a crate of fresh Oranges, but he kept muttering something about no handmaidens with rose petals
). Made a mental note after the 14 miles trip west of Warren's place that I do not like to tow the trailer in snow/ice storms, especially on rt. 80 where nobody seems to know how to drive in this type of weather......Got the car home about 10:15pm, unstrapped, unloaded (with the assistance of my neighbors dog), fired up and taken for a brief spin around the block (I could not resist, even with 4 inches of snow with more falling steadily)....Tucked the car in it's little garage space, the parked the trailer down the driveway in it's usual spot (a story all it's own, trust me)...All wrapped up by 11pm...In closing, it was fun, I hope all of you that were there did indeed have a good time, and that I talked a bevy of you in to buying or building one (FFR, Kirkham,CSX, etc and so forth) for yourself. Thanks again for coming and making the meeting a huge success for the NJRC.
Respectfully submitted by,
Bill ***********
aka:mrmustang