NEC and CMoT

 This year's NEC started for Amanda and I on the Thursday morning. One of our exhibits had no motive force, we managed to borrow a car transporter trailer from good friends Pete Johnson and Richard Measures (thankyou gents). The picture shows how to get two trailers down to Redditch and ultimately the NEC with only one car! HOE gets fully used again.

 Once we had got to Alan Chatterton's and unloaded then reloaded the car transporter with 'Libby', Alan's Lines estate, it was a short journey with Craig Bennett's Range Rover (thanks Craig) towing Libby and HOE towing the stand equipment to the NEC. First thing to do when we unloaded Libby was ridicule Alan for the 'Paris-Dakar' stance of the Lines estate, something must be wrong!

 The stand was sorted along with the rest of the 'show' cars and Friday's show opener went well.
Saturday Amanda and I didn't do the NEC but went to the Coventry Museum of Transport. A good day out and free, with displays on motorbikes and scooters and Coventry's blitz experience.Lots of nice cars on display including this mk1 2000 estate and a mk2 2500TC Police car. Lots of other Triumphs on display, Stag, TR7, Vitesse

 and VA1 the first Dolomite Sprint.
They also have a display including the actual car, on the current land speed record car Thrust SSC. The museum is well worth the visit if you are in the area.
Sunday we were back on stand duty, arriving before opening I took the chance to snap a few cars before the public made it much harder. As always the standard of cars on display is very high with paintwork to die for on many cars.

Highlights for me included a 1974 Citroen DS in black, a stunning car.
The FJ Classic car show usually has car clubs grouped together in a logical order, the 2000 Register stand was next to the Standard car club and Club Triumph, with the TSSC and Dolomite owners club and TRregister all nearby, with this in mind I looked out for the Lancia owners club and American vehicles and managed to photograph this 60's Ford

Thunderbird, a hardtop coupe rather than the convertible also on display.
On display on 'our' stand we were lucky enough to have (along with Alan's Lines estate) Mike Weaver's FF V8 estate, Julie Hadfield's 2500S saloon, Gary Burn's MK1 2000 saloon and Bill Bradley's works rally mk1 2000 FHP 993C, thanks must go to all these people for providing their cars for us to use.
Also on the stand Friday and Saturday

was Pete Collier with his newly printed book 'Triumphant Rallying' the story of big saloons in rallying competition through the years. We had a signed copy from him and can thoroughly recommend it.
The photo to the left shows Mike's car towering over Libby (just) on her axle stands so that all could see the front differential and driveshafts, unique to this car.