Convertible roofs were down and drivers were smiling, as the 28th annual Canadian version of the 鈥�,鈥� pulled into the parking lot of the 91原创 airport on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 5.
It was the same day and distance as the original UK 鈥淟ondon to Brighton vintage car run鈥� that remembers the celebration, on November 14, 1896, when a British law was ended that limited the speed of motorized vehicles to four miles an hour 鈥� and required a person waving a red flag to walk ahead of them.
After the downpour of last year鈥檚 event organizer Malcolm Tait, had been keeping a close eye on the weather forecast.
鈥淚t kept changing by the hour, you know, just by the day,鈥� Tait said, so he made the trip in his 鈥榙aily driver鈥� Volvo and left his bright red 1970 Rover 2000 TC four-door at home.
As it turned out, the weather was chilly, but mostly dry, a good day for Richard Labossiere from Tsawwassen, who put the top down on his sleek MG convertible, which he has updated with a modern Mazda engine.
鈥淚t took me about a year and a half to fix it up after I got it, after it was in a little accident but it was well worth it,鈥� Labossiere smiled.
Bill and JoAnn Nixon from Murrayville made the trip from Delta in a unique Daimler version of the Mark II Jaguar built in 1967, which came with a German-built V8 engine.
鈥淚 like the 鈥榤od 2鈥� Jaguars in general, this body style,鈥� Bill explained.
鈥淚 have since I was probably 10 years old.鈥�
For Ian and Doreen Newby from Aldergrove, it marked the first time they were able to make the trip in their Jensen Interceptor Mark III with a working heater.
Last year, in a miserable downpour, they almost froze, and had to use paper towels to wipe the condensation off the interior windows to see.
鈥淭his car hadn鈥檛 been on the road since 1992. It was abandoned in a carport at Fisherman鈥檚 Cove. We retrieved it. Gutted it, took it into a thousand pieces and [re]built it so it鈥檚 functional,鈥� Newby recalled.
A last-minute surge of registrants meant more than 50 cars made the trip.
Getting out and about in their classic cars, even when the weather is not so good, is important to OECC members, who are politely disdainful of those who don鈥檛.
鈥淪ome people never get their hands dirty, put it that way,鈥� Tait told the 91原创 Advance Times.
鈥淪trictly show people, who have their cars professionally restored,鈥� is how he put it.
鈥淏ut there are others, like ourselves, who are more interested in driving the cars and doing our own mechanical work, our own restoration stuff. I think most of us are in it for the fun, and the social [aspect], the challenge of solving mechanical problems.鈥�
They are also community-minded, donating their registration fees to charity; this year, it was to Meals On Wheel in Surrey and North Delta.
More information about the Old English Car Club, for enthusiasts who preserve, restore, and drive British cars can be found online at .
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