Saturday was an unusual day for me in that I went to an event and did not vend. Some friends of ours from the Detroit Triumph Club also have a Fiat 124 Spyder and their local Fiat club were hosting the National Fiat FreakOut in Detroit. (well actually Bloomfield Twp. north of us) I decided that this would be a good opportunity to take the Beeser (BSA) on a extended ride (for me) and visit the event which was at the campus of the private Orchard Lake St. Mary's Academy.
I had taken side roads for my drive up and it was very pleasant, the BSA rode very nicely and it was not warm at all in long pants, jacket and helmet. I arrived shortly after noon and wow was it hot at the campus. The field was set up though in the "quad" and thankfully there were tons of trees which meant lots of shade. There were about 100 Fiats mostly 124 Spyders (hey they all looked the same, just like a sting of MGB's on the field
) But there were X cars, 850's, 600's, 500's and a variety of other Fiats too along with Alfa's and a few "expensive" Italian machines too. There was even a RHD 1991 Panda from Belfast that Jim Magill drove over just for the event and then is heading out west for a tour of the states for five weeks. He works for Car Phone Warehouse in Belfast and advertises it on his Panda on his many travels. He paid £100 (about $187) for the Panda and is very proud of it. The pics of his car show some of the places he has taken it.
There were also some other interesting Fiats there too, such as the Jolly (Some think it is a golf cart, though it is not)and a 1949 Fiat Topolino. Both of these Fiats were beautifully restored and are from Michigan. The engine on the Topo almost is smaller than a sewing machine, but is still a four banger. Also shown were the rare Ghia and Dino models.
One of the things I did find interesting was with the post 74 124 Spyders. The Italians really accomplished an attractive way of complying with the DOT rubber bumper requirements on the car. They even kept a touch of chrome on the 5mph bumpers and the looks of the car were not changed all that much, unlike the MGB.
Enjoy the Summer driving season
