2009 All British Field Meet Photos by Cam Hutchins

5/22/2009

Photos by Cam Hutchins
Living Up To Its Reputation As The Greatest Show On British Wheels.

Record numbers of cars and attendance at the 24 anniversary of the British Classic Car Show at VanDusen Botanical garden was the order of the day on Saturday May 16, 2009.

A total of 637 British built classic cars and 23 motorbikes in 64 classes rank this show as the largest in Canada and one of the largest of its kind in North America.

“It’s a very strong confirmation the classic car hobby is alive and well here in the North West and that British built classics can hold there own against their American cousins” said Patrick Stewart event co chair.

“The 1950’s and ‘60’s were the golden years of the British auto industry when many models were produced with large quantities exported to North America. Today they are all classics and as such we are celebrating their fortieth and fiftieth anniversaries in great numbers”. At this years show both Sunbeam Alpine and Mini fiftieth birthdays were recognised as featured marques in addition to a very special celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Morgan Motor Company.

Some of the more interesting and rare cars on display included a 1929 Rolls Royce Phantom 1, a 1932 Invicta S, a near perfect Aston Martin DB5, a race prepped MGB, Jensen 541R, a 1939 Lagonda V12 Sedanca ,three 1930’s Morgan Super Sports and a fully restored 1948 BSA motorbike to name only a few.

Almost 100 cars and two motorbikes fresh from the paint shop were displayed in Debuting Restoration class. This is a tribute to the collectable value of these classics and to the skill of owners and the local restoration shops performing the work.

There is no end to the amount of innovation owners will display when it comes to modifying their classics but cutting your Triumph TR3 up the middle seems a bit too much. That’s exactly what the winner of the growing Modified class did in order to fit it onto a TR6 chassis. MGB’s withV-8 engines and a Morris Minor Pickup in Hot Rod form were some of the dozen cars displayed in this popular class.

In addition to all the wonderful cars on display some forty exhibitors and sponsors were selling everything from used carburetors in the swap meet area to Dinky Toys and British automotive memorabilia under the tents on the Great Lawn while the Little Mountain Brass Band played marching tunes from the past.

All of this combined with the world class botanical garden setting makes for a very special event to kick off the car show season held appropriately each year on the Saturday of the Victoria Day weekend.

For details on the 25th anniversary 2010 event please contact

Olde British Car Society 604 736 6754 or www.westerndriver.com/abfm

Submitted by Patrick Stewart

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All the past Carshow images I have taken are available in full size. Just make a $2 donation to the Canadian Cancer Society and send me the image number and event it was shot at and I will e-mail you a full sized file perfect for printing.