The "Mustang
Roundup" show hosted each year by the Mustangs Northwest (MNW) car
club in Seattle has had a reputation for years of being the largest
in the Pacific Northwest region of the US, and certainly one of the
larger Mustang gatherings in North America.
Various AMAC members
have attended this event over the years, enjoying the great
selection of beautiful Mustangs and other Fords. Last summer after it was
announced that MNW would be hosting an MCA Grand National event, a
number of our Club members started talking about being part of this
event, including entering their car in the Judged portion of the
Show. Ultimately plans were plans, and holidays and Hotel rooms
booked.
If you have not been
before, the sheer size of the event, and the beautiful setting
within Bellevue Community College certainly helps rate this event as
a "you should do this sometime" Mustang Show.
On Saturday they
hold the Judged Show, with certified MCA judges reviewing your car
in a detailed fashion. This year there were around 260 cars being
judged. The condition of the restorations seen were very good, and
some AMAC cars that were entered also scored very well.
The open
Participants Show, "the Roundup" is held on Sunday. Walking the many
parking lots holding the various classes and trying to see as many
of the 1000+ cars as possible is truly an adventure. You really need
to go and first see the classes you REALLY want to see, and then go
around looking at the rest.
The cars at this
event were fantastic - in no particular order, '65 Shelby
"zero-zero-three", '66 Red Shelby with a Paxton S/C restored by Jim
Wicks from Tulsa OK., a row of Panteras, a dozen '06-'07 Shelby
GT-H's, Boss's, a couple of '69 Coupes with 428CJ's, a '68 High
Country Special with a 428CJ, several SSP Mustangs, and a large
number of other very-nicely done concours Mustangs as well as
sweetly-modified ones.
The car owners at
this event were from as far away as Texas, Kentucky, North and South
Carolina, and many places that were closer.
I personally also
enjoyed meeting Lois Eminger's son, who brought his mothers' '72
Mach I to the event, as well as Jim Smart whose articles I have been
reading in Mustang Monthly for many years.
As a sideline story,
making a road trip to Bellevue, WA for the annual Roundup had been a
topic of conversation for several years now with Wayne H, Neil B,
and myself (Russ). Back in 2003 the three of us had flown into
Abbotsford, and then took a rental car to Bellevue. Neil had also
been to this event several times before, so we knew what to expect.
Since that time we knew one day we would all want to drive a Mustang
there. Last summer we also had decided that this year we would do it
because of the MCA event. Up until a week or so before we were going
to leave, the plan was still on, and us three guys would be doing a
road-trip, with each of us driving our Mustang or Shelby. Then
everything changed. Between family commitments, a noisy rear
differential, hail damage, and a transmission needing some warranty
work, we went from "3 guys and 3 Mustangs" to "2 guys in a Toyota
Camry".! Man-o-man did we take a bunch of abuse (friendly) from our
fellow Club members during the entire weekend. With none of the
three of us getting there in a Mustang, the phrase used to describe
this situation is now known as "And then there were none.!"
If you were not a
participant this year in going to Bellevue, then certainly speak to
one of the 25-ish members that did go. I am sure they all have some
great stories of their trip and adventures they experienced. Hope
you enjoy the small sampling of some photos below, taken at the
event.
