Illinois Flat Land British Car Club (IFLBCC) and Austin-Healey (AHCA) Illini Chapter members gathered for a Spring ‘Tour de Garage” meeting on April 11th in Bloomington, IL. Brian and Angie Davis graciously greeted the Austin-Healey group at their home (aka Paddy’s Garage). The morning was a bit on the cool side so the coffee and snacks were welcome by all.
Brian and Angie’s two 1959 Austin-Healey “Bugeye” Sprites were on display and helped set the backdrop for Brian’s British themed garage “Man Cave”.
The AHCA Illini Chapter officers, Doug Crew, President, Richard McDonald, Delegate and Brian Davis, Membership-Treasurer were all on hand and held discussions about the Chapter’s involvement in the Austin-Healey Conclave 24 to be held this September at Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI. All in attendance were planning on attending the event and displaying vehicles. The Chapter has committed to assisting with the Conclave 24’s banquet.
Also, up for discussion was the IFLBCC’s Champagne British Car Festival (CBCF-Bloomington.com) that will feature all Austin-Healey’s and Aston Martins at the 2024 event. Hopefully this advance notice will give our members ample time to clean out the winter cobwebs and perform annual spring rituals to get their car roadworthy. Both the CBCF and the Conclave 24 will provide ample road-trip opportunities and fellowship this Summer.
Having thoroughly inspected the vehicles, and covered our event topics, we adjourned for lunch at the Barrel House Pub in Bloomington for some traditional Fish ‘n Chips and “Healey” natter ‘n noggin.