This Fall was a busy couple of months for the Illinois Flat Landers. Below are a few of the IFLBCC Events and Activities. Be sure to check this website and our Facebook page for updates on future events!

4th Annual IFLBCC Harvest Days Cruise-in & Picnic – October 14, 2023

Todd and Linda Reid hosted the IFLBCCs Fall Gathering at their home this year on Saturday, October 14.   They’ve got a wonderful setup on the Lake with firepits and plenty of outdoor and indoor space when the weather didn’t fully cooperate.

We started arriving around 3:30 which gave us the opportunity to do a little early leaf peeping around the lake before watching the rain roll-in from their back patio. We had been hoping for a spectacular sunset, but Hey! . . .this is Illinois.

They provided us with gourmet appetizers, sides and light bites as well as beer and wine. Folks also brought their favorite dogs/brats for the grill or fire pits. ‘Smores fixings were all set up for dessert!

The ladies collected in the Reid’s beautiful Great Room as the men retired to Todd’s  Man Cave to discuss his wonderful selection of automobiles. 

Many thanks to Todd & Linda Reid for opening up their beautiful home to host this year’s 4th Annual Harvest Days Cruise-in & Picnic. The day was a little dreary but the fantastic food and camaraderie more than made up for it

9th Annual IFLBCC Halloween Cruise – October 28, 2023

Thanks to Alan Kleinschmidt for arranging the 9th Annual Halloween Cruise to enjoy some fall scenery, a unique snowmobile collection, lunch and then our final stop at Mackinaw Valley Vineyard for a glass of wine with good friends.

The cruise began forming-up at the Bloomington Casey’s General Store on Saturday, October 28th around 9:45 am and departed at 10:15 am for the 30-minute drive to Hopedale.  Hopedale’s Willis Snowmobile Museum has 265 antique sleds and memorabilia to view on three-floors of the building. Fellow Flatlander Dick Hanson has a couple of family heirlooms displayed there also. The museum curators were on hand and were a wealth of information on the evolution of snowmobiles and many of the backstories on how the items on display were acquired. 

The museum tour was followed by lunch at Micki’s Farm to Table in Hopedale, IL around noon. Good food, with a down home feel.  After lunch we will head over to Mackinaw Valley Vineyards for a little taste of the grape, and excellent views from the veranda, before heading home.

IFLBCC “Garage Squad”

IFLBCC members formed a “Garage Squad” to inspect a “Barn Find” that had not been on the road in 35-years!

Our chapter was contacted, through the Austin Healey Club of America website, by a family that recently inherited a 1966 Austin Healey 3000 Mk3.

According to the family: “ . . . the owner lived in Springfield IL and had owned the car since the late 60’s. Legend has it his best friend from Flora IL bought the car on his behalf while stationed in England with the Air Force, so technically you can say he was the single owner. The car hasn’t been driven since the early 90’s but has lived indoors in a metal shed on his property….so it does need a lot of work but all things considered it looks pretty good.”

They reached out to us because they are trying to decide if they want to take on the restoration project or if they should sell it, and were hoping to connect with our club chapter to give them some advice on what it would take to restore it or where/who potential buyers might be.

Illini Chapter Members Gary Brown, Doug Crew, Brian Davis, Richard McDonald and Nigel Keen answered the call! A group of us met for lunch at Motorheads in Springfield before gathering to view this barn find BJ8 Austin Healey that had not been on the road in 35-years!

As expected, it had flat tires, a dead battery and areas of the body had rusted and become “mouse-condos”. That said, the Healey look remarkably solid and complete. We were able to locate all of the ID plates, point out the many pros and cons of the vehicle and provide them with many photographs to send on to potential buyers or restorers.

Hopefully the current owner came away with some answers or at least additional things to consider. 

The Illinois Flat Land British Car Club announces their 2024 Champagne British Car Festival!

ALL Aston-Martin and Austin-Healey cars get the Featured Marque spotlight at the 2024 Champagne British Car Festival on May 31 – June 2, 2024

Registered entrants “Start Your Engines” and your Festival weekend by joining us Friday evening, May 31st  for a Welcome Reception, sponsored by the Illinois Flat Land British Car Club 

The fun continues Saturday morning, June 1, 2024 at our first time ever venue – Davis Lodge at Lake Bloomington. This beautiful lodge will be the hub for all of Saturday’s activities until the sit-down banquet at the Chateau Conference Center.

The weekend culminates with the Champagne British Car Show on beautiful Clover Lawn of David Davis Mansion, Bloomington, IL. 

For more information https://iflbcc.club/2024-cbcf-overview/

“Drive ‘Em, Don’t Hide ‘Em” is the mantra of the British Car Week organization (https://www.britishcarweek.org/) British Car Week is an annual awareness week intended for owners of Classic British Cars to get their cars out of the garage and drive them.

Want to drive your car and need some ideas for places to go?  Plan on joining the IFLBCC for our CBCF Pontiac, IL Rally/Cruise-in on June 3rd. Drives, pop-up car show, car collections and more!   It doesn’t matter whether your car is in better than new condition, or perhaps it’s a less than perfect unrestored gem, we love them all! As long as it can be safely driven down the road, this is a great opportunity to show off your favorite car and take advantage of what British car motoring is all about. We’re calling all owners of classic British cars to get together with other car owners in the central Illinois area and [gently] kick tires, share stories, answer questions, and have a good time.

Did you know the British Car Week culminates with the IFLBCC sponsored Champagne British Car Festival’s car show on June 4, 2023? (CBCF-Bloomington.com)   We’ll be hosting John Twist’s Rolling Tech Sessions during the Sunday car show and best of all, you’ll have the chance to show your car off to the general public who rarely, or in many cases never, have the opportunity to get a real-life, close-up glimpse of these exquisite, entertaining British automobiles of days gone by.