SAAC Forum

Found this at my local Wal-Mart last night, in case anyone is interested in such things.

#2911

So SAAC NEVER schedules a national in the actual middle of the country, and seldom anywhere approaching the middle. And on one of the rare occasions when they do, they schedule it to overlap the one Holy-Grail-Can't-Miss event for die-hard Ford fans in the central U.S. True, the Tulsa Mid-America Meet has become more of a late-model event in recent years, but it's still the best thing we've got. Scheduling the SAAC event to conflict with it is moronic.

This was a topic of considerable debate among '69 Cougar Eliminator owners a while back, eventually leading to an online poll. Since all Eliminators were built on the same Dearborn line as Mustangs, the data should be relevant. What we found is that the earliest reported build date for an Eliminator with a black upper cowl was 4/17/69. From 4/25/69 on, they were all black. In between was a mix, with black paint becoming more prevalent on the later dates. 

Very thorough walk-through of repair process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PQw_J52CU0&list=PLpD9SGOE3PiHIOXhQK8FyNDY7oLAauapV

I have an old-style Paxton bracket that was modified to fit a 351W. Its in storage, but if it'd help I should be able to post some pics and measurements within a few days.

I appreciate the responses. I always believed gold to be correct, but I've seen quite a few GSA cars that appear otherwise nicely restored sporting white stripes, so it had me wondering.

Is there any rhyme or reason as to which GSA cars got white stripes vs. gold ones?

Quote from: terlingua11 on November 20, 2018, 09:20:53 AM
What about the Mid America Ford and Shelby Nationals.

http://musclecarevents.org

That's pretty much right where you want a SAAC event isn't it. I have no prior knowledge, just a guess, that SAAC has never gone this central as this event appears to be right in the same wheelhouse. I have always wanted to put this on my bucket list as it looks to be like a very cool event. I would think if this was going on in June it would certainly compete with SAAC. I could see why SAAC doesn't go to this neck of the woods and try to compete for everyones $$ on a relatively similar event.

That's a good question. I've been a regular attendee of what used to be known simply as the Mid-America Shelby Meet for over 25 years. For a long time, it did offer a reasonable alternative to a SAAC meet. A gathering for owners and enthusiasts of Shelbys, Panteras, Bosses, Eliminators, and the rest of the Total Performance era family. Saleens and other late-model Ford performance cars were welcome, but not the focus. But since Ford took over primary sponsorship, (and the event became the Mid-America Ford and Shelby Nationals) it has evolved into a late-model Mustang convention with some old Fords thrown in for variety. The formerly huge swap meet has shrunk to almost nothing, and the general vibe has completely changed. Once, if you showed up with a '62-'70 Shelby product, you were part of a homecoming among friends. Now you're sort of a historical curiosity. Maybe SAAC has gone the same way, but from what I read in the magazine and online, it doesn't seem so.
I don't expect a SAAC meet in my neck of the woods very often. (Although once in 50 years doesn't seem like an unreasonable request.) But it'd be nice to occasionally be able to attend an event with the emphasis on Total Performance era Fords, not boosted Coyote motors, that doesn't require two days trailering to get there.

I appreciate the response.
Looking over the list of past events, there's never been one within 9 hours of my location, although Indy isn't much further than that. Pittsburgh, at 14.5 hours, will actually be one of the closer ones. Most have been 18-20 hours, or more.

Yes, Kansas Speedway would be great. Less than 5 hours.  Practically in my backyard.

It really would be nice if the club could do even one centrally located event before the 50th anniversary.

Thanks for the replies. I missed the previous discussion. So yes, if anyone has it archived, or the Cliff Notes as you say, I'd be most interested. I'm sure it'd go a long way towards answering my questions.

Wichita Nationals? It's not on SAAC's list of conventions 1-39:
http://saac.com/images/conventions/CONVENTION-1.pdf

and the more recent ones were:
40- Pocono
41- Mid Ohio
42- Indianapolis
43-Sonoma

So when exactly was the SAAC convention in Wichita?

Quote from: JD on November 19, 2018, 05:01:56 PM


There was a SAAC in Utah at Miller Motorsports facility, don't remember the year but I remember the temperature!!

(Western PA is not exactly the coast)

Not sure of the point. Tooele, Utah is a lot closer to San Francisco and L.A. than anywhere on the plains. And while western PA may not be exactly the coast, the coast is a mere 5 or 6 hour drive away. Pittsburgh is 16+ hours from, say, Wichita KS. So again, not remotely central.

Anyhow, my purpose is not to quibble about what is and isn't considered "east coast" or "west coast." My point is that every single SAAC convention has been somewhere in the eastern or western third of the country, and the occasional Ohio, Michigan or Utah event excepted, overwhelmingly in coastal states. Meanwhile, the entire middle third of the country has never had a SAAC convention. Not a single centrally located event in 44 years. That doesn't seem random, that seems like some sort of policy. So my real question is who sets it, and how does it get changed?

Quote from: roddster on November 19, 2018, 04:57:05 PM
  Ah, Mid-Ohio and Elkhart Lake Wisconsin, and Indianapolis IN not middle enough?

Well, no. Of those, the most westerly would be Elkhart Lake. Which is still geographically closer to New York City than Oklahoma City. Mid-Ohio and Indianapolis aren't remotely close to the middle of the country.

I don't know if this is the place to ask this question, but is it written in the Club's bylaws that shows have to be on the coasts? There hasn't been a National in the middle of the country since, well, ever. No, Utah, Wisconsin and Indianapolis are not in the middle of the country. I'm talking about places like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Little Rock, Kansas City, Omaha. Even St. Louis or Denver would be more central than any place that's hosted a show so far.

Wish I could be there, but lovin' the pix.

Would like to see some Cougar Eliminators or GT-Es, if you happen to spot any.

Jay