Mid America 02 Fest What a Blast

[MikeinNC]

What a fabulous day here in Ozarkland. The day started early with a 4 hour drive through the beautiful spring countryside around here. With over 30 cars in attendance we were sure to have a lot of 02 fun.

Bo giving us driving and route instructions on the mornings activities

Hey, who is that happy guy

Early in the drive we stopped for a photo op!

Bo is a busy guy, moving fast to keep us all in line and on track

That many 02s makes for a very pretty conga line though the countryside

After lunch there is the traditional show and shine and swap meet

A shot of the touring rear ends

In the evening Bo and Barb arranged for a cookout. Cooks included Bill Biddle, Ron Renkie, Randy and Marge Anderson. Great job folks

Of course, no MA 02 Fest would be complete without one of Bo's legendary 02 trivia quizes, this year won by Matt

The evenings activities included a discussion on rear disc brake installation by Chris Leonard and movies by Ron and Keith. Then for the main attraction, Bo distributed the over $4000 dollars worth of goodies donated by the many gracious vendors who support our habit. Check out the Mid America website for details on who so generously donated. No one comes away a loser on this!!!!

And so we turn in for the night, tired but happy from a great day of 02ing with friends that we only get to see once or twice a year. It is really hard to believe that here in the rather remote area of our country that we found true enthusiasm and a passion for these little cars and what they were made for DRIVING! And so as we begin our long trek homeward, we thank Bo and Barb, Keith and Chris and all the other fine folks that help make this a wonderful event. True Friends is such an apt name for this great bunch of 02ers. It is really hard to describe how much fun this event is. Every 02 fan should put this on their calender! Next year is their 10th aniversary of the event so why not plan to attend!

[HarryPR]

Thanks for the pics, Mike!

Lots of good folks and beautiful cars at the event. Hope to be able to make it next year!

[Scott Sislane]

nice pic.s!! Thanks for posting.

[m-racer]

It was fun. Thanks to Bo for putting on such a fine event. Also to the crew of Pugh. I enjoyed the trip.

[Meintii]

Sweet pics, wish meintii was back on the road so I could have gone! Where are the pics of the infamous Steve Blunt Colorado???? I WANT TO SEE IT!

Lol

-Zac

[Kidasters]

This be him:

[Meintii]

HAHA Ok thank totally missed that picture above!

[Jim_75Sahara]

I will go next year; hated to miss it this year, as a matter of fact. If I throw the MW '02 GTG in the Fall next year, I will able to make it to Ark. Nice pix. BLUNT, you sure can drive long distances....

[1972fritz]

I would also like to thank BO and every one involved with the event claire mike and i had so much fun. it was probably the best birthday weekend ever see you all next year!! p.s.Bo can i get a copy of the roster for some contact information? Adam

[Arky2002]

The trip to and from were also a lot of fun - I got to explore a few new roads to add to my stash. I don't know how anyone could have more fun in a car for that long a time

[Armond]

looks like a lot of fun! It's your turn to come visit us here in the Bay Area Mike. Perhaps on May 16th?

[skipsfcr]

Wow...That's all I can say. The most hard core 2002 enthusiasts in the country came together to make this event great. About half of those who participated drove over 500 miles ( some WAAY further) to be there and thirteen states were represented. I used to refer to my fellow '02 enthusiasts as my "car friends"...Now I just call them my friends. Some I know to a greater or lesser degree but over time I've found we have lots more in common than just these great cars we're crazy about. The hobby transcends generations and just seems to attract neat folks.

Although my drive wasn't too long my traveling companions and I had quite an adventure just getting to Eureka Springs. Just south of Harrison, AR (after quite a few high speed downhill sweepers) my left front control arm snapped in two at 60mph on a straight stretch, bringing me to a screeching halt.

After a few minutes of pondering just how close to death my wife and I had come (and bitching a good bit) Danuel Smith and I dug out the tools, removed the control arm, and set out to have it repaired.

Notice the custom delrin inner control arm bushings. I was certainly not admiring them at this point.

While we removed the broken control arm, my wife located a muffler shop in Harrison and the owner told her he was pretty sure he could fix us up. 45 Minutes and $20 later ( he only asked me for $10) I had a Frankenstein control arm ready to be installed.

All in all this delayed our arrival time by two hours. We still made it to Eureka Springs by 6P.M., just in time for supper.

Morning came early and the drive down Arkansas" famous "Pig Trail" HWY 23 didn't disappoint. On the way down HWY 23 Bo directed us into Withrow Springs State Park for a group photo op...

Then it was back on the Pig Trail to Turner Bend near the Mulberry River for some leg stretching and visiting time before the return trip back to Eureka Springs. Turner Bend is hugely popular with floaters, motorcyclists, sports car, and 4x4 enthusiasts as all these activities go on in the area most of the year.

While at the park I finally got a chance to scrutinize Sam's touring...

Lots of '02ers shot lots of footage so I expect to see some great stuff! Brandy Pannell stands out the sunroof of Brandon P.'s fjord to catch some video

To have three Tourings in our caravan in Arkansas was just phenomenal...Les, we wish you hade made it this year!

Mike Pugh...

A. Scott Barnes...Love that taiga!!

And Sam Adams...

The sky looked pretty ominous on the way back up the Pig Trail but fair weather prevailed. It was a brisk, enjoyable run

Once back in Eureka Springs it was time to wash the cars, have a show and shine, sip some suds, and generally have a nice, relaxing time. Here our gracious host Bo Black enjoys visiting with Aubrey, who made a long drive from Virginia

Bill Hiddle of Tulsa, Oklahoma puts on a little shine

My notorious partner in crime, Danuel Smith had major catastrophies with two '02s while getting ready to make the trip. And after resigning himself to driving his E39 540i he still helped me fix MY '02 on the side of the road...My freakin' hero! Danuel (to the left looking at the photo) and his wife Heather along with Danuel's cousin Lucas and his wife Kristen. Lucas and Kristen are determined to build a 2002 after this event. Contagious aren't we?

Here, Keith Kreeger shows Mike Wooldridge of Hot Springs, AR how to use the Kugelfischer adjustment tools to correct his linkage geometry and baseline settings

Still my favorite 2002 (except for mine...LOL)

Randy Anderson of Bartlesville, Oklahoma has done a beautiful job with the restoration of his '74 tii. Randy is a meticulous individual and it shows in his car

The Eltringham's made the drive from Rowlett, TX in their beautiful 1602.

I've waited a long time to see Steve "Blunt" Petersen's car. He's already got over 8,500 miles on it... Beautiful!!

Brook in his sleek colorado

WOW...it's getting late. More to come...

[schwarz75]

Sorry that I missed the event. Looks like a great turnout, and beautiful 2002s. Hope to see some of you in North Carolina. - Larry

[BLUNT]

i should have just stayed down south and hung out for a few weeks till vintage. what a great time. and all of our cars, mine matts and claires ran perfectly. we ran 4k all the way home and i got 34MPG on 1 tank and 31MPG on the rest. is that even possible? i know my speedo reads high just a bit but thats impressive even with the correction factor

just need to swap some motor mounts, clean some bugs off and change fluids and im ready for vintage.

thanks to Bo and everyone involved for all the hard work. its much appreciated and made for a great event

[1972fritz]

skip i want a shirt and mike does too. hopefully danuel will be able to get some e21 stuff for me and we can come down again and check out the shop.