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The Texas Cobra Club Meet - Spring Has SprungTexas Spring Meet From the September, 2008 issue of Kit Car By D.Brian Smith Photography by D.Brian Smith
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The kit and replicar hobby in particular and the automotive enthusiast arena in general bring like-minded people together. The clubs across the United States that realize this fact and exploit it are the clubs that are flourishing. A prime example of a club that's growing in numbers, both in terms of enthusiasts and cars, is the Texas Cobra Club. Made up of members who belong to the Austin Cobra Club, the Dallas Cobra Club, and the Houston Cobra Club, the Texas Cobra Club's philosophy is: "It's not just about a bunch of cool cars, it's about the people." For the second year in a row, KIT CAR traveled to Round Rock, Texas, for the Texas Spring Meet. We had so much fun in 2007 that we simply had to cover the multi-day cruising event once again. The theme of the Spring Meet is always low-key. There aren't any awards to be passed out. There are three separate evening tailgate barbecues. Austin, Dallas, and Houston clubs all host a night where eating, drinking, and socializing are a great way to end the days spent cruising in Cobras, GT40s, and Daytona Coupes. The festivities began on Thursday evening after folks have parked their Cobra carrying trailers and pickups from the day's convoy into Round Rock from divergent parts of the big state of Texas. Austin hosted a fried catfish barbecue with all the fixins, including a Southern delicacy: hush puppies! KIT CAR arrived right in time to snag some of that catfish, but especially the hush puppies and one or two ginormous chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Traveling all day in cramped jets without food can work up quite an appetite. At least that's the excuse this humble and hungry scribe made after polishing off the last of the hush puppies and cookies. We all stayed up pretty late that night catching up with each other and looked forward to the two days of Cobra cruising in scenic Austin, Round Rock, and various parts of central Texas, or what's known as the state's playground. On Saturday, we all dined... On Saturday, we all dined at the El Arroyo Mexican Restaurant, our first stopping point for our scenic drive around Austin. Dallas Cobra Club/TCC member Larry Reyburn owns the No. 15 FFR Type 65 coupe in the background. Red No. 22 is a Unique Motorcars 289FIA, which DCC/TCC member Jim Jacobs owns. John Russell has the hardtop-equipped, white-over-blue Superformance Cobra, No. 17, toward the back of the photo. Friday was certainly a first for KIT CAR and possibly for any car magazine. We covered a wedding! Houston Cobra Club member Bill Swendsen became reacquainted with his high school sweetheart, Diane, not long before the '07 Spring Meet. In last year's article about this event, KC misidentified the couple as being married. After the fact, did we make a mistake in the '07 article, or were we being prophetic? As it turns out, Bill and Diane are now Bill and Diane Swendsen. So, not only do we write about and photograph enthusiasts' automobiles, we forecast and cover enthusiasts' weddings! In these challenging economic times, it's always good to be versatile. The Dallas Cobra Club hosted a delicious barbecue back at the host hotel that evening, the Austin Marriot North in Round Rock. Diane and Bill actually had their first dance as a married couple in the hotel's parking lot. Surrounded by over 100 Cobras, in addition to almost as many enclosed trailers and pickup trucks, it was a most romantic setting for a car guy like Bill. His blushing bride didn't seem to mind, either. We think perhaps Mr. Swendsen has found a woman who is truly an automotive enthusiast. Speaking from personal experience, the likelihood of this sort of find is less probable than winning the California Lottery! For the late Saturday morning drive, we again cruised out to the El Arroyo Restaurant for some delicious Southwestern fare and still more socializing with the many ACC, DCC, and HCC members. In the early afternoon, we made organized and safe haste to the designated group photo location: Escondido Golf Course. As with the 2007 Spring Meet, the HCC had Hooters prepare Saturday night's barbecue. The food was exemplary. A minor controversy between the host hotel and the TCC came to the forefront, which was resolved. However, if we were to look into the future and make one of our predictions, we'd say the Texas Spring Meet will be located at a different hotel in 2009. Until then, enjoy the goings-on of the 2008 Texas Spring Meet presented here. This article and additional photos are also available on KC's Web site: www.kitcarmag.com. Should anyone wish to hire a wedding photographer and/or fortune teller, you know how to get in touch with me.  Tonya Von Bulow-Stickney and...  Tonya Von Bulow-Stickney and her husband, Ryan, took turns piloting their lime-green FFR roadster the entire event.  For the 2007 Spring Meet,...  For the 2007 Spring Meet, Randy Thigpen chauffeured KC around in his Lone Star for a portion of the cruising. For the '08 event, his girlfriend, Janice Hollan, took the passenger seat. You can't blame a guy for kicking out KC in favor of his girlfriend.  Radical Roadsters recently...  Radical Roadsters recently finished a Backdraft Racing Cobra for new HCC member Scott Kerr. This was Scott's first Texas Spring Meet, which he and his friend enjoyed thoroughly.  Scott and Linda Nelson's freshly...  Scott and Linda Nelson's freshly finished Street Beasts roadster features a Ford 351 Cleveland powerplant. For obvious reasons, the sports car is named Barney.  KC captured Houston Cobra...  KC captured Houston Cobra Club members Bill and Sharon Isaacks in their orange FFR roadster. Their Cobra has a supercharged Ford mill under the hood.  Several of the Houston Cobra...  Several of the Houston Cobra Club members were kind enough to offer KIT CAR a ride, including Dennis Mosley and Rob Bivens. Dennis created a white-over-maroon Everett Morrison, and Rob built himself a silver FFR roadster. Both of these guys drive their Cobras as much as possible-as evidenced by Rob's cruising fast in his FFR. Thanks hombres, for letting KC hitchhike!  Rob Bivens, a Houston Cobra...  Rob Bivens, a Houston Cobra Club member who built a nice FFR roadster, shot this creative collage of Cobras while having the group photo shoot on Saturday afternoon.  Both of these Houston Cobra...  Both of these Houston Cobra Club members, Gary Osborn on the left and Jim Driesch on the right, wanted to have their pictures taken with the Hooters Girls. Have they had so much to drink that they can't tell two dimensions from three? No, they figured this way there'd be no way they'd get in trouble with their wives.  Sometimes the backdrop's more...  Sometimes the backdrop's more interesting than what's in the foreground. Hooters prepared wonderful food for TCC members for Saturday night's tailgating celebration, sponsored by the Houston Cobra Club. By the way, the orange Cobra belongs to Kelly and Jodina Mullins. It's a Unique Motorcars 427SC roadster.  Every car owner parked facing...  Every car owner parked facing out for a fast takeoff, including this unidentified Cobra.  A total of 106 cars made the...  A total of 106 cars made the '08 TCC Spring Meet the biggest one ever. The No. 50 Cobra is Paul Cass' roadster. He was the TCC president for '08.  Engine builder extraordinaire...  Engine builder extraordinaire Keith Craft displayed some of his engines and a couple of his Cobra kits that he's building for sale. He also partook in all the driving events-when he wasn't helping fellow TCC members with their cars.  DCC member Kristen Breeden...  DCC member Kristen Breeden drove her white-over-blue ERA Cobra. For some reason, her car's named after the French cartoon character Pepe le Peu.  Everyone seemed pleased that...  Everyone seemed pleased that KC took pictures of Bill and Diane Swendsen's wedding, with the possible exception of the lady third from the left in the front row.  We wonder who started the...  We wonder who started the tradition of smearing wedding cake all over the bride and groom's face? Like watching or participating in a food fight, it's always funny to watch-and sometimes a laugh to be a participant.  Bill and Diane's wedding took...  Bill and Diane's wedding took place at Ann and Kelly Byrne's beautiful lakeside home in Kingsland, Texas. We actually ate lunch prior to the wedding.  Celebrants didn't attach tin...  Celebrants didn't attach tin cans to the back of Bill and Diane's Backdraft Racing roadster. Instead, they fastened a much more subtle and classy sign, which ended up getting blown off on the way back to the Austin Marriott North hotel in Round Rock, Texas.  Readers will remember the...  Readers will remember the double feature we ran on Dave and Debbie Grabowski's American Graffiti replica '32 Ford five-window coupe and their eight-ball Backdraft Racing roadster. This photo shows a clever camera trick, as opposed to Dave pulling his hands off the wheel while driving. Dave made KC write that. (He's a lawyer.)  Another HCC member, Tony Jacobs,...  Another HCC member, Tony Jacobs, has a snake-striped Lone Star roadster. He slithered about Austin effortlessly the entire Spring Meet.  RU Car Crafters is located...  RU Car Crafters is located in Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and is owned by Roger Upton. The company manufactures English Roadster kits. Houston Cobra Club member Ken Williams brought his newly 95-percent finished replica to the Spring Meet. His car ran great the entire event and is only missing carpet and a few other interior trim items.  KC didn't have an opportunity...  KC didn't have an opportunity to talk to the owner of this Kirkham 427SC. How awesome is the Weber-fed, big-block Ford V-8 that lurks beneath the Kirkham's aluminum bonnet?  The group shot was taken at...  The group shot was taken at the Escondido Golf Course. The club wound its way through the scenic course grounds en route to the club's designated group photo shoot location. Bill Swendsen graciously chauffeured KC around for the second leg of the Saturday cruise in his new Backdraft Racing roadster.
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