Roughly 37 cars showed up for the one-day festivities, and attendees (mostly owners, friends, and suppliers) were treated to a tasty catered lunch made by Tom's wife, Jeannie, and her mom, Marie Kemmsies. Thunder Ranch has a new Web site (www.thunderranch.com) where you can stay updated on the 904's progress, as well as all the other cars in the Thunder Ranch stable, or you can give the company a call at (619) 444-1006.
50th Anniversary Of Turner Sports CarsWelshman Jack Turner built approximately 673 two-seat sports cars in his blacksmith shop in Wolverhampton, England, between 1955 and 1965. Nearly 45 percent are known to survive. Of the 300 known cars, 127 are in the United States, and it's not unusual for 10 of those cars to appear competing in vintage race events.
Owners of Turner Sports Cars in the United States are marking the 50th anniversary of the diminutive two-seat racers by staging two Turner Reunions as part of larger race weekends this season. Though the first event, part of The Vintage Grand Prix festival in Camden, New Jersey, has already taken place, you can still catch the second on September 29 through October 2 at VIR Raceway in Alton, Virginia.
Fred Lieb, who purchased his 950S Turner in 1959, raced it at Sebring a short while later, and many times in the 45 years since, will serve as the official Grand Marshall for the "Only Turner Special Parade Laps." Turner racer Keith Burnett, organizer of the activities during the races at VIR, is encouraging all owners of Turners, both street and race cars, to join them celebrating the 50th anniversary with fellow enthusiasts. Both events will be family friendly and will include car shows, parade laps, social events and special reserved parking areas for Turners. You can contact Keith Burnett at (540) 337 7599 or e-mail him at keithbur@velocitus.net. For further information about Turner Sports Cars, visit www.turnersportscars.com.
Fiero Conversions ExpandsIn business since 1990, Fiero Conversions Inc. has recently expanded by adding the Jimmy's Automotive and Custom name to let people know it not only does Fiero conversions but work on other types of cars, too. Jim Gravel, a licensed, college-trained auto mechanic, is certified to work on all makes and models; does custom exhaust work and scratchbuilds molds; makes parts by hand; and hand-lays fiberglass; as well as figures out all sorts of engine and transmission conversions (including the company's own V-8-in-Fiero kit) for its customers.
Body conversions and fiberglassing are the company's specialties, which is a very unique area in Canada. Since it is in a border city (across the river from Detroit) most of its customers come from the Michigan area, though they have customers from all over the world (Taiwan, Australia, many areas of Europe, Asia, and North and South America).
Once confined to an 800-square-foot shop years ago, the new shop is now 1,500 square feet. To check out more on the shop and what it has to offer, visit the company on the Web at www.fieroconversions.com, or give them a call at (519) 972-6403.