No one knows how long club sandwiches have been around, but they are the ideal way for similar-minded car clubs to get together, exchange ideas, compare notes, kick tires, and generally have fun with their cars. But where to hold the events has never been an exact science. It's like throwing a dart at a map. You do it and wherever the dart lands, that's where everybody shows up.
Some clubs across the United States are a bit more organized than that, and one of the best-known clubs, the Association of Handcrafted Automobiles (AHA), teamed up a few years back with the Arizona Kit Car Club (AKCC) to meet alongside the Colorado River and have a good time.
The AHA may be known to most KIT CAR readers as the producers of the annual Knott's Berry Farm show held in Buena Park, California. It's easily the largest kit and replicar show on the West Coast, its only real rival being the Carlisle event in Pennsylvania. The AKCC has been together since 1987, though the club is smaller than the AHA.
The American Southwest is known for its great scenery-almost as much as for its typical non-winter status in relation to the rest of the country. When it's snowing in Boston, folks can still be seen riding waverunners on Arizona's lakes and rivers! So when the two clubs decided to gather on the banks of the mighty Colorado River in Laughlin, Nevada, you didn't need much convincing for other kit owners to show up!
In recent years, the meet has been hampered by its movement from one casino parking lot (where they were located directly out the front door) to, about three years ago, the outer parking lot of the Riverside Casino. Parking lots are premium space in Laughlin, as there is always some group coming in and wanting their plot of land (this year's show shared the huge lot with a small Harley show).
But size doesn't equate to quality, and although attendance was down this year, the enthusiasm for the clubs, cars, and people didn't diminish at all. You can find out about the next Club Sandwich at either club's Web site. Contact the AHA at www.replicarclub.com, and the AKCC at www.akcc.biz.