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Hi All
The 97�s Picnic, Newport, Rhode Island, scenic and exclusive, famous for huge summer mansions their wealthy owners once called �cottages�, is the home of American yacht racing. But, on July 10, local sailing folk accustomed to the sounds of wind whistling past mast cables, the rush of foam-flecked blue water past a well-turned gunwhale and the snap of blindingly white sails, tried to fathom the hissing of multiple carburetors, whining superchargers and the light-stealing qualities of bare primer, coupled with more than a whiff of raw gas, when cars of �The 97�s� snorted, popped, and rumbled into town.
The 97�s - named for the Stromberg carburetors that populated the tops of most early hot rod mills -- is a loose affiliation of young and old codgers from the Northeast dedicated to traditional-style hot rods. There are no meetings, no dues, no rules, but they gather once each summer, usually in Massachusetts, to exercise their iron, bench race, and check on what changes they�ve made to their cars.
This was their second trip to Newport (following a decent interval of 5 years), and a good 25 cars showed, most of them fenderless roadsters, most flathead-powered and absolutely none carrying anything billet or tweed. The locale was Ft. Adams State Park and the capper was a visit to Russ Daly�s fabrication shop, after a breezy run past the million-dollar homes and manicured lawns on Ocean Drive on the edge of Narragansett Bay, a condensed version of Monterey, California�s famed 17-Mile Drive. So now, it�s on with the show!!! Enjoy..... AB!!!
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