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2012 Carlisle Ford Nationals - Show TimePennsylvania Welcomes Spring and the Blue Oval Faithful From the December, 2012 issue of 5.0 Mustang & Super Fords By Dale Amy Photography by Dale Amy
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Our continental weather is such that outdoor automotive events have to be shoehorned into just a few short months of the year, at least in the more northern jurisdictions. Up in Pennsylvania, they celebrate the beginning of car season in major fashion with the Carlisle Ford Nationals, typically scheduled just as the calendar flips to June. This is an all-round gathering of FoMoCo faithful that combines a huge show area with an equally expansive vendor midway, and a gigantic swap meet. It's garnished by some eighth-mile drag racing, auto-crossing, a burnout contest, a bikini contest, and a Saturday evening cruise that ends up taking over Carlisle's downtown core. Every event has its own personality, and, despite its tremendous size, Carlisle is a laid-back, low-key affair that welcomes all Fords from Model Ts to modern GTs and everything--and we mean everything--in between. If it wears a Blue Oval or any other FoMoCo corporate logo, you're bound to find it on display here Not surprisingly, Fox-and-up Mustangs have become dominant players on the event's massive show field in recent years. Nope, this isn't a hardcore race event, but is a great excuse to shake off the winter blues and check out thousands of other Blue Oval rides, scour for some needed parts or swag, or just enjoy some of the scenic undulating terrain of south-central Pennsylvania. The season's short, enjoy it. Horse Sense: Hotels fill up fast for this event, so if you have any thoughts of heading to next year's Nationals (June 7-9, 2013) book your accommodations early, even if you're thinking of camping on-site.  We couldn't find a point high...  We couldn't find a point high enough from which to capture in one shot the sheer volume of vehicles gathered at this year's Carlisle Ford Nationals, so we settled for this portion that, aside from the few '70s in the foreground, is nothing but Fox or newer Mustangs. Saturday's car count was on the high side of 2,700 cars. The grandstand in the background serves as the focal point for some of the weekend's activities.  For this shot, we were up...  For this shot, we were up in that grandstand looking northeast over yet another section of show field. In the foreground are just a scant few of the huge gathering of new and classic Shelbys that were on hand this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Shelby American. Beyond them can be seen perhaps half of the manufacturer's midway area, and hundreds more enthusiast rides on display. The Carlisle Fairgrounds comprise about 82 acres, and there was little empty space to be found.  Like last year, Ford's rather...  Like last year, Ford's rather sizeable corner of the manufacturer's midway included the Mustang Garage, where folks could buy Ford Racing hardware at motivational prices, and have them installed on the spot by factory-trained technicians. This tent, like most other vendors that offered on-site installations, did a booming business once Friday's iffy weather moved off and the sun showed up for the balance of the weekend.  Roy Hill's Drag Racing School...  Roy Hill's Drag Racing School brought along this trio of Cobra Jets and a giant semi rig to entice potential enrollees. Hard to imagine a more authentic way to learn the tricks of Mustang quarter-mile domination.  Historically, a large component...  Historically, a large component of Carlisle's Ford Nationals has been its swap meet, and it shows no signs of slowing down. This shot--taken on Friday, when a threatening weather forecast kept many folks away--shows maybe half of the swap/parts area.  Sure, we don't normally focus...  Sure, we don't normally focus on classics, but this '64 Fairlane shows that this engine swap trend can work both ways. Instead of an old-school pushrod FE, it packed a modern but carbureted Four-Valve Cobra modular Cammer underhood, thus the 4.6 Hemi badge on the fenders.  Ford and Ford Racing both...  Ford and Ford Racing both have a commanding presence at Carlisle including, just off-site, a large paved area coned off to give show-goers ride and drive opportunities in new FoMoCo vehicles. They took the opportunity to use these new Explorer- and Taurus-based Interceptors as shuttle vehicles--with lights and sirens, of course.  If you don't recognize his...  If you don't recognize his GT's unusual powerplant, ask your dad about it. This is the infamous--and oh-so rare--427 SOHC that Ford was barred from using in NASCAR competition in the mid-'60s that went on to become legendary in period quarter-mile competition. The originator of the term Cammer and never intended for street applications, the SOHC, when fired up, made a sonorous, quaking monster out of this innocuous S197. You had to hear, and feel, it to believe it.  With so many cars in attendance,...  With so many cars in attendance, it wasn't surprising to run across some unusual examples, like this New Edge ragtop, whose owner we could never find. What made it so distinctive was underhood...  As usual, many clubs were...  As usual, many clubs were in attendance. (There was even a judged competition for Coolest Club Hangout.) The Yellow Mustang Registry even brought along this, er, mascot. Caption contest, anyone?  ...where a custom bundle of...  ...where a custom bundle of snakes leads to a ProCharger P-1SC directly from the intake area beneath the Shaker. We're still trying to figure out all this plumbing, but it sure garnered plenty of attention.  Looks mostly like a run-of-the-mill...  Looks mostly like a run-of-the-mill '05 GT, right? Owner Jim Weigle would beg to differ...  A 5.0&SF feature car alum,...  A 5.0&SF feature car alum, Mr. Weigle clearly has a dry sense of humor. His unique GT's attraction was this phony, but shockingly authentic-looking, Monroney sticker glued in factory fashion to its passenger window. That $60,000 value of the 427 SOHC is no exaggeration.  Another attention-grabbing...  Another attention-grabbing New Edge was this '99 coupe, belonging to Trevor Jackson, which was cleanly modified but singled out by a rather striking graphic on its top surfaces.  At a glance, we assumed it...  At a glance, we assumed it was vinyl, but on closer inspection, it became obvious the entire hood, roof, and trunk skins had been creatively hand-decorated with a Sharpie (by an artist named Pinstripe Chris Dunlop). The owner says it took numerous sessions and a total of 72 hours to finish the artwork, which is now protected by a layer of clearcoat.  Speaking of contests, most...  Speaking of contests, most of the male members of the crowd hung around for the bikini competition (officially known as the Ms. Carlisle Contest) that followed the burnouts, this year ably and professionally judged by the folks from Shelby American. This rather fit young lady didn't win, but perhaps should have. But, hey, that's just my opinion...  Saturday afternoon's burnout...  Saturday afternoon's burnout contest drew a huge crowd to the grandstand. This SN-95 participant had "$7,500 OBO" lettered on its windshield. We're not sure whether exploding its rear tires helped or hurt the asking price. Our arrow is pointing to a couple chunks of what used to be rear tire that our shutter caught flying through the smoke.  But the contest winner was...  But the contest winner was this older 460-powered F-250 4x4; the same truck that won last year's competition. I guess the crowd just liked something about those tall rear mudder skins exploding into shrapnel almost simultaneously.  Um... well, never mind......  Um... well, never mind...  On Saturday night, the venue...  On Saturday night, the venue moved downtown for a Ford Parade and Street Party, which, to the tunes of a couple bands, filled many blocks of Carlisle's core with cars and enthusiasts.
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