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I, personally, will be there working our sales floor Thursday-Saturday. Got a nice 6am departure time tomorrow morning. This will be my second BG with MAM, I'm really excited to see the track in person, never been!
I look forward to meeting any of you who stop by!
-Nick
__________________ Pursue Your Passion Here ®
Mid America Motorworks
454 Big Block Dr
Effingham, IL 62401 www.mamotorworks.com
(800) 500-1500
Change of plans for us. We are down to only a few cars (weather scared them off). We aren't making the trip until Saturday morning and HOPE the rain will be out of its system by then. SO TIRED OF THE RAINY WEATHER HERE IN THE MIDWEST!!!!!!
Anyone care to scout out a better weather report than The Weather Channel?????
Total down pour right now. I am hoping to go tomorrow. Was just heading to bed when we found out our roof is leaking!!! Brand new roof too...go figure.
drove down Thursday and spent Friday at BG. good show and got a great deal on leather C6 jacket from Mid America, left around 11:30 and driving was bad all the way home. usually takes about 3 hours and 45 minutes but it took 6 hours to get home. They will be there next two years and I will go back.
Since this is the official thread for Bloomington Gold 2015, let me leave my opinion here. These are just my feelings and opinions. Please also note that this is my first time to Bloomington Gold, so I cannot compare it to past BG events.
For a first year at a new location, this was a lot of fun! I only wish the weather would have cooperated a little better as I left my Vette in the garage and drove the truck over (at least it is a Chevy right?). We drove thru a lot of heavy downpours on the way over Friday night.
The longest part of the day seemed to be getting in and onto the grounds. Maybe that was because of the anticipation I had built up for the event, but it seemed like the single file lines and one or two people passing out books and giving directions on where to park took a little longer than it needed to.
The grass parking area was a soggy mess, but ok to walk on. Some of the Vettes were slinging some mud, and only a few seemed upset about that.
The swap meet area seemed pretty well picked over by the time I arrived on Saturday. There were some good layouts, and a lot of great parts for the older Corvettes. However, it is not as extensive as Carlisle. The swap area was pretty spread out here, but it wasn't the long isles like Carlisle. Of the major items I was looking for, I only saw one item that might have worked, but it was plastic and I was looking for the true glass version. The hunt continues.
The major vendors that were on site were awesome. They were easy to talk to, informative, and looked like they were having as much fun as they could.
The highlights: The Ron Fellows experience was awesome! To get to ride in a new Z06 and hit 140+mph in a controlled environment and then do a couple of quick turns was great. The line to go for a ride was long, but I never got tired of hearing these things go full throttle while in line.
The Ridetech Autocross ride along was great too. There was no line, walked right up, signed the waiver, grabbed a helmet and hoped in the Z06 there. And since no one was around after my first lap in line, I was asked if I wanted another lap.... "let's go" was my response.
Another highlight, hearing the Indy cars drive around the track. It was fun to hear them run around the track while walking around the grounds.
Then of course, seeing the Survivor cars being judged and looked over was a lot of fun too. I am really into the older Corvettes and like to see what is original and what is modded since I wasn't around them as much.
The last thing I want to note is the age of the crowd. Typically most of the "clubs" or groups that I see are people that are close to retirement or in retirement. No offense, just the way it seems. But this crowd was pretty diverse in age. Saw a lot of young kids with the parents or grandparents. Then there seemed to be a lot of 20's and 30's crowd walking around. I think they were enjoying the activities and looking at all the Corvettes and their mods.
Over all, my father-in-law and I had a great time. I hope the BG crew know they did a great job with this as a first year event in Indy, and that they can learn and grow from this year into the future. We had a great time, and may plan to go over for a little longer next time.
St. Jude Donor '13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
I went Saturday. I was up at 4 AM and rolled back in a few minutes before midnight.
I had a ball!! Chevrolet offered a ride-a-long in a Z06 by the Ron Fellows school. It was about an 80 second ride, but one I'll never forget. (Remember the Jeff Gordon/Pepsi commercial, that x 10!)
I was on the CF parking pass list to park in the Forum spot, but never saw where to get my pass, ended up on the road track course which was fine by me! No mud!
The two years at Champaign Mid America had a great layout where they did installations. It was a great place to sit and see the smiles on guys faces when their cars were started for the first time with a new exhaust. This year they and Billy Boat were in smaller locations. Don't know if they didn't have the backlog of work but there was really nowhere to sit and watch.
Vendors - Had vendors in the gravel lot, some in garages and some in buildings. Plenty of walking, who doesn't need a good walk!!
Food - At Champaign you had the best carnival food available!!! At the track we had track concessions. Just me, but the food isn't the draw!!
Entrance - Waited quite a while to get in with people buying tickets and paying for parking at the gate. Champaign you parked and then paid to get in, Indy you paid first. I'm sure they will make an adjustment to get it a little smoother.
Gold Tour - I've learned one thing about the tour, patience. This year was no different. Being able to drive on the track certainly made it pay off for me!
This was my 3rd BG and I expected growing pains as you get whenever you change locations.
I did find both the BG and IMS staffs helpful and eager to do what they could to help.
I had a great time and I'm looking forward to 2016!
Had my '65 there along with only 15 or 16 other 65's.
The parking set up was poor to say the least. We got stuck right on a main road inside which rarely stopped with traffic. We all received special plaques which was nice but as far as anything else special or honoring the 50th anniv. of our 65's, it was non-existant. We were told on the GOLD TOUR that all the 65's were to lead the pack but that WAS NOT the case. POOR execution BG people! Also, I sure thought SOMEONE(Bloomington Gold OR Memory Lane Photo would have had a group pic of our 65's! DISAPPOINTING!!!
Thank goodness for the time on the main track & Ron Fellows Driving School, otherwise having a 65 there was somewhat disappointing. ALL things aside, it was nice to see my Vette Friends(Gary, Mark, Bryce, Tom, Tommy & Anthony!) Thanks for your friendship guys!
Since Friday was a washout, I attended on Saturday. I really enjoyed the 2+ hour cruise in my 2012
from my place to IMS. I agree that BG selected a nice venue for the event, but some past events were more memorable than this one. That said, I did have a good time and am looking forward to next year.
The Ridetech Autocross ride along was great too. There was no line, walked right up, signed the waiver, grabbed a helmet and hoped in the Z06 there. And since no one was around after my first lap in line, I was asked if I wanted another lap.... "let's go" was my response.
We are glad that you enjoyed the RideTech RideAlong!! That was our first event putting such a focus on ridealongs and I am sure the drivers enjoyed is just as much as the passengers. If ever you happen to see us out at another event, just grab a helmet and hop on in!!
I’ve gone to this show every year since about ’98, so I’ve seen it from the Interstate Center to Pheasant Run, to Champaign, and now to Indy. My thoughts:
Getting in was terrible. ONE entrance for everyone, and they’re taking tickets right there on the street. If you must keep it to this one entrance, bring everyone in first, then form 6 lines of ticket takers so there isn’t a huge line on the street. Or get smart like Carlisle and sell stickers to put on the windshield so you can drive right in. And let’s not charge Corvettes $5 to park, huh?
Once inside, a lot of the staff didn’t know anything. I pulled in and said “which way?” and the guy had no clue. So I ended up where I ended up, and for some reasons there were a lot of non Corvettes parked with the Corvettes. Shouldn’t happen.
Ron Fellows ride along was fantastic. The highlight of the show I’d say. The only bad thing was not enough cars, which is a good problem to have. I’ve signed up for their school and can’t wait.
The swap meet seemed improved over last year in terms of number of vendors, but man, it was broken into several pieces that were not together. Several vendors complained about this. I don’t know whose idea that was, but it was not a good one. Have one outdoor area, and one indoor area (or a couple…I realize you’re limited to what has a roof overhead), but don’t have the outdoor all split up. I walked over to the garages, and I wasn’t sure if it was swap meet or people’s private quarters!
Cars for sale…not many. Not sure why, but this has dwindled every year. Kind of sad to see, and they were all spaced out. The last years at Pheasant run had a good number of cars for sale, but since the Champaign move it’s been really thin. Dealer wise, there were two, and there weren’t many cars, and they were all newer. Again, I remember when Mershon and Proteam would come and have some classics.
Autocross area…sorry, but this was kind of a joke. The tiniest autocross I’ve ever seen, and it didn’t look like there were more than 5 cars participating. I appreciate the thought behind diversifying the show, but if this is the best that can be put on, scrap it for next year.
Burnout contest: did this even happen?
Road tour: didn’t go. Last year was a nightmare, at about 5-10 mph for 25 miles. I heard the cop at the front thought he was supposed to do parade speed, and nobody thought to do anything about it the whole time. And charging $10?? Come on, don’t be so cheap (see parking comment).
50th Anniversary 1965 display: uh, here, you guys park over there. Not much attention paid to this at all.
Goldschool: again, not much here either. In the glory days, there were LOTS of good restoration workshops put on by experts in the field. This time there wasn’t much. Paul Koerner is great everywhere he goes, and I feel he was underutilized and should have done a Q/A seminar or diagnose cars on site like he usually does. For free.
Auction: none, unless you count the Mecum semi trailer. This was always a good “go to” during the show if you had seen everything for the day and/or just wanted to sit for a while. Mecum told me they just don’t have the numbers to justify doing it anymore. I hope the show will consider bringing someone else in if Mecum doesn’t want to do it.
Certification: it rained for most of it, so that sucked, but that’s not the show’s fault. I liked the drive through and get your award presentation at the end. It would be nice to add a bit of a story to each car if applicable, or at least give the notable specs.
For me, Carlisle remains the gold standard. Two full days there leaves me thinking there was more to see and do that I didn’t get a chance to. You could see Bloomington in about half a day, and then you’re just repeating things.
For me, Carlisle remains the gold standard. Two full days there leaves me thinking there was more to see and do that I didn’t get a chance to. You could see Bloomington in about half a day, and then you’re just repeating things.
Whoa, This comment just hit the nail on the head. I only went over on Saturday, and after the long line to get in, I still had done and seen everything I wanted to in about 6 hours. I left and felt like I had done everything the show had to offer for me. At Carlisle I spend a little more than a day and a half there and still feel like I missed things when I have to head back home.
Will have to wait and see what they offer next year to decide if I want to make the trek again.
06-23-2015, 11:32 AM
This will be my second BG with MAM, I'm really excited to see the track in person, never been!
