Hi guys, It=92s been awhile since my last vacation to Europe, and I was looking for a= ny=20 excuse to leave the dreary drizzle and rain of Northern California, searchin= g=20 for clear blue skies and good old-fashioned Shelby fun. London=92s legendary Ace Cafe was to host a Mustang Day on Bank Holiday Mond= ay=20 (March 28th), and as it turns out, I happen to have my Mustang stored in=20 London right now. How convenient. And so it was that I stepped aboard an airplane and whizzed to London (by wa= y=20 of JFK), living in the lap of luxury as there were seats available in first=20 class. Travelling on my employee status makes it eminently affordable, so w= hy=20 not go first class if you can? After spending several days in London wrenching on Geoff Peters=92 Pantera,=20= I=20 planned to wake up early Monday morning to give my (filthy) car a good=20 scrubbing before the show. Geoff had instructions to wake me since there= =92s no alarm=20 clock in his spare room, but he took pity on me and allowed me to sleep seve= ral=20 hours later than I=92d hoped for. This then meant that I leapt headlong from bed, and only had time to give th= e=20 car a cursory shot with the hose to knock the obvious dirt off. When I was=20 finished the car was still fairly dirty, but at least not completely=20 embarassingly so as it had been before. It=92s worth noting that even though I haven=92t driven this car in months,=20= with=20 a turn of the key it started right up. Gotta love this little car! Geoff offered up his Sat Nav unit which proved to be extremely entertaining.= =20 I=92d never used one of those newfangled devices, and it was quite fascinati= ng.=20 With the destination programmed in (32 miles away), the nice British lady=20 living inside the box gave me step-by-step directions which were at times=20 confusing (why am I going around the block here?), but invariablely they wer= e=20 spot-on, and in about 45 minutes I found myself pulling up to the Ace Cafe. For those who aren=92t aware of their British motoring history, the Ace Cafe= is=20 truly a London landmark. Situated alongside the ring road which completely=20 circulates London, this cafe was a biker haven during the =9150s and =9160s,= back=20 when British bikers wore black leather and raced each other through the nigh= t=20 on Triumphs, BSAs, and Nortons. Achieving =93the ton=94 (100 mph) was a key= part=20 of participating in the culture of the day, and the Ace Cafe was a central=20 fixture on the biker social scene. (In fact, the entire motorcycle sub-species =93Cafe Racer=94 stemmed from th= e=20 scene surrounding the Ace Cafe). It finally went bust in 1969, but was resurrected and returned to its former= =20 status as the preeminant hangout for sporting motorcyclists (no Harley-types= =20 here, thanks), and also for sports car drivers. You can learn more by visiting their website at=20 http://www.ace-cafe-london.com. Anyway, when I arrived, an hour and 15 minutes after the advertised starting= =20 time for the event, the parking lot was completely filled with Mustangs of=20 every description. The lot was closed off and a burly biker clad head to to= e in=20 black leather stood alongside the entrance. Looking about, he made an=20 exception on my behalf and allowed me to enter and park up in what turned ou= t to be=20 Shelby Row; my car occupied the exact center of the display. I was frankly astonished to see the wide variety of Mustangs present, from=20 bone-standard six-cylinder coupes to rip-snorting animals which were barely=20 street legal. While early Mustangs seemed to be more prevelant, there were=20 representative examples of every generation, including three 2005 GTs. As I climbed out of my car, I met up with Dexter Moren, a friend of Geoff= =92s=20 who owns a charming 1965 A-code coupe, which his father purchased new from t= he=20 Cape Town, South Africa Ford dealership. On a previous visit I=92d Drewsast= ered=20 his car by lifting the hood and peering at the engine; a horrendous fuel lea= k=20 was discovered and he had to abandon the car at Geoff=92s house and get a ri= de=20 home from me. The leaking carburetor had since been overhauled and the car was in fine=20 fettle. Together we enjoyed a traditional English lunch (bangers and mash f= or=20 me), and then spent an hour or so wandering around and admiring the cars. I was frankly astonished at the high level of preparation deisplayed by some= =20 of the owners. Fastbacks seem to be more popular in England, and several of= =20 the cars were in truly immaculate and all-original condition. There were a=20= few=20 daily drivers in the lot, including several 5.0 Mustangs, and I noted with n= o=20 little embarassment that every car there was spotlessly clean except for min= e! Besides the Mustangs, there were also some other American cars present, whic= h=20 somehow looked strange in the gritty, urban London environment. A shoebox=20 Chevy was fully tubbed and slammed down to the ground, wearing gigantic Hoos= ier=20 drag tires in the back and making glorious sounds from a blown small-block=20 Chevy. Elsewhere a no-kidding Pro Stock Chevy S-10 pickup truck complete wi= th=20 wheelie bars was parked at the curb. An original Willys Jeep, a Bullit-clon= e=20 Dodge Charger, and several other musclecars were present as well. And of course, there were the obligatory bikers. Perhaps a hundred=20 leather-clad sport bikers were wandering about, admiring the cars and enjoyi= ng lunch. =20 While the great influx of traffic means that the days of street racing in=20 front of the cafe are long gone, apparently the Smally Willy Club was holdin= g a=20 meeting as well, for three of these clowns hopped onto their sport bikes and= =20 proceded to spend more than a half hour doing wheelies, smoky burnouts and d= onuts=20 in front of the cafe (and periously close to some very nice cars), while=20 ordinary civilian vehicle traffic continued unabated. Fortunately there wer= e no=20 accidents but I can assure you that if one of those clowns had lost control=20= and=20 damaged a car, he would have been in very big trouble indeed.... I introduced myself to a few other owners, all of whom knew who I was, thank= s=20 to a series of articles that I have submitted to the Mustang Owners Club of=20 Great Britain newsletter (www.mocgb.co.uk), and it was pleasant to get to kn= ow=20 some of these people, and learn more about Mustang ownership in England. Eventually people started piling into their cars and headed for home. =20 Fearful of Bank Holiday traffic as hordes of vacationers flooded the motorwa= ys on=20 their return to London, all too soon I hopped back in my car, fired up and=20 headed for home. This was my first Mustang event in the UK, and it was really an enjoyable wa= y=20 to spend an afternoon. And of course, herewith is a photographic accounting= =20 of the day: http://members.aol.com/mikeldrew/acecafemustangmeet.jpg With the big Pantera Owners Club Las Vegas Fun Rally fast approaching, I=20 don=92t think I=92ll be back to visit the Mustang until sometime in May. Bu= t that=20 should prove to be an epic adventure. Stay tuned! Mike
