Loosen your Mini seatbelt, it's a SAMOA picnic!

We got hamburgers, we got brats (ok, hot dogs), we got all the fixin's to put on 'em, we got soft drinks and we got a big ol' 40th Anniversary cake. All we need is you. If you've ever been a SAMOA member you'll hate yourself in the morning if you miss this bruhaha. And you really need to RSVP qwickmini@gmail.com.

Current members, if you wish, please bring a side dish to go with. Former members, bring a big appetite!

Back to the 60s again

Mike Howze has been "digging in the basement" (or wherever) like so many other former SAMOA members, now that Minis and the 40th reunion are filling his mind. Here is some of what he dug up. Dash plaques from some long-ago events (who could forget the Mini Mother Cross!?) and really fine t-shirt art by local artist Fred Palmer. Fred used to do a lot of illustrations for the hod-rod crowd but Mike managed to talk Fred into doing one of Mike's Cooper S. Groovy!

Hopefully Mike, and everyone else who have found SAMOA memorabilia, will bring it all to the reunion on the 18th.

This Mini really gets around

Ok boys and girls, it's Mini quiz time again. Some Minis come and some Minis go but this Mini has been in SAMOA since the early 70s. Can you name its first SAMOA owner? How about its present SAMOA owner? How about the four SAMOA owners in between (this is sort of a trick question)? Club members who attended MMW 2007 are automatically disqualified!

The TRUTH at last, at least about all the SAMOAns who've had their mitts on this nice little Mini. Chuck Heleker found this 1974 Canadian Mini 1000 in the mid-seventies at Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle. Catherine Bell, a Canadian living aboard a fishing boat, had it for sale. The rent had just gone up for the fish locker she'd been storing the Mini in. Bert Lobberegt purchased the Mini for his girlfriend at the time, Denyse McFadden but Denyse didn't quite catch the Mini bug and Chuck bought it back. Tim Corbett then purchased it from Chuck and when Tim moved to Corvallis he sold it to Michael Palmer. Michael in turn sold it to current owner, Barbara Praefke who has just installed a spiffy new 1275cc motor. We don't expect to see the orange Mini change hands again any time soon!

Tim Boyd got part of the history right and though Kathy (Dawson) Moellenberndt thought Jim Kirbach might have owned the car his name hasn't been mentioned by any of the previous owners. Of course, all previous owners and the car will be at the reunion. Let's see if they'll all fit in the Mini at the same time!

SAMOA goes road racing

In the 60s SAMOA was all about autocrossing but the 70s saw SAMOA Minis invade Northwest road racing circuits in force. Steve Ludwig led the way, on the track in 1968. He was soon joined by Pete Gerheart, Chris Miller, and Al Beebe. It was easy to pick out our club racers with their distinctive paint jobs; green and yellow on the Ludwig Mini, dark green and white for Gerheart, dark over light blue on Miller’s machine and purple with orange trim (which soon gave way to bright yellow) on Beebe’s blaster.

In these photos taken at Seattle International Raceway, you'll see Chris Miller (#738) chasing Roy Thomas down the hill between turns 2 and 3A, Steve Ludwig (#137) shadowing Al Beebe on the straight, Pete Gerheart (#200) on the strait and Al Beebe (#90) between turns 3A and 3B. The pace lap photo shows all the cars but Miller's at the front of the grid heading for turn 3A. Chris wasn't entered in that race or he would have been up there too! The Chris Miller photo was taken in 1976, the others in 1979.

Through the years over a dozen SAMOAns have raced Minis but these are the founding club racers who inspired them to get out on the track. Look them up at the reunion if you want to hear some great Mini racing adventures!

40th Anniversary shirts now available

What better way to celebrate 40 years of SAMOA than to do it in a brand new 40th Anniversary shirt! Three styles available: a 3-button short sleeve polo in white with black and gold trim on collar and sleeves, a white long-sleeve tee and a beige retro short-sleeve tee (updated version of the original SAMOA shirt design). Available at SAMOA events and meetings and of course at the 40th Anniversary Reunion picnic.

RSVP please!

RSVPs from past and present members are flooding in and it looks like the SAMOA 40th Anniversary Reunion picnic is going to be a HUGE event.

For any organization to survive for 40 years is a remarkable achivement. Even more so considering the crazed bunch of motoring fanatics that have made up SAMOA through the years. This is the chance to celebrate!

If you haven't emailed your rsvp (positive or negative) please do so now. We've got lots of goodies to get for the picnic and want to make sure there's plenty for everyone. Simply email your rsvp to qwickmini@gmail.com.

Looking forward to seeing you there. Don't miss it!

1971 Red Baron Run

And you thought the term "ART CAR" was something new? In the late 60s and early 70s The Tyee Triumph Club held the annual RED BARON RUN autocross. It was a big hit with SAMOA autocrossers as it was a chance to decorate their Minis too!

In May of 1971 the event was held at North Seattle Community College and SAMOA participants met early at the Denny's just west of I-5 on Northgate Way. In this group of photos you'll see Jim Kirbach's Cooper S (ex-Dick Penna) being prepared for battle, Dave Merkel's custom MkI (note the MkII tail lights!) and at the event, the huge crowd is rivited on Chris Miller's Cooper S and Chuck Heleker tightens his helmet strap just prior to a run in "The Grape" (check out that ultra-groovy paint job!). Northgate is barely recognizable in the background of the Kirbach photo and try not to shed a tear when you see the gas prices in the background of the Merkel photo!