AHA- Association of Handcrafted Automobiles Show report

[ehansen007]

It was a very interesting day to say the least. Attendance is still down although they claim it's up from last year. Number of registered cars was around 40 but more showed up last minute (like me who came in the night before from vacation) and they ended up with around 50. Dave Hodgkins manned the booth for the day and talked to the various interested parties who dropped by. I also helped out a bit and flew the FFR colors answering questions on the Hot Rod when and where I could. The assortment of cars was pretty diverse and there were some amazing examples of craftsmanship to be seen by all. The awards ceremony was very interesting in some of the selections but to sum it up, Frank beat out Mikey for best Cobra under $40K! Franks best comment was "Alright, someone has to fess up to this...who did it???" Too funny. Overall, at the end of the day, the La Bestioni took home well deserved top honors and is a car that you could spend hours just walking around looking at all the details. Here are some pics of it.

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1253_zps2d5240db.jpg?t=1366041982

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1205_zpsf14a75d6.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1205_zpsf14a75d6.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1206_zps98dd34e7.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1206_zps98dd34e7.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1209_zpsecd1f79f.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1209_zpsecd1f79f.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1220_zps600f3c1e.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1220_zps600f3c1e.jpg.html)

More photos here.

http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/slideshow/AHA%202013

[ehansen007]

Here are some other amazing cars that showed up. This one is a Kirkham 289 one off hammered out of bronze. Darren said that he would never to do it again.

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1247_zpsab44d9f5.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1247_zpsab44d9f5.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1249_zpsc200620b.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1249_zpsc200620b.jpg.html)

Here's a neat little Porsche Speedster replica that is actually models after the original Speedster concept car of which there is only one in the world. It's got a mid-engine 1918cc motor with dual carbs and weighs in at 1250lbs!

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1243_zps1c851335.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1243_zps1c851335.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1241_zpsba9109a9.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1241_zpsba9109a9.jpg.html)

One of my favorites was this Lotus. So cool.

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1251_zps2b31abde.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1251_zps2b31abde.jpg.html)

http://i897.photobucket.com/albums/ac177/ehansen007/AHA%202013/IMG_1201_zpsf54c5280.jpg (http://s897.photobucket.com/user/ehansen007/media/AHA%202013/IMG_1201_zpsf54c5280.jpg.html)

[68GT500MAN]

Nice report Erik. The attendance numbers that you mention are way down from the last show that I was at. HB is less than 2 weeks away. look out, here I come!
Doug

[David Hodgkins]

The AHA show this year was held under cool, cloudy skies on April 13, 2013. The turnout was light, with just 38 cars in the lot by 9 am. A few more showed up during the day. As usual, Factory Five Racing had the largest contingent, and was one of 3 replica vendors at the event.

Factory Five owner Dave Smith stated in a phone call preceeding the show his continuing support for it, which helped out Factory Five tremendously early on in it's history. Erik Hansen and I manned the FFR tent for the show and answered questions from a good amount of show visitors.

One visitor stood out for me, for obvious reasons. He is 6'11" and had served as the support driver an insurance commercial featuring a Cobra. He stated that he had to have someone drive the car onto and off of the trailer because there was no way he could fit into it. I told him that I was confidant that he could fit in my MKIII roadster. He was very doubtful, to say the least. After some convincing, he agreed to try it out. He was amazed when, not only could he actually sit in the driver's seat, but after I closed the door he could still work the pedals! 6'11" and he could fit in a Factory Five. He was shocked. I wish I had a pic of him in the car, but I have another one that I'll post below to prove his size.

Overall it was a good show, and the AHA folks really know how to run an organized event. A big plus at the venue is the Wally Park NHRA museum, which offered free admission to all show participants. See below for some pics of the museum pieces.

This show deserves our continuing support, and I hope to see a bigger turnout next year. It's always a good excuse for us to get together for fun and fellowship.

I hope to see you there next year!


Now, on to the pics:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16681&d=1366123112

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16680&d=1366123111

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16679&d=1366123109

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16678&d=1366123108

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16677&d=1366123107

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16676&d=1366123106

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16671&d=1366123100

[David Hodgkins]

More pics:

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16670&d=1366123099

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16669&d=1366123098

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16668&d=1366123096

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16665&d=1366123092

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16664&d=1366123091

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16663&d=1366123090

Here's the guy who is 6'11". My brother, in the Red shirt, is 6'4". He FIT into my Blue roadster, seen in the right hand side of the pic.
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16662&d=1366123089

[David Hodgkins]

Even MORE pics!

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16661&d=1366123088

http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16660&d=1366123087


Winner of the Judges award for Best In Show:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=16659&d=1366123086

There are still more shots in my AHA show album:
http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/album.php?albumid=532

:)

[2FAST4U]

Nice pics. Too bad the AHA show is merely a shadow of what it once was when it was at Knott's.

[frankeeski]

Nice pics. Too bad the AHA show is merely a shadow of what it once was when it was at Knott's.
A few things come into play with this Bill. First, the economy is still soft and as we all know disposable money we once had is tied up in other things or just isn't available right now. The second thing that I see, is that the manufacturers have all pulled out (more or less) and with that a big part of the advertizing AHA once got. That free advertizing was the manufacturers letting all of their prospective customers about the show. I applaud FFR for at least getting a booth space and having 2 customers man it, even if it was last minute. Thanks to David Hodgkins and Erik Hansen for their unselfish donation of time this past Saturday. The last and I think most important thing is customer support. Ever since Factory 5 started doing the Huntington Beach show, it became the premier C-Car replica show. It's a shame that many of those that once attended the AHA show don't feel it necessary to support AHA any longer now that the HB show has been returned to the pier at HB. AHA was the only show on the West Coast that catered to the C-car replica crowd. I, myself feel as though I owe it to those at AHA since their show was the show that introduced me to both Mark and Dave Smith. Both of the boys (they were both young back in 1995) talked to me at length at that show and showed me the product I would be ordering just a few years later. The only way to return this show to it's former glory is to participate. We all know there are more than enough of us to do that. The other thing is to do what I have done here recently. That is to get involved with AHA by joining their membership and seeing what can be done to make this event grow again. I was very relieved to find out that, at least the show attendance levels have seemed to have stabilized. Hopefully this means the shows are on their way to recovery.