30 Jun A happy Father’s Day

A week of inclement weather including two cold fronts and the Cape’s almost unique ‘four seasons in a day’ winter conditions preceded the Father’s Day activities at FMM, but thankfully on the day the sun shone strong enough to overcome the chilly air to not spoil the fun for the more than 700 attendees. The four display halls were open as usual with some of the 80 cars on view, some with ‘bonnets up’. The Pitstop Deli kept busy serving refreshments and light snacks while a dedicated food stall served up a variety of delicious hamburgers and chips.

In addition to the static displays, the visiting Dads and Granddads and their families were treated to continuous five-minute demonstration runs around the quad of many of the museum’s world class collection of vehicles and motorcycles. Among the more than 40 cars on parade covering over a century of motoring were a 1911 Ford Model T, 1929 Marquette, 1936 Rolls-Royce 20/25, 1947 DeSoto Suburban, 1955 Chev BelAir convertible, 1967 Ford Mustang, 1972 Buick Riviera, 1991 Alfa Romeo SZ and the rare 2000 Toyota Mega Cruiser.

Buzzing around with the cars, curator Wayne Harley rode a number of motorcycles and his experiences on this varied collection of machines can be read in his On Yer Bike column further on in this newsletter.

An added attraction for everyone was workshop manager Lorenzo Farella driving the 1978 Lexington March 78B-Ford Formula Atlantic, and a rare treat, firing up the ex-Jody Scheckter 1974 Tyrrell-Cosworth 007/3 Formula 1 car, which naturally caught everyone’s attention. A far different sound to the current crop of F1 cars! Another sound to be heard was the clang-clang of the museum’s 1953 Merryweather fire engine giving visitors a fun ride around the L’Ormarins Estate.

“We had a fantastic turnout, near to filling our permitted 50% attendance capacity under the current Covid restrictions,” said Wayne after the event. “The day was really well supported with many people staying from early morning until late in the afternoon. It felt like life was getting back to normal seeing families out and about enjoying themselves amongst all the vehicles we had on show.