WEDNESDAY

Wednesday, as an unofficial Americarna day, is a more relaxing shindig on the side to ease participants into the flow of things. The primary attraction of this day was the Barnetts’ private car collection, featuring an incredible array of European and American vehicles, all located on a rather unbelievable slice of property. What’s really interesting to note is that almost all vehicles have a current WOF and registration, and the majority are hooked up to trickle chargers, implying they are all ready to be driven by the owners, whenever they want. While there were some real treasures stored in the first garage (housing primarily English vehicles), the stuff that you’re going to be interested in was stored deeper on the property. You know it’s going to be a good collection when the first thing you see is a beautifully finished ’61 Corvette roadster with small block power and a four-speed manual. Back inside, there was a ’37 Cord, boasting an interestingly configured flathead V8 engine, as well as a 1928 Mercedes SSK, a rather rare Plymouth Prowler, and a duo of tidy Buicks — a ’56 convertible and a ’55 Riviera coupe. What really took us, though, was the leastcomplete vehicle there — a late-’60s Plymouth Superbird. While it could have been a ‘normal’ Road Runner, the spoiler mounting points, flush-fit rear windscreen, and big Dana diff said otherwise. This was all confirmed with the full monty of Daytona-spec aero parts hung up in the workshop area. The workshop was also notable for the beautifully preserved ’35 Chrysler 6 — sporting a current WOF and rego, of course.