Simon Templar, a.k.a. ”The Saint”, was frolicking around Amsterdam, chasing diamond thieves, in the featured video at SDVSA’s “”Pizza ‘’n’ Video” night during the General Meeting on August 13^th. Rivaling Simon’s powers of observation was Jeff Perry, who noticed that, while exterior shots of The Saint’s car were of a ’66 S, the interior was that of an early P1800! The movie production company never bothered to update the mockup of the interior, even though they reportedly used at least three different models of the 1800 – the P, the S and the E. Whilst enjoying the video, eleven regulars and one new couple feasted on pizza, beer and sodas! Our newest members, Diana Guest and Michael Brennan, have a beautiful stock orange ’73 ES for sale, and more information on the car can be found on page 11.

     The annual SDVSA Swap Meet on Saturday, August 23, was well attended, although we missed our regulars from the OCVC. As the breakfast hot links were reaching perfection on the Webber (not the carburetor), more and more people kept arriving in their mostly vintage Volvos. One of the earliest arrivals was Dough Gagliardi in his newly acquired 1965 1800S, all the way from Pomona Valley in Upland, no doubt qualifying for the Long Distance Award – if we had had one available. We had another far away visitor in Rick Borgart, who makes his home in Lake Forrest, and came in a bright red Volvo 850. Rick told us he is a proud owner of a ’66 120 and a ’70 1800E as well! Another newcomer was Dominic Piscopo, who recently bought a beautifully maintained, black, ’83 240 Turbo for a song! We are hoping to see these three enthusiasts as members at future SDVSA events! The candidate for Bringing-the-Most-Parts Award must have been Gary Strömfeld, with boxes of what looked enough parts to outfit two 1800s! And, he brought those boxes in the same ’64 1800S, which was the main character in the tale of ”A Three Day Resurrection” by Sven Olafsbrorsson in the December 2002 and February 2003 issues of 1800 NEWS. You can meet some of the familiar faces of the attendees and their cars in the pictorial coverage of this event, starting on page 7.

     One of the attendees at the Swap Meet was Sandra deMello, who is going to continue her education in Olympia, Washington, for a few years. The worst part is that she is contemplating staying in the beautiful 

     The Chrysler Classic Speed Festival at the Naval Air Station on Coronado, presented by the North Island Federal Credit Union, is coming up on Sunday, October 12. There is some confusion as to the name of this event. The above title was copied exactly from the logo on the top of the ticket brochure and the letter of invitation for our club. This exciting spectacle is produced by General Racing, Ltd., under the direction of Steven J. Earle, founder and producer of the Monterey Historic Automobile Races since 1974. The Chrysler Classic Speed Festival is a presentation of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl, a San Diego, non-profit, community enhancement organization. But never mind that…you can’t afford to miss this one!! As we have in the past few years, we’ll meet at Tideland Park, and caravan to the NAS in order to park together as a group. Remember to get your free corral passes from Bud Hartwell at (619)588-2180. You have to also have a ticket to the event, either purchased ahead of time ($17), or at the gate ($22). Read more about it on page 3!

     You probably know that the SDVSA hosted the VSA West Coast Convention in 1984 and 1994. A group of current members thought it would be appropriate for the SDVSA to host it again in 2004. We have received the approval of our VSA representatives, and all that remains now is the hard work that it takes to put on a successful meet! If you have any skills or ideas to contribute, please contact Russ Orrell at (858) 565-8034. More later!