523-LSX-NB

12 Coming & 9 maybes. Sure would be great to end up w/ @ least 20 V8 Miatas rumbling through the Georgia/Carolina hills.

Saturday meet & Sunday drive has been mentioned. Anything going on for Friday? Can everyone note what they would like to do?

I'm good w/ Sat/Sun & Friday if enough people are gathering on Friday. Might be nice to settle in & check the place out a bit.

charchri4

My plan is to:
Wednesday and Thursday drive the 1200 miles to Atlanta,
Friday watch the races. (unless I need the day to fix something...)
Saturday hang with the V8 crowd
Sunday head north for a cruise in the Georgia hills then on up to the tail of the dragon,
Monday 8:30 tour of the vette plant in bowling green then head for home.

I'm hoping my son can get leave and come over from Norfolk VA so we might have a tag along Firebird on the cruise.

charchri4

Any of you Ford guys want to take the lead to get a hold of Martin and see if we can get some contacts, or have him reach out to Ford builds in the area? We need more Fords!

jonbon88

Jim,
The Meet sounds awesome, sorry I can't make it from New Jersey. I will just be returning from a business conference that week.
John

tvp

Any hotel picked that we would all stay at ?
that way we park in the same area...

charchri4

Great idea! I made reservations at the country inn listed on RAs site. Hotel & Dining - Road Atlanta

But I did that just to be safe in case I can get my wife or son are there. If it's just me I'd more likely mount a cot to the wing mounts and camp out.

tvp

Just booked the Hampton Inn $ 99.00 Rate
Arrive Thursday April 23 ---- Depart Monday April 27

SupaDupaSteve

man, I wish my car would be finished.

tvp

OK....... Count me in one more from Canada
CF-55 Flyin Miata Built LS3
2004 Mazda Speed Miata V8

charchri4

Outstanding moved to the in crowd! Wow that is a really beautiful car, we better put you far from me so I don't rub off!

Steve you don't have to bring your car to come ya know. Nick from North Dakota is coming and his won't be done either. Is it a long trip for you?

Edit: wait a sec you have 4 months to get it done. What's the problem!

SupaDupaSteve

It's about 9 hours away. and $ is the problem haha. Unless someone wants to have a t56 and ls shipped to my door for me. You can add me under the "would like to go" lol there's a chance but i'm unsure at this time. I'd realllly like to see all the v8 miata's and it would be some serious inspiration to get mine finished.

Sunshine Guy

Since I spend a lot more time staying in hotel rooms than working on my car, perhaps I can contribute some worthwhile suggestions on this. I looked at numerous hotels for location, amenities, and value/price. Here's what I would suggest:

My number one pick would be the Hilton Garden Inn in Gainesville. It is a VERY nice hotel. It has large, comfortable sitting areas both inside and out, great for a group hang-out. Great rooms/comfy beds, quality, cooked to order breakfast, nice bar. Scroll through the pictures here: Hilton Garden Inn Gainesville - Hotels.com - Hotel rooms with reviews. Discounts and Deals on 85,000 hotels worldwide Those traveling with their better half could make extra points staying here.

This Garden Inn is 11.5 miles/18 minutes Northeast from Road Atlanta. Go to www.hhonors.com and, as of tonight anyway, you can book for the following rates: $79 prepaid (no refunds), AAA rate $80 - $85 rate averages to $82.50 a night; couple dollars more for AARP rate. $94 "no discounts" rate.

If a few people booked at the above hotel, the other logical hotels in the area where others might stay are not more than about 4 to 17 minutes away, so this could be a nice, central meeting place for the group.

The Country Inn Jim mentioned is a decent value; I see it at $104 on Hotels.com. It is ten minutes closer to the track than the Hilton above (6.2 miles, 8 minutes). Personally , I'd rather drive the extra ten minutes and stay in a nicer place for less money. Nothing wrong with this one, though; it's a solid value.

The Hampton Inn Flowery Branch is the Host Hotel for the event. It is 7.9 miles/12 minutes west of the track. There is a negotiated rate of $99 until they sell out their block of rooms. Call the hotel directly, 855-238-1591. Hotels.com has a $93 non-refundable rate if you're that committed. Hamptons are fine and this one is rated highly, but again if I'm spending my own money I'd drive 6 minutes further and stay at the Hilton Garden Inn.

Because I'm just a po' boy, I've booked the Hampton Inn at 450 Jesse Jewel Pkwy in Gainesville. It is only 1.6 mile from the Hilton Garden Inn where I'd LIKE to stay, but I got this one for a dirt cheap 10,000 hhonor points per night at www.hhonors.com For those that have Hilton points, this is a steal. Much rather have the Garden Inn, but not for $400+ more.

As all you frequent travelers already know, to get the lowest rate at the place you want to stay, it's best to book your rooms now for the maximum number of nights you might need, and then just call and change the arrival and/or departure dates as required. With most hotels you can do this up to 24 hours before scheduled arrival; almost none are more than 48 hours prior for a change or cancellation. So, book now and if a cheaper price shows up later, book that and cancel your first reservation. Of course this strategy does not apply to the non-refundable rates.

charchri4

Great write up as always Sunshine! I'm booked at $64 a night with the points thing at the Country Inn.

Another cheap way to go is airbnb if you are a little more adventurous. If you don't know what that is it can be anything from crashing on someones couch to renting their entire house. I've done both and have had several good experiences using the site. https://www.airbnb.com/s/Braselton?c...ss_id=fomepdqc

I figure for this trip there is not much value in too nice of diggs. I'll be at the track all day and out to dinner with new found friends in the evening. Pretty much just need a place to sleep...

Gator Bait

My wife and I both have business travel in the same time frame so we're waiting for those dates to firm up. We'll likely stay at the HGI. I'm a sucker for a decent breakfast in the morning and a glass of wine before bed. Plus I'm risk adverse; I get consistent experiences with the HGIs.

523-LSX-NB

Should we consider dash plaques, stickers or something to commemorate the event; hopefully the first of many. So, the inaugural event? If agreed upon, everyone might throw in a few bucks each, to cover the cost?

Doesn't seem to be a lot of interest for a scheduled Friday gathering. So, we are currently planning to drive down Friday, meet Sat, cruise Sun, & then head home.

For the guys trying to complete a build in time; it's hard work, but you can do it. Doesn't have to be perfect, just safe. After all, you will most likely make changes over the years. So, it's never really finished...

charchri4

I hit up Internet Brands (the folks that own this site) for some support on that. I'm hoping to get some to get site stickers at least.


I also asked if they could make an event design for us using that logo as a base like they did for the mod under my name that could be used for shirts or whatever. Hadn't thought about dash plaques but that's a great idea.

I'm hoping to get some sponsors to kick a little something in too for fun.

After the holidays if Martin at Monster and Keith at FM reaches out to their customer base this thing could get much bigger than it is now.

cruizin54

We will be driving up on Thursday then staying for the entire weekend. I think dash plaques or stickers are a great idea.

tbone heller

The Panoz family owns Road Atlanta as well as this place Château Élan Winery & Resort | Inn, Spa, Golf, Meetings, and Weddings. I like to stay here as it is very close to the track. It has wine & spa stuff for the ladies while the guys are at the track.

tbone heller

And let us not forget this Panoz Historic Racing Museum - Château Élan Winery & Resort - Luxury Inn, Spa, Golf, Weddings and Meeting Destination

Sunshine Guy

Oh, man, I gotta' hide this post. If my wife sees this I won't be staying at the Hampton Inn with free points...

Sunshine Guy

Okay, I've got this.

Sunshine Guy

I shot a message off to Martin with info on the Mitty. I asked if it would be possible to contact his current and former customers to make them aware of the event. Here's a quote from his reply: "I'm going to roust the Ford troops."

So watch out, you Heartbeat boys, the Blue Oval tide is about to swell...

Also, I figured there would be a 1 in a 1000 chance that Martin himself would be able to attend all the way from the left coast. However, I made it known that we sure would love to have THE MAN who started it all, and that if driving a shop car clear across the country was an impossibility, we'd arrange to pick him up at the airport and make sure he got a ride for any group events.

To my surprise, Martin responded he had conflicts on those dates but would investigate whether it was possible to overcome them and attend! Would that be awesome, or what?

I'm excited!

Gator Bait

This message brought to you by Oil-dri...

523-LSX-NB

That's funny.


I realize that we're just joking around here, but, as a side note:
To me, parts are parts & I use the best parts suited to meet the need regardless of manufacturer.

The more V8 Miatas the better

Gator Bait

Absolutely! Also realize there is a reason I know all too well about oil-dri!

Luckily its all Jeep and not V8 Miata related!