Classic Car Meeting 2012

Our next Annual Classic Car Meet
Sunday, September 2nd 2012 

The Annual Thornfalcon Classics lunch-time meeting, is provisionally set for Sunday, 2nd September 2012, at The Parklands, Henlade, nr. Taunton, Somerset, Last year’s event was another great success with a record attendance of more than 1,100 vehicles. Many visitors credit the popularity of our meeting to its format: IT’S FREE OF CHARGE, NO BOOKING IS NECESSARY (although it does help to know in advance if car clubs and large groups wish to attend), and come and go, as and when you please. It is primarily a lunch-time meet, from 11.00am to 2.30pm but many people arrive much earlier and some stay later. Further details if required from Garry or Steve, by telephone: 01823 444500 or e-mail: info@thornfalconclassics.com. Visitors arrive from all over the South of England – many even further. The average number of exhibits often exceeds the one thousand mark! It’s a meeting, not a show, so your vehicle does not necessarily have to be in pristine condition. Most marques are represented, from the mainstream to the obscure, including commercial vehicles, motor bikes and tractors. Last year a vintage combine harvester arrived, causing quite a stir!

Please come back to check when the date has been confirmed. We look forward to seeing you there. 

We are just finishing off Garry's Austin Big 7 and have lost the headlamp shells somewhere !!! Has anyone got any please?

Todays update; just put new bearings in a Lotus Twin Cam engine that  is going on our automobilia page and is for sale, here's a short video of it running in the LOTUS 7 we are restoring, now with the correct 1600 GT engine.

  Please phone for details

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Classic car event becomes a classic

Snippet of a recent article in Mature Times Magazine.

One such gathering is the Thornfalcon Classic Car Meeting which enjoyed its 32nd outing this September. It started with 10 friends, half a dozen interesting cars and a Somerset village pub (and car park). That was 1977: the year of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee street parties, Red Rum’s third Grand National win and the death of Elvis, allegedly.

The meeting is now at its fourth location, the huge village playing fields at Hatch Beauchamp near Taunton which last year saw attendee vehicles top 1,000 for the first time.

I spoke to first timers, Bob & Ginny Sackley, who drive a very smart red Triumph TR4a and were impressed by the event: “We’ve been meaning to come for years, and have been surprised by the number and range of vehicles – from bikes to trailers and vintage Bentleys and Bugattis to modern exotica like the Aston Martin N400 and GT40 replica. We also love the relaxed atmosphere – no competitions, no fee, just turn up, park, have a picnic and a look around and then leave with a donation to charity and a cheery wave from the organisers."

Whilst there is no fee to enter for vehicles or spectators, the local scout troop gently agitate some buckets for odd change to help their community work.

Garry’s real skill is in keeping all these interested parties happy, and apparently so effortlessly. Having been immersed in motoring all his life - he was for 35 years the Aston Martin Owners Club representative for Somerset, although to look at him he must have started when he was about 10! – means that he has both the contacts and the depth of knowledge required to make it look so effortless. No doubt there’s a lot of work behind the scenes too.

The Thornfalcon Classic Car Meeting really is about as informal as such events get, the locals and the police are happy, and of course so are the hundreds of motoring fans who turn up every year.

Does Garry realise that he has started a classic classic event? “It’s more of a good idea that got out of hand, but in a nice way,” he concedes.