As we all know, the success of most automotive events is largely dependent upon the weather. Well, the second weekend of September 2016 blessed us with amazing skies, and we were rewarded with a stellar show put on by the Waikato Mustang Owners Club. The annual Henry Ford Memorial Day Display and Swap Meet was originally scheduled for July 31, but ended up being postponed due to bad weather — we can tell you that it was well worth the wait.
Considering it was hosted by a Mustang club, you can be sure there was no shortage of them, but it was so much more than that. Dedicated to everything ‘Blue Oval’, with around 800 cars on display ranging from Model Ts through to the latest Falcons and Mustangs, as well as a hefty swap meet, the event was not just for the Ford lovers — any petrolhead would feel right at home.
That said, a bit of Ford love certainly wouldn’t go amiss — not when sights like this were on offer wherever you’d look.
Or sights like this, although the Mach 1’s bum isn’t the only big thing in this photo. Just check out the decent-sized crowd milling around.
But if you were after big, you couldn’t go past the big chunk of Ford Aeromax truck hiding in the background of this photo — see, it wasn’t just Mustangs!
And not-so-big Fords were in attendance, too. Check out Ashley Hollings’ remote-controlled Model A tow truck, powered by a pair of mobility-scooter motors, and built by her dad, Jono.
It didn’t have to have a Blue Oval badge to be welcome, either. The Shelby Cobra is a massive part of Ford history, and one that’s spawned countless replicas across the world. This one looked beautiful, and we’ve gotta hope the ‘427’ fender badges weren’t lying!
On the opposite end of the performance scale, these Model Ts paid a fitting homage to the grandfathers of modern motoring.
In fact, just about every year of Ford production seemed to be present and accounted for — an excellent turnout for what is a truly excellent event. Twenty-two years sure seems to have perfected one of the best ways to kick the old event calendar in the guts, and get the horsepower party started!
