Sebring Meet and Track Day – It’s ON!

Posted on October 8, 2022 by CliveAlive

Our Fall Meet and Track Day at the Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, FL is still on for next Saturday, October 15th. Despite everything! Please read on for updated information.

There will be a car corral under the trees in the infield for those not wishing to run the track and a light lunch will be courteously provided by Jose Laboy and hosted by Bill and Tricia Rose.

The Track Day itself is held under SCCA Track Day rules and all you will need is your safe street car, a valid driver’s license, and an approved helmet.

To register for the Track Day part go to www.motorsportreg.com and click on Events and find the listing for Track Event at Sebring on October 15th and complete the registration. The cost is $145 for the Track and $15 for the Weekend Membership of SCCA. Make sure to familiarize yourself with all the requirements listed on www.motorsportreg.com

Registration for us closes Weds 12th. October. 

If not running the track, admission is FREE. However, everyone is still required to sign in and sign waivers to gain access to the facility.   

For that reason, we must have your RSVP by Wednesday Oct 12th in order to have your name on a list to check in against at the SCCA Office. Please reply to this email to RSVP and you can just say TRACK or MEET with your name. If you have already RSVP’d, thank you. No need to send again. 

ALL ATTENDEES MUST ARRIVE DURING THE OPEN HOURS OF REGISTRATION TO GAIN ADMITTANCE.

Sign-In times for the facility are Friday 4:00pm till 7:00pm and Saturday 7:00am till 11:00am.

Drivers Meeting is at 8:00am Saturday.

Directions:
First enter at Gate 3 and head for the SCCA Office where you will sign in to gain access to the facility. Then to Gate 1 for entrance and on down the Midway to meet us at the car corral under the trees in the General Parking section.

Attached is a sample Inspection Checklist to help ready your car for the track.

Feel free to email us with any questions.

IMPORTANT: Even if you are only thinking about doing the Track Day, you should go ahead and register as spaces are limited.  You can always cancel if you can’t make it. 

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Fall 2022 Meet News

Posted on August 20, 2022 by CliveAlive

Summer is too hot for meets in Florida BUT this coming Fall is shaping up to be an exciting time for Volvo enthusiasts.

Apart from the National VCOA Meet in North Carolina in September that a few of us plan to attend and the return of the Swedish Social at the Ace Café in Orlando on 24 September, we are excited to announce plans for our Fall Meet which will be a Track Day at Sebring on Saturday October 15th.

Held under SCCA Track Day rules, all you will need is your safe street car, a valid driver’s license and an approved helmet. There will be a car corral for those not wishing to run the track and we have been invited to a light lunch courteously provided by Jose Laboy and hosted by Bill and Tricia Rose.

Importantly, this is a Volvo Club Meet, VSA and FVC included. Those wishing to run the track may do so by acquiring a “Weekend Membership” from SCCA ($15) which can be found on CFRSCCA,

Click on “Join SCCA” in the top left corner, follow the link to SCCA and create a member ID and pay for a weekend membership for Oct 15th.

There will be a fee of $140 for Saturday; but this fee is not charged if you do not make it on track to run the event.

Registration is expected to open in September at which point you should sign up for the Track Day itself. We will announce when Registration is open.

Volvo Club Members not wishing to run the track will be admitted for FREE as a guest of the Central Florida Region of SCCA BUT are required to go through SCCA registration at the track to sign the required club and track waivers in order to gain entry to the facility. 

Registration hours usually are on Friday night from 4pm to 7:30pm and Saturday morning from 7 am to 10am.

Also attached is an Inspection Sheet so that you can ready and ensure your car will pass inspection – for example, speed rated tires with adequate tread, battery tie down (no bungees) and terminal covers, brake pads over 50%, an approved helmet.

Due to the popularity of these events, we do ask that you let us know if you intend to get out on the Track. More info to follow.

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2022 Spring Meet

Posted on June 18, 2022 by CliveAlive

Our Spring Meet this year was held in conjunction with and hosted by Central FL VSA, returning by popular demand to Fort DeSoto Park on the Gulf of Mexico.

Balmy weather breezed across the island the whole day adding to the relaxed and friendly atmosphere. Pavilion 5 gave some shade to eat lunch and host the activities including the Volvo Trivia.

Ginger Nuesser and Dave and Angela Taylor tied as the winners of that with nearly sixty percent correct answers and received goody bags from FCP Euro and VSA Gift Memberships for their efforts.

Loren Williams and Tom Smith were the winners of the 50/50 Raffle.

The winners of our People’s Choice Awards were: Barbara and Dennis Falcone for FWD/AWD with their 2016 V60 Polestar and Benny Jordan for RWD with his 1970 164 he has owned since new! They will each receive a custom trophy coffee mug with their photos printed on them.

Thanks go to Debbie Martin and Jeannine Dowdell for tabulating the votes for the People’s Choice winners and John Martin for organizing this again. And of course, to VP Auto Parts and VSA for the prizes.

For photos of the meet please visit www.FLVCOA.org

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2022 Spring Meet

Posted on March 12, 2022 by CliveAlive

Spring is here! And our next meet, hosted by Central Florida VSA, is just a month away. We are returning to Fort DeSoto Park by popular demand. The Florida Volvo Community, FL VCOA and all Volvo enthusiasts are invited. 

When:  Saturday, April 9th, 2022
Where: Fort DeSoto Park – Shelter #5
              3500 Pinellas Bayway S.
              Tierra Verde, FL  33715
Time:   11 am – 3 pm

For those who haven’t been, Fort DeSoto is located on the Gulf of Mexico on the southern tip of Pinellas County and is a great park with an old Spanish American War fort, a very long beach, fishing piers, concessions, biking and hiking trails, etc. Easily accessed from I-275.

Please bring your lunch and a chair, sunscreen, fishing poles, bathing suit, kayaks etc. Dogs must be on a leash. 

Pinellas Bayway is a Toll Road and there is also a $5 Parking Fee collected at entry to the Park.

Here’s a link to the park for more information – Pinellas County Guide Fort DeSoto
A map to Shelter #5 is below.

Membership in FLVCOA or VSA is not required. All Volvo enthusiasts are welcome.

We look forward to seeing you there.

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2021 Fall Meet Report

Posted on December 12, 2021 by CliveAlive

The Spanish Moss draped Oak trees at Shelter #1 in Trimble Park, Mount Dora shaded thirty Volvos that spanned the years from 1965 to 2020. The day was sunny and warm with a slight breeze and the humidity was way down.

We had returned to Trimble Park on Saturday, October 23rd for the fourth time based on it being centrally located, picturesque and of historical interest.

It was great to see all our Volvo friends and their cars again and the weather cooperated to make it a wonderful day out.                                                                                               

Cars ranged from 1800’s and Amazons, 240’s, 7 and 9 Series all the way through to a 2020 XC90 T8.

Award Winners were:

People’s Choice Rear Wheel Drive: Jose Laboy, 1973 164

People’s Choice Front/All-Wheel Drive: Michael Jingle, 1997 850R

Oldest Volvo at the event was a 2-way tie: Louie Bouchelle, 1965 1800S and Chris Smith, 1965 122S

We want to thank RockAuto for their $25 gift Certificate, FCP Euro for two $50 gift certificates, John Martin for two VSA memberships and Chris Short for the Volvo paraphernalia for our raffle. Also, to Chris Smith for his event flyer artwork and 18×20” prints.

Photos of this meet and others can be found here

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2021 Fall Meet – Mt Dora

Posted on August 1, 2021 by CliveAlive
Artwork by Chris G. Smith.

Florida Chapter Fall Meet

Florida Chapter VCOA will be returning to the popular and centrally located Trimble Park for our Fall Meet this year. 

When: Saturday October 23rd, 2021. Noon till 3:00. 

Where: Pavillion #1. Trimble Park, Mount Dora. FL. 

Bring Chairs and Lunch. 50/50 Cash Raffle. Awards and Prizes.

Membership in VCOA Not required. VSA, Florida Volvo Community and all Volvo enthusiasts are welcome.

Please Note:
The safety of all attendees is our main concern during this pandemic. All attendees of the event must practice current at the time COVID 19 protocols. If you or someone you are with show any symptoms of COVID we ask that you do not attend the event. If while at the event you feel symptoms, please exit the event.

Also, current Park regulations limit 50 people at each shelter. We anticipate that this may only be a concern for our Raffle and Awards towards the end of the meet. Please abide by this requirement.

Hope to see you there!

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2021 Spring Meet Report – Fort DeSoto

Posted on May 2, 2021 by CliveAlive

With twenty three cars attending and participants arriving from all parts of the State and beyond, our informal Spring Meet was a relaxed and friendly success.

The weather was about as perfect for a meet as one could ask for, sunny and warm but with a cooling breeze and bright blue skies to go along with the blue-green waters of the Gulf.

Attendees from Volvo Sports America, Florida Chapter of Volvo Club of America and the Florida Volvo Community brought cars that ranged from early round-fenders to very recent models. We even had a couple of guests; an MGA and a second gen Honda CRX and numerous spectators drove by and gave us a thumbs-up.

Thanks to John Martin and VSA for hosting us and booking the site. Rich and Marylin Nelson for the delicious Volvo shaped cookies! Thanks to all who attended and helped make it a success and to everyone who supported the raffle which covered the cost of the shelter rental.

Talk is of coming back next year.

More photos can be found here.

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The 2021 Spring Meet is ON!

Posted on March 20, 2021 by CliveAlive

We recently asked for input on having an informal Spring Meet at Fort DeSoto.

The results are in and based on the amount of interest it’s been decided to go ahead and have the meet.

The pavilion is booked!  

When:  Saturday, April 17th, 2021
Where: Fort DeSoto Park – Shelter #5
              3500 Pinellas Bayway S.
              Tierra Verde, FL  33715
Time:   11 am – 3 pm

Central Florida VSA is hosting and we, along with the Florida Volvo Community are invited. You are welcome to arrive early and stay later. 

Fort DeSoto is located on the Gulf of Mexico on the southern tip of Pinellas County and is a wonderful park with an old Spanish American War fort, a very long beach, fishing piers, biking and hiking trails, etc. Easily accessed from I-275.

Current Park regulations limit 50 people at each shelter and there are still a few places available.  We are using first come, first served as the guideline, so please email to reserve a spot as quickly as possible to FLVCOA@gmail.com  with the number of people in your party if you plan to attend,

Bring your lunch and a chair, food to grill, sunscreen, mask and sanitizer, fishing poles, bathing suit, kayaks etc. Dogs must be on a leash. A charcoal grill will be fired up around noon. We will have a 50/50 Cash Drawing to help pay for the Shelter Rental. 

There is a $5 Parking Fee collected at entry to the Park.

Here’s a link to the park for more information – Pinellas County Guide Fort DeSoto
A map to Shelter #5 is below.

Please Note:
The safety of all attendees is our main concern during this pandemic. As per the Florida Governors Executive Order, all attendees of the event must practice COVID 19 precautionary measures including social distancing, wearing masks, etc. If you or someone you are with show any symptoms of COVID we ask that you do not attend the event. If while at the event you feel symptoms, please exit the event.

FLVCOA or VSA Membership NOT required. All Volvo enthusiasts welcome.

We look forward to seeing you.

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2020 Spring Meet Report – Celebration of Cars

Posted on May 7, 2020 by CliveAlive

Directions said to enter from the Club 52 Melbourne Greyhound Park entrance.

Rounding the corner, we found ourselves at the end of a long double line of cars on the back perimeter road of the American Muscle Car Museum (AMCM) heading for the white EZ-up tents for check in. Here and there we could see another Volvo in the line of traffic.

Very soon though the road behind us filled up and the line went back through the gates we had come through.

Through check in and round a left hander we stopped again, this time so the meet photographer could get shots of all the entrants.

Then we were ushered to our place on the field. All the Volvo’s got to park together and so there we were. An island of twenty-one pieces of Swedish steel, pretty much right in the middle of the field, surrounded by American Muscle cars, hot-rods, rat-rods and show cars but also a few British, European and Asian classics.

We had accepted the invitation by the Antique Automobile Club of Cape Canaveral to join them at their Celebration of Cars at the AMCM in Melbourne and to make this our Spring Meet.

Despite it being so much earlier in the year for us than usual, we had a great turnout and a variety of models were represented along with a number of wagons, being the featured body style for our meet.

The Celebration of Cars is held Rain or Shine but the weather was absolutely perfect and it was great to see old friends, meet new faces and see the great examples of Volvo’s everyone bought. And of course, to see all the other cars that filled the campus.

This year featured “The Fabulous Fifties” a tribute to the chrome and big fins on cars of that era and was also marked by the full Museum being open to the public for the first time ever. And what a stunning collection of cars. Over 300 cars in all: Porsches, Yenkos, Indy Pace Cars and so much more. Check out their website for more info. Dennis Gage of “My Classic Car” was there shooting for an upcoming episode and was available for interviews and autographs and awarded his choice for the show, among others awarded by the AACCC.

Not surprising then that this turned out to be the largest show ever with over 1000 spectators, 410 cars pre-registered, 506 cars on the field and some latecomers even having to be turned away!

Winners of our Spring Meet People’s Choice Awards were: 

Louie Bouchelle won RWD Station Wagon for his 1987 245.

Michael Jingle; FWD/AWD Station Wagon with his blue 1997 855.

Jose Laboy; RWD for his gold 1973 164E.

Barbara Falcone; FWD/AWD with her 2016 V60 Polestar.

Our thanks go to Susan Laboy for Registration, Jeannine Dowdell and Susan for counting the votes for the award winners and Chris Short for organizing our trophy plaques; the organizers and volunteers of the AACCC; Mr. Marc Pieloch, the owner of the AMCM, their staff and volunteers; the DJ, all the food trucks and vendors and everyone who helped make this a day not to be forgotten – because we may never have had a Spring meet this year otherwise!

For more photos of the meet click here and here.

AACCC Website and more photos of the show.

Below is the AMCM video of the event. Volvos are featured at 4:57 through 5:04

Hope to see you in the Fall.

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Announcing the 2020 Spring Meet – Celebration of Cars

Posted on December 29, 2019 by CliveAlive

The Muscle Car Museum at 3500 Sarno Rd., Melbourne

Please mark your calendars for our 2020 Spring Meet.

We have been invited back to the Celebration of Cars by the Cape Canaveral Region Antique Automobile Club on Saturday, February 29th. at the Muscle Car Museum, 3500 Sarno Rd., Melbourne, FL. Their theme is “Antique to Modern” with a special class “Fabulous 50’s”

This will be our third meet at this venue and we have been promised a section where we can all park together. 

Dennis Gage of “My Classic Car” will be there to video the show. Below is their Flyer with all the details and importantly, a sign-up form. Please print out and complete the form and send it in to Sue at AACCC with your check.

Also, please RSVP to us by email to FLVCOA@gmail.com so that we can reserve enough space for the Volvo’s to park all together as a group.

We will have our own awards for this show including our own special class; Volvo Wagons (not including SUV’s – though of course, they are welcome to attend!!)

FLVCOA Membership NOT required. All Volvo enthusiasts welcome.

Looking forward to seeing you there.

Dave Montgomery
Chapter Coordinator

Cape Canaveral Antique Automobile Club Website

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