Dan's Papers - October 5, 2007 - Antique Automobiles Rally Along the Roads of the Hamptons

On September 29, Bridgehampton hosted the yearly Classic Car Road Rally, marking the 50th anniversary of the popular road rally. It is not a race intended to determine the fastest automobile, but instead, it is a cruise divided into about ten checkpoints. The objective is for a participating team to pass through the checkpoints at a certain time, which is pre-established by the rally officials. The winner is the contestant that has crossed each checkpoint closest to the designated time.

A few basic rules govern the event. The vehicle must be of a 1969 model year or earlier and cannot be altered from the original manufacturer's specifications. The team/crew is comprised of a driver and navigator.

The morning of the event boasted perfect weather. "I'm sure glad it's not too hot, otherwise I'd have to take bottles of water along for the ride. My Jaguar has a tendency to overheat," commented one of the participants. But that's no news to vintage car enthusiasts. Every pre-Ford Jaguar had a tendency, or rather the certainty, to overheat. (Ford acquired the Jaguar manufacturer in the mid 90s and reengineered the entire line of Jaguars, affording these vehicles their current reliability.) As a matter of fact, this writer, who has had the pleasant misfortune to have owned a few vintage Jaguars, has been humiliated on numerous occasions when his Jaguar XKE left him stranded and inconvenienced on the side of the road. Not to mention the embarrassment this happenstance causes when in the company of a woman on the first date. After such a calamity, it would frequently become the last date.

Julia and Jim Shelly, the rally's organizers, scuttled about the grounds, preparing for the final minutes before launching the race. At about 10 a.m., the official starter gathered the contestants, barked his final instructions to the drivers, asked them to start their engines and prepare to send them off. The fifty or so entrants boarded their rides, and in smattering seconds, the roar of the cars generated a fracas. Many of the cars disappeared in clouds of smoke. The complacent Saturday morning had awakened.

A couple of minutes later, the automobiles and their crews were off. Montauk was the first scheduled stop. An intermission had been scheduled to pause for lunch at Rick's Crabby Cowboy Café, and then head back to the Northwest Woods region of East Hampton, on to Sag Harbor and finally, or more accurately, thankfully, back to Bridgehampton. In total, it would be a grueling 128-mile course.

So, the precious relics and their occupants blared toward Montauk. Approximately five and a half hours later, the first entrant stumbled back onto the Bridgehampton Historical Society Grounds, a 1931 blue Cadillac Open touring. "It was a beautiful ride. When we got close to Montauk, on 27 we saw all kinds of wildlife. We even saw a fox. I couldn't believe it," exclaimed Stanley Redluss, the proud owner/driver of the topless classic.

The second automobile to finish was a 1936 Lagonda, an elegant, red two-seater, known as a boat tail open sports car. The owner, Clyve Doyle, knowing the rarity of his car, radiated a sense of satisfaction. His massive vehicle bears prominence for its racing history and was a feared competitor on the prestigious racing circuits of yesteryears. "It's become very rare, and I love to drive it on a day like today. But I'll tell you, it's very demanding to drive. You know, no power steering or power brakes. It takes the leg of an elephant to step on the clutch, but it keeps me in shape," he said. In the late 1930s, the Lagonda Motor Car Company, a British concern, had merged with Aston Martin Ltd., which presently still manufactures a contemporary variant of this legendary vehicle.

A 1961 Mercedes 190SL Convertible limped back to the grounds a few minutes after Mr. Clyve's Lagonda. The white hood was ajar and its driver and navigator seemed happy but somewhat frazzled. During the course of the rally, an electrical problem had drained the battery, which the ingenious crew had remedied by hooking up a battery jumper box to the automobile's disabled battery. Despite this plaguing malfunction, the owner and his navigator took first place in their class.

"These types of breakdowns have to be expected and you've got to be prepared. That's why I take along with me all kinds of tools and spare parts. After all, some of these cars are over fifty years old," tutored one of the other contestants, whose ride also had sustained a mechanical failure near Northwest Woods.

Doctor Samuel Guillory, an ophthalmologist by profession and auto mechanic by passion, labored over six years restoring a 1929 Packard five-passenger sedan. He has restored the green gem to near perfection and only drives to the Hamptons on occasions when temperature, humidity and barometric pressure are optimum. He gratifyingly displayed a photo album that preserves all the stages of his Packard's meticulous and expensive refurbishing process. "After having gone through all this, I learned one thing - buy somebody else's already restored car and pay less than half what he or she has spent rebuilding it," he declared.

Upon returning to home base and following a photograph session and interviews with the various members of the media, the participants and spectators gathered under the vast, white tent that had been erected on the Historical Society's grounds, sampling hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. Later in the afternoon, Jim Shelly stepped up to the podium and spoke about Bridgehampton's auto racing history, noting that many respected names of this sport partook in some of these rallies or raced at the world-renowned racetrack that once existed in this town. Among them were Briggs Cunningham, Dan Gurney, Phil Hill and Bob Grossman. Mr. Grossman, who has recently passed on, was a Southampton resident. When he retired from the automobile industry, racing and performing operas as a tenor, he dedicated his talents to automotive drawing, leaving behind innumerable works of art.

At last the winners were announced. The top class was won by another Hampton resident, Peter Mole and his navigator, William B. Secrest, an airline captain.

This type of affair is a congregation of a variety of social classes. Anyone can become enamored with a classic car, regardless of age, profession, gender or culture.