AACA Grand National Meet - Bettendorf, IA - August 10-12, 2023

[cwmcobra]

The 2023 AACA Grand National Meet will be held at Isle Casino Hotel & Convention Center in Bettendorf, Iowa this week. The event starts with daily car shows on Wednesday August 10 and concludes with judging and awards dinner on Saturday August 12. I'll be showing the Verde Howitzer, where it will be judged for its First Grand National Award. Bob Bowen will be joining me for the road trip. We'll be arriving on Friday afternoon and departing on Sunday morning. I'm not aware of any other of our group that's doing the AACA thing in the Midwest, but if anyone is in the area, it would be great to meet.

Have a great week!

Chuck

[cwmcobra]

While the Verde Howitzer was the only 65 Skylark at the event, there were some others that were very nice.

1969 Skylark GS 400 Stage I

1986 Le Sabre Grand National

[cwmcobra]

A couple more. I didn't document models and years.

[cwmcobra]

Ever seen a Mustang with a "Branded" top?

[cwmcobra]

I thought this Hudson Hornet was really cool!

[cwmcobra]

And here's a Mopar for John Evenson...

[cwmcobra]

GTO's anyone?

[cwmcobra]

A 1966 GTO and a 1959 Catalina 389 Tripower

[cwmcobra]

And this was really cool. 1940 Buick 76EX Pickup....

[35chevcoupe]

Chuck , thanks for posting some pictures .  I can,t wait to get back into the car show scene . But hey i don't see any Mopars in those pictures , but thats ok I'd rather GO FAST WITH CLASS !!!   

[GS66]

Nice pics! I don?t see any Mopars either though!

[cwmcobra]

Sorry, I thought I posted this....

[cwmcobra]

The "Branded" Mustang was parked next to the Verde Howitzer and I'm sure got the most interest and questions of all the cars at the show. The "Branded" top was a dealer installed option (she had documentation) and was available in many colors and patterns. Apparently, some patterns were much more masculine. I'd never seen one before!

[dsags]

Might have missed it, but how did the Verde Howitzer do ?

[cwmcobra]

Won the hoped for First Place Award. This is within the category of Factory High Performance - Buick & Pontiac 1957-1969. All cars in the category that scored above 380 of 400 points and within 5 points of the car with the most points got this award.