Jim Boczar Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Hi Guys, I attended the Hagerty Sponsored Greenwich, CT Concours D’Elegance Event yesterday and I wanted to share the story and some pictures with you. It’s a two day, invitation only event with a variety of exclusive cars from across the country. Saturday is based on automotive style, performance and innovation for the Concours De Sport including a Touring Event through Greenwich CT which is only 5 miles from the NY border. Sunday’s Concours D’Elegance features a meticulously curated selection of vehicles, embodying the pinnacle of automotive design and engineering. I first need to go back to last year’s 2024 Eastern Meet at Carlisle, PA where a gentleman came up to me and started asking me questions about my car. He then stated his name is Charles Vrana and is a judge and curator for the Greenwich, CT Concours D’Elegance and that he really liked my car. He then asked me if I would like to show my car at the June 1, 2025 event. The class would be Muscle/Performance - Full Sized 1960 – 1972. I agreed on the spot and thanked him for the invitation. After spending many hours detailing my car over the past few months, yesterday at 6 am, I drove an hour to the Greenwich, CT Concours D’Elegance event. Charles was supposed to be the class judge but unfortunately he could not make it and Wayne Carini from “Chasing Classic Cars” was asked to judge the class. One of the cars scheduled to be in my class was Wayne Carini’s 1961 Ford Starliner but he decided not to show it since he ended up having to judge the class. The Muscle/Performance - Full Sized 1960 – 1972 class then consisted of only 7 invitational only cars and was to have a Best in Class and 2 other Class winners. The cars selected by Wayne were a 1967 Blue Pontiac Grand Prix with a 428 cu in 4 speed (Best in Class) (the owner told me he also has a 1971 Blue Monte 402 4 speed and he took a FGMCC business card!). Next was a 1960 Black Dodge Polara Convertible with a max wedge motor (Class winner) and a 1962 Black Plymouth Sport Fury Convertible also with a max wedge Motor (Class winner). The others cars invited were a 1964 Red/White Top Buick Wildcat, a 1970 Green/Grey Top Buick Wildcat, a 1960 Light Green Chevy Impala 348 cu in 4 speed (a friend of mine from Long Island) and my 1970 SS454. Unfortunately, I did not get an award but it was still an honor just to get invited to such a prestigious event. Wayne did acknowledge the rarity of the Monte Carlo SS454 and while looking over the car he pointed out the design of the chrome fiber optic bezels as unique and stylish and a rare option! He also noted that it was interesting that this was the first time he has seen my car because he lives in Portland CT which is only 20 miles away from my town and thanked me for bringing it. I was also surprised to meet Classic Car Consultant/Historian Donald Osborne from Jay Leno’s Garage. He came up to me and said he saw a 1970 Monte Carlo was listed in the program and stated “he just had to see it”. Seems he has a liking for the “elegant body style” and was impressed with my car and also thanked me for bringing it. A professional photographer for Hemmings Motor News also took some photos of my car and asked for my information. I did receive many compliments on my car and many “I didn’t know Chevy made a Monte Carlo SS454 model” and “I never seen one before today”. I also had some guests take our club business cards that I had available for the taking. Hopefully, our club and cars will get some more recognition! There also was a class for Post-War American Buick Riviera 1963-1973 and many other very interesting and rare automobiles spread over 18 classes. Best in show went to a 1932 Duesenberg Model J Speedster! (Not sure how these pictures are going to load up) 13 Quote
Dtret Posted June 3 Posted June 3 That’s awesome man. Well done. Award or not that’s a heck of an honor. 3 Quote
willie Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Jim that is Fantastic!!!! How did you keep that a secret since last year??? We could of had some of the club stand guard around that beautiful machine!!! She looks Great as usual!! Very well deserved to be there!! And as most of us will say still should have placed!!! lol We should go and buy Wayne breakfast for next year as he chose the wrong car, for sure!!!! (JK). Congrats Jim, You and Your Monte are the pinnacle of our Club and our cars!!!!! 3 Quote
cny first gen 71 Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Very cool Jim, your car certainly does belong to be there for sure. Congratulations 4 Quote
Marks71 Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Wow! Thats quite the honor to be invited to such a prestigious event. Thank you for representing the club. I’ll be keeping an eye out in my future HMN. 4 Quote
420ponies Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Way to go Jim ! Lookin' good, must have gotten a lot of foot traffic being on the end of the row. So many nice cars, hard to judge them I bet. Imagine a 4 spd ,428, with side skirts. Wild! And a Nice Day for a car show. Never met Wayne, seems like a nice guy though. I bet he liked that you "drove it" to the show. Any pictures of his '61 Starliner? And that Duesenberg, Wow! Just an honor being picked for that show, That's a win in my book. Congrats! 5 Quote
DragCat Posted June 3 Posted June 3 As others have said, CONGRATS ! The invitation alone is a nod/tip of the hat to your Monte 🤘Thanks for posting the pic's too 4 Quote
Gerard Munday Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Great pictures and a wonderful honor to be invited. Your Monte looks outstanding good job. 4 Quote
Rob Peters Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Congratulations Jim. Looks like it was a beautiful day for a car show. It always nice to be recognized and appreciated. I hope something comes from the Hemmings guy. I had a couple guys from Hemmings come up to me in Carlisle a couple years ago. They really liked my car and the fact it had not been restored but still showed well and they took a lot of information from me on the car. They took all of my contact information and said a professional photographer would be in contact with me to arrange a photo shoot in the Pittsburgh area. Nothing ever came of this. Of course my Monte isn't near the quality of yours so it didn't surprise me nothing came of it from Hemmings. rob 2 Quote
72 Monte Carlo Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Jim, congratulations on being recognized and invited to such a prestigious event! You have a gorgeous Monte Carlo! Quote
Scott S. Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Looks like the vault at G.M.... Congrats on getting your Monte in. 1 Quote
stangeba Posted June 3 Posted June 3 Your Monte Carlo looks great!! Some many nice pictures of the vehicles at the show, thank you! 3 Quote
Glen Posted June 4 Posted June 4 Outstanding! Hell of an honor to be in such elite company. Way to represent the FGMCC Family! 4 Quote
Vaughn Posted June 12 Posted June 12 Congratulation Jim, thank you for sharing your amazing story. 1 Quote
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