Once again the Mustang Club Nationals was held in the tranquil arboreal setting of Capel Manor Gardens, Enfield, Middx, and on such a scorching hot day, the shade of the trees proved a most welcome place to seek refuge for many enthusiasts! As usual a chilled out garden party atmosphere is created at this venue with cars being judged for concours all parked neatly on the lawn in front of Capel Manor. Linda Howarth was going to enter her superb 1966 289ci coupe in the concours, but travel plans prevented this, and as Linda says, sometimes it's nice just to park up with the rest of the cars and not have the additional stress of preparing your car to perfection, especially with the heat on a day like this. Chief judge Mark Hayden told me that there were 43 cars entered for concours this year with around five cars in each category, including six Shelbys and a full entry in the Masterclass.

Making his debut at Capel Manor was Kevin Ince with his Shelby GT350 clone which was modified in the USA two years ago and imported from LA. The car has a 302ci engine and is loaded up with Shelby goodies! A major scoop for the Mustang Club was the arrival of the only 2006 Shelby GT500 outside of America at the time. This was displayed by Roush Technologies Europe who also brought along a 2005 Mustang 420RE with a Stage 3 engine tune. Roush were represented by their M.D John Mitchell, Anthony Davis the commercial manager of performance engine tuning (and a huge Mustang fan in general) and Dave Jones, their Vehicle engineering manager. Interestingly Adrian Waller has converted his new Mustang to look like a 2006 Shelby GT500! All parts were sourced from Cal Mustang in the USA and the finishing touches include 20-inch Ghost 'bling' rims. “One of the best things about the car is the SLP Loudmouth exhaust, I reckon it sounds even better than a genuine 2006 Shelby GT500,” enthused Adrian. USAF hydraulics engineer on the Hercules C130 aircraft Eric Knight had entered his 2005 GT in the concours. It's mostly stock with the exception of a Bassini exhaust and a C&L intake for 91 octane tune. The gold pony emblem on the front grille was a nice touch and sourced via ebay.

Ian Bruce and family drove down from near Grimsby in their 1969 Mach 1 428 Cobra Jet, a car which Ian purchased in the USA in 2001. He's since driven it all over California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah, taking in all the famous sights like Las Vegas, Bryce Canyon, Monument Valley, Yosemite, etc. How cool is that to drive your own Yank in the USA and then ship it back to the UK to enjoy over here? Ian has since stripped the car and rebuilt it, a respray excepting and it's one that's going to be extensively used, with several trips planned for Europe too. Mustang Tracie Thurston's green notchback, as featured in Classic American Magazine several years ago, has undergone a metamorphosis and recently emerged from the Mustang Shop in Norwich resplendent in Pacific Blue metallic. “Colin and Mike did a wonderful job and I was telephoning them up nearly every other day checking on progress,” says Tracie. “They are such a good crowd at the Mustang Shop and we built up an excellent rapport and when I went to pick the car up in April 2006, when I saw it, for once in my life I was speechless. I'm now over the moon with the new paintwork!”

The Mehmet Family, Haken, Birsen and their children Sevan and Serap purchased their 1996 3.8 V6 Mustang as a Japanese import being the first UK owners. Looking very smart with a bodykit and red Snap-On seat covers, Haken has since fitted a K&N cone air filter and resister chip to encourage cool air induction. He's also had to replace blown head gaskets which he says is quite a common occurrence on these engines. Due to it being so hot, many folk decided to head for home during the early afternoon, who could blame them, maybe a few had swimming pools that needed using! Winner of the Masterclass was Wayne Cross' 1969 Sportsroof, the Shelby Trophy went to Terry and Cheryl Bridle's 1966 GT350H, and the Miles Townsend Trophy went to Fred Shoulder's Fastback.