August 9th through 12th, 2006

at the

Inn at Chester Springs
Lionville, PA.

Hosted by the Brandywine Region!

Check out a Preliminary Schedule!

With Special Guest, Jonathan Stein!

Download your Registration form as a PDF here!(~28k)

Contact Dave Ehret(email) or Steve Garrett(email) for more info.

The theme this year is the 50th anniversary of the 100M. This year it is 
hosted by the Brandywine region and will be held at The Inn At Chester Springs 
in Lionville, PA, at the intersection of route 100 and route 113 just off the 
Downingtown exit of the PA turnpike.  It is a AAA 3-diamond hotel with a 
restaurant and bar, room service, indoor and outdoor pools, on-site fitness 
center, and a courtesy shuttle to local shopping, restaurants, and other 
attractions.  Rooms feature a 27 inch TV, wireless internet access,  hairdryers,
irons/ironing board, and important to many – an in room coffee  brewer. 
 
Make your reservations directly through the Inn At Chester Springs.   The
number is (610) 363-1100 or (888) 253-6119.  Mention that you are with  the
Austin Healey club to get the special low rate of $89 per night.    Check out their
website at InnAtChesterSprings.com for more information. 
 
Encounter 2006 begins Wednesday August 9 with a private tour of the 
Boyertown auto museum after the museum is closed for the day.  This museum  includes
everything from sleighs to horse-drawn carriages to cars and trucks,  with a
large display of electric vehicles.  A unique feature of the museum  is that one
of its main functions is to display vehicles produced at factories  in
Reading, Philadelphia, Fleetwood, Pottstown, and Hamburg.  It is located  in an old
truck factory, and after the tour you will be having a true gourmet  dinner,
including wine, in the former paint booth room.  Transportation via  coach bus
will be provided for those who do not want to drive there, but it is  also a
nice drive up route 100.  Make sure you register early for this  event.  There
are only 65 spots available, and once those are taken it will  be sold out.
 
Throughout the event Brandywine’s Hospitality room will be open early for 
breakfast, as long as you want coffee and doughnuts.  Then Hospitality will 
reopen later with the usual beer, sodas and light snacks.
 
Thursday morning starts with the road rallye.  The roads in this area  offer
some excellent Healey driving experiences.  Come out and test your  driving
skills.  Also on Thursday will be a tech session and “valve cover  races” in
the afternoon.  A valve cover race is just what it sounds  like.  Take any
Healey valve cover (preferably one that you don’t need to  run your car!) and
customize it any way you choose and put it on wheels.   It has to drive straight
down a ramp and be the fastest to the finish to  win.  Aerodynamic foils,
weights, special wheels all are legal.  It  must be no longer than a 6-cylinder
healey valve cover and must have no other  means of propulsion beyond the earth’s
gravitational pull.  People came up  with some creative designs, and some
pretty basic ones too, such as valve covers  bolted to skateboards or inline
skates. Doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t  have to be fast to allow you to
join in the fun!  In the evening we are  planning the wine and cheese party,
and a charity auction.  This will be a  silent auction, where you pick up a
glass of wine and wander around the tables  looking at the Healey parts for sale
and bidding on them. The highest bid at the  end of the night wins the item. 
We are counting on member donations for  auction items, so bring your Healey
parts you no longer need or want and donate  them to the auction. 
 
On Friday morning we will hold the Gymkhana, an autocross event being  hosted
by the Home Depot and will be held in their back parking lot. There are 
classes for just about every Healey made, so come on out and “run what you  brung”
.  If you have a helmet bring it along, as it is required on the  course. If
you don’t have one we will have some available to borrow.  Your  car will also
have to pass a safety inspection.  As part of the Gymkhana we  will also have
the TeamKhana competition.  The winner is the region who has  the highest
overall finish in all classes of the Gymkhana.  In the  afternoon will be the
kiddiekhana, a chance for our younger members to compete  and have fun.  The
dinner is a luau, complete with roast pig and live  entertainment.  Wear your
Hawaiian shirt! 
 
Saturday starts off with the Funhana, a low-speed precision driving event 
where you and a partner will have to perform all sorts of activities while 
navigating your Healey.  In the afternoon is the popular car show, which  will be
on the cool lawn of the hotel facility. 

The event ends with the  banquet,
featuring our guest speaker, Jonathan Stein, author of the book  “British Sports
Cars In America 1946 - 1981.  Copies of the book will be  for sale at the
event. The tentative topic of Jonathan’s talk is “Importation  and distribution
of British cars”, with an emphasis on  Healeys.    Noted automotive
journalist Jonathan A. Stein is a  true British car enthusiast, has owned, raced, and
enjoyed a variety of British  iron over the years.  Currently the Director of
Publications at Hagerty  Insurance, the country’s largest insurer of collector
vehicles, Stein previously  served as editor for Robert Bentley Publications
and Publishing Director of  Automobile Quarterly.  He is also a freelance
writer whose articles have  been featured in AQ, AutoWeek, Road & Track, Sports Car
International, and  Vintage Motorsport.  He authored the informative book
British Sports Cars  in America for AQ and has recently completed a new title,
The Performing Art of  the American Automobile for Coachbuilt Press, 2006. 
Stein is also a member  of the Society of Automotive Historians and the
International Motor Press  Association.
 

Encounter 2005 Photos.