Garage Party
Around this time, the new issue of Sports & Exotic Car is hitting mailboxes, with a short item in the News section on Bill Coffey’s Garage Party. It’s an invitation-only affair in Gainsville, Florida, and Donnelly’s pal Louis Galano was there on October 24 this year. Lou writes:
Bill Coffey taught at Santa Fe Community College for over 37 years until his retirement last year. Besides being an educator he was also a racer and a collector of sports cars, muscle cars and trucks.
When he was not teaching he was racing a 1971 240Z, which he bought new, in autocrosses, time-trials and hill climbs. That highly modified Z car took him to the SCCA’s time-trials GT-2 Championship in 2008 and 2009.
Over the years he has collected a number of cars and trucks and he found that living in a condo limited where he could park his collection. So, six years ago he bought a house in Gainesville and proceeded to build a 1,700-sq.ft. garage complete with bar and media area to not only house his collection, but to entertain friends and fellow car nuts.
When construction was finished he decided to hold a “Garage Party” to celebrate the event and christen the building. He invited all his racing buddies and friends and told them to bring along their best cars for a show. This was the first Garage Party and it was such a success he has repeated it every year since.
Aside from driving a bitchin’ Z-car around Gainsville, we have no suggestions for snagging yourself an invitation for 2010, although there are worse ways to spend your time. Thanks for the pics, Lou!
Phil Currin’s 1963 Corvette won the IMSA GTO Championship in 1972.
The Pete Brock “Baja Z” restored and owned by Carl Beck.
Bob Richardson’s 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE show car was a seven year project. It is a ground up restoration and all painting was done off the car. He has over $20,000 invested, not including labor and he did 95 percent of the work himself. During the restoration he designed the rear section of the car to be easily removed. It is bolted on with wing nuts and the engine can be easily accessed by removing the rear end. The undercarriage is polished to a mirror finish. Only 200 miles on the car since the restoration was finished in 2008. The car has a 400 cubic inch Chevrolet engine that puts out 600 hp. His next project for the car is installing a 406 cubic inch turbocharged engine.
Bill’s 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS 454 LS-6. Four-speed, 4.10s.
We see your Muscle Machines shirt back there, very tasty. John Thomas’ SCCA championship winning 1982 Z autocross car. He won four national titles in the last four years with this car, and 16 national championships to his credit.
The 1973 Ferrari Dino 246GTS (#05984) that won the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea memorial trophy dash in 1975. The car is still owned by the winning diver, Jack May, and has never been restored. It has just over 44,000 miles on the odometer. We have GOT to get this car into Sports & Exotic Car.
Roger Berry’s “Z Wolf” custom 1970 Datsun 240Z with a widebody kit, G Nose and HRE knock-off wheels. Those are 14 inch wide wheels on the rear and 11 on the front.
The #2 car is Bill Coffey’s 1971 240 Z that he drove to SCCA trim-trials championships in 2008 and 2009.
The 1971 240Z called “Blue Oval” is also owned by Roger Berry. It got that name because it is powered by a Ford 351 Windsor engine stroked to 383 cubic inches. This 20-year project has a custom one-off body and hand made suspension. Most other parts are custom made.
Black socks. Black shoes. All attitude. Garage party host Bill Coffey hands out plaques for the best in show cars. Not only did he pay for the plaques himself but he provided a catered lunch for all. Assisting him are Rich Lewis and Cathy Adams.
Everything on four wheels was allowed at the Garage Party including this motorized bar stool. The owner came all the way from Georgia for the party.