• There's still time to register for the SAOCA 25th Anniversary Invasion

    Let's go back to our Rootes – Dayton, Ohio
    July 30–August 2
    DoubleTree by Hilton Dayton Fairborn

    For details and to let us know you're coming, visit this thread.

    Cars | Fellowship | Fun | 25 Years of Memories

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2026 SAOCA 25th Anniversary Invasion! Back to our Rootes!

Alpine 1789

Alpine 1789

SAOCA President
Diamond Level Sponsor
The SAOCA was founded in 2001 by a handful of Alpine owners in Ohio, most of them in the Dayton area. Some of our best and most remembered national Invasions were later held in Dayton, where we invaded that city’s annual British Car Day. And now, we are going to return to the city to celebrate our 25th Anniversary!

The Dayton British Car Day (https://britishcardaydayton.com) will be held this year on Saturday, August 1st and our Invasion will start on Friday, July 31st with a group trip to Dayton’s British Transportation Museum (https://www.britishtransportationmuseum.org), home of multiple Rootes Group cars and a collection of donated Sunbeam parts which will be available for us to browse and purchase!

The Board has negotiated a terrific rate of just $134/night - including breakfast for two! – at the DoubleTree by Hilton Dayton Fairborn. Our rate is good from July 28th, 2026 through August 5th for those who want to extend on either end, and we will hold an event dinner banquet there on Saturday night after the car show. The hotel hosts multiple car clubs throughout the year and is very experienced at taking care of groups like ours. We will have a dedicated parking area, ample room for trailers and a large parts room/hospitality area that will be open for the duration of the event. We have a room block for 20 rooms (10 with two queen beds and 10 with kings) on Thursday the 30th, and 40 rooms (20 and 20) for the 31st and 1st. You can book your room at:


There will be more information to come in the coming weeks and months, along with event pricing, which the Board has voted to subsidize and keep very reasonable! In the meantime, please mark your calendars and feel free to book you rooms!

See you in Dayton this summer!
 
Reservation made. Maybe I can finally meet some of you! I don't know if the Sunbeam will be ready in time, but I can hope.
 
We haven't set it with the museum yet but are planning to make it later in the afternoon - something like 2:00 - to make it easier for members arriving that day.
 
Hello everyone! I can't believe it's been 25 years since our first Sunbeam Invasion. I uncovered the old 8mm film I shot back in June of 2001 at Tipp City, OH. and had it digitized. What a trip down memory lane. Lots of faces I recognize - some still with us, some no longer with us. Hope you enjoy this blast from the past. Here's the link to my film on YouTube:
 
Thanks, Scott. I didn't make it to the first Invasion or, for that matter, the second. I am pretty sure my first was #3, Dillard. But, from then on the Invasions were one of the highlights of my year and I am looking forward to seeing as many members - current and former - as possible in August.
 
My first invite to an Invasion was from Ian Spencer in 2004 after my recent purchase of the Promotional Harrington Le Mans. Ian said, "Come out to Dayton, Ohio and we will show you a good time." I flew into Kentucky, rented a car and drove up to Dayton. The Air Force Museum was a wonderful location. What with the airplanes and cars it was a motor heads dreamland. A good time was an understatement. Ian let me use his Harrington Alpine. And Ian introduced me to his father, Rex, who had been an exotic car salesman. Rex hooked me up with a farmers wife and family in Tipp City who were looking for a buyer of their late husband/father's 1963 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud III with under 25,000 miles. I returned a week later with truck and trailer to haul back the gem that I still own.

This year I'm planning on bringing two Sunbeams. A Tiger and the John Horsman's Harrington Le Mans V8. Horsman was the head engineer behind five Le Mans wins. Aston Martin1963, GT40 67 & 68 and Porche 917s 70 & 71. This HLM V8 has been Tigerised and it holds the actual Shelbyised V8 out of Carol Shelby's Ford Fairlane that was used at the Ford Advance Vehicle shop in Slough, UK. Incredible story and provenance. I'm also taking in the Shelby American Automobile Club's 51st gathering in Georgia at Road America. Looking forward to seeing you Gibeaut. My last stop will be at the Historic Festival in Lime Rock, CT.

Yes, if all goes well, you will get a ride in the HLM V8 Servatis.
 
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Invasion Schedule-(a work in progress!)

Thursday July 30-10 AM-4 PM Visit USAF Museum
3 PM Swap meet and hospitality rooms open at host hotel
6:30 PM Welcome Reception and meet and greet with club's founding members at our host hotel
Friday July 31-9 AM Swap meet and hospitality rooms open at host hotel
11 AM Group drive to Youngs Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs for lunch and ice cream!
2 PM Group drive to The British Transportation Museum
4 PM Swap meet and hospitality rooms open at our host hotel
Saturday August 1-9 AM Leave hotel to attend the Dayton British car show
6:30 PM Invasion Banquet at our host hotel
8:30 PM Swap meet and hospitality rooms open at host hotel for the last time
Sunday August 2- Sunbeams head for home. Thanks for joining us!
 
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Hotel reservations are made. We will be there Friday afternoon and for the banquet. Will we be registered for the show or do we need to do that separately? How do I register for the SAOCA part?
 
We are still working on the SAOCA Invasion registration fee and details.
Anyone wanting to register a Sunbeam for the Dayton British Car Day can find more info and the registration form here-there are 4 judging classes for our Sunbeams and remember the Sunbeam Alpine Modified Class is for V-6 Alpines or other non standard engines

British Car Day

British Car Day
britishcardaydayton.com
 
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65sunbeam said:
Friday July 31-9 AM Swap meet and hospitality rooms open at host hotel
11 AM Group drive to Jones Dairy Bar for lunch and ice cream!
2 PM Group drive to The British Transportation Museum
Click to expand...
?...Group drive to Jones Dairy Bar...? I never heard of it could be a typo, maybe you meant Youngs Jersey Dairy in Yellow Springs Ohio (about 17mi from the hotel)?
Since the group is going to the British Trans Museum after lunch, you might reconsider just going to the Carillon Historical Park which is about 1mi from the museum and save a lot of driving time.
They have restaurants there and it's a nice place to see the history exhibits of Dayton (also a real Wright airplane & their workshop). There is a fee but maybe they will give a group discount.
Jan
 
It is hard to believe, but we are now just over two months from the Invasion. We've had questions about costs and final plans that we'd like to answer as soon as possible, but planning is difficult until we have a better sense of how many members and guests will be attending. The Club has built up a nice cash reserve and we'd like to use a chunk of this to make the 25th Anniversary Invasion memorable. However, we also have minimum room night and food guarantees with the hotel and we can't finalize things until we have a better sense of attendance. We'd much rather spend our funds on the members than the hotel, but as of last week only five members have booked rooms at the hotel.

If you are planning on attending, please don't wait any longer and book your rooms! And, if you are planning on attending but not staying at the hotel, please let us know either here or via PM. We really want to make this a worthy celebration of the SAOCA and the sooner we have a reasonably accurate count the sooner we can work to make that happen!
 
Alpine 1789 said:
It is hard to believe, but we are now just over two months from the Invasion. We've had questions about costs and final plans that we'd like to answer as soon as possible, but planning is difficult until we have a better sense of how many members and guests will be attending. The Club has built up a nice cash reserve and we'd like to use a chunk of this to make the 25th Anniversary Invasion memorable. However, we also have minimum room night and food guarantees with the hotel and we can't finalize things until we have a better sense of attendance. We'd much rather spend our funds on the members than the hotel, but as of last week only five members have booked rooms at the hotel.

If you are planning on attending, please don't wait any longer and book your rooms! And, if you are planning on attending but not staying at the hotel, please let us know either here or via PM. We really want to make this a worthy celebration of the SAOCA and the sooner we have a reasonably accurate count the sooner we can work to make that happen!
Click to expand...
I just booked my hotel reservation. Looking forward to seeing everyone.
 
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