100 Amphicars in Celina 2018

[Tommy in Tampa]

Hi there everyone, Tommy in Tampa here. Is there a thread about Celina this coming year?
We are gonna haul our Amphicar up from Florida and I think Dave the wave and two other Florida cars are also. Bobby Davis from California is coming as well.
Two things, one is that I would encourage everyone to come and bring some kind of a car. Even if you are in the middle of a restoration load that sucker on a trailer and bring it to Celina. I sure think a car that's being restored belongs in "the hundred car gathering" and should be counted. We did have 68 cars there one year I think about 2006 or so. It is time to make your plans and room arrangements now.
The second would be to document the event. I suggest one of those panoramic group pictures. I have a couple and they sure make me smile everyday when I see them. Some people would think 100 or so Amphicars in one picture would sure be a cool picture to have.
Anywho Life is great in the Sunshine State, Tommy

 

[mike_israel]

Hey Tommy. Good to hear from you and hearing you will be at Celina. For those who have never been, it is a pilgrimage worth making. I have only been out there twice but I think 2006, the year of the big turnout, was one of those.

I do hope to make it out there this year. A lot will depend on work. Like many over 50, my career has become a shitshow in recent years but hopefully the stars do align.

 

[LSolheim]

It would be great to get to 100. The 50+ that were there in 2002 was pretty exciting!

Check out the link at www.amphicar.com for the 2018 Celina Pre-Registration list. No committment, but rumour has it there are some prizes in the offing for a drawing after every 10 submittals!

Did you & Lynne ever build in that beautiful orchard, Tommy?

 

[LSolheim]

The following is a letter sent to the IAOC Membership regarding the 2018 event. IAOC member or not, consider attending this event. If you are not an IAOC Member, consider joining! --Larry




Hello Fellow Amphicar Owners,
Your [the IAOC] Board of Directors have been busy working on the 50th Anniversary Swim-in to be held July 26-29, 2018 in Celina, OH. I am sure that by now you have seen the special logo we developed for this event. We would like to update you on a few things.

1. Pre-registration for Swim-in and Drawing Eligibility. If you go to the club’s web site, www.amphicar.com, we have started a list of names for Pre-registration for the Swim-in. This is NOT the final registration form that will be coming out early next year. This is just a sign-up sheet that will allow you to let everyone know that you are planning on coming and if you are going to be bringing a car. We are going to have a drawing for a surprise gift at Celina. The drawing will be based on where your name appears on the signup list. There will be a prize awarded to one person in each set of ten names registered. So there will be a gift for someone in names 1-10, another one for the 11-20 names and so on. You must be present in Celina to win.
2. VIN Number Registry. We would also like to take this opportunity to get the club’s list of VIN Numbers up to date. So go to the “Member’s Only” section, use the user name (DeluxE) and password (WaveRider) both case sensitive. Go to the VIN Registry and check to see if your car or cars are listed. If not scroll to the bottom of the page and you will see instructions on how to add your car to the VIN Registry. It’s as simple as sending an e-mail with your car’s VIN number and your name to VIN@amphicar.com. Our web master, Larry Solheim will take it from there.
3. Special “Hawaiian Amphicar Shirt” design. As we have talked about, we are in the process of designing a very special shirt the 50th Swim-in. The designers are hard at work on it and we hope to have some designs to share with you in 2-3 weeks. Our initial concept is to include all four original colors of the Amphicar on the shirt so the majority of us will have our color Amphicar shown. (Sorry all you Yellow and Gold cars.) It is our intent to share with all of you these design and conduct a survey so the majority can pick the design you like best. We have also learned that we can purchase fabric in bolt form if anyone is interested in making some fashion accessories for themselves. A couple of thoughts were beach bags, hats, and even seat covers. When we get the design finalized and the order forms ready we hope to include this option as well. Please note that all of these shirts will have to be pre-ordered and once the order is placed that will be the only order that we will be having.
4. Awards-Trophies. Unlike past years, we are planning to present Awards/Trophies at this Swim-in. The final list of categories has not been finalized but here are some categories we have already came up with.

Oldest Serial NumberLatest Serial NumberMost Original
Highest MileageFarthest Distance Driven to Swim-in
Oldest Club T-ShirtFarthest Distance Covered to get to Swim-in
Most Duct TapeMost “Unique” AmphicarMost in Need of Work
Other Suggestions?
This is NOT a beauty contest, it is meant to celebrate Amphicars, running and not running,
Concourse, Daily driver, Barn Find or just YOUR Amphicar.

1. Hotel Reservations. If you are thinking about coming to Celina, we strongly recommend making a hotel reservation in Celina. There are only a few hotels in town and there is a NASCAR Dirt Track Race being held the same weekend, about 15 miles south of Celina. So there will be a demand for hotel rooms in Celina. Make your reservations now, you can always change or cancel them if your plans change.

1. Tell your Friends. Hard to believe but not everyone who owns an Amphicar is a member of the club. If you know someone who has an Amphicar and is not getting these updates, please pass this information on to them. Also let us know so we can add them to our e-mail list so that they can get this information.

1. More Swim Time. One of the suggestions we received is that people would like more organized time Swimming with their cars. We are planning to offer more opportunities for in water time. We are working with the Celina Chamber of Commerce to have a Charity Ride where we will be offering rides to the public for a donation and giving money to a local charity. We are also planning a “Water Safari” tour and we have a new in water game in addition to the “Bobbing for Booze” and the 10,000,000 Dollar Royal Flush Poker game.

1. Donations, Goodie Bags, Publicity, Prizes. We have started our PR campaign with all the national Old car publications to try and get a feature story on Amphicars. We have started contacting various auto suppliers, museums, suppliers to the trade and local Celina merchants in an effort to get donations or some “goodies” for the goodie bags, prizes and awards. If your company has any “give-a-aways or would be willing to make a donation please let us know. If you would like to help solicit for these gifts, please let me know. We were figuring that with almost 300 members with a lot of members having more than just their Amphicar, but other makes and model vintage cars that our club probably represents over 1500 vintage cars. That is quite a market for some of the old car vendors we hope to solicit. But we need your help.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, suggestions or if you would like to help organize, run and participate in all of the Pre-Swim-in efforts.
Thanks.
Jim Golomb (iaocprez@amphicar.com)

 

[Robert J Vondracek]

Mike, call me (Rob Vondracek) 219-405-1241

 

[Jon March]

i would consider going to help meet the goal!