(Words and photos by Joe Grippo) – The 2020 Antique Automobile Club of America Special Fall Meet held in Gettysburg, Pa was centered in the midst of the historic Civil War battlegrounds the town is famous for. The area is very popular with historians and tourists alike, therefore plenty of sizable hotels have sprouted up in the surrounding areas, and their spacious parking lots were perfect for hosting the show. With ample parking for trailers and hundreds of show cars, the manicured landscapes and the clean, lined lots made dividing up the show for the myriad of classes a piece of cake. The only problem I had was I couldn’t find the muscle cars! We walked the entire show and about 2/3’rds through the day I started to realize something was missing, where was the really good stuff? As we headed to the truck for the ride home, I said let’s drive around and see if we missed a section somehow, and sure enough, tucked behind one of the buildings was the field of dream muscle. Bummer was at that late hour we missed out on a bunch of stuff that had already hit the road. Oh well, we did see some good cars.

Variety and quality seem to be the calling cards of any AACA event, and nowhere on the show fields was this more evident than in the Muscle Car area. From a highly optioned, fully dressed Malibu SS to a plain wrapper Buick GS to a few choice selections from American Motors, there was something for everyone. Being of the FoMoCo persuasion I gravitated to the Shelby and Boss Mustangs and big block Fairlane’s but the Super Duty Firebird had me drooling. Mopar fanatics crowded around the sweet drop-top Formula S Barracuda and the sister black Charger. If fiberglass is your deal, dig on the steel wheeled fuelie Vette, the gorgeous deep green Stingray and the Fawn Beige ’63 Spit window. All manner of GTO’s were there too, from convertibles and early ‘70s sticker era cars. The survivors were enforce, the Day 2 (I hate that term) Goat, Coronet, and later Comet all slipped in sporting period wheels and other vintage aftermarket equipment, which is generally a no-no for this show, cool to see. Cougars, Camaros, Chevelle’s and all the other usual suspects were in the house. Dig my buddy Jody Aberts’ mint green, 390 trip-equipped ’62 Fairlane, this was his first time at an AACA show and he took home a Junior Award! Feast your eyes on the gallery for the rest of the tasty bits.

More later.