The 8th Annual gathering drew more than 40 cars.

This is the eighth year for the Unique Motor Cars annual open house and track day - and it just gets better each year. This has always been a family event, with something for everyone to do. This year a Poker Run was added for Thursday, turning this into a three-day event with Friday being Open House at the plant and Saturday Track Day at the Talladega Gran Prix Track. Since 1976, Unique Motorcars have been in the business of building Cobra* Replicas. They started in Arizona, but moved the business to Gadsden, Alabama in 1981 (just an hour north of Birmingham). In the past 25 years the company has produced somewhere around 950 cars. The company started as a family business with Jean and Jim Weaver and their sons, Alan, Maurice and Rick. Jean and her sons Alan and Maurice now manage the business. Jim retired several years ago and Rick went back to teaching. Now Jean handles the office and Alan and Maurice manage the shop. 

The annual Homecoming was originally organized as a one-day thank-you celebration for past customers, but over the years more things have been added to make this an interesting event for the whole family. People come in for Homecoming from as far away as New Hampshire, Texas, Florida, Connecticut and North Carolina. After the Thursday poker run most everyone went to the Top O' The River Restaurant for an evening of catfish and hushpuppies. Food, iced tea and bench racing seemed to be the order of the evening. For open house on Friday morning there were some 40 cars on display in front of the shop. The bright sun and the bright colors reflected off the chrome of the roll bars and trim. All 25,000 square-feet of the Unique facility was open to the public. There were parts and cars and projects open for viewing. This is a good opportunity to visit with Maurice and Alan and to see how these cars are assembled.

Cars lined up on Friday for open house.

This chassis w/engine was on display during the Friday open house.

Unique Motorcars is currently building a car for WCW wrestling  champ Bill Goldberg. The engine is a dry sump, 454 c.i.d. Ford NASCAR built by Ernie Elliot. Power goes through a toploader four-speed. The engine is rated at 898 hp. All the cars use a custom front end that is fitted to the 2X4-inch ladder-type frame. Jaguar suspension is used in the rear. Unique Motorcars has it's own fiberglass shop where the bodies and fiberglass interior parts are produced. In addition to the bodies, Unique also builds the complete chassis and many of the accessory parts as well.

Enzo and Paula Alibrandi of Finish Line (Cobra* accessories) attended the Friday evening barbeque in the park and annual raffle. They were kind enough to donate several wonderful prizes including a Moto-Lita steering wheel. "We really like to get out and meet other Cobra* owners. This events are always so much fun," said Paula Alibrandi. "The entire Weaver family always put on a great Friday meal," said Mike Sullivan. "Mamma Jean Weaver makes a strawberry cobbler that is out of this world." "Our attitude toward the customers is that everyone is family," said Jean Weaver. "It's a lot of work but we are always glad to see everyone come back, year after year."

Everyone gathers early Saturday morning for the 60-mile drive from the factory to the racetrack. There were several open seats and we quickly became part of the semi-official Unique Motorcar convoy (some of the cars went out on trailers and met us at the racetrack).
Last year the 1.4 mile Talladega Grand Prix Raceway was pretty rough, but this year the track has been repaved and made just a little bit longer by straightening out one of the corners. By the time we arrived at the track, the clouds had burned off and it was in the high 80s with humidity to match.

Here's the big line-up at the track.

The annual group photo was the first order of the day, with everyone gathering on the high bank of one of the sweeping turns. The schedule called for practice laps in the morning with time trials scheduled for just after lunch. At the driver's meeting there was some talk about the new track. The extra length offset the new pavement so the elapsed times were very close to last year's and some of the cars with sticky tires were doing very well on the new pavement. Lunch was served a few minutes early when John Nafziger's car suffered a blown engine and leaked oil on the track. So everyone took a break, had lunch and worked on their cars, while the track crews dried out the track. The Unique crew served delicious smoked pork sandwiches for the noon meal and provided cookies and soft drinks all day for everyone.

Cars and drivers lined up for the traditional photograph.

After lunch the track was dry and cars were soon lined up in the pits to start the time trials. Several of the cars suffered from the hot day and the faster track. Don Flower, Don Porter and Mike Sullivan all were out early due to blown engines. When Sullivan's engine went, the car took a spectacular flying spin. "Well, yes, I flew through the air for about 25 feet, but the car didn't suffer much damage, other that the engine is going to need some work," he said. The afternoon went fast and the times between the cars were real close. But soon it was time for the shoot out and the three fastest times of the day were sent back out onto the track. They were: Joe Traut in his 351 powered car with the LeMans top, Tom Davis in a 427 and Sammy Campbell in his 427. And when the dust had cleared, it was time for the awards.  Master of Ceremonies Maurice Weaver presented Linda Dunn with the award for the fastest Woman's Time. Michele Lincoln, in a car she built herself, took the award for the fastest small-block. With a big grin, Sammy Campbell received the fastest big-block award. Twenty-eight-year-old Joe Traut almost needed three hands to carry all his awards. He received awards for Longest Tow (all the way from Sharon, Massachusetts), Fastest Medium-block and overall Fastest time. The LeMans top sure gives Joe's Cobra* a different look. "This is a good day for us," said Joe Traut. "We are using a crate 351 engine with 17,000 miles on it. The engine ran strong and we had the right combination with the wheels and tires."

 Michele Lincoln at speed.

Homecoming 2001  will  be held on May 3,4 & 5, 2001. Thursday, May 3rd, there will  be a poker run in the afternoon. Friday, May 4th, is open  house  at  the  factory, and Saturday, May 5th, the  Homecoming Time Trials will be at the  Talladega Gran Prix Track.   Trophy  presentations will be held immediately  after  the  runs.

For more reservations and  information,  please contact Unique Motorcars, Dept KC, 230 E. Broad St., Gadsden, Alabama 35903; (256)546-3708.

* Cobra is a trademark of FORD MOTOR COMPANY. UNIQUE MOTORCARS' products have no connection with Ford.

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