American Muscle Cars in Ireland, Liam Kenny’s Chevelle SS
I met Liam Kenny on Team Chevelle a few months back. I am from Dublin, California. When I saw a post from Dublin, Ireland, we started an on line conversation that has lasted for months. "WoW!" I said to myself, fully expecting a couple of rusty Imapalas would be the extent of the muscle car hobby in Europe. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised. You see, the U.S. dollar is very weak against the Euro now and that makes the purchase of American goods (and Chevelles) very attractive to Irish lads like my friend, Liam.
The Muscle Car craze is huge in Ireland and so they formed a club called American Muscle Cars Ireland (AMCI) and it is open to all American Muscle Cars. The only exception is that you must be Irish or at least living in Ireland. Hey, I'm one quarter Irish. My wife is half Irish. Does that get me in?
My curiosity went wild. I asked Liam for some history and he told me "I had a 1975 Camaro for the last four or five years and wanted a bigger car, so being a Chevy dude, I looked around for what was available and settled on a Chevelle. I loved the tail lights and the single front headlight and the idea that I could drop the rear windows. It looked fantastic".
Liam decided that he wanted a Chevelle from the States and he started looking in the "dry states" for a Super Sport. Liam's buddy, Alan Stapelton, purchased a '69 Mustang Mach 1 at the same time. Liam told me "We spent ages looking for the two cars". "In fact" Liam admits "Alan did most of the research on the two cars.
They narrowed it down to a price range and then had an assessor go look at the cars that had the requirements they wanted. Finally Liam found a black Super Sport that had just what he wanted. It was clean and the assessor's findings came back with a glowing report. "That settled it for me" said Liam, and he purchased the car. In fact they both found their cars at almost the same time and Alan brought home the amazing Mustang Mach 1.
They contacted a freight forwarder and shipped both cars in the same container. I would be a long wait from the containers departure from Norfolk, Virginia until the prize was finally unwrapped in Dublin Ireland.
Liam later told me "It left the States and went across the wide Atlantic to Rotterdam in Holland." From there it was loaded onto another ship bound for Belfast in Northern Ireland and then by truck to Dublin Ireland.
Liam was going crazy. "It was on the docks for two weeks before I finally got my hands on it" Liam confessed. "I finally took possession of the Chevelle Super Sport on the 16th of April, just in time for my 50th birthday, and man, have I been grinning like a cat ever since" Well, happy birthday, Liam.
I was so thrilled to see people in other parts of the world sharing in the wonderful hobby we take for granted. I even sent a Nor-Cal ChevelleCaminos tee shirt to Liam. The next time you see me I may be wearing my AMCI t-shirt. Liam sent me an American Muscle Cars Ireland shirt. Now that's cooler than a "Scooby snack" on a Saturday afternoon. I wear it to Chevelle club meetings all the time.
If Liam ever gets to California, you can bet we'll be cruising in my Chevelle with him wearing my AMCI t-shirt. Maybe it's time for a vacation in Dublin..... California, Liam.