Thousands of spectators converged on downtown Morgan Hill for the British Fall Car Classic Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 13 and 14.
Nearly 150 British cars and their owners polished up for the event, which included a display on Sunday, put on by On the Road Again Classics, a British car restoration shop in Morgan Hill.
On the Road Again Classics owner Bill Hiland said they started the event to bring people into downtown Morgan Hill while giving them a free look at some rare and exotic cars—some worth a few million dollars.
Hiland said there were a wide array of British vehicles on display Sunday, from a 1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I—“a very dashing old car”—all the way down to Bugeyed Sprites, a small open sports car produced in the UK by Austin-Healey.
“There was a 1937 Bentley,” said Hiland, “one of a kind. It won its class. This isn’t your average street hot rod show because some of these cars, including that Bentley, have actually won prestigious prizes like in Pebble Beach,” Hiland said in reference to Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance—a premier car collector competition.
Hiland’s hope behind bringing the lineup of cars out to the main drag is to “fill up the restaurants on Sunday as opposed to having it out in some grassy area someplace else.”
The event has raised thousands of dollars for Community Solutions since getting its start seven years ago.
Community Solutions is a nonprofit working with underserved populations in Santa Clara and San Benito counties, providing services for children, teens, adults and families in crisis. Community Solutions’ programs help with issues ranging from mental health and substance abuse to domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking.
“We’ve been able to give them, I think, more than $30,000 over the last several years,” he said. “That makes it a win-win for everybody.”
On the Road Again Classics is joined by Ladera Grill as a major sponsor of the car show with Heritage Bank, Hagerty Classic Car Insurance and Guglielmo Winery also sponsoring the annual event.
“Someday maybe we can get other folks downtown involved,” Hiland said.
In addition to the great cars, the event brings people.
“It showcases Morgan Hill,” Hiland said, “the great city that it is, that we all love, and it brings business to downtown. It brings a lot of people from out of town with their cars, and everybody has a fun day.”
