The History of the SCMCS
The South Carolina Muscle Car Society was an idea birthed from the minds of two brothers and a good friend with a trio of muscle cars and a constant need to take them out for a "glorified beer-run." We were officially born on April 21st, 2009 when after our second round of beers we thought A: "There's gotta be other muscle car drivers in our area that would love to cruise with us" and B: "How big can we get this?" As I write this, we have completed our 8th cruise with the largest showing of 50+ muscle cars and have over 60 active members. Scroll down the page and click on the cruise images to take a tour of the documented evolution of the South Carolina Muscle Car Society.
Cruise # 1 "SCMCS Inception"
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The first of the cruises. This one started with Bryan Puffinburger, Brett and Jesse Cadman. Jesse had just gotten the quirks out of his '68 Pontiac Tempest "Clara" and the 3 of us went for an awesome ride. After the drive, we all met up at La Hacienda and after a couple of Dos Equis's, we decided that this was just too much fun to keep to ourselves. Lo and behold, the SCMCS was born. This cruise was on a Saturday and we wanted to see how many cars we could get to ride with us on the following Tuesday. 3 days. 3 more cars.
Cruise #2 "The MilkToast Invitational"
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This was the Tuesday meet that started it all. Eric Antman and his 69 goat debuted with Jorge Aponte's 66' Mustang. The name of the cruise was to get a spark under the ass of my close friend Frank Cappuzello who's white 73 Mustang Fastback (aptly named Milktoast) was going to join the club. On this night, we all agreed to meet in two weeks and see how many we could get to roll with us and we doubled our membership. This cruise set the mentality for the organization and would be a taste of things to come.
Cruise #3 "The Big 3 Roundup"
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May 12th 2009.
This is the first big outing of the SCMCS. Hosted at the Blind Pig Saloon in Bluffton, SC. This was the first big outing of the Muscle Car cruises. 11 cars strong and a 45 minute long drive made for an awesome idea of what was to come.
This is the first big outing of the SCMCS. Hosted at the Blind Pig Saloon in Bluffton, SC. This was the first big outing of the Muscle Car cruises. 11 cars strong and a 45 minute long drive made for an awesome idea of what was to come.
Cruise #4 "The Bootlegger's Run"
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Rain. Cops. 1,200 horsepower Merlin 498 big-blocks with supercharger drive belts that don't wanna stay put. All ingredients to an exciting muscle car outing. This was the cruise that almost did not happen. The rain made a lot of members question if the cruise was still on. They answered that question themselves with a resounding yes. Cullen, Shannon, Matt, Patrick, and Chris showed Mother Nature who's boss and the SCMCS how they roll by making their debut on this ride. Rick Lawson and "Lowlife" led the cruise as the pace car and mascot of the drive.
The purpose of the "Bootlegger's Run" was to give a little history on how and why the muscle car phenomenon was birthed. Illegal liquor transportation starting in the times of prohibition and running past its end in "dry" states and counties. These bootleggers needed a car that was fast enough to outrun the local authorities and had to be able to drive 'em with considerable skill. The high-speed handbrake 180 was perfected during this period and was essential to getting the delivery there on time. These were the real Dukes of Hazzard and the SCMCS salutes you!
The purpose of the "Bootlegger's Run" was to give a little history on how and why the muscle car phenomenon was birthed. Illegal liquor transportation starting in the times of prohibition and running past its end in "dry" states and counties. These bootleggers needed a car that was fast enough to outrun the local authorities and had to be able to drive 'em with considerable skill. The high-speed handbrake 180 was perfected during this period and was essential to getting the delivery there on time. These were the real Dukes of Hazzard and the SCMCS salutes you!
Cruise #5 "The Big Block Street Meet"
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Tuesday, July 28th 2009 at Street Meet American Tavern in Hilton Head Island.
The Big Block Street Meet marked the 5th official cruise of the South Carolina Muscle Car Society. The cruise was awesome and Street Meet was a great host. They can't wait for us to come back. Special thanks to everyone that showed up, new members and old. Now that the club is beginning to take shape, we are starting to be noticed.
The Big Block Street Meet marked the 5th official cruise of the South Carolina Muscle Car Society. The cruise was awesome and Street Meet was a great host. They can't wait for us to come back. Special thanks to everyone that showed up, new members and old. Now that the club is beginning to take shape, we are starting to be noticed.
Cruise #6 "The Bootlegger's Revisited"
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Tuesday, August 11th 2009, at the Beach Break Grill on Palmetto Bay road in Hilton Head.
Tuesday night's cruise was a huge success. Special thanks to Tim Neil and the Beach Break Grill for picking up our cruise on such short notice. I was a little worried when our original venue changed, but a quick call to Tim changed all that. The Beach Break Grill loved having us and can't wait to do it again. Neither can I. It had a great location, plenty of parking (sorry Papa John's guys) and full view of Palmetto Bay Road. This gave us a lot of exposure from passing cars and even Beaufort's finest. We have an officer that wants to join the ranks of the SCMCS and this might be a good thing for any members with lead-foot-itus.
We had a total of 7 new members and from the sound of it, plenty more are on their way. The word is out and membership is growing fast. The cruise went well except for 2 lost souls and 2 cars towed, but as Eric says: "you gotta pay to play!"
Tuesday night's cruise was a huge success. Special thanks to Tim Neil and the Beach Break Grill for picking up our cruise on such short notice. I was a little worried when our original venue changed, but a quick call to Tim changed all that. The Beach Break Grill loved having us and can't wait to do it again. Neither can I. It had a great location, plenty of parking (sorry Papa John's guys) and full view of Palmetto Bay Road. This gave us a lot of exposure from passing cars and even Beaufort's finest. We have an officer that wants to join the ranks of the SCMCS and this might be a good thing for any members with lead-foot-itus.
We had a total of 7 new members and from the sound of it, plenty more are on their way. The word is out and membership is growing fast. The cruise went well except for 2 lost souls and 2 cars towed, but as Eric says: "you gotta pay to play!"
Cruise #7 "The SuperSport Showdown"
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Tuesday, Sept 1st 2009. 6:00pm at WiseGuys in MainStreet Village
The SuperSport Showdown brought in a lot of new talent to the club. I'm really excited about the fact that we acquired an AMX and an AC Cobra. This completes the club having representation of every automaker to ever pump out a Muscle Car. I would like to welcome all new members and say both thank you for coming out and welcome to the society of muscle car drivers and the idea of the "Rolling Car Show." Thanks also to WiseGuys for giving the SCMCS VIP treatment.
The SuperSport Showdown brought in a lot of new talent to the club. I'm really excited about the fact that we acquired an AMX and an AC Cobra. This completes the club having representation of every automaker to ever pump out a Muscle Car. I would like to welcome all new members and say both thank you for coming out and welcome to the society of muscle car drivers and the idea of the "Rolling Car Show." Thanks also to WiseGuys for giving the SCMCS VIP treatment.
Cruise #8 "The Z/28 ELIMIN8R"
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Tuesday, September 29th 2009. 6:00pm at The Carriage Shop in Bluffton, followed by a 28 mile-long tour of Hilton Head ending at Captain Woody's in Bluffton, SC.
"The Z/28 ELIMIN8R" was the largest and most publicized of the SCMCS cruises to date. A TV spot on WHHI's "Talk of the Town" helped get the word out as did a growing number of drivers in the know. The cruise met at The Carriage shop, owned by SCMCS member Bryan Puffinburger Sr, and had a nice meet and great for an hour. At which time, 50+ muscle cars came out to see what the drive was about. We left for a nice, relaxing 28 mile lap of Hilton Head Island and then drove to the Bluffton Promenade to have dinner at the new Captain Woody's. The cruise went on without a hitch and showed us that the SCMCS was nowhere near it's max occupancy.
"The Z/28 ELIMIN8R" was the largest and most publicized of the SCMCS cruises to date. A TV spot on WHHI's "Talk of the Town" helped get the word out as did a growing number of drivers in the know. The cruise met at The Carriage shop, owned by SCMCS member Bryan Puffinburger Sr, and had a nice meet and great for an hour. At which time, 50+ muscle cars came out to see what the drive was about. We left for a nice, relaxing 28 mile lap of Hilton Head Island and then drove to the Bluffton Promenade to have dinner at the new Captain Woody's. The cruise went on without a hitch and showed us that the SCMCS was nowhere near it's max occupancy.
Cruise #9 "Rebels With a Cause"
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Saturday, November 7th, 2009. The Cruise was great! Ok so maybe our next one will skip the island.... and not be paced by a 1000 plus horsepower drag car! (Just kidding Matt, great job) Two days of cruising for a cause picked up alot of money for Chelsea Hess, a girl in need. It also picked up some great new cars to go drive with us! A General Lee clone (440rt '69 Charger), a Bandit Trans Am and a '72 De Tomaso Pantera to name a few that were in their first outing of the SCMCS and are great additions to the best collection of muscle man has ever seen. Another favorite was Jaime Priddy and her beautiful Chevelle she built with her dad. Talk about "Girl Power!" Special thanks to Dasha V, who donated a huge portion of her print earnings to the cause and to everyone who came out, donated and made a difference in this girl's life!
Cruise #10 "Shut Up and Drive"
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Sunday, November 29th, 2009. This cruise was a bunch of fun. The Bandit and The General were there together for the first time. Newcomers Justin and Sonny showed up with their '70 Lemans and '30 Model A. This was our first cruise to get back to the roots. No posters, no ads, no video (except for the General doin' a massive anti-rubber campaign), no photos except for newcomers. It was a blast. I needed it to get back to the drive and away from all the hoopla. Is the hoopla over? Hell No! I think what will happen from now on is 2 of these lowbudget cruises in between a big budget cruise. This will get us back on the road more often and give me a chance to breathe in the octane. Oh yeah, how about the tool gettin crazy in the Challenger? I would like to go on record saying that this gentleman was in no way associated with the SCMCS, nor does the SCMCS condone wreckless driving. Do we get loose? Hell Yes! Do we do it in the parking lot of our cruise destination's place of business? Hell No!
Cruise #11 "The Toy Run"
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Sunday, December 20th was an interesting cruise to say the least. Steph, one of the dudes in charge of setting up the annual Xmas Toy-Ride had given an invite to the SCMCS to go along with all the bikers. Hmmm, bikes and muscle cars... not a bad mix. We met at the Okatie Ale House and registered along with the 200 plus bikers for a cruise to Deepwell to drop off our toys for needy children, then to The Smokehouse for a catered event. A police escort made the cruise very fun on the 2nd half. At the beginning of our cruise the police stopped the escort after the last biker and before the first muscle car. This made things a little hairy as The Bandit was almost "t-boned" at an intersection and so was Marilyn! When we got to Deepwell, Gary Smith voiced his concern to the boys in blue and we figured out a good way for us all to roll as one big happy family. I lead the parade with The General followed by a long train of muscle and bikes. It was the first time I was behind the flashing blue lights, which was nice for a change. The turnout was awesome, we raised alot of money for a great cause, and we nabbed some new SCMCS members along the way!!!!
Cruise #12 "Smoke 'Em if Ya Got 'Em"
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Sunday, January 31st marked a new page in history for the SCMCS. The 1st annual "Smoke 'Em If Ya Got 'Em" Burnout Contest was EPIC. With over 50 cars competing in the contest and over 500 people in the audience... it was the largest SCMCS event to date. Keefe Blatchley, owner of Blatchley Brake and Tire in Ridgeland, SC (and driver of The General Lee), hosted the event complete with a band, a shrimp broil, bleachers and the population of a small town to boot. The day started with a cruise from the Carriage Shop in Bluffton out to the event up Highway 17, an old country road with freight trains runnin' along side the pack. We picked up alot of new members, some mopars and even a blown 'Cuda. Matt Zampino, owner of Matt Auto in Bluffton had a good day. He walked away with 1st place and a much needed $400 towards new slicks. He also built 2 of the top 3 finalists, talk about bragging rights. It was alot of fun and worth the "black lung" we all got from breathing evaporated tires for 2 hours. We're definately doing this again.