Cleaned the XJS up a bit and headed to the monthly cruise in at The Varsity in Athens, Georgia, USA . . .

The Street Masters Car Club in Athens hosts a cruise-in at The Varsity on the first Saturday or Sunday each month during the show season. I haven't been to one in a while and decided to check it out.

I parked in front of what appears to be an extremely rare 1969 Shelby GT500 Mustang convertible.

If it's legit, this car would be one of 335 produced that year.

The 428 Cobra Jet V8 was rated at a laughable 335 hp. Actual output was well north of 400 hp.

According to the For Sale sign on the dash, this car could be purchased for $55k. This seems awfully low, (Shelby convertibles sell for well into the 6 figures), and makes me wonder if it's a tribute car.

Tribute or not, the car was quite beautiful inside and out.

Mini Tec from about an hour up the road in Royston, Georgia is a company that specializes in Honda VTEC engine swaps for the original Mini.

The Honda VTEC power plant makes about 180-or-so hp in stock tune which, in this tiny car, makes for some exhilarating performance.

Mini Tec's website advertises their cars as being capable of zero to 60 mph in under 4 seconds. That would be quite a wild ride !

2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon Fiber Edition.

2011 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Carbon Fiber Edition.

1966 Datsun 1600.

Here's something you don't see very often. Datsun made around 40,000 of these roadsters from 1961 - 1969. Seeing one today, especially in this condition, is quite rare.

Power comes from Datsun's 1.6L inline 4-cylinder engine that makes 96 hp.

That may not seem like much. But the car's 2,100 pound curb weight made performance surprisingly good.

This car was beautifully restored and won a "Best in Cruise" award.

1965 Chevrolet Corvette.

1965 Chevrolet Corvette.

A rare DeLorean.

John DeLorean produced his DMC-12 gullwing in 1981 and 1982. The 130 hp produced by the 2.9L "PRV" V6 was pretty typical for the "Dark Ages" of that time. The car's appeal was more visual in nature. The stainless steel body and gullwing doors always got people's attention.

The DeLorean became an overnight sensation thanks to its appearance in the Back to the Future movies. This car was displayed with that theme in mind.

DeLorean DMC-12.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air.

In an era when so many of these cars have been modified, seeing an original is quite refreshing. This car looks like it has been well maintained over the years.

1962 Chevrolet Bel Air.

This 1962 Bel Air has been heavily modified and upgraded. Power comes from a giant 8.2L V8.

The transmission is a 5-speed manual Tremec unit. Other than the gauges and the a/c vents, the interior retains its stock appearance.

This was another beautifully restored/modified machine.

1931 Cadillac Eight, style number 355A.

This car was a gift to the car owner from his grandfather in 1959. The copy of the build sheet shown above shows Fisher Body code 31258, which is a 2 door coupe.

At some point, the original 95 hp 5.8L V8 was replaced with a modern Cadillac drivetrain.

This is a very rare car ! It's good to see that it was modified using Cadillac parts.

1966 Dodge Charger. While the 1966 and 1967 Chargers may look almost identical on the outside, the 1966 model above lacks the fender-mounted turn signal indicators.

Chrysler did a good job with the interior on the Charger. This is a true 4-seat car.

I didn't see the car owner to ask what engine this is. But it's not a Hemi. The 318, 361, & 383 CID V8s were all available in 1966.

1968 Oldsmobile 442.

For 1968, the 442 was given its own style code - 344_7, (the missing digit indicated a convertible (6), sport coupe (7), or hardtop (8). This car has the under-bumper scoops for the RPO W30 Outside Air Induction system.

The scoops under the front bumper fed outside air directly into the twin snorkel air cleaner via a pair of 4 inch ducts.

A legit W30 car would be quite rare. But, all W30s had red plastic inner fender liners, which this car does not have. I am also reading where the W30 did not come with power brakes because the cam used in the engine didn't produce enough vacuum to operate the booster. Regardless, this car was beautiful and sounded great !

I love the painted steelies and dog-dish hubcaps on this Chevrolet Nova.

A modern LS derived V8 now resides under the hood.

I love 4-speed manual transmission coupled with the mostly stock appearance of the interior.

1970 Plymouth AAR 'Cuda. This car is one of approximately 385 cars finished in FE5 Rallye Red paint.

A rare 1969 Plymouth Road Runner convertible, one of 1,111 383/automatic cars produced that year.

Several custom bicycles were on display.

Custom bicycles.

1981 Chevrolet Corvette. I had a silver '81 many years ago and miss it tremendously.