So, What's He Running in That Radiator?

OK, I'll admit to a bodge or two in my lifetime, but this one has to be a classic. When the bottle was full it was worth about $75.00. I'm glad to see the owner is getting his money's worth.

University Motors to Close

I was stunned to read in the latest edition of the MGB Driver that University Motors of Ada, Michigan is closing their doors. I had the pleasure of visiting this shop in 1999 during a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

John and Caroline Twist operated this business for over 30 years and were founding members of the North American MGB Register. John said that these economic times, as well as serious health issues that Caroline is facing forced him to make this difficult decision.

John was very generous with his time and expertise and was always available to answer technical questions about MGs in general and MGBs in particular. His YouTube videos are a fine source of information and entertaining, to boot.

John is planning a big auction of MG memorabilia and shop equipment in August. He has a pristine MG Austin-Healey dealer sign that I'd love to own.

Thanks for everything, John!

Hark! The Herald's Axles Swing

SABCC'er Mike Darby shared a story about a relative in England who nearly had a catastrophic end to a drive in a Triumph Herald. It seems that quick direction changes at speed can cause the independent rear suspension to come unstuck and make the car take a new, unplanned course. The swing axle rear was similar to that used in VW Beetles and Chevy Corvairs. At least the engine was in the right end of the Herald...

MINI of Pensacola is the Title Sponsor of BCF 2009

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that the central Gulf Coast was getting a MINI dealership in Pensacola. MINI of Pensacola - part of the Sandy Sansing group of dealerships - is opening August 6th. The nice people at the dealership enthusiastically agreed to a generous sponsorship package.

Stay tuned for more details and THANK YOU MINI OF PENSACOLA!

Next Club Meeting Will be a Car Show

The ever creative Noel Eagleson has suggested that we have a miniature (hey, I didn't say Mini!) car show at the July meeting of SABCC. He suggests that each member bring about three models from their collection to display on the table top show field.

As usual the meeting will be the second Tuesday of the month at the Lake Forest Yacht Club.

SABCC Family Picnic was a Winner

As always, when the agenda calls for food and fellowship, SABCC'ers turn out in force. The annual family picnic on June 13th was no exception.

The city of Silverhill (A Good Place to Live) graciously granted our request to use the covered pavilion at Oscar Johnson Memorial Park. The pavilion had power, shade and a barbecue grill (a small one it turned out) and was a delightful spot. I for one was stunned at the number British cars driven to the event. Usually, the summer heat keeps all but the most intrepid in their air conditioned moderns. It was especially nice to see Michael King's MG Midget out with its new interior looking mighty nice.

Ron Wolverton thought far enough ahead that he brought his compact grill. The hungry club members were glad he did since the park grill held only 8 burgers at time. With the charcoal glowing perfectly, the burgers and hot dogs were ready in no time.

Everyone brought a dish to share and there were some really delicious ones.

After lunch was enjoyed (and before people began nodding off), club President Noel Eagleson called the business session to order. The main item of business was the selection of a charity to receive a portion of the proceeds from British Car Festival 2009. The Boys and Girls Clubs of South Alabama was nominated and Donna Cunningham spoke at length about the funding plight the organization was in. There were no other nominations and the Boys and Girls Club of South Alabama nomination was accepted by simple voice vote.

As the afternoon began to pass into evening, the members headed their respective ways, each having enjoyed a fine day spent with good friends.

Thanks to everyone who helped make the event a great success.

Spare a Thought for Vauxhall

In the giant garage sale that has come to define the bankruptcy of General Motors, many of the General's brands are being sold or shut down entirely. The newspapers here are carrying stories about the demise of Pontiac and the sale of Hummer and Saturn to a Chinese firm and Roger Penske, respectively. On the other side of the pond Opel is likely going to become the property of contract car builder Magna.

That brings us to Vauxhall. As it stands now, Vauxhall will be packaged with Opel in the Magna deal. Magna has said publicly that it intends to wind down the Vauxhall name and will replace it in the UK with the Opel badge.

For a number of years Opel and Vauxhall have been sharing the same designs and model names with Opel building left hand drive versions and Vauxhall concentrating on right drive and parts building for both UK and Germany. In the US many Opel designs are Saturn-branded. It is very possible that Opel's continental plants will be the sole source for Opels in the future.

Since most of us are into the sports car scene, it might be of interest to many of you to know that the first universally acknowledged sports car carried the Vauxhall griffin badge. The Vauxhall Prince Henry was built from 1911 to 1913 and was a powerful open top tourer that won several early motoring competitions including Brooklands speed trials and long distance rallying.

In 1925 Vauxhall became a GM subsidiary company, giving the General a weapon to fight Ford in the UK. For a time in the '50s and '60s, some Vauxhall models were imported to the US and sold at Pontiac dealers, again to respond to the "English" Fords on offer here.

As British car enthusiasts, we've seen this soap opera before in the decline, nationalization and subsequent breakup of the company that was British Leyland.

Visiting the New MINI Dealership in Pensacola

While trolling the web the other evening, I found a posting on a Mini forum about an invitation to visit the new MINI dealership under construction in Pensacola. After exchanging a couple of messages with the forum participants Melissa and I decided to join the group.

On our way into Pensacola, we happened on a group of five MINIs in caravan. We joined them on highway 29 and on in to the building site. We exchanged introductions and were ushered into the BMW showroom where we were greeted with coffee and doughnuts. The program was interesting and informative.

The dealer personnel -sales, service, parts and marketing - gave the group a quick rundown of the plans and let everyone know that the store is scheduled to be open in early August - in fact crews were working on Saturday.

The dealer personnel there took great pains to listen to the suggestions and advice of the MINI owners in attendance.

All in all it was a great day for a drive to P-Town. Stay tuned for more news about Sandy Sansing MINI and British Car Festival 2009...

It's June - Time for LeMans

My favorite road race of the year is this month. The 24 hours of LeMans is the 13th and 14th and will be on SPEED TV. I try to watch as much as possible live, but it's tough when I'm the only one in the house that really enjoys it.

Although it was panned by critics when it was released in 1970, the Steve McQueen movie of the same name is one of my favorites. I know, I know, the dialog is pretty weak and the story is a bit lame but the racing scenes are to die for. The golden age of LeMans - Porsche vs Ferrari - it just doesn't get any better. Here's a YouTube clip that a fan put together. Enjoy it.



Maybe the club should do LeMans for a movie night. Anyone second the motion?