Wanna Buy a Shelby?

Carroll Shelby's first racing car is going on the block at Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas auction in October, and it's a humble 1949 MG-TC. That's right, Ol' Shel got his break in a British car.

Shelby raced the car in Norman, Oklahoma in 1952 and won two races that day. Here's an excerpt from The B-J press release:

"We've sold some special cars during our 37-year history, but this MG ranks among the most significant vehicles to ever cross the Barrett-Jackson auction block," said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. "In 2007, we sold the ultra-rare 427 Shelby Cobra Super Snake, followed by Carroll's personal '69 GT500 convertible this year in Scottsdale. Now, we're offering collectors a chance to nab the race car that started it all for the legend over half a century ago, while also benefitting one of his charities. Carroll is an American icon both behind the wheel and under the hood - an inspiration to enthusiasts of all ages."

Shelby also fired up the MG TC for the day's second race in Norman, driving it to another victory against the much higher-profile Jaguar XK120s. The back-to-back victories led to one of the most storied careers in motorsports, which pinnacled in 1956 and 1957 when Shelby was consecutively named Sports Car Illustrated's "Driver of the Year." He went on to build the legendary Shelby Cobra and Shelby Mustang, along with a slew of other vehicles that have become performance icons.

"My good friend in Dallas, Ed Wilkins, owned the car and let me drive it in the race," noted Carroll Shelby. "Because it was early in my career, I still had a lot to learn but knew how to go fast. This MG changed my life, because from that point forward, I knew that I wanted to be involved with racing and sport cars."

The dark green MG TC sports the original 1250cc, 4-cylinder engine with a 4-speed transmission that has since been tuned up to 100-plus horsepower and is race-ready. The new owner will also receive the SCCA Log Book, as well as the original fenders, bonnet and mechanical parts that were stripped from the car for competition. For over 20 years, the MG has been part of the famous Syd Silverman Collection and is well known on the MG vintage race car circuit.

There's plenty of time to get your bidder's credentials. If you make it to Vegas, send me a post card!

Happy Birthday Land Rover

Land Rover is 60 years old. From humble beginnings as a farm implement cum road transport, Land Rover is the 'must-have' vehicle of the fashion conscious set.

After World War II, the only vehicles available to the British were used pre-war cars and war surplus Jeeps. The British auto industry was facing a steel shortage and the only way to get a steel ration was to build for export - Britain had a crushing war debt to pay and needed foreign exchange. Rover had little in export sales and had to find a way to get into production.


The inspiration came to Rover engineering director Maurice Wilks for a go-anywhere vehicle that could be used to operate farm machinery and also carry people and goods on the road. Starting with a surplus Jeep, Wilks designed an all aluminum body and placed on the Jeep chassis. He designed a center steering setup that would allow the vehicle to be exported to both left and right drive countries. The prototypes were powered with Rover's 1.4 liter four cylinder engine and sported several power take offs to operate agricultural equipment.

Maurice's brother, Spencer, was the managing director of Rover at the time and committed the resources needed to produce the first Land Rover. The Amsterdam Motor Show in April, 1948 was the venue for the introduction of the Land Rover. As you can guess, it was a hit. Soon Land Rovers were exported around the world and was the vehicle of choice of the armed forces of the current and former British Empire as well as explorers and scientists doing field work - the image of the zebra-striped Landie in the film Daktari comes immediately to mind.


Fast-forward to the '70's and Land Rover became weighed down by the same combination of factors that the rest of the British auto industry struggled with. A succession of owners (Rover, British Leyland, British government, various iterations of former BL companies, British Aerospace, BMW, and Ford) tried with varying degrees of success to make Land Rover a profitable, going concern. Today, the Tata conglomerate owns both Land Rover and Jaguar. The early indications are that they intend to take Land Rover even further upmarket. I doubt that power take offs will be on the option list...

Happy birthday, big guy!

ROAD TRIP!

SABCC NEWSLETTER editor Richard Cunningham found and purchased a new headliner for his '89 Jaguar XJS some months back and, to save truck freight charges, decided to pick it up from the vendor in Atlanta. I had a day off work, so I offered to ride shotgun.

Leaving at 4:30 in the AM got us through the major cities outside the rush hour traffic snarls and put us at our first stop - Coventry West in Lithonia, Georgia. If you are a Jaguar enthusiast this is heaven. Imagine floor-to-ceiling racks filled with reclaimed Jaguar components ready for re-manufacturing (you'll have to - I left my camera in the car!). Jaguars of all vintages were lined up outside and inside the vast building in various stages of dismantlement. Several shops were busily rebuilding engines, brake calipers, steering racks and differentials. There was even a large section of new parts on the shelf and ready for counter sales or for shipment to customers around the world. The folks at Coventry West were gracious and very enthusiastic about Jaguars.







After loading the XJS headliner, we stopped for a quick lunch and headed to Birmingham and the Barber Motorsports Museum. The museum is located on the grounds of Barber Motorsports Park off I-20 east of Birmingham - Leeds, actually. The collection reflects the passion for motorcycles of George Barber who amassed this collection of hundreds of motorcycles and then built the race track and museum. The facility is stunning - five stories of motorcycles from the dawn of motorcycle building to new models showcasing the latest technology.

Of interest to me was the collection of Lotus racing cars. You can imagine my delight in actually seeing the Lotus Formula 1 cars I only read about. A couple of replicas on display included the first Lotus - a modified Austin 7. Frustratingly, the cream of the automobile collection is visible, but off limits to visitors. The basement collection includes more Lotuses, but a Jaguar E-Type had just been received and was being given a detailing. I would have loved to have seen the AC Cobra 289 and Morgan Plus Four up close, too.

Even with the basement off limits, I still recommend that you put this museum on your list of places to visit.