Mugs & Motors was Well Attended

I just got back from the first Mugs & Motors and I am pleased to report that it was very well attended. A total of 18 SABCC'ers were present and everyone had a great time. As promised, there was no program, no meeting and no agenda - just coffee and conversation with friends. Watch the SABCC NEWSLETTER for details of the next Mugs & Motors!

Goodbye Crane Cams

Wow. Things ARE tough. The world famous maker of Crane Cams is out of business. A news story in the Daytona Beach News-Journal relates the story of the plant closing. This is indeed a sad day for gearheads the world over. My own MGB sports a Crane cam - installed about eight years ago by Mike Darby.

More Mini 50 Fun

More on the 50th Anniversary of the Mini - this time a German video that features rally driver Rauno Aaltonen - from the days when the tires were skinny and the drivers were fat...

McQueen's Jump

Steve McQueen is one of my all-time favorite actors. In addition to his tough guy persona McQueen was a car guy. You've probably all heard about McQueen spending the better part of a year shooting racing scenes at LeMans for the film of the same name and how he was a pretty decent hotshoe driver, too.

In The Great Escape McQueen played a US POW trying to get out of a German prison camp. The highpoint of the film was McQueen's character jumping a motorcycle over a barbed wire fence to escape into Switzerland. The bike was actually ridden by the late Bud Ekins since the movie's insurer forbade McQueen from doing the jump.

The Sunday Times of London re-created the incredible jump in observance of the film's fortieth anniversary. A video of the jump can be found here.

It Doesn't Look a Day Over 49!

Sir Alec Issigonis' most famous car design turns 50 this year. The Mini was launched in 1959 to combat the spread of 'bubble cars' that were becoming popular in England due to the high cost fuel (note to Mike D. : I couldn't bring myself to say petrol). This was the height of the Suez Canal crisis and oil from the Middle East had been nearly cut off. Carmakers like Messerschmitt, Isetta and even Vespa made inroads in the British market.

Issigonis was tasked to create a car that would carry four adults in the smallest possible space while using as many bits as possible from the corporate parts bin. Issigonis built seating bucks to determine just how small the car could be and meet the needs of four people and their luggage. The answer? Approximately 10 feet long, four and a half feet wide and four and a half feet tall.

Ever the ingenious designer, Issigonis mounted the engine transversely (sideways to me) and placed the gearbox underneath the engine. Both units share the same oil. Issigonis called on his old friend Alex Moulton to create a special suspension system for the little car. Moulton, who always seemed to think WAY outside the box, came up with a unique rubber cone system that did away with steel springs and gave the Mini it's slightly bouncy ride. Later models had another Moulton-designed system called Hydrolastic that used water, alcohol and displacers to give the car an even smoother ride. Great in theory - not so good in practice.

Dunlop was called in to design a 10" tire that would not fly apart at highway speeds as Issigonis found that he could pick up a little more interior room with the smaller wheel. When the classic Mini finished production is 2000, the car was actually wearing 13" wheels.

With the wheels at the car's corners, the handling was nothing short of spectacular. This was not lost on one John Cooper who was one the era's greatest tuners. Over the objections of Issigonis, Cooper was given the opportunity to create a performance version of the Mini and the rest is history.

The classic Mini was built for forty years and over 5 million were produced. In 2001 the new MINI was introduced and has become a best seller.

Happy birthday, Mini!

Cars Meet Origami

I know you're wanting to expand your car collection and I've found the way you can do it for free. That's right, FREE - my favorite price.

Check out this Japanese web site where you can download pdf pages of cut 'n fold cars. The artist that creates these images has set up a rather interesting site where you can view a number of his completed works. He seems to like classic British and Italian cars and F1 cars from days gone by.

Go to his site and click the third link over from the left at bottom and you'll be taken to a page where you can make your selections. It's in Japanese, but if you click the photos, you should get your pdf. Just print it on some heavy card stock - or paste your standard paper to some card stock - and build your car.

Here's one to get you started. You can thank me later...

License & Registration, Please

It seems that the new Chinese owners of MG are trying to move into the law enforcment market with the (modern) MGTF. Jalopnik has photos of the wannabe cop car. MG fans know that MG is no newcomer to the police car market but it sure seems strange to see an open top car with flashing lights

A Quicker Jag

If your old Jaguar XF isn't doing it for you any more, you might want to have a look at the new high performance Jaguar XFR. This gorgeous four door has more grunt than most normal people need - but then most of us aren't 'normal' are we? I'll take one in red, thank you.
Oi! i just found out that the XFR is starting at $80K!.

Stag Party

I've always been a fan of the Triumph Stag. It was a beautiful open top grand tourer that was designed to take the fight to Mercedes for the higher priced sports market. As most of you who read this know already, I like to browse the Austin-Rover Online web site - this is where I found the story of the Stag's development. Take a few minutes to peek behind the curtain of automotive development.

Automotive Line Drawings

While browsing the web the other day, I came across this site that has a number of line drawings available for downloading and saving. The proprietor of the site has literally hundreds of models of nearly any manufacturer you can imagine. The site is based in Russia, so I'd advise against clicking on any of the ads - most of them are in Russian anyway - but you might find the drawings useful for your web site or letterhead or business cards, etc.

SABCC Tech Session

Thanks to Mike Darby of Darby Classic Restoration for sharing his knowledge about SU carburettors and for his hospitality for hosting our tech session.

Mike had a pair of SU 'H' type carburettors from a 1949 MG TC on the table in partially a disassembled state to show how they worked and how best to go about rebuilding them. He showed us the various pieces of the carbs - how some of them were worn and how he repairs them.

The session was well attended by club members who enjoyed the spring-like weather and the pizza provided by SABCC for lunch.

Again, thanks Mike and thanks to all who attended!

More Than One Time Traveler

I don't watch a lot of television but I've become hooked on an ABC network show called Life on Mars. The premise is a New York City police detective, alive and well in 2009, is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973! Now 1973 is a subject with which I have intimate knowledge so the series pushes most of the right buttons for me. And it was inspired by a British TV series of the same name.

The detective (living and working in 1973) has to make do without cell phones, DNA analysis and personal computers - generally all things we take for granted. To further add to the mystery, our hero sees snippets of his former life in places like TV screens, store windows, etc. And there's cars, too. Wouldn't you know.

This weeks episode contained two that caught my eye: an absolutely pristine Triumph TR3 and a rubber bumper MGB.

The last TR3A was built in 1962. Now I know I'd keep my TR3 buffed to a high gloss if I had it from new, but what's the chances of a New York City street-dwelling TR3 looking like it just rolled off the boat? The TR3s I remember from my youth (yes, 1973) were pretty much beaters.

And a rubber bumper MGB appearing in 1973? C'mon, ABC hire me as an advisor - I'll keep you straight automotive-wise!

An Eerie Place

Most of you that followed the tragedy that MG-Rover became know that the venture ended in bankruptcy and the remains were sold off to a Chinese firm. The manufacturing site at Longbridge was also part of the property that changed hands.

This factory - and its predecessors - has been the home of car makers for almost 100 years. Built by Herbert Austin for his Austin concern, the factory later built Austins, Morrises and all manner of badge engineered vehicles under the British Leyland regime. The last cars built there (before the property was sold) were Rovers and MGs.

A recent and growing hobby is 'urban exploration'. The hobby's enthusiasts enter old derelict buildings and 'explore' the property. They have a code that, in part, states that nothing will be taken but photos. What you're seeing here is a photo of an urban exploration in the MG-Rover Longbridge plant. The photos are sad evidence of the people who spent their lives there building the cars that we value so much today. Even more heartrending is the fact that a lot of the buildings you see in the photos are gone - torn down to make way for a new shopping center. A small portion of the assembly buildings are still in operation building a token number of MGTFs.

Get the Most From Your Triumph

For classic British car owners nothing adds to the ownership experience more than being involved with a club of like-minded people. That's why SABCC came into being here on the Gulf Coast.

Marque-specific clubs tend to be found in larger metropolitan areas where the number of owners there can support a local club. For places like ours, membership in SABCC and a national marque-specific register or owners club is the way to go.

For you lucky folks with Triumphs, you should check out the Vintage Triumph Register or VTR-The Triumph Owners Club. Quoting from their Web site:

As late as 1970, despite a long and prestigious history of automobile production dating to 1923, and a corporate history reaching back to the 1880’s, there was no American organization dedicated to the history, preservation, and enjoyment of Triumph automobiles. Aware that a large percentage of Triumphs built since World War II had been sold in the USA and Canada, a dedicated group of Triumph owners, enthusiasts, and historians in 1973 planted the early seeds of what would become the Vintage Triumph Register. In 1974 the organization began to take shape, and by January, 1975, the club’s first professionally edited and printed magazine appeared. At last there was a club for all Triumph owners; and growth of the club since has been steady, with more than 2,600 members!

The club has model experts that provide buying guides for all Triumph models found in the USA. For that, the cost of membership is worth it to prevent you from buying a car that will break your heart.

YouTube Channel for MGs

For owners of MGs - MGBs in particular - John Twist is the expert of record. As the owner of University Motors in Ada, Michigan John specializes in MG repair and restoration. He is also the technical advisor for the North American MGB Register.

John has had a presence on YouTube for a couple of years, now and he adds interesting videos every few weeks. There's always something that can be learned by watching them - heck, even if you don't learn anything they're still entertianing.

By the way, would the Southern version of YouTube be Y'allTube? I'm just sayin'...

Hauling Aston

Aston Martin is not content with racing in the LeMans GT class. They have announced an entry in the top-flight class and intend to compete for the overall win. The team will be racing against the likes of Audi and Peugeot (both diesel powered) with a gasoline powered car. The car is also painted in the iconic Gulf Oil livery of blue and orange.
The 24 Hours of LeMans will be June 13 & 14 (the weekend closest to the summer solstice). I imagine that the action will be carried on Speed TV.

763 MPH Wasn't Fast Enough

Andy Green, driver/pilot of the land speed record holding Thrust SSC, has been tapped to drive/pilot a new record attempt of 1,000 MPH. The new vehicle is called Bloodhound SSC and is expected to be on the Bonneville salt within three years. Here is an article with the details. Best of luck, gents!

A Favorite Web Site

One of my very favorite sites on the web is the Unofficial Austin Rover Web Resource. It is absolutely packed with information about our cars and the companies that built them. If you own a product of the BMC, BMH, BL era you'll want to check it out.

There's stories about the development of the cars, the factories in which they were built and the people that built them. You can watch videos from the earliest days of the conglomerate to the final MG-Rover releases. Bring your lunch - you're going to want to stay a while.

Outgrowing the Aston DB9?

Check out the new Rapide from Aston Martin. Aston raided the names cupboard and dusted off this respected model name from Lagonda and bestowed it on this new four door model. The styling is unmistakably Aston Martin and the DB shape translates nicely to the four door model.

The Rapide is aimed squarely at the upcoming Porsche Panamera and should be priced just as stratospherically. Start saving your lunch money folks and you can be the first one in town with your own James Bond-mobile (with two extra doors).

Update - The Rapide will not be built in England - Contract assembler Magna-Steyr will be building them in Austria. James Bond in lederhosen? Ach du lieber!

It Looks Like the UK is Offering a Hand to its Auto Industry, too

This article from the New York Times details the efforts of the UK's motor manufacturers to gain access to government-backed loans. Things are tough all over, everybody. Do YOUR part and buy a new Jaguar (and let me have a turn at the wheel!)

Meet the New MINI Cabrio

MINI has finally released the drop-top version of the latest generation MINI. The new Cabrio has a gauge that counts the number of miles driven with the top down versus up. It calculates the percentage open and displays the number on the gauge, thereby shaming you into going topless. MINI's advertising has always been a little 'out there' but this one takes the cake.

MINI Car Wash from MotoringFile/BimmerFile on Vimeo.

Put 'em to Work

Way back at the dawn of time, I published a note about taking my grandson for a ride in the MGB. Here's a more recent shot of him helping 'papa' detail 'nana's' MINI Cooper. He's only two years old, but he knows his British cars!

After a Long Absence, I'm Back!

It seems like it's been forever since I've posted anything here - and it has been. Work demands have been, well, demanding. I hope I'll be able to keep a few items of interest here. I will also try to keep items of interest to SABCC members as well as British car enthusiasts in general.

Since my last post, I've been retired as SABCC president and have handed over those duties to Noel Eagleson. I have, however been elected activities chair, so it's my job to find fun things for the club to do - as well as make the arrangements for them.

In addition to being a complete slacker here on the blog, I've slacked off working on the project Jaguar E-Type with Richard Cunningham. I really need to get that moving again as the Ebay proceeds were greatly appreciated.