The MG Marks its Territory - Again

I enjoyed a drive in the MGB this afternoon after helping Richard Cunningham pack a couple of E-Type gearboxes for shipment. The cool afternoon suited the old car and I took great delight in the top down driving conditions. The car ran like the proverbial sewing machine, revving to near the redline and playing a nice tune through the hooligan exhaust. All the gauge needles sat where they should be and there was nary a hint of a problem.

When I got into the garage, my long-suffering spouse was tending to a couple of furniture items that needed a cleanup before we brought them in the house. "I smell gas," said the missus, "right here," pointing to the quietly ticking MGB. I raised the bonnet and sure enough, one (hopefully just one) of the two SU carburetors had spewed expensive unleaded premium through the overflow, on the air deflector and onto the garage floor. Damn. Got the spark issue sorted out and now I've got a fueling problem.

I'll see about removing the float lids to see what I can see.

See? 

This just in- A sharp tap on the float bowl lids seemed to do the trick. A stuck needle appears to be the culprit. Thanks to everyone for advice!

British Car Festival 2010 Photos

SABCC'er Richard Cunningham set up a new Picasa photo account and has thoughtfully deposited pictures of the 20th Annual British Car Festival there. The pix are from a number of photographers present at the event and they cover the whole range of the two days.

If you missed BCF2010, you missed a good time.

Oh God - They're Actually Going to Build it

Some of you long time readers may remember the post about Aston Martin's Lagonda concept unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009. If you didn't catch the post, it's here under Women Fainted - Strong Men Wept. If you don't want to be bothered with making the clicking action on the link above, here's a photo to show you how gruesome ugly can be.


Press reports today indicate that Aston Martin will indeed build this mutant. It's difficult to understand how this storied firm could build cars as beautiful as the DB series and seriously consider adding this smear to their CV.

Wasn't the Cygnet bad enough?

British Car Festival 2010 - It's Done

The 20th annual British Car Festival was blessed with beautiful blue skies and unusually warm temperatures along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. Over 70 cars participated in this milestone event in the history of the South Alabama British Car Club. The show committee understood the significance of this year's event and threw themselves into it full bore.

The event began with a very well attended Friday night welcome party at conducted at the historic Dahlgren Hall of the former Marietta Johnson School of Organic Education in Fairhope, now located on the campus of Faulkner State Community College. Nearly 80 people enjoyed barbecue, jerk chicken and a wide array of desserts while renewing old friendships and making new ones. The gathered crowd was treated to a slide show of past SABCC events that brought out giggles from some our older members - lighter in hair color and heavier around the middle was often heard as the slides rotated through.

The evening ended with several door prizes handed out to some lucky attendees.

The day of the show dawned bright and clear and the show committee was on the site early knowing that the show participants would be arriving soon. Coffee was on the brew early (and often), the photo backdrop was constructed and the all-important PA system was set up. Early arrivers had to dodge runners taking part in a 5K run to raise funds for another worthy project in Fairhope, but the delays were very minor.

The show cars came in thick and fast, but the SABCC registration committee ran the gate with nary a hitch. Participants photos were made and the cars were shown to their respective places on the shaded show field. All show entrants were given a special commemorative document bag with a load of coupons and other goodies as well as a tile coaster/trivet with the 20th anniversary logo on it.

The title sponsor for BCF 2010, MINI of Pensacola, had their new cars sited at the park pavilion - the show headquarters - and they drew a lot of attention from both show participants and the general public passing by. SABCC is indeed grateful for MINI of Pensacola's support and we look forward to seeing them return for BCF 2011.

This year's BCF charity was Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy who brought an informative display with details about the good work of the organization. SABCC was very proud to offer the club's support to this fine organization.

Once the show field was set, the ballots were passed out and the popular choice balloting began. It was difficult to select the best of the MG-T class since there were a record 11 cars in it. The BCF 2010 logo was an MG-TC (the car that started it all in America), so we hope that selection might have had something to do with it. A hint about next year's logo: it will be the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Jaguar E-Type so, take your best guess.

It was tough not notice the aroma emanating from the park's barbecue hut where burgers, sausage and pork ribs were sizzling on the grill. The line was long and steady and no one went away hungry.

While the ballots were being processed, the valve cover race was conducted. It was almost a NASCAR-style event with "bumpin' and bangin'" and there was action a-plenty.

The awards ceremony was preceded by a raffle draw for several valuable door prizes donated by various individuals and businesses with the proceeds benefiting Ozanam's. The class awards were handed out in record time with photos taken of the class winners on presentation of this year's very special trophies.

As the sun began to set on Mobile Bay, BCF 2010 was packed away. The 20th anniversary show was in the books. Everyone owes the BCF committee, the show workers and those who participated a great deal of gratitude for a job well done.

Alcohol & Gasoline Don't Mix

At least that's what the old drinking and driving PSAs on TV used to say.

I am pleased to see that Wilson's Service Center at the top of Spanish Fort Hill on US 31 is selling uncut, honest to goodness gasoline - no ethanol added. Wilson's is a full-service gas station so don't be surprised when an employee fills your tank, washes your windshield and offers to check your oil.

You may have to explain this to your children.

Optimum Opti-Coat Review - Water Beading after 5 months.

Just uploaded a video showing the water beading of Opti-Coat after 5 months. No special maintenance carried out other than washing with ONR on a regular basis.

The original post on the Opti-Coat can be found here:

http://prodetailing.blogspot.com/2010/05/optimum-opti-coat-review.html

The results are quite impressive considering it has been 5 months without anything being applied to it.

Soot - I Probably Should Have Called a Chimney Sweep

My ailing MGB has been given a fall tonic and seems to be in rude health once again.

The old girl refused to run when I planned to load grandson #2 into the passenger seat for his maiden trip in an MG. The car began to run on two cylinders and then died, never to to restart.

I've had spark plug issues and installed a PerTronix ignition system, but I can't seem to keep it running reliably. Pulling the spark plugs showed that the back two were sooted up. The front two looked fine. I cleaned and re-installed them and it wanted to run and it did- badly.

Richard Cunningham offered to give me a hand on Saturday and as an extra bonus, Don Pritchett came by on a secret mission for the upcoming British Car Festival. Both of them suggested that the back carb might be running rich and Richard made the adjustment. The car started and seemed to be happy. I then took it on a high speed blast on the Causeway to blow it out, as it were.

With thumbs up from the assembled experts, I met my brother Alan and his wife Debbie who were out in their '76 MGB and we went for a drive on some of the twisty roads of Baldwin County. The car ran flawlessly and I came back home feeling confident that the running problem has been solved.

If you see a yellow MGB on the road with a windshield full of smile - that's probably me.

E15 Fuels Are on the Way

By now you've probably read the stories about the effects of running 10% ethanol in our classic cars. There have been several studies that indicate that E10 will affect the rubber fuel lines, gaskets and other components that contain fuel. A leak in a fuel-containing component is not a happy thought. Neither is the idea of water dropping out of solution and creating a puddle in the bottom of the fuel tank.

The EPA has announced that gasoline with 15% ethanol will be in pumps in a matter months. This move is bound to make large farming companies (Archer Daniels Midland, for one) even larger. Political payback or farsighted energy policy - that's for you to decide.

Bet this will make your morning bowl of corn flakes more pricey, too.

Update - The nice folks over at the Hemmings blog put up a link to Pure-Gas.org - -a web site listing gas stations dispensing uncut, pure gasoline. Check out this post at Hemmings for more details.

Williams & Pritchard Body Kits

Mention 'body kits' and you likely think of the bolt-on extravagances that are seen on Asian vehicles not too far away from the scrap heap. Actually, the early days of fiberglass kits brought forth some rather interesting products from England.

Williams & Pritchard was a coachbuilding firm located in London. As with most body constructors of the day, they had extensive experience and skill in forming steel and aluminum into objects of beauty. After the second World War Len Pritchard and Charlie Williams took the expertise gained in building bodies for Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and other fine chassis and formed a partnership with an aim to build racing bodies.

The firm's early client list reads like a 'Who's Who' of car builders: Lotus, Lola, Elva, Cooper, Lister, Gordon-Keeble, to name but a few. They constructed aerodynamic cowlings for racing motorcycles and did repairs on shunted Jaguar D-Types.

W & P expanded their business by offering fiberglass body parts when that technology was still new. They discovered that fiberglass could be comparatively 'mass' produced (build one mold - make many parts) whereas aluminum required a very high degree of skill and considerable time to build. One of their earliest fiberglass kits was the Speedwell Sprite Monza bonnet, where the Bugeye bonnet was replaced with a more wind-cheating design.

During the '60s and early '70s there was a large demand for 'bolt-on' body mods in the UK. Most were hardtops for roadsters, but many were much more elaborate with entire replacement bodies on offer. It was possible to turn a dowdy Mini into something that looked like it was from another planet.

The W & P firm found a receptive audience for GT-style hardtops that covered the car from the top of the windshield back to the boot lid. These modifications were reversible but it took some time to accomplish. One of the kits on offer was for the Jaguar E-Type roadster. Your friends might have a removable hardtop, but your car could like something between a roadster and coupe. As hard as it would be to improve on the looks of the E-Type, Williams & Pritchard tried and sold many of their kits.

Does anyone besides me see a little inspiration for the Jaguar XJ-S roofline here?

There is a very complete and intriguing web site dedicated to preserving the work of this company.

Malvern Link

Everyone knows that Morgans are built by gnomes in the forests around Malvern Link. What I didn't know that the village had really outdone themselves with their signage.

I'm a sucker for Morgans - three wheels, four wheels it doesn't matter. The modern stuff coming out of the factory is pretty stunning, especially the Super Sports now that they've got that whole cross-eyed thing worked out.

It gives a new meaning to "motor city", doesn't it?

British Car Festival Charity

It's been mentioned several times here on this humble blog (and elsewhere in the official event documents) that the Ozanam Charitable Pharmacy was selected by SABCC members as the charity to receive a donation from the proceeds of British Car Festival.

The club has traditionally set a base donation amount of $5.00 per car entered. Additionally, the proceeds from the bar be que dinners and the raffle items are donated as well.

Check out the Ozanam web site and maybe send them a little something on your own.

Countdown to British Car Festival 2010

The members of South Alabama British Car Club are anxiously awaiting October 23 - the date for the 20th annual British Car Festival. If you haven't already downloaded your registration form, you can do that here.

The official lodging partner for British Car Festival is the Holiday Inn Express on Greeno Road (US Highway 98) in Fairhope. They will have easy access to a water hose so you can wash your pride and joy after enjoying the free breakfast that comes with the room.

You can make your reservations here. Be sure to mention British Car Festival.

See you at BCF2010!