The Morris Garage

Photo courtesy of Andrew Gray

Pictured here is the Morris Garage on Longwall Street in Oxford. From this building William Morris sold, repaired and rented automobiles. It is this business that Cecil Kimber managed for Morris and where he had his inspiration to produce Morris automobiles with a more sporting character. However, no MG cars were built here -the first production cars were assembled at a building located at Alfred Lane, also in Oxford.

Have I Arrived?

During the early years of my misspent youth I was an avid reader of Road & Track magazine. It was so educational that I learned that the "&" has a name - ampersand. 

I clearly recall the November 1970 issue wherein a Ferrari 365GTB/4 "Daytona" was given the full R&T road test treatment. Wow, overhead cam engine, alloy wheels, a slippery aerodynamic shape and four wheel disc brakes. Add all-independent suspension, aluminum engine block and five speed gearbox and it was the stuff of teenage dreams. And it was an expensive dream - $25,000 out the door.

Fast forward 40 years and I have achieved the dream of owning a $25,000 car with all this exotic stuff:

The missus' Honda Accord.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Only for Racing and Museum

Although it has been managed to attract attention at the Paris motor show some time ago, Lamborghini was not interested in selling cars Elemento Sesto concept and will only make it to racing matters only.

This car uses carbon fiber material for the entire material. Elemento Sesto own name seems to refer to the number of carbon atoms of the element which is the number 6. By using the carbon fiber body weight is a very light car that is only 999 kg.

With super-lightweight body and a boost engine Lamborghini Sesto Elemento typical malignant can be invited to run 0-100 km / h in just 2.5 seconds, with maximum speed reaches 354 km / hour.

It is estimated that if the car was mass produced the price will be very expensive. Could be more than the price of the Lamborghini Reventon sold for 1 million euros and be one of the most expensive car in the world.

Lamborghini Sesto Elemento, Only for Racing and Museum

Although it has been managed to attract attention at the Paris motor show some time ago, Lamborghini was not interested in selling cars Elemento Sesto concept and will only make it to racing matters only.

This car uses carbon fiber material for the entire material. Elemento Sesto own name seems to refer to the number of carbon atoms of the element which is the number 6. By using the carbon fiber body weight is a very light car that is only 999 kg.

With super-lightweight body and a boost engine Lamborghini Sesto Elemento typical malignant can be invited to run 0-100 km / h in just 2.5 seconds, with maximum speed reaches 354 km / hour.

It is estimated that if the car was mass produced the price will be very expensive. Could be more than the price of the Lamborghini Reventon sold for 1 million euros and be one of the most expensive car in the world.

The MG that Beat a Ferrari

Old Faithful

Marathon de la Route; An endurance race to end all endurance races. Run at the famed Nurburgring  Nordschleife, this grueling event lasted 84 hours and was billed as the world's longest race. And in 1966, it was won (overall) by a humble MGB.

The factory supported MG (registered GRX 307D and called Old Faithful) was driven by works drivers Andrew Hedges and Julien Vernaeve. The team won against incredible odds including two major 'offs' in the opening laps and extended pit stays to repair the damage. The MG was as far down the order as 34th in the race that covered 5,000 miles.

Not only did the MGB beat the Belgian-entered Ferrari 275GTB, it outlasted Porsche 911s and hotted-up Ford Cortinas.

A great article about the race can be found here.  Another fine article is here.

Separated at Birth 3

 

Peel P50 

Little Tykes Cozy Coupe

Jakarta, The First City in Southeast Asia That Having Smart Electric Car

DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has just got a new toy that is a smart electric car electric drive (ed). And it turns out this is the first smart ed in the region of Southeast Asia.

President Director of PT Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, said Rudi Borgenheimer smart unit that lent to the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta is about 1 in 1,500 units of the smart ed is tested in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia.

"This is the first time a city in the ASEAN manerima smart ed as a material unit testing project. This shows that Indonesia as a country of importance to Daimler AG in terms of future technology-friendly environment," he said at City Hall on Wednesday (24/11 / 2010).

Smart ed itself is a zero-emission electric cars produced by smart, a brand that dinauingi by Daimler AG. Using the Smart ForTwo base, this car harness the energy from the electric motor as the driving.

This car is reinforced lithium ion batteries made by Tesla Motors is capable of producing power to 27 hp to 40 hp with peak torque to 120 Nm.

With a battery of smart ed can explore 135 km of roads with a single energy charge and ran up to 100 km per hour.

Batteries that her arms that can be filled only within 3 hours only with injection systems that use made Siemens electric voltage 220 volts or 110 volts.

Jakarta, The First City in Southeast Asia That Having Smart Electric Car

DKI Jakarta Provincial Government has just got a new toy that is a smart electric car electric drive (ed). And it turns out this is the first smart ed in the region of Southeast Asia.

President Director of PT Mercedes-Benz Indonesia, said Rudi Borgenheimer smart unit that lent to the Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta is about 1 in 1,500 units of the smart ed is tested in Europe, the United States, Canada and Asia.

"This is the first time a city in the ASEAN manerima smart ed as a material unit testing project. This shows that Indonesia as a country of importance to Daimler AG in terms of future technology-friendly environment," he said at City Hall on Wednesday (24/11 / 2010).

Smart ed itself is a zero-emission electric cars produced by smart, a brand that dinauingi by Daimler AG. Using the Smart ForTwo base, this car harness the energy from the electric motor as the driving.

This car is reinforced lithium ion batteries made by Tesla Motors is capable of producing power to 27 hp to 40 hp with peak torque to 120 Nm.

With a battery of smart ed can explore 135 km of roads with a single energy charge and ran up to 100 km per hour.

Batteries that her arms that can be filled only within 3 hours only with injection systems that use made Siemens electric voltage 220 volts or 110 volts.

The Avengers: Pretty Girls, Action & Cool Cars

I loved The Avengers. The British program was shown on American television from about 1965 through 1969 and was targeted at the Man from U.N.C.L.E. and I Spy crowd. Action shows were in demand and The Avengers fit right in. It was one of my favorite television shows in my pre-teen years. Diana Rigg as Emma Peel checked all the right boxes for me, Patrick Macnee as John Steed was the personification of cool in a bowler hat and the cars - oh, the cars. 

That was my first exposure to British cars from what I consider to be their golden age. Blower Bentleys, Lotus', and other exotics flashed on the screen constantly to reinforce in my mind that there were choices other than the barges from Detroit.

Now, I've been told that I'm pretty pathetic when the subject of my interest in cars comes up, but there's one individual out there sadder than me. A gentleman named David K. Smith runs a web site dedicated to all things Avengers. Called The Avengers Forever, the site is a labor of love. In addition to background information about the show, he has listed every car in every episode - with its' registration number -  and has included a photo of it.

You know you want to visit it.

Mugs & Motors: The Extended Version

 

Mmmm - Coffee

As I've mentioned before in these scribblings, SABCC's Mugs & Motors is one of the club's favorite activities. Even rain doesn't keep our intrepid members away and many of the M & M meetings have turned out to be a bit soggy.

Today, however,  we had unusually warm weather and it brought out the drop top cars in force. Parked on Royal Street in front of Serda's Coffee Company was a pair of MGAs and four MGBs. Rounding out the  British car contingent was a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow (!), a Jaguar XJS and a humble Mini. Passersby seemed to enjoy the impromptu car show with more than a few stopping to take photos of the cars.

As usual, Serda's poured a fine cup of coffee and there were treats aplenty to satiate the early morning hunger pangs. The SABCC gang was through the door early and laid claim to the more secluded area in the back of the shop. We dragged tables together to make sure we could jump into any conversation that was of interest at the moment. 

The gang at Serda's

I was delighted to invite an acquaintance I met in Fairhope some years back who winters in Chickasaw, Alabama and lives the rest of the year in his native Glasgow, Scotland. Lithgow Wilson joined us for the day's events and related tales of rallying a classic Mini in his home country. The club members were pleased to welcome him.

After our "coffee and conversation for motoring enthusiasts", we rounded up the classic British cars and moved down Royal Street to the City Museum of Mobile where Robb Ogletree arranged some very special front door parking for us. Once inside the lovely old City Market/City Hall building we were surprised to hear that the museum entrance fee had been taken care of. Robb once again.

Preferred parking at the museum

We were placed in the hands of a very capable and friendly museum docent who lead us through the exhibits explaining in detail the importance of the artifacts to the city's 300 year old history. It has been several years since I visited the City Museum of Mobile and in that time the tireless staff has added significantly to the exhibits. I came away very impressed with this gem.

We spent over two hours in the museum and we could have stayed longer - there was that much to see. Our schedule called for us to be on the road so we bid our host goodbye and started up our cool Brits for the ride to the 5 Rivers Delta Center on the causeway. We meandered through the streets of downtown Mobile to get to a traffic light that would get us onto Government Street and the Bankhead Tunnel. I was leading the pack and apparently the Mini is not enough car to set off the street surface mounted traffic sensor. I bolted (as much as I could bolt, anyway) out of the car and pressed the pedestrian button at the crosswalk. Bingo - green light!

Our portrait at 5 Rivers Delta Center

Our caravan passed through the tunnel with the more juvenile of us (me, actually) honking our horns and we came out on a brilliantly bright causeway. The sun was reflecting off Mobile Bay and the morning clouds were parting. We zipped into Spanish Fort and then to the 5 Rivers Delta Center. We parked our cars for the perfect photo op and got our portraits made. Several members remarked that the facility would make a great place for a car show.

We entered the Delta Center and were greeted by a number of mounted animals native to the Mobile River delta region. Animals no longer found in the area (bison, for example) were represented in the collection as well. There were also several exhibits of live animals including snakes, turtles and a possum. There was even an albino hog snake in one terrarium - it's markings were pink on white.  We lingered outside on the porch overlooking the pier in the river and the delta stretching out to the north. The now-warm day and bright sun on the water made a few of us wish for a hammock to take a noontime snooze. Fighting off that urge for a nap, we mounted our steeds for the 35 mile ride to Stockton and the Stagecoach Cafe.

That thing is gonna bite you...

Robb Ogletree invited Lithgow to ride with him in his MGA and leave his American iron at the Delta Center. Lithgow accepted and Robb had a navigator. 

We took a less than direct route to Stockton with a detour to Alabama Highway 181 and onto Bromley Road where several engaging twists and turns made the driving interesting. The Rolls Royce piloted by Nancy Pugh (with her dad Cecil co-piloting) was observed taking the turns in a spirited manner. One wag (who shall remain unnamed) wondered if the doorhandles were scraping the pavement. Good on ya Nancy! The radiator mascot has wings for reason.

We ran through an area of sprinkles even though the clouds appeared to be much further off. I think I had a few dozen spots on the windshield and some of the topless drivers were dampened a little. 

Alan McDonald, my brother and fellow MGB owner, recorded a milestone event in his car's history: The odometer reset to all zeroes during the trip to Stockton. He dutifully made a photographic record of the event and asked if his car was now back under factory warranty since it was reading zero miles. Let me know how that works out.

Lunch at the Stagecoach Cafe

As usual, the Stagecoach laid out an impressive spread of country cooking on their groaning buffet table. We had fried chicken, beef cutlets, pork chops and a whole array of sides designed to make you loosen your belt. I, for one, took advantage of the fine selection and ate some of all of it. The SABCC gang is never short of something to talk about and we spent about an hour and half doing what we do best: enjoying the company of our friends, both new and old.

Our waitress kept us in stitches over her spring-equipped tennis shoes. Yes, a spring was attached to the heel of each shoe. When we asked about them she launched into a well-rehearsed presentation on the advantages of these fine shoes. That had to be worth an extra buck in the tip jar!

We couldn't eat another bite

We were sure we could hold no more, so we made arrangements to head back to our respective homes. Several smaller caravans were formed depending on the final destination of the groups. Lithgow accepted a ride back with Richard Cunningham in his V-12 powered Jaguar XJS. I'm sure the trip back to get his car was quick, indeed.

I led a caravan consisting of Mike and Nancy Darby, Robb Ogletree and Keith Jarvis back to Spanish Fort where I peeled off to return home. 

In all we had a great time. Whenever good friends with common interests gather, smiles and laughter are soon to follow. I'm proud to be part of this fine club and I hope we'll have an even larger crowd next time.

Volt The Green Car of The Year

Chevrolet Volt finally beat rival Japan in the race car environment friendly Green Car of the Year 2011. Year 2011 in the United States means refers to the automobile output in 2010. Volt beat rivals such as Nissan LEAF weight, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Ford Fiesta (the only conventional-engined cars) and the Hyundai Sonata hybrid. Announcement of the winner of Green Car of the Tear was held on the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

"I am deeply honored to stand here with this car," said GM Vice President Joel Ewanick when receiving the award.

Ewanick immediately give praise for the engineers who have created eco-friendly Volt.

Volt electric car can drive up to 65 km once the contents of the batteries, but the Volt also has a gasoline engine for charging.

The gasoline engine produces power that is transmitted through the

drive unit and balanced by the generator and traction motor.

Even so the GM called the Volt is not a hybrid car but extended range electric car. Electric cars that can be used by not only among the urban commuter only.

Volt The Green Car of The Year

Chevrolet Volt finally beat rival Japan in the race car environment friendly Green Car of the Year 2011. Year 2011 in the United States means refers to the automobile output in 2010. Volt beat rivals such as Nissan LEAF weight, Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, Ford Fiesta (the only conventional-engined cars) and the Hyundai Sonata hybrid. Announcement of the winner of Green Car of the Tear was held on the sidelines of the Los Angeles Auto Show.

"I am deeply honored to stand here with this car," said GM Vice President Joel Ewanick when receiving the award.

Ewanick immediately give praise for the engineers who have created eco-friendly Volt.

Volt electric car can drive up to 65 km once the contents of the batteries, but the Volt also has a gasoline engine for charging.

The gasoline engine produces power that is transmitted through the

drive unit and balanced by the generator and traction motor.

Even so the GM called the Volt is not a hybrid car but extended range electric car. Electric cars that can be used by not only among the urban commuter only.

Does This Look Like an Aston Martin?

Of course not, silly, it's a tractor. But are you aware of the connection between this tractor and Aston Martin?

The tractor was built by David Brown Ltd - at one time one of the largest equipment manufacturers in Europe. With roots back to the middle of the 19th century, David Brown, Ltd  was a respected maker of machine cut gears and gear drive systems.In fact, David Brown Ltd was a critical supplier of maritime propulsion drive systems during World War I.

After the war, David Brown Ltd joined forces with Harry Ferguson (of Ferguson tractor fame) to build a line of tractors with more advanced features such as cast aluminum casings in place of cast iron. Early David Brown tractors were powered by Coventry Climax engines until the firm finalized an engine design of their own. David Brown also built a line of tracked vehicles and aircraft tugs.

In 1947, Sir David Brown (grandson of the founder) spotted an ad in the Times of London  for the sale of a "high class motor business". Intrigued, Brown paid the princely sum of £20,500 and became the owner of Aston Martin. He later acquired the Lagonda marque and the coachbuilding firm of Tickford. 

This purchase began the rise of the storied DB line of Astons. Now, be careful if someone offers you a DB4 at a knockdown price - it may be a tractor.  

What the New MINI Could Have Been

Back in the day when the folks at Rover realized that the Mini was coming up on its 40th birthday virtually unchanged the call went out for a clean-sheet redesign. One of the entrants in the internal competition was a Rover design dubbed Mini 'Spiritual'.

The Spiritual design team did their best to adhere to the project brief assigned to the BMC Genius-In-Residence Alec Issigonis: Seating for four in the absolute minimal footprint. In other words, it was a Mini for the millennium. 

About this time, Rover and its cupboard of brands had been bought from British Aerospace by BMW. The new masters in Munich said publicly that the design and engineering of the British brands would stay in the hands of the British team with minimal BMW influence. The MGF, Rover 75 and a few other projects were well along in the development stage, but the Mini replacement was ripe for meddling.

BMW decided that the Mini brand was too valuable to risk on a single design proposal, so a competition was launched to determine what the new Mini would be. The Spiritual was one of the proposed designs. Shown in both two and four door versions, the Spiritual was powered by the Rover K-Series 4 cylinder engine placed in the rear under the floor. The suspension was by the same Hydragas setup that the MGF used.

The BMW masters rejected the Spiritual in favor of a design from the BMW North America styling center (with significant Munich input) by American Frank Stephenson. 

The Last Triumph

Here in the US, we associate the Triumph marque with sports cars.Most people here do not realize that Triumph also produced comfortable and sporty saloon (that's a sedan, cowboy) cars not unlike modern offerings from BMW. While we did get the Herald, it was intended fill the need for a small, economical family car. Sitting in a showroom alongside growly TR sports cars didn't hurt its' image either.

But the lucky folks in the Triumph's home market got all sorts of interesting family cars that offered a measure of performance and style. The Triumph Vitesse, Dolomite and Toledo models were Triumph TRs (or Spitfires) in sharp Italian suits. I've had the pleasure of seeing a rather tasty, if rare on these shores, Triumph Dolomite Sprint at both British Car Festival in Fairhope and at British Car Day in New Orleans.I could love me some Dolly Sprint!

But the last car to carry the Triumph badge (into oblivion, it turns out) was a four door car with some serious Honda DNA in its line. The Triumph Acclaim was the first of the collaborative effort between Honda of Japan and British Leyland. The story of the two firms tie-up is a fascinating one and can be read here.

The Acclaim was a mildly restyled second generation Honda Civic (Ballade in some markets) with a surprising amount of British content. It was built in the former Morris Cowley plant in Oxford. There was very little to separate the Acclaim from its Civic/Ballade brother visually, but it was extensively re-tuned and detailed for home market tastes - the interior received a thorough restyle.

After only three years of production the Acclaim (and Triumph) names were put out to pasture, but Honda continued a relationship with Rover which eventually brought the Sterling marque to America. But that's another story.

Maybe Not So Wacky After All?

No sooner had I posted an article about "wacky" tri-cars, Morgan announced that they will be putting a modern one into production next year. In keeping with its heritage, the car will be powered by a motorcycle engine - an 1800cc Harley-Davidson twin. The cog-swapping duties will be handled by a modified Mazda MX5 (nee Miata) gearbox.

At this point, I don;t know whether the new three wheeler will be sold in the USA, but I think I'd like one...

More details at the official Morgan website.

A New Cat in the Neighborhood

The gentleman from whom Richard Cunningham and I recently acquired this '72 Triumph Spitfire, contacted me about another car he has in his possession. It seems that he has a friend in Louisiana that has a 1968 Jaguar E-Type coupe that he would like to sell. It is reputed to be low mileage and in fine drivable condition. He invited Richard and I to drop by and have a look at it - maybe we would be interested?

Well, tatty Spitfires and shiny E-Types are horses of two very different colors. While I would like to bring a Jag home, the financial reality prohibits it. 

In any case, the gentleman looking after the car is more of a Detroit iron kind of guy, although he has made some interesting points about possibly keeping it himself. Richard and I will have a look and offer any advice or leads that we can. 

In the meantime, get in touch if you think you would like to adopt a kitten.

This just in- Richard and I had a look at the car and it appears to be a very solid vehicle. It has an older repaint on a very straight body. The car sat for about two years and needs a thorough clean up. The current caretaker is going to go through the fuel system and make sure that everything is clean and tight before he starts it up (we did not hear it run). It would be a nice driver for a future restoration. 


The odometer is showing 39K miles and there are receipts for work back to 1987 that show 37K miles then. 


He is looking for offers in the mid twenties.  

Saturday, November 20th SABCC Activity

Wait! Don’t put that car away for the Winter just yet. South Alabama British Car Club has a full day of fun stuff to do with your SABCC friends and your car on Saturday, November 20th.

We’re meeting at Serda’s Coffee Company at 8:00AM for more “Coffee and Conversation for Motoring Enthusiasts”. Mugs & Motors has been one of the more popular events on the SABCC calendar so we’ll end the activities year with one more. Serda’s is at 3 South Royal Street in downtown Mobile near the Riverview Plaza Hotel. They open 8:00AM, so we’ll be first in line to grab a cup of joe and something sweet from the pastry counter.

Bring some pocket change to feed the parking meters! Several in-the-know members have reminded me that street parking is free on on the weekends.

After we enjoy our Mugs & Motors session at Serda’s we’ll move south along Royal Street to visit the delightful Museum of Mobile at 111 South Royal. The museum is housed in the Old Southern Market/ Mobile City Hall Building– one of Mobile’s oldest standing structures. We may move our cars to the parking lot near Fort Conde; it depends on the group attending.

Admission to the Museum is $5.00 ($4.00 if you admit to being a senior citizen). Robb Ogletree has graciously arranged a special SABCC museum admission deal: only three bucks! 

When we finish our visit to the Museum of Mobile, we’ll caravan through Bankhead Tunnel and onto the Causeway to stop in at the amazing new 5 Rivers Delta Center in Spanish Fort. The center includes extensive piers, river views, natural history exhibits and a gift shop.  There’s a gigantic gator on display along with other delta wildlife and interpretive artwork.

Admission is free.

We’ll gather the caravan once again for a short ride to Stockton, Alabama for lunch at  the ever-popular Stage Coach Restaurant. The Stage Coach buffet has to be seen to be believed—there’s a fine selection of seafood, chicken, vegetables and other down-home dishes with excellent service by the attentive staff. 

I hope to see you there!

Those Wacky Tri-Cars

Due to a quirk in the taxation and drivers licensing laws in the UK, a phenomenon called the tri-car came into being. These three wheeled cars were most often powered by motorcycle engines and all of them were in a class of their own.

Tri-cars are always three wheeled but there are differences in how the wheels are laid out and the car is steered:

• "Delta" layout cars are steered with one front wheel and have the other two fixed on a common axis at the rear.
• "Front-Steering Tadpole" or reverse trike layout cars have a single fixed rear wheel and are steered by the two front wheels.
• Rear-Steering Tadpole" layout cars also have two front wheels but are steered by the single rear wheel.

Automotive pioneer Karl Benz designed several tri-cars including the acknowledged first gasoline powered production car, the Benz Patentwagen. It was steered with a tiller acting on the single front wheel. You can occasionally see photos of this vehicle in Mercedes advertising.

In the UK, tri-cars were an inexpensive way to get into motoring with numerous small (and some not-so-small) manufacturers building cars for this market starting in 1902. Some of the more familiar builders are:

• Humber
• Riley
• Lagonda
• Morgan
• BSA
• Scammell
• Bond
• Reliant

 Tri-cars were an excellent alternative to motorcycle/sidecar combinations in the UK and since they had the same number of wheels on the ground, as motorcyle & sidecars, they were licensed and taxed as such.

With all tri-cars had to offer, they were (in delta form) somewhat ungainly to drive. It was not unusual to lift an inside rear wheel on even the slightest turning maneuver.Where a four wheel car will slide, a three wheeler will likely tip up.

Morgan Three Wheeler

 Here in the US, we are most familiar with Morgan "Trikes"which have a devoted following. It is not unusual to encounter three wheeled Morgans at historic race meets. The Morgan Super Sports was a force in tri-car (or cycle car) racing in the 'teens through the 1930s. Morgan tri-cars were powered by J.A.P., Matchless or other two cylinder motorcycle engines in vee form mounted in front, usually outside the bodywork.

Reliant Robin

Reliant, like Morgan, started out producing three wheeled cars and then expanded into four wheeled vehicle manufacture - they just lagged behind Morgan by a couple of decades in this expansion. The most recognizable Reliant three-wheeler in this country is the Reliant Regal delivery van as seen in Only Fools and Horses - the UK sitcom with a small cult following here in America.  Additionally, a Reliant Robin has been in an ongoing gag on the UK version of Top Gear with the car regularly rolled over by various drivers including host Jeremy Clarkson, American rally driver Ken Block and the anonymous Top Gear test driver known as The Stig. I understand that at least one SABCC'er has first hand experience with a Reliant Robin.

The only tri-car I ever saw in the flesh was a Bond Bug that was entered in SABCC's  British Car Festival in the late 1990s at Bellingrath Gardens. It was highly unusual in that the entire windshield and roof lifted up to allow entrance or exit from the car. The Bug was powered by a 700cc engine and the car was steered with the single front wheel. The Bug's predecessor, the 875 was similar in layout to the Bug, but was more conventionally styled. This vehicle was dropped from production when the Bond firm was absorbed by Reliant in 1970.

Bond Bug

Today, tri-cars are making a bit of a comeback, helped by stability control, better powerplants and innovative engineering. The Carver built in built in Europe was a tilt- technology enclosed three wheeled vehicle. Sadly, Carver went bankrupt last year.

One for the Brave Restorer

I'm always trolling the Internet to feed my classic British car fantasies and I find myself a regular visitor to the  purveyors of the particular crack cocaine that is my addiction. Case in point: Gullwing Motor Cars in Astoria, New York always has a nice selection of cars in various conditions from show-ready to basket cases.

One that falls somewhere in between is an intriguing 1934 MG J2 that the seller claims is a 30 year barn resident. The car sports Texas plates with the last tax sticker dating to 1972 or 77 - the photo is unclear. As you can see from the pictures, it is rather rough and the engine is sitting where the passenger's legs should be.

The MG J2 was powered by an 847 cc overhead cam, crossflow head design four cylinder engine. It shared this engine with various Morrises and Wolseleys of the day. Driving the car might be a bit of a challenge for inexperienced drivers as it has cable operated brakes and a completely unsynchronized four speed gearbox. In two years of J2 production, MG cranked out just under 2,200 of them. 

Car Show Overload?

I've been assigned the task of publicity for the last couple of British Car Festivals and with help from several other club members, we've been able to get our message on the airwaves and into some respectable print media. This year, however, it was a bit more challenging.  We did get our event listed in the usual enthusiast publications and web sites and other British car clubs in the southeast placed us on their activity calendars.  

Photo credit: Lise Gagne

I could not get the story included in the events calendars of several regional magazines (Mobile Bay Monthly being one) although we did get some print coverage in the local newspapers. Not being able to get the word out in a wide reaching form makes it difficult to keep the general public attendance numbers up and reach out to prospective British car enthusiasts. 


As with most blowhards with a keyboard and high speed Internet, I've got a theory as to the root of the problem: saturation.

It seems like every volunteer fire department, church with a parking lot or restaurant with a need to generate traffic has a car show or cruise in of some sort. There's hardly a week that passes that a notice of a car show with a worthy fund raising cause doesn't pop up in my email in box. I cannot imagine how many badly-worded 'press releases' get out to the local print and broadcast media. I think we might be getting lost in the crowd.

British Car Festival is one of the area's oldest car shows with twenty years of history under its belt. I can think of only two or three others in the area that have had a longer run than our humble show. How can we set ourselves apart from the show and shines and make our event worthy of mention? 

I'm open to ideas and we need volunteers with contacts. We've got about a year before the next BCF. That's plenty of time to develop a battle plan!