The MMM MG Raid on New England
or
How I crammed 4 automotive events into one long weekend.
The weekend began with car prep. Don't they always? Except this time,
I had to get 2 cars plus transport ready for a trip to Connecticut.
Tuesday at around 2 AM, I finished reinstalling the dynamo on my
'34 MG PA Midget. I'd had the Rotax unit apart several times before, fixing
something new each time, to no avail. I polarized the field, jumped the
armature to the field, and started it up. Yes! The voltmeter showed
proper voltages, rising with RPM's. I hooked up the wiring, and
got the satisfaction of seeing the needle point to the positive side
of the ammeter. We finally got underway Wednesday afternoon, after
much scurrying around, getting the cars, truck, and trailer all loaded.
Tilly drove the Alfa, and I drove the rest.
We stayed at a friends that night, about an hour & 1/2 from Lime Rock Park.
Thursday morning, we were in line at the track just after 7 AM for the
BMW/Empire Motor Sports Club driving school. The morning went well, and
Tilly flagged the Start/Finish line while I was starting to get a much
better feel for the track during my second session. I was approaching
a decent line through the left hander, and had made the jump to no
braking on the downhill turn, leading onto the main straight. I also had
aa ride in my instructors Ferrari 308 GTB. Then, a few morning sprinkles turned
into a WET afternoon, and while many drivers left, I learned to drive in
the rain. Two full runs of delicate driving. We could have gone fishing in
the pond on the back straight, and there was a pretty impressive mudslide
running across the climbing turn by the end of the day. We were cold
and soaked, but we learned good stuff, and the GTV6 did well. And here's
a twist: No-body stuffed their car into anything all day.
Friday, it was off to Farmington, CT, to join the largest gathering of both
pre-war and T-series MG's this country has ever seen. We parked the truck,
and lowered the ramp. Zack started right up, eager to go join his old
friends. We puttered over, and slid in between a '35 PB, and a '29 M, then
proceeded to do some muched needed polishing, and get to know the other
owners and cars. There were 17 cars visiting from England, The big cars
included a 1925 Bullnose 14/28, a 14/40, and *3* 18/80's. There were many
cars from America, as well, coming from as far as Florida and California.
Quite a sight. The MMM (Midget, Magna, Magnette) OHC engined cars produced
from 1929 through 1936 were abundant. (relativly, at least). There were
4 of the boat-tailed M-type Midgets, including the US based car of
Peter Thornley, son of John Thornley, who started working for MG in 1931.
(And, at 80+ is still very involved the the cars and the MG Car Club.) There
were several J2 Midgets, and 6 P-types. Even a couple D-types, a timy 4 seater
based on the M. In 6 cylinders there were K3 racers, and N's; including
a boat-tail, and a beautiful NB Airline Coupe from Ontario, complete with
sliding canvas covered sunroof w/glass panes. One of the PA's belonged
to a chap named Pete from around Boston- his car, #0255, was the first P
sold, #251-254 being factory demos. (MG car #'s always started with #251,
which was the phone number at Abingdon) It had rally history from day one.
And so it went, I got to meet all sorts of good folks (some of who still
maintain that the last real MG's were made in 1936), and learn good
stuff about the cars.
Saturday, it was back to Lime Rock. I toured over early with a bunch of
T-series, whose owners suggested I go first so they wouldn't get ahead
of me. I ended up at the tail of the group, and set the story right by
passing a couple on some of the steep up-hills we encountered. The
route was perfect, winding up and down through the fall New England
folliage. The VSCCA races had a comfortable club atmosphere, with more
people involved in the races than watching. The selection of cars was
marvelous, and very different from those at Watkins Glen. Starting with
anything prewar! There were 2 Bugattis, Bentley, BMW, Morgan 3 wheeler,
5 or 6 MG's, including one of the 18/80's (!), and a Miller Special.
In later cars, there were Osca's, Maseratis, A SAAB factory roadster
(2-stroke), a Berkely, Crosley Le Mans Special, A Cooper one-lunger,
and many others, all ending around 1965. Wonderful stuff.
The drive home was ultimate- It was me in Zack and Peter his PA.
The leaves were falling all around, carpeting the road, and spraying about
us as we went. The cars were in harmony, with the exhaust of one singing
to the other, through a covered bridge, or as we climbed one hill after
another. Open air motoring in the best tradition. Two of Abingdons
finest, still stout of heart, and performing well, almost 60 years on.
Cecil Kimber knew what he was about when he created his affordable sports
cars.
Sunday morning brought one final event- a driving test or Gymkhana, put
on by the Brits. There were 5 different tests, some timed, some untimed.
A simple salaom and back, and another which contained a pin turn, and
a turnabout. Still another contained a full pin turn in *reverse*, no
simple task with the wide turning radius of my PA. Fourth was a one-shot,
untimed parallel park, getting as close to the curb as possible without
touching. In the final test, you had to accelerate to a line, then
take it out of gear and coast around a corner, getting as close to
a desired line without going over- no brakes! I must admit to a couple
significant errors in my running of the gymkhana, but not enough to
prevent a trophy for 2nd in Vintage Class!
My car is by no means a show car, and could use quite a bit of attention
on various mechanical bits, as well, but it is a fine driveable car.
In fact, the Sun is out, painting the final colours on the autumn leaves,
and the breeze of Indian Summer is calling us out for a ride...
________
/ _ \ Roger Garnett (garnett@BATCOMPUTER.TC.CORNELL.EDU)
/ /|| \ \ Agricultural Economics |
| |\/ || _ | 3 Warren Hall | South Lansing Centre For
| | || | | Cornell University | Wayward Sports Cars
\ ||__/ / Ithaca, N.Y. 14853 | (607) 533-7735
\________/ (607) 255-2522 | Safety Fast!
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