The weather was crappy for the Southern British Weekend in Chattanooga
this past weekend: windy, with temps in the 40s F. Fortunately,
most of the cars on display were indoors. The display was held in
what looked to be an auto auction facility. There were so many cars
that not all of them could fit indoors. We counted about 75 cars,
about 60 of them indoors. Due to the number of cars crammed into the
building, it was difficult to move around or get a good look at a
particular car from a distance. But, given the weather conditions, I
certainly wasn't complaining!
There was a wide selection of cars, more so than at any other show
I've attended. Many, many MGAs and MGBs; only noticed one Midget.
One or two TCs, several TDs, and a couple of TFs. A couple of
AH3000s. Didn't notice any Sprites, except for one Bugeye outside
for sale. Looked pretty bad, the asking price was $2500. I wonder
if that included the tow bar that was attached to the front?
Only a few Triumphs. I remember a TR3, a gorgeous 250, a couple of
6s, a 7, and an 8. One GT6, and at least 4 Spitfires. (I'm sure
this is the most Spitfires I have seen in one place since the local
B(P)L dealer closed.) None of the rarer Triumphs like Herald,
Vitesse, or Stag. One nice Morris Minor coupe, one Mini, a Riley Elf
(rebadged Mini), a Riley RM (A, I think). A pristine red Alpine;
talked to the owner, he drove it up from Atlanta. Surprisingly, no
Tigers. Not as many Jags as I would have thought. About 5 E-types,
only one a roadster. One each XJS roadster, XJ6, XK140, MK 2, and MK
VII. Two Mk IXs, one a beautiful owner restoration. There were 3
Land Rovers: two 109s, both white, owned by father & son. The other
LR was a military troop transport. It was painted camouflage, and had
dual rear axles.
Two personal favorites have always been TVRs and Jensen Interceptors.
There were 2 Interceptors and 3 TVRs there; I was in heaven. One of
the bombers from Blackpool was a 2500S, I don't remember what the
other models were.
>From a concours point of view, easily the best car in the show was the
E-type roadster, British Racing Green. It had been professionally
restored, and even I could see that it was head and shoulders above
the other cars.
I was very surprised to see only one Lotus there: an early Elan, BRG
with tan. Man, are those things small!
Around 2pm the cars started leaving the auction house for their tour
around town. It was great to hear them all fire up their engines,
especially the 440 V-8s in the Interceptors. I was very glad to hear
just how similar the red Alpine's engine sounded to my own. Maybe
it's not as bad off as I think it is. We sat outside in our car and
watched them get all lined up; this took quite a long time. Only 2
owners were brave enough to drive with their tops down in the cold:
the Midget and a husband & wife in their light blue AH3000. While
certainly the slowest vehicles in the caravan, the Land Rovers was
not at the end of the line. I certainly would have hated to have
been the ones stuck behind the 3 of them.
After all the cars left, we did too, for the 2-hour drive home.
Before we left home that morning, I recall thinking that it seemed
like a lot of driving to see the cars for only 90 minutes or so, but
seeing the TVRs, Interceptors, and Alpine made the trip worthwhile.
BTW, the TR8 coupe is for sale for $4100. Contact Frank Tarpley,
205-353-2249 in Decatur, Alabama.
--
T.J. Higgins | tjhiggin@ingr.com | (205) 730-7922
Intergraph Corp. | Mapping Sciences Division | Huntsville, AL, USA
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