This might appear in the Octagon MG Club newsletter. Haven't heard
back from the editor yet.
Since all my MGs are in various states of (dis)repair, I drove my '01
Miata to the Woodland British Car Show. The 90 degree ambient
temperatures and the 90 mph speeds on Interstate 80 may have added to
the appeal of driving the Miata. This is the same Miata that failed
to get me to the big MG show in Reno. Today it performed flawlessly
as one would expect a newer Japanese car to do. But the thrill of an
MG it doesn't provide even though it's a modern imitation of a
classic British sports car.
I brought my camera and notepad as usual. As I arrived at the
fairgrounds, the first British car I saw was an MGTF attempting to
enter the fairgrounds on the wrong entry road. I later found out why
the driver was a bit confused as to how to get into the display
area. He had left home for the car show at 4:30 that morning and was
on the road for four hours in that TF.
A beautiful Morgan greeted me when I first walked into the car
display area, and it was the first photo of the day. I met my friend
Pat, and we toured the swap meet area. Dave Laughlin was there with
his van of interesting parts for sale and his dog keeping him
company. Selling parts next to Dave's display was a former
enthusiast who had abandoned the hobby five years ago, and was
liquidating some of his accumulation of parts. I bought a NOS Lucas
voltage regulator still in the box for $10. What a score! He told
me that after 30 years of owning and driving and working on British
sports cars, he had decided to change hobbies. He said he is a
surfer now and drives to Santa Cruz from Sacramento in his Honda van
to ride the waves. He said he was glad to have a hobby that didn't
skin his knuckles and expose him to dangerous chemicals.
There were very few T-series MGs at the show, and the one TF that I
saw driving in was the only TF at the show. But what a TF it was. I
own a TF myself and can now recognize some of the details which
distinguish an ordinary car from a show winner. This TF belongs to
Grant Ross of Carson City. He has not owned it that long and told me
he bought it sight-unseen from its prior owner in
Pennsylvania. Grant relied on the pedigree of the car as it had won
AACA contests and they have very exacting standards. He didn't come
right and say it, but I think he paid around $30,000 for this
car. Seeing its detailing, I would say he did well on this purchase.
When it arrived by truck, he must have been delighted when he first
saw the car. Being a TF1500, it has a bit more power than the 1250
model, and he told me it has had a modern 5-speed installed for
better highway cruising. It had a frame-off restoration in 2007.
Even the tires are period correct Dunlop bias ply which he said were
old but never used. The four-hour drive was from Carson City,
Nevada. And when I left the show Grant said he was going to drive
home again that afternoon! He has more courage than I have!
Bruce Blair must be the ultimate Morris Minor enthusiast. He also
drove down from Carson City. With help from his family, he was
displaying three Morris Minors and a Minor Junior pedal car. Bruce,
wearing a factory-authorized BMC white shop coat, appears in the
photograph beside his Minor 1,000,000. These little lavender Minor
saloons were the special commemorative cars that marked the milestone
1,000,000 of Morris Minor production. BMC made a total of 350 of
these unusual coloured cars, and Bruce's car is one of only 21 that
were exported to North America. Bruce told me that his Morris
collection consists of 12 1000s, 1 1000000, 1 MM (the split-window
model), two Minor trailers, and two pedal cars. I told Bruce that I
gave up on Minors after I nearly died in one. I once was very
enthusiastic about Minors myself, and had just purchased a '67 Minor
sedan that had been sitting for some time in western Marin
County. With a new battery and a bit of work, I had it running and
thought I could drive it home. As I was going down a very steep,
winding, and long hill that descends into the Napa Valley, the brakes
failed, the transmission failed, and the emergency brake cables
broke. I was able to drive it into the hillsides on curves to scrub
off speed. Closest I have come to dying as I am sure I was going
about 60 mph by the time I reached the last curve at the bottom of
the hill. But those cars do handle well and I survived without
killing myself. However, I did sell that car and my other Minors and
have not considered buying a Minor again.
I saw few Mk 1 MGBs at the show, but Brandon Augustine's Mk 1 was a
standout among all the MGBs. Brandon told me that he has owned his
red B roadster since 1986, and that he and his dad restored it over a
five year period ending in 2005. This red '67 roadster was very
pretty with silver wire wheels and detailed engine
compartment. Brandon told me that the car was sold originally in
Walnut Creek, but was stored in a container from 1972 to 1986 prior
to his purchasing it. I commented that there were few enthusiasts
his age involved with this hobby, and he said that none of his
friends had old British cars. Brandon, who is 41, lives in Napa, and
I had seen the car parked in St. Helena where he works but I didn't
know its owner until now.
The '51 Allard of David Rossiter's was a standout at the show. Red
and outrageous, sporting a Cadillac 331 OHV V8, an Allard like this
must have really been the ultimate blend of hot rod and sports car in
its day. David said that an original Allard only weighed 2,300
pounds, and had a top speed of about 140 mph. His car was purchased
from a museum collection. I liked it a lot.
Having owned four MGB GTs, I was captivated by Carl Biagi's '72 B
GT. It was located in the Winner's Circle as it won Best of Class
last year. Carl told me he had purchased his GT in 1974, and had
used it originally as a daily driver. The restoration was lengthy;
taking the better part of a decade, it was at a paint shop for seven
years. Being a mechanic, Carl did all the other work himself. This
car was outstanding. I have seen few B GTs that were this well
detailed. He even retained all the smog equipment, so that it looks
like a car in an MG showroom in 1972. About the only modification to
the car I could see was wheels that were period alloys. But on the
wheels were correct 20-year old Michelin XZX tires. We shared MGB GT
stories, as I had just sold my '73 which I had owned for 25 years.
Unfortunately, an MG show took place on the same Sunday in Danville,
and this did have an effect on the numbers of MGs at this
show. There were only four MGAs here. The last photo I took as I
left the show was an MGA Twin Cam coupe which must be one of the
rarest of MGAs. According to the book Original MGA, only 323 MGAs of
this configuration were manufactured.
Out in the parking lot was another red Mk 1 MGB roadster that should
have been displayed inside and I snapped a photo of it. Parked in
what little shade there was my Miata and next to it was a fibreglas
Austin Healey replica that was also leaving. I asked the Healey
replica owner why he didn't display his car, and he said he didn't even ask.
Last photo is of a 1950 Ford convertible barn find that I checked out
on the way home in the foothills of Napa. This car needs a lot of love.
https://picasaweb.google.com/104973305347633073496/Woodland2012
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