This bio thing is really a strange phenomena: when it started, I thought,
"who would do that
" and as it has unfolded, and more folks have shared
their path to lbc's, Triumph ownership, and support and solace from often
somewhat anonymous but highly valued on-line friends, I have been
fascinated and entertained by the tales of this bunch of latter-day
pilgrims. It really has allowed us (well, me anyway) to give many familiar
names on the list an identity that could only otherwise be achieved by
meeting each and all (which I also hope to do so in due course in some
Triumph related way), in the meantime, I'm grateful to all for sharing
their innermost thoughts.
So into the breach, dear friends. Like many others, the clock has been
running for a good while, and 50 has now passed by. Like Dan, without a
mirror to remind me, I still feel a lot younger - and good imagination
helps on that front as well. Married for some 28 years, with 3 kids - 2
boys, 18 and 16, and a daughter, 14, to Shirley who has supported and
indulged my interests more than I could hope for all those years, and in
return, I have to be interested in interior design and the occasional
"weepy" movie (yea, I get the best deal, but I keep that bit quiet).
Born in London, UK, and trained as a teacher, although I worked my way
towards and through college working for a BMC garage in Ealing (it went
bust eventually, and I probably added to that fact with various goofs that
I still remember with a shudder - to give you a taste: how about leaving
the brake bleeding spanner on the bleed nipple of a Hillman Minx, that then
vibrated loose 2 days later with loss of all fluid
he didn't hit
anything, not even me).
Trained and worked as a teacher of science (mostly physics) and technology
education (sorta like shop but with more fun toys, and bigger projects). I
ended up in administration in Staffordshire. A hidden gem in the English
countryside, and many roads without the UK problems of horrid congestion.
It was like being paid to rally drive at times! With considerable help
from Maggie Thatcher (who was changing the rules of educational
administration in England and Wales), we moved to lock, stock and barrel to
Michigan in 1993 (but without my superb Citroen BX19 GTI - boy, I still
miss that car). I wasn't a stranger to the US having worked as a
consultant for New York and Michigan for a number of years, and now work in
a school district as the person responsible for information technology and
a few other odds and ends.
On the car front - my first TR experience was when working as a barman in a
pub in London, I was offered a black TR2 for GBP75 ($130!) in 1968 by
another barman returning to New Zealand the next day (see OE in another bio
for the relevance of this event!)
This would have been my second car
ever, but I couldn't get anyone to give me an insurance quote that was
anywhere near affordable, so missed out on the car, and so acquired an 1960
Ford Prefect - a really horrible boxy thing that ran forever without
costing a penny, or needing a great deal of attention. The Prefect was my
second car - the first being a 1951 Alvis TA21 that used as much oil as
gas, and would turn left all by itself with a firm prod on the brakes
the
US could have used this car as a portable smoke screen for all of Vietnam!
(but I wished I still had it now
.). My third car was a Ford Consul
Capri. I blew the 1340cc three-bearing crank in no time, and then started
a slow rolling restoration that was completed some 8 years later. By the
time I was finished, the Capri was a real beaut with a Lotus twin-cam big
valve engine with sprint cams and C/R box, and a custom dash. Those who
have owned a Lotus will know that the words "daily driver" and "Lotus" do
not go in the same sentence, so in a fit of pique and frustration, the car
was sold and the proceeds put into a racing car
that was fun, but number
1 child saw the end of that escapade. The bug never dies, however, and as
the brood aged, I started hankering for a lbc. The web is a great
resource, and it wasn't long before I was able to get an ex-Arizona 1972
TR6 last year. A really solid car, with just enough tidying to keep us all
busy. The wife is too Americanized already, and is concerned about sitting
in "this little car": too much time spent in SUVs and Windstar vans. The
kids, however, are absolutely hooked. All help with work on the car. We
intend to improve it (PI and O/D to be fitted verrrry soon), and to
autocross it in due course. The boys and I will see who can still get
round in a good time, and my daughter will join in as soon as she is 16. I
have also made a point of getting the boys full insurance coverage so they
both drive the car on the road (occasionally without me - but I twitch a
lot!).
Other interests include motor racing (miss the RAC-BTCC a lot), squash
(ankles now slowing that one), sailing, boating and flying (still fly a
Piper Arrow regularly, and agree with jonmac that the '41 Spitfire must
rank as one of the best "drives" I'd love to try - even without the 8
machine guns and ammunition).
Apologies for the length - us Brits take 10 minutes to say "hello," so it's
a bit tough to be brief!
Tony Gordon
72 TR6 Midland, MI
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