SABCC February Activity

About 25 SABCC'ers, friends and guests descended on the Schillinger Road Panera Bread location for the first Mugs and Motors of 2010. As always, we enjoyed each others company while we moaned about yet another rainy start to a club event.

Never ones to stay down, the group poured more coffee and ordered another baked treat from the display case. Fully caffeinated and carb-loaded we set out on the next part of our activity - a visit to an incredible collection of Corvettes housed at Martin's Nursery in Semmes, Alabama.

Buddy Martin is one of the kindest, most generous people we've met to date. Buddy started the nursery as a hobby many years ago (along with a full time job at a manufacturing facility). Today, it ships a staggering quantity of ornamental plants all over the USA. Now that the nursery is a 'real' business, Buddy needed another hobby and he found one in collecting the most special of Corvettes. It was this collection that the club was invited to visit.

We arrived (without losing anyone along the way!) and were shown into a garage that could only be described as the stuff of dreams. There were three rows of beautifully restored cars - mostly corvettes- in a cavernous building. This climate controlled facility covers almost 12,000 square feet and boasts several collections of memorabilia, including NASCAR, Harley-Davidson and John Deere.

For me, the star of the collection was a 1953 Corvette - the inaugural year of the model. There were only 300 built and one of them resides in South Alabama. A close second was a C4 Corvette Grand Sport . Finally, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible fuel injection model with every available option was at the front of the non-Corvette line.

After the garage tour, we were shown around the 300+ acre nursery and the outbuildings where the collection is restored or serviced.

The group offered its thanks to our gracious hosts and went our separate ways around noon - and into a beautifully sunny day!

Making MGs at Abingdon

Here is a delightful short film from British Pathe titled Making MGs at Abingdon. This silent film was produced in 1931, not long after MG moved into the former Pavlova leather works facility. The premise of the short subject is a young couple has gotten word that the MG they ordered is ready to be picked up. The factory tour is part of the delivery process.

I can't identify what they are building, but I know I want one. Enjoy!

( MAKING MGs AT ABINGDON )

Lotus F1 Entry Unveiled

You read here on this humble blog about the return of the Lotus name to Formula 1 racing this season. The team has taken the wraps off their car and it is a beauty. The livery is similar to the colors Lotus ran in their heyday when Jimmy Clark brought home the laurels.

Let's hope this team is worthy of their heritage.

This just in:
According to Jalopnik, should the Lotus team manage to win a race, you won't be hearing God Save the Queen. The Malaysian national anthem will be played. Yep, Lotus Racing is entered as a Malaysian team.

News from the MG Front

Edmund's Inside Line is reporting that MG is in the midst of designing an all-new front engine, rear drive sports car to replace the (modern) MG-TF. The current TF - a development of the MGF - traces it's roots back to the early 90s and carries a mid engine layout. Of course, the article has the obligatory statement about MG returning to the US.

The full Inside Line article is here.

A Blog Worth Following

Richard Cunningham alerted me to the blog that Dick Maury keeps. It covers his experiences restoring a Jaguar E-Type. I had the pleasure of meeting Dick when Richard and I made our Great Road Trip in 2008. Dick works at Coventry West - a major supplier of used Jaguar parts and he is a really nice guy.

Tom Slick - Cartoon Race Driver

Anyone out there remember Tom Slick from Saturday morning cartoons? Here's a Youtube video of the opening sequence and the theme song. And I never really understood if the car's name was the Thunderbolt Grease Slapper or Grease Lapper. Does anyone care?

Pierre's Blog

Be sure to check out my friend Pierre Fontana's blog at Fontana Import Garage. The always colorful Pierre will likely have you in stitches before it's all said and done.

Jaguar Returns to LeMans

Jaguar is set to return to LeMans for the world famous 24 hour race.

"We are delighted the ACO has granted us entry in the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans," said Paul Gentilozzi, principal partner of Jaguar RSR in a press release. "It is a race that is held dearly in the hearts of motorsport fans across the world and for Jaguar to be racing again is something special."

The big cat will be pedaled by the team of Scott Pruett and Marc Goossens at the June 12-13 race.

In a press release from Jaguar C.J. O'Donnell, Jaguar's global marketing director said, "It was 20 years ago that Jaguar last won Le Mans. Returning to Le Mans will reignite excitement for the marque all over the globe, all the more poignant in our 75th year."

It's a What?

Is it an MGA? Austin Healey? AC Ace?

Nope, its a Swallow Doretti - one of the prettiest cars you've never heard of. The Swallow Doretti was a short-lived effort to fill a market niche between the Triumph TR2 and the Jaguar XK120. The target market was the United States where all manner of sports cars were being snapped up. Production of the Doretti was by the strangely-named Swallow Coachbuilding Company (1935) Ltd, a subsidiary of the giant British company Tube Investments Group. This business was indeed a descendant of the original Swallow Sidecar Company founded by William Lyons and William Walmsley in 1921 from which SS Cars and later Jaguar Cars evolved.

A gentleman named Frank Rainbow was responsible for the original design and production engineering of the Doretti which only required nine months to complete the first prototype. The frame of the Doretti is a rigid tubular chassis frame.The side members consist of two 3" diameter chrome-moly steel tubes reinforced with strengthening plates.The car was powered by Triumph TR2 running gear.

After the introduction of the Swallow Doretti, a Mark II version of the car named the Sabre (not to be confused with the Reliant Sabre) was begun. But early in 1955 an unexpected decision by Tube Investments brought the entire Swallow Doretti project to a halt. Production ceased and the Sabre development was shelved.

Today, the Swallow Doretti has a small but enthusiastic following, especially in light of the fact that only 276 Dorettis were built.

Doretti name? It was derived from Dorothy Deen one of the founders of car accessory manufacturer Cal Specialties. The firm's partners took the first three letters of Deen's first name and developed an "Italian" version to use on the accessory line. She and her partners imported the Swallow Doretti and distributed Triumph cars in the western half of the US.

If you see a Swallow Doretti in the wild, consider yourself fortunate.