MG Returns to Endurance Racing

MG announced that they will return to the LeMans racing series next year as a title sponsor of RLR Racing's MG-Lola EX265 prototype. The car is an updated version of the MG-Lola raced in the early 2000's under the MG Sports and Racing banner.

MG released this video as part of the sponsorship announcement:

Could we expect to see an MG-liveried prototype at Sebring next year?

Bird-Bombed but Still Proud

Courtesy of Hemmings

The Hemmings Blog is a great place to keep abreast of news and other interesting tidbits from the motoring hobby. On one of my recent visits, this photo of a barn find Jaguar Mark IV was front and center. As you can tell from the image, the old Jag was not the only resident of the barn.

Check out the full story and be sure to have a look at the after clean-up photos, too. 

Rare in the USA: MG Sports Sedan

The highly informative AROnline blog is a daily read for me now that they've upped sticks and moved their site to a new host and new blog format. Keith Adams and the crew add new content almost every day. 

One recent series of articles running there deal with the highly successful 1100/1300 series of saloon cars. These "bigger on the inside than on the outside" cars were an extension of Alex Issigonis' groundbreaking Mini design. They were larger - some models with four doors - and they had the innovative Moulton hydrolastic liquid suspension. 

AROnline is running a series of articles about the various iterations of the 1100/1300 including a profile of the many countries where they were built. Naturally, the one that caught my eye was the one treating the MG (and Austin) version sold in North America. It's certainly worth your time to check it out.    

Haynes Manual Saves the Day

How many of you British car owners have a grease-stained Haynes manual? I suppose Han Solo had one like this nearby. 

Really Old Old Speckled Hen

Photo courtesy of Geoff Ma

I ran across this photo of an original bottle of Old Speckled Hen ale that dates back to 1979 - the year that the brew was put in production to celebrate 50 years of building MGs in Abingdon. In their typically clumsy manner, as the celebrations in Abingdon were winding down, British Leyland callously announced the closure of the factory and the end of MG production. 


Old Speckled Hen (or OSH to its fans) was intended to be a limited time offering but the demand for good British ales meant that it stayed in production. I am a fan of Old Speckled Hen, by reason of owning an MG and because it is an enjoyable drink. We can find it along the Gulf Coast in better markets and I heartily recommend that you give it a try.

The Wonder Years

One of the posts on this humble blog dealing with the fiftieth anniversary of the "modern" MG Midget  found its way into the pages of the South Alabama British Car Club's NEWSLETTER. This article prompted an email exchange between me and the always-interesting Fletcher Thompson.The email conversation set me thinking about the earliest memory I have of a Midget or Sprite and it came back to me as the one driven by my sixth grade teacher during my family's time in Fairfield, California.

As a student at Dover Elementary School, I would walk from our home and the route was along the busy main drags of the city. Being in California, a lot of cars were of the foreign persuasion and therefore somewhat foreign to my midwestern upbringing. There were Veedubs aplenty to be sure but there were more than a few strange (at the time) Japanese imports, too. I knew that when I arrived at the school, my teacher's Mineral Blue Sprite would be in its usual spot.

To say that I admired the car would be an understatement. I clearly remember the disc wheels with chrome "AH" hubcaps and light blue convertible top. If memory serves, it was a '66 or '67. 

My teacher was in her first year of teaching after graduating from UC Berkley. If there is anything I recall more vividly than her car, it has to be her. She was tall, blond and had hippie tendencies. Her dresses were some of the shortest I had ever seen in my tender years and Lord have mercy, she wore fishnet stockings and boots. If I had a connection to the sea change of the sixties, it was her. 

More than once on my way home from school I saw her driving the blue Sprite on her way home too, top down, long blond hair shining in the California sun.  

Miss Judith Winters, I hope you found your hippie happiness. 

Jaguar Wins NASCAR Race

AL Keller at the Linden Airport Course - 1954

You read it right folks, Jaguar did indeed take the fight to the Detroit iron and emerge victorious. It was however, in 1954.

Piloted by hotshoe driver Al Keller, the 1948 Jaguar XK-120 coupe was one of 21 imports entered in NASCAR's first road course event staged at the temporary course set up at Linden Airport in Linden, New Jersey. This event was called the International 100 and was also the first event to welcome imported cars to the field - a total of 21 of them.

Keller's Jaguar was one of thirteen entered in the race that day, along with five MGs of various types, an Austin Healey, a Morgan and a lone Porsche. The Union Jack was well represented, indeed.

Previously, Keller drove Fords, Studebakers, Oldsmobiles and Hudsons prior to entering the red and white liveried number 4 XK in the New Jersey event. The car was owned by jazz musician Paul Whiteman and was part of his stable of exotic imported cars. Personally, I'd be a bit concerned if someone wanted to enter my new Jaguar in a NASCAR Grand National bumpin' and bangin' fest.  

Keller's NASCAR career spanned 29 races with two victories and twelve top ten finishes. His life was cut short in in an open wheel race crash in Phoenix, Arizona.

Grandsons are Fun - And Useful!

There's a thermostat in here

Our oldest grandson, nearly-five-year-old-William, is starting kindergarten this fall. The magnet school he will attend required a two week 'bridging' program to help get the little tykes in the frame of mind to learn. Since this was his first 'big school' experience, my better half told him that he could spend the night at our house when the two week session was done. He seems to think that it is a major deal to stay with us, so that's fine by me.

A Mini-qualified mechanic

He spent most of his time on his bicycle, ably demonstrating his new two-wheeled skill and generally staying close by. He was rummaging around the garage and found a stash of old Mini parts, one them being a head. For some reason he was fascinated with it so I set him up with some tools and showed him how to remove the thermostat housing and heater valve. 

It kept him busy for a while and he got a sense of accomplishment using the hand tools to take something apart. He even got some souvenir greasy hands in the deal.

I hope his parents are ready to find disassembled appliances in their house.   

Living Beyond My Raising

I had to share this photo I snapped of my MGB hanging out in Richard Cunningham's garage.

We spent the better part of two days trying to run down a fueling problem (too much one minute - nothing the next) before I finally threw in the towel and delivered the pair of SU HS4 carburetors today to Mike Darby for rebuilding and new throttle shaft bushings.

Maybe basking in the glow of Richard's partially-restored Jaguar E-Type will help the 'B realize that it's been a total slacker.

Or is that me? 

SABCC Wine Tasting

The wine tasting activity was one of the most well-attended events on the club calendar this year with nearly 25 SABCC'ers signing up for the June 25th do.

Our host pours a white

Many members dropped in a little early to browse the wine cellar and check the impressive selection of imported and high gravity domestic beers on hand. We found a very tidy shop with a cozy wine bar and comfortable seating  - the perfect spot to enjoy a glass of quality wine and conversation with good friends.  

One of the tables set up for the tasting

Hosted by the folks at Daphne's Vino e Birra wine shop, the event was a 'blind' tasting (no, we didn't have to close our eyes) in that we were served wines from varieties that were listed on a form at each seat. With up to 10 grape varieties listed, we had to use our senses to determine what each sample was. The Vino e Birra staff took time to explain the characteristics (color, nose, taste) of the varieties on our list and we then had to describe the characteristics of the wine using a list of accepted attributes. A number of us had some idea as to what we enjoyed, but many of the group had not taken the time slow down and actually taste and analyze wine.

We're into the reds, now

We were served two white wines and four reds. My long-suffering spouse enjoyed the white offerings, but was a bit put off by most of the reds. A couple of knowledgeable SABCC'ers commented that the reds were likely very young wines. 

The group enjoyed a few laughs and the company of their fellow club members during the tasting. The wines were complemented by a generous cheese and fruit tray brought to the event by Linda Ross. 

When the last sample had been poured, it was up to us to determine what, exactly, we sampled. The hosts asked for our selections from the variety list and, as a group, we failed miserably. I think only three our four members of the group nailed even one of the samples. Did that mean we had a bad time? Absolutely not. Everyone departed with smile on their face and many of us found wines, beers or exotic soft drinks that we bought to sample later.

Thanks Vino e Birra and the members of SABCC who attended.