Search Results for The Roadster Factory

The Theme This Year is “County Fair.”

TRF SUMMER PARTY 2017 — TRF will stick to Our Traditional Dates, August 3, 4, and 5. Cost Will Remain the Same as Last Year at $99.00 for One Person in One Car—Other Options Will Be Available.  Price Includes Driving Events, Car Show, Field Party with Picnic Feast, Event T-shirt and Lots More. Camping on TRF Grounds Is Available, Hotel Rooms Will Be Blocked. Everyone Will Have Fun Driving Cars, Eating, Drinking, and Socializing on Our Beautiful Farm and All Around the County—You Know, “The Usual Thing…”

Aston Martin is celebrating the centenary of its oldest surviving car – ‘A3’ – by building a modern-day tribute based on one of its most dynamic and exhilarating series-production sports cars, the new Vantage Roadster. […]

Among a catalogue of many significant cars to be offered by H&H Classics at its forthcoming 11 July Chateau Impney Hill Climb sale is not only a historic car in the legend that is the MG Car Company, it’s also a star of the silver screen. The 1957 MGA Twin Cam Roadster Prototype, registration ‘ORX 885’, features in a 1955/1956 promotional film for the British Motor Corporation, The Sports Car Of The Year, produced by Associated British Pathé Ltd. MG’s top-of-the-range sports car can be seen at the MIRA test track lapping at its impressive top speed of 120mph. Not only that, in later frames it also demonstrates the powerful stopping power of disc brakes – quite an innovation for MG and at that time generally only fitted to racing cars such as Jaguar’s D-type. Since service as a factory […]

Auto-fanatic Mark Evans headed to his workshop once more for this eighth in the ‘Is Born’ British tv series. In this ten part series – first aired on the Discovery Real Time channel in July 2005 – Mark and his side-kick Pete reunite to restore the ultimate English sports car, the MGB, as An MG Is Born. […]

I would like to say “Happy New Year”, but first we must acknowledge a sad passing. One of our own and a fixture of both the British car hobby and the British car industry has passed away. Charles Runyan, founder and head of The Roadster Factory passed away Saturday, December 22 at the age of 72. Charles was also the founder of The Coventry Inn. In 1978, Runyan started The Roadster Factory in Downtown Indiana before moving it out to Armagh. His love of British culture also extended into the restaurant field as he was the driving force behind The Coventry Inn, a replica of a British pub which was open for 25 years in Downtown Indiana. It closed in September due to a lack of employees. I do not need to tell any of you how much Runyan and […]

Whether you know it or not, you very possibly already have a part produced by Clark & Clark Specialty Products on your car. I met Robert Clark at the recent BMTA conference, and he explained to me that their parts for a variety of marques and ranging from seat belt retainers and battery boxes to hood lifts and carburetor caps are sold by mass-market vendors including Moss, Victoria British, and The Roadster Factory. After discussing the ins and outs of engineering, development, and production, we then got down to the real business of the parts he produces. One of the newest items in their line was of particular interest to me – a replacement for the telescoping trunk support used by my Triumph Spitfire 1500. The original type supports are quite common on all types of MGs and Triumphs, and while […]

Our video of the week this time is a preview of an amazing new DVD set, The Standard Triumph Story, that I was given the honor of reviewing. This is two DVD set with over 230 minutes of footage on the history of Standard Triumph from the early days to the very end. Yup, it’s almost four hours in total so it’s a rather extensive look at one of Britain’s most beloved producers of cars. It is crammed full of great interviews with the men who were responsible for the cars in the factory, on the racetrack, and just about everywhere else in between.

The American MGB Association’s 38th Annual Meet – AMGBA MEET 2015 – for the MGB, MGB-GT & Midget – Myrtle Beach, South Carolina – October 3, 2015 MG sports car production as we know it was discontinued in 1980 with the closing of the famed Abingdon-On-Thames works in the United Kingdom. But these modern day classics are being preserved forever here in North America by members of the American MGB Association which serves enthusiastic MGB, MGB-GT, and MG Midget owners throughout the USA, Canada and throughout the world. Each year, the AMGBA holds its National Meet. The 1978 initial gathering was held in Chicago. In 1979 and 1980 the AMGBA National Conventions were held in New York state, in Ithaca and Glens Falls. The organization’s success led to renting the world famous Indianapolis 500 Motor Speedway in 1981 for the […]

Just received the latest e-newsletter from Charles Runyan of The Roadster Factory. In it there is an interesting bit about the value of classic British cars and the effect that the parts used in repairing and restoring them can have on those values. Of course Runyan has a vested interest in this because of his business, but I really do agree with him. With the value of all British cars rising, I believe that enthusiasts should buy parts based on quality rather than on low price. In fact, a letter was received from British Motor Heritage this week deploring the practice of selling Heritage products at discounted prices. John Yea, Director of BMH, believes that this lowers the value of the cars over time, and this writer agrees. There is a trend in the U.S. to sell lower-quality parts at lower […]

Broad Arrow Auctions, a Hagerty company, saw great success with its third annual Amelia Auction at The Amelia Concours d’Elegance. The auction achieved $61.7 million in total sales, with 88 percent of all lots sold. […]

On December 22nd of last year, Lotus commemorated the last of the Elise, Exige, and Evora sports cars. On that day the trio was photographed on-site with many of the Lotus team who contributed to the design, engineering, assembly, and sales of the cars. Between these three model lines and over the course of 26 years, a total of 51,738 cars will have come off the production line. Combined, they represent almost half of the total production of Lotus in its 73-year history. In addition, 9,715 sports cars were built for Lotus’ third-party clients, including GM and Tesla.

Specialist and classic vehicle online auction Car & Classic is offering one of the 480 Limited Edition MGB Roadsters ever built, made even more special by the mere 77 miles on its odometer. […]

With not long to go before one of the automotive world’s most keenly anticipated events, the full entry for the Salon Privé Concours d’Elégance presented by Aviva has been revealed. The carefully assembled line-up of 68 motor cars and 15 motorcycles spans more than a century and features some of the most coveted models ever made. […]

The MINI brand and BMW Group’s UK manufacturing plants in Oxford and Swindon are celebrating twenty successful years of MINI production. In early 2001, production began for MINI body parts in Swindon and on April 26 that same year, the first new MINI rolled off the line in Oxford. […]

The Morgan Motor Company today introduces the next iteration of its core model, with the launch of the all-new Morgan Plus Four. The car represents a revolutionary successor to the Plus 4, a model that has formed the backbone of Morgan production since its debut in 1950. Now, 70 years after the first Plus 4 rolled off the production line at Morgan’s Pickersleigh Road factory in Malvern, UK, a new chapter begins.

Some books in this hobby are just must-haves. MGB: The Illustrated History by Jonathan Wood and Lionel Burrell is one of those books. And frankly, most of us already have it. It seems to be the first book a person gets when they buy an MGB, sometimes even before they get a repair manual.  So why are we talking about it here? Because there is a newly expanded 4th edition, that’s why. With this new edition, Veloce Publishing has taken over the job of publisher from Haynes. Veloce is known for putting out quality books in both the content and the actual construction of the volume. I have often commented on how you can count on books coming from Veloce to have beautiful covers, high-quality paper, and excellent printing. This new edition of the MGB work is no exception.

An amazing collection of British classics including a 1968 Triumph TR5, a 1975 Bristol 411 Series 4, a 1971 Jaguar E-Type Series III V12 Roadster and a 1933 MG J2 Midget will head to auction at the CCA September Sale at the Warwickshire Event Centre on 15th September. An incredible 1968 Triumph TR5 on offer at the September Sale is undoubtedly one of the best in the country, following a painstakingly millimeter-perfect rebuild on a brand new factory spec chassis. The six-cylinder 2.5-litre engine has been fully rebuilt, including a new head suitable for use with unleaded fuel, and a full tune-up to give maximum performance. The bodywork has been completely rebuilt with new inner and outer sills along with a multi-coat repaint in a wonderful shade of Signal Red. Along with the repaint the TR5 comes with a brand new […]