Articles

For our Video of the Week, let’s take a spin with something a bit on the lighter side. This is perhaps one of the world’s smallest races – in terms of the number of entrants, size of entrants, and the size of the cars. This is the Settrington Cup at Goodwood Revival, and the 2018 edition was held this past Sunday. Held annually at the Goodwood Revival since 2012, the Settrington Cup race is for children ages 6 through 9. Cool, you think … so go grab a pedal car and let your kind hit the track, you think. But no. In addition to the age restriction of the drivers, the only pedal cars allowed are Austin J40 models built by disabled coal miners beginning in 1949 (true story). Here is a quote from an original brochure for the car, which […]

Father’s Day is coming up soon, next Sunday, June 17 to be exact. So, I thought that I might give you a few ideas of things to get the car-loving father in your life. And if you yourself happen to be that car-loving dad, well then feel free to pass this list along to your kids. Or, as one car-loving dad to another, I give you complete and utter permission to go pick up something for yourself. Go ahead, you know you deserve it. First of all, how about a couple of Union Jack beach towels. I keep two of these things in the car at all times and they are great. Don’t go to the beach a lot? Well, that is fine. I use mine to cover my hot seats. I also use them to cover the dash or […]

The Royal wedding. Yes, I am going there. Not being a true Royal follower myself, when I tune in to events such as this it is the cars that catch my attention more than there ceremonies. Although I will have to admit, this was actually a touching and important ceremony as it bridged not only the US and Great Britain but also the past and the future.  That bridging could also be seen in the combination of heritage and modernity seen in the most talked about car of the day. That most talked about car was the Electric E-Type used by Prince Harry and his bride when leaving the Windsor. We featured this amazing car a few months ago when it was first unveiled by Jaguar Land Rover Classic. The Jaguar E-type Zero not only drives and looks like an E-type, it […]

The Capital Triumph Register hosted its 21 st annual British car and motorcycle show, Britain on the Green, at Gunston Hall in Lorton, VA, on April 29, 2018. With over 200 cars registered for the event, the show is one of the larger British car shows, as well as one of the first of the season, in the Washington, DC, area. The featured model this year was the Triumph TR250, celebrating the 50th year since its introduction in 1968. This year a 1954 Allard K2 owned by Robert Morris took Best of Show honors. In addition to special awards, participants’ choice awards were made in nearly 30 categories. Additionally, the Capital Triumph Register is proud to have hosted the Hagerty Youth Judging Program again this year. In the program sponsored by Hagerty Classic Car Insurance, young people ages 8-14 are […]

The Williamsburg British Car Club held it 19th annual British and European Car Show on April 14, 2018. It was a beautiful, 80 degree spring day with a constant breeze. This year our featured marque was the Daimler since The Daimler and Lanchester Owners Club of North America was celebrating their 40th anniversary in Williamsburg. This year’s show was held at the Shops at High Street which provided a large paved area for the cars and an ample grassy area adjacent to the field. This was a particularly nice venue for the owners of yellow cars who are constantly plagued by bugs on grassy fields.  Six restaurants are within easy walking distance and were extremely generous allowing the use of all of their facilities. We hosted 21 classes with 155  beautifully restored and maintained cars. Best in show was awarded […]

There are many types of books in an MG collection. There are shop manuals, marque histories, racing stories, advertising records, and on and on. There are few however that standout is completely different. MG, Made In Abingdon: Echoes from the Shop Floor by Bob Frampton is one such book. This book is one of the few that while dealing with the MG factory, doesn’t actually have a ton of information about the cars. Instead, it is about the people and is told in their own words. MG, Made In Abingdon will give you a feel for the people and the time and the place made famous by the sacred octagon. In the book, we hear from the true voices behind the cars. We hear stories that range from tea-girls bringing cinnamon buns to the line-workers to fist fights in bars to men […]

Over 80 British Car enthusiasts made their way to Abingdon Spares in Deep River for a tech session with internationally known British Carburetor authority Joe Curto. It was a tight fit but we managed to squeeze everyone in, with only a few standing! We even managed to get a few sports cars out of hibernation and into our parking lot! Joe provided a very interesting, informative and sometimes humorous two and a half hours of discussion on the famous SU carburetor. Joe began by describing the various types of SUs, starting with the H type (T-series) through the HIF (MGB) carbs.

MG Guru John Twist demonstrates the inner working of an MG transmission using a cut-a-way model. This video was taken in 2010 at a tech session hosted by Brit Bits, Inc. in Rye, NH. This demonstration was part of John’s “Complete Lubrication and Lucas Electrix” talk.

We are very pleased to announce that you can now get high-quality Just British logo patches. These embroidered cloth patches are the perfect way to customize your clothes, hat, maybe a tool bag, or who knows what else.    These fantastic iron-on patches are approximately 2 inches by 4 inches. The patches are only $5 each, and shipping is free*. No matter how many you order, and you should order lots of them, the shipping is free within the US and Canada. If you need the patch shipped outside the US or Canada, just email us and we will work things out.

Vintage racing isn’t just a hobby, it is a passion. And an art. We are quite pleased to have a guest article by Don Racine of Mini Mania about using the ribcase transmission from the ubiquitous “Spridget” in the vintage racing application. The most conventional gears in the everyday manual transmission are helical cut. The single biggest advantage of this design is the reduction of noise that is inherent in the more efficient, easy to manufacture straight cut gears. The helical patterns allow for a much less violent meshing of the gears. But, the decreased noise comes with a few penalties. The first of which is sideload – because the gears are helical, some of the thrust is lost in the rotational direction and thus must be controlled with a thrust surface. The thrust surface most often used is called thrust […]

Thanks to Melody Laurel we have a special event report on the 2017 America British Reliability Run, Pennsylvania Chapter. This event was held at the end of September. Melody is currently assistant director of the Delaware Valley Triumphs and is also on the board of directors for the Pennsylvania chapter of America’s Reliability Run. This year, the event will be held the first weekend of October. Another year’s America’s British Reliability Run has come to a close. $27,000.00 has been raised for New Jersey’s Children’s Specialty Hospitals, Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Program and the Traumatic Head Injury Programs. These programs receive no government funding and all of the proceeds will go directly to buying much-needed beds and other items, not funding the front office. The America’s British Reliability Run has been in existence for over 12 years. It is not a race. It is […]

Did you ever think about the vintage of the cars you collect? Do they fall into a particular time frame? I was thinking about this today as I was cursing a job that I have done innumerable times before on different cars – refitting the plastic steering cowl. […]

Reader Russell Browne sent in these pictures from the recent Regent Street Motor Show.  This show was held on November 4, 2017, on Regent Street in London from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus.

I hear a lot how young people aren’t into our older British cars, but I think that sometimes that is just because they haven’t been given the chance. To show how some younger folk view our classic sports cars, our video this week is from a guy who goes by the YouTube handle of ThatDudeInBlue. The video, a review of a nice MGB, is quite honest and although he approaches the car from a distinctively modern viewpoint, it is clear that he enjoys the ride. The reviewer is very honest in talking about both the successes and the shortcomings of the MGB. He mentions how the cars have a reputation for unreliability, though it seems he doesn’t take much stock in that. In contrast to being a bit small and perhaps underpowered, he talks about how the MGB and other […]

David Townsend of Sports Car Art has announced a new collection of prints featuring the evolution of different models of classic British sports cars. These works are available either as prints for framing or as backlit or unlit box displays. Currently available titles include:    • Triumph TR3 • Triumph TR4-TR6 • Jaguar XK • Jaguar E-Type • MGA • MGB • Austin-Healey 100 • MG T-Type 

Loving this one. Our video this week is from our friend John Clancy who brings you TriumphDVDs. But, this week’s video is not about Triumphs. No, this week we are looking at the history of Rover. Rover is one of those brands that was never very popular here in the US but was a standard in England. Additionally, the Rover brand was had heavy influences on almost all other British car brands and contributed one of the most famous engines of the classic period – the Rover 3500 V8. This video is a preview of the documentary DVD charting the full story of Rover from the introduction of the safety bicycle in 1895 to the last cars in 2005.

For our Video of the Week this last Wednesday of October we are going to let the famed British brand dunhill do the duties. When dunhill first laid plans to enjoy the ultimate Flying Scotsman Rally experience, there was only one man they could turn to for the job – William Medcalf. Supported by dunhill, The Flying Scotsman Rally is Britain’s premier vintage car rally that comprises three days of open-road motoring against the most picturesque backdrops in the north of the UK. And William Medcalf has one of the greatest competitive histories at the event.

This week our video comes by way of Scotland and features the immortal Austin Healey. This event may have taken place four years ago, but I think you will agree that the cars look as good today as they did then, or even 50 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsAV2CugktU] Coming to us from the Austin Healey Club in the UK, the footage is actually from 2013 when Crieff Hydro in Scotland hosted over 250 Austin Healey cars and their owners at the 4th European Healey Meeting. The above video was taken at the Knockhill Circuit in Dumfermline, Fife, which played host to the event’s Auto Test. Fastest time of the day went to Oliver Chatham’s 3000 Mk1, which completed the 1.3-mile course in 37.7 secs. The Austin Healey Club is a group of 1,600 enthusiasts dedicated to preserving the Austin Healey Marque […]