Articles by Michael Carnell

Maybe it is the fact that I have been playing with a lot of carburetors recently – both SU and Zenith-Stromberg. Or perhaps it is the fact that I had a friend ask how such a simple design could work. They literally stared at me in dumbfounded amazement when I explained the basic principles by which our carbs work. But, whatever the case, there are a lot of people who consider carburetors a bit of black magic, and I thought this video from Moss might help sort that out. To that end, our Video of the Week (VotW) is “Side Draft Carburetors and How They Work” from Moss Motors. Now in addition to providing a wealth of great parts, Moss also does its part (get it?) to keep our cars on the road by producing a series of videos on […]

A new and updated edition of the great reference work Jaguar – All the Cars by Nigel Thorley has been published by Veloce Press and should be hitting the streets as you read this. This 4th edition covers the complete SS and Jaguar model story from 1931 to 2015 Jaguar – All the Cars meets the needs of not only the Jaguar aficionado, but also enthusiasts who don’t have a detailed knowledge of the wide range of Jaguar models produced over the years. Illustrated in colour throughout, this significantly updated and expanded Fourth Edition comprehensively covers every single Jaguar production vehicle up to the present day, including the XE. The development of Jaguar production cars is charted, with a brief history of each model range, along with a detailed guide to exterior and interior differences, with accompanying pictures, production numbers, and […]

This just in from Eric Gibeaut on the Columbia British Classics X show this past weekend and all the Sunbeams in attendance. Unfortunately, I fell ill and was unable to attend, but I have been told the weather turned out beautiful and it was a great show. As at previous events, Sunbeam owners from 5 different states – including Ohio and Florida- got together a few days before the show to drive their cars and socialize in the host hotel’s hospitality suite – which also had a swap meet area that had many rare and interesting parts for sale. The plan was for everyone to participate in the group drive around Lake Murray on Friday afternoon but then the rain started coming down pretty hard. A few brave souls did complete the trip around the lake but some came back […]

The name Tom Cotter may not be tip-of-the-tongue familiar to a lot of you, but it should be. Tom Cotter wrote the book on barn finds. Literally. He is the author of The Cobra in the Barn, The Hemi in the Barn, 50 Shades of Rust, and many other of similarly amusing titles and drool worthy contents. And don’t let those titles fool you, there are plenty of non-American cars in these books – yup, good old British barn find.  To that end, our Video of the Week (VotW) is the first in a new series of videos titled “Barn Find Hunter”. This series starts Tom Cotter and is produced by Hagerty, the insurance guys. There are a good number of things that appeal with this video, not the least of which is that it was filmed around Savannah, Georgia. […]

When you talk about definitive books, The A-Series Engine: It’s First Sixty Years by Graham Robson has to be included in the list. This exhaustive work covers the first sixty years of the engine’s life and development of one of the most popular and widely used engines in British automotive history. I am not sure how one has a favorite engine, versus a favorite marque or model, but I am most certainly an a-series fan. It could be that I love my the BMC 1100s and Minis and Spridgets, or it could be that it is just such a robust and versatile engine. Built from 1951 to 2000, BMC’s A-Series engine was a remarkably successful, versatile and invaluable power unit that far outlived its original projected life. Not only did it power road cars as varied as the Austin A30, […]

Earl’s Court Motor Show of 1962, that is the subject of our Video of the Week this time. 1962 was a good year. Not only was it the introduction of the Triumph Spitfire and Mk I Ford Cortina, but it is the year before I was born. (Figure that one out on your own.) Looking at this video there are some great machines. Not only will you see the aforementioned Spitfire and Cortina, but you will also catch glimpses of the BMC Mini, Austin Cambridge, Morris Oxford, Morris 1100, MG 1100, Mini Cooper, Riley Elf, Hillman Super Minx, Jenson, Rover 3.0L, Ford Zephyr, Jaguar E-Type, Lotus Elan, and Bentley Continental.  Can you imagine a British car show with such a varied lineup these days? Wouldn’t it be wonderful? Oh, and have some have mentioned, please try to ignore the sexist […]

Unfortunately, it looks like another magazine dedicated to our corner of the automotive hobby is biting the dust. In this case, it is Spitfire & GT6 Magazine which is/was a US based quarterly magazine of high quality devoted to the Triumph Spitfire, GT6, Herald, Vitesse and “small Triumph” crowd. In an open forum posting to the Triumph Experience message boards today, editor Shawn Frank said the following: I wish I had better news about Spitfire & GT6 Magazine but I regret to inform you that the magazine will no longer be in publication. I had sent Issue #49 to print September 2015 and have still not seen it in print. The Publisher (Magazinepublisher.com) has decided not to continue with the magazine and in fact has not communicated any future plans or lack thereof with me, the print house, advertisers, or […]

Strange how time gets away from us. I thought we had featured Jaguar Cars recently in our Video of the Week (VotW) series, but on looking back that proved not to be the case. I had to go way back into 2015 to find such a video. How could this be? So let us reconcile that now with a video with is a short history of Jaguar Cars. Of course nothing less that a full television series could possibly do the span of years of Jaguar justice, but this video does present a good overview of the highlights. As most good British car buffs know, Jaguar as we know it was originally founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922. They originally made motorcycle sidecars before developing bodies for passenger cars. Under the ownership of Swallow Sidecar (S.S.) gave way […]

I don’t often post news or reviews that have basically nothing to do with cars, but this is an exception. Being as we here are all fans of British cars, I sense that that love of Britains expands out beyond the cars and encompasses many other things British – people, places, and history just to name a few. Bill Bryson, author and travel writer, has published a follow-up to his Notes From A Small Island from 20 years ago. The Road To Little Dribbling sess Bryson making his way by foot, car and rail from the south end of England to the far north of Scotland. Along the way, he observes not only the general English condition but makes note of things that have changed since the journey of his early book. What there is about cars in this book is […]

I have to tell you honestly, I fell in love with this book. How many car books can you honestly say that you read passages out of to your wife and daughter, and they were amused. Interested even. Sorry, but that just doesn’t happen in my house. Making A Morgan By Andreas Hensing, hits the ball out of the park in so many ways it is hard to know where to start. The book starts with the requisite short history of the Morgan car company, its founders, and the cars they have produced over last 100 plus years. All that is really good stuff, but the meat of the book is what comes next.  Hensing visits the factory at Malvern and follows the production of a car through its entire production cycle from the moment of conception – the build sheet, all […]

Our video this week takes you back, way back. Back to the 1930s when MGs were fierce competitors in racing around Europe and the world, and the Midget, the original Midget, was the car to beat. This film, titled “The Magic Midget” was produced by British Leyland to celebrate the racing pedigree of the MG and possibly transfer some of that aura of speed and success to the more modern incarnation of the MG Midget. From its earliest days MGs have been used in competition and from the early 1930s a series of dedicated racing cars such as the 1931 C-Type and 1934 Q-type were made and sold to enthusiasts who received considerable company assistance. This stopped in 1935 when MG was formally merged with Morris Motors and the Competition Department closed down. A series of experimental cars had also […]

Our Video of the Week this go-round is on the story of an often forgotten car from a seldom remembered brand in the US – the Rover SD1. Rover and British Leyland were beset by problems in the mid-1970s. Out of this cauldron of mismanagement came the Rover SD1 in 1976. It was called SD for the Specialist Division and 1 for the first car to come from the in-house styling department. Despite a dramatic, innovative design both inside and out, the option of classic V8 grunt, and more or less universally praised dynamics, the SD1’s reputation and its longevity suffered at the hands of a company in meltdown. And it could all have been so different. The car, which was styled by Rover’s design genius David Bache, had some grand ambitions. It had been designed to look like a […]

NOTE: This contest is now closed and Thomas Inwood is the winner. A new contest will be coming soon!

In-depth illustrated guide to understanding, repairing & improving electrical systems of British classics equipped with Lucas, Smiths Industries & SU components. 1950 to 1980.

Our video this week comes by way of the Suncoast British Car Club and featured Gerry Coker. Gerry was born “Gerald Charles Coker” June 24, 1922 in Northamptonshire, England.  He is known in the Healey world for his body design of the Healey Hundred introduced in 1952. He joined the Donald Healey Motor Company as Healey’s body engineer in 1950.  His first job was to look after the Nash Healeys as they came from Panelcraft, the Nash Healey body makers. Early on at the DHMC, Healey challenged Gerry to show him a sports car design, and in late 1950, he created the body design for what would become the Austin-Healey 100.  This timelessly beautiful sports car stole the show in October, 1952 when it debuted as the Healey Hundred at the London Motor Show at Earls Court. Gerry also styled the Austin-Healey […]

Is the rise of the self-driving car the beginning of the end for our classic car hobby? And, honestly, is there anything we can or should do about it?

British Motor Heritage (BMH) recently hosted a party of students from TRAX, the Oxford-based charity that for 25 years has provided automotive training for students from the ages of 14 to 19

I swear I am not neglecting Triumph. I love Triumphs! I have had quite a few and even own a 1978 Spitfire at the moment. So, for our Video of the Week (VotW) let’s turn our attention to the Triumph TRs. The Triumph Story is a bit soft in the sound department, but this history of the maker of is definitely worth the watch.