Articles by Michael Carnell

Welcome to our new post category – “Road Ink“. The first of this new category is a short video on the innards of a Triumph Spitfire door mechanism. These mechanics are notorious for going out of alignment and even breaking. When this happens, you can no long open the car’s door from the outside. Quite frustrating, trust me! What is even more frustrating is that the fairly simple repair parts are not available for purchase. You either get to fork out over $200 for a complete unit, or attempt for use used or alternative parts. This latter choice is what those of us not made of money would prefer to do, but since this unit was always viewed as a single item by Triumph and BL, documentation is scarce. Hence this video. I just want to take a few moments […]

This piece was sent to us by our friend Christopher Silvestri who runs Christopher John, LTD down in Florida. They are the U.S.’s newest Morgan dealer, and like us, have high hopes for the reintroduction of new 4-wheeled Morgan cars to our shores.  With the Passing of  the new replica law, the Morgan V6 Roadster’s return to the U.S. is on the not too distant horizon! And this Daytona area Morgan dealer is ready. While it has been hard for the Morgan Car Company to bring four wheel cars into the U.S. due to stringent emissions and safety laws in recent years, a new law passed in December of 2015 is allowing Morgan dealers to begin gearing up for  new four-wheeled Morgan cars later this year. The classic Morgan range fits into the “replica” area of the law with brand new […]

Our “Video of the Week” this time is from Petrolicious and is of a 1957 Aston Martin Mk III that the owner bills as “perfectly awful.”  And no, that is not an insult, it is a term of endearment. This is not one of those over-restored, pampered, show-only cars. This is an honest to god, survivor, original. And it is simply wonderful. “Some day, down in the future, whoever ends up with this car when it leaves my garage—they may choose to restore it,” says Dave Adams. “…but I hope if and when that happens, they do it with the correct lens so it’s not over-restored.” This 1957 Aston Martin Mk III is actually the prototype for the Mk III range, and was not only used for official testing and design duties, but had also been entered into the Monte […]

This week we are going to take a drop back away from the cars themselves and take a look at terminology. And no, I am not referring to the infamous “reverse procedure” instructions in most manuals on how to reassemble your automotive explosion. What we are looking at here are the words that are used for the same parts of the cars depending on whether you are speaking “English” or “American”.  Ever look at your US friend’s faces the first time you tell them you are going to stuff something in their boot? Yes, as the phrase most often attributed to George Bernard Shaw goes, “England and America are two countries separated by a common language.” And this is no more true than when we talk about cars. When I was younger, way so may years ago, I learned most […]

OK, so I am a day or two late, but … let’s get on with it.  This is British Car Week!! Get out there and drive those cars and let the world know we are still on the road. I will just quote from Scott Helms here to tell you about British Car Week. Scott has the “official” British Car Week site, and is the keeper of this flame, so here goes … The idea came about during the early spring of 1997 after reading an article written by Road & Track columnist, Peter Egan (Side Glances), in the March, 1997 issue of Road & Track Magazine, titled “Seldom seen cars.” Peter writes in his article about his trip to the Dentist’s office, which spawned a conversation about cars. While sitting in the Dentist chair with his mouth full of […]

I have mentioned this book a few times before, but I owe it to you to give a more informative review. Jaguar Design: A Story of Style, is as stunning book both in presentation and in content.  As billed by publisher Porter Press, this is, essentially, the story of three men — Jaguar company founder and owner Sir William Lyons, aerodynamicist Malcolm Sayer and current Design Director Ian Callum — and how they shaped the cars that made Jaguar famous. The line that really struck me, and it actually occurs in Ian Callum’s introduction, is in answer to the question, “Should not form follow function?” To this Callum replied, “Yes, of course, but one of the functions of a Jaguar is to be beautiful.” In a nutshell, that hits at the core of what makes a Jaguar a Jaguar, and what […]

Our Video of the Week (VotW) this time go round comes from Steve Wincze of the Connecticut MG Club and the upcoming British by the Sea car show. You may also remember Steve as the winner of last month’s puzzle contest. The video in question is of the Skyline Soiree from 1993. This event was put on by the New England MG T Register. The Skyline Soiree was A scenic road trip through the mountains of the Skyline Drive and the Blue Ridge Parkway in mostly open 2-seater MGs. What we have here is 12 minutes of highlights from a 60 minute DVD. One of four great MG Road Trips sponsored by the New England MG-T Register. On this drive, and in this video, you get to experience the mountain vistas and natural beauty of two national parks and 574 miles […]

When the publisher (not good guy in charge, Shawn Frank) of Spitfire & GT6 stopped publishing, they took the latest issue of the magazine with them. Issue number 49 had been composed, laid out, and sent off to be printed. But then nothing. So as far as editor Shawn knew, it was lost and gone forever. But now this update in from Shawn — the lost issue is found! Or basically returned to its rightful place. And Shawn has made it available to all readers and potential readers for free on the web. (Told you he was a good guy.) To download Issue #49 of Spitfire & GT6 for free, follow this link … http://jmp.sh/v/QTLiwjEr5clBMoKTIIVY Be prepared, this a PDF file so you will need Acrobat Reader or some other such program to read it. Additional, since this was the printer’s copy […]

Spring has sprung – heck in my area it might as well be summer – and it that time when a car lover’s mind turns to roadtrips! This is especially the case since in about three weeks time the MG 2016 All Register Meet will be kicking off in Louisville, Kentucky. Sadly, I will not be driving an MG to this meetup, but I may very well be taking my 1978 Triumph Spitfire on this roadtrip. Hey, don’t hate, at least it is older British. With the contemplation of such a trip come the thoughts of what I should take with me. What tools, parts, and precautions should I be packing in the trunk for those roadside repairs or hotel parking lot tune-ups?  Now the list will, of course, differ based on the car and its age and obscurity, but […]

Size matters. At least that’s what some people say. I suppose it must be true because I have always had a thing for small cars. For some perverse reason even though I am of a “larger build”,  I have always been attracted to smaller cars – Minis, MGs, Triumphs, Sunbeam Imps and all manner of vehicles that make people puzzle over how I fit into them. I guess that is why our Video of the Week (VotW) caught my eye. The Classic British Microcars is actually a single show split into three parts. I have included all three of those parts here for you. Now, the cars I mentioned above are actually not microcars. In contrast to microcars, the Mini and even the Sunbeam Imp seem huge.  What we are talking about in the realm of microcars are vehicles like […]

Please note! The survey and contest are now closed. We will be posting the winner and some thoughts on the survey results soon.  Thanks to everyone who participated!

This just in by way of an email from Isis Motors, and I shall quote … While details remain to be finalized, the latest word from the Morgan Motor Company is that they anticipate opening the order books for NEW Morgan cars for the USA, possibly as soon as this summer. It is possible that production may begin on USA spec cars before the end of the year. The most likely model – as yet unconfirmed – would be the Morgan V6 Roadster. This will be a most welcome development as I, and I know many others, eagerly anticipate the return of the sale of full 4-wheeled Morgans to the US.   Isis Motors is so sure of all this that they are now accepting deposits. They say that “deposits are refundable up until 8 weeks prior to the build […]

I thought that for this go around of our Video of the Week (VotW) we would go for something that is almost unheard of these days – at least unheard of beyond the shores of the UK herself. So, let’s take a look back at the Jowett Javelin and the Humber Super Snipe. While both of these marques and models would get you a bewildered look at the local DMV, and perhaps a talk about it being a serious place of business and not a source of pranks for your amusement, they were actually well known and fairly popular cars in their day. To quote Wikipedia on the Javelin, “The Jowett Javelin is an executive car that was produced from 1947 to 1953 by Jowett Cars Ltd of Idle, near Bradford in England. The model went through five variants labeled […]

And now for something completely different … our video this week was only filmed a little over a week ago. What we have here is footage from the Walter Mitty Challenge by Classic Motorsports, April 23rd, 2016. Take ia ride in a Royale RP-4 with pro driver Elliot Forbes Robinson, around Road Atlanta’s 2.54 mile, 12 turn track. The onboard camera was mounted on the Royale RP-4 owned by our friend Gordon King. This footage is from the Group 3 Feature Race. The black and red RP-4 is Cliff Berry of Team Mean and the blue Lotus 23b is piloted by Doc Bundy of Team Regogo. Great driving by all.   This on Royale and the car from Gordon … Royale was a small race car builder in the 1960’s in England. Owned by Bill King. He built very successful Formula Fords […]

The McLaren F1 is regarded by many as the car which rewrote the supercar rule book. With only 64 road car examples built between 1993 and 1998, the original McLaren F1 is one of the rarest and highly-regarded models among collectors, enthusiasts, and petrolheads. McLaren Special Operations (MSO) continues to maintain and manage McLaren F1s globally, and is offering one of last ever and finest examples of this highly-regarded model for sale. McLaren F1 chassis #069 is in factory condition, having covered less than 2,800 miles since new. During 1998, only six examples of the original McLaren F1 were completed, and chassis #069 was the 60th model overall to be hand-built in Woking, England. It is presented in Carbon Black complimented by subtle detailing throughout, including a stealth finish to the 17-inch centre-locking magnesium wheels. The central driving seat is […]

Our video this week is titled “Magnificent Machines – The Golden Age of the British Sports Car”. I thought it was time to get a little less marque specific and a little more all-inclusive this week. You know, broaden our horizons a bit, just like going to shows does. When I got to car shows, I often find myself marveling at some creation that either I didn’t know existed or would not have believed myself to be at all interested in. This documentary was broadcast by the BBC in 2012 as part of the “Timeshift” series. It takes a look back at the golden age of British Sports Cars using both in period and modern footage to emphasize the craze around the Jaguars, Austin-Healys, MGs and Triumph’s of the early days. This was the golden age of the British sports […]

I will admit to featuring this book because Keith Martin was the emcee for the Kiawah Island Motoring Retreat this past weekend. But it isn’t pandering, it is because I honestly became interested in Keith and his collecting interests. The fact that he is restoring a Bugeye Sprite and was quite interested in the WSM Sprite at the show doesn’t hurt.  For those of you who don’t know, Keith Martin is the editor OKand publisher of Sports Car Market Magazine. Anyway, about the book.  In Strange but True Tales of Car Collecting, Keith Martin and the staff of Sports Car Market Magazine recount the wildest car-collecting stories of all time, focusing on tales of the most eccentric and over-the-top collectors and collections. Have you heard of the fellow who squirreled away dozens of Chevelles, Camaros, and other classic muscle cars in semi trailers? […]

Our Video of the Week (VotW) is a history of Rolls-Royce. In many ways, the Rolls-Royce is one of the more hidden British cars. It isn’t that they are that rare or invisible, but they have such a personality all their own that sometimes we forget about them in the midst of the MGs, Triumphs, Austin Healeys, and even Jaguars. However, if you were to ask the random man-on-the-street who is not an English car buff to name a British car, chances are that Rolls-Royce would be the first name off the lips. The history of the marque, its names, and its branding with Bentley, can be more than a bit confusing. But Rolls-Royce as most of us know it, formally named Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973, began in 1906 with the business partnership of Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry […]