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Classic Cars

You Car as Fellow Traveller

On a recent Saturday, Blaine Benson sifted through a folder of documents, the remains of a road trip taken 40 years ago. Among the ephemera were Pan Am airline tickets, ferry receipts, invoices for car repairs and a mileage log, handwritten on white notepad pages. “It’s the family story,” Mr. Benson, a computer systems engineer, said of the archive. It is the chronicle of a continent-crossing journey, stretching nearly equator to pole, that his parents once made in a 1962 MGB roadster. “My dad had a thing for sports cars,” Mr. Benson, 41, said. “He had a Triumph TR3. He was a bit of a car freak.” Mr. Benson’s father, Skip, bought the MGB in 1967 for about $1,000 in Puerto Rico, where he and his wife, Barbara, were training Peace Corps volunteers. When their work contract expired later that […]

Jensen Interceptor
Aston Martin

Top Ten British Cars To Buy Now

Hagerty, those fine purveyors of classic car insurance, have put together their list of the top ten British cars that you should buy now – before their values go up even higher. While they are all fantastic, of course, I am not sure I totally agree with the ones they include, nor especially the ones Hagerty left off. Much like the earlier mentioned contest for the “Best British Sport Car”, this is a fun list to fight over more than anything. I don’t know of anyone who would actually use this as their shopping list. And if there were someone with that kind of money, they probably already have that list in their head anyway. So, what do you think of the list? What would you put on that isn’t listed, or take off that is here? 1968-2006 Morgan Plus […]

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Classic Cars

Call for Volunteers for Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance

Planning for the 10th Annual Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival & Concours d’Elegance is underway. This is one of the most prestigious events on the East Coast, and 2011 is shaping up to be know different. This year they will again host events at two different venues. As in last year, the two different venues will be on two separate weekends. The Savannah Speed Classic will be held Friday, October 28 – Sunday, October 30 on Savannah’s Hutchinson Island at the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. This is a sanctioned event of the Historic Sportscar Racing, Ltd (HSR). The remainder of the Motoring Festival’s events will take place again at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn on Saturday, November 5 and Sunday, November 6. With the two locations split between two different weekends, volunteers are encouraged to […]

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Classic Cars

Do You Drive to These Songs?

Guest post by Hannah Warder When you are going for a leisurely drive, or even just your daily commute, it is nice to listen to some music instead of listening to people talking and laughing on the radio. But what songs are particularly popular to listen to while driving, and why? We’ve found five songs which are played in cars all over the UK, on the motorway, driveway, and probably in the line at a fast food drive through too. The Boys are Back in Town – Thin Lizzy This song is featured on the Top Gear Seriously Cool Driving Music CD set (1), and it is easy to see why. It’s a sing-along tune known through the generations. Of course this song works particularly well if used by a group of men who are literally back in town! Don’t […]

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Auctions & Sales

Last factory MGB rally car up for sale

The last genuine MG works rally car is up for auction, 35 years after it was retired from action competitive farewell, and is expected to fetch £90,000-£130,000 (R1-1.5-million) – more than 100 times the price of the road-going MGB in 1964. BRX 854B was one of two MGB rally cars built by BMC’s competition department in 1964, when the road car was priced at £850 (the equivalent of R1700 at the time). It made its racing debut in the Spa-Sofia-Liege rally in August 1964 and went on to compete a further five times as a works entry, in the Tulip, Acropolis, Geneva, Danube and RAC rallies, all in 1965. It was retired in 1975 and has since then had a meticulous restoration, overseen by MG historian John Baggott and legendary MG racer Barry Sidery-Smith with meticulous attention to detail. Existing […]

BofBPoster
Aston Martin

Best of Britain Exhibition at Simeone Museum

Over thirty rare, unusual and beautiful sports and racing cars manufactured in England will be on display at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Pennsylvania from February 20th through March 14th, 2010. Titled the “Best of Britain,” the show is comprised of cars from individual collectors in the mid-Atlantic states and is intended to illustrate why the adjective “British” is inseparable from the term “sports car.” Cars in the show include a 1935 Triumph Gloria Southern Cross that was once part of the Henry Ford Museum, a 1960 MGA Twin Cam Coupe that raced at Sebring, and a 1966 Aston Martin DB6, one of the most potent sports cars of its era. The poster car, a 1933 Squire is the first of only seven ever built, and is considered by many to be among the most beautiful British sports cars […]

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Classic Cars

Lister Jaguar to be featured at Race Retro

A delectable line-up of Lister Jaguars – the Cambridge-built sports cars that took the big manufacturers on at their own game and won – will be showcased at this year’s Race Retro, held at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry from 12-14 March. Examples of the earliest models – including founder Brian Lister’s first car, through the classic Lister ‘knobbly’ and Costin-bodied models and onto the 1990s Storm, which saw the name’s revival, will be reunited with the man behind the marque. Their appearance coincides with a book written by highly-regarded Jaguar enthusiast Paul Skilleter, which chronicles the company’s sports cars, their founder Brian Lister and their successes during the late-1950s. Closely associated with driver Archie Scott-Brown, Listers originally used MG and Bristol engines, but the switch to Jaguar engines and the shape of the car, dubbed ‘knobbly’, brought the company unparalleled success […]

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Classic Cars

Historic Rally Car Register at Heritage Motor Centre

The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the world’s largest collection of British cars and the annual Mini Festival, is to host a special Historic Rally Car Register Open Day on Saturday 16 January from 9:30am – 4:30pm. The HRCR Club was designed for those interested in historic rallying, the branch of motorsport dedicated to cars that were rallied from the 1950s through to the 1980s. 2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1970 London to Mexico World Cup Rally. A number of original cars that took part will be on display plus visitors can find out all they need to know about historic rallying. Visitors will be able to see the launch of the 2010 Stage & Road HRCR Championship season plus special scenic tours and the chance to see 100 series start up rallies. One highlight of the event […]

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Classic Cars

New British Car Club in Ontario, Canada

There’s something charming about a bright red restored 1970 MGB cruising down Airport Road on a sunny summer day with the top down. And there’s even more charm in a dozen or more similar cars, MGs, Triumphs, Jaguars and Austin Healeys, all manner of colors making the same trip. British car enthusiasts gathered more than a dozen times in 2009 in the first year of events for the new Headwaters British Car Club. Club vice president Tom Hodgson said the club is based in Orangeville but has members from all over, including one from Alliston. “We opened it up to all older British cars,” Hodgson said. “We go out for a couple of hours, have a run, enjoy the countryside. It’s beautiful here.” While Airport Road is a joy to drive, Hodgson said, Hockley Road “with all the bends” is […]

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Classic Cars

Jaguar XKR – A Quick Look

Ever since the halcyon days of Jaguar’s formative years the British car maker has had a happy knack of delivering some eye catching icons. As those early days of the 1940s and 1950s bore witness to the company’s founding father Sir William Lyons’ aim to produce cars boasting ‘grace, space and pace’ so the legendary big cats have continued to attract attention. The latest is the Jaguar XKR which has unreservedly set its sights on supercar status, proving in many people’s eyes, to be perhaps the best looking mainstream Jaguar model to date. There is very much a luxurious character to the XK and XKR body style, whether in hard-top coupe guise or the cloth cocooned convertible which is driven here. This is truly a sophisticated grand tourer with the power to move the sports car experience on to a […]

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Classic Cars

1973 MG Midget on eBay

Yes, unfortunately, due to other projects and constraints I need to sell the MG Midget I bought to restore. Needless to say the hardtop sold quickly, but the rest of the car is still available. This includes a clear title in my name and all the goodies such as original SU carbs and air cleaners, gauges, etc… Please take a look at my .

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Auctions & Sales

Record Price Set For MG At Auction

A new record high price for an MG sold at auction was set earlier this month, when a a pre-war MG K3 Magnette sold for 231,000 pounds, or the equivalent of $372,000, at H&H’s auction in Buxton, England. It wrested the high-price crown from a 1935 Magnette Airline Coupe sold in 2007 for 199,037 pounds. It would take a book to detail the convoluted history of this car; in fact, a book has been written. Magnette-ised: The Pedigree of MG K3015-2 from 1934 to 2007, written by the seller, details the many changes the car has been through in the decades of its existence. H&H themselves described it as “the antithesis of a ‘matching-numbers’ car,” although it possesses an unbroken history as a genuine K3. The car is sort of like grandpa’s axe; the original frame was replaced with an […]

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Classic Cars

Rover: A History in Cars

There is a very nice and concise history of Rover cars over at The Telegraph. I am not going to reprint it here, but do take a look at the article for a trip down memory lane.

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Classic Cars

My Projects: Triumph TR4 and MG Midget

I just realized that I never published any story on the front page of JustBritish about my current projects. There are links to them over there on the right, but you may never have scanned down. Anyway, I am currently restoring a 1973 MG Midget and behind that waits a 1962 Triumph TR4. Both are pretty far gone and will take a good bit of work, although I personally believe they are not as bad as they look. My wife seems to differ with that opinion – as is normal. My goal, whatever that is worth, is to have the Midget on the road before year’s end. It may not be perfect, but I would like to be able to drive it. After that, I need to start the slower and more expensive work on the TR4. The general hope […]

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Classic Cars

Engineering Students Turn Vintage MGB Into Electric Car

The year was 1984. Roger Dougal, a newly minted Ph.D. in electrical engineering, was beginning his career in the University of South Carolina’s College of Engineering. He was the new owner of a 1972 MGB – a red convertible, perfect for life in the Palmetto State, where he could zip along the highways and city streets with the car’s top down practically year-round. Lightweight with easy handling, the MGB was a snazzy roadster for a young professor on the go. But that was, shall we say, soooo last century. Fast forward about two dozen years. Now internationally recognized for his research on power sources and systems, Dougal still loves cars and has added a passion for sailboats. The MGB was collecting dust – and a few leaves – in his garage. But the professor’s ongoing curiosity about all things auto […]

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Classic Cars

MG Sedans Had A Sporty Charm

There is an excellent article over on Driving.Ca by Bill Vance about some of our favorite cars, the MG sedans of the 50s and 60s. As the article says, “The MG name is inextricably associated with the sporty, two-passenger British roadster, a car that laid the foundation for the North American sports car movement following the Second World War. What is less well known is that MG also made some interesting sedans before the war — including the 1937-1939 2.3-litre SA — and after. The post-war sedans were imported to North America.” Often these were badge engineered with other marks such as Morris, Austin, and Wolseley. From those early SAs all the way up through the MG 1100s and 1300s, these sedans while not well known in the US had a great following at home in the UK. Please head […]

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Classic Cars

Triumphs Gather in California

Each year, five big West Coast Triumph clubs get together to hold a major event they call Triumphest. And every year, the Vintage Triumph Register holds its national meet, called the North American Triumph Challenge. This year, the two events will join together in San Luis Obispo, California, for one giant weekend of Triumph fun, from September 30 through October 4. Called Triumphest 2009, the event has all the makings of the largest gathering ever of Triumphs in North America. The event has everything you would expect, and some things you might not. Of course there’s a concours, with every variety of sporting Triumph, as well as an autocross, a funkhana, tech sessions, a time-speed-distance rally and a rally that’s just for fun. There’s also a Le Mans start contest, a “walking rally” through lovely San Luis Obispo, dinner cruises […]

MG Motor Logo 2011
Classic Cars

MG 1100 For Sale

Just got this note from a friend so I thought I would pass it along. Note that this car is not mine nor do I know anything more about it than what is listed here. Seems like a great deal to me though! If I didn’t already have two projects cars, plus our normal daily drivers, I would be keeping this one to myself. It’s finally time! After going back & forth for quite a while, I have decided I have too many cars and not enough time, so I am putting my MG 1100 up for sale. The car is a 4-door 1964 US-spec. model in Connaught Green w/Dove Grey interior. I am the 3rd owner. The first owner used the car from new. The second owner bought it as a parts car for his 1100, then realized it […]

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Classic Cars

TR3 Restoration Garners Article

I admit to being more susceptible to Triumph restoration stories these days, but this one is especially nice. What a beautiful TR3 Dennis Morrison has. The story in the Wakefield Wicked Local starts out this way… Dennis Morrison of Wakefield developed a passion for British Triumph sports cars in high school, and they have been a part of his life ever since. While working at Metcalf & Eddy in Wakefield as the chief financial officer, a co-worker helped make his retirement dream come true. He was given a 1960 Triumph TR3A two years ago that was garaged for about 25 years in Concord. The beat-up car that endured New England winters in a garage that was partially opened became a first place winner last week at the Larz Anderson Auto Museum in Brookline. Read the complete story in “Victory for […]