Classic Cars

Just noticed on Craigslist this morning that there is a 1974 Triumph Spitfire being offered for a good price. I know nothing about this car and have no interest in its sale, so please use the contact info in the ad! The ad says the car is in Charleston, SC, but I have no idea where that phone number goes…. This car is a great fixxer upper. Needs paint and body work has 95% of the parts this is a steal at 800.00 If interested call 1-423-277-9273. Needs some mechanic work. Basically needs to be put together.

I’ve always loved sports cars. I think I got the bug back when I was a young kid growing up in the Richmond district of San Francisco. This was in the 1950s when they would have sports car races through Golden Gate Park. My dad would take me to these sanctioned races, which were held on weekends. I especially remember the MG TDs, Porsches and Allards. But by far the most impressive to me were the Jaguar XK120s, which were the hottest cars out there. As I grew older and started driving, I was drawn to European sports cars. The first two that I owned were used Triumphs, which were all that I could afford at the time. What I really lusted after, though, was one of the Jaguar XK120s that I had fallen in love with at Golden Gate […]

It is only three weeks away — the biggest celebration of the 50 years of the Mini/MINI — MINI East Meets West. The Phil Wicks Driving Academy will hold an event at Brainerd International Raceway on Saturday and Sunday, June 27-28. The days will consist of driving academy — all makes and models of cars — with instruction in classroom and on-track for Novice, Intermediate, and Expert; North American Can/Am Challenge races (classic Minis); Vintage car races — all makes and models; and North American MINI Cooper Challenge Time Trials. There will be a dutch treat banquet and awards presentation in the clubhouse at Brainerd on Saturday evening. All are invited to attend. Fees for the driving academy are $300 for one day, $500 for two days. And there will be lunch-time touring laps for non-participants for a fee of […]

Admission tickets for MGLive!, the World’s largest MG event, which is being staged over the weekend of July 10, 11 and 12 at Silverstone circuit, are now available to purchase online from www.mglive.com – and those who book early will save £5 per ticket! MG enthusiasts can purchase their admission tickets securely through a familiar shopping cart system and select which events they’d like to participate in throughout the course of the weekend. Those who pre-book will benefit from a £5 saving when compared to the on-the-gate prices. With such a vast array of activities programmed, the online ticketing system separates each individual activity and allows enthusiasts to tailor a bespoke MGLive! weekend package. For those seeking an adrenaline laced experienced there is the autotest, sprint and Pirelli Pro Rally Rides but for a more sedate weekend the concours and […]

The Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is excited to announce that their newest exhibit “50 Years of the MINI – Presented by MINI of Nashville” will open on Thursday, April 16. This exhibit will focus on the history and influence of the Mini brand over the last 50 years. They would also like to thank MINI of Nashville for partnering with them in the creation and promotion of this exhibit. In addition to the exhibit, their support will allow the museum to host a special celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Mini in late August. According to the museum, a specific date along with more details will be available soon. More information about the contents of the exhibit is available now online at the Lane Motor Museum’s Mini site.

April 30th through May 3rd, 2009, marks the return of The Mitty to Road Atlanta in Georgia. I first attended the event about 25 years ago when it was still called The Walter Mitty Challenge. At that time the vintage racing group SVRA was still knows as teh Southern Vintage Racing Association. Times have changed. The event is now just called “The Mitty”, the SVRA is now the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association, and the event is now part of the HSR – Historic Sportscar Racing series. Oh, and I now am married, have kids, and am supposedly a responsible adult. But best of all I am actually going back to enjoy the festivities! With Classic Motorsports Magazine hosting the event, this year looks to be the best one ever. For 2009 Jaguar is the featured marque at The Mitty, dozens […]

The opening round of the Dunlop/Gambia MSA British Historic Rally Championship has attracted a sensational 83-car field to the Bulldog Historic Rally (Saturday 28 March). Three former British champions and four former British historic champions are all in the entry for the event that tackles 50 miles of prime Welsh forest roads in just four special stages. It promises to be a fabulous start to the 2009 season. Category 1 Category one is for the oldest cars, from the pre ’68 era, and they run first on the road with a short gap before the rest of the historic field. Top of the tree is the Porsche 911 of former champions Dessie Nutt/Geraldine McBride, but they can expect a stern challenge from the similar car of team mates Stuart Rolt/Richard Pomfret, making a rare but welcome BHRC appearance. Lining up […]

They may not be multimillion-dollar Bugattis, but around 30 rusty vintage cars were found in a barnyard in Norfolk County in England. The cars were mostly British marques like Austins, Rileys and Singers. There were also a vintage Daimler, a Lea Francis and a Sunbeam. A rare Morris Minor convertible from the 1930s is said to be the highlight of the lot, reports The Telegraph. The cars were hidden in undergrowth and left in derelict sheds, some with trees growing around them. They had not been driven since the 1950s. It took a team of eight men two weeks to clear the site and dig out and remove the vehicles with the help of a forklift.

Safety Fast!, the MG Car Club’s iconic monthly magazine, is celebrating its Golden Anniversary in 2009. First published in April 1959 it has enjoyed 50 glorious years and continues to provide the MG Car Club’s worldwide membership with a comprehensive overview of all things MG. As a fitting tribute to the longevity of the publication, the cover image from the April 1959 edition will once again feature on the front of the April 2009 issue. To further celebrate the magazine’s Golden Anniversary, the April edition of Safety Fast! will be available to view online free of charge via the MG Car Club’s website for a four week period. Commenting on the anniversary, editor Andy Knott, said, “This is a great time to be involved with the magazine which has evolved and developed over the past 50 years into the ultimate […]

One of the most desirable British cars ever made has returned to Henley for the first time in more than 70 years. The Squire, which was first manufactured in a single garage at the top of Remenham Hill in 1934, took center stage at an exhibition at Phyllis Court Club. More than 230 members and guests paid tribute to Adrian Squire, a former Bentley apprentice who lived and worked in Henley and had a showroom in Bell Street that is now a bookshop. Piers Flashman, chairman of the motoring section at Phyllis Court Club, said the exhibition was years in the making. He added: “It was a great success and a sell-out. People traveled from as far as New Zealand to be part of the event. “We were extremely lucky to have several generations of the Squire family as well […]

The MG sports car is now back on sale in Britain. The company’s story is an amazing one of survival since the birth of the marque in the 1920s. It survived ownership by BMC, British Leyland, BMW and is now in Chinese hands. Yet, this nifty little sports car is still there bearing its badge with pride. So with the rebirth of the brand in Britain, it is perhaps appropriate to look at the model which drove MG into modern times. The MG TD was arguably the most popular of all the T series cars. It followed the success of the TC Midget which made inroads into the United States market. Underpinned by the success of the TC, the TD answered calls for a bigger and better equipped car. MG was then owned by the Nuffield Group and as the […]

Still looking for a great holiday present? Give a gift subscription to Classic Motorsports magazine! From now until December 25, they’re offering a special discounted price of $17 when you subscribe online. That’s almost a third off the normal subscription price. This is a great deal on one of my favorite magazines. Be sure to check them out.

A museum dedicated to the MG car has reopened in Abingdon. The MG Museum opened on October 25 on the second floor of the County Hall Museum, in Market Place. The small museum, organized by former MG employee Brian Moylan, ran for a trial each weekend throughout last winter. However, it has now been given a permanent home – with the promise of more space to follow when the museum is revamped. Abingdon Works Centre, the local branch of the MG Car Club, donated £500 towards expanding the exhibition.

Driving.ca is reporting that the current financial crisis is having an impact on the collector-car scene, with prices all over the map at the first Barrett-Jackson Auction held in Las Vegas, Nevada recently. Hemi Mopar madness has ended – the days of the $80,000 Austin Healey and six-figure E-Type Jaguars are over for now. A 1962 Healey 300 MKII (Lot 762), which was a ground-up restoration by Healey Lane, of Oregon, was perfect yet sold for a mere $53,900. In January, that car would have sold in Scottsdale, Ariz., for $80,000. (All prices in U.S. dollars.)

On Sunday 12 October, an estimated 10,000 spectators packed the streets of Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire to support Lola Cars landmark 50th Anniversary parade of racing cars. The impressive display of 16 cars represented the marque’s most iconic models from the past half century through to Lola’s all-new 2008 designs. Some of Lola’s most successful drivers were reunited with the winning line-up of cars supporting Lola’s Golden celebration. The Lola legends included John Surtees OBE, Richard Attwood, Hugh Dibley, Teddy Pilette, Chris Craft, Mike Blanchet, James Weaver, Julian Bailey, Anthony Reid and Peter Ashdown. Current racers included Le Mans Series driver Mike Newton, Malaysian A1 Grand Prix driver Fairuz Fauzy and Danny Watts. At midday and in brilliant autumn sunshine, Councillor Saeed Akthar, the Mayor of Huntingdon, waved the Union Jack to officially start the parade from Lola’s state-of-the-art headquarters in […]

The Chicago Sun-Times Auto section recently published an interesting article on the beloved Triumph Spitfire. The Spitfire is a great care that seems to be fading farther and farther from view. The Sun-Times article begins, “The plucky Triumph Spitfire sports car was cheap, fun and wore a body from Italian master stylist Giovanni Michelotti. It met growing demand for smaller, lower-priced sports cars from those who couldn’t afford larger, costlier ones, such as the Austin-Healey or even the Triumph TR4. It arrived in 1962 and lasted with updates through 1980 — an especially long run.” “The Spitfire got its name from a famous World War II British fighter plane. It initially cost less than $2,200 mostly because it was derived from the small Triumph Herald family car. It was developed shortly before England’s financially troubled Standard-Triumph was bought by England’s […]

Lola Cars has launched a specially designed 50th Anniversary poster at the Race Retro Show at Stoneleigh (14 to 16 March). The unique double sided A1 glossy poster depicts one Lola car from each of the fifty years, ranging from the first Lola sportcar built – the Mk1, through to the very latest LMP Coupe that will race for the first time in April of this year. The distinguished list of cars featured in the poster illustrates the true diversity of the company’s designs throughout the last From drawing boards to CAD stations, some of the UK’s most talented racecar designers have contributed to Lola’s 50 golden years in motorsport. Leading these talents from 1958 to 1997 was Eric Broadley, the founder of Lola Cars. During Broadley’s time at Lola his pupils included a long list of distinguished car designers […]

Ok, I know things have been going up in price and that Triumphs have really been undervalued for a very long time, but $44,000 for a TR-4A really is a lot of money. This one was beautiful though, with surrey top and everything. Check out the full story here at Autoweek, and please let me know what you think!