When World War II ended, Dad was 45 years old. He couldn’t drive and decided our family needed a car. Somehow, someone persuaded him that a Jaguar was just the thing for him, and a wonderful black beastie appeared outside our garage-less suburban semi-detached home. To this 14-year-old, the Jaguar SS1 was just magnificent. I think…
Following my article in the last issue of Moss Motoring in which I recounted tales of the TR Register’s huge summer show, I feel that a few words about what we British get up to with our classic cars during the notoriously wet and windy English winter season might be of interest. Not being blessed…
Last time I covered a few of the major sources of oil leaks coming from a four-cylinder Austin-Healey engine. This time we’ll continue with some other potential leakers, like the rocker cover, the oil filter assembly, the engine front cover, and the head itself. When fitting the stock steel rocker cover to the engine, be…
Many of you may be contemplating a serious long-distance journey to one of the many fine events listed in our calendar. Preparations and plans for an extended journey involves as much as anything, plain common sense. So let’s take a look at what you might be doing before you leave on your trip. ENGINE COMPARTMENT…
In the last issue of Moss Motoring, we posed the question, “Are there too many British car clubs and are there too many British car meetings in the course of a year?” Thank you for the many responses you wrote, faxed, and emailed to me offering your opinions. At the outset, let me say that…
There has been quite a lot of recent correspondence between my headquarters here in Marina Del Rey, California, and England, Australia, and Louisiana, the subject being the XK120’s 50th Anniversary. Jeremy Broad, a Jaguar parts specialist in England, is organizing a gathering of early aluminum bodied examples for some festivities at Donington Park in June. As a…
By 1978, Moss Motors was supplying parts for British cars to customers all over the world. It was a big business that had become more work than fun for Al Moss. When Howard Goldman offered to buy the business, Al took him up on the offer, and went into semiretirement. Al nowadays spends much of…
IT’S THE REAL THING! As the owner of a 1966 TR4A that is in ongoing therapy and restoration, I have encountered many rusted and “lightened for life” nuts, bolts, and fittings which no amount of liquid wrench or lubricating oils were able to cope with. Working for a major airline, I often have discussions with…
The Laycock A-type overdrive is a two-speed hydraulically controlled planetary transmission. Direct drive is always controlled by spring pressure. That is, the spring pressure you see when you put the gearbox and overdrive units together, created by eight springs. The overdrive shift is always controlled by hydraulic pressure. Unlike a regular automatic transmission, which works…
To historians of MG, the fact that Cecil Kimber first modified Morris Oxford saloon cars is well documented. These humble family saloons were slightly tuned by Kimber at the Morris Garages in Oxford, England, given flutter springs, fitted with clean smart bodies, and sold at a premium. As we all now know, he was very…
