Sid Hamblin was a proficient panel beater based in Dorset who fashioned an aluminum body for installation on an Austin Seven chassis in 1956. The design was attractive and the mechanicals were plentiful and inexpensive to obtain so Hamblin decided to offer the body for sale as a kit. The Hamblin Deluxe was launched in…
Get to Know Ken and Barby Smith Known as Mr. MGB, Ken Smith is one of the most recognized people in the LBC world. Along with his wife, Barby, Ken has shared his passion for the MG Marque throughout the world for most of his 84 years on earth. Ken worked at Moss Motors for…
The 2017 Moss Motoring Challenge was a high scoring scramble to be sure, all the way from point “A” to point “Razzmatazz!” Interestingly, assuming my addition skills have improved since third grade, the prize winners are exactly evenly split between Miata and classic British car owners. (Not that I’m trying to boost the friendly competition that…
Most don’t know that there is a small group of us with American made cars who rely on Moss Motors to help keep our vehicles on the road. I’m fortunate to have one of those, a 1966 Excalibur SSK roadster. The entire name is necessary to distinguish it as one of the early 97 doorless…
I’m parked on the grass alongside Highway 59 just outside Montevideo, Minn. I’ve positioned my car in front of a bright green sign announcing “Lac qui Parle County.” As I set up the tripod and camera, a passing Ford pulls over and stops. The driver rolls down his window and asks if I’m having trouble…
To drive a sports car more than a few decades old demands skill in the very particular requirement of shifting gears. Almost by definition these cars have manual shift transmissions. Some are three-speeds, most are four and some may have a fifth in the form of an over-drive. Also by definition, most of them are…
I rode Harley Davidson motorcycles for years and thoroughly enjoyed it. But life was too busy with 3 kids in 3 different sports year round. I wanted a project car that I could step out into the garage and work on when I had an extra hour to two. So in Nov 2009, I sold…
August and the green, rolling hills around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were filled with Triumphs. The 1986 Vintage Triumph Register Convention attracted more cars of a single British marque than had ever before come together in North America. There were enthusiasts from Arizona and Hawaii, Michigan and Vermont. (A TR250 from Concord, California, won the trophy for…
The time I normally spend looking for a technical subject for Bob’s Garage was used up on a trip to England. As I’m more in a driving mood now that summer is here anyway, I thought a new car review might be of interest. The car in question, the MG Metro Turbo, isn’t exactly new,…
We recently received an interesting letter from Phil Smith of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, who last year completed a five week, 10,000 mile camping trip to the west coast and back, accompanied by his wife. Coincidentally I, accompanied by my wife, recently transferred out to our California Corporate Headquarters and made the 3,200 mile journey from…
