An advantage of driving clear across the country in June with the top down—assuming you’ve managed to avoid debilitating heat exhaustion from humid, 95-plus degree afternoons—is the symmetry you get with having not one but two dry, cracked, sun-fried arms…
We have a mouthful of a name: British Iron Touring Club of NW Arkansas. But we don’t formally use it that often. Normally it’s condensed to British Iron. You might not expect a dynamic British car club in the foothills of the Arkansas Ozarks, but for the last thirty or so years—starting with a few…
One night as I was watching Letterman’s “Stupid Pet Tricks” and reading an old Peter Egan article “Speed Secrets of the Ultra Slow.” I was inspired and Stupid Sprite Tricks was born. These stories are dedicated to the things we and others have inflicted on our British cars. “What fools these mechanics be!” – William…
This tech tip will speak specifically to setting up the differential, and specifically the back lash, in a Midget converting to 3.55:1 ring and pinion but can be used as a general guide for all differential set ups. The part number should be STR520 which is a British Leyland special tuning part number. Originally the…
A Tribute to the “Blokiest Blokes Car”: My Austin Healey 3000 American muscle, the testoserone filled words reflect these cumbersome cars very well. There is another option: a “sexy as hell” proper open top British roadster. In the sixties, they were a cheap (3000 quid) option for sports car purists who craved the total driving experience. Before the…
For all of us MG owners that have a multitude of MGs, I have a true story that justifies the jumble. Many years ago I had taken a liking to MGs; they were the right size for a one-person show. My love of these great little cars kept expanding when I would discover the advantages…
My Dad was born in Costa Rica and as a child dreamed of moving to the states. He traveled all over Central and South America in his twenties and lived more in one decade than most do in a lifetime. This made him a very eclectic individual—he could fix cars, work with leather or wood,…
A fully restored 1961 MGA 1600 was for sale in Florida in the same town where my Dad lived. I asked him to take a look at it, and based on his report I made an offer that I frankly thought would be unacceptable to the seller. Much to my surprise, he made a reasonable…
Michael: Dad brought up the idea of getting a TR6 to work on when I was 14. Great idea, I thought, we’d have a car done by the time I got my license. I had no clue of the amount of work it would take. I just thought it would be cool to drive a…
On February 20, 1961 while on a Navy deployment, I purchased my first new car in Kowloon, Hong Kong—a dove gray, right-hand-drive MGA roadster. At that time foreign car prices were less overseas and particularly in the free port of Hong Kong, one of the best places in the world to buy almost anything. Low cost…
