The old car hobby, like most other hobbies, is one best enjoyed with friends. Any activity or interest that can be shared with other like-minded people tends to be one that is enjoyed more fully. When my MGB came into my life in 1996, my younger brother (also an MGB owner) made sure that I…
When Richard Thornberry’s wife told him to get a hobby in 2003, he couldn’t imagine what the next chapter of his life would look like. However, his journey probably isn’t a whole lot different from most British car owners/restorers. After his wife vetoed a motorcycle (too dangerous) and rebuilding a classic Mustang (too expensive), Thornberry…
There are iconic products that we admire for high concept, gorgeous design, inspired innovation, quality craftsmanship, and mechanical prowess. The very first one of these products introduced to the public is the one possessing the magic…the one that made the breakthrough and got the accolades. TS1, the first TR2, is the breakthrough Triumph sports car…
Hopefully you have an Anglican priest on staff because I need to confess my sins. As a young lad I dreamed of owning a T-series MG. In 1965 when I was 8 my cousin bought a new MGB and took me for a ride and I was hooked on British cars. At thirteen I bought…
In 1997 I found a 1958 MGA that someone had used as a parts car back in the 1980s. I soon discovered that the body and frame were too far gone with rust, and with no engine and other important parts gone, this was going to be a very difficult restoration. So I asked myself,…
All classic car owners love feel-good stories about long-forgotten cars brought back to their former beauty, winning car show awards and making owners proud. And we’ve all heard the scary stories about cars ruined and parts stolen by come-to-find-out disreputable shops. My car story is in the scary/sad category, but now has a potentially happier…
About a year ago I took a picture of my grandson, Hunter, standing in front of my son’s restored 1977 MGB, as if he was a salesman. Well, this year Hunter, at three, has moved up a peg and is now representing a 1961 BT-7 Austin-Healey. If I ask him if he wants to go…
“Ok, I’ll take it,” I said, forking over the $400. The owner, John, was a friend since we were kids; we lived a few houses from each other growing up in Marietta, Georgia. He bought the blaze red 1972 MGB with only a few miles on it after he was discharged from the Air Force…
In 1974, Craig Simon of Stanley, Kansas, acquired a 1968 TR5 for $400 as a college student in Munich, Germany, while his father was stationed in Europe. The original owner had purchased it in Belgium. A college kid with a sports car in a country with no speed limits on the highways is a dangerous…
I’ve recently completed an MGA trailer. I have a heavily modified 1961 MGA and I found a ’61 MGA on eBay from a field in Ohio. The MGA was past salvage. When we tried to load it on a trailer, it literally broke in half. The passenger section was removed, and the front clip and…
