by John F. Quilter I saw my first British car when I was just a small boy living in Charleston, South Carolina. It was an Empire green 1953 Morris Minor that lived across the street from my house. Something clicked and the British car became a lifelong interest, or maybe even an obsession. Fast forward…
Heaven Called…by Robert Goldman As I sit down to write, the news reaches me, Robert “Kas” Kastner has passed. While it may be that no single individual wrote the book on Triumph performance, it was Kas who finished it. As a racer with no funds, he had no choice. It was either make stock parts…
By Graham Robson Before 1953, the most popular British sports cars sold in the States were MG’s classic TD, and Jaguar’s sensational XK120. Nothing else came close. Then suddenly the Austin-Healey 100 and the Triumph TR2 arrived to change all that. But Triumph? Who had ever heard of them, and what was a TR2? All…
By Graham Robson Like all the best racing drivers, Norman Dewis was a stocky little man. Like all the best racing drivers, he had boundless self-confidence. But although he looked the part, and was as fast as the superstars he befriended at Jaguar, Dewis was not a racing driver. Jaguar’s autocratic boss, Sir William Lyons,…
In the corner of a building in an industrial complex sit the collected pieces of a rough and rusted 1971 Triumph TR6. The engine is out, doors and panels are off and an inspection of the frame would cause you to cringe. To those who know what they’re looking at, the car is scrap-worthy. But…
Denise McCluggage began her fascination with automobiles as a six-year-old when she spotted an Austin Seven parked on the street near her house in Kansas. Not surprisingly, she soon asked Santa for one just like it. As a young girl she was smart and independent, choosing to leave home for the West Coast at 17….
With the moniker of Mr. Big Healey, John Chatham has earned his status as one of the storied marque’s most legendary men. Across four decades, Chatham piloted DD300 – an Austin-Healey 3000 – on tracks around the world and became famous as one of the fastest drivers of the era. Chatham’s father purchased a garage…
They say cars are “just machines.” They say that automobiles don’t have personalities. We tend to agree, but with a disclaimer. Not that we think cars are a lifeform, have souls, or something like that. We do believe that some cars elicit feelings that are more than mechanical. It is hard to explain the passion…
Back in November we introduced you to Dick Moritz and Dale Spooner, the spearheads of the hearty project that set to document the rebuild process of an MGB engine on the MG Experience Forum. Once completed, the engine will then be auctioned off and its proceeds will go toward the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. We’ve been following…
A project that embodies both the tangible experience of automotive reconstruction and the humanitarian spirit behind car enthusiasm—that’s what Dale Spooner and Dick Moritz have set out to accomplish. Dale Spooner, owner of Motion Machine Inc. and a seasoned automotive machinist with experience in a range of engines (British and domestic, alike), and Dick Moritz,…
