Sharing Your British Car With The World

by Glen & Jill Moore

We purchased another British car. Yes, we already had a collection of MGs in the garage. Is this a disease or just an obsession? Took all the paperwork to the county tax collector’s office to pay the sales taxes, get the car an updated title, and obtain a license plate. In Florida, the county tax collectors manage those functions for the Department of Motor Vehicles, as well as driver’s licenses.

As the clerk was shifting through all the paperwork that I had brought, she asked, “What kind of a car is it?” “MG”, I responded. “No, who was the manufacturer of the car?” To see her reaction, I again responded, “MG”. I received a blank look as her eyes rose from the paperwork to look at my face. “MG was a car company in England that began manufacturing cars in 1923, continuing through 1980. Look in your computer on the list of manufacturers and scroll down to the letter ‘M’.” “MG is there!” she exclaimed.

Here is a person who spends five days a week reviewing cars and she has never experienced an MG. Not even seeing the name MG, much less setting eyes on a car manufactured by MG. The world no longer knows MG. For the British classic car hobby to survive, the cars must be shared with a broad audience. It is every owner’s responsibility to tell the world.

To accomplish this, our cars must be exhibited alongside vehicles of other manufacturers and countries of origin. Cars and Coffee events have become popular over the past decade, growing to over 200 every weekend in the US. Any chance to interact with people interested in classic British cars will be a step forward in continuing our hobby.

Then, there are major car events. To illustrate participation in events that attract media coverage and share cars with large audiences, I have three stories to share.

Hot Rod Power Tour
Jim Young and his two sons, A.J. and Daniel, enjoy watching YouTube mechanic videos, with JunkYard Digs and Dylan McCool among their favorites. In one of the videos, the host picked up a car that he said would be perfect for the Hot Rod Power Tour. Jim had never heard of the HRPT and began some research.

The Hot Rod Power Tour is a five-day run from one city to another, with beginning and ending points at race tracks or event venues. The afternoon stops sometimes have options for participating in drag races or autocrosses. It is held annually, drawing 6,000 entrants and 100,000 spectators. The 2023 edition began at Atlanta Motor Speedway, in Hampton, Georgia, wound through back roads in the Carolinas, some steep and twisty, and ended at Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. Jim was intrigued and decided to participate with Daniel in the navigator’s seat.

Many options are available, from participating in just a single day’s event to the complete tour, known as the Long Hauler. Rally-type instructions for each day’s route are provided, but participants often select their own routes, reducing road congestion and providing for personal-interest stops along the way. Suggested start times and arrival at the day’s end are published, but flexibility is the norm.

Jim chose his 1977 MGB to run the Long Hauler. They took a backroad route from Florida to the start near Atlanta, taking a leisurely two days for the drive. For the daily Power Tour drives, Google Maps set to “no highways” provided them with alternative route options, allowing them to choose places of interest for visits along the drive. Every afternoon stop was a huge car show, free for spectators, affording many opportunities to share their MGB with others.

A few challenges were thrown at them along the way—loose lug nuts, a broken cooling fan wire, and a bad connection on the alternator. They were prepared with spares and tools, losing little time for repairs. Jim emphasizes that on any long journey, you should be prepared for what might go wrong.

“Just get in your car and drive. The drive is the experience, but take your time to get to each event. Stop and see local attractions. Some of the best times are when Power Tourers get together at hotels and visit with each other and talk about their cars. Another neat thing that happens is Power Tourers give away Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars to young kids who are at the different venues and to kids along the backroads waving as we drive through small towns.”

The Great Race
The Great Race is a nine-day time/speed/distance rally where competitors compete against the clock rather than a race for speed. Entrants can only use a speedometer, a clock, and one stopwatch. Odometers, GPS, digital watches, or other measuring devices are not allowed. The event is limited to pre-1974 cars and has a field limit of 160 cars. The 2023 Great Race began in St. Augustine, Florida, and finished in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a 2,300-mile trek.

As Gary and Terri Jones of Bedford, New Hampshire, contemplated their upcoming retirement and how to spend the remaining active years, they both found the idea of competing in the Great Race appealing and became even more excited when they realized that their 1962 MGA was eligible.

Each car has a driver and a navigator. Gary states, “It did not take us long to determine our roles; I would be the driver having all the fun and Terri would be the navigator doing all the work! We had decided to get a feel for the Great Race and observe the first few days of the 2022 race starting in Warwick, Rhode Island. We were immediately impressed by the friendliness and openness of both participants and the Great Race staff, all willing to answer the many questions we had.”

Gary focused on preparing the MGA for 2023, rebuilding all systems, checking every nut and bolt and every wire. The boot and spare battery box were filled with tools and spare parts. A Timewise Speedometer, extremely accurate, was mounted on the dash. A luggage rack was added to carry their clothes in waterproof duffles. Terri had much to learn about the navigational challenges. She attended a rookie navigator class and began collecting all needed supplies—pencils, markers, hole punch, analog clock, stopwatch, and homemade driving charts. Their summer preparation and practice took them through 3,400 miles of New England.

They made the journey from New England to St. Augustine to begin the race. Terri describes the rally experience: “We made our way through sometimes up to 66 pages of daily instructions, only knowing the cities where we would be stopping for lunch and our daily end point. We went through several towns that seemed to appear out of nowhere and we were met with people in lawn chairs, waving flags and blowing horns to greet us; it was remarkable to see!”

The lengthy instructions and many speed changes tested their navigation preparation. Terri said, “We have to be honest and say there were occasional moments of panic as we learned to ‘work the problem,’ which is my way of saying we made a mistake and had to figure our way through it. But, that is where the real ‘win’ came into play. We learned SO MUCH!”

The experience was one that they wanted to repeat. Gary and Terri will again challenge the Great Race in 2024. One of the lunch stops will be at the New England Race Museum, in Loudon, New Hampshire, near their hometown. How could they miss this one?

Amelia Island
Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance is one of the world’s top car events. It has a multiple-day schedule with a wide variety of activities from seminars, to black-tie dinners, to test rides in new cars (think Porsche and McLaren), to an exclusive car show on the Ritz-Carlton’s golf course. A quality show field.

On retiring from MG vintage racing, my wife, Jill, and I decided to focus on slower-moving car events. Although we held a belief that we would never own a car that would be eligible for an invitation to Amelia, filling out an application is a no-risk option. To increase our chances, we applied twice. Surprisingly, both cars received invitations. It would be impossible to show two cars, so the restored MGTC was left at home and the preserved MGTC with a well-documented racing history was selected.

Although many hours had been spent preparing the TC race car over three years, preparation for a Concours requires much more. Projects were underway every day between the invitation and the event, twisting wrenches, fine detailing, and researching history. Judges have to pick among the tiniest details to differentiate among cars in a class and no detail can be overlooked. Representing the MG marque on such a grand stage deserves quality presentation.

On Friday, The Eight Flags Tour, a police-escorted drive along the coast, is offered to cars invited to the Concours. The drive ends in downtown Fernandina Beach with all the parking spots along the main street reserved. This provides an opportunity for car enthusiasts to view the show cars up close for free, rather than paying the $175 day-of-show spectator ticket price. The forecasted heavy rainstorms came near the end of the drive, challenging in a car with no top and windshield.

Early Sunday morning the cars are arranged on the show field so that the judging can take place prior to the opening of the spectator gates. The MGTC was placed in the Race Cars 1946-1955 class, judged by Lyn St. James, an accomplished race driver, and Kim Barnes, manager for Michelin classic car tires and a collector of British cars. Being invited to any Concours event is a win. The opportunity to share the history of MG and its role in road racing with a large group of classic car enthusiasts was reward enough. Later that day, the blue ribbon was hung on the wet TC radiator cap. An unexpected Best in Class award.

Jill still tells everyone, “The best part of The Amelia was the Eight Flags Tour. When we drove into downtown in the rain, the crowd was applauding!” I focused more on the Sunday Concours. Just the opportunity to spend time with Lyn St. James and Kim Barnes was worth the effort of making the show. The Amelia patrons are now aware of MG’s role in automotive history and road racing. Many memories were made interacting with the spectators.

With the adventure of participating in The Amelia still creating excitement every time our minds reflect on the experience, Jill and I are looking forward to continuing our participation in Concours events. A couple of invitation letters have arrived.

Join a club drive and take your MG out in public. Enter a non-MG car event close to home. Give some thought to a grand-scale event that might stretch your sense of adventure. There are many ways to enjoy owning and driving a classic British car while sharing it with the world.