Despite the fact that the MGB and Midget soldiered on through the 70s with few changes (except for those mandated by increasingly more stringent safety regulations) it doesn’t mean that the crew at Abingdon wasn’t hard at work on developing new models for sale alongside – or in place of – those stalwarts. Due to…
Little known in the United States, the MGB Costello V8 is admired as one of the most historically important variants of the car produced. A skilled engineer and talented racing driver, Ken Costello saw a need to increase the performance of the standard MGB without resorting to measures that would adversely affect reliability. Costello considered…
Most automotive enthusiasts appreciate the innate differences between sports cars from America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom even if they are unable to articulate what makes them unique. Even the casual car guy can tell you that American muscle cars have large displacement engines; Italian engines make their power with lots of…
There are some people that spend their retirement doing yard work or reading quietly in a favorite chair. After 30 years as an engineer, James King decided to try and turn his hobby into a business with more success than most have in their regular careers. King Triumphs made its reputation performing TR6 restorations and…
Having walked through the doors of countless shops that work on British sports cars, it seems as if an overwhelming majority are small, cramped and packed to the rafters with parts accumulated over the decades. In this respect, Porter Customs is no different than hundreds of other specialty shops around the country. What sets this…
Then as now, the places available to drive a sports car flat out are few and far between. As automotive production resumed following the cessation of hostilities in 1945, manufacturers were keen to gain publicity that could be used to push sales (particularly in the increasingly important North American market). During the Thirties, the press…
Dick Jacobs already had an MG dealership and was an established racer when he was asked to drive one of the prototype alloy-bodied MGA racers in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1955 by his friends in the BMC Competition Department at Abingdon.The race, however, was ill-fated for almost all concerned and shortly after…
It is not uncommon for car enthusiasts to collect books and most of them that I know are avid readers on a variety of subjects. Perhaps there is something about an appreciation for archaic automotive technology that also lends itself to a deep and abiding affection for the printed word. For as long as I…
Considered the Bill Graham of his day, John S. Inskip was one of the most renowned evangelical Methodist preachers in the 19th century and he is often credited with making the “tent revival” a part of modern American religious practice. His eponymous son failed to go into the family business and instead became a salesman…
A Michelotti MG? More than one. Really? Most of us never knew about the connection between the prolific Italian designer and MG from Abingdon. In a strange twist, Giovanni Michelotti – who would become famously associated with Triumph for his landmark work on the Herald, Vitesse, TR4, Spitfire, GT6, Dolomite, 2000 and Stag – found…
