When World War II ended, Dad was 45 years old. He couldn’t drive and decided our family needed a car. Somehow, someone persuaded him that a Jaguar was just the thing for him, and a wonderful black beastie appeared outside our garage-less suburban semi-detached home. To this 14-year-old, the Jaguar SS1 was just magnificent. I think…
Well, did we have fun, or what? Did we not enjoy two days of super wheel-to-wheel racing with cars from the earliest part of the century to the latest clubman rockets? Did we not marvel at the standard of British cars in the popular vote show? Did we not get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to drive…
Much has been publicized in regard to MG ’96, the giant meeting of all the MG clubs to be held at Indianapolis in lute June of this year. However, how many enthusiasts know that in the early ’60s, especially in 1964 and 1965, MGs actually raced at Indianapolis in the famous May spectacular—the Indy 500?…
First off, I have a confession to make. My car’s not really a Triumph. It’s an Austin-Healey 100-6, 1959 vintage. Unlike the proverbial virtuous maid in the sleaze bar, the Healey has seen its share of “Whoas,” and rust, and car abuse. But in early August, I like to sneak out of Pittsburgh with “Dirty Harry,”…
A driver’s-eye view from Stephen Newby. THE EVENT. This was the third in a three-race series sponsored by the Sports Car Club of BC, and the last race of the season in the International Conference of Sports Car Club championship race series. The championship points battle would be decided in this race. QUALIFYING. The Newby…
One September afternoon in 1992, I was browsing through the August 31 issue of “Autoweek” magazine. What piqued my curiosity was a letter in rebuttal to an article in the July 27 “Autoweek” issue. That article claimed that a Devin-bodied special, currently being raced in vintage races, was the first Huffaker Special built. The letter…
There are two roads out of Wendover, Utah, that lead to the Bonneville Salt Flats. One is interstate 80, and there is a sign on the road which says “Exit 4 Bonneville Speedway.” The other road is a strip of bituminous that was part of US 40 and the old Lincoln Highway. Today, it serves…
A TRADITIONAL EXPERIENCE: RACING TEST OF A VINTAGE CHAMPIONSHIP 1968 MGB Translated from Automovil Panamcricano, June, 1995 All the splendor of the British sports cars of the ’60s is still intact in this MGB that engineer Juan Manuel Munoz Ledo uses in vintage championship races. There is no doubt about the pedigree of the MGB, because its prestige…
It’s been quite a time for nostalgia lately, with contact from old friends and new enthusiasts. Firstly, Ken Richardson’s CO, Paul, paid me a visit here on Molokai and we spent a great day “talking story,” as the locals here would say. His dad was one of the most successful competition managers of the ’50s,…
I read with some interest the story on Herschel Silverstone’s real Sebring Sprite in the Fall issue of Moss Motoring and started thinking to myself, “Maybe not so real!” Geoff Healey and I did not actually homologate (the FTA’s technical term for registering the specification of a competition car) until the fall of 1960.The first…
