Safety Fast! September 2019

THE MARQUE OF FRIENDSHIP

September 2019 Volume 63 Number 09 £3.95

THE

CAR

CLUB

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ABINGDON-ON-THAMES FO U N D E D 193 0

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SH TI I BR 8 T A 94 E 1 GR CE A N I S

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WELCOME SEPTEMBER HIGHLIGHTS

MGB REGISTER WEEKEND Join the MGB Register for a weekend away on September 13-16, based at the Ufford Park Hotel, and enjoy a weekend of scenic driving and excellent food. www.mgb-register.org for booking details.

L

ast month in the news section we previewed the all-new MG ZS EV, which is due to hit the dealers in September. Incredibly, MG Motor UK were matching the government grant on the first 1,000 cars pre-sold, making the ZS EV a very tempting proposition for those considering an electric car. They took orders for the first 1,000 within two weeks so have extended their deal to an additional 1,000 vehicles. I know at the moment electric vehicles are like ‘Marmite’, you either love them, or loathe them, but from what I’ve seen so far MG have got an SUV that’s going to be a great seller, and of course anyone that purchases one is welcome as a member of The MG Car Club, and the SUV Register. For those interested in a new MG which isn’t an SUV, keep your eyes peeled for news of a new sports car due out in 2021!

Kimber House has been awash with visitors from all around the world recently, thanks to events like Pre-war Prescott, The British Grand Prix and Silverstone Classic. It’s always wonderful to show people around Kimber House, a Club house that we should all be justifiably proud of. If you would like to visit us all details and opening times are published on our website www.mgcc.co.uk Whilst perusing the website, why not take a look around as there’s lot of interesting information, from Natters to events, Registers to Centres, and a whole section dedicated to Motorsport. There’s also a secure link that takes you to our shop, which is having new merchandise added all the time. One of the limited-edition products, you may just be in time to order, is the limited edition MG watch, created by fine French watchmaker, Yema. The watch is a version of Yema’s famous Rallygraf watch, guaranteed for two years, and comes with an individually numbered certificate.

The chronograph consists of a main dial and two sub-dials with beige aluminium insert, reminiscent of a dashboard, finished with an MG logo. It’s a wonderful-looking timepiece, that was featured in last month’s Safety Fast! Be quick to order, though…

Until next month, drive safely.

Andy Knott Membership Type

Direct Debit Rate

Standard Rate Online

Standard Rate Post

Single

£50

£55

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Joint

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Young Members 16-20

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£30

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The MG Car Club, Kimber House, 12 Cemetery Road, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 1AS Tel: 01235 555552 Fax: 01235 533755 E-mail: mgcc@mgcc.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk

www.mgcc.co.uk

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KOP HILL CLIMB The Abingdon Works Centre and three MGCC Registers will all be in attendance.

Watch veteran, vintage and classic cars tackle this classic hill climb near Princes Risborough on September 21-22. Please book via kophillclimb.org.uk

BTCC SILVERSTONE Join the MG Car Club’s 635 Register and cheer on the two MG6s as they do battle on the Silverstone National Circuit on September 28-29 in the penultimate round of the 2019 BTCC Championship. Tickets from https:// shop.mgcc.co.uk

WISCOMBE PARK HILL CLIMB The MG Car Club South West Centre make their annual pilgrimage to the stunning Wiscombe Hill, Southleigh, on September 14. Details and the entry forms are available from www.mgccsw.com For many more events during September please visit www.mgcc.co.uk

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www.mgcc.co.uk 4 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

JULY 2016 SAFETY FAST! 3 www.mgcc.co.uk

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CENTRES INSIDE REGULARS 7 8 12 56 65 66 67 69 80 92 98

Club Matters and Kimber House News News Young Members Branch Overseas Review Race Torque MGs on Track MGCC Speed Championship Centre Updates Register Updates Classifieds Looking Back

NEWSLETTERS 34 SVW Newsletter 39 T Type Newsletter 44 MGC Newsletter

FEATURES

15 MG AT THE F1 MG leads the way at The British Grand Prix Driver’s Parade

21 ELECTRIC AVENUE How does the MG ZS EV compare with the ZS petrol version

26 THE SPIRITUAL HOME OF MG

The all-new electric MG ZS EV, in the exclusive Pimlico Blue. Photo: MG Motor UK

Celebrating the 90th anniversary of MG moving to Abingdon

31 EVENT REPORTS The Welsh Rallye 2019

49 OVERSEAS NEWS News from MG Club de France

15 52

26

52 THE NAMGBR ANNUAL GATHERING Report on the 2019 annual MGB gathering for North America that took place in Traverse City, Michigan

58 MGCC BACK WITH A BANG AT DONINGTON PARK All the race action from the third MG Car Club meeting of the 2019 season

62 BTCC ACTION All the MG action from the Snetterton Race Circuit

www.mgcc.co.uk

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 5

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www.mgcc.co.uk

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CHAIRMAN’S CHAIRMANS NEWS

W

e’ve not long had the heatwave and already I’m writing the September Notes and starting preparations for October’s Council Meeting and AGM which this year will be held on Saturday August 26 2019 at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Abingdon.

The MGCC Council are the governing body of the Club. They provide advice and support to the Board and members and vote on issues affecting all aspects of the Club’s administration.

Each of the CRBs have the opportunity to send up to 2 delegates to the meeting (including the AGM) so if you have any issues you would like raised please contact your local Centre, Register (covering the vehicle you own) or Branch and find out who your representatives will be.

The Executive Committee (Board of Directors) carries out Councils wishes and looks after the day-to-day running of the Club.

At the AGM there will be a number of Director vacancies to be filled on the Executive Committee.

If you feel you would like to contribute to the running of the Club and help shape its future this is an ideal opportunity to put something back into the Club. If you would like further information on what is involved please contact either myself or Adam Sloman through the Club office at Kimber House.

During the last month we all watched what was happening in Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire, after a heavy storm caused damage to the Dam just above the town. This was especially worrying to me as I have family that live in Whaley. Fortunately the hard work of the emergency services helped to save the Dam and town.

This reminded me that our great Club is built on the foundation of membership and we need to work hard to keep our existing members and to continually recruit new members.

The Executive committee and team at Kimber house are looking at a number of ideas to help with this.

One such initiative is the Nikki Saunders Trophy (which has been kindly donated by Dave Saunders in memory of his late wife, Nikki).

This will be presented to the CRB that brings in the most new members throughout the year.

To go along with the trophy, the DMF fund have agreed to donate £251 to the winning CRB. At the time of writing my notes, news broke that June Wallis had passed away.

June was the wife of our late President, Bill Wallis, and most of us will fondly remember

KIMBER HOUSE NEWS MEET THE WORKERS DAY Our MGB Register organised a day for their members to meet the people who made their cars. Fifteen ex-factory workers attended, together with members from the MGB Register bringing along 18 cars for display, ranging from a very early B to one of the first Frontline LE50s. The event kicked off at 10.30am on Sunday August 18 and although it was a damp start with heavy rain it did not deter attendance of some amazing MGBs.

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 7

June attending MG events with Bill and for her hard work selling books at MGLive! for charity.

June will be sorely missed and our thoughts and condolence go to June’s family.

During the past month I have also been made aware of the passing of former Caledonian Centre Chairman and Honorary President, Ron Spinks, and active MGCC members Ian Hunter-Japp and Brian Hornsby; again, our thought go to their families.

On August 18 I attended Monogram Sunday, organised by Paul Money and John Thompson from the Zed, and Keith Williams, Jane Parry and Nigel May from the F Registers, at Burghley House.

The Monogram programme was run by MG Rover and refers to the offering of non-standard paints and interiors on the Zed and TF range. I own one of two TFs in Shot Silk.

It was great to see so many Monogram cars together, parked on the lawn in front of Burghley House. A Show and Shine competition was held, with a first and second prize awarded for the Best Zed and TF. Congratulations to the winners.

There were also a number of other MGs in attendance, RV8, MGB and Non monogram Zeds and Fs, as any event run by any CRB is open to all members of the MGCC irrespective of which marque of MG you own.

As a Club we are lucky to have a lot of great events week in week out, all put on by hardworking volunteers; I just wish I had more time to attend them all!

CHEQUE PRESENTATION On Thursday August 15 we welcomed two representatives of SeeSaw, the charity set up in 2000 to meet the needs of bereaved children and young people in Oxfordshire. SeeSaw have been our supported charity over the last two years and Adam Sloman, MGCC General Manager, presented a cheque to Jane Elliot, Fundraiser, and Lucy Wise, Community Fundraiser, for £500, being money raised at various events over the year. Adam said: “We are proud to be associated with such a worthy charity who have supported over 4,300 children, young people and their families in Oxfordshire.”

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NEWS ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the 2019 Annual General Meeting of The MG Car Club Limited will be held on Saturday October 26 2019, at the Hilton Garden Hotel, Abingdon. Commencing at 3.00pm 1. Apologies for Absence.

2. To approve the minutes of the AGM held October 21 2018.

3. To receive the Financial Statements for the year ending December 31 2018 together with the Reports of the Directors and Auditors thereon, and to reappoint Messrs Wilkins Kennedy as Auditors.

4. To elect the Chairman of the Club for the coming year.

5. To elect the President of the Club for the coming year.

6. To elect the current Vice Presidents of the Club for the coming year.

7. To elect the Vice Chairman of the Club for the coming year.

8. To elect the Treasurer of the Club for the coming year.

9. To elect other Directors of the Club for the coming year.

10. To transact any other ordinary business of an AGM that may properly be considered.

There will be an open forum following the close of the AGM. Every member has a statutory right to appoint another person as his proxy to exercise all of his rights to attend and to speak at a general meeting of the Club. Please note that only the elected CRB representatives have the right to vote at such meetings on behalf of the members.

Issued by Colin Grant, Company Secretary

ZR/ZS/ZT REGISTER AGM The ZR/ZS/ZT Register AGM will be held on Sunday 6th October 2019 at Kimber House. Time: 2.00pm.

Location: John Thornley Suite Agenda: 1. Apologies For Absence 2. Agreement Of Minutes Of Previous AGM 3. Chairman’s Report 4. Secretary’s Report 5. Treasurer’s Report & Adoption of Accounts 6. Regalia Report 7. Events Review 8. Election of Officers 9. Election of Other Committee Members 10. Members Resolutions 11. AOB Any resolution to be discussed or nominations for officers or committee members should be forwarded to the Secretary (Ray Kemble) no later than September 28th.

CLUB DIRECTOR VACANCIES At the Club AGM on October 26 there will be a number of Director vacancies to be filled on the Executive Committee.

If you feel you would like to contribute to the running of the club and help shape its future this is an ideal opportunity to put something back into the club. We are particularly keen to hear from those with an IT background. If you would like further information on what is involved please contact Adam Sloman at adam@mgcc.co.uk.

EUROPEAN EVENT OF THE YEAR 2020 With only a month until the registration will open, the team is working hard to organise an event that will please you, to celebrate the Club’s 50th birthday with international guests.

The date of the event is August 5-9 2020, and we’ve an exciting programme planned with a mixture of driving and culture in Würzburg, Bavaria. The roads are quaint with little traffic and different UNESCO World Heritage attractions to stop at. Of course, a European Event wouldn’t be complete without a wine tasting session – we’ve got one planned in Franconia – as well as a cruise on a ship.

There are several hotels booked. All of them are within a short walk of the event HQ, so it’s not necessary to use your car after dinner. There is also a campsite for tents about 10km from the event room. Camping with your motorhome will be possible next to our MG parking area.

The online registration opens on October 1 2019 at 8.00pm. After you have registered for the event, you will first receive a confirmation of receipt.

I’m sure you want to know what it will cost, but the costs are not finalised yet. It will be an “all-inclusive” package including all food, drinks and sightseeing from Wednesday evening until Sunday morning.

More information will be published in next month’s Safety Fast! or visit www.mgcc-eeoty2020.de for all the up-to-date details.

BASTIAAN DE VOOGD (1952-2019) Bas de Voogd sadly passed away in The Netherlands on June 24 after a long battle with MS. Bas was a long-standing devotee of the MG SVW models, owning several and having restored the VA 0251 prototype Saloon many years ago. He was VA Historian in The SVW Register for several decades. Bas’s death coincided with the first day of the SVW Event in Holland, so some attendees were able to be at the funeral with their MGs. Please read the full tribute in The SVW Register Newsletter in this edition. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends, especially Suze, his wife of 44 years.

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www.mgcc.co.uk

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NEWS

PERSONALISED TOURS & EVENTS

THE JIM CLARK MUSEUM Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart OBE will officially open the new Jim Clark Motorsport Museum in Duns, Scottish Borders, on Thursday August 29 with invited guests from the world of motorsport and the unveiling of a plaque to celebrate the occasion.

The museum honours and charts the life and racing career of the Scottish Borders farmer and double Formula One World Champion, Jim Clark, who Sir Jackie has always maintained was the finest racing driver he ever competed against and a close personal friend.

The new museum has seen a major £1.6m redevelopment over the past 15 months following a five-year fundraising campaign and has welcomed over 2,000 visitors since opening to the public in mid-July.

Doug Niven, cousin of Jim Clark and Jim Clark Trustee, said: “We are delighted that Sir Jackie, Honorary President of The Jim Clark Trust, is able to come to Duns to officially open the new museum. He has given the museum and this project great support and encouragement over many years, for which we are very grateful. ” The museum, operated by charity Live Borders, for the first time includes two of Jim Clark’s iconic race cars, a Lotus 25 and Lotus Cortina. Displays include a celebration of his life from school days to farming and racing in all forms of motorsport, archive imagery, film footage, memorabilia, a gallery, interactive displays, simulator and shop. At the heart of the new museum remains the original collection of over 100 trophies from Jim Clark’s incredible career, gifted by his parents, James and Helen Clark in 1969, with new interactive interpretation displays.

Adult admission to the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum costs just £5 with visitors able to return as often as they like for free for the following 12 months. There is a small additional cost for the simulator. For more information, visit www.jcmm.org.uk Follow the Jim Clark Motorsport Museum on social media: #JimClarkMotorsportMuseum @liveborders @JimClarkTrust @scotborders

www.mgcc.co.uk

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‘Scenic & Continental Car Tours are very helpful and certainly make life easier for the busy leader of a car club! The hotels have been excellent and the impressive Road Books not only contained routes and maps, but also details of the places we were to visit’.

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For more information on our group tour planning service call our Group Relations Manager Kieran on: 01732 879153

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SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY15/08/2019 FAST! 14:57:02 9

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Join us for a great day out exploring 3,000 cars, 300 fellow vehicle clubs, a host of celebrities, the UK’s largest indoor autojumble, hundreds of specialist exhibitors, demonstrations, auction, competitions and more!

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MERCHANDISE

New products available from

KIMBER STORES Bespoke Car mats. From £103

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Ctek battery conditioner.

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MG travel wallets £16.50

MGB Cuff links £18

Heritage Hats £12.50

MGs Abingdon Factory Book £15.99

Multi Tool£12.50 Ruck Sack £25

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To order please visit shop.mgcc.co.uk email ineke@mgcc.co.uk or Phone 01235 849737 www.mgcc.co.uk

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YOUNG MEMBERS

Shaun Nelson shaunnelly@hotmail.com

TYRE FESTIVAL 2019

T

hank you to everyone, organisers and attendees alike, for making the first annual Tyre Festival the enormous success it was. The event itself was the product of a brief conversation in a pub. A few young lads sat together and discussed how great it would be if as many classic car youth groups as possible could come together for an event aimed at, but not exclusive to, the younger enthusiast. One had access to some land (thank you Mr William Bale), another knew some good local roads, and Charlie Crawshaw of TR Register Youth Group had the drive and enthusiasm to put the plan into motion. After recruiting Liam Murphy of the Morris Minor Owners Club Young Members, Midget and Sprite Club, and MG Car Club Young Memebers Branch, the two would go on to work tirelessly for several months to organise what we hope to be the first of many Tyre Fetsivals.

MG LE

The weekend started on the Friday, with an evening of lighthearted ice-breaking and socialising in rural south Derbyshire, to be followed on Saturday by a 100-mile roadtrip across the Peak District, visiting some of its most famous landmarks and best-kept secrets. The diverse convoy of cars tackled steep hills, fast roads, fords and a narrow tunnel, led by myself and my brother, Stuart, in our dog-eared MGB GT – which performed faultlessly. We finished in the evening to enjoy live music perfomed by Dorothy Ella. On Sunday, we relaxed, and enjoyed a display of the cars and the prize giving ceremony. Congatulations to our winners Toby Carr, Jon Dumelow, and Ash Turner.

Thank you again to Charlie and Liam for organising this event for us, which I must add performed far better than its namesake – Fyre festival! Here’s to Tyre Festival 2020; I hope to see you all there!

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FEATURE

MG AT THE F1 T

he second weekend in July 2019 was being heralded as the biggest sporting weekend of the year or possibly longer or indeed wider than just Britain, depending on which headlines you read! With the men’s Wimbledon final, the final of the cricket World Cup and the British F1 Grand Prix all taking place on the Sunday, sports fans were spoilt for choice. With England reaching the cricket final at Lords and, for tennis fans, the mouth-watering prospect of a Djokovic v Federer contest at Wimbledon, plus Lewis Hamilton trying for a record-breaking sixth British Grand Prix win at Silverstone it promised to be a sporting Sunday to remember and the MG Car Club was part of it!

A few weeks before that weekend, Kimber House received a request from Formula 1 inviting the Club to have a

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By Richard Martin. Photos Jakob Ebrey display of 30 cars at Silverstone over the Grand Prix weekend and for 20 of these to carry the F1 drivers on a parade lap around the GP Circuit on the Sunday morning, ahead of the race in the afternoon.

With a huge world-wide TV audience

and the prospect of having the Club in front of the many thousands who visit Silverstone over the weekend, it was too good an opportunity to turn down. So began a fraught, frustrating period for Lauran at Kimber House as she sought

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WITH A HUGE WORLD-WIDE TV AUDIENCE AND THE PROSPECT OF HAVING THE CLUB IN FRONT OF THE MANY THOUSANDS WHO VISIT SILVERSTONE OVER THE WEEKEND, IT WAS TOO GOOD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TURN DOWN

answers and clarification to the numerous questions and issues which arose. Dealing with not just F1, but Silverstone as well, it was very much a case of shifting sands, with Lauran working extremely long hours as she tried to get to grips with the conditions, amendments and changes being issued from Northamptonshire. One of these was the MG models required for the parade. Since it was necessary for the drivers to be visible during the parade, understandably, open-topped cars were needed with Midgets, As, Bs and Cs specified, but less clear were issues 16 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

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regarding the displaying of the Club logo, whether on the cars, their drivers or on the small gazebo permitted! One thing which was established quite early on in proceedings was that the cars needed to be in place in the National Paddock on Thursday morning, 11th, and remain there until close of play on Sunday 14th, although picking them up on the Monday morning could be arranged. It was also felt beneficial for the owners to be there, if not over the whole three days of the event, at least for some of the days in order to support the Kimber House staff present, field questions, as well as keep a www.mgcc.co.uk

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FEATURE

watchful eye on the display cars!

With such a short time frame in which to arrange everything, contacting owners of cars meeting the criteria during the height of the summer holiday period was often frustrating, as responses were needed quickly. With such a small number of cars specified there would undoubtedly be some disappointed owners. In order to enhance the display, it was decided to include a few models outside the specified range with a J2, K3 Magnette, TD and TF www.mgcc.co.uk

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added to the later models. Once available cars and owners had been established, photos of each of them had to be submitted to Silverstone/F1 for approval.

Whilst permission had been granted for a gazebo, all those of the MG Car Club prominently displayed the name and one of the stipulations was about no brand advertising – is the MG Car Club a brand?

Well, British Motor Heritage offered their

smart, blank, dark blue gazebo for the weekend, along with transporting it there and back. So many thanks to BMH for their support.

Thursday morning saw the cars arriving and the gazebo being erected, so by lunchtime we were pretty much all set for the next three days. Most of the owners lived within 60-90 minutes of Silverstone, on a normal weekend, but the F1 weekend SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 17

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FEATURE

wasn’t a normal weekend! So, we all ‘looked forward’ to a weekend of early starts and late returns – in my case 6.30am followed by a 12-hour day. With record attendance figures of 88,000 (Friday), 105,000 (Saturday) and 122,000 (Sunday) there was considerable interest in the display and I lost count of the number of times I heard “I/my father/mother/ brother had one of these” including the General Manager of the Bentley Drivers’ Club who had a presence opposite! One of the cars which did attract considerable interest was the 1966 Midget which had been converted to hand controls to enable its disabled driver to use and enjoy it.

Another was the MGC of Lewis Hamilton’s

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father, Anthony, who, along with Lewis’s enthusiastic brother Nic, spent time around the display on the Saturday evening chatting to the other owners. Anthony owns a number of MGs, including the MGC used in the parade, and became a member of the Club a number of years ago.

9.00am on the Sunday and we were all summoned to a drivers’ briefing. Well, it was scheduled for 9.00am, but then it was originally scheduled for 6.00pm Saturday so I suppose 9.20am was pretty much on schedule! One of the many ‘alterations’ encountered during the preparations for the weekend. The drivers were all told which F1 driver they’d been allocated and that we would be lining up on the starting grid

in the order that the drivers had qualified; odd numbers to the left of the red carpet and even ones to the right. We were also told that we would be following the Alfa Romeo 159 “Alfetta” which was the winner of the first F1 World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950. Back then it was driven by Nino Farina, today it would be Kimi Raikkonen. We were also advised that once started, the Alfa could not be stopped and it would only operate at certain speeds – no numbers were mentioned! Since the car was on display in the garages opposite the MG display, we’d witnessed the starting issues, with the car becoming enveloped in an ever-thickening blue haze! But what a wonderful sound and smell, so evocative of a bygone age.

The drivers’ parade lap was in the programme for 12.30pm ahead of the actual race at 2.10pm and we were told to be with our cars at 11.45am. All the cars had their allocated F1 driver’s name affixed across the windscreen and at noon we were assembled, in qualifying order, ready to be led into the pit lane. Once in the pit lane, Chief Pit Lane Marshal, Marion Quarrington, told us to remain in our cars ensuring that we were parked clear of the actual pit lane as the cars from the previous race crossed our bows – most under their own steam, but others being towed or pushed. We were then told we could get out of our cars, but remain behind them; time to take a few photos!

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FEATURE LEWIS HAMILTON’S FATHER, ANTHONY, WHO, ALONG WITH LEWIS’S ENTHUSIASTIC BROTHER NIC, SPENT TIME AROUND THE DISPLAY ON THE SATURDAY EVENING CHATTING TO THE OTHER OWNERS. The next instruction was that we’d be on our way at 12.23pm so “please return to your cars and when the Alfa comes down the pit lane pull out behind it in order.”

The red Alfa roared across our bonnets and we were away with only a hint of blue coming from the Alfa. Once on the track, I was reminded of the words of the briefing “the Alfa can only operate at certain speeds” and we weren’t going slowly!

Around the track we went, until we approached the starting grid with its red carpet when the Alfa left us and we were halted, positioning ourselves as previously instructed either to the left or the right of the carpet. There were many media and photographers milling around the entrance to our right, awaiting the appearance of the drivers. After what seemed quite a time the drivers appeared and made their way to their allotted cars weaving through microphones

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and camera lenses en route. Much of the media attention surrounded Lewis Hamilton as he made the short journey to join, to his great surprise, his father and brother in dad’s MGC for their family jaunt around the track! One of the questions asked at the briefing was: “Where are the drivers going to sit?” with the answer being “that’s up to them!” In my case, Pierre Gasly asked where I’d like him to sit – perhaps he wanted to drive! - I replied, wherever he felt comfortable. He started sitting up on the back exchanging wisecracks in French with Charles Leclerc who was sitting similarly on the MGA in front.

Now, all lined up behind the car driven by David Coulthard with Frank Williams in the passenger seat, we were away with the F1 drivers waving to the cheering crowds who lined the track or crowded into the stands and on the balconies of the hospitality units. Pierre decided being exposed up on the back was too cold so slid into the passenger’s seat as we made our way around the track. Those members who were driving the British F1 drivers (Lando Norris, George Russell and Alexander Albon) stopped midway round the track, allowing those drivers to have

an interview in front of the home fans and give away some merchandise. All too soon, we were back at the start and it was time to bid farewell to our charges, wishing them good luck in the race. What a great experience for us all.

The message received from Silverstone and F1 the following day was that they were “over the moon with how it went” and “very impressed with the professionalism” of the Club. So congratulations to everyone involved for ensuring it went smoothly. Without Lauran’s patience, perseverance, stamina and long hours this would not have happened, so many thanks to her for her efforts. Many thanks also to the ladies of Kimber House, Cherina, Ineke and Liz, who kept us company over the long weekend and Colin who was there on the Thursday helping set it up.

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All MPG and CO2 figures quoted are sourced from official EU regulated laboratory test results. These vehicles are WLTP (Worldwide Harmonised Light-Duty Vehicles Test Procedure) type approved vehicles. However, in-line with Government guidance, to facilitate direct comparison between different models from different manufacturers and to accommodate the full transition to this new testing regime, we have displayed the NEDC figures. These NEDC figures are the values for this vehicle used in all registration and taxation until further notice from the UK authorities. Fuel consumption and efficiency figures are provided for comparative purposes only and may not reflect “real world” driving results. Model shown: MG3 Exclusive with Hello Yellow paint at £12,795 on the road (OTR). OTR prices include VAT where applicable, vehicle first registration fee, delivery, number plates and 12 months’ Vehicle Excise Duty. “From” price is based on OTR price of £9,495 for MG3 Explore. £1,250 deposit contribution applies to 4 year 5.0% APR . Representative on Personal Contract Purchase and is available at participating dealers until 31st March 2019. Finance by MG Financial Services CF15 7YT. Subject to satus, availability and terms and conditions. Applicants must be 19 or over.Prices are correct at time of being published and are subject to change without notice. Please see your local dealer or visit MG.CO.UK for details. * Not available on Explore.

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FEATURE

ELECTRIC AVENUE

By Andy Knott

Having owned an MG ZS 1.0 Exclusive for 18 months, I was intrigued to see how the new electric version would drive and compare to its combustion-engined sibling

E

ver since trying the ZS on the press launch back in 2017, I thought it was a very capable SUV, with a great support and finance package surrounding it, and after a brief discussion with my wife the decision was taken to trade in our MG3 for a brand new ZS. And so, in January 2018 we became proud owners of a Laser Blue MG ZS Exclusive, fitted with the one-litre automatic three-cylinder engine. Since then we’ve had 18 trouble-free months of enjoyable motoring in the ZS, as it’s carted the family here and there, and with two boys (11 and 7) the interior has been subjected to all sorts of grubby, muddy clothes and sticky, gooey food items and performed admirably. We had no intention of changing it… that is until my wife got talking to a friend with an electric vehicle, and then she noticed the publicity and rave reviews of the all-new MG ZS EV.

g

t

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FEATURE

THE DIALS LIT UP AND THE NEEDLES SWEPT, THE RADIO, ETC, SPRANG INTO LIFE AND THEN…SILENCE Driving…

I was fortunate enough to experience one of the top-of-the-range (Exclusive) MG ZS EVs recently. The first noticeable thing was the keyless entry on the ZS EV, as opposed to the standard flip-out key on the petrol versions. Once inside the ZS, I put the keyless fob on the tray under the infotainment system, applied the footbrake and hit the start button. The dials lit up and the needles swept, the radio, etc, sprang into life and then…silence. It’s a strange sensation when you’re used to a combustion engine bursting into life.

The ZS EV has three different modes, Eco, Normal and Sport. I switched the gear selector to D and decided to set off in the Normal mode, the combined range being 163 miles according to official figures.

Easing my foot on the accelerator the ZS released the electronic handbrake and moved off silently. Once up to speed the driving experience is very reminiscent of the 1.0 petrol engine version, the road and tyre noise is something that you’ll have to endure no matter what the vehicle, and the 1.0 litre engine is very quiet when up to temperature. Although I didn’t get to push the handling, the ZS EV felt very sure-footed, much like its petrol equivalent even though it’s got the additional weight of the batteries between the axles.

The braking system did take a while to get used to as the ZS EV uses a clever kinetic energy braking system, so when the driver releases the accelerator the car’s electric motor converts the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost during standard braking into electricity, which is fed back into the battery, allowing you to travel further between charges. I tried the 22 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

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FEATURE

MG ZS EV SPECIFICATION Electric Motor Type Battery Capacity Maximum Power Maximum Torque 0-60mph seconds Maximum Speed Charger Connection Type Estimated Charging Time (emergency use) Estimated Charging Time (7kW Wall Box)to 100% Estimated Charging Time (50kW Wall Box - CCS) to 80% Electric Driving Efficiency - miles/kWh (kWh/100km) Combined City Maximum Driving Range - miles (km) Combined City

three settings available, easily switchable with a control switch located by the gear selector, and preferred setting one which only implements a small amount of regeneration but to me, an EV novice, felt natural like engine braking. Level three offers the greatest regenerative benefit, offering near one-pedal driving with minimal need for the brakes, something I think would take a while to get used to. As we entered the busy streets surrounding Coventry, I switched the mode to Eco. You instantly notice the decreased torque under your right foot, but the range had increased – MG’s official figures quote the city cycle range at 231 miles. Stopping and starting through the busy streets, the EV started to make a lot of sense. There was no creeping forward when left in D and a gentle prod of the right foot had you moving off again. Once I’d navigated the bustling city it was out on the open road and time to try Sports mode; a tap of the mode button and a message displaying a picture of the ZS with the words ‘Sports Mode Active’ on the dash and I was away. The instant torque of the electric motor is something else, and with a single gear it was soon up to the legal speed limit. The power of the MG ZS is 143PS, but it’s the torque that makes the big difference. The MG ZS 1.5 petrol engine has 141NM, the 1.0 Turbo petrol engine 160NM and the MG ZS EV an impressive 353NM of torque!

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Synchronous Motor kWh 44.5 PS (kw) 143 (105) lb ft (NM) 260 (353) 8.5 mph (km/h) 87 (140) Type 2 plus CCS 3-Pin Domestic 14 hours 6 hours 30 minutes 40 minutes 3.3 (18.6) 4.9 (12.8) 163 (262) 231 (372)

Interior…

Much of the interior is, as to be expected, the same as its petrol siblings, although there are a few nice touches which I wish the designers had incorporated into the petrol version. The opening panoramic sunroof with blind being one, and the addition of Android Auto on the 8” infotainment screen being another.

Having no transmission tunnel allowed the designers some more scope with the centre console layout, which now includes an armrest, sliding lid for the two cup holders and an additional storage location under the infotainment system with an auxiliary 12v port and two USB ports; an additional USB port is also located at the back of the centre console, ideal for those passengers in the back. The rear floor is also a lot flatter due to the lack of the transmission tunnel, making it more comfortable when there are three in the back.

Another new addition to the EV is MG Pilot which comes as standard on both Excite and Exclusive versions and includes: Active Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist (which reads the road markings, holding the ZS EV safely within its lane), Adaptive Cruise Control, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist (which will read speed limit signs and will display the current speed limit to the driver) and Traffic Jam Assist (which enables the car to automatically follow the car in front at speeds below 35 mph, automatically steering, braking and accelerating within the same lane).

The version I was driving also had the advantage of Blind Spot Detection and Lane Change Assist systems.

Exterior…

The only real visual difference between the models externally is the wheels; look closer, though, and you’ll notice the EV badge on the rear, chrome door handles which encompass the keyless chip and a slightly different front grille which incorporates the push panel behind which are the charging ports. Open the bonnet, though, and it’s a different story, the combustion engine I’m used to being replaced by the electric motor, with two coolant bottles, brake fluid and windscreen washing fluid bottles accessible.

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The way forward…

So am I going down the Electric Avenue? There are a few things to consider. I only managed to get one insurance quote as the ZS EV has yet to be ABI (Association of British Insurer) group rated, and this quote was £135 dearer than our current petrol model, although the ZS EV has a car tax of £0, and our petrol ZS is £140 per annum. The promise of cheaper servicing on the EV is appealing, no engine oil, etc, whereas the second service on the petrol ZS can be in excess of £500. People say the range is a limiting factor, but realistically I hardly ever make journeys over 100 miles so would it really affect me? I would just have to remember to plug it in to charge, come rain or shine! On the short eight-mile journey to work, my 1.0 ZS will return 39mpg (according to the computer) and on a good run it will see 48mpg, which for the size and weight of the vehicle I think is pretty good. MG Motor UK are yet to release the finance and PCP details on the MG ZS EV, although they will currently match the government electric car grant, bringing the price of the Exclusive model down to £23,495, a seriously competitive price in the electric car world; combined with the seven year or 80,000 mile warranty, you can see why they had over 1,000 orders during the first two weeks. I’m really happy with my current ZS, although I could now be tempted away by the electric one when the finance packages get finalised, although I’d have to see what my wife thinks of it, or is that just another excuse to go and have another test drive...

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THE MG ZS 1.5 PETROL ENGINE HAS 141NM, THE 1.0 TURBO PETROL ENGINE 160NM AND THE MG ZS EV AN IMPRESSIVE 353NM OF TORQUE!

www.mgcc.co.uk

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FEATURE

THE SPIRITUAL M HOME OF MG

By Peter Neal

September 2019 marks the 90th anniversary of MG moving to Abingdon. The Abingdon MG factory was a hive of activity for the fifty years it occupied Abingdon, none more so than the first few years after the move‌ Admin Block, Cemetery Road c.1930

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orris Motors, in August 1928, announced their brand-new baby car, the Morris Minor, with which they hoped to compete in the small car market with the highly successful Austin Seven. Meanwhile the boys at the Edmund Road factory in Oxford, had managed to get their hands on one of the experimental Minors from Morris Motors, stripped it of its four-seater body replacing it with a lightweight boat tailed two-seater fabric body on a wooden frame, fitted a vee-screen, equipped it with cycle wings, louvered sill panels, MG badges on the wheel hubs and a scaleddown 18/80 radiator, turning it into a little gem of a sports car which they called the MG 8/33 Midget. The Midget brand would become synonymous with MG for the next 50 years. Displayed on the MG stand (their first ever) at Olympia alongside its big brother, at an all-up price of ÂŁ175, it was an immediate sensation. Plans were immediately drawn up for its manufacture, with production finally getting underway in March 1929.

The Midget would capture the imagination of the public to the extent that it would spawn a whole series of small sports cars that would become synonymous with the initials MG. The increase in production at Edmund Road was already giving Cecil Kimber cause for concern, and with no room for expansion on the present site he began looking for new premises.

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As well as heading up his own car manufacturing company, Kimber was still nominally responsible for the Morris Garages. This side of the business had also continued to expand, bringing with it its own set of problems. As a result the Morris Garages had leased (with an option on the freehold) an unused part of the Pavlova leather works at Abingdon-on-Thames for the storage of used cars. Kimber decided that in spite of the extensive renovations that would be necessary, this site, with its large and relatively new factory building, would be the best solution for his expanding car business. Edmund Road could then be utilised as the used car centre for the Morris Garages group. With the renovations completed, the move to Abingdon took place over the final months of 1929, with an inaugural luncheon being held on January 20 1930 attended by the great and the good including, of course, William Morris. Kimber had no difficulty in persuading his management team to make the move to this new location. Headed up by works manager George ‘Pop’ Propert, ably supported by Cecil Cousins overseeing production as well as the experimental shop, there were the likes of Ted Colgrove looking after sales, Messrs. Maynard and Vines taking care of purchasing, George Tuck responsible for publicity, with John Temple taking care of the service department. Somewhat surprisingly, most

WITH THE RENOVATIONS COMPLETED, THE MOVE TO ABINGDON TOOK PLACE OVER THE FINAL MONTHS OF 1929 of the workforce also opted to make the move in spite of being offered alternative jobs at the nearby Morris works. H.N. Charles, who had been assisting Kimber for some time on all matters technical, now joined the Abingdon management team as Chief Draughtsman. At the other end of the scale was a promising young mechanic, who had transferred from the Cornmarket workshops, by the name of Syd Enever who was put to work assisting Reg Jackson in the experimental department.

The very fact that Kimber was building cars of a sporting nature made them attractive to those individuals who wished to take part in competitive events.

For example an 18/80 was prepared at Edmund Road for Francis Samuelson to use in the 1929 Monte Carlo Rally.

This was followed by the same factory preparing three Midgets for the Earl of March, Leslie Callingham and Harold Parker to drive in the JCC High Speed Trial at Brooklands that June. All three drivers

gained gold medals on that occasion, as did two privately entered M-types.

Charles’s first job when he arrived at Abingdon was to produce a road racing version of the 18/80 to be known as the 18/100 (sometimes referred to as the Tigress). The body styling was reminiscent of the racing Bentley of that period (a marque that Kimber had always admired).

Its first outing was to be the Brooklands 12/12 (24 hours over two days) in May 1930, in the hands of Callingham and Parker. A couple of hours into the race the engine ran its bearings and had to be retired. However, five Midgets were prepared for the same event with special bodies and revised camshafts. The cars ran faultlessly for the 24 hours and went home with the team prize. The factory followed this success by marketing a Double Twelve replica at £245. The 18/100 however failed to find a market with only five examples eventually being manufactured. This was not altogether surprising, given that the price had crept up to £795 at a time when the country was experiencing a serious economic depression.

It can be seen from the foregoing that Kimber was rapidly being drawn into the motor racing scene. This was compounded when a young racing driver by the name of G.E.T. (George) Eyston, colleague Ernest Eldridge (a one time World Land Speed Record holder) and fellow Cambridge

Production Line - Early Abingdon

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FEATURE

Abingdon Factory - Early 30s

graduate Jimmy Palmes approached Kimber in the summer of 1930 with the proposal to build a special car, using the Midget engine, with which to attempt to achieve 100mph with a 750cc engine.

Charles was already working on a new design of chassis frame which had a three inch longer wheelbase and was listed in the Project Register as EX 120. This was made available with Kimber’s blessing for Eyston’s record breaking project and Cousins was instructed to make Reg ‘Jacko’ Jackson available to build up the special car in conjunction with Eyston’s team.

In the meantime H.N. Charles and his colleagues had been busy back at the factory designing a racing version of EX120 to be known as the Montlhéry

Building the C-Types

Midget or C-type. Remarkably, in the space of just two months 14 of these cars had been virtually hand built and readied for the Brooklands Double Twelve race meeting. The 12/12, in common with most of the races at Brooklands at that time, was run on a handicap basis and at the finish five C-types occupied the first five places. The Montlhéry Midget would gain many more successes on the race track but more importantly its simple but effective chassis design would form the basis for all future two-seater MGs up to and including the TC. Available from October 1931 the D Type and sophisticated F Type both sold steadily but neither would repeat the spectacular success of the original Midget.

To be fair this was the year in which the

THANKS TO THESE NEW MODELS, AND WITH THE F-TYPE MAGNA SALES PICKING UP, ABINGDON MANAGED TO SELL SOME 2,376 CARS IN 1932, WHILST MAKING A HEALTHY £25,000 PROFIT

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great depression had reached its height and even the M-type only achieved half of its previous year’s sales. With sales of the M-type falling off rapidly, Kimber reasoned that a new two-seater, following more closely the specification of the C-type, might be the shot in the arm that was desperately needed. August 1932 saw the unveiling of the new Midget, designated the J2. Interestingly, an open four-seater and a closed salonette were offered on a similar chassis and designated J1 Midgets.

Thanks to these new models, and with the F-type Magna sales picking up, Abingdon managed to sell some 2,376 cars in 1932, whilst making a healthy £25,000 profit. In the October of that year Kimber introduced an MG with a new six cylinder 1087cc engine based on the current Wolseley Hornet unit; output was, however, a disappointing 38.8bhp. Its best feature without doubt was its pre-selector gearbox, controlled, not from the steering wheel as was generally the case, but from a gear lever style remote control on the gearbox. Designated the K-Magnette, it was available initially with a four-seater pillarless saloon body. Although quite an attractive car with its long, sweeping

L to R Cecil Kimber, Lord Nuffield, Goldie Gardener and Reid Railton with EX135 www.mgcc.co.uk

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wings and sliding roof, this new MG was not a resounding success and it was quickly followed in February 1933 by long and short chassis two- and four-seater open versions.

These too failed to capture the imagination of the buying public, influenced to some extent, maybe, by their somewhat high prices. The range was relaunched later in the year with a larger (1271cc) engine but these too only managed to find a handful of customers. Earlier in the year Kimber (and Morris) had been persuaded by Earl Howe and his good friend Count ‘Johnny’ Lurani to build three special road racing cars to be entered as a team in the 1933 Mille Miglia. A great deal of pre-race testing was done over the actual course, which paid off handsomely with two of the cars finishing first and second in their class.

Although the third car failed to finish, MG were nevertheless awarded the team prize, having outpaced, and more to the point outlasted, much of the opposition. These were of course the famous supercharged, 1087cc K3 Magnettes about which so much has been written.

Now that the K3 was available, Eyston was keen to move up a class and got the boys at Abingdon to build him a new record breaker based on the 1100cc engine and a K3 chassis. Looking like a scaled-up version of EX127 it was officially known as EX135, but its distinctive brown and cream striped paintwork earned it the title ‘Humbug’ after the popular sweet of that name. On its first outing at Montlhéry in October 1934, Eyston duly secured six records in class G. Although this would be Eyston’s only outing in this car, EX135 would become even better known (and take many more records) in the hands of another driver, Goldie Gardner.

At the beginning of 1933 the Abingdon factory had updated the Magna range with the four-seater now designated the L1 and the two-seater the L2. Visually the main change was the use of the swept wings from the K-type. Under the bonnet, however, was to be found a new version of the K-series 1086cc power unit. This was a much improved version of the Wolseley Hornet engine which had been completely redesigned by Charles and his small team and actually gave more horsepower than its 1271cc counterpart. Whilst steady sellers,

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these cars sadly did little to really excite the buying public.

At the 1933 Motor Show Cecil Kimber announced a new two-door saloon on the L-type chassis which he called the Continental Coupe. Describing it as an ‘ultra–fashionable town carriage in the best French style for the discriminating motorist’, it in fact proved to be the joker in the pack and because of its styling remained extremely difficult to sell.

The end result of this plethora of models that had been marketed by the company in 1933 (some 14 or 15 in all) was that the MG Car Company ended the year having sold a reasonable amount of cars but had slipped into the red once more, albeit by only a small amount. The reality, however, was that it had been the ever-popular J2 that had accounted for almost two thirds of these sales, thereby just about keeping the Abingdon factory’s head above water.

Obviously aware that the two-seater Midget was the company’s bread and butter and fully realising that the J2 couldn’t go on forever, Kimber announced its successor in March 1934. One major problem with the J2 had been its rather vulnerable two bearing crankshaft. It liked neither sustained high rpm nor too much load at low speed. Broken crankshafts were becoming something of an embarrassment at Abingdon so chief designer Charles and his Wolseley counterparts came up with a brand new three bearing 847cc engine which ,whilst giving marginally less horsepower than its predecessor, was a much sturdier and

thus more reliable power unit. This new Midget, to be known simply as the P-type, slightly larger than the J2 and a little more comfortable, had lost nothing in the looks department and at £222 represented excellent value for money.

This new Midget was quickly followed by a new Magnette, the N-type, which in effect replaced both the K Magnette and the L-type Magna. With a new and rather more sophisticated chassis frame and sporting the redesigned KD engine, it represented good value at £305 for the two-seater and £335 for the four-seater.

1934 also saw the launch of the Q-type two-seater racing car. An amalgamation of many K3 and N-type components, it sported a supercharged P-type engine reduced to 746cc fitted with a pre-selector gearbox. The Zoller supercharger enabled the engine to give some 100bhp in standard trim (using special fuels) and it’s something of an understatement to say that the car became rather more than a handful when driven at high speed!

1934 had been a better year for the MG Car Company, having produced an £18,000 profit, most of which had been derived from the ‘P’ and ‘N’ types.

However, Kimber and his Chief Designer, Charles, could ill afford to rest on their laurels as they would soon find themselves facing mounting pressure, not just from their competitors, but also their masters in the upper echelons of the Morris organisation. That however must remain another story for another day.

K3s ready for action

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EVENT

O

nce again, the Midlands Centre set out to recreate the legendary Welsh Rally of yesteryear. The 2019 event was the 20th in its current configuration, that is a touring event with no competitive element, unlike the cut and thrust of the 1950s which archive film depicts: swashbuckling competitors jousting their MGs along the narrow lanes of Wales interspersed with tricky tests, with bags of trophies to be awarded at the finish. Oh, the days of yore. Sadly, unless we go to great expense and compliance with regulations, competitiveness in the modern version is confined to just reading and interpreting the Route Book. And as we subsequently found out, this year that was quite a challenge for some!

Planning such an event as this starts more or less after the end of the current one with a decision to be made as to whether we will visit North or South Wales, or a bit of both. This time it was Snowdonia and the Great Orme that beckoned, with the Rallye’s route planning team of Brian Osborn and Paul Hollingworth once again putting their collective skills to the test.

Cars at The Hand Hotel

The challenge, as always, is to plot an interesting, highly scenic route of around 160 miles with coffee, lunch and tea breaks at pleasant locations, with the added proviso that good sustenance is offered.

The latter is not always easy, given that the planners can only take the word of the venues that they can manage an influx of

45-plus cars within a time span of an hour or so. And don’t mention the parking!

The entry list certainly conveyed that this was an MG event, with TDs, TFs, MGA, MGBs, an RV8, and a phalanx of MGF/TFs, plus a Mazda MX5, all making for a colourful sight. Sadly not everyone made it to the start in their MG, for the list was augmented by

WELSH RALLYE 2019

By Roger King

Ron and Barbara Warr, top down in their MG PA

www.mgcc.co.uk

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EVENT

MGs lined up at The Royal Goat Hotel lunch stop

moderns. All were very welcome, though.

The very pleasant town of Llangollen was the start and finish point with the historic The Hands Hotel being the Rallye venue for the weekend. With a relatively capacious car park together with just about enough rooms to satisfy the number of entrants, and all at an affordable price, we were set for a great weekend. Unfortunately we did run out of double/twin rooms, but the offer of a free bottle of plonk in each single room persuaded some to accept migration.

Scrutineering took place on the Friday afternoon with the only problem being an MGB horn that refused to sound within earshot of the scrutineer, me, but worked when I was a good distance away.

Saturday morning dawned overcast.

No matter, hoods were being stowed and scarves being worn. Then the first challenge: getting out of the car park! The route book gave the side entrance as the point of departure but this required a steel bollard to be unlocked and nobody could find the key. (It turned out the person with the key was on holiday in Spain). Quick thinking by route planner Brian saw the Rallye leaving the car park via the main entrance, turning right onto the A5 then right again to bring the cars down to where the side exit was located. This meant starting the entrants at one-minute intervals in a main Llangollen street during what passed for the town’s rush

Guests enjoying Evening Dinner at The Hand Hotel Llangollen 32 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 32

hour. That was my role as official starter and proved another challenge, keeping the locals happy and getting cars away on time.

Once all 44 cars had left, my wife and I departed taking the route out of Llangollen travelling over the Horse Shoe Pass.

Through Ruthin we went. Although we were not in a hurry we had by now caught up with fellow rallyists. Soon we approached a left turn off the A525 with all of us making the change and then – minor mayhem.

We should have made another left turn immediately but other rallyists were exiting the road we supposedly should have gone up, shaking their heads as if to say “not this one”. So what did we do? Well, like sheep we followed everyone else and a few yards later we dropped down back onto the A525!

Not right, we should have made that turn.

As we convoyed to Denbigh we picked up the correct route and driving through twisty, narrow lanes struck out towards Colwyn Bay and our coffee stop at Rhoson-Sea. But not before we had had a “committee meeting” along the way when we stopped at an unmarked T junction and discussed whether this was where we should turn left as the route book seemingly suggested, or whether we should continue on. My wife insisted we had not travelled far enough from the last route change and that

It’s in there somewhere! Fault finding on the Rallye

therefore we should go straight on. But Ken Martin in his Mazda was having none of it, electing to turn left, and off he disappeared.

I returned to my car. To blazes with it, we go straight on. And we did, to find just round the bend the correct left turn.

But then, what was this: three MGs parked by the side of a lane with steam emitting from the black TF 1500 in the middle? Peter and Janet Chapman’s steed had burst a top hose and whilst they carried a spare, getting the remains of the old one off was proving to be a struggle. But the marque of friendship was rallying round and thanks to combined efforts, and doubtless much cussing, the recalcitrant clips were hacked off and the replacement fitted. All was well.

Fred and Jane Bury in their MGB GT www.mgcc.co.uk

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EVENT

Roger King’s Aurora Monogram TF, which won Car of the Rallye

Peter & Janet Chapman MG TF with admirers in background

After coffee we headed for the Great Orme, and the legendary special stage used in numerous RAC Rallies in bygone times. I have driven this several times in anger when competing in the Three Castles Rally (in a TR7 I’m afraid) and it is a superb drive. We only toured along the twisty, narrow road taking in the glorious views with hikers and strollers waving as we passed.

The Route Book now took us along the A55 before sending us scurrying into a plethora of obscure, tricky, lanes as we wended our way to the lunch stop at Beddgelert, running alongside the Welsh Highland Railway for several miles. For some reason, we were motoring alone having separated from the others, which my wife much prefers, rather than just following

a queue. Upon arrival it was clear that committee member Andy Robson was having his work cut out parking everyone up in such a way as the early arrivals were not blocked in by latecomers, but all went to plan, more or less.

At this point yours truly had to peel off and return to Llangollen to man the finish desk, so we missed the journey back that took entrants to Bala and afternoon tea at the Loch Café, traversing mountain white roads that make for such satisfying motoring.

We made it back just in time, as the first few cars were arriving with crews sporting wide smiles of delight at what had been a really great drive.

All made it back safely, full of stories of their experiences, recounted with much mirth and arm waving in the bar prior to the evening dinner. For many, that involved dressing in accordance with the traditional Welsh Rallye fancy dress theme which this year centred on the wildest ear rings for the ladies (and men if desired) and/or the worst taste tie or shirt for the men (or ladies if equally desired). And we had some truly diabolical exhibitionists. Thankfully. Prizes were awarded for a pair of fantastic MG

dinner plate ear rings designed and created

by Anita Dorney, whilst Terry Heighway collected one for his ludicrous bow tie. Car of the Rallye, judged by last year’s winner John Burton with his delightful MGC, was my steed much to my amazement. The first time an MGF/TF had been granted this accolade. Finally Martin Price, Centre Chairman, thanked Brian Osborn, on the verge of his 80th birthday, for his outstanding commitment over the decades to the MGCC Midlands Centre.

During dinner each table had a sheet of paper depicting six cars (three of which were MGs) that had recently been auctioned, and the object of the exercise was to estimate the sale price of all six and then add up the total value, with the winner being the table that got closest to the actual result. The prize was a tin of Jack Daniels fudge!

A regular hotel band serenaded us through to midnight with some Karaoke thrown in, aided by locals who clearly were fuelled by the demon sauce. (Well, we were in Wales.)

Sunday dawned, and after a hearty breakfast it was time to walk to the canal wharf to board a narrow boat for a trip over the aqueduct at Pontcysyllte, which stands 123 feet above the Dee river. With 52 aboard we chugged for two hours along the canal, impressed by the number of walkers who overtook us on the tow path! Eventually we reached the aqueduct and what an exciting experience it is to navigate across it. We returned to Llangollen by coach, with a driver who wished to demonstrate his F1 potential, to conclude the weekend with a carvery lunch. And so we dispersed with fond farewells and a promise to be there at the Welsh Rallye 2020. North or South Wales?

Good question.

Royal Goat Hotel Beddgelert www.mgcc.co.uk

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SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 33

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NEWSLETTER

Paul Campbell svw.safety.fast@gmail.com www.svwregister.co.uk

WELCOME TO THE

SVW NEWSLETTER We reported briefly on the passing of Bas de Voogd last month.

We’ve now put together a more meaningful tribute to Bas. We had planned a longer tribute in these pages but this extended version can now be found on our website under Latest News.

This month John Dutton provides more detail on the Dutch SVW event that took place in June with lots of photos to highlight what an enjoyable event this was. We can now confirm that the 2020 SVW Event will take place in Kent/East Sussex

(UK), probably in July. We will make further announcements as plans evolve.

On July 28 we welcomed our 150th member on our ‘SVW Register’ Facebook group. We’re approaching the first anniversary of creating this group and I think we can say it’s been a huge success.

Finally, our new chairman (or new old chairman!) provides his Jottings.

BASTIAAN DE VOOGD (1952-2019) Bas de Voogd was born to a large family in Middelharnis in The Netherlands.

From an early age he displayed a strong interest in historical research, assembling dug-up pottery shards donated to a local museum and at the age of 17 he set up an association of archaeologists, “de Motte”, that is still going strong today.

Despite the family insurance business and an initial foray into early computers, he decided to work in the car industry.

At technical college he was the highestscoring pupil in his year and was awarded a bursary to work in the UK – a Vauxhall garage in Guildford – and his love of English pubs and Guinness was cemented!

Back in The Netherlands, Bas developed his career in the motor trade but his organisational talents led to his transfer to the coach operator side of the business, which he streamlined and introduced his high standards. Bas remained involved with the company until he could no longer work, by which time they had become the largest such operator in The Netherlands.

Bas met Suze in 1975 and they remained together for the next 44 years, eventually moving to Suze’s parents’ farmhouse where Bas could indulge in more and ever-varied cars, including MGs.

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Penned by Jean Marie Guivarc’h in 2007

They made many trips to England, making the Beaulieu Autojumble a ritual and on one of these visits he spotted a VA Saloon – he had to have one! Several VA Tourers and Saloons followed, but his most significant find was the prototype VA Saloon 0251 in a UK breaker’s yard. This he restored beautifully and it was muchadmired at SVW events, including those organised by Bas in The Netherlands. He was VA Historian for the SVW Register for several decades.

In 1992 Bas was diagnosed with MS that he feared would end his life much earlier than it did. He continued to focus on cars he coveted, selling several to purchase a Lagonda that appealed to his sense of fun and thrills. He continued to enjoy life to the full, adapting his life, home and cars to continue as best he could, converting VA0251 to automatic (reversible) and exchanging his Lagonda for one with a pre-selector gearbox.

He continued to keep most of his cars that he loved to see used and started to collect fuel cans and other petroliana, becoming an acknowledged authority.

Later, he and Rutger Booy worked together on the book “Van blik naar pomp” (From Can to Pump), documenting the early days of petroleum. Although only available in Dutch, graphically alone it is a fascinating account.

During this research he identified an early Dutch Gispen pump which became Bas’s last big project. From a series of photographs, he commissioned the recreation of this lost masterpiece, completed just in time for him to see it. This has now been written up by Rutger Booy for Conam, a society of automotive historians with which Bas had a long connection.

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:06

NEWSLETTER

Bas (VA0251) and Gary Wall (WA0251) with Jean Kimber-Cook, Buckler’s Hard 2000 and (inset) Bas receives The Frances Adam Award from Jean

Bas’s condition worsened appreciably in the last few years. Losing the use of his hands he resorted to operating the computer through an infrared system. From the fluency and speed of his emails one would never have known.

In April 2018, Bas donated VA2582 (originally owned by WW2 pilot Jan Moll) to Oorlogsmuseum Overloon and its restoration is progressing well.

Bas died on June 24, the day many of us were arriving in Holland for the annual SVW event. Paul Campbell with friend Mark (Gobby) Reeves decided to change their return ferry and attend the funeral. Malcolm Simmonds and Oli Chambers made a special trip from the UK. Peter van den Heuvel in his VA ‘Woody’ and Paul and Gobby in VA Tourer 1737 were pleased to represent The MG Car Club/SVW Register at the funeral.

The large gathering heard tributes by his good friends, Rutger Booy and Joris Bergsma. Rutger knew Bas for almost 40 years – through MGs, trips to Beaulieu, their collaboration on the book and various articles generated by Bas’s projects. Rutger recounted how Bas always said: “I will keep going, as long as there is something to laugh about.”

Joris founded prewarcar.com in which Bas was also heavily involved

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 35

and reminded us of Bas’s website www. basdevoogd.nl about MG VAs and fuel cans, but also about Jericho, the farmhouse he and Suze had restored and lived in for so long. Joris paid special tribute to Suze: “I have not been there, but as far as I can tell, you have done everything humanly possible and ten times more to keep the life of our friend Bas possible and bearable.”

One of the UK SVW owners who perhaps knew Bas best is Malcolm Simmonds. They met in 1996 when, as a youthful new owner of a derelict MG VA (Saloon 2437 CBL 192 – Cecil Kimber’s last MG), David Washbourne convinced him to take his car to the SVW meeting at Abingdon. Bas was excited; here was one of the missing cars he had been trying to trace and the owner knew nothing of its importance. Malcolm began making trips to Holland to visit Bas, each time endeavouring to take a different type of pre-war car that Bas loved. Bas began to push for CBL to be returned to the road in ‘as found’ condition; this was achieved when CBL visited Bas in Holland in 2017.

Bas was a unique combination of historian, automotive engineer and enthusiast, featuring in so many people’s lives. His sharp, inquiring brain and

humour came across strongly until the end and his gratitude for Suze’s support for his career changes, constant car changes, projects and eventual full-time care was obvious to all. Apposite indeed that ‘Voogd’ means ‘guardian’. We send our heartfelt condolences to Suze and all those who called Bas their friend.

Bas, Germany 2002 in SA Tourer 2249 then owned by Peter Pimm SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 35

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NEWSLETTER 2019 SVW REGISTER EVENT

T

he 2019 SVW event was held in the Netherlands, at Alphen aan de Rijn, a pretty, watery area between Rotterdam and Amsterdam. The event featured two boat rides. The first one included an excellent evening buffet meal on arrival and the other was at Kinderdijk, a large dyke where windmills have drained the region since the 18th century. This is a developing UNESCO Site.

The very scenic routes included ferries and driving alongside canals and on the dykes, avoiding the many cyclists. Nineteen SVW cars attended, including four SA saloons and a Drop Head, a lone WA saloon and a contingent of VAs, including Charlie PlainJones’s newly restored Drop Head out for its first run.

The weather was very hot and humid, causing some cooling and fuel vaporisation problems, all surmounted. The “new” SA of John Dutton and Gary Perry broke down in the Antwerp tunnel en route to the event. Being surrounded by honking trucks and flashing blue lights was no fun but they were eventually towed out and the fuel pump jury-rigged for the rest of the event.

Unfortunately they missed the boat ride and buffet that evening.

At the Wednesday evening dinner, we were joined by Vivian Vleeshouwers, the new MGCC European Manager. These dinners are always well-received and great fun. This one had the added interest of needing to buy tokens at reception to exchange for drinks. As this was not well disseminated, we enjoyed having to buy tokens from the serving staff and then hand them over in exchange for our chosen tipples. Given the amount we consumed, the tokens were soon abandoned and we paid in cash or added them to our room bill in time-honoured fashion!

Peter van den Heuvel and Rene Pas worked tirelessly before and during the event to make it a success, helped by Rob Woud who took us all to his impressive personal museum where he keeps and maintains all his cars (not just SVWs, but several Porsche 356s, early VW Beetles, an Austin Healey and many more). The splendid bar here is apparently a regular meeting place for classic car owners. We all enjoyed the delicious apple strudel and coffee supplied by Rob. Peter van den Heuvel won the Ratcliffe Cup for his VA Woody for the second time, voted the car most people at the event

The 6th SVW Meeting, Holland plaque

Tuesday evening boat trip – all beers topped up to same level by special request! Photo: Paul Campbell

Kinderdijk. Photo: Paul Campbell

Made to measure – Gobby with David Smyth. Photo: Paul Campbell

Post-lunch photo shoot on the last day. Photo: John Bannister

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www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:07

NEWSLETTER

John Dutton presents the Frances Adam Award to John Bannister. Photo: Paul Campbell

Lunch at Kinderdijk on the last day. Photo: John Bannister

would like to take home (see photo last month). John Bannister was awarded the Frances Adam Award for his huge services to the Register over many years. Walter Prechsl, who could not attend, received the David Washbourne Award for the best article

CHAIRMAN’S JOTTINGS

in the 2019 SVW Review, copies of which were handed out at the AGM and were well received by the members.

The event was overshadowed by the death of Bas de Voogd, a tribute to whom is in this Newsletter.

John Dutton

At the AGM held on July 26 I had the honour of being elected as your Chairman, taking over from John Dutton. For those who do not know me, I have been a member of the MGCC since 1966 and have served on the SVW Register Committee in various roles continuously since 1977, including Chairman prior to John. The majority of you will recognise me from my black VA Tickford BMW 770.

On your behalf can I thank John for his very successful chairmanship of the Register for the last five years. The committee remains unchanged, with the exception of John Bannister who has stepped down. The Register is very indebted to John (Bannister) for all his hard work for the Register, especially in generating advertising income for the SVW Review enabling it to continue in its current format.

The AGM notes will be available on the Register website, the principal key points being:• The success of the Register Facebook page, thanks to Christopher Rowe and Paul Campbell.

• The SVW Review edited by Malcolm Robertson.

• Progress on the MGCC RevUp membership database.

• Our healthy bank balance, thanks to our Treasurer John Dutton.

• Availability of head and other gaskets.

• Use of SVW cars for weddings and TV or film roles.

• Young drivers of our cars.

Our annual Register meeting was held in Holland this year. A big thank you to Rene Pas and Peter van den Heuvel for organising such a successful and enjoyable event.

As Paul reported last month, one of our long-standing Dutch members, Bas de Voogd, sadly passed away just before the event. My outstanding memory of Bas was on the East Midlands weekend when, on completion of the event, he followed the Tulip diagrams backwards to return to one of the passing points of interest, the Great Central Steam Railway. What a talent, some of us struggle to follow tulip diagrams in the correct direction!

Enjoy your SVW motoring.

Jim Andrews

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 37

NEW SVW PARTS

One of our members, Gary Perry, is personally considering having some higher ratio crown wheel and pinions commercially made for the SA, VA and WA. Having driven an SA with the standard ratio and on the same day driven an SA with the higher ratio, Gary reports that the difference is impressive, resulting in 500rpm less on the motorway and so much quieter.

If 5 people are interested in each model then the prices would be as follows:SA and WA – £569 (or £437 if 10 or more) VA – £552 (or £431 if 10 or more) All prices plus VAT for UK and Europe, not for the rest of the world.

This would be a one-off production and unlikely to be repeated. If you’re interest then please let Gary know via gary@wthp.co.uk, no commitment required at this stage. Take-up has already been encouraging via our Yahoo and Facebook groups.

Gary is also looking to arrange for some more new camshafts to be made, so do let him know if you’re interested (no prices for these yet).

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 37

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27/07/2018 11:41

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:07

Paul Plummer 01926 854574 scribe@tregister.org

NEWSLETTER

WELCOME TO THE

T TYPE NEWSLETTER As we move into autumn, I hope you have had lots of ‘topdown’ motoring during the summer, attending the T Register’s events and other MG happenings around the country.

Our final event this year is the ‘Autumn Tour to Rutland’ on September 13 - 16, which looks like being a great bash.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on which way you look

at it, it is fully booked!

As mentioned before, our member Keith Benningfield has been out and about hill climbing in his supercharged TC. Read about his latest exploits at Prescott and Harewood by visiting the T Reg website, and go to, T Register Competition > Hill Climbing in 2019

MG ERA DAY AT BROOKLANDS Back in April more than 50 T-Types attended this year’s annual MG Era Day, gathering at Brooklands Museum braving the cold but dry day. The Museum was featuring 80 years of MG production, with a central display in the main paddock of a keynote vehicle from each of the decades since inception, and a TimeLine display of all the Club’s Registers’ vehicle types along the newly re-opened Finishing Straight. The key display in the paddock was MG Old

www.mgcc.co.uk

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Number 1, loaned to Brooklands from the British Motor Museum at Gaydon.

Ten T Types, representing all the key model types between 1936 and 1954 (TA -TF1500) were on the timeline display, carefully prepared by their owners who kindly responded to a late call for display vehicles.

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 39

23/08/2019 14:07

NEWSLETTER THE T PARTY AT SHUTTLEWORTH Once again we had great weather for the T Register’s T Party and this year we returned to the Shuttleworth Collection at Old Warden for one of their flying days.

The sun shone, it was warm, and picnic baskets, chairs and tables were to the fore.

We had 30 cars arriving for this event and they kept arriving well into lunchtime.

Shuttleworth put on a great show, both on the ground and in the air, with a parade of vintage cycles and motorcycles, and vintage buses you could ride on for the former, and really vintage aircraft for the latter. One highlight was a steam-powered fire engine hauled by shire horses. And Shuttleworth is always interesting for the exhibits of aero engines they have there.

The photos show the line-up of T Types, picnics in full swing, and the fire engine with one of the aircraft.

Over the next few issues of the T Type Newsletter I will be serialising the restoration of an ex-USA TF 1500, and this first instalment covers the shipment and importation of the car into the UK.

BRINGING HOME NEVILLE… PART 1 There’s another side to MG Trophy Chairman, Pete Macwaters, and top Trophy driver, Chris Bray, that not many will know about. This common interest in MG led to them both getting more involved with the importing of cars from the US and in joint venture in 2016 they brought an MGA back to the UK. This car

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has been stripped and a full ‘body off’ restoration is (slowly!) being undertaken.

Chris has an eye for a deal and when his contact in California sent him photos of a 1954 MG TF 1500 he couldn’t resist, especially when one of the photos revealed that it was car number 6505; could this possibly be the oldest surviving TF 1500?

Pete agreed to go ‘halves’ again and the car was christened Neville (from Nevada). This is the story of how ‘6505’ was repatriated: Prior to the purchase we requested a quotation from our shippers. We were quoted $1,250 for a shared container out of LA which included US charges, port fees and ocean freight to the UK. A further

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:07

NEWSLETTER

‘Neville’ as received from the USA!

£400GBP was quoted for the UK side of the process, including port security, bond fees, container shunts, unloading and NOVA application (Notice Of Vehicle Arrivals; this notifies HM Revenue and Customs that you are bringing a vehicle into the UK, you can use this service if you’re not VAT registered). We also had a quotation for marine insurance of £220.00 to cover the car whilst it was being shipped.

Once we had agreed to the purchase, we contacted the shipper to book the shipping. They requested that the car was delivered to their export specialist located at the docks. The shipping was booked on October 5 and the marine insurance purchased. On the 17th we received confirmation that the car was now with their export specialists and on the 31st we received confirmation of the shipping

date (November 11) and ETA (December 17) and the vessel details. We were able to track the ship using information supplied by the shipper; we could actually see where the ship was at any point in its journey – modern technology, brilliant!

On December 13 we received the Notice of Arrival from the shippers along with Customs forms for completion and an Historical Vehicle Declaration so we were charged the correct historical rate of tax. The car arrived in the UK on December 17 and on the 27th we received clearance information to confirm that the car had been unloaded and was in a secure warehouse at Felixstowe ready for collection. Payment was made for the shipping and the VAT. The NOVA letter, which is needed for vehicle registration in the UK, was then received from the DVLA. The car was collected from Felixstowe on January 3, approximately 13 weeks from the original purchase date. Neville was back home in the UK, 65 years after leaving…

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER! As every T Type owner knows, working on the car is not necessarily easy, and challenges await you at every step of the way, so here is a salutary tale.

As part of my ongoing rebuild there were several small jobs remaining, one of which was the section of double humped trim over the scuttle. Despite my best efforts I was unable to clean enough to be satisfied with the result, so I decided to recover it.

The first task was to remove it.

It is held in place by nine nuts, which are under the scuttle return and almost impossible to get at. But I have made a special spanner, a small socket with a handle welded on at an angle, which enabled me to remove the nuts relatively easily. However, the two extreme nuts (L and R) are covered by the side panel trims forward of the doors. These are held in place by seven panel pins covered by the Hidem Banding and in a difficult position to access.

Having removed these, the side panels are further held by the

dashboard support screws! The RHS screw is obstructed by the direction indicator switch which first had to be removed. It was then possible to extract the screws and lower the dash board.

The lower edges of the side panels extend beneath the floor boards and cannot be extracted without removing the floor boards.

So, to remove the floor boards, I had to lower the hood, remove the seats, take the handbrake and gear lever knob off, to get the carpets out.

Then remove the gearbox cover, held by six screws, the nuts of four, which are the engine side of the scuttle, hence a two man job.

Having done all this, I could now remove the floorboards, only nine screws each!

With the floorboards out, I could remove the side panels and get at the two remaining nuts holding the scuttle trim.

These were then removed with a great deal of dexterity, allowing me to remove the trim.

Three hours later...

Oh, the joys of T Type ownership!

Scuttle hump trim showing nine fixing bolts www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 41

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 41

23/08/2019 14:07

NEWSLETTER

T REGISTER CAR OF THE MONTH This left-hand drive, North American spec car was built on February 26, exported to the USA and spent most of its life in and around Houston, Texas. The registration document from 1984 shows that it was owned by the Treasurer of the Houston Chapter of the MG Car Club, Ms. Suzanne Orr of Harris County, Texas. The car was repatriated to the UK in 1986/7 and re-registered as CSV 875 in 1988 with a recorded mileage of 69,877 and the then owner converted it to right-hand drive. The car had three further owners during the period from 1988 until 2005 when Alan purchased it.

The Chassis, with IFS and Rack & Pinion steering, Bodywork and Trim are pretty much standard with some safety upgrades to the lighting.

42 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 42

Name

Alan Wakefield

Car model

TD

Year

1953

Chassis number

TD25509

Engine number

TD2 / 25893

Reg number

CVS 875

Years owned

14 years

The engine has been rebuilt and fitted with an unleaded head, larger valves giving a compression ratio of 9.6, and now is in stage three tune, running with 1.25� H2 carbs giving 60bhp. The gearbox is standard 4-speed and the rear axle uprated to 4.55:1 This Autumn Red car is now in regular leisure and recreational use at Club events

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:07

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Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 43

1958 MGA Roadster, finished in Flame Red, with black leather interior with red piping. Fully restored to the original specification, £39,950

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SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 43

23/08/2019 14:08

NEWSLETTER

Mike Haughton mgc_mike@btinternet.com www.mgcc.co.uk/mgc-register/

The very Best of British

WELCOME TO THE

H

MGC NEWSLETTER

opefully everyone is enjoying the summer months and getting out, putting a few miles on the clock!

There is lots of activity on the C Register Facebook page with many photos of some very nice cars.

For those living in the Home Counties, Beech Hill Garage are holding their 10th Annual Charity Day on Saturday September 21 from 10.00am-2.00pm. We’re aiming to get a good representation from the C Register so come along and give support to Sally and Ted de la Riviere at their event which is in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.

For an entry form please contact info@ beechhillgarage.com A gentle reminder: if you have changed

44 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 44

your address or contact details recently or if you have bought or sold an MGC please let Barrie and Ginny Cartmell know so that we can keep the Register up to date.

The following article was sent to me by Maggie and Mike Wright describing their wonderful adventures in UMT 200F. If you have a story to tell about your MGC please let me have details for possible inclusion into the Register section of Safety Fast!.

Happy C motoring The Wright Stuff I have owned my MGC Roadster UMT200F for 30 years, and my husband Mike and I have had a fantastic time on rallies, sprints, hill climbs and holidays, either in

UMT or Mike’s MGC GT, TGX 103F. We enjoyed International competitive rallies such as The Prix des Alps run by Peter Browning, the Coupes des Alpes with its huge range of classic cars, and the Rallye Villa de Bilbao where the cars had an infectious and enthusiastic welcome by the Spanish people. Each rally had a track day where we could test the C against other marques. We have had wonderful holidays touring the UK and Ireland, France and Spain and many events with friendly and welcoming MG Car Clubs in England, Scotland, Wales, Ulster and Southern Ireland. We have had a lot of fun and made some special friends in the wellorganised and hard-working MGC Register

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:08

NEWSLETTER

Maggie giving it some ‘right-foot’

over the years, enjoying many picturesque runs, great get-togethers, dinners and stays in interesting places. We loved the remarkable five-day event celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the C at Chateau Impney in 2017 which was a great coup for Barrie and Ginny Cartmell and the C Register with 217 MGCs from all over the world.

In the first few years of rallying I would navigate and Mike would do most of the driving. This involved me spending hours on the first night poring over the Michelin maps and marking out the route from the tulip book whilst Mike enjoyed himself in the bar. If he navigated he would look at the map, decide he knew the route, put the map on the floor and go to sleep. One night section he did just that. We took a wrong turn, the track became narrower and narrower and finally ended in a farm yard on a steep mountainside. Alas, we had a following of 15 assorted classic cars.

The poor farmer peered in astonishment out of his door and several sheep dogs raced round the cars biting the wheels and barking madly. You can imagine the

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 45

pandemonium. In the pitch black – 16 cars frantically trying to reverse and turn, screeching tyres and a horrible smell of slurry! After that, Mike paid a bit more attention to the map.

The Rallyes Villa de Bilbao were great four-day events in the 1990s and low cost as P&O sponsored the trip for owners of English sports cars. Everywhere we went we were cheered and had a wonderful reception – the louder the revs and horn the more cheers you got. We were urged to ignore red traffic lights and at each small town on the way we were greeted by the Mayor and had a festive lunch set out in the street. After four lunches on the first day we found ourselves at the luxurious El Toro restaurant for a six-course lunch, a sharp learning curve! The routes through the Pyrenees were beautiful. I still have them marked out on Michelin maps, and the C performed well on The Navarro Race Circuit.

We enjoyed similar hospitality on the Coupes des Alpes rallies. These were sponsored by Champagne houses and arriving at the top of a col after endless hairpins there would be a striped tent offering copious amounts of champagne with cheese, saucisson and chunks of bread. You could have orange juice if you wanted. I remember the 2007 event from Evian to Nice with its usual stunning display of Ferraris, Maseratis, Austin Healeys, Alfas, Jaguars, Fiat Abarths, masses of Porsches and one MGC, one

MGA and one MGB. The driving was terrific in the High Alps. It is not supposed to be competitive but everyone forgets.

On a drizzly day two our assault on the mountains began at 8.30am with a fast trip down the hairpins from the ski resort with three Ferraris on our tail. Mike kept shouting “Slow Down, slow down!” whilst clinging on for dear life, but I didn’t as no-one else did. On reaching a café in the valley the drivers of the Ferraris thanked us for the exciting chase – one said to Mike he couldn’t believe it was a woman driver taking those corners so fast.

What a cheek, but I forgave him as he was so good-looking and smiley! We had four very high cols to storm before lunch and unfortunately fell into bad company of six well-tuned competitive Healeys. Well, I had to uphold the honour of MG and we stormed up the hairpins of the mighty Col de Bonnette, arriving at the summit, 9,248 feet, unbeaten. The drivers told Mike they couldn’t believe they were beaten by a woman driver!

The hotels on these rallies were often luxurious, with good meals, copious drinks and entertaining company. We were always given lovely gifts like picnic baskets, boxes of goodies and items of clothing, but invariably we had to give them away as the open C has little space. The Prix des Alpes Rallies were a bit more serious. I didn’t enjoy the regularities much, where people hid in bushes to make sure you were keeping the perfect time. I prefer fast driving.

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 45

23/08/2019 14:08

NEWSLETTER Our continental holidays have always been great fun, especially the happenchance events, for instance the stay at the Manoir Retival in Caudebec en Caux. On our way home from visiting friends near Limoges in France, we were crossing the impressive Pont de Brotonne over the Seine, when Mike pointed out a small turreted building nestling in the trees high on the river bank to the west, which he had visited 20 years previously.

We went to find it. It was a weed-covered, neglected manor, but inside at 4.00pm lots of people were enjoying a prolonged lunch. I asked a waiter if they did bed and breakfast; he turned out to be the owner’s son. I haggled in my best French and we settled on 300 francs with champagne thrown in, which was quite a lot at the time, but it felt like an adventure. We were shown through the garden, through huge impressive arched doors, upstairs to a three-bedroomed apartment with sitting

room and balcony overlooking the Seine and to the rear a little bridge to our own private chapel. The décor was old colonial with pith helmets, old trunks, guns and masses of interesting memorabilia. I asked if we could have dinner, too. He was a little hesitant but said we could have barbeque in the kitchen with other guests. He poured the champagne and invited us to more champagne at 7.00pm downstairs. It turned out that mine host had just been awarded a Michelin Star and he and his father were renovating the 18th Century chateau. The barbeque in the kitchen was an amazing, sumptuous eleven-course meal with a different beautiful wine, often very old, for each course. The other guests were six food critics and everything was cooked in front of us by the host and his sous-chef. What a fabulous surprise for 300 francs!

We have had many memorable adventures in UMT; some of the best have been unplanned. An old town cobweb-

strewn house in Macon reminiscent of Charles Dickens; its owner, the perfect Miss Havisham, loved the car and insisted we parked it in a great old garage full of ancient cars covered in thick layers of dust. Next door was a bijou restaurant with a violinist and the best red Macon wine we have ever tasted. A great pub in Scotland cooked us haggis, neeps and tatties, accompanied by bagpipes when we arrived unexpectedly and very late. It’s serendipity… I could go on!

When we bought UMT my everyday car was a white MGB, a faithful friend for 20 years, which knew its way to school and back. UMT was bought from Lenham Motors in 1989 as a rusty heap. Mike said it was a University Motors Special and worth restoring, unlike several rust buckets he has brought home in triumph to find they were only any good for spare parts.

The following technicalities are Mike’s; I just enjoy driving my lovely car which looks great, has power, speed and flexibility and handles superbly.

Heading through the Yorkshire Dales 46 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 46

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:08

NEWSLETTER

Alpine dash

UMT sat in our barn for two years until Tony Barnard of Barnard Engineering could take it in for a full mechanical rebuild.

The engine was rebuilt and modified to the ultimate Downton Stage three tuning which according to the Autocar Road test produces 175bhp, way above the factoryclaimed 145bhp for a standard car. To get this figure the factory would have had to tune the engine to Downton Stage two!

Barnard Engineering re-bored the block fitting special pistons and rods, gas-flowed the head fitting larger stainless steel valves and raised the compression ratio, lightened and balanced the crankshaft and

flywheel by 16lbs which greatly improved acceleration. A fast Road/Track camshaft from Kent Cams was fitted.

Vic Young recommended a “Mike the Pipe” inlet manifold for the triple SU Carbs and a gas-flowed exhaust manifold with a large bore exhaust pipe. As more power creates more heat, Vic also advised larger water and oil radiators, also the oil radiator was repositioned beneath the water radiator with slots in the valance to cool it.

Meanwhile Mick Page, of Mick’s Auto shop, was doing magic work on the body, holding it together with a frame whilst he cut out and replaced every rusty part.

Every bit was sand-blasted and finally resprayed Guards Red. I wanted it to be eye-catching! The wire wheels were rebuilt, sand-blasted, painted and fitted with 185x65 tyres, very good for today’s potholes. Spex adjustable shock absorbers were fitted all round.

In 1998, on Doug Smith of MG Motorsport’s advice, a stiffer anti-roll bar, stiffer torsion bars and a quick steering rack were fitted. These modifications, copied from the works Sebring Cs,

transformed the handling qualities of the car. In 2004 a Facel fuel pump was installed in the boot against the bulkhead, keeping it out of the weather and easy to get at. As the starter motor failed and the alternator was the original, Tony Barnard advised fitting new, more powerful, light-weight ones. As we got through five sets of points on our last Swiss rally, the Lumination electric ignition system now means no problem with mechanical points, and LED light bulbs give lighting as good as any modern car.

Recently we have had electric power steering fitted as Mike’s elbows are not too good. We could have done with that storming the hairpins of the cols in the Alps and Pyrenees, and our Targa Florio trip to Sicily with its crowded, hilly car parks needing tricky manoeuvring.

UMT originally cost £2,000 and about £18,000 paid for the work over the years. This equates to £666 per annum which isn’t bad!

Maggie and Mike powering up the hill

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 47

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 47

23/08/2019 14:09

Safety Fast_September2019_3-48.indd 48

23/08/2019 14:09

OVERSEAS

MGAs to the fore on the MG Days Rally 2019

MG CLUB DE FRANCE T

he membership of the MG Club de France continues to grow steadily passing 1,000 members at the end of 2018, as reported in the recent annual general meeting held this year in Aix-en-Provence. This reflects a positive participation in Club events of French MG owners as well as those from overseas.

Rallies are organised and well supported in every region of the country and give a very good opportunity to share a moment with fellow MG friends. The impact of

the “gilet jaunes” protests on rallies and events should not be overstated because no disruption has been indicated by event organisers, which is a relief. Slightly more problematic for classic car owners could be the increasing pollution control zones which do not yet penalise registered classic cars over 30 years old. There is no indication that this is to change in the near future.

Our highlight of 2019 was the very successful “MG Days” held near Nevers during the weekend of June 8-9, which

received 230 cars, including several TDs celebrating their 70th birthday.

A magnificent 1933 K1 special from Luxembourg certainly caused a stir on

Fun competition during the MG Days event

Volunteers celebrate a successful MG Days event www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 49

Plenty of MGBs celebrating MG day.

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 49

23/08/2019 14:56

OVERSEAS

Quick pit-stop for new rubber

Enjoying the Sancerre scenery, in the eastern part of the Loire valley

the rallies as well as on the circuit. The prettiest routes in the region made picture-postcard photos of the cars with a backdrop of beautiful scenery along the river Allier with its confluence with the Loire, the “plus beau village” of Apremont-sur-Allier, the bucolic vineyards

and village of Sancerre and the “parc naturel du Morvan”. A well-supported ladies rally added to the generous choice of routes for all tastes. As if this was not enough, a festival in the MG village was held on Saturday afternoon, including games, spare parts exchange and

Sporty MGA and MG ZR on display

Enjoying a stop during one of the Rallies held during MG Days

50 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 50

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:56

OVERSEAS

MGs assemble during the Ladies Rally

animations as well as a day on the race-track of Lurcy-Lévis, which gave the opportunity for experienced and debutants to enjoy driving this fast, open circuit in groups according to ability. The MG Sport section of the MGCF is gaining in popularity markedly in France – this track day was very much appreciated.

The Club is very grateful for the generous help and support from sponsors including Total, Allopneus, and GS27 for this event and throughout the year.

The MG Club de France was very pleased to welcome people from overseas to this weekend, coming from Ireland, England, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland. The cancellation of such major events this year, with the sad loss of MGLive! at Silverstone and the EEoTY in Barcelona, has focused attention on the hard work that goes into organising such events. It is an encouraging sign for us this year that it was France which was able to organise a big event on such a grand scale successfully.

Enjoying the MG Days Autotest

The judging of the concours d’etat

In France we are looking forward to many well-supported rallies and exhibitions for the rest of this year and in the future.

The Club maintains its website up to date for information of all events future and

past (www.mgclubdefrance.com) plus a Facebook page where you can see a gallery of photos and information.

Wendy Packer wendy.packer@mgclubdefrance.com

Participants of the MGCF MG Days 2019 Ladies Rally

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 51

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 51

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OVERSEAS

THE MICHIGAN NAMGBR EVENT

By Peter Cook

T

he North American MGB Register (NAMGBR) annual event was held this year in Traverse City, Michigan, in June.

Traverse City in North Michigan is the self-styled ‘Cherry Capital of the World’.

The five counties surrounding Traverse City produce 40% of US-grown cherries and the annual Cherry Festival is one of the top ten festivals in the nation. There are also

52 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 52

MG’s as far as the eye can see

vineyards, lavender farms and much else.

The climate is amenable, warm bordering on hot summers, and sufficiently cold winters for Alpine and Nordic skiing. The peninsula projects into Lake Michigan. In sum, the NAMGBR organisers had chosen an excellent location for fine but not oppressive weather and uncomplicated driving on open roads. It was also well

situated between East and West, and fairly close for many Canadian participants.

A major determining factor when organising an event of this type is provision for the award night dinner. To some extent the location for a suitably sized dinner is decided upon and then the design for the rest of the event follows. Having decided upon Northern Michigan, one

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:56

OVERSEAS OVERSEAS REVIEW

MG1100 Winner in its Class.

of the few appropriate available venues was The Great Wolf Lodge. Its theme is North American wildlife as represented by wolves, bears, elks and the like, plus what appeared to be Harry Potter borrowings.

Children wearing wizard hats and waving wands explored corridors festooned with antlers and treasure chests. Large stuffed bears overlooked the reception area. In the family rooms, while the adults shared a bed, the children bedded down in bunks in a cabin-like structure named as a ‘wolf’s lair’. I am unaware of any other MG event having been based in such bizarre accommodation. However, the key points were that there was a large car park

where MGs could assemble en masse, and a convention-sized dining hall. There was also a well-stocked bar.

The event itself started on a Sunday with registration, although registration was also available the following day.

This was an event which catered for all interests – yoga was available 7.00am8.00am. After breakfast on Monday there were parallel programmes on two of the three full days. One track consisted of non-driving and non-MG chauffeured tours, while the other consisted of MGbased tech or similar sessions. So the first two full days (Monday and Tuesday) therefore offered a Three Winery bus tour

or an all-day Old Mission Peninsular Tour.

The three-winery tour is self-explanatory, but the Old Mission tour took in a visit to the Harbor View Lavender Farm, a winery (Chateau Chantal) which also produced cherry-based alcoholic drinks, and the Mission Point Lighthouse which stands on the 45th parallel – midway between the equator and the North Pole. For those who may have trailered their MGs to the event, or simply wanted an event with more driving, there were four self-drive tours offered. Each was of half- to a full-day duration and detailed directions were included in the welcome pack. The tech sessions included wiring,

Chilling out

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 53

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 53

23/08/2019 14:56

OVERSEAS

Non-driving day venue

suspensions, modifications, carburettors, the 3D printing of parts, and a ‘rolling tech session’ by John Twist, the founding chairman of MAMGBR and one-time University Motors (UK) employee. The Tuesday tech sessions were not a repeat of the previous day’s, but were more general in scope with a greater emphasis on technical questions and answers.

The final full day of the event (Wednesday) was located at Grand Traverse commons nearer to the city centre. It was a splendid location on grass with plenty of tree cover and scenic backdrops. This was essentially the bestin-class event which, unlike similar events elsewhere, was based upon participant ballots. Those of us who have been at allmodel MG events that the MGB awards are numerous and cover not just the marks, but the type of grille, GT, bumpers and modified specials. Fairly recently added ,as the cars can now be imported into the USA, are factory V8s. Being an inclusive event the organisers welcomed, and had awards for, Midgets, MGCs, postAbingdon MGs, MGAs, MG 1100-1300,

John and Meg Russell’s unrestored 1953 TD

54 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 54

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:57

OVERSEAS OVERSEAS REVIEW Later cars starting to come in to North America

and ‘Other British – all years’. There were other awards for photography, model and crafts, and rocker cover racing – adult and junior. Not only does rocker cover racing exist in pretty well every Kimber Houseaffiliated Club around the globe apart from the UK, but it can be an introduction to the marque for young people. Rocker cover racing generates fun wherever it takes place, is cheap to almost free, can be undertaken by those not old enough to hold a driving licence but introduced to the marque, and can take place indoors.

The mystery is why it seems to have disappeared, or perhaps never caught on, in the UK. Nevertheless, as with elsewhere, the rocker cover racing provided much entertainment and engaged with children – some of whom, hopefully, will be future custodians of our cars.

The Wednesday evening brought the Closing Banquet where awards for the successful class participants were handed out, and complimentary speeches were made. There are two quite different ways to get the food to the guests at these events; NAMGBR chose the buffet-bytable-numbers approach which worked well. Congratulations to the organising committee and especially Tony Burgess and Richard Liddick for putting on such a splendid event. My thanks also to Alan and Laura Magnuson for stepping up when American Airways stepped down. Next year’s NAMGBR event will be from June 28-July 1 in Calgary, Alberta.

So that’s why there’s a big hole in the bonnet www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 55

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 55

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OVERSEAS REVIEW

M

y SUV beeps, switches, warns, advises, brakes, steers, parks if I let it, and generally prevents me from doing anything silly.

Fortunately, a lot of this can be switched off, but the most fun of all is the nice lady who lives behind the dash and tells me how to find any destination I ask her for.

It’s far cry from my MGA, which has none of these “gizmos” and relies solely on inputs from me. I make the decisions and live with the consequences. I think it’s the purity of the driving experience which gives so much satisfaction, and the pleasure of a series of bends, taken smoothly and cleanly, is hard to equal in a “modern”. From the articles I’ve read this month, I don’t think I’m the only one with that point of view.

MG bladet from the MG Car Club Denmark was a delight to review, and although I don’t speak Danish, the pictures spoke for themselves; MGAs, TDs, TFs and Ys, and a ZB on wire wheels, with happy-looking owners at various events.

One article, in English, explained how a 1958 Magnette was spotted for sale in Athens, bought and kept for 44 years and eventually sold to a young lady who took it home to Denmark.

Obviously a much-loved and enjoyed car.

I liked the “Matthies’ Garage” item and that his workshop walls were decorated with Rally Plaques.

Clearly, I’m not the only one who does that!

Bulletin, from Wellington, New Zealand, had on its cover an overhead shot of an MGA, and within, comprehensive contact details, a diary of events and a report on British Car Day, which featured many MG models. Also included was an advert for their MGCC National Rally in 2020, amusingly named “Welcome to Wellywood”.

There was an interesting item on new MG models to be introduced in New Zealand, and another on the V80 model, being launched, I believe, in Thailand. It’s an 11-seat people-carrier, powered by a 2.5 litre diesel engine, of Italian origin. An

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Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 56

A look through a few of the overseas magazines we receive at Kimber House reviewed by Peter Stevens

intriguing vehicle. Also included was an item on the fully-electric MG EZS. I guess we’ll all be driving “electrics” one day, but will we also be able to use our classics? I do hope so.

A very respectful obituary of John Haynes (1938-2019) prompted the thought that many of us owe him a debt of gratitude for his excellent manuals, and a surprising item spoke of an American animated television series, featuring the Beatles, which was aired between 1965-1967. Each episode was based on the title of one of their songs, and the magazine picture showed the “Fab Four” in an MGA. Which song might that have been?

Another issue of the same magazine featured an item on the MG 14/28 model, of which there were once three in New Zealand, but only one remains. I particularly enjoyed the reprinted Autocar Road Test of a 1929 Midget, which the tester seemed to much appreciate.

Forever Young from the South Cape Centre, South Africa, had comprehensive details of past and future events, as well as a Cars and Spares for sale feature. Details of local service providers were good to see, but most of all a hilarious and anonymous item entitled “Travelling” listed hypothetical places the author had visited. There isn’t room to include it in this review, so I’ll save it for the future and share it with you when I can. Whoever wrote it has a wicked sense of humour!

My final review this month was ON THE MARQUE, from San Diego, which featured an electrics technical session given by a member and a report on the terrifyingly named “Ball Bearing Breaker Rally. T.J. wrote an update on work on an MGB GT, and of his involvement with the car his son is preparing.

As ever, it’s been a joy to read about fellow members having fun, and of the effort we all put into keeping our cars running well. They mean a lot to us, and although some of my friends tell me

it’s impossible to feel affection for a concoction of metal, wood, glass, rubber and leather, I think they’re wrong. Because I do!

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:57

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Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 57

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 57

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23/08/2019 14:57

COMPETITIONS

Equipe Classic racing grid at the start of race eleven.

MGCC BACK WITH A BANG AT DONINGTON PARK M

G Car Club racers made up for lost time after almost three months away, with the Donington Park Summer Race Weekend supported by British Motor Heritage, meeting number three of the 2019 season, characterised by intense ontrack battles, some challenging weather, as well as a few tales of bad luck.

Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge Much of the Lackford Engineering MG Midget & Sprite Challenge event at Donington was dominated by David Morrison in his Midget. He has done a lot of work on the car, building a new engine over the winter and resolving a problem experienced in the earlier rounds of this year of its rear axle moving and leaking oil onto its rear brakes and tyres. And at his local track at Donington it appeared to pay off, as he claimed two comfortable

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 59

By Graham Keilloh

pole positions then won the opening race, with it ending reigning champion Stephen Collier’s monopoly on victory this season.

Collier finished runner-up, 8.8 seconds shy.

However in the formation lap for race two Morrison’s machine lost some of its gears, forcing him to pull into the pits and retire before the race had even started. This let fellow Midget runner Collier take an easy win, by 10s from Richard Wildman.

“We’ve got the car working now,” said a philosophical Morrison. “We got our first win and pulled away from Steve [Collier] on merit. Sadly today we’ve lost gears and we can’t give Steve a good battle. But we’ll move on and get the gearbox repaired. It’s just part of the game called racing!”

Richard Perry won both Class E races in his Sprite, and either race was a similar tale as runner-up Pippa Cow in her Midget challenged him closely before encountering a delay – in race one a

crosswind sent Cow across the grass at the Craner Curves, losing her a lot of time and places, while in race two she again lost time after contact with Tim Grigsby when trying to lap him. In both races she recovered to second in class.

MGCC Cockshoot Cup with MGF/TF Cup Paul Clackett in his MG ZS cruised to both MGCC Cockshoot Cup victories, starting both races from pole then establishing winning margins of just under half a minute. He did so, too, in sharply contrasting conditions, with race one in sodden weather and race two the next day in fine sunshine.

Phil Standish in his MG TF LE500 finished runner-up in race one and was running a strong second in race two as well, but dropped out late on with a gear linkage problem, which he thought might have been his own doing due to getting ‘overexcited’ at keeping up with Clackett!

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 59

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COMPETITIONS

Metro Cup pack with Don Willars (58) leading Les Tyler (21)

Keith Egar in his Midget finished second in race two, having struggled in the wet race one as his gamble on an intermediate set-up didn’t pay off.

Ian Wright topped Class A in race two and got Driver of the Race, as he’d gone back to Doncaster to change engines overnight, after discovering at the end of qualifying that the original unit lacked compression on two cylinders.

MG Trophy Reigning champion, Graham Ross, made it three MG Trophy wins from four this year by claiming both Donington victories. He prevailed in wet-but-drying race one – held over two parts due to a red flag – with a last lap outside-to-inside pass of Doug Cole through the Craner Curves.

Cole got two second places from Donington, despite his gears jumping out in the second race, which let Ross past him at the Old Hairpin.

Matthew Turnbull was Class B victor in both races, and got Driver of the Race as well as Saturday’s Driver of the Day for his race one effort, where he finished third overall just 3.6s off Ross. He got the race two class win as well after Sam Kirkpatrick, who was holding Turnbull off, had a laterace engine blow up, ironically at almost exactly the same point of the track that he had a similar blow up in last year’s Donington meeting.

MGCC MG Cup supported by Peter Best Insurance Both races for the MG Cup supported

by Peter Best Insurance featured intense battles for first between championship leader Richard Buckley in his Rover Tomcat 60 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 60

and Mike Williams, who appears now to have ironed out the previous reliability problems of his rapid Metro GTi. The pair took a win apiece.

Williams’ Metro starting second beat Buckley off the line in both races though in both Buckley was able to move back into first place in short order; his fast-ina-straightline Tomcat looking more suited to Donington than Williams’ Metro. In race one, however, Buckley lost his power steering as it lost its fluid when the filler pot came away. This let Williams get with him and after a long and frenetic placeswapping fight Williams dived past at the chicane at the end of the final lap to win – though Williams thought it was the penultimate lap as the chequered flag was waved a few seconds early.

Race two was a repeat performance, but with his steering problems now sorted Buckley was able to turn the tables to win, managing the gap to Williams behind.

“That was about as intense as it can get, I think!” said Williams of the two battles. “I think we both lost control of the

cars!” he added of his late race one pass to win “I was completely locked up at the front end; it was do or die, basically! It was all good fun; we don’t knock each other’s cars or anything – it’s hard racing but fair.”

Dave Nixon finished third in both races, hanging on to the battling front pair in the first race to finish less than a second shy.

MGCC Iconic 50s Robin Ellis in his Lotus Elite won the Iconic 50s race, held in tricky conditions which was initially damp but drying then was hit by intense rain late on. Ellis came home just under 5s ahead of Brian Arculus’s fellow Elite – Arculus admitting to “really loathe” such conditions. Ellis had moved ahead of poleman Arculus at McLeans and Coppice on the third lap.

Much of the race, though, was dominated by Mark Ellis in his MGA De Luxe. Mark’s qualifying mark was only good enough for a place at the back, and having started from the pitlane he rose astonishingly to take the lead on the second lap, and he built an advantage of over 15s.

Midget/Sprite Challenge with Mark Witherspoon, AH Sprite, leading Kim Dear in the Midget

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:57

COMPETITIONS But then Mark from around twothirds’ distance appeared to hit technical problems, losing straightline speed and dropping to sixth by the end, cruising over the finish line.

Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup Reigning champion Jack Ashton continued his 100% record in the Drayton Manor Park MG Metro Cup this year by winning the two Donington races, and in both cases by a margin of just under 40s. He was helped by Dick Trevett sitting out both races after hitting problems in qualifying, when a rod underneath his A-Series Metro’s pistons came loose and damaged the gearbox. It left Ashton’s main aim for the weekend to break the lap record, which he didn’t quite manage.

Ashton’s team-mate Les Tyler got the Driver of the Race award for the opening Metro race for completing the podium in third behind runner-up Dan Willars, and winning out in a battle with Mark Wilson, Tyler calling it his best-ever race. Race two had the same podium line-up and Joe Ball got Driver of the Race after coming home sixth.

Equipe Three Hour Classic Relay The Plastic Fantastic trio of Rob Cull, Rod Begbie and Mark Ashworth in their TVR Grantura Mk IIIs took the Equipe Three Hour Classic Relay win, in so doing going one better than their runner-up finish in the race last year. The win looked comfortable, by more than a lap, but the squad had a one-lap penalty added for Ashworth speeding in the pitlane plus a five-second penalty for him exceeding track limits – this taken together meant the victory margin was just 3.2s!

The 50 Shades… squad of Stephen Bond, Cliff Gray, Keith Fell and Piers Gormly in Lotus Elans was runner-up. Team Brexit, made up of Jeremy Welch, Doug Muirhead – taking part in his first-ever race – and Mark Holme, all in Austin Healeys, looked like it might be on course to beat Plastic Fantastic for the win, even without its subsequently penalties. But its chance was dashed when Holme was stranded on track near the end of the second hour when his Healey’s coil went.

The team still recovered to finish third, despite its own five-second track limits www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 61

MG Trophy with Doug Cole (99) with Ross Makar leading the following pack of ZR’s.

Equipe 3hr Relay Race with an Austin Healey 3000 leading a pack of MGB’s.

penalty. It was less than a second ahead of Northern Lights – a team which included the MG Trophy’s own Sam Kirkpatrick putting in very impressive times in an MGB Roadster – in fourth, which had dropped from second place late on due to Andrew Smith’s Marcos sustaining a misfire.

Equipe Classic Racing 40-minute 1 or 2 Driver Race The additional Equipe 40-minute race for the relay entrants the following day was won by Chris Ryan in a Triumph TR4, despite having not driven the car for three months, running a fresh engine for the first time and getting a “very, very long

brake pedal” during the race. Much of the race was a tight six-car fight for first, though early leader James Haxton in his Healey 3000 dropped from contention when after leaving the track at the chicane pitting immediately, believing the pit window was open after misreading a pit board.

Ryan’s two closest on-track challengers meanwhile – Mark Ashworth in a TVR Grantura Mk III and Tom Smith in an MGB Roadster – picked up track-limit time penalties of 45s and 15s respectively, meaning they dropped to fifth and third respectively. Holme’s Healey was classified second. Some 40 cars took part.

Cockshoot Cup, with David Coultard in his MGF Cup car exiting the final chicane

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 61

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BTCC

E

XCELR8 Motorsport celebrated a milestone result during its home British Touring Car Championship event at Snetterton as the team notched its first championship points at the highest level of British racing.

When Sam Osborne crossed the line to finish within the top 15 in his MG6 GT in the third race of the weekend it sparked jubilant scenes within the EXCELR8 garage. The hard work across the last year had just paid off again as the team officially got off the mark in the UK’s toughest championship.

The race-three result was the high point of an otherwise difficult weekend for the team and its drivers, Osborne and Rob Smith.

Qualifying proved difficult as both drivers struggled to find a comfortable balance around the three-mile track. Smith would start from 27th, with Osborne in 28th.

But Snetterton’s three races also brought an unknown variable, with teams having to use all three compounds of Dunlop tyre across the races – soft, medium and hard – with an estimated 1.5-second per lap differential between the softest and the hardest rubber. It added an extra dimension of race strategy that allowed EXCELR8 to play the long game with tyre strategy.

Race one proved a battle. Preferring to keep the faster tyres in reserve, both Smith and Osborne started the opener on the hard Dunlops, and both cars made some strong early progress as chaos broke out ahead of them. Both cars had trouble getting the hard tyres into the right operating window with their respective setups. Smith fell behind Osborne, with the MGs taking the flag in 24th and 26th places respectively.

Smith took the softer tyres for race two, planning a charge up the order, but never got the chance to show what he could do with the quicker compound

62 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 62

after he was forced to brake hard to avoid a sideways Matt Neal on the first lap, killing his momentum. Smith was then caught up in a tight battle with Michael Crees’ Volkswagen, which ended with a side-by-side collision at the Wilson hairpin that resulted in a tour back to the pits for the MG with broken rear suspension.

Osborne – on the medium tyre – managed to escape the worst of the first-lap chaos and got stuck into a great fight with Mark Blundell’s Audi and Nicolas Hamilton’s Ford. The three exchanged places regularly, but Osborne eventually lost out when he was pincered between the two into Hamilton and spun on the corner exit. That restricted him to 24th.

However, race three was where it would all come together. Osborne had saved the fastest soft tyres until the end, while Smith took the mediums, which would still be quicker than many of the hard-shod cars around him. Sadly, Smith was once again delayed on the first lap by a spinning Stephen Jelley at the hairpin, costing him vital ground on the opening tour again through no fault of his own.

Osborne again escaped the chaos, and took the fight to the cars ahead, getting himself well into the fight for the final points-paying places from early on.

With the faster tyres, and a heap of determination when given a sniff of the team’s best result yet, Osborne pressed on, piling the pressure on those ahead.

He eventually found a way by Cammish’s factory Honda Civic to slot into 15th and take the last championship point at the flag.

Things then got even better post-race, when Osborne was elevated to 14th when Jason Plato picked up a post-race time penalty for driving standards.

After some hard battling at the front of the grid Tom Ingram, Colin Turkington and Rory Butcher claimed a win apiece over the three races. At the conclusion of the action, Turkington had extended his advantage at the top of the Drivers’ standings with BMW stablemate Jordan now 36 points in arrears.

POINTS ARE THE PRIZE AT SNETTERTON Photos: Dickon Siddall

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:57

H1 - CLIVE WHEATLEY_H7 - CLIVE WHEATLEY 09/10/2018 14:41 Page 1

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RACE TORQUE

RACE TORQUE I

by Mark Baulch

often talk about the MG ‘family’ on this page and so I thought that I would use this month to highlight just how large a family this is and the types of roles undertaken by them. MG racing is one of the most family-friendly motorsport environments that I operate in, but it is not just about the competitors and their supporters.

At every race meeting, a huge number of volunteers are needed in order to run the meeting safely. When you think of this, you inevitably first think about the selfless track marshals, in their iconic orange overalls. These incredibly committed people are out in all weather and give up so much of their time for free. A great example of this was seen at our Donington Park meeting, where Marion Quarrington fulfilled her duties with a smile, despite having to spend the day away from her husband and friends. All this, on her birthday! So, as you can see, we felt the need to present her with a little something…

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 65

But they are not the only family making sure that the competitors can race.

To mention a few: First Aiders, Recovery crews, Doctors, Safety Car Drivers, race officials including Clerk of the Course and Stewards, Commentators, Competitor sign-on staff and, most vitally, our Welcome Centre refreshment providers are all required to make race meetings happen. If I have missed someone, please do not feel that you are any less valued!

Then, there are the other unsung heroes and heroines, the Championship

Co-Ordinators. Working tirelessly in the background to assist Competitors, not only on race days but with official paperwork, arranging of the AGMs required, booking races, writing pre-race reports, calculating points and publishing points tables, maintaining Social Media presence and so much more. Even having to remind the Competitors to book in on some occasions! They often help with the trophy presentations, too, as you can see with Bruce Woods, MG Trophy Championship Co-Ordinator here (on the left). I will introduce you to some of them in the coming months and do say hello to them in the paddock.

The Race sub-Committee continues to work on a potential race calendar for 2020, as well as negotiating with some of our guests like Equipe GTS, Morgan and Porsche. We are very much hoping to see Mini again next year, too, as well as others. More news on this in the coming months.

By the time that you read this, we will be looking forward to our last fixture of the 2019 season, Snetterton on Saturday October 5. Looking set to be a great finale, you are bound to be treated to some very close racing, as many of the Championships will remain unresolved right up until the last race of the year.

As always, we look forward to seeing you there and do come along to the MG Welcome Centre. Remember that Club members can also drive their own car around the circuit during the lunch break in the parade lap, which is a fantastic opportunity at this great circuit.

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 65

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MGs ON TRACK

MG on track

Duncan Wood duncanw@mgs-on-track.co.uk

BRANDS HATCH GP

O

n August 1 MGoT members had the rare opportunity to drive the full-length Brands Hatch GP circuit, rather than the shorter Indy layout that we normally use for our season finale in December. As entertaining as the Indy circuit is, the chance to drive on the track used for so many Grand Prix in years past was one not to be passed up and, despite a cost somewhat higher than normal, around 20 MGs were in attendance. We often take a complete dedicated MGoT session on an MSVT track day, but as participant numbers were increased for the longer GP circuit we were unlikely to have sufficient entrants, so it was arranged that the organisers would fill out the session with other cars of a similar ‘steady’ nature.

Clearly ‘steady’ is open to interpretation, but it was with some surprise that we found that we were sharing with a Lamborghini, a Ginetta Cup car, and several MINI Challenge race cars; obviously the competition cars were taking the opportunity of additional practice miles before the weekend’s race fixture.

December’s Indy visit is a low-key day with only a few loyal spectators and certainly

66 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 66

no teams of mechanics, so alarm bells had sounded when I arrived for the GP event to find paddock and pits jammed with articulated trailers and giant motorhomes, and I did begin to wonder if every participant would be in tune with MGs on Track’s driving etiquette!

It turned out the Lamborghini was, as we were, there for a fun and safe track day, and it was immediately awarded honorary MG status when the rear light cluster fell out on the start and finish straight, no doubt doubling the cost of the day’s entertainment in a moment.

However, the BMW MINI drivers had clearly not being paying enough attention in the briefing and had not registered the instruction to only overtake on the left, only by consent of the car in front, and not in the corners, all of which rules they consistently ignored in the first full session of the morning, so there was a real chance that their antics might spoil our day. Fortuitously Alan Wilshire, who regularly runs and instructs at some of our days, was also in charge of the running of the Brands event so our comments found a sympathetic ear; I don’t know

what he said to the MINI drivers, but the rest of the day proceeded in a much more ordered fashion and they even managed the occasional wave of thanks as they overtook (on the straights)!

Hopefully none of our members were put off by this somewhat shaky start to the day, particularly as the weather remained kind throughout, and most commented on how good the GP layout is. Unlike Silverstone, which is very open and perhaps a little featureless, the long Brands circuit is narrower and winds its way through woods that come close to the track edge, so there is a bit of ‘a nice drive in the country’ feel, albeit at very high speed.

As with all our events, MGs of all ages and types were represented. In the ultimate power stakes Vice-Chairman Dave Pearce’s 2004 SV-R with a declared 465bhp narrowly beat the 456bhp of Mark Wanstall’s 1994 MG RV8, which acts as an immaculate and extremely rapid testbed for his company’s products. An honourable mention should also be made of Michael Duncan’s 240bhp, 1957 MGA; I don’t think they all left the factory quite like that! Proving that an excess of power

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:58

MGS ON TRACK – 2019 CALENDAR Please visit www.mgs-on-track.com to

MGCC MGCCSPEED SPEEDCHAMPIONSHIPS CHAMPIONSHIP John Wilman, Beechfield, Fern Bank, Chapel-en-le-Frith, High Peak. SK23 0JJ Tel: 07778 165186 www.mgspeed.net

register, check availability, or to book a track day.

Registered members will receive regular newsletters and notification of event opening dates.

Castle Combe – September 9 A second opportunity to enjoy the thrills of this ever-popular track which includes a couple of chicanes and high speed, technical corners!

Donington Park – October 7

Modern MGs line up at Curborough for a run. Photo: David Coulthard

A flowing, historic circuit in the Midlands, featuring the fantastic Craner Curves and Old Hairpin sequence.

Goodwood – October 28 A second visit in case you missed the first due to popularity!

Brands Hatch ‘Indy’ – December 2 Our last event of 2019. Don’t miss the chance to enjoy this undulating circuit including Paddock Hill Bend!

is nice to have but by no means essential, most cars were standard or mildly tweaked, with many MG TFs, MGBs, saloons, and less extreme V8s giving their drivers just as much pleasure as the firebreathers.

Newcomers to MGs on Track should be aware that, despite the ‘interesting’ start to the Brands day, our events invariably provide a safe, fun and sociable opportunity to take your car on some great circuits in company with likeminded enthusiasts, and that a warm welcome awaits you all.

www.mgcc.co.uk

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As reported in the August issue, the Championship had an early start to the month with our bi-annual visit to Curborough and a weekend event at Castle Hill in Cornwall.

The Curborough event, which is a Midlands Centre production, suffered from a shortage of entries. Although 18 of our number turned up, covering a large range of vehicle ages, ten potential entries had to cancel for various reasons and the cumulative effect was a sprint with only 41 entries. This is below the amount needed to break even and throws some doubt over the continued appearance of this event in the calendar. It has been mooted by some people that there are too many events in the calendar. The spread is constantly monitored every year and adjustments made where necessary.

However, when trying to provide a programme for competitors spread over a large part of the nation it stands to reason that some venues will be geographically remote. It would be relatively easy to set the championship mainly in the Midlands using the historic tracks, but I fear that this would dilute the regional aspect of our championship. It will be scrutinised again this year in the light of who entered what and meantime any suggestions you

would like to send me would be given due consideration.

Top honours at Curborough went to Alan Fairbrother, Peter Clark and Andy Walker, with Ted Roberts, Ian Howlett and Rob Bell all equalling existing records.

The same weekend, eight of our number headed south for Castle Hill at Lostwithiel in Cornwall. I don’t know the weather conditions prevailing but judging from the scores, perhaps on the damp side.

Castle Hill is a challenging venue up the access road to a reservoir. In fair weather a very nice place to be; otherwise you would never want to see red mud again.

Ben Rolls made the best score with Steve Luscombe and David Tandy similarly mounted in race Midgets very close behind. Say what you like about our sport, age is not a handicap.

By the time you read this we shall have paid our visit to Loton Park for the August Bank Holiday double-header. This superb venue provides corners of every type imaginable and I will include a report in my next article.

After that, we are into the last third of the calendar, with a month of classic venues in September when, no doubt, people will be rushing to consolidate their scores towards the final results.

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Abingdon Works Centre Autumn Leaves Run Sunday 6th October 2019 Starting just outside Abingdon, this leisurely road run will travel through the Thames Valley countryside at a time when Mother Nature is often at her gloriously, colourful best. Finishing at the Batsford Arboretum, entry cost is included, as is a rally plaque and route book. So why not join us and enjoy the Autumnal show in the company of fellow enthusiasts.

Cost is: ÂŁ10.00 per person for MG Car Club members. Non-members: ÂŁ11.50 per person.

Cheques payable to MGCC. AWC Autumn Run 2019 Send this form or photocopy with cheque for entry. If no e-mail address, send a S.A.E. to: Richard Martin, 26 Medlicott Drive, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 5PS. Tel: 01235 529331 e-mail: chairman@mgabingdon.org Name :............................................................................................................................................................................................................

Address :........................................................................................................................................................................................................ ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... ........................................................................................................................................ Postcode.................................................................

Tel:................................................................ Mobile:..................................................... E-mail:...................................................................

Car model:..................................................... Reg.No :................................................... MGCC number:.....................................................

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CENTRES ABINGDON WORKS James Page sfscribe@mgabingdon.org.uk www.mgabingdon.co.uk Shaken but not stirred is how I normally feel after a run in my MG, but I felt a bit more so than felt right after July’s Wanderers run to the Lavender Farm at Snowshill, so I am giving some attention to my springs and shock absorbers. Hopefully a new set of front springs will reduce the tendency of the front axle to hit the stops, though I guess a bumpy ride is part of the joy (?) of driving an older MG. Looking back and a little belatedly, very well done to Richard, our chairman, for winning the Charlton ‘The AWC Centre Member of the Year’ award for 2018. Anyone who knows Richard will be aware of how much work he puts in for the Centre which goes well beyond just being Chairman of the Committee. The award was presented by Bill Silcock at the Old Speckled Hen Run. Well done, too, to Tony Watts and his MGB GT V8 for winning the ‘Favourite 1970s Vehicle’ at the Notcutts Classic Car show. A total of some 250 classic cars came to the event which raised £500 for “Thrive”, a gardening for health charity.

ANGLIA Rob Muir 01206 862619 scribe@mgccanglia.com www.mgccanglia.com Club Meet News Or it could be titled ‘A Day in The Life’ of a typical Club Meet. Just this morning I received an interesting report from John Cumming outlining some of the activity that goes on at the Mid Suffolk Meet. This is typical of what you can expect from many of the MGCC Club Meets that are provided free for members to attend and happen up and down the country. I’ll let John take up the story.

Mid Suffolk Club Meet “I thought that you might like to have a report on the latest activity at the Needham Market Natter, sorry I mean Club Meet.

At the July Meet on July 12 we had a great turnout with 35 members and partners turning up on a fine evening.

Members came from as far away as Thetford and Diss in the north, Leiston in the east and Colchester in the west.

www.mgcc.co.uk

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Looking forwards, we have the Autumn Leaves run, one of our main AWC events, coming up on Sunday October 6. This year we are running from Notcutts Garden Centre to Batsford Arboretum which is near Moreton-in-Marsh. An entry form is included within this edition of Safety Fast! or found on the Events tab followed by Events Calendar of our website.

Also, the AWC will for the first time have a stall at the Kop Hill Hill Climb which takes place on September 21-22. Kop Hill is between High Wycombe and Aylesbury, and the hill climb, which started in 1910, has become an increasingly popular event. Entry for the Club stand is via their Kop Hill website https://www.kophillclimb.org.uk/ This month has seen three of the AWC Natters hold their Pride of Ownership evenings and with over 30 cars at one, 53 at another and 69 at the other; it was good to see people supporting the organisers’ efforts. Congratulations to all the winners.

Other Natter news: Dick Immins of the Rising Sun Natter is organising a visit to Robin Lawton’s workshop and showroom for classic cars, near Portsmouth, on August 30. AWC members should contact Dick 02392 736224 if they wish to join the visit.

We organise Midweek Runs on usually the third Wednesday of the month during the months of April, May, July and August and on a Sunday in September at 10.00am in the morning as it is too dark by 8.00pm in that month.

Our latest run was organised by Howard Quayle and Paul Purnell. Nineteen drivers and navigators enjoyed a 33-mile drive around Mid Suffolk cereal growing farmland, the grain bowl of the UK. The worst hazard to avoid was the multitude of pigeons on the roads. There were no fatalities.

I attach a photo of the gathering taken by Lynne Quayle at the meeting place, the car park opposite the Church in the village of Woolpit.”

Mid Norfolk Club Meet Held their annual Pride of Ownership at the Longham White Horse, with a lovely array of MGs. Winner this year was David Walker’s beautifully restored blue MG SA Saloon with Peter Thompson’s MG Magnette ZB second and Chris Bone’s MG TC in third. Chris has won in the past with his TC and had a second place one year, so now has a full podium set, well done Chris.

Also Ron Neal’s former Deer’s Hut Natter now meets at the Half Moon in Petersfield, Hants, on, as before, the last Thursday of the month.

A welcome to new AWC members, and we hope to see you at one our events or Natters.

Helmingham Hall The Helmingham Hall Festival of Classic and Sports Cars show must have been the biggest so far, with over 600 classic cars on show. The Anglia Centre had a large presence with almost 50 members displaying their MGs. The show opened to the public at 10.00am but Steve and Sue Tye, who were displaying their MGB in the Anglia Centre area, told me they were queuing at 9.00am to get set up on the event field. A fantastic show; if you missed it this year make a note to go next year.

Although we only have space for one photo, taken at the Club Meet run, you can see a selection of photographs taken at Helmingham and Longham on the Anglia website and Facebook pages.

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CENTRES CALEDONIAN Bob MacGillivray 07870 407111 mgcarsscotland@gmail.com www.mgcaledonian.com With regret we have to announce the passing in July of our Honorary President and past Chairman, Ron Spinks. Ron, with his late wife Joan, served the Centre well for many years, initially on committee, before taking over as Chairman in 2000 and serving in that capacity until 2006 when David Reid took over.

Initially he and Joan ran two MGAs, one as an everyday road car and the other as a nearconcours contender. Later he acquired a PA which had been owned and raced at Brooklands by bandleader Bill Cotton and which Ron rebuilt from the chassis up to such a high standard that the car won 14 concours awards in one year! A TD entered the mix for a short time but later he moved on to modern TFs and his last MG was yet another MGA coupe.

MGs were not his only hobby as he was also an amateur sailor and a keen Morgan enthusiast, but it would be true to say that MGs and the MG Car Club were predominant for most of his life.

DEVON & CORNWALL Young Janner II bobslatter@hotmail.com www.mgcc.co.uk/devon-cornwall-centre As we approach the autumnal period and the head towards the end of the Car Show season, it would be great to see pictures of your cars on display.

Whether it be at a National show, a Centre display, such as the Crash Box Club Powderham Gathering, or Torbay Old Wheels Paignton Green Classic Show, or even the local Village Fete, send the pictures in to Pete Opie on webmaster@mgccdc.org for inclusion on the Centre website and Facebook pages, etc.

It may be an M Type Midget or a brand new MG ZS or GS and everything in between – let’s show potential members what the Club is all about.

Hopefully the weather will have been kind to us for the Summer Gathering at the Frog and Bucket Inn, South Petherwin, near Launceston, last month. Several Natters had arranged a short scenic drive in the morning to arrive at the pub for the afternoon. This was held as a thank you to the new Landlord of the Inn, a petrol-head himself, for letting us use a room for our Committee meetings.

www.mgcc.co.uk

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Ron Spinks in his MGA

He had his own style of running things, not to everyone’s agreement, but he got things done and held the Centre together in its early years.

In recognition of this he was appointed our first Honorary President in 2008, a title which he valued and he took great delight in attending functions, with Joan, wearing his badge of office.

His health declined in recent years and he passed away in hospital in July. We shall not see his like again!

In other Centre news, bookings are open for the September and October one-day runs. The September run on the 15th will be based in the Borders and will visit the new Jim Clark Centre,

and the October event on the 6th will be based around Fife with visits to Lathalmond Bus and Railway Museums available. Full details are on the website, please book there.

Production of this year’s Newsletter will soon be under way and will include a report on the shows we attended in 2019… only three! If there is a show which you consider might be worthwhile attending in 2020 then get in touch and the Committee will consider it. And of course, if you have ideas for other events then also get in touch.

And don’t forget that bookings for the 2020 European Event of the Year in Germany open on October 1.

Entries are arriving for the Exmoor Rut being held on Sunday October 13, starting at the Dartmoor Lodge Hotel, Ashburton, and finishing at the Old Station House Inn, Blackmoor Gate, for a Cream Tea Buffet. If you have not yet entered, entry forms are still available on the Centre website, or if you need a printed copy, let me know and I will post one off.

A bit of advanced notice for the Annual Inter Natter Skittles Match being held at the Fox and Hounds Hotel, Bridestowe, EX20 4HF on Saturday November 16. This has become a very successful evening’s entertainment, with most of the Natters taking part. As usual there will be meals available. I will publish the menu and prices on the website and in the

next newsletter when I have them.

Whilst it is still a long way to the year end, we, the Committee, will be starting to gather dates for next year’s calendar. If you know of any events local to yourselves that the Centre members may be interested in attending let us know and we will try to avoid any clashes of dates in that area.

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LINCOLNSHIRE Ian Mackenzie 01529 497849 MaccaV8@aol.com www.mgcclincolnshire.co.uk

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September Natters: Wolds Wednesday 4; Abbey Lodge Monday 9; Wishing Well Wednesday11; Three Horseshoes Thursday 19; Ferryboat Tuesday 24; White Hart Thursday 26.

Luncheon Club: Wednesday 18.

September Events: Boston Steam Rally Saturday August 31 and Sunday September 1; Autumn Autotest, East Kirkby Sunday 8.

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Andy Rake aboard “Just Jane”. Photo: John Hebb

MIDLANDS Martin Price mg.price@btinternet.com As usual, we have been very busy here in the Midland Centre and we have just held our Summer Sprint at Curborough, near Lichfield. This has been the Centre’s 52nd season of running the event and this year’s summer meeting was probably the poorest attended on record. This was due to a number of factors, including several drivers having to pull out with broken cars, a number of illnesses and the fact that there was another round of the Club’s speed championship being held on the same day in Cornwall. The upside of such a low entry meant that those who did make it were treated to two practice and five timed runs, fantastic value for money; we are still the cheapest two rounds in the championship.

Class 1A was for unmodified cars up to 2000cc and this saw a mix of MG ZR 160s, TFs and an MG3. Helen Waddington was eventually second in Class, beaten by her other half, David Coulthard. Class 1B was dominated by the very rapid MGB GTV8 of Nick Walker; the new magnetic cup holder has made all the difference!! Class 1C

www.mgcc.co.uk

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Over 30 of our MGs joined the massed ranks of Mid Lincs Rovers and others at East Kirkby on July 13, when we were also treated to the sight of AVRO Lancaster NX611 “Just Jane” (built by Austin Motors of Longbridge in April 1945) taxiing on the strip. Last year’s Centre Chairman, Andy Rake, a vastly experienced pilot, took the controls of the aircraft on its three runs of the day. A great and memorable day was had by all. The car of the day; Alan Cook’s magnificent Z Magnette, was chosen by Andy’s Engineer, Bradley Winder.

Andy is also involved in the organisation of our display of cars at the Boston Steam Rally. If you want to attend, depending on publishing date, please contact Andy on: andyrake@aol.com Interested more in go than show, then the next autotest at East Kirkby occurs on Sunday September 8.

For details, please see the website, or contact our Competition

Secretary David Stonehouse on 01790 754774 or davidstonehouse1@btinternet.com From Thursday September 12 to Monday September 16 the roads of Lincolnshire will rumble to the sound of the visiting V8 Register Tour. Based at the Olde Barn Hotel, Marston near Grantham (which will be the venue for the Centre’s 40th Anniversary Dinner next January) the tourists will visit various County highlights, including Woodhall Spa’s Kinema in the Woods, Heckington’s 8 sail Windmill and Brewery, and of course Lincoln Castle and Cathedral. If you want to get involved, or join the tourists, please contact Richard and Victoria Withington on 01949 844066.

Looking further ahead, on Sunday October 6 we have the Jubilee Trophy Naviscat Rally, based in the Sleaford area. If you’ve never tried one before, why not have a go. It involves plotting points on a map, then visiting an allotted number of those points, creating your own route between them. There’s no wrong route, but the crew which can show evidence that it visited the correct selection of points, and covers the shortest distance to do so, is the winner. Great fun, and all within daylight hours. For information, please contact me.

always provides some fine racing and today was no exception. Rob Bell took third place and the scrap between Ian Howlett’s MGF and Terry Pigott’s MGB was great. We were even treated to a lurid spin from Pigott on one run as he wrung the last drop out of his B Roadster. Eventually, he took the class by 0.01sec from Ian – well done, lads!

Class 1E is for MMM and T Types and this saw the superb M Type of Frank Ashley, the exAustralian Racing TC of Dave Morris and the rapid T racer of Nick Ashman; Nick taking the class win in a new class record time of 75.04sec. This, together with his class win at our Spring Sprint, means that he was also the winner of the Kjell Qvale Trophy for best overall performance in the season in a T Type.

The combined Classes 2A and 3A was an all racing Midget affair, which saw Kim Johnson take the win with an excellent 62.58sec. Class 4B saw a great battle between the Reliant Scimitar of Bev Fawkes and Andy Walker in his amazing MGB V8; after a superb scrap Andy won the class and also took the Kimber Trophy for being Fastest MG. Finally, a rather depleted single-seater class saw Glyn Sketchley take the John Arrowsmith Trophy for Fastest Time of the Day, driving his Force PT. So

ended a great meeting, if rather light on numbers, which casts a large question mark over the future of our meetings at Curborough. The Centre Committee will need to discuss this situation at length, but competitors will be kept informed.

Now for an important DATE CHANGE. Our Autumn Trial will now take place on Sunday October 13 at East Lodge Farm, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. This is in conjunction with the BTRDA Finals, so it promises to be a great event.

Running parallel to this event is our ‘taster’, which is aimed at attracting newcomers and younger drivers into trialling. For further details please contact Brian Osborn on 0121 445 4889.

Now for all you Welsh Rallyists, the news you have all been waiting for: the date of next year’s event and Rallye venue. The weekend of May 13-15 is confirmed, so clear your diaries. The event will be based in Telford at the superb country club there.

Yes, a step up in hotel quality, but at a price we think is very reasonable for a full all-in package. This, with the added bonus of no long run to get there on the Friday night. Entries will not open until New Year’s Day, but you could email Roger King with your intention to enter. Full details will follow later.

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CENTRES NORTH WEST Paul Goodman 01625 876300 As we move into autumn, there are likely to be some brilliant days to drive your MG. Your first destination could be The Shrewsbury Arms on Tuesday September 10. A superb variety of cars attend this venue every month. Then one week later, the Plough and Flail will be our venue. We will be outside in the seasonal evening sunshine, comparing notes on our cars and planning the indoor events for the winter. Any ideas and suggestions will be welcome. Next up is the Cheshire Candles Car Show on Saturday September 22 at Chester Lakes, Church Road, Chester. Full details are at www.candlesshow.org There is no need to book in advance, but donations can be made. You can turn up and leave at any time during the day. The final social opportunity of the month will be our lunchtime meeting which will be at The Spinner and Bergamot, Warrington Road, Comberbach, Northwich, CW9 6AY on Wednesday September 25.

The Cockshoot Cup Championship will have been decided for this year when you get to

SOUTH EAST Ray Ruffels and William Opie raywillmg@gmail.com www.mgccse.co.uk Thanks to all those sending information to us, keep it coming so that we can produce the newsletters to read on cold winter nights with salt on the roads.

The main event this month on September 22 is the Autumn Gathering at Polesden Lacey, RH5 6BD which is a beautiful Edwardian house and estate on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking. Set in 1,400 acres with gardens and woodland, this is well

Summer Gathering at Michelham Priory www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 75

read this, but the Speed Championship will be reaching a climax. Last year the final meetings determined the results.

There are two events this month. On Saturday September 7, the Three Sisters track near Wigan will be the location, followed by Harewood Paul Clackett Just Ahead of Phil Standish at Donington Park.

Photo: Dickon Siddall Hillclimb over the powered by a K series engine second. Class weekend of Saturday September 14 and Sunday winners were Ian Whitt’s Midget, Brian Butler’s September 15. If you are interested in competing MGF and Ian Wright’s Midget. in speed events in 2020 then you will be able Finally, advance warning about the Annual to talk to the competitors at these events and Dinner Dance and Awards Presentation. This find out what you need to do to your car and the will be held on Saturday November 30 at the safety equipment that you will require.

Deanwater Hotel, Woodford, near Stockport.

The Cockshoot Cup drivers participated in two Details about tickets will be in this column brilliant races at Donington Park in July. A very next month. We would like to get a very large wet race on Saturday was won by Paul Clackett attendance this year to celebrate our amazing in his MG ZS from Phil Standish’s MG TF LE500. year of competitive and social events. It will be Karl Green drove through the field to take class possible for you to book a round table for you and B, with Brian Butler and Paul Wignall winning your guests. As usual, there will be some surprises Class F and A. On Sunday the track was dry, and on the night.

Paul triumphed again, with Keith Egar’s Midget

worth a visit and is a NT location with reduced entry for members. This is a turn up on the day event from 9.30am with full details on www. mgccse.co.uk/calendar-2019/ or contact Andrew Mitchell on 07703 138419.

The Autumn Naviscat is on Sunday October 6, organised by Chris Leigh. Contact candjleigh@yahoo.com or see above for more details for this fun brain-challenging event.

by Gerry Peacock from Burwash, winning car of the day. Visitors enjoyed the historic Tudor mansion and seven acres of gardens, together with the wonderful water-filled moat. We also had three TCs – all with different blowers! – Arnott, Shorrock and Marshall. The Concours was won by Richard Thorpe in his stunning ZR, and Karl Foot with his immaculate RV8 won the PoO and the Rockcross Trophy.

Events round up An excellent visit on a beautiful summer’s day by over 40 MGs to Michelham Priory on July 21 was enjoyed by all with a good variety of cars and a beautiful SA Charlesworth, owned

Natter news Good to hear the MG Canterbury club have now successfully moved to the Golden Lion, Mayton Lane, Broad Oak, Canterbury CT2 0QJ on the second Tuesday monthly.

Gary Peacock with his superb winning SA Charlesworth at Michelham

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CENTRES SOUTH WEST Mike Angwin m.angwin@tiscali.co.uk www.mgccsw.com www.facebook.com/mgccsw Perfect weather greeted the entrants, marshals and spectators who turned up for the SW Centre’s ‘MGs on Grass 2’ event on Sunday July 28, organised once again by Dave Coppock and held at Claverham Court Farm, near Yatton in north Somerset. The heatwave had passed and the dust had been settled by recent rain to leave a lush green grass carpet of just the right length. Nine

TYNE-TEES Tony Wood anthony@scrutonvillage.co.uk As summer draws to a close the MG owner should have a store of fond memories of their adventures to cherish, but before then there is still excitement to be had with our Autumn Leaves run which takes place on Sunday October 20.

Following last year’s spectacular event which culminated in the one-off visit to Alnwick Castle, we have let Andrew out of the darkened room and

drivers entered, in two classes: five Midgets with one Sprite, and three modern Others.

Dave Coppock and his helpers had set out three challenging ‘all-forward’ courses and early runs produced several spins as the drivers overestimated the traction provided by the fresh grass. The times on each course reduced as the tracks dried out but over-enthusiastic driving could produce a tail-out incident at any time – great fun!

Five runs of each course were allowed and the class winners were Chris Pelmear in his Midget and Ian Beningfield in his modern TF. Dave Coppock and the marshals received hearty thanks and we hope to return to the same venue next year.

Results and information on SW events are available on the MGCC SW website www. mgccsw.com The next events are the Wiscombe Hill Climb on Saturday September 14 and an Autumn Social Run on Sunday September 22 to the Haynes Motor Museum at Sparkford, where we will meet with Devon and Cornwall Centre members. Andrew Owst is planning a route from the Ring O’ Bells at Compton Martin to Sparkford, starting at 10.00am.

This month’s photos are of MGOG2 organiser Dave Coppock and marshals Bruce and Carol Morgan - showing how it should be done!

are reverting to the normal, less spectacular but equally enjoyable, format.

This year we start at Dobbies garden centre in Ponteland and after a picturesque run through parts of the North East we haven’t used for a while we will finish at the Emirates Riverside, Chester le Street, home of Durham County Cricket Club, for a carvery lunch, thus sneakily avoiding the multiple pitfalls of matching food orders to people (another reason for the darkened room).

Details from Noel or download the entry form from the website.

Food seems to play a part in many of our events.

On July 19, following yet another diverting and interesting route from Durham services to Seaton Carew, 16 of us enjoyed both the hospitality of the Surfside restaurant and their excellent fish and chips, thereby ruining our collective power-to-weight ratios!

Thanks once again to Dennis and the ever-efficient Macey and Benjamin who kept us whipped into shape.

Sunday 21st saw us arrive en masse at Newby Hall for the annual classic show organised by our friends in NECPWA, who are to be congratulated on putting on a huge event (1,500 cars) with skill, efficiency and good humour. Despite the first-time official presence of the Tyne Tees and Yorkshire wrecking crews, the whole event passed off seamlessly. We had 38 cars on our stand and other members scattered though the field. A huge array of cars with many rare models, but looking through the programme 10% of the entries came from Abingdon. We are still the Sports Car Britain loves first. We will return!

Finally, remember to keep up to date with our Breakfast/ Coffee and Cars events through the website or the Tyne Tees Tidings email – new (and old) faces always welcome.

‘The 1930s Collection’: WA Coupe, VA tourer and TA at Newby Hall. Photo Noel Lindford www.mgcc.co.uk

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CENTRES YORKSHIRE Ken Cothliff kencothliff@hotmail.co.uk, mgccyorkshire.co.uk Summer is always a busy time for MG owners, and this year is no different. Most of the Yorkshire Natters had Pride of Ownership events. North Yorkshire had to postpone theirs from June until July because of inclement weather. It was split up into date categories, as was the East and PoO of Vale of Yorks to give those of us with more mundane MGBs, such as yours truly, a chance against the ‘exotica’ of pre-war MGs and gives those with the 21st Century models a chance. East and West PoO events were held on their usual Natter nights.

East’s Summer Run was around the Wolds and North Yorkshire Moors and attracted some 36 entries. Some took advantage to visit Mathewsons in Thornton-le-Dale, the Museum and auction showroom site seen in the TV series “Bangers and Cash”, or as my wife Julie calls it, “Bangers and Crash”, as my bank account regularly ‘crashes’ with the money poured into our MGs. For your interest, two of us from Yorkshire Centre, John

ULSTER Carol Willis 07831 345560 www.mgcculstercentre.co.uk carol.mgulster@hotmail.co.uk July’s Nosh was again well attended and we had great pleasure in welcoming Norman and Rosemary Nicholl from Markethill. It’s great having the opportunity to meet some of our members from other parts.

Our charity bucket has been collecting for Air Ambulance NI over the past year or so and we have raised £1,500 which we hope to present to them over the next few weeks. We are trying to liaise with Air Ambulance to meet with them when we visit the Ulster Aviation Society.

Our new chosen charity is Children’s Heartbeat Trust, Northern Ireland’s Children’s Heart Charity (NIC 102410). It is an independent charity which provides support to children and young people with heart disease, and their families, in N Ireland.

They work closely with the Clark Clinic at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, helping to fund top-quality medical equipment and initiatives.

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 79

Waterhouse and I, gave the MGCC a good plug, and were featured in episode three. You’ll be delighted to know they are filming another of this popular series now.

Over June and July, South Yorkshire decided to have a “go somewhere and eat” objective – to hell with the calories!! Trips included the Elsecar Heritage Centre, the Old Manor at Denby, and Worsborough Water Mill. Included were the inevitable Bacon Butties, a regular part of an MG day out in Yorkshire. West group went to Thorne, near Wakefield. On July 6 Vale of York Natter organised a group visit to the Real Aeroplane Club and Museum at Breighton Aerodrome, near Selby.

About 20 cars attended and everyone was treated to a guided tour of the hangars with many rare aeroplanes.

The Centre event of July, on the 28th, was the ‘Compass Run’ where members from all points of the compass met at the Doncaster Wildlife Park; luckily the rain held off for a good

day. Though not a Centre-organised event (it was liaised by Paul Croft with input by Noel from Tyne Tees Centre) the Newby Hall Classic Car Show on July 21 was well attended by members from all Natters. We nearly ran out of the space allocated.

This great show near Ripon is one of the biggest in the north, and certainly has the best “carbooty” stalls, and a wonderful selection of cars from the earliest days of motoring.

For those of you from the Midlands and South on holiday in “Gods Own County” feel free to join us at one of our Natter meetings; I suggest you check with our website above for dates and in case there are any venue changes.

Our ever-popular three PCTs will be coming up soon, but unfortunately we cannot book a venue until the crops are cut and that is weather dependent, but we will let you know as and when.

Sat October 5 PCT venue tba Sat November 2 PCT venue tba Wed November 6 Visit to James Black Rolls Royce Restorations – limited numbers, must be pre-booked Wed November 13 Nosh 12.45pm venue tba Tue November 26 Ten Pin Bowling – Dundonald and afterwards tea and tray bakes, please confirm attendance Sat November 30 AutoSOLO Tue December 10 “Mince Pie Night” Natter – please confirm attendance

Dates for your Diary: Sun September 1 10.00am-1.00pm - MGs and Breakfast, Ulster Transport Museum Wed September 11 12.45pm Nosh, The Pheasant, 410 Upper Ballynahinch Rd, Hillsborough BT26 6NR Sat September 14 PCT venue tba Sun September 22 10.30am Visit to Ulster Aviation Society, run and meal – please confirm attendance

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REGISTERS VINTAGE Ian Quarrington IanQuarrington999@BTInternet.com September already, but still plenty to look forward to and to get involved in. Firstly a little look backwards. My thanks go to V8 and Triple-M enthusiast and superb photographer, Colin Murrell, who kindly provided the brief report below and a link to the Triple-M Register’s Facebook page where you can view photographs from the VSCC Prescott meeting at the beginning of August. www.facebook.com/triplemregister/ posts/2324808531114436 The weekend of August 3-4 saw the stunning location of Prescott hosting the sixth round of the Vintage Sports Car Club’s Speed Championship, the Prescott Speed Hill Climb. This saw a wonderful mix of MGs competing including some of our regulars, and some specials not seen that often.

More MG delights were to be found, both in the camping area and the Vintage car park in the Prescott Orchard, including C0274, a very nice F with a J4-style body which had driven down from Manchester, and a stunning 18/80.

Marion Q was marshalling and was very

TRIPLE M Cathelijne Spoelstra cathelijnespoelstra@outlook.com +31 (0)6 41216600 www.triple-mregister.org

Car of the Month Even though I started this monthly topic back in January with an M-type, in its anniversary year, I think I’ll grant it another go. After all, it

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pleased to see Geoff and Andrew Radford in their 18/100 Tigress. Sounds like a great event, one to put in the diary for next year.

A reminder now of the more admin type, but very important: the MGCC’s Council and AGM takes place in Abingdon on Saturday October 26. Please don’t leave it down to Debbie to be the only representative of the Vintage Register; two folks are entitled to come along. You even get a free lunch, for goodness sake... and you might be surprised as a special car may make an appearance there. Details are elsewhere in this magazine but if you want to come along, do get in touch with Debbie at the usual address.

A look forward now, and a point worth making again. We are working ever closer with our friends in the Early MG Society and they with us. In their latest Newsletter they mention their autumn event which will take place in Devon between September 16-19 based near Honiton. Contact Rodney Kettel or Chas Howe for more details.

Lifted now from the newsletter from our friends at the T Register (thank you to David Wardell and Sally Silcock) a reminder about another fabulous event in Buckinghamshire. I went to this a couple of years ago and was really taken by the atmosphere.

is the model’s turn, alphabetically speaking!

Anyway, here we have Mike Dalby’s lovely little thing, 2M1056. Indeed, the model isn’t alone in deserving a bit of extra attention; Mike is in fact our M-type Registrar who works tirelessly to keep the data on all ‘his’ 3,235 cars up to date. The job of Registrar does not only consist of being in touch with owners and changing whatever details they hand in, but also, for instance, uploading photographs of cars that have not survived.

Mike had been collecting M-type pics and such for a long, long time before he took up the role of Registrar and so he has a huge backlog of cars needing their files digitised and updated.

While painstakingly working away at this, Mike has also been celebrating his favourite model accordingly all year, including attending the Devon County Show. I’m guessing he didn’t tow his very authentic 1960s Portafold caravan thingie with the M-type, so he will have been driving back and forth with his MGA as designated tow car before he could set up camp as per the first picture.

The second shot shows Mike arriving at Pre-War Prescott, soaked to the bone yet still smiling. Well, sort of anyway!

Kop Hill Climb Festival September 21-22 2019, Kop Hill, Princes Risborough More advanced notice, especially if you want to display your MG in the paddock …

Kop Hill Climb is the revival of the events held there from 1910-1925. The event gets bigger every year with an enormous paddock you can freely wander around, together with an eclectic collection of vintage and classic cars, and motorbikes, setting off up the hill. And it’s all for charity. It attracts some serious entrants, works Jaguars having a stand there, and of course there is usually a great collection of MGs. Entries for going up the hill were filled months ago but they still have spaces to display your MG. Note that you will have to register with Kop Hill to do this, but that option will also allow you to choose to park with the MGCC Midget Register who have booked a Car Display area.

Events By the time you read this, the Register’s Welsh Hills Tour will be nearly upon us. Booked to capacity a long while ago, so no need for further plugs, but I will take this opportunity to wish all entrants a bendigedig time. I’m sure organisers Chris Little and Ian Goddard have got you covered.

Until next time: Safety Fast!

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:59

REGISTERS Y TYPE Jerry Birkbeck birkbeckjerry@gmail.com www.mgccyregister.co.uk Tel: 01926 258691 Mob: 07855 566325 The MG Y Register Shop The MG Y Register Shop has been closed since June 20 2019 as the Register Committee has been unable to find a volunteer from the membership to take over its administration. However, we have now arranged for the MGCC Shop to take it over and we are in the process of transferring control.

Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience this has caused. We hope to have it back up and running as soon as possible.

Oil Leaks We are all aware that the trusty XPAG engine that powers our Ys is prone to leave its calling card wherever it stops. However, driving down to Abingdon at the end of July on a glorious, sunny day in the TC, I experienced a heart-in-the-mouth feeling when the oil pressure gauge began dropping from 70 to 10 psi. I stopped immediately, opened the bonnet and quickly found the source of the leak. The

MAGNETTE Stephen Tickell 01737 760330 stephen.tickell@gmail.com www.magnette.org A full report on our Harrogate weekend can be found on magnette.org, and as you can read in the shortened account below, the inaugural David Johnson Challenge award was presented to Barrie and Sheila Hope. We plan to make the award annually (David’s partner Jean made a generous donation in his memory, for trophies that winners will be able to keep) but we do need nominations.

These can be for any unusual or particularly challenging journey in a Magnette. Please contact me or any of the committee if you have a suggestion, or indeed to nominate yourself!

oil pipe that runs from the oil filter to the block had fractured just before the banjo bolt, as can be seen from the photo. This, I understand, is not uncommon as the metal does become brittle with the flexing of the car, and of course the age of the fittings. The copper fitting can be annealed, which adds some longevity. This is, of course, one way of ensuring that this does not happen.

I decided to look into ways of overcoming failure. Certainly annealing is an approach; alternatively both the oil pump to filter and filter to block pipes can be purchased new from several suppliers. Another option, though it is not original, is to fit flexible pipes. These are commercially available and the kits include not only the pipes, but also new banjo bolts fitted with dowty washers.

I ordered a set for the TC and YT from two suppliers and have installed them on the TC. However, there is a problem which has been highlighted by Neil Cairns. One of the suppliers inadvertently provided an incorrect diameter pipe which leads to a lowering

This was well attended and as usual the committee and officers were elected to continue en-bloc.

In the evening, with a cricket match in progress nearby, a fish and chip supper was enjoyed around the Register gazebo. While we were all together Paul Batho took the opportunity to present Barrie and Sheila Hope with the David Johnson Award for the most notable journey in 2018 – they clocked up over 2,000 miles on their trip to Switzerland for the European Event of the Year.

The Sunday forecast was for afternoon showers but there was glorious sunshine in the morning as the show started, accompanied by the Knaresborough Silver Band. After judging by

of pressure; this has been addressed and the correct size is now available.

Don Avery We were saddened to hear that enthusiastic Y Type owner, Don Avery, has died after a long battle with failing health. Don was only 72 this year, was great company and is sorely missed by his wife, Lin, and family. His pride and joy was ‘Megan’ his 1950 Sun Bronze YA, which won the best YA Trophy at the 2016 Spring Run. He also had an RV8 and really enjoyed his motoring, participating in gatherings across the country. In his professional life Don had been a navigator in the RAF. Our condolences go to Lin and his family.

We will miss him.

Anthony White and Keith Wilson, Colin and Ella Goldsworthy were awarded the NTG Concours Trophy, while the votes for the car most people would like to take home went to Jorian Tuxworth.

There was no prize for the furthest travelled but Peter Martin would have won hands down with a journey of 283 miles each way!

Over the course of the weekend 11 Magnettes attended, and thanks are due to Maureen Hallam of the Harrogate MG Club and also to David and Sandra Griffiths for their liaison on behalf of the Magnette Register.

John and Cynthia Harris

David Johnson Award presented to Barrie and Sheila Hope

Harrogate MG Club Show, August 3-4 Despite floods in parts of Yorkshire and Derbyshire, the showground at Pateley Bridge next to the River Nidd was unaffected. On the Saturday Magnette owners both with and without their cars arrived on this spectacular site and all mingled and chatted until 5.30pm, when the Register AGM was held.

www.mgcc.co.uk

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REGISTERS MGA Edward Vandyk 01488 608810 mgascribe@vandyk.co.uk 2019’s summer weather seems to be following the usual pattern and Sunday August 11 saw MGA Day move away from the usual National Trust venue to something a little different, the Shuttleworth Collection Air Museum, near Biggleswade. Despite the unseasonal gale-force winds on the Saturday, a healthy total of 42 MGAs made it to the venue on the day, joined also by a concurrent MG Magnette and a number of others, taking us close to 50. Thus, around 100 of MGA aficionados in total celebrated this special day. The weather was in fact absolutely fine during the event, with several bursts of bright sunshine throughout the day, and no rain! The ‘Car of the Day’ award was made to David Brown of Andover, for his superb Dove Grey coupe, which he has owned for the last 50 years. The ‘Notable Journey’ award was presented to David de Saxe.

The award will be covered in more detail in a future Safety Fast!. Thanks yet again to Jon Pollard for organising the event.

A date for your 2020 diary! MGA Day is

MGB David Broadhurst 01209 614704 newsletter-editor@mgb-register.org www.mgb-register.org mgbforum.mgb-register.org Further to my missive last month about the nearside quarterlight bracket breaking, I have had a devil of a time finding a replacement as, apparently, they have not been seen since 2014. I spent a while trawling through various companies in search of this part and, eventually found a used one with Andy Jennings (01489 790611) in Southampton.

However, serviceable as this one is, I continued looking. Mike Rolls in Dorset put me onto the prize.

EB Engineering in Malvern, Worcestershire (01684 577564) supply fully renovated quarterlights, windscreens and SU Carburettors. Eddie Biddle has sent two of the brackets direct to Tim Kelly so this fiddly repair can be done.

“Boys Day Out” at Shelsley Walsh The Classic Nostalgia event was held over a June weekend with the Register organised meet on the Saturday. The Register has previously visited Shelsley for MGB 50 in 2012 when we drove the hill and for MGB GT 50 in 2015. For 82 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

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MGAs as far as the eye can see - Biggleswade

returning to the National Trust at Stowe next year on Sunday August 9.

Now to North of the Border. Scottish MGA Day took place on Saturday July 27. Having dined together the evening before and swapped many MGA tales, 17 cars congregated at the rendezvous, the Powmill Milk Bar, including three from Yorkshire, two from Cheshire, one from Devon and one from South Carolina. They included a more modern hired Morgan V8 driven

by Ken and Melon Doris from the USA who had necessarily left their white MGA Roadster back home. I do not need to tell you which car they preferred! In the UK to celebrate their golden wedding, Melon had owned the MGA from even before their marriage.

Unfortunately, the heavens opened during the bacon rolls. The morning drive went north, mainly over minor roads, via Dunning where Peter Long joined in his Red Mark II Roadster, then to Auchterarder, Kinkell Bridge and Wester Fowlis before joining more major roads to Aberfeldy via

Sma Glen and Amulree. Leaving Aberfeldy by the impressive historical General Wade Bridge, the tour continued on to lunch at the estate village of Fortingall where, after a truly superb lunch at the Fortingall Hotel, the skies at last brightened thereby enhancing a visit to the, said to be, 1,000-year-old Yew Tree in the churchyard.

The afternoon drive started in Glen Lyon then along the banks of Loch Tay to Kenmore. From here there was a choice of routes. The main route was to take the 1,300ft rather vicious climb with its steep gradients and five hairpins before descending via an even steeper but less challenging route to Glen Quaich. The alternative route was to take the longer main road route via Aberfeldy with routes re-joining in Amulree. The route was then back to Powmill via Crieff, Glen Eagles, and Glen Devon.

Total mileage was 107 miles. The day concluded at the Milk Bar with both more refreshments and exchanges of MGA experiences.

Thanks go to Paul and Jeanne Dean for organising the event.

those who have not visited Shelsley, obviously it is set on a hill surrounded by stunning countryside and first opened in 1905.

I was joined on the day by fellow committee members Andrew, who had organised things, and Chris together with his son James. As we all live a good drive from Shelsley we stopped in a local hotel on the Friday night, and got there early to set up the Register parking. The day started dry with blue sky but there was the threat of heavy rain.

First job on arrival, park the Bs then put up the Register Banners and plan the parking. Second job, and possibly the most important of the day, breakfast.

In fact, full English in the excellent restaurant.

What immediately hits you is how relaxed everything is, but there is a great atmosphere and a very British feel to things. It feels like nothing has changed there for years. All the competitors are very friendly and most are happy to talk about their cars, so you don’t get the feeling you are intruding. The smell of the place is wonderful with the racing fuels and the smell of the cars. You can walk around the paddock getting right up to the cars and stand right with the cars as they form up to drive the hill.

The format of the day is practice runs in the morning with two competition runs in the

afternoon after the lunch break – all very civilised.

Being the Classic Nostalgia Event the range of cars was fantastic, from Austin 7s to Formula 2 cars with everything imaginable in between, including a nice mix of MG types.

Once the action starts things move quickly with a car driving the hill about every 90 seconds, so there is little time to get bored. There is excellent viewing for the majority of the hill with a footpath following the line of the track with seating areas along its length. The seating areas are great for viewing and resting the legs whilst enjoying the mandatory afternoon Ice Cream!

The track is 1,000 yards and the hill record is 22.58 seconds. The times we saw were in the 30 to 40 seconds range but still very enjoyable to watch. It’s amazing how quick the times are when you consider how narrow the hill is and the tightness of some bends.

So, if you want a great day out and enjoy competitive non-commercial motorsport with a great relaxed atmosphere then Shelsley is well worth a visit, and with the discounted Register ticket price great value.

Thanks, Andrew, for organising a great day.

Neil Hyett www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:59

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REGISTERS MIDGET Mike Parker mikeparker78@btinternet.com www.midgetregister.com/ The Midget and Sprite racing fraternity were saddened at the passing of Edward (Ted) Reeve, the championship’s longest competitor of 41 years. A race was held in Ted’s honour at Donington Park on Saturday July 20 2019 as a round of the Lackford Engineering Midget and Sprite Challenge. Donington Park had mixed weather over the weekend, as 22 MG Midgets and AH Sprites assembled in the paddock for qualifying. Some of the cars were entered in the name of ‘Edward Reeve Racing’, eight in total, as respect to Ted. Every driver entered had a monetary contribution to the race from Ted’s family, as was one of Ted’s wishes. All the cars racing were sporting smart stickers all sorted out

by David Weston, who has looked after Ted’s cars for many years. David drove Ted’s Midget with his Race number on it, finishing fourth. The race was won by David Morrison, ending Stephen Collier’s long run of winning races. Stephen finished runner-up, 8.8 seconds shy. For the prize giving we

V8 Victor Smith 0208 392 9434 victorsmith@v8register.net www.v8register.net

Blaze 0115 at an event many years ago

News for a rebuild Mike Breedon took the brave step of bidding for a seriously neglected MGB GT V8 at an ACA auction early in 2017 and has been stripping it down. Serious corrosion is everywhere but Mike has decided to cut out and replace all the rusted panels rather than go for a reshell as he wants to maintain the originality, but it is a relentless task.

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were honoured to have Fiona Reeve and family in attendance, to present David with the Trophy for winning the race. There were a few ex-drivers who raced against Ted over his 48 years of racing at the meeting, I’m sure he would have been very pleased with the turnout. It was an amazing turnout on the grid for Ted’s race, but I was pleased to see two young drivers for both races: Edward Weston, who has just done over a year with the Class A Midget and Barney Collinsons in a Class D Midget. Barney is only 16 years old and enjoyed an eventful weekend. Both young drivers come from families who have been involved in MG Midget racing, and there is one more whom

An uplifting moment came when Graham Hayman contacted Mike via the V8 Registrar saying: “I have come across the restoration article on this V8 that I owned in 1983. I often wondered what had happened to it but was saddened to see the photos. My wife remembers us cleaning the engine with a toothbrush and we won a concours class at an MG Car Club event in Plymouth. It is a pity that I did not know about the auction as I would have bought it myself as it has great sentimental value for both of us.”

Graham recalls “it had a knob in the centre of the dashboard to adjust the speed of the wipers and I replaced all of the brake lines with cupronickel and put in the special brake fluid. It was a pre-production model, one of twelve put out for the press.”

Future availability of “protection grade” E5 Recent press reports on the expected introduction of “cleaner E10 petrol” in the UK have made no mention of a lower-ethanol alternative, known as the “protection grade”, despite its widespread endorsement by the All-Party Historic Vehicle Group (APPHVG) at Westminster. The E10 fuel

we hope to see out at Castle Combe over the August Bank Holiday. More next month on this.

The second race at Donington was won by Steve Collier, as the awaited battle between him and David Morrison did not happen because the gearbox failed on David’s car on the warm up lap.

Steve regretted this as he was looking forward to a good battle and a better race than on Saturday.

is so called because it has a 10% bioethanol content. The protection grade fuel is 97-octane E5 with the ethanol content limited to 5%.

Classic car enthusiasts’ concerns over higher ethanol levels in petrol tend to focus on two main areas: technical issues and the future availability and price of lower-ethanol petrol as a “protection grade” fuel.

Assurances over the future availability of “protection grade E5” from suppliers of bioethanol fuel seem to leave future scope for wriggle room. But the commercial case for having an E5 97 fuel pump on many forecourts and the price of that fuel will depend on the realities of customer demand and sales revenues for fuel station operators, the logistics of delivering E5 97 to fuel stations and the commercial viability for a fuel station operator of having a pump set aside just for E5 97. For a typical enthusiast doing between, say, 2,000 to 4,000 miles pa, the effect of a higher price for E5 97 of, say, 15p a litre could be between £38 and £76 pa.

More on both items at www.v8register.net/ more.htm

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:59

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✷ CYLINDER HEAD RECONDITIONING ✷ REBORING & SLEEVING ✷ CRANKSHAFT REGRINDING ✷ HEAD SKIMMING/UL CONVERSION ✷ CO-ROD RECLAMATION Kit with or without a pair of period ✷ CYLINDER LINER FITTING headlights, special LED pilot lig and easy fitting instructions gives ✷ PRESSURE TESTING operation - can’t be forgotten £99.99 + VAT & P&P. ✷ DISC AND DRUM BRAKE MACHINING £129.99+VAT with headlights ✷ SPECIALIST MACHINING ✷ ENGINE EXCHANGE SERVICE FOR CLUBS

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SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 85

11/07/2019 18:55

23/08/2019 14:59

REGISTERS FWD

One of two FWD’s at the 2019 Saloon Day

Ben Hatton ben2692@hotmail.co.uk www.mgcc.co.uk/fwd-register/ So, the last month has been a pretty eventful one for the FWD Register. Two major shows were attended by FWD Register members with a good turnout on both days for FWD cars.

The first of these events was the BMC and Leyland show held at the British Motor Museum on July 7. The day was blessed with glorious weather, so as a result there was a brilliant turnout of cars. Unfortunately there was a slight mix-up with some of the museum staff who got our FWD Register confused with the BSA Front Wheel Drive owners club who were also attending the day. These are FWD three-wheeled cars, so a little bit different to our MGs. As a result of this, parking of our cars together didn’t really happen because it became difficult to move cars around as the show quickly filled up. However, a number of the MG variants of the Maestro, Metro and the super hard-to-find Montego attended the show, which was nice to see as getting a significant

MGF Tim Morris 01932 882467 scribe@mgfregister.org www.mgfregister.org It was a poignant occasion when our Central region went to Longbridge on June26 to greet the last workers as they left the factory following the announcement that any form of vehicle production had finished. Other Midlands Rover groups also attended Q Gate to help give the redundant workers a suitable send-off. The Pride of Longbridge Rally held in April commemorates the closure of the factory in 2005 following the bankruptcy of MG Rover and now this closure can be added to that event. Thankfully the company name was revived and around 1,000 more MGTFs were made under Nanjing/SAIC ownership up to 2010. The new saloon MGs followed, as we know, but now the final curtain has been drawn and we wait to see what will become of the remains of this once mighty motor manufacturing machine.

We at the MGF Register continue to celebrate the last of the MG roadsters with a hugely active regional social system organising events and

86 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 86

number of our cars together on the same day is often quite difficult to do.

The next show was again held at the British Motor Museum. This time it was the National Mini and Metro show held on August 4. Although the show is geared more towards Minis, there was still a brilliant turnout of Metros with in excess of 70 attending. Of these, around 10 were MGs with

some from the FWD Register and some from the Metro owners club. Again, a brilliant day was had by all who attended. I was really chuffed to find out at the end of the day that my MG Metro had won best Metro in show.

Our next big event will be the NEC classic car show and this year’s stand is shaping up to be something special. All will be reviled soon.

meetings on a weekly basis around the country.

If you haven’t joined them yet then please check the Internet forum at www.mgfregister.org/forum to find your nearest group. They may well have a Facebook or Twitter page, too, and some have their own WhatsApp or other messaging groups, so there are plenty of ways to keep in touch with what they are up to in a very modern and up-to-date way.

We were at Burghley House last month, linking up with the ZR/ZS/ZT Register to present “Monogram Day” marking the more unusual paint jobs in the MG firmament. This took me back to the early days of the “Zed” Register when we helped them get going with some joint ventures, particularly one of the MGFests at Gaydon. Which, of course, will be the location for MGF25 next year, which will be a huge celebration of the silver anniversary of the MGF – make sure you have the new confirmed date in your diary. Saturday July 25 will be the main show during the day and evening party and Sunday July 26 will be a celebratory silver road-run. Don’t miss it.

The latest edition of FasTForward is now out and follows up the electric car article with a look at the fully electric Indra Technologies MG TF “Mule”. We hope to see more of that electric

car in a forthcoming Safety Fast!. There are plenty of event reports as we forge on through the summer season and you can continue to read all the latest exploits of Rob Bell’s Project Shed which, if you frequent the Club’s sprints and hill climbs, you may have spotted out and about recently. You can subscribe by going to the MGF Register’s online shop.

Finally, we were perturbed to find out that the “Pocket Rocket” prototypes were being moved at Longbridge as part of a clear-out. There were abundant scare stories that they were to be scrapped; however MG Motor have reassured the Club that this is not the case. Let’s hope, however, they do find an appropriate home – the British Motor Museum seems the logical place.

Helen Waddington’s “MGF of the Year” M6CUP is explored in more detail in the latest FasTForward

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:59

Summit:Layout 1

24/8/12

17:51

Page 1

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NEW MGB Baulk Rings

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CNC Machined in the U.K. to our specification Brass 2nd & 3rd/4th

£59.95+VAT Steel 4 synchro

£49.50+VAT (Prices are subject to change. Please see our website!)

For the ‘best’ in MG high-performance Parts Hotline: +44 (0)1543 472244 E-mail: sales@bighealey.co.uk DENIS WELCH MOTORSPORT, YOXALL, BURTON-ON-TRENT, STAFFS DE13 8NA, UK

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 87

23/08/2019 14:59

REGISTERS ZR/ZS/ZT JOHN THOMPSON 01702 298866 johnt5@btinternet.com www.mgcc.co.uk/zedregister EVENTS We returned to Donington over the weekend of July 20-21 for the next rounds of the 2019 racing championships. We teamed up with the MGF Register and had our own area in the paddock for our gazebos and display cars. Located by the entrance we aimed to do something eyecatching. Although mainly dry apart from the odd shower on the Saturday, it was too windy to have the gazebos up or any material out. We did, however, have some cars on display and our flags were flown showing people we were there. Sunday was the busier day of the two and the wind had calmed overnight. We were able to put the gazebo up and have regalia out on sale. Geoff coordinated the parade lap participants from the hospitality suite on both days, Sunday being the more popular day for parade laps with those taking part enjoying the experience. For a full report on the weekend’s racing visit the motorsport area on the Club website. This year’s racing championships conclude at Snetterton on October 5.

The following weekend, MG Saloon Day took place at the Shuttleworth Museum on Sunday July 28. In a classic example of a certain law, it just goes to show that you can’t trust the British summer!

We were able to set up the afternoon before in relative dryness; however drizzle was the order for most of the day itself.

Despite this we had around 70 cars attend, including some of the older MG saloontypes which were in total contrast to the latest MG ZS. The forecasted weather may have deterred some from attending, but we made the point of saying “the show will go on” regardless! Those hardy enthusiasts who did venture out enjoyed the day and the museum collection.

88 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

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It was great to see some of our regular supporters, too. Congratulations to the winners and runners-up of the ‘Show & Shine’ competition. Thank you for bringing your pride and joys out on such a damp day. In the event programme we announced exciting plans for MG Saloon Day 2020. More information will be released in due course.

On August 18 Monogram Sunday took

place at Burghley House in Lincolnshire.

There will a full report on this event in the next Register update.

UPCOMING EVENTS Although we take a bit of a breather during September, mention must be made of our Open Day and AGM at Kimber House on October 6th.

THE ZR/ZS/ZT REGISTER & YOUNG MEMBERS BRANCH PRESENT

ZED REGISTER OPEN DAY KIMBER HOUSE Sunday 6th October

‘Exciting Announcements’

10am 10am10am-4pm For further information contact Paul Money at paulmoneymg@gmail.com

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 14:59

FOR DISPLAY ADVERTISING IN THE NEXT ISSUE OF

STEVE McKIE SPORTSCARS CHESTERFIELD

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www.stevemckiesportscars.co.uk Tel 01246 454527 • Fax 01246 453681 DONHOODS-SFAug07.QXD:Layout 1 S41 23/9/09 Albert Street North, Chesterfield, 8NP 16:22

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•BETTER THAN ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT QUALITY •STITCHED AND WELDED FOR MAXIMUM LIFE •WIDEST CHOICE OF COLOURS AVAILABLE •ALL FASTENERS & FITTINGS INCLUDED D PRICE FOR LEAFLET AN LIST CONTACT Ltd Don Trimming Co.

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PLEASE NOTE: ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS ARTWORK IS THE PROPERTY OF CLASSIC CARS FOR SALE MAGAZINE. Fixed price servicing

NO PART OF THIS ARTWORK MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED OR OTHERWISE All restoration work USED BY ANY OTHER PUBLICATION UNLESS PRIOR PERMISSION IS GIVEN BY undertaken THE PUBLISHERS - © MS Publications (2001) Ltd. Engine refurbishment including lead-free conversions

URGENT PROOF

Please check this proof carefully for errors in style, content and layout.

Classic car sales including Classic Car Specialists focusing

Although every care is exercised in preparing your advert, we cannot hold

commission salesourselves responsible for any inaccuracies you may overlook.

on Servicing, Sales, Restoration, SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ANY ALTERATIONS TO THIS PROOF PLEASE Insurance repair work Modifi cation and bespoke approved TELEPHONE BEFORE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AND QUOTE ADVERT NO. _ _ _ _ _ refinishing work to a wide range of UK & Europe collection classic MG’s and delivery service

Telephone 01206 Fax 01206 500180 Unit 9, Broadfields Farm, Dunmow Road, Essex. CM77 6SA We reserve the right to charge for anyRayne, alterationBraintree, to this proof which is a departure from the original copy

01376 569355 | info@classicandsportscarsessex.com | www.classicandsportscarsessex.com Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 90

23/08/2019 15:00

T-Type

Servicing, Restoration and Bespoke reďŹ nishing work Classic and Sports Cars Essex have been established for many years, and over that time have built up an excellent reputation as one of the UK’s leading T-Type specialist restorers.

We understand the need to balance maintaining originality with 21st century modifications such as 5 speed gearbox conversions, uprated brakes etc.

Our in house engineers can help you with a range of work starting from basic service packages to a

complete engine rebuild. If paint work is required, our bodywork specialist is on hand with a fully operational spray booth, boasting the highest quality work seen.

As a family run business we pride ourselves on a personal service. You will be welcome in our workshop throughout all stages of your project.

We are happy to discuss any requirements you may have so please get in touch.

We look forward to seeing you!

View all cars at www.classicandsportscarsessex.com Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 91

23/08/2019 15:00

CLASSIFIEDS How to Advertise

Members can advertise their cars free of charge in Safety Fast! The cost for non members is £20. The advert will also be posted on the Club website in due course. To place an advert in Safety Fast! please email colingrant@mgcc.co.uk with an attached photo of your car, details of your car, your contact details, price of your car, area where you live and membership number. Please keep your advert to 60 words The editor reserves the right to edit longer adverts.

This is for one insertion only, for additional insertions please email Colin at colingrant@mgcc.co.uk

1973 MG Midget

Mk3 1275. Recently re-conditioned to a very high standard. Totally rust-free body, 5-speed Sierra Gearbox, pre-engaged starter, electronic ignition, brake servo and new steering rack. Runs on unleaded fuel and has excellent oil pressure. The calibrated speedometer reads accurately.

Body repainted in Flame Red.. Has a good hood and tonneau cover. £10,500.

Tel: 01746 710533/07745 593307. Email: mail@artwood.plus.com (Shropshire)

1971 MGBGT

Abandoned project (genuine reason) V5C shows 1971 as year of registration. Body shell in sound condition with 99% welding completed and all parts ready for an enthusiast to build. Complete with K Series engine believed to be good condition, gear box with new conversion bell housing, new panels, seats, bumpers, lights, trim.

Currently mounted on a frame with wheels for ease of movement. Optional Brian James twin axel Minno trailer available.

Taxation class “historic vehicle”. Lots of photographs available to email if interested £2500 plus £1000 for trailer. Tel: 07871 034352 (Harrogate).

Number 733 of 750...only 48000 miles...

Original matching numbered car. Mechanically sound. Contact for full details on 07783080579.(Cardiff South Wales)

2003 MG ZS+120

1972 MGBGT

Californian import, extensively improved and restored to provide superb example RHD, 2 litre stage 2 engine 6,000 mls, Webber carb, luminition coil, leads, iridium plugs, 123 ignition , Gaz adjustable shocks, panhard rod, parabolic rear springs, power steering, ss manifold, Xnon headlights, replaced cills/rails, Wilwood 4 pot f/brakes, new high quality carpets. Dives beautifully. £12,000. Tel Roger 07801 188212 (Suffolk)

MGBGT JUBILEE

MGA 1600 Mk 2 Coupe

A well known car that has been seen on most of the MGA Register tours. It is one of the few coupes fitted with a sun roof, offering the best of both worlds. It is also fitted with a five speed gearbox conversion and is happy to be driven at the motorway speed limit. The original gearbox is included in the deal. The car is reliable, has a sound engine and it had all the necessary bodywork repairs before being resprayed externally in Chariot Red in November 2014. The seats were also reupholstered. Old age and poor health mean I have to part with it. Will haggle around £18,000. Contact John on 01428 604753. (Hampshire)

2004 MG Xpower 4.6 SV

British Racing Green Metallic with Oyster Alcantara / Leather Interior. Manual Transmission. The Car was initially the ‘Luffield MG’ Demonstrator, when they were appointed an official MG XPower Dealer.

The Vehicle has Full Service History, mostly with the Supplying Dealer and has been known to the Current Owner throughout its complete life. Mileage 11,800 - MOT to June 2020. Price £49,995. email: luffieldmotorsport@mail.com

Hatchback, unused since MOT ran out in February 2018. Under 100,000 miles from new. Currently SORNED but starts and runs very well with all good tyres, stainless steel exhaust and towbar. Probably needs some work for MOT but only £250 to an enthusiast who will get it back on the road and not break it for spare parts. Some marks on the body but generally a tidy car which has not been messed about.Contact Patrick Collier on 07811686303 or Email: patrickw.collier@yahoo.co.uk (Devon)

1951 MGTD

Ivory with Green leather trim, 5 speed g/box, Leystall- Lucas aluminium head, remote brake servo, new hood and side screens. Imported from California in 1989 and converted to R/H drive. Current owner 29 years. Registration No. 1951 MG. Good reliable car with no issues and ready to enjoy. £26000. Telephone 07771735304.

Email: davidtinker@xpag.co.uk.

(Mid Wales)

1974 Midget Mk3 1275

MGTF 80th Anniversary

1967 MGBGT

88214 miles. This vehicle benifits from many new parts; converted to negatve earth, brake and clutch pipes replaced with copper piping, hoses replaced. Underlay and carpets renewed, seats recovered with black leather. Walnut dashboard fitted and steering wheel replaced with a leatherbound type. Body work requires attention.

MOT to 29/08/2020. £6250. call 07883 886004 (Oxfordshire)

Limited Edition. One of only 1,600 made.

Complete with certificate to confirm the number. Full Service History. All in excellent condition, no interior or damage. Well looked after as deemed a classic car which means cheap insurance and low mileage.

Only 9,589 miles on the clock. Prior to me buying this car had never been out in the rain! Comes with a number of custom made covers. Needs to be seen to be appreciated. £8,995 ONO. Additional pictures available upon request.

E-mail: sarahnewman007@gmail.com or Tel: 07931163134. (Southend on Sea)

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 92

First registered 1/1/75. Original factory black with chrome bumpers. 6 owners & approx 76k miles. New Minilite wheels/ tyres. (Original wheels retained if required). Sale due to age of owner! Much history & thorough check/necessary works carried out last autumn (along with MoT issued) since when only a few miles driven.

Garaged all during my ownership of some 30 years. £21000.ono. Tel: 01293 203499 (nr Gatwick).

WANTED

MGB 1970-72 Blue, restored, preferably with Heritage Bodyshell but with history and photos. Call Mary&Barry on 01789 261494.

Please note that the Advertising deadline is September 10th for the October issue of Safety Fast!

92 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

1974 MGBGT V8

RWA model in Damask red with black interior. Restored in 2016 to a high standard, by a retired Motor Engineer for his own use. Bare shell restoration prior to high quality re-spray. All components including engine and gearbox were inspected, refurbished and where required replaced.

Parts bill including re-spray of £5K. This is an excellent rust free example, which looks good and runs extremely well, having covered only 2K miles since restoration.

(Agreed Insurance Value £9250.)Being sold as I have to choose between the Midget and a TF which I have owned for the last 12 years. £8950. Contact Keith on 07484 330054 or keithringsell@btinternet.com (South Oxon)

1947 MG TC

Black with red leather interior, beige double duck hood, full tonneau and side screens. 5 speed gearbox and recalibrated speedo. teleshocks all round.Brooklands screens. Present owner 11 years and full invoice record of purchases and work done in that time.Guide price is the current agreed value with insurers of £30,000.

Contact Brian on 01436 842067 or email at brianmacsalters@myhone.coop (Scotland)

1963 MGB roadster

Excellent condition 69,500 miles on the clock mot till November car has been refurbished and is pull handle model with new wheels and tyres engine bay been detailed paintwork on car is of excellent finishbrake servo and cooling fan fitted and comes with a Heritage Certificate £18,250 or best offer call Manfred on 07866023657 (Warwickshire)

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 15:00

A37 - Barry Walker_CLASSIC 23/07/2018 10:30 Page 1 A37 - Barry Walker_CLASSIC 23/07/2018 10:30 Page 1

BEAULIEU INT. AUTOJUMBLE

BEAULIEU INT. AUTOJUMBLE

THE NEW

SEPTEMBER

SEPTEMBER 7TH & 8TH 2019 7TH & 8TH 2019

STAND IS HERE 65 66

80 79 78 67 77 68 76 69 75 74 70 73 71 72

81 96 82 95 83 84 94 85 93 86 92 87 88 91 89 90

GREEN (B) FIELD

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

GREEN FIELD

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

6

55c 55b 55a 55 54 53 2

59 84 60 83 61 82 62 81 63 80 64 79 65 78 66 77 67 76 68 75 69 74 70 73 71 72

GREEN FIELD

130 157 131 156 132 155 133 154 134 153 135 152 136 151 137 150 138 149 139 148 140 147 141 146 142 145 143 144

49 64 50 63 51 52 62 53 61 54 60 55 56 59 57 58

93 118 94 117 95 96 97 116 98 115 99 114 100 113 101 112 102 111 103 110 104 109 105 108 106 107

48 47 46 35 45 36 44 37 43 42 38 41 39 40

M A R QU E E S ( B L U E )

GR

M A R QU E E S ( B L U E )

33 34

124 163 125 162 126 161 127 160 128 159 129 158

6 7

17 32 18 31 19 20 30 21 29 22 28 23 24 27 25 26

9 10

170 195 171 194 172 193 173 192 174 191 175 190 176 189 177 188 178 187 179 186 180 185 181 184 182 183

163a 202 164 201 165 200 166 199 167 198 168 197 169 196

PUBLIC ENTRANCE

PUBLIC ENTRANCE

3 4 5

16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8

88 123 89 122 90 121 91 120 92 119

OAK TREE GONE!

BEER

94 93

1 2

87a 56 87 57 86 58 85

57 63 62 58 61 59 60

97 96 95

GREEN (D) FIELD

T O I L E T S

33 32

139 138 137 136 135 134 133 132

BANKING

164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 1 173 1 121 152 122 151 123 150 124 149 125 148 126 147 127 146 128 145 129 144 130 143 131 142 82 108 83 107 84 106 85 105 86 104 87 103 88 102 89 101 90 100 91 99 92 98

RED FIELD

69 68 67 66 65 64 51 52 53 54 55 56

RED (A) FIELD

25 38b 26 38a 27 38 28 37 29 36 30 35 31 34

115 157 116 117 156 118 155 119 154 120 153

76 114 77 113 78 112 79 111 80 110 81 109 45 46 47 48 49 50

75 74 73 72 71 70

RED (A) FIELD

19 20 21 22 23 24

15 16 17 18

TO RED & YELLOW FIELD S

44 43 42 41 40 39

RED FIELD

4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1 15 16 16 16 163

BE SURE NOT TO MISS IT. STANDS R60-63. RIGHT BY THE ENTRANCE

Including and mounted (incl. allJ2fittings), badges, original tool L, P,side N, TA, TB,nose TC, TD. Includingsuperchargers this year a J2 chassis, engine, original radiator, windscreen, etc, etc (if all MGOC. OCC. kits, luggage racks, mascots and manuals. unsold). Plus side and nose mounted superchargers (incl. all fittings), original badges, original tool kits, MGOC. TEL: 01789 400181/FAX: 400230 luggage racks, mascots and manuals.

OCC. MOB: 07836 244103 … for the very best in vintage MGs … Estd. 1968

www.barrywalker.com email barry@barrywalker.com TEL: 01789 400181/FAX: 400230 (we are close to Stratford-on-Avon)

Recommended spares supplier

… for the very best in vintage MGs … Estd. 1968

www.barrywalker.com email barry@barrywalker.com (we are close to Stratford-on-Avon)

Recommended spares supplier

MOB: 07836 244103

Telephone 01753 644599

Email: martin@runnymede motorcompany.com

CM09.18/A37/g CM09.18/A37/g

CAR SALES a full complement spares forcomplement the models we sell: M,for D, the F, J,models K, L, P, N, TB,M,TC, CARplus SALES (Superb MG PB),ofplus a full of spares weTA, sell: D, TD. F, J, K,

Mobile (07836) 222111

www.runnymedemotorcompany.com

Aston Martin in the Thames Valley

1967 MGB Roadster finished in Tartan Red with contrasting black hide interior. Having purchased an MGB at the age of 21, supported by a finance agreement, these cars have always been a favorite of mine, despite moving onto numerous other hand built British Motor cars. This particular MGB has been the subject of a total, high quality restoration and is beautifully finished. The paintwork is completely Please check this proof carefully for errors in style, content and layout. unblemished and the interior leather and carpets look Although every care is exercised in preparing your advert, we cannot hold as though they were fitted yesterday. The soft top is ourselves responsible for any inaccuracies you may overlook. in as new condition and with the car is a matching SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ANY ALTERATIONS TO THIS PROOF PLEASE tonneau cover. It sits on silver painted wire wheels _ _has _ _the benefit of Overdrive on 3rd and 4th gears, TELEPHONE BEFORE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AND QUOTE ADVERT NO. _ and Please check this proof carefully for errors in style, content and layout. reducing Although every care is exercised in preparing your advert, we cannot hold engine revolutions for motorway cruising. ourselves responsible for any inaccuracies you may overlook. Everything about this car suggests that the previous owners have taken great care and the older restoration SHOULD YOU REQUIRE ANY ALTERATIONS TO THIS PROOF PLEASE included a new Heritage body shell, hence the whole TELEPHONE BEFORE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AND QUOTE ADVERT NO. car _ _ is _ _completely _ corrosion free. When driving, the engine performs extremely well and the overdrive clicks We reserve the right to charge for any alteration to this proof which in without any lag. You can find MGB’s for considerably is a departure from the original copy less than our conservative asking price but if you want the best, look no further. £19,950

URGENT PROOF

URGENT PROOF

Please view ourWewebsite at www.runnymedemotorcompany.com for further reserve the right to charge for any alteration to this proof which is a departure from theBrewer original copy information or contact Martin on 01753 644 599 www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 93

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FAST! 93

23/08/2019 15:00

1970 MGB

Red. Hard top and soft top option. Good Gold Seal engine. Overdrive. Wire Wheels.

No rust. Drives OK. Older restoration. Could be used for everyday use, tidying up a bit or a full restoration. Price: £6,000.

Contact: Melvyn on 07966 482 351 (Esher, Surrey)

MGB Mkll Roadster

Red with black interior. The car has undergone hours of bodywork restoration which is all documented with bills and photographs. Mileage seems genuine too, following back mot's in the extensive history file..She has had over £10,000 spent on her over the past few years. No rust or rot in the car. The engine has been recently rebuilt allowing unleaded to be used in the car. The interior refreshed with a new dashboard and door cards lifting the whole feel of the car. The car has a sports exhaust which sounds amazing and she goes very well. This car presents extremely well. £9,999 ono. Please call on 01732 887265 or 07930491027.

1975 MG BGT

3.5 ltr, refurbished in o Green, rare colour. 5 o 79,000 miles, MOT Ma had 44 years. All panel lop wheels. Many new New starter motor, batt brakes, water pump, re interior is very clean , s panels all in nice condi been Zei barted from n id. New Radiator fan s new Clutch Hose and c new antifreeze in syste Tel: 07466021553

1947 MG TC

TC2193 was exported new to the US and repatriated in 2014. A comprehensive mechanical overhaul & upgrade was carried prior to my buying the car in early 2017, since when it has reliably covered over 1500 miles in the company of other elderly MGs and their owners. It has also been in the top three of our local PoO for three years running. The car will be sold as shown in the photo and also comes with the windscreen/wipers/hood frame/ beige hood and black tonneau. The only reason for sale is the acquisition of another TC. In the first instance, please email me and I’ll send you comprehensive details of the specification together with additional photos. I’m looking for offers in the region of £27,750. chrisbone.mg@gmail.com

1967 MGB MK1 Roadster

Robust history back to early 1990’s.The car is in excellent condition having been cared for by myself and other owners over the years. British Racing Green with black leather interior. She has green piping on the seats which are in superb condition as is the whole interior.The walnut dashboard lifts the whole cabin. Body and paintwork are very strong with no rust and the underneath is sound. Engine bay is immaculate with no grease or oil and the paint is still fresh. She was restored in the late 1990s which is fully documented.The car has electronic ignition and a Kenlow fan fitted other than that an original. A truly fabulous example of this 1960 s British classic.

MOT till October 2019 Call 07930491027 or 01732 887265

1995 MGRV8

Woodcote Green 30k M dition all round. FSH fr Hoyle suspension & dis dash, door capping, wi chip, new tyres, Clive W system & wind deflecto cover, magnecor leads new petrol pump & filt and dry use. Tel: 01189 gfmower@talk21.com

1964 MG Midg

Bodywork in very solid late 1990’s and garage invoices for restoration servicing and restoratio handbook. Runs well a order ready to be used change of plans. £3500 geoff_dibben@yahoo.

997380. (Twickenham,

1970 MGB

High specification competition car, road legal. 136 bhp 1840cc engine. 45 DCOE Webber, Kent219 cam. Cosmetic head gasket, ARP studs. Oil cooler, Maniflo competition exhaust and manifold. LSD lowered suspension, anti tramp bars. Yoko AO48 tyres. £13500 For full specification, history and many photos. Tel: Charles on 07957345767 or chaz.b@hotmail.co.uk (Gloucestershire)

2001 MGF Trophy

1972 MGB GT

2.1 litre engine. Moss Sebring kit. Restored and modified during 97/98 to a high spec.

Lots of history, receipts and photos of rebuild. Has been dry stored for 20 years so is rust free. Stainless steel exhaust system.

Makes a great track day car. 41859 miles.

Asking price £7999. Contact 07775 074364 or Email: miss.jarvis@hotmail.co.uk (North Somerset)

94 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 94

Low mileage (24k) Trophy for sale , first registered Oct 01 . I’ve owned for almost 5 years, only done 8k but age has got the better of us both this summer! This car looks great and in vgc all round. £5,250 to include the E3 MGT plate. Contact Andy Partington 0771 445 8602 (Lichfield area)

Please note that the Advertising deadline is September 10th for the October issue of Safety Fast!

1972 MGB Roa

O/D, Tartan red, black mid June 2020. During full front suspension re and full tonneau, new cooler, plus lots more. to date. Dry use only a airchamber in garage.

581049 (Devon)

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 15:00

MGB Roadster

MGA Twin Cam Coupe

lent condition having Owned since 1969. Well known to MGCC. myself and other Matching numbers. Original Mineral Blue years. British Racing with pale grey Connolly hide on De Luxe enquiries@mgsforsale.com www.mgsforsale.com leather interior. She has seats. Body-off 10,000 miles ago. Almost he seats which are in everything renewed. Built for modern as is the whole interior. traffic. 1762cc TC engine, Barwell head, board lifts the whole MGB overdrive gbox and diff. Most paintwork are very original bits included. £29,000 ono.

MG AUTOMATIC OlderOlder Nut &Nut Bolt &Restored 1954Cam MGTF 1500 MG CGT CGT1968 1968 AUTOMATIC Bolt 1967 Mk1 MGB Roadster Coupe st and the underneath Email: jfarrington999@gmail.comMGA Twin oadster (RWD628G) MG CGT 1968, excellent Mineral Red withWell tan leather trim. vinyl weather The car is in excellent condition having Restored (RWD628G) MGautomatic, CGT 1968, automatic, Owned since 1969. known to MGCC. bay immaculate.

She 1975 MG BGT V8 or. The car has Blue coachwork with nicely mellowed original Black equipment, excellent condition.

Originally 2016 MG6 GT diesel been cared for by myself and other excellent Mineral Blue coachwork with nicely mellowed Original Mineral Blue he late 1990s.

The car 3.5 ltr, refurbished in original Tundra Matching numbers. bodywork restoration leather interior trim, original genuine leather bound MGC LHD, returned to Top-of-the UK aDeyear later and Facelift model. range TL owners over the years. British Racing with pale grey Connolly hide on Luxe original Black leather interior trim, original genuine enquiries@mgsforsale.com www.mgsforsale.com ition and a Kenlow fan Green, rare colour. 5 owners, genuine nted with bills and Green with converted tomiles RHD.ago.

Lead Free headmiles

by Peter steering wheel,MGC nicely detailed engine compartment black leather interior. She has model.

1.9 turbo diesel.

48,000 seats. Body-off 10,000 Almost leather bound steering wheel, nicely detailed that an original.

A truly 79,000 miles, MOT May 2020, last owner ge seems genuine too, Edney, 5 Speed Gearbox and recalibrated green piping on the seats which are in housing the smooth 3.0 litre engine ideal with the Borg (daily driver so mileage will increase) 18” everything renewed. Built for modern engine compartment housing the smooth 3.0 litre engine had 44 years.

All panels are original, Dunf in 1960 British engineering. thes extensive hisspeedo, Runyon styleinserts. luggage rack, 6until superb condition as is the whole interior.

Warner automatic making this particularly rare traffic. 1762cc TC engine, Barwell head, MoT’d alloys, red bumper ideal with the Borggearbox Warner automatic gearbox making lopdashboard wheels. Many new parts, etc. £12,995 dks. over £10,000 spent The walnut lifts the whole vane water pump, electric fan, pads oil cooler model an ideal classic today, this vehicle apparently formed part of a collection of a deceased MGB overdrive gbox and diff. Most June 2020.

Recent discs and as well this particularly rare model an ideal classic today, this New starter motor, battery, recent rear 7few or 01732 887265 years. No rustcabin. or Body and paintwork are very Lots of original bitsavailable. included. £29,000 ono. interior,Current estate, inspection one can quality ofofthe rebuild from a number yearsRestored ago as new tyres.

Fulldocumentation. leather satvehicle on apparently formed partsee of the aMG collection aAUTOMATIC deceased estate, on one and can CGT 1968 Older Nutinspection &ofBolt brakes, water pump, recent service, The 20@gmail.com ngine has been recently strong with no rust and the underneath owner 15 years, used regularlyFull butservice selling Email: jfarrington999@gmail.com with likely little of miles still very fresh inofappearance, justwith arrived nav, Bluetooth connectivity. see the quality the since rebuildis from a(RWD628G) number years ago1968, and likely£24,950.00 little miles since is MG CGT automatic, excellent Mineral interior is very clean , side panels, door aded to be used inis sound. Engine bay immaculate. She for 4 seat MG driving. £29,750.

Tel 01483 history – serviced by SAIC Motor 2016 UK Tech-MG6 still fresh in appearance, just arrived £24,950.00with nicely mellowed original Black Blue coachwork GTverydiesel panels all inlate nice condition, The car has refreshed with a new was restored in the 1990s.

The car 421853 or Email: ian@oxness.com MG BGT 1972 Last Owner 37 Years (LLF951K) MG BGT, nical Centre. In good condition. Spacious, leather interior trim, original genuine leather bound MGC hite.Bare Facelift model. Top-of-the range TL been ignition Zei barted new, the cards lifting the whole has electronic andfrom a Kenlow fan floors is sollast owner 37 years, chrome bumpers, overdrive, economical engaging modern MG. £6500 steering wheel, nicely detailed engine compartment ebuild model.

1.9 turbo1972, diesel.

48,000 miles id.2010 Newthat Radiator fan switch thermocouple, MGB ROADSTER 1979 Heritage Shell Rebuild (AJF728T) MG TF 85th ar has a sports exhaust fitted other than an original.

A truly chrome Rostyle wheels, Aqua coachwork now requiring ono. Call Adam on 07530734044(daily driver so mileage housing the smooth suspension. will increase) 18” on a new new Clutch Hose and clutch fluid replaced, MGB Roadster, 1979, rebuilt Heritage Shell early3.0 litre engine ideal with the Borg Anniversary Edition.

One of only 50 ever ng and she goes very stunning example of 1960 s British engineering. some improvement but a very solid vehicle indeed with a Warnertrim, automatic gearbox making this particularly rare ner 8 years. alloys, red bumper inserts.

MoT’d untilpower train, interior new antifreeze in system.

2000’s, rebuild included suspension built, full leather seats, air£23,690. con, heated ts extremely well. Based in Sevenoaks. £12,995 nice original feel and appearance, original style navy cloth 5.

June 2020. Recent discs and pads as well Tel: 07466021553 etc. nice White coachwork with delightful Black leather interior glass rear window, Twist of Pepper alloy call on 01732 887265 Call 07930491027 or 01732 887265 interior trim, gold seal engine fi tted mid 80’s and drives as new tyres.

Full leather interior, sato.uk trim, hood as new, chrome boot rack, carpeted boot, Mota-Lita wheels, wind stop, hood cover, full size email: walkermr20@gmail.com nav, Bluetooth connectivity.

Full service delightfully, good history with originalnice documentation Oxon ) steering wheel, clean enginefilecompartment, history file spare wheel and the rare MGTF toolkit history – servicedback by restoration SAIC Techto theMotor 80’s, aUK plethora of invoices frometc. renowned with invoices from MGB Hive, MGOC images &specialists Brian Brown Classics & B This edition is the only MGTF to every nical Centre. In good condition.

Spacious, Hive, original Unipart Gold Seal papers, old mot’s etc. etc. just arrived £5,950.00 old mot’s etc, GB alloy wheels, sports exhaust, drives superbly, have mechanical modification with economical engaging modern MG. £6500 2010 just arrived, £10,950.00 factory uprated suspension to make this MG TF 85th ono. Call Adam on 07530734044 roadster Anniversary Edition. One of only 50 ever the best driving MGTF every produced. terior. The car has built, full leather seats, air con, heated Only 26000 miles £8,995.00.

URGENTLY WANTED of bodywork restoration 1946 MG TC Tel: Alan on 07799 717007 or glass rear window, Twist of Pepper alloy up extremely well and Spent twelve years of it’s life in Cyprus, wheels, wind stop,first hood cover, full size email: motorfan@hotmail.co.uk ,000 spent on it over overrare

by RAF type.

Not pristine spare wheeltaken and the MGTF toolkit (Fleet Hampshire) s. No rust or rot in In nice Primrose yellow, This editionbut is the only condition.

MGTF to every ne has been recently MGmodification A 1600 green leather.

Newwith hood, side screen and 1995 MGRV8 have mechanical nleaded to be used in tonneau cover two years ago. need Woodcote Green 30k Miles, excellentfactory con- uprated suspension to make In good condition, builtthis 1961.Carbs On the MK1 Roadster MkII MGB roadster the best driving MGTF every produced. or early refreshed with aRed with dition setting up. number included. all round.The FSHcar from tacho are Reg 58’000 miles.not It has EU approvto 1990’s.The black interior. hasFischer services.

Only 26000£29,950. miles £8,995.00.

Reason forthis sale, just bought a TF Hoyle suspension & discs all round, new nd doorcards the al papers (before it was approved ndition havinglifting beenundergone hours of bodywork restoration SEE OUR WEBSITE FOR A COMPLETE LISTING OF OUR STOCK he was Kennethwholmes@outlook.com dash, door capping, windscreen, Tel: Alan onEmail: 717007 The or power of the motor car.

The car has a over sports in07799 Switzerland) and other owners which is holding up extremely well and optimax uring the (Ipswich area) chip, new tyres, Clive Wheatley bleed email: motorfan@hotmail.co.uk undsGreen amazing and she is 79 PS and had be changed to lead cing with black has had over £10,000 spent on it over wford (large system & wind deflector, (Fleet Hampshire) 10999.00. ono. the past few free petrol. The car is black with a beige has green years.

No rust or rot infull & half toneau istory) andpiping on Do not confuse the above vehicles with cheaper inferior quality models offered elsewhere. Part exchange cover, magnecor leads, cat heat shields, interor. It’s in a good condition. MG A 1600 732 887265 or mobile ninsuperb condition as car. The the engine has been recently a 1990’s any make of Motor Car with generous allowances. Discounted cash purchases. Viewing by appointment only new petrol pump & filter.

Always garaged The wheel is on the left side of the car.

The walnut dashboard rebuilt allowing unleaded to be used in In good condition, built 1961.

On the please (available evenings & weekends) no obligation to purchase. All our vehicles carry a warranty, have an cate. Comes andinterior dry use.

Tel: 01189481420 or email: MOT and are areItfully fully serviced prior to to collection/delivery. collection/delivery. . Body and paintwork Price 38’000 Euro or £34’200 GBP. Theare 58’000 the car. The refreshed with a 20@gmail.com MOT and prior tacho miles. hasserviced EU approvnd scuffs, gfmower@talk21.com. no rust and the undercar has to be picked from France.

Phone new dashboard and doorcards lifting the al papers (before this it was approved st spots are ne bay is immaculate 0033 389 89 40 56 or Email: in Switzerland) The power of the motor whole feel of the car. The car has a sports time means the paint exhaust which sounds amazing and she francoise@bignens.org is 79 PS and had be changed to lead rand ‘children’ we is still red in the late 1990s goes very well. £10999.00. ono.

Tel:+44 +44(0) (0)1953 1953717618 717618 Fax: Fax:(0) (0)1953 1953717850 717850 free petrol. The car is black with a beige Tel: 1960 MGA 1600 Mk 1 ented.The interor. It’s in a good condition. on 01732 887265 or mobile phone Chriscar has Please call L/H/D. complete body off rebuild. nd a Kenlow fan fitted The wheel is on the left side of the car.

07930 491027. finished in old english white with black riginal. A truly fabulous Price 38’000 Euro or £34’200 GBP. The Email: walkermr20@gmail.com eu 2016 MG6 GT diesel leather trim.

Thousands spent and must 0 s British classic. car has to be picked from France. Phone Facelift model.

Top-of-the range TL model. be seen to be appreciated. £29,750 19 0033 389 89 40 56 or Email: 1.9 turbo diesel.

48,000 miles (daily driver Tel: 07813743576 or WANTED ALL MG MODELS! r 01732 887265 francoise@bignens.org so mileage will increase) 18” alloys, red All conditions wanted, from barn finds to Email: grahamallaway@yahoo.co.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1953 717618 Fax: (0) 1953 717850 1960 MGA 1600 Mk 1until Junepurchased. bumper inserts.

MoT’d 2020. concours.

Complete collections (North Yorkshire) L/H/D. complete offand rebuild.

Recentbody discs pads as well as new tyres.

1964 MG Midget Cash buyer. Discretion assured.

1600 finished in old white with black Bluetooth conFullenglish leather interior, sat-nav, Bodywork in very solid condition. Restored Please do not hesitate to contact me if since 2011 nut & bolt trim.

Thousands and must– serviced by 1972 MGB Roadster, Old English White, red trim. 1960 MGA 1600 COUPE Iris Blue, blue leather trim, nectivity.

Full spent service history late 1990’s and garaged since. Stacksleather of 1959 AUSTIN HEALEY SPRITE Leaf 1995 MGRV8, Woodcote Green, stone beige trim. you are interested in selling your MG and mplete mechanical Totally restored on dry stateFROGEYE shell, everything is new/ appreciated. £29,750 arm rest.

Fully restored car from shell, everything SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre. In good Green,2L green restored car.leather California dry New invoices for restoration, parts, MOTs,be seen to be beige mohair hood, newbare (original) tonneau, recon. fasttrim. roadTotally engine.

Sports seats. are looking for a prompt hassle-free cash + photos. Original reg restoredin orexcellent replaced.condition, Fully rechromed, new trim, state ex car, R/H/D. Bare metal Rebuilt new doorallcards.

Re Tel: 07813743576 or Spacious, economical engaging WANTED ALL MG MODELS! condition.

Everfl rednow hood.

W/Wheels.

Drives respray. like a new car, interior servicing and restoration photos. Original bare shelldash repaint.

New wings.

Bootcaps. carpets, boot rack. mechanicals.

All rack, new sports trim etc.

Great valuedash. and veneered buyer!

Please feel free to contact me for a console and door 48,500 mls. rning car with stunning superb, S/S boot wheel, painted All conditions wanted, from finds to Email: grahamallaway@yahoo.co.uk modern MG. £6300 ono. Call Adam on handbook. Runs well and in full working Unleaded rebuilt engine. 5Power speed steering, gearbox conversion impossible to barn restore at anything close to this price. frame (refurbed). upgraded Hydraulic bonnet struts, K&N filters.

Would cost in Screen no obligation friendly chat. ed B 1800 engine for effortless touring.

Superb car, last owner since £22,995.00 concours.

Complete collections purchased. to Clive Wheatley Spax shocks. Suspension poly 07530734044. (Cirencester) order ready to be used. Sadly selling (North due to Yorkshire) excess of £35k to build. £27,995.00 1973! Would in excess of £60k to restore MGA p, unleaded, alternator, bushed.

New cost clutch and slave cylinder, new boot Cash buyer. Discretion assured.

1960 MGA change of1600 plans. £3500 or near offers.

I am especially interested in the following Coupe£22,995 like this £32,995.00 stayst. electronic ignition Please do not hesitate to contact me if models: MG TC, MGA, MGB, MGC, MGB Only 14500 miles since 2011 nut & boltor 07785 geoff_dibben@yahoo.co.uk 1972 MGB Roadster, Old English White, red trim. , 5-speed box, 3.9:1 diff, 997380.

V8, Magnette and Midget. you are interested in selling your MG and restoration & complete mechanical Totally restored on dry state shell, everything is new/ 1995 MGRV8, Woodcote Green, stone beige tr (Twickenham, W. London) adster recon. 2L fast road engine. Sports leather seats. New beige mohair hood, new (original) tonne largerwas wheels enable are looking for a prompt hassle-free cash replacement. 500+ photos. Original reg nty years ago Everflex red hood. W/Wheels. Drives like a new car, interior in excellent condition, new door cards.

CALL DIRECT ON: buyer! Please feel free to contact me for a th extractor exhaust dis- Head-turning car with stunning number. superb, S/S boot rack, sports wheel, painted dash. veneered dash console and door caps. 48,500 m nly 10,000 Hydraulic bonnet struts, K&N filters. Would cost in Screen frame (refurbed). Power steering, upgrad -end security devices, no obligation friendly chat. paintwork.

Uprated B 1800 engine 07787 528131 to Clive Wheatley Spax shocks. Suspension p ent on it excess of £35k to build. £27,995.00 ravel kits. Owned for producing 107 bhp, unleaded, alternator, bushed. New clutch and slave cylinder, new b UK Based Buyer G specialist I am especially interested in the following stayst. £22,995 WANTED ALL MG MODELS! me for someone else to negative earth, electronic ignition 1968 MGC GT models: MG TC, MGA, MGB, MGC, MGB very high All conditions wanted, from barn finds to V8, Magnette and Midget. flects exceptional car.

(Novatech tuned), box, 3.9:1 diff, Finished5-speed in Primrose Yellow with chrome hood.an The assisted brakes & wheels larger wheels enable concours. Complete collections purchased. rophy spoke and black leather trim. dale@gmail.com and the MIDGETMK1 MK1Almond AlmondGreen, Green,Shadow ShadowGreen Greentrim. trim. 1972 1972 MGB MGB Flame Flame Red, Red, Tan Tan leather leather trim. trim. Full Full bare bare CALL MIDGET DIRECT ON: extractor exhaust rophy for sale , firstFUN DRIVING, Cash buyer. Discretion assured.

Thewith car underwent a bodydisrestoration in Totally immaculate. immaculate. Totally Totally restored restored car, car, probably probably shell Burgess shell rebuild rebuild with with history history and and photographic photographic record. record.

Totally tinctive sound!

Hi-end security devices, ’ve owned for almost the best MK1 available!

Restored in 1992 and Minilites.

Lovely engine bay.

Drives superbly.

Some 1997/98 with photographic record, the Please do not hesitate to contact me if 07787 528131 the best MK1 available!

Restored in 1992 and Minilites. Lovely engine bay. Drives superbly. Some ce manifold still looks looks like like it’s it’s just just been been done. done. Immaculate Immaculate marks marks inin paint. paint. Superb Superb summer summer fun fun and and great great extensive tool & travel Owned for still kre.but age has got the engine was kits. rebuilt in 2011with many you are interested in selling your MG and The UKunderside, Based Buyer underside, enginebay, bay,interior interiortrim trimetc. etc.Drives Driveslike like investment. investment.£11,995.00 £11,995.00 engine time forincluding someonelightened else to flywheel, s summer! This car50 years, now 1968 MGC GT new.

Unique opportunity. £18,995 (would cost well up-grades efurbished new. Unique opportunity. £18,995 (would cost well are looking for a prompt hassle-free cash over£40-50k £40-50kto torestore restorenow!) now!)£18,995 £18,995.00 reflects exceptional c all round. to £32,000 Finished in Primrose Yellow with chrome over ported headan and fast road car. cam, running ones, new £5,250enjoy. buyer! Please feel free to contact me for a Email: mga1600sale@gmail.com Contact the Midget plate.

Contact spoke wheels and black leather trim. Specialist ar.

The original on twin 2” SU’s. Extensive history file no obligation friendly chat.

MIDGET MK1 Almond Green, Shadow Green trim. 1972 MGB Flame Red, Tan leather trim. Full b 1a 445 8602 a body restorationon in Abingdon MIKE AUTHERS Mota-Lita with invoices and MOT certificates.The car underwent Totally immaculate. Totally restored car, probably shell rebuild with history and photographic reco photographic record, the the best MK1 available! Restored in 1992 and Minilites. Lovely engine bay. Drives superbly. So 1972 MGB Roadster 1997/98 with and handles I am especially interested in the following £19,250.

07703 465 224 CHROME still looks like it’s just been done. Immaculate marks in paint. Superb summer fun and gr engine wasmodels: rebuilt in 2011with many MG TC, MGA, MGB, MGC, MGB O/D, black(Warwickshire) interior. MOT to mmediately underside, engine bay, interior trim etc. Drives like investment. £11,995.00 Tel:Tartan 07710red, 399510 BUMPERED MIDGETS in up-grades including flywheel, new. Unique opportunity. £18,995 (would cost well V8,lightened Magnette and Midget. seful stainless mid June 2020. During last 4 years has had over £40-50k to restore now!) £18,995 excellent condition bought up to ported head and fast road cam, running age rack.

Thethe full front suspension rebuild, new hood ote that Contact the Midget Specialist on twin 2” SU’s.

Extensive history file CALL DIRECT ON: £8,000.

View current stock at ner is sadly and full tonneau, new radiator and oil Mrg13Type MIKE AUTHERS on Abingdon with invoices and MOT certificates.

YOUR CAR? deadline is yearsfully rebuilt, cooler,SELLING plus lots more.

History from 1985 www.mgmidgets.com 07787 528131 rs engine As a Dry member of the MG Car kept Club£19,250. you 07703 465 224 CHROME ues. £11,000. to date. use only and always in an ad,this is the the r5570 10th forcarthe UK Based Buyer Tel:for 07710 399510 (Warwickshire) can advertise your £5100. car in Safety Fast 1969 MGC MGC Mineral MineralBlue, Blue,grey greyleather leathertrim. trim.Chrome Chrome 1974 MG MIDGET BUMPERED MIDGETS in RWA or email airchamber in garage.

Tel: 01769 1976 MIDGET1275 1500 British Blaze, Racing Autumn Green, 1969 owned and drove to wires. Overdrive.

Overdrive. Totally Totally restored restored by by ourselves ourselves 10 10 Leaf trim.

Restored car, totally solid, free. (Devon) Just email your car details, max 60 Autumn Leaf trim. Everything on this carhome has wires. r more 581049 tober excellent condition bought up to Weber years ago. ago. Superb Superb car car inin superb superb condition. condition. Lovely Lovely restoration.

Drives 954 after he modified been renewed or superbly. refurbished.

All carb. new Great trim. years words, together with a JPEG picture to engine bay. bay. Unleaded Unleaded rebuilt rebuilt engine. engine. Bespoke Bespoke grey grey little car £5,995.00 engine Over £12,000 spent on parts alone, plus £8,000.

View current stock at his racing cycle, see1931 MG M Type Safety Fast! trim,leather leatherseats. seats.AAfifine nerestored restoredand andvery verywell welllooked looked Colin Grant at 1000’s of hours. Immaculate inside and out and trim, SELLING YOUR CAR? aftercar car£27,995.00 £27,995.00 r story. Much history, www.mgmidgets.com after underneath! Fantastic value £12,995.00 Matching numbers engine fully rebuilt, colingrant@mgcc.co.uk As a member of the MG Car Club you at the e car £14,500. rewired, recore rad,this the car the Nonismembers fee is £20 can advertise your car in Safety Fast for 1976 MG MIDGET 1500 British Racing Green, 1969 MGC Mineral Blue, grey leather trim. Chro (Gloucestershire) adline is late robin gordon owned and drove to free. Just email your car details, max 60 Autumn Leaf trim. Everything on this car has wires. Overdrive. Totally restored by ourselves monte-carlo in 1954 after he modified been renewed or refurbished. All new trim. years ago. Superb car in superb condition. Lov words, together with a JPEG picture to r the Over £12,000 spent on parts alone, plus engine bay. Unleaded rebuilt engine. Bespoke g rear end to take his racing cycle, see Colin Grant at trim, leather seats. 95 A fine restored and very well look 1000’s of hours.

Immaculate inside2019 and out SAFETY www.mgcc.co.uk SEPTEMBER FAST! www.mgcc.co.uk AUGUST 2019and SAFETY FAST! 95 sue of yearbook 2003 for story. Much history, after car £27,995.00 underneath! Fantastic value £12,995.00 colingrant@mgcc.co.uk loved and reliable car £14,500.

Non members fee is £20 st!

Tel:07986530555 (Gloucestershire)

01707 876089

07831 556666

01707 876089

07831 556666

URGENTLY WANTED

ANY ANY MG MG

ANY ANY YEAR YEAR

ANY CONDITION

www.mgsforsale.com www.mgmecca.co.uk www.mgmecca.co.uk

WANTED

www.mgmecca.co.uk

WANTED

WANTED

MIDGETS! WANTED MIDGETS! WANTED

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd Safety Fast_August2019 49-98.indd 9595

www.mgcc.co.uk

AUGUST 2019 SAFETY FA 23/08/2019 25/07/201915:00 10:27

Insurance for all MG’s classic and modern

‘Safety Fast!’, ‘MG Enthusiast’, ‘Classic & Sportscar’; ‘Motor’; ‘Autocar’ (Poole, Dorset). Please call Mark on 07974065221 or e-mail for full list with details: mark.rathbone@phonecoop.coop Call for a quote today

01376 574000

MGB

R/B rear bumper ex California, rust

free, £145.00 Graham 07813 743576 www.classiccarinsurance.co.uk (Yorkshire)

MGTD

URGENTLY WANTED MGA/MGB/MGC/V8/ MIDGET/SPRITE ETC

Any Condition from non runners to rebuilt cars

Please call Edward 01923 840236 or any time on 07774 484497 Email: ejwhitescars@aol.com Website: www.mgandporsche.com

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX

(Northwood, Middlesex)

4 Sight Lighting Company...............85

Machine Mart..................................43

Adrian Flux ......................................64

Manor Garage.................................74

Barrie Carter ...................................97

MG Mecca.......................................95

Barry Walker ...................................93

MG Motorsport ...............................87

Beech Hill Garage............................94

MG Sales Centre.............................20

British Motor Heritage.....................IFC Brown and Gammons.....................13 C&F Engineering.............................85 Carole Nash Insurance ....................6 Chisbon Restorations......................64 Cibie Oscar spotlights......................78 Classic & Sports Cars (Essex).... 90,91

Mike Authurs Classics (MG Midgets).96 Mike Satur.......................................57 Moss Europe Ltd.............................64 Motor Wheel Services.....................76 NTG Services................................OBC

Classic Car Hub...............................63

Oselli Ltd .........................................43

Clive Wheatley.................................63

Paul Depper MGs............................87

College Motors Burford...................74

Peter Best...........................96,97, IBC

Colne Classics.................................87

Peter James Insurance...................38

Crown Classic Cars.........................85

Rees Bros........................................57

David Manners .................................6

Retro Sports Cars ...........................70

Dennis Welch..................................87

Rimmer Bros Ltd.............................70

Distributor Doctor.............................83

RJH Automotive...............................83

Don Trimming..................................89

RM Car Care....................................38

Duckhams ......................................14

Robin Lackford Motor Engineering .57

EJW Classic and sports...................96 Fishers Services..............................78 Footman James..............................25 Former Glory ...................................96 Fostons............................................72 Frontline ..........................................30 Halls Garage....................................38

Runnymede.....................................93 Scenic Car Tours ...............................9 Sherwood Restorations...................97 Skiptune..........................................83 SMR ................................................95 Steve McKie Sports Cars.................89

Heathrow Transmission...................78

Summit MG.....................................87

Car Cover Shop...............................78

Sussex Classic Car Parts.................76

Hoyle Suspension............................68

The Hutson Motor Co Ltd..................4

Just Right Autos Ltd........................58

Torro Sports Cars Ltd.......................95

Longstone Tyres .............................48

Vitesse Global Ltd............................74

ED NT

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Midland Classic Restoration..............4

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For

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01844 281700

nigelguild@hotmail.com

MGOC Recommended Dealer 40 MGs in Stock Best Prices paid with friendly advice. Est 1986 Fast payment and collection 96 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 96

How to Advertise

Members can advertise their cars free of charge in Safety Fast! The cost for non members is £20. The advert will also be posted on the Club website in due course. To place an advert in Safety Fast! please email colingrant@mgcc.co.uk with an attached photo of your car, details of your car, your contact details, price of your car, area where you live and membership number. Please keep your advert to 60 words The editor reserves the right to edit longer adverts.

This is for one insertion only, for additional insertions please email Colin at colingrant@mgcc.co.uk

MGF

Set of four early 6-spoke wheels fitted with Goodyear Eagle Touring tyres.

Wheels in immaculate condition, no scuffs or corrosion. The tyres are also excellent but rather old. £100. Please call Paul on 01235 851251 or 07794 239775

Garage Clearout

For sale at bargain prices: Tex door mirrors; MGCC badges; MGBGT V8 wheel; MGB window-winders; Maestro mudflap and indicator unit; Metro jack; Haynes Workshop manuals MGB and Maestro; TomTom lighter socketto-USB converter; extension mirrors for towing; large number of magazines: ‘Safety Fast!’, ‘MG Enthusiast’, ‘Classic & Sportscar’; ‘Motor’; ‘Autocar’ (Poole, Dorset). Please call Mark on 07974065221 or e-mail for full list with details: mark.rathbone@phonecoop.coop

MGB

R/B rear bumper ex California, rust free, £145.00 Graham 07813 743576 (Yorkshire)

MGTD

Cylinder head +gearbox +bits.John Maclay 01590 675977 (Lymington)

MGB R/B

Rear bumper ex California, rust free, £145.00 Graham 07813 743576 (Yorkshire)

MGB Mark 1 Seats

Black with red piping. All in very good condition. Photos on request. £150.

Tel: 01392 495757. (Devon)

MG Parts

MG XPAG used inlet manifold (24280) finished in chrome in good conditi£on £120 MG TA 6 volt battery trays, sand blasted and primed £60 Smiths water temperature gauge with capillary tube £60 MG Y type exhast manifold (24357) £60 MG Y Type pair of handbrake cables unused £80 MG Y Type alloy air filter with MG logo £50 Contact Richard on 01833 660000 or email : beckside.41@gmail.com

Midget Parts

Excellent rust free bonnet £150. Boot lid with badge, lock and handle £75. New front valance £40. 5 doors £30 each. Pair new complete quarter light assys £300 pair. 5 reasonable Rostyle wheels and good tyres £30 each no splitting. Collection only. keithduncan@talktalk.net.

(Didcot, Oxon)

MGB/C

new heritage panels for sale doors,tailgate rear panel and roadster complete rear wings.MGC Ally bonnet ,steel wheel axle engine and gearbox, suspension and wire wheels with tyres also lots of NOS MGC parts collected over a 25 year period offers please Ray tel 07747 301326 (Surrey) Please note that the Advertising deadline is September 10th for the October issue of Safety Fast!

would like to hear of any that are surplus to requi Happy to refurb/recover generally sound. Will pa arrange collection anyw Please contact John on 0 mcdougalljs@btinternet

Cylinder head +gearbox +bits.John MaMGB/C clay 01590 675977 (Lymington)

New heritage panels for sale doors,tailgate rear panel and roadster complete rear bonnetrust ,steel wheel Rearwings.MGC bumper ex Ally California, free, axle engine and gearbox, suspension £145.00 07813 743576 and wire Graham wheels with tyres also lots of (Yorkshire) NOS MGC parts collected over a 25 year period offers please phone Ray on tel: 07747 301326

MGB R/B

MGB Mark 1 Seats

Black withKnobs red piping. All in very good Gear condition.

Photos request.

Simple fit to all MGoncars up to,£150. and including, RV8. These hand-made Tel: 01392 the 495757.

(Devon)

WANT

TF Rear Axle Pinion Positi Does anyone have or kn Pinion Positioning Fixtur buy, borrow or hire? Thi listed as 18G281 on pag TF Workshop Manual. I a stuck without it.Happy t ally, pay a return deposit quickly as possible. Plea on 07979 315075 or E mcdougalljs@btinternet

MG Parts

gear knobs are made to order and can be large or small, Mahogany or Cherry with design, or other woods considered.

MG XPAG used inlet manifold (24280) finProceeds, beyondindirect costs, to Cancer ished in chrome good conditi£on £120 Research. The Christmas present for the MG TA 6 volt battery trays, sand blasted owner who has everything else! £20 each and primed £60 member Email: Contact MGCC robert.zannetti@hotmail.com Smiths water temperature gauge with

capillarySPARES tube £60 WANTED MG Y type exhast manifold (24357) £60 WANTED Pair YofType MGApair outer windscreencables uprights.

MG of handbrake Poor condition unused £80 preferred as will be cut down. Contact Daran on 07841 321118 MG Y Type alloy air filter with MG logo WANTED £50 A pair of MGA 10 or 26 spline wire wheel Contact Richard 01833 a660000 or diff half shafts.

Mightonconsider 25 spline email : beckside.41@gmail.com (or planet gears). James 02476 673894

WANTED Midget Parts TF Interior Items. I am preparing to refurExcellent rust free bonnet £150. Boot lid bish the tan interior of my 1955 TF and with badge, handle £75. items New would like tolock hearand of any interior that are surplus to 5requirement. front valance £40. doors £30 each. Pair Happy to refurb/recover items that are new complete quarter light assys £300 generally sound. Will pay fair price and pair.

5 reasonable Rostyle wheels and arrange collection anywhere in the UK. good £30 John each on no 07979 splitting.

Collec-or Pleasetyres contact 315075 mcdougalljs@btinternet.com tion only. keithduncan@talktalk.net.

(Didcot, Oxon)WANTED TF Rear Axle Pinion Positioning Fixture.

Does anyone have or know of a Rear Axle MGB/C Pinion Positioning Fixture that I could new heritage panels for sale doors,tailbuy, borrow or hire? This special tool is gate rear panel and roadster complete listed as 18G281 on page 222 of the TD/ rear wings.MGC Ally bonnet ,steel wheel TF Workshop Manual.

I am completely stuckengine without tosuspension collect personaxle andit.Happy gearbox, and ally, pay a return and return as wire wheels with deposit tyres also lots of NOS quickly as possible. Please contact John MGC parts collected over a 25 year perion 07979 315075 or Email: od offers please Ray tel 07747 301326 mcdougalljs@btinternet.com (Surrey) Please note that the Advertising deadline is September 10th for the October issue of Safety Fast!

MIDGETS! WANTED

Contact the Midget Specialist MIKE AUTHERS on Abingdon 07703 465 224 CHROME BUMPERED MIDGETS in excellent condition bought up to £8,000. View current stock at

www.mgmidgets.com

www.mgcc.co.uk

23/08/2019 15:00

B4 - BARRIE CARTER_CLASSIC MOTORING 21/02/2019 11:20 Page 1

Call for a quote today

01376 574000

Insurance for all MG’s classic and modern

k

www.classiccarinsurance.co.uk adRocket

Sherwood Restorations Ltd Established 1966 Established as one of the leaders in the field of vintage and classic car sales and restoration, This lovely Citroen 2cvAwards 1968 Beautifully restored to endurance with over 200 yearsMGC of GT combined experience, winners of many major Concours d’Elegance

MGC GT BARN FIND. Ex standard class race car.

Straightest rust free body around.

Stage 2 head, 6 branch manifold.

Lowered negative minilites etc.

New 95 dcbls exhaust system - all modifi cations you would need. A fast road car/hill/c sprints. Bare interior. Huge fun. £12,995

Dolly has undergone a very nice restoration at some point. It has more performance than most, Don’t know why, but its quicker than some others!! It has a lovely body , interior, galvanised chassis, boot rack and a large history fi le. These cars are rising in value very quickly and I love em! £8,995

and historic rally specification.This is probably the best “C” I have owned and I’m very tempted to keep it. It has been fully restored and has pictorial evidence but has had sensible upgrades, gas shocks all round, Anti Roll bar, Minilite reps with rally tyres. Sebring headlight covers and front valance. Competition quick Overdrive on all gears 10 gears!! Stage 2 head with mild cam, six branch exhaust and special system. Inside the car has rally cobra seats, belts and the correct rally navigation aids. Halda, stopwatch and Brantz clocks for endurance events. It is all topped off with a Britax matching sunroof. The car is an absolute delight to drive with oodles of torque and power. If you want the best “C” look no further. £23,950

MGC Roadster 1968, In Mineral Blue manual and Overdrive.

One attentative owner for 17 years. It has a historic and very nice restoration that inccured new panels, carpets, hood, wire wheels, modified head and engine rebuilt to fast road specification. This “C” is in very lovely instantly useable condition. These cars are romping away in valve so next year you can make a profi t!. £23,500

MG MIDGET MK III 1275cc Wow! What a little bullet! This brings a smile to my face! Lovely body with bills for work carried out, re trimmed in black with white piping, superb box and I don’t what has been done to the engine,, but it is bloody lively! New hood, lovely all round. Masses of grin factor. £6,995

PLUGS, POINTS & CARBS ARE WHAT WE DO! So Somehow Alan & I have Three MG C’s. We restore “T” Types, and have a massive stock of “T” Types spares and Xpag Engines. We Can carry out works on any classic, vintage or race car and have nearly 60 years experience.

Collection & Delivery is not a problem. We can prepare and rebuild race MGs or any competition car, my preivious life was in F1. Come and watch our MGA & Edd Shahs TR3A rebuilt by us, at Silverstone on Aug 8th. Always ready to advise

Subaru Justy You’ve forgotten these 1200 cc FWD! Switchable!

34K I love these, a low milage lovely example. They have MX5 Performance. Cheeky, quick and great off roaders. Beautiful inside and out. It rubbishes 205s and rare. £4,250

www.barriecartermg.com

adRocket

CM04.19/B4/pa

TC Race/ fast road car, allegedly twice championship winner, fully modified to T reg. specs.

Rolling chassis £15,500. Or with full race 1350 engine! “1¾ SU’s Derrington manifold, now removed and available separately. Car has plumbed in ext. comp clutch, alloy body panels, 15” wheels, tramp bars modifi ed brakes, teles, cage, race seat, and more. It’s as scruffy as raced and very quick. Ideal circuit, race or hillclimb. £19,500

Sherwood Restorations Ltd Established 1966 Established as one of the leaders in the field of vintage and classic car sales and restoration, with over 200 years of combined experience, winners of many major Concours d’Elegance Awards

1968 MGC ROADSTER

1968 MGC GT: OVERDRIVE

1974 MGB GT V8 – GENUINE FACTORY ‘GD’ CHASSIS No.

White with Black Interior piped White, Black Mohair Hood, Still retains its ‘original’ registration number ‘OOB 21G’ Stainless Sports Exhaust, Spax Shocks Conversion – front and rear.

Painted Wire Wheels, Superb history going back over many years. Invoices, photographs, Original Sales Brochure etc.

Now in our workshops undergoing preparation. Has been used for touring both in the UK and Europe, So Nice, So Original and So Understated!

Please call to arrange inspection or to discuss further.

British Racing Green with Black interior. Superb example throughout. Purchased by the last In Green with Autumn Leaf interior. A owner with ‘touring’ in mind. Looked after and genuine factory example in superb condition. prepared accordingly. Impressive Specification Last sold by us in 2012, forming part of a includes: Newly fitted wire wheels and tyres, private collection until today. A very original, Webasto roof, Power steering, Stainless Steel unmolested example supplied new by Sports Exhaust, Lightened and balanced Kennings in Chesterfield. Very low ownership flywheel, Spax Shocks, Burgess Gas Flowed and a believed genuine 66,000 miles from Lead Free Head, Motalita Leather Rimmed new. Complete with Heritage Certificate, Please proof carefully for errorsHandbook, in style, Workshop content manual and layout.

Steeringcheck Wheel, this Downton manifold etc. Fully and original restored some yearscare ago toisaexercised superb standard Although every in preparing advert, cannot hold Sales your brochures.

Onewe of the most soughtand still exceptional throughout. One of the after MG’s – ready to hit the road once again. ourselves responsible for any inaccuracies you may overlook. best driving ‘C’s that I have had in a long time!

WAS: £31,995

SHOULD YOU REQUIRE WAS: £28,995 ANY ALTERATIONS TO THIS PROOF PLEASE

NOW: £29,995 SAVE: £2,000

URGENT PROOF WAS: £25,995

NOW: £21,995

NOW:BEFORE £24,995 TELEPHONE _ _ _ _ _ _ _ AND QUOTE ADVERT NO. _ _ _ _ _ SAVE: £4,000 SAVE: £4,000

1952 MG TD / C MARK II – 1250cc

Finished in MG Red with Beige Trim and Black Hood In last Ownership for eight years during which a catalogue of ‘works’ were completed Including Body Refurbishment.

Total Unleaded Engine Rebuild including replacement Pistons, Con rods, Timing Chain and Tensioners, New Bearings, New Water Pump, New carbs etc. etc.

Suspension fully refurbished and Brakes Fully Overhauled.

Re-chromed as required. Correct Specification with Twin Fuel Pumps, Andrex Dampers, Bonnet Bulge, MK II Badges Etc. Stainless Steel Exhaust. Only 51 Home Market RHD cars were produced!! Clearly only a few of these will remain on the road today!! A Very Rare and Desirable ‘TD’. In excellent condition cosmetically and mechanically. Very few miles since rebuild. History file with invoices, pictures, handbook, workshop manual etc.

Now looking for its next enthusiastic custodian.

WAS: £23,495

NOW: £21,995 SAVE: £1,500

If your car is one of the very best, please call with an accurate description, detailing condition, history, ownership, etc. All makes and models required.

Upton Fields Garage, Upton Road, Southwell, Notts. NG25 0QB. Tel: 01636 812655/812682/812700

www.sherwoodrestorations.co.uk We reserve the right to charge for sales@sherwoodrestorations.co.uk any alteration to this proof which “SPECIAL DISCOUNTED RATES FOR READERS”.

Please mention ‘Superfast’ when calling. is a departure from the original copy

www.mgcc.co.uk

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 97

SEPTEMBER 2019 SAFETY FP_CLASSICC_3899348id3990095.pdf 05.08.2019 12:09 FAST! 97

23/08/2019 15:00

LOOKING BACK The official publication of The MG Car Club Incorporating ‘The M.G. Magazine’, ‘The Sports Car’ and ‘Brooklands Track and Air’, Safety Fast!

Copyright MG Car Club 2019

Editor: Andy Knott 01235 849730 / 01235 555552 andyknott@mgcc.co.uk Deputy Editor: Colin Grant 01235 849733 colingrant@mgcc.co.uk Editorial Committee: Andy Knott, Colin Grant, Adam Sloman Advertising: Hine Marketing 01452 730770 Published by: Hine Marketing, Hill Farm Studios, Wainlodes Lane, Bishops Norton Glos, GL2 9LN. Tel: 01452 730770 Distributed by: Air Business. Merlin Centre, 4 The, Acrewood Way, St Albans AL4 0JY Tel: 01727 890600 President: John Day Vice Presidents: Ron Gammons, Don Hayter, Peter Best, Bill Silcock.

Chairman: Dave Tynan Vice Chairman: George Wilder Treasurer: Richard Colston Directors: Dave Saunders, Peter Opie, Peter Cook, Keith Williams (co-opted) and Paul Money (co-opted)

‘Hold on tight’ seems to be the message for these two intrepid competitors in their Midget at the Midland Centre Spring Trial held at Ledbury in April 1999. Photo by Ieuan and Ross Evans. Any further information would be most welcome.

This smart looking ZB Magnette (car no.39) is about to set off from Woodstock on the next leg of the 1993 Monte Carlo Challenge in this photo by John Watson. Did they make it to Monaco? Can you tell us?

Is there any sight more stirring than that of a K3 preparing to show its mettle in competition? We would very much like to have any details of

Company Secretary: Colin Grant Staff Members: Adam Sloman (General Manager 01235 849732), John Hutchison (Competitions Secretary 01235 849738), Andy Knott (01235 849730), Lauran Gallacher (Assistant General Manager 01235 849735), Liz Allsworth (Membership Secretary 01235 849734), Colin Grant (01235 849733), Cherina Scarrott (Finance Officer 01235 849736) and Ineke Sherman (Merchandise 01235 849737) Honorary Members: Michael Allison, Ron Gammons, Peter Best, Don Hayter, John Quenby, Sir Stirling Moss, Paddy Hopkirk, Norman Ewing, Piers Hubbard, Rob Oldaker, Steve Hanegan, Gerry McGovern, June Wallis, Ann Hawke, John Dutton, John Day, Julian White, Bill Silcock.

the event or the car captured in this Brian Osborn photo.

Company limited by guarantee The Club, as a corporate body established as the MG Car Club Limited, is a company limited by guarantee. Every member of the Club undertakes to contribute to the assets of the Club in the event of its being wound up while he is a member, or within one year after he ceases to be a member, for payment of the debts and liabilities of the Club contracted before he ceases to be a member, and the costs, charges and expenses of winding up, and for the adjustment of the rights of the contributors among themselves, such amount as may be required, not exceeding one pound.

Whilst every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information at the time of going to press, neither The Publisher (herein referred to as Hine Marketing), the Editor, nor the MG Car Club can accept any responsibility or loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from action as a result of any material in the publication. The opinions of authors are their own and Hine Marketing, the Editor and the MG Car Club are not bound to agree with opinions expressed herein. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Safety Fast! and The MG Car Club badge are protected through trademark registration in the UK and in the foreign countries where Safety Fast! circulates.

Readers are warned that if they attempt any mechanical or other modifications or methods referred to herein, they do so at their own risk and no liability will attach to the MG Car Club, the Editor nor Hine Marketing. Neither shall the MG Car Club, the Editor nor Hine Marketing have any responsibility for the accuracy of the content of the editorial, neither the content of any advertisement published in Safety Fast!

It should be noted that neither Hine Marketing, the Editor, nor the MG Car Club make any recommendation in respect of any goods and/ or services advertised or featured in this issue. It is the responsibility of readers to satisfy themselves that the goods or services offered or referred to are bona fide and in no instance shall Hine Marketing, the Editor or the MG Car Club be held responsible for the quality or suitability of any such items.

98 SAFETY FAST! SEPTEMBER 2019

Safety Fast_September2019_49-98.indd 98

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8

PeterBest_SafetyFast_MGCarClub_Advert_297x210.pdf

1

07/01/2019

14:28

classic car insurance PBIS specialises in classic car insurance, as well as insurance for other collectable classic vehicles. We have been supporting the MG Car Club, its Centres & Registers, for over 30 years so we know what is important to you.

Approved Insurance Provider

Our ‘Abingdon’ policy covers classic use for MG’s 3 years and older.

Policy benefits may include: • Free agreed valuations • Roadside assistance and recovery within UK/EU • Limited mileage options • Discounts for multiple car ownership • Club member discounts

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Peter Best Insurance Services Ltd Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registration No. 307045 | Registered in England No. 2210270

Safety Fast_Cover September2019.indd 3

23/08/2019 09:37

Parts for TA to TF 1936-55, YA YB YT, MGA & Magnette.

Secure online shopping at: www.mgbits.com or by phone.

Worldwide shipping.

T&Y Type or MGA & Z series catalogues- email or phone for your copy

K950

Disc brake kit for most models from £612

K189TS TA/B or K189RS TC Superior master cylinder with brass body & stainless cap

£296.40

Stainless steel items:

B590TA Breather pipe £28.80 B750Y Water branch pipe Y-Type £49.20

NTG Motor Services Ltd 282-284 Bramford Road Ipswich IP1 4AY Tel: +44(0)1473 406031/2 Fax: +44(0)1473 742087 sales@mgbits.com British Motor Heritage Approved - founded 1966

Safety Fast_Cover September2019.indd 4

23/08/2019 09:38