By Dave Renner

The 29^th Houston All British Car Day, sponsored by the Houston MG Car Club, was held October 20, 2018 in Katy, Texas. The undaunted participants gathered under cool grey skies but no rain fell at the show to dampen spirits. Fifty classic British cars representing thirteen marques were on display for the approving crowds at Katy Market Day to enjoy.

The entries read like a Who’s Who of British auto legends. The more familiar badges of MG and Triumph, Aston Martin and Austin Healey, Jaguar and Range Rover, Morris Minor, Morris Mini and Mini Cooper shared the tarmac with less often seen TVR, Berkeley, Sunbeam and Shelby Cobra. They were dazzling, charming, beautiful and unique-- history lessons on wheels, with the expected oil drips, leather upholstery smells and engine roars to add ambiance to the experience.

The Best of Show award went to Arnel Brown for his lovely 1953 MGTD, which sports a very rare and stylish, period correct hard top. It was a standout in a sterling crowd. The cars owned by Albert Amato (1966 Austin Healey Sprite Mk III), Peter Ferrer (2010 Jaguar XKR) and Nancy Money (1976 TR6) were placed into the Premier Class.

Arnel Brown’s 1953 MGTD also won first in the MGTD category, with Ron Redding taking second with his 1952 MGTD. Barry Jones took first place in the MGTC class with his 1947 MGTC. In the MGTF category, Alex Chaykoski (1954 MGTF) was awarded first place and Glenn and Fran Carpenter (1954 MGTF) garnered second place. Jim Early (1962 MGA MK ll) and Mike Gentry (1960 MGA 1600) shared first place in the MGA class while Roald Lokken (MGA 1600) and Don Lantz (MGA 1600) shared third place.

In the MGB Chrome Bumper class, Terry Myers (1971 MGB) took first place, Dale Schiller (1972 MGB) took second place and Dwight Dawson (1973 MGB) took third place. In the MGB GT class, Nick Roccaforte (1973 MGB GT) took first place, with Roger Sykes (1974 MGB GT) awarded second place. In the MGB Rubber Bumper category Ray Matocha (1979 MGB) took first place, Robert Gilbert (1975 MGB) took second, and Kim Michael Wittenberg (1977 MGB) took third place. Susan and Keith Cannon (1971 MG Midget) took first place in the MG Midget class.

Clark McKinley was awarded first place in the Triumph TR2 & 3 class with his 1959 TR3A. David Smith (1967 TR4A) took first place and Mike Hado (1965 TR4A) took second in the Triumph TR4 & 250 class. In the Triumph TR6 category, Gary Myers (1976 TR6) won first place, Timothy Maxwell (1974 TR6) placed second and Mike Rouse (1971 TR6) was awarded third place.

Greg Chronowski took first place in the Austin Healey 100 class with his 1954 AH 100 roadster. Marc Dickson took first in the Austin Healey 3000 category with his 1967 AH 3000 BJ8. Jorn Schrenus took first place in the Land Rover class with his 1983 Range Rover Vogue. Michael Thingstad took first place in the British Luxury class with his 2008 Aston Martin Vantage.

Keith Ryder (2018 Jaguar F-Type) was awarded first place in the Jaguar 1969 and newer class. John Ramsey (2003 Jaguar XK8) placed second and Matt Cox (2014 XJ-R) took third in that class. Michael Carter took first place in British Modified class with his 1958 Berkeley SE492. The 1967 Sunbeam Alpine owned by Shannon Hodell was awarded first place in the Sunbeam category.

Hal McGinnis (2006 Mini Cooper S JCW) took first in the New Mini class and James and Tebbi Mayes (1966 Morris Mini Traveller) took first place in the Mini category. Michael and Stephanie Woodward (1961 Morris Minor 1000) took first place in the British Special Interest class. Peter Ferrer (1965 Shelby Cobra) took second place with Steve Russell (1974 TVR 2500M) taking third place in the British Special Interest class.

Proceeds from the show support the Russ Seto Memorial Scholarship, which is given to support the education of future automotive technicians.

2018 HABCD Award Winner Photos

Views of the Show

By Dave Renner

I was reading an article today about driving seldom used classic cars with out-of-date tires. The writer was bemoaning the expense of fitting new tires when the ones on the car still looked good. It reminded me of a frightening experience I had some years ago that made me a believer in up-to-date rolling stock.

One summer, I drove a church van loaded with summer camp kids on the way home from a fun week. The van had "good looking" tires, according to the person charged with maintaining it. When a tire blew at highway speed I was just lucky to bring it to a safe halt with no injuries to the 14 people on board. Another old tire shredded a few miles down the road as we limped home at considerably reduced speed. Again no injuries occurred, but I have been a zealot about tires ever since.

It is one thing to endanger yourself, but quite another to endanger others. We replaced decent looking tires on our MGA when we purchased it last year because the codes said the ones on the front were from 1987 and the ones on the back from 1982. Not taking any chances, thank you. Sometimes you don’t get a second chance to be safe.

Dave & Linda Renner’s MGA with new tires

As reported in yesterday's article on the GoF, Flat Bernard had a very busy visit to Waco.  He really loved seeing all the cars.

By Dwight Dawson

The Houston MG Car Club was represented at this year’s statewide gathering of MGs by Glenn and Fran Carpenter, Bob and Kim Chalker, Alex Chaykoski, Dwight and Candy Dawson, Rob and Shelly Ficalora, Bob and Kathy Schroeder, Ron Redding, Mike and Stephanie Woodward, John and Nancy Youens, and Jane and Cole LeMaster.  

About the GOF

(Pronounced Gee Oh Eff) Twice yearly since 1964 the members of the New England MG T Register have gathered to enjoy the magic of the MG marque and the people who own them. The first GOFs were billed as a "low key weekend to enjoy the cars and new friends." And it is much the same now. The GOF provides owners of MG T series and other early MG variants a chance to gather for a weekend of tours, talk and tire kicking.

Our Texas GOF has been coordinated by the Dallas club, Texas MG Register, for many years. To join them for the 2018 event, 3 Houston MGBs met at Hwy 290 and FM 1488 and caravanned 190 miles along the country roads to Waco. Drivers were Woodward, Dawson and Chalker. Greg Fleischer even made the trip out to 1488 in his B to see us off. Others from Houston arrived in Waco with their MGs safely secured in trailers.  

Upon our Friday morning arrival, there were various venues for beer, wine, burgers, and more. Dinner was organized for the Houston group at Outback Steak House. I was impressed with them for the food and because you could actually HEAR conversations at the table. Some good restaurant design at work that ensured a fun evening with good friends. 

 

Saturday morning provided light rain for the Show Parade on the hilly, twisty, tree-lined MG-style roads just out of town to Bosque River Park. For the first time, the show itself was held in a parking garage—different, but it worked out great and included a sumptuous box lunch. After the show there was an optional event to Balcones, a whiskey distillery in Waco. Ask Bob Chalker for details about it! He and Kim also toured the Dr. Pepper plant. Back at the hotel, with the rain picking up, several of us enjoyed adult beverages and snacks in the lobby.  

The Saturday banquet was at the Baylor Club in McLane Stadium. We enjoyed a great Baylor buffet dinner. The evening continued with awards and intermittent offerings of auction items. A very rare 1937 MG VA Salon owned by Wayne Kube from Plano, Texas won the award for Show Favorite. I had a short ride in it and can report it was a luxury ride in its day. The unique interior features, like the fold out windshield, are impressive.

It seemed that Honorary Member Flat Bernard had a high-time and was always where the action was. 

The following HMGCC cars were AWARD WINNERS: 

Ulrichs’ 1953 MG TD Octagon of Honor. 

Chaykoski’s 1954 MG TF 1st place Premier Class;

Redding’s 1975 MGB 4th place Premier Class;

Ficaloras’ 1976 MGB V8 1st place VARIANT MG; 

Chalkers’ 1972 MGB 2nd place Chrome Bumper

Woodward’s 1980 MGB 2nd place Rubber Bumper

Rob and Kathy Schroeder took 2nd place in the rally.   

The drivers from Houston accumulated about 430 miles traveling to and from the 2018 GOF.  

Houston MG Car Club members breaking bread together on Friday night

Ficaloras' MGB V8 took 1st place in the Variant class

Rain, rain go away....

A highlight of the show was this 1937 VA Salon.  

Glenn Carpenter spiffing up his 1954 MG TF

Bob & Kim Chalker with their 2nd place trophy in the Chrome Bumper class

Alex Chaykoski accepting his 1st place in the Premier class for his 1954 MG TF

As always many thanks to Greg Fleischer for keeping up with all the events. Do not forget you still have many more qualifying events to go.

Attached is a great report from Dwight Dawson on the Texas All British Car Days, where club members took home a few trophies.

TABCD 2018[22085].pdf

by Greg Ulrich

Do you get all excited and weak-kneed every time you see an MG in a movie? I do. Ever since I saw Love Story with Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw and that little black MGTC, I have been on the lookout for MGs in the movies. A couple weeks ago I was watching the made-for-TV movie, Curacao with George C Scott. Nine minutes into the movie, the main character is hand cranking a rather natty looking MGTC and driving around the island of Curacao. I added the film title to my list of MGs in the movies and told a couple of friends who happen to own TCs. While one friend was trying to locate the movie, he came up with an amazing website. In fifteen years of searching, I probably had a couple dozen titles of movies with MGs in the film. Suddenly, I was looking at a website with 720 movies with over 60 different MG models in those movies.

Wait, it gets even better. You click on the model of MG you are interested in, say “TD,” and photos of MGTDs from 39 different movies pop up as thumbnails with a photo of the TD taken from a scene in each film. A link also pops up showing thumbnails of all other vehicles shown in the film. Even tractors and heavy machinery are shown and identified in every film listed. You next click on the thumbnail and up pops a full page photo with comments about the car and the film. The comments also frequently have additional photos of the MG from other scenes in the film.

There’s more. Every thumbnail has a one to five star rating for the role the MG played in the film. A single star would be a background vehicle such as an MG in a parking lot, down the block from the main scene. Three stars might mean the vehicle was used in a chase scene. Five stars would mean the vehicle was used throughout the film. Someday we will probably be able to click on the thumbnail and actually watch the movie but not yet.

Be warned. This site can be addictive. You can spend hours looking at the 720 thumbnails of MGs. You also can look up any of the 2000 other models of cars, trucks, and heavy equipment that appeared in thousands of films.

Oh! In my excitement I almost forgot to tell you the name of the website. It is the Internet Movie Cars Database at:         www.imcdb.org/vehicles_make-MG.html .

And remember, it’s always

Safety Fast!

Greg Ulrich

We have recently learned, from Helen Savitsky, that former Houston MG Car Club member and long time MG aficionado Danny Savitzky passed away after a hard fought battle with cancer.

 

Danny's MGA which is now owned by Parker Floyd, a very patinaed survivor that many club members found fascinating because of its originality.  

“After launching the postwar sports car boom here in the States, all these decades later the T-series remains a staple at nearly any British car event. What is it about this simple machine that continues to captivate the soul of sports car aficionados the world over?"   

T

he attached article from Classic Motorsports Magazine answers that question. 

https://classicmotorsports.com/articles/t-time-comparing-mg-t-series-lineup/