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/

Dave Renner has graciously made some of his cartoons available for us to publish in the ROARS, the first of which is below.  A BIG THANK YOU to Dave, your work is excellent.