Our April meeting was held on Saturday, April 4 at Spring Creek BBQ off the W. Grand Parkway.  We had 21 attendees and 8 of which braved the threat of rain and drove their classic cars. 

Following recongniton of new members and introductions, Scott Kalish asked for volunteers for 2027 leadership postions including running the car show, VP and treasurer.  Clay Collins reviewed upcoming club events and Bill Bowers provided an update on plans to host the 2027 NAMGAR annual meeting in Katy.  Bill also noted the board voted to support the Brookwood Community for our 2026 charity.   

For the meeting topic, Scott and Ron Redding teamed up to discuss modifications on our cars.  Scott started by listing what are considered upgrades vs. modifications for originality that could affect judging at car shows.  Ron followed by discussing valuable upgrades to make cars safer and more reliable including disc brakes, alternator conversions, radial tires, polyurethane suspension bushings, oil coolers, etc.  Ron also discussed the potential of saving money by purchasing classic car insurance and how to obtain classic license plates for the year of your vehicle.

Thanks to all who attended to support the club!

The HMGCC was well represented at the March 21 Bring A Trailer Meet-Up.  I saw Jon Crocker, David Fowler, Rich Colwell and Clay Ownby.  BAT gave out misc. sundries and served a generous continental breakfast.  The showroom featured several pristene high-end cars for sale.  Behind the showroom visitors could get a glimpse of customer cars in storage with Porsche 911's very well represented.

Summer is almost upon us so get out and drive those MG's while there's still time!

Clay Collins, Rich Colwell and David Fowler in the show room

David Fowler's Mini-Cooper

Jon Crocker's MGA

Clay Ownby's MGA

Once again the Texas Triumph Registry bested our MG's in Saturday's autocross event.  Congrats to our brave rubber-bumper MG drivers Rich Colwell, Bill Bowers, Mike Craven, Sergio Sabido, Jay Schwartz, Mike Menard, Peter Maxwell and Mike Woodward for their valiant efforts.  Hope to see some MGA's and chrome bumper MGB's next time. 

Here are the official times from the event:

 

Mike Craven checking our Rich's donor car.

Our March meeting was held on Saturday, March 7 at Spring Creek BBQ in Cypress.  Scott led a round table story-telling session where owners talked about breakdowns and what tool or spare part was needed to get them going again. 

After hearing the meeting ideas and reviewing other sources, Scott developed a list of possible spare parts and tools that could come in handy on a road trip:

Parts:

• Various Fuses as needed
• Various Bulbs: panel, turn, brake and flasher
• Points, Condenser, Rotor and Distributor Cap (or Replacement Electrical Unit)Coil
• Wire 10/12/14 ga.
• Assorted wire connectors (Male, Female, Insulated, etc.)
• Hose clamps 3" diameter to smaller
• Spark plug top (screw on) or Spark plug wires
• Generator brush set
• Fuel Pump
• Small Fuel Bottle (Aluminum)
• Socket set, Spanners & Adjustable Wrenches
• Booster Cables or Lithium Battery Jump Starter
• Ground Sheet or Blanket
• Gloves
• Tire Pressure Gauge
• Length of 1/4", 5/16” and 3/8" rubber hose
• Radiator hose and clamps
• Spark plugs
• Oil for carb damper (usually 1 ml. needed & can store in 3 ml. syringe for easy use)
• Minimum 1 Quart Motor Oil
• Clutch – Brake Fluid
• Fan Belt
• Various assorted sizes of screws, nuts, washers and bolts
• Tire Plug Kit
• Spare Relay

Hand Tools & Emergency Supplies:

• AAA Card
• Small Analog Voltage Meter or Test Light
• Pliers: Needle, Regular & Large Locking
• Wire Crimper
• Spark Plug Socket or Wrench
• Spark Plug Gauge
• Emory Cloth or Sandpaper
• Brake Adj. tool (1/4" square)
• Assorted sizes of Straight & Phillips head Screwdrivers
• Small Hammer
• Funnel and Paper Towels in Ziplock Bag (for adding oil)
• Rag or Paper Towels
• Flashlight
• Magnetic Pickup
• Repair – Shop Manuals & Schematics (or digital version on your phone)
• Space blanket
• Scissors Jack
• Duct tape, Electrical tape
• Leatherman (Multipurpose Tool with Knife and Pliers)
• Spare Tire and/or 12V air compressor (or can of fix-a-flat) and/or Tire Plugging Tool
• Lug wrench or Spinner Wrench
• Boot Opening Tool (MGB)
• Fire Extinguisher
• Road Flares and Safety – Warning Markers
• Water
• Hand Cleaner/Soap (for cleanup and soap for finding leaks)
• First Aid Kit
• Cash

If you have an MGA or MGB and have converted to a single 12v battery (Group 26R usually fits in the left side battery compartment), then installing a plastic bin liner in the right side can serve as a very useful compartment for spare parts or tools.

About 15 Club members showed up and enjoyed a leisurely patio lunch at Watson's House of Ales, on a pleasant Winter Thursday.   These simple gatherings provide midweek enjoyment and easy mutual support for LBC enthusiasts.  A number of MG's (and at least one Mini) were scattered about.  Good food and libations were just right.  No annoying calls were incoming at the British phone booth. 

Well done Events Chairman. 

LOCAL EVENTS - 28 FEBRUARY 2026:

Fellow HMGCC members,

Thanks to sterling efforts by Dusty (who will be racing his Triumph there - come support him) as he has secured:

1. Clearance from the event organizers for our club members to drive (y)our own British classic on a lunch time parade lap around the MSR race track in Angleton on Saturday February 28th. (Address: 1 Performance Dr, Angleton, TX 77515. - 35 minutes south of Downtown Houston on Highway 288). There is a suggested donation of $20 per car to “Hands on Driving Academy” which creates racing opportunities for handicap veterans.
2. In addition, Go-Kart racing: will also be available on the karting track for $20 per race; participants must be aged 13+ (physically, not mentally - so most members, myself included, should scrape by that age bar?). Loaner helmets are provided. Note these karts run 50 mph – they’re not toys!

If you wish to participate in either or both driving events - i.e. (1) parade lap and/or (2) go-kart racing - please contact Dusty with your information so that he can get you signed up. He can also advise whether there is an assigned / available parking area there, if any, for us to congregate.

Please do remember that Dusty is prepping to race his car there all that weekend, so please don’t wait until the last minute to inundate him with your sign-ups. His contact info:

To register, contact:  nicholsondustin@yahoo.com and cell if needed: 281-871-9623

Group meeting/departure point?

John and Sam in TTR have kindly arranged for the TTR club’s regular Saturday breakfast venue for that week to be on that side of town at the Busy Bee Café at 4009 West Broadway Street, Pearland TX 77581. (They usually meet at 7:30; order and eat at 8:00.)  

Although there is no pre-organized group drive to MSR scheduled, (some) attendees may wish to convoy there from that breakfast location and its associated social opportunity?

Safety Fast

David

David J. Fowler

Membership Director - HMGCC

VP Local Events - TTR

Mobile: 713-412-0661

I recently replaced my rear brakes after a leaking rear hub seal contaminated the brake shoe linings.  I went through a number of online resources including John Twist videos to come up with what I think is the correct spring configuration and thought this photo might be helpful to anyone doing a brake job.  Specifically, I believe the left "tail" of the lower internal spring fits under the rear parking brake as shown in the photo.  Don't assume the last person who worked on your brakes assembled everything correctly.  

My MG is a '63 with the banjo rear axle (1962-1967), but the rear brake setup is the same for all MGB's with the possible exception of the outer lower spring.  Last year it was sold by Moss for only the banjo rear axles, but now I see it's no longer listed so I'm assuming they decided it must not be needed or perhaps they wanted to simplify and offer the same parts configuration for all MGB's.   The part (17H 8737) is however shown in the official MGB parts manual.

Our club's February meeting was held on 2/7 at Lyndon's Pit BBQ. 

Our club president, Scott Kalish, led a fun game to identify a list of somewhat obscure British cars.  Contestants were awarded points for correct make, model and year.  The maximum total of correct points was 188.  Only 3 club members scored above 50 points.  Congratulations to David Fowler for a winning score of 79 points.  

There was some discussions on:

• The board looking into issuing a monthly emailed newsletter
• A change of venue for the next MG-Triumph club autocross
• Future club meeting locations.  Lyndon's was noted as one of the few venues that does not charge for the room

Thanks to all who were able to attend.

This link is to a rather long YouTube video that was taken in the late 90's at a monthly club meeting when Dwight Dawson was President.  It features a very special guest speaker and might be of interest to newer members.

 https://youtu.be/fB4TpxryQDw?si=bKy3m-7VwACiqxu

Many Thanks to Dwight for providing this!

Here's an interesting article from the 1998 ROARS suggested by Dwight Dawson.  Sadly, the MG factory closed on October 24, 1980 with the production of the last roadster number 523001 two days earlier.  I didn't realize the factory wasn't actually demolished until 1997.  I remember there was a time you could purchase bricks from the factory from Moss Motors.

The second article shows a wrecked MGF after a chap when berserk pushed it off a cliff with a tractor.

Thanks Dwight!

1998 Roars Article on MG Factory.PDF