Roger Sykes won Best in MG class at the 2022 Keels & Wheels 26th Anniversary Concours d’Elegance. Roger Congratulations from all of your Houston MG Car Club friends.  Your car really is stellar!

Bimini tops are appearing on many of the club’s MGBs and we have had inquiries from other members on where you can get one.  They are manufactured by Ed Kirkland in Tallahassee, Fl.  His contact information can be found on the Club’s Resource Page.  I received a Bimini top for Christmas this year and I must say they are a great alternative to baking in the sun when the top is down or feeling claustrophobic and missing out on the wind in your hair when the top is up.  Both Kim and I have found that it adds to our driving enjoyment. 

Below are the current award standings. Thanks to Greg and Tony, as always, for all their great work :

SS

The results are in. This year we were just pipped at the post by the Triumphs but next year we will regain the trophy!!

Safety fast!

Mike.

Below please see the current award standings. Thanks to Greg and Tony for all their work on maintaining these reports :

S

Many of us live with regrets. “I never should have punched that cop!” “I never should have had that 10^th beer!” And, of course, “I never should have sold that car!”

Our own Ron Redding knows the last one well and has a story to tell about it:

A customer recently brought me his 1967 MGB to get back on the road. He had owned the car for years but never actually driven it. This was your classic project car: the paint looked good from 10 foot, the motor and transmission were out of the car, the engine was disassembled and machined but never re-assembled, and it came with a basket of parts.

He had enjoyed the car over the years by buying new parts. When he brought the car into my shop, the parts filled one entire side of the garage. So we started putting the pieces together. We rebuilt the dismantled engine. We ordered new seats, door panels and carpet. My customer decided he wanted a 5-speed transmission, so I ordered one of the new Miata transmission conversions Moss sells.

Before the engine went back in, he decided he wanted to paint the car. After we stripped the paint from the car, we could see the car had a rough life. Floor panels need replacing, prior rear end damage was repaired poorly, prior rust repairs were sloppy. A patch panel even fell off when we removed a fender. And there was much more rust that would need to be repaired. Seeing all the damage, my customer decided he would find another car and put his collection of parts and rebuilt engine into it.

He located a rust-free car in Arizona, purchased it, and had it shipped to my shop. The transport arrived at my shop, the rear ramp was lowered, and the car backed out. Wow, that car sure looked familiar! Turns out it was my old 1966 MGB I sold in January of 2012! This car was in the Octagon of Honor from the Dallas Club, was at MG 2006 in Gatlinberg, Tennessee and had won numerous awards from our club. With regrets, I sold the car to a man in New York and had contact with a couple people who had purchased it over the years.

The car has a 5-speed Ford Sierra transmission and a supercharged engine which now has around 8,000 miles on it. We did compression checks on both engines and his rebuilt engine had slightly higher readings, so my customer decided to install the supercharger on his rebuilt engine and match it to the Miata 5-speed. We have transferred the new parts we previously installed on his 1967 car to his new car (my old car!) and we continue installing parts on the 1966. It will be a truly loaded MGB (power steering, tube shock conversion front & rear, rear disc brakes, high output heater unit, and much, much more).

By the way - if anyone needs a low mileage 1800 engine or a Ford Sierra 5-speed transmission, my customer would like to sell them!

 

- Contributed by Ron Redding

Accounting provided by club member Roger Sykes:

Did you miss this month's club meeting and want to catch up.  Click HERE to see a video from the meeting.

HMGCC member Ian Hankin recently travelled back to the UK to visit family. While there, he had the opportunity to take his son to the British Motor Museum near Warwick. This museum is the source of the British Heritage Certificates club members can obtain for their cars. According to Ian, it is well worth the visit! Here are just a sample of some of the great cars in the museum:

In the Beginning: The red car is the 1925 MG 'Old Number One'. While not the first MG car, it is a one-off special made for Cecil Kimber, Manager of Morris Garages. He referred to it as his first car, and is typical of the early MGs with special coachwork (in this case, Carbodies of Coventry) on a standard Morris chassis. The engine is an OHV Hotchkiss-type 4 cyl displacing 1496cc.

Slice and Dice: Here is an example of a rotisserie restoration gone horribly wrong. At least the resultant display provides insight into the bowels of the heater cavity.

Safety First: This ungainly beast is 'Safety Systems Vehicle number 1', built in 1972 for a safety conference in Washington DC. It features a roof mounted 120° panoramic rear view mirror and the ugliest rubber bumpers ever mounted on a vehicle. Also a sobriety testing computer, necessary in a car for which one would need a few drinks to be seen in.

 

End of the Road: the last MGB off of the Abingdon assembly line. The 512, 880th MGB rolled out the door on October 22, 1980. This metallic pewter Limited Edition marked the end for Abingdon and represented a new low for management of the British motor industry.

What Might Have Been: This 1989 MG DR2 prototype was developed by Rover while considering the possibility of reviving the MG marque. Based on a TVR, it used the Rover V8 engine later used in the MG RV8. This rear drive model was meant to capture the classic British roadster concept. Eventually the concept was shelved in favor of a more compact, mid-engine design that became the MGF.

- Contributed by Scott Hardy. Photos by Ian Hankin.

The first driving event of 2022 got the year started in a big way. Organized by Bob Schroder with a big assist from Roger Sykes, the combination of good weather with the prospect of great food and viewing a large, private car collection proved irresistible to over 30 club members and guests.

The event kicked off with a half dozen cars meeting at Willowbrook Mall at 11:00 am on Saturday, January 22. The sun shone brightly as the caravan set off for Lake Conroe via the back roads, led by Dwight Dawson. The MGs were joined by Jon Crocker and his diminutive 1955 Morris Minor, into which he managed to squeeze two additional guests who all became intimately acquainted on the hour-long drive.

The caravan was joined by many other club members at Papa’s on the Lake, a large cabana scenically situated on the shores of Lake Conroe, where the signature muffulettas and plentiful bar food was enjoyed by all. Soaking in the views as well as their beverages, the group relaxed and chatted while getting ready for the highlight of the day.

The club then travelled en masse to view the private collections, housed in two large buildings a short drive from the restaurant. The group was greeted by the owner, Larry Pizzino, who gave a brief introduction to his collections. Larry bought the land in the 1960s and placed the two buildings on the property. He built up the collections with the help of his sons, and they perform all the restoration themselves. The vehicles are either restored or presented in good original condition. His collection features about 90 mostly American automobiles and trucks.

In addition to the vehicles, Larry has amassed a large assortment of collectibles and memorabilia, including gas pumps, toys, sports, tools, furniture, typewriters, juke boxes, lots of signs, and plenty of models and books. Most notable is the bar that came out of the famed Galvez Hotel in Galveston circa 1910-1920.

Even though we had most of the afternoon, it was impossible to see and appreciate everything that went into this private collection that we were fortunate to have the chance to view. Larry was the perfect host and note that the HMGCC was the largest group he had hosted to view his warehouses. Our thanks to Larry and to Bob Schroeder for making the arrangements for the tour.

If you would like to see a video from this event click HERE.

• -       Contributed by Bob Schroeder, photos by Dwight Dawson