The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE
British Car Festival, Palatine, IL - (September 8, 2019)
September 8, 2019)
Dropped navigator off at College of DuPage in Wheaton, IL to have a day off with his friends. Then off to British Car Festival, hosted by British Car Union at Harper College in Palatine, IL. As we have been on the road for five years, last time we attended this event was 2013, so it seemed reasonable to backtrack across a couple of states to meet up with some old friends. It was not raining in Naperville in the morning, but it was raining a bit in Palatine when I arrived at 9-am. The rain was not nearly as bad as it looks in the pictures. You may see a few umbrellas, but not many people cowering under the awnings. I was walking around from 9 to 3 and barely got damp, no soaking at all. Aside from chatting with a bunch of people, I managed to take about 100 pictures. The photos are mostly groups of cars, because there were several hundred of them present, but I will point out a few that may be special or unusual.
 I recon we only had one piper out today with small dance troop in escort. Since I started with my car, I think we had 8 MGA here today.
Lots of MGB and Midgets, seems like they never end.
One MG RV8 sitting next to the green Mini (same owner). The MG PA (or maybe PB) Airline Coupe was snuggled up with a line of T-types. I think that was an MG SA saloon near the far end.
More T-types in the next aisle, followed by several Z-Magnettes. The pink looking convertible may have been a Triumph Herald 1200 Sport (no idea why it was staged with the Magnettes).
Guess I should have taken more pictures of the placards. Thire picture below is definitely Jensen Healeys.
Now some fun stuff, a 1957 Jensen 541, a 1957 Berkeley SE 492, and a 1981 Rover SDI Vanden Plas EFI (following the British rules of mysterious nomenclature).
This little fella is a 2003 Ginneta G20 (with a Mazda engine as standard equipment).
There were a few big Healeys (rather under-represented), just a couple Sprites (not badged as Midgets).
Followed by a grand assortment of Rolls Royce and Bentley
Nice assortment of Land Rover (definitely not afraid of the rain). Austin Mini, Lotus Elise (maybe), and the little silver thing is a fairly modern knock-off of a 3-wheel Morgan (not a Morgan). After that I quit guessing.
Took a quick stroll up the vendors aisle, bought a pair of OEM rubber rack seals for MGA, original configuration for a change, and the vintage rubber still looks good to use (not knowing how old it is). The Corvair belongs to one of the vendors.
At the end of the lot, one very long line of Lotus (and a nice Mini just cruising through).
Rows of Triumph, how many do you fancy?
Mini, Mini, large and small, parked in various locations around the field.
Maybe TR7 and TR8 got lumped together, as I don't recall seeing many of these. Perhaps the race car was parked in the wrong place, not with other racers. Then a small assortment of Morris Minor.
Had to get pictures of the vintage Allstate "Tag-a-long" one-wheel trailer (sold through Sears back in the day). Need to add this one to my Trailers tech page.
Half a dozen vintage Morgan, and a newer Aero 8 model. The little three-wheeler, found in a different location, is a newer production knock-off kit car. It is a 1978 JZR, Morgan Super Sports Beetle-back Replica, powered by Honda CX500 engine and drive train, 50-HP 5-speed, quick.
Rows of Jaguar, antique, vintage and new, take your pick, kind of jumbled up, not well arranged for judging.
Just one DMC Delorian. The owner didn't seem to be too concerned that his friends didn't show up. Eight Aston Martin (if I count right) mostly new, only one vintage.
Another stroll up the vendors aisle. This is where I bought a pair of OEM rubber rack seals for MGA, original configuration for a change, and the vintage rubber still looks good to use (not knowing how old it is).
Pretty sure this last TD belonged to one of the vendors, probably for sale. A quick visit to the Information Booth where I picked up a pair of 3rd place trophies from the rally day before. Near end of show I got hooked up with Richard Witzel from Chicago, IL who has a very nice MGA Twin Cam that was restored by Auto Vintagery. It was running very rich, needing tuning. I managed to lean out the front carburetor nicely, but couldn't reach the rear one without removing the air cleaners. Didn't want to disassemble it right at end of show when the place was emptying out, so we will think about other arrangements to re-visit this one later.
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