The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (June 16 - June 30, 2018)
Saturday June 16, 2018:
Up early today. taking a 90 minute sprint south to Collingwood, ON to meet up with Georgian Bay British
Car Club for a driving day. Toddled on down the road from there with an MGB and a Jaguar V12. One intermediate stop to pick up another MGB and a Jaguar V8. The primary objective was a visit to Micro North 2018, a micro car meet where we parked next to a Nissan Figaro and met the young owner of a bug-eye Spite (the larger cars here toda).
There was a Bond Bug present, along with a Prinz (I think).
The white car is an Amica, while the yellow beast is a more familiar Freeway (bigger engine and much faster).
Two Isetta, Honda 600, Vespa 400, a Messerschmitt, and two more Isetta.
Two more Messerschmitt arrived a bit later, but the star of the show was the Rolux, a sexy little French car.
The Schmitt House was resident, not very large but surely a six car garage (at least for the Messerschmitts).
Rolling on, we made a brief stop to visit the ORO African Methodist Episcopal Church NHS (in the township of Oro-Medonite), built in 1949, now designated as a National Historic Site. A little farther on lunch was in a small restaurant named "Lobbies" (very good food) in Orilla, Ontario.
Then we had another hour quick sprint due south to a place called Skyfox Games in Oshawa, ON, where navigator had a 4:30pm appointment with a friend to parlay a card game tournament of some sort. That and some WiFI work killed the rest of the day.
Sunday June 17, 2018:
Thought we might have a visit with an MG friend, but he was at Mosport for the Grand Prix (where MGs were the focus event). Well enough, as we have a lot of catch up work to do, so we would be sitting in Ajax, ON today. Killed much of the day posting the CMGC June newsletter (late) on the club web site.
Monday June 18, 2018:
Finished posting the CMGC newsletter. The rest of the day was used for planning future club visits. Not enough that Ontario has at least two dozen clubs for MG or all British cars, but some of those clubs have three to five local groups that meet separately on different dates. With more than 30 separate clubs and groups, there is no way we could meet all of them in one month. This is also another instance of multiple clubs holding meetings on the same day of the month, so there is the frantic search for alternate events with fewer scheduling conflicts.
Tuesday June 19, 2018:
More club research and scheduling, but late in the day we had a visit with David Holmes in Elmira, Ontario. He races 1949 TC and a 1957 MGA (with double articulated body), while his son races an MG Midget and MGA Twin Cam. Too many toys to count, but fun taking pictures. Not sure how the Mazda got into the mix. the baby Austin came with a race prepped 1275 engine, a bit too hot for that car. This was swapped with a 850 engine in a bug-eye Sprite, so now both cars are happy.
That's an MG TD under the blankets with restoration pending final assembly. In the trailer, tee racing Twin Cam.
Two more double garages holding a TD, late model MGB, another MGA ad a TF. These would be the daily driver street cars. If you managed to count all these, you're better than I.
But wait. This is an interesting neighborhood. On the street we found Ford Model A and Model T, and hiding in a driveway an unmistakable MGA Coupe. Gotta check this out.
Okay, different strokes for different folks. The C-cab truck is a hoot, belongs to the guy with the hat. The guy in gray shirt drives a vintage hearse for car shows. As night fell we left the scene with a vintage gas pump getting rust ground down for restoration.
Wednesday June 20, 2018:
Sitting on a WiFi spot in Waterloo, ON today, we had a couple of walk-ins to chat about the car. Then navigator found a laser printed note on the windscreen from a bloke in the industrial building next door. While checking the Facebook page of Waterloo British Car Club, he noticed a photo of out car sitting out front with some speculation that we might (maybe) have a car problem. I could not immediately post a response on the Facebook page, so I called the bloke who had left the note. This fellow had some interest, because his boss had a number of vintage British cars.
 So we dropped around to visit Van Holst Automotive Ltd in Waterloo. Nice shop with a few British cars currently in process. They report doing about 30% of their business on classic British cars, mostly maintenance
 
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during the driving season with a lesser amount of restoration work year round. The MGB on the hoist was in for a ring job. Not all British cars, but I think they rank pretty high on the schedule priority list.
In the evening we had a meeting in St Agatha, ON with Ontario MG 'T' Register, pub night West of West (one of four regional groups for this club). Nice group, and nice to see some MGA mixed in, but I didn't see any T-types tonight. I suspect someone let the word out that we were coming. Nice Tiger as well. We will have to excuse the little French bit, but at least they were considerate enough to park the deux chevaux-vapeur on the side.
Thursday June 21, 2018:
Moved east a couple of hours for an evening meeting with British Saloon Car Club of Canada (Niagra group) in Fonthill ON. Had an interesting walk around the car park, beginning with an Austin A30 (1952-1956). On the side, "Austin of England". On the nose, "Austin".
Next was an Austin A95 Westminster (1956–1959), this one being the "long boot" version 1957.
The next two are not saloons, but at least they had hardtops. Inside a nice group of 10 people meeting monthly for friendly chat. The guy front left was specializing in Minis and had just sold two of them in the past week.
Back outside, a late arrival Rover P5 "3 Litre" (Mark 2, 1962). Then some of the guys were hanging around the MGA for a little tire kicking and pictures.
Friday June 22, 2018:
Hey we got week day open, so time to do a little shop hopping. First stop was John Stuart Power Brake in Stoney Creek, Ontario. They remanufacture power brakes and steering components, and sleeve hydraulic cylinders. Notice the British Car Day poster in the front window. Yes they do vintage British car parts, and they know Dunlop brake calipers for the MGA Twin Cam.
Then we stopped to visit British Auto Sport in Troy, ON. Say hello to Fred MdEachern. This is reported to be the fifth largest distributor in Canada for Moss Motors parts.
We were making a stop to visit MacGregor British Car Parts in Dundas, Ontario. They supply factory original trim parts for all marques and models. My correct fitting boot lid seal came from this place. But I recon we spent too much time chatting with Fred at the last stop. We muffed the cardinal rule of shop visiting between 9-am and 4:30-pm, missing this one by 15 minutes. I really wanted to see this guy, so may take another shot at it later.
Made a connection in the evening, an went charging into Burlington, ON to visit Jeff Sutcliffe. He has a MGA nicely restored (missed the picture). Late night chat, stay over, needing to get up early in the morning.
Saturday June 23, 2018:
Early start, but otherwise kind of a leisurely day. 10-am arrival at Tufford Manor Retirement Home in St. Catharines, ON. Purpose was a small car show presented by Niagara British Car Club for the benefit of the residents. No, those are not the residents, those are the drivers.
A peek inside of the Austin A95 Westminster that we saw two days earlier. Interest had died down by noonish, so we were off for lunch at a neat place named Good Eats Diner, and it was. Here I noticed one of the slickest club shirts I have seen in a long time. Rest of the day off, catching up on WiFi.
Sunday June 24, 2018:
Had a visit with British Sports Car Club today, near Burlington, Ontario. We met the group after breakfast in Stoney Creek, and took about one hour cruise on country roads to finish it a club member's farm near Ancaster.
Did I mention it was raining for half a day? Nonetheless, several vintage cars braved the rally route. I'm sure there was also a Mazda Miata and an Alfa Romeo hiding somewhere as well.
And then the people were arriving. The barbecue party was planned for 100 to 110 people, but the weather seemed to have held it down to about 50 as the party was moved indoors. All wonderful people, a few whom I had met in the past week. Good food, good chat, and of course a number of tech questions.
Several vintage cars resident here, as well as some older farm machinery. The MGA was a fairly recent acquisition from another club member. The Ford Model T has sisters T and A hiding farther back. I thought the Corvette might be a little out of place here. Then there was the Mercedes 280SL, and I think that would be the hardtop to go with it sitting on the Flatbed Ford truck. Don't miss the vintage wood boats.
There was a Mercedes 190 which caught my fancy, as I was driving a 190D (D for Diesel meaning slow with four in the tree) for a while when I was in High School. Next in line was the 1951 (or 52) Ford F1 half ton truck (with three in the tree). I also used to drive 1947, 1950, 1953 F1's (all of those with four on the floor, a granny gear, and mostly sliding gears). The first tractor was a Rumely Oil Pull (kerosene fueled) built in Laport Indiana, possibly prior to 1920. The one behind it, likely a little earlier. Behind that the green Model A Ford, and far right a Model T truck, and a nifty trailer hitched behind the Model T.
There was and a heavy duty dual wheel truck, and a fire engine, and several vintage stationary engines.
Among a bench full of tools was this hand cranked magneto and coil tester, currently hooked up to fire a spark plug. Of course it still works. Give it a crank and watch the needle move. All jolly good fun, but then it quit raining and the party was over.
Monday June 25, 2018:
Supposed to be a day off to catch up grunt work, sitting in a WiFi spot in Brantford, Ontario, we were greeted by a walk-in. This lady had met us at the club barbecue the day before, and was recommending that we should drop in to visit her husband and check out his toys. As it turned out, the home was less than three miles away, so of course we would. This turned out to be Colin Tyrell, and we had been checking out his MG ZB Magnette the day before. Additionally there was a very nice MGA 1500. On closer inspection the garage turned out to be two cars deep, holding also an MG TD and a Mazda Miata (which was sitting on a drive-on lift). At the back another door leads into a wood working shop, which in turn has a drive-in door on the side of the building. Nice garage. After close inspection of the toys we sat for a beverage and an hour (or more) chat before heading back to WiFi work.
Tuesday June 26, 2018:
No appointments today, so a good time to go shop hopping. We sailed off an hour to the west to start with Rusty's Lock & Key in London, ON. Yes, they can make keys for vintage British cars. The key blanks for my MGA were in stock.
Next up was Fanshawe Motors in London, ON, providing general repairs for most marques. They do mechanical and electrical work, no body or paint work, but they can get upholstery work done at a nearby shop. There were a lot of modern European cars on site, and a number of other vintage cars. We did find a Mini up font, an MGB just outside the service door, and the tail end of an MGA peeking out from inside.
One more stop at Klein Auto Repair in London, ON. Been here for decades, and definitely into vintage British cars (among other things). While chatting the owner was shuffling dash plaques he has received for sponsoring the local British auto shows.
I thought we had one more shop in London, ON, but no street address available, and no answer to a phone call. We left a voice message, hoping to hear back later.
On our way back east we made a second stop at MacGregor British Auto Parts in Dudas, ON (where we
just missed him four days earlier). Had a nice extended chat with the British bloke, discovering that he had worked in the MG factory during production of MGB's. He was working in the prototype shop where one of his assignments was restoration the EX-181 streamliner car 15 years after it had set all of the speed records at Bonneville Salt Flats. These days he is supplying good quality original style weather seal and trim parts for vintage British cars. I have one of his boot lid seals in my MGA, a very nice part. I regret to say I have accidentally deleted some pictures from this visit, now kicking myself so much that I may have to make a third visit just to get the pictures again.
Wednesday June 27, 2018:
Lots of tech questions today. Made a new machining drawing for spin balancing adapter plate for Twin Cam peg drive wheels. Got a club meeting tonight in Beamsville, ON (Niagra region). Constantly shuffling club dates to get around scheduling conflicts. I think we have to make a 300 mile side trip for a club meeting in Ottawa tomorrow night (and return the next day).
In the evening,we had a dinner meeting with Ontario MG 'T' Register, pub night Niagra at the Smoke and Moonshine restaurant in Beamsville, ON. Outside we found two Porsche and one Miata, no T-types. Inside a bit of a challenge to find the folks we had never met, when there was no record of a reservation under the club name or our friend's name, but we did find them after a while. Twelve people including the two of us.
Then we were off again. Northwest and north through Hamilton, east through Toronto, and keep going. Fuel stop and WiFi in Ajax, not done yet. Nearly 200 miles from Beamsville before we stopped for the night
Thursday June 28, 2018:
No problem getting into Ottawa today as we had a dinner meeting with Ottawa MG Club at The Glen Scottish Restaurant in Stittsville, Ontario. Parking was spread around a large crowded lot, but I snapped whatever MGs I could find. We got an MGB, MGB-GT, MGF, and an MGC-GT (sweet).
Another MGB-GT, two rubber bumper MGB, an MG TF, and then another MGB on the fly. Counting my MGA, that would be at least 10 MG spotted on the way in, and there may have been a few more later.
This is a surprisingly large club for MG only, turning out 50 to 60 people for the monthly club meeting. Friendly people, getting down to business. Dinner at 6, meeting at 7, and out of there by 8. Rally on Sunday? I dunno.
Immediately after the meeting we pointed it west and back tracked 200 miles before rest near Newcastle.
Friday June 29, 2018:
Pushing on this morning, another 180 miles to Kincardine (90 miles north of London, ON) in time for lunch, having done 680 miles in two days. Actually that was about 540 miles extra in a side trip just to visit Ontario MG Club last night. And they want us back for a rally on Sunday? Oh, probably not.
Tonight we have cruise night in Kincardine, and we are (were) hoping that a contingent from Kincardine & Area British Car Club may be there. Been trying to find information about this club for weeks. Their Facebook page shows a club sponsored British Car Show in conjunction with a local blues festival on July 14th, but that's all. A number of cruise nights mentioned, which I am now informed have nothing to do with this club (including the one we will be attending tonight). I finally received an email relaying a paragraph written by someone else mentioning a club cruise and bbq next Tuesday evening. Like pulling teeth, none of this was on their Facebook page, but now that we know about it we may be able to attend that one.
Okay, we got to cruise night in Kincardine. They call it Queen Street Classic Cars, nothing to do with
Kincardine & Area British Car Club, but this may be our only chance to meet the locals. At least 100 cars lined the street for four blocks with some spill over onto a few side streets. Since we like British cars, lets start there. MGB. MG TF. MGB, MG TD, late MGB, MG Midget, and an MGB GT (don't forget my MGA).
Triumph '73 TR6, '72 Triumph GT6 MK5, and a Morgan 4/4. Not bad with 11 vintage Brits out of 100 cars.
And then a few other eye grabbers, a 1955 Mercedes 300 SLR, which may be a replica. Only 9 were originally built, 7 roadsters and two Coupe (one of which is in the Mercedes museum), and 8 are reported to survive today. Also an early 60's Ford Falcon window van, like one I drove in the early 70's.
Lots of motorcycles lining a block on a side street, one Ames from Owensburg, Kentucky, one dune buggy, a host of 60's and 70's muscle cars, and lots of Corvettes, Camaros, Mustangs and a couple of vintage trucks. A dozen people wanted to chat about the MGA with lots of stickers, so I recon it was worth the appearance.
We now have an appointment for a tour and barbecue with Kincardine & Area British Car Club on Tuesday.
Saturday June 30, 2018:
Early morning text message informing us that the Tuesday tour and BBQ has been cancelled due to a new personal commitment. Tie that to Sunday being Canada Day, so Monday will be the official day off, and we have another one of those dead three day holiday week ends with no club activities and no shop hopping. Time to work on an update to a few web pages on front suspension rebuild, as a friend has sent a bunch of pictures. Also time to complain some more about undersize brake shoes from Moss Motors, as my parking brakes is not holding again after just two months and 7000 miles on new rear shoes, and beyond the limit of the adjusters. AC stopped working mid afternoon at our WiFi spot, and hot weather.
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