The MGA With An Attitude
MGA Guru Is GOING MOBILE - (November 1 - November 15, 2026)
Sunday November 1, 2026:
Programmed to caravan with some cars from British Car Club Midlands Centre, Columbia, South Carolina. Meet 10;00-am at BP gas station, exit 27 on I-77, Blythewood, SC, for departure 10:15-am. Intention is for cars to arrive at Polo Grounds in Camden, SC about 10:30, do be parked before 11:00-am start of a polo tournament. We arrived with our MGA in Blythewood a bit early at 9:45-am. At 10:00-am, no other little British cars in sight, including no lead escort vehicle. Problem is, the trip from Blythewood to Camden is a half hour, by either the longer fast route or the shorter scenic route, so after ten we are already late. Organization broken down, and we think we know where we are going, so we set off on the scenic route at 10:10-am. A few miles out we smile and wave and honk at a AH-3000 going the other way. No idea if it is supposed to be part of the event, or might just live in the area. But if he goes back to the rendezvous point to wait for any other car(s), he would be more late, so we press on.
The road trip went well, arriving Camden fashionably late around 10;45-am. Best we can tell, a block or two short of Polo Lane, we were stopped by a few cadets in military uniform. Please turn around, go back to Green Street to find more cadets in uniform. I don't think it was Green Street, just a gravel road with no street sign, but the cadets said turn in here, and look for more cadets. A couple blocks on, more cadets said turn here and keep looking for a flagman on the right. At a small break in the bushes, someone jumped out to wave and hand us a brochure, go in here. Other side of the hedge, sure enough some large short-grass field, and a couple small British cars parked near an orange boundary ribbon. Looks we found the right place.
By this time, 11:00-am, and nothing much happening. We might be two hours early,as the first polo match is scheduled for 1-pm. really? So where are we, what are we doing here, and why do we have conflicting information from four different sources? Oh well, time for some pictures.
This place dates back to civil war battle grounds, coming and going and returning of polo clubs and games, surviving some intent to turn it into residential housing development, being declared a historical site, and now under care of a charity trust.
After a while more cars were showing up, putting out tables and chairs .The cadets were all over the place, and after a while it was national anthem and time for the ponies.
I know nothing about Polo, and it was a big field, not sure what I was supposed to be looking at. But keep your eye on the little ball, and listen to the announcer, and begin to get the drift of it after a while.
the first match seemed to be novice, out for practice. Four short periods, 10 minutes or so. Change horses in between periods? Don't know if they are training different horses, or just giving them a rest.
Take a break between matches, play with the dogs.
Second match seemed to be the pros, playing for one of the trophies. These riders are more aggressive.
Break time again, check out some of the vintage stables. Not so great in back, better restored in front.
Don't know if any are still used, but some of it looks serviceable (like our old cars being restored). Some of the space out doors in front certainly being used by flea market vendors.
Food and drink available, so good time for lunch.
This nice MG 1100 sport sedan suck in when I wasn't looking, about 1966 vintage. Then it was time to get the ponies out again.
On with the aggressive pros again, going after another large trophy. This was getting to be fun. Something special I notice about the horses; when running fast and straight, heads may be bobbing, and rumps maybe rocking, and hooves are flying more in air than on the ground, but the back and saddle run straight and level like it was a skateboard on a monorail. The rider does not bounce, so they can hit the little ball with the thin mallet and drive it 50 yards or more like a stationary golf shot. Those phenomenal horses have to be specialty bred and well trained. I have a new respect for a polo pony.
Finish the day with another match with the novices,and they were getting better too. Not long to finish out the competition.
Down to a few cars, and they were bailing out fast. Then we were also off to find a near by WiFi spot, as it would be getting dark early now, having just cancelled Daylight Savings Time.
Monday November 2, 2026:
Mid term election day in the USA. My phone is ringing with political spam every few minutes, so can't use the phone today, don't even look at it. A few hours before noon processing yesterday's polo tournament photos. Near noon, back to Lexington, SC to do three oil changes on Dave Daniel's MGA, engine, gearbox and differential. By chance he bought the wrong oil filter, so he was off to NAPA for exchange for the correct filter. While he was gone, we swapped out the frayed throttle cable on our MGA. Thought we could just swap out the core wire, but it was a bit fatter on the new cable, would not fit through the old jacket, so we ended up swapping out the whole cable. Finished with that, Dave was back, and we proceeded with the oil changes on his car. Then navigator wass swapping in a new set of spark plugs on our car. A bit frazzled, so pack away the tools and take the rest of the day off.
Tuesday November 3, 2026:
Lots less spam calls today, so I can get some computer work done. Finish processing photos and notes for past days, and get updates uploaded to the web server. Friends will be watching election results,so no car work today. Good time to review and catch up service and inventory records. In the process, I was considering that various throttle control cables for MGA had different diameter jackets and draw wires, which are not interchangeable, some obviously not as original. So now my own self-assignment is to post new Part Numbers tech pages for all MGA control cables, and also speedometer and tachometer cables. More work load.
Wednesday November 4, 2026:
Elections over, many Republicans depressed, get back to work. Couple of phone calls, couple of busy people, and waiting for parts to arrive, so back to computer work. -- Look up a part number for the Bail Handle Dzus fasteners I have been using to secure my MGA battery cover, D4-BJR5-45. The less expensive version will not be stainless, so append ZBCNA for Zinc plated and passivated. Spent hours searching for a source, only finding distributor warehouses wanting $3 to $5 each piece for boxes of 1000 pieces minimum. Retail should be $3-$6 each. Still searching for a retailer. I may have to request a sample pack (again).
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