Chicagoland MG Club: Driveline May 2016
 

MGAguru is on the Prowl
MGA Guru is Gone Mobile

In our last report we skipped a few things for brevity, like a Tune-Up Tech Session hosted at British Car Service in Marietta, Georgia, instigated by Peachtree MG Register and SouthEastern MG T Register. Also two days in Chelsea, Alabama, to get an MG Midget running, change the gas tank, rebuild carburetors, install a new starter solenoid. Add a visit with Tucker Madawick at Tucker Autosport, Inc in rural Bloomington, Indiana.

We landed in the Chicago area on March 24 primarily for navigator to have a few days with friends, and visit with two daughters while in the area. This was a good opportunity to visit Pep Boys to get new tires installed on the MGA (the second set of new car tires for this trip). Then a visit to Naperville Auto Haus (Naperville, Illinois). They "specialize in foreign and domestic cars and trucks" (everything, maybe?), and they appear to be progressively taking over more space and buildings in a small auto mall. There may be 100 vintage sports and specialty cars inside the buildings and out back. This might be an interesting place for the CMGC members to visit sometime. My purpose there was to investigate an MGA Coupe with a removable steel roof (likely one of a kind).

Then I paid a visit to Seth Jones, young but seasoned CMGC member (and curator of www.SpridgetGuru.com) who is about to embark on restoration of his "family heirloom" MG Midget.

Having a couple weeks to kill, we then embarked on a tour of Clubs and friends in Illinois and Indiana, beginning with Ron Moore in Wheaton, IL who has a 1974 MGB project car in process. Then a visit with Illinois Flat Land British Car Club in Bloomington, IL, followed by two days in Mahomet, IL with Denny Elimon nursing the new (to him) MGA. Then a visit with Eric Nelson in Zionsville, IN, which turned into three days tinkering with his MGA 1600-MK-II (including a short visit to Connell's MG Services in Indianapolis). We were supposed to visit Indiana British Car Union, but failed to make the connection at a restaurant. We did get to South Bend for a breakfast meeting with Michiana Brits British Car Enthusiasts (battling a snow storm for nearly a day). Then back south to visit Gary Graves in Petersburg, Indiana with a 1953 MG TD (with 1800 engine and MGA gearbox) and a pair of MG Midgets.

On April 11 we attended a tech session in Tennyson, IN, with Southern Indiana Region British Car Club where they were working on an MGB club project car. This was followed by a club meeting in the evening, followed by a night time sprint north.


Our planned stop in Charleston IL was accompanied by an unplanned morning repair at Bill's Radiator Service in Mattoon, IL, after the (second) plastic cooling fan threw a blade. By next
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