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(Continued from page 16)
Then we discovered that Ron happens to be an officer in Capital City MG Club in Austin, TX, which we previously thought may be defunct but is in fact still in business (just difficult to contact). Put one MG club back on the Clubs list.
 We had a personal visit with Rory Hinnen in New Braunfels, TX, who has a nice MGA just restored but having problems getting
Foreign Affair, Schertz, TX
MG Y-type at Bird Imported Automotive, McAllen, TX
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it titled. Then we were off to visit Foreign Affair in Schertz, TX. Nice business, good history, and looks like they will be here for a while longer. Plenty of British cars in the shop. Alamo Sports Cars in San Antonio, TX struck out, the place is now a tobacco shop, and the car shop has been gone for several years.
Next day we were 250 miles south in McAllen, TX (10 miles from Mexico) to visit Bird Imported Automotive, Inc. This business has reduced to a one-man shop, still working on vintage British cars. Before heading north again we stopped to have the trailer tires changed, again (only a little over 28,000 miles on that last set). Looks like we're done in Texas, having visited 8 car clubs and 30 shops in Texas (not all on this pass).
After climbing through mountains in western Texas (long drive there) we passed through El Paso and moved into New Mexico. First stop there was Charles Beard in Las Cruces, NM where I got to rebuild carburetors and sort out some
Lots of rock and desert in western Texas
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ignition issues on his MG TD, and some ignition and carburetor work on his 1965 MGB. We also visited Mike O'Donnell in Las Cruces, NM with a large home-based shop
Mike O'Donnell in Las Cruces
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that does some contract work for
Tricked out T-type
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vintage British cars including a lot of his own collection. There was a tricked-out MG TD with cycle fenders, MGB 1800 engine, side exhaust, 5-speed gearbox, and early MGB 3.9 rear axle with trailing link suspension and coil springs. Also, a very rare 1959 Peerless with fiberglass body and DeDion rear suspension. Also, a TR3, TR6, MGB, Bug-eye Sprites, some Triumph Stags, and a rare Scimitar GTE.
Next day more shop-hopping in NM, beginning with Mo-Ma Manufacturing in Albuquerque where they do repair and restoration work on automotive instruments.
MoMa Manufacturing instrument rebuilders in Albuquerque
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Freshly repainted instrument faces
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Those elusive odometer drive gears
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Then on to Porter Custom Cycles which is bicycles, now expanded to include repair of vintage British cars (which now exceeds volume of the cycle business).
On a new recommendation, Worldwide Automotive Repair (also known as Old Car Garage), full of vintage cars in process, mostly larger American stuff. No British cars on this visit, although I am assured that they do work on vintage British cars fairly often. Then a search for Sports Cars
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May 2017
