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We visited Simon Matthews in Fremont CA with a BGT that is his daughter's daily driver and Simon's MGA. We visited Geoff Kimler in Bakersfield CA who has a nice MG TD 1500-MK-II with optional redundant Andrex friction shock absorbers, and a multitude of problems we could fix. We visited with Robert Guinness in Elsberry, MO, diagnosing some problems with his MGA. We visited Dennis Scanlan in Manchester, MO. He has (currently) five MGAs in show condition, four Twin Cams, one race car, two Coupes. We visited Scott Johnson in Genesco, IL, who has an MG Midget (gave it a tune up) and a 1925 Dodge touring car (took a little cruise).

There was a visit Stuart Mast at his Brice Station Winery, having a nice "California" MGA, heater delete, mostly original, very little rust, couple of repaints, lots of patina, good daily driver car, but with very low mileage (which I gave a nice tune-up). He also has another MGA, a good candidate for a restoration project, a nice MG TF with a 5- speed (daughter's car), a Datsun Z race car (belongs to a friend), and another common vintage British vehicle, the Ford Ferguson. Brice Station Winery has a gift shop, a pottery manufacturing shop, a wood working shop, a metal working shop, and a blacksmith shop, a variety of old printing presses including the second oldest all iron printing press in North America.

On our MGA we replaced a failed starter pull switch, install a new starter switch pull cable, did an autopsy the failed starter switch. installed new pedal covers, reconnected the trailer cable connector. I can report that the new plastic cooling fan seems to work well, keeping coolant temperature about ten degrees lower than previous with the original steel fan. Two more oil changes and lube jobs, repacking the leaky master cylinder, and finally installing stub stack parts (inside the air cleaners) that I received back in late January, and a new door latch pull cable. First impressions on the air intake stub stacks, they do seem to live up to expectations, and I suppose the reported 4 -hp improvement may be real. Some problems with headlights, so cut and crimp to replace a few loose snap connectors with gas-tight butt connectors. The Harley Davidson brake light switch crapped out after 9 weeks and just over 8274 miles. The main odometer rolled over all zeros again. Make that 300,000 miles since restoration in late 1986, 450,000 miles since new.

We stopped at Simonian Farms (Old Town) on the southeast corner of Fresno, a store with a museum to tell the history of Fresno, and an assortment of old farm machinery. We drove past hundreds of acres of California Valley Solar Ranch, tons of weightless tumble weed, hundreds of oil well pumpers, miles of pipeline, oil collection and shipping facilities. In the Central Valley (hot desert) we were passing endless acres of fruit trees and vegetable farms. We visited Yosemite National Park. After one month in California we took a slight detour (but will return later). We passed through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Illinois. We passed through Abingdon, Illinois (familiar to most long term CMGC members). Then on to Indiana and Michigan to attend NAMGAR GT-40, and back through Indiana and Illinois again.

We helped a couple of disabled cars. First a modern sedan with, a very dead battery. Next an MGB with a faulty new replacement fuse block, and we helped a '72 MGB, with severe carburetor problems and temperature gauge up to the "H" mark. I got involved with a bit of restoration work on an Austin Healey 100 in Wheaton, IL. We suffered through a dead email server for a few days, a DMV that had a hard time recognizing that I still live in Illinois, a bank requiring two days to cut a letter for the DMV, a Post Office that can't seem to find my replacement PO Box key (for a couple of months now), needing to change my address with Social Security (delayed by non-functional email). We dropped into Sandwich, Illinois, to visit older daughter in her new digs, and had dinner with younger daughter. I stopped into a cruise night in Sandwich, IL, long enough to take some pictures. The early June Austin Healey Gymkhana was cancelled twice due to rain, so Seth Jones and I attended "Lands’ End Trail and Rally".

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~~Barney and Elliot Gaylord