The Library Muse
Last month we ran a little contest on what members name their MGs. And I mean little. The response was underwhelming, to say the least. We only had three entries, one each from Bill Kalafut, Cowboy, and Jim Renkar. Jim’s B is red in color and its key is on a Ferrari fob. He calls his ‘poor man’s Ferrari’ Enzo, so he took home the MG related prize, a glass beer mug with an etched MG octagon logo and a four pack of Old Speckled Hen. Which he didn’t share. So, what’s Old Speckled Hen you ask?Beer!
Back in 1979 MG commissioned Morland Brewery in Abingdon to produce a special brew to commemorate the 50th anniversary of MG moving their factory to Abingdon. The name derived from one of the more famous, at least locally, MGs of the past. Both MG and Morland are gone from Abingdon today, but Morland, now part of Greene King Brewers, is still producing beer in England. In addition to Old Speckled Hen, 5.2 ABV (alcohol by volume) they also make Old Crafty Hen, 6.5 ABV and Old Golden Hen, 4.1 ABY (for Midget owners?) and Old Hoppy Hen. All carry the octagon label.
But what about the car? Most agree it was a 1927 14/40 sedan, the first model to carry the famous octagon, with special body ‘panels’ made of canvas stretched over a wooden frame, becoming an MG Featherweight Saloon, which all had distinctive livery. The rest of the story has several versions. Some say it was a factory service car that was originally black in color that was routinely parked next to the paint booth, getting covered with flecks of overspray, although photos don’t show any of these paint flecks on the fenders, glass, grille, etc. One variation has the canvas being painted with an experimental process that went awry. Rather than redo or scrap the car it was pressed into service as the factory run-around vehicle.
Another has the car being special ordered in black with gold flecks by a rather well-to-do lady who was well known in the local pub. As she would drive thru the town the folks would comment “There goes the speckl’d ‘un.” That’s the version I like best, but then I’ve always been partial to stories of fast cars and racy women. Or is that race cars and fast women? In any case, it seems that MGs and beer just go together. I try my best to uphold the tradition.
~~ Bill Mennell
DID - U - KNOW
by Facia Nearside
In 1961 a chicken farmer from Texas USA put a little company in England on the post in WWII map. Ford had proved to be too dim-witted to realize they had a horse in their stable which could easily have been competition to what was rapidly becoming America’s only sports car, the Corvette. With a little Yankee ingenuity and a lot of Moxy Carol Shelby set out to challenge Corvette’s domination, but that’s a story for another time.
This is the story of that little company, its humble beginnings, and several tricycles. At London’s Crystal Palace Motor Show in 1903 John Weller displayed a 10 hp touring car of his own design. He simply called it a “Weller”. He intended to go into production with an advanced 20 hp version but his financial backer disagreed, considering the car too expensive to produce. Weller instead built a three wheeled delivery vehicle which he called the “Autocarrier”. His design was a huge success and rapidly became the delivery vehicle of choice for London stores; one firm even had a fleet of more than 50. Riding this success Weller’s company was registered as Autocar & Accessories Limited. By 1907 there was a passenger version of the Autocarrier called a “Sociable”. Then the British Army became interested and some Autocarriers were outfitted with guns or as ammunition transporters. In 1911 the company moved to larger premises and became Auto Carriers LTD. Finally, in 1922 that name was simplified to the one we recognize today, AC Cars LTD.
1930 – Invacar
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AC was caught off-guard by the crash of 1929 and went into liquidation. Limited production resumed during the 30s, and then WWII found AC producing aircraft parts, fire engines, guns, and an unlikely tricycle which once again proved to be the path to profitability: The Invalid Carriage. Many veterans were disabled in the war and the government felt it was proper to help with their transportation needs. AC was back in the tricycle business with a fiberglass, 3 wheeled, one person “Invacar”. They were built in the tens of thousands and all painted ice blue. Invacars were owned by the government and leased to disabled drivers as part of their disability benefit. By 1954 a commercial version called “Petite” was also available. In what must be considered an amazing stretch of marketing the Petite was advertised as “The real small car that will go anywhere” with room for two adults plus a child and extra space for luggage. Production wound up in 1977, but the final chapter for most Invacars occurred in 2003 when all government owned units were recalled and scrapped because of safety concerns.
Reprinted from British Boots & Bonnets Chronicle — July 2018 issue.
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August 2018
