(Continued from page 6)

On Aug 2 we had a dinner meeting with MGs of Baltimore with about 30 people where I was guest speaker with a short dialog on what we have been doing for the past two years, followed by a longer tech session on Drivability and Reliability of MGs, and then a brief game of "Stump The Guru" with impromptu tech questions, all jolly good fun.

On Aug 6 we attended Pennypacker Mills British Car Day in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, with about 50 British cars in total, including a 1978 reproduction of a 1936-1940 S.S. Jaguar 100, very nicely done, with the V8 engine. After trophy awards we were off to a picnic with Delaware Valley Classic MG Chapter (the club presenting the car show) at a club member's home in Perkiomenville, PA. Here my magic trailer produced a fuel filler cap cork sealing ring to help out an MG TD.

Next day we stumbled across Barney's Auto Center in Columbia, PA with a bunch of classic cars outside. By coincidence the so-named owner does work on MGs and other British cars, so this is a good addition to the new Shops list.

On August 13 we slipped a bit to the east for a tour run with British Motor Club of Southern New Jersey, with about 10 LBCs out on a very hot day. Star of the show was the MG Y-type. Starting at Peter's Diner in Williamstown, NJ, running side roads for 50+ miles to Royal Crown Dive-In in Hammonton, NJ where the ice cream there was VERY good on a hot day.
By evening we were visiting Bob and Judie Coles in Millstone Township, NJ. Bob has a very nice MGA that was resurrected from a skeleton of a parts car into a Sebring style streetable race car. He also has a concours quality MGA 1500 Coupe and a collection of interesting memorabilia.

Next day we were on tour with Positive Earth Drivers Club starting in Farmingdale, NJ. Star of the show here was an MG TD, fairly well tricked out for casual cruising with a supercharger, Wind-blocker, adjustable headrests with radio speakers, luggage rack, wind wings, sun visors, fresh air vent, GPS unit, cell phone, Lambda readout for the O2 sensor. A 50-mile tour led us to Laurita Winery in New Egypt, NJ for wine tasting and lunch. Here we spotted a new McLaren (P1 model I think) with of course tons of power and disc brakes big enough to choke a horse. Not having seen one of these, I was taken aback at how small the car is.

On the 16th we were visiting the Keystone Region MG Club in Nazerath, PA for BBQ and club meeting at a member's home. Nice personal meet with 17 new friends, and a new appointment. Next day we were checking out an MGA belonging to Bob Pilat in Whitehall, PA (actually his wife's car). The car had a profuse oil leak which was quickly traced to the flex hose for the oil pressure signal line. This was immediately fixed with a new hose borrowed from Bob's MGA project car. Wife was very happy. Later that night our little trailer got whacked (not the first time), resulting in a lost marker light and some fiberglass damage (to be fixed later). It seems to be working well as the sacrificial lamb to protect the car when parked.

On the 18th we were a few hours farther north to visit Al Tirella in Olivebridge, New York, in the Catskill Mountains foothills just south of Woodstock, NY. There are some wonderful winding hilly mountain roads up here. We spent part of two days here checking out several project cars, lots of spare parts, some inventory and storage problems, and his "little church" which is gradually growing and evolving into a nice home (shades of Alice's Restaurant). Al has a nice daily driver Volvo 1800S, and a very original low mileage Volvo 122s, both in excellent condition (almost show quality). There is a Saab 96 V4 with a horde of spare parts from multiple prior restoration cars, an MGA Coupe needing restoration and an MGA roadster next in line. On departure we ran another 80 miles of these wonderful curly roads in the Catskills, ending up in mid-state Oneonta, NY.

~~Barney & Elliot Gaylord   1958 MGA with an attitude

Never enough space here for all of our photos and notes so until next time, follow our follies at http://MGAguru.com/mobile.