(Continued from page 8)
opportunity for a bit of fiberglass trailer repair.

On Friday the 9th we were checking on Bill Peters in Rockville Centre, NY (Long Island)., listed as a vendor rebuilding steering wheels. Phone number was non-functional, so we dropped by to ring the doorbell. Result of visit: moved away in 2003, now deceased, so remove one listing from the Shops list. Next stop was Apple Hydraulics in Calverton, NY, farther out on Long Island, rebuilding hydraulic shock absorbers and carburetors and sleeving master cylinders. Third stop for the day was a visit to Richard Moores at Classic Automotive repair in Dix Hills, NY (central Long Island), 40 years here servicing British cars, and a few more MGA owner friends for some social chat. Then we had a meeting with MG Car Club, Long Island Center at a park inFarmingdale, NY (a little closer to NY city). with coffee and cookies in the parking lot. Not finished yet, another hour and a half east again for our fifth stop to visit Woody Heller in Wainscott, NY (far east end of Long Island) for a pre-arranged midnight rendezvous. He has an eclectic assortment of cars including a Porsche, a Manx dune buggy, a Dino Ferrari, and a very nice concourse winning MGA 1500. (Long day).

Next day we had a trip to Georgia Services, Ltd, in East Hampton, NY, a classic car repair shop, to spend the rest of the day working on Woody's MGA (with a vintage Derrington cross flow aluminum cylinder head dated August 1959). Around 11-pm we were ambling over the Queensboro Bridge, then heading north a few hours in the small hours of the morning. On the 11th we were in Great Barrington, Massachusetts for a gimmick rally with Berkshire British Motor Club including a Daimler SP 250 (2.5-liter hemi V8) and a Spitfire, ending at Dave and Gail Roberts' place in Otis, Massachusetts. We stayed an extra day there to work on TR3 carburetors, check out his wife's Triumph Stag (with TR6 engine) and an Austin 40 project in process. Then an evening run heading farther north to Bennington, VT for a late night visit with Al Chicote, President of Berkshire British Motor Club, and late night another 25 miles west to Mechanicville, NY (no rest for the weary).

On the 13th and 14th we were in Hoosick Falls, NY to visit Joseph Ahrberg who has a couple of MGBs and an MGA under restoration. This MGA was also a "go kart", needing a bit of work on stiff steering. residual pressure in the master cylinder, radiator and electrical connections, exhaust system, spin-on oil filter adapter. Six hours and 300+ miles later we were more than 300 miles farther west visiting Ken-Ton Import Car Centre Ltd in Buffalo, NY, and Apex Automotive in Clarence, NY, both doing work on the vintage British cars. Also Clarence Hollow Motor Cars in Clarence, NY. In the evening we were off to Webster, NY for dinner and club meeting with MG Car Club, Western New York Centre. Then we tanked up the car and headed back east after 9-pm for nearly 5-hours on state highways in the dark rolling hills of upper New York state.

Morning of the 16th we were in Rutland, Vermont to hook up with Berkshire British Motor Club and Adirondack Triumph Association for a caravan north to attend British Invasion car show in Stowe, Vermont. There were more than 500 British cars on display (and as many more visitors in the adjacent car park). Fun ran from Friday evening welcome party to live band and show cars in the street, then Saturday car show, followed by Sunday car display by colors. Nice car show, but the town is obviously much too small to accommodate the large group of cars for the street show, and not enough hotels in the area to accommodate the crowd of people. We did get to assist a few cars in distress in the evening after each show day. The following Monday we were a few hours west visiting Richard Kinsey in DeWitt, NY, rebuilding carburetors, giving his MGA a tune-up. Next day we were a couple hours farther west to visit Williamsville, NY (Buffalo area) to visit British Car Club of Western New York. That was followed by a six-hour overnight drive back east for a dinner and meeting with Brits of the Hudson in in New Windsor, NY. I may be wearing a hole in my right shoe.

On the 22nd we dropped in to visit Raymond Schwarz in South Nyack, NY. He pulled out a picture taken in 1996, when I had made a week end trip from Illinois to New York for autocross with Eastern New York MGA Cub. It's just weird to suddenly turn the clock back 20 years. Ray has a very nice MGA 1600-MK-II "Deluxe" that he bought new in Germany in 1962. We spent a couple days there including a visit with his son who has a rubber bumper MGB and a chrome bumper BGT, wanting to move the GT dual carbs to the later car, and also checking out Ray's second MGA project car in process, helping to sort parts and lending advice. Now 92,000 miles on this road trip, we are still "off to a good start".

Follow our follies at http://MGAguru.com/mobile.

~~Barney Gaylord