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Collectable Auto Restoration Services, Terre Haute, IN - Looks can be deceiving.

C.A.R.S. in Terre Haute, MGA inside

C.A.R.S. in Terre Haute, MGB inside

Blacktop Studios, more toys

We spent the next few days in North Carolina beginning with a newly found shop Blacktop Studios in Morganton, NC where they regularly work on vintage British cars (and occasionally some other stuff as fill-ins). We found here an E-type, a MiGI (VW powered TD kit car), a Lotus Elite with original Coventry Climax engine, a TR4 and a TR4A, and an AH 3000 daily driver car. Later we had another shop that didn't answer the phone, and one we that had closed early (but is apparently still valid).

Next day we were visiting four shops that were closed or retired, the last one with an owner happy to chat about decades in the business.

Sports And Compacts in Raleigh, NC, MG Midget racer

Late in the day we found H.P. Imports in High Point, NC, a one-man shop still working on vintage British cars. Finally score one for the good guys. The following day, after some detective work, we found a shop that had closed, moved, merged, entered partnership, and was now Sports and Compacts in Raleigh, NC. The "other partner" specializes in Miata, but the guy we were looking for, Carl Cason, is still servicing vintage British cars (and may continue for more years), and the prior closed shop is still used for storage.

E-type failed fuel pump gasket suck

We then moved into South Carolina where we had some appointments to help a few people with their cars. We spent an entire day working to revive a Jaguar E-type that had languished for several years. First issue was a SU fuel pump the ran but did not move fuel, turning out to have a blown gasket sucking air on the intake side, which was easy enough to fix. After pumping out more than five gallons of stale fuel, we re-fueled and flushed the lines. Next issue was a dead starter that turned out to be only a disconnected wire on the starter relay, after which the engine fired up and ran well (after a suitable tune up). Next was a dysfunctional clutch for which we installed a new slave cylinder. That looked promising, but soon failed with clutch disengaged, which turned out to be a

MGA rag top almost installed, Moncks Corner,SC

fault in the master cylinder (stuck there not having a spare).

Then we moved down to Moncks Corner, SC (just shy of Charleston) to visit Ron Neal, one of our first acquaintances from early in this trip in 2014. Here we would spend most of a day struggling to install an early MGA convertible top on a late MGA 1600-MK-II, which of course is not supposed fit. With some innovation and some slight modification of the top frame we got 90% finished when the vinyl canopy needed some significant stretching on the sides for the last few fasteners (which would wait for another time). The next day we intended to install another top on another friend's MGA but came up short on parts, having to set that aside. But we did accomplish some carburetor adjustments, but oil in the dampers, fuel in the tank, and got that car running well.

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