Something from the past

I know I haven't put any substantial posts up here as of late, But be warned: I've got a huge post coming after xmas! In the meantime: Here's some MG Nostalga for ya:

Stretch it out!

Maybe if you had a couple of junky MGB's you could cobble one of these together:

Good Winter Car?

As Found on the web:



Might be good for those cold New England winters, being a 4x4 and all.

The shirt off of my back!

In some other news, In case you haven’t heard, I'm selling some MG T-shirts, the MG Logo in white, on a Gildan T-shirt. They're in Forrest Green and Maroon. I'm down to my last 7 so, if you want one drop me an email. I accept paypal, and any other form of certified money transaction. The cost is $10 a shirt and $4.00 for shipping and handling.







Due to rising costs, the next run will be going up $1 a shirt. I'm trying to keep costs low, as I can't justify buying a T-shirt that's more than $15.00, let alone selling one that'll be that expensive. But the costs of the shirts have gone up. The next run I'll be doing more colors, and if anyone has any suggestions/requests for colors, please drop me a line at devine10 (at) Comcast.net

5 in Green - Size XL
1 in Green - Size Large

1 in Red - Size L

as soon as these go, I'll take a poll and see what people are interested in, I may take Pre orders (no deposit) if you're looking for different sizes & colors.

The red & Green shirts seem to have been a big hit, however I'm always open to suggestions, right now I'm leaning to do a run of long sleeves t-shirts in Black, with the same MG logo (in the same location) in the front, in white.

I'm hoping to get my order in before thanksgiving, that way I can ship out any order for the holidays without any shipping stress.

thanks again for your business
Chris Devine
devine10 (at) comcast.net

Star Car

Well It's not hard to argue, that when you become a celebrity, you'll no likely have some extra $, usually for high end items, clothes, jewelry, homes and cars. When it comes to high end wheels, it's not that uncommon to see stars driving Mercedes, Ferrari, Porsche, or Aston Martin. So I have to say when someone that can afford such luxurious and rare cars, it sparks off interest when they choose something that is NOT on the exotic ride radar. Sharon Stone's MGB Is a good example: It's at the Imperial Palace's car collection in Las Vegas:

My Dad went to Las Vegas last month and stayed at the Imperial Palace. They have a Car Museum on their 6th floor, and it's worth checking out. I haven't been there in a couple of years, but when Dad goes, I usually get a full report of any changes when he returns. He mentioned that they had a Rubber bumper B, but couldn't recall who owned it.

For more cars at the Imperial Palace: http://autocollections.com/

I Love A Parade

In not-really-mg-news-Sunday October 26th was the annual Lions Club Halloween day parade in Woburn. For the 3rd year in a row, I asked to drive in the parade, in case any of the older guys walking wanted to take a rest. The weather was fantastic, and so was the crowd. In the staging area each year, it's like a mini car show. A couple of notable rides included:

1964 Hearse



AC Cobra (I don't know it it's a Kit or not-I'm guessing yes)



and aside from my lil B, another lil B:


Click on the pic for more images:

Carver 2008 Report

Saturday was the final (for me anyway) British car show of the season,The British Car Day @ Edaville Railroad in Carver. I got up early and headed to Dad's and we made the trek down there. The weather was great, sunny with a cool breeze. OK I'll admit it, there is always a breeze when the top is down. This show is usually a pretty good one, and this year was no exception. Lots of cool cars, and a really good turnout (77 cars), I did pretty good on the raffles, with an MG tuning book, a MG/Rover desk set, and a $50 gift certificate to MacKay's garage! I spent $20 on the raffles, and $20 for the show, so it all kind of evens out

Here's some pics (click on the pic)

Car Show Alert

It's the last one of the season!
Be there or be square!

New Addition To The Family

Dad pulled the trigger on this today..







I've driven it, and I have to say it's a pretty sweet ride..Expect a more detailed report in the future.

Weather

Due to the weather being crummy, this weekends Buzzard's bay car show is postponed..bummer

Some More MG stuff

Sorry there hasn't been much news lately. My band's been a lil busy, the weather hasn't been all that agreeable, and domestic stuff has gotten in the way. I don't think I've had any seat time in my B since Labor day weekend. I'm hoping to get quality time in this weekend tho.

So MG is finally back, in one way or another. The new Marque stands for "Modern Gentleman" not "Morris Garages". Also it looks like they won't be hitting North American shores anytime soon either. The new MG is pretty much the same as the last ones that rolled off the line, but I'm hoping they don't follow past trends and not change the car for 18 years.



I prefer their older ad:



In other Classic Car stuff, I renewed my (and my Dad's) subscription to Classic Motorsports Magazine. I highly recommend it to anyone that's into cool older cars (not just British ones) My only complaint is that it's bi-monthly, not monthly. Their webpage is pretty cool, as well as their forum.



Awhile back I got up early Saturday morning and headed to Wakefield tire to see if they could spin a set of MGB wheels I had in my dad's basement. They're the original ones from the MGB and they're pretty grungy. I was afraid to do any restoration work on them, and then find out that they're eggshaped. Thankfully they're ok. 1 pair will have to be specified for the rear tho, as the guy said he wouldn't feel comfortable having those in the front, in case of any steering issues.

the rain held off on this particular Saturday just enough for Dad & I to take a trip up to Milton, NH to take a peek at 3 MG's in varying condition up there. One of my Dad's Co-workers lives up there and told him about the Cars she saw on the side of the road, and we decided a road trip would be a fun thing. So we headed up there. Ironically the last time our MGB was up that way, it was on the back of a trailer, coming back from the paint shop in Berwick, Maine. We got up there to find 3 cars

1-1970 MGB $12000-A bit steep if you ask me



2-1976 MGB $7600-Interesting price, 76 for 76?



3-1973 MGB $2000-Rusty.



The cars were kind of a wash, but the owner seems to have his own machine shop in his garage. If there's a part they don't make any more, he makes it himself. He seems like a nice guy, a true car person, it doesn't matter what make or model, Cool is cool. He's doing over a 1959 MGA in his garage, as well as a 1953 TD that's sitting under a tarp in his yard. He also commented that he liked our "buggy" as he called it.

After making his aquaintance, and chatting for a bit, we headed over to Dad's co worker's house. It was a really nice place up on a lake. I bet it's a bit expensive to live up there, as their neighbour has a Bmw Z-8 in the driveway, a fairly new Ferrari Spyder in the garage, oh and his girlfriends BMW Z3-M3 is also a nice touch. We chatted with Dad's friends for a couple of hours, and on the ride home Dad mentioned that he'd like to stop by Brits bits to take a look at their inventory. I hated to tell him that they were closed by now, as it was 6:15. He was really surprised at how fast the day slipped by.

The next Saturday was the MG/Rover day at Larz Anderson. It was quite depressing. The day started out cloudy & overcast, but the sun came out just as we started driving down Brookline Avenue. I prepared myself properly this time, and decided, regardless of the weather I'm wearing shorts. Good thing that I did too, as it turned out to be a real hot day! The depressing part though: 33 cars. It seems as though the Museum basically "demoted" the show from Sunday to Saturdays, because it's not as a good money maker as some other shows, over the past few years they claimed that it's declined in attendance steadily. Well in 2005 it was ok on a Sunday, and on 2006 they canceled it, citing the fact the rain the night before made it too wet, and Sunday morning at 8:00am it was still raining, so they canceled it, and the sun came out around 10:00 to make it a high of 90. in 2007 they (supposedly the Bay state MGA club) moved it from Sunday, citing the weather on Saturdays have been historically better, and I missed it, due to my own scheduling (we were driving home from the Starks, Maine gig) But I heard that they had about 40 cars. At the end of this years show, they asked if we thought the reason for the weak draw was because of it not being on the usual Sunday morning. I said I bet that's half the reason. Saturdays a lot of guys that have families get stuck with a "honey do" list, or go away for the day, some have to work, and some guys are usually working on their cars! Next year MG day may get combined with Triumph day. The really dry turnout is also the reason I don't have any photos from the event other than this one:



I don't know why it actually was a crappy turnout, and it's sad as, the first show I brought my finished MG to was this event. And I remember more than 60 cars being there. Partially I could blame any perceived snobbery from the MGA folks towards the MGB folks. I'll admit it, the MGA is a classic car, and it's far more elegant than an MGB. But my MGB has side windows, interior door panels, and a 5 main bearing crank with a rear main seal. The usual MGA guy will look down on an MGB, It's a bit more modern, but at 30+ MPH driving down the street no one cares, they just point and look, and ask what it is or what year it is. So yeah maybe some elitist behavior may be to blame. Dad may benefit from this "corksniffery" as he's got a line on a British racing green 1970 MGB GT from an MGA guy for a very reasonable price. Hopefully I'll have more to report on that later on.

Car Show alert! - September 26, 27 & 28, 2008

British Legends Weekend 2008 Buzzards Bay, Bridge Park
September 26, 27 & 28, 2008



for more info:
http://www.capecodbritishcarclub.org/

and for what it's worth, I plan on being there..

You have to start somewhere

and this is where we did in November 2001:



and in November of 2005:



I figured this would be a good place to start with this blog.
Latah
CD