Congratulations to @LKsE and their beautiful Jaguar E-Type for getting the most likes in our British cars show!
Join our virtual car show with this week's theme: British cars.
Reply to this post and include:
No car to submit? No problem. Have fun looking at the pictures and reading stories from others. And make sure you ālikeā your favorites!
The reply with the most likes by next Thursday 28 May will win this weekās show - earning unlimited bragging rights and some Hagerty social media love.
OK- a couple shots of my British stablemates, a 1974 Lotus Europa Special and a 1972 Lotus Elan Sprint. I've had the Europa since my college days, when I bought it completely disassembled in boxes. The bucket seats were our first living room furniture. Over the years I've completely rebuilt the entire car and have driven it many miles. I'm glad Rob Siegel finally finished his so he could embrace their quirks and acknowledge the upside of owning such a fantastic driver's car.
The Elan I picked up as a "barn find" just about two years ago and am knee deep in a full mechanical refresh due to the car sitting neglected for so long.
Great work saving the Elan! Both of those cars make a great pairing!
That Elan looks like one of a pair of cars several of "us" auto crossed in the Seattle area in the late 70's.
Love the Loti (plural for Lotus). My life regrets include the sale of my Elan. I knew I would die if I kept it. My tastes are for more moderate British cars. 5 in all, 4 MGs and a TR4. My current project is my 1952 MG TDC. Sometimes called a Mk2. Itās the competition version of the common TD. Dual fuel pumps, bigger carbs, larger valves and higher compression. Taller rear gearing and double shocks. Still a slug by todayās standards but compared to Detroitās products in those years itās quick and offers incredible handling and rack and pinion steering. This car has a Hollywood history being once owned by Darren Mc Gavin. Best known as the dad in Christmas Story, āyouāll shoot your eye out kidā
āMG produced only about 1500 of the Mk 2s. Some of the improvements found there way to the TF.
āFront suspension by Alec Issigonis best known as the designer of the Mini. The unusual Andrex friction shocks utilize wooden discs.
Those blue ty wraps got to go.
āIāll have back on the road this week.
ā
1963 Morris Mini Cooper 997
Currently off the road fixing some minor rust issues.
Western Colorado
That looks like it is at Boot2Bonnet. Nick does great work!
1956 TR3 located in central Alabama
Owned 6 years. I saw the car for sale on Craig's List in northern VA and someone bought it before I could respond. It turned out that I knew the "restorer" who purchased it and had him complete it to my specs. It will put a smile on your face every time you drive it.
I was hooked when he opened the garage door.
I bought it in Burnaby, BC in 1989 from Frank Oz. He originally brought it over from England; drove it for a long time; sold it to a father and son who were going to restore it; bought it back when they got in over their heads; restored it; then sold it to me to fund the restoration of an XK120. I showed it in Jaguar concours for several years where it only took first place. I've done several weddings with it over the years, as a way of sharing it. My original plan was for it to be my winter car; my '63 Etype roadster being my summer car. Bad idea. So I wound up with two summer cars and a Land Rover Discovery for winter.
1966 Austin Healey 3000 Mk 3
I bought this car when I was 19 in 1975. It was a bit of a dog, but I rebuilt the engine, welded in a floor, painted it and drove it for 30 odd years.
About 10 years ago I completely dismantled it and restored it properly...fixing my youthful mistakes. So, it's been in the family for 45 years and I can't imagine not having it to work on...it's quite therapeutic!
My favorite British car
My wife and I own this 1960 Austin Healey "Bugeye" Sprite. We purchased the car a few years after we were married in 1991 in the San Francisco, CA area. The car is pretty much stock except for the color and tilt front. The car has its original 948cc engine and 4-speed transmission with about 77K original miles on the odometer. The car is always a hit with children who come out with their parents to local car shows in Colorado Springs, CO because the car is "just their size". My wife and I love keeping this piece of British motoring on the road.
My '56 Austin Healey 100. BN2, I am the second owner from new. mostly original, not restored just fixed up a bit to make a really nice driver.
I'm fortunate to own 2 interesting British cars.
The 1970 Lotus Europa S2 I purchased a couple years ago. I've wanted a Europa since I first saw one in 1972 and finally bought a clean one that's very original. What a fun drive. The Europa is my daily driver most of the year. It's not a trailer queen!
The 1967 MGB GT was purchased new in California by my father in January 1968. The car was his daily driver until he sadly passed away 15 years ago. After spending 12 years at my mom's house and later in my barn I decided that the car needed to stay in the family for memories sake. I spent the past few years restoring it and it will be on the road again later this week.
Both cars live on Vancouver Island.
1980 Triumph TR8. I bought this car in the fall of 2019. I am the fourth owner. Owner 1 is unknown. Owners 2 and 3 clearly loved this car and took meticulous care of it. Everywhere I go, people see this car and smile and ask about it and admire it. It is old and rare (approximately 2,600 made over two years), and unlike anything produced today. A bit quirky, somewhat awkward, often grumbly, not a work of precision. It has a charm and character that only comes with age and having been around the block a time or two.
(man.1962 reg. 1963) Jaguar E-Type living in Northern Nevada
One night, sometime in 1983, I had a very vivid dream about a Jaguar E-type. A number of weeks later, a friend told me of a dilapidated E-Type he saw in a storage yard. Since I was hopelessly infatuated with this model, I just had to go look for myself. When I arrived at the storage yard, I was utterly dumb-struck as I found myself face-to-face with the same car I had dreamt of. Not LIKE the car in the dream; it WAS the car from the dream⦠and it was in the same place as it was in the dream. Upon seeing it, I knew we were meant to be together. Even though I had pretty much no money and very little mechanics knowledge (everything I knew up to that point was straight from John Muirās āHow to keep your Volkswagen Alive for the Compleat Idiotā), I was able to make many, many small payments on it and learned how āwrenchā. Over the years, working on this car kept me so focused that I did not wander down the many dangerous paths that life was tempting me with. In 2014, this pretty little āEā got herself selected to be in the Top 25 of the Barrett-Jackson Cup at the Hot August Nights event in Reno NV. Go figure, a little, foreign car in an ocean of American steel. 37 years and I still get goosebumps and a huge grin just looking at her. During this hard time we are all going through right now, the garage is a soul-restoring shot in the arm!
Just out of high school in Vancouver, Canada in 1977 I became the third caretaker of this 1967 Series V Sunbeam Alpine, purchased for $850 from its previous owner who had run it out of oil. After rebuilding the engine it was my daily driver for almost 10 years, also while dating my wife-to-be. Shortly after we were married I took it off the road, joking I had to know if she only married me for my car. The Sunbeam languished in various garages for many years, but I could never bring myself to part with it. I acquired a L.A.T. 79 hood, roll bar, factory hardtop and a few other bits along the way and in 2006 restored it in its original Code 109 Orchid Green colour. My wife died a few years ago, but I still drive the Alpine on sunny summer days and enjoy the many fond memories that go with it.
@SunbeamScott Great looking Sunbeam, Scott! I can't decided if I love or hate the color, but it kind of grows on you. Of course, any color looks good on a Sunbeam! Thanks for posting.
I am caretaker of a 1965 Sunbeam Alpine that was build by a co-worker for his wife completing the build in 2002.
I purchased the car in 2014 with accumulated mileage at that time of around 2500 miles.
The car has a Ford 2.3 liter 4 cyl. (with Holly 390 CFM) from a 1985 Mustang II paired with a C3 Automatic transmission and a Ford positraction rearend that was narrowed.
Custom interior with leather seats (from Pontiac Fiero) and new Autometer gauges.
I have taken my friends creation and have worked a lot of the kinks associated with a complete power train replacement and am enjoying a very reliable car.
Hello, here is my lineup:
Triumph 1976 TR6 Factory Original Car / Owned since 1983 / All Records From Purchase
My Triumph 1980 TR8 / Purchased in 2016
Dano1 - Nice TR8! Few of these around - good to see another.
ā
āHello, my name is Fred and car is a 1969 Triumph GT 6, fully restored and a blast to drive. I live in Mi. Center Mi. And these cars always interested me as it was my first new car in 1971! A true British classic!
Love this one!
1960 Morris Minor
Project that got out of hand. A lot of body mods like fastback and 48 Buick grill. Sits on 2001 blazer chassis and floor pan. Body stretched 14ā and fenders widened 3ā to fit chassis. Ride tech air suspension, vintage air, Dakota digital gauges.
Like I said project that got out of hand, but well worth it. Drives and handles great!
ā
ā
ā
1961 XKE Flat Floor . Complete restoration. Miami Beach, FL
My 'rent's got this from the OO, in 1965, and it went to Switzerland in 2016! It was a great 51 years!
ā
1
ā
ā
ā
ā
ā
ā1969 TR6 SUN COAST FLORIDA
My British cars MY 77 MGB
my 76 MG Midget
My 71 MGB-GT
my 69 Austin America (1300)
Nice Austin America,we had one for years along with a 64 Mini
ā1959 Morgan Plus 4 in Marshal, Virginia. It's a rare "home market" car, with right hand drive.
ā
For over 35 years, I was a British car wrench, and one of my favorites were Rover 2000 TCs: my first car was a customer's 1971, which got totaled when a Bug ran a red light and t-boned it.
I spent the next 33 years in search of one and here she is: Margaret, a 1967 P6, largely a survivor car...that gets USED!
Here she is at a rallycross, near Denver, last year: after many years away from auto crossing, the old girl set one of the faster times of the day!
ā
ā
1968 Austin Cooper S
Vancouver, WA
We bought this car twenty years ago and spent about ten years restoring it. It was originally red with a black rood but we went with MINI Electric Blue with an Old English white roof. Just about everything has been updated/upgraded and it even has heated seats! It is a blast to drive! A couple years ago, I was able to meet the legendary Paddy Hopkirk, winner of the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper S. He was very nice and signed our sun visor!
This is my 1958 right hand drive Austin A35 2 door Saloon. Car was built on 7 May 1958 and sent to Car Mart (Welsh Harp Limited) in London. Sometime after 2001 it was brought to the US and was restored by a father and son team in Macon, GA. I bought the car from them in 2016. It has a 950cc "A" series engine and a four speed manual transmission.
ā
ā
ā
ā
ā
ā
āMy 1974 MGB Roadster.
1966 A-H Sprite
1966 Sprite MkIII
My second Sprite. My first was bought in 1974 in Wisconsin, a dark blue 1968 MkIV 1275. Now I'm almost 65 years old, and enjoying this 1966, which has a transplanted 1275 and lots of sorting out done. A bit rusty around the edges, but lots of fun every time I take it out!
Kevin O'Connell South Orange www.kevinoconnell.info
Those Spidgets are the MOST fun to drive. Never had one.......hmmm? Maybe itās what I need to round out my fleet.
I have a '79 Triumph Spitfire purchased in 2016 on Craigslist. My wife picked it and we drove across Michigan to pick it up on a Friday Afternoon. On the drive home, the interstate was shut down due to an accident and turned our 3.5 hour return trip into a 6 hour trip getting home at 3am. The Spitfire handled the journey well and so did I with a new to me car. That was the beginning of our road trips in the Spitfire. We have also journeyed from Detroit area to Blackhawk Farms Raceway going along back roads only, 12 hours with stops to cool off in 95 degree heat.
Here are a few pictures from Put in Bay Road Race Reunion last year.
ā
ā
ā
ā
āHere are two pics of my 1953 MG TD near my home in Mountain City, TN and a picture of my 1960 Metropolitan, its sort of British since they were built by BMC in England for Nash/AMC.