What goes around comes around. Driving various cheap MG T types in high school I had enough. I sold my TC and TD and after paying off the Bank of Mom I used the proceeds to buy this TR4. My annual trip north to Oregon turned to disaster on July 4th. Coming back to my brothers house I managed to roll his custom ex phone company van. The big rear tires and air shocks coupled with the required small steering wheel produced too much correction during oversteer on the logging road. Too make amends I gave my brother my beloved Triumph. It served as his daily driver for years then resides in the field in front of his house. Decades later he decided it would never run again. He gave it back.  Trailering it back to California I was stopped and inspected at the agriculture station. Gravity had won and the trunk floor and contents were spread on trailer. Watching the young inspector walking back to talk to me I saw him shacking his head. “You sure have a lot of work to do”. Unfortunately he waved me through.      Rat rod? Rat home!  Classic rust racing stripe.  Recent home building under the bonnet  And it’s all there! ... View more

Second row vertical, nailed it: 1. VW Beetles I was a salesman at a VW dealer, last year of the US Beetle. Sad. 2. Fairlane Got in trouble for test driving a Thunderbolt off the sales lot. Chirped the tires when I did the 3-4 shift at over a hundred. 3. Pinto Had one briefly as a company car. Yuk! 4. CK Chevy, I used to borrow one to tow my race car trailer. 5. Goat, As a newly licensed driver I traveled cross country with my best friends parents in the GTO convertible that they took over the payments on for their oldest son. No speed limits in Nevada in those days. When they were napping I was doing over a hundred. ... View more

Those Spidgets are the MOST fun to drive. Never had one.......hmmm? Maybe it’s what I need to round out my fleet. ... View more

Reminded me of my departed Uncles 59. The first car I ever laid a wrench on. Uncle Wally wasn’t good about maintenance. My first exposure to to sludge was watching the mechanic pull the heads on that V8. Had a student that had one, drove it cross country to North Carolina. He ended up selling it to his boss who spotted it in the parking lot outside the shop. Dale Earnhardt was the last owner of the car and it was featured in a spot during a NASCAR cup race. ... View more

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. It’s 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 today’s standards but compared to Detroit’s products in those years it’s 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, “you’ll shoot your eye out kid”  MG produced only about 1500 of the Mk 2s. Some of the improvements found there way to the TF.  Front 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.  I’ll have back on the road this week. ... View more