Hey Listers (and Jack & Bob):
I haven't been folowing this thread, but just happened to catch it
tonight on Thanksgiving Eve. My attention was piqued because: 1) I
have long range plans of developing a British based Rover 3.5L
sportscar, to be manufactured in a kit form and 2) I also was a
co-founder of our local Chico Area BRITISH Car Club (multi-marque
based!!).
Ok, so I live in the foothills of the Left Coast (that's CA for you guys
in Ohio!), so you know that I must already be an oddball! :>) A friend
and I fought the odds of starting a club almost 5 years ago and now
boast a regional membership of 155 HOUSEHOLDS (which translates into
about 600 LBCs of ALL known marques!!) The club is very active, has a
solid volunteer based steering committee, no elected officers, over $6K
in the club checking account and sponsors a very nice British Meet every
June.
At the time, both of us were MG owners and considered starting a MG club
vs the multi-marque club. But in our innocence, we figured we couldn't
muster up enough MGs to be successful. Boy were we wrong, since about
half of our members own MGs. But we had seen how single marque clubs
easily can develop a *tendency* to become cliquish, very political, and,
quite frankly, boring. Nope, I'm not looking for ways to insult people,
just stating my opinion!
FWIW, here are the cars I currently own: '67 MGB GT (this was #1), '69
MGB GT (parts car), (2)'70 MGB GTs, '65 MGB Pull Handle Roadster, '69
MGB Roadster, '70 MGB Roadster (parts car), '77 MGB Roadster (waiting
for a V8), '69 MGC GT, '69 Austin America, '60 Austin Mini, '66 Morris
Mini "Woody" Countryman (RHD), '70 TR6, '50 Austin Devon, '56 Hillman
Minx, '72 Spitfire (parts car),'59 Hillman Minx, (3) 1970 Rover P6B
3500Ss, (4) Datsun 510s, a couple of Mazda 626s, a Volvo 245 wagon and a
Chevy Suburban. I'm also eyeballing a '54 Metropolitan Roadster, a Ford
Cortina, another Hillman Minx, a Volvo 544, a '51 GMC COE (cab over
engine) truck (to haul the trailer!!)and a couple more 510s for the
collection!!
DIVERSITY IS A GOOD THING!!
Cheers,
Jim Boyd
International Sportscar Components
Paradise, CA (daily tours are .25!)
Jack Emery wrote:
>
> Regarding your recent post on: MG styling and Eastman's Drivel Part 2
>
> >How come kit cars don't sell?
>
> They do, just in low production numbers. They seem to have more magazines
> and parts suppliers than MG's.
>
> >The 'A' ain't ever coming back, Bill, so get over it.
>
> If MGA's had the value of Cobras and Porche Speedsters we would be up to our
> ass in plastic MGA's.
>
> >So getting back to the kit car, how come they can't sell? There were a lot of
> >different enterprises that build (brace yourself) 'retro cars' but almost all
> >of them are flops. Even the cars with sporting pretentsions. The only
>possible
> >exception is the Cobra look-alikes.
>
> If you can have a real TD for less than a plastic one with a VW slug in the
> rear sales will be slow. Cobra kit for 35k or real for 150k, no brainer
> when the kit has better build quality than Shel's old beast.
>
> >That ain't to say that it can't be done. You can get yourself a handful of
> >catalogs and build yourself your very own brand-new '32 Ford hot-rod. The
>only
> >way that is a losing proposition for the manufactueres is that there are so
> >many of them doing it.
>
> Rod guys are car guys, go to a rod meet, very few attitudes and lots of fun.
>
> >So how come they can't do that with Sports Cars?
>
> Because some yuppie scum investment guru said to buy old sportscars. The
> wrong people bought the cars for the wrong reasons. But to answer the
> question, if it ain't original I won't get a trophy, sob, sniff, sniff.
>
> >It wouldn't be much of a stretch to get a Heritage 'B' body shell, install
>the
> >RV8 front suspension, hang a good rear-end with some modern composite springs
> >and control bars out back, install an interior and wiring, and sell it as a
> >roller. Why wouldn't that work? I figure that would be done for (I dunno) $15
> >to 20K. Add your favorite $5K driveline and you would have a very nice Sports
> >Car for under $30K
>
> Done that, love the car. Coil overs and EFI next year but for now it has
> buckets of soul. Purists get a little pale but I'm in love with my Hot Rod
> MG. Every time I start that sucker up I smile and on a good twisty road I
> laugh out loud.
>
> >So how come it ain't happening?
>
> It is but on a small scale
>
> >One reason is because all you guys are biggoted assholes.
>
> Not all, but enough for a class of thier own at the next event.
>
> >Sorry. Maybe I can think of some way to gloss that over...
>
> >We have way too much snobbery within the Marque.
> >
> >How much infighting do you see just among Midget, 'A', 'B' and 'T' series
> >owners? How much enthusiam do the owners actually have in using there cars
>just
> >within the same model? These are Sports Cars meant to be driven but there are
> >an awful lot of trailer queens and retoration dreams that are owned by people
> >that have no intention of ever doing anything 'sporting' with the car.
>
> And if you go to a meeting they bend your ear about how they own a rare Twin
> Cam MGA that has only been driven 187 miles in 15 years. Makes you want to
> puke! I have a lot more respect for the guy with the ratty old MG that
> breaks down on every other outing but is slowly being refurbished.
>
> >An awful lot of newsletters get dropped in mailboxes where the cars only
>move a
> >couple of times a year (and less). It is very difficult to find a group
>within
> >the same marque that will do things together let alone across manufacturers.
>
> Way too much intermarque bashing. I work on a lot of sportscars and while
> laying under one with oil dripping in your face it's difficult to tell them
> apart.
>
> >Around here we have an 'A' club and an 'MG' club and we rarely intermingle.
>We
> >have a 'Healey' club that does very little that is car related. The Jaguar
> >people are way different from what car-people are. The 'Triumph' club has a
> >dozen active members (out of 80) and, in fact, there is some
>cross-pollination
> >with the MG club soley due to friends being members in both clubs.
>Altogether,
> >there could easily be a 500+ All British car club here in Kansas City but,
> >incredibly, the members would have little in common.
>
> In place of Kansas City insert any locale and it is a true statement.
>
> >>The thought of a "British Car Club" that would promote all the marquees is
> >hopeless. I'm active on this list and get the Triumph digest and the
>difference
> >in content and attitudes of the two list are stunning. Now what is going to
>tie
> >things togther for the betterment of the movemnet? Nothing I can see.
>
> More guys like us who own cars from various marques? It is all this "we are
> better than they thing", sportscar biggotry. Biggotry sucks in any form.
>
> >The British Sports Car movement is comatose and the prognosis is not good.
>The
> >clubs lack volunterrism, there is way too much infighting, and this seems to
>be
> >a free-for-all for "If you're not gonna do it my way I'll just run off in a
> >snit..."
>
> Up here in Maine we just say "don't let the garage door hit you in the ass
> on your way out".
>
> >So, no, the British Car hobby lacks the backbone to ever influence the design
> >of a new car and I don't see anything changing. The only hope would be
>bringing
> >back the peices that are reproduceable today and assembling a car that people
> >would buy.
>
> If British car hobbyists bought new sportscars they would influence that
> segement of the market. We are strong on discussion and short on action.
>
> >Most of the MG owners wouldn't buy it because it ain't their model.
>
> Hence the MGF and no real clamour from the US for them in our market.
>
> >Most of the 'B' folks wouldn't buy it because they are too cheap (well, you
>can
> >still buy and awful nice 'B' for half of this 'Heritage Kit' proposal).
>
> You can remetal one for a lot less than a Heritage shell. The crate costs
> more than new steel for a rust bucket.
>
> >And all of the Triumph, Healey, Jag owners would push their nose up in
>disdain.
>
> Not so true with TR guys, but the other group has been known to have a high
> yuppie scum content. I think "all" is overstating it.
>
> Get them to drive one. Then tell the poor bastards it is so exclusive that
> they can't have one.
>
> >I don't see how you're gonna win on this deal.
>
> I win every time that I drive my car. I built it for me. Just the way that
> I wanted it. Didn't ask for advice or support from the MG elders just did
> it. Tried asking for advice, learned my brakes were way too small. No
> experience talking but a lot of theory. Just like at those club meetings.
>
> My idea: Hold all club meetings in a garage. So that you can remember what
> the club is for, cars, British sportscars. Leave your minivans home.
>
> My MG can beat up your MG
>
> Jack Emery '67 MGB V-8
>
> Jack Emery
> '67 MGB V-8
> Glenburn Maine
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