Oily Hand's Life with MGs |
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After scaping the ice off the BGT we set off for the 15 minute drive to Middlesbrough Motor Club where a welcome cup of cofee awaited us. It was a delightful run on some lovely roads, only marred for us by the low winter sun and a dirty windscreen. The electric washer pump picked a bad time to fail and the push button one was as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. Once back at the clubhouse we had more coffee and pigs in blankets in a bun. Some great chat rounded off a good day. Thanks to all who made it possible.
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This was our third visit to this great event. We took the MGB GT for the short trip to the showfield. Saturday is the quieter day and it was just right for us. Not as many cars to see but all the rest was just like a Sunday. With fewer people about it was easier to get around and we covered just about everything, craft tents, autojumble, displays etc. You name it, we saw it. Everything was as good as ever. Thanks to Pam for some of these pictures. The stars of the show. What was amazing and gratifying was the number of youngsters getting involved. They are the future of the hobby and it was a marked difference to the classic car scene. A regular feature is the driving tests. Russ Swift, stunt driver extraordiaire sets a time round a course and others are invited to beat it. As last year, I had to give it a go, and of course was pretty rubbish at it. Not as bad as some though...phew!! Thanks to Pam for this video. All in all, a great day. We met loads of old friends and had a blast.
This run was over the same great roads as the run on the 17th but this time it was with the Jaguar Drivers Club and the Triumph TR Register. We would have taken the TA if it hadn't been in bits. As we had already done the run in the B GT we decided to try a different approach and make some video. We arrived at the clubhouse just after nine and signed in and spent the next hour or so wandering around chatting, taking pictures and shooting some video. After the last car had set off we headed out to do the run in reverse and find a spot to get the cars on the moors. Once on the moors we had a relaxing time sat by the side of the road in brilliant sunshine. Here's the result. I hope you like it. I'm sorry if I missed anybody. Back at the clubhouse we had a great hot beef bun with roast potatoes and lots more chinwagging. A wonderful day out with great people. It doesn't get much better than that. Once again, thanks to Richard and his team at MDMC for making it happen. The plan was to do this run in the TA but that plan went mammaries skywards when the old girl refused to start. It was spinning over well but there wasn't a hint of it firing so we took the BGT. We arrived at the clubhouse in plenty of time to sign on and have a cuppa & chat before our start time of twenty past ten. There were some interesting cars, a 1927 Alvis, a blisteringly fast Morris 12 rat rod, a Rolls Royce and a Ferrari. We set off in bright sunshine for a 70 mile trip over the North Yorks Moors. The sunshine stayed with us most of the day but it was a bit bleak on the hilltops with a biting wind. Thankfully there was little rain. The route was a delight with some interesting roads that we haven't travelled before and with the heather in bloom there were some stunning views. We arrived back without trouble and had a hot beef sandwich and roast potatoes, which hit the spot nicely. Coffee and chinwagging rounded the day off nicely. As always, big thanks go to all those who made it possible.
The BGT was already loaded with tools so it was just a case of loading the food & drink before setting off again to Croft. We arrived early so I could hopefully get the TA fixed before too much of the day was lost. We were so early, they hadn't opened the gates when we arrived. Once we got in and parked up, I set to on the TA. With it jacked up and supported, off came the wheel and the drum securing nuts. The drum wouldn't move at all so it was out with the hammer. There is little space between the inner wheel arch and the drum so I couldn't get a good swing at it apart from at the bottom. The drum finally came off after over an hour of bashing, sweating and some choice words. Getting the stuck handbrake linkage to work properly again took more time than expected but finally the shoes were sitting where they should and it was time to put the drum back on. It went fine until the last quarter of an inch and it wouldn't go any further. Much messing about and checking later a friend spotted that some areas of the drum weren't clearing the lip on the backplate. Doh!!! While bashing the drum off I had also bent the lip on the drum. This required readjusting which took an age. Finally some four hours after I started, it was back together again. While this was going on we heard that the parade laps were cancelled because they didn't want to risk mud on the track. Just before I finished the TA, they were back on again but too late for us with the TA. The BGT was booked for a later one so all was not lost. Now it was time for a rest before setting off to see what else had arrived for Sunday. The field was considerably fuller today. Because of an accident in one of the mornings races, the timetable was way out of whack for a while and it was later than expected when we did our parade lap in the BGT. A big surprise was when a couple came up to us and said that they used to own Numbum. They sold it to the friend I bought it from back in 1970. We'd met them once before in 1982 when they saw us on the Beamish Reliability Trial and had lost touch since. It was gratifying to know that they watch our videos to see what we do with the car. It was great to meet them and we had an enjoyable time. We hadn't seen much racing at all so it was good to get sat down on the banking and chill out. One of the races was another round of the HSCC Bybox Historic Touring Car Championship with the Minis, Cortinas, Anglias etc. The track was dry today and as the Cortina driver said yesterday, the Cortinas were in front this time.
Finally, it was time to pack up & head for home. We helped to pack up the MG Car Club stand, threw he rest of our gear into the BGT and hit the road. One of the things missing this year that we enjoyed last year were the bus trips round the circuit, but I suppose it's difficult to fit everything in. We had a great weekend despite the troubles with Numbum and our grateful thanks go to all who organised, marshalled both on the field and the track, and the drivers who gave us some great racing. Thank you all!! We had both the TA and the BGT booked in for this great weekend. The weather forecast wasn't good for Saturday but better for Sunday and true enough it was raining a little when we set off. The rain eased off as we arrived and we parked up where instructed and set up our shelter for the forecast rain. The Tyne Tees Centre of the MG Car Club were setting up the club stand so we wandered across to help out. While doing this we were asked to move our cars as the initial position wasn't what they wanted after all. We finished setting up and were invited to join the stand so away we went to move the cars and shelter. The TA has had a slightly binding rear brake for a couple of days but it wasn't too serious until today. With damp grass providing little traction the sticking brake meant the old girl wouldn't move under her own steam so it meant a bit of pushing to get it away. Eventually we got both cars moved and the shelter set up again. The plan had been to leave the B overnight and travel home & back in the TA but as I didn't have the any gear to fix the TA, that plan was revised and the TA was left overnight so I could fix it on the Sunday. After a cuppa & bite to eat, we set off to see what there was. All of the military stuff was there but most of the cars turn up on Sunday. With the wet today, it seemed like some had decided to stay home. Thanks to Pam for some of these pictures. The paddock areas had some great cars. Chatting to the driver of one of the Lotus Cortinas, I asked how he felt about his chances. He said that if it rained, the Minis would be out in front, but if it stayed dry he was likely to be ahead of them. Sadly, it rained just before their race and as he predicted, the Minis did walk away with it. We were on the straight between Sunny Out and Complex and the Cortinas were opposite locking it round Sunny and struggling for grip on the straight. We stayed to the end and had a great day. I was a passenger on the ride home in the BGT, something I haven't done for a long while. I was pleasantly surprised to be reminded how smooth it was in that seat and it didn't feel as fast as we were actually travelling.
Once home I loaded up the gear I would need for the TA tomorrow and settled down for a relaxing evening. We were expecting a quiet weekend this weekend with nothing planned. That changed midweek when we heard about this event and we just had to go to see it. The BGT was headed westwards to Shap. It was about 40 miles from home and we decided to miss the morning and see section 18 in the afternoon. Leaving home about 11am meant grabbing a bite to eat on the way and that wasn't as easy as we thought it would be. There are a few eating places on the A66 westbound but none had what we were looking for. As we entered Kirby Stephen we spotted a cafe and decided to try it. That was a good move and we left well satisfied having eaten a hot meat sandwich each and a tea & coffee. The cost of £12 was very reasonable. There was nobody about when we arrived and we wondered if we had the wrong place, but the marshals soon turned up and we helped them set up. Initially we were just going to watch but it was clear that more eyes would be needed so we signed on as marshals. The BGT was parked well away from the action. It was a surprise when we both got a small thank you pack for marshalling which contained a meal ticket, a pen and a lottery scratch card. Between us we won £15 on the scratch cards which paid for our food on the way across and the meal ticket took care of our plans for eating on the way home. Result! Test 18 was a fast test consisting of slalom up & down a hill on a loose shale type surface. It was also very very dusty. Thankfully there was a light breeze and we stayed upwind of the course and avoided most of the dust. I set up two video cameras & left them to run. Some super footage but problems with my editing software is giving me grief and I can't edit it. Hopefully I'll be able to post it later. In the meantime here are some of the stills I managed to get. After a good time on the test it was finally time to pack up and head for the finish where a good hot meal was waiting for us. A pudding was included in our meal tickets but we were both too stuffed to have one.
We spent some time chatting to competitors and other marshals and learnt a lot about this type of event. I could almost be tempted to give it a go. We took the short trip in the B GT to South Bank to support a friend who was competing in his MGB. The warm sun was shining and it was a great day. We were able to walk around the paddock and get up close & personal with the great cars. Some superb driving with few incidents made it a good day out. There were so many MGCC Tyne Tees members there it was almost like a club meeting. This was the first of what we hope will be an annual event, set in the stunning scenery of the North Pennines. We took the B GT to help out with marshalling. The first section we marshalled was 5a and we headed straight to the hill and signed on. This was a fairly easy section and we drove the GT to the section end to observe there. Needless to say that as our road car made it easily, everybody else cleared the section. From there it was off to the lunch stop where we were treated to free coffee & food. We found out that if we had gone to the start instead of straight to the section, we would have got bacon butties there. Not everybody made it through the morning without damage. Some of the sections were considerably tougher than 5a. After a pleasant break, it was off to section 10. This was an autotest on some quite rough ground. From here it was back to the start, where a hot meal awaited us. We were still fairly stuffed from lunchtime so we settled for a cuppa. This was great from a marshal's point of view as a lot of the time you barely get thanks for the time we put in. To have free food all day was amazing. Other clubs please note!!
All in all it was a great day and it went well considering it was the first time. The weather gods smiled on us. We found out later that all had enjoyed the day. It was an interesting afternoon in pleasant surroundings, apart from the rain. We arrived in the middle of the lunch break and it was wet. It got wetter but by the time they started running again it stopped raining and the course dried out a bit. One concern was leaving. The way in was through a gate and it was pretty muddy on the way in but it was downhill and gravity helped. With more rain and an uphill run though the muddy gateway I had doubts about getting out without a tow. Thankfully we made it, slipping and sliding, but we made it!
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AuthorHi, I'm Owen and I've been having fun with MGs since 1970, starting with my 1937 MGTA. Since then I've had three Y types and a couple of Z Magnettes. I now have a 1971 MGB GT along with the TA and my wife and I are still having fun Archives
September 2020
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