Happy Guy Fawkes Day

It's a British thing. We probably wouldn't understand it. More info here.

British Car Festival 2009 - It's a Wrap

British Car Festival 2009 was one of the most successful car shows to be produced by SABCC in many years.

The morning dawned bright and breezy and it was so cool that a light jacket was in order for the day. The fall sun was low enough that the bluff above Fairhope Beach Park kept a lot of the show field in the shade until late in the morning.

The folks from MINI of Pensacola arrived early and set up their display of new MINI models - A convertible and Clubman wagon were on hand. The wind was so strong that they MINI of Pensacola team had a hard time keeping their table upright. They didn't even try to tie up the banner they brought along.

Many SABCC'ers were at the show site by 7:00AM to get the windbreaks tied up on the pavilion and to get the all-important coffee brewing. The class signs were out in the show field ready for the traditional potted mums to finish the look.

The use of the portable 'porch' for registration kept the wind off the paperwork and gave the registration team a comfortable place to work. The entrants photos were also taken there with Mobile Bay making a nice backdrop for the photos. Once the photos were taken, the participants were directed to their class parking on the field.

There was a steady stream of classic British cars entering the show all morning. In fact, word reached the registration team that a minor traffic delay in Fairhope might make some of the entrants late to the show. A decision was made to keep the registration open an extra thirty minutes.

Once the field was set, the popular choice ballots and souvenir dash plaques were handed out and the balloting began. It was a tough call in most of the classes, especially in the Britannia Sports class. With the encouragement of the show announcers (over the clubs new PA system), the ballots were returned in record time and the vote counting began while the valve cover racing and the excellent bar-b-que dinners kept the show participants busy.

Raffles were drawn, tee shirts were sold out and television interviews were performed.

The awards ceremony began a little before 3:30 thanks to the hard work of the vote counting committee. All the trophies were in the hands of the winners before 4:30 and the work to take down the show commenced. In less than an hour, everything was loaded and ready to go - another British Car Festival in the history books.

Everyone associated with the show went far beyond the call and brought home once the best organized and executed BCFs in recent memory. The show committee deserves the highest commendation for their efforts - no job went undone.

Thanks to all who made BCF 2009 a success and a special thanks also to MINI of Pensacola and the Mini community for their support.

SABCC on TV

Thanks to the efforts (and contacts) of Richard Cunningham, British Car Festival is getting some television exposure this Thursday, October 22.

Our tireless (not tyreless) club president Noel Eagleson is appearing on the WPMI TV15 noon news show's chat segment to promote BCF 2009. Yours truly has been drafted to act, in Noel's words, "as my translator". We will be talking about the event, the charity we're supporting this year and try to get a plug or two in for MINI of Pensacola.

I had the experience of being on television back in the days of steam powered TVs - I was on the High School Bowl team for B. C. Rain high school. Two appearances - two defeats. Here's hoping this one has a happier ending.

We're on the Air

A tip of the hat and a big thank you to Elisabeth Ogletree who worked her PR magic to get SABCC a series of public service announcements on some the local radio stations (WKSJ, WRKH, WMXC and WNTM). The slick PSAs really add a lot to our efforts to get the word out about British Car Festival 2009!

Is That a Land Rover Discovery I See Before Me?

No, it is actually a Honda Crossroad from the 1990s.

During the period of cooperation between Honda and Rover, a number of Honda designs were built in the UK, beginning with the Triumph Acclaim. Later, Hondas were built by Rover and badged as Rovers and MGs. A series of Honda/Rover vehicles were also sold in the US as Sterlings. Fine cars, but like many former BL efforts, poorly planned.

The Honda Crossroad was built in Japan off Land Rover tooling. Almost 200,000 of the Japanese-British hybrids were sold between 1993 to 1998 when BMW bought Rover, effectively ending the venture.

The 'Watch Fob Rolls Royce'

Ask most British car enthusiasts about Triumphs and they will almost certainly mention the two seat TR series or Spitfire sports cars. It is rare that you'll hear of the Triumph Mayflower - even rarer seeing one on US roads.

The Mayflower was Triumph's attempt to take a small car upscale, not unlike the BMC Mini and 1100/1300 saloon luxury variants that came along later. Sporting 'razor edge' styling, the little Triumph did its best to imitate the coachbuilt Bentleys and Rolls of the day and it was thought that the styling would appeal to the American market.

Behind the impossibly large radiator grill sat a 1.2 liter four cylinder flathead engine cranking out 38 BHP. It had enough grunt to propel the limousine wannabe to a nearly 63 MPH top speed and boasting zero to 50 times of 26.6 seconds. A three speed, all-synchro gearbox with a column mounted shifter took care of getting all that power to the rear wheels. The rear was suspended on leaf springs while the independent front rode on coil springs. The front suspension was later used on the TR2 sports car.

Like the similarly sized Morris Minor, the Mayflower was a unitary, all steel body design. Unlike the contemporary Minor, the Mayflower was priced fairly high (£505) for the market at the time.

Over 35,000 Mayflowers were built from 1949 until the end of production in 1953. Around 150 'ute' (that's pickup truck to you, cowboy) versions were built in Australia.

Not surprisingly, the 'watch fob Rolls-Royce' did not meet sales expectations in the US, although it found a little warmer reception in Canada.

Autocrossing in Alabama

Several SABCC'ers have asked about autocrossing in our area. It used to be that you had to go to Pensacola to attend an SCCA-sanctioned event. No more. There is a monthly meet in beautiful downtown Grand Bay, Alabama at the Sunny South Speedway (I know, me neither).

The nice folks in the Panhandle MINIs organization have invited all to come who want to give it a shot. Details are here.