British Car Festival 24 is Upon Us

Yes, indeed it is October and the South Alabama British Car Club's biggest event is just a few short weeks away. This year's show committee has worked harder then ever to make sure that the show participants have a great time. 

Third-gen MINI Cooper S

As you may have read earlier in this humble blog, BCF 2014 is moving to a new venue due to planned (but ultimately delayed) construction at our usual  Faulkner State Community College campus in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. Instead, we will be just one block south at the campus of Fairhope United Methodist Church. Last year's show attendees who made it to the Friday night welcome party will remember it as the venue for that evening event. SABCC is indeed grateful for Fairhope UMC's invitation to conduct this year's show on their lovely, tree shaded campus.

Jim O'Brien's Sunbeam Tiger at BCF 2013

Again, our friends at MINI of Pensacola will be displaying the new third-generation MINI hatch and other examples of the growing product line. The MINI folks will also have some cool swag on sale at their featured display area on the field. 

Do You Remember These Guys?

The show will feature the Sunbeam Tiger in observance of the 50th anniversary of this Anglo-American hybrid (designed before hybrid meant electricity is involved somewhere) that was developed by Carroll Shelby. In fact ALL Rootes Group marques will be honored and their owners will receive some special treats on the day of the show.

Where were YOU when the Beatles made their American debut? We'll also be remembering the start of the "British Invasion" in American pop music. We'll have some background music during the day that will certainly get you singing along with the best of Britain. 

Here is a calendar of events and details associated with the 24th annual British Car Festival:.

Friday Evening Welcome Party 7:00PM at the Abundant Life Center building at Fairhope United Methodist Church 155 South Section Street in Fairhope. Meet fellow British car enthusiasts and enjoy some great homemade goodies courtesy of SABCC member families.  

British Car Festival 2014 9:00AM at the campus of  Fairhope United Methodist Church in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. Day of show registration closes at noon and popular choice ballots will handed out shortly thereafter. Balloting will close at 2:00PM and awards will be begin at 3:30PM

To allow you to park your car quickly and with the least delay, we urge you to pre-register. You can print a form here and mail it in.

We look forward to seeing you at the 24th Annual British Car Festival. Stay tuned for news about next year's show, too - our 25th anniversary year event!

BCF 2014 Show Artwork and Theme

It is my pleasure to unveil the official artwork for the South Alabama British Car Club's 24th Annual British Car Festival Supported by MINI of Pensacola.

As you can see, the club is celebrating the half-century anniversary of the Sunbeam Tiger, that Ford V8 powered sports car from the pre-Chrysler Rootes Group. Last year's Festival drew an impressive six Tigers and we hope to top that number this year with a few tasty incentives for ALL Rootes Group cars on display.

2014 also marks the 50th anniversary of the start of the British Invasion with the arrival of The Beatles on American soil. 

The show committee is working hard to make this our best show ever.

British Car Festival 2014 Venue Change

After three successful years on the South Lawn of Faulkner State Community College in downtown Fairhope, 2014's British Car Festival is on the move. 

Last year Dr. John L. Borum, the college's chancellor shared the plans for development of the South Lawn. He told show officials that the school was to build a pavilion, restrooms and an attractive wall around the perimeter of the field. He stressed that he was doing his best to schedule the construction so that the festival would not be affected. It turns out that circumstances will not allow the site to be finished in time for the show. 

Site committee members reacted quickly and approached Fairhope United Methodist Church - the site of last year's Friday evening welcome party - about moving the show to their lovely church campus. The church leadership graciously agreed and British Car Festival has a site directly across the street from the college venue. 


View Larger Map

The church site is shaded by old-growth oak trees and the show site is a mixture of well-maintained asphalt and fine gravel. There is a gourmet class barbeque pit near the site as well as restrooms and a dining hall open to the event. It is one block further south from downtown Fairhope so access to the shops and galleries will be just as convenient. 

SABCC is looking forward to another fine British Car Festival on October 25th as we celebrate the musical "British Invasion" of 1964 and the fiftieth anniversary of the introduction of Sunbeam's V8 powered Tiger.

 

A partial view of the show site- Click for a larger image

British Car Festival 2013 to Appear in Hemmings Motor News

Courtesy, Hemmings Motor News

Hemmings Motor News editor Richard Lentinello confirmed that there would be a brief writeup and photos of the South Alabama British Car Club's 23rd annual British Car Festival. In an email, Richard related that the story would be in the either the March or April 2014 issue of Hemmings Motor News.

I had the pleasure of speaking to a number of owners at the show and taking down notes for the article as well as shooting photographs of some of the cars there. Will your car be in HMN? You'll have to wait for Spring to, uh, spring to find out.

Mugs & Motors and a Tour of a Winery

SABCC Newsletter Editor Robb Ogletee stepped up to plan September's club activity in the form of a tour of one of the very few working wineries in the state of Alabama. But first, we'll meet for another Mugs & Motors - Coffee and Conversation for Motoring Enthusiasts. 

Plan to be at the Panera Bread cafe at the Eastern Shore Center in Spanish Fort for Mugs & Motors at 8:00 AM, Saturday, September 14th. We will once again enjoy the company of our fellow car club members while we indulge in coffee and sweet treats.

Around 9:00 am we'll saddle up for the ride up US Highway 31 to Perdido, Alabama where we will tour the Perdido Vineyards winery. Known originally for their muscadine and scuppernong wines, Perdido has expanded to include apple wines (from Alabama apples) as well as vinegars and seasonal
favorites. Perdido Vineyards engages local artists to design labels for their varieties with the artwork remaining on display at the winery.

As with any destination worth its salt, a gift shop with souvenirs of the place is there. Of course, those of you of legal age may sample and purchase the wines available.

After the tour, we'll decide where we may wish to have lunch for those so inclined.

We are looking forward to seeing you at this event.

A Visit to the Henderson Auto Collection

It's time for another edition of Mugs & Motors Coffee and Conversation for Motoring Enthusiasts. We'll meet at the Panera Bread location at 750 Schillinger Road, South in Mobile for coffee, sweet treats and the company of our fellow British car enthusiasts.

It's been a while since we've had an M&M gathering and many of the club's members have mentioned that it is one of the more enjoyable activities on the calendar.

After we have had our fill, we'll head for Highway 90 and Mobile Lumber where one of the most impressive auto collections in the area is housed. Consisting of mainly American iron, the Henderson Collection has something for everyone to admire. 

See you there!  

Annual SABCC Picnic

Mark your calendars for the annual South Alabama British Car Club picnic. This year's extravaganza is Saturday, June 29th at Oscar Johnson Memorial Park in Silverhill, Alabama.

I had a tough time contacting the Silverhill city fathers (city mothers, too) so SABCC'ers Dick Bishop and Jon Gosnell stepped up and visited city hall on behalf of the club and made the reservation for the day. The city has implemented a fee to use the pavilion, but it allows us to stay as long as we wish (at least until from 9AM to 4PM).

The club will provide hamburgers, hot dogs buns and condiments and we are asking the members to bring side dishes to complete the menu. We expect to begin serving around noon, but come early and enjoy the company of your fellow British car enthusiasts.

Oscar Johnson Memorial Park is located on Baldwin County Highway 104 just east of Silverhill.

British Car Festival 2013 Artwork

I am very pleased to unveil the theme artwork for this year's British Car Festival. As mentioned late last year, the theme of the festival is "Celebrating 60 Years of Triumph TR". 

The artwork shows a TR2, a TR4 and a TR7 in profile with the Triumph globe script used for the logo. 

Joining us for a fifth straight year is our title sponsor, MINI of Pensacola. 

Stay tuned for details!

SABCC Scrapyard Crawl

When one's hobby is old cars an occasional visit to a scrapyard is part of the experience. Whether the need is a part no longer made or to just find a bargain, today's scrapyard (excuse me, automotive recycling center) is the place to find them. The challenge is to find the car that can yield the part you're looking for. Trouble is, unless you go often you will never know what's on the yard. If you're a scrapyard neophyte, South Alabama British Car Club has planned the activity to solve that problem.  

Join us Saturday, February 23rd for SABCC's scrapyard crawl. Here's the schedule:

• 8:30 AM - Meet at Golden Corral at 5327 Halls Mill Road in Tillman's Corner for an extended Mugs & Motors - Coffee and Conversation for Motoring Enthusiasts.
• 9:30 AM - Depart for Barry's U-Pull-It in Theodore where admission is just one dollar.
• 11:15 AM - Depart for Pull-A-Part in Mobile located on DeSirrah Drive near Moffatt Road and I65. Admission here is two dollars.
• 1:16 PM - Depart for lunch at Dreamland Bar B Que on Old Shell Road. 

A few things to keep in mind:

• The yards are covered in largish gravel so wear comfortable shoes and prepare to walk some distance from the gate to any area you might want to check out.
• Bring a few handtools along. You might find something that you need during the tour. 
• If you have a spouse that enjoys the fine dining portion of the tour but not necessarily the scrapyard part of it, hitch a ride with a fellow SABCC'er and ask your significant other to meet up with you when the group heads out to lunch.

I hope you can be part of the fun. Mark your calendars now!

British Car Festival 2013

No sooner than one British Car Festival comes to an end, the next one goes into planning. The executive board of the South Alabama British Car Club met recently and set the date and theme for the 2013 edition of the event.

Saturday, October 26th 2013 was selected for the show's date and the venue will remain at Faulkner State's south lawn in downtown Fairhope, Alabama. The theme chosen for the show is Celebrating 60 Years of Triumph TR.

The show will focus on all things TR from the earliest production TR2 all the way through to the uber-hairy chested TR8. Although it has not been firmly determined, entrants of TRs should expect a few exclusive perks on the day.

Again, MINI of Pensacola will be the title sponsor, signing on for the fifth straight year.

South Alabama British Car Club Swag

What group doesn't have a way to show its colors?  SABCC certainly does.

The club has had a Cafepress shop for several years where club-branded merchandise such as t-shirts, bags, coffee mugs and the like are available for purchase. A number of members have been seen in club t-shirts sipping coffee from their "official" mugs.

One new item available is a ceramic thermal travel mug with the club logo applied. This is a heavy ceramic mug with a stainless steel liner and tight fitting cap that will keep your morning joe warm on that commute to work. It's only $21.99 and do I need to remind you that a certain holiday season is just around the corner? 

22nd Annual British Car Festival - October 20, 2012

Let me leave this subtle reminder that the South Alabama British Car Club's British Car Festival is quickly approaching.

The event will be on the South Lawn of Faulkner State College's Fairhope campus - just a block away from the shops, galleries and restaurants in downtown Fairhope.  This venue was new to the festival last year and it received near universal praise. 

Look for an expanded layout with plenty of elbow room on the field. You'll see new signage and more tents and canopies.The popular red double decker bus will once again be on hand as a backdrop for the traditional entrant's photo and there will be a delicious barbeque lunch available on the site.

Our friends at MINI of Pensacola will once again be the title sponsor for the festival and we expect to have a couple lovely new MINIs on display.

BCF 2012 is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the MGB with event t-shirts and dash plaques sporting the theme artwork.

Make your plans now to join us in Fairhope!

Tour of the Empire Comes "Home"

In the last three years, South Alabama British Car Club has toured the former British Empire by visiting restaurants serving the cuisine of the nations that made up the greatest empire the world has ever seen. During our tour we've stamped our passports in Hong Kong, India, Jamaica (twice!) and most recently Australia. Now it's time to bring the tour home.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, September 22 when SABCC visits the British Isles at The Shamrock Rose and Thistle on Old Shell Road in Mobile. We'll meet at for a late lunch - 2:00PM - so we will be able to be seated together outside the normal lunchtime rush. Our host, Bill McGuinness, is looking forward to welcoming us and our British cars. He is setting aside preferred parking near the cottage garden for an afternoon British car show. He plans to promote our visit to the restaurant's email list as well as mention it in their Lagniappe advert. I hope we can bring about a dozen classic British cars to the event.

Looking forward to seeing you at this fun event!

Mugs & Motors

OK, SABCC'ers it's time for another edition of Mugs & Motors Coffee and Conversation for Motoring Enthusiasts. We'll meet at the popular Serda's Coffee and Tea on Royal Street in downtown Mobile at 8:00AM sharp to be some of the first through the door for coffee and sweet treats and to snag the tables near the coffee roaster in the back of the shop. As always we'll enjoy the company of our friends and fellow British car enthusiasts for relaxed hour or so.

Next up on the agenda, SABCC's own Technical Advisor Jean-Pierre Fontana has graciously arranged a behind-the-scenes tour of one of his favorite automotive machine shops. Auto-Fleet Parts and Machine is located at the wye between Navco and Halls Mill Roads. Old-time Mobilians will remember this building as the former home of Datsun of Mobile. We'll travel there together in a British car convoy from downtown Mobile.

Pierre tells me that these folks have some very impressive engine credentials including knowing their way (competently) around such exotica as Offenhauser heads. We'll see some specialized machinery and techniques that can help bring a tired and worn engine back to rude health. Pierre is even packing his famous kit bag in case some of us might need a quick auto diagnosis while we are together! 

Afterwards, we'll decide as a group where we'd like to have lunch. 

I hope to see you and your British car Saturday, June 16th for Mugs & Motors!  

22nd Annual British Car Festival

I'm pleased to unveil the artwork for this year's British Car Festival. As you probably know by now, the theme of the show is the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the the best selling British sports car model ever - the MGB. We've captured the beloved 'B in both its original chrome bumper visage and the later "rubber" bumper design. 

The South Alabama British Car Club has once again secured the south lawn of Faulkner State Community College in Fairhope for the Saturday, October 20 show. The site was universally praised for its level, open layout and the proximity to the shops and galleries in downtown Fairhope. 

For the fourth year running, MINI of Pensacola is signing on as the title sponsor for the event and will have cars and representatives there on the day of the show. 

Make your plans to attend BCF 2012 now.

Picknickin' - SABCC Style

"Smell them shrimp, they're beginning to boil..."

Mark your calendars for the next SABCC activity of 2012 - the annual club picnic scheduled for Saturday, May 19. For the fourth year running, we'll gather at the lovely Oscar Johnson Memorial Park in Silverhill, Alabama, on state highway 104 just east of the village.

This year, we will be enjoying boiled shrimp along with new potatoes and corn on the cob courtesy of SABCC'er John Shaw and the club. Since this is a rather special menu, we will need to get a firm count of the number of people planning to attend by May 12th. It is important that you confirm your plans to attend.

We are asking that everyone bring a side dish or dessert to share with the group. There will also be an alternate selection for those not wishing to partake in the seafood. The club will provide a selection of drinks.

We plan to serve lunch at noon so be there a little ahead of time to claim your spot.

I hope to see you and your British car there!

Mugs & Motors Coffee Mug

Mug & Motors is one of the more popular events on the SABCC activity calendar. We meet early at a local coffee establishment (if they have baked goods it's a plus!) for coffee and conversation for motoring enthusiasts to kick off a day's club activity.

In the last several years we've visited most of the coffee purveyors in Mobile and on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay. The sight of classic British cars in the parking lot usually results in a number curious browsers and is always good for the coffee shop's business, too.

You can show your support for Mugs & Motors with the official SABCC Mugs & Motors coffee cup. Check out the entire selection of SABCC items at the SABCC Cafe Press shop. 

Your coffee never tasted so good!

A New Look for the SABCC Website

If you haven't looked in on the South Alabama British Car Club's website lately, you may be in for a bit of a surprise. This afternoon, the newly renovated site went live.

A lot of the content will be familiar but the graphics -as well as a number of features- are brand new. Some of the improvements include:

• An events calendar with all the latest SABCC events noted. There is even a mapping feature that shows the location of the event on Google Maps.
• A photo slide show consisting of photos from the mid 1990s until the present time.
• Easier to use navigation buttons and links to help you find your way around the site.
• More photos from club events.
• An expanded links page.

We owe a debt of gratitude to club president Richard Cunningham for his efforts in mastering some new web site creation software to bring these improvements to fruition. The original SABCC web was launched in the late 1990s on the gone but not forgotten Geocities hosting platform. I worked up a web site mostly as a personal challenge to see if I could do one. As time passed, the club reserved the sabcc.org URL (having just nosed out the South Australian Blind Cricket Club for the address) and then moved to paid hosting servers.

If you would like to see the changes the club web site has undergone over the years, check out these links:

• September, 2002
• September, 2004
• March, 2005
• July, 2007

As you can see the site has undergone many changes - some good and some best forgotten. Bear in mind that the Wayback Machine Internet Archive does not do a perfect job of rendering the old sites, but it's close. Sadly, the Geocities site is long defunct.

We will be making a number of further improvements in the site as time permits.

SABCC Tour of the Empire (with Apologies to Australia)

The first activity on the 2012 SABCC calendar is the next stop on the Tour of the Empire - Australia.

For the last two years, the members of South Alabama British Car Club have "visited" nations of the former British Empire by sampling the cuisine of those places. To date, we've visited Hong Kong, India and Jamaica (twice!). For our visit to the land down under, we'll have to use a stand-in and that will be the Australian themed Outback Steakhouse. 

I doubt you'll find items like meat pies, sausage rolls or even Vegemite on the menu, but we'll have a great time having a meal with friends. Mark your calendars now: Saturday, January 14th at 7:00PM at the Outback Steakhouse location at 901 Montlimar Drive just south of Airport Boulevard in Mobile.

British Car Festival 2012

Click image for larger version

The Executive Board of the South Alabama British Car Club has selected Saturday, October 20 as the date for the 22nd edition of British Car Festival. The festival will once again be on the South Lawn of Faulkner State Community College's Fairhope Campus and it will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the MGB - the most popular British sports car ever made. 

MINI of Pensacola is on board as title sponsor for the fourth year running. Thank you for your continued support, MINI of Pensacola.  

The 2011 festival was one of the most successful SABCC events ever and I hope you will make plans now to join us next year!