Wendell - thanks for the heads up re Wine Country. I will be sure to attend.
We had a great time last year with the hospitality tent and all. My daughter
treated eight of my old racing friends for my 75th.
I believe I stand corrected about the name of Lou Spenser's mechanic. It
must have been Pierre, not Claude. (Sometimes its a little foggy at this end
of the road!) I think I have a pic of him with Baby Doll 1 or 2, going back
to 1959. Another Mog racer of that period was Rick Hilgers who ran a garage
in Monterey. The only one I'm still in touch with is Bill Hinshaw who lives
in Moraga.
Cheers, Rj
On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 1:21 PM, wendell bain <wbain@sonic.net> wrote:
> Hi Robin,
>
> Morgan fans this May 30, 31 and June 1 is the Wine Country Classic at Sears
> Pt.
> In observance of Morgan's 100th Anniversary they are the featured marque.
> There has been an attempt to get Lou Spencer to attend along with some
> other
> notable Morgan drivers from the past. Perhaps Chris Lawrence will attend,
> who
> along with Richard Shepherd Barron won their class in 1962 at Le Mans
> driving
> a Plus 4 that is probably the most famous Morgan of all and known simply by
> it's British registration number TOK 258.
> Greg Solow will have Baby Doll V there and I think one of the other Baby
> Doll
> Cars will attend.
> I think Pierre Brun will attend. He was a Morgan racing mechanic for quite
> a few years.
> Talk about a stressful job. Racing mechanic. EVERYTHING is a CRISIS!!!
>
> Cheers,
>
> Wendell Bain
>
>
> On Mar 26, 2009, at 5:52 PM, Robin Jackson wrote:
>
> The Dealer string seems to have flamed out; was fun while it lasted, but
>> there were only that many dealers to talk about.
>>
>> Just a couple of final comments from me of interest to Morgan folk. I
>> mentioned Frank Henry on Telegraph in Berkeley. I bought two 1958 Mogs
>> from
>> him, the first one I had a terrible wreck with, but survived with cuts and
>> bruises. The second he sold me for a very decent price, $2,500 as I
>> remember. I raced that one. Frank was a fine gentleman. He always wore a
>> three piece tweed suit, gold chain and watch in the vest pocket. He kept
>> his
>> cars on an open lot but had a small sales office where he had poetry books
>> to read. Where else but Berkel;ey?
>>
>> Lou Spencer had the Worldwide business on Sepulvada. He was the one to
>> beat
>> in his line of "Baby Dolls", that's what he named his cars. He had a
>> French
>> mechanic, Claude, who could change out a clutch in a half hour. He had cut
>> away the firewall and pulled the tran out through the cabin. Ahh, those
>> were
>> the days!
>>
>> Cheers, Rj
>> On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 9:21 AM, <craigw@sonic.net> wrote:
>>
>> Yeah, I played at a jam on Labor day in Larkfield. He was there.
>>> Craig
>>> On Mon 23/03/09 9:09 AM , Bill Crowe haiku99@gmail.com sent:
>>> FWIW David LaFlame (violin payer of IABD) still lives in the area
>>> and plays
>>> local clubs, sometimes with Paul Gruen doing Django Reinhart style
>>> Gypsy
>>> Jazz, great stuff....
>>> On Mon, Mar 23, 2009 at 7:55 AM, Paige, Dean wrote:
>>>
>>>> I have it on vinyl! Too ,too old.
>>>>
>>>> Deano
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: nobbc-bounces@autox.team.net [nobbc-bounces@autox.team.net
>>>>
>>> [2]
>>>
>>>> ]wc1632wc
>>>> On Behalf Of Steve Plath
>>>> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 8:56 PM
>>>> To: North Bay British Car Club
>>>> Subject: Re: [Nobbc] British car dealerships in the area
>>>>
>>>> Not to worry. I have the whole album on my ipod.
>>>>
>>>> Steve
>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>> From: "don"
>>>> To: "North Bay British Car Club"
>>>> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 8:24 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [Nobbc] British car dealerships in the area
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> A bit off the subject, but you can Youtube It's a Beautiful Day
>>>>>
>>>> and
>>>
>>>> White
>>>>
>>>>> Bird and listen to their big hit song. They lived on Mt. St.
>>>>>
>>>> Helena
>>>
>>>> outside of Calistoga back in the early '70s.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> At 04:54 PM 03/21/2009, you wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Back in 1970 I took my 67 MGB GT into BMC Motors in San
>>>>>>
>>>>> Francisco.
>>>
>>>> While
>>>>
>>>>> waiting I started talking to another "long hair" who was waiting
>>>>>>
>>>>> for
>>>
>>>> his
>>>>
>>>>> E-Type to be serviced. I asked him what he did and he said he
>>>>>>
>>>>> was a
>>>
>>>> musician. Turns out he was David Laflamme leader of the 60's
>>>>>>
>>>>> acid
>>>
>>>> rock
>>>>
>>>>> band "It's a Beautiful Day". It made my day that's for sure.
>>>>>>
>>>>> Back
>>>
>>>> then
>>>>
>>>>> you never knew who you would run into at BMC Motors.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> And then there's the famous Grace Slick Aston Martin story from
>>>>>>
>>>>> the
>>>
>>>> same
>>>>
>>>>> BMC Motors.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Ah memories.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On another note the Daimler is finally finished and maybe I will
>>>>>>
>>>>> join
>>>
>>>> you
>>>>
>>>>> on a run once the rain stops. Better yet we should plan a run
>>>>>>
>>>>> in
>>>
>>>> Marin my
>>>>
>>>>> home territory.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Steve Plath
>>>>>>
>>>>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "don"
>>>>>> To: "North Bay British Car Club"
>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 3:10 PM
>>>>>> Subject: [Nobbc] British car dealerships in the area
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Back in the late '50s through early '70s, British car
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> dealerships
>>>
>>>> could
>>>>
>>>>> be found in most US cities of any size, especially in
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> California.
>>>
>>>> Even
>>>>
>>>>> before I got my first British car in 1965, I loved visiting the
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> showrooms
>>>>
>>>>> to admire the MGs, Triumphs and other British cars. Of course,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I
>>>
>>>> would
>>>>
>>>>> always pilfer as many sales brochures as I could hoping to not
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> upset
>>>
>>>> the
>>>>
>>>>> salespeople too much.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I remember the BMC/Jaguar dealer in Napa on Soscol Avenue,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> which was
>>>
>>>> to
>>>>
>>>>> become Napa Valley Datsun when they dropped the British car
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> line
>>>
>>>> around
>>>>
>>>>> 1967. There was a BMC dealer that tried again in Napa shortly
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> after
>>>
>>>> but
>>>>
>>>>> didn't last long. I remember taking my MGA there for repairs
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> in
>>>
>>>> 1968,
>>>>
>>>>> but I don't remember the name of the place. I do remember that
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> it
>>>
>>>> was
>>>>
>>>>> very expensive to pay someone to repair my car, and after that,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> did
>>>
>>>> most
>>>>
>>>>> of my repairs myself. The name of it might have been Washborn
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Imports.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>> In Santa Rosa, there was Ralph Vesper Motors on Santa Rosa
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Avenue
>>>
>>>> which
>>>>
>>>>> sold Triumphs and British Fords. I remember that dealership,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> because, as
>>>>
>>>>> I bought parts for my old Anglia and Zodiac (c. 1966, '67), I
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> was
>>>
>>>> distracted by the siren's call of the sleek TR4s and Spitfires
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> on
>>>
>>>> display
>>>>
>>>>> in the showroom. I still have a few pieces of the Triumph
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> literature
>>>
>>>> I
>>>>
>>>>> took on visits to Vesper. Car dealers usually left their
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> identification
>>>>
>>>>> by irubber stamping their names and addresses onto the front or
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> back
>>>
>>>> of
>>>>
>>>>> the sales literature. Vesper's name and address sill adorn my
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> old
>>>
>>>> Triumph brochures.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The most interesting dealership to visit was always British
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Motors on
>>>
>>>> Van
>>>>
>>>>> Ness Avenue in San Francisco. They had Jaguar, Rolls Royce and
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> the
>>>
>>>> whole
>>>>
>>>>> BMC line, and the cars they had on display were always of a
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> high
>>>
>>>> calibre.
>>>>
>>>>> This was such a classy place that I always felt underdressed
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> because
>>>
>>>> I
>>>>
>>>>> wasn't wearing a suit and tie. As an extreme British car nut,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> I was
>>>
>>>> thrilled just to purchase parts there. I do have several
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> license
>>>
>>>> plate
>>>>
>>>>> frames from there, which I think are a cool period accessory.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Other dealerships that come to mind are Union Jack (BMC) in
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hayward
>>>
>>>> and
>>>>
>>>>> British Motors in San Jose.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Anyone else have any recollections of the British car dealer
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> world in
>>>
>>>> the
>>>>
>>>>> area?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Don Scott
>>>>>>> Calistoga
>>>>>>> 1962 MGA Mk II
>>>>>>> 1991 Miata BRG
>>>>>>> 1973 MGB GT
>>>>>>> 1962 TR4 (seeking)
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> --
>>>>>>> Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> 270.11.22/2015 -
>>>
>>>> Release Date: 03/20/2009 7:01 PM
>>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>>> Nobbc mailing list
>>>>>>> Nobbc@autox.team.net [7]
>>>>>>> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/nobbc
>>>>>>>
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Nobbc mailing list
>>>>>> Nobbc@autox.team.net [9]
>>>>>> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/nobbc
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> --
>>>>>> No virus found in this incoming message.
>>>>>> Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database:
>>>>>>
>>>>> 270.11.22/2015 -
>>>
>>>> Release Date: 03/20/2009 7:01 PM
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Checked by AVG. Version: 7.5.557 / Virus Database:
>>>>>
>>>> 270.11.22/2015 -
>>>
>>>> Release Date: 03/20/2009 7:01 PM
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Nobbc mailing list
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>>>>> http://autox.team.net/mailman/listinfo/nobbc
>>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>> Links:
>>> ------
>>> [1] mailto:DPaige@srcity.org
>>> [2] mailto:nobbc-bounces@autox.team.net
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>>> [6] mailto:nobbc@autox.team.net
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