Don,
Thanks for the write up and photos. Unfortunately I am tied up again this
weekend in Inverness and Mill Valley. I see there is mention of coming down to
Muir Woods.
Where will you be driving you be driving today and Sunday? Maybe I can
intercept you somewhere.
Mark Darley
'57 Tyrolite Green 1500 Roadster
Sent from my iPad
On Sep 30, 2011, at 9:07 PM, Don <don@napanet.net> wrote:
> I visited the MG Fall Festival at the Sheraton Hotel in Petaluma today. As
usual, I was driving a Japanese vehicle; this time my Mazda pickup as I had
errands to run to get building supplies to prepare for the rainstorms coming
next week. If everyone drove a Japanese car to these events they would not
quite work.
>
> Anyway, there were some beautiful cars there. My favourite was the red 1962
MGA Mk 2 roadster that belongs to Chrisula Asimos. She bought the car new!
What a vibrant and lively woman she is. I can't imagine what she must have
been like back in '62 when she bought that car. The MGA is pretty much
original other than a repaint years ago. She said the worst mechanical issue
was a blown headgasket on the Bay Bridge years ago which led to her having the
engine partially rebuilt. The original grey top and sidecurtains with grey
vinyl still are on the car. The seats, though worn, are also original. The
photo I took of the interior did not come out very well. The one of the car's
engine bay shows the patina of the nearly 50 years of its life. Chrisula was
kind enough to pose in front of her MGA for the photo of the exterior of her
car. She was also kind enough to laugh at my joke- an MG gal was walking
briskly among the cars announcing that a pair of bifocals had been found and
she was seeking their owner. I commented to Chrisula that the bifocals could
belong to anyone at the car show.
>
> Andy Preston had two of his four MGs at the show. His red MGA coupe is
gorgeous and is a real work of art as he did most all the work himself on the
car. His cars are so impressive, and his enthusiasm for MGs has inspired me
at times when I think of other hobbies to pursue. Great guy he is.
>
> There were more TFs than TDs, which defies logic considering how few TFs
were made, and how few remain. There was a cream coloured one which I
photographed that was stunning. The owner had just had the car restored, and
the detailing was phenomenal. Even the lining of the little tool box in front
of the firewall was there, and intact. It had a valve cover that I had not
seen before with a complex filler on the rear. I learned that it was a TC
item which was sought by later T-series owners as it was such an art piece.
The owner started up the engine and told me it had been rebuilt and balanced.
It sure ran well. I must say, this car gave me an inferiority complex as I
own a similar car with the same colour scheme. Until I saw this TF, I thought
mine was as nice as they got.
>
> I saw Jim Legg of Napa, who had sold me an MGB radio years ago. He drove
his MGB that tows a trailer made of a severed MGB's hindquarters. Jim is very
dedicated to his MGs, and has two MGBs.
>
> One of the more unusual MGs at the show was a "tubbed" MGA roadster powered
by a massive chromed and blown V8. I noticed that the car's grille was from a
'62 Mk 2 and the taillights from a 1600. No originality/concours prize for
him!
>
> The other odd MG was a GT that had been converted to a roadster-pickup
truck. The owner had done a lot of beautiful woodwork to it, and I was
impressed how pretty the car looked. The owner's wife told me that her
husband had started with a parts car that ran so well he couldn't just discard
it, so made it into a custom. She placed their little pet dog in its special
doggy seat for me to include in my photograph of the car.
>
> There was a dearth of MG sedans. Only one I saw was an MG 1100. It was
very well preserved, and wore it's original tartan red paint. I always
thought only MGBs were tartan red. This has got to be one of a handful of
1100s left in the world.
>
> My photos:
>
>
https://picasaweb.google.com/104973305347633073496/September302011?authkey=Gv
1sRgCIGxsaijrPb8XA
>
>
> Website for the show:
>
> http://mgfallfestival.com/i
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