2016 Trip to Keels and Wheels 21st Annual Concours d’Elegance

Where: Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook, TX
What: Keels and Wheels 21st Annual Concours d’Elegance
When: April 23 and 24, 2016
URL: http://www.keels-wheels.com/

We took the Miata for a drive to Seabrook, TX for the 21st annual Keels and Wheels Concours d’Elegance yesterday. It was a nice day for a drive and the trip was long, but good. Someone in a Lambo stopped and was having their Wendy’s lunch with us, so I snapped a couple of pictures.

Lambo at Wendy's for lunch
Lambo at Wendy’s for lunch

The show’s mix was their typical boats, brass cars, muscle cars, and of course what I went for, sports cars. I didn’t make it to the show in 2015, but there wasn’t an auction this year like there was in 2014.

I did chat to Dr. Juan Jose Olivero of Houston, TX about his 1966 Triumph TR4A IRS. The TR4A is still an affordable classic that Juan was able to purchase in its current restored condition. Juan had driven it in from Houston and was able to comfortably keep it at 70 miles per hours. Like many of us, the good doctor is limited by time, space, and money to have all the cars he wants. Juan’s son, Juan Jr., is not only a doctor of Nephrology like his dad, he is also a car collector; it seems to run in most families.

The TR4A was manufactured by Triumph between 1965 and 1967 with the major differences between it and its predecessor, the TR4, being the replacement of the straight axle with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS) and the frame that Triumph modified to accommodate the suspension change. There were other badge, grille, and cosmetic changes as well; overall, a much better car.

Triumph TR4A
4-cylinder, in line,  cast iron block and cylinder head, 2138CC
2 each 175 CD Stromberg Carburetors
4 speed transmission with optional overdrive
Rear suspension:  coil springs w/semi trailing arms and lever arm shocks 
0-30 in 2.9 seconds, 0-60 in 9.8 seconds with a top speed of 104mph

 

1966 Triumph TR4A owned by Dr. Juan Jose Olivero of Houston
1966 Triumph TR4A owned by Dr. Juan Jose Olivero of Houston, TX

 

I hope you enjoy the rest of the pictures as much as I did taking them.

1962 Jaguar XLE Roadster Series 1 owned by Peter Harth of Houston, TX
1962 Jaguar XLE Roadster Series 1 owned by Peter Harth of Houston, TX
1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Convertible owned by Shawn Speer of Tomball, TX
1973 Ferrari Dino 246 GTS Convertible owned by Shawn Speer of Tomball, TX
1964 Austin Healey Sprite MKII owned by Leonard Boyd of Kemah, TX
1964 Austin Healey Sprite MKII owned by Leonard Boyd of Kemah, TX
1973 Porsche 911T Coupe owned by Glenn Edgecomb of Houston, TX
1973 Porsche 911T Coupe owned by Glenn Edgecomb of Houston, TX
1957 Mercedes Benz 190SL owned by Wogbe Ofori of Houston, TX
1957 Mercedes Benz 190SL owned by Wogbe Ofori of Houston, TX

Check out many more pics on Facebook and Instagram 🙂

CarReads on Facebook

CarReads on Instagram

1962 MG Midget MK1, my new project

The Audi TT has wintered in my garage with a bit of interior work over that time, but as with many garages, clutter and tools and this and that has accumulated around and it’s now time to put the seats back in, clean up the accumulation of stuff and get the beast roadworthy again.  I’ve owned the 2001 TT since 2001 and have only 27,000 miles or so on it, but this summer we have a 6,200 mile trip planned in it, so I’ll want to make sure everything is perfect.  I’ll write about the trip and the TT when that time comes, but the real excitement of getting the garage cleaned up and the TT moved out is the new addition to our sports car family; a 1962 MG Midget MK1 (1961 built GAN1).

Cleaning the Garage
Cleaning the Garage
Unloading the MG from the Carrier
Unloading the MG from the Carrier

The garage is the new nursery for the rebirth of this classic British sports car.  It has been 10 years since I moved into this house and I haven’t taken on an automobile restoration project here yet, so the nursery needs to be equipped almost from the bottom up.  I purchased a 5HP, 230V, twin cylinder Ingersoll Rand air compressor with a vertical 60 Gallon tank that needs to be wired and plumbed.  I will be constructing a heavy duty wood workbench as soon as the rain stops, and I’ll need to add shelving for new and old parts and much better lighting to see what I’m doing.  Furnishing a nursery can be a fun task.

New Air Compressor
New Air Compressor

I’ve bought a couple of cars off of eBay (a 2001 Audi TT and a 2007 PRHT Mazda Miata), but I was a little more trusting of the seller of the MG than the other cars.  His ad explicitly said that there was no rust through spots on the car.  Imagine my surprise when I unloaded the car from the carrier and found that most of the driver’s side floor pan was full of holes and that the passenger side floor pan was completely rusted away.  I was very disappointed with the seller to say the least.  The floor pans are $157 each from Moss Motors.  I guess one silver lining to it is that at some point in history someone covered the passenger side hole with two original Sinclair gas pump signs that were in exceptionally good condition.  A quick check of eBay shows buy it now pricing of between $150 and $455 per sign, but I would have still rather had good floors than have had to replace them.  It makes me worry about what I have yet to uncover.

Floor Pan Patches
Floor Pan Patches

An early MG has always been on my wish list of in expensive cars to own.  My first car at 15 years old was a 1968 primrose yellow MG Midget that I learned to drive in on the back roads of Pennsylvania.  The first car I remember sitting on my Dad’s lap and steering was a 1962 Austin Healey Sprite MK2.  It had the sliding Plexiglas windows and no exterior door handles just like my 1962 MK1 MG.

Brakes Froze so Backing Home
Brakes Froze so Backing Home

It appears that my new project has been three different colors.  From the factory it appears to have been Old English White, followed by some color of blue, followed by the current red.  Both of the paint jobs after the original had terrible craftsmanship.  If you look close you can see brush marks in the red where it was touched up.

I haven’t ordered the British Heritage Museum certificate yet, but will soon.  I’m thinking I will take it back to the original Old English White at this point, but not completely sure.  It will stay one of the original color options from 1962 nevertheless for sure.  I pretty much have decided on a red interior.  I think the original was black, but I’ve always wanted a red interior car and this will be it.

First Night Home
First Night Home

I will be documenting the restoration, so look for more posts coming up.

Time For Bed
Time For Bed