By Kelvin Dodd Sorting Out Distributors Q. There seems to be a lot of different options on the market for electronic ignition conversions and distributors, and it gets pretty confusing. Can you break it down to basics? A. The Lucas 25D type distributor was made obsolete by Lucas in 1974; from then on the new 45D type unit was…
On-track coverage from Road Atlanta By Kelvin Dodd; photos by R. Harrington, Scott R. Lear, & David S. Wallens Road Atlanta: Vintage racecars, vendors’ row, and a host of classic car enthusiasts make for one heck of a party. This year’s running of the Classic Motorsports Magazine Walter Mitty Challenge, held April 27-30, was no exception, as spectator counts and…
Gordon Gibbons’ 1958 Triumph TR3A By Dan Kahn Muroc dry lake is a lonely, desolate place. Nestled in the high desert an hour north of Los Angeles, the massive expanse of smooth, hard clay has remained unchanged for millennia, the land that time forgot. This was once the birthplace of speed and glory. Young men in rocket-powered planes outran the speed of…
By Kelvin Dodd You may ask yourself, “Why bother with the boot, when the rest of my car has cosmetic and/or mechanical problems?” The reason is simple: if you are going to drive the car, you have to have a safe place to put valuables and perhaps a briefcase or lunchbox, especially if you plan on leaving the car parked on the…
In the realm of country music, there’s something known as “The Bakersfield Sound.” Popularized in the 1950s, these gritty-sounding tunes were born in the California agricultural town’s rough-and-tumble bars. A reaction to the polished music coming out of Nashville, the Bakersfield Sound was part nostalgia, part rock n’ roll, and wild as hell. On April 29 and 30, the Bakersfield Sound was a…
Moss and VARA celebrate a decade of success By Ken Smith It hardly seems possible that a decade has passed since I took my little sportscar up to what seemed to be the end of the world. In 1996, Dr. Dan Longacre (who raced a 1964 MGB at that time) and The Vintage Auto Racing…
Forces not fully understood By Robert Goldman To borrow part of a cartoon caption from the great Gary Larsen, “Suddenly, through forces not yet fully understood,” a field in the middle of seemingly nowhere became the locus of 1,100 MG cars. Standing there in the middle of the show, I felt as though I was up…
Jim Babcock’s 1967 MINI MK 1 By Jim McGowan The last MINI to be legally imported into the U.S. had to beat an in-country deadline of December 31, 1967. This ’67 Austin Cooper “S” MK I was a high school graduation present for its original and current owner, Jim Babcock. Jim first experienced MINI wonderment…
