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British invasion

Fast or slow, in pristine condition or falling apart, the vintage cars they love keep owners coming together with other members of a car club.

By LOGAN NEILL
Published September 18, 2006

SPRING HILL

On a bright Saturday morning, the parking lot at the Whistle Junction Buffet is alive with the gentle, throaty exhaust tones of sports cars from a bygone era.

One by one they arrive: a sleek fire-engine-red 1961 MGA, a pristine 1953 MG-TD, a not-so-pristine 1974 MGB, and a racy-looking Austin-Healey Sprite. Before long, the lot on State Road 50 has a distinctive retro feel to it as a dozen or so members of the Nature Coast English Car Club and Suncoast Classic MG Car Club trickle in for their monthly breakfast meeting.

As the car owners gather around, there's talk of mechanical things. They share notes on carburetor settings, fuel pumps and rust spot repairs. The machines - which range from humble commuter-friendly Minis to lavish Jaguars and Rolls-Royces - offer a glimpse of Great Britain's grand automotive tradition.

While the members view themselves as preservationists, they insist that their cars capture an adventurous spirit that hasn't commanded the road in a while. Most cars are devoid of luxuries such as air-conditioning, power brakes and electric windows. Few have more than basic gauges. A dashboard warning light usually spells big trouble.

"They're extremely fun to drive," explained club member Dave Houser, whose own auto passion revolves around three vintage MGs he owns. "They're a little bit quirky, and sometimes they can test your patience. But you learn to love them through thick and thin."

True. Houser, whose classic 1953 MG-TD was bought 41 years ago for $450, is a longtime fan of British automotive heritage. He doesn't mind that the car doesn't have a heater, or that it has roll-up windows, and that he has to squint to see past the torturously slow windshield wipers whenever it rains. For the 62-year-old Brooksville resident, the enjoyment he gets behind the wheel is well worth any shortcomings.

"When you're driving, it almost feels like the car is part of you," Houser said. "Going around a turn, you feel the car hugging the road. Cars today just don't have that kind of response."

Several times a month, the car club members gather to caravan for the sheer pleasure of it. Perhaps a sunset dinner at the Bayport Inn, or picnic and car show in Dade City, or a classic car meet and dinner afterward in Citrus County.

"We sort of travel on our stomachs," club president Bob Shutler said. "If there's food involved, most of us are there."

Though Shutler admits the Nature Coast English Car Club is primarily a social group, the camaraderie that comes with owning a vintage British car is unique in the respect that most of the companies that built them no longer exist. Add to that the fact that few modern-day mechanics understand the simple, yet clever intricacies of an overhead valve engine found on an Austin-Healey Sprite, or that AutoZone doesn't stock replacement distributor caps for a 1958 Morris Minor, and you begin to see why owners are apt to band together.

"They are a dying breed," said Rick Brown of his 1961 MGA roadster, which he spent two years restoring to original condition. "You either learn to work on them yourself or you find someone who can. Fortunately, there's always someone in the club that can give you a hand."

Though its might has faded over the past couple of decades, the British car industry once had a formidable stronghold in the United States as one of the most prolific producers of sports cars.

Though import cars were a rare sight on U.S. streets prior to World War II, all that changed once American GIs stationed overseas got an opportunity to experience the thrill of flying down narrow English roads in the ragtop two-seaters that seemed to be everywhere.

In 1947, the MG car company began an earnest effort to export its popular T-series models to the United States. Known for its small, powerful engine and agile handling, the MG became the quintessential enthusiast's car, earning an allegiance that continues today.

By the mid 1950s, other British makers were finding success. Triumph, Austin-Healey and Jaguar earned respectable shares of the American sports car market, which U.S. makers had all but ignored. But by the mid 1960s, the competition had begun to catch up. Faced with dwindling sales, MG, Triumph and Jaguar were sold to a British government-owned conglomerate, which concentrated most of its efforts toward building passenger sedans. By the 1980s, only Jaguar remained as a viable British export.

Founded in 2002, the Nature Coast English Car Club has about 80 members, including several from the Suncoast Classic MG Car Club, which merged with it a year ago. Shutler says that anytime he sees a British car on the road he doesn't recognize, he's apt to flag the driver down to give him details of the club.

"The thing you recognize about British car owners is that they all seem to have similar personalities," Shutler said. "People get along well together. There's no politics in the club."

In fact, he said, most club members are more than happy to give their time and energy to helping others, whether it's organizing work days to help a fellow member repair a car, or to organize a community charity benefit.

In June, the club hosted the "Driving Pink" British car show at Florida Estates Winery that raised more than $1,700 for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

As club members prepared to depart on that Saturday morning, Dave Houser ran through final plans for a meetup at the Brooksville Bandshell Bash that night.

"I'm told there will be some great music there," he told club members. "I guess it's no surprise that we'll probably stop and eat someplace afterward."

Logan Neill can be reached at lneill@sptimes.com or (352) 848-1435.

[Last modified September 17, 2006, 22:49:30]