The Road to Reno
Here’s an up-to-date report on the SCM “B Team” caravan to the MG convention in Reno this June. In an uprising reminiscent of Tahrir Square, our teenage children singularly and collectively decided to opt out of the opportunity to beat themselves silly in 35-year-old cars—all the while surrounded with clueless adults who view this kind of madness as fun.
But there was no shortage of clueless adults to take their seats. The B Team now consists of SCM contributors Miles Collier, John Draneas, Donald Osborne and Thor Thorson, plus my wife Wendie and me. Our fleet of MGs has been purchased. Oddly enough, they are all 1974s: two roadsters and a GT. One roadster came from a subscriber in Durango, CO. The other two were found on Craigslist, one in Portland, OR and one in Renton, WA.
They are all quite nice, and were all purchased for less than our $5,000-each limit. Two of the ‘74s have the unfortunate “Mae West” rubber protuberances, but those are easily removed and replaced with the chrome overriders from the 1971-73 models.
Adding a little spice to the event, Collier is considering driving his McLaren F1 to Portland from Montana, and then jumping in an MG to continue on to Reno. I’m wondering if he would mind if I jumped into the McLaren at the same time; after all, at the end of the day they’re both just English sports cars….