British Marque Articles - 2023
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The View from Behind the Wheel, By Ralph Spayd, Photo by Steve Dellinger Need to start off with a list of names, here goes: Mark L, Cat L, Jim W, Kerry S, Rob S, Jim K, Jim H and Bonnie C. Why the list of “who’s who” to begin, well if you had the good fortune to attend the first BBQ, the June CCC or our tech session, you’d recognize this list of distinguished members. They individually and collectively put together probably the most fulfilling, exciting and special three week period in our club history. I’ve only been a member of LANCO for 15 years but think it’s safe to say this was our best three weeks. The BBQ on May 20th and venue were just awesome. Our tech session on May 21st, was just great fun and informative for both techies and our future “hookers” and the June 3rd CCC is always a very classy and fun event. I can’t thank our hosts enough for their generosity and hospitality. A good time was had by all. If you missed the events you did miss a special time for LANCO. With all that in our rear view mirror, let’s look forward. June is busy with ice cream nights on the 14th and 21st. On the 24th we have the Lancaster Rotary Wheels and Wings car show at the Lancaster Airport. We also have an invitation from the CPTC to meet and share a grand tour to the Carsonville Hotel. Not too shabby a follow up to our epic three week marathon!! Taking the long view, on July 14th we’ll be at Haar’s Drive In for a movie night. July 22nd is the Moss Motor’s 75th anniversary celebration and we’re organizing a caravan to the celebration. There is lots of ice cream nights planned in July on the 19th and 26th as well as a CCC on July 1st and of course our monthly meeting on July 9th…..whew!!! Now taking the really long view we can see our Taste of Britain on August 27th which now includes all antique European cars and Das Awkscht Fescht on August 4th – 6th. Gotta say, with all that, there is something fit your fancy and give reason to drive you LBC. But if your LBC isn’t cooperating, never ever miss an event so bike, hike, walk or bum a ride and just join us. It’s all about joining and sharing our time together. The cars are all very nice and special but secondary. We’re a club focused on people. What a lead in to my soapbox for the monthly missive. I’m actually at a loss for words (I know, hard to believe). The past month was so special for me and the club. I’m touched beyond words by the generosity of our members to plan and share their time, talents and open up their homes to the club. What wonderful gifts we were given by our distinguished list of “who’s who”. At these events I love watching the interaction of our members as we enjoy good food, conversation, beautiful surroundings and of course swapping car stories with each other. Just being and savoring our time together. And today was no exception as we held our monthly meeting at the Centerville Diner. We hold a short business meeting, conduct a serious “nametag” drawing (right), quiz the group on trivia and then lapse into long conversations at each table. And all of this is woven together by our cars. Who ever thought our cars could be such a catalyst for all we collectively enjoy? For me, time goes by too quickly as I just want to savor these shared experiences for a bit longer, but we can’t so we’ll just have to keep on creating new experience to enjoy and I’m OK with that. The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create. – Leonard I. Sweet
Meeting Day Quite the Weekend, by Ralph Spayd, Photos by Charlie Baldwin and Gloria Ciarrocca This weekend is going to be tough to beat, with all the brisket and knowledge that was digested on May 20th and 21st at our BBQ Brisket picnic on the 20th and our Tech session on the 21st. First a big thank you to Mark, Cat, Jim and Kerry for hosting the brisket BBQ event. As Mark and Cat discovered, LANCO does many things well, but getting accurate RSVP’s from the club are a bit tricky. Kinda like fixing oil leaks on your LBC’s - they just keep coming. So, our world class BBQ team made the right decision to move the event to Jim and Kerry’s restored barn as they just kept coming….that is the RSVP’s! The barn is a fully restored Swiss design and is just spectacular and did accommodate the crowd. The weather was perfect, the food was phenomenal, and the venue was spectacular. We could not have asked for a better day. We did have a special guest as King Charles made a very stoic appearance! The following day we held our monthly club meeting/tech session at Jim H’s shop. This was our first tech session in several years since Uncle Tom H. retired. The first part of the session was led by Gregg S. and covered electrical issues and schematics. A lively discussion ensued with lots of electrifying questions and sharing solutions. Gregg presented his 3-page MGB schematic and Bruce noted his Bentley has a 40 page schematic…..yikes, I didn’t know you could make up that many color combinations for wires! But the British ARE quite resourceful…The second half was presented by Bruce H and how to defeat an SU fuel pump. Well actually how to install a backup/flow through secondary pump if in the unlikely event your SU pump fails. Seriously, what are the odds of that happening…hahahahah. It’s a relatively simple install and easily done even by Larry C. That’s how easy! Concurrently those not attending the tech session were treated to “Intro to Becoming a Hooker” by Bonnie. This could become a good fund raiser for the club and appeared to have a wide appeal. Possibly replacing TOB??? Please check with Bonnie for details. Well, after all that we did adjourn to the Casey Jones’ Restaurant for dinner in Strasburg. The restaurant was very nice, service was good and the view from the deck was beautiful. It really was quite the weekend; if you missed it, you missed a good one. Give Steve R a call to get the details and ask for “honey”. If Gregg answers, hang up! Remember to check out our web site at www.lancomgclub.com and follow us on Facebook and Meetup. Mark your calendars for the upcoming events.
Mr. Mark’s BBQ
Food in the Barn
Nice Venue!
Historic Farmhouse
Gregg talks Wiring
Bonnie talks “Hooking”
Dinner at Casey Jones
And then Bob said …
Happy Table! June Coffee – Cars and Conversation, By Ralph Spayd, Photos by Steve Dellinger Rob S and Jim K hosted their 3rd CCC at their “garage” for LANCO. The event is our premier CCC of the year and keeps growing. If you missed it, I hope you had a good reason, as it’s just spectacular. The garage is a wonderful venue to host just chocked full of auto memorabilia AND beautiful cars. Rob and Jim are very gracious hosts and this year was no exception. We had 30 members attending and an eclectic mix of cars. The food, beverages and friends were a wonderful mix and made for a great event and place to share our common passion for all things automotive. Be it British, French or American, they are all works of moving art and a privilege to spend time in their presence. Sipping coffee (at a distance) from the Delahaye is a special treat. Thanks again to Rob and Jim for hosting.
Great Venue!
Car Show?
The Café is Open
Chillin’ in the Shade
Food in the Garage
’36 Auburn Boattail Speedster
Movie Night at the Prestons’, By Steve Dellinger, Photos by Steve Dellinger On the evening of Saturday, June 10th, LANCO members, Austin Healey members and others were invited to Pam and Bob Preston’s house in Lancaster for an outdoor movie night – the featured film was the original (1969) version of ”The Italian Job”, starring Michael Caine and Noel Coward. A dozen or so LANCO members were in attendance. There was also one Classic Mini in attendance! Free hot dogs (loved the hot dog roller grill) and popcorn were available, along with lots of other goodies! Another great opportunity to interact with other “car people.” Bob’s projectionist talents were flawless. No police were called to “quell the noisy crowd” and a few neighbors were seen enjoying the free show from afar.
Hanging out on the Deck
Popcorn
“Classic” in attendance!
The “Theatre” is filling up
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The View from Behind the Wheel, by Ralph Spayd Summer is flying by faster than I like to think about. I grew up in the era of the Beach Boys and car songs and was steeped in the aura and mystique of summer. To this day, I just love summer and summertime cruising in whatever car I’m enjoying at the time. I’ll have more about “the whatever” cars later in this message. But for now, it’s back to LANCO activities. We had another great month as we enjoyed several ice cream nights at Sweet Willows Creamery and Freeze n Frizz. Also, we held our monthly coffee – cars and conversation at Jim Mack’s in Hellam. We enjoyed the invitation from the AH club to attend their outdoor movie night at Pam’s outdoor theater. The weather was, well, not picture perfect for the Wheels n Wings car show in Lancaster, but we did have some of the more hardy attend the event. Charlie B and others club members continue to make the car show circuit around the countryside. We are definitely a club in motion and commotion…lots to do and something for everyone. The rest of July is packed full with a drive in movie night in Dillsburg at Haar’s Drive In. And if you love ice cream, we’ll be at “I Love Ice Cream” in York and the Strasburg Creamery later in the month. The cliff notes for August are Das Awkscht Fescht (doesn’t that just roll off the tongue), our annual club picnic, a new CCC venue for the month and TOB. All that action makes me think of the Beach Boys song, “Good Timing”. Lots to do at LANCO and enjoy so join us for some “Good Timing’s”. Think that should get around the copyright infringement thing…Steve D, help!!!! Oh, one more thing, in September we’ll resurrect with Dennis B’s help a Poker Run on Sept 2nd. Now seriously, just one more thing, we’ll be at the Nissley Vineyard on July 28th for music in the vineyard event…..tada done! Well about this “whatever” cars thing. Now I’m neither bragging nor complaining about this, but since April of 1967 till last week, I just bought my 40th car - a 2020 red, 6 speed Mustang. Just to clarify, I haven’t kept them all as I only have 3 right now. They are my daily driving Equinox, my Mustang and my beloved 86 TVR. Hummm, kinda strange for the president of the MG Club….but you decide! I’m fascinated with all cars and to me they are works of moving art to be explored, enjoyed and driven. I’m quite certain the car songs of the 60’s have shaped my psyche and passion for cars. But I must confess my favorites are still British cars with all their quirks and idiosyncrasies. Cars for me are time machines that take me back to my youth and endless days. Last week on the 4th of July, Linda and I were driving home from a visit with her family. It was a beautiful evening and we were in my new to me Mustang. We put the top down, took the back roads home and it was just a spectacular drive and evening. No place else I need or wanted to be….it was my sweet spot with both the car and Linda. Out of my 40 cars 16 have been sports cars and each one has given me a unique perspective and satisfaction while driving. As I “mature” I do enjoy more creature comforts in my driving experience, but that never diminishes the pleasure I get from the rawer experience while driving my TVR. Neither one is better, just a different experience. “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time,” Bertrand Russell So, go find your sweet spot and waste some time driving or whatever brings you enjoyment. Besides, who could argue with a guy named Bertrand. Stay safe and positive and remember to check out our web site at www.lancomgclub.com and follow us on Facebook and Meetup. Mark your calendars for the upcoming events.
Wheels and Wings Washout, by Steve Dellinger, photos by Steve Dellinger Well, the weather gods did not shine well on the Rotary Club of Lancaster’s annual Wheels & Wings Festival & 5K Run on Saturday, June 24th. Off and on rain through the mid-morning and the threat of thunderstorms caused the cancellation of the WWII-era warbirds from the Capitol Wing of the Commemorative Air Force, but the 5K run went on as scheduled, the inflatables were there, as were a nice variety of food trucks. However, the number of show cars on the field was drastically reduced, as were the number of spectators. The two Steves (Rineer and Dellinger) participated in the annual “Breakfast at the Knight & Day Diner” and then proceeded to the show field, along with two LANCO MG Meetup members, Nicolaus and Gus who attended as spectators. LANCO was represented on the show field by Steve Dellinger with his 1995 Rover Mini, Chris and Mary Hofmann with his recently-purchased XK150 Jaguar Roadster, Rich and Victoria Trexler with his VW Bug and Steve Rineer with his “classic” Toyota (no Lotuses were available to drive in the rain). After the rain ceased and the sun came out, Bob McFarland stopped by to check out the show. Hopefully the rain will be better next year!
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The View from Behind the Wheel By Ralph Spayd, Photos by Steve Dellinger We’re just back this afternoon from our annual picnic at Rocky Ridge Park in York County. It was another successful event and thanks Gloria, Larry, Dennis, Carol, Bruce, et al for making it happen. The food was diverse and tasty as always. Now we’ve run this picnic for years and today Bruce came up with the idea of the century. Now to put this in context … if we had 30 people attending with an average of 40 years working in many and varied professions we had 1200 years of work experience sitting under the pavilion and today Bruce final suggested why don’t we pre-cook the chicken then final season and grill it at the picnic to avoid the long wait….amazing with 1200 years of experience singularly focused on chicken today we solved the problem. Makes me believe there is still hope for society to solve our problems. In all seriousness, what a great group to be associated with, we are all very fortunate to know and enjoy our time together. Speaking of time, I honestly don’t know where the time is going. We’re midway through August and staring at fall. I’m OK with that part, it’s the following season that makes me shiver…..pun alert. Again, we were busy beavers in July and August with 6 scheduled events over the last month since our last update. Car shows, ice cream, meetings and just hanging out time at CCC. Our club member Phil G hosted our August CCC at his garage. See the separate article for a summary of the day. There are still plenty of activities on our calendar. What you may ask? Well let me elucidate. We will have hosted our 33rd A Taste of Britain car show on August 27th. The show continues to morph and grow as we adapt to a changing car show environment. We have our annual road trip to Woody’s on October 15th and lots and lots of ice cream nights thru October. So, while we’re winding down our calendar were not quite finished with our shenanigans as of yet. Stay tuned and stay in touch and pick your shenanigan (spelling) or shenanigan to be part of! Well you all know what time it is….soapbox time!! I was struck by this when we were at Phil G’s for CCC on August 5th while looking at his 59 double bubble Abarth Zagato. To some it would be the most frightening thing you’d ever seen. Something to be trashed and removed and a real mess with rust, no interior or engine….yikes! But like Phil, I could see something beautiful in the shell of a car. Quite a few of us have been there looking at pieces of a car and working to restore to whatever level we wish. I’ve done that on 2 cars, one a 70 MGB and my most ambitious project, my 59 Bugeye Sprite. Figuring it out, then piecing together, sometime redoing, and finally completing a portion of the car. Then off to the next assembly and so on and so on till completion. Then the day comes to turn the key and see what happens. Sometimes nothing and sometime success, but you keep at it till you take that first drive. It’s a truly exhilarating experience with immense satisfaction and pride. And this is only for a car but is no different for anything we have a vision for. Be it home projects, hobbies, work, the list is endless for anything that we can see and carry a vision forward in our minds eye. I believe we are all builders by nature. Building things, relationship and friendships is our purpose and the purpose of our club through our collective vision. It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. – Henry David Thoreau What do you see, what is your vision, what can you build? I know we as a club can and do build relationships by sharing our collective good fortune. We share our gifts and vision with each other and the public through our passion for cars. Let’s continue to have people look at our cars but see LANCO and who we are. Stay safe and positive and remember to check out our web site at www.lancomgclub.com and follow us on Facebook and Meetup. Mark your calendars for the upcoming events.
Food Line
Time to Eat!
Top (Hood) Down Day
More British Cars
Brown Wire Award Candidate?
Drive in Movie Night and Coffee – Cars and Conversation By Ralph Spayd, Photos by Steve Dellinger We held our 3rd annual drive in movie night on July 14th at Haar’s Drive in Dillsburg. The event has never been a big club draw, but it is a fun way to throwback and watch a movie. The feature was “Elemental” an animated movie with a cute story. We brought our lawn chairs and portable radio and sat outside our car. And after securing a small home equity loan Linda and I purchased popcorn and drinks. To be fair, the snacks weren’t all that outrageous. The weather was perfect to enjoy the movie. The Swartleys are experienced campers and brought a small table to hold their goodies….note to self, pack a table next time…duh! (Sure beats holding the radio for 2 hours) I’m amazed how full the drive-in was. The high lite was a big and I mean big late 50’s Pontiac which pulled in with 5 passengers all seated comfortably in the car. We couldn’t help ourselves, so we had to see the car. It was her dad’s car and they got permission to take her out to the movies. It certainly looked period correct at the drive-in. Great night, great weather, good friends and got to watch a movie…..pretty sweet night! On August 5th Phil G, hosted our monthly CCC at his garage in Marysville. Phil’s property sits right on the Susquehanna River and has a great view. There were about a dozen brave souls who ventured all the way to Marysville. You may not be aware, but Marysville is across the river and fortunately there IS a bridge to cross the Susquehanna! The key direction is to take a sharp right when you see Phil’s green mailbox – and keep driving until you can’t drive any further. If not, well you’re on your own from there. We all brought a snack to share and your beverage of choice. Phil has a killer coke machine to help if you forgot your beverage. Phil’s collection is eclectic with a beautiful work in progress – a 1959 double bubble Abarth Zagato. It has a long road to travel, but Phil is working it one panel at a time. His killer B was interesting and I’m sure a hoot to drive. It would be especially interesting when you punch it and lift the front end off the ground. To keep things a bit more mundane, Phil’s MGA is beautifully restored with a second MGA TBD. Phil exemplifies the spirit of tinkering and his garage is chocked full of stuff, both necessary and not! We had a great day viewing his stuff, chatting cars and enjoying a great collection of cars. Thank you Phil for helping us to understand we can actually cross the river and come back!
At Phil’s Garage
Driveway Full of Cars
Hanging out at Phil’s Garage
Abarth Zagato Double Bubble
MGA Project
LANCO at Das Awkscht Fescht By Steve Dellinger, Photos by Steve Dellinger For many years, the people of Macungie and the Ontelaunee Region AACA have conducted Das Awkscht Fescht for the benefit of the Borough’s Memorial Park. Das Awkscht Fescht includes three days of car shows showcasing hundreds of antique and classic cars and trucks. I was the only current LANCO member that made it to the show. I drove my ‘95 Mini Monte Carlo Edition (avoiding highways on the way). I ended up being parked next to maybe the most interesting car on the field - Joe and Fran McDonald’s “Pembleton Brooklands.” According to Joe, he constructed the car with a frame supplied by Phil Gregory of The Pembleton Motor Company from Worcestershire, England; suspension, brakes, steering and transaxle from a Citroen 2CV; an engine from a BMW R100GS motorcycle; four sheets of aluminum and 1,200 rivets! Other cars of note included Bill Petro’s 1935 Riley 1 ½ liter Kestrel Aero 4 Light Saloon and a 1963 Austin Mini 850 – bored out to a 960 cc – that was raced in historic rallyes (including the Rallye Monte Carlo Historic) in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
More Brits
Triumphs and a Jag
Pembleton Brooklands Replica
1935 Riley
Rallye Mini
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The View from Behind the Wheel, by Ralph Spayd, Photos by Steve Dellinger Steve D. is quite the task master, seems like I just wrote my monthly message and here we are again with “Ralph the deadline is Monday”, so here goes! We held our monthly meeting at the Centerville diner on Sunday September 10th with one twist as I had to leave quickly. So, a big thank you to the taskmaster for filling in for me. This past month we participated in the first ever car gathering at The Long Community in Lancaster. We had 15 cars representing the club and it was a huge hit with the residents of the community. We also held our 33rd annual TOB 2023 on August 27th at Forney Field in Rothsville. Special thanks to Andy S and Steve D for making it happen. Also, thanks to all the club “minions” who volunteered to make it a success. We couldn’t do it with our all your help. Have to say, Andy S has streamlined the set up process to a tee! This is the first year we opened up the field to all antique European cars and we did attract a small gathering of European cars. The weather did cooperate (no rain), but it was much warmer than expected. Thank goodness for the tent and the shade. We did postpone our Poker Run to next year as the Labor Day weekend got in the way. Thank you Dennis for all your effort and we’re looking forward to our Poker Run in the spring. As usual, we had lots of ice cream for the month and I suspect we’re leading all British Clubs in our cumulative A1C numbers….As the calendar ticks away, we have a very busy fall schedule planned with more ice cream, but also some non-food events. Our annual road trip to Woody’s on October 15th. Two open houses to attend with a caravan to Proper Noise on September 24th or to Treasured Motorcars on September 30th. In the alternative, a caravan to MG’s On the Rocks on September 30th is also in the works. The Hunt Country Classic on October 8th, with an overnight stay on Saturday night with a location TBD. Just a side note, the CCC in October will be the final for the season at Jim Macks. We’ll concede and move to the BK in Columbia for the winter….geese I hate typing that statement!!! Well after the club monthly recap, here’s the moment we all look for, my soapbox. You’d think I’d run out of soapbox stuff, buy nah, it just keeps flowing and happening….Last month I wrote about letting people “see” LANCO, not just our cars. Well this past month I received a call from a fellow who was helping his neighbor sell their 67 MGB. A typical sad story as the owner passed away and his wife was selling his pride n joy. I asked him how he found us and viola, one of the local premier restoration shops recommended LANCO as a very helpful club. So, he called us, we gave him some advice as it was a “B” and not a midget and Dennis B placed the classified ad on our web site. This past month we held our TOB 2023 for the 33rd year. We also participated in The Long Community 1st ever car gathering for their residents. Two of the events that we were contacted out of the blue and one a very concerted annual effort to keep us in the public eye. I’m sensing a pattern here based on our visibility and reputation. We do lots and lots of internal club events, but more importantly we do many external events to showcase who we are and to help promote the spirit of British motoring. People notice the good work we do and the good people we are. We continue to be way more than just our cars.
We haven’t built our club reputation on what we are planning, but on our actions! We still have lots more to do and more people to help. Oh, and along the way some good food and good times to share. Stay safe and positive and remember to check out our web site at www.lancomgclub.com and follow us on Facebook and Meetup. Mark your calendars for the upcoming events.
The Long Community at Highland Car “Drop In” by Ralph Spayd, photos by Rob Shingle On Thursday, August 24th LANCO participated in the first car “drop in” hosted by The Long Community in Lancaster, PA. Now how did all this come about? Well about 6 weeks before the event I was contacted by the Home’s activity director that they were interested in hosting a car show of sorts for their residents. They wanted to try something different and cars were a logical choice. Of course, I said we would love to provide the cars for the event. So out went the notice to the club that we needed 20 cars for the 24th from 5 PM to 8 PM. Long’s would have music and a food truck on site for the event. We did manage to roust 15 cars from the club for evening. There were lots of questions and reminiscing about the cars by our audience. The weather was iffy, but we made the right decision to hold the event and all worked out well for the evening. It’s a lot of fun and satisfying to display the eclectic mix of cars we boast from the club and the residents were duly impressed. The nano burgers were tasty, and the ice cream was a big hit with everyone. A big thank you to all the LANCO members who participating in the event. It’s a great civic project for the club and I’m hoping to make it an annual event.
Checking Out the Cars
Cars, Food and Ice Cream
Benson is here!
33rd Annual “A Taste of Britain” by Steve Dellinger, photos by Steve Dellinger On Sunday, August 27th, the LANCO MG Club celebrated the Thirty-Third Annual “A Taste of Britain” Car Show at the Forney Polo Field in Rothsville, PA. For the first time in its long history, the show was opened up to British AND Classic/Antique European cars and motorcycles. The weather forecast was “iffy” all week, but show day turned out to be mostly sunny and warm. We had the tent for shaded seating, a food truck and an ice cream truck this year! We ended up with approximately 85 vehicles on the show field (including two motorcycles). The “day of show” numbers were down – probably as a result of that “iffy” forecast ☹. There were only eight non-British vehicles in attendance, which means that we need to do a better job next year of getting the word out to the non-British clubs! Again this year, Diane Maurer ran the “Proper British Hat Contest. There were 18 contestants and six winners (although everyone went home with a prize!) The six winners were as follows: 1st – Mary Garrett LANCO members Jim Harbold and Andy Myers manned tables selling used car parts and MG/British car memorabilia. Cars of note on the field included Rich Trexler’s recently purchased 1958 MG ZB Magnette, Landon Hunter’s 1937 MG SA, Ian Reed’s 1937 MG TA, Rob Shingle’s 1957 Bentley Continental Flying Spur (named “Ida”), Brent and Kristy Firestone’s 1966 Beardmore Mark VII Taxi, and Paul Weisblat’s 1961 AMC Nash Metropolitan (named “Dot”). Rich Kushner of Swedish Motors in Marietta provided two older Saabs (and four of his mechanics) to man the company display. Thank you Rich! Thanks to all the participants and volunteers that made this year’s TOB a success!
Regalia for Sale!
British on the Front Row
More Cars! 1958 MG ZB Magnette
1937 MG Parts and Memorabilia for Sale!
European Representatives
Diamond in the Rough?
LANCO at the Lime Rock Park Historic Festival by Steve Dellinger, photos by Steve Dellinger On Saturday, September 2nd, LANCO Member Don Sechler, his wife Ann and I attended the Historic Festival 41 at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut. We decided to go for the Hospitality Package this year – for the food, drink, shaded seating and preferred parking! According to track officials, the Festival saw the largest participation in its 41-year history. This year, the Festival celebrated Chrysler Performance and 100 years of MG alongside featured race groups Formula Junior and Sports 2000. There were 18 races on Saturday, two races each for nine different groups of race cars. The entry list for Group 5, the MG Feature Group Festival included MG TDs, MGAs, MGBs and Midgets. One of the cars in Group 7 (GT/Sports Cars over 2 Litre) was the 1961 Aston Martin DB4 driven by Michael Rowen, founder and CEO of Michael’s Motor Cars in Lancaster, PA. Michael was joined by his wife Molly, along with their MG TB. The show cars in the paddock included a display commemorating the 100 years of MG – and had cars ranging from a 1926 MG to one of the Dyson MG-Lola EX257 cars that raced in the American Le Mans Series (an autographed photo – by Chris Dyson and Guy Smith - of which I have hanging in my office!) Great day at Lime Rock!
Chillin’ at the Hospitality Tent
MGs through the Decades
1948 MG YA
Dyson ALMS Car
MG Group on the False Grid
1961 Aston Martin DB4
Molly’s MG TB
Ice Cream Nite Overload in August by Steve Dellinger, photos by Steve Dellinger In the month of August, LANCO had not 1, not 2, but 3 Ice Cream Nites! We started out at The Jigger Shop in Mount Gretna, PA on August 2nd. On August 16th we were at Sarah’s Creamery in Dover, PA (they have Penn State Ice Cream). We ended the month at Boehringer’s Drive-In in Adamstown, PA on August 30th! A die hard nucleus of LANCO members attended all three.
MGs at The Jigger Shop
Jigger Shop Crew
Ice Cream at Sarah’s Creamery
Charlie’s at Sarah’s
Serious Discussions at Sarah’s
Kody is at Boehringers
More Boehringers Crew
The Rest of the Boehringers Crew
Checking out the Wardell Midget
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The View from Behind the Wheel By Ralph Spayd, Photos by Gregg Swartley Another month is in the books as we are wrapping up the fall driving season for 2023. The month’s activities are paring down, and we could only manage some ice cream (a club staple), a final wet CCC at Jim Mack’s and our club meeting at the Centerville Diner. We were also able to muster a nice turnout at MG’s on the Rock’s with several members collecting awards and Gregg S did snag a 2nd place at the Hunt Country Classic. So not a bad wrap up to a very busy season. FYI - the CCC events will now move to the Burger King in Columbia until the warmer weather returns. We held a Board of Directors meeting on October 10th at the “epicenter”. You may want to check with Larry and Gloria for the exact location of the meeting. But to be exact, we met a few feet from the epicenter. The Board recapped TOB 2023 and it was another financial success. Remember that we donate the profits from the event to a local charity at our annual Christmas Luncheon - putting our collective hard work to a good purpose. We’re already planning TOB 2024 for Sunday August 25th, 2024. We do have several “twists” planned for the event, but more to come later. We did discuss 2024 and how we keep the club moving forward and staying active and relevant in a changing environment. We are planning to be more purpose driven in our future endeavors. Taste of Britain (TOB 2024) will reflect that goal. We also want to include more group events/rides for the club to share while dusting off some old events. And we want to form a “Tech Squad” to help other LBC owners and neophytes to assist in keeping our British Motor heritage literally and physically moving forward. So, don’t be shy when you’re asked to join our newly chartered tech squad. We’re not quite finished with 2023 yet as we’ll come together to share at our Annual Christmas Luncheon on December 9th at 1 PM at the Historic Tavern. There are also some residual ice cream nights left and our always popular CCC at the Burger King in Columbia on the 1st Saturday of each month commencing at 10 AM. If you get there early Steve R typically has BK coupons…. Now it’s time for my soapbox ramblings for the month. Had to let the board know I would be absent most of October as I bought a new house and sold my old house. Had lots of sorting, packing and trashing of “things” as I’ve lived in my current house since 1987. It was time for me to reconfigure my property and possessions, a daunting task for sure. What to keep, what’s really important, what do I want vs. need…yikes! Lots of decisions. But it’s not a bad exercise to work through and is cathartic as I lightened my load. I was truly amazed how many duplicate things I had acquired over the years and it was not hard for me to part with the 2 of the 3 rolling pins I had in the pantry. The question still remains as to why I’m actually keep one as I don’t bake, but you never know. FYI – this is not a good sorting strategy. The moral to this story is that it’s good to take stock as to where you are, where you’re going and how you get there. It’s made me very optimistic about my future and excited for my next phase of life. It’s somewhat daunting, but at the same time exciting, just like life itself. How in the world does all this relate to our car club? Well, after our Board meeting on October 10th I was very excited and energized about the club’s future. We had a great discussion about TOB 2024, some future changes for our direction and even reviewed some logo proposals. Wow, what to keep and what to move aside for the club. Just taking the time to take stock of our club to forge our future was very empowering. Things are good at LANCO as we move forward. Today at Woody’s just reaffirmed all this as we heard the good news from Carolyn B and Diane M….moving forward and optimistic into the future…..wow!! Søren Kierkegaard Sound words as I move boldly into the future with my one rolling pin…… Stay safe and positive and remember to check out our web site at www.lancomgclub.com and follow us on Facebook and Meetup. Mark your calendars for the upcoming events.
The Crowd at Coffee, Cars & Conversation
Rocks - 2023 By Steve Dellinger, Photos by Gloria Ciarrocca and Steve Dellinger On Saturday, September 30th, approximately two dozen LANCO Members headed to the Rocks State Park 4H Camp in rural Harford County, Maryland for the 44th Annual “MGs on The Rocks” British Car Show. The Show is put on by the MGs of Baltimore Club. Despite am iffy forecast earlier in the week, the day of show weather was good – as was the food! This year was the first year for a new field layout – the cars are now all facing the “hill” (and the DJ)! Seven Club members ended up winning awards, as follows:
New Showfield Layout
B’s, GT’s and Other British
Dave Trout gets a 1st!
Gloria Ciarrocca also gets a 1st!
Marty Green gets a 2nd!
Steve Dellinger gets a 3rd!
Jeff Shank also gets a 3rd!
Edie and Jon Arndt enjoying the Show
Annual Road Trip to Woody’s By Ralph Spayd, Photos by Gloria Ciarrocca and Steve Dellinger What a difference a day can make. Saturday, October 14th was rainy, cold and just not pleasant. But Sunday the 15th, the day for our annual road trip to Woody’s Crab House in North East Maryland, the sky cleared, and all was good. It was a tad chilly, but still good for a road trip. This event is a favorite for the club and always well attended. We had thirty members attending and a fair representation of LBC’s. Linda and I opted for the comfort of the Mustang. We were going to put the top down, but “cooler” heads prevailed (actually they were cold heads!) Remember, I did say it was a tad chilly. (Deb and Diane drove there in the TC with the top down!) The drive to Woody’s is a very nice and relaxing drive down Rte. 272 thru the farm country with minimal highway traffic. It’s a perfect drive for your LBC ending with a great meal. If you’ve never made the trip you’re missing a good one. In spite of the cold, several of us brave soul’s endured ice cream on the porch next door to Woody’s. It was just mooovelous as we enjoyed our ice cream with the cows contemplating how to get up and out of the porch chairs!!!!
Pre-Trip Confab at The Buck
Larry brought Chocolate!
Old Brits ready to Roll!
The Crew – Part 1
The Crew – Part 2
The Crew – Part 3
Ice Cream on the Porch
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