Earl Sharpe sends this link of photos at an Ontario British Car Show

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13704982@N05/

Plans for the St. Andrews Run and some photos from last weekend in Saint John from Bob Earl

Here's the info for this Sunday Sept.30/07:
We'll meet at the Tim Hortons on Hanwell (our regular spot) and leave by 11:00 AM. A leisurely jaunt to St Andrews via the usual route to arrive by 1:00 PM (Gary adds that we will make a brief stop at Blacks in Harvey 11:45ish)
I've made reservations at the Harbourfront Restaurant on Water St. (out-of-towners might meet us there.) We can eat either on the patio (if its warm enough) or inside as the weather dictates. The restaurant's menu is here. The prices are reasonable and there's quite a variety.
The afternoon is at everyones discretion and I'd like to suggest this spot:
http://www.kingsbraegarden.com/ I get dragged through it every year and it's grown on me.
- Bob Earl
Click on the Metropolitan for more photos from Saint John Weekend Run.

Weekend Report from Jim Bleakney

FABAC had a very busy week-end. Thanks to Jim McKeown for arranging an invitation
for FABAC to attend the World Class Auto dealer's open house on Saturday 22nd for food and refreshments. The owner Bob Wheaton was very impressed with our vintage roadsters.

Then on Sunday 23rd it was off to Saint John via the by-way of Route 101 with a rest stop at Welsford Irving, just in case anyone had a kidney stone loose or wanted to re-cycle coffee.
Next on to San Juan and the HomePort Inn where we were warmly received by Ralph and Karen Holyoke. We were also greeted by other Saint John FABACians where we socialized on the green and took in the beautiful view from the mountain top before lunch. Ralph had arranged for lunch at the Reversing Fall's Garden Restaurant. Ralph had to keep up-dating the kitchen as our numbers kept increasing to a total of 30. The food was good and plentiful and the hardy folk ate El Fresco--a few had to go inside(you know who).

Then it was off to Millidgeville to see Vern Sabean's barn collection of very old blighty cars and a rare 1950 Austin Atlantic for restoration. Alex Hoffman asked me, "When are we going home?" so I said, "Now."
Barry and Sue Green lead us through the maze of city streets to Westfield. We then took 102 for a nice autumn drive up the scenic River Road, and home safely. All and all we had a lot of fun and a beautiful day of touring for 15 cars and 30 Fabacians.
Thank-you all,
Jim B.
(Click on the top photo for more of Ellie's pictures.)

Click on this photo for pictures from Pat Sweet.

Picnic Run Saturday Sept.15/07

A total of 7 FABAC cars and 13 members met up at Tim Hortons on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. At the appointed hour (give or take a few minutes because we always seem to have so much to talk and laugh about when we get together) we made our way to Gagetown via Route 105 to the Lower Jemseg ferry. We were confidently led to the Queens County Fairgrounds by “Jim the enforcer” B. After cautiously and gingerly sidestepping the many fair parking lot “road apples”, our merry band decided that there was too little time to enter the fair before the 4pm closing and regrouped in downtown Gagetown to discuss our next move. Here we met up with four more FABACians from Saint John and together all scooted down to the beautiful setting at The Loomcrofters where we enjoyed a wonderful picnic lunch. Many thanks to Jim and Ellie for arranging for us to use the site! Once the eating was done, the group photos taken and the “bon voyages” given, we set off to our respective home ports via Rte 102 (some north, some south) having spent another terrific time together.
- Bob Sweet
(Click on the photo for lots more pictures by the Bleakneys and Sweets.)

Morgan to the Rescue

A little e-mail floating about from Jim Woodford:
Hi Jim and Ellie....I had an interesting trip back. As you know I peeled off to visit Ian about some future work on the Morgan when I saw the door of his shop open in Oromocto.I was there about 20 minutes and crossed over the Burton bridge to head home and was about a mile beyond the bridge toward Fredericton when I saw a white MG pulled off to the side with the hood up.Living by the British car code of "NO ONE LEFT BEHIND" I stopped and discovered Mike and Valerie Drury. They were motoring along and the engine just died. There was lots of battery power and the fuel pump was delivering fuel and nothing obvious was amiss so I went back and fetched Ian to the scene. Alas, even the arrival of someone as illustrious as Ian refused to impress the LBC to start. The CAA tow truck was called and the recalcitrant vehicle delivered to Ian's "HOME FOR THE MECHANICALLY CHALLENGED". I then gave Mike and Valerie a ride home in the Morgan which no doubt heightened their appreciation of the suspension qualities of their afflicted MG.
I arrived home about 8:30 p.m., tired but happy I was able to render assistance to someone brave enough to venture forth into the hinterlands in a LITTLE BRITISH CAR.
Thanks for a GREAT DAY.........Jim

Strangs' Visit to the National Motor Museum

On August 20th Pat and Dave Strang visited the New Forest National Preserve and the National Motor Museum in Beaulieu near Southampton, England. When it comes to cars, motorbikes, commercial vehicles, motoring eccentricities and memorabilia, the National Motor Museum is firmly in the driving seat.

With the Collection now comprising some 250 vehicles - from some of the earliest examples of motoring to legendary World Record Breakers like Bluebird and Golden Arrow - it is a place worth visiting. The latest exhibition, Supercars, showcases a selection of the fastest, most expensive and exotic sports cars. Exhibits include:
Enzo Ferrari
Named after the company founder Enzo Ferrari, this car was designed to bridge the gap between race prepared and road-going cars.
McLaren F1 GTR
The 6.1 Litre V12 BMW engine makes this car capable of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in 3.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of 240.14mph
Aston Martin V8 Coupe
Aston Martin launched the new V8 Coupé in 1996 to replace the Virage Coupé. With a power output of 349bhp@ 6,000rpm this car is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in 5.8 seconds.
Light Car Company Rocket
Performance was never going to be disappointing with a 0 to 100km/h figure of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 143mph. At £40,000, this car might be described as representing the budget supercar!
Maserati Gransport
The name ‘Gransport’ was first used by Maserati in the 1950s for the elegant two-litre coupé, created by styling house Carrozzeria Frua and utilising the chassis of the celebrated A6G model.
Ariel Atom
With a 1,998cc 4-cylinder Honda iVTEC engine producing 300bhp @ 8,200rpm, the Atom is capable of travelling from 0-100mph-0 again in just 10.88 seconds
There were numerous vintage cars such as Rolls Royces and Bentleys, as well as the traditional British sports cars.
On the grounds of the motor museum there were the remains of an old Abbey which was partially destroyed when King Henry VIII outlawed the Catholic Church in Britain and started the Anglican Church. Lord Montagu’s ancestors were granted the stones and destroyed property. The stone was used in the construction of a palace close to the abbey. Part of the estate was used a training school for spies during the Second World War. All in all it is a very interesting place to visit for a day.
On the way back to Southampton we briefly stopped outside of the Beaulieu Garage and it had just closed for the day, but I took a few photos through the window of some of the cars they had for sale. All the cars looked completely restored.
We also came across a Mini while out “walking the Walls in Southampton” with “Never underestimate a Mini” across its windshield.
Lots more pictures here. (By the way, when you are viewing these photos, if you click on any picture in the slideshow, it will tell you what it is.)

BalloonFest Report from Bob Earl

I woke and fumbled for the light switch. In the dim glow, the clock said 3:00 in the morning. I experienced that brief confusion where one can't exactly remember where one is, before the smell of (old) Connolly hide and Wilton wool made me realize that I was in the Jaguar suite of the Sussex Hilton. It was fairly comfortable (If one wasn't too fussy) but lacked amenities. It wasn't where I'd expected to spend the night but circumstances had changed during the day.

I'd cruised down to Sussex that afternoon over the traditional route. Even though the temperatures where in the low 30s, my re-cored radiator was doing an admirable job of keeping the temperature where it was expected.

The story changed once I encountered the balloonfest traffic in town. As I crept through Sussex, the temperature gauge crept higher. I kept an eye on it but wasn't overly alarmed. Early E-Types where known to have a problem getting sufficient air through the little opening up front. It settled near the high end but not alarmingly so. The story changed however as I followed the traffic around a corner and felt the breeze change to come from behind me. The hot air was now being blown back to the front of the car where it was just sucked into the grill again. This vicious cycle caused the temperature gauge to climb surprisingly fast towards the red spot. Although I had only a couple of klicks to go, I knew I wouldn't make it. I turned off into a parking lot and parked my baby facing into the wind. Leaving my barbecue on wheels to cool off, I wandered the short distance to the fair grounds.

I had made arrangements some months ago with a friend of mine to stay in his RV that evening. He attended the balloonfest regularly to fly his paraglider. I met up with him during the afternoon only to discover that he'd acquired a wife and family quite recently. I dislike sleeping with people I don't know so I offered the white lie that I'd made other sleeping arrangements for the night.

The balloons took off in the early evening and returned a couple of hours later as it got dark. They inflated and lit up with the burners in a show called 'candling'. It was quite impressive but didn't translate well into my camera.

Returning to my friends RV, we chatted for several hours while the several thousand cars fought their way out of the parking area. I don't know why folks don't just park outside of town and walk. It would be hours faster! Eventually I was able to drive my much cooler car to the parking field for the night. I chose a spot well away from the bandstand (mercifully) and beside a large stand of brush and trees. Not only would it provide cover from the streetlights, it made a handy 'facility'. Settling into the passenger side, I slid the seat forward and dropped the back. My pillow filled the space between the seat back and convertible top and with my sleeping bag over me, I settled in for the night. Seconds later I discovered that cars making a left turn out of the parking area across the road swept their headlights over my 'bedroom'. This was remedied by use of several towels and cleaning rags I'd brought with me for the car show. I hung them from the sun visors in front and stuffed a couple into the side window frames to hang down. This turned out to be quite effective and I once again I snuggled into my bed. Reclining there, I thought about how I probably wouldn't sleep that night and that it was going to be a long and uncomfortable wait till morning. Fortunately, I proved myself wrong by spending a reasonably comfortable night. One brief use of the facilities (around three in the morning), and I awoke at dawn refreshed (and not too stiff or cramped). There is a coffee shop across from the parking field that opens early and serves delicious breakfast sandwiches and mugs of hot tea.

I was disappointed when the balloons decided to take off from somewhere else. The early morning launches are easily the best spectacles of the event. The brightly coloured balloons in the crisp, clean early light make for a memorable view.

I now had nothing left to do but drive across the road to the now empty balloon field which was where the car show would be held. Staking claim to 'our spot', I prepared to defend it against all comers. In previous years the field filled up quickly and took much begging and arm waving to keep a few places open for the rest of the FABACians. This year would be different. The cars arrived slowly and by ten o'clock there was still a large area surrounding me devoid of cars. After washing baby with the morning dew (amazingly effective!) and doing some cleaning and polishing, I had nothing left to do but sit on the bench and drink tea. Eventually I was joined by a small crowd of LBCs. A few more folks arrived later in the day but we only mustered a total of seven cars.

Surprisingly, our little contingent seemed to stir considerable attention from the visitors and we always seemed to have a small crowd in our area. There's not much else to comment on regarding the show. We left in the late afternoon before the rest of the show traffic and headed back home. It was a gloriously beautiful day to have an LBC on the road and swooped through trees and valleys, enjoying the whole vista of beautiful New Brunswick relayed into the comfort of our cabins in stunning windscreen format. As the sun set, our small contingent stopped at Casey's diner for a modest supper.

The day was notable for the arrival of Paul Lemon and his restored Jaguar E-Type 2+2. We hope Paul will become a regular now that his 'kitty' is on the road. The only casualty was one of Jim Woodford's wing mirrors which lost a battle with someones butt.

Click on Mr. Peanut for a couple of photos from the Bleakneys and eleven from Bob Earl. Beautiful!

An interesting e-mail floating around

You may have received an unbelievable e-mail that is floating around that goes like this:

A New York man retired. He wanted to use his retirement money wisely, so it would last, and decided to buy a home and a few acres in Portugal.
The modest farmhouse had been vacant for 15 yrs.; the owner and wife both had died, and there were no heirs. The house was sold to pay taxes.
There had been several lookers, but the large barn had steel doors, and they had been welded shut. Nobody wanted to go to the extra expense to see what was in the barn, and it wasn't complimentary to the property anyway......so, nobody made an offer on the place.
The NY guy bought it at just over half of the property's worth, moved in, and set about to tear in to the barn.......curiosity was killing him.
So, he and his wife bought a generator, and a couple of grinders......and cut thru the welds.
What was in the barn...............?
Go to http://www.intuh.net/barnfinds/index.htm and start wishing it you had bought the place.

The story is a hoax but the collection is real and the real story is just about as good as the fake one:
What we are actually seeing in those pictures is the collection of an automobile dealer who over the years had added many(200) vehicles that caught his fancy. He just drove them to the barn and parked them there, presumably waiting until he decided what to do with the lot of them next. About a year ago he sent in a photographer to document the collection, and those pics are the ones circulating the internet, helping to create and sustain this myth.