MGSD

[G51 NAV]

It was a great day. Myself, Tim Beith (Metro 1380), Peter Charlesworth & his mate (two Maestro Turbos) and Mat C (Maestro EFi) formed the Northern Convoy which met up at Knutsford Services south of M6 J19. We all arrived at Coombe Abbey at around mid-day.

Sadly I think there was a bit of confusion between myself and John Shone (M170 RFA) who thought we were stopping off at the services south of M6 J16 to meet with him: by the time he rang to say he was there, we'd already passed J14! Sorry, John :(

Not many traders there (though more than last year) but the sad thing for me to see was that many of the regular cars seem not to appear anymore. No sign of any of the three-remaining Turbo press cars (or did I just miss them?) and EFi/2.0i Maestro and Montegos were thin on the ground, missing a lot of once-regular attenders, such as the Mog and Mox cars and the once-famous South West Area cars belonging to Vaughan Forshaw etc. Perhaps the threat of bad weather put them off?

Once again, good to get the chance to speak to new and old faces, including for the first time RDGelder and the other Rich, who brought their Ledbury and VP cars respectively. Very nice M^MOC display indeed :)

[Alan the Vanner]

Yes, it was a good day. I put a few more faces to names (Albeit to forum ID's) and made a few quid selling off some of my surplus bits (Not any of the big ones, frustratingly, but I'll work on that!).
I had about an hour's drive from my place and got there at about 10.10 am. Not bad considering I had to pick up my relatives from Birmingham airport after their holiday to the Algarve and got home at 3 am! I was there to take the team photo after the show, though.
As for Peterborough, hmm, none too sure. If I can shift more spares then I might give it a go. ;)

[MGTurbo]

John, mentioned a few of these points on the MG BBS. I think its a sign of things to come, a general decline of the car's and enthusiasts getting disheartened for various reasons.

One, the fun of entering a competition isnt fun anymore, its taken too seriously. Two, there are no trade stands anymore, people like to have a look at stuff even if they dont need anything.

For me, the best year was 99'. Nearly 50 turbo's and over 150 other cars, it was a cracking turn out and one which has steadily dropped over the years.

The only way the MG M group manage to make it worthwhile is by inviting the Zed people. And very soon, us 'M' owners are going to have no reason to attend our own show! Something needs to be done to give it a kick up the backside. I hope to attend the AGM at the end of July and make a few points if possible, because i hate to see it die a slow death in front of my eyes.

Gareth

[John S]

For me, the best year was 99'. Nearly 50 turbo's and over 150 other cars, it was a cracking turn out and one which has steadily dropped over the years.



You might have remembered how rusty my Turbo was on the day then :laugh: Still, that's the one and only event it ever turned up at to my knowledge. I've got the MGM '99 sticker and it's unused. I'll make sure it attends some more once some work has been done.

[Austin-Rover]

I had a great weekend. Saw some very nice cars and put some more faces to (forum)names. We did suprisingly well with the weather too, with only a few drops near the end of the show.

I was definatly impressed, as it was my first car show - although i dont know quite why i agreed for my car to sit with its back end pointing skyward for the whole day :). I was really impressed with Nick's MG 1600, some serious work has gone into that car and i dont think it was as good as it was yesterday when it left the factory 20 years ago...

Below are some pictures i took over the Saturday and Sunday.

1) Members wait to leave a grim Stocksbridge on their way to Lodge Farm.
2) At the Coventry Transport Museum: Maestro replacement to be made from squashy building blocks - Spy shot of secret car on test!
3) Sunday morning sunrise over the Rugby Cement works.
4) Maestro and Montego convoy arrives at Coombe Park (Photo - Rich Smith)
5) Ongoing repairs to a faulty digital dash speedo mechanism kept many members occupied for most of the show.

[Austin-Rover]

And some more pictures...

6) George rests on the M&MOC stand.
7) Simon Heap's Maestro Mayfair.
8) A view of the show towards the MG 'M' stand.
9) M&MOC cars line-up at the end of the show.
10) A Land Rover test vehicle made a very brief appearance on the field after the show had finished.

[SimonR]

Once again, good to get the chance to speak to new and old faces, including for the first time RDGelder and the other Rich, who brought their Ledbury and VP cars respectively. Very nice M^MOC display indeed :)

Hi John, I managed to miss both you and your car! D'oh! So much for putting as many faces to names as possible. Still, there's always Peterborough, assuming you'll be there? We got a little distracted with a non-working digidash speedo so I guess that could explain it.

It was great to meet other forum members, however, and it was good that the spares situation was a little better than last year.

[John S]

1.)I had my own little convoy on the way back. I caught up with this turbo, H966 RNP.....

2.) 21:00 the night before, Autoglym extra gloss applied.

[G51 NAV]

Still, there's always Peterborough, assuming you'll be there?
Err, thanks but I don't think so. I did the 400-mile return trip to Peterborough in one day last December, and that sort of distance saps the day of any fun. It would be the equivalent distance as you driving to Preston and back on July 18th for the Lancashire Classic Car Show

[matthewsemple]

Although I would not usually divert people to another forum - I was wondering if any of you would mind leaving your feedback here:

Leave Feedback (http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgbbs&mode=thread&access=&subject=7&source=T&thread=2004070522395327342)

This will enable Patrick Roberts (MG M Group chairman) to collate your views,

[Alan the Vanner]

10) A Land Rover test vehicle made a very brief appearance on the field after the show had finished.

I recognise that. It's the new Discovery. I saw one unloaded at work the other week. Nothing like the original Disco though. :(

[MG Stew]

(5) Ongoing repairs to a faulty digital dash speedo mechanism kept many members occupied for most of the show.

Hmmm looks like i wasnt the only one makeing field repairs on sunday then.. went to wind my window up to go and have a walk round and it fell out of its runners. oops, worst part though i fixed it and it happened again lol.

[philippope]

Just got round to uploading my photos. Hope the link works Ok :)
Phil
http://uk.msnusers.com/BristolClassicCarShow2004/shoebox.msnw