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Watkins Glen SVRA Festival
September 7-9
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Next Friday stop by the Ragtops & Roadsters exhibit to see the 1938 SS 100 Jaguar on display! We are proud to celebrate all things Jaguar and to support the SVRA vintage racing weekend. Since 1993, the Grand Prix Festival of Watkins Glen presented by Chemung Canal Trust Company has celebrated our heritage of motor racing. Last year, an estimated 25,000 spectators attended. As in previous years, a tribute to the Grand Prix races are featured in a variety of events during this all-day festival. Events include the Walk of Fame award ceremony, an historical lecture called The Legends Speak, a pre-race Tech Inspection at Smalley's Garage, as well as several rolling events and two car shows... the Stone Bridge Driver Events.
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100 Motorcars of Radnor Concours
Sept 7-9
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 We are proud to support this Concours every year. Stop by our exhibit in the Marketplace tent. Radnor will be celebrating its 22nd year with featured classes to include Rolls Royce, Bentley, European Style/American Power and Fastbacks. They will share the field with Indian, Italian Motorcycles and Superbikes. There will also be a display of vintage horse-drawn coaches and carriages. The event begins with a barbeque Friday night followed by the Road Rally through scenic Chester County and a catered lunch on Saturday, Black Tie Gala, Silent Auction, Art Show Preview Saturday evening and the main event Sunday, the Concours d' Elegance which is by invitation only. |
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St Michaels Concours
Sept 21-23
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 Now in its 12th year, the St. Michael's Concours will once again be held on the waterfront lawn of Inn at Perry Cabin by Belmond and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum September 21-23. It will be an elegant weekend of Grand Classic Motoring, gourmet food and fine wines, classic wooden boats, and fashion. For more information see: https://smcde.org/
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America's British Reliability Run
Oct 5-7
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 ABRR Registration is still open and we have room for a couple more ABRR teams to sign up! The ABRR is based on UK Reliability Runs that benefit children’s charities in England. This year, the Pennsylvania-based ABRR is running on winding, twisting roads up to Lime Rock Park where we will get a couple of parade laps, then we head west to Watkins Glen to run more parade laps and head back towards our departure point in northern NJ, but not before taking in a tour of a major vintage car collection on the way! You don't want to miss this one! The ABRR Teams travel in groups, taking care to keep the cars together, making group stops as necessary and leaving no one behind! The ABRR is a great fall drive on rural, paved roads through beautiful countryside in the company of fellow British car friends. All done for a good cause as the only competition is how much money each ABRR Team raises for this year's charity. We are driving for the kids! There are multiple ABRR’s being planned throughout the USA for 2018. Click here to get more info about the regional ABRR runs happening throughout the USA! |
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| 2nd Tue |
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MG Club of Philadelphia Mtg., Blue Bell, PA |
| 3rd Mon |
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Austin Healey Sport & Touring Club Mthly Mtg., North Wales, PA |
| 3rd Tue |
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DVJ Breakfast Social, Springhouse, PA |
| 3rd Tue |
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DVT Club GTR Mthly Mtg., North Wales, PA |
| Every Sat |
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Katie's Cars and Coffee, Great Falls, VA |
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| 9/2 |
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38th Annual British Motorcar Gathering, Manchester , CT |
| 9/7 – 9/9 |
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Goodwood Revival Goodwood House, Chichester, West Sussex, U |
| 9/7 – 9/9 |
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SVRA US Vintage Grand Prix, Watkins Glen, NY |
| 9/8 – 9/9 |
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Radnor Hunt Concours, Edgemont, PA |
| 9/13 – 9/16 |
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Tiger East / Alpine East Meet United 2018, Glen Cove, NY |
| 9/14 – 9/16 |
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Hemmings Motor News 12th Annual Concours, Lake George, NY |
| 9/14 – 9/16 |
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The British Invasion, Stowe, VT |
| 9/14 – 9/17 |
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DVT Fall Get Away, Easton, MD |
| 9/15 – 9/16 |
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Cobble Beach Concours, Kemble, ON, CAN |
| 9/15 – 9/20 |
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Ferarri Club of America National Meet, Watkins Glen , NY |
| 9/15 |
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20th Annual Brits on the Beach, Ocean Grove, NJ |
| 9/15 |
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Brits by the River, Delaware City, DE. |
| 9/16 |
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20th Annual Orphan Car Show, Ypsilanti, MI |
| 9/16 |
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54th Annual NCJOC Concours d’Elegance, Purcellville, VA |
| 9/16 |
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Hagley Antique Car Show, Wilmington, DE. |
| 9/16 |
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Jaguar Drivers Club Concours Show, Centerport LI, NY |
| 9/19 – 9/22 |
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Austin Healey Encounter, Lancaster, PA |
| 9/21 – 9/23 |
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Gold Cup Historic Races, VIR, Alton, VA |
| 9/21 – 9/23 |
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St. Michaels Concours d’Elegance, St Michaels, MD |
| 9/22 – 9/23 |
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Meeting of the Marques, Carlisle, PA |
| 9/22 |
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Coatsville Invitational Vintage Grand Prix, Coatsville , PA |
| 9/23 |
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The Boston Cup Concours, Boston, MA |
| 9/27 – 9/29 |
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New Jersey Historic Races, Millville, NJ |
| 9/27 – 9/30 |
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Triumph TR 6 Pack Trials, Fontana Dam, CA |
| 9/29 – 9/30 |
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Atlanta Concours d’Elegance, Atlanta, GA |
| 9/29 |
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38th Annual MGs on the Rocks, Bel Aire, MD |
| 9/29 |
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New Jersey Concours d’Elegance, Colts Neck, NJ |
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We make our best attempt to provide a thorough and accurate listing of relevant events; however, changes in the details may not always be reflected in time. Please always double check the organizers website as you make your travel plans.
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Motorcars Prepared for
Summer and Fall Driving!
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We brought this Lotus Seven into the shop with some electrical problems, possibly a short? After examining the car we found the engine had little to no oil pressure. Once we cleaned out the oil pump and double checked the gauges, we were able run the car and diagnose where the prince of darkness was hiding. Look for this Seven to be blasting the back roads of Allentown.
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We towed this 1960 Lotus Elite in from West Virginia after a rather large 4X4 forced his way down a narrow country road. Our staff at Pollock Auto Restoration determined that we had to R&R the engine to make the proper structural repairs. Now finished in Olde English White, this little lightweight is now back out on the country roads in Maryland! Please mind the gap! |
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This 1970 Jaguar E-Type Coupe has been owned by current owner for nearly 25 years! Time always catches up with us regarding rubber, seals, hydraulics, and fuel related systems. We installed a new steering rack, rebuilt most of the suspensions, and installed a new exhaust system. Look for this cat to be prowling the streets of Watkins Glen next weekend!
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I remember when this 1965 Pacific Green Austin Healey 3000 went through the Gooding auction at Amelia several years ago. It was bought by a dealer on LI NY, then recently bought by our client. After a full evaluation, we determined it needed a fair amount of work including frame repair! Moral of the story...always get a thorough PPI (pre-puchase inspection).
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2018 Pebble Beach Car Week
by: Dave Hutchison
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We had the opportunity to travel to the west coast to Monterey and Carmel California to attend Pebble Beach Car Week as it has become known. On the way into Monterey we stopped in Scotts Valley to visit a well known Porsche restoration shop, Canepa and walked through their Open House. Wow! From their really low mileage Triumph Stag, to the 1961 Cooper T56 raced by Steve McQueen, and the Porsche 959s that they rebuild for MORE power in-house, they had it all!
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The mezzanotte blu (midnight blue)1964 Triumph Italia 2000 was shipped via Intercity Lines from Perkasie to Monterey, as it was invited to attend three invitational Concours shows preceding the Pebble Beach Concourse de'Elegance.
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After arriving at Revival Road Co, a restoration shop that specializes in Porsches and Alfas (our home base for the week) we headed out the Ocean Ave Concours in Carmel. We had a great spot and the little Italia received much of admiration and an award! The next day brought us to the the Carmel Mission show where the all the cars were blessed (with distilled holy water) and the Vignale Triumph coupe brought home yet another award - Best of the Blessed.
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We made time to stop in the Gooding and Co auction where we saw the Admiral Phillips 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II go across the block after 58 years of continuous ownership, fetching in excess of 5M! I had my eye on an early 1961 matching numbers E-Type that will make an excellent restoration project that later sold for 128K. Later that night a 1935 Dusenberg SSJ formerly owned by Gary Cooper brought 22M the highest amount ever paid for an American car!
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We did manage to get a day in at Laguna Seca Raceway where the SVRA fielded over 550 vintage racers competing in every class you can think of. We saw Veteran cars, Formula 1, Indy Cars, Old Yellar, Bugattis and Bruce McLaren's Can-Am car driven competitively by Richard Griot... over 35 Can-Am cars in that class alone! And of course all the Brit marques were racing including, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lotus, Elva, Austin Healey, MG and Triumph! It was indeed the finest selection of vintage race-cars we have ever seen. Ford debuted the new Gulf Livery paint colors for the Ford GT as Derek Bell was there to offer support.
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It was time for the the 33rd Concorso Italiano Concours on Saturday. Over 200 cars were displayed on the greens of the Blackhorse Golf Course. Parked in a class of 8 other cars with Custom Coachwork, we managed to be recognized and awarded another award “First in Class!” Bravo! Congrats to Bob and Sandy and our teams at Ragtops and Pollock. Their attention to detail was clearly appreciated! Keith Martin of Sportscar Market Magazine was an entertaining master of ceremonies for this great show with many Alfa, Ferraris, Maserati and all Italian marques. Best of Show went to a beautiful 1951 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Super Sport. We attended three shows with the Italia and won three awards. It was the best week we could hope for!
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Five of the nine in our class, Innocenti Mini, Triumph Italia, Spitfire (designed by Michelotti) an ASA 1000 and an Apollo (1 of 88) GM power with Italian design.
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Sunday... The 68th Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance lived up to it's reputation! It is truly the best of the best. Every car in every class was a head turner, restored to original condition or remarkably preserved. The featured cars were OSCA, Motorcars of the Raj from India, Tucker, Scarab and Citroen.
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The weather improved during the day and sunshine broke through just as the award ceremonies began. How did they do that? Jay Leno and Don Osborne were entertaining as they raffled off cars for charity and brought up restoration students from McPherson College to join in the festivities. So many fabulous cars won class awards but eventually it all came down to the Best of Show which was presented by the Concours Chairman, Sandra Button. The Best of Show was awarded to a 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta. As the troubadours sounded and the confetti shot into the air over the dark blue car, owner David Sydorick of Beverly Hills, California drove up the ramp and enjoyed the moment. He was all similes and said to the cheering crowd, “This Alfa Romeo is a very special car. It is a piece of automotive architecture mounted on a Grand Prix chassis that has technology that was top of the line for prewar cars."
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Our overall impressions of the week were very good. Nowhere else can you pull in to service station (to fill up our MX5 rental) where you find a Triumph Herald convertible, a Ferrari GTE and and Austin Seven. So many classics all over the peninsula you become jaded to saying “There's another red Ferrari 250 SWB!” It was truly a wonderful week where our faith in the younger generation was renewed by the crew at Revival Road Company and the many enthusiasts we met! Rumor has it that there may be a Vignale class at the Pebble Beach Concours d' Elegance next year?
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New Hope Auto Show
by: Dave Hutchison
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This year not quite 200 cars showed up out of the 265 that were pre-registered for the New Hope Auto Show due to a dismal weather forecast. The day actually turned out to be rather nice and many European classics showed up for the now single-day show, until the school construction project is completed. The featured marque was TVR and I believe that 8 TVRs were on the field! Most interesting TVR was the first long-wheelbase TVR Tuscan V8 SE that was shipped from England to the states in 1967. This is the car that appeared at the New York Auto Show that spring for its public debut. This is a true survivor! As in the past the show proceeds went to support the volunteer organizations that help put on the show, scholarships for students at Solebury High School and the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. |
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Ragtops & Roadsters is here to help out this summer and the ongoing 2018 driving season. Maybe it's time to take care of the deferred maintenance, restoration, preservation, and upgrade needs that are on your car's "to do" list? Click here to send an e-mail to dave@ragtops.com or call us 215-257-1202 to schedule an appointment. We are now scheduling appointments in September and October, so it's not too soon to plan for repair or restoration work to drive this year! Click to see our updated Works In Progress page on our website.
We have recently listed more of our client's British cars looking for new homes. Click on our For Sale page to see current listings. Click here to see more pictures of this 1967 Austin Healey 3000 looking for a new garage. Have room? |
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Happy Motoring!
Dave & the Staff at Ragtops & Roadsters.
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