Here’s Some Great And Mostly British Old Cars I Saw This Weekend: Cold Start

I was tipped off that there’s an interesting little car show that happens in Hillsborough, NC, at the Leland Little auction house, so I climbed in the Pao and trundled over, down some absurdly verdant roads. The show was indeed charming, mostly populated with old British iron, but there were a good number of other nationalities represented as well. Since I didn’t see most of you there, let me be your eyes and show you some of what rolled in there. Or was already in there? Anyway, let’s just look at some great cars.

That little MG TD up top there was especially nice; I always liked those tiny little rectangular-grilled MGs and it’s interesting to think about how that car defined what a “sports car” was for a lot of Americans at the time. This particular one was also great because of the hood ornament:

A mosquito! Normally one of my most hated insects (seriously, what good do they do for anyone? Can’t we just swap them for more fireflies?) I have to admit, I like this plucky rendition of a mosquito here, all chromed and majestic. Speaking of tiny buzzing things, here’s my Pao, desperately in need of a bath, next to the first Singer-re-imagined Porsche I’ve seen in North Carolina:

Singers really are incredible cars. The attention to detail on them is just staggering, like how the turn signal and taillight lenses were re-designed to not require visible screws, to pretty much everything going on in this interior:

I mean, holy crap, just look at that. The basketweave on the dash! That little pocket for the seat belt socket! Just all of it, all of it.

There were a ton of Austin-Healeys there, too, I think they were the best-represented marque at the gathering. I get it; they’re really appealing cars, and they feel like they represent a whole era and way of thinking of a certain kind of classic sportscar.

I tend to think of MGAs in a similar category to the Austin-Healeys, and this race-prepped MGA at the auction house was really incredible. What a great-looking car.

There were Austin-relatives from the other side of the spectrum, too, like this fantastic little Mini. This one gets driven a lot, which is something I love knowing.

Some good unexpected things showed up, too, like this Buick Reatta. When was the last time you saw a Reatta? I forgot how odd and pretty these things were. Also, they have one of the nicest under-bumper grilles of almost any car I can think of; it’s almost treated as well as an above-bumper grille!

Look! There were Autopian Members present! We’re everywhere, people. Everywhere.

Sometimes you forget just how powerful the right decal can be. This huge black firebird is a good reminder. Look at that thing! It’s perfect, especially in black over red. I don’t understand why more majestic animal decals aren’t on more car hoods. Wasted opportunity if you ask me. This is great.

There was one Ferrari that showed up, a 348TS. These were cool because the V8 engine in the middle there was mounted longitudinally, but the transmission was transverse! You can sort of see it here:

Fascinating! I’m sure it’s easy to work on, too.

Aside from my Pao, one of the only other Japanese cars that showed up was this lovely Datsun Fairlady or 2000 or whatever you prefer to call them. These always seemed like such fun little roadsters, almost out-Britishing the British cars of the era.

The oldest car there was this 1913 Buick Model 30. It was restored back in 1968 and really hasn’t been touched since. There is one thing it needs, if you happen to have one in your junk drawer:

The coupling from the Magneto to the shaft that spins it is missing. Anyone have a magneto coupling handy? I doubt its specific to these Buicks, I think lots of cars of that era used very similar magnetos. If you find one, let me know.