What was the first time you rode in a British sports car?
Mine was 1954 when I was a student in Philadelphia. I had attended the 1953 Bridgehampton road race with a fraternity brother who lived in Elmira, NY and had seen the Watkins Glen races the year before. Next Spring, I was driving my 1952 Ford on the road to Conshohocken, PA when an MG TC passed me. I gave chase but was unable to keep up. A couple of nights later, I was reading the auto section of the Inquirer or the Bulletin and saw an ad for a 1951 MG TD at Pletcher Motor Co., a downtown Ford dealer. Saturday found me down at the dealer and turned on by the gleaming black TD on the showroom floor. I took it out for a test ride and that did it - I HAD to have that car. I asked the salesman how much and after thinking he said "I'll give you an even swap". I almost fell over but I played it cool and that night, I became an LBC owner for the first time. Then followed a white Mark II TD, a new BRG TR3 that I raced, a blue 1957 Porsche coupe, a white Twin Cam MG (now in Australia), and after a number of years, another rusty TD that I restored and painted green, a maroon 1979 Datsun 280 ZX, and in 1995, I towed home a red '71 TR6 that I restored and still have and last year, I added a green 1992 Alfa Spider Veloce. In 70 years of driving, I have driven Jaguars (XK 120 and XK140MC), big Healeys, various Porsches, including 356, 914, 911, 944 and 928, a Singer, Morgans, Miatas, MGB's, MGA's, Arnolt Bristols (2), Siata 1400 (through Central Park in New York City), TR 4's, a TR2, MG Midget, Mazda RX7 (across country from Vegas to Chicago with my son), Mercedes 190 SL and 300 SL, Fiat Spider, Alfa Giuliettas (Normale and Veloce), Honda S2000, MG TC, MG TF, BMW Z3, and one or two more I might have forgotten. Never drove a Ferrari, Maserati, or any other exotica.
Mine was 1954 when I was a student in Philadelphia. I had attended the 1953 Bridgehampton road race with a fraternity brother who lived in Elmira, NY and had seen the Watkins Glen races the year before. Next Spring, I was driving my 1952 Ford on the road to Conshohocken, PA when an MG TC passed me. I gave chase but was unable to keep up. A couple of nights later, I was reading the auto section of the Inquirer or the Bulletin and saw an ad for a 1951 MG TD at Pletcher Motor Co., a downtown Ford dealer. Saturday found me down at the dealer and turned on by the gleaming black TD on the showroom floor. I took it out for a test ride and that did it - I HAD to have that car. I asked the salesman how much and after thinking he said "I'll give you an even swap". I almost fell over but I played it cool and that night, I became an LBC owner for the first time. Then followed a white Mark II TD, a new BRG TR3 that I raced, a blue 1957 Porsche coupe, a white Twin Cam MG (now in Australia), and after a number of years, another rusty TD that I restored and painted green, a maroon 1979 Datsun 280 ZX, and in 1995, I towed home a red '71 TR6 that I restored and still have and last year, I added a green 1992 Alfa Spider Veloce. In 70 years of driving, I have driven Jaguars (XK 120 and XK140MC), big Healeys, various Porsches, including 356, 914, 911, 944 and 928, a Singer, Morgans, Miatas, MGB's, MGA's, Arnolt Bristols (2), Siata 1400 (through Central Park in New York City), TR 4's, a TR2, MG Midget, Mazda RX7 (across country from Vegas to Chicago with my son), Mercedes 190 SL and 300 SL, Fiat Spider, Alfa Giuliettas (Normale and Veloce), Honda S2000, MG TC, MG TF, BMW Z3, and one or two more I might have forgotten. Never drove a Ferrari, Maserati, or any other exotica.