Just got back from a three day tour with "she who must be obeyed" in the Pagoda with my local M.G. "T" Series chapter.
What?
The engine in my M.G. TF started making some ominous top end rattling noises that didn't go away with full oil pressure when I fired it up. So taking the "T" on a "T" tour was out. That left me with two choices: Take the MGB-GT or the Pagoda. Since everybody was going to be traveling in convertibles and are die-hard top-down drivers, we figured that the closed GT would be a bit too "plush" as the weather promised to be in the 40's and 50's and blustery for the first couple of days. So we decided to do the whole tour topless in the Pagoda.
The tour took place along both slopes of the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. One of the highlights was a visit to Luray Caverns, where there is a very fine collection of historic vehicles, open to the public, amassed over a lifetime by the recently deceased patriarch of the family that owns the caverns. Two vehicles of note to MB Enthusiasts are a 1892 Benz and a 1927 Mercedes "S" touring car, both operational. The son met our group when we arrived and conducted a private tour. He reminisced that he once fell asleep in the back seat of the'27 Mercedes when his dad pulled the car out of the museum to drive a German friend up to Dulles Airport for a flight back to Europe!
This morning, when the tour participants dispersed home, we set off across the state to meet up with some more M.G. friends from the M.G. Car Club Washington D.C. Centre, who were participating in the Centre's bid to join over 80 Centres of the M.G.C.C worldwide in near simultaneous celebration of the 80th Anniversary of the founding of the M.G. Car Club. Nobody seemed to mind that we showed up in an M.B. instead of an M.G., especially when I mentioned that we had shipped the TF to England to participate in the celebration of the M.G.C.C 60th Anniversary and weren't about to miss this one on account of that same car's engine acting up on the eve of the event!
This is the first time that we have done more than a short day trip to and from a show or local event, or just "gone for a ride" with the 230SL. I can report that it did just over 20mpg over the three days and burned a quart of oil (Yes, she does smoke a bit pulling away from stops). All luggage fit comfortably in the trunk, with space to spare for "acquisitions" at various stops along the way.
All in all it was a fabulous three days of top-down motoring, reminding me that we really should get out occasionally and drive 'em 'til the road wears out!
