Amelia Island Concours - Historic Fashion



The Amelia Island Concours celebrates many aspects of the car culture, including period dress and fashion matching the vintage of the cars displayed.  This family dressed in appropriate golf attire along with their 4.0 Liter, DOHC, overdrive, 1939 Bentley.






An earlier car and an earlier fashion period - 1914 Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.  This car had been converted into a farm truck in the 1940's.  It was found by a collector in 1999 and restored to its original 1914 configuration.
















1919 Pierce Arrow 66-A-4.  This flashy car has a custom body designed by Harley Earl and was originally owned by silent-movie star Fatty Arbuckle.  It has an 825 cubic inch overhead cam engine.

















1925 Kissel 6-55 Goldbug Speedster.  This car was designed to be a sporting runabout, with rear fender mounts for your golf clubs on both sides.
















1951 General Motors LeSerbe prototype, a type of car that General Motors often billed as Dream Cars.













1952 Muntz Jet - A car built by "Mad Man" Muntz as a promotion of his car business rather than a business enterprise as he lost money on every car built.  The car was designed by the Indy racecar builder Kurtis.




There are not any descriptions of the fashions, only images for your own analysis.  This is a car blog, so the focus, appropriately, is on the cars.  But, the fashion aspect is an interesting part of the Amelia Island Concours.

GOF South LIV





The 54th annual Gathering of the Faithful was scheduled to be held April 17 - 19, 2020, at the Mission Inn, Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida.  This, sadly, is not a report of an enjoyable car event, as so many of the posts in this blog document.  It is a report of what should have been a great event that was forced to cancel due to the Corona Virus Pandemic.  There is no way of predicting, but car event cancellations may become the norm for 2020.

The Classic MG Club of Orlando, the founder of this event in 1967, was the hosting organization.  Members had been working for over a year to plan the details of this event.  A wide variety of ativities had been planned for the weekend event, more than could fit in anyone's calendar. There were workshops, dinners, raffles, silent auction, and a car show.  A big car show.  Over 100 MGs were registered 6 weeks before the event - the time that the decision had to be made for canceling the event.





The most anticipated activities at the GOF South were the rallyes and drives.  Multiple drives.  One of which was a drive to a mountain top.  Yes, a mountain top . . . in Florida.  Sugar Loaf Mountain to be specific.  Well, in fact, two rallyes to the mountain top.  So many had signed up for the rallye that two different routes had to be planned to reduce the size of the group on the road and to lower head count at the possible restaurants scheduled for lunch.  The Rallye de Montagne, with a logo appropriated from the famous French Monte Carlo Rallye, was to be a highlight of the weekend.

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Not far from Howey-in-the-Hills is the quaint town of Mt. Dora.  It has become a town of many, quality restaurants and interesting shops.  A drive, the Mt. Dora Meander, was mapped out with appropriate rallye-type instructions to take the MGs and their owners from the Mission Inn to enjoy a lunch at the restaurant of their choice.  The route home passed through the neighboring city of Tavares, also known as the seaplane city, since they have a seaplane port on the lake right downtown.  A full afternoon of driving your MG on back roads, enjoying a meal with your friends, and seeing new sights was on tap.




Many rallyes and drives were planned, more than could fit into the weekend.  There was a suggestion offered that participants arrive on Thursday, a day before the official opening of the GOF South, to make one of the rallyes during the extended stay.  A new event, the Tweed Drive, a drive to a British restaurant with participants all dressed in tweed or in their British Finest.  This event was patterned after bicycling events that have been held across the globe.  The links below are to videos of Tweed Runs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qlU7y-LHqc

https://vimeo.com/252362547


There was a drive to the Yalaha Bakery, a popular German bakery and beer garden.  Who wouldn't enjoy that?  As participants left the GOF South to return home, multiple blueberry farms were mapped out to brake up the drive, enjoy picking blueberries with MG friends, and have some delicious, healthy treats.

Disappointed.   As are many who have faced canceled events.  There is some hope as we look to the future.  GOF South Mk 55, presented by the MG Classics of Jacksonville, is scheduled for April 2021, to be held in Gainesville, Florida.  And, the Classic MG Club of Orlando plans to return to Howey-in-the-Hills in 2022.  Seems so far into the future.

MGs at Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance





The 25th Annual Amelia Concours did not have an MG class this year, however, two cars were selected to be displayed on the main show field, chosen to represent sports racers of their period.  The pre-war race class included a 1932 MG J2.




The J2 had recently finished a full restoration by Safety Fast Restorations, a company that specializes in pre-war MGs.   The car gleamed in the sun with its original duo green colors.  It is powered by the factory 847cc single overhead camshaft engine with a cross-flow 8 port design.  Quite advanced for the day.  J2s were successful on the race tracks in England, just as they came off the assembly line.









The J2 is the first MG with the long hood and cut-down doors that came to be synonymous with MG sports car design through the 1955 MGTF.  In 1933, they were also offered with swept wings (fenders) that became another standard of MG design. The J2 was produced for only two years: 1932 and 1933.









It is interesting to see MGs represented at the Amelia Concours, particularly in the racing category.  MG achieved many race and rally wins and set many land speed records during the 1930s.










The blue car is a 1953 MGTD, not that you would recognize it as such.  In the 1950’s it was popular to build sports racers based on MGs that were called MG Specials.  Ken Miles, of the Ford GT LeMans fame, built four MG Specials, all successful on the race track.



This MG Special was built by David V. Uihlein with the intent to build parts to sell to would-be racers so they could transform their MGTDs into race cars.  It looks a bit like a 1950's Indianapolis roadster because Uihlein had an Indy Car builder craft the body out of aluminum.  The car weighs 600 pounds less than an MGTD.  For power, Uihlein designed a double overhead camshaft head with double hemispherical combustion chambers, cast from nickel-alloy steel, fitted to an 1250 cc XPAG engine.  With twin SU carburetors, it produced 90 horsepower.  Unfortunately, it did not produce wins on the race track and only one was built.  The 4 separate exhaust pipes running down the side of the car give it quite a distinctive look. 







The Amelia program described the car as “an example of an elegant and efficient design with a rather impressive mechanical setup.”














At the racetrack in 1953.







MGs at Amelia Island Concours - Cars and Coffee



The big show at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is on Sunday.  On Saturday, they host a Cars and Coffee, filling two show fields.  A wide variety of cars are selected for this show, including a number of MGs in the British category.  A great benefit of this show is that it is free admission for spectators.  This allows families with children a chance to attend a large car show and provides an opportunity for car hobbyists to share their cars with many people.





Many of the MGs were brought by members of the MG Classics of Jacksonville Club as a club activity to promote the classic MG hobby.  The numbers on these two MGBs were from a recent TSD rallye - The Dixie Brit Rallye.  Each car in the rallye was provided with the traditional racing numbers place on a white ball.





Amelia Island Concours was blessed with beautiful weather for the 25th-anniversary edition, March 5 -8, 2020.  They were also fortunate to have moved the event forward one week to allow the nearby PGA tournament to occur the second weekend in Ponte Vedra without two major events conflicting.  Travel and group gathering restrictions began a few days after the Concours, making it one of the last international events in the world, spring 2020.

Here, a beautiful MGTD is properly displayed with additional items enhancing the presentation.








This TF is in original condition, sometimes referred to as preserved.  It has never been restored.  The paint, in almost immaculate condition, is the original, factory-applied paint.












This red MGTC was a favorite among the kids in attendance.  The owner generously allowed all the kids an opportunity to sit in the car.

Displaying MGs in events that draw large crowds of the general public and large number of car enthusiasts from a wide variety of marques, may be the best promotional activity for the classic MG hobby.



Roar Before the24



The first major auto racing event every year is the Roar Before the 24, a practice session, qualifying, and a prototype race, all in preparation for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

For 2020, the Roar was the weekend of January 3rd through the 5th. This event provides the race teams with practice and testing time on the race track where first race of the IMSA season is held as part of a world-famous 24 hour endurance race for sports cars.








Friday was a gray day, bad for photos but the track was dry and the teams all got a lot of track time. Roger Penske, who will be the honoree at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance in 2020, had his immaculately prepared prototype Acuras ready for the event.









Daytona International Speedway has very nice garage spaces for each of the cars.  At the Roar, the cars spend a lot of time in the garages as tweaks are made in the setups to find that extra .010 second of time on the track.  It is all about extracting the most performance from the machine.












The Whelen Cadillac moved out of the garage to be in line to get on the track for the next practice session.  This is always a front running car for the overall win.






Three team members were working on the Whelen car.  The process of tuning the car has changed greatly as technology has been added to race cars.  Tuning used to involve turning wrenches and changing carburetor jets.  Today, the cars don't even have carburetors, but they do have computers.  More tuning is done by the computer engineer than the mechanics.  The setups must be very secretive.  This team member closed the computer screen when he saw that I was taking a photo.  He did not want me to capture the data on the screen.





There are also Acuras in the GT category, cars very similar to the street cars. Here again, the computer is the tuning tool.















The biggest buzz at the racetrack and in all the automobile media, was the first public track time for the new C8 Corvette, the first mid-engine Corvette.  There was always a crowd in front of the Corvette garages.













Although an American car and an American race team, the driver team is an international. The cars, and here where the team has decorated their garage, on the large wall poster, have the drivers identified by name and flag of their nationality.  Jordan Taylor, a Floridian, is the one looking toward the camera.  Much planning, time, and investment is goes into setting up the garages to make them professional in appearance and equipment, and highly functional.










In the Ferrari pit, the computer is being used as the tuning tool.  This car, like the Acura above, is in the GT Daytona class.  Four different classes of cars are run as part of the Rolex 24 Hours.

The green LED number is controlled by IMSA.  During practice or the race, it displays the running position of the car.  Makes for good information for the fans watching the race.  Here, with the car not on the track, it is displaying the car number, 63.  It may be easier to read in the next image.
















The Weather Tech Ferrari in its pit garage, partly in the garage.  This mechanic was running the engine and probably wanted to keep some of the fumes and carbon monoxide out of the garage.  Take a look at the green plate on the rear wing.














Note all the chamfered holes and the two Allen head screws.  The angle of the rear wing is still an adjustment made mechanically, using a wrench.  Count the holes and begin multiplying all the possible combinations of attack angle and height to understand how many positions are possible.  A greater attack angle means more downforce and bettter tire grip when cornering, but more drag and lower top speed on the straights.  Tuning adjustments are always a compromise.



The Lamborghini is a street car that appears more like a full-on race car - low roof height and sleek design.  It is also part of the GT Daytona class.  IMSA has a Balance of Performance formula that adjusts power or fuel capacity to allow cars with different aerodynamics and power plants to compete on an equal footing.  One of the reasons there is a Roar Before the 24 is to allow IMSA to gather data on the cars to adjust that balance.




There is a unique feature on this Lamborghini, even more than the paint scheme - the driver team is four women; Christina Neilsen, Katherine Legge, Tati Calderone, Rahel Frey, from four different countries - Denmark, Great Britain, Columbia, and Switzerland.





IMSA Photo



An IMSA photo will be used to display the paint job and graphics.  The bright colored cartoon book like graphics are a one-off for just the Roar.  The graphics are different on each side of the car.








The Wynn's Mercedez technician working intently on the car's tuning.  He can start the car, change gears, and work the throttle right from the keyboard while recording information.  Detailed information is downloaded after each practice session to compare car performance and each of the drivers.




















This car is parked in a different area of the pits.  It is entered in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, a sponsor-driven name of a race that occurs on race weekend, but is not part of the Rolex 24 Hours race.  This group of cars, with three different classes will run a 4-hour endurance race on the Friday of the 24 Hours.  The Challenge cars have their own set of garages, not quite as plush as the set of garages where the Rolex cars are assigned.

















The Minolta Cadillac is a multiple winner of the Rolex 24 Hours, including last year's race.  The car is prepared and fielded by Wayne Taylor Racing, a Florida-based race team.










The only team member working on the car when we visited was the computer engineer.












Another of the classes is LMP2, LeMans Prototype.  It is an Oreca-Gibson, French-built race car with a 600 hp Gibson V-8 engine built in England.  This car is designed for a racing class in Europe.  All cars in the class are the same, with sealed engines.  It is a class designed for amateur racers, often referred to as "Gentlemen Racers."  Still requires a massive team and special equipment to be able to race.  Note the custom bracket for the jack attached to the front of the tub.




The faster and more technical of the GT cars is the GTLM, Grand Touring LeMans.  For 2020, there are only 7 cars in this class, two Porsches, two Corvettes, two BMWs, and one Ferrari.  This is one of the Porsches.  Note the big aerodynamic diffuser under the back.  This would not fit on a normal 911 Porsche since the rear engine is located there.  A quirk in the class rules allowed Porsche to move the engine forward, making a mid-engined car.  This car won the class championship last year.



Again, the only mechanic is the one working the keyboard.

Note the LED number light in the window.  It is displaying 12 as the car's race number rather than position on the racetrack.  It is red, rather than the green noted on the Ferrari.  The different colors denote different classes.  There are Porsches racing in both GTD and GTLM.  The GTD cars display green numbers, and the GTLM red.  Allows one to easily distinguish between cars in the two classes, particularly when racing at night.  The same hold true for the two prototype classes.




The Roar also provides the stectators to take in the sights and sounds of the cars on the track.  This video is posted to gives a small insight to the sounds.  Unforunately, much better sound equipment is need to capture accurate sounds than the small microphone on our point-n-shoot camera.  But, you can get the idea.  The 6-cylinder Porsches have a much different sound than any of the other cars - it is a scream.  And, this year it is piercing and painful.  Must remember to take hearing protection.







The normally aspirated V8 Cadillacs have the traditional deep rumble of American V8 engines. The new Corvette lost the rumble this year as a new engine with a flat-plane crankshaft has changed the firing order resulting in an even sound rather than the rumble.  In addition to the camera not catching the sound with accuracy, blogspot does not allow the size or placement of videos to be adjusted.  But, you should get the idea.










The international horseshoe corner is a favorite place to watch the cars on the track.  The cars slow to 40 mph to negotiate this corner, giving a longer view than a location where they are traveling 140 mph.  The Corvette drivers and crew were successful in using the practice sessions to lower their lap times during the three days of the Roar.











The gray skies caused the camera to lower the shutter speed to gain enough light, resulting in photos of fast cars being blurry.  The sun had peaked through for a few minutes allowing this shot to be a bit clearer.  If this continues to be a hobby, a DSLR camera needs to be on the shopping list.  Right is our capture of the cartoon-like graphics on the Gear Team Lamborghini.








Our favorite paint job is the lumberjack plaid on the Canadian Pfaff Porsche.  This year, with a new sponsor desiring a silver background for their logo, the plaid does not cover the entire car, but it still gives a very different image of a racecar.  This is another area where technology has made a change in racing.  Imagine how long and tedious a job it would be to paint a plaid pattern.  Well, they don't use paint anymore, the new technology opening up many more options.






The Wynn's car we visited in the pits is on the track in this image.  Wynn's is a long-time race car sponsor beginning on Indianapolis cars before WWII.  It was then branded Wynn's Friction Proofing as their only product was an engine oil additive.  They have expanded their product line and shortened their name.  Here, our point continues on the varying paint jobs.







Another of the GS class cars in the Challenge race, another Mercedez.  Look closely at the 56 number panel, you will find the class designation "GS" right next to it.  Here a bronze-gold color dominates the paint job.  It is not paint - it is plastic, a wrap it is called.  A large sheet of plastic is printed with the color and the graphics and then applied to the car, using a heat gun which causes the plastic to shrink to fit.














The other car on that team, the #65 car.  The black areas have been swapped with white so the cars carry the same bronze-gold color scheme, but are easily differentiated by the race team members as they view them on the track.












This Mercedez is not painted, one of the tasks left to be accomplished before race weekend.  To add color and sponsor recognition, a chrome red horse, the logo of Mobile Oil was placed over the rear wheel arch.


















In keeping with the European tradition of sports car racing, the British term "livery" is used as the term denoting the color and design scheme used on each car.  It would appear that this car is sponsored by the University of Florida in its orange & blue colors.









This discussion of the Roar and the preparation for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona will end with a couple images of the Cadillac prototype cars which have been so dominating in this race over the past few years.  The Minolta Cadillac in this image.










A different team, Whelen, fielding another Cadillac.

Many teams, many cars, a lot of preparation for the first major race of the 2020 season.