Penny’s Restaurant has become a favorite gathering place for members of the British Car Club of Southwest Florida. Twelve club members enjoyed another breakfast gathering there on Saturday, October 31st.

Appropriate for the day, Penny and her staff were attired in Halloween costumes as they served up delicious breakfasts to all. As usual, the camaraderie was great.

Although the club is committed to rotating the venues for this event, in all probability we will be returning soon.

FT. MYERS, Fla. — The British Car Club of Southwest Florida met on Tuesday, October 13th, at Famous Dave’s Restaurant in Ft. Myers. President Cecil Carter called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

New member Craig Higdon was welcomed to the club. Craig is the owner of a beautiful supercharged Jaguar. He spoke briefly about his background and his car.

Treasurer Tom Brewsaugh gave the monthly financial report. The club members again thanked Tom for his many years of outstanding service to the club. Cecil presented him with a gift from the club in appreciation. Cecil also announced that Larry McCartt would be taking over the position of Club Treasurer.

Past events were discussed. The September breakfast gathering was on Saturday, September 26th, at the House of Omelets in Cape Coral. Members who attended spoke favorably about the morning.

The October Saturday breakfast gathering would be held at Penny’s Restaurant in Punta Gorda (see Cecil’s report above), beginning at 8:30 a.m., with breakfast at 9 a.m.

Cecil announced two upcoming events. “Cars on Fifth” will be held Saturday, February 6, 2021, in Naples, Fla. The BIG (British, Italian, German) Show will be held Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Cape Coral, Fla.

The BCCSWF Holiday Party was discussed. Marcia and Larry McCartt will be hosting it at their home on December 12th, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.

[Contrib. Ed. note: Since the meeting it was decided the Holiday Party would not be held. —CC]

Cecil reminded club members that elections for new officers would take place at the November meeting. He charged a Nominating Committee, consisting of Peter Sales, Pam Sales, and Marcia McCartt, with bringing a slate of nominees to the November meeting.

There were no October birthdays celebrated.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. —Ken Taylor

CAPE CORAL, Fla. — On Saturday, September 12th, the British Car Club of Southwest Florida went on a tour through the Wicked Dolphin Rum Distillery, which is located in Cape Coral.

Among the interesting facts we learned is that it is a “craft distillery” (makes fewer than 750,000 gallons per year) and that it is also independently owned and operated. They use local ingredients (produced within 100 miles). Their copper pot still was imported from the state of Kentucky.

The tour guide explained the process of making rum and we were able to sample their Rum Punch — which we all found to be very good and decided to have it at our Holiday Party!

The tour went through the storage area, where there are many rows of barrels. The guide explained that the rum is aged in used Kentucky bourbon barrels for 3-14 years. Their rum comes in many different flavors: Vanilla Bean, Mango, Coconut, Key Lime, and Blueberry & Strawberry Shine. They also make vodka.

Volunteers are used to help with the bottling of the rum. Compensation is a bottle of rum!

The Distillery began making hand sanitizer last spring, and are producing thousands of gallons each week for hospitals and first responders. They also sell this to the public and had a sanitizer giveaway back in August. This helped them to stay afloat during the COVID shutdown.

At the end of the tour, we were treated to a complimentary tasting in the gift shop area. Wicked Dolphin also has their own brand of coffee, which many of the members purchased at the end of the tour.

Afterward, we went to Mel’s Diner for lunch and fellowship. The tropical weather from Sally did not dampen the enthusiasm of this group!

Thanks to Cecil Carter, Bob and Susan Engelhart, and Peter and Sandy Blackford for coming out, which made for a very fun and enjoyable afternoon!

Cheers!

Could be!

I owned this 1927 MG 14/40 tourer in the early-to-mid ’60s in Dayton, Ohio. At the time I didn’t know of any older MGs other than an M-type in Cincinnati, which I almost owned also.

The 14/40 was the second model MG produced after the “bull-nosed” 14/28.

In 1925-27 Cecil Kimber’s young company moved to Cowley, Oxford. By then the model after the one I had was the pure, “all-MG” 18/80, not a made-over Morris Oxford.

I acquired my tourer from a NASA cinematographer in Cape Canaveral, and from there I trailered it back to Dayton.

The MG needed a lot of work and a lot of tinkering, on a nickel-and-dime budget at that.

I acquired an original Solex carb from France and cork-lined clutch plates from the U.K., and decided to doll her up here and there, like with a running-board spotlight and bulb horn.

The headlamps can be dipped, to the left of course, by an external lever. The coachwork consists of but two doors to help the rigidity of the body. A starter-generator keeps things going in that department. There are octagon motifs everywhere, except the scuttle ventilators.

The rear wings are not original. I added a license plate and taillight panel at the rear with the MG logo showing as polished aluminum.

The car was woefully underpowered, even with a 2-liter flathead engine coupled to a 3-speed transmission. With a hand-pulled choke it started very easy, it seemed. Petrol was fed into a small under-the-bonnet tank. (Don’t refuel when the engine is hot! I refueled from a 5-gallon can in the driveway.)

The MG was finished in cream with red interior and black top. Side curtains were nowhere to be found, it seemed.

I enjoyed showing the 14/40 and it surprised a lot of MG fans at the time. One memorable outing was at the Greenfield Old Car Festival in Dearborn, Mich. The car is titled as a ’25 so it was barely eligible for showing. We conned a security lad to allow us to spot the car in front of the Wright Brothers’ bicycle shop for a photo since we were from Dayton.

A copy of that photo is in one of the MG publications from the MG works. On one of my visits to England and to the MG Car Club next door to the office building, I pulled the copy with the photo to show several MG T owners who are friends.

The car has been in two museums that I know of — Silver Springs in Florida and Jerry Goguen’s Westminster MG Museum in Vermont.

At one time it was in the hands of an MG dealer in the Miami area. I sold it to a friend of mine in Kettering, Ohio, and I believe a dentist in Connecticut has it now, although there was a rumor I heard that it had gone back to England.

The original factory color scheme on the 14/40 series was blue or red wings and blue or red cellulose from the beltline up and top of the bonnet only, with polished metal for the rest of the body. This scheme carried over from the bull-nose 14/28 series.

Available factory coachwork consisted of the four-seat tourer, two-seat roadster with dickey seat and a two-door saloon.

A saloon was chosen by the works as a “gofer” for company errands and such. It was also used for testing paint color — hence it was nicknamed the Auld Speckled ’Un, or, as we know it today, the Old Speckled Hen. —Larry McCartt

Penny’s Restaurant, in Punta Gorda, has become a BCCSWF breakfast favorite. Members of the club returned to Penny’s for its August Saturday morning breakfast gathering and were not disappointed. Penny, and her staff, again delighted club members with as outstanding menu and excellent service.

Several members praised the restaurant during the September club meeting. It’s a good bet that the club will return in the not too distant future. In the meantime, the September breakfast gathering will be at another club favorite, the House of Omelets in Cape Coral, on September 26th. —Cecil Carter

The British Car Club of Southwest Florida met on Tuesday, September 8th, at Famous Dave’s Restaurant in Fort Myers. President Cecil Carter called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.

New members Al and Christine Jensen were welcomed to the club. They are the owners of a beautiful 1967 Austin-Healey 3000. Al spoke briefly about his experiences with the car.

Treasurer Tom Brewsaugh gave the monthly financial report. Tom informed the club that he and his wife, Kiki, are relocating and would be leaving the club soon. The club thanks Tom for his many years of outstanding service to the club.

Past events were discussed. The August Saturday breakfast gathering was held at Penny’s Restaurant in Punta Gorda. Members who attended spoke favorably about the morning. The September breakfast gathering will be on Saturday, September 26th, at the House of Omelets in Cape Coral. The gathering will begin at 8:30 a.m., with breakfast at 9 a.m.

Cecil mentioned the upcoming (as of the meeting date) rally sponsored by the Jaguar Club of Southwest Florida on September 19th. He also announced that “Wheels Across the Pond” was cancelled.

The BCCSWF Holiday Party was discussed. Marcia McCartt suggested that the club change the November Welcome Back Snowbirds/Pool Party to December and make it also a Holiday Party at her home. The members thought that was a great idea and the consensus was to do so.

The 50/50 was won by Bill Newman.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned. —Ken Taylor