Dr. Gerry and Becky Mitchell cordially invite us to their home for the May 9th club meeting. The meeting will start at 6:30 PM. Gerry encourages everyone to drive their British cars so we can ‘kick tires and tell lies’ before and after our meeting.

Directions: coming from Kingsport, at the 11W and John B. Dennis intersection (East Stone Drive) go East about 3.5 miles. At the General Shale concrete block plant, turn left onto Arcadia. Travel about 1 mile North. Look for 2.5 acre pond with the driveway across the pond. Go up the left hand side of the drive. The address is 298 Arcadia and their phone (just in case) is 288-9862. Just bring yourself and your car.

The Mitchells will provide food and drinks.

Remember MG, Triumph, Austin-Healey, Morgan, Sunbeam? There were thousands of them scooting along our streets and highways in the '50s, '60s and '70s. A whole generation had discovered that we didn't have to drive dull domestic cars when we could have a spunky two-seater with the social cachet of an import.

What was it that made sports cars so exciting? Were they fast? Some were - nobody tried to win a stoplight grand prix against a Jaguar XK 120. But speed wasn't it. The MG TC and TD were very popular, but your everyday '55 Chevy was much faster.

A Sensual Appeal It wasn't the power nor even their capable handling. Sports cars were sensual. It began with the looks (it wasn't called "styling" in those days). Somehow, the combination of small size, swoopy curves and chrome trim was exactly what we wanted, now, and no other kind of car could give it to us.

Climbing into a British two-seater was like putting on a custom-made suit. The seat enclosed you. The wheel and shifter were close at hand. The instruments were eager to tell their stories. Even before you started the engine, you were wrapped in sensation.

Next, vitally important, was smell. Go to a collector car show today and persuade someone to let you sit in an MG or Triumph. Close your eyes and breathe in. Remember? It's that rich scent of oil and polish and varnish and hot metal, all overlaid with the aroma of Connolly hide, a satisfying smell unmatched by leather from any other country. You could sit in that car with your eyes closed and know that it was made in Britain.

And then, you switched on the key and pushed the starter button (this was a long time ago) and your hearing took over. Sometimes hoarse, often mellow, the exhaust throbbed its music in your ears, an overture to adventure down the nearest road. Into gear, clutch engaged, you were off to faraway places at max revs, even if you were just going around the block for ice cream.

Opportunities Await You. Remember? No? Well, maybe you were buried in the books, working overtime or perhaps born a few years too late. The red MG, the British Racing Green TR, the brilliant blue Austin- Healey and that magnificent XK 120 passed you by. If you missed it when it was happening, is the opportunity gone or can you still enjoy the thrill of a British two-seater on a winding country lane?

Absolutely! Not surprisingly, many of those Triumph and MG and Jaguar sports cars are alive and well all over North America. Kept shiny and in top mechanical condition, they aren't everyday cars any more. They sit patiently garaged until the weekend when they are brought out with pride for a relaxing drive or to take to a show. Collector clubs offer advice, magazines list cars for sale and parts suppliers can still come up with virtually everything needed to keep these 30- or 50- year-old cars running at their best.

Of course, when these preserved, restored, coddled cars come on the market, they bring premium prices. So, what about the sports car enthusiast on a budget? First, check your local Want Ad Press or Community Shopper. You'll be surprised how many MGs, Triumphs and other premium two-seaters are listed.

Roadside Beauties Also, you can't go wrong just driving down the road and looking! Running an errand one day, I passed a house that I had seen hundreds of times but, this time, the garage door was open. Inside, peeking out from under a pile of old blankets and boxes was a Triumph TR3. I have since had a look at it. It is bodily and mechanically sound and may be for sale at a reasonable figure. On vacation a couple of years ago, driving down a back road in Virginia, we came upon a small auto repair shop with at least 10 TR7 and TR8 convertibles parked out front. None were licensed, all were clean and looked complete, and all were available.

My daughter came home from school last week and said she had passed a house with an old sports car parked at one side. She said, "It looks like one of those Jaguar 120s you like." Yes, it had a "For Sale" sign on it and we're going to drop by and check it out.

Last winter, out on our Christmas tree expedition, we passed a gas station with a bunch of junk American cars parked around it. Just visible behind the building was a grille with a familiar shape. Stopping for a quick look, we found a Jaguar XK 150 coupe with peeling paint but a sound body, just waiting for someone to adopt it. In the same group was a decent, restorable, MGB roadster.

Figuring Your Investment You are not going to be able to buy one of these cars or other "finds" for $50 and a smile. However, they should be considerably less expensive than the super shiny show cars we mentioned. Your investment of a few hundred to a couple of thousand dollars can pay off if you are at all mechanically handy. These fun cars are often quite simple to work on. The average backyard mechanic with decent tools and a service manual can fix almost anything on the car. Parts prices are usually reasonable. Some folks think that fixing/restoring is part of the fun, but even if repairs aren't your hobby, doing it yourself certainly helps the budget.

A few years ago, a friend saw a Jaguar XK 140 which had been stashed in a barn for years. Dragged out into the sunlight it was a sorry-looking machine, but it was all there and he bought it quite reasonably. Since bringing it home, he has done everything from welding in new body metal to rebuilding and tuning the carburetors. Recently, still needing paint but running strong, it carried him and his wife to a Jaguar meet over a thousand miles from home and got them back again. When completed, the car will be worth much more than his investment.

The Road To Adventure If the thought of owning a vintage British two-seater makes your eyes light up, do some back-road driving and see what you come up with. You can also try the Internet. The Vintage Triumph Register, Jaguar Clubs of North America and the North American Council of MG Registers are all on the web.

It won't be long before you and your personal two-seater are headed down that road to adventure. Enjoy!

Michael L. Cook, who retired from Jaguar Cars in 1991, is the editor of Jaguar Journal and Vintage Triumph as well as the author of several books about collecting cars. He also writes for British Car magazine and Special Interest Autos from his home in New Jersey.

A really “scruffy” looking bum stopped a man on the street and asked for $2.

“Will you buy booze?” the man asked, to which the bum replied, “No.”

“Will you gamble it away?” Once again the bum replied, “No.”

Will you make bets at the golf course?” The bum replied, “No, I don’t play golf.”

Then the man asks, “Will you come home with me so my wife can see what happens to a man who doesn’t drink, gamble, or play golf?”

Webpage: Herren Floyd, 423-239-5455.