If you bought your MG because you love driving, you will not want to miss the Texas Twisted Sisters Tour (TTST), which we guarantee will be the best Texas sports car drive you will do this year! This memorable event will take place Thursday, May 8, 2025, to kick off the 50^th Anniversary GoF in Kerrville. If you are planning to go to the GoF this year, do not miss this outing! The drive is a repeat of the Twisted Sisters event the HMGCC co-sponsored three years ago.

What are the Twisted Sisters?

The Texas Twisted Sisters are a trio of rural roads traversing some of the best scenery in Hill Country. Legendary in the motorcycle community, the confluence of Ranch Roads 335, 336 and 337 follows canyons and jagged hills and features twisted curves with a conspicuous lack of guardrails. The route crosses and follows several dry washes, creeks and rivers, including the Nueces River and Hackberry Creek. Altogether, the Sisters total over 113 miles of the best driving roads in Texas. And the roads getting to them are fabulous, too!

How Can I Join in the Fun?

The west Hill Country location of the Twisted Sisters makes the TTST best enjoyed as a day trip from the GoF location in Kerrville. To take part in the TTST, you will first need to register for the Spring GoF on the TMGR website and include your intention to drive in this event. You will need to arrive on Wednesday night, May 7, 2025, so either make or change your hotel reservations to include Wednesday night at the Y. O. Ranch Hotel. A driver’s meeting will be held at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday evening at the hotel to discuss logistics and safety on the drive. We recommend retiring early to be ready to hit the road at 8:00 a.m. in the morning. Please fill your tank on Wednesday night because the Thursday drive will cover 230 miles.

Tour Notes

• The TTST is a long and physical drive. Please make sure your car is in top condition and all the usual checks are performed before doing this drive.
• We will make regular stops along the route. Lunch will be held at the famous Bent Rim Grill. We should be back in Kerrville before 4:00 pm.
• Bring extra tools and consumables such as fan belts and fuel pumps if you have them. These roads are sparsely populated and far from any services.
• While all roads on this tour are paved, do not expect perfectly smooth asphalt and road conditions. Your car may get wet crossing a stream.
• We will observe the speed limits, but if you have trouble keeping up with the pace, please bring your concerns to the attention of the tour organizers. It is likely that we will have two groups of drivers, and you are welcome to drive with the “sightseeing” group.
• Please bring FRS radios if you have them to aid communication among the participants.
• Please email, text or phone all questions to the organizer, Scott Hardy, scott.b.hardy@gmail.com, 832-613-3664.

This note was posted today regarding an original founding member of the Houston MG Car Club.

"It is with a heavy heart I inform you that Dean peacefully passed away Friday evening (March 28th). He had been dealing with various health challenges for the last 2 years.

There are no funeral or memorial arrangements, only an intimate service with family.

I want to extend my sincere gratitude to all who supported his business endeavors and who offered friendship. He was truly one of a kind! I will miss him....Yvonne.

Dean was a character.  The last MG we saw him in was a purple chrome bumper MGB.  He often introduced himself as "Member No. 2." Only Club Founder Nick Nickles came before Dean.

Thanks for helping to get things started Dean!

As you can see, cars other than Triumphs and MGs also completed runs at the recent Autocross.  It must be FUN if drivers cannot resist taking out the old Cadillac, early Mustang, or Volvo!

lesser.pdf

 Last year the MGs brought home the MG/Triumph autocross trophy.  In the Spring 2025 match held last Saturday, the Triumphs won the competion.  All the details are posted below. 

The 17 competing Triumphs had the better of the Individual Average Times on the course at the Houston Police Academy with 77.757 seconds.  The 16 MGs averaged 79.038.  Each Driver was allowed 4 runs.  The MGs had Fastest Average Times of 75.8988 seconds.  They were bested by the Triumph Drivers by only .0001 Second!!  (electronic timer).   Well done MG Drivers!

Drivers often say that Autocrossing is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.  

Autocross Results.pdf

From the Octagonal office:

It was refreshing to see 15 men, applying their skills and experience to assess the 1980 MGB donated to the Houston Club.  On Saturday (01 March) they came to my house, and attempted to get the car running for the first time since 1992.

HMGCC Bill Sysman brought a battery, and we completed the 12 volt circuit to the starter. 

On first turn over, we verified that we had oil pressure on the gauge, and that oil was lubricating the rockers.  The gauge read 50psig.

We then ran a cylinder compress, we achieved 115, 85, 105, and 30 psi on cylinders 1 – 4, respectively.  Low pressure was expected, as two of the valves have been in the open position since it was last run.

It was found that the ignition was not working….no spark.  Jumpering 12V to the coil, and replacing a faulty relay resulted in spark.  I was holding the lead, and jumped two feet when the key was turned.  Didn’t see the spark, but definitely felt it.

We also found that the fuel pump wasn’t working, which would have been a real issue had the car been equipped with its original carbs.  A little gas into the Weber caused the engine to cough, and then she ignited.  We will try this again, hooking up a facet pump to supply a steady stream of fuel, and let this old motor warm-up.  I am fairly certain that the cylinder pressure will prove satisfactory after the engine comes to temperature, and the sticky valves begin to operate as expected.

There was plenty of beer and snacks around, helping to keep our members hydrated and happy.

Two members brought over their cylinder heads, and I performed a wet fluorescent magnetic particle inspection on both of them.  Both were crack free.  This brought Pete Sandy a smile, as he was told that his racing cylinder head had a crack in it.  We verified that this was not the case.

It was particularly pleasing to see members turning wrenches, jumpering wires, and applying their skills to get this car running.  We have a car club!

If you are in the market for a 1980 MGB, a car with solid metal, and a usable engine, come to the April meeting and bid on her.

Rich Colwell

It is interesting to see how a simple gathering of MGs and their drivers, can provide the greatest enjoyment and insights.  

Such was the case on February 26 when 14 of us shared a noon-time meal at the Senate Brewery in Jersey Village.  On the sun-dappled patio, attendees explored outrageous stories along with intense problem-solving and helpful tech suggestions and internet referrals.  

These low-profile, minimal-planning events are so easy to arrange.  Anyone can select a location, note the address, set a date (mid-week) and send it all to our Events Coordinator.  We call these a Pop-Up event; if you allow a notification two weeks prior, the mileage to and from can be awarded for applicable club awards competition.  Give a try at a place near you…you may be amazed at who shows up.  A Facebook message can invite non-members too.  

While in New Zealand last year, Candy and I had the opportunity to enjoy a few hours at the Southward Car Museum. Among the many spectacular automobiles we came across was an MG we’d never even heard of… the R Type.  

If you are ever in New Zealand, be sure to include this museum on your itinerary.  It is on the North Island, near Wellington.   It is the most comprehensive we’ve ever seen.  We thank fellow Member Michael Shouse for getting us there. 

Some of you have heard that the club has an MGB Overdrive Transmission that we will be auctioning.  Well, it is true!  If you have an MGB and are tired of running at 3,5400-4,000 RPM or more  to cruise at highway speeds, this is your chance!  MGB Overdrives reduce engine speed by 18% for any given road speed which is significant.

 

This is a BLUE LABEL overdrive transmission that club member, Rob Ficalora, refurbished (with a lot of guidance, phone calls, & email support from MGB transmission guru Dick Morritz).  It has been disassembled, cleaned, inspected, worn parts replaced, reassembled, and bench tested to operate correctly.  All 4 synchros (the main wear components) were replaced in this refresh as were all gaskets and seals.

 

Auction details:

• Date:  April 5th during our monthly meeting
• Location: Spring Creek BBQ in Shenandoah TX (near The Woodlands)
• Must be a club member in good standing no later than April 1st to participate in the auction.  If you are not a member and want to participate, you can join at www.houstonmgcc.com/join-us.
• Must be present to win.
• While it is believed to be in excellent condition and has been bench tested, it is being sold as is/where is.  The transmission being auctioned carries no warranty.
• Starting bid will be $1500.
• The winning bidder must collect the transmission at the auction on April 5th unless otherwise coordinated with Rob Ficalora at or before the auction.  If not collected at the meeting, the winning bidder will need to make arrangements to pick it up at Rob's home in Willis, TX.

NOTE:  If you are interested but not sure about compatibility for your car, email the club @ HoustonMGCarClub@gmail.com and we will send you the compatibility information we have.

In our February Monthly Meeting, Rich Colwell will give a presentation on how to extract horsepower from your engine. Tactics were taught by Carl Heideman and John Twist in their "Tuning for Speed" Course in Grand Rapids Michigan.  See the events page for location details.

2024 was a very good year for the Houston MG Car Club.  It is clear to me that the leadership during the last 5 years or so has been exemplary, and the club events exhibit a lot of vitality.  My thanks to the past leadership for leaving the club in a healthy status as we enter 2025.

It is my hope that the driving trend will increase in 2025, and that the driving events will be desirable and fun, enticing club members to come out and join in celebrating our shared passion.  I am going to attempt to run a funkhana during our club picnic, something that I have not done before, but would like to.  If you have experience with organizing such an event, please reach out and give me your two cents.

One activity that we will be doing more of is providing tech sessions and vehicle safety inspections throughout the year.  Additionally, if you are a club member, and your car is not on the road, please reach out to me.  We will come to your house and provide technical consultation/help so that you can benefit from those with experience in keeping these little cars running.

Another fun event will  be watching club member Pete Sandy race his little British sports car at  MSR (Angleton, TX) on 26 April.  More details on this to come.

The first monthly club meeting for 2025 is this Saturday at 11:00 at Lyndon's BBQ , 5320 Hollister just off Highway 290.  I hope to see you there.

Rich Colwell, President