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Thailand National Day
We celebrate with the Kingdom of Thailand the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej's birthday (วันคล้ายวันเฉลิมพระชนมพรรษาพระบาทสมเด็จพระปรมินทรมหาภูมิพลอดุลยเดช บรมนาถบพิตร) with a real celebration of the ADO16...
...Thailand has a very large number of surviving examples of the ADO16, many are in great original condition and some have been restored to the highest standards but Thailand also has one of the world’s highest number of customised examples – sometimes it’s out of necessity, more often it’s through choice and it’s very much part of Thai culture
If the ADO16 has managed anywhere to achieve coveted cult status maybe it’s here and today’s post features many of the wonderful examples to be found.
With special thanks to Jaja Turnbull
We’re the global umbrella for the ADO16, the BMC/British Leyland 1100/1300 – in well over 60 countries and with a Facebook Group of over 2,800 members! You can join us too; the only ADO16 club with a FREE membership level: www.ado16.info/membership-join
I spotted one in Pattaya Thailand about 5 years ago, was Immaculate, it also had a perspex bonnet so you could see the very clean engine bay
How amazing that these little cars have such a massive following and that some are still on the road. Love it and wish I still had mine
2021 NEC Show – 1967, MG 1100
Most of you weren’t at the recent Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show, with Discovery at the UK’s National Exhibition Centre (NEC) – joining over 3-days a little more than 63,000 visitors so you won’t have seen the GCCG stand...
...the GCCG Stand always stands out with a fine assortment of cars and this year included David’s lovely MG 1100, first registered in May, 1967 – finished in Old English White it’s the door seals that give us the clue to the original interior colours – Tartan Red door seals where matched with a whole Cherokee Red interior. Black seats were an option and they came with black door cards whilst Cumulus Grey was then the carpet colour and Dove Grey was the door seal colour; are you still following? In North America those Black seats had Dove Grey piping!
Regular followers will know we care little about seeing originality for the sake of it – David’s car looks great, he gave us the honour of having a look around inside and under the bonnet is pretty much as you’d expect to see.
We’re the global umbrella for the ADO16, the BMC/British Leyland 1100/1300 – in well over 60 countries and with a Facebook Group of over 2,800 members! You can join us too; the only ADO16 club with a FREE membership level: www.ado16.info/membership-join
What a magnificent machine! Well I would say that... it's mine. The question of the interior is interesting... another visitor to the stand knew the original owner in Grimsby and assures me that's how it was delivered.
1963, Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally
Over the past few months we’ve been featuring some rallies from 1963, well here’s one we actually covered in depth a year ago but since then we’ve uncovered even more information...
...the 1963 edition of the Spa-Sofia-Liège Rally ran from the 27th August to the 1st September 1963 – the event was by general consensus the toughest road rally ever held in Europe, an event of a format that could never be held these days – the rally had only one respite; an hour’s rest in Sofia!
It’s possible there were two official entries by the BMC Competitions Department at Abingdon we still don’t know which MG, car number 38, David Hiam & Jones were driving but it was certainly an MG 1100, 399 CJB car number 57, for Pauline Mayman and Valerie Domleo-Morley.
Pauline Mayman had navigated for Pat Stirling in the event’s 1962 edition but she was an accomplished driver herself whilst Valerie Domleo-Morley was by a Motor Sport article in July, 1961 described as, "one of Britain's best navigators". – Interestingly, this entry was down to Stuart Turner, then the BMC’s Competitions Manager who held firmly the ADO16 could have an advantage over the ADO15 in the marathon of rallies, the Spa-Sofia-Liège.
In the mid-1960’s Pauline Domleo recounted to Kenneth Ullyett that she and Val had nicknamed the MG 1100 Fanny. The return leg took them through Yugoslavia where the roads were simply dirt tracks and even with the windows shut it was difficult to breathe in the MG 1100, such was the dust. Still in Yugoslavia, early one morning on a lonely mountain top they came to a sudden halt – a ball joint had fractured and they had no spare. News seemed to travel fast and from seemingly nowhere people on foot gathered – they watched Pauline and Val struggle for hours to remove the ball joint but eventually they could do no more than sit inside Fanny.
Not even a horse and cart had passed by, then when they least expected it a boy pushed his way through the crowd with a bicycle! Pauline and Val jumped out of the MG, repeating over and over the name of the next village they were heading to; finally almost screeching in every dialect they knew. Finally the boy scrawled 40 kilometres in the dust on the bonnet of Fanny.
With a few hundred dinars in his hand and a note saying, “We need a mechanic” the boy cycled off – it was only as the sun began to set that all the nomads began to leave; Pauline and Val were alone. Understandably they couldn’t sleep and deep into the night the silence was broken by a faint sound...
...three clambered out of a battered car, one waving the note. Quite expertly they began to strip the ball joint and within minutes the chief was waving it around indicating they would repair it – all three then disappeared in their battered car. Some hours later they returned; incredibly with two crudely made ball joints and a complete repair to the MG was affected. The ladies had to press money on the reluctant mechanics, and they were mobile albeit hours behind the rally itself, so they simply raced back to Liège via the most direct route.
One of our images shows the MG 1100, 399 CJB being prepared by the BMC Competitions Department at Abingdon in November, 1962. It was a car used for other rallies and we now know Pauline and Val also used it in March, 1963 at the Express and Star Rally around the UK’s Long Mynd in Shropshire where they were also forced to retire after shedding the sump shield and part of the exhaust system, which became untidily mangled underneath the car!
With special thanks to the late Kenneth Ullyett
We’re the global umbrella for the ADO16, the BMC/British Leyland 1100/1300 – in well over 60 countries and with a Facebook Group of over 2,800 members! You can join us too; the only ADO16 club with a FREE membership level: www.ado16.info/membership-join
Great story, there are some kind and generous people out there
2022 ado16.info Project – 1966, MG 1100
We need a little help for 2022 – at the Practical Classics Classic Car & Restoration Show, with discovery+ we’re going to be undertaking some work on Adam’s 1966, MG 1100 on the ado16.info club stand...
...this lovely MG is in need of a new carpet set but rather than fitting a pre-made purchase and being disappointed by the lack of authenticity we’re going to make a carpet set ourselves and as some of our team have past experience of doing this we’re expecting a first class finished job!
Beneath the flat floor sections of the carpet BMC fitted a jute based sound deadening underlay; there was a piece under each of the rear seats whilst at the front there was a piece across the floor pan and exhaust tunnel and another piece across the toe boards – strangely none of the official parts books appear to list these items for any of the ADO16 variants and the material doesn’t even appear in the listings of bulk material.
Adam’s car is missing the two front pieces, of course we could make them from a modern material but we’d much prefer to put in place something original with the smell of whatever the BMC impregnated it with – if not the exact pieces then we could make them from rear sections
...Are any of you able to help out? If so please do PM us...
We’re the global umbrella for the ADO16, the BMC/British Leyland 1100/1300 – in well over 60 countries and with a Facebook Group of over 2,800 members! You can join us too; the only ADO16 club with a FREE membership level: www.ado16.info/membership-join
Same issue with my 1967 MG1100 it has the original carpet in the back but some clown removed the front carpet and it's lost forever. I have popped into carpet shops recently looking for a similar one but so far not found any. I much prefer to make my own carpet sections as I don't like the expensive after market ones available.
The compacted woolen fibre? Wilsons still do it by the roll, if I recall upto 15mm thick, though most use 10mm.
Russia – 1974, Morris 1300 Samovar – We are but human
Our last post featuring Denis’s restoration of his 1974, Morris 1300 Samovar in the far north of Russia in Arkhangelsk brought you up to mid-September of this year and given the regularity of our feature posts over the past year you’re probably awaiting the next instalment...
...Denis has also read the reports as we’ve posted them and he is glad some of you are fans but the fact is that in September he became ill with Covid-19 and for the second month now has been trying to restore his health after the illness. He has not gone to the garage of his Morris for 2-months – for this reason, there is no news about the Morris; Covid-19 hit Denis’s body very hard – he was in hospital.
Perhaps until the New Year there will be no more news – Denis has given much to the ado16.info community and on your behalf we wish him a speedy recovery but we round this post off with his own words,
“Берегите себя! Нет ничего важнее здоровья!”
“Take care of yourself! There is nothing more important than health!”
We’re the global umbrella for the ADO16, the BMC/British Leyland 1100/1300 – in well over 60 countries and with a Facebook Group of over 2,800 members! You can join us too; the only ADO16 club with a FREE membership level: www.ado16.info/membership-join
I always wanted one of these to restore. They were good in their day. Get well soon.
Speedy recovery, Denis.... hoping your new year starts out great for you.... great job on the ado.16...!
It is a horrible virus, 12 months on for me and I'm still exhausted on a daily basis, get well soon Denis, then you can keep up your excellent work.
Wishing you a speedy recovery Denis!
Keep up the good work .And cant wait to see the spray job and finished.
Get well soon Denis
Hope you are better soon DENIS.
Get well soon Dennis!
Get well soon, the car will still be there when you are completely ready to get stuck in again.
Sam’ovar masini.
thanks everyone!!!👏
Get well soon Denis.
