2007 Christmas Parade

On December 7, 2007, BBCC members participated in the Bakersfield Christmas Parade in downtown Bakersfield. Here is a slideshow of the event. Photographers: Club Members Xavier Ramirez and Lou Zaninovich.

MG and Triumph in Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Searching for your car in the movies? Then check out the Internet Movie Cars Database.

You'll find MG's and Triumphs and Jaguars and other Brit cars making cameo appearances and taking major roles in feature films, from Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! to Cheech and Chong's Up in Smoke to more than one of the X-Men movies.

The IMCDB claims to be "one of the most complete" lists of "vehicles seen in movies, image captures and information about them." I think they're right. I conducted a simple search for "MG" and came up with well over 200 matches, complete with still shots of MG's that have made appearances in many titles, from obscure B movies of the '60's to major blockbusters of the 21st Century.

You can search by movie or by vehicle make. And no role is too small. You'll see an MGB on the streets in The Simpsons, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 in Thunderball, a Lotus Esprit in Basic Instinct, the list goes on and on.

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Tell us what you find! Click "comments" below and add to the story. For a quick post, try posting as "other."

Jackets and Patches

If you're in a club, you've got to have some type of club clothing to show off your club pride. Luckily, the BBCC has got some great patches - large and small - based on the club logo you see here. (That Brit flag is neatly nestled into the shape of Kern County, roughly cut on its left side by SLO County.)

I've seen the patches on Brit racing green polos, denim button ups and jackets of club members. I'm picking up one or two for a club jacket I'm creating.

I'm partial to the mechanic's style jacket and actually used to have one before it got lost somewhere on the pig trail of the Arkansas Ozarks. So I picked up a new slash pocket online at Automotive Worker. To be honest, I'm shamelessly stealing the idea from club member Jon Paschke, whose charcoal gray jacket's got a name patch, British car marque and club logos and flags stitched all over it.

The jacket is made of some secret blend of poly-cotton that will apparently withstand a nuclear explosion or good soaking in battery acid. So it'll have style and longevity. Should last me for a long time - that is unless I leave it in some old diner somewhere.

If you're interested in picking up a patch or two, contact the club treasurer Lou Zaninovich.

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Got any club clothing or other club paraphernalia ideas? Share them here by clicking "comments" below and posting as "other."

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Chris Eicher

Member Since
2002

Car
Year: 1953
Marque: MG
Model: TD

Car
Year: 1957
Marque: MG
Model: MGA (unrestored)

Car
Year: 1959
Marque: MG
Model: MGA

Car
Year: 1960
Marque: Austin Healey
Model: Sprite (bugeye)

Car
Year: 197?
Marque: MG
Model: Midget (race car project)

Car
Year: 1973
Marque: MGB
Model: GT

Car
Year: 1976
Marque: MG
Model: MGB (parts car)

About
Chris has been playing with cars since he was a little kid but he didn't get his first British car until he came across a rubber bumper MGB in college. Chris has been involved in the Theatre since 1970 and is a professor at CSUB where he designs the scenery and lighting for the department's plays. He is a private pilot and enjoys playing chess, scuba diving and skiing. On the weekends when he is not zipping along twisty back roads in an MG with the BBCC he can be found zipping along twisty back roads on one of his vintage BMW motorcycles with the Bakersfield BMW Motorcycle Owners Association.

"You should never wear your best trousers when you go out to fight for freedom and truth."
- Heinrich Ibsen

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Twin Oaks Run

Sunday, October 22 at 10:30 AM twenty-two members of the BBCC converged at Saunders Park in Bakersfield for the club's monthly run. This time we headed up to The Caliente Cafe nestled in the arid foothills of Twin Oaks, California.

This forty-four mile (that's one way) trip took the British brigade of sport tourers down smooth winding mountain roads and through golden desert valleys and gulches. The sky was blue and cloudless. The October foothill grasses were dried golden and moved slightly in the breeze. A few cottonwood stands, live oak, and low-lying pine trees dotted the landscape.

(Photos by Lou Zaninovich, Pat Bailey, Wally Freeman, and myself.)

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

We shook over cattle grates, passed ineffectual and rusty barbed wire fences, meandered alongside dried up creek beds and by at least two unfortunate skunks who had recently met their fate. A ghostly and abandoned looking Guelph Slaugterhouse stood just off to the left of the road. It looked like it hadn't been used in years - cows relaxed in a corral nearby.

Speaking of cows - free range cattle are the true masters of Caliente Bodfish Road. Brown and black sway-backed cows lolled and sat in turnouts or strolled and munched their way down both sides of the road. They were just thick enough in number to make a driver of a tiny British automobile think twice about taking a turn too aggressively.

The Bakersfield members met up with the Tehachapi contingent at the Caliente Post Office. Caliente - a tiny mountain community formerly known as Allen's Camp - was named in 1875 when the Southern Pacific Railroad established its construction headquarters here. It was a freighting center for mining and cattle operations in the area. (See California State Historic Landmark 757 in the slide show.)

After a quick rest, the club continued up to The Twin Oaks General Store, a charming old ramshackle wooden schoolhouse structure - home of The Caliente Cafe.

The large group of twenty-two sat family style down a long row of pushed-together tables. Robert the head chef wore chef's whites and cooked unseen for the most part in the tidy little kitchen until he caught a chance to visit us after the meal. Our servers Linda and young Josh brought the large group roast beef, French dip sandwiches, hamburgers, fries, sodas, teas, beers--hearty mountain cafe fare done well.

After lunch, smaller groups splintered off, with some heading toward Bodfish thrift stores, others up alternate winding passages in the foothills, and still others heading back to Highway 58 the way we had come.

Trip Specs

Start: Saunders Park - Bakersfield, CA 93309

End: Twin Oaks General Store and Caliente Cafe - 15782 Caliente Creek Rd, Caliente, CA 93518

Distance: 43.4 mi (about 1 hour 6 mins)

Weather

84° F
Clear
Wind: W at 7 mph
Humidity: 14%

Route

Depart Saunders Park in Bakersfield

Turn left into the CA-58 E entry ramp - go 23 mi 23 mi - 22 mins

Turn left at Bealville Rd - go 2.0 mi 2.0 mi - 4 mins

Continue on Caliente Bodfish Rd - go 3.2 mi 3.2 mi - 5 mins

Bear right at Caliente Creek Rd - go 12 mi 12 mi - 20 mins

Continue - go 0.3 mi 0.3 mi

Turn right at Caliente Creek Rd - go 0.6 mi 0.6 mi - 1 min

Arrive at Twin Oaks General Store and Caliente Cafe - 15782 Caliente Creek Rd, Caliente, CA 93518

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BBCC Online welcomes your thoughts and additions to this story. Simply click "comments" below and post as "other."

BBCC Officers

President
Linda Freeman
Email

Vice President and Run Chairman
Jeanne Cates
Email

Treasurer
Joe Cates
Email

Historian
Lou Zaninovich
Member Page
Email

Call Committee
Kathy Lyles
Email

Web Editor
G. S. Enns
Member Page
Email

Lou and Sula Zaninovich

Car
Year: 1972
Marque: MGB
Model: GT Coupe

Car
Year: 1952
Marque: Morgan

Back to Members

Geoff Kimler

Car
Year: 1952
Marque: MG
Model: TD

Car
Year: 1969
Marque: MGB
Model: GT Coupe

Back to Members

Dale Folwell

Car
Year: 1961
Marque: Triumph
Model: TR3

Back to Members

Sandra Sandstead

Car
Year:
Marque: Triumph
Model: GT6

Car
Year:
Marque: MG
Model: Midget

Back to Members

Jon and Bonnie Paschke

Car
Year:
Marque: Triumph
Model: TR8

Car
Year:
Marque: MG
Model: Midget

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Gary and Cortnie Enns

Members Since
2006

Car
Year: 1969
Marque: MGB
Model: GT Coupe

About
Gary and Cortnie are Valley natives into the local art and culture scene. They both read lots of books and watch Dark Shadows re-runs. When Gary is not editing the BBCC website, he teaches college English and writes a local blog Ruined by Books. Both Gary and Cortnie perform in a dreampop band called The Dalloways with a full-length CD available called Penalty Crusade. Their '69 BGT is their first British automobile.

"It's a sportscar. It's comfortable. It's reliable. It's fun to drive."
- Jim Tyler, MGB Owner's Survival Manual

Email

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Pat and Julie Bailey

Members Since
1999

Car
Year: 1979
Marque: MGB
Model: Tourer

About
Pat and Julie Bailey live in Tehachapi, California. I have had my 1979 MGB since 1994 and have driven 130,000 miles since I got it. I have lowered it and replaced the rubber bumpers with chrome bumpers. I am retired from Soouthern California Gas Company after thirty-four years. My other interests are astronomy and model airplanes. I have built an observatory in my back yard and I am getting into taking astro photos which keeps me busy at night when I'm not driving my MG! My wife Julie is into crafts and gardening and watching our grandson Nicholas grow up. He is two years old now. We are expectinganother grandson in November.

"Klaatu barada nikto."
- The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951

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Buster Cluster 2006

Jon Paschke shared a recent Sprite miracle weekend with us through our yahoo group. On July 29th, Jon attended Buster Cluster 2006 in Anaheim, a place where one Spridget lover's dream came true.

Buster is a man whose 1953 Austin Healey Sprite was in a state of suspended restoration in his Anaheim garage. The body had been painted properly, but the car had yet to be put back together and was sitting around a bit like Humpty Dumpty without the cracks. Buster was looking at a complex project.

Luckily, Buster belongs to a Spridget yahoo group (the same one Jon participates in) full of knowledgeable and willing Brit car enthusiasts ready for a challenge. Some flew, some drove, some rode motorcycles from far off places. On July 28, 2006, this esoteric group converged on Buster's garage, and over one incredible weekend, put this Sprite back together in road worthy order.

Here are a few links to some great pictures, slides, and stories about the event:

Buster Cluster 2006 Photo Blog
Buster Cluster 2006 Youtube Slideshow
The Buster Cluster 2006 story as told by Ron Soave
Buster Cluster Photo Album

Thanks to J.P. for sharing this story.

The BBCC welcomes your thoughts! Got something to add to this story? Got a "Here! Here!" to share? Simply click "comments" below and post as other.

2006 British Car Roundup

On Sunday, October 8, I drove up from Bakersfield to Clovis in my 4 speed MGB GT Coupe to attend the fourth annual British Car Roundup.

Polasky and the surrounding streets were blocked off for several blocks for the car show, and the streets were packed with some beautiful British steel. Our friends in the Valley British Auto Club time this event perfectly to coincide with the annual antiques flea market so that the two events merge perfectly together.

Here's a little slide show featuring some highlights of the pictures I took. Click on a particular picture to enlarge.



What I like particularly about this car show is that most, if not all, of the cars are drivers. These cars hit the highways and byways, and once the day was done and the awards were given, these beautiful cars simply drove off as they were meant to do.

One of the highlights was meeting Joe Baba, the British import expert that rebuilt my engine a few years before I owned my car. I knew him by word of mouth and by the little plaque that adorns my engine. I've got a picture of him in the slide show--he's the gent with the cap that says "The Man, the Myth, the Legend." Fitting for a guy that at one time or another has touched more than a few of the MG's parked at the event.

I'm looking forward to the 2007 event and only hope more of the Bakersfield club gets to attend.

We welcome your comments! Simply click "Comments" below and leave a message.

BBCC Members

George and Alma Aguilar
1959 Austin Healey Sprite
1974 MGB

Rick Aldrich

Mac and Linda Askari
1952 MG TD
MG Midget

Pat and Julie Bailey
1979 MGB Tourer

Dave Bailey
1967 Mini
1974 Triumph TR6
2004 Mini

Ed and Eileen Bandy
1959 MGA
1962 Triumph Herald
1977 MGB

Gary and Donna Boss
MGB

Earl and Cindy Bowman
1961 Triumph TR3A
1962 Triumph TR4

Bill and Ann Brewer
1961 Triumph TR3A
1967 Mini

Rowan Brooks
1960 Austin Healey Sprite

Jeanne and Joe Cates
1979 MGB

Tavis and Angela Dahlke
2004 Mini

Gabriel Donovan
1978 MG Midget

Tom Downs
Triumph TR6

Chris Eicher
1953 MG TD
1957 MG A (unrestored)
1959 MG A
1960 Austin Healey Sprite (bugeye)
197? MG Midget (race car project)
1973 MGB-GT
1976 MGB (parts car)

Gary and Cortnie Enns
1969 MGB GT Coupe

Dale Folwell
1961 TR3

Wally and Linda Freeman
1967 Sunbeam
1972 Jaguar E-type

David and Catherine Gay
1962 Austin Healey

Mike and Nora Gold
1967 MGB

Gary and Carolyn Golden
1959 MGA

Jeff Johnson
1956 Jaguar XK 140

Geoff Kimler
1969 MGB GT
1952 MG TD

Tom LeMay
MGB

Kevin and Eileen Lykins
1973 MGB

Gary and Kathy Lyles
1977 MGB

Gilbert and Darlene Mendez
1967 MGB GT
1969 Triumph TR6

Jeannette Miller
1962 Jaguar XKE

David and Diane Oblonsky
1978 MGB

Pierce O'Leary
1979 MGB

Roger Otis
1968 Triumph TR250
1972 Triumph TR6

Jon and Bonnie Paschke
TVR
Triumph TR6
Spridgets
Triumph GT6's

Xavier and Olivia Ramirez
1978 Triumph Spitfire

Harry Reidel
1950 MG TD

Bernardo and Shirley Romingquet
1953 MG TD

Ray and Betty Roundtree
1970 Midget
1974 MGB

RD and Danielle Roberts
1995 Jaguar XJS

Tom Salisbury
1958 Austen Healey Sprite

Steve Sanchez

Sandra Sandstead
MG Midget
Triumph GT6

Van and Susan Schultz

Mike and Jeannette Shea
MG TD

Bev and Linda Stewart

Tom Stewart
1973 MGB

Harold and Carol Sugden
1961 MGA

Gary and Meg Sundburg
1972 MGB GT Coupe

Steve and Pat Taylor
1965 MGB

Glenda Turner
1974 Triumph TR6

Sheldon Walker
1968 Triumph TR6

Lou and Sula Zaninovich
1952 Morgan
1953 Morgan
1972 MGB GT Coupe

A Special MGA for North America

I love chance encounters like this. I was walking through the Tower District in Fresno today when I happened across a beautiful red MGA parked in front of old Lauk's Bakery.

Being a fellow enthusiast, I just had to meet the owner and shake his hand. So I crossed the street to Cucca's restaurant looking for that person with the bearing of a proud MG owner and finally found Maynard.

What a fine car, restored from the ground up. Just take a look at the pictures on Maynardsgarage.com. And this isn't just any MGA. According to the website, this is "the first MGA dispatched from the factory
and the first MGA exported to North America."

Maynard and his A will be at the Roundup in October, so make sure to say hi and take a look at his beautiful car.

British Auto Tech Session

I'm not only new to the BBCC but new to the under-the-hood workings of my little B GT Coupe, so when I heard that the club offers periodic tech sessions, I jumped at the chance to participate.

Wednesday morning, September 20, I met Sandra and her little red Midget in Bakersfield and followed her up the winding highway to Tehachapi, through that little hill town, then down a tiny dirt lane to Jon's garage. Once there, I soon realized I'd hit the BBCC's "tech" ground zero.

The garage itself is a metal shed surrounded by a British boneyard of Triumphs and MGB Midgets and chrome bumpers and rubber bumpers, old cars with semaphores and half-gone badges and stripped innards and such. Inside, under the big British and U.S. flags hanging on the wall, Jon's got a full sized hydraulic lift and a rack of profressional grade tools--everything needed to work on the cars.



Jon guided me in and we lifted the coupe and checked out the underside and basically worked the car over. I greased the fittings and replaced a lost nut, among other things. Then we lowered the car and got under the hood and went to work.

We adjusted carbs and cleaned spark plugs and set the gaps and tweaked the timing. Jon explained the technical aspects of each job to me and then shoved the wrench or the strobe light or the gapping tool my way and said, "Now do it!"

Lou showed up in his red coupe, and Pat in his burgundy roadster, and Dale in a beautiful blue Triumph. All of Jon's dogs--led by Coyote the mini pin--were nearby, especially when the pizza and cream soda arrived. The dogs flocked to Jon as if he were St. Francis of Tehachapi.

Before I left, I said hello to Gizmo and the other exotic birds and coy fish nearby.

Where else could I have had the opportunity to work side by side with a fine import mechanic and other enthusiasts on my own car? As a new British car owner, I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Saunders Park Meeting of Great Wheels

Hello, British auto enthusiasts! This is a trial pilot website I've created for the BBCC. If you like it, the group can use this spot for event listings, updates, and even an online version of the newsletter. Officers and members can sign in as bloggers and publish their own articles and news. Plus, a blogger powered website is very good for visibility online and is quickly picked up by search engines such as google.

I'd love your feedback about this site and whether or not you think the group could use it. Please comment below by clicking the comments link. (Hint: Unless you've got a blogger profile already, it's easiest to post your comment as other.)

I met up with the club at Saunders Park on Saturday, September 17 for the Lynn Valley Car Run. Here's a little slide show of the cars before their workout. Enjoy!