GWENT MG OWNERS CLUB

We were asked by our club secretary if we would represent the club on this run and as it was for a good cause we decided to do it. Most of the club were on their annual holiday to the Isle of Wight so we only managed to muster up three cars. Haydn in his Triumph Vitesse, Lester with his MGB Roadster and myself with the MGB GT. Two cars met at the Crown public house in Pontllanfraith and we set off to meet Lester on the A470 on the way to the sports center in Aberdare.

When we arrived we were met by Ian Edwards from the radio station GT/FM and given our instructions, including Safety, Route and every thing we needed for the journey. We stopped and had a chat to some of the other drivers and it was obvious that there was a strong turn out from the Glamorgan Classic Car Club. Not long after we arrived a Morris 1800cc Land Crab turned up so we had a chat with the owner and then it was time to go.

Each car had a passenger who could read the route out as we were going along. I was in with Lester, Karen was in with Haydn, Callie was in with Sue. Reading the map word for word took us to our first stop which was the park in Pontypridd.  We stopped there long enough to make coffee and have a natter with some of the other drivers. Ian was on the phone to the radio station, describing how the trip was going and what cars were there. He mentioned the Vitesse and then said there was a nutty woman driving an MGB GT as Sue had been giving him a bit of stick as she usually does.

It was soon time to go and we were flagged away by the Mayor of Pontypridd. We headed off over the very high speed bumps that scrapped the underside of Lester's car and out along the old road to Porthcawl. Lester said that this was the way his Mum and Dad took him as a child to Porthcawl and he had a grin on his face as he was taken back to the good old times. There was a strong smell of petrol as we followed behind the others and Lester said he had looked at the car but could not find a leak, but he stopped to fill up just in case.

When we did arrive at Trecco Bay holiday park we were shown inside near the shops and amusements and all the holiday makers came to see the cars. I had water coming out of my overflow pipe and it was decided that a new radiator cap was needed. We were there for nearly two hours before Lester and Haydn looked for his petrol leak when we opened the bonnet we could see petrol pouring from the small pipe leading to the jets in the carbs. This petrol was going down onto the exhaust pipe, it's lucky that it never went up in smoke, so Haydn started to strip both carbs down to get to the leak. All the other cars had left by now and only the three of us were left, working as fast as he could and using what tools we had. Haydn put it all back together and we were on our way again. This time the map took us to the Rhondda Heritage Park but not before Haydn’s overdrive had packed up, so we all had trouble. We rejoined all the other cars.

The Glamorgan  Car club were a friendly lot and we were having a laugh with them, Sue and Karen were roped into selling raffle tickets and Sue took advantage of the moment and conned the Mayor and his Mayoress into buying some tickets. At about 4.00pm it was time to announce the car that was most befitting the day or the essence of the times when people travelled to Porthcawl about 60 years ago or something like that, anyway it was won by the 1800 Land crab. Soon it was time to pack up and go home so we had a quick look around the Museum, had another cup of coffee and made our way home. The weather on the day was good but windy with light showers during the day.

Lester would like to thank Haydn for getting him home from the run.