When Richard II was describing his beloved England—“this blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England”—he never had to deal with Lucas electrics. And yet almost 400 of the blessed plot’s finest wheeled wonders managed to not only start, but drive, and conquer the freeways of greater Los Angeles all the way to Woodley Park in Van Nuys, California, for the Queen’s English car show. It’s an annual springtime celebration of all things British, whether they’re running or not, but most of them were running. Almost 400 cars, from Astons to Austins, from Morgans to McLarens. And everyone was happy to be there.
We few, we happy few.
Tina Van Curen and Chuck Forward founded the show in 2008, the same year they bought Autobooks-Aerobooks in nearby Burbank. But they wanted to retire, and so last year they turned over the reins to new show owners Moss Motors of Goleta, makers of fine British sports car parts. Makes perfect sense.
“We didn’t buy it, we just inherited it,” said Moss Motors marketing head Brandin Aguayo. Along with numerous volunteers from the Central Coast British Car Club, Aguayo and crew (Crewe?) managed to get all 400 or so cars on the lawn in their assigned spaces. To them we offer, as Bolingbroke did in Richard II, “evermore thanks.”
Now start working on those French and Italian cars for the Best of France and Italy, another car show started by Chuck and Tina, on November 1. See you there.
ALSO CHECK OUT OUR 5 FAVES FROM THE MAGNUS WALKER AUCTION
MGA
The MGA was built from 1955 until 1962. It was long and swoopy and cost just over $2,000. The first engine was 1,489-cc four with twin-SU carburetors that made a whopping 68 hp, soon uprated to 72 hp.
Mark Vaughn
MGA
A Twin-Cam came out in 1958 and made 108 hp. It also got disc brakes instead of drums. Top speed was 113 mph (!), well up from the previous model’s 98 mph. Scary even thinking about it.
Mark Vaughn
MGA
When British car magazine The Motor tested one in 1958, they got a 0-60 mph time of 9.1 seconds, way quicker than the original car, which eventually hit 60 in 16 seconds.
Mark Vaughn
1948 MG TC
Look under the hood: That’s a 152-cubic-inch Daimler V8 with a Weiand blower and an Edelbrock carburetor.
Mark Vaughn
Triumph TR3
The Triumph TR3 was made from 1955 to 1962, with a 1,991-cc inline-four that got it to over 105 mph. This one was a survivor, with a well-driven look to it inside and out.
Mark Vaughn
Triumph TR6
Of the 91,850 TR6s produced, 83,480 were exported, almost all of them to the US. Thanks, Britain. Here’s one of them. Its 2.5-liter straight-six had less than 2,500 pounds to push around. Its independent suspension and front disc brakes made it downright sporty. And it looks great too.
Mark Vaughn
Triumph Spitfire
The Spitfire was built from 1962 to 1980. The first ones made do with 1,147-cc fours that made 63 hp. Sixty mph came up in 15 seconds; top speed was 90 mph. Triumph swapped in a 1,493-cc engine, but it didn’t help much. Still, it was and remains quite the looker.
Mark Vaughn
1953 MG YB
Adam Lombard needed a family car to replace his MGB GT and saw this one for sale. With a large back seat, it was perfect. It’ll do 60 mph on the freeway all day.
Mark Vaughn
Austin-Healey 3000
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Austin-Healey 3000
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Mini JEM
This was a kit car made from all Mini parts. It was on sale in the UK in 1967.
“It’s a race car,” said its owner, Dale. “It wasn’t a barn find, it was an under-a-tree find. It was an archeological dig to get it out. It was a long-term project.”
Dale says that around Willow Springs it’s faster than his original Mini. It weighs only 1,200 pounds. With Hoosier tires on it right now, it looks like it’d be a blast to drive.
It’s for sale. Call Dale at (818) 335-8788. First $40K takes it!
Mark Vaughn
1959 Morris Minor 1000 Traveller
This immaculate Minor has come a long way.
“It was a wreck,” said its owner. “It was in a construction yard under all this debris.”ß
He fixed it up, repaired the wood himself, and rebuilt the engine with some modern-day electronics.
Mark Vaughn
1960 Austin-Healey Bugeye Sprite Mk I
The Sprite and its MG Midget sibling have been successful club-level race cars since their launch and continue to race in various events to the present day. A Bugeye Sprite finished 12th at Le Mans in 1965, according to Wikipedia.
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Bugeye Sprite Mk I
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1987 Morgan Plus 8
One Morgan took its own road. The owner eventually found the other Morgans, and everyone had a nice day.
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Mini
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Rolls-Royce
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Rolls-Royce
“How’d your date go?”
“I dunno, she didn’t say much and was kinda artificial.”
Mark Vaughn
Avez-vous des Grey Poupon?
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1961 Rolls-Royce
A well-worn interior.
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1961 Rolls-Royce
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1952 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith
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1924 Rolls-Royce Pall Mall
This car is driven by the owner in rallies around the country. Looks like it’d be a comfortable cruiser.
Mark Vaughn
Bentley Mk 6
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1971 Ford Cortina Mk 3
For sale! 2,000-cc four-cylinder with a four-speed transmission and a California title. Asking $8,750. Call (818) 970-9466. It’s right-hand drive.
Mark Vaughn
1974 Lotus Europa
Another one for sale: twin-cam, 45 Webers, electric water pump, aluminum radiator. Call (323) 877-4909, ask for George.
Mark Vaughn
1974 Lotus Europa
That’s George.
Mark Vaughn
Lotus Emira
400 hp, 181 mph, 0-60 mph in under four seconds. See your Lotus dealer.
Mark Vaughn
Caterham 7
The US price for Caterham 7s goes from $50,195 to $95,595. Craziest, quickest, most responsive thing you’ll ever drive. Except for that JAM a few cars above.
Mark Vaughn
1966 Lotus Cortina Mk I
This one was taken apart in the 1980s to become a race car, then sat in a garage in Hermosa Beach, California, until 2014.
Mark Vaughn
1966 Lotus Cortina Mk Is
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Lotus Elise
Not a Tesla Roadster.
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Lotus Esprits
The Esprit was built from 1976 to 2004 and featured powertrains that ranged from a 2.0-liter four to a 3.5-liter V8.
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Jensen Interceptor III
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Morris Minor 1000
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Jensen-Healey
Here’s an Autoweek connection: When the Austin-Healey 3000 went out of production in 1967, the largest Austin-Healey dealer in the US was San Francisco-based Kjell Qvale. Qvale would later make the Ford V8-powered Qvale Mangusta. But in 1967 he wanted a replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000. So he become a major shareholder of Jensen, making Donald Healey the chairman.
Autoweek’s longtime publisher, the late Leon Mandel, once worked for Qvale as a sales professional in San Francisco. Small world.
Over 10,000 Jensen-Healeys were produced. Here’s one of them.
Mark Vaughn
Morris Minor 1000
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Proper British Gent
He’ll get you into the carpool lane.
Mark Vaughn
Sunbeam Alpine
Grace Kelly drove Cary Grant around the South of France in a 1953 Sunbeam Alpine Mk I in the movie To Catch a Thief.
Mark Vaughn
Nash Metropolitan
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Nash Metropolitan
Note the matching purse and umbrella.
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2025 Morgan Plus Four
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Sunbeam Alpine
Here it is again. Why not?
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Land Rover
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Jaguar E-Type 4.2
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Marcos 1800 GT
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Jaguar XK150
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Jaguar XKSS
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The Show’s Logo
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