We can't deny it any
more, the top down driving season is pretty much done here in the
Northeast. Soon the snow will fly and if you haven't done so
it's time to get your treasured little British car out of harms
way; we still have a spot or two open if you need shelter.
A LOOK IN THE REARVIEW.... FALL 2014
Very
early in October we were invited to show our Italia 2000 at the
Brantwynn Concours in Wilmington Delaware. It's a very nice low-key
one day event that included a short rally. We saw some interesting
cars including a very original XK 140. The day concluded with
a small awards ceremony that recognized the passing of
Pietro Castiglioni the long time promoter and organizer of the
Reading Ferrari Concours. Proceeds continue to benefit the
Kennett Square Symphony.
Bonhams
held their third annual Preserving the Automobile Auction at the
Simeone Foundation Museum. There were some deals to be found in
rare vintage parts and literature, but some prices were strong as
an 1967 Aston Martin DB6 project brought 110K!
Then
off to our annual pilgrimage to the AACA Fall Meet in Hershey. We
set up our tent and met quite few British car enthusiasts over the four
day event. I had the pleasure of providing an impromptu seminar for
the automotive restoration students attending Penn College of
Technology, discussing the finer points of the prewar design a 1945 MGTC
and the evolution of the Jaguar E-Type. The week included the
grand opening of the
Camack Gallery at the AACA Museum, a new 
permanent home for the the largest collection of Tuckers in the world. Well worth making the trip to the AACA museum to learn about this important car; if you haven't been there yet, now is a great time to go. I
am pleased to report prices are still strong at the RM Auction as a
Jaguar XK120 Roadster hammered at 95K! Some cars were selling at
full retail.
In late October we joined our friends on this years Fall Get Away to
Woodstock NY. Great weather, good friends, and windy
back roads made this a memorable weekend traveling in rural NY
state. Click here for a full article about the weekend:
"By the time we got to Woodstock".
In late November we again organized the "Before We Put 'em Away Run" on
the last Sunday before Thanksgiving. We started at Ragtops &
Roadsters with a shop tour and over 50 cars joined us in a
"run" to our sister shop
Pollock Auto Restoration in Pottstown. Lunch was served as everyone explored the shop and our current projects and restorations.
A LOOK AHEAD THROUGH THE WINDSCREEN
2015 will be a great year for those of us who love British Cars! The
local chapter of the JCNA, The Delaware Valley Jaguar Club, will
celebrate their 50th anniversary this year with a big holiday party on
the 18th of January and the DVJ will also host the national
"AGM" right here in Philadelphia in March. Starting in January, Ragtops & Roadsters is proud to sponsor
"The Art of Lightness"
a world class exhibit of all things Lotus at the AACA Museum in Hershey
from 1/24 through 4/26. Join us at the preview party Friday night 1/23.
In March, the
Amelia Island Concours
will celebrate their 20th anniversary as Sir Sterling Moss returns to
be this year's honoree! Twenty of his race cars will be assembled on the
show field from all over the world! We plan to attend, as our client's
1960 Triumph Italia 2000 will debut at this event! You can see our
progress on this Italia on our Works In Progress page
here.
We will also support the AACA Exhibit at this year's Philadelphia
International Auto Show staring a little later this year on 1/31 — 2/8
and we plan to participate and attend the
AACA Annual Winter Meeting
from 2/12 — 2/14 in Philly. Lots of good seminars resources here to
enjoy... That's just a couple of events on our plate for the first
quarter of 2015! Like I said, we are looking forward to an exciting
year!
Ragtops & Roadsters is here to help out the the end of the driving
season and it's time to take care of those maintenance, restoration,
preservation, and upgrades needs on your car's wishlist.
Click here to
send an e-mail to dave@ragtops.com or call us 215-257-1202 to schedule
an appointment now. We have had a busy year, so far with ten major
restorations underway and more arriving daily. Click to see our
Works In Progress page
on our website. Also, we have recently listed more British
Cars looking for new homes, see current listings on our
For Sale page.
From all of us at Ragtops & Roadsters we wish you and your family a very happy and prosperous New Year!
Happy Motoring!
--Dave
