2003 British V8 Conversion Convention

Recollections recorded by Pete Mantell of Mantell Motorsport fame:

Sponsored by this newsletter, the seventh annual British V8 Convention was held in Townsend, TN at the beautiful Highland Manor Inn, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park


Mike Moor's impressive V8 MGB     Jim Blackwood's tricked out MGB
Mike Moor's impressive V8 MGB

    Jim Blackwood's tricked out MGB

View from the host Motel     Pete Mantell's view of the Motel
View from the host Motel

    Pete Mantell's view of the Motel


 Please support the sponsoring companies who make BritishV8 possible, including:
Pete at Mantell Motorsport specializes in Ford V8 engine conversions for MGB, plus powder coating
On the way to Newfound Gap     Little River Road
Head 'em up and move 'em out! On the way to Newfound Gap

    Little River Road through the Smokies

Pete & Sue Mantell and Rick & Jean Ingram     Highway 441
Just to prove we were there. Pete & Sue Mantell and Rick & Jean Ingram

    Highway 441, crossing over the Smokies

TR6 V8     Newfound Gap
Believe it or not, this little guy survived! That was one tough little Hawk

    British invasion at Newfound Gap

Sunbeam Tiger     British V8 invasion of Newfound Gap
A friend in need is a friend indeed

    This is the view that awaited those who made the trip to Newfound Gap

Martyn Harvey     North Carolina: The Southern Part of Heaven
Martyn Harvey and his son Graeme made it a father-son outing from Canada

    The folks from Colorado weren't impressed, but those from Illinois were

   
Cruising through the Picnic area on the return from Newfound Gap

    Passing out the picnic goodies at the Little River picnic area

MGA V8     The Dragon
A most unusual MGA - hopefully, we'll feature this car in an upcoming issue of the newsletter

    "THE DRAGON" There are 11 miles just like this

Scenic Overlook    
One of the scenic overlooks on the Dragon

    A brief respite after tackling the Dragon

Knoxville Fairgrounds    
A view of some of the 3,500 street rods at the Knoxville fairgrounds

    Definitely NOT an MG!

   
Offer doughnuts and coffee, and they will come! Saturday morning run to the "Top of the World"

    Coffee and doughnuts with a view!

Kurt Schley and Sue Hunter     Wayne Starnes (black over silver) and Leroy Joppa (two-tone green)
Kurt Schley and Sue Hunter enjoying the crisp mountain air with hot coffee and doughnuts

    Two very handsome Healeys - they belong to Wayne Starnes (black/silver) and Leroy Joppa (two-tone green)

Jim Miller     Dan Master's Ford 302
Jim Miller's cruise control tech session

    Dan Master's Ford 302 tech session

Ted Lathrops' custom crossmember/suspension tech session     Dan Lagrou's flywheel tech session
Ted Lathrops' custom crossmember/suspension tech session

    Dan Lagrou's flywheel tech session

    Higher Ground
Spotted behind the Motel: the owner is "going to restore it someday." (It's been there 17 years.)

    Local band, Higher Ground, provided fine bluegrass music for Friday's BBQ dinner



Schedule of Events

Wednesday, April 30:

Thursday, May 1:

Friday, May 2:

Saturday, May 3:

Sunday, May 4:

What else was going on?


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