Martyn and Graeme Harvey Attack "The Tail of The Dragon" Together (Deal's Gap, Tennessee)

Canadian Corner (Volume XIV Issue 2, August 2006)

by: Martyn Harvey

Accolades to Curtis for further developing the British V8 website. The site is fantastic and it has moved us into the twenty first century. I for one certainly feel more connected to the British V8 group now that all the information is available at my finger tips! Also the photos are a wonderful way to keep the memories of past events alive.

The memory of British V8 2006 in Tennessee still lingers in my mind. I was recently thinking of the "high points" of the event but quickly realized that the whole meet was a high point! The location was beautiful and provided us with lots of fun driving opportunities. Where else could you give your steering wheel such a work out and enjoy such gorgeous panoramic views at the same time? And where else could you chat with Ken Costello ("Father of the MGB V8") and Roger Williams (author of "How to Give Your MGB V8 Power") in the midst of some of the best MGB V8s on the continent? It was well worth the thousand-mile journey from Ontario to Tennessee to drive the "Dragon" and enjoy the V8/V6 camaraderie.


Just Back from Breakfast with Ken		Graeme and Kelly, Ready for a Test Drive

Graeme (my nineteen year old son) and I previously attended the 2003 British V8 Meet in Tennessee but he was a couple of weeks shy of his sixteenth birthday and that, of course, made him ineligible to drive. Last year we were looking forward to the 2005 meet in Terra Haute, especially Graeme because there were so many "driving events" in which he could participate. Unfortunately last minute health issues (Graeme's appendectomy and my kidney stone) kept us home, so this year we just had to make up for that. We shared the drive on the "Dragon"; I drove one way and Graeme drove the other. The drive was definitely exhilarating! Thank you Greg Myer for snapping us on one of the curves and providing us with another great memento of a lifetime memory. (Editor's Note: The photo appears above.) Also, thank you Kelly Stevenson for handing your car keys to Graeme and giving him the opportunity to drive the big blue 302! The trust you demonstrated in him provided us with another life-time-memory and was truly appreciated.

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This year's meet attracted a number of enthusiasts from Canada driving a variety of V8 machines. A few of us convoyed down the I-75, which must have provided other travelers with an interesting moving car show! The Canadian contingent included the following: Graham Creswick - MGB V8 302, Barrie & Anne Robinson - MGB GT V8, David Burstyn - MGB V8 3.5, Paul Foster - Morgan Plus 8, Les Matthews - MGB V8 3.5, Richard Woodley - MGB V8 under construction, Pete Smith - MGB V8 getting an engine rebuild, and Martyn & Graeme Harvey - MGB V8 3.5. I snapped lots of photos and video footage of us driving the I-75 and the roads around the Smokies. I am currently trying to edit the video footage into a 60 minute DVD. I intend to make this available to all those who would like a copy.

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I'm happy to note that there is still a growing interest in British V8s and V6s in Canada. I am most familiar with the people and cars of South-Western Ontario, but I know there are East and West coast cars too. Simon Austin, of Vancouver, B.C., has built a very cool Sebring-flared car and Bruce Mills, also of Vancouver, has owned his V8 for a number of years. In New Brunswick, Phil Ossinger has carefully researched and built his own BV8. I know there are many more cars out there. In our local Waterloo British Car Club, Dennis McIntyre decided to drop a 302 into his MGB this year and before you could say, "MGB V8s are FUN" he was driving it all over Ontario!!!


Dennis McIntyre's Unique MGB Conversion		1975 TVR 2500M (Chevy 350 Conversion!)

My own interest with British V8s continues to grow healthily too. I recently added a TVR to the stable. I have been talking about TVRs for a while now but I never expected to see a V8 conversion in my own backyard begging for some TLC and a good home. I suppose one must be careful what one wishes for! I'll submit more details of the car in a future "How It Was Done" article. For now I'll just say it's a 1975 TVR 2500M with a Chevy 350 V8 transplanted into its engine bay about twenty-five years ago. I think it's a cool machine and I hope it will be at British V8 2007 in Cleveland next year.

As for the rest of this year, there will be a collection of British V8s at the British Car Day (www.britishcarday.com) on Sunday, September 17th at Bronte Provincial Park in Oakville, Ontario (near Toronto). This show attracts over a thousand British vintage and classic cars every year and is well worth a visit. If you live close to the border, come on over. You won't be disappointed.