The 19th May weather was dry, bright and not too hot – just the ticket for Morgans to make the trip to the Haynes International Motor Museum near Sparkford. Monday morning traffic was light on the infamous 303, so that was good as well.
The schedule for the day was only prescribed in one respect – as car club folk, we had been invited to visit the museum’s servicing and restoration facilities: and what a treat it was.
The manager of the facilities showed us around and gave us an insight into how they keep the exhibits in good repair and running order as well as offering servicing and MOTs, mainly to local enthusiasts.
Perhaps the highlight of the day was the visit to the Restoration Facility – we were able get close to some very prestigious motors (some even more so than the Morgans in the car park!). These were in varying stages of work – the most extreme being a RHD Maserati Sebring – apparently one of only four left in the world. We were advised that the estimate to get the body-shell ready for the paint shop was 1500 man-hours. This included much fabrication of metal components to replace considerable volumes of Isopon P40 and several varieties of iron oxide. We talked with the craftsfolk and gained a real understanding of their challenges and achievements.
The rest of the day was taken up with drooling over the 400-odd cars and bikes, many of which prompted nostalgia (mostly good, a few not so) about our own early personal transport purchases and exploits.
There’s so much to see there that I’m sure we’ll organise another club outing in 2019.
Here are some pics, courtesy Steve Bridge and Rod (friend of Steve).
