On Friday, October 16, 32 British cars left Quakertown, Pa., beginning a nearly 600-mile trip to raise money for sick children while making a point about the reliability of cars from Old Blighty. Three days later, those same 32 British cars pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant in Milford, N.J., for a victory celebration.
To date, the 2015 running of the America’s British Reliability Run raised $22,367 for the C.O.R.E Palliative Care Team at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. Each of the teams that registered aimed to collect at least $500 in pledges, and some went well beyond – Team Wedge, aka Art Becker and Peter Dow, in their 1980 Triumph TR8, were tops with $1,685 raised.
As the Hemmings representative in the ABRR, I’m happy to report that our team came through with flying colors. I took part with my friend Dirk Burrowes, co-driving one of his vintage Rover sedans, a 1950 75, often known as the Cyclops for the central third headlamp the model sported in the U.K. Although it was the oldest car in the run by a decade, the Rover performed flawlessly, even as the steep hills and strenuous pace put both its F-head straight-six and four-wheel drum brakes to the test.
Some teams experienced a few minor problems along the way – a balky suspension bushing, an ignition problem and a failed alternator pretty much sums it up – but nothing that prevented any of them from completing the run. The route included overnight stays in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Central Valley, N.Y., and tours of the Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich, N.Y. and a private Lotus collection in Chester, N.Y.
Look for more photos, and a complete story about the run, in an upcoming issue of Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car.
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