Mila Tambunting and
Baby Teehankee were
trendy and enjoyed
driving around town on
clear sunny days back
then. Mila drove an MG
A, while Baby operated
a pink Triumph TR2.
Could one of the MG
As on the opposite
page be the same car in
the photo above?
Anyway, British cars
arrived here at about
the same time women
began to get behind
the wheel. These cars
landed through indent
orders. According to
statistics from the time,
the most popular British
car brands registered
here in 1957 were
Standard, Austin, Ford
UK, Hillman, Morris,
MG, Jaguar, Triumph
and Singer.
By the late ’50s,
more women were get-
ting behind the wheel.
Many initially drove out
of necessity, but the
few who had the cash
to spare also drove for
pleasure. Proof of this is
the photo above of two
young ladies who drove
their chich sports cars
around Luneta in 1958.
(RichaRd Wil-
helm Ragodon)
RoAdSTeR LoveRS
THiS Red RoAdSTeR
iS ALMoST ReAdy To
HiT THe oPen RoAdLove for british
cars started
Long ago
HeRe’S A CooL
SniPPeT FRoM
oUR ARCHiveS
78 ToP GeAR PHiLiPPineS WWW.topgear.com.ph
considerable amount of money and effort in restoring it.
He got the car “because it’s British and it’s right-hand-
drive—it’ll take me back to where I came from.”
This car is used regularly, even for daily errands.
Although Peter tries not to take it out when it’s raining,
he makes an exception for the commitment he has with
us today. He offers to let us sit in the car, and we leap at
the opportunity. Just getting in through the suicide doors
is rather difficult, but once you’re in, it’s marvelous! The
wood dash and the Jaeger gauges are absolutely beautiful
works of art. Peter tells us that the car participates in out-
of-town runs, and it can run the minimum 80 kph that our
expressways require.
Club founder Ed, meanwhile, owns the black-painted
1961 MGA Mark II on these pages. It is in concours
condition, or the same condition it was in when it left the
factory. The car was bought by Ed’s father when Ed was in
high school in 1967 ; he drove it to school as a young man
and has taken care of it ever since. It is currently serving
as a model for a 1957 MGA Mark I being restored at the
garage. The Mark I was found in pieces; the engine and the
chassis were all that was left. But as can be seen in these
pictures, the restoration is almost finished.
A concours-level restoration is not an easy task because
the car has to be built in the same way the factory produced
it over half a century ago. Even processes that would be
considered mistakes today have to be copied. In the case of
this red MGA, Ed and Ray had many arguments concern-
ing the routing of the fuel line and the wiring harness. The
original routing was underneath the car and outside of it.
If it were up to Ray, he would place the wiring harness and
the fuel line in the car, where they would have extra protec-
tion. But Ed is a purist and insists on the original route.
Many arguments of this nature come up in car restoration,
and it’s a good thing we have the Internet these days as a
source of information.
As much as we want to take the cars out, we can’t
because of the rain. Every now and then, however, the
downpour eases up, and in one such instance, Boy de Leon
shows up with his Bugeye Sprite. The Sprite is another vin-
tage British sports car; it was nicknamed “bugeye” because
the way the headlights are mounted on top of the hood
makes the car look like a bike, according to the Americans.
But in the UK, its nickname is “frogeye.”
The car is tiny! And it only has a 948 cc engine. Boy
tells us he has owned this Sprite for about 10 years. He
confesses that unlike the other cars here, it is nowhere
near concours-level, but it runs and drives well. He adds
that when he got it, its condition was five out of 10 , which
was good enough to start with. The original three-speed
transmission gave him too much trouble, so he changed
it to a four-speed Toyota transmission and is currently
considering a five-speeder. He has even installed front disc
brakes for safety.
On weekends, these guys congregate with other groups
for fun runs out of the city. They’re always prepared for
breakdowns, which aren’t out of the ordinary for cars of
this age. Boy recalls there was one time his newly installed
Toyota transmission wasn’t quite dialed-in yet, and it
caused him to stall. The car had to be towed home all the
way from Angeles City. Still, it was all in good fun—the
breakdowns are simply part of the hobby.
Whether these gentlemen like their cars for the period
design or the sense of nostalgia they bring, we love that
they take care of their rides and preserve the history of
these classic roadsters for us all. If you see these guys out
on the road, give them a thumbs-up!
‘the gents take care
of their rides and
preserve roadster
history for us aLL’