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MG MGA - MG Day In Karuizawa, Japan

Hi all,

Here are some pics from last Saturday's National MG Day in Japan held in Karuizawa City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (site of the Winter Olympics a few years back).

We drove 301 miles round trip; 5 1/2 hours one way, 8 hours on the way back. This is a big, big deal driving this far in Japan. People thought I was just plain crazy. Double that when they found out me and my Crab-Eye Sprite friend did the whole trip in one day. However, I took a lesson from Mr. Gaylord and said what the heck. It rained both ways and was cold in the mountains. What could be better?

Both the A and the Sprite did fine, sans some lost oil and a little miss (dwell?) otherwise fine.

I hope you enjoy the pics. Lots of interesting cars including the only known Twin Cam (at least on the road) in the entire country, and most of the known running MGA's.

If you look closely, mine is the light green one with the "E" on the license plate. Although I didn't enter, I still had a good time.

Tom

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/mgb1972/my_photos
Tom Baker

Cool! Thanks for sharing. :)
Steve Simmons

Tom,
Why does it take so long to travel that short a distance in Japan? Great pictures!

John
John Progess

Nice pic of a ZB Magnette.
Wray Lemke

Notably beautiful high quality cars. I would not have expected that collection in Japan. Very nice pictures Tom, much enjoyed, also the chance to see some countryside. What color is your car? Very nice.
Steve
Steve Meline

It takes so long to get anywhere becuase of the sheer number of cars and the fact that most of Japan is mountainous meaning no straight roads. We took the $30 (each way) so-called expressway and it still took that long. It was so crowded on the main roads when we got off the expressway, it took about 2 1/2 hours just to get the final 12, yes 12, miles out of the way. Insane. When we drive into the Tokyo Metro area, it can be the kiss of death on Brit Iron. The secret to avoid it is travelling very early in the morning or very late at night.

Yes, the restorations, particularly the Magnettes, were amazing. Most of these cars are priced so far out of our range we would never think twice. Also, most of these guys are very wealthy so they can afford them. I on the other hand am very poor and am very fortunate to own an A here. A huge pain to own but big fun as well.

My car is ash green. It is an original color but not the original color. I just though it fit the era of the car. I took the sample from an original body part a friend had. I do get a lot of questions and comments, mostly positive.

Glad you all enjoy the pics. I am happy to share them. I am again, really lucky to be here and the MG community is really great, especially considering that I am the only non-Japanese. When it come to British cars, we all speak the same language.

Tom Baker

Tom,

There is another mga twin cam driving on the road in Japan. It was originally a new delivery to Australia. It is chassis number YD2 1717 and is owned by Hideharu Hagino in Kobe. It is a Glacier Blue color. I will send you a couple of photos by email. It has the engine out of my old Twin Cam YD2 2161. I blew up the engine in 1964 and replaced it with a new factory spare Twin Cam engine. My old engine was repaired and put in YD2 1717.
THere is also what a appears to be a red MGA Deluxe MKII (photo only shows Twin Cam wheels and what appears to be a MKII grille).
Are ther any details known of the Twin Cam that you saw (owner, chassis number, which MG Car Club etc.)?

Mick
Mick Anderson

Does the white Twin Cam belong to Mashiro Uekusa,
YD3 985, or is this another car?

I believe there maybe as many was 3/4 Twin Cams in Japan.

Cheers <MARK>


Mark Hester

I stand corrected! I should have said ONE of the only known Twin Cams on the road. I am not sure who the owners are, but I plan to put a request in to the MGCCJ and find out.

We only had about 1 hour to see all the cars and I regretfully got no names. We were asked to particiate in future events and I hope we can.

As for the Red MKII, I think it was actually an orange re-spray or a very bright red. It was, as Mick stated, a MKII deluxe. I'll take another look, but I think it had the tailights on the body, not the fenders.

Thanks for helping me set the record straight. I guess my 'source' of Japan MG information should be reconsidered next time around!

Take care.

Tom
Tom Baker

Great photos Tom and a beautiful car you have also. I never thought about the scenery being to great in Japan, only had a chance to visit one city and didn't get out into the country side.
Bill Young

Interesting method for mounting the driving/fog lamps inside the grill housing. Is this to comply with some regulations concerning protruberances, or just local custom?

Thanks for sharing - the more pictures I see of your car, the more I like the color.

Regards,

Joe
Joe Cook

Yes, the mountain roads are fantastic here. Double that for the scenery. Amazing thing is that the countryside is close to the city. Of course It can take 3 hours to go 12 miles but who cares?

Joe, I noticed that too. I really don't know why it is done that way. The red '56 is some type of Works Racer replica. Maybe it was taken from some vintage racing pictures??? Thanks for the kind words on the color. It really looks better in person.
Tom Baker

This thread was discussed between 16/10/2005 and 17/10/2005

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