My first year with Maggie
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 5:49 pm
I first met Maggie just over a year ago, on 21st April 2010. There she stood in gleaming new paintwork in front of Charles Ware’s Morris Minor Centre in Bristol.
It had all begun in July 2009 when my wife and I stopped at the Morris Minor Centre en route from Cornwall to our friend in the West Midlands, and really only wanted to get information about Morris Minors and the work the Morris Minor Centre is doing, as we had just begun thinking of buying a vintage car, and a Moggie one of a few models on our mind. After we had been guided round the workshops, seen many Minors in various stages of restoration and repair and been given plenty of information we came through the showroom where five finished products were waiting to be collected by their owners. Among them was a maroon Replica Convertible which attracted both our attention.
Back at home we discussed the matter, collected information about the cost of running and maintaining a Morris Minor in Germany, and the methods of bringing the car over here. This finally resulted in an order to the Morris Minor Centre to provide a similar Replica Convertible, though with a few modifications to get her registered in Germany. Originally we had planned to meet a week earlier, but the dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland meant that my flights were cancelled twice and I had to take the earliest possible train, a week later than scheduled.
After a test ride, some explanations and the necessary paperwork Maggie had to say goodbye to Bristol, although we did not go to her new home immediately. We first called at our friend Roger in Stourbridge, where we spent the first night together, she in the drive and I in the house. Next morning at 4.30 we wanted to head for Dover, but Maggie had decided she did not want to go and her engine refused to start. It was a peculiar situation, it was still very dark, none of us had a torch, the extension leads for all lamps were too short, none of us had an idea where to find the started motor and we couldn’t see a thing. So we had no other option than to call the AA, which took two hours to arrive and two minutes to find out that a wire had come loose on the starter motor.
So Maggie had no other option but to come with me to Dover, where we got the 13.00 ferry instead of the one at 11.00. On the way to Dover we had plenty of time to get familiar with each other, and I started to enjoy driving her, I hope she also enjoyed my treatment.
With some delay due to the heavy traffic we crossed the Channel, and Maggie received very positive comments about her beauty and good condition by the ferry staff as well as other car drivers. These were the first of many more to follow! The rest of the 700 mile journey was uneventful, but tiring for both of us, and we were happy when I could switch off Maggie’s engine on our arrival at home just before midnight.
On the next morning we both had an appointment with the engineer at the TÜV testing station at Landau. Maggie later told me that it was a very interesting experience for her. When we drove into the station, the three engineers, the two office girls and all the other drivers waiting for their cars to be examined formed a crowd around her. None of them had ever seen a Morris Minor! After a while the engineer literally had to push the crowd away to start his job. Although he worked himself through a long list of checks everything was finished after 40 minutes, and we could leave the station with all the necessary papers for a registration in Germany. We picked up my wife from work, drove through the countryside for a while, and then I put Maggie into the garage, her new home.
A week later I had her re-registered, and VUK 128 H became SÜW MO 69 H, the H at the end of her new registration showing that she is a historic vehicle (older than 30 years). She told me, she was slowly beginning to feel at home.
A fortnight later we had the bi-annual vintage car rally coming through our village. I would have loved to participate, but that time Maggie was still too young. Only cars built up to 1968 were allowed, and Maggie was born in November 1969. But we have earmarked the rally for 2012, when cars up to 1970 will be allowed. So last year we were only visitors and watched the almost 100 cars passing by. Nevertheless Maggie was greeted by many of her fellow cars.
A similar rally was staged nearby, but we learned too late about it and missed the closing date for entering. This time, cars up to 1975 were allowed and Maggie could have joined them, but we had to be visitors again. We were happy to have gone as three other cars stopped, and their drivers invited us to their vintage car meetings and outings.
In this picture you see Maggie in front of our favourite pub. No, we don’t use her to go there, but I think Maggie and the pub go together well. It is one of the most beautiful houses in our village, and Maggie definitely is among the prettiest cars in the village. Also the landlord loves old vehicles. As a wine grower he has a fleet of three old tractors, so we always have something to talk about. He invited us the annual meeting of his society in the neighbour village.
Although the majority of the vehicles in this show are tractors, the exhibition also includes vintage cars, motorcycles and even lorries. In 2010 they had a record of 80 tractors, 15 cars, 25 motorcycles and six lorries. Sunday afternoon we took part in a cavalcade through and around the village. Later the newspaper reported that over 1,000 people attended the cavalcade.
But Maggie did not only take me to exhibitions etc. In good weather I often went to work with her, and my wife and I went on a number of lovely trips, especially in high summer when we could open the soft top. One to remember was a trip which ended with a wonderful picnic in the middle of the vineyards. That day Maggie watched her first sunset over German hills.
On the last weekend in September Maggie, myself and a friend of mine went to a rail and road event at the Frankfurt Field Railway Museum. Here I was able to combine my two hobbies, vintage cars and steam locomotives, as the museum had three 60 cm gauge locos in steam. The museum has a rather lengthy line through a large park, and the road vehicles were parked on the lineside. This picture was taken shortly after our arrival.
After we had ridden on the trains, visited the railway museum and inspected the road vehicles, a few photographs with Maggie and the train were possible, just like this one. This is one of the museums's oldest steam locomotives, built in 1939.
In the afternoon I suddenly heard Maggie screaming with joy and quickly found out why. Next to her an E-series Morris 8 had been parked while her owners had gone for a train ride. Indeed, this was the first stablemate she met since she left her home country. The 190-mile trip to Frankfurt and back was the longest since the journey from Britain.
Many of the villages in our area now stage exhibitions of vintage cars on the occasion of their village festivals or anniversaries. That also happened in October at Bornheim, only 15 miles away from us. About 40 cars assembled on the football ground, and there were some quite rare examples, like a pre war Horch or a Victoria Spatz. Maggie found a decent space between a Heinkel Kabine (no, it’s not an Isetta!!!) and a Borgward Arabella formerly nicknamed "Aquabella" because of her tendency to let water get through).
In the afternoon all cars went on a cavalcade through the whole village which took over an hour. As usual, Maggie was admired, and more than once she had to try her brakes because people suddenly jumped in front of her in order to read the manufacturer’s name on the bonnet badge. If I was given a Euro for each photograph of Maggie that was taken that day, we would not have to spend any money for petrol for the next few years!
On one of our outings we had met the chairman of the local vintage car club, and he had entered Maggie and me into his files for future use. So one evening I received a call, and he asked whether I would fancy showing Maggie at an exhibition for charity at a local car dealer. As both Maggie and me didn’t have any plans for that Sunday, we both went. As it is only a ten minute drive from us to the dealer, we were among the first to arrive, and I parked Maggie next to a good looking Jag, hoping they would entertain each other. I met many nice people, some I had known from other outings, and we had a good chat and a nice afternoon. One of them informed us, that a vintage car club from Ludwigshafen was having their annual rally on the same day, and that the final destination would be the Wine Gate at Schweigen, a popular landmark next to the French border. As the weather was still very warm and sunny, I picked up my wife who had by then come home from her shift, and off we went.
When we arrived at Schweigen, there were still about 20 cars parked on the lawn behind the gate, and I left Maggie next to two old Brits. Later she told me that she very much enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the Rover, which was not as posh as the Jag during the morning!
In a railway magazine I read about a 1950s railcar which has been restored by a private railway from Karlsruhe, and they were offering regular trips into our region on a branch line which sees only little other traffic. Of course I had to go and see this rare vehicle, and when Maggie heard that it is red liveried, too, she offered to take me there. Well, a steam loco would have provided a better sight, but nevertheless we enjoyed seeing the train.
A week later my wife and I took Maggie out of the garage for the last longer ride. My wife proudly presented her newly acquired cabriolet scarf, which reminds me of Grace Kelly in that white roadster, wasn’t it a Sunbeam Alpine? She is very happy to have it, not only that it looks good, it allows us to drive with the softtop down for a much longer time. I must say, I am happy that my wife also enjoys Maggie, although she is a bit reserved about driving her herself because for her the steering wheel is on the wrong side.
During the winter, Maggie had to stay in the garage for some longer spells, the longest being five weeks. Since last year we have a law that you have to have snow tyres if you drive in wintry conditions (snow, ice or mud). There are no snow tyres available for Maggie’s size, and also I don’t want her to be bathed in salt which is liberally spread on the roads in winter. So we had to wait for dry moments, which we occasionally found. Thank goodness, Maggie’s heater works very well.
In February I checked and greased her and cleaned and waxed the paintwork. We have a good garage nearby, specialized on British vintage cars, and they changed the oil and filter and checked and adjusted carburettor, ignition and valves and tightened a few screws that had started coming loose. Now Maggie is fit for another season.
This has become a rather lengthy posting, but a year is a rather long time, and Maggie and I have covered 2,700 miles together, so there has been something to report. I hope you didn’t find it boring!
Our first year has been wonderful, I am very happy to have her, and so far she has never let me down.
No wonder my wife and I are looking forward to many more miles and years with Maggie. I wish you all happy motoring with your Moggies.
Best regards
Hubert
It had all begun in July 2009 when my wife and I stopped at the Morris Minor Centre en route from Cornwall to our friend in the West Midlands, and really only wanted to get information about Morris Minors and the work the Morris Minor Centre is doing, as we had just begun thinking of buying a vintage car, and a Moggie one of a few models on our mind. After we had been guided round the workshops, seen many Minors in various stages of restoration and repair and been given plenty of information we came through the showroom where five finished products were waiting to be collected by their owners. Among them was a maroon Replica Convertible which attracted both our attention.
Back at home we discussed the matter, collected information about the cost of running and maintaining a Morris Minor in Germany, and the methods of bringing the car over here. This finally resulted in an order to the Morris Minor Centre to provide a similar Replica Convertible, though with a few modifications to get her registered in Germany. Originally we had planned to meet a week earlier, but the dust cloud from the volcano in Iceland meant that my flights were cancelled twice and I had to take the earliest possible train, a week later than scheduled.
After a test ride, some explanations and the necessary paperwork Maggie had to say goodbye to Bristol, although we did not go to her new home immediately. We first called at our friend Roger in Stourbridge, where we spent the first night together, she in the drive and I in the house. Next morning at 4.30 we wanted to head for Dover, but Maggie had decided she did not want to go and her engine refused to start. It was a peculiar situation, it was still very dark, none of us had a torch, the extension leads for all lamps were too short, none of us had an idea where to find the started motor and we couldn’t see a thing. So we had no other option than to call the AA, which took two hours to arrive and two minutes to find out that a wire had come loose on the starter motor.
So Maggie had no other option but to come with me to Dover, where we got the 13.00 ferry instead of the one at 11.00. On the way to Dover we had plenty of time to get familiar with each other, and I started to enjoy driving her, I hope she also enjoyed my treatment.
With some delay due to the heavy traffic we crossed the Channel, and Maggie received very positive comments about her beauty and good condition by the ferry staff as well as other car drivers. These were the first of many more to follow! The rest of the 700 mile journey was uneventful, but tiring for both of us, and we were happy when I could switch off Maggie’s engine on our arrival at home just before midnight.
On the next morning we both had an appointment with the engineer at the TÜV testing station at Landau. Maggie later told me that it was a very interesting experience for her. When we drove into the station, the three engineers, the two office girls and all the other drivers waiting for their cars to be examined formed a crowd around her. None of them had ever seen a Morris Minor! After a while the engineer literally had to push the crowd away to start his job. Although he worked himself through a long list of checks everything was finished after 40 minutes, and we could leave the station with all the necessary papers for a registration in Germany. We picked up my wife from work, drove through the countryside for a while, and then I put Maggie into the garage, her new home.
A week later I had her re-registered, and VUK 128 H became SÜW MO 69 H, the H at the end of her new registration showing that she is a historic vehicle (older than 30 years). She told me, she was slowly beginning to feel at home.
A fortnight later we had the bi-annual vintage car rally coming through our village. I would have loved to participate, but that time Maggie was still too young. Only cars built up to 1968 were allowed, and Maggie was born in November 1969. But we have earmarked the rally for 2012, when cars up to 1970 will be allowed. So last year we were only visitors and watched the almost 100 cars passing by. Nevertheless Maggie was greeted by many of her fellow cars.
A similar rally was staged nearby, but we learned too late about it and missed the closing date for entering. This time, cars up to 1975 were allowed and Maggie could have joined them, but we had to be visitors again. We were happy to have gone as three other cars stopped, and their drivers invited us to their vintage car meetings and outings.
In this picture you see Maggie in front of our favourite pub. No, we don’t use her to go there, but I think Maggie and the pub go together well. It is one of the most beautiful houses in our village, and Maggie definitely is among the prettiest cars in the village. Also the landlord loves old vehicles. As a wine grower he has a fleet of three old tractors, so we always have something to talk about. He invited us the annual meeting of his society in the neighbour village.
Although the majority of the vehicles in this show are tractors, the exhibition also includes vintage cars, motorcycles and even lorries. In 2010 they had a record of 80 tractors, 15 cars, 25 motorcycles and six lorries. Sunday afternoon we took part in a cavalcade through and around the village. Later the newspaper reported that over 1,000 people attended the cavalcade.
But Maggie did not only take me to exhibitions etc. In good weather I often went to work with her, and my wife and I went on a number of lovely trips, especially in high summer when we could open the soft top. One to remember was a trip which ended with a wonderful picnic in the middle of the vineyards. That day Maggie watched her first sunset over German hills.
On the last weekend in September Maggie, myself and a friend of mine went to a rail and road event at the Frankfurt Field Railway Museum. Here I was able to combine my two hobbies, vintage cars and steam locomotives, as the museum had three 60 cm gauge locos in steam. The museum has a rather lengthy line through a large park, and the road vehicles were parked on the lineside. This picture was taken shortly after our arrival.
After we had ridden on the trains, visited the railway museum and inspected the road vehicles, a few photographs with Maggie and the train were possible, just like this one. This is one of the museums's oldest steam locomotives, built in 1939.
In the afternoon I suddenly heard Maggie screaming with joy and quickly found out why. Next to her an E-series Morris 8 had been parked while her owners had gone for a train ride. Indeed, this was the first stablemate she met since she left her home country. The 190-mile trip to Frankfurt and back was the longest since the journey from Britain.
Many of the villages in our area now stage exhibitions of vintage cars on the occasion of their village festivals or anniversaries. That also happened in October at Bornheim, only 15 miles away from us. About 40 cars assembled on the football ground, and there were some quite rare examples, like a pre war Horch or a Victoria Spatz. Maggie found a decent space between a Heinkel Kabine (no, it’s not an Isetta!!!) and a Borgward Arabella formerly nicknamed "Aquabella" because of her tendency to let water get through).
In the afternoon all cars went on a cavalcade through the whole village which took over an hour. As usual, Maggie was admired, and more than once she had to try her brakes because people suddenly jumped in front of her in order to read the manufacturer’s name on the bonnet badge. If I was given a Euro for each photograph of Maggie that was taken that day, we would not have to spend any money for petrol for the next few years!
On one of our outings we had met the chairman of the local vintage car club, and he had entered Maggie and me into his files for future use. So one evening I received a call, and he asked whether I would fancy showing Maggie at an exhibition for charity at a local car dealer. As both Maggie and me didn’t have any plans for that Sunday, we both went. As it is only a ten minute drive from us to the dealer, we were among the first to arrive, and I parked Maggie next to a good looking Jag, hoping they would entertain each other. I met many nice people, some I had known from other outings, and we had a good chat and a nice afternoon. One of them informed us, that a vintage car club from Ludwigshafen was having their annual rally on the same day, and that the final destination would be the Wine Gate at Schweigen, a popular landmark next to the French border. As the weather was still very warm and sunny, I picked up my wife who had by then come home from her shift, and off we went.
When we arrived at Schweigen, there were still about 20 cars parked on the lawn behind the gate, and I left Maggie next to two old Brits. Later she told me that she very much enjoyed rubbing shoulders with the Rover, which was not as posh as the Jag during the morning!
In a railway magazine I read about a 1950s railcar which has been restored by a private railway from Karlsruhe, and they were offering regular trips into our region on a branch line which sees only little other traffic. Of course I had to go and see this rare vehicle, and when Maggie heard that it is red liveried, too, she offered to take me there. Well, a steam loco would have provided a better sight, but nevertheless we enjoyed seeing the train.
A week later my wife and I took Maggie out of the garage for the last longer ride. My wife proudly presented her newly acquired cabriolet scarf, which reminds me of Grace Kelly in that white roadster, wasn’t it a Sunbeam Alpine? She is very happy to have it, not only that it looks good, it allows us to drive with the softtop down for a much longer time. I must say, I am happy that my wife also enjoys Maggie, although she is a bit reserved about driving her herself because for her the steering wheel is on the wrong side.
During the winter, Maggie had to stay in the garage for some longer spells, the longest being five weeks. Since last year we have a law that you have to have snow tyres if you drive in wintry conditions (snow, ice or mud). There are no snow tyres available for Maggie’s size, and also I don’t want her to be bathed in salt which is liberally spread on the roads in winter. So we had to wait for dry moments, which we occasionally found. Thank goodness, Maggie’s heater works very well.
In February I checked and greased her and cleaned and waxed the paintwork. We have a good garage nearby, specialized on British vintage cars, and they changed the oil and filter and checked and adjusted carburettor, ignition and valves and tightened a few screws that had started coming loose. Now Maggie is fit for another season.
This has become a rather lengthy posting, but a year is a rather long time, and Maggie and I have covered 2,700 miles together, so there has been something to report. I hope you didn’t find it boring!
Our first year has been wonderful, I am very happy to have her, and so far she has never let me down.
No wonder my wife and I are looking forward to many more miles and years with Maggie. I wish you all happy motoring with your Moggies.
Best regards
Hubert
Have you thought about sending an article and some photos to the Club magazine? I'm sure other members might be interested to read about your first year of Minor ownership and Maggie's adventures in Germany