Scenes from the America’s British Reliability Run

Posted on Apr 7, 2022 in Featured | 2 comments

Just in time to distract us from our gray Vermont winter comes a batch of photos to remind us of how much fun we had last fall on the America’s British Reliability Run. Nick Zabrecky and Andrew Paolucci of MotorCar Studios in Philadelphia took part in the three-day run, driving a client’s Jaguar E-type (above), and came back with loads of great photos of their fellow teams on the road.

“We chose to do the rally for two reasons,” Nick says, “obviously the first being a great time driving through the New York foliage surrounded by fellow enthusiasts, and the second to help out future reliability runs by documenting this year’s in hopes of increasing awareness of [the 2016] rally. ABRR is run for an excellent cause, and we were more than happy to help out in the promotion of the run!” Through donations collected by the 32 participating teams, the ABRR raised $23,807 for the nonprofit St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children in Philadelphia. The rally began in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, wound through New York’s Finger Lakes district, and ended in Milford, New Jersey.

Caught at speed in their 1961 MGA was Wild Emmagination, the father-daughter team of Dave and Emma Jago. The MGA has been in their family since it was new; Dave inherited it in 1986, and had the car substantially refurbished in the early 1990s.

Team Tomko, a.k.a. Chas Frick and Elizabeth Tomko, completed the run in this 1965 Austin Mini-Moke, with its 850-cc four-cylinder engine and drum brakes. Chas is a veteran Moke driver, and he and Elizabeth are engineering students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. This was the scene before our departure, parked in a cul-de-sac in front of the Quakertown home of Dave and Charlene Hutchison, two of the run’s organizers.

The Triumph 2000 sedan was not sold in the U.S., and so is a rare sighting on this side of the Atlantic. It’s powered by 2-liter straight-six. This 1970 Mk2 model was driven by Capital Triumph Register members Stephen Oertwig and Dennis Kruse, who entered as Team Big Six.

Another unusual, six-cylinder Triumph is the Vitesse, or, as it was called here, the Speed Six. Just 679 were sold in the US of A. This 1963 model was driven by Charlie Frick, under the Team Patina banner. During his 40 years of ownership, the Triumph, he says, “has seen the sands of Daytona Beach, the ash of Mount St. Helens, the prairies of Canada and the forests of New Hampshire.” Here, Charlie is crossing the famous Stone Bridge, part of the old Watkins Glen road course.

This proud 1950 Rover 75, a proper saloon with a 2,106-cc straight-six engine and generous lashings of wood, leather and wool on the inside. The car is owned by Dirk Burrowes, with whom I co-drove, and entered as Team Rover America, named for the annual gathering of Rovers and Rover fans that Dirk sponsors each year.

There are dozens and dozens more great photos to see on the MotorCar Studios site — go on over and take a look.

Driving a British car is great fun, taking part in a British car rally is even better, and doing so while raising money for a worthy charity is the best of all. This year’s ABRR is already in the calendar for October 14-16, with the route still to be announced.