On June 27, John Burrows is driving to Kansas City.
But before he does, he’ll strap on some goggles and set his mind to the task: Maneuvering his 1948 MG TC two-door roadster behind and between vehicles much larger, and in some cases much faster, than his own.
Not that his baby is slow.
When asked if he’ll drive the car on the highway on his way to the Fourth Annual Art of the Car Concours, Burrows looks pleasantly surprised, as if he loves it when people ask him. He immediately lists the names of people who drove the British sports car before the founding company, Morris Garage, went defunct in 1952.
“Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Steve McQueen – they drove this type of car,” he said. “They’re drop-dead gorgeous.”
He means the MG.
The line was eventually picked up by The British Motor Corporation, but in 1980, a factory in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, closed and production ceased.
Yet between 1982 and 1991, the MG marque was introduced. It was a revival of sorts – a sportier version of Austin Rover’s, Metro, Maestro and Montego ranges. The MG F two-seater roadster hit the streets in 1995.
But nothing can quite compare to the original line.
Burrows has pulled the sportscar off Main Street in Blue Springs for a show-and-tell. There’s no one around. Too hot. Too early. But after unlatching the door and sliding out, a Blue Springs police officer wanders over. His interest is peaked.
“TC or TD?” the officer asks, wedging the clipboard under his arm.
“TC, yes, thanks,” Burrows said, surprised.
Polite banter begins. The task of answering questions bounces between three different people, all of whom tower above the car by at least four feet.
Perhaps Burrows is accustomed to such excited inquiry, but he doesn’t say. However, it’s likely he’ll answer questions about his MG on June 27 when he joins hundreds of others who will uncover their own vintage, classic and special-interest vehicles – cars, trucks, racing cars, motorcycles, you name it, all on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 27 on the campus of the Kansas City Art Institute at 45th and Oak streets.
“I’ve shown before,” he said. “Many times.”
Moving to the area in 1980 when he was 13, Burrows got bit by the MG almost immediately after his father purchased one.
“That began my love affair with British cars.”
At 15, Burrows bought his first MG for $900, working as a bus boy and at KFC on Missouri 7 to pay for it.
Now 43, Burrows has owned 12 MGs through the years. Aside from the car parked behind Main Street Thursday morning, he owns two others: a 1967 MG Midget and 1970 Rover 3500S.
The MG line is most famous for its two-seat open sports cars, but the company also manufactured saloons and coupes. Burrows bought his 48 about four years ago, one of an estimated 400 remaining in the United States today. Exactly 10,000 were produced in England.
Unique to the car is the fact that it has no fuel gauge, no seat belts, no temperature gauge, no heater. The MPH dial is on the passenger side (that is, on the left, where we Americans do our operating) while the RPM dial is on the right.
“More important to know your RPMs,” he said dryly. “It can get to 80 mph – that’s 55 horsepower, four cylinder, four speed.”
Then:
“It gets 32 miles per gallon – it was green before green came around.”
The police officer is impressed.
“If I get a ticket,” he tells the officer, “you’ll have to convert the cost into 1948 dollars.”
The car is, what Burrows calls, a jigsaw puzzle. He performs most of the maintenance and repairs himself. A specialized tool box is bolted beneath the hood. When he can’t do it himself, there’s a foreign car service in Kansas City that can do the work.
“I love tinkering with it.”
Burrows dismisses the common belief among car enthusiasts that such cars should not be driven. While he doesn’t drive it all the time, he occasionally takes it to work, around the block.
“Cars were meant to be driven,” he said.
THE SHOW
The Fourth Annual Art of the Car Concours will feature President Woodrow Wilson’s 1919 Pierce-Arrow Limousine, which has been restored to full working order and is owned by the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum in Staunton, Va.
Also at the event will be the Bobby Darin “Dream Car,” a one-of-a-kind custom car designed for the singer by Detroit clothing designer Andy Di Dia in 1953 and completed in 1960. The car is part of the automobile collection at the St. Louis Transportation Museum.
The cost to attend the concours is $12 per person; children 10 years old and under, as well as faculty, staff and students of the Kansas City Art Institute, will be admitted free.
Tickets are available for advance purchase online at www.artofthecarconcours.com at a discounted price of $10. Proceeds will benefit KCAI’s scholarship fund.
An estimated 180 vehicles, trucks and vintage motorcycles will be on display, according to organizers of the event, some of which are vehicles in private collections.
More information about the Art of the Car Concours is available at www.artofthecarconcours.com.
Information provided by the Kansas City Art Institute
