Octagon March, 2016

that Toyota Twin Cam motor wear out?) This coupe
has over 360,000 miles on the clock with 250,000 of
them under my ownership.
YD2 #2422 (Roadster) Iris Blue. R. Pullar (Aspley)
in 1971. This Twin Cam is in Melbourne and has
recently changed owners.
YD2 #2491 (Coupe) Black. Rod Hiley (Abingdon
Motors), Max Henderson (New Guinea and
Brisbane). The real early history is still unknown,
but it is known that a bank employee, David Fryer,
purchased it in Newcastle in July 1967 with 53,000
miles on the speedo.
Rod Hiley and Max Henderson owned it between
1975 and 1992. Rod had installed an MGB
Overdrive Gear Box in it in a vain hope of reducing
the heat these cars produce (does not reduce heat).
I copied this idea from England and have had this
setup in 3 Twin Cams over the years. Both of my
current Twin Cams have them.
The coupe went to Max Mulligan (Maclean, NSW)
in 1992 and after 12 years ownership, Max asked
me to do some repairs on it and sell it on his behalf
for $40,000. Following repairs, I took it to the 2004
Warwick MG National Meeting and subsequently
sold it to Melbourne MG Club member, Frank
Burke. I ran into David Fryer at the last “Speed on
Tweed” Meeting. He had heard that I had sold his
old Twin Cam and wanted me to try to buy it back
on his behalf. Frank, in the meanwhile, had sold it
to another Melbourne MG Car Club Member who
does not want to sell it and if he did, he was thinking
$55,000 was a reasonable price – but that was
before the current stock market crash.
YD2 #2607 (Coupe) Old English White Robin
Godfrey (Gold Coast).
Robin was a BMC trained Engineer at Abingdon in
the UK and took up a job in Malaysia in 1970 where
he was able to purchase the abandoned Twin Cam
with the motor out of it on the road beside the car.
(Burnt piston – 89 octane fuel only available.) Robin
was posted to various countries over the years so
his Twin Cam has travelled more miles on a boat
than on the road. When he moved out here in 2001,
I was asked by the Customs Department to do a
valuation on it for Import Duties, etc. I thought I may
be able to buy it if I was lucky, but I already had 2
Twin Cams coupes at home. In 2002, Robin asked
me to fit retractable seat belts to the car as Linda
would not ride in it without belts. In 2012, Robin and
Linda decided to go back to England. I tried to talk
him out of taking the Twin Cam back to England with
them (seriously) without success. Robin was not
afraid of wearing his Twin Cam out as he drove it on
a number of long trips – Kurumba (Gulf Country),
Cooktown and the Perth trip to name a few. (I was
not on the Perth trip as I was away in China doing
the MG Factory in China to the MG Factory in
England trip with David Godwin in an MGA that I had
restored for him – Now, that’s an interesting story.
Rod Hiley (Abingdon Motors) either owned or sold
a number of Twin Cams as well as hard to obtain
parts over the years. However, Rod’s real passion
was for Prewar MGs. He started out acquiring TCs
(no, not Twin Cams) in 1958. I first met him in 1960
as well as another TC nut, George Diggles. With
his passing away in 2014, Rod’s presence will be
missed by all MG Owners and not only by us, The
Die Hard Twin Cam Odd Bods.
ITEM 3 Queensland previous owners (known to
me) without record of their Twin Cam Chassis/
Motor numbers.
Trevor Basset had a Black Roadster with green
upholstery. Trevor is presently living in Noosa and is
in the market for another Twin Cam (to relive his lost
youth?) If you know of one for sale that has escaped
my knowledge, please advise.
Lee Vine (recently passed away) also was a Club
member. He also had a black one with green
upholstery. Lee found out the hard way back in 1963
that his poorly maintained/tuned Twin Cam was no
match for a hot 1500 push rod MGA. Took $20 off
him to prove a point. This was a week’s wages in
those days. We had a laugh about this a few years
back over a drink.
Kay Hawley and her husband, Geoff, had a white
roadster in 1966 and 1967. Could this have been
the ex-Bev Fleming #2306 which I owned for 4
weeks (refer to section 1 for this drama). I am now
convinced that this is correct following Kay’s supply
of the MRD Registration Number. (Refer Item 1)
John Von Hoff (current owner of my ex coupe
#1834 – refer to Item 2 for its history. John had an
Orient Red roadster in 1968 while he was living
in Toowoomba and was a BMC trained mechanic
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The Octagon - March 2016