In the Spring of 1954, my last semester in highschool, I managed to gather up an “A” in French and approached my parents with the idea that I should trade my 1950 Ford Convertible on a car they new nothing about—a 1952 MG-TD. The car was being offered by our local BMC dealership after being owned by some unknown person who traded it on an Austin Healy 100. The car was listed at $1,250 and the Ford was appraised at $1,000, and wonders of wonders, I actually had that much cash in the bank. My parents weren’t much interested in the car and were more than a little surprised when the car appeared in our driveway. I think they would have rejected the deal (as I was too young to execute the purchase contract and they had to sign) but I had shaken hands with the dealership owner and that (it being a simpler time) was a binding deal—regardless of my age.

So, the British racing green roadster joined two other similar cars amongst my classmates and I became a sports car driver! I immediately purchased an appropriate cap (tweedy with a snap-down brim), learned how to fold down the windscreen (not a windshield, of course) and began memorizing the required pecking order of who waved to whom (MG to Jaguar, Morgan, Austin Healy—Simca, Crosley, etc. to MG; Porsche neither waved nor received waves until the 911 appeared).

I joined the Madison Sportcar Club and droved to second place in a rallye (note spelling) without a navigator. Side note—I brought my later and first client Phil Hill to Madison to help celebrate the Club’s 25th anniversary and another clients and friend, Sir Stirling Moss to celebrate the 50th. And, of course, there were frequent expeditions to Elkhart Lake (I had first gone there in 1951 but I drove a sports car and wasn’t riding in my father’s Plymouth Salesman’s Coupe), races at the Milwaukee Mile and all the other tracks now long gone and turned into shopping centers, etc.

After a fun summer with the TD I enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in the Fall of 1954, still driving the TD. Being one of the few sports car owners on the campus I soon met and became friends with Augie Pabst, who was just getting underway with his racing career and welcomed a new crew member (although I seldom actually showed up at events).

Photo of a representative MG TD at the Goodwood Breakfast Club July, 2008. Photo by Brian Snelson via wikimedia