Back Roads September/October 2025
Back Roads
Dean Hickenlooper, Vice Chairman
What an action packed summer it’s been so far this year. The 2025 GT-50 was an Amazing convention that won’t soon be forgotten. My travels to the GT-50 from Chicago started out rather uneventful. We met up with my good friend Pat Guest at Portage, Indiana with me driving my 1960 MGA (The Red Racer), Pat driving his wife’s 1997 MGB (Cat) and Pat’s wife Bonnie and son Mathew in the daily driver. We were about an hour and a half into the drive when I noticed the MGB getting smaller and smaller in my rear view mirror. I pulled over and backed up on the shoulder of the road. The MGB had stalled and refused to start. I checked the starter relay then the ignition relay but to no avail. Pat decided to go back home with the daily driver and get his truck and trailer and bring the B up to Traverse City and do the repairs there. Kerry and myself continued on up to the GT50 in the Red Racer. The next day we took a look at Par’s MGB only to find a broken battery lead so an easy fix so we thought.
So with that being taken care the next day we took a drive up to the Traverse Light House with Kerry and me in the A and Pat and his family in their daily driver. It was a beautiful day and an awesome drive until we arrived at the entrance and my hydraulics on the clutch gave out! I talked with the people at the office entrance and they said I could leave the car there overnight. So I started the A in first gear and got her into the parking lot. Luckly there was enough room for Kerry and I in Pat’s daily driver for us to get back to the Great Wolf Lodge.
The next morning Pat and I drove his truck and trailer up to load up my MGA. After we got there and parked near the Red Racer, got the ramps in position and then hooked up the winch cable things were starting to look up. I was steering and Pat was working the winch. Inch by inch the car was slowly going up the ramp. Then CLUNCK the winch broke and the MGA rolled back down the ramps and into the parking lot. Well now what do we do… no one was around to help push it onto the trailer so there was only one thing left to do. Start it up in first gear and drive it onto the trailer then slam on the brakes! As luck would have it it stopped perfectly centered on the trailer. We strapped her down and made our way back the the Great Wolf Lodge and the GT-50.
By now we were thinking our luck had changed for the better. The electrical problem on Pat’s MGB was fixed (so we thought) the Red Racer was on the trailer and had transport back to Chicago. Now we could sit back and enjoy the rest of the GT-50. The Convention was amazing. Great cars with old and new friends. Then came the time to head on home. The plan was that Kerry and I would Drive Pat’s MGB home and Pat and Bonnie would trailer my MGA to his home and drop it off later in the week at my house. I took the lead in the B with Pat and trailered A behind. We were only an hour or two into the drive when the B stalled out on the highway and we had to pull over. I checked the voltage which was 11.4 volts which should have been more than enough to start the car but no luck. We then swapped B the battery out of the A on the trailer with the B and we were back on the road. The B was running great, the sun was shining, and I thought that things were finally getting better and going our way. Well, I was wrong. Two more hours of driving and then she stalled on the highway again and put us stranded on the shoulder again. I checked the voltage again 11.4 just like before.
With no battery to swap out all we could do is get out the jumper cables and wait for it to charge up. About 15 minutes later the battery was up to 12.5 volts and we were back down the road. 22 miles later she stalled again. I checked the voltage and it was at 11.4 just as before. So out came the cables again and another 15 minutes charging to get up to 12.5 volts. She started up and onward we went…..another 22 miles and stalled again. Well as you might have guessed this went on and on till we made it to Pat’s place where we dropped off the MGB and climbed into the truck and Pat and his wife Bonnie drove us from Portage, IN. to Darien, IL. Truly the best friend you could ever have. We made it to my house, unloaded the MGA and went out to dinner. I hope my next GT isn’t so action packed with break downs!
