Sean and Corinna Windrum

Octagon Newsletter … June 2001

By Wayne Watkins

Over the years we have seen many members’ MGs and other British cars. How long have they owned their car? Did they have another MG before this one? What got them interested in the first place? How many MGs have they owned?

As we roll into summer, we can reflect on the various MGs and other British cars in the Sean and Corinna Windrum motor-house. Sean actually bought his first car, a 1964 Austin Healey Sprite, in 1984, which was before he had a drivers license! It was brought from the U.K. by a previous owner and, you guessed it, it was right hand drive. Corinna bought a ’73 'B' in 1987 and drove it daily until 1996. It is now undergoing a restoration. Interestingly, Corinna had always wanted a Jensen. Well, they now have one, which has been out cruising and we have seen it at some club events including the Anniversary Meet. They did park it for the winter and forlornly note that it is not yet licensed for this year, partly due to the fact the Jensen has a 440 cubic inch Chrysler engine (yes, that’s factory) and gas is now up to 83 cents per litre.

Sean’s first Midget was a 1973 model which he drove in 1987. The colour was Black Tulip. After driving it for a few months, it was suddenly shortened by 18 inches and its life ended by a hit and run driver. (Sean’s comments on this matter cannot be printed.) Another car we all remember is the Primrose Yellow ’68 B roadster which was sold in order to build up the Sebring 'B' which graced one of the months of the famous Victoria MG Club calendar. The Primrose Yellow 'B' is still in town. More on the Sebring 'B' in a moment. Another very interesting MG that Sean acquired was a fairly rare ’66 MG 1100 saloon. I had seen this car in a driveway in Esquimalt. It hadn’t run for a while and did look sad. I offered to buy at least the grill but the owner declined. Sean spotted it and bought it (the whole car). After some remedial floor pan work and other repairs to bring it back to life, it went through a couple more owners and may still be in town.

Oh, yes, the Sebring 'B'. Not long after it was completed, as a "family car" for daughter Riley, Sean was driving spiritedly enough over some train tracks to loosen the hood release and the hood flew open at speed (more unprintable comments).

The worst was yet to come. A couple of weeks ago, the Windrums were out shopping in the Sebring 'B' when a couple of bozos with room temperature IQs smashed into the back of them. Riley was not in the car. The damage is fairly severe but there are hopes that repairs can be done in time for our upcoming fun events. Even with a police report that put 100% of the blame on the bozos, Sean still has to come up with his collision deductible, until Icky Bicky can get the other driver to come in and make a statement. A little unfair, what? (cue unprintable comments)

There are two other cars waiting in the wings to be restored - one is a 1958 MGA 1500 which is currently languishing in storage, as Sean is saving up the time and money to complete it. Oh yes, the longest restoration project? Sean’s first car - the right hand drive ’64 Sprite which he still has stored at his Mom’s place! Will he have it ready for Riley to drive when she is sixteen?

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