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MG's with History
Bill Schapel's Red MGTC Special with Bob Schapel's silver TC and Peter Gostelow's blue TC
Built by my brother Bob Schapel (with assistance from Bill and father Lou) during 1985 on a Tony Ohlmeyer-shortened chassis from a car which raced (with about seven other TCs) in the Barossa Handicap at the 1950 Australian Grand Prix meeting at Nuriootpa. Bob designed and built his silver supercharged car in 1972 and Bill's is similar, with a few subtle minor improvements in design. Since 1986 the car has competed in 93 competition events and has 30 outright or class wins, with 26 seconds and 17 third placings. The performance, while just below Bob's supercharged car, is quite startling for a normally aspirated 1366cc engine - due to the car's light weight and Bob's superb skills in engine and chassis preparation. In the past the circuits of Winton, Phillip Island and Adelaide International Raceway saw her in action. Mallala and Collingrove have been good to the little red car and continue to be her most common playgrounds, but in 2004 Sandown and Rob Roy were also visited to good effect. Has lapped Mallala in 1:27s and Collingrove in the 37s.
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Bill Schapel's MG Y Tourer
Bill and Bob's first car was a TC their Dad, Lou, gave them when aged 14 and 11 respectively. After they had dismantled and partially rebuilt it over a few years, 16 year old Bill, impatient to hit the road, bought a down-at-heel Y Tourer in 1965. With much help from Bob and Lou, the Y was extensively re-fettled, painted red and then foolishly sold on by Bill, years later to re-appear in Bob's hands and eventually be sold back to England. Lou passed on his white Y Tourer to Bill around 1990 and the car has seen plenty of action on the track and the road, winning trophies at two Natmeets in speed events, but with a patina rapidly approaching "scruffy" it has not troubled the scorers at Concours! Nevertheless a useful and much-loved old girl, she has carried Bill and Jenny's daughters about in style from childhood to adulthood and continues, with an engine originally prepared for racing in Bob's TC Special, to surprise any unwary MTT buses, even showing a clean pair of heels to most road-going TCs or TFs. Will one day soon be re-painted and upgraded. She deserves it.
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