Quite a busy old car day in the Hartford area

It was a busy morning. We were on our way to Jackson, Wis., to pick up a squash-colored MG Midget to bring it north for some engine work. We had also made plans to deliver two Triumph Spitfire distributors to a friend, Jim Rugowski, who said he was going to a car show in Hartford, which is near Jackson. We made arrangements to have lunch at the Mineshaft restaurant in Hartford.

Another friend of ours is looking for an MG Midget that doesn’t need work and before we left on Saturday morning, we found one on line. It was located about four miles from Hartford. On the way down we made contact with him by cell phone and decided to go see his car first. When we got there we saw a pretty nice MG Midget and discovered that the seller owned the Mineshaft restaurant!

Next we went to Hartford where the 5th Annual Old Fashioned Block Party and Classic Car Show was in full swing in Hartford’s historic downtown district. The May 17 only show was big. We were told that it has grown every year and lines three blocks of the main street of the city with classic cars and trucks. Other events were going on two blocks away at the Wisconsin Automobile Museum (www.wisconsinautomuseum.org) where the Oldsmobile Club was meeting.

The museum’s 1938 four-door Chevy Touring Sedan (built-in trunk model) would be a perfect fit in the Iola Old Cars Show’s (www.iolaoldcarshow.com) “4 For all in ‘14” theme car display. It had a sign on the door promoting the museum and the running boards provided a convenient place to stack museum brochures.

On the way home we picked up the broken MG Midget in Jackson and then hauled it home. We had to rush. I was due at a prime rib dinner at the Masonic Center in Manawa, Wis., where the annual Mustang Round-Up Show is held in August.

All in all, it was a busy old-car day.