Ragtops & Roadsters Tech Session

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Mike Engard and his employees at Ragtops and Roadsters up in Perkasie put on a tech session last Saturday, February 26th that was awesome! There were several other car clubs’ members also in attendance. Having attended various tech sessions over the past twenty-five years, this was among the very best in both subject and presentation.

The subject was what to look for when disassembling an engine and what to look for when re-assembling an engine. Master Mechanic Bill Dittric’s presentation was in layman’s terms from an experienced journeyman with over thirty years experience working on British sports car engines. He was assisted by Dave Hutchison, a Triumph owner with a sense of humor (if you owned a Triumph you’d have one too!). The nuances and techniques with British engines that were discussed were both fascinating and enriching. There were also several very interesting questions and comments from the audience.

DVC’ers in attendance were Louise Story, Dick Suffredini, Roy Dougherty (MG ZB), David Schwab, Lew Phillips and Lee Niner. Besides the tech session, we were treated to a look at some very nice English sports cars undergoing various stages of restoration. An ACAA top show winner TC (DVC member Howard Leeser’s) was in to repair minor tears on the bonnet sides. (this TC was # 17 produced in September 1945). A Jaguar XK120 was just coming off a beautiful restoration and was simply stunning in appearance. There were several XKE’s, Triumph’s and Austin Healy’s also.

It’s always fun to walk around a restoration shop and see various cars undergoing different stages of restoration. Some vehicles are in for tune-ups while other cars are in for frame off restorations. During our tour we saw the intricacies of what it takes to be in the restoration business and all the specialized tools that are required.

Thanks go out to Mike and his employees for welcoming us and taking the time to answer all our questions.