Motorcars on the carriageway

Local business owner's contagious enthusiasm for British cars spreading across the Fox Valley

Story by Jeff Potts

A handful of years ago Jim Marks was making a visit to his cottage in rural Wisconsin when he spotted an old sports car on the side of the road. One thought instantly rose to the top of his mind, “It would be cool to have a little car to travel the country roads with,” he recalled.

At the time, Marks couldn’t distinguish the car’s boot from the bonnet, let alone how to change the oil, but that was all about to change as his first taste of a British-engineered sports car opened a new world to Marks and everyone around him.

What began with a 1978 MGB roadster in need of a little work has become the envy of the British car collectible world as Marks’ spur-of-the-moment hobby has grown into a full-fledged obsession dubbed the Fox Cities British Car Club.

Today the product of Marks’ work sits in an unassuming pole building on the outskirts of Winnebago County. To the average passer-by, the headquarters to the club looks no different than any nondescript country agricultural building. But once inside, it’s easy to understand why on any given weekend - and even most weeknights - you’ll find the owner of Fox Cities Sign & Lighting Services along with his friends hard at work preserving pieces of British engineering history.

Inside the club
Dozens of meticulously restored automobiles line the showroom floor at the Fox Cities British Car Club. More are located in an adjacent storage shed and others sit ready to be worked on or driven in the club’s shop. Most every car is a living and running example of Marks’ commitment to his club and the passion shared by its members.

From Aston Martins and Austin Healeys to MGs and Triumphs, if it’s a sleek British sports car from the 1950s through 1980s, chances are good you’ll find one as part of the Fox Cities British Car Club. In just five years since its founding, the organization has grown from Marks’ restoration project to a family of nearly 200 finely tuned driving machines.

There aren’t many rules for club members to follow, but those guidelines that are in place are important.

First, is the underlying theme of the club: “members helping members.”

Marks describes a community in which club members not only have access to a shop and storage, they also have “community parts” in which members can grab what they need and simply leave a donation to the club for the cost of the part. Likewise, if the restoration process is getting frustrating for the moment, members can stroll over to the Busted Knuckle – the pub within the club headquarters – and enjoy a cold beverage, often one brewed in the United Kingdom.

“I just can’t wait for Friday afternoons – just putzing around with my cars,” said Marks. “We never run out of things to do – there’s always a project.”

Launching the club
It’s that concept of helping other club members that was the genesis for the Fox Cities British Car Club. When Marks first purchased his ‘78 MGB Roadster he had no idea of the mechanics of a British automobile, and even less of an idea on how to completely restore a classic car. He knew if his investment in a fun vehicle to cruise the winding rural roads was going to pay off, he would need a little help from his friends – or would need to make some new friends. What Marks found was that a healthy combination of both approaches would help his MGB transform back into a sleek driving machine.

Marks started by tracking down the existing British car clubs in Wisconsin – one in Madison and another in Milwaukee. Here he not only discovered a wealth of technical information and leads on securing parts he needed, he also noticed the camaraderie associated with British car enthusiasts.

Through these groups, Marks learned important elements about British cars, such as the proper terms to describe them. In America, we refer to such vehicles as “convertibles,” but the British versions are called “roadsters.” Likewise, the trunk is called the boot, and the hood is called the bonnet. And of course, there’s the million-dollar question when it comes to British cars – on which side of the car is the steering wheel?

“It can come either way (right or left sided),” said Marks, today a wealth of knowledge on British cars. “What most people don’t know is that more of these cars were sold in the U.S. than were ever sold in Britain.”

What Marks also discovered early on was that there are plenty of other British car lovers in the greater Fox Valley. When Marks was unsuccessful in recruiting the Madison and Milwaukee British car clubs to hold regular events in the Fox Valley, Marks decided to start his own club, and do it the old-fashioned way – one vehicle and owner at a time.

“I built the club from the ground up,” he said. “Every time I saw a British car I’d follow it until it stopped someplace.

People must have thought I was crazy, but I knew that if someone owned a British car, they’d have many of the same questions and concerns I did. Collectively we could help each other out.”

Just like new
Today, you’ll find club members working on their pride and joy at almost all times of the day. For a yearly membership fee, they receive a key to the shop, access to the community parts pool, and storage space. Members also receive the support and expertise of their peers.

Members of the Fox Valley British Car Club come from all walks of life, said Marks, “from college kids to people in their 80s – both men and women.”

Some of the members are purists – restoring vehicles to their exact factory specifications. But most are more into the personality of the vehicle.

“You can do whatever you want to do to your car. That’s part of the fun,” Marks said.

Wisconsin is a bittersweet breeding ground for British car clubs. Geographically, the state offers some excellent, scenic roads on which to cruise, but the climate can be a natural enemy of these vehicles. Many are not built to withstand Wisconsin winters. That’s why club members proudly boast of what they call their “barn finds,” those old, rusted out vehicles that haven’t received any love or care in decades.

Just like Marks’ original ’78 MGB, many of these cars were not always as aesthetically pleasing as they are today. Rather, most were found in a state of disrepair. These discarded and sometimes disassembled cars don’t have much initial value until they fall into the hands of a club member.

While Marks’ first restoration project took him more than two years to complete, such overhauls go much faster these days thanks to the support of his fellow club members. With a shop full of tools, a hydraulic vehicle lift, and a climate-controlled space to work within year-round, even major projects can be tackled in just a matter of months.

For much of the work, from tracking down specialized parts and tools to getting advice on troubleshooting, club members rely on their Web-based message board to keep informed. At www.foxbrits.com, site visitors will find plenty of technical information, but will also find the lifeblood of the club – its activities page.

Winter months are mostly spent working on vehicles with the occasional “tech session” workshop and the annual winter dinner. These tech sessions not only tackle specific topics on restoring British cars, they also highlight potential problems facing the future of running these classic machines. One such topic recently discussed was motor oil, as these vehicles require zinc in the contents of their oil – a characteristic no longer easy to find.

“That’s one of the major issues facing owners of British cars,” said Marks. “Through our club’s networking, we’re able to not only track down suppliers, but also figure out ways to ensure we’ll always have the products we need for our cars to run.”

Once the dreary winter weather breaks, the club headquarters are transformed from storage and display to the starting line. Every weekend provides an opportunity to get together and hit the open road.

On Fridays, the club travels to various local fish fries. On Saturdays, they’ll often grill out, and on Sundays they’ll hold a car show. In between, they’ll take their pride and joy out for a spin.

For Marks, a winter’s worth of hard work pays off in a moment as soon as he turns the key and heads out for a spin in any one of his three restored British classics.

“Just sit in the driver’s seat and go for a short drive,” said Marks. “You’ll instantly know why we do this – there’s nothing else like it!”

Jeff Potts is a freelance writer from Oshkosh.