2026 Portland ABFM Road Trip
A Jensen‑Cooper, Bag Pipes, and a Real SCCA J‑H
My friend Steve and I drove down to the Portland All British Field Meet September 5–7, 2026. Steve had been before, but this was my first time. It’s less than 200 miles from my home in Redmond, and we only drove 530 miles total — an easy four‑hour drive down and the same back.
We used 30 gallons of gas overall. Not quite 18 mpg, but my car burns a fair amount of fuel at idle (1000 rpm) and turns 60 mph at a little over 3000 rpm. We ran quite a while south of Olympia at 4000 rpm and 80 mph, plus a lot of stop‑and‑go driving. The fuel injection is set up for maximum power, not economy.
Every time we stop, my car draws a crowd. I always try to take the time to answer questions. Our first stop was about 90 miles out, and sure enough — people gathered immediately.
Once we reached Portland, we drove out to Portland International Raceway to pick up our registration packets and attend the Nosh & Noggin event. Pulled‑pork sandwiches hit the spot.
At the motel Saturday morning, another guest took one look at my car and said, “So who are you, James Bond?” It cracked me up. He knew a lot about cars, but still asked, “What is it?” My answer: “One of one.”
It was a short, beautiful country‑road drive to pick up Steve, then about 20 minutes to PIR to set up for the show. I talked Steve into wiping down the car while I hunted for the registration tent to pick up our souvenir T‑shirts.
There was a large variety of cars, and it was still early. Triumphs — especially TR8s (that car was on my short list before I bought my J‑H, but I was bewitched by the Lotus 907 engine and its almost unbelievable potential). There were an enormous number of historic Land Rovers — I counted about four rows. Plus MGs, Jaguars, and a few Rolls‑Royces. As usual, I was so busy answering questions about my car that I didn’t have enough time to see all the others.
I bet some of those tiny cars are a lot of fun to drive, but how anyone my size — 6'1" and 185 lbs — fits in one, let alone two, is beyond me. We had two guys over six feet tall plus luggage in my Jensen‑Cooper and still had tons of room. Of course, compared to those cars, mine is the size of a Winnebago.
There was a large collection of both street and racing vintage Bugattis. We saw a couple out on the track. The really beautiful street cars were under the tent, but it was too dark to get good pictures.
Everyone else was getting in some spit‑and‑polish time too. I really like the Elans, but they’re too small for me — and not fast enough.
Steve’s favorite Lotus was there as well; he’s an ex‑Europa owner and would like another someday.
I’ve always liked the older, smaller, simpler Lotus cars. Beautiful machines. And has anyone ever made a collection of real performance cars smaller than Lotus? Every time I see a Lotus 7, I can’t believe how small it is.
There was an interesting collection of old and new Lotus cars — from a Cortina to an Elite Plus 2 to a couple of mid‑engine exotics. Quite a variety from such a small company, and all four very innovative.
Of course, there were quite a few Lotus Esprits there. One was in the race paddock.
There was also a very nicely prepared Lotus Cortina at the race, but we didn’t get to see it on the track.
I even found a car I had never heard of before — which seems to happen at every car show. According to the information provided, it was a Lotus Type 46 with a Renault engine. For sale for $30,000 or best offer.
It even had a SuperTrapp muffler like my car, although I run dual exhaust for my 907 engine. Works great.
Now for the good stuff — at least for Jensen‑Healey fans. I wanted to build a street/track‑day car, and here I finally got to compare mine to a real racing, non‑street‑legal Jensen‑Healey. The differences are fascinating.
I had to have a windshield; SCCA rules say no, of course. But I have a convertible soft top, so I can drive in the rain.
My favorite photo of the day was my car parked right next to a real SCCA D‑Production racing Jensen‑Healey. That car was the inspiration for my buying a J‑H. But I wanted a street/track car, and there is no way you could drive that SCCA car on the street.
You can see that I put more work into streamlining the nose — headlights behind glass, no wind‑catching headlight scoops. The tires are much more shielded from the wind, and the front spoiler prevents air from getting under the car. The nose is lower, smaller, and more rounded. Probably not enough to counteract the drag from the windshield, but every little bit helps, and it’s certainly better than the stock Jensen‑Healey.
The car was very comfortable at speed with the side windows rolled up. We spent a lot of time at 80 mph (speed limit 70; everyone did 80 or more). I had to pass a big tractor‑trailer at one point, and while in 5th gear I went from about 85 mph to 110 mph in just the time it took to pass the truck and pull back over.
If you look carefully, you can see that the SCCA car has been lowered slightly — something I couldn’t do with my street car. What you can’t see is that Rich made fiberglass body panels for his car, which must have saved a fair amount of weight over mine.
The brakes on the SCCA car have separate reservoirs for front and rear circuits. I don’t know if Rich was allowed to run four‑pot brakes like I have.
Rich Thomas — the proud owner, builder, and driver — did a fantastic job. His car has a 2‑liter SCCA engine with Dellorto carburetors instead of Strombergs, and the 4‑speed transmission instead of the close‑ratio "dogleg" (Getrag 265/5) in my car.
My car has 1.75" headers into a 2" collector, then into two 2.5" pipes, then SuperTrapps running on either side of the 18‑gallon gas tank (which fills the space where the spare tire used to fit). It sounds fantastic.
The racing J‑H has just a single small exhaust pipe. I would assume my car breathes better — 216 bhp on the engine dyno, 188 on the chassis dyno.
The rear tires on the SCCA car are racing slicks with almost zero tread, but check out the width — square shoulders make for a wider tire.
Mine are roughly the same size, but rated very good in the rain.
On the other hand, check out the big steel tubes for the roll bar/cage just inside both doors (the driver’s side pipes are covered with padding). Those have to add some weight back into the car.
I’ve been trying to point out why I built a street/track‑day car and not an SCCA racing car. Rich had to follow all the SCCA rules, whereas I could build whatever I wanted. Rich can have all the fun (and expense) of racing his car, but he can’t drive it on the road. I can drive mine to track days and on road trips. I built what I wanted, not what anyone else wanted. But Rich might have the best of both worlds — he told me he also has a 1974 Jensen‑Healey he bought new. Fifty‑two years with a British sports car! I’ve only had mine for 43 years — and still not quite finished.
And... I won an award!!!
1st place went to a car that been in the same family since new in 1974.
2nd place went to a beautiful restoration.
3rd place went to my ‘non Jensen‑Healey’ and I am glad I didn’t win. They deserved it.
Wrapping Up
The end of another great road trip. I’m planning on driving to the 75th Austin Healey Club of America meeting in Tahoe next June — about 1800 miles round trip, counting events during the week. Bokhee has decided to join me again since it’s much shorter than our last trip together. Check out our 4800‑mile trip to the 2024 meeting at Road America in the Road Trips section (link just below).
Maybe I’ll see you in Tahoe. Stop by and say hello.
Back To Top
