Allan Scott passed away peacefully in his sleep in the early hours of Thursday17th October. Allan was a long-term member of the MG Car Club and has been a familiar figure on the MGCC scene for over 60 years. More recently we have seen Allan with Sue at MGCC events, a regular at the AGM and Club lunches, and the Surrey and Sussex Wanderers meetings. Indeed he and Sue were at the Surrey Wanderers meeting on that Wednesday lunchtime. He had insisted on going along after a spell in East Surrey Hospital and it would prove to be his last MG Car Club meeting.
Allan initially worked at the Royal Aircraft Establishment in Farnborough as a civil servant after studying mechanical engineering at Portsmouth College. Whilst at the RAE in 1963 he met his future wife, Sue, who worked in a different department, they were married in 1969 and mov ed to Horsham. By this time Allan had left Farnborough and began a career in steam boiler engineering initially in Portsmouth and the London. He set up his own steam boiler supply and servicing company in 1988 and ran that business until his eyesight failed in 2003.
Allan first joined the MG Car Club in the early 1960s and he put those engineering skills to good use on the MGs that he owned and raced including a modified MG J2 with a supercharged 850cc engine (which looked like a J3) in which he can be seen at Brands Hatch in 1967 in these pictures.
There are records of his entry in race programmes from the MGCC Silverstone Festival in 1971 in a long handicap and in 1973 in a high speed trial and a handicap race in 1973. He also raced and hill-climbed an MG TC alongside other figures of the era including Ron Gammons, Paddy Wilmer, Pete Ross etc.
After Allan stopped racing the J2 became virtually a life-long restoration project and which was only recently sold.
It was not just the J2 and TC that Allan owned for another of his long-term cars was a TA affectionately known as “The Black Pig”. Allan was one of the original members of the T-Type Register and helped with the initial organisation of it. There is a hand-written article on T Type racing 1964 – 1966 which Allan wrote and the Register is hoping to publish and should give an insight into his early experiences.
After racing Allan and Sue took to trials and hill-climbing and in more recent years used a modern MG Midget to take part in these events. Allan would often say how he would change the differential on the Midget to suit particular events, putting his engineering skills to good use. That was useful as the TA was notably unreliable often breaking down on events.
Allan’s sight deteriorated through diabetes and he became totally blind but even after his sight was failing he still wanted to be involved with the club and brought a TD for Sue to drive, as it was easier than the TA. They used the TD for several years attending many T Register events and European tours. They continued to do this even after the TD developed engine issues by buying a modern MG3. Allan, however, continued to maintain his cars despite being blind with all the work being done by feel alone.
They were regular attendees at the Surrey and Sussex Wanderers meetings and John Morgan recollects an occasion when they were with the Surrey Wanderers on a run past Biggin Hill in their Midget when it lost all oil pressure. They pulled over by the ex-RAF base and it transpired that the oil pressure connection pipe had broken spraying oil all over the engine. They were helped by someone nearby who turned out to be looking after Bernie Ecclestone’s car collection,. He helped them clean it up and repaired it – filling it with some of Bernie’s special oil!
Allan and Sue were also regulars at the North Surrey Natter until evening driving became too much but the daytime Wanderer groups were easier. Indeed they were responsible for the first Sussex Wanderer group’s run in 2014 and also supported David & Ursula Griffiths in the Black Horse Natter at Nuthurst.
Allan was always ready with mechanical advice for club members who were having difficulties with their cars and was a great problem solver offering practical help when needed.
He will be greatly missed by his family – his wife Sue, his children, Christopher and Judith and the whole MG Car Club community.
