September in Portland delivers nirvana for British car fans. This past weekend (September 9/10) the 46th annual All British Field Meet was held at Portland International Raceway. Cast in three parts, the event includes a car show, swap meet, and vintage racing. Saturday’s show drew over 500 cars from several states as well as Canada. This three-wheeled Mini Ranger Cub was just one example of the wildly weird conveyances on display. The Ranger is a Mini-based kit car; the placard on the car indicates only about eighteen were sold. It’s a pretty spritely little ride! For a sense of the sheer magnitude of the Mini contingent, check out this photo – it’s a thundering herd!

Next up is a lovely 1953 Sunbeam Mk I Alpine. Born with a strong rally heritage, the convertibles were not as successful slinging mud and gravel as their big brothers – the Sunbeam-Talbot saloon – despite strong factory support. Instead, the Alpine distinguished itself in more glamorous ways, ferrying Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, filmed in 1955. Despite hand-built coachwork and competent mechanicals, Alpine production was short-lived. Just 1582 examples were made from 1953 through 1955, and only a few hundred survived.

This car has shown up at the ABFM several years in a row now. Here are some hints as to its identity: It’s a 2+2 made in 1964. The body is fiberglass and from the factory, it was equipped with an 1800 cc MGB engine. In this particular series, only 280 cars were made. The firm that crafted the car was founded in 1959 and went defunct in 1973. Its country of origin made very few cars, ever. Any guesses as to make and c0untry?

In the class for race cars that didn’t happen to be on the track was this fantastic 1976 Ford Escort. With right-hand drive and a full complement of rally equipment, every inch of this car meant business.

Over at the track, I spotted this wonderful duo – a 1950s Chevy pulling the owner’s trailer and whatever race car he brought; to its right under the tent is an Austin Healey.

Meanwhile, these buddies brought a brace of well-turned-out cars. The lunch break brings everyone back to their tents before action gears up again at about one pm. On Sunday, the swap meet offers an opportunity to offload those extra parts off cars you don’t even own any longer – or, to offload an entire car. This year’s activity was on the quiet side, but there were still a few exciting cars for sale including a TVR 2500M and a very nice early Jag XKE roadster. Next year’s meet will be on the weekend after Labor Day once again – hope to see you there!