Looked, couldn’t find it. Likely in one of his books. Probably 25 years ago I remembers a story in Autoweek that had me laughing don’t remember the author but it was really funny. He called the rope a “string” and spoke about the shenanigans of the car on the end of the string. Don’t have enough info on that story to even search and now Autoweek is out of print business, got the final issue this month.
pauls
We used to do it all the time, picking up old cars to fix up. Actually, my wife is the best towed driver, knowing how to anticipate the need for braking and so apply them enough to keep the rope from becoming slack.
But the worst memory I have was when I bought a 3-wheeler Heinkel Bubble Car from a guy about 50 miles away. I decided that my wife would drive the tow car (her MG Midget) because the brakes on the Heinkel weren’t too good.
So we set off home on the back roads in the dark with my wife going way too fast around the bends. That was when I discovered the brakes on the Heinkel had given up completely. The horn didn’t work and and the headlights were practically non-existent and the only way I could attract her attention get her to slow down was by standing up waving and screaming at the top of my voice through the sunroof.
From then on, braking was by means of the clutch and gearbox.
I’m not even sure that rope towing is even legal any more. Probably a good thing. 
Hi Nick, Well…I live in Sarnia ON…just opposite Port Huron MI!!
Thought I remembered that right, John. Have any leads on anyone who can help Rob out?
How”s the S2 coming?
Heheheheh, that’s one that should have been added to Peter Egan’s stories! I’m picturing it now and when you got her attention how carefully she had to react, stopping was not an option, slowing down very carefully was the only save. Folks who haven’t done it probably can’t imagine how finesse one has to be both with the tow car and the towed car, you must anticipate what the other driver is going to do before then do it. I gotta laugh, being in the towed car with little or no brakes, not something I’d entertain 
pauls
On the brakes, I also wouldn’t be surprised if they came free pretty easily. When I purchased mine last winter it had been off the road for 25 years and completely stationary for quite a while. I found the brakes to be frozen and figured we were going to have to drag it up onto the flatbed with immobile wheels. However, as soon as the winch was hooked up and started pulling, the wheels broke free.
That said, you will almost certainly have to go through all the hydraulics as part of your refurbishment, master and wheel cylinders both.
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Talking of towing, I ‘rescued’ an MG midget from the motor way just south of Auckland city, I was driving my ‘92 XJ40. We hooked the car up and started to head to my house.
Leaving the m’way, imagine my surprise when I touched my brakes to indicate that he needed to apply his brakes to keep the line taught, the car decelerated quite quickly.
We reached my home and discussed the brakes, DOH the Midget had MGB brakes fitted as it was basically a track car.
Turned out the reason the car was stopped was fuel starvation. They had been having the problem all day at a hill climb that I had been a marshal at.
Turned out his dad had been messing with the fuel tank (a not inexperienced mechanic who owned his own workshop for many years) with this in mind I went out to the car and removed the cap which resulted in a woosh of air entering the tank.
Once the vacuum had been replaced with atmospheric the car started straight up. Turns out they had replaced the vented cap with non vented.
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Rob,
I have nothing more to add to the tips for getting the brakes freed up, but I wanted to add my welcome to the forum. You will be amazed by the wealth of knowledge here and the friendliness of the members. Looking forward to seeing your new car and to watch you bring it back to life.
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Sure, I’m in Brighton MI
Nay lad. That’s easy. Now pushing a car with a rope; that is a rare skill…
[with apologies to the four Yorkshiremen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE]
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My father and I rope towed cars so many times growing up. I’m not even sure it’s legal any more?
Hey folks! I appreciate all the welcoming responses and the guidance too! Rather than try to reply individually, I’ll attempt to address all questions and comments here, in a single post –
This is from when I was last up there – July of this year…
Tires are inflated, so that’s good. I ensured the handbrake was disengaged (in the cockpit, at least) and that the shifter was in neutral, but the car wouldn’t roll when pushed by hand. I did jack up the front and the rear, individually, and none of the wheels would spin by hand. Luckily, I had jacked the front under the picture frame with a piece of wood for padding, as I hadn’t read ahead of time about proper jacking points - common sense prevailed, I suppose. I suspect the handbrake or clutch could be stuck.
Since the car was parked nose-in, I did end up wrapping a strap around the rear half-shaft and using a four-wheeler to see if I could get it to roll vs drag. I did this carefully and it did roll, but I kept it to a couple of inches because 1) I didn’t want to force/break anything and 2) I didn’t want to leave it sitting in an inconvenient spot for my mom. That slight roll gave me some confidence I won’t be fighting monsters. When I’m up there in January I’ll have more inspiration to pull it a bit further.
Lloyd – I see your waving hands, and I’ll avoid stepping on the brake pedal. Good advice that I wouldn’t have thought about!
Nick - The car was a US delivery car, so it has the dual Strombergs, not the triple SUs. I’m a US citizen, as was my dad – he moved to Canada later in his life. I didn’t realize the paperwork I’d have to fill out to get this imported back to the US!! I’m not sure if my dad ever did anything with the secondary Stromberg butterflies, but I’ve read about that mod here and it’s something I’ll eventually look into.
Nick - Yes – the farm is close to Sarnia. Mooretown, actually – just outside of Petrolia. John, maybe I’ll look you up when I’m up that way in January!
Mark – Yes – buckets of money. I get it! That’s a subject I’m holding close until I get the car here and figure out what the true condition is. I’ve visited many e-type restoration websites and blogs, so I know what could be hiding underneath the surface. I’m cautiously broaching the subject and the $$ potentials with my wife!
Carlo – a fellow Floridian, yes! While searching the archives I think I saw a “central Florida” post from you many years ago. IIRC, you were in the market for a Jag at that time…
I will follow up with a pic or two later tonight…
Rob
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A couple of pics from my last visit…
The bonnet isn’t latched so it looks a little askew, but I don’t recall any fitment issues. The top/hood was in the process of being replaced - just didn’t get finished.
The covers he had on the car have definitely helped, but I think a few critters, cats mainly, got to the bonnet paint before he did. I’ll have to give it a good wash to see what’s what.
The boot latch was having some sort of issue and my dad had it propped open to keep it from fully closing. I just can’t recall what the specific issue was!
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Lovely color, what a wonderful treasure from your father.
Amazing what pro detailers can do with paint restoration - should polish up nicely!
At one time, Tweety sported that gawd-awful side bump rubber…
Mmm side molding. How very 70s/80s !
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Don’t close the boot (trunk) until you ascertain that the opening mechanism is functional.
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Rob, Pm me when you are are back in ON, Regards, John H.
Yea!!
That moving a couple of inches told us a LOT!!
Removing the secondary butterflies makes a big difference in acceleration, I did a before and after test.
LLoyd
Wherever space and time interact, there is information, and wherever information can be ordered into knowledge, and knowledge can be applied, there is intelligence.
Pavel Mirsky, mid 21st Century Russian General
Yup, definitely a US delivery car, Rob. The Tex door mirror and US-spec side and tail lights tell the tale. You’ll be wanting advice on replacing those tires at some point. The body looks really good - has it had a respray? The position of the aerial in the rear isn’t standard and the text on the boot lid’s been removed.