Maine's Sporting Car Community
MID MAINE
SPORTS CAR CLUB
Our founder, James Lea, and the early days of MMSCC
The idea for the Mid Maine Sports Car Club was born in the spring of 2002 in James and Barbara Lea's renovated basement in Rockport, Maine. James (affectionally known as Seamus) styled the room to look like an authentic Irish Pub where he often entertained guests stopping by for a game of darts or pool, and a pint of Guinness. Many were musicians arriving for "Any Monday," James weekly open jam session, others to share in his other hobbies and interests (of which there were quite a few) and many more who were British car enthusiasts.
George Stevenson and Jordy Jennings were car buffs and good friends of Jim and Barbs' who often dropped by to swap ideas, as well as great enthusiasm, about their current restoration projects. James' 1967 MGB Roadster restoration had taken him 10 years and was finally complete, and George and Jordy each were in the midst of their own projects. A 1965 Jaguar XKE and a 1957 Austin Healy. They were as excited about the idea of a midcoast Maine British and European car club as James was. In 2002, when the club was formed, there were other car clubs in the state, but none as far North.
So in an effort to spread the word, James placed an ad in the Camden Herald asking anyone with an interest in British and European sports cars to simply drive on over for a meet up. The ad was a shot in the dark and although Barb was a little skeptical, James felt sure he could build a community. At the designated time, as he and Barb sat in lawn chairs on the Rockport landing, a stream of cars eventually totaling over 30, appeared at the top of the hill. Later that day James and Jordy went back to the pub, drew up a charter and designed a logo, and MMSCC was born!
A life long lover of British and European sport and touring cars, James was always partial to MG's and Triumphs and as a young man of 20, while his friends were going to drag races, he was scouting for his first car. Barbara recalls that on their first date, that 1964 Triumph Spitfire featured prominently. Early in their marriage Barbara became enamored of sports cars as well (she didn't have much of a choice really) and the 2 spent a lifetime collecting and restoring cars which included a Triumph Renown, an Austin Healey, several MGs, and a Jaguar SJ6.
James passed away in August of 2018 and although he is keenly missed, the club he envisioned and nurtured for over a decade, born of his love for British cars, and his desire for community, continues to grow and flourish. MMSCC currently boasts over 300 members and is a wonderful community. Barbara sold the last of she and Jim's cars in 2021 and now in her late 80's attended the 2023 February Luncheon with her daughter.
