Page 57 - Feb2023

The Rut h and Joe Mahoney Years

Taking custody of Henry ws not like simply buying a
car. In 2010 the Mahoneys and the Dahl/Perry's
were still in touch , writing back and forth about the
Green Machine and explaining how the Mahoneys
came to be its new caretakers.

Writ ing t o Rut h, Carolyn said, "Wit h t hree cars,
we were having t rouble keeping t hem all
maint ained, so I kept coaxing my husband t o sell
t he Green Machine t o someone who would love
it as much as we had.

I found some int erest ed buyers, but my dear
husband just couldn't part wit h t he car and it s
memories. I didn't want t o eit her, but t o me, t he
car was like a finely craft ed, beaut iful piece of
art t hat needed conservat ion. So, if we couldn't
do it wit h our busy schedules, t hen I want ed t o
sell it t o someone who could give it t he loving
at t ent ion it needed. I guess we and t he car were
just wait ing for you t o come along. We would not
have sold it t o just any body.

The couple enjoyed the MGC for 14 years and
We've never forgot t en t he sensat ion of being
then Stuart Naylor came calling.
inside t he Green Machine. We loved t he sound of
it s mot or (you know how each car has it s own St uart Naylor Takes Charge of Henry
dist inct ive t one t hat you can ident ify?), riding
low t o t he ground, t he act ion of t he st ick shift , Sitting in his homely den in a house built in the
t he heat from t he mot or warming our t oes in '40s in a neighborhood that still retains much of
cold San Francisco, t he rush of wind past t he Nashville's old community charm, even as the
windshield wit h t he t op down, t he smells and area all around it is rapidly changing, Stuart says
spect acular views..well, you underst and." that the room and all of its furnishings are the
story of his life and who he is. Like Henry, now
As the Dahl/ Perrys understood, the Mahoneys are
sitting below us in the Naylor garage, Stuart is
car people in the best sense of the word. They
well traveled and has had a variety of careers
mounted and completed a careful restoration for
including playing trumpet with the house band
Henry, from 2006-2010, which returned him to his
on Cunard liners. Stuart has traveled the world.
appearance when he left the factory. And they took
him out and showed him and shared him with A native of England he retains the puckishness
others. More importantly, they shared his story on a of a good humored youth with the good manners
poster , coordinated with the original owners, so of his country. An offer of coffee, comes on a
that anyone who passed by would know how special tray with demara sugar and milk, and we settle in
this classic, world traveled 1968 MGC was and is. , in two oversized chairs, a picture of his mum
and dad on their wedding day, behind us, to talk
about how he became Henry's third owner.

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