Why a Rolls-Royce?

Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club • Texas Region Newsletter • Summer 2015
Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club – Texas Region
2015 Officers & Directors
Chair: Phillip Reese
P.O. Box 1705 • Austin, TX 78767-1705
512-291-1428 • e-mail: [email protected]
Secretary: Bill Rasco
104 Ivy Lane • San Antonio, TX 778209
210-828-6188 • e-mail: [email protected]
Treasurer: Ken Harris
467 Scenic Valley Rd. • Kerrville, TX 78028
830-896-9861 • e-mail: [email protected]
Activities Chairman: James Stryker
17515 South Yaupon Circle • Tomball, TX 77377
832-646-5542 • e-mail: [email protected]
Membership: Sneed Adams
22906 Silent Spring Creek Ct. • Katy, TX 77450
281-395-8365 • e-mail: [email protected]
Chief Judge: Tim Myrick
3411 Homer Street • Dallas 75206
214-826-1878 • e-mail: [email protected]
Technical Chairman: Dale Clark
23855 Northcrest Trail • New Caney 77357
281-689-5964 • e-mail: [email protected]
Directors:
Exp. 12/31/16: Cathie Mouton
1860 I-10 South • Beaumont, TX 77707
409-866-9339 • e-mail: [email protected]
Exp. 12/31/17: Doug Handel
3016 Selma Ln. • Dallas, TX 75234
214-354-3932 • e-mail: [email protected]
Editor: Steve Krazer
3026 Ricsan Road • Abilene 79605 • 325-677-7755
Fax: 325-670-0566 • e-mail: [email protected]
The Lone Star Lady is published bimonthly by the Texas Region of the RollsRoyce Owners’ Club. The Texas Region is under the control of the Rolls-Royce
Owners’ Club.
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The Lone Star Lady endeavors to publish accurate information. The region,
its editors and officers assume no responsibility in the event of loss or damage
arising from any information contained therein. Statements attributed to individuals do not reflect the official policy and position of the Rolls-Royce Owners’
Club or the Texas Region.
Please direct any address changes to:
RROC National: 191 Hempt Road,
Mechanicsburg, PA 17050 • 800-TRY-RROC
Why a Rolls-Royce?
by Bob Bishop
1. The Seed: The seed was planted!
It was 1963. An ad in one of the local
New York City area newspapers had caught
my eye. It was a Phantom II Rolls- Royce.
I thought about it a long time. Sounded
like it did run, and all I had to do was to
relocate that family of mice that had taken
up residence in the leather back seat. It
wasn’t a lot of money, but I would have
to ship it from England, and I had no
friends in England to verify the details of
the Phantom II. I really knew nothing at
all about any Rolls-Royce automobiles.
Not even that the British like to call them
Proper Motor Cars. So I decided against it.
Over various moves over the years, I’ve seen
that ad packed away somewhere. I’m sure
I still have it.
Let’s jump ahead to 1981. I’d just taught
and participated in a Goal Setting course
for engineers in Los Angeles. My engineering society had put together a series of selfhelp seminars to help people set goals and
then find creative ways of reaching them.
We all had a lot of fun, just thinking,
“What if....” On the way back to the home
I was visiting, my host asked, “Bob, what
do you want to do most before you die?”
Without hesitating two microseconds, I
answered, “Well, for one thing, I want to
buy a Rolls-Royce!” The seed planted in
1963, had just been watered. My host
had a good friend with a 1929 model for
sale. He wanted to put the money into his
newest hobby, mountain climbing. But
he wanted $16,000! Where was a lowly
engineer going to get $16,000? So I went
home empty-handed.
Two weeks later, I woke up one morning and said to myself, “You know, this is
as close as I’m ever going to come.” So I
called Jon Lutz, and said, “Jon, I’ve decided
to buy your Rolls-Royce! I’ll mail you a
check today for $100, along with a letter
explaining how I’m going to pay for it.”
He wrote back and said, “Okay, it’s a deal.”
Continued on Page 6...
3 – Chairman’s Column
4 – 2015 Fall Car Clinic
8 – Lesson from a
Battered Custodian
10 – Texas Derby Barn Find
11 – 2015 Texas All-British
Car Day
12 – Activities
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the Club. As a Texan I am naturally boastful,
but I can honestly say that other regions look to
us and how we do things as a guide. For that, I
thank you for caring for your cars and for your
fellow club member.
As some of you may have
already read, I have had the
honor and privilege to have
been elected as the President of
the Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club
by my fellow National Board
Members. When I first joined this club 10 years
ago it was the fulfillment of a dream for me – to
own a Rolls-Royce. I never imagined that I
would be elected to a leadership role at the state
level much less the national level. When my fellow National Board members elected me, much
to my surprise and amazement, I made them
the promise I made to each of you when elected
Chairman of the Texas Region. I promised
to work hard to make sure that every member
received value for their membership. During
my two year tenure as National President, I will
work to make sure that we provide members
with valuable information for their cars, interesting items to purchase reflecting their pride in
Rolls-Royce and Bentley and informative and
exciting annual meets and regional events so that
our members can enjoy their cars together.
As the new President I thought it appropriate
that I resign as your Texas Region Chairman so
that a new chairman could be elected and have
that person dedicated 100% of his or her time
to leading this wonderful region. This will be
my last letter to you as your Chairman. I would
like to thank each member of the Texas Region
for supporting me and your Board of Directors,
but more importantly for participating in our
region’s events and contributing your knowledge and enthusiasm to our club. It is no secret
that I love our region and what it does both for
each other here in Texas and for the RROC as
a whole. Many of the things that other regions
are now doing started here. Regional breakfasts,
the now famous “yellow volunteer vests”, the different “University“ schools at the National Meet
all started here. We are a very diverse region,
both in geography and in composition. We
have rural and urban members. Members who
like pre-war cars and those who love late model
cars. We have members who prefer Rolls-Royces
and those who prefer Bentleys. One thing each
Texas Region member does have in common
is that we all enjoy each other’s company. This
was never more evident to me than at this year’s
Spring Meet in Bastrop. While this may sound
uneventful to some, I can tell you that this is not
always the case in other regions. This is what
keeps our region special and one of the best in
to ask me to take over as Chairman of the Texas
Region. I said “yes” — that I would be willing
and able to continue to help our region and to
put my name in the hat for your Texas Region
board to elect me to this position. So, I’m back!
We’ve got all sorts of events coming up. First is
the Tour to the Fall Car Clinic, October 28 to
30, leaving from Glen Rose TX. The Fall Car
Clinic is going to be hosted by me in Round
Rock TX, October 30 to November 1.
Happy Late Summer! I’m back
as your Texas Region Chairman,
at least until the end of 2015.
Al Briseno, who was our Texas
Region Chairman, called me the
day he was elected the Chairman
of the National club to give me the news and
And, then, there are the Texas Region Holiday
Parties to look forward to attending! The Hill
Country Area will have their Holiday Party,
Sunday, December 6 in far NW San Antonio
TX. Please stay tuned for the Dallas area and the
Houston area to announce their parties.
By the time you read this a new Chairman will
have been appointed by the Texas Region Board
of Directors. I ask each of you to support him
or her in keeping this Region one of the best in
the Club. While I may be busy at the National
level, I will always be a very proud Texas Region
member and will expect that each of you communicate with me and let me know what can be
done to improve the Club.
Now that I have said my “good-byes”, I still
want to remind you that we have an upcoming
Fall Car Clinic and mini-tour. This year the Car
Clinic will be held in Round Rock Texas. You
will soon be receiving information on registration and hotel accommodations. I urge you to
come to Round Rock and hang out with your
fellow members and talk cars. New for this
year is the “mini-tour” that Sneed Adams has
arranged. The tour will travel the back roads of
the Texas Hill County, visit some interesting hill
country towns and end in Round Rock. What a
better way to start the Car Clinic weekend than
on a tour with your fellow members. I look
forward to seeing you on the tour! Later in the
year we will have the various holiday parties. I
thank each member who will be hosting a party.
Thank you for letting us into your homes and
arranging for us to gather at a very special time
of the year.
Be safe on the roads of Texas and
KEEP MOTORING ON! – Al
Michael Davis, from the Fort Worth area, is our
host for Spring Meet 2016. He has been busy
working on finding the best location for us to
enjoy in the Fort Worth area. Thank you, Michael, for all you are doing. Please Save the Date,
Thursday, May 5 to Sunday, May 8, 2016.
Also, Texas Region elections will be held soon
for the board to be seated as of January 2016.
You will be able to vote electronically.
Please watch your email for this opportunity.
Please get your Bentley and/or Rolls-Royce
out of the garage and drive them. The cars do
so much better when used for their intended
purpose.
Take care and enjoy!
Phillip Reese
Summer 2015 • The Lone Star Lady
3
21st Annual
Texas Region RROC
Fall Car Clinic
Friday, October 30 to Sunday, November 1, 2015
Please Note: Major Location Change:
Round Rock TX (just north of Austin) instead of
San Antonio TX!
Please join club members in Round Rock for the 21st
annual Fall Car Clinic.
After making the journey to Round Rock through Friday traffic,
everyone attending the Fall Car Clinic weekend will enjoy not leaving
the comfort of the host hotel, Homewood Suites Round Rock, for
dinner Friday evening.
We will also have dinner at the hotel on Saturday evening! No fighting the Saturday evening traffic to get to a noisy, crowded restaurant,
and then waiting to pay your checks individually.
And, with Saturday being Halloween, we are encouraging everyone
to get creative and wear a costume to dinner Saturday evening! There
will be prizes!
These meals are a part of the per-person event registration fee.
Expert Rolls-Royce/Bentley Technicians for 2015
There will be two Rolls-Royce and Bentley expert technicians on
hand this year. Texas Region Technical Chairman Dale Clark is
busy checking with Rolls-Royce/Bentley experts to see which ones
are available as well as willing and able to guide us this year.
The two main focal points of the Fall Car Clinic will be for members to:
1 – Learn more about the operation of specific aspects/
features of their Rolls-Royce/Bentley
2 – Have an expert inspect/diagnose their Rolls-Royce/
Bentley. Repairs will be made only if the fix
is simple and the tools/parts are available.
This will be a unique opportunity for all
of us to learn from each other, the
technicians and from the
experience.
Why Should I Attend?
If your Rolls-Royce/Bentley is performing flawlessly, but, maybe, you’ve never quite understood how this feature works or what that does,
the Fall Car Clinic is for you.
If you have a mechanic or a dealership that maintains your Rolls-Royce/Bentley, the Fall Car Clinic can
help you become just a little more knowledgeable about
your car so that when you take your car in for service, you
can converse with the service person about your car.
4 The Lone Star Lady
• Summer 2015
Take A Tour to the Car Clinic!
There will be a Mini Driving Tour starting at noon on
Wednesday October 28th in Glen Rose, TX. This Tour
will be about 400 miles and the drive will take us through
Brownwood, Mason and Fredericksburg. The Tour will
end on Friday afternoon October 30 at the Homewood
Suites in Round Rock. Home of the Car Clinic. Highlights of the Tour include the Brownwood Museum of
History, BBQ Lunch at the ranch of Member Richard Taylor in Mason, TX, Hangar Hotel Officer’s Club, Willow
City Loop drive and Grape Creek Vineyard lunch stop.
The Registration form is enclosed. $25 per person. Cut off
dates for the Hotel Block Special Rates is September
29th!!! Cut off date for Tour Registrations is October
15th!!!! Details, directions and instruction can be had from
Sneed Adams. 281-787-3160 or [email protected].
If you have had your Rolls-Royce/Bentley awhile and it has some
issues that need to be addressed, the Fall Car Clinic is for you!
Experts will go over your car from top to bottom while you record
or take notes on what issues need immediate attention as well as
those that can wait.
Car Clinic Garage
For 2015 we will be using a Do It Yourself (DIY) garage within
two miles of the host hotel. The entire garage is reserved for us,
and only us, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31. We will
have access to three lifts: one four-post lift and two two-post lifts.
There are other spaces in the garage for cars and each space has a
basic tool box for our use. Other tools are available on a rental basis
and each attendee would be responsible for paying for their use.
Remember to bring your comfortable portable chairs.
The garage has one restroom.
The garage also has a booth for bead blasting of small parts and a
machine to check air conditioning, both of which can be used for
an extra charge each attendee will be responsible for paying. There
is a Powder Coating business in the same block.
We will have lunch brought in to the garage on Saturday. This meal is
included in your per-person registration fee.
Alternate Saturday Event
All Fall Car Clinic attendees are invited to participate in the
Alternate Saturday Event. If you or your spouse/partner have no
interest in what happens in the garage, plan to attend the Alternate Saturday Event. This year event participants will be exploring
historic downtown Round Rock with its unique shops, day spa and
restaurants. You may want to find that “one of a kind” Halloween
costume for Saturday night at the host hotel! This event is included
in your per-person Alternate Event registration fee.
Host Hotel
Homewood Suites Round Rock is our host hotel for the 2015 Fall
Car Clinic. Homewood Suites is less than two miles from the Fall
Car Clinic Garage. Each room is a suite and the rate includes an
expanded breakfast. Homewood Suites also cordons off part of the
parking lot for our Rolls-Royces and Bentleys only. The club will
provide an off-duty Round Rock police officer to watch over our
cars the two nights we are there.
Socializing
Even if you are not mechanically inclined, there are plenty of
opportunities to socialize with club members. We start out Friday
afternoon with registration and hospitality, which includes visiting
with Texas Region friends. Friday and Saturday evening we will
enjoy a delicious catered meal together at the host hotel. There are
always members to visit with during the Fall Car Clinic, whether at
the hotel, garage or alternate event.
Halloween Costume Contest
Saturday will be Halloween! Saturday evening, starting with hospitality and continuing through our catered meal at the host hotel
we encourage every attendee to “get creative” and come up with a
Halloween Costume just right for you! There will be prizes!
Sunday Morning Changes
1. For 2015, we will NOT be going back to the Car Clinic Garage
on Sunday morning. We hope to have a classroom car clinic session
or a parking lot car clinic session, or it may be a Question and
Answer session. Stick around and find out. You might just learn
something!
2. The Texas Region board meeting will be held at the host hotel
on Sunday morning. Remember... this is YOUR club. You are
encouraged to attend and participate.
Plan NOW to Attend the Fall Car Clinic this year. You can be a
“charter member” of the 21st Annual Fall Car Clinic as we begin a
new era with a new event name in a new host city with a new host
garage and new host hotel!
The Fall Car Clinic/Tour registration forms and hotel
information are inserted in this issue. For more
information, please contact Phillip Reese via Email at:
[email protected]
Summer 2015 • The Lone Star Lady
5
Continued from Page 1...
Of course I didn’t tell Jon that $100 was all
I had in my checking account! It took me
a year longer than planned to pay for it, but
I bought it!
2. Learning to Drive: The day
I learned to drive it was a memorable
experience! Being Right-Hand drive and
having all the engine controls on the steering column meant many driving changes.
Fortunately, I had pored over the owner’s
manual and rehearsed many things in my
head, over and over and over. What could
possibly go wrong? The four speed gear
shift was the same pattern as my 1972
Golden Pinto Station Wagon.
Ford was the closest I had
come to elegance. It’s
still the only new car I
ever bought.
rival. Another vivid memory as this car
slowly inched down the ramp. Dorothy
had wondered why I was always so broke
during our dating period. But she was
just as excited as I was to finally get the car
delivered. Then she saw the Red Ferrari
behind it, and said let’s take that one, too.
To this day, I’ve never bought her the little
red sports car she wanted. Then we learned
that the shipper just prior to us had been
Asa Chandler, owner of the Los Angeles
Times. So we knew we were in some pretty
heady company. He had just shipped a
Duesenberg; way out of our league!
That brings us to our first car trip with the
Rolls- Royce Owners’ Club. Only weeks
after receiving the car,
we went to
First problem: Syncromesh had not yet been
invented. So how do
you get up to speed,
or even tougher, how
do you downshift?
Double clutch!
What’s that mean? I’d
never done it. Big difference between reading
about it and doing it!
Second problem: Once started,
how do you control the engine? Everything on every car I had ever driven
was automatic. Okay, so the hand throttle
for idle is on the left, the mixture control
is on top, and the spark advance is on the
right. I’ve managed to shift gears and we’re
up to 30 MPH, now what? Fortunately,
Jon was sitting on my left and coached me
through every step. Nothing like a living
tutorial underway in the car you’ve just
finished paying for.
But the biggest memory that day: The
face of my Dad sitting back seat right and
the face of my son, David, sitting back seat
left. “You aren’t really going to do this, are
you?” They’re both gone now and that one
memory is so vivid, I can see it as yesterday.
3. Shipping Home: In May 1983, I
had the car shipped East from Los Angeles,
to our home in Burke, Virginia, just outside
Washington, DC. It’s a good thing, too,
because my real engineering education had
just begun. Some things were brilliantly
engineered; some things were ... NOT. By
that time I’d been married for five months
and Dorothy was there for the grand ar6 The Lone Star Lady
• Summer 2015
historic Williamsburg for the first of many
car club trips. We knew this trip would be
unusual because we had to send security
clearances at the last minute. Later we
found out why. The Prime Minister of
England, Margaret Thatcher, waved at
us on her way to one of the Economic
Summit meetings scheduled for the same
weekend. What timing! Another heady
experience.
4. Mick Barker Arrives:
We also
met Mick and Kathleen Barker that weekend in Williamsburg. Mick was to become
our trusted mechanic for many years, until
he and Kath went back home to England
in 1991. Mick had a passion for precision. Never just good enough. Always the
very best. Mick had worked in the Crewe
Rolls-Royce factory as an apprentice. Even
Sir Henry Royce, one of the co-founders,
said, “Take the best that exists and make it
better.” Many quotes were attributed to Sir
Henry: “Whatever is rightly done, however
humble, is noble,” and “The quality is remembered long after the price is forgotten.”
Of course we Americans had a few quotes
of our own. Mick had a sign over his
fireplace, “The parts you see falling off this
fine automobile were manufactured to the
highest standards of British workmanship.”
Not very often, but some designs did need
improvement. Many designs were truly
ingenious. Like the fan blade adjustment.
How many of you can remember the last
time you had to adjust the belt, gripping four screwdrivers with your teeth, a
spanner wrench with your big toe, pulling
your arms together with all your
strength? Our Rolls-Royce
has a thumbscrew release
with a little knurled
knob to pull the belt
closer, then tighten
the thumbscrew.
I can spend a
few minutes
on facts and
myths. Two
things will
kill any
engine,
even a RollsRoyce. Without frequent oil
changes, at least
annually, your oil will
turn to abrasive crud and turn
your engine down, just as if you
had put it on a lathe in a machine shop!
Engine rebuilds are very costly. The other
thing is water level and antifreeze. Corrosion inhibitors are very important, as well
as preventing catastrophic failure due to
heat. Another costly repair is to recore your
radiator.
Another myth is that Rolls-Royce engines
will run on anything. While that used to
be almost true, today’s modern gas tends
to go stale in only a few weeks, making the
engine almost impossible to start and run.
One solution is an additive called STA-BIL,
provided that you put some in when you
fill the tank. Later is too late! The gasoline
has already broken down.
5. High Reliability: Rolls-Royce
gained an early reputation for high reliability. And that’s why Sir Henry designed
his very first engines in 1904. He had been
struggling with a French vehicle called the
Decauville, and became frustrated over
frequent breakdowns. Later, after joining
forces with the Honorable Charles Rolls, a
banker, he replaced worn parts, probably at
the half-life. So when something did break,
it really was unusual. The factory called it
Failure to Proceed, and yes, they did send
repair people around the world, fixed the
problem, and then said, “Problem? What
problem? Everything’s fine. This is no
problem.” Unfortunately, during one of
the company’s many reorganizations, they
dropped that policy. Owners today pay for
every repair (except for new cars still under
warranty).
Which brings us to the importance of
joining the car club for your vehicle! Great
source for parts and information, and even
shoulders to cry on when things go wrong.
Every car has something happen sometime.
Even mufflers fall off, always forward of
course, so you can’t drive the car without
a coat hanger to get the muffler off the
ground. That happened to us right here
near Van Alstyne, Texas, driving my wife’s
family car on FM 121. My wife can still remember the farmhouse where we stopped.
Little did I know then.... Cost about triple
the price of that Sears muffler.
Another pay off is fantastic trips, like that
trip to Williamsburg. Hotel owners love
to fill their parking lots with Rolls-Royces.
So they tend to give deep price discounts
you’ll never find anywhere else. And, it’s
comforting to travel with others, knowing
that if something does go wrong, someone
can probably help you fix the problem.
Like the time our points went bad, right
in the middle of a parade, far from home.
Easy fix, with the help of experts, ... and my
wife’s nail file!
6. Organizing a Trip:
We even had
the fun of organizing a trip! From Paris
to Moscow. Paris, Virginia, a sleepy little
town west of Washington; and Moscow,
West Virginia, a crossroads with many
humorous comparisons to Moscow, Russia!
But it was all in good fun. Even if I did
learn serious gear changing coming off the
mountains of Shenandoah. Unless you
guess correctly at the mountain top, it’s
almost impossible to downshift to second
gear! Dorothy’s loudest screams ever occurred in third gear, as we careened around
that narrow winding road down. As she
puts it, she was screaming, praying and
crying all the way down. My prayer was
a prayer of Thanks that God brought us
safely down.
Of course car club events can lead to some
very embarrassing moments. I’d planned a
romantic weekend during one of the RollsRoyce Owners’ Club technical seminars.
After working on my car all day Friday at
the seminar, the plan was for Dorothy to
drive up to Mechanicsburg, PA, and to
join me for the formal dinner. What could
possibly go wrong? Well, between the soup
and the salad courses, Dorothy announced
to the assembled guests, “Bob, you have
axle grease in your left ear!” And I thought
I’d cleaned up good!
A short introduction to British Humor
From Bob Bishop
I want to give you my short introduction to British Humor,
the kind of dry humor that seems to permeate all Royce-Royce
technical publications. Dorothy and I have traveled to various
countries over the years, and learned a lot about humor in
other cultures! Some very funny, and some--well, I’ll let you
judge for yourself. Things funny to one people are not always
funny to others. We really do laugh at different things. Our
local culture has a great deal to do with it. Sometimes devastating historical incidents lead to humor because that’s the
way those people deal with it.
British Humor relies on connected thoughts and the
unexpected. Consider these three short stories:
Two hippopotamuses went to a certain watering hole every
Thursday for many years. They even bore an offspring and took
their offspring with them. One day, quite unexpectedly, the watering hole was dry. The male hippo said, “Well, there will be other
Thursdays.”
A British businessman was very successful and bought a brickyard filled with a huge inventory of bricks. In fact there were so
many bricks, he hired a local contractor to build a huge house.
Still had bricks left over. Built a huge garage. Still had bricks left
over. Built a brick fence. Bricks left over. Built a stable. Still
had bricks. The building program continued for ten years, when
finally, the contractor had one brick left. So the businessman took
the last brick, went off by himself, and threw that brick as far as he
could.
On another Thursday, another successful Brit went to his local
aerodome with his Meerschaum Pipe and his Prize-winning Bull
Terrier. This time, the dog wanted to fly with him in his antique
Sopwith Camel. The dog had never flown before. The man
thought for a moment, and said to himself, “Well, why not!’’ So
they took off, the man smoking his rare pipe and the Bull Terrier
sitting in the rear seat. The man was feeling very good about
himself with three of his prized possessions, when quite unexpectedly, the dog hit the elevator control. The plane flipped over and
the dog fell out. Our heroic Brit, a very good pilot, managed to
regain control and struggled to land. Finally, safe on the ground,
he looked around to assess what he had left. The pipe was in his
lap. The dog was tenaciously clinging to the tail section--that’s
why the plane was so hard to land. And what do you think he had
in his mouth? The brick.
Summer 2015 • The Lone Star Lady
7
They say that we do not really own
our Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars;
we are merely custodians taking care of
them for future generations. In April, my 1988 Bentley Continental, a Best of Show
winner in this region and a Rolls-Royce of America Trophy
car for 2013, was crashed into by an unlicensed driver
from another country. I have come to learn that in
Texas it is almost unheard of NOT to be crashed
into at some point by an unlicensed driver from
another country, so I guess I was overdue. I
learned many other bits in this unfortunate process, and here I share them with you:
1 – Get very high “agreed value”
insurance coverage. Most of us
know that it is important to have you and
your insurance company agree on the value
of your car. But it is probably worth it to
pay for the highest value your insurance company
will agree to. Yes, this means a higher annual
premium, but it makes it more likely you can
replace your car if it is destroyed or stolen. If it
is merely damaged, a higher agreed value also
means a higher threshold for your insurance
company to “total” the car. In my case, the
agreed value was $80K, and as soon as repair
estimates approached $56K (70 percent of
agreed value) they had the right to “total” the car
– pay me $80K less salvage value.
2 –Cover your car with a classic
car insurer. For older cars, most of us
automatically insure with Hagerty, Grundy or
one of the other reputable classic car insurance
companies. For newer cars, it may not be
so straightforward. My insurance company
(in theory) specialized in high-end luxury
cars, but none of their employees, from the case workers to the
adjusters to the inspectors had a clue what they were talking
about with a classic Bentley. For example, their initial estimate
for LABOR to repair the damage and re-paint the entire car
was about $6K. On our cars, you can spend $6K in labor just
removing the old paint!
8 The Lone Star Lady
• Summer 2015
3 – Cars are not dogs. In the end, I collected my
insurance settlement then decided to sell my car (which my
insurance company allowed me to keep for a price). If you
offer your car for sale these days, you can offer it privately and
quietly to people you know, but if none of them buy it, then
you inevitably post it for sale somewhere publicly – Hemmings,
E-Bay, etc. As soon as you post it, the first firm offers are from
brokers. There is nothing inherently bad about brokers, but
if you maintain a fantasy – as I did – that your cherished car
will end up in the hands of a loving collector who will treat it
as a member of the family, then abandon that fantasy. Cars are
commodities. It’s all about the money. As of mid-August, my
car has already passed through at least two brokers, and each
has profited. Want a new member of the family? Get a dog.
4 – Leverage your networks. If I had decided to
restore my car myself, I learned there are many RROC friends
who were willing to help with advice, experiences, referrals to
craftsmen, ideas for parts sources, etc. The RROC Discussion
Forum (http://rroc.hoop.la) is surprisingly useful in this regard. My own dialog regarding the 1988 Bentley spurred dozens
of posts by 18 different people. (See: http://rroc.hoop.la/
topic/1988-bentley-continental-damaged-trophy-winner-1). Is this a great club, or what? Summer 2015 • The Lone Star Lady
9
Texas Derby
Barn Find
They are still out there. Never give up looking. This is a barn find in Boerne,
TX. A 1939 Bentley B39MX. Hopefully the car will be undergoing restoration in the near term here in Texas. We are hoping to have the opportunity to
do a full article of its restoration. The owner is not a member as yet.
I will be working on that.
B39MX is a Park Ward special saloon pillarless. It was originally sold through
Jack Barclay. The body number is B274. The original registration number
was FXL177. The engine number P6BY. The original owner was Bertram Patson (or Patston or Paxton) of Motor Springs, Ltd., Peterborough. Old records
show it was owned by Club Member William Kennson, in Nashville, TN.
10 The Lone Star Lady
• Summer 2015
25th Texas All British Car Days!
Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 25, 26 & 27
The 25th Texas All British Car Days will be held Friday, Saturday and Sunday September 25, 26 & 27, 2015. It seems
amazing. This event has been held every year since 1990!
That’s 25 consecutive years! Please join us to celebrate this Silver
Jubilee!
TXABCD is the largest gathering of British cars in Texas and a great place
to see the cars you grew up with like Triumph, MG and Mini and to see
exotic British cars you may not have seen before like Jaguar, Aston Martin,
Bentley, Morgan and Rolls-Royce.
Hotel Information: The hotel is just a 5 minute drive from Centennial
Plaza, where the show will be held on Sunday. Discounted rate available
until reserved rooms are sold out. You can reserve your room before online
registration for the show itself is open. Reserve your room soon!
Homewood Suites
2201 S. Mays St
Round Rock, TX 78664
512-341-9200
Tentative TXABCD Show Weekend Schedule (Note that this is TENTATIVE and may change!). A more detailed schedule is at www.txabcd.org.
Friday – Meet and Greet at The Brass Tap. Saturday: • Morning - Event to be announced. Hospitality suite with snacks
and registration.
• Mid Day - Registration and hospitality suite.
• Afternoon - Rallye, details to be announced.
• Evening - Catered dinner.
Sunday – The big car show at Centennial Plaza in Round Rock!
Registration: Registration online and by mail are now available!
This year we’ll hold the Sunday show at Centennial Plaza in Round Rock.
This is a fairly new and very nice plaza which will make our show a lot of
fun. And best of all it’s all paved! No worries about last minute arrangements to avoid mud! Please plan to join us the last weekend of September.
See you there!
Summer 2015 • The Lone Star Lady
11
Dallas-Ft. Worth Area Activities:
Dallas Monthly Breakfast– Dallas area breakfast meetings
are held the second Saturday at 8:30AM at the ‘Egg and I’
located at 15203 Knoll Trail Dr. in Dallas. This is just north
of Arapaho one block east of the Tollway. Knoll Trail is the
same road as Monfort south of Arapaho.
Ft. Worth Monthly Breakfast– Every 3rd Saturday - 8:30AM
Location: Woodhaven Country Club • 913 Country Club Ln.
• Ft. Worth, TX
Houston Area Activities:
Houston Monthly Breakfast– Every 2nd Saturday - 9:00AM
Location: Skeeters at 5529 Weslayan, Houston, TX
Hill Country Activities:
Hill Country Monthly Breakfast– 3rd Saturday of the
month, 9:00 a.m., Buttermilk Cafe, 1324 Common St.,
New Braunfels, TX 830-625-8700
Website: http://www.thebuttermilkcafe.com/
Texas Region Hill Country Area Holiday Party
When: Sunday, December 6, 2015
Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Homemade Lunch 12:30 p.m.
Hosts: Ruth and Don Zook
Where: Grey Forest TX, Far NW side of San Antonio TX
Cost per person: $10.00
All Texas Region RROC members are invited.
For more information: Email Phillip Reese: AusPWR@aol.
com Information will be emailed to all Texas Region members
as soon as ready.
Statewide Activities:
25th Texas All British Car Days! – Friday, Saturday & Sunday September 25, 26 & 27. See page 11 of this issue for more
information. A detailed schedule is at www.txabcd.org
Mini Driving Tour to Car Clinic – October 28-30, 2015:
Tour starts at noon on Wednesday October 28th in Glen
Rose, TX and will be will be about 400 miles. The drive will
take us through Brownwood, Mason and Fredericksburg.
The Tour will end on Friday afternoon October 30 at the
Homewood Suites in Round Rock. Home of the 2015 Car
Clinic. Registration form is enclosed. $25 per person. Details,
directions and instruction can be had from Sneed Adams. 281-787-3160 or [email protected]
21st Annual Texas Region RROC Fall Car Clinic – Friday,
October 30 to Sunday, November 1, 2015. See pages 4-5 of
this issue for detailed information. Plan NOW to attend!