Aug - Your marque here

Gateway Relay
Vol III, No. 12
St Louis Sports Car Council
Council News & Notes
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There’s an old saying, something
to the effect of “Nothing succeeds
like success” (which is actually a
variation on the original quote by
historian Christopher Lasch:
“Nothing succeeds like the appearance of success”).
Thanks to organizer ML Hillard
and a corps of volunteers, Cars &
Coffee’s been going for about two
years and it remains one of the
most successful, fun and entertaining car events locally. And,
apparently, its success is spreading or at the least, others are following the lead by establishing
their own events.
On the east side, Gateway Classic Cars in O’Fallon is now hosting C&Cs at their new facility
along I-64 near Menards. This
month’s event is on the 16th, followed by another gathering on
Sat 13 September.
And, for those in St Charles
County, you’ll also get a chance
at a local C&C, starting on 6 September at Mid Rivers Mall.
Where at Mid Rivers Mall we
haven’t a clue, but it might be
worth checking out if you live out
that way.
Enjoy the remainder of summer
and, as always, keep us in mind
when scheduling events.
August 2014
Up & Coming
16 Aug 2014—Cars & Coffee. Starbucks Coffee at 9616 Manchester Rd, Rock
Hill Plaza, 7:45-9:30 AM (note time change). On Facebook at facebook.com/
groups/stlmetrocarsandcoffee.
16 Aug 2014—5th Annual Veteran’s Charity Car Show , Purina Farms, 200
Checkerboard Dr, Grays Summit. Registration starts at 9 AM, $20, show from 11
AM to 3 PM. Proceeds to veteran’s organizations.
16 Aug 2014—Arnold Historical Society Car Show, Arnold City Park, Jeffco
and Bradley Beach Rd. Registration 9 AM to 12 noon, dash plaques first 100
cars, top 30 cars receive awards. Info at www.arnoldhistorical.org or call (636)
375-1106.
21-24 Aug 2014—Midwest AHC HealeyFest 2014, in Beloit, WI. Large number
of activities, for more info, contact Bernie Bowersock (815)505-7975 or email
[email protected].
23 Aug 2014—Gateway VCOA Mid-Missouri Meet-Up, Jefferson City with the
Volvo Club of Kansas City and the Ozark Rollers Volvos. Depart from the Eureka
Schnuck’s (I-44 & MO 109) at 8:30 AM, tour begins at the old Missouri State Penitentiary at 11 AM (no children under 10), followed by lunch at Canterbury Winery.
If interested, please RSVP by 15 August to [email protected],
prison tour waiver form and details at https://www.sites.google.com/site/
gatewayvcoa/home/mid-missouri-meet-up-2014.
24 Aug 2014—St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 8, Family Arena, St Charles.
Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98.
30-31 Aug 2014—Kansas City All British Car & Cycle Show , at the Zona
Rosa, 8640 N Dixson Ave, KCMO. Celebrating 50 years of the TVR Griffith, Aston Martin DB5, Jaguar S-Type and Morris/Austin Mini Cooper S. Monitor http://
kcallbritish.com/.
31 Aug 2014—Boeing Sports Car Club autocross, Family Arena, St Charles,
$35 for six runs, show about 9 AM. Contact Racer Steve at [email protected]
for details and to get on the event email list.
6 Sept 2014—CIZE Car Show, Knights Action Park, 1700 Recreation Drive,
Springfield, IL, 4 PM to 8 PM. . Info Gateway Z Club is planning on sending a
contingent, more info at www.gatewayzclub.com.
6 Sept 2014—First Cars & Coffee West, Mid Rivers Mall, St Peters, 8 AM to 10
AM.
(Continued on page 2)
Note: Some club driving events restrict participation to club members only, primarily
for national/chapter insurance reasons. If interested in joining in on a drive or other
event, we recommend you contact the club’s event coordinator in advance for details.
In Print
First off, congratulations to Gateway
Healey Association’s Robert Pass,
whose Healey factory “M” was featured
on page 2 of Healey Marque Magazine.
September’s Hemmings Sports & Exotic Car is hard to miss, what with the
bright red Sunbeam Tiger on the cover.
Along with a feature article on the Tiger,
Continued on pg. 5
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Up and Coming (Continued from page 1)
6 Sept 2014 – 4th Annual Transportation Expo Show, at LifePointe Church, 1400 Babler Park Dr, Wildwood. 10 AM to 3
PM, 15 classes, info (636)458-3885 or call up www.lifepointewildwood.com.
13 Sept 2014 – Gateway VCOA Salvage Yard Scramble. Details to follow, monitor www.sites.google.com/site/
gatewayvcoa/.
13 Sept 2014 – Rods on the River, Mississippi River Car Show. Registration 8 am to 12 noon, dash plaques to all participants, attendance prizes to the top three participating car clubs. 50/50 drawing benefits St Lois Children’s Hospital. At Polestar Marina, Blaze Station Road off Hwy 94 north, St Charles. Info (314)609-6178.
14 Sept – 36th Annual Horseless Carriage Club of Missouri Swap Meet & Car Show . Dash plaques, 50/50 drawing,
at the Hollywood Casino, 777 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights. Call (314)991-4665 or see www.hccmo.com for more information.
14 Sept 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 9, Family Arena, St Charles. Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98.
19 Sept 2014 – ABBCS Welcome Parking Lot BBQ, Red Roof Westport, 11837 Lackland Rd. Traditional pre-show meet
and greet hosted by the MG Club of St Louis, $5 donation to the cause requested, info at www.allbritishcarshow.com/home/.
20 Sept 2014 – Cars & Coffee. LOCATION CHANGE: Westport Plaza, I-270 and Page Blvd, between Starbucks and
McDonalds, 8 AM to 10 AM. On Facebook at facebook.com/groups/stlmetrocarsandcoffee.
20 Sept 2014 – 33rd All British Car & Cycle Show , Creve Coeur Lake Park, featuring Sunbeam as this year’s featured
marque. Hosted by the MG Club of St Louis, food concession by SLTOA.
www.allbritishcarshow.com/home/.
Online registration now available at
20 Sept 2014 – Last Cars & Coffee of the season. LOCATION CHANGE: Westport Plaza, I-270 and Page Blvd, between
Starbucks and McDonalds, 8 AM to 10 AM. On Facebook at facebook.com/groups/stlmetrocarsandcoffee.
27 Sept 2014 – Joint JAGSL and Spirit Classic Car Club Drive to Mark Twain Birthplace Historic Site, Florida, MO, on
the shore of Mark Twain Lake. Meet at the Bass Pro Shop, 1365 S. Fifth St, St Charles, at 9 AM, instructions/directions will
be issued prior to the 9:30 departure. After the tour, lunch at The Junction at the intersection of Highways 19 and 154. Monitor www.jcna.com/clubs/main.php?club=sc20&Vref=sc20 or see the online Jaguar’s Growl for information.
27-28 Sept 2014 – Wings & Wheels Car Show & Fly-In, St Louis Regional Airport, East Alton. Free event, registration 9
AM to 12 noon, trophies at 3 PM. Come see classic cars and airplanes; swap meet, vendors, dash plaques, 50/50 drawing,
music.
28 Sept 2014 – Boeing Sports Car Club autocross, Family Arena, St Charles, $35 for six runs, show about 9 AM. Contact Racer Steve at [email protected] for details and to get on the event email list.
28 Sept 2014 – 4th Annual Autos on Valhalla, on the grounds of Valhalla Cemetery, 7600 St Charles Rock Rd, 11 AM to 2
PM. Open to classic and contemporary American, Asian and European cars, entry $25 (tax deductible), admission free.
Event benefits Ride On St Louis; info at www.facebook.com/autosonvalhalla, call Dodie Frank (314)961-8881 or email Steve
Warren, [email protected].
28-29 Sept 2014 – 19th Annual Wings & Wheels Fly-In and Car Show, St Louis Regional Airport, 8 Terminal Drive,
East Alton. Formation flying and vintage automobiles, aircraft rides on Sunday. Info at http://stlouisregional.com/events/19thannual-fly-in-and-open-house/.
4 Oct 2014 – Cars & Coffee West, Mid Rivers Mall, St Peters, 8 AM to 10 AM.
11 Oct 2014 – Annual Jaguar Association of Greater St Louis Concours d’Elegance, Kemp Auto Museum, Chesterfield; awards dinner afterwards at Oceano. Cocktail party the night before at EdgeWild Winery & Restaurant, cars on the
plaza Saturday 7-9 AM, judging from 12-4 PM, awards dinner at Bishop’s Post in Chesterfield that evening. Monitor
www.jcna.com/clubs/main.php?club=sc20&Vref=sc20 or see the online Jaguar’s Growl for information.
11-17 Oct 2014 – And now for something completely different: Operation Arcadia; 5th Annual WWII Vehicle/Reenactor
Convoy. Hosted by VI Corps Combat Engineers, start at the Arcadia, MO, Academy. Tanks, halftracks, jeeps and other
historic vehicles and reenactors wend their way through the Mark Twain National Forest to Arcadia, followed by a show at the
Stars & Stripes Museum/Library adjacent to the Missouri State Veterans Cemetery, Bloomfield, MO, on the 18 th. For information contact Terry Johns, [email protected] or monitor www.6thcorpscombatengineers.com/.
12 Oct 2014 – SLTOA Fall Color Drive. Date approximate, looks like either a run up US 66 on the east side to Mount Olive
or a run to the west. Monitor www.sltoa.org.
12 Oct 2014 – St Louis Region SCCA Solo No. 10, Family Arena, St Charles. Info at http://stlsolo.org/node/98.
18 Oct 2014 – Boeing Sports Car Club autocross, Family Arena, St Charles, $35 for six runs, show about 9 AM. Contact
Racer Steve at [email protected] for details and to get on the event email list.
25 Oct 2014 – Gateway VCOA Fall Color Tour. Details to follow, monitor www.sites.google.com/site/gatewayvcoa/.
31 Oct-1 Nov 2014 – Volvo Club of America National Meet, hosted by the Ozark Rollers VCOA in Eureka Springs, AR.
More details to follow including meet location for the drive to Eureka Springs. The town’ll be ready for the Volvos: the Alfa
Owners Club meets there the week before, followed by the Porsche owners the subsequent week.
St Louis Car Shows and Cruises: http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/lakerscarclub.
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Roadwork: High on a Ridge Top
courses of Bainbridge Air Base, Georgia, and Craig AFB; Montgomery Airport and Courtland Army Airfield, Alabama. The car
then passed to George and Steve England, who raced it
through 1969. Number 97 had the dual-carb B18B 1.8 liter
engine, tubular header, oil cooler, Dana limited slip rear end
and other modifications. According to Bring A Trailer, the car
went up for sale in late 2009 for $13,500.
A little over a year ago, yr fthfl ed took the opportunity to
travel to Troy, Alabama, in order to walk the stage and receive
his master’s degree from Troy University…some 37 years
following receipt of a BA from the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque (probably some sort of record for the length of
time between degrees, eh?). Anyway, as Troy was well within
the 1000-mile “I’d rather drive than get crammed into an airliner” arc, I made the road trip in the family Accord, 660 miles
in about 11 or so hours, no problem.
So there I was: mid-July Thursday afternoon, heading for
Birmingham to pick up my bride (who was coming off a business trip), blasting southeastbound on AL 157, taking in the
scenery and, as per usual, keeping an eye out for unusual and
exotic vehicles…such as the pretty ratty Fiat 850 Spider w/
hardtop for sale at Larry’s Mustang Supply, north side of Moulton. A few minutes later, southeast of Moulton while barreling
over the crest of a hill I glanced to the right, “How ‘bout that, a
field full of British cars!” Quick 180, pulled up to the gate,
parked and got the camera out and met the Dave Perry,
owner and operator of OldSchool Restorations of North Alabama, USA, who proceeded to give provide a quick but full
tour of the premises.
One of Perry’s recent acquisitions was a 1957 Volvo PV444,
another former racer put up for sale in February by owner Dan
Gallant of Alameda, California. The car featured the 1.8 liter
B18 engine instead of the original 1.6 liter B16, had a fourbarrel Holley carburetor installed, front and rear disk brakes,
aluminum radiator and oil cooler, 1-inch anti-sway bar and fourspeed transmission. Gallant owned the car for years; the
SCCA logbook dated to the 1960s with details on events at
places like Laguna Seca and Sears Point, and continued
through a final race in November 1975.
In and around touring the shop, Perry mentioned he had 25
years at this location collecting, restoring and selling kit, exotic
and racing vehicles, most of which – according to him – wind
up in Europe. He added that back in the 60s he regularly
competed at tracks such as Thompson Motorsports Park in
Connecticut and other northeastern courses. Apparently he
started working on cars while really young and built his first
rod – a Crosley which received a ’49 Olds 303 ci “Rocket
V8” (!) – while a teenager. He got interested in fiberglass bodies during the mid-1950s and, besides cars, also fabricated
and raced power boats.
His 4000-square-foot shop held several vehicles in various
stages of construction/restoration, including a Glaspar G2 with
’54 Dodge Hemi; four Fiberfab Aztecs, one with a mid-engine
Corvair 140hp engine and Porsche 356 transmission; three
Lotus Eclats parked out by the highway alongside a Fiat 124;
and about six Rover 2000TCs, as well as a large amount of
frames, wheels and engines scattered about. Wild, absolutely
wild… I was taking photos as fast as the camera could cycle
while also scribbling down notes.
Working with his wife Karen (who built the engines for their
race cars), Gallant later ran the Trans-Am in a Mustang, IMSA
GT series in a Firebird and also ran an Oldsmobile Toronado at
Sebring. They currently run an ’89 Firebird in vintage events
(according to one article, their car’s a “…Firebird whose only
original shred of Pontiac is the skin of the roof and the taillights.
Its engine pumps out about 650 horsepower and, on a good
day, with the right gearing, will do 172 miles an hour. Don’t try
this at home”).
Interestingly enough, in and around the Aztecs and other
vehicles, Perry’s business also served as something of a repository for Volvo PV444s and ‘544s (historic Swedish race
cars in Northern Alabama, what a concept!). The vehicles
included a mix of those with backgrounds in international competition at tracks like Sebring and Daytona, along with a number of SCCA regional and national warriors (see “Volvos in
Competition, Gateway Relay, June 2013).
He pointed out the ex-Hans Dunnstrom B Sedan car, complete with its original FIA (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) in Swedish. Dunnstrom raced the car in the states
over 1963 and 1964, managing a second place finish and
class victory at the Sebring sedan race. Bill Ross acquired the
PV544 and drove it for two years, primarily at the airfield
Photo: Bring A Trailer
Back to Volvos, Perry also had a 1952 Buckler Mk10, one of
only about 25 and one of two in the United States. Built by
Buckler Cars of Reading, Berkshire, England, the car featured
a tube frame, alloy body and the running gear out of a Volvo
(Continued on page 4)
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Ridge Top (Continued from page 3)
mounted radiator and absence of front-end bodywork; a 1948
Triumph 1800 roadster with a Ford 289 stuffed into it
(“aluminum bodied authentic California street rod. Needs no
further explanation"); and a 1968 MGC.
P1800, installed by a
previous owner. It was
last driven during the
1980s and, 30 years
on, needed a lot of
work including a grill,
seats, etc.
Perry noted on his
web page,
Buckler Cars are well known for their racing performance, and unlike today's racecars, most race cars of
the period were road legal, many actually driven to the
track, raced, and driven home (hopefully). Therefore, it
was an easy decision to plan the car to be finished as a
road going, but true vintage race car, which would be in
keeping with period correctness.
The Buckler-Volvo prior to disassembly. Photo: Dave Perry
We had, and considered, three alternatives regarding
the drivetrain: 1) use the Ford 100e Flathead 4 that was
in common use in the 50s; 2) install an American Ford
V8-60, which was popular here in the 50s and would
make an exciting and acceptable vintage racer; or 3)
continue to use the Volvo drivetrain (the previous
owner) had installed early in the car’s life.
After about 30 minutes of touring, talking and getting photos,
it was time to resume the run to Birmingham’s airport and, from
there, Troy. I thanked Mr Perry and headed out. Fascinating
stop and again, between the Volvos, the rods and the LBCs in
the field, not the sort of thing you’d expect to see in the wilds of
northern ‘Bama.
For Sale
At the time of my visit, Perry still hadn’t made a decision on
the future power for the Buckler, but some restoration and rebuilding had commenced. His approach was pretty consistent:
except for very rare exceptions, he didn’t work on customer
cars, but instead continued to concentrate on locating and
acquiring sports car rarities for rebuilding and sale to interested buyers. Other vehicles he’s turned out over the years
included the Greg Sorrentino/Gary Witzenburg Different Drummer Racing Datsun 510, a veteran of the TransAm and Camel
GT series; Doc Baker's somewhat modified 1956 TR3, legendary in the northeast for its alcohol fueled-engine, rear-
Sources: “50 Year Race Veteran: 1957 Volvo PV544,” Bring A
Trailer, 13 February 2014; “BaT Success Story: Race Veteran
1957 Volvo PV444,” Bring A Trailer, 7 May 2014; Racing
Sports Cars; Michael Taylor, “Classic race cars at Infineon
Raceway – there’s something to be said for the old days,”
SFGate, 6 June 2010; Undiscovered Classics,
www.undiscovered-classics.com; Race Car Drivers, www.racecardrivers.com.
According to an article in the Belleville News-Democrat on 23 July, the famous Collinsville Catsup bottle and adjacent factory are up for sale. The current owner, Bethel-Eckert
Enterprises, is consolidating operations at another location; the asking price for the complex is $500,000. The group which helps maintain the bottle and sponsored the annual
Catsup Bottle Festival (which includes a major car show) hopes the new owners will be just
as supportive and easy to work with as the current owners.
The water tower for the Brooks Catsup Company went up in October 1949. The plant
closed in early 1960s when the company moved its operations to Indiana. The bottle,
along IL 159 south of downtown, is quite rightly considered an icon of classic roadside
commercial architecture.
If you’re interested, the phone number is (618)345-1138. The line forms at the left…
(photo: www.catsupbottle.com).
In Print (Continued from page 1)
the issue includes a column comparing the Jaguar XJ220 and Bugatti EB110 and an update on one of the magazine’s project
cars, a 1979 MGB.
Automobile takes a look at this year’s new cars in its September issue, including information on the new/proposed Mini Superleggera open-top sports car (Italian styling for a German-designed British vehicle) plus the announcement of the Mini Cooper
MkVII Lego set, on sale at the end of August for $99.99. Elsewhere, a look at the Jaguar F-Type coupe and more Volvo: the
new XC90, featuring a turbo and supercharged four good for 300 hp; the S60/V60 Polestar; and in a report on a recent Bonham’s auction, a 1973 Volvo 1800ES, 13K miles, winning bid of $92,400 (!). August’s Road & Track also has an article on the
new V60 Polestar (“Return of the Swedish Superwagon”).
For the Z fans, August’s Grassroots Motorsports has an article on
actor/comedian/vintage racer Adam Corolla’s Nissan collection, which includes an ex-Bob Sharp B Sedan Datsun 610, a D Production Datsun 2000 and ex-Newman/Sharp 300ZX, among others.
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Featured Events continued
Cars & Coffee
19 July 2014
Sunday Drive
SLTOA—10 August 2014
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Featured Events
Schnuck’s 75th Anniversary Show
MGCStL—31 May 2014
Photo by Carolyn Westbay
JAGSL Birthday Party—Glen Echo Country Club
13 July 2014
And, a wedding proposal...
By the way, she said “Yes”...
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