MMMinitsV42007lowres..

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http://www.metroplexmini.org
Inside this issue:
Volumne 4 — 2007
January 2008
Events Recap:
Sun Mon Tue
MM 5 Years Old
3
Scavenger Hunt
6
Minis On Top
8
DIY Day at MOD
Holiday Party
1
Wed Thu
Fri
Sat
2
4
5
3
Upcoming January Events:
12
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
10
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
12
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
Monthly Meeting
MINIs of the Month:
June / July
13
August / September
14
October / November 15
February 2008
Sun Mon Tue
December / Rules
Wed Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
8
9
16
Track Talk
3
The Great Race II
4
5
6
7
17
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
21
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
Vital Statistics
22
24
25
26
27
28
29
Officer Listings
23
Upcoming Events
20
Charitable Events
“I have never had so much
fun in a car, well, that might
be an understatement.”
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Page 13
Upcoming February Events:
2-3
Driver’s Edge—MSR
9
Monthly Meeting
Recurring Events
Tuesdays:
Happy Hour North — back at the Flying Saucer
Tuesdays:
Ice Cream Social (Mansfield)
Wednesdays:
Happy Hour West at Buffalo Wild Wings Grill
and Bar (Bedford)
Thursdays:
Happy Hour South (Various locations)
Thursdays:
Breakfast at John’s Café (Garland)
By Graham
It was October 2002 and I was hankering for the New
MINI Cooper S. The timing was perfect because my Chevy Suburban’s lease was almost up. I had read about the MINI in the newspaper where I found that the Texas launch of the car was delayed
due to Franchise licensing issues with the State. When all of this
was settled, I remember walking into John Roberts MINI (as it was
then known) in Dallas and talking with the sales manager. I was
ready to buy my MINI right away but he threw a huge wrench into
my plans. “We’re sold out,“ he said.
I was stunned! I asked him to search for anything that
was not sold. In 10 minutes he came back to me and said there
were just 2 that were available and in transit, one in British Racing
Green and one in Chili Red. After studying the specs, I gave him a
deposit on the red car.
Such was my entry into the MINI world. I remember
thinking that this must be a really popular and special car to be
sold out within days of the dealership opening. With 2 weeks to
wait for my car, I had nothing to do but scour the internet to learn
all I could about the car. By chance, I stumbled across MINIcooperonline.com and I became hooked.
I posted to MINIcooperonline using my screen name
mckinneymini asking to be contacted by anyone in the Dallas area.
I soon received 2 encouraging responses. Legion42 had just got his
car and wanted to get together and Matt, owner of Cooperflags.com wanted to get measurements of my car as soon as it
came in. The 3 of us chatted quite a bit and eventually planned our
first meeting at the Addison Flying Saucer, a place with a huge
selection of brews and “beer goddesses” for waitresses.
Along the way, I also met Multisync, Obiwann, and
Zappa online. Our community was already growing!
My car came in and the meeting took place within a week. To my
surprise, our discussions on the board had attracted a number of
others. As I recall, (and please forgive me if I leave anyone out),
we had the following folks:
Matt Jenkins (Cooper Flags guy)
Kim (Peacebug)
Pete (obiwann)
Jenna (obiwife)
John (Legion42)
Perry (Bumblebee)
Ches (zappa) now the Amsoil guy
Then there was Multisync (the tech guy)
and myself (then known as MckinneyMINI)
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John worked for the Flying Saucer, as I recall, and reserved our parking spaces so
we could all be together. Multisync had already set us up with our own forum on Yahoo
Groups. This was a rather cumbersome forum where all the topics were mixed into one
single thread. Clearly this was an interim solution, but one that would give us a chance to
get going. So there was a good chance we could form a viable club.
When I arrived at the Saucer that day in early December, 2002, I parked my car
(reverse in of course) and was greeted by these really enthusiastic people that I knew online
but for the most part, had never met. Actually I had met Matt, the Cooper Flags guy a day
or two earlier when he measured my car for graphics. He was still waiting on his car. I think
I had also met Ches who was an autocrosser and wanted to test drive my rear sway bar.
This was one of the first modifications I had done to my car.
Anyway, we talked about forming the club, drank some beer, talked more about
forming the club, ate some Flying Saucer food, maybe drank some more, and then split for
home. We spent almost the entire evening as it turned out and we were all enthused about
our new friends and the prospects for forming a club.
What followed online is really what got the club started. Daily dialog, ideas exchanged, and soon, events. We met frequently for happy hour at the Saucer and picked up
more folks. All of us were active on the major forums of the time MINIcooperonline (now
NAM), MINI2, etc. My first recruit to the club through these media was Paul (Wings) and
his car Noah.
Pretty soon we had driving events through the North Texas backroads that ended
up at BBQ places. I remember meeting Scobib (Scott of TXwerks) at one of these events.
In June of '03 I held a "pulley party" at my shop in Lewisville and the widely publicized event drew people from as far away as New Orleans. I remember meeting many new
friends there among them Mattg and Mike Valant (now known as Dr. Mike). Mike was the
photographer at the first ever MINI 4th of July Parade in Plano, TX in 2003. I think we
had around 30 cars in the parade.
In the early days, Jenna (obiwife) was president, then me, and when I got news of
my move to Pittsburgh in late 2003, Mattg was installed as president. The club grew fantastically during these early times and we needed better technology to support the bandwidth
online and Matt was perfect for taking the club to the next level.
Multisync had already moved us off our Yahoo Group forum to our current
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metroplexmini.org forum. Then with Matt came things like a Gallery and all the other things that make our forum what it is today.
We had people that could design logos and people who could design the look and feel of our forum for example. This was also a
time when we got busy with Perry (our treasurer) to obtain a nonprofit status for the club. Our first growth pains! Together, led by
Matt and Perry with his accounting experience, we overcame all the
obstacles.
In the first half of 2003, another couple of people joined
us that expanded our outlook. First was MINIjj (Jo) who had connections with the East Texas Police Drivers Academy and therefore
with Ferg, their chief instructor. Jo and Ferg helped us with our first
ever driving event off the public roads. Maybe 20 or so of us participated in the weekend-long event that improved our driving skills
way beyond what any of us would have expected for $75 per person!
Then, a little later, Paul (wings’) friend Brett (MINIAK)
joined us. Brett instructed at Motorsports Ranch and I remember
taking Brett for a ride in my car a few weeks before his car arrived. I
never drove with Brett on the track, but reports about experiences
from others who did inspired me to want to become an instructor.
So here I am, a performance driving instructor and pro-driver at
Beaverun, here in Pittsburgh. Brett's influence started the whole
"track-day" experience for the club.
With our growth continuing, John Roberts started to pay
attention to us. This must have been an unusual situation for them.
Having a car club of our size on their doorstep meant they needed
something special to keep the momentum going. Their sales were
probably through the roof anyway but nobody would have wanted
the bubble to burst.
So here was the perfect opportunity... A movie centered
on MINIs... The Italian Job. John Roberts MINI organized a private
showing of the movie for us and even setup a small coned off area
where we could do a MINI autocross before the show.
We packed the theater and I remember Pete (obiwann)
publicly thanked the dealership on our behalf before the show began. If you remember, it was quite a while into the movie before the
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first of the cars showed up. When Charlise drove the red/white
classic Mini Cooper S through the streets of Philadelphia, we all
hooted and hollered in appreciation! It was a memorable evening.
One of our first large-scale MINI drives was our visit to
Lake Athens organized by Yolanda, a former employee at John
Roberts MINI. After a few missed turns along the way, we all ended
up at the scenic lake where we lined up to form a panoramic line of
around 50 cars including 1 or 2 classic Minis. We even had a visit by
an Austin Powers look-alike.
In the Fall of 2003, many of us participated in the Hill
Country Rendezvous and also the first MINI Roundup in Tyler,
Texas. These were great events that attracted masses of cars and
excited owners. By then, we had expanded into South Texas by
hosting the Houston MINI Motoring Society who used our forum
for their club. We also had members in Oklahoma.
Today, I believe the club is one of the largest in the country and I always have the website up all day at MINI of Pittsburgh
where I work as Motoring Advisor.
By David Mendes
it sounds childish but I grew up in
that house and there was always tons
of useless stuff.
The day before my first scavWell needless to say even
enger hunt I spent gathering a few
with looking around hard and thinkitems that were truly worthless or
near worthless just in case my worth- ing outside the box, in the box, beless items were scavenger hunt gold. side the box and forgetting there is a
box, we still did not have a lot of
items but time was ticking down fast.
Before returning to the metro grill, I
was hoping to get down to the W
hotel and take a picture with my
mom standing in front of it (a scene
from Prison Break was filmed at the
W). Time was still working against us
and downtown was a long way off.
Luckily we made a double point’s picAmong my miscellaneous items were ture with my mom standing in front
of the W and at a bus stop all at the
some foreign money, my yoda pez
same time. We left downtown with
dispenser, and the mini advertising
pack I had gotten the month before. high hopes and a full box of points to
Since my wife was out of town, I de- rack up.
cided to take my mom who had to
Arrivsee an mm.org event to believe it.
ing back at the
We arrived at the Metro Grill Metro grill we
about noon and filled out the needed waited in line
for our items
paperwork. As we waited for the
event to start, we tried to think what to be judged.
The lucky yoda
kind of items would be on the list.
1pm and we were off, we were out of pez dispenser
the parking lot before we even looked came in handy,
at the whole list. The only idea I had and extra
was to head for mommy’s house, sure points were
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maximize their points collecting and think so far out of
awarded because it still had pez in it. After all was said
the box they were in a circle.
and done we walked away from the judging table with
2300 points, we felt pretty good and even better hearing
We may not have placed this year but we will be
a few of the other points totals while waiting in line for back next year. It’s a fun event that everyone can do.
Make sure to bring a little imagination, a lot of ingenuity,
and it never hurts to come up with a good story about an
item for the judges. I am glad I did not miss this event
and really look forward to next year.
the food. Then we talked to agranger he had more than
2800 points, not a problem we still had second place
pretty good. Then another person mentioned over 3000
points, hmm, well third place is not bad at all, it’s a fine
showing for our first year in fact.
The points total was announced and third place
goes to? Not us, not even close. Third actually went to
Matt, Allison, and Wendy, who in fact blew us out of the
water with their points total. Second place went to
Heather, Ed and their friend. But the true shocker was
Steve, Marie and Adam who topped the bunch of us to
take 1st place with a total of more than 4000 points. To
further prove their superiority, they also got the shortest
distance driven of just 6 miles! Not only did they get the
most points but they hardly drove at all! This shows they
took full advantage of living close by and knew the area
around them; they knew it so well they were able to
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By Sue Chavarria
Highway or two different routes through Franconia
Notch. The Ocean State Mini Club group that I was
with decided to take a different route. We packed our
MINIsOnTop is an annual gathering of Minis lunch and drove to Moultonborough on route 171 to a
and their owners in New Hampshire, (the biggest event place called “Castle in the Clouds”. The drive was inon the Northeast) culminating in a drive to the top of
credible, and the scenery was perfect. The
Mount Washington! Fun is the number one
mountains were green, the trees
goal, but over the years they’ve also
tall and bright blue skies. I had
raised more than $35,000 for variprepared for bad weather,
ous charities. I was invited
but with temperatures
to attend this event on my
around 84F and the
last road trip to the
sun shining, I didn’t
Dragon. Although I had
even need my
decided that the Dragon
sweater.
was going to be my last
The Castle in the
MINI trip for 2007, I
Clouds is a wonfound myself booking a
derfully preserved
flight to Manchester,
mansion built by
NH shortly after I
over 1200 craftscame back from
men
in
a
mountain
at
a
cost
of
over
$1
million in 1914.
North Carolina. It had been fun to drive the 3,608+
We
took
an
unofficial
tour
by
walking
around
the outmiles round-trip but since MINIsOnTop is a one day
side, had lunch on the patio, toured the gift shop and
event, flying out there was a smarter option.
the restaurant. Time wasn’t on our side here, but I enOn Saturday June 16th the activities started at
joyed the view of Lake Winnipesauskee. The day conthe base of Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH with a Boot tinued with a gathering of all 257 MINIs and 520 peoSale. It worked just like a garage sale, but all the items ple at the base of Mt Washington. We had a great dinthat were for sale had to fit in the boot of a MINI.
ner and entertainment. As I mention before all the
money raise goes to charity. Last year it was donated to
The official event itinerary that morning in‘Make
a Wish Foundation’, and 3 kids benefited from
cluded a Photo Scavenger Hunt, drives to Kancamagus
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the nated from checks written to the charity and sent to
MINIsOnTop.
funds donated. One of the children drew a picture of a
MINI and sent it over as a thank you. The picture was
presented to Jim McDowell, Vice President of MINI
USA, an official sponsor of the event. I thought that was
very special. The love for a car can reach so many different kinds of people in so many different ways.
This year the event chose Rosie’s Place, an organization that provides a safe and nurturing environment to help poor and homeless women. To raise money,
a raffle was held. 196 tickets were purchased for a chance
to win the MINI Cooper lease donated by Herb Chambers MINI. 189 tickets were purchased for the chance to
win a trip to England donated by MINI of Peabody.
More than 100 people took a chance on throwing six
“COOPER” dice to win a new MINI Cooper, sponsored
by New Country MINI. Unfortunately nobody won!
The combined total of raffle ticket sales, individual
donations, and $1 “door prize” tickets sold on this
day raised $14,993 for Rosie’s Place! This total does
not include the $1,500 in additional money already do-
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The day ended in a twisty trip to the summit of
Mt Washington 6000 feet up. I was glad I didn’t bring my
car to this event (knowing my history of mishaps with my
poor little Jack) as the road was steep, and parts weren’t
even paved. I doubt that I would have stayed on that
road! Going off the road this time would have meant a
5000 foot drop. Once on top we toured the Observatory, where a group of interns watch the weather 24/7,
and test all kinds of equipment for private companies and
universities. They also share their data with the local airports. The Observatory has been doing this for 75 years!
We watched a beautiful sunset and made our way
down and back to the Town & County Motor Inn where
we stayed for a final party. It was a very tiring, yet fun
event. I don’t know if I could make it up there next year,
but I would recommend this trip to anyone…it is definitely worth it!
By Kevin Haughey
Part of the fun of owning a car you enjoy is
learning to do some of the work on it yourself.
Whether it is performing some of the regular maintenance items like oil changes and tire rotations, installing
aftermarket modifications (or mods as we affectionately
call them), or minor repairs there is a certain satisfaction in being able to do some of these things on your
own. I’ve always felt that doing some of these things
on my own was part of the “bonding” with my MINI
and also saved a few dollars on labor that could be used
for the fun stuff.
Some of us are fortunate enough to have a garage and tools at home to do a lot of this and others,
including those who live in apartments are a bit more
challenged in finding a place to do this. Fortunately for
all of us John Witt who is the Service Director for
BMW of Dallas and MINI of Dallas offered to open up
the dealership’s service area to MetroplexMINI members for a Do-It-Yourself Day on October 27th. I believe this was a first for the club in having a dealership
open its doors to us and allowing us to work on our
cars and I am still at a loss for words to describe the
hospitality that was extended to us.
The event was held October 27th in the much
larger BMW service area where we had access to up to
10 lifts – and we filled them up! We had close to 30
members attend – some came to work on their cars,
some came to help others with theirs like me, and others just came to hang-out, watch and learn from others.
John Witt was an incredible host making sure we had
safety glasses and access to what we needed. Sheri
Martin (MINI-Sheri) manned the parts counter to make
sure we could get most of the common maintenance
items, and MINI service technicians Steve, Andre and
Paul we available to help and to provide the voices of
experience when it came to some of the more difficult
tasks such as removing the struts when replacing an
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upper strut mount. Having access to the lifts made
things so much easier than we are used to, and with the
help of the MINI technicians we managed to get everything done that we set out to accomplish by 2:00 PM. I
didn’t have anything to do to my MINI so I helped
Maggie (MINIMoe), Scott (Sccooper) and Dale
(DBeardJr) with their oil changes, Scott (MINI-XXX)
with his B&M short-shifter installation and Jerica
(amethystMINI) with installing her smoked out side
reflector lights.
to the DIY day was offered the opportunity to run their
cars through the dealership’s car wash so not only were
they freshly serviced, our MINIs went home clean.
I can’t seem to find enough words to describe
the incredible hospitality of John Witt and the entire
MINI of Dallas Parts and Service staff for making such
an incredible event a reality for MetroplexMINI. I
hope that everyone that attended had as much fun as I
did. And, rumor has it that John wants to host another
DIY day for us within the next two months! If you
If I remember correctly we accomplished some- couldn’t make it to the October event I hope you can
thing like seven oil and filter changes, 3 major brake
make it to the next one.
jobs, a couple of brake pad replacements, a shortshifter installation, several tire rotations, replacement of
two upper strut mounts, installation of several lighting NOTE: Please remember that MINI of Dallas is one
of our official sponsors and offers paid club members a
and appearance mods and a stainless steel brake line
upgrade. There was probably even more than that but 10% discount on parts and labor. If you have a chance
to drop in to visit, or if you need parts or service please
with activity going on at 10 or so lifts it was hard to
keep track of it all. Steve and Andre were in great de- take a minute to say hello, and thank you to Sheri at the
parts counter, and to Gene and Marc at the service
mand – providing tips and showing us how to easily
desk.
remove the front struts, and the best way to deal with
the rear brake caliper pistons. It was so easy with the
BMW/MINI tool that we asked Sheri for pricing, and
perhaps we can find a way to add this tool to our loaner
tool collection.
While we were having so much fun working on
the cars we worked up quite an appetite. When things
slowed down a bit, John Witt and his staff brought in
tables and chairs and enough Dickey’s Bar-B-Que and
fixins for everyone to finish up with a full stomach.
I’m not certain but I think some of the BMW technicians may have been a bit jealous of their MINI technician brethren. We finished lunch and our work at
about 2:00 PM in time for the dealerships to begin closing up the shops for the weekend, but MINI of Dallas’
hospitality wasn’t quite finished yet. Anyone who came
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By Jay Weidenbach
Once again, the members of MetroplexMINI
gathered to celebrate another great year of motoring.
The site of
this year’s
party was the
Cremona Italian Restaurant. Much to
everyone’s
relief, there
was plenty of
seating and
plenty of
room. Good
thing too, since we had a record crowd (somewhere in
the neighborhood of 100 people attended).
Surprises were in store for everyone. From personalized keychains (a gift from the club to members), to
MINI books from MOD, to door prizes galore. Nobody left empty handed. Even the toys for tots collection was a rousing success (see page 20 for details).
Everyone was in agreement that dinner was a
step above the usual fare offered in a buffet setting.
From the delicious garlic bread (that Jen-Jen couldn’t
seem to get enough of), the excellent pasta (which I
could have easily had second helpings of), topped off
with a desert selection. Surely Cremona’s will get an in-
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dependent visit from more than one club member.
A more than honorable mention here goes to
MINI of Dallas, who went over and beyond their role as
a club sponsor with gifts and subsidies, the party would
not have been the success that it was without their involvement.
Name: April Dyson
MINI'S Name: Buttercup, my mom named her.
April’s Favorite Thing About Her MINI:
Once I drove a mini, I knew I would have to get one, I have never
had so much fun in a car. Well, that might be an understatement. I
mean the most fun I have ever had driving a car. I knew I would
love the car and love that everyone asks about it. But when I found
this group that is when the car really started paying off. The people
I have met and the friends I have made are irreplaceable and will be
life long friends!!! What a great car and great people.
Name: Nathan Freedenberg
MINI'S Name: Gnat
Through the MINI I have found a great group of people that I
would never had met before. It's taken me some wonderful places
I've even thought of going. That and just the sheer joy of driving
the MINI.
Even where the power level is now I still want more. Why...I've
gotten used to this level and thirst for more.
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Name: David Isbell
MINI'S Name: Zaphod (Beeblebrox)
Mods Cold Air Intake, Short Shifter, Remus Exhaust, MTH,
KW lowering springs, 22mm Rear Anti-Sway Bar, Flik Wasp
Wheels.
David’s favorite thing about his MINI: I've got a rare
color!!
David’s favorite MINI experience: “I drove one! That's all
I needed.”
Name: Allison Keefer
Mini's Name: MiniPepe
Allison’s favorite MINI Experience: I dreamed and planned
her out for over 2 yrs and finally when I heard that the 07 was
getting a turbo engine I knew it was time to take the plunge.
I've known since I first saw one in Austin Powers that one day
I would own a MINI. I picked CR/B cause those colors in my
mind represent the hot but bad girl I think Pepe would be if
she was human. Plus Matty's Harley (Marv) is black with red so
it is our vehicle theme.
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Name: John
MINI’s Name: Mongo, no; Percy-Bob, no; Buck, no; Queso,
that's it QUESO!
Mods: Unless you count a red tow hook, and some old
Panasports, none.
John’s favorite thing about his MINI: I'm a big fan of
forced induction.
If John could change one thing about his MINI, it would
have an 06 body. Why? Because evidently “It's Fugly”!
Name: Gary Graden
Mini's name: Blue Thunder
I've changed a few things but the one I would love to see is
MORE POWER. I wanted a GP after the first time I saw one.
When I was able to purchase my first GP I loved it so much I
bought another to keep him company. LOL My favorite experience was the look on the Porche owners face when he
tried to walk away from me and at 95 mph looked over and
saw me on his door. I laughed so much I missed the next shift.
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Name: Will Goodwin
Mini's Name: Experiment#113
My Mini was born in early 1961 and is currently seeking the
fountain of youth. We've found the fountain, but i just cant get
'er to drink the water.
My favorite things about my Mini are that its a Mk1 Mini with
sliding side windows and external door hinges as well as the
smaller oval taillamps. Everyone here knows why to own a
Mini, so I'll go onto my favorite experience. It has to be building and driving a classic Mini down the street and going to
shows to display such an intrinsic car.
Just a reminder and a clarification of the rules for the Ride of the Month
♦
Nominees must be a paid member to participate.
♦
Nominees must not have been nominated in the past six months.
♦
Nominees must not have ever won Ride of the Month (for your current car).
♦
Nominees are announced at the beginning of the month on the forum.
♦
You must be a paid member to vote.
♦
Winners are announced first at the monthly meeting. A follow up post is then made on the board.
♦
Winners get (besides bragging rights), mentioned in the club newsletter, their car featured in next year’s header
on the forum, and the car’s picture in the next year’s calendar.
♦
All nominees are randomly selected.
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By Maggie
How Memories are Made (Part II)
We were heading out of the parking lot in our matching
shirts full of confidence. Course instructions highlighted
and put on the clipboard. All the rainbow colored highlighters are in the Mini travel mug, ready for use in an
instant.
watch going and make my first mistake. At instruction 7,
I click it. ARG. I won’t be getting our full time now.
The end is at instruction 13. What to do? Hey the calibration run is in two parts. I’m saved.
I manage to get us through the next portion without
mishap.
Maggie to Keith, We were supposed to do that in
10m15.9s. We did it in 10m 17.5s. We are running slow.
First course instruction-turn right out of the parking lot. My second mistake-forgetting that 2.4 seconds slow in
10 minutes is making us 14.4 seconds slow an hour.
Maggie to Keith, have you been watching to see where
everyone is leaving? Keith to Maggie, I think right over We find the out marker and get ready to begin the timed
portion of the rally. Woo hoo, the mistakes I made are
there. OK, then off we go.
not going to count against us.
Second instruction puts us on the freeway.
We do get off on time, we do manage to execute inBoy, are we glad we are in a modern car that can handle
freeway speeds. Poor guys in those old cars, I hope they
can keep up.
Within five miles, speed is not a problem. It is after all
Friday morning.
Keith to Maggie, Are we on our speed calibration?
Maggie to Keith, I don’t think so, but then I can’t see
the signs through that 18 wheeler.
Keith to Maggie, Do you think we are close?
Maggie to Keith, I hope not. You just want to go to the
out marker? (out marker-beginning of time portion of
rally)
Keith to Maggie, You are the navigator, what do we do?
(At this point I remember that rally school proverb,
Drivers are dumb.)
Maggie to Keith, I think we are still quite a ways from
the 114 split off to Bridgeport. So let’s just hang on a
bit.
Having found instruction 6, we start our calibration run.
Hold 50mph for 12 miles. I get my brand new stop17
structions 28 through 33. I even write down our time at
the checkpoint. Tricky little buggers, they put the checkpoint right before instruction 34. I miss it while I have
my head down writing our checkpoint time. We are now
off speed as we were to change speed at instruction 34.
We make it to instruction 35 which is a timed break.
They call this a coffee break. Right! I have to navigate
through the coffee break. But at least I get to get rid of
this mornings coffee.
Trust me when I say this-I have never seen a nastier
bathroom in my entire life. The knob is missing out of
the door. There is a rope tied through the hole and
around the door. I guess that you hold the door shut
with the rope while inside. I go in and find the end of the
rope laying in a half inch of water(?). The water(?) extends all through the bathroom, including the commode.
I am not a wimp, but there is NO WAY. I head back out
and tell Keith we are ready to go. We head off and find
the marker to start back on the clock. I add the time
from instruction 35 to the amount of time we were on
break and come up with our departure time. We are rallying once again. It begins to rain. Somewhere between
instruction 37 and instruction 40 the flat tire monitor
comes on. We pull off the road as much as possible and
check the tires. They appear OK. Now we have been off
speed for the better part of two minutes. Keith gets to
DRIVE.
struction 57 (noted by ralllymaster, road sign may be
missing, turn before the stop sign) We turn left and
about ½ mile down the road realize the pavement
stopped. Rally masters will never put you on an unpaved
road.
We turn around and hot foot it back. It is now raining so
hard the wipers can not keep up.
We get back on course and try to make up time, while
slowing to avoid floating logs and other flotsam.
Maggie to Keith-Hey, lunch is at instruction 61. Maybe it
will stop while we eat.
Right, it’s lunch and I still have to navigate to eat. We
enter the small town of Graham who is hosting our
lunch. We believe monsoon season is upon us. Ahead we
see another Great Racer, in an open car. Poor guys are
getting wet, but they are making the most spectacular
rooster tails from all four wheels. Warm and dry are not
that far away. The turn into the lunch spot is in the middle of a newly formed lake, with a stop light in the center. Coming at us are pickup trucks, they are trying to
drain the lake by diverting all the water on to us, and incidentally the open car. We both decide it’s time to turn
without the green arrow as the sign tells us to. We park
not 75 feet from the front door and are completely
soaked by the time we reach it. My shoes ooze water
with every step. We just know they are going to call off
the
rest of the stage. We find a place with our friends
Maggie to Keith-We have a right turn coming up. We are
(open cars guys too). Food is in front of us. I want to tell
in at 50 and out at 50. Drift if you have to.
you that was the best meatloaf I have ever eaten. The rep
Keith to Maggie-(Big grin) No problem.
from the Great Race gets up to speak, and we wait. And
It continues to rain.
we wait for the announcement that rallying for today is
over.
When he sits, we all realize, he is not calling it off.
We find another checkpoint at instruction 49.
So we set off for the out marker. The rain has slowed.
It is really starting to rain now. In fact it is raining so
Finding the out marker we chat with others. We hear
hard it is impossible to see the signs until you are almost envy for a closed car. Several guys are checking out the
on them. But we are not in an open car. We are dry and back seat. It’s our time to go and we are off making
have a defogger. We are OK. I see what I think is inmemories again.
18
It starts to rain.
We enter Palo Pinto County and somewhere off Loop
533 we come to the “maze”. A maze is the devilish delight of rally masters. He puts 40 cars in a compact space
where they can see each other and depending on where
you are, you come head on to another racer and you turn
left and they turn right. Or you are coming out as someone else is going in. Very confusing. It’s raining even
harder now.
the next fools err racers doing the same thing they did.
Now what do we do?
Here we are in the middle of nowhere, with no maps
(not allowed), cell phones sealed, and mostly everyone
from out of town. We form up a caravan and head onto
281. It must lead somewhere. We find a quik mart and
ask directions. We find we are 45 minutes outside of
Weatherford. West of Weatherford. The Aston DB had
flooded inside. The T bird is still sporting his grass. We
all question the heritage of the rally master. We all strugOut of the maze and back on the road. We can see
flooded fields that are almost over the road. Floating in it gle limply back to Irving, all the while the rain continues.
Upon reaching the Hilton we hear the first two cars
are things that digestion left behind. Good humor has
left us. The rally master is getting a good verbal thrash- made it through and finished the rally. No worries, they
ing. It’s raining so hard Noah floats by picking up arma- threw out the rest of the rally from instruction 83.
We get our times and I am confused at our times. First
dillos and rattlesnakes. We pass the next checkpoint at
instruction 80. I look ahead and see the end of todays
leg 49 seconds late. Second leg 1:03 seconds late. Third
leg 1:57 seconds late. Fourth leg 7 seconds late. Fifth leg
rally at instruction 112! I decide not to tell Keith.
Instruction 89 is turn right on Pine Rd. We are in at 45 41 seconds late. I blamed it on the rain, I blamed it on
and out at 35. The approach to the turn is six inches of fact that the rain was cold so the tires were cold, I
rushing water. We make the turn, in at 15 out at 10. As blamed it on MINI for not making an accurate speedwe continue down the road there is a low spot with wa- ometer. Please refer to my mistake in forgetting to multiply the 2.4 by six.
ter. We are now less than 15 seconds behind the car
ahead of us. Who knows who is on time, is anyone on
time. All thoughts of time are gone. Only one word
springs to mind-SURVIVAL. I am still feeling sorry for
the guys in open cars when we enter the low spot. Water
is coming over the hood! We slow to a crawl as I mentally promise to never be so patronizing ever again.
Those open cars sit high and don’t have the problem we
do. It continues to rain like the Great Flood. We come to
a stop sign at US 281. In at 45 out 45. A rise is ahead of
us. Now the Mini gets up to speed quickly so we are
pausing for 11 seconds. That means a quick start. We
start to get up to speed and see other racers flagging us
down. Just over the rise the road is completely flooded.
Thank goodness for them. As the first there they skidded
into grass and ditches and tried to get out of the way for
19
BUT, WE HAVE MADE MEMORIES.
We continued on for the next two days with the weather
becoming much better. We did not repeat the same mistakes. We made new ones. And yes, cattle do get out and
stand in the road. Yes, I made us turn right instead of
left. Yes, we did a lot of turns sliding. Yes, we fretted
when there were long distances between signs. Yes, the
driver was off speed sometimes. The air was sometimes
blue from our comments to each other.
Will we do it again? We just bought a 29 Model A roadster for just that purpose. Yes, it’s an open car.
You heard it right folks, though if this
keeps going on, we’ll have to change this
to a page 2 “Recurrent Events” item.
While there has been no firm date settled
on yet, you may want to put off doing
those mods and non-urgent repairs.
There’s nothing quite like having access to
MetroplexMINI sponsor extraordinaire
MINI of Dallas has indicated that they are a lift for a brake or suspension job, unless
willing to do another Do-It-Yourself Day it’s the help of others who have done it
before and both are available on DIY days.
at their great facility in Dallas.
Another brand new venue awaits us for
the fourth annual MetroplexMini poker
run. Preparations are under way already,
so be prepared to set aside a day in
March for some great fun!
Participants must provide a driver's license and insurance card @ registration.
MetroplexMINI’s own Justin McCullster
has volunteered to get bald for Cancer!
DL & insurance will be placed in a sealed
envelope again this year and if the MINI
stamp seal is broken you will be disqualified! THIS IS NOT A RACE!!! It's a fun
day to hang out with your friends and
family.
Last years participant, Jay, would volunteer to do it again, but he stays bald to
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation was started this day! The result of last years drive was
nearly $1000 (and much hilarity).
in 1999 as a way to raise money for research into childhood cancer. What
The event will most likely be held at the
started out as a few friends on a dare has Tipperary Inn—a great venue for this
exploded into a multimillion dollar enter- great cause. More details will follow on
prise. Since 2005 alone, the foundation
the board. Look forward to a new bald
has raised over $9 million dollars.
head in March!
20
In this section, we will be listing opportunities for MetroplexMINI members to participate in volunteer activities and charitable events.
As MINIUSA says…….. Let’s Be a Bunch of Good-For-Somethings.
MetroplexMINI would like to
thank all of you who brought food
donations for the North Texas
Food Bank to our November
meeting, and a special thanks to
the folks at MINI of Dallas for
the huge donation of food items.
We managed to fill two MINIs
(probably well over the recommended weight limit) with non-
perishable food items that can help
feed those less fortunate than us.
If you still want to donate but
were unable to attend the meeting
and contribute to the club's collective donation you can still do so.
Once again our wonderfully generous group didn’t let the kids down!
A big “Thank You” to all those
who made the holidays special for
those less fortunate
Marines pick up, sort and store
these toys in a central warehouse.
As Christmas nears, Marines distribute toys to local social welfare
agencies, churches and hospitals
for distribution to needy children
It’s great to be part of a group that on Christmas day.
cares so much for others and gives
so generously. Here’s to a great
success again next year!
If you have a volunteer or charitable opportunity you would like to share with the group, please let an officer
know so that it can be listed in the newsletter.
21
With the new year around the corner, it’s time to think about memberships and why it’s important to become a
member.
Membership Has It’s Privileges. Members receive a membership card, an ID with your screen name (and real
name—so people can recognize you) and a lanyard to put it on.
Members are eligible for door prizes at the meetings, eligible to be entered in the monthly random selection for
the Ride of the Month contest, and perhaps most importantly—discounts with our very generous sponsors!
Inflows 1/1/07 Through 10/31/07
Club Event Income
Member Dues
Merchandise Sales
Outflows 1/1/06 Through 12/31/06
Club Event Expense
Supplies (Bus)
Supplies (Merchandise)
Paypal Fees
$4221.50
$3850.00
$1844.00
$4360.62
$1979.72
$941.00
$134.33
Bank Account Balance
Outstanding Deposits
Outstanding Checks
Cash
Funds Immediately Available
Paypal Account
$4978.30
00.00
($66.00)
$50.00
$4962.30
$195.11
Total Funds
$5157.41
The club has several resources available for loan. Please see the post at the top of the Members Only forum for
instructions on how to borrow these items:
12' x 12' Canopy Tent
Rear Brake Caliper Kit
Bentley Service Manual
Porter Cable Random Orbital Buffer
Bentley Service Manual
Motive Power Bleeder
If you have any suggestions on how to use club funds, please post in the thread on the board.
22
Prime
MINIster
Rexanne Dove
Screen Name:
Rex1
VP/MINIster
of
MINIster of
MINIster
MINIster
Technology
of Mirth
of Finance
Promotions
Matt Gordon
Caine
Drew Burroughs
Kevin
Screen Name:
MattG
Screen Name:
Screen Name:
Drewser
MINIster of
Minits
MINIster of
Design
MINIster of
Moderation
(Officer at
Large)
Screen Name:
Havnap
Fuego
MINIster Of MINIster o f
Motorsports Membership
23
David McBee
Paul Winge
Jay Weidenbach
Screen Name:
Screen Name:
Screen Name:
(Officer at
Large)
MINId1
Wings
Jay
Richard Wezensky
David Isbell
Screen Name:
Screen Name:
DickDavid
Movieman
24