APRIL, 2015 Clutch Chatter… - BlueWater British Car Club

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
of the
Bluewater British Car Club
APRIL, 2015
147 Watson Street
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada N7T 6T9
www.bluewaterbritishcarclub.ca
Clutch Chatter…
By Allen Bachelder
What do I have to say for myself in the now-ending month of March? My
Magnette dash is still in shambles. But I am inspired by two suppliers who have both gone
beyond the call of duty. First, here’s to Rivergate Restoration Products down in Tennessee, USA. Due to
incorrect gearing in the “angle drive”, the speedometer, when it was readable at all, ran about 20% fast.
They had last supplied me with one of these for a different Magnette back in 2003. Could they duplicate it?
Sure! And at very reasonable cost. But the coupling nut for the new one stripped out on my old
speedometer pinion. I sent it all back to them. They made up a nylon spacer to solve the problem. No
charge!
Meanwhile, recall that I needed a new “control module” for my A/C system. ‘ Got one for just
$34.95 – roughly comparable to the new one we just bought for our 3-year-old fridge for $200. Of course it
took at least $100 worth of therapeutic beverages to complete the process… To make a long story still
rather long, Vintage Air of Texas, USA had sent me
the wrong module. Maybe my fault… One of the
harness plugs was keyed to a different unit. They
sent me a new module at no cost, and did not ask me
to return the old one. Which is good since I had cut
the plug wires on it and rewired them to the correct
leads on the plug. The new module arrived today,
free of charge, and I won’t be needing it. All works
as it should. But hats off to Vintage Air. ‘ Love the
people in this hobby!
Just talked to the speedometer guy in California. My speedometer is done and it’s now on its
way back. Soon my clock will also be finished and
on its way. My A/C is fixed and my temp gauge is done. So as soon as that speedometer comes back, I can
put the dash back together – that is if I can remember how I did it in the first place! So, in just one month, I
accomplished a good three days-worth of work already. Wow! But this is FAR from the end… next month
I’ll have to tell you about the headliner repair; the right front door chrome trim; the front anti-roll bar; the
rear bushings and shocks; the rear seat belts; the, the, the…
‘ See you on the road…
The Spanner
April, 2015
2
Bluewater British Car Club Minutes
Date: March 11, 2015.
Number of Members present: Dinner: 4
Meeting: 9
Location: Stokes Bay, Sarnia, ON
Minutes respectfully submitted by: Secretary, Sandra Cronk
1. Call to order: President, Kim Rutherford, called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.
2. Approval of the Minutes of the February 11, 2015 meeting.
A motion to approve the minutes as printed was made by Roy Overton and seconded by Alan Cronk. It was carried.
3. Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer, Roy Overton, reported that one $20.00 membership was paid by Kevin Halbauer which
brings our current balance to $999.75. A motion to accept this report was made by Laura Rutherford, seconded by Allen
Bachelder and carried.
4. Unfinished Business:
1) March 15, 2015 Lunch at Paddy Flaherty’s: Byron Warwick has organized a lunch for us. Please meet there
at 12:30 p.m.
2) Announcement regarding the Restoration Award: It has been given to Allen Bachelder for the restoration
of his 1957 MG Magnette. Congratulations!
3) The Bluewater British Car Club in now listed in the Old Autos newspaper.
4) There was a request for an updated BBCC roster. Byron said it will be done in June.
5) Stahl’s Museum Tour: Allen Bachelder has suggested that we set it up for Saturday, April 4th. There was discussion about this: a) that is Easter weekend b) there is to be bridge reconstruction in April, May and perhaps June. One
bridge will be open, i.e. two lanes only. c) we could cross on the Sombra Ferry and change the meeting place to the parking lot left of the ferry, since the museum is in Chesterfield.
Also, Allen has contacted the Rosie O’Grady’s Irish Pub by email and suggested that we could be booked for a
5:00 p.m. dinner.
Tuesday, March 31st was suggested for an alternative date. Tours to this museum are free of charge on Tuesdays
or the first Saturday of the month. Otherwise, there is a $400.00 charge to open the museum.
5. New Business:
1) Saturday, May 9th Drive to Ilderton and Lunch: Dave Gildner from the BAHC has responded. The London
Club has also been invited.
2) April 19th Ancaster Flea Market and Car Show: Kim Rutherford and Allen Bachelder have expressed interest in attending this event.
6. Announcements: Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 8th at Stokes Bay. Dinner is at 6:00 p.m. and meeting is at 7:30 p.m.
7. Adjournment: A motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:15 p.m. was made my Allen Bachelder, seconded by Michael Walton , carried.
The Bluewater British Car Club
promotes interest in acquiring, driving, maintaining,
and restoring all makes of
British Cars.
Membership is open to anyone with an interest in British cars. Meetings are held
monthly, every 2nd Wednesday, at Stokes By
The Bay, 7:30 P.M. In addition, monthly club,
driving and social events are scheduled
throughout the year.
2015 Club Executive
President
Kim Rutherford 519 337-8586
Vice Pres.
Allen Bachelder 810 824-4188
Treasurer
Roy Overton,
519 542-7652
Secretary
Sandra Cronk
519 845-3209
Events Coord. Byron Warwick
519 862-3527
The following are non-elected
Spanner Editor Byron Warwick 519 862-3527
News Publisher David Kelley
519 542-7214
The Spanner
…is the monthly newsletter of the BBCC.
Articles, pictures, ideas, etc. are welcomed and are to be
submitted by the 20th of each month for inclusion in the
next month’s newsletter.
Forward items to:
Byron Warwick.
By email at [email protected]
Or by post or hand to:
481 Tom St., PO Box 842, Corunna ON
N0N 1G0 Phone 519 862-3527.
David Kelley. 1085 Fairlane Ave.,
Sarnia, ON, N7S 3J9. Phone 519 542-7214.
Contributing writers this month: Allen Bachelder,
David Kelley, Kim Rutherford, Sandra Cronk, Byron
Warwick.
Photo credits: Allen Bachelder, Al Cronk, OMGTR,
Byron W.
The Spanner
April, 2015
3
From The President’s Garage
At this stage of the game let’s hope we can move on with some warmer weather . March was not
much of a month to have our little British cars on the road. Our planned gathering to Paddy Flaherty’s went
off well with a good attendance. Nice room to ourselves and the food came all at once and was hot. As always at this restaurant , no surprises !! Nice to meet in person our newest members Chris and Michelle
Thomas. Will be nice to see them and their immaculate MG Midget on the road, this summer.
Unfortunately due to the closing of one of the Bluewater Bridges to the USA , our trip to the Stahls Motor Museum has been cancelled till after both of the bridges are open beginning the 1st of July. Of course that is if the construction is finished on time !!
For all those interested in an excellent British Car Show and Flea Market, Ancaster is on the 19th of April. not
to be missed. And rule of thumb, get there early as the place is usually packed by noon, and you can hardly move, and
of course the flea market is indoors, so weather is no problem.
We have a new advertiser in The Spanner, Peninsula Imports . John Foderaro has a large selection of British
Car Parts, check out his ad for all your needs. Also on April 11th Obsolete Automotive is holding their annual Spring
Garage Sale. So no excuse, we are well covered for spare parts for your cars. Sometimes it is smart to buy spares to
put in the trunk, so on long trips you have replacements such as plugs, points, rad hoses etc. I know I have a bag of
goodies in the trunk of both cars. And for those that don’t want to work on their British Car themselves. Holme Automotive in Corunna is experienced with our type of cars. Both Byron and Paul and myself have had them do work and
were very satisfied. Hourly rate is very reasonable. 519-862-2886
My new horns for the Mk 2 arrived from SNG Barratt, but due to a hernia operation, they have not been put on
the car yet. However both cars are gassed up and have 2015 licence stickers. All I am waiting for is a warm day to get
either car out on the road.
Can’t close without mentioning that Club member Michael Walton has already put us all to shame by driving
his 49 Triumph 2000 to the last club meeting at Stokes Bay, and Paddy Flaherty’s, Nice going Michael !!
Happy Motoring,
Kim R.
11, 2015
BBCC Restoration Award for 2015
Allen Bachelder’s 1957 MG Magnette
The Spanner
April, 2015
Calendar
Of Upcoming
Events
CALENDAR of EVENTS
2015
April
8
19
Monthly meeting at Stokes Bay
Dinner at 6:00pm,meeting at 7:30pm.
Ancaster Flea Mart and Car Show
May
9
13
24
Lunch at King Eddies Ilderton. Joint
event with BAHC
Monthly meeting at Stokes Bay
Dinner at 6:00pm,meeting at 7:30pm.
Retrofest Car Show, Chatham/Kent
June
6,7
7
8-12
10
21
30
Fleetwood Country Cruise-in
Komoka.
London Classic by BSCC London.
MG 2015 Niagara Falls. NAMGBR.
Monthly meeting at RM Restaurant
Chatham?
Sarnia Street Machines, Car Show.
BAHC drive to Toyota Plant
Cambridge.
D&D May 9, 2015
July
08
19
August
8
8
12
20
September
9
XX
20
October
14
XX
November
11
Monthly meeting at Rutherford’s
Hobbyfest at Canatara?
Old Autos Car Show-Bothwell
Wambo at Wallaceburg
Monthly meeting at TBA.
Hot August Nights, Canatara Pk Sar.
Monthly meeting at TBA, Port
Huron?
Battle of the Brits Michigan
Bronte British Car Show
Monthly meeting at Stokes Bay
Dinner at 6:00pm,meeting at 7:30pm.
Fall tour Drive and Dinner?
Monthly meeting at Stokes Bay
Dinner at 6:00pm,meeting at
7:30pm.December
6
Christmas Luncheon
Neat dash and interior of
a 1930s MG VA
4
The Spanner
April, 2015
West view at Paddy Flaherty’s
Our Sunday Brunch
New member Michelle Thomas
New member
Chris Thomas
5
The Spanner
Month, 2015
April,62015
6
As you know our Charter member of the Bluewater
British Car Club, Allan Cronk, has finished his antique race car.
He got it running last year at the Grand Bend Motorplex, and
subsequently he and Sandra have donated it back to it’s home
town of Thunder Bay, where it is in a museum. Al received the
following letter in late March.
"Dear Mr. Cronk,
Congratulations!
The Board of Directors of the Model T Ford Club of America (MTFCA) Speedster and Racer Hall
of Fame wishes to recognize your outstanding contributions to the restoration and preservation of the history of Model T Ford speedsters and racers. Therefore, your racecar, the King’s Special has been selected
as the 2015 Restoration of the Year. A plaque bearing your name and a short biography of the car will be
placed on public display at the MTFCA Speedster and Racer Hall of Fame located at the Smith Museum
of American Speed in Lincoln, Nebraska. In addition, you will be presented with an identical plaque to
display as you wish.
Your picture and biography will be included in a future article in the Vintage Ford Magazine on
the 2015 Class of Hall of Fame Inductees."
Look for a future article giving more of the history of this ROOF, overhead valve conversion,
Model T based race car.
Our Tech Tip this issues tip is from Chris Kotting. from Moss Motors with permission
Adjusting Valves
When you're adjusting valves, it can be hard to see when the rocker arm that is opening is open all the way, so you
can adjust the one that's all the way closed. The last little bit of movement can be hard to see, so put a box-end
wrench on the adjusting nut on the rocker that's opening so that the wrench sticks out past the end of the rocker.
Now, rather than trying to see the rocker arm move the last 1/64th of an inch, you can watch the end of the wrench
move 1/4". (Really, you can use anything long that will hang on the rocker arm, but the wrench for the adjusting nut is
handy.)
The Spanner
April, 2015
7
By David B Kelley
-1975-The UK government which has a 95% stake in British Leyland, pumps £200 million into the
car company, but BL is dragged down still further by industrial disputes.
- Roll-Royce unveils the £31,000 Camarque.
- Jaguar replaces its E-Type sports car with the XJS Sports Coupe.
- Triumph’s last true sports car, the TR6, is replaced by the pedestrian TR7.
- Lotus moves into the super car league with the introduction of the new Espirt and Eclat.
- 1976 –Chrysler Alpine voted ‘Car of the year’
Rover launches the Ferrari Daytona– inspired 3500 SD range.
- The Willliam Towns-designed Aston Martin Lagonda is
the first production car with computerized digital
instrumentation .
- 1980-Austin introduces the Metro.
- A new front-wheel-drive Escort from Ford is introduced.
- BL signs cooperation deal with Honda
- 1981-Ford Escort production world-wide reaches one
million after 13 months, beating the 52 year –old
“Fastest first million” record of the Model A Ford.
Austin Metro
- 1983-Britain makes front safety belts compulsory.
- 1984-Ford starts building new 1.6 litre Diesel engine at
Dagenham for its small front-wheel-drive cars.
- 1985-John Lennon’s psychedelic Rolls-Royce sells for
a record $2.3 million.
-1986-The Ford Scorpio—first mass-produced car to
offer antilock braking as standard across the range is
voted “Car of the year”.
- Ford builds its 20 millionth British vehicle - twice the
total of any other British marque.
- 1987-British Government writes off £680 million of
accumulated Rover Group (formerly BL) debts.
- Ford(GB) stops production of Capri after 18 years and 1.9 million manufactured.
- At the Geneva Motor Show the coachbuilders Hooper of London announce the Bentley
Empress II at £275,000, the most expensive production car ever.
Special thanks to Nick Baldwin, G.N. Georgano, Michael Sedgwick and Brian Laban for the photos
used throughout the past eight months. David.
The Spanner
April, 2015
8
FROM THE EDITORS INBOX
Dear Mr. Warwick,
My name is Jim Lykas and I am writing to you as a new member of the Prospero's Garage team. We create and sell wiring diagrams for classic cars in factory wiring colors. We have helped many classic car owners
make their projects less painful with our color wiring diagrams. I'm really excited about our product and I
would love to send you one in the hope that you would appreciate it as much as our past customers have and
possibly feature our product in your news letter. Our average diagram is under $20 and even looks great on the
wall when not in use. Each diagram is 11" x 17" and laminated to keep off grease and dirt. Every classic car
owner should have one just in case.
Below is a list of the MG models we have diagrams for today and I have also attached a promotional
sample. We currently sell our products on our own website (link below), Amazon and eBay (UK & US sites).
Our ratings on eBay and Amazon are excellent. Please let me know which diagram you would like and I will
mail one out to you. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions as I feel our product would be
very helpful to your members. On our site you will also find Triumph, Austin Healy, Land Rover, Sunbeam,
Jaguar, and more.
Regards, Jim.
http://www.colorwiringdiagrams.com/
MGB US Spec 1961 - 1980
MGB UK Spec1961 - 1980
MGC US Spec 1967 - 1969
MGB V8 UK Spec 1973 - 1976
MGA 1500 World Spec 1955 - 1959
MGA 1600 World Spec 1959 - 1962
MG 1100 US Spec 1962 - 1968
MG TA 1936 - 1939 1936 - 1939
MG TC US Spec 1945 - 1949
MG TC UK Spec 1945 - 1949
MG TD Late US Spec 1950 - 1953
MG TD RF95 US Spec 1950 - 1953
MG TF US Spec 1953 - 1955
MG Midget Mk I 1961 - 1963
MG Midget Mk II & III 1964 - 1967
MG Midget UK Spec 1967 - 1974
MG Midget US Spec 1968 -1974
MG Midget 1500 UK Spec 1974 - 1980
MG Midget 1500 US Spec 1974 - 1980
Check on line for your model and year car
The above is a sample of the format and my copy for the MG TF is very easy to read. I’m going to post it in my
garage. I believe the price is $20.00 and you can have it mailed to one of our Port Huron members. Ed.
The Spanner
April, 2015
9
The one millionth Morris Minor ever built has been sold
at an auction for £25,760.
The classic British-built car was sold earlier at the Surrey
auction house, Historics at Brooklands. It was one of 349 "millionth"
Morris Minors built in 1960. However, this car was the actual one
millionth built.
Stewart Banks, from Historics, said there had been an "awful
lot of interest" in the car, which had an estimate of between £22,000
to £26,000.
He said: "There were 349 made but this is the only one with
the million mark on its chassis. "The Morris Minor has a very loyal
fan base - people have them for years. This particular car has been
owned by the vendor for 19 years.
"It is just the quintessential British motor car."
Dear British car enthusiasts,
It's getting near that time of the year again where everyone
is getting anxious to get out in their fine British engineered
automobile. Maybe they need some spare parts for their
boot for piece of mind on the open road or maybe they are
looking for that part to complete their gold level restoration. What ever part or accessory they may be looking for ,
it might be at the 34th Annual Ancaster British Car Flea
Market!
If you could please forward this information to your club
membership it would be greatly appreciated.
With the support of British car enthusiasts, we can enjoy
many more years of searching for that "trophy" at the Ancaster British Car Flea Market.
Please see the attached poster and if possible, could you
please add to your websites or newsletters and pass it along
at your next meeting.
Thank you for your support,
Tom Yule. Ancaster British Car Flea Market Committee
Member
The Spanner
April, 2015
Thanks to OMGTR
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