The President Squeeks - Tucson British Car Register

THE TUCSON BRITISH CAR
REGISTER
August-September, 2014
Articles, opinions and
suggestions printed in
the Register are those of
the author(s) and do not
reflect the official policy
of TBCR or its officers or
members unless duly
noted.
Technical tips are for
informational purposes
only.
In this issue:
The President Squeeks
Drive Time
Full Chat
In the Rear View Mirror
Events Calendar
On the Road
Sunbeam Restoration
Suni IV
New Members:
Yul Esquivel
Gary Tillman &
Sarah McHale
Photo credits:
page 1 – Jim A
page 3 & 7 – Steve B
page 8 – Rex F
page 9 – Charlie N
all others – Staff photos
Volume 20, Number 7
The President Squeeks
For want of a nail, a shoe was lost…
So there I was, following along some others with an SUV in front of me. I was not paying
enough attention and soon I was closing on the vehicle which had slowed for a turn. No
problem, I’ll touch the brake and slow a little. No deal. My left foot suddenly couldn’t reach
the pedal. Now I’m closing a little too fast. Plan B, skinny to the outside and scrub off a little
speed. Bad choice. I hadn’t noticed that there was a smattering of gravel on the outside of the
turn. No sooner am I in it than I realize I’m in it and I foolishly touch the front brake and
“swoop”, down we go. Then came the gravel and dirt up the face mask and there I was, lying
and wondering.
So why didn’t plan A (tap rear brake but can’t reach it) work? That brake pedal had always
been low and other than bending the lever, I didn’t know how to fix it. Along come a mate
from my local club who tells me “why don’t you adjust your brake pedal?”. It’s easy. The plate
which carries the pedal lever rotates with these two bolts (now pointing). Humph, say I. But I
don’t carry through and adjust it. Instead I just ride on.
This is the nail in the shoe. If I had adjusted the
pedal before riding the rally, I would have easily
been able to tap the brake and slow down. But
this hadn’t been a problem before. Well, after
1000 miles in 5 days on a Velo, I was getting a
little saddle weary. And when that happens I
seem to slip farther and farther back on the seat.
And when that happens, my toe gets farther and
farther from the business end of the foot pedal.
The combination of the two makes for unable to
brake when needed. The wanted nail…
And that’s the moral of the story. When you notice something out of whack (especially when
dealing with brakes), FIX IT!
I must say, everyone was very kind and helpful. Even the sheriff deputy apologized for having
to write me up a citation (Montana requires an officer to issue a citation for any accident).
The EMT team was especially good and even constructed a little tent for some shade for me.
Gerry Philbrick accompanied me to the ER and kept me cogent the whole while. The ride
was exciting, but with no siren. Sirens are reserved for dying patients, I found out later.
Crushed ankle, broken tibia, displaced patella and accompanying tendons, burnt leg from
exhaust pipe and a dozen or more scraped skin is not dying. In Missoula I was patched back
together and put to bed for a week. Two guardian angels appeared in the guise of Dan and
Kit McCaffery to get me through the next two weeks until I could fly home to Tucson.
And now I’m home! YAY! The house is a mess and getting worse, and my doctor says I’ll have
to immobilize my knee (so I can’t fit in the car to drive. BAH!). Step Daughter Amy was nice
enough to stay on sitting the house and feeding the kitties. Oh well, I remember the Velo
mantra, “POR” or Press on Regardless. And all for the want of a nail…
Jim
The Prez has Squeeked!
The Register
Page 2 of 10
Drive Time
Hey all, the summer is coming to an end…really! How do I know? Well, by now you have survived the
Mad Dog’s and Englishmen’s 100 miles at over 100 degrees Run, 3 hot Breakfast Runs AND 2 5:30 AM
BLAT drives. No one says this all makes any sense, but hey, aren’t we here to DRIVE! Some clubs that
enjoy great weather like we do only drive maybe 300 miles a YEAR…we on the other hand can sometimes
come close to 300 miles a month in the cooler weather. While we do have those members that enjoy car
shows and others that enjoy “short” car shows, as a group we’ve become quite a large cadre of drivers.
So, what else is planned for the upcoming cool weather? Well, there is always the 2nd Saturday Breakfast
Run and the 4th Saturday Cruise & Schmooze. Likewise, the 1st Wednesday BLAT goes on and on
summer heat, be damned. So, how about some input from the TBCR membership. Are there places you
want to drive, roads that I’m not aware exist or restaurants that you think would be ideal for a TBCR
event? If you have some positive ideas, I’ll look into them and try to coordinate routes, interesting sights
and new restaurants into the upcoming Fall/Winter events. Please keep in mind certain considerations
when making suggestions: size of our group (60+ on some winter drives), traffic related to the time of
day, as well as services and facilities at the start, finish and en route. As you know, there are only 4 ways
to leave Tucson and I think we have covered all of them that are not entirely interstate highways. Please
send suggestions to my email at: [email protected]. Use a “Subject” that indicates this is a suggestion for
future drives.
As we near the fall/winter driving season, it’s
time for another fun and “educational” event.
Saturday, October 4 will be our next Open
Garage Saturday. Watch for emails regarding this
event. For the newcomers this event is a chance
to solve those problems with your cars or do
some quick routine maintenance jobs that are
easier with the right equipment. I open my
garage and lift to those who need some time and
help. Among the group attending there are
usually a number of members that can provide
some insight and assistance in solving some basic
running problems Likewise; you can use my lift
for a routine oil change, lube job or just a good
October 4 is our next Open Garage Day
under chassis inspection.
The only caveat is that you must bring all the parts, lubricants and any special tools you’ll need. We
usually have some UniSync, Colortune, basic engine analyzers available to use also. I have most of the
basic tools, containers for waste fluids, rags etc. So, watch for my emails about signing up for time on the
lift or some help in the 2nd bay of the garage. Now is the time to get that car ready for our upcoming
driving season.
Lastly, just a reminder that the Rio Grande Valley Regional Rendezvous will be in Santa Fe Sept. 26 – 29.
This just happens to be at the same time at the 5th annual Santa Fe Concorso. You might consider
attending both events if you’re in Santa Fe at that time. The Rendezvous is a 3 day event and the Santa Fe
Concorso is on Sunday, Sept. 28 from 10 AM – 4 PM. The Concorso is a fabulous event (OK, I’m there with
the ELVA this year) and is considered a low key version of The Pebble or Amelia Island. Either way, you
won’t be disappointed.
Ben
Thanks for all your participation in the TBCR events, so keep those cars running and enjoying the
upcoming driving season.
The Register
Page 3 of 10
PRESIDENT Jim Abbott
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT Kevin McCue
[email protected]
SECRETARY Sandy O’Harra
[email protected]
TREASURER Brenda Johnson
[email protected]
NEWSLETTER Geo Hahn
[email protected]
DRIVING EVENTS Ben Cohen
[email protected]
REGALIA Len & Nancy Wheeler
[email protected]
WEB SITE Harold Beekhuizen
[email protected]
We’re on the Web!
See us at:
http://www.tucsonbritish.com
Full Chat
[Editor’s note] Up until now it has been my practice to only use original material for the
newsletter, i.e. photos and writings that have not appeared in other publications or websites.
This seems only fair and not unreasonable as there is always plenty going on in our club to fill
these pages. Now, however, I make an exception and reprint here are article from the Toronto
Star written by Steve Bond, a Tucson visitor who got to participate in one of our events.
TUSCON, ARIZ.— Every year, British car enthusiasts in and around Tucson get together
for a garage tour. It’s basically a kickoff to the new driving season and a friendly gettogether for classic car enthusiasts. I secured an invite through my friend Tony Vinent,
and was paired up with Dave Reilly and his 1967 3.8S Jaguar saloon. Um, that’s a sedan for
us colonials. Tony was with another member in a modified MGB.
Dave has owned the car since new and, in fact, picked it up at the factory on Sept. 1, 1966
while he was stationed in England. He shipped it over the U.S. the next year and has been
enjoying it ever since. The car has 49,000 miles on it and the leather interior is original, as
is the real wood on the dash. The car is all original — it’s never been restored. It’s starting
to show its age but, then again, so am I,” says Reilly.
At the tour’s starting point, one member of the group
provided coffee and donuts as members started
trickling in. What sounded like a British 500cc singlecylinder motorcycle pulled into the driveway and, as it
drove by an open gate, I caught a glimpse of the telltale
fishtail muffler. “Velocette Thruxton,” I said and, as we
approached the bike, a nice, 1967 model.
Others showed up in a variety of vehicles — lots of
MGBs, a couple of Austin-Healeys, a Lotus, an E-type
Jaguar, a few Range Rovers and a smattering of Minis
(yes, technically the new ones are not British but they
still qualify). I gravitated to a Hillman Estate Wagon
that was beautifully restored, and the owner had
shoehorned a Ford 260 V8 engine into the engine
compartment. It looked and sounded great.
A route sheet was handed out with detailed instructions
and the 30 or so cars set off for the first garage.
In a gorgeous setting nestled close to the Catalina
Mountain foothills, a newly constructed garage held a
Jaguar XK140 convertible and a 1939 Cord with
something I’d never seen before: leather bodywork. The
owner fired it up and the straight eight sounded
awesome.
Other stops included a Corvette fanatic (not British but exceptions can be made) who
had two Stingray 427s as well as a ’63 split-window coupe and a couple of convertibles —
all pre-1967. Oh, and his track car was a C6 Lingenfelter-modified beast with a zillion
horsepower.
The lunch stop was at a group member’s house, who ordered 50 or 60 pizzas for the tour.
We munched as we ogled his collection in the bright sunshine: a Lotus Elise, a couple of
Healeys, a bug-eyed Sprite, a 64 E-Type Jaguar coupe, and two Lotus Super 7s (the real
deal, not the kit cars).
(continued on page 7)
The Register
Page 4 of 10
In the Rear View Mirror
Ten years ago this Fall a group of TBCR drivers
attended the Albuquerque club’s annual Rio Grande
Valley Regional Rendezvous.
The setting was Silver City, New Mexico and
included drives to the Gila Cliff Dwellings and the
Catwalk.
Some of us took a side trip up to the ghost town of
Mogollon and all of us got soaked on the Saturday
evening drive to Piños Altos.
This year’s Rendezvous will be September 26-28 in
Santa Fe, New Mexico. More info HERE
Four Triumphs from Tucson line up for the show
Craig’s MGTD always gets lookers
Queuing up for the group drive
Steve F’s fine MGBGT
Parking for the ‘Catwalk’ – that’s Tom K’s TR4
Page 5 of 10
The Register
Events Calendar
Wednesday, September 3
BLAT
Depart 5:30a
Saturday, September 13
2nd Saturday Breakfast Run
Depart 7:00a
TBA
Saturday, September 27
Cruise & Schmooze
Actually, Meet & Eat
TBA
Wednesday, October 1
BLAT
Depart 10:30a
Saturday, October 4
Open Garage Day
4101 E Bujia Segunda – 8:00a
Contact Ben if you want lift time
Saturday, October 11
2nd Saturday Breakfast Run
Depart 7:00a
TBA
Saturday, October 25
Cruise & Schmooze
TBA
Every Tuesday
BritCar Café
7:30 – 9:30a
NE corner of Grant & Swan
The Register
Page 6 of 10
On the Road
Ide on
Here are some shots from the July and
August breakfast runs.
Parked in alphabetical order – here are the M’s
July’s Breakfast Club
On the road to breakfast
At last – Our name in lights!
Lotus x
2
Ben sells it
A Marvelous E-Type Coupe
Ben’s newest acquisition – a 1960 Triumph Italia
Page 7 of 10
The Register
Toronto Star Article (contd from page 3)
by Steve Bond
Williams
He also had the Car of the Tour, as far as I was concerned: an AC Ace, the car that Carroll Shelby stuffed a Ford V8 into
and called Cobra. The AC was mint, with the original straight-six engine. We had to stop numerous times to wipe the
Show
drool off the bodywork.
One stop was pretty basic: an MG TD that was just a rolling chassis. The bodywork was off for painting but the owner
poured gas into the carbs and hand-cranked it. As the engine ticked away, two guys wandered by and I overheard,
“That’s a TD, it’s got bumperettes.”
I said to Tony, “geez, isn’t that a bit anal, being able to recognize the make and model of a car by the bumperettes?” He
smiled and replied, “You knew a Velocette Thruxton from seeing three inches of muffler as it drove by.” Point taken.
All in all, a grand day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it was a bit chilly first thing in the morning, especially for those in
convertibles, but by noon it was in the high 20s Celsius and hit 30 by 3 p.m.
Driving around in the Jag was awesome. It was very roomy and quiet, had decent power, the four-speed manual
transmission with electric overdrive shifted smoothly and the four-wheel independent suspension provided the best ride
I’ve experienced in a car in quite some time — and that includes the modern stuff I’ve driven.
It soaked up all the divots and heaves like they weren’t even there. No body rattles, no harsh jolts, no bumps. Smooth as
melted butter.
And Dave doesn’t baby it, either. He routinely out-accelerated other traffic and cruised along quite nicely at an Arizonalegal 75 mph (120 km/h).
Huge thanks to the Tucson British Car Registry for providing the invite. If I’m in Arizona next year, hopefully I can
wangle a Range Rover, a new Mini, or maybe even an Aston Martin so Tony and I can do the tour again.
After all, what says “British” more than some guy named Bond driving an Aston Martin?
1980 Triumph Spitfire Parts for Sale:
Black vinyl top, new - $100
Air pump
EGR valve
Exhaust manifold with catalytic converter
Intake manifold with carburetor
Front & rear bumpers
Left and right hand door glass and regulators
Wiper motor and complete heater
If interested, contact Paul at 790-3032 or 204-5559
The Register
Page 8 of 10
A Sunbeam Restoration Update
We have heard from TBCR member Rex Funk
that he has completed the restoration of his 1963
Sunbeam Alpine Series III GT.
Rex says “I thought some of the club members
would be interested in the completed Alpine
restoration which started in Tucson & finished in
Bullhead. After 4 years work, it's as done as
classic cars get”.
Rex was our club president while he lived here in
Tucson. Now residing in far-flung Bullhead City
he nevertheless remains a part of the Tucson club
and, obviously, very much involved with his
Sunbeams.
I stripped the car to bare metal, primed & painted it
myself, put upholstery on, & assembled it. Straight
panels are the result of many hours of body work & prep
I veneered & finished the dash, using Walnut burl,
Great project, & a real learning experience
May, 2010. Basket case with no driveline, parts in
trunk. About 6,000 Series IIIs made during 10 months of
production, making it the rarest of the 5 series of Alpines.
At Sunbeams International meet in Colorado
Springs, where I won "People's Choice" award for
most popular Alpine out of 16 cars
myself, put upholstery on, &
assembled it. Straight panels are the result of
many hours of body work & prep,
June, 2014
Completed car by Colorado River in Bullhead City
…
Page 9 of 10
SUNI VI in Colorado Springs
The Register
by Charlie Nichols
A few of us made our way to Colorado Springs in June to participate in the SUNI 6 (Sunbeams United
National Convention) and celebrating 50 years of the Sunbeam Tiger. They hold a national convention
once every 5 years. About 60 tigers, 20 Alpines, my Hillman, a Sunbeam Talbot and a Hillman Husky
showed up for the week of activities.
Concours, autocross, rally, sightseeing and lots of camaraderie provided the activities for the week. The
concours the first day got everybody acquainted. The autocross the second day was held at Pikes Peak
Raceway with about half the cars participating. The Rally went up the mountain to Cripple Creek
and Victor – old mining towns now mining tourists at the Casinos.
Friday was up Pikes Peak –all 14,000 feet. The Hillman complained at Cripple Creek at 10,000 feet, so I
wisely skipped the climb. There were more than a few cars that had trouble.
Attending from Tucson were Dave and Sue Green as well as Charlie and Jane Nichols. Kelley and Nancy
Rivers were there from Tubac (and North Pole AK). Rex Funk was on hand from Bullhead City.
TBCR members may have a
complimentary business
card ad on this page
For info contact the editor:
[email protected]