MIDGET 50 Autocross: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

THE MG CLUB OF ST. LOUIS NEWSLETTER
www.stlouismgclub.com
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
AUGUST 1, 2011
MIDGET 50 Autocross: Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
Photo: Supplied by Spridget Club President
Inside this issue:
July Meeting Minutes
2
Midget 50—Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
10
Editor’s Corner
4
British Car Week National Meet 2012
12
Those Little British Show Cars
5
Contacts and Events
13
Lucas Connecting Pins
6
Fall GOF, Athens, GA
15
Best Mileage Values—Classic Cars
7
30th Annual St. Louis
16
Road to Reno, Part II
8
All-British Car Show
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
PAGE 2
July Meeting Minutes
By Janel Demick
St. Louis MG Club Meeting Minutes
July 11, 2011
Square One Brewery, St. Louis, Missouri
(taken under duress by Janel Demick)
The July meeting of the MG Club was held at Square One Brewery and called to order at 8:05pm.
The club didn't approve the minutes from the meeting last month since, technically, there wasn't a meeting last month.
Adrianne Key reported to the club that her father and long-time member Charlie Key was diagnosed with leukemia the beginning of July. Charlie is at BJC (room 7928) undergoing chemotherapy and will be there for five weeks. Charlie has a 90%
chance for full recovery and a 75% chance of a cure. The club will send a token of our concern and support. Charlie can receive visitors.
Treasurer's (general fund) Report: $3754.48 in the general fund
Events Report: $2227.61
New Members: John Kuni (spelling check please). John owns a 1976 MGB that is currently residing at All British Car Repair.
Projects: Bob Bentzinger played show and tell with various MG bits including LED lights (www.superbrightLEDs.com) and new
labels/tags for his MG (Clark Spares and Eastwood). It might have been mentioned that Bob has too much time on his hands...
Proving that assumption, Bob will have an article in our next newsletter.
Todd Brown addressed the overheating problem he has had with his MGB since he bought it. He swapped out his radiator for
a new aluminum one and it seems to have solved all his problems. There was some discussion on this as well. Todd also has
enough spare time to write an article on this.
Bruce Hamper is messing around with his brakes. We're on a roll here because yes, Bruce is writing an article too.
Mike Tutass told the club that he was given a 1976 MGB. He's harvesting the engine but the rest of the car is up for grabs.
Old Business:
3 club cars travelled to Reno Nevada to attend MG2011. There were about 600 cars in attendance. Simon Dix took high point
in Concours. Congratulations Simon! A fund has since been established by Janel Demick for the purchase of a trailer for Tigger. :o) The 2012 NAMGBR show will be held in Dillard Georgia in June.
GOF is in Kalamazoo MI July 28-30th.
The Midget's 50th Anniversary celebration will be held at Elkhart Lake IN July 19-20.
Simon Dix gave a brief update on the All British Car Show. Free baseball hat for the first 80 registrations. August 20th is the
deadline for all pre-registrations and classes will be set at that time to allow for ordering awards. The 2011 featured marque is
MG, in celebration of our 30th car show.
Saturday July 16th will be Cars & Coffee behind Starbuck's at Manchester and McKnight.
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
PAGE 3
July Meeting Minutes (cont’)
There were about 30 people in attendance at the June non-meeting picnic meeting.
New Business:
John Mangles is organizing another non-car event for late October/early November. It will another shooting day. Cost will be $30 for
100 clay birds, $20 for 50 clay birds plus the cost of ammunition. More information to follow.
Don Gathemann brought up the subject of club funds. He feels that since the club is in a very good financial position with no big expenses to the general fund now that newsletters are not printed and mailed, perhaps the club could do something with the money
for the members. His suggestions were reduced dues, a year's membership free for current members or a free year membership for
new members. He'll bring the subject up at the August meeting and asked everyone to think about this and ideas. There was brief
discussion that will be continued next month.
A second endurance rally will be held Saturday, November 5th. Bob Horzmann is the rally master and will have more details at the
next meeting.
Rich Berger suggested a club drive to Hick's BBQ (YUM) soon, Bob Horzmann will organize a 'Beat the Heat' type rally for Saturday
August 20th, meet at 6:30, Bentley dealership. First car off 6:30pm. Drive will end with dinner at a restaurant I can't remember the
name of. See website for details.
There was nothing for sale/wanted. John Mangles, Todd Brown, Don Gatheman won attendance prizes. A lot of people made motion to adjourn, even more seconded. Meeting was adjourned at 9:10pm.
Respectfully submitted (but don't get used to this)
Janel Demick.
Summer Evening Drive & Dinner
What: Simple drive followed by dinner
When: Saturday August 20, 2011. Meet 6 PM - Departing at 6:30PM
Meet At: Bentley St Louis 1 Arnage Dr, Chesterfield, MO 63005-1357 (636) 449-0000
Destination: La Carreta 4203 S Old Highway 94, St. Charles, MO 63304-2848 (636) 922-7775
Open to: MG Club of St. Louis members to keep dinner numbers manageable
RSVP: Would be helpful - send an e-mail to Bob H ([email protected])
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Oct. 7-8, 2011, Nashville British Car Club Show at Nashville's acclaimed Centennial Park and Parthenon. Friday evening reception party for Saturday show participants. Show open to the public for viewing
beautiful cars in beautiful surroundings and visiting the Parthenon. Pre-register to save money, to establish car
classes and qualify for a unique door prize. Featured car is the Jaguar E-Type. Get complete info at
www.nashvillebritishcarclub.org. Mike Long 615-790-2169, [email protected] .
PAGE 4
THE ST. LOUIS METRO
Ed i tors Corner
By Bruce Hamper
It is amazing what you can find on the internet! I have no confirmation whether is story is true or just internet
lore, but it sure seems appropriate in these times.
FORD vs. MICROSOFT (disclaimer: found on internet. Unreliable source!)
This is for all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way cars have enhanced our lives.
At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated,
'If Ford had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the
gallon.'
In response to Bill 's comments, Ford issued a press release stating:
If Ford had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash.........Twice a day.
2.. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3... Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.
4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you
would have to reinstall the engine.
5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would
run on only five percent of the roads.
6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single 'This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation' warning light.
7. The airbag system would ask 'Are you sure?' before deploying.
8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the
door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls
would operate in the same manner as the old car.
10. You'd have to press the 'Start' button to turn the engine off.
PS - I 'd like to add that when all else fails, you could call ' customer service ' in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreign language how to fix your car yourself!!!!
PAGE 5
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
Those li t tl e bri tish show cars
By Kathy Kresser, Proofread by Anice Etz
There are many nice cars in the MG and Triumph Clubs, but two owners have taken the next step. That step
is placing their cars in the judged concours d’elegance competition at national shows. Judges review every
aspect of these cars, assigning a point score comparing the car to a show room model. This requires research
on the part of the owner and finding original parts – not always an easy task.
Simon Dix took his 1977 MGB to the
North American MGB Register
(NAMGBR) National Show in Reno,
Nevada, in June. He drove the car
4,175 miles roundtrip, placed it in the
concours judging, received 979
points from 1,000 and won the ―Top
Point MG‖ award. Nice job, Simon!
Chris Kresser took his 1959 Triumph TR3A to the Triumph Register of America (TRA) National
Meet in Fort Wayne, Indiana, competed in the concours judging, received 99.2 points on a 100-point
scale and received a First in Class
award. Also, he had the most
points of the participating cars and
won the ―Best of Show‖ award.
Congratulations, Chris!
I thought I should share this information with everyone because it is
quite an accomplishment. Now we
know we are in the presence of
greatness.
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
PAGE 6
Lucas Connecti ng Pins
A Photo Essay by Bob Bentzinger
Sometimes Mr. Lucas is not our best buddy. This article is an attempt to put him back in our good graces. I
have been restoring my MGB roadster and I was looking at the wire harness and the multi-pin connectors. The
pins in the connectors looked dark and had a patina of oxidation which comes with age and exposure to the
atmosphere we need to live. This patina can effect the conductivity of the pins so I decided to clean them up to
rescue Mr. Lucas from doghouse.
This is the cable from the steering column which
connects the turn signal switch to the electrical system.
A closeup view of the connector which has 8 male pins
The pins can be extracted from the connector body using a jeweler’s screwdriver or other fine point object. Each pin has
a lock tab on the side which keeps the pin in the connector body. Gently bend the lock tab towards the center of the pin
so that the pin may be withdrawn. I found that a Dremel tool with a small brass wire wheel accessory worked great to
clean the oxidation off the pin and make it shine like new.
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
PAGE 7
Lucas Connecti ng Pins
A Photo Essay by Bob Bentzinger (cont)
After cleaning, carefully bend the
locktab away from the pin center so
that the pin will lock into the connector housing. Repeat the process for the
remaining pins. Make sure all the pins
are locked in the connector housing by
gently pulling on the associated wire.
The connector is ready to be put back
into service.
The connector for the wiper switch has
female pins. Female pins can be
cleaned without removing them from
the connector housing. I used a 17 caliber bore brush which I got at a local
sporting goods store.
I chucked up the bore brush in the
Dremel tool but cleaning can be done
by hand.
Best Mileage Values in Classic Cars
The following is a list of some of our favorites —
all are capable of returning well over 30 mpg
around town according to contemporary road tests.
Crosley Hot Shot — 48 mpg
BMW Isetta — 44 mpg
Honda S800 — 42 mpg
Fiat 850 Spider — 38.5 mpg
Lotus Elite — 38 mpg
Nash Metropolitan — 37.5 mpg
Austin-Healey Sprite — 36 mpg
Morris Minor — 35 mpg
MG Midget — 35 mpg
Fiat X1/9 — 34 mpg
PAGE 8
THE ST. LOUIS METRO
Road to Reno II
Collected comments and photos from participants: Robert Rushing and Simon Dix
The MG International 2011 in Reno, Nevada was the big MG event of the year. For those of us who could
not attend, I have collected comments from St. Louis area participants. Each participant was asked the same
set of questions: How many miles did you travel? Did anything break on the way there or back? If so, how
did you get home? What where the Highlights of the show?
Here’s what they have to say!
Robert Rushing: We traveled around 4000 miles total.
My radiator got a major leak in it on the way back.
We had to pull it out of the car in Rock Springs, WY.
John was able to crimp the leak then seal it with some
RTV sealant - no more leaks! Unfortunately, my
windshield got cracked in two places during a big hail
storm in Colorado on the last day of the trip.
The show was amazing - tons of great cars (620+ total). There was even an RV8 and a MGF in attendance. A 1929 MG M-Type Midget was there - one of
the two oldest known MGs imported into the country
when it was brand new. Simon winning Top Point
MGB in the concours was of course the best.
Seeing Lake Tahoe was great as was Pyramid Lake.
The drive out was long, but the scenery was so beautiful the miles just flew by. Stopping by the Bonneville
Salt Flats on the way home was really neat - especially after meeting Gordon Whitby (one of the mechanics
for the MG record breaker cars EX179 and EX181) who signed a copy of his book for me.
The part that I would like to forget was the final day of the trip. We were going to try to make Topeka, Kansas for our overnight stop. When we got there, there were no rooms at any hotel. We ended up driving all the
way home from Rock Springs - 1100 miles in 22 hours!
VOLUME 24, ISSUE 8
PAGE 9
Road to Reno II
(Cont’)
Simon Dix: Miles: 4175
Problems: Somewhere on route to Montrose, CO I lost
one of the 3 studs that keeps the exhaust mated to the
Cat Converter. I can even remember hearing a metallic
noise on the road near Blue Mesa lake which is where
I’m certain it parted company. I had a spare and managed a slight repair but fixed it properly with a stud
from AutoZone (suggested by John) once we got to Reno and I had some time and also borrowed a floor jack.
Want people to look at you weird? Walk around a casino hotel lobby with a floor jack on your shoulder!
Show Highlights: Hoping I had done well in Concours and later finding out that I had won Top Point MG. I
really thought the Iris Blue one was going to win! Also the amazing number of pre-war and T-Series cars –
probably 200 or more. A little over 600 cars total on the field.
Scariest moment: The massive hail storm in Limon CO on the way home – had we arrived their a few minutes
earlier I think the car would have been destroyed by hail that was inches deep like snow!
Most unexpected delight: The drive from Montrose CO to Ely, NV – had expected the Hwy 50 in CO drive to
be the greatest but Utah/I-70 was breath taking!
Some Video Links maybe boring for most but you can use the links if you like (ed; the video links are great!)
1. MG2011 – Yes Kansas Is Flat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sLZ6SqRF1MM
2. MG2011 – Utah – Approaching Black Dragon Canyon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FvdBT4j5GI
3. MG2011 – The Beauty of Utah: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57KN-0ZkXsQ
4. MG2011 – Utah – After Going Up You Have to Come Down: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4R6jeYorw
5. MG2011 – Virginia City to Reno: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnup-kstSXg
6. MG2011 – Bonneville Salt Flats Panoramic View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heucdq6Egss
PAGE 10
THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE
Midget 50 —Elkhart L ake, Wisconsin
Summary from Sprite-Midget club website :
The Event was held at Elkhart Lake in the summer of 2011. The event is a follow up to the Sprite 50th that
was held at Lake of the Ozarks in 2008. Both events were organized by people that have met on a variety of
mailing lists and internet forums. They were both relatively small 55-75 cars, but they have both been an
absolute blast. Small enough that you do not feel like you get lost, but large enough that there are no shortage of fun people to hang out with. Events included: Tour of the historic road track, scenic drive through the
Kettle Morain, tour of a local cheese factory, tech sessions, tour of Road America Track, Burt Levy guest
speaker, static car show, silent auction, drag race (gag event), impromptu parking lot tech sessions, a static
car show, and late nights at the historic Seibkins bar among other bars. It was great fun. I wish all other
spridget owners could have been there. It was a once in a lifetime experience
Bruce Hamper and Andrew Bridges in the Autocross
Hennings Cheese Factory—Yes, we’re in Wisconsin!
PAGE 11
THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE
Midget 50 —Lake Elkhart, Wisconsin
Cont’
Drag Races—You can drag the Midget!
PAGE 12
THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE
Bri ti sh car week national meet 2012
May 30 —June 3, 2012
I'd like to call to everyone's attention, what promises to be a fantasticand memorable British car event which
is coming in 2012 as a part of theannual British Car Week. Planning is currently underway for the first ever
national gathering of British cars and their owners. The inaugural British Car Week National Meet, will be
held at Hot Springs National Park, in Hot Springs, Arkansas fromWednesday, May 30 thru Sunday, June 3. I
personally have already made my plans to attend, and I hope to see many of you there in order to share in the
fun.
You are invited to join your fellow British Car owners and British Car Clubs from all over the United States
for an assortment of great driving tours, a best British car club competition, free concerts, an awards banquet,
a popular vote car show, a judged Concours d'Elegance, road rallies, self-guided as well as group driving
tours, a British marque golf tournament, a timed driving event, tech sessions, guest speakers, a casino night, a
group photo, and an array of themed car shows (top 5 of each marque show, daily driver of each marque
show, etc.) just to name a few of the planned activities.
There will also be a variety of individual social activities hosted, organized or sponsored by various marque
groups, such as, an ice cream social by an Austin Healey owners group, a Sprite vs Midget oyster eating contest, a Morgan owners breakfast, an MGA owners lunch, a concert hosted by a classic Mini club, etc. Basically anything that individuals, marques or clubs would like to plan or be associated with will be considered by
the organizers, at no cost to the named group, as long as the activities are safe, legal, fun and interesting. The
Garland County United Way is taking on the Concours, and the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce is putting together a digital camera scavenger hunt. Event sponsorships and naming opportunities for activities are
currently available for car clubs, groups, companies, organizations, parts suppliers, vendors etc. If you have
an interest in this, please contact the event chair whose email address is listed on the web site home page.
For the Concours d'Elegance, the organizers are looking for concours quality cars in each marque to compete.
If you or someone you know has a high quality car that would fit that bill and qualify for a judged concours
competition, participation in that event is strongly and respectfully encouraged.
Again, this promises to be a fantastic all British marque event, which I urge you to consider attending. The
event web site has just been launched and can be found at _http://www.britishcarweeknationalmeet.org_
(http://www.britishcarweeknationalmeet.org/)
Please take a few minutes to peruse the web site and see what the organizers have in store for the British car
community in 2012.
Howard Collins, Virginia Beach, VA.
'60 AH Bugeye Sprite; '68 Austin Mini
PAGE 13
THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE
Club Officers & Support Roles
Name
Address
Phone
E-Mail
Bob Bentzinger
Chairman
1129 Hudson Road
St. Louis MO 63135-1424
(314) 524-6128
[email protected]
Byron Golfin
Treasurer
152 Seabrook Drive
Chesterfield MO 63017-3616
(314) 469-7146
[email protected]
Stefanie Barnes
Secretary
4657 Varrelmann Ave.
St. Louis MO 63116-2417
(314) 803-2113
[email protected]
Simon Dix
Events Chairperson
27 Coach Line Dr
O’Fallon MO 63368
(636) 240-6739
[email protected]
Fred Houser
Membership Coordinator
544 Winding Trail Drive
St. Louis MO 63131
(314) 965-9320
[email protected]
Bruce Hamper
Newsletter Editor
132 Wildwood Lane
Kirkwood, MO 63122
(314) 822-4831
[email protected]
Registrars
Name
Phone
E-Mail
Pre-war
Bob Horzmann
(636) 227-3449
[email protected]
T-Series
Mike Barnes
(314) 752-3869
[email protected]
MGA/Magnette
John Mangles
(636) 939-9338
[email protected]
MGB/MGC
Robert Rushing
(314) 614-4671
[email protected]
Spridget
Lee Fox
(314) 821-1295
[email protected]
Cars In Boxes
Mike Barnes
(314) 752-3869
[email protected]
Other Marques
Ranney Dohogne
(314) 878-7766
[email protected]
Historian
[email protected]
FOR A FULL LISTING OF UPCOMING EVENTS, CLASSIFIED ADDS, AND MUCH
MORE GO BROWSE OUR EXCELENT WEB SITE AT:
http://www.stlouismgclub.com/
Just click on this link to go to the web site
"The St. Louis Metro Gazette (SLMG)" is a publication of the MG Club of St. Louis and remains the property of the club. It is published monthly and is provided free to
members in good standing and to officers of other British car clubs upon request. "SLMG" solicits articles from members and other sources. Opinions expressed here are
not necessarily those of the Club, Club Officers, or the staff of the newsletter. Technical information is believed accurate, however, any repairs or mechanical advise is
attempted at the readers own risk. The Club, Officers, or newsletter staff will not be responsible for any misinterpreted or incorrect technical information. If in doubt,
consult with a certified technician. Articles may be reprinted by other car clubs provided that credit is given to author and “SLMG”
THE MG CLUB OF ST. LOUIS
c/o Fred Houser—Membership Coordinator
544 Winding Trail Drive
St. Louis MO 63131
Web Site: www.stlouismgclub.com
Editor E-Mail: [email protected]
"The St. Louis Metro Gazette (SLMG)" is a publication of the MG Club of St. Louis and remains the property of the club. It is published monthly and is provided free to members in good standing and to
officers of other British car clubs upon request. "SLMG" solicits articles from members and other sources. Opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of the Club, Club Officers, or the staff of the
newsletter. Technical information is believed accurate, however, any repairs or mechanical advise is attempted at the readers own risk. The Club, Officers, or newsletter staff will not be responsible for
any misinterpreted or incorrect technical information. If in doubt, consult with a certified technician. Articles may be reprinted by other car clubs provided that credit is given to author and “SLMG”
PAGE 15
THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE
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THE ST. LOUIS METRO GAZETTE