Rocky Mountain Center (March-April 2015)

DYNAMO
M A R C H — A P R I L
President’s Corner
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
Mg Foster Homes 2
Series Introduction
Upcoming Events
3
St Patty’s Day North and South
4
Moss Challenge 2014
6
MG Rescue Guy
Adoptions
8
2 0 1 5
By Neil White
So here we are….Spring has
finally sprung, apart from the
occasional snow, that is. I’m
sure you’re looking forward
to preparing your cars for the
season, if you haven’t done
so already.
and well worth attending. I’m
creating this year’s Funkhana,
more skill/luck than speed,
maybe. I hope everyone that
attempts the course will enjoy it. Please check the website for details.
The Rallye Glenwood Springs
is fast approaching, and registration will be available shortly. It’s a great weekend event,
The days are getting longer.
The temperature is rising, not
just the thermostat reading!!
Let’s get out and drive…and
remember…Safety Fast.
63rd Annual Rallye Glenwood Springs
The oldest continually-held timespeed-distance rallye in the United States, is sponsored, this year
by Haggerty Insurance.
The weekend is a marvelous opportunity, not just for MG owners, but for sports car enthusiasts
of every mark (British, American,
German, Italian, Japanese) to
come together for sunny days,
cool nights, and unique events.
The fun begins on Friday June 12,
with the Rallye from the Denver
area to Glenwood Springs. Saturday's main event is a scenic road
tour. New this year is a youth
tour so that your kids will have
their own tie-breaker questions
to answer. The weekend culminates with a social gathering Saturday night and the Car Show,
Funkhana, and Awards Presentation on Sunday.
Since its inception, the MGCCRMC has sponsored the Rallye,
which began when a hardy group
of sports car owners discovered
the joys of motoring in Colorado
in MGs that still had drop-down
tops and running boards.
Before May 22, registration is
only $45 for all the driving
events and the car show, or $20
if you choose to enter only the
car show (social event and regalia are extra). Additional information and registration forms
are available on the MG Car
Club, Rocky Mountain Centre
website at http://mgcc.org/.
You can contact the Registrar
Cathy Knopinski at 303-779-8739
or the Publicity Chairman Joe
Gunderson at 303-791-4902 or
email at [email protected].
Schedule of Events
Friday, June 12th
7:00 a.m. – Breakfast @ Mimi’s Cafe, Golden
7:00 a.m. - Registration & Regalia, Mimi’s
8:01 a.m. – First Rallye Car Departs
4:00 p.m. - Hospitality & Regalia, Glenwood
Saturday, June 13th
9:00 a.m. – First Tour Car Departs
3:00 p.m. - Hospitality & Regalia
6:00 p.m. - Gear Shift Social
7:00 p.m. – Light Buffet to be served
Sunday, June 14th
Two Rivers Park, Glenwood Springs
8:00 a.m. - Parking for Car Show Begins –
8:00 a.m. - Coffee & light breakfast available
8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. - Funkhana
9:00 a.m. - Regalia Sales open
9:00 a.m. to 12 Noon - Car Show
10:00 a.m. – Lunch & other Snacks available
11:00 a.m. - Car Show Voting Ends
12:30 p.m. - Awards Presentation
PAGE
2
So Everybody Knows Your Name
New name badges are now available: $9.00
for magnetic fasteners and $8.00 for a pin
style. There is room for two lines, so you
identify what vintage car you have on the
second line. These badges are inexpensive
enough that you can have one for each car
you own, like Al Wulf does. If you’re interested in purchasing a new badge, and can’t
make it to a club meeting, feel free to e-mail
Al Wulf ([email protected]) to order
one… or, two.
MG Foster Homes - A New Series
“You must
have a
burning
desire for
the car,
sufficient
garage
space,
time,
money,
tools and
permission from
your significant
other to
get the
car.“
He’s part “Picker”, part historian, part detective, part
salesman, part photographer and part proud parent
when it comes to Vintage
MG’s. There are hordes of
Foster Cars stored here and
there. But, in the end, his
mission is to find, if not forever homes, at the minimum, good homes.
Jim “The MG Rescue Guy
Goodwin has a life mission
so save unloved and underappreciated MG’s What’s
Jim’s definition of a good
home? You might get a
better idea if it's told in his
own words from an ad for an
MGA:
“I am ‘Jim the MG Rescue
Guy’ because I look for
and rescue MG’s that
have been abandoned,
had a restoration started
and never finished, are
DYNAMO
missing titles and/or major
parts. I drag them out of
barns sheds and backyards
where they have been left to
sink into the ground. I have
accumulated a lot of MGA
and MGB parts so I can supply missing engines, transmissions, body parts, etc. to
make a car whole again.
Then I go through the State
Patrol VIN verification process and do a title search
through the DMV to get them
titled properly with the correct
VVN. I get them running, if
possible and then advertise
for a new home. Adopting
an MG from me is just like
adopting a dog or cat from
the Humane Society. Simply
having the cash isn’t enough
- you have to prove you’ll
provide a good home.
What’s a good home? You
must have a burning desire
for the car, sufficient garage
By Joanne Arnston
space, time, money, tools and
permission from your significant other to get the car. I
don’t sell to dealers, I don’t
sell on E-Bay and I only advertise locally as I prefer to
keep the cars in Colorado.”
Since I’m always looking for a
story, this seemed like a match
made in heaven. Many future
issues will feature an Adoption
Story. Who knows one of these
saved MG’s may turn out to be
something special. Most of us
who own MG’s feel this way. In
fact, I’ve heard many say it out
loud about our cars, right?
They’re all special.
I hope you enjoy the series.
PAGE
3
Upcoming
Events
Regular Second Wednesday Membership Meetings are held every month except December. The business meeting officially starts at 7:00 pm, but members and guests are encouraged to be there at 6:00 pm, or earlier (the restaurant gets busy) to order dinner from
the menu. Meetings are held at Mimi’s Restaurants. We alternate locations from: 14265
W. Colfax in Golden (across from the Colorado Mills shopping mall. From Interstate 70 take
Exit 263, go south on Denver West Parkway, then west on Colfax. Mimi’s is on the right
(north).), to 9155 Park Meadows Dr. in Lone Tree (C470 to Yosemite, then south to Park
Meadows Dr. turn left (east).)
APRIL
8 - Monthly Meeting @ Mimi’s in Golden (see above)
17 - 19 - GoF South—Central Florid - More information at www.GOFSouth.com
20 - 24 - Conch Republic Independence Celebration - Key West Florida - More information at www.kwbc.org
MAY
7 - 10 - 40th Annual GoF, Salado Texas (MG Guru John Twist) - More information at www.TMGR.org
13 - Monthly Meeting @ Mimi’s in Lone Tree (see above)
15 17 - All British Field Meet - Celebrating 60th Anniversary of the MGA - Vancouver, BC - More information at
www.westerndriver.com
JUNE
8
- 12 - NAMGBR - The MaGic In Niagra Falls - More information at www.mg2015.com
10 - Monthly Meeting @ Mimi’s in Golden (see above)
12 - 14 - 63rd Annual Rallye Glenwood Springs - More information at MGCC.org
14 - - GoF Rohnert Park, CA, Hosted by the Sacramento Valley MG Car Club. More information at www.gofwest.com
HOLD THE DATE
July 15 - 19: North American MMM National meet by the GoF Central - Contact Jack Kahler for more information
July 18: Elizabeth Celtic Festival and WhiteStone Cottage cookout. More information as it becomes available
September 11 - 14 M.O.A.B Trip to Telluride, more information at www.augieburgoon.com/Moab/Telluride.htm or contact Augie Burgoon
September 19 - 20, 32nd Annual “Colorado English Motoring Conclave” Contact Scott Story for more information
PAGE
4
St. Patty’s Day—North and South
John Willey of the British Motoring Club of Northern Colorado, invited John Fraioli from our own MG Car Club Rocky Mountain Centre to participate in the St. Patty’s Day parade in Fort Collins. There
were 9 British cars; including John and Janeen Willey’s MG YB Saloon with right hand drive (pictured above).
Wayne & Miyoko Delaney
with John Fraioli’s B-GT
Meanwhile in the South, another parade with Little British Cars in
Colorado Springs was held to celebrate St. Patty’s Day. Jim Goodwin organizes this parade entry each year, and extends an open
invitation to all the northern MG friends.
DYNAMO
Many thanks to Skip Mundy
for the photos. A last minute
scratch of his MGTD due to a
hydraulics issue, forced him
into the roll of Photographer,
to which, he seems to have
adapted nicely. Great job!
2014 Moss Motoring Challenge
PAGE
6
Submitted by John Fraioli
Moss has sorted through the
multitude of Challengers and
the results are in.
“As Robert
Rushing the
editor of the
NAMGBR
MG Driver
(who came in
17th of the
runners up)
says ‘We will
be receiving
the most expense T-shirt
in the
world’.”
This was the second year that Moss
Motors held this competition.
Which was open to motorist from
the US and Canada. If you remember Olive & Phil came in at 4th
place and the Thompsons came in
at 9th out of a field of more than
600 entries during the 2013 challenge.
Moss changed things up somewhat
for the 2014 Challenge. They allowed Mazda Miatas to enter since
Moss also supplies those parts. This
increased the number of entries in
the contest. Although I don’t have
the exact figure I am sure that number was upwards of 800. First,
second & third place prizes remained the same $1000, $500 &
$250 respectively. However they
decided to give $50 dollar gift certificates to the next 50 runners up
(instead of the 10 runners up they
gave that amount to the first year).
I am proud to say that I came in at
14th place in the runner up category (133 points submitted). Anyone
who submitted between 1-14
points received a Challenge Decal.
If you acquired 15 or more points
you got a T-shirt and a decal. So I
am awaiting a gift certificate, a Tshirt and a decal from Moss.
As Robert Rushing the editor of the
NAMGBR “MG Driver”(who came in
17th of the runners up) says “We
will be receiving the most expense T
-shirt in the world”. Sure winning
one of the top prizes is nice, but I
am sure most of the competitors do
the challenge purely for the fun of
driving their sports cars to new and
different places and the spirit, camaraderie, and bragging rights of this
unique Scavenger Hunt. Many of
the competitors enjoyed posting
their photos and stories on the
Moss Motoring Challenge Facebook
page. If you are a Facebooker you
might want to join that group (or at
least visit that page). There are already a lot of posts there from 2015
challengers.
There was also a side competition
between the British Car owners and
the Miata owners. This was decided
by adding up the points of the top
five British Car Challengers compared to the total points of the top
five Miata Challengers. Top five
British = 930 total points. Top five
Miata = 800 total. So the top five
British Car challengers will also be
receiving the “Brits vs. Miata” commemorative trophies.
There was a total of 205 maximum
points up for grabs in the 2014 challenge (the 2013 challenge had a
max. of 150). The top place winner
(Ed Yates) submitted 200 points and
had driven his 1961 TR 3A to all 48
DYNAMO
contiguous states and 9 of the 13
Canadian provinces. He also managed to hit all 40 destinations.
That was one of the other changes Moss added for the 2014 Challenge. The destinations were
things like Airport, Aquarium,
Barn(your car inside), Brewery,
Covered Bridge, Cupcake Bakery,
Dude Ranch, Duck Crossing Sign,
Harbor, Horse Race Track, On an
Island, Jail, Laboratory, On a Ferry, In a Parade, Ski Resort (with
and without snow), Tunnel, Under
a Full Moon, Winery, Waterfall,
World War I Memorial, and Zoo
just to name a few.
If you are interested in participating in the 2015 Moss Motoring
Challenge. Go to
www.mossmotors.com where
you can register for the contest
and also view the full list of 2014
winners. The more Challengers
the more fun we all have.
MG Rescue Guy Adoptions
Other members of the
MG community may have
bought and sold a couple
of MG's over the years for
fun and/or profit but I go
a little deeper.....
I spend about an hour a
day, every day, searching through Craigslist, the
MGCCRMC swap shop,
EBay, local newspapers,
thrifty nickel, etc., looking
for an MG to rescue. I follow up on a lot of leads
and spend a considerable
amount of time on the
phone every week with
people that call me (from
all over the country) looking for parts or advice. I
send and receive lots and
lots of emails related to
MG's. I rent a garage to
store MG parts and cars I
am fostering. "MG Rescue
and Adoption" is a registered trademark with the
Colo Secretary of State. I
have an My MG-rescue
website.
Once I do find an MG, I
need to rent a trailer and
spend a day to retrieve it.
It usually takes 4 or 5 cans
of Gunk degreaser and
$20 at the car wash to remove 40-50 years of
caked on grease. The ti-
tling process begins with
an appointment with the
ONE State Trooper on the
ONE morning each week
when he certifies Vehicle
Identification Numbers
(VIN). I need to trailer
the car and bring all of
the pieces so he can physically verify that there’s
enough to qualify as a car
and not just a pile of
parts. Next it’s DMV to
complete title search paperwork… (Finger’s
crossed that there are no
problems or surprises
which mean certified
letters to former owners
or other wrangling to get
a clear and correct title.)
Once that’s finished the
business of putting the
car back together begins.
(Just try to find a 1600
MGA motor these days…)
Time, now to get a, long
dormant, MG running
again. Torque the head,
lube the cylinders and
valve gear, clean and adjust the carbs, distributor
and valves, make electrical repairs, fix the gas
leaks, flush the fuel system, etc. all while dodging wasps and black widows.
By: Jim "The MG Rescue
Guy" Goodwin
I'll take a bunch of photos and run an ad for month
or two or three and field
many calls from Dreamers,
(guys that want to chop it up
and modify with a V8 swap
and people that don't care if
it's an MG or a Triumph or a
Miata). They've got the money but Dreamers don't qualify
to adopt an MG from me and
they don't like it when I say
so. It takes a lot of time and
some frustration to find a
good home but it's all worth
it when a guy calls and says, "I
had an MG years ago and sold
it in a weak moment. I've regretted it ever since and have
been looking for another."
THAT guy gets the car.
Find out, in the next issue, why
these people are smiling.
OFFICERS for 2015
President
Neil
The DYNAMO (“to gen-
Elizabeth
(303) 646-5717
Vice President John Fraioli
Aurora
(303) 766-5386
erate interest”) is the official bi-
Secretary
Carole Beermann
Aurora
(720) 273-4190
monthly publication of MGCC/
Treasurer
Dee Dee Reilley
Denver
(303) 331-1125
RMC. Membership is open to an-
Historian
Alan Magnuson
Centennial
(303) 400-8076
yone having interest in the MG
Membership
Al Wulf
Wheat Ridge
(303) 424-6830
Regalia
Cathy Gunderson
Littleton
(303) 791-4902
Bylaws
Stan Edwards
Arvada
(303) 423-8129
CCCC Rep
Dick Fritz
Longmont
(303) 774-9710
Register (NAMGAR) and the
Property
Al Wulf
Wheat Ridge
(303) 424-6830
North American MGB Register
Rallye
Derek Prechtl
Lakewood
(231)-929-6170
Editor
Joanne Arnston
Littleton
(303) 904-7479
Web Site
Dan McGrew
Littleton
(303) 524-5924
NAMGAR Rep Joe Gunderson
Littleton
(303) 791-4902
NAMGBR Rep Bob Gloyd
Centennial
(303) 680-0990
Glenwood
with the North American MGA
(NAMGBR), as well as the Col-
Editor’s Musings
If you read this column, you know that
my driver and I have been in much
warmer weather for a good share of
the winter.
While watching a spring storm, recently, I was trying to decide whether that
luxury made coming home to snow
easier or harder? To tell the truth, I’m
still not sure. What I will say, is that I
was ready to start the driving season
when we came home. Instead I had to
settle for spending a few snowy days
just putting things in order. While it’s
not pickleball… it seems to be what
one should do on a snowy day when no
other plans present themselves..
The good news is that winter, where we live... is a series of snow storms followed
by short spurts of golfing
weather. I’m cheering for
the golf weather to tug us
DYNAMO
marque. MGCC/RMC is affiliated
lector Car Council of Colorado.
Joanne Arnston
out of the jaws of winter so we can
drive… top down, of course.
But like those winter days of installing
order around the house, it’s time to
put things right with our vintage cars, as
well. It’s time scatter the dust, kick the
tires, tighten the wheel lugs, check the
oil, put in some fresh fuel, and check
the wind screen wipers (hey, you never
know when you’ll have to out run a
spring rain shower. Everyone knows
their car’s perfect speed so as to avoid
putting up the top, right? But sometimes you just have to fly through the
rain drops and the wipers, though not
spectacularly functional, provide some
relief from the rivulets of rain.).
I’m certain that our VP is working on
getting us on the road with a day trip
here or there before we can get settled
behind the wheel.
Find us on the Web!
WWW.mgcc.org
And Facebook
MG-Car-Club-of-EnglandRocky-Mountain-Centre
Rah! Rah! C’mon Golf/Driving
Weather!!!
Goooooo Spring!!!!