May 2009 issue of the Spanner

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
of the
Bluewater British Car
MAY, 2009
P.O. Box 22021, Twin Lakes,
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada N7S 6J4
www.bluewaterbritishcarclub.ca
THE ULTIMATE CAR SHOPPE
Christchurch is located halfway down the South Island of New Zealand on
the East coast. At 84 Lichfield St, is a large well preserved old building, which specializes in the sale of classic cars, motoring books, model cars, and auto art. Through the
large glass windows can be seen 2 Morgan Plus 4s, and on the other side an early
1930’s Austin convertible.
As you enter the large double doors, a 1950’s Bentley MK 6 saloon in silver grey
makes an imposing statement, and you are only just getting started. This is FAZAZZ
classic cars. Web address is www.fazazz.co.nz. They are New Zealand’s only Morgan
dealer, current wait for the latest Morgan, 3 months. Moving into the store further
there is a 1980 Ferrari V12 400, a 4-seater model; also of note a 1951 Allard J2. And
so it goes on, 2 MK II Jags, a Jag MK 7 Saloon, a 1969 Aston Martin DBS, one lovely
1969 Mercedes 4-seater convertible. MG, Riley, Triumph, Lancia, even a 1978 Reliant
Scimitar. These are just a few of the treats awaiting the classic car enthusiast, and
you can see the full list,
from his newspaper
ad. Large glass showcases line the walls to
the 15 ft ceilings, full of
every imaginable model
available, with old bikes
and pedal cars arranged on top of the
showcases. Tucked to
one side is a Lotus Super Seven in bright yellow. Automotive signs
adorn the walls, and beside a large display of classic car books is an old Vespa motor
scooter. The two Morgans in the front window are Plus 4s; a 2-seater and a 4-seater,
both in British Racing Green. As you can imagine we spent, quite some time here, and
got to talk to the owner, who says he prices the cars to sell, with most of them staying
in New Zealand. The owner has a Jaguar XK140 drophead, which he says he uses
regularly in the warmer months. Great place and well worth a visit if you are a classic
car enthusiast, and are in NZ for a visit.
See you all in May, Kim and Laura
The Spanner
Minutes from our meeting of March 8, 2009
Members at meeting – 9.
Minutes of last meeting were reviewed by President Mark and
others. The motion to accept was moved by Steve Roode and 2nd
by Greg Sundby and approved.
Treasurers report was submitted by Roy O. There were 4 renewals last month and the total now stands at 23. Bank Balance is
$501.88. Moved for approval by David Kelley and 2nd by Barbara
Warwick and passed.
Old Business The Red Rooster Restaurant in Forest is not sponsoring regular Cruise Nights in 2009. However we are welcome to
have a meeting in a part of the restaurant or on the patio. Steve R
will aim to have the regular July 8th meeting at that location. Stay
tuned for more info in the June Spanner.
Mark Jones is still going to organize the following trip for the Triumph Trans AmeriCan Charity Drive 2009 through our part of
the drive, and BBQ at their place . This takes place on July 30.
More details in the July Spanner.
New Business
David Kelley is still trying to get a tour together to go to ADE Car
Restorations in Windsor. He has met with some members of the
Antique Car Club and suggested that we combine with them for a
trip in May. Stay Tuned!
Mark noted that the May Crank-up tour was not included in the
Calendar of Events. Mark proposed a tour to the Mitchells Bay
Bob and Buoy Restaurant/Pub for Saturday May 30. See page 5
for the details.
Retrofest is in Chatham on May 23rd and some of our local
members will be there. Join them for a nice days drive and show.
Mark J is planning to go to the British Car Council annual meeting
in May.
Reminder that you will require a Passport or Nexus document
for travel into the USA by June 20th 2009.
Looking for someone to organize a CRUISE NIGHT in June.
Call for adjournment by Brian Gormley and 2nd by David Kelley,
and done.
May, 2009
2
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.
2008 Club Executive
President
Mark Jones
519 862-3763
Vice President Don Fysh
519 869-2868
Treasurer
Roy Overton,
519 542-7652
Secretary
Byron Warwick 519 862—3527
Spanner Editor Byron Warwick 519 862-3527
News Publisher David Kelley
519 542-7214
Events Coord. Kim Rutherford 519 337-8586
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 St.,
Sarnia, ON, N7S 3J9. Phone 519 542-7214.
Contributing writers this month: Kim Rutherford,
Mark Jones, David Kelley, Roy Overton, Byron Warwick.
Photo credits: David Kelley, Kim Rutherford, Enjoying
The Spanner
May, 2009
3
The President’s Garage Grumblings
For me, history is repeating itself. During the summer and fall of 2001 my 73 MGBGT was
my daily driver for the commute from Seaforth, NS (east of Dartmouth) into downtown Halifax.
The summer of 2001 was one of the nicest summers Halifax has seen; warm, little fog and only a
few days of rain.
I remember driving across the MacDonald bridge on one of those rainy days. My wipers
were merrily going back and forth when the passenger side wiper arm decided to take its leave from
it’s post. The next day I saw my wiper arm sitting in the rain gutter half way across the bridge; just
past the 50 km/h sign. There is no room to stop on the bridge so when I got to work I called the
Bridge Commission and told them that I had lost a wiper arm and asked if someone could retrieve it
for me. The Commission said that they would watch for it. For a month I drove past my wiper arm
every day. Every week I would call and asked if they could retrieve it, but they said they couldn’t
find it; funny, I saw it everyday.
One Sunday they closed the bridge for maintenance and the next Monday my wiper arm was
gone. With little hope I called the Bridge Commission but no wiper arm was waiting for me.
Along comes the spring of 2009, and due to the untimely death of my VW, the GT has become my daily driver once again. I shall ensure this time that my wiper arms adhere to their posts,
especially before crossing any bridges.
Mark J
HIGHLINE AUTOCENTER
Four Certified Import Technicians
Bob Munday
Owner / Technician
810 Confederation St.
519 336-9913
1 877 336-9913
Servicing all makes including MG, Jaguar, Triumph
Austin Healey, BMW, VW, Mercedes Benz.
5%discount for BBCCmembers
PLEASE NOTE THAT OBSOLETE ARE NOW CLOSED ON
SATURDAY MORNINGS
The Spanner
May, 2009
4
Calendar
Of Upcoming
Events
2008
2009
JANUARY
MAY
No
13 monthly
Monthly
Meeting
Meeting
in -January
Stokes Bay
22-24
27? Chatham
Annual General
Retrofest
Meeting;
Weekend
Date And
30 Spring
locationCrankup/Pub
to be determined
Tour-Page 5
31 Start of Drive Your British Car Week
FEBRUARY
JUNE
13 Keep
1-7
Monthly
Driving
meeting—Stokes
Your British Bay
Car Week
XX event
5,6
Fleetwood
TBA Your
Country
inputCruize-in
requested.
7 Autofest of Classics-Brampton-Page 8
10 Monthly Meeting - Stokes Bay
14 London Classic British Car Show
JULY
8 Monthly Meeting - Location TBA
19 Brits in the Park- Lindsey ON
XX Overnight Theatre at Stratford?
26 Hobbyfest Centennial Park
30 Triumph Trans AmeriCan Drive
AUGUST
8 Old Auto’s Bothwell
WAMBO—Wallaceburg
12 Monthly Meeting - Location TBA
XX Annual Club Rally, Steve & Donna
Roode
15? Hot August Nights Centennial Park
XX Croquet with London SSC?
SEPTEMBER
9 Monthly Meeting - Stokes Bay
13 Battle of the Brits - Orchard Lake
20 Bronté British Car Show
I’m crying because my Granddad made me sit in his
Citroen Convertible even though my name is “Morgan
Riley” Mills
(David Kelley’s great grandson)
CAR FOR SALE
By Paul Dusten
I am selling the Midget. (Would actually consider
a trade for a boat of similar value). The car was
appraised this past summer at $9300.
As you know, it is in exceptional condition. It
is a 1978. I have not put many miles on it at
all. I think it is around 32,000 km.
The car is original except for the transmission we switched.
The car is yellow with the Black accents
Phone 519 867-5559 [email protected]
1109 St Clair Parkway
The Spanner
May, 2009
5
AFTER TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF OWNERSHIP
In April, I bid farewell to my 1951Citroën 15/6which was built at the Slough works in
Buckinghamshire England. The car was first sold in Singapore on January 1, 1951 for 8000 Hong
Kong Dollars. From there it went to Texas, Detroit, and Port Huron MI. I brought the car to
Sarnia after paying the soon to be abandoned duties. I did a ground-up restoration with and
Philippe Devingt, a local Citroën enthusiast.
It now has a new home in Calgary Alberta. My car will be with ‘Cornelius’ other Citroëns and
will be in good company. His other cars are 1939 Traction Avant, 1956 T/A, and ~1960 DS sedan.
This car has entered and won many awards, from the Concours d’Elegance at Meadowbrook,
Eyes-On-Design in St Clair Shores, Orphan Car Show in Ypsilanti MI, Willistead Manor in
Walkerville, Foreign Car Show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and the Tour-To-Yesteryear in
Chatham.
SPRING CRANK-UP TOUR/DRIVE YOUR BRITISH CAR WEEK
Saturday May 30, 2009 Going for Lunch!
Meet at Judy and Mark Jones
510 Albert Boulevard Corunna, Ontario
Leaving at 10:30 PM
After lunch we will travel the back roads for a tour to
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in Dresden
Please phone or email at 519 862-3763 or [email protected]
The Spanner
May, 2009
6
Let’s Get Technical”
THE INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE
The conventional Internal Combustion Engine has been around
since 1876 when Nicolaus Otto invented the 4 stroke “Otto”- motor. As
soon as it was built Daimler (yes, that Daimler) put it into a 2 wheeler –
a “motor” – cycle.
The 4 stroke “Otto” engine consists of four cycles, Intake, Compression, Power, and Exhaust stroke. Many different designs have tried
to compete over the years, but with its relatively simple operation and
MARK JONES
being fairly inexpensive to produce the “Otto” cycle engine has domiRoy Overton
nated the need for power for over a century.
However, this is about to change. Hybrid vehicles have different requirements than their mechanical counterparts. MGs are the best. In a Hybrid vehicle the engine is required to produce electricity
or hydraulic pressure depending on the drive train technology and not directly power the vehicle.
Most of the current Hybrid vehicles, including the Ford Escape and the Toyota Prius, use an
"Atkinson" cycle. The Atkinson cycle engine was invented by James Atkinson in 1882 and provides efficiency at the expense of power. By a Triumph. The original design, using complicated levers, provided for
the compression stroke to be shorter than the power stroke and thus reduce the pumping losses associated with this stroke. The Atkinson engine can be 10% more efficient than the “Otto” engine.
In the modern use of the Atkinson cycle, the intake valve is held open longer during compression
to allow the air to flow back into the intake manifold, thus the effective stroke and compression is reduced (for the time the air is not being compressed). The Atkinson cycle is also called the “five-stroke
cycle” because of this backflow (which is really not a cycle). This also explains the high compression ratios (13:1) that are quoted for the Hybrid vehicle engines, as they base it upon the full swept volume.
- Roy Overton
MG RETURNS TO ENGLAND By David B Kelley
The fabled sports car marquee MG has returned to the English market, courtesy of SAIC Motor Corporation. The Chinese Automaker is based in Shanghai. The new MG is a two-seat convertible with a 133 HP, 1.8
litre four cylinder engine, and five speed manual transmission. It is being assembled at a plant in Longbridge
Birmingham, England, from knock down kits arriving from
China. The car will sell for £15995
The model MG TF LE500 averages 35.8 mpg. It will limited to 500 units. The tradition rich MG name, which originates
from Morris Garages, after of sports cars with the closing of the
MG plant at Abington England. Some models of MG’s were produced during the interim, including the later modern MG TF
SAIC bought the rights to MG in 2005.
The MG Owners Club distributes the cars (not exclusively), through its dealership Advantage MG.
Will we see any of these new models in North America? Don’t hold your breathe!
The Spanner
May, 2009
7
By David B Kelley
BOND no not that BOND
Three-wheeled vehicles and minicars in general, never quite caught on in the North
American market. One company that tried was the Bond works of Great Britain. The first
Bond minicar was produced in 1949, designed by Laurie Bond (also connected with
Berkeley sports car).
Production of the Mark B/C/D
editions did not began until
1953, and continued into
1958. Mark E/F versions followed in 1958-61 period.
Bond turned to a four-wheeled
version, starting in 1963 with
an Equipe GT-40 fastback
coupe, powered by a 70-cid Bond Equipe GT- Willestead, Walkerville ON, 2007 Ontario licensed cars
(1147cc)
Triumph Herald engine. In association with Standard-Triumph, the company produced the
Equipe GT which consisted basically of the normal wheelbase Triumph Herald chassis.
The Spitfire sports engine, was encased in a body of glass fibre built around the Herald
scuttle assembly. Normal Herald steel doors were used. The molded bonnet, pivoted at the
front. In 1964 another version appeared called the GT4S with the same design, but with
twin-headlight treatment and an opening rear locker lid. In 1968, the Herald-based cars
based on the Triumph GT6 model, were built in both open and closed forms until 1971. A
total of 1,500 Bond vehicles were produced in 1964.
451, Bond Equipe GT were made from 1963-1971. The Equipe 2 litre (1967-70) produced 1,432 cars. 2,505, Bond Equipe GT4S cars were made from 1965-1971.
Bond was taken over by Reliant.
The Spanner
May, 2009
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We mourn the passing of our member John Byrne, who passed away on Thursday April
23, 2009. John and Ang were formerly from England.
We enjoyed seeing them in their 1976 Rolls Royce at our events.
The Spanner
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The Spanner
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