www.rootesgroup.club email: [email protected] CLUB NEWSLETTERS WILL GO OUT ON QUARTERLY TO THE INBOXMAGAZINE OF THE EMAIL ADDRESS YOU HAVE GIVEN US. July 2020 IT IS DRAWN TO THE ATTENTION OF CLUB MEMBERS THAT ANY OPINION EXPRESSED IN ITEMS IN THE

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IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Club accepts no responsibility for vehicles, spares or items advertised in the ROOTES GROUP CLUB Newsletter or other ROOTES GROUP CLUB publications.

Contracts are between the persons concerned and no liability may be attached to the ROOTES GROUP CLUB.

DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION YOU WOULD LIKE ANSWERED, WE HAVE A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AMONGST OUR MEMBERS SO WHY NOT SEE IF ONE OR MORE OF THEM CAN SOLVE THAT PROBLEM THAT HAS BEEN NIGGLING AWAY AT YOU, PLEASE KEEP THE QUESTIONS TO AUTO RELATED SUBJECTS. SEND THEM IN TO [email protected] I WILL PUT THEM IN THE NEWSLETTER AND WAIT FOR REPLIES, YOU CAN SUBMIT YOUR QUESTIONS ANNONYMOUSLY IF YOU WANT. IF YOU WANT DIRECT REPLIES, PLEASE GIVE A PHONE NUMBER OR EMAIL ADDRESS.

The Landlords Reply

A young couple, about to be married were looking at a house in the country. After satisfying themselves that it would suit them they went home. On the way the girl suddenly remembered that she had not noticed any W.C., so she wrote to the land lord and asked if there was one. The landlord, not knowing what W.C. meant supposed that the reference was to the Wesleyan Chapel, and so he replied as follows:-

Dear Sir,

I regret the delay in reply but have pleasure in informing you that the W.C. is situated 9 miles from the house and is capable of seating 250 people. This is an unfortunate situation for you if you are in the habit of going regularly. But I know that a large number of people take their lunch with them and make a day of it, while others who cannot spare the time go by bus and are usually in too great a hurry to wait long.

It may interest you to know that my daughter was married in the W.C., it was where she met her husband. I remember that the marriage caused a great rush for seats. There were ten on the one I usually occupy in various postures, standing, sitting or kneeling, and it was wonderful to watch the expression on their faces. My old father was there to, he had been going regularly all his life since he was christened in its waters. A wealthy resident of the district erected a bell on our W.C. to be rung every time a member entered. The people living near have had little sleep since. My wife and I are old now, it is six years since we went and we had to stand all the time. It pains me very much not to be able to go more often. Yours Truly Brian

1953. The first Ford 100E Anglia 2-door saloon was produced at Dagenham. Every was given a 10 mile road test before being sent to the dealer. It initially cost £511, with a heater extra at £11 5 s, while a fitted Ecko radio added a further £28 to the total. The completely reworked 1172 cc engine, was still a sidevalve layout. Behind the engine a new transmission, including a single-plate clutch with damper springs, to provide a smoother take up and kill the old Ford bogey of ‘fierce clutch’.

The three-speed gearbox was entirely new, with synchromesh on top and second gears. For the first time on a small Ford, there were hydraulic brakes, since they were both cheaper to manufacture than the old cable variety and more efficient in operation. Specifications included silver painted bumpers and a grille. There was a tool kit, which included a jack, wheelbrace, greasegun, adjustable spanners, a pair of double- edged spanners, a screwdriver, a brake and tappet adjuster, a spark plug wrench, and a tyre lever. The 13 grease points on the car required attention every 1,000 miles.

The Jaguar XJ (XJ40) was officially unveiled. It was an all-new redesign of the XJ to replace the Series III, although the two model ranges were sold concurrently until the Series III was discontinued in 1992. The XJ40 used the Jaguar independent rear suspension arrangement, and featured a number of technological enhancements (such as electronic instrumentation). In a government survey the XJ6 earned the title of "Safest Car in Britain” in 1993. The XJ40 was discontinued in 1994 and was superseded by the X300 platform XJ.

Please circle your choice of answer

1 A Threepenny bit has how many ridges around its edge : 12 9 14

2 How many muscles has a cat in each ear : 32 14 7

3 What can’t a crocodile stick out : tongue talon ear

4 A dragonfly has a life span of : 1 week 6 months 24hrs

5 A shark is the only fish that can do this : sleep blink snore

6 A snail can sleep for : 6weeks 1year 3years

7 Al Capone’s business card said he was a : Undertaker Furniture dealer Monk

8 What do butterflies taste with : proboscis feet wings

9 What is it impossible to do with your eyes open : kiss sneeze make love

10 Leonardo Da Vinci invented : Parachute thimble scissors

11 What part of your body remains the same size for life ears eyes Pancreas

12 Peanuts are one of the ingredients for : Ravioli putty Dynamite

13 Rubber bands last longer if they are: Frozen In WaterShut away

14 How far does the QE2 move for each gallon of diesel burned as fuel 50yds 6inches 1mile

15 When did Niagara Falls freeze solid 1963 2014 Never

16 What do women do twice as much as men talk blink go to loo

17 What % does the left hand do when typing 56% 10% 38%

18 How many issues of Classic Lines are there in a year In paper copy 7 6 5

19 Almonds are members of what family Date Apricot Grape

20 A “jiffy” is a unit of time for how long 1/100sec 1/10sec 1/1000sec

Answers will be published on the website shortly

The Highway Code was first issued in Great Britain by the Ministry of Transport in 1931. It cost one penny, and contained just 18 pages of advice. The Code included infor- mation for horse drawn vehicle users, and was chock-full of quaint diagrams of hand signals, a rather nattily dressed gentleman with a hat featuring in an open-top car. It also contained adverts, with the AA, RAC, Castrol, BP, and two magazines featuring, as well as an insurer, Motor Union Insurance Limited of St James’s Street in . By

1978 there were 70 pages and in 2004 there were 307 numbered rules and 9 annexes.

THESE SENTENCES ACTUALLY APPEARED IN CHURCH BULLETINS OR WERE ANNOUNCED IN CHURCH

SERVICES

Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.

Announcement in a church bulletin for a national Prayer and Fasting Conference: The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals.

The sermon this morning: Jesus Walks on the Water. The sermon tonight: Searching for Jesus.

Ladies, don`t forget the rummage sale. Its a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don`t forget your husbands.

Remember in prayer the many that are sick of our community.

Don`t let worry kill you off - let the Church help.

Miss Charlene Mason sang I will not pass this way again, giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.

For those of you who have children and don`t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Next Thursday there will be try outs for the choir. They need all the help they can get.

Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24th in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.

At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be What is Hell? Come early and listen to our choir practice.

Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.

Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.

The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.

The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.

Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7pm. Please use the back door.

The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare`s Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7pm. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.

Weight Watchers will meet at 7 pm at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.

PRE-SELECTOR GEARBOXES. You may think your paddle shifts on the steering wheel represent the latest in 21st century technology but, in fact, a remarkably similar system has been around since the 1930s. In a world without computers or electronics, the driver had to work out when to change gear and which gear to select but, in essence, the pre-selector gearbox behaved much like today’s dual clutch transmissions.

The controls for a pre-selector gearbox comprised of a selector lever on the steering column, used to choose the next gear, and a foot pedal to activate the shift into the next gear, replacing the conventional clutch pedal. After starting the engine in neutral, moving away from rest and accelerating up to speed required the driver to position the selector lever for the next gear then operatethe foot change pedal to activate the shift. Sequential shifting was not necessary. You simply drovealong with the selector set to whichever gear you thought you’d need next, rather than the one you were in; hence the term pre-selector.

This requires a degree of anticipation. Is there a steep hill ahead? If so, maybe a downshift will be needed. Will the traffic lights turn from red to green as you approach? Perhaps the shift to first can be cancelled. You can change your mind with a pre-selector and choose a different gear instead nothing happens until the foot pedal is depressed and released.

So what was the attraction of a pre-selector gearbox? Before the widespread development of torque converter automatic transmissions, manual gearboxes without synchromesh were common. These required considerable skill to operate; downshifting on steep hills was particularly challenging. The pre-selector made the driver’s life easier, and was a stepping stone to the fully automatic transmissions that would follow.

Typical pre-selector transmissions incorporated either a rudimentary centrifugal clutch or fluid fly-wheel (an early torque converter) to enable pulling away from rest. Combined with removing the skill requirement from gear shifting, this made the car more relaxing to drive and pre-selector gearboxes were most common on luxury , such as Daimler and .

Pre-selector gearboxes often used epicyclic gears which are easily controlled by braking different elements within the assembly to change their rotating speed. With the technology of the day, braking devices were more robust and durable than clutches and easier to maintain. Epicyclic gear arrangements can also handle high torque within a small package. The durability and compactness appealed to racers, who also gained a benefit from eliminating manual gear changes because the pre-selector could change gear much faster. The most famous application was probably on the fearsome Auto Union ‘Silver Arrows’ but ERA and Bugatti also used such a system for their race and road cars.

The next time you roll up to some traffic lights in your dual clutch car just as they change to green and you press on the throttle, only to feel the uncertainty as the transmission shuffles down to first then back to second, you might think of your counterpart 80 years ago. Would they have anticipated the shift better?

Jaguar cars finished 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 5th in 1953 Le Mans 24- hour Grand Prix d’Edurance. At 4:00pm on the Saturday, the flag fell and the race was on. At the end of the first lap, the

Allard led the field, which was closely bunched behind. The first few laps at Le Mans means very little and it was not until after the 30 minutes that the true picture really become close.

Rolt had already put in a lap record at 96.48 mph, while Moss led the way, closely followed by Villoresi, Tom Cole, Rolt, John Fitch, with rounding out the top six. Sydney Allard early lead lasted hardly any time, and by lap four he had toretire with a collapsed rear suspension that severed a brakepipe. Moss was also in trouble. Although he had smoothly pulled away from the chasing pack, untila misfire set in. His subsequent unplanned pit stop for spark plugs, plus another later to the eventualcure, removal of a clogged fuel filter. At least Jaguar remembered the pit regulations. Ferrari topped up the brake system on ’s 340 MM before the specified 28 laps had been completed, thereby Hawthorn/Farina were disqualified. Whilst all this was going on, Villoresi had taken the lead. By 5:00pm, the order had settled down, and it became clear that the Jaguars, Ferraris and Alfa Romeos were the forces to be reckoned with. The Lancias and were quite out-classed, as was the Aston Martins. Consalvo Sanesi in his Alfa Romeo 6C, continued to lower the fast-est lap, with Rolt moving into the lead for Jaguar. Just before 6:00pm, Fangio retired with engine troubles in his Alfa Romeo. The pace continued at a fantastic pace and now it was Jaguar setting it.

At the three-hour mark, Rolt/Hamilton led from Ascari/Villoresi, followed by Cole and his partner, , Sanesi with Piero Carini, and the Germans of Kling and Fritz Riess. Already these five carshad pull out a two lap advantage over the rest of the field. As darkness fell, the Ferrari-Jaguar battle continued unabated, between Ascari/Villeoresi and Rolt/Hamilton, with the Alfa Romeos close be-hind. During the early hours of the morning, Rolt/Hamilton continued to lead with no sign of tiring, while Ascari/Villoresi was now losing ground. By 3:00am, the rear suspension on Sanesi/Carini car has collapsed, and they were out, along with George Abecassis and as oil was getting into their ’s clutch. Although the Ascari and Villeroesi still was taking the fight to the Jaguars, the car was lame, for it was suffering from a sticking clutch and drinking a lot of water. However, the Italians, in a win-or-burst attempt were driving flat out at all times, but it had no effect on Rolt and Hamilton. Their Jaguar now had a lap lead over the Ferrari. Despite the night being very clear and fine, dawn approached a certain amount of mist in the air, making driving conditions very tiring.

The windscreen on the leading Jaguar had been smashed early in the race, and as result Rolt and Hamilton were suffering from wind buffering, but the pair kept up the pace, nevertheless, with an average speed of well over 105 mph. By the time the mist had cleared, Rolt and Hamilton still lead by a lap ahead of the Ascari and Villoresi’s lame Ferrari. Third place was over three adrift was the Cunningham of Fitch/Walters. A lap further back was the fast Jaguars of Moss/Walker and Whitehead/Stewart. It was during this period, when disaster struck at Maison Blanche, when Cole crashed his Ferrari and was killed instantly. Shortly after 8:30am, the leading Jaguar and Ferrari both made routine refuelling stops at the same time, while Moss moved up to third when the Cunningham came for its stop. At 9:00am, the lame Ferrari was dropping back, and was now back in fifth place, following clutch issues. Rolt and Hamilton were now clear up front, but they could not rest as the American of Fitch/Waters started to challenge the Moss/Walker Jaguar for second place. The lame Ferrari retired at 11:00 am having dropped down the order to sixth place. This left only the Marzotto car to challenge the Jaguars and the lead Cunningham. It could not do it and raced to finish in fifth, keeping the Gordini of and Harry Schell behind them. With three hours to ago, the Jaguars were still lapping at over 105 mph, however the pace had slackened a little. In the closing stages the order did not change, as Hamilton took over from Rolt to complete the last stage of the race, they were followed home by Moss, Fitch, Stewart, Giannino Marzotto, and Trintignant. Rolt and Hamilton driving their British license plated Jaguar C-Type, to victory covering a distance of 2,555.04 miles (4,088.064 km), over 304 laps, averaging a speed of 106.46 mph (170.336 km/h). Their team-mates, Moss and Walker were four lap adrift at the finish, in second place was their C-Type.

1898. The Nesseldorf Prasident made its test run from Nesseldorf, Moravia to Vienna, Austria. This was the first car built in what is now the Czech Republic and is also often cited as the first car to be equipped with a front bumper

1903. The first commercial vehicle race began in New York City, with two races on two days sponsored by the Automobile Club of America (ACA). The light truck winner for both races was a Waterless Knox driven by Harry Knox, while the heavy truck winner for both races was a Herschmann steamer.

1904. The first and only speed trials staged at Douglas Promenade, Isle of Man were won by S. F. Edge in a Napier with a speed of 57.3 mph.

1908. The first automobile race in Russia, a 438 mile run from St Petersburg o Moscow, was won by Victor Emery driving a Benz.

1914. A United States patent was issued for the Pierce-Arrow fender-mounted headlights.

1921. Australian Harry Hawker, driving an AC at the Brooklands race circuit in Surrey, became the first to officially exceed 100 mph in Britain driving a 1.5-litre car.

1923. The first Le Mans 24-Hour race concluded. Winners Andre

Lagache and Renee Leonard covered 1,372.928 miles in a 3 litre

Chenard et Walcker. All races since then have been held in June, with the exceptions of 1956 (July) and 1968 (September). Tradition- ally, the race starts at 16:00 on the Saturday, although in 1984 the race started at 15:00 due to the conflicting French General Election. The race has been held every year since then with the exceptions of 1936, and between 1940 and 1948, when the Second World War intervened. In the original configuration, the race track used was 10.73 miles (17.26 km) long, and has subsequently been shortened on several occasions. The race has always been dominated by European names like Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Jaguar, and Lotus. In recent years, BMW and Porsche have both posted fine results. Sadly, the race is most famous for the horrific crash that occurred there in 1955 when a Mercedes 300 SL flipped into the gallery, killing over 80 spectators. Since then, the danger of the race has made it a captivating subject for journalists and artists alike. The round-the-clock nature of the event makes it a unique experience for spectators and drivers alike. Two or three drivers normally race in four-hour shifts, and sleep is impossible. The course at Le Mans has changed gradually over the years, but some of its major landmarks have not changed. The three-mile Mulsanne straightaway that begins the race is perhaps most famous for its supreme length and, consequently, its speed. The straightaway ends in a gradual right-hand jog that, if driven at normal speeds, is nearly imperceptible. At over200mph, the right-hand jog feels like a mine-bending curve. The course is dotted with various slow curves, s-turns, and high-speed turn sequences, all of which test the mettle of the car drivers. It's no wonder that in Le Mans' heyday in the '50s and '60s, the best drivers in the world raced there.

1924. Treaded pneumatic tyres were patented in the US by Alden Putnam.

1936. The first ever motor race in Ireland, the 200 mile Cork Road Race, was held. There were 24 starters and 9 finished the race, which was won by Reggie Tongue in a 1488cc supercharged ERA.

1951. Ibsley Circuit, situated at RAF Ibsley, on the Fordingbridge to Ringwood Road in Hampshire, UK, staged its first motor racing meeting. According to ‘Motor Cycling’ magazine it was a great success. The star of the event was Bob Foster on his Velocette. He won the Junior 350cc and rode the same machine in the Senior race, just managing to make the final after a straw bale crash in his qualifying heat. However Foster lost in the final, finishing fourth.

1983. Wheel clamps were first used to combat illegal parking in London. Over 200,000 cars were clamped over the following six months.

1897. The first of the streamlined Stanley 'Wogglebug' racers made its debut at the Readville Track near Boston, Massachusetts, US. F E Stanley would defeat all comers to set a US one-mile speed record. It was the first steam-powered car to have the boiler, engine, and tanks all up front under the hood. The five- passenger touring car weighed 2800 pounds and cost $2800.

1903. American Arthur Duray driving a Gobron-Brillié became the first man to travel faster than 80 mph when he established a new world land-speed record of 83.46 mph in Ostend, Belgium. His car had four massive cylinders with eight pistons. The pistons were op- posed, in pairs, instead of in-line, and developed 100 bhp. The en- gine was coupled up to a gearbox that powered the drive chain to the rear axle, allowing a lower range of rpm in a high-speed race car.

1914. A new world land speed record was established at Brooklands by L.G.Hornsted driving a Benz at 124.10 mph. The record was set under the terms of the recently introduced new two-way rule.

1971. German Georg von , in his own Opel GT, established an electric car standing-start kilometre world record of 31.07 seconds.

The car was powered by two Bosch electric motors, fed by special

Varta battery packs consisting of 280 cells, giving a supply voltage of 360 and a power output of 88 kW.

1988. Molly Brennan, driving the Sunraycer at Me- sa, Arizona, USA established the record for the highest speed at- tained in a solely solar-powered land vehicle (78.39 km/h / 48.71 mph).

1990. Phil Brachtvogel ran the first 200 mph bike pass in the UK, 201.75 mph at Avon Park.

1990. American David Campos, riding a 7-m (23-ft) long streamliner named Easyriders, powered by two 1,500 cc Ruxton Harley-

Davidson engines, set American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and Federation Internationale de Motorcyclisme (FIM) absolute speed records with an overall average speed of 322.150 mph

(518.450 km/h), and completed the faster run at an average of

322.870 mph (519.609 km/h), at Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA. This record attempt reportedly drew the largest ever crowd to the

Bonneville Salt Flats. Rather than attract corporate sponsorship, the

Easyriders magazine "went to the people", offering each $25 con- tributor the opportunity to attend the event and have their name printed on the side of the

Streamliner. Over 10,000 took up the offer, although the crowds began to thin out after a few days. MOTORING MOMENTS

1870. Professor Edward Joseph De Smedt of the American Asphalt Pavement Company, New York City, received two patents for his invention known as "French asphalt pavement." De Smedt had invented the first practical version of sheet asphalt. On July 29 of the same year, the first road pavement of sheet asphalt was laid on William Street in Newark, New Jersey.

1898. The Nesseldorf Prasident made its test run from Nesseldorf, Moravia to Vienna, Austria. This was the first car built in what is now the Czech Republic and is also often cited as the first car to be equipped with a front bumper

1904. Byron J. Carter received a US patent for his friction-drive mechanism. A newspaper at the time explained that the mechanism ‘used friction discs, instead of gears, so arranged as to be in-stantly changed to any desired speed. The discs also change to forward or backward movement, and can be used as a brake to stop the machine by reversing the lever.’ Carter’s friction drive never really caught on, however, as the discs proved to be susceptible to poor road conditions.

1907. The Hatfield Motor Vehicle Company of Miamisburg, Ohio, US registered the 'Buggyabout' name as a trademark. The company, founded by Charles B Hatfield Sr and Fr, failed the following year.

1908. Middlesex County Automobile Club became the first organisation in Britain to receive written permission, from the Commissioner of Police, to hold a motoring competition on a public road. The President’s Cup event held on the A110 at Cat Hill, Cockfosters in north London was won by Mr Alfred Alexander in his 8-bhp de Dion.

1913. Harry Ferguson of Ferguson tractor fame and advocate of four-wheel-drive for passenger cars won the first hillclimb held at Craigantlet, near Belfast, Ireland. It was organised by the Irish section of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

1914. Sydney S Guy registered Limited. The -based vehicle manufacturer produced cars, lorries, buses and between 1914 and its merger with Leyland in 1968.

1914. Edmund Dangerfield opened the world's first automobile museum in London, England.

1937. Nash Motors merged with Kelvinator Corporation, manufacturer of high-end refrigerators and kitchen appliances. The new company was named Nash-Kelvinator Corporation with George W. Mason as President.

The Donington Park race circuit closed in 1939 for war work, it reopened in 1977

1950. Within a week of petrol rationing ending in the UK, the price of a gallon had increased to 3 shillings, the highest price since 1920.

1953. The first East African Coronation Safari Rally finished at the same time the Queen Elizabeth II was being crowned in Westminster Abbey. It was won by A M Dix & J W Larson driving a 1131cc

VW. In 1960 it was renamed the East African Safari Rally and kept that name until 1974, when it be-came the Safari Rally.

1966. The Automobile Association announced its first subscription increase since it was formed in 1905 from 2 to 3 guineas a year. 1971. The 250,000th MGB, a MGB GT was produced and given away in USA sweepstake.

1973. The wearing of crash helmets became compulsory in the UK, markinga turning-point in road safety. In 1983, after several Parliamentary setbacks, seatbelt wearing in the front of cars became compulsory. By 1991 all car passengers were required to wear one.