The MG Club of St. Louis January 2010 Newsletter Volume 23, Issue 1 www.stlouismgclub.com For Members in Good Standing With The MG Club Of St. Louis Lead Story Headline Newsletter Highlights HERE’S A BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE NEWS IN THIS ISSUE. MORE DETAILS ON THESE TOPICS BEGIN ON PAGE 2. WHAT’S INSIDE We had a pretty nice fall and there We went night rallying on Page 5 seemed to be something going on every just to tempt the Prince of Darkness. Chairman's Message 2 weekend. Kathy Kresser submitted a fine Spur-of-the- 3 series of articles covering quite a few of If you are tired of driving yourself Moment Drive these events. They are really nice to look around and are in KC you might want By Kathy Kresser back on during winter. to look up the fellow from Page 7 British Invasions 4 Ranney Dohogne indulged his own There is a Spur of the Moment drive By Kathy Kresser to wine country on Page 3 curiosity about some of the forgotten Rootes Group marques on Page 8 Night Rally 5 Page 4 details two British Invasions, By Kathy Kresser both involving heavy food A Touch of British 7 Charm in Kansas City Tip on navigating this new format: There are hyperlinks throughout the newsletter. Click on anything in blue to move to Other Marques 8 that location. By Ranney Dohogne Editors note: Schedule of Events 10 Moving to an all electronic format has allowed me to lengthen the newsletter as needed. There has been a steady stream of articles since I began editing the newslet- November Meeting 13 ter, please keep it going, there is always room. Minutes General Account 15 COMING UP IN THE FEBUARY EDITION OF THE NEWSLETTER: Financial Report There are still some remaining arti- Our T-Series Registuar Charlie Key cles about the fall touring season. writes a technical article on oil seals. Don Gatheman gives us a blow by blow Of course there will be Party reviews description of his trials with a wind- and there is a Tech session to cover. shield wiper motor. Volume 23, Issue 1 The St. Louis Metro Gazette Chairman’s Message Bob Bentzinger Happy New Year! When I was elected Chairman for 2009-10, I started searching for new activities to enhance the regular monthly meetings. I came up with the idea of the ―mini‖ tech session. My concept of the mini tech is a 5 to 10 minute presentation at the meet- ing which relates to our LBC’s. Everyone is welcome to participate. Perhaps it is an explanation of how SU carbs work, a simple way to improve engine performance, an improvement to the electrical system, or a solution to a problem encoun- tered while working on or driving the car; in short, any subject relating to our cars. I got the idea from some of the articles I’ve read in our newsletters. At the November meeting, I kicked things off with my presentation about the uses of diodes in LBC’s. I talked briefly about how they work and their uses in alternators and control circuits. I also touched on the use of light emitting diodes (LED’s) to replace incandescent lamps and reduce power demands on the electrical system. At the December meeting, Don Gatheman gave a short presentation about how to include an inexpensive audible warning device in the turn signal circuit to prevent driving miles with the blinker on. This is useful in daylight hours, when the turn signal switch doesn’t reset properly, or for those of us whose hearing is marginal (due to age and/or riding around in a noisy LBC). Bob Horzmann also gave a short presentation on the advantages or replacing rubber suspension bushings with those made of other materials such as urethane. We have a wealth of knowledge and experience in the club and I hope this mini tech idea allows more people to share that knowledge and perhaps sparks new ideas for improving our LBC’s. Also if you would rather not give a mini tech at the meeting or have trouble making it to the meetings, I encourage you to put together a short article and send it to Todd for inclusion in our newsletter. Our traditional holiday party, dubbed the ―Christmakah‖ party is coming up this month at Bully’s in Columbia Illinois on Saturday January 16, 2010 (check the Hotline, website, or this newsletter for further details). I would like to see as many of you there as possible for the festivities. If you’ve never taken part in the ―Rob Your Neighbor‖ gift exchange, you’re in for some great fun and it won’t cost much (gift limit is $10). Also our first full tech session of 2010 is coming up on Monday January 18 at All British Car Repair. We will be working on converting the MGB rear drum brakes to disc brakes. Get a good start to 2010 by making a resolution to attend more Club activities! Back to Page 1 2 Volume 23, Issue 1 The St. Louis Metro Gazette Spur-of-the-Moment Drive have traded the car using the Cash for Clunkers program. It was obvious she knew much more about horses than classic By Kathy Kresser cars. The weather was too perfect for Sunday, November 8 to not We started looking at the surroundings, thinking of building drive a sports car. After all, it could be the last of the sum- bonfires because we are wondering where was the tow truck. mer-like days until 2010. A small group of cars – one MG Finally, Darla Bridges hears a low rumble and spots a truck Midget, one MGA, one Triumph TR3, and one Ford Mustang rounding the corner. It looked like a tow truck in the dis- traversed the hills and curves of St. Charles County in search tance, and she was stopping that tow truck regardless of of a winery. You know, wineries are hard to come by in this where it was headed. It was the expected truck and he area! quickly loaded the car. About ten miles from the winery, a car experienced a me- The day was great for top-down, pedal-to-the-medal driving, chanical problem. You guessed it; the Ford Mustang, not a the countryside was open for viewing and the private picnic British car, totally lost its steering ability! Fortunately, the in a very private location was a great ending to what could ace driver Bob Bridges barely maneuvered the car into the have been a disaster. middle of a farm house driveway without incident. Well, as the saying goes, ―found on road dead‖ fit the de- scription to a T. After placing a summons to a tow truck, we examined the options on the winery/picnic idea. Three, two -seater cars with eight people – not good. The driveway was wide enough to park the cars, the owner didn’t have a prob- lem with our presence, and there were big, flat-topped rocks to use as tables; so we picnicked in the driveway while wait- ing for the tow truck. Fortunately, we had wine with us and didn’t need the winery for supplies. Food was great, wine was superb, company outstanding, and location, location, location. Being standard time, the light of the day was beginning to fade as we are still waiting and waiting for the tow truck. The owner joined us after we had been camped in her drive- way for over two hours. She suggested to Bob that he should Back to Page 1 3 Volume 23, Issue 1 The St. Louis Metro Gazette British Invasions tures on The Back Page) involved driving - and food, of course. It was a multi-cultural invasion with British cars By Kathy Kresser visiting French towns and eating German food. The Renault Wurstmart (a church sausage dinner) in Renault, Illinois, was the lucky spot. The group of MGs met Sunday morning in Columbia, Illinois, and drove along the bluffs and all On Sunday morning, October 18, the Donuts Drive-In on around to Renault. Tickets for dinner were purchased, and Watson Road was invaded by British cars. For a change, the with an hour and a half wait, the group of twenty drover sunny and dry morning provided a good start to the day as through Prairie du Rocher and to Fort Chartres, returning to well as the healthy, sugary, greasy donuts. The hood of Bob the church. Pork sausage, potatoes, veggies, homemade Bentzinger’s MG GT served as the breakfast table – only Bob apple butter and delicious homemade desserts were con- would allow greasy bags of donuts and steaming hot coffee sumed before heading home. Blazing fall colors added to cups to rest on his car. Thanks, Bob, but I wonder why he the backdrop of the drive. doesn’t complain. Thanks to all those who participated and Janel Demick, MG Part of the enthusiasts extended the invasion to Sackman Events Chairperson, for organizing these invasions. Those Field, Columbia, Illinois, for the Fly-In/Car Display. Club who attend will tell you they are fun! Join the group for the member, Brian Demick, elected to fly-in with his father-in- next invasion. law. Aircraft were landing and taking off throughout the day. The classic planes, newer planes and light planes shared the field with classic cars and motorcycles - a terrific turnout of toys. One classic car caught my attention - the white 1954 Chevro- let Corvette with red interior.