The Tradsheet Founded 1967 Keep Safe everyone and we will be able to return to this meeting up and hav- ing a good time in good company at some point. It’s not gone, just paused. Newsletter of the Traditional Car Club of Doncaster August/September 2020 Email special edition due to Covid 19 virus 1 Editorial The strange times continue and things are not looking good as local lockdowns come about and num- bers go in the wrong direction. Rodger is still keeping up with the events, many of which have been cancelled. Lists on pgs 24-26. There have been some gatherings that I have seen on facebook but these are not organised as such, peo- ple just turn up. I think that the club will have to leave it longer still before actually organising anything. But, the day will come when it is safe to travel out and meet up again and I look forward to that when- ever it is, our safety must be more important than a drive. In the meantime, I have been keeping a bit distant, some may say no change there then, shopping late when stores are fairly empty but have rebelled over the haircut thing. If they are going to close for all that time, how can they expect me to go back now? No, I am just going to leave it. The initial enthusiasm has begun to wane, helped by rainy days, but I have got the solar panel on the van roof, all connected, working and running a small fridge together with interior lights that I don’t need but like, plus some USB sockets so I can charge up phones and batteries while I am away. Still some bits I would like to do but they can wait. I had a camping trip with family, who have been working from home, and it was in a field so felt safe enough. If you can’t distance in a field, it is you that is the prob- lem. Next job is the Herald. I have a few bits to do and a general look over before putting it in for MOT. I know that it doesn’t need one but I prefer someone else to check that I haven’t missed anything and their view on a four post lift is way better than me peering under from axle stands. It starts and runs, moves back and forth with no problem so I don’t expect a huge amount to do. Not driving it as I don’t want to talk to people just now. It could do with a good clean and polish though. Hopefully all done by the end of this weekend. Next task is my longest project ever which always comes after any of the other cars that need doing, and most other things as well. As you may know, my Zodiac last ran in 1986 or so, I have moved three times and still have it. I have done an amount of welding on the cills and cross members last year, sort- ed out the dash wiring and put labels on that have faded again. I now need a shed sort out so I can actu- ally find the spares that I have collected over the years and bought ready for action and need to get go- ing again. I have taken a leaf from the government’s book, I have ramped it up, am taking it seriously and learning les- sons. Hopefully I will get further than them with this new approach. I could do without too much rain as well as it is a front garden job. (yes, I will weed the paving.) If your project is further forward than mine, and which ones aren’t, feel free to send me the info for a Trad- sheet article. In the meantime, keep safe and check your classic is ok from time to time, brakes bind, clutches stick etc. Andy Campbell 3 4 Hello Club Members I hope I find you all safe and well in this 3rd Tradsheet under lockdown Covid conditions. I have managed to get my MINI through its MOT for the upcoming year but have not yet done the same for the Morris. I have all the parts to hand and am trying to get round to it as and when other jobs and the weather permits. My daughter Robyn is progressing nicely with her learning to drive as and when we have the chance to get out on the roads. I have updated the club website with the latest national and local Covid governmental guidelines on the right hand side of the page to allow you all to keep up to date and safe. So I thought for this issue I would look back at something my wife and I have exchanged for presents every once in a while—driving expe- rience days. I know within the club we have a wide variety of people and interests, I like to think that I fall into the group of complete pet- rol heads as I spend most of my waking (and possibly sleeping) hours thinking, working on, watching or talking about cars. With this in mind I am not just interested in classics but anything with an engine basically. Some years ago my wife decided to use this to her advantage and when the relevant birthday came along she bought me a day driving rally cars. This has become somewhat of an on- going theme and throughout the years we have both now enjoyed driving some pretty exot- ic vehicles without experiencing some of the associated drawbacks of ownership. My first experience was rally driving at what claims to be the first rally driving school in the world—Silverstone Rally school. This was driving modified MK2 Ford Escorts with uprated modern 2ltr engines and drivetrain yet keeping narrow wheels so getting the car sideways was achievable at very low speed. The rear wheel drive sideways experience was fantastic on a loose surface. Within the day I had learned power slides, hand brake turns, Scandina- vian flicks, rally technique all with a smile on my face and an instructor by my side pushing me further (not that I needed much encouragement considering much of this I remember doing as a teenager off road with my own 1976 mini). If you have never experienced rally driving I urge you to have a go it is so much fun and is practical too. 5 Come the winter months with snow on the road the loss of traction and sideways movement of the car is not a daunting prospect having learnt what to do at the point of loss of traction in a safe environment previously. I have since driven rally prepared Subaru Impreza and Mitsubishi Evo’s the latter being the best performing both 4 wheel drive so a different experience altogeth- er. Moving on to road cars and by now we had found a company called Everyman who we keep going back to. On the old Prest- wold Hall air base is a bespoke race circuit and my first time driv- ing something exotic a Ferrari 360. I have to say I was under- whelmed by the car, a clunky gear change and no more perfor- mance than my MINI but with weaker brakes. Don’t get me wrong what a fantastic day I had because I also got to drive a Lamborghini Gallardo. Chalk and cheese springs to mind, three corners into driving the Lamborghini and I was throwing it round the track with all the abandonment of a teenager who had just been granted eternal life, and the sound oh my goodness the sound. Imagine strapping a twelve piece trombone section to a backpack and wearing it that’s how close and glorious the harmonising sound was. At around 460bhp and 4 wheel drive with brakes to match this has to be to date my favourite driving expe- rience of all—thank you Ferruchio for deciding to build better cars than Enzo (according to the legends). I have at this point to say this has not been a one way street and I have also given my wife driv- ing day experiences as gifts also including Ferrari’s and Lamborghinis as well as single seat racing cars such as formula Renault. The last driving day I went on I was lucky enough to have a drive of an Audi R8 (the V8 version) I instantly felt at home with this car. Not all the emotion of the Lamborghini but on a wet track an exciting and rewarding drive, seri- ous grip and pretty quick—a petrol heads dream day out. If things get back to normal who knows what will be next. I highly rec- ommend you give it a go if you ever get the chance. Graham Wickham 6 In 1922, Ferdinando Innocenti of Pescia built a steel-tubing factory in Rome. In 1931, he took the business to Milan where he built a larger factory producing seamless steel tubing and employing about 6,000. The factory was heavily bombed and destroyed during World War II. It is said that, when surveying the ruins, Innocenti saw the future of cheap, private transport and decided to produce a motor scooter, competing on cost and weather pro- tection against the ubiquitous motorcycle. The main stimulus for the design style of the Lambretta and Vespa dates back to pre-World War II Cushman scooters made in Nebraska, United States. These olive green scooters were in Italy in large numbers, ordered originally by the United States military as field transport for the paratroops and marines.