Newsletter May 2020 Web.Pdf
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2 May 2020 From the club desk... In This Issue... Facebook Meet the members Predictably, not being allowed to use our cars for non -essential travel, the price of petrol plummeted and Sir Stirling Moss the sun shone! We hope you are all well and staying Alex Moulton safe, though. MG Collectibles This month, having had time on my hands I started playing with photographing some of my MG models and hence the feature on MG On the right track Collectibles. Which lead to my virtual Drive-it-Day trip to the beach in I’ve been driving in my car Cape Town with the backdrop of Table Mountain below and in our cover shot! Otherwise, it’s been an opportunity to get the garage tidied up a 2021 Club Update bit and service both the classics. What have you all been up to? Thanks MG Motor News to everyone that took part in the QED challenge, too. Neil Shirley’s Summer Challenge is still on, once the restrictions are lifted, Mad Cow Moo-zings and we will be looking at the Summer Evening Runs and the possibility of Merchandise an evening picnic with social distancing if the restaurant trade is still not open. Neil Wallace has also provided an update on the Candles Run that Forthcoming Events would have been this forthcoming weekend and on the Mid-Wales Contact Us Summer tour, now postponed until 2021. Steve Brace has been busy with a Sir Stirling Moss tribute and celebrating Send us an email for more information what would have been Alex Moulton’s 100th birthday. Neil Shirley has about the club’s activities or to join us. been busy on his MGC and discusses tracking and track-rod ends this Angie Haughton - Area Secretary month. Mike Haughton has provided a thought-provoking article on MGs [email protected] and music and we’d love to hear your thoughts on that. In the meantime, thanks to all that participated in the online Monthly Neil Wallace - Candles Run Club Meeting. Let’s hope we can get back to normal soon as I am not [email protected] sure that online meetings are as much fun. That said, the committee Mike Haughton - MGCC Liaison have been catching up weekly online leading to the usual degenerate [email protected] humour. Martin Williamson - PR/Newsletter I’d also like to thank Steve Brace, Neil Wallace, Mike Haughton and Neil [email protected] Shirley for their contributions this month and as this will be an online version of the magazine only this month with no meeting in May likely to Volunteers: Steve Brace, Neil happen, it has helped to allow us to put together a bigger issue for you to Kennedy, Richard Hayes, and Matt fill all that spare time. Brookfield. Martin Williamson Visit us on the web at: www.westcheshiremgoc.club Cover photo: by Martin Williamson 3 Keith Davis & Son Ltd Parsonage Garage Family run, customer focused business, committed to providing value for money and traditional honest service & repairs on all modern and classic cars. Worked in the motor trade since 1971 and established in Aldford since 1993. Work undertaken on all makes & models - modern or classic. Traditional servicing methods used combined with modern diagnostic technology. Classic car enthusiast and MGB owner for many years. Maintenance, repairs and MOT testing undertaken on all classic cars including MGs. Parsonage Garage, Middle Lane, Aldford, Chester, CH3 6JA 01244 620 399 or 07714 157200 [email protected] citroen-specialist-chester.co.uk 4 From Facebook… The QED Challenge? “Quod Erat Demonstrandum - What was to be shown! (aka Quite Easily Demonstrated!) ” We challenged you to post photos with the QED logo and we got some very creative responses! To join us on Facebook search for westcheshireMGOC Based on the number of comments and like, the winner is…Neil Wallace and his 1955 MG TF 1500 5 This page by Harrison Currill 6 Clockwise from the top by Rob Fryer, Paul O’ven, Gerard Powell, Mike Haughton and Angie Haughton. 7 Clockwise from the top by Matt Brookfield, Nick Marsh and Neil Shirley. 8 Clockwise from the top by Steve Brace, Stuart Bebbington and Martin Williamson 9 10 Meet the members! Name: Dave Thomas Age: 59...just! What MG(s) or classic(s) do you own? 1966 MGB Roadster MkI How long have you had it/them? Since March 2017 although it underwent a thorough restoration. Have you had other MGs or classics before this one? I had a silver MG TF 160 which I bought new from James Edwards in March 2003. I had the car for seven years until it was sadly written off in an accident. What made you decide on an MG? I have always been into classic cars as my Dad used to have a 1926 Morris Oxford Bullnose Coupe. Working or Retired? Working after completing a five-year electrical apprenticeship from 1977 to 1982. I spend the next twenty eight years working in the offshore oil & gas industry. I now have my own industrial electrical contracting business. Single or partnered? Married to Alison for 32 years this September we have one son Liam who will be 29 this year. Hobbies, what floats your boat? I like travel, watching films, listening to music, classic cars, and walking my dog, Lewie, who is an eight year old German shorthaired Pointer. Any bucket list items? I have been fairly lucky to have done quite a lot of things on my bucket list already. I hope to be able to retire (or slow down) in the next few years and then do some more traveling and maybe get another classic car project to do. I would like to restore an MGB GT. 11 Grove Components - supplier of nuts, bolts, washers and much more for the classic car owner. Getting your MG sorted over Winter? Then check out our range of stainless steel kits specifically for MGs. Phone: 0151 336 6019 Email: [email protected] www.groveco.co.uk 12 Sir Stirling Moss by Steve Brace It was sad to hear that Sir Stirling Moss had passed away last month on the 12th of April, aged 90. We have all heard it said that he was the greatest motor racing driver never to win a world championship. This was not due to any lack of skill on his part but may have been more to do with his sporting attitude towards his fellow racing drivers - he famously voluntarily appeared before stewards to plead the case of Mike Hawthorn who had been disqualified from the Portuguese Grand Prix. As a result of the evidence he provided, Mike Hawthorne was reinstated and went on to win the 1958 championship from Moss by one point. He also had a preference to race in British Cars, stating that it was "... better to lose honourably in a British car than win in a foreign one." Moss won a total of 212 of his 529 races that he started in 85 different classes between 1948 and 1962 when he effectively retired. This was following a major accident that put him in a coma and out of action for six months. It was an incident from which he thought he was unable to regain Sir Stirling Moss OBE at Shelsley his competitive instinct. Walsh Hill Climb In Formula 1 he won 16 of his 66 starts driving for Mercedes, Maserati, Photo Credit Mark Constanduros Vanwall, Rob Walker, Cooper, Lotus and HWM. In the Vanwall he was instrumental in breaking the Italian and German dominance in Formula 1 and until 1991 he remained the English driver with the most Formula 1 wins to his name. In 1958 his forward thinking in Formula 1 came to light when he became the first driver to win in a rear-engined car, which was to become the common design by 1961. He was also a competent rally driver and road racer, finishing second in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally driving a Sunbeam-Talbot 90. However, one of his greatest achievements was winning the 1955 Italian Thousand Mile Mille Miglia road race, completing the distance in 10 hours and 7 minutes. In Sports Cars he became the first non-American to win The Sebring 12 hours race in 1954 and had three consecutive wins from 1958 to 1960 in the 1000 km Nurburgring, the first two in an Aston Martin and the third in a Maserati For local and MG connections look no further than Oulton Park where in 1954 he achieved his first Formula 1 victory in the non-championship Gold Cup. In 1955 he won locally again gaining his first World Championship victory at the British Grand Prix held at Aintree. He secured his place in MG history when in 1957 he famously broke the international land speed record in the MG EX181 in class F (1100- 1500cc), achieving an average of 245.64 mph for the two runs. This beat the previous record in this class by over 42 mph. At the age of 70 he was knighted for his services by Prince Charles. Wildly regarded as one of the most versatile drivers ever, he will be missed by both race fans and, having been an honourable member of the MG Car Club, many in the MG family. 13 Alex Moulton By Steve Brace Last month, on 9 April 2020, Alex Moulton would have been 100 years old. He died in 2012 and was famous for inventing the hydrolastic suspension system that was first fitted to the BMC 1100 and 1300 ADO16 models, including the MG variants.