July & License to Drive August 2004 Volume 9, Issue 4 Travelogue In This Issue Dennis Nelson Most old cars should be driven • Abbotsford Show ........... 10 regularly, for the health of both the • At the Wheel ..................... 2 car and the driver. The question is, where to drive to properly enjoy your • Austin Day in the Park....... 5 old English car. Downtown traffic does • Autojumble: Cars & Parts For not qualify, and freeways are a pain. Sale & Wanted ................ 10 This column will be a regular feature of the Roundabout, and hopefully • Events Coming Up ............. 2 guest writers will add a wider per- • Follow the MG ................... 8 spective. • Garages & Shops ............. 9 Destination Highways British Co- lumbia describes itself as “An • License to Drive ................ 4 Enthusiast’s Guide to the Best 185 • Minter Gardens Classic ..... 6 Motorcycle Roads in Southern BC.” It can be purchased from their • Mission Show ‘n Shine ...... 8 website, or at any motorcycle shop. • New Westminster ............. 3 The drives are rated on six charac- tions. This route, DH76, is by definition the teristics: twistiness (for sports car 76th best route in the province. It is, how- • OXO Update ...................... 4 Les Hetherington Awarded the OECC&R Oxo Cup drivers), pavement (for Bentley driv- ever, close and has a zero for remoteness • Pitt Meadows Show .......... 7 ers), engineering, remoteness (for (consistent with their definition) so it is “safe” • Private Lives ..................... 7 mechanics), scenery (for passengers), for cars in less than perfect condition. Walter • Rally in the Valley .............. 3 • Rootes Rendezvous ......... 9 • Tucker Tin Farm ................ 5 • Update OECC Roster ......... 2 • Web Highlight .................... 2 • Wet Cat ............................. 9 Don’t Forget: October 5: 7 PM Meeting, Location TBA November 2: 7 PM Meeting, Location TBA Friday, December 3: Annual Christmas Dinner & Awards DH76 Travelogue Approximately 30 Best Calendar Online: miles from start www.vancouverminiclub.ca to finish. Other OECC Websites: and character (for everyone). Thus, Reynolds has used parts of this route for one South Island (Victoria): for each type of car one can focus on of his “Follow That Cambridge” runs as it www.oecc.ca/sib.htm Central Island (Nanaaimo): the attributes that matter to you. The starts near Mission. members.shaw.ca/cioecc book also provides good maps, excel- DH76 starts from the Lougheed Highway North Island (Comox): lent corner-by-corner directions, and at 287th Street, about five miles west of Mis- http://oecc-comox.com/North- details on pubs, restaurants, and sion. You can get there via several routes. ern Interior (Prince George): other good roads in the area. Those in the south may want to use 0 Ave, www.twobits.org/nibac/ In the Lower Mainland there are Vye and Huntington to get to Highway 11, to OECC&R: www.oecc.ca/ not many roads that qualify for this get across the river to Mission and the book due to the interest in Lougheed. Others may use the freeway, or get Next Roundabout twistiness, etc., but we will both the Loughheed at an earlier point. DEADLINE: drive and report on the local routes, September 20 as well as the more distant attrac- Continued on page 4 Vancouver Coast Branch Website: members.shaw.ca/oeccvancouver/ Plan Ahead for Major Events Web Highlight Get your old English car out and drive! Bence McIntyre Online: www.vancouverminiclub.ca Editor’s Note: I’m sure those of us who use the Internet find sites from time to time that are really useful. Bence Langley Good Times Cruise-In McIntyre sent this one to me and it seemed like an When: September 11 appropriate submission to kick off a new feature in the Where: Downtown Langley Roundabout. Web Highlights will appear as often as Information: www.langleycruise-in.com members send good Web Highlights ... so send those cool websites to your editor at [email protected]! English Car Affair in the Park Tire sizes are one of those mysteries of motoring When: September 11 & 12 that sometimes baffle us. This page, on the Discount Where: Fort Rodd Hill NHS, Victoria Tire website, is titled Tire Dimensions Made Simple. And Information: www.oecc.ca the title is right. Their tire size calculator is simple to use and the Hougen Park All British Picnic information it gives could be very useful. All you have When: September 12 to do is enter the tire size your car uses. Click calculate Where: Hougen Park, Abbotsford and get the sidewall height, section width, overall di- Information: 604-859-3134 ameter, circumference, and revs per mile. If you are considering a tire size other than stock Vancouver-Whistler All British Run (sometimes you don’t have any choice), you can enter When: September 18 the stock size and the size you are considering and see Start: North Shore Auto Mall, North Vancouver exactly how they compare. It even gives you an esti- Information: 604-253-4145 mate of speedometer error. Trying a few different sizes, you should be able to select a tire size that is appropri- Abbotsford Collector Car Show & Auction ate for your car. Check this Web Highlight out at: http://www.discounttire.com/dtc/brochure/info/ When: October 16 & 17 tireMath.jsp Location: Tradex, Abbotsford Airport, Abbotsford Information: 604-514-2277, [email protected] Editor’s Note: This issue of the Roundabout was Kruise for Kids delayed a month because of a hard drive crash. We’ll be back on schedule next month! When: October 17 Start: Guildford Town Centre, 9:00 AM Information: http://www.amotion.com/kfk/ At the Wheel Ladner-Bellingham Run Chairperson: Gerry Parkinson 604-943-3824 When: November 7 or [email protected] Start: Ladner Vice-Chair: Fred Bennett 604-939-1773 or Information: Watch the Roundabout! Fax: 604-939-1753 Treasurer: Elaine Lafontaine 604-591-3332 or OECC Christmas Dinner & Awards [email protected] - Membership renewals: When: Friday, December 3 (Note New Date!) #73-8190 King George Highway, Surrey, BC V3W 5B7 Start: Roma Hall, New Westminster Information: Watch the Roundabout! Secretary: Dennis Nelson 604-599-9032 or [email protected] - New memberships and correspondence: 10932 Scarborough Drive, English Car Ownership - Delta, BC V4C 7X1 Help Update the OECC Roster! Events Coordinator: Steve Diggins 604-294-6031 Phone Committee Chief: Walter Reynolds Dennis Nelson 604-465-6350 or [email protected] Have you bought another English car? Roundabout Editor: Steve Hutchens 360-733-3568 Have you sold an English car? or [email protected] - Articles & ads: Have you traded English cars? 2090 N Shore Road, Bellingham, WA 98226-7864 Please let me know ASAP which of your British vehicles you want included with your name in the new Roundabout Printing & Distribution: Richard Taylor OECC Roster. 604-298-9347 or [email protected] We want the new OECC Roster to be as complete and accurate as possible. With your help, it can be. Library Resources: Ivan Fisher 604-270-1096 See At the Wheel in the right column of this page Good & Welfare: David Ballantine 604-980-4120 for my contact information. or [email protected] 2 Rally in the Valley 2004 New Westminster Show July 11 Bence McIntyre Photos by Chris Walker This was a first for me. Since purchasing my car a little over a year ago there have been a lot of firsts, but this weekend was definitely a highlight. How could it be anything but great with sun, beaches, English cars and a leisurely drive on Hwy 3 in an open air car. Having traveled many miles in open MG s in the past it was a real nostalgic weekend. Aside from myself and Helen, the only club mem- bers I knew in advance were attending was Ken and Pat Miles. I also met up with fellow club members Dennis and Pat Nelson, Bob and Judy McDiarmid, Steve and Liz Blake and Jennifer Orum. If there was anyone else from our club there I did not notice and I apologize for any omission. I also met Andrew Barnes from the OECC Northern Interior Branch who traveled with his wife from Prince George. This took them 10 hours, mostly in the rain in a 1974 MG Midget. Now that’s dedication! The official count was 192 cars, mostly roadsters with a few saloons. I found a 1958 Morris Oxford and a Morris Minor woody to be excellent along with a 1930 MG M. Our club members did well in the awards: 1st Sprigets class – Bence McIntyre 1st Morgan class – Ken Miles 2nd Morgan class – Steve Blake 3rd Morgan class – Bob McDiarmid 1st MG B – 68-72 - Jennifer Orum It took us 5 ½ hours driving time each way including breakfast stops. Until I get a higher geared rear end my maximum highway speed is 85-90 kph. I averaged 38 mpg which was good as I was concerned about my 6 gallon tank and the need for 94 octane gas. Penticton was the perfect venue. The car show was on the waterfront right outside the motel. The banquets and all needed ser- vices were within walking distance of the motel. What this event needs is a bigger turn out of the sa- loon crowd. So let’s Italo Cirillo with award presented to the Old think about English Car Club for the club entry in the New Kelowna 2005. Westminster Show and Shine. It is a beautiful Makes a great trophy and one to be very proud of. He will bring it weekend get away! to the club picnic for everyone to see. 3 Continued from page 1 Now you’re about five miles east of Mission. There’s the Rustic Rooster ice cream parlour nearby, or cross Directions (see coordinated map on page 1): the highway and take the first left to weave your way 1) From the start, turn north on 287th.