A BIMONTHLY PUBLICATION OF THE VANCOUVER COAST BRANCH OF THE OLD ENGLISH CAR CLUB OF BRITISH COLUMBIA JanuaryJanuary----FebruaryFebruary 2019 Volume 24, Number 1 oecc.ca/vcb Special Feature: John Peirson’s photos from the 2018 London to Brighton Run (see page 13) Chairman Introduction, January 2019 Alan Inglis, VCB Chairman Hello from me and welcome to another year of wonderful British motoring in BC. You may have noticed this is my first Welcome from the branch chair and I want to give a big thank you to last year’s departing execu- tive, John McDonald as past-chair and Bernie Miles as treasurer, another thank you to those members of the executive who agreed to continue for another year (at least!), Steve Hutchens as secretary, and Roundabout editor, John Chapman as membership co-ordinator, Lorna Hoare as events co-ordinator, Alan Miles as web- master/communications co-ordinator, Bart and Audrey Shaw as good and welfare representatives and another thank you to those club members who volunteered and were elected as new members of the executive, Mal- com Tait as treasurer and Tom Popovich as vice-chair. And finally, a really big thank you to Walter Reynolds for his years of service as chair of the branch, taking on the role of past-chair, and for the mentoring and support he has provided and, I hope, will continue to supply. Thank you one and all. I think I need to introduce myself because even though I joined around 1996 my club involvement has waxed and waned (probably based how much I loved my car!) and for large periods of time I lurked in the background. It was in this little red car that I drove to my first club meeting. The passenger has now finished university and the dog still loves road trips. AT THE WHEEL Chairperson : Alan Inglis [email protected] | 604-737-0044 Vice-Chairperson : Tom Popovich [email protected] | 778-355-8885 Yes, you can drive the car – over my dead body! Past-Chairperson : Walter Reynolds [email protected] | 604-463-6305 There was a succession of MG Midgets (two were or- Treasurer : Malcolm Tait (membership renewals) ange, one green, another red and a white) but none out- lasted the original red car until I was lured to an Austin- [email protected] | 604-224-0938 Healey Bugeye Sprite in Oakland, CA. Shipping and im- 4743 W 7th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6T 1C7 porting the car into Canada is story for another day. The Secretary : Steve Hutchens body restoration of what was supposed to be a “rust [email protected] | 360-483-6873 free California car” is another story but Randy Schultz Event & Meeting Coordinator : Lorna Hoare did a terrific job of it. Then the car was totaled on Labour [email protected] | 604-584-2564 Day 2018. The good news is that it will live again as Steve Membership Coordinator : John Chapman Sillett at Panel Craft has bought it for a rebuild. (new memberships and correspondence) [email protected] | 604-590-3749 The ICBC settlement allowed me to buy a 1969 Lotus 7923 144A St., Surrey, BC V3S 8C1 Elan so now my garage is filled with a car that has not Communication Coordinator : Alan Miles moved much in 18 months. That has to change in 2019 [email protected] | 604-272-2145 and I intend to use the car a lot. Roundabout Editor : Steve Hutchens Our January meeting was in Crescent Beach at Randy [email protected] | 360-483-6873 Schultz’s shop where a good turnout of members saw Webmaster : Alan Miles John Chapman’s Big Healey in a naked state while Randy [email protected] | 604-272-2145 demonstrated various techniques for shaping sheet Good & Welfare : Bart & Audrey Shaw metal. [email protected] | 604-946-4700 Tom Mellor hosted our February meeting where, in an Regalia : Position Open JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 2 unlikely setting in Kerrisdale, he revealed the world headquarters of development of the 200 mph Tri- umph Trident. Tom is a remarkable man who also drives two Rolls-Royce and a Bugeye Sprite. In March we visited Jellybean Autocrafters where Ewald and Kurt hosted us and revealed a remarkably clean shop. It was good to see they have recently expanded into the shop next door. As well as the monthly Tuesday meetings, Steve Blake again organized his valentines Hearts and Tarts run where I hear there was good participation taking advantage of a break in the very cold weather of February. Your fellow club members are organizing events that will carry on through the year (see listing on Who needs yoga? page 4) so please take advantage of that and join in as many events as possible. If you can manage two events in one day, even better. So please join us at as many events as you can possibly manage, with or without your old English car! Finally, I am new to this job, and I have let some things slip. So, if this edition of the Roundabout is later than normal, then it is my fault and not the fault of your editor. My apologies. NOV/DEC 2018 ROUNDABOUT CLARIFICATION Austin Healey Sprite Mark I (commonly referred to as Bugeye) being built at the Jensen factory. While the Jensen From Walter Reynolds: In the opening paragraph of my brothers had planned to build the Sprite at their West article “The Commercial Vehicles of Jensen Motors” Bromwich factory, BMC decided to build the car at their (November-December 2018 Roundabout), I refer to the Abingdon factory. The Old Editor’s Rambles Steve Hutchens, Editor OUR N EW E XECUTIVE H AD I TS F IRST M EETING Starting off the new year, our VCB Executive met January 10 at Lorna and John Hoare’s home. I think it is a sign of club health and vitality that three members stepped up to fill positions on the executive. Two of the members at the table in the Hoare’s dining room were new to the VCB Executive: Alan Ing- lis, Chairman, and Tom Popovich, Vice-Chairman. A third member, Malcolm Tait, Treasurer, also new to the Executive, had an excused absence. Thanks to all of you for stepping forward. I look for 2019 to be a very good year. Attract- ing new leadership to the Executive gives us a fresh perspective and energy to guide the VCB’s activities. PLAN ON ATTENDING THE OECC AGM IN K AMLOOPS IN J UNE The 2019 OECC club-wide Annual General Meeting will be sponsored by the Thompson Valley Branch of our club and will be held in June. The exact date isn’t available yet, but Stephen Way, OECC President, says that they hope to have complete information and registration materials available soon. Watch your club email for the announcement. We will publish all of the pertinent information in the March/April Roundabout if it is avail- able at that time. Plan to attend this annual event. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 3 2019 Vancouver Coast Branch Calendar of Events OECC Regalia Walter Reynolds We have a vey limited quantity of screw-on type OECC Grill Badges! We ordered 15 for VCB members and now have no more than 5 available at $20 each. If you want to purchase a grill badge, you can pick it up at our April 2 meeting. To re- serve a badge, please send a cheque for $20 made payable to “OECC-Vancouver Coast Branch” to Walter Reynolds, 120 - 22514 116th Ave, Maple Ridge, B.C. V2X 0N8, call 604-312-9015, or email [email protected]. JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 4 Tuesday, February 12, 2019 The Precursor to the Hearts and Tarts 2019 By Steve Blake It is five days before the run and I am sitting in my den looking at the snow falling. There is a total accumulation of 10 inches and it does not bode well for an English sports car drive. The Hearts and Tarts is now in its 21st year, being started by the Blakes back in 1999. In that year, they drove their 1953 MGTD (the purchase of their Morgan came later that year) accompanied by 5 Morgans and two “tin tops.” Three more Morgans joined us for lunch at the Rusty Anchor Pub. The drive started at the Mandeville Gardens in Burnaby and highlighted the old cow tunnel under- neath the freeway. Unfortunately, this tunnel was removed when the new Highway 17 was con- structed. Today I sit here watching the snow and hope the 28 brave souls who signed up for this year’s drive won’t experience the problems the two in this old Morgan photo are having and that we will see the sun out on February 17, 2019. Sunday, February 17, 2019 Hearts and Tarts 2019 By Steve Blake The day before the drive, I checked the weather fore- cast one more time and saw that they promised sunny weather. Instead of taking Susan’s SUV, I decided it would be a British Car Day. I shoveled snow off the street so I could get the car out without the use of snow tires. The roads were all clear except for our side street. There was too much snow piled up in the third driveway so it was impossible to get the Morgan down off the lift and out for the drive. The Austin Healey be- came the choice for the day. Tom Morris caught an early morning ferry, so stopped in to drop off some Morgan parts for me before we JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2019 THE ROUNDABOUT PAGE 5 drove to McDonald’s for coffee and hot chocolate prior to the drive.