MERRY CHRISTMAS WESTERN VETERAN AND VINTAGE MOTOR CLUB, LTD. Newsletter December 2008 Photo Gallery 2 Snippits\Crossword 11 Directors and Officers 3 Age Related Plates 12 Chairmans Report 4 Membership Director 13 Chairmans Report 5 2008 Membership 14 Muscle Cars 6 2008 Membership 15 News Items, Editorial 7 2008 Membership 16 Items For Sale 8 2008 Membership 17 Upcoming Events 9 Renault 8 Gordi ni 18 Honorary President’s Letter 10 Renault 8 Gordini 19 RENAULT 8 GORDINI P 18 -19 Recent Photos Above: American Car & Truck Event, Kilbeggan. Photos, Ernst Wijnekus. Left: WVVMC Donation to the Claddagh School ASD Unit (Autism Spectrum Disorder Unit). Below: Pat Conacur is Elected Honorary President The Photo on the left, taken at the Gort Agricultural and vintage show in August has been reproduced courtesy of freelance photographer Andrew Downes 087-6391500. We are unsure if the guy was checking out the mechanicals on Bill Fennells Model T, or just sheltering from the rain. If anyone can think of an interesting or humorous caption, we will print it in the next issue. 2 Newsletter, December 2008 WESTERN VETERAN AND VINTAGE MOTOR CLUB, LTD. W.V.V.M.C. Limited, Registered Office: c/o Mark Hanley & Co. Accountants;. Devon House, The Crescent, Galway. Reg. No.: 132186 Directors and Officers for 2009: Chairman: Frank Mullan Tel. 091-523012, 086-2327678 Secretary: John Keane Tel. 091- 790963, 087-2411091 Finance Director: Ray O’Donoghue Tel. 091-794241, 087-2798122 Membership Director: Michael Spellman Tel. 091-798017, 086 -8210679 Events Director: Tom Spellman Tel. 091-798083, 085-1542099 Technical Director: David Fennell Tel. 091-757208, 087-2273747 Communications Director : Ian Doherty Tel. 091 849789, 086-8295332 Hon. Members: Jimmy Francis and Phil Denson Hon. President: Pat Conacur Committee Members Tom Fahy, Bill Fennell, Padraic Giblin, Tom Kavanagh, Sergio Magnetti, Joe O’Neill, Ray Spellman WVVMC newsletter is published quarterly. Letters, trip reports, articles, cars for sale or parts wanted, interesting articles, advertisements etc. for the Club’s Newsletter, can be sent to: Ian Doherty, Tara, Kilskeagh, Athenry or e-mailed to: [email protected] See also our website: www.wvvmc.com 3 2008 Annual General Meeting By Frank Mullan, WVVMC Chairman The 2008 Annual General Meeting was held in the Salthill Hotel on Monday 3rd November. 30 members attended. There were a number of highlights during the course of the year. The change in format of WestRun – staying overnight in Clifden on the Saturday night – was deemed a great success. Warm tributes were paid to Bill Fennell and the team who organised the event. Bill, in turn, thanked Paddy Pryce for his support in arranging things in Clifden. Those who stayed over certainly had a very enjoyable evening. By way of a bonus, Oughterard was en fate on the Sunday to welcome the returning vintage cars. It was suggested that the start time of future WestRuns might be put back to 11:00 or 12:00, particularly if we are not coming back to Galway on the same day. There was serious congestion at the start of this year’s run. This issue will need to be addressed by the organisers of WestRun 2009. During the course of 2008, Ray O’Donoghue, Communications Director, oversaw a major upgrade of the Club website. It is now much easier to keep information on the site up to date and relevant. Also during 2008, Ian Doherty took over from Ray as editor of the Newsletter. The Charity Fund again distributed significant donations to 6 charities out of money raised by raffling a replica Mini Cooper. In Any Other Business, the view was expressed that, as a club, we may be devoting too much energy to raising money for charity and that we should re-focus our attention on the old cars. The Club Charity Fund was established on a permanent basis by a unanimous decision of the 2005 AGM. Perhaps the idea of raising significant funds for charity through raffling classic cars has run its course and that we now need to look to other fund raising initiatives. A suggestion that the Club might consider acquiring a permanent club house/garage also drew lively discussion.The Club currently 4 has a fairly significant cash reserve – but not sufficient to consider investing in property. Interestingly, this suggestion previously surfaced in the 1990s, and was investigated in some detail by the committee of the day. The conclusion then, as now, was that it was not practical for the Club to invest in property. There is, however, a challenge for the incoming committee to consider how to make best use of Club resources for the benefit of members. The annual subscription was again held at €38.00.There is also a €6.00 discount for those who pay by Direct Debit. The following Directors and Committee were elected for 2008/09: Pat Conacur Honorary President Frank Mullan Chairman John Keane Secretary Ray O’Donoghue Finance Director Tom Spellman Events Director Ian Doherty Communications Director Michael Spellman Membership Director David Fennell Technical Director Committee Members Tom Fahy Bill Fennell Padraic Giblin Tom Kavanagh Sergio Magnetti Joe O’Neill Ray Spellman Before concluding the meeting, Frank Mullan, Chairman thanked members of the outgoing committee for their support during the past year. Ernst Wijnekus, outgoing President then presented his successor, Pat Conacur with the presidential chain. Pat was one of the founding members of WVVMC in 1977, and had served the club in many capacities over the years. He thanked the members for electing him President. He said he regarded it as a great honour, and wished everyone happy motoring in 2009. See Photos on page 2 5 MUSCLE CARS By Ernst Wijnekus The Midland American Auto Club was formed by American car and truck enthusiasts in 2001. Every year they have an annual All- American Car & Truck event on the club grounds in Kilbeggan, which is the largest of its kind in Ireland and attracts vehicles from all over the country. On the 7th of September, a glorious sunny day, I went to Kilbeggan and was amazed to see so many American cars. The event was well organized by the MAAC, lots of stands selling books, auto memorabilia, tools, clothes etc. There were separate areas for each category, Muscle cars, Mustangs, Dodge, Corvettes, Ford Trucks, Big MACK trucks, Military cars and Willys jeeps. Lots of bikes mostly Harley Davidson’s. The Irish Kit Car club and the DeLorean club were well represented, there were at least 7 DeLorean cars and a replica of the “Back to the Future” car took a lot of admiration. The whole display was most colourful with plenty of parking for all exhibitors. I parked my car alongside a Mustang Convertible and Kevin Mullans’ Mustang. To give you an idea of the size of the event, there were at least 70 mustangs and a lot of Chevy’s like Corvettes. The Club has two big warehouses, one purpose built clubhouse with a workshop and display of well known cars, a replica of the General Lee, the 1969 Dodge Charger from the "Dukes of Hazzard”, and many other classics. The original Dukes of Hazzard car was sold on e-bay for $ 9.9 million. The sale in 2007 marked the second highest finish for an auto auction, the first being the $11 million 1987 sale by Christie's of a 1931 Bugatti originally owned by the Bugatti family. Overall a very pleasant day and this event was quite different from other car events. There was a public car park for visitors and the entrance was €10 per non participating cars. Well worth a visit. Bring a picnic and have a nice day next year. See Photos on Page 2 6 WVVMC NEWS Donation to Claddagh School WVVMC Donation to the Claddagh School ASD Unit (Autism Spectrum Disorder Unit). WVVMC President Ernst Wijnekus presenting a cheque for €4,000 to Mr. Brendan Forde, Principal of Claddagh National School and Thelma Hynes, ASD Unit Coordinator. Also include committee members Tom Spellman, Michael Spellman and children attending the ASD unit. The money contributed was from the funds raised from the sale of raffle tickets for the Mini Cooper replica. From the editor.. Dear Members, At the recent AGM I was elected Communications Director which is, I guess a promotion from Newsletter Editor. The catch is that I’m still Newsletter editor as well. My thanks to those who had the confidence in me to propose and second my election. During my tenure I hope to start updating the website on a regular basis to include run details and last minute changes for members to check into. Some members have expressed to me a wish for informal runs in addition to our organised ones. By this I mean just a few of us getting out in the old cars, just because it’s a nice dry day. No pre planning, no fancy lunches, no Garda escorts, just ring around and go! Let the committee know how you feel about this. After all, as someone said at the AGM, the club should be all about getting out in the old cars. I was delighted to see Pat Conacur, a founding member of the club become Honorary President. Imagine, Pat Conacur and Barack Obama both elected president in the same week! My thanks to all who continue to send me articles, snippits, photos and items of interest to members for the Newsletter. Please don’t stop. As always, don’t feel that what you send needs to be perfect or typed, all that can be worked through. Hoping you all have a happy and peaceful Christmas.