December, 2014

David & Cheryl LeBlanc’s 1973Wedding Day & 1971 MG Midget

Next MeetingDecember 1st, 2014 7:00 pm at The Weathervane in Bedford

(603) 472-2749

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Car of the Month

MY (our) MG

1971-2014by David Leblanc

I admit it, I am an addict. It’s real, andit’s not my fault. Believe me when I sayI was just a kid, eight maybe ten yearsold when it happened. Maybe it was theneighborhood. I was raised on the Westside of Manchester near a public parkcalled Rock Rimmon. There was a pub-lic pool, tennis courts, ski hill, playgroundand an ice cream stand called Dupont’sjust across the street. The day it hap-pened I remember well. It was in theevening before the “lights went on”.(Mom’s curfew was to be home beforethe street lights came on.) A bunch of kidswere hanging out at Dupont’s, trying tolook “cool” as ’50s and ’60s hotrod andmuscle cars cruised in and out. Then ithappened! Coming down the hill on Ma-son street, setting up to cruise by the park,was a beautiful two tone sports car withbody lines that would turn your head likea high school girl in a prom dress.

As my blood pressure rose, the AUTOADDICTION took hold. I knew the thatsomeday I would have to have an AustinHealey in my life. It was beautiful. Be-sides two tone paint it had matching blueinterior with white seat piping. The fend-ers weren’t cut out to accommodate largetires, and it didn’t drive down the roadjacked up in the rear. The exhaust hadan earthy growl to it that was like a song,that is if you were listening. And therewas something else I heard that night. Thedealer’s price for this majestic beauty.How could I ever get that kind of moneyI thought? My addiction, that craving,slowly over time got easier to deal with,but as we all know, once AUTO AD-DICTED it never ever really goes away.It just gets easier to deal with.

Time flies and now it’s 1971 and, as anengineering student at New HampshireTechnical Institute, I convinced my par-ents that a good reliable car was needed

to make the daily commute fromManchester to Concord. So out went theVW Beetle and along came a new 1971MG Midget. I purchased the MG fromLangley Motors of Concord for $2,450and that included the optional AM radio.I was in heaven and in debt. I had savedthe first $1,500 dollars working afterschool in the Manchester mills and got tosee what working hard and not makingmuch money was all about. My grand-parents worked the mills and, at times,my $42 a month car payment made mefeel like I would be there a long timemyself. Like I said, I had $1500 and mydad cosigned a bank loan for a $1,000more. He told me that the MG wouldstay registered in his name until the loanwas paid off. Well, wouldn’t you knowit, one year later, the bank loan was paidand the title was put into my name.

My AUTO ADDICTION was verystrong at this point in life. My girlfriend,Cheryl (now my wife), at first had a hardtime figuring out why a guy with a newcar wouldn’t drive it in the snow and ice,but rather put it into storage and walk ortake the city bus to work in the winter.Why I would change the oil every twothousand miles or polish it tail light tobumper monthly. Being a bit excessive iswhat an AUTO ADDICTION is allabout, isn’t it?

As time marched on, the AUTO ADDIC-TION was distracted. A wedding in ’73,a baby boy (Lee) in ’74 and another in’78 (Michael). It all came to a cross-roads. What do I do? Like most sportcar owners, should I chalk it up to grow-ing up and sell the Midget? Trading in aseven year old Midget wasn’t going tobring in much cash on a trade. The AUTOADDICTION that grew out of that firstBig Healey and the respect earned by myMG said “no way”. Off to storage itwent. My son Michael would be 14 yearsold before he would have his first MGexperience,1978 plus 14. Let’s see, that’s1992. Fourteen years of visiting a storedcar with a battery under one arm and atool box in the other. The gasoline hadbeen removed and the MG which waslifted off its suspension and placed onblocks. Every six months or so the AUTO

ADDICTION would tell me it was timeto visit. It was always the same: installthe battery, remove the spark plugs, coverthe spark plug holes with a rag, and thenspin the motor over pumping out the oilleft in the cylinders from the last visit.Then in reverse order: fill the cylinderswith oil, install the spark plugs and removethe battery until the next visit.

It was 1992 when my wife and I finisheda large house project. We converted asingle stall carport that was attached tothe house into a huge two and a half stallgarage and new driveway. At last theMG could come home. I picked a nicespring day and this time I visited the MGwith gas, battery, air pump, jack, and toolbox. Taking the MG down off its cementperch was easy, but when the full weightof the car rested on the tires, the sidewalls split and the MG looked pretty sadsitting there with half inflated tires. I in-flated the tires and decided to drive thecar home (two miles). I also knew that aset of Michelin X tires were in theMidget’s near future. Next I installed thebattery and checked all electrical com-ponents except the fuel pump and starterand found no problems. Next, the big test.First, removed the spark plugs, coveredthe plug holes with rags and spun the motorover with the starter to remove storageoil. I installed a new set of plugs, put agallon of gas in the tank and sat there inthe car. With the garage door open, Iwondered, “ have I done it right?” Anti-freeze, engine oil, carb damper oil andthere’s no oil on the floor. The transmis-sion, differential, tires, brakes, seemedOK. I could check them as I moved for-ward in the driveway. Ignition on, listenfor the fuel pump to fill the carburetorbowls. Would the floats come up? Theydid as the pump shut off. Turned the keyand, with a few turns of the crank, theMG came back to life after 14 years ofsleep. Off I drove and as I did I couldfeel that old AUTO ADDICTION run-ning strong through my veins, taking itshold stronger than ever before. And Ithought, maybe it was time again to sat-isfy, to give in to the urge and begin thesearch for that Austin Healey that AUTOADDICTED me so many years ago. Butthat, my friends, is another story.

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BCNHMONARCHY

PRIME MINISTERRobert Mitchell

PRIME MINISTER EMERITUSWade dos Santos

CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER

John Giese

NEWSLETTERJohn & Joan Giese

Owen & Virginia Christiansen

REGALIAJoan Young

SECRETARYNorma Karle

WEBMASTERKate Stanley Robinson

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATORLouis Belanger

TECH SESSION COORDINATORWade dos Santos

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR(open)

PUBLIC RELA TIONS(open)

INTER-CLUB COORDINA TORBob Dougherty

CALENDAR COORDINA TORSue MacDuff

SHOW OF DREAMS DIRECTORBob Stanley

HISTORIANMike Sweet

www.bcnh.org

Contact information on page 4

AC – ALLARD – ALPINE – TVR – DAIMLER – MORRIS MOTORCYCLES – TRIUMPH – MG - JAGUAR – AUSTIN HEALEY

LAND ROVER – RELIANT SCIMITAR – LOTUS

BRITISH CARS OF NEW HAMPSHIREMEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Visit us at www.bcnh.org

If possible, please submit a photo and article of your car to be included inThe Boot, Hood & Bonnet - BCNH’s monthly newsletter.

Any photos submitted will be returned.

Name_______________________________ Spouse______________________

Address__________________________________________________________

City____________________ State____ Zip________ Phone_______________

E-mail address____________________________________________________

Year, Make, Model of Your Auto(s)___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Name of Referring Member_________________________________________

___ Paper Newsletter* or ___ electronic copy of the Newsletter

Please send application and $30 annual dues (payable to BCNH) to:Lou Belanger, 11 Forest Lane, Litchfield, NH 03052

*Dues for those who want a paper newsletter are $35.

British Cars of New Hampshire (BCNH) is an organization devoted tothe preservation, restoration and enjoyment of all British automobiles.

BCNH provides to its members and their families British auto-orientedactivities and social events throughout the year. Benefits of the club par-ticipation include monthly meetings, rallies, tech sessions, club socials,car shows and other events.

The club publishes a monthly newsletter, The Boot, Hood & Bonnet.News of upcoming events, club activities, car show results, technical tipsand articles submitted by members are included in the newsletter. Mem-bers also receive a discount on a subscription to the British Marque, amonthly car club newspaper.

A club logo window decal is provided. Additional decals may be pur-chased.

Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at the Weathervanerestaurant unless otherwise announced. All members are encouraged toattend and bring guests.

BCNH invites you to become a member of our active and growing clubby submitting the application above.

4

Prime Minister’sMissive

Contact informationLouis Belanger 11 Forest Lane, Litchfield, NH 03052 (603) 424-7835 80mgbman@comcast.netGinger Christiansen7 Sycamore Lane, Nashua, NH 03063 (603) 883-0288 gingchrist@aol.comWade dos Santos PO Box 840, Manchester, NH 03105 (603) 497-3911 wade@grolen.comBob Dougherty 28 Ledgewood Drive, Strafford, NH 03884 (603) 948-2078 Rdocmg@gmail.comJohn Giese 153 Crooked S Road, Lyndeborough, NH 03082 (603) 654-2565 johgie@tds.netNorma Karle 51 Durgin Road, Chichester, NH 03258 (603) 437-8931 karle01@comcast.netSue MacDuff 510 Sand Hill Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 (603) 924-1066 Lucymac1@comcast.netRobert Mitchell PO Box 270, Stratham, NH 03885 (603) 772-1116 RBMit-MM@comcast.netBob Stanley 64 North Shore Drive, Center Barnstead, NH 03225(603) 776-6698 tlckit@yahoo.comMike Sweet 3 Cross Street, Laconia, NH 03246 (603) 527-8563 CoventryCat71@comcast.netJoan Young 204 Concord Hill Road, Pittsfield, NH 02363 (603) 435-8660 TWYJGY@aol.com

i) Prime Minister –

(1) Bob Mitchell

ii) Chancellor of the Exchequer –

(1) John Giese

iii) Newsletter Editor –

(1) John Giese

iv) Secretary –

(1) Norma Karle

v) Regalia –

(1) Joan Young

vi) Webmaster –

(1) Kate Stanley Robinson

Kate has been GREAT – butis there someone in the club?

vii) Membership Coordinator –

(1) Lou Belanger

Hat’s off to Lou. We rarelysee him, but his presence isknown!

viii) Tech Session Coordinator –

(1) Wade dos Santos

ix) Advertising Coordinator –

(1) We need one

x) Public Relations –

(1) We need one

xi) Inter-Club Coordinator –

(1) Dave LeBlanc

xii) Social Directors –

(1) Dropped – Should it beReinstated?

xiii) Calendar Coordinator –

(1) Sue MacDuff

xiv) Show of Dreams Director

(1) Bob Stanley

xv) Historian –

(1) Mike Sweet

This has been a record year for BCNH.According to our Membership Chair, LouBelanger, we now have over two hundredmemberships, which is ten more than last yearand the largest membership in the history ofthe Club. We must be doing something right– or more accurately, we’re doing a lot ofthings right. Many of our members are, nosurprise, members of more than one car cluband several have told me that BCNH is by farthe most active. The “tag line” that I use atthe end of most of my missives is true - thereason this club has so many interestingthings to do is because its members do somany interesting things.

This record high membership brings with it acouple of considerations.

1) We are coming up on Election of Officers.Typically the voting for those “elections”takes place at the regular Club Meeting inDecember.

That means that our officers are typicallychosen from – and elected by – the 20 % ofthe Members that actually attend the regularmonthly meeting. It also means that 80% ofour Members are typically NOT consideredas officers and the club does not have thebenefit of their talents and skills.

Please be thinking of what role you might bewilling to take in making the Club theorganization that you so enjoy. Here is thecurrent slate for next year.

As with most clubs, there are no paid staffhere. If we want to have things to do, WEhave to do them.

I encourage you to consider ANY of these

positions – including Prime Minister. Ivolunteered for that role because I thought Ihad some ideas that would benefit the club. Ibelieve I have, but I also think I am startingto get “stale.” Maybe it’s time for someoneelse’s “ideas.”

I also ask you to consider the roles ofAdvertising Coordinator, Public Relations orSocial Director. Those positions have been“vacant” for a while and the Club wouldbenefit from having someone withappropriate skills in them.

It would also be very beneficial for the Clubto have an active member serve as theWebmaster. Kate Stanley Robinson (Bob &Di Stanley’s daughter) has done a great jobfor us, but she only knows what we tell her.It would be great to have an actual memberwith web experience to take that role.

Please e-mail me at

rbmit-mm@comcast.net

or call at 603-772-1116 if you would like to beconsidered for one of these positions.

2) When the Club was smaller, the Greater

Continued on next page

Welcome our NewestMembers

Mark & Ginny Knoether1974 MGB

Andrew & Susan Nelson1976 Triumph TR6

Greg ZimmermanJennifer Chew

1932 Alvis 12/60

5

Disclaimer:As a matter of policy, British Carsof New Hampshire does notendorse any of the businesses thatadvertise in this newsletter.

MinutesManchester area (including Bedford) wasfound to be the most convenient location forMeetings. Now we are considering theestablishment of regional meeting locationsso those who live away from the Manchesterarea may enjoy the comradery of regularmeetings.

I am a member of several different clubs andmy observation has been that those whomeet regularly have a greater sense of unitythan those who don’t. To me, the meetingsare the “glue” that holds this Club together.

Watch for a series of e-blasts soon as we testsee if there is enough interest to supportregional meetings.

3) We will hold a Planning Session in Januaryto consider what things we would like to donext year. Watch for an e-blast soonannouncing the date of that meeting.

The Members who have the most fun are theones who are there to get in on it.

So Saith Prime Minister Bob

The November meeting was called toorder by Prime Minister Bob at 7:04 PM.The secretary and treasurer’s reportswere accepted and seconded as printed.Thank you all for being such trusting sorts– did you actually see any minutes lastmonth? Did you actually read them?

We had one new member join us – AndyNelson from Derry is a retired CPA andhe recently purchases a red 1976 TR6from member Ben Fontaine. He originallybought a new 1973 TR6 back in the dayand after driving it out of the dealershipthat first day was hit.

The not so 50-50 raffle was won by BobMitchell. Didn’t he win a few months ago?Anyway he donated the $40 back to theporta-potty fund. At this rate we shouldhave some great porta-potties at theshow. Maybe we can buy our own;maybe not. He also won 5 tickets to theFeztival of Trees in Concord which startsthe weekend before Thanksgiving. Fel-low member Bill Greenan donated thetickets. This is a sight not to be missed –take your grandchildren. You might justwin a decorated tree. Also, if you’re look-ing for a tree the Exeter Rotary club isselling them. Contact Bob Mitchell fordetails.

We next discussed the past events – noone at the meeting attended the CCBCCLegends weekend – it rained. There werefour cars at Lennonfest – I think it rainedthat weekend as well.

The Last Gasp Tour by New EnglandTriumphs was the same weekend – Billand Sue MacDuff attended and drovearound the Groton, Massachusetts areain the pouring rain.

Earlier in the month several members at-tended King Richards Fair in Carver MA.

December activities are slim or make thatnone. Just the regular meeting. Remem-ber we will have a get together in Febru-ary to celebrate the season and the clubbirthday. A good way to get out whencabin fever sets in.

We then nominated our officers and willvote on them next month. Same old sameold. We are looking for members to getinvolved – we do need an advertising co-ordinator and a public relations person tohelp keep up the web site and face bookaccounts.

In addition, we are thinking about havinga planning session for drives.

If you are coming to the December meet-ing please bring a new unwrapped toy fortoys for tots!

McLean Enterprises Inc.

Sales & ServiceOrderingInformationFax

Over 30 Fine British Sports Cars in stock14 Sagamore Road (Rte.1A) Rye. Nh

Check out our Web Site at www.britbits.com

603 436-1989800 995-2487603 433-0001603 433-0009

MG • Austin Healey • Triumph •Sunbeam • Jaguar • Morris MinorSales & Service • Parts, New & Used • Gifts • Clothing • Accessories

Brit Bits at

$846.83$130.00$40.00

-$256.16$760.67

Treasurer’s Report

Start BalanceMembershipRegalia salesNewsletterEnd Balance

October 15 to November 15Club account

$1096.14$180.00$56.00

$1332.14

Show of Dreams accountStart BalancePorta-potty raffleRegalia salesEnd Balance

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Show of DreamsMeeting Notes

by Diana Stanley

Thanks to Dave & Cheryl Leblanc forhosting the November SOD meeting.Twenty committee members were in at-tendance including two new members,Elliot More & Jaime Walters.

Our first topic of discussion was the Fea-tured Marque. Last month, we decidedon the early years of MG as the focus forthe Marque, however, there was someconfusion as to how to express theMarque in the advertising. Should it beMG Pre-war to 1962, MG from the be-ginning to 1962, etc. The winner: MGPre-war thru 1962. This will include ev-ery model made by MG up to and includ-ing the first year of the MGB.

During the discussion, Bob Mitchell men-tioned HMS has a MG J2 in the shop.Bob M. will contact the owner to get per-mission to take photos of the J2 to usethem in the show advertising. The com-mittee will also be contacting AbingdonSpares to see if they have any early MGimages we could use. Dave LeBlanc andBob Mitchell will also speak with CarlPerry because he owns a very early MGB.If you all recall, Carl’s car was centerstage in Wolfeboro a few years ago whenMG was the Featured Marque.

Once the committee acquires the imagesof the various early MG models, DorisKarle will get them to her daughter Katso she can develop the advertising imagesfor the show.

Advertising the show is an important com-ponent to the show’s success. The fol-lowing suggestions were made to increasethe show’s exposure: U-tube, The Hippo,Nashua Telegraph, Lowell Sun, EDGE,Whips Wheels, etc. Plans are in theworks to contact all of these mediasources with the SOD press release andvideo advertising as well as listings on thevarious online Community Calendars. Ina couple of months, Bob L’Hereux andGerry Griffin will complete the editing of

the SOD video they have produced fordistribution to all of our local public ac-cess TV stations. Contacting the vari-ous news media outlets and all the otherBritish Car clubs in New England shouldresult in more cars on the field in 2015.If anyone has any other suggestions foradvertising outlets, please contact one ofthe committee members. Any sugges-tions are appreciated.

Pinch and Suzi Polenchar will begin theBCNH wine making process soon. Thecommittee decided on Malbec as the va-riety. This means that Dave Corbett &Bob Stanley have been recruited to makemore wine glass holders for the 1st placetrophies. Bob Mitchell will contact JimMonro to produce the 1st place gold la-bels for the wine glass holders.

Doris Karle will contact DJ, Jim Georgeto schedule him for the show.

The Food Court set-up at the 2014 was ahuge success. It gave the show partici-pants an opportunity to dine in a shadedarea in view of the show and vendors. Infact, the vendors commented the foodcourt brought more people to their booths.The plan is to expand on the Covered FoodCourt to include area where a continu-ous loop presentation of the show and clubactivities may be viewed. For those whoare not yet members of the club, thiswould give them an opportunity to learnmore about the activities which keep usall interested through the LBC drivingseason.

For those who attended the British By theSea show in CT last June, we are sureyou remember the Video Drone flyingover the field. Bob Mitchell is lookinginto that possibility for the SOD. It wouldbe a good thing to add to the club websitein lieu of show photos.

The raffle was the next topic of discus-sion. Wayne & Maggie Bolen have beenoperating the raffle table for the past 5-6years and at the 2014 show they noticeda decline in revenue and an increase inthe time it takes to draw all the raffle tick-ets on the 5+ tables of items. The con-clusion is: there are too many small itemson the general raffle table. While the

SOD is known for the BCNH MEGARAFFLE, the process of drawing theraffle tickets takes three hours to com-plete which diminishes the time DJ, JimGeorge has to entertain with music, an-nouncements from the charities, guidingparticipants to activities and attractions,etc. With that in mind, the following wassuggested: Instead of announcing eachticket for the general raffle, Jim Georgewill let everyone know the General RaffleTicket numbers will be drawn and listedon the

Raffle Board. He will let the participantsknow they need to visit the board to seeif they have won an item.

On the other side of the General Raffleare the The High Dollar Items which havethe individual ticket containers on thetable. The High Dollar Item tickets willbe announced as usual. Bob Stanleysuggested a silent auction for the HighDollar Items as well. Bill Greenan andPam Boyer suggested the club membersvisit the Shriner’s Fez’tival of Trees inConcord, NH to see how well the silentauction works for the Shriner’s organiza-tion.

Other suggestions on the raffle are: Alist of desirable items for the table, dona-tions for the club to purchase raffle itemsin lieu of each club member donating anitem, raising the ticket price for the HighDollar Items to $5 or $10 each, more vol-unteers on the field selling general raffletickets along with 50/50 raffle tickets andbundling the small raffle items as one prize,etc.

If anyone has any other suggestions,please do not hesitate to contact one ofthe committee members. All suggestionsare welcomed.

The Restroom Trailer Fund has beengrowing over the last couple of monthsvia the 50/50 raffle at each club meetingand the plan is to reserve a Trailer unitwhich will include Men’s and Women’sfacilities. However, the committee hasreceived some feedback regarding thelack of Handicapped restroom facilities.Dave’s Septic will be contacted to getpricing and availability for a Handicapped

7

To order your BCNH name badgecontact John Giese at:

(603) 654-2565 or

johgie@tds.net

Port-a-potty. Also, we need moreRestroom direction signs around the field.

Due to the upcoming Holiday Season, theSOD committee will not schedule a De-cember SOD meeting. The committeewill resume the monthly meetings in Janu-ary 2015.(WOW, 2015 already!)

The January 2015 meeting will be hostedat the home of Doris & Paul Karle andNorma & Rod Folia; 51 Durgin Road,Chichester, NH 03258.

The Date: To be determined.

January5th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

February

2nd BCNH Birthday Party

March2nd Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

April6th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

BCNH 2015 Calendar of Events

May4th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

9th Annual BCNH Tech Session

June1st Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

7th British-by-the-Sea, Hosted by theConnecticut MG Club, Harkness Park,Waterford, CT

8-12th MG 2015 Niagara Falls,Canada

9th Cruise In British BeerCompany, Manchester

13th BCNH Breakfast Drive TBD

21st BCNH Dinner Drive TBD

July6th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

11-13th British Motoring Festival,Windsor, Nova Scotia11th BCNH Breakfast Drive TBD

14th Cruise In British BeerCompany, Manchester

December EventsBy Sue MacDuff

Our only event for the month of December will be our Monthly Meeting onDecember 1st. We usually do not have a December meeting due to having aChristmas Party but with the Holiday Season being so busy, we will celebrate atour Birthday Party in February instead. A good time for a party when we are allweary of the cold weather and want to get out and have some fun! Details arebeing worked out at this time and will be posted on the Calendar when I havethem and an E Blast will be sent out.

I am starting to work on next year’s calendar. If you have anything to add, letme know. Monthly meetings are set and all are on the first Monday of themonth with the exception of September due to Labor Day. Bring those ideas forevents to the meeting and share them or send to me or Bob Mitchell. Justbecause you come up with an idea, doesn’t mean you have to do the event.Someone else may take the idea and run with it or you may want to partner withsomeone. We should be having an event planning meeting after the first of theyear so want a lot of ideas.

19th BCNH Dinner Drive TBD

25th BCNH Show of Dreams

August3rd Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

8th BCNH Breakfast Drive TBD

11th Cruise In British BeerCompany, Manchester

16th BCNH Dinner Drive TBD

September8th Cruise In British Beer Company,Manchester

12th BCNH Breakfast Drive TBD

14th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

20th BCNH Dinner Drive TBD

October5th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

10th BCNH Breakfast Drive TBD

13th Cruise In British BeerCompany, Manchester

18th BCNH Dinner Drive TBD

November2nd Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

December7th Meeting at Weathervane, Bedford

8

The Great PhoneBooth Caper

by Al ChicoteMany THANKS to all who braved theAutumn Chill for the Great British PhoneBooth Caper. Hats off to Sue and BillMcDuff who ventured fromPeterborough, New Hampshire way be-fore the rooster announced a very chillydawn as well as DaveFaulkner, Dana andMalcolm McNair. They hitthe road shortly after theroosters last crow. JohnWerner, myself and twodogs had the leisure of hav-ing time for that second cupof coffee while waiting forthe sun to warm thing up abit. Never did. Mike andEithne Eldred had time fora leisure breakfast, secondcup of coffee, catch up onthe news while waiting forus to join them inWilmington, Vermont.

Our drive from the NorthAdams, Massachusetts airport took uspast the Natural Bridge, lots of windmills,through small Hamlets and offered greatviews and an enjoyable ‘dance with theroad’ with its many twists, turns, ups,downs, swoops… you get the picture. Wemet up with Mike and Eithne at the infoKiosk by the Harriman Reservoir. A funhour’s ride. As they say, “Let the fun be-gin!” and it did.

Mike and Eithne lead us over some veryinteresting and danceable remote roadsin Vermont and Massachusetts. Mikemust have some “pull” as 90% of theroads were well seasoned and freshlypaved, perfect for LBC’s with minimalroad clearance. Ever see a floating island?We did. Interesting history and story.We’ll share it with you on the next BritishPhone Booth Caper. Several fun miles

later we rallied around a genuine BritishPhone Booth stationed in the middle ofnowhere with a pond and gazebo as aback drop. Across the way was an oldstone Church. After snapping quite a fewphotos we headed over more fun roadsto a riverside picnic area that Mike andEithne knew of. Ignoring the tempera-tures, all enjoyed a picnic. Great place,but don’t ever even think about consum-ing alcohol there. “Big Brother” is actu-

ally watching you. Not a place for theparanoid. Onward over even more funroads to the Hoosac Tunnel Eastern en-trance. Looking at the entrance from theparking area is impressive and quite pic-turesque, what with a stepped waterfallcascading alongside it and the rail bed.Once you walk up to the actual entranceyou can almost feel yourself shrink com-pared with its size. That tunnel entrance

is huge! Beware of its ghost andhaunting legends! Onward to“Bear Swamp” complete withbear footprints all over theplace. Interesting place, BearSwamp. Its a hydro-electricplant that recycles the waterused to turn the turbines. Youcan imagine the terrain. On ourway to Bear Swamp we droveby one of the first nuclearpower plants that’s been de-commissioned years ago. A fewmore smile miles, small hamlets,villages and we called it a dayat a local inn where we toastedMike and Eithne for a fun andtruly interesting adventure andplotted future like adventures.

Despite the Autumn chill, bright warmless sun and a breeze that penetratedwhatever you were wearing it was agrand adventure. Thanks again to all whoattended for sharing the day and to Mikeand Eithne for introducing us to so manydanceable roads and great things to see.

Check out Berkshire British MotorClub facebook page for more photos.

9

For Sale: Various Morris Minor parts,including engine and transmission, doors,bonnet, hood. Call John 603-225-6915.

Wanted - I am looking for a 1960-1964Morgan Plus 4 two seat roadster. I canbe reached at 903 495 1362 orm.rhodes@lamarnational.comMichael Rhodes

Wanted - 1969 seats for sale for my TR6Matt Jadud (440) 334-6687

For Sale: 1972 MGB runs but needswork-floor boards.John Monahan 603-253-7614

1958 TR3A - The car is a strong dailydriver. No rust (a bit of rough paint on thenose over the radiator, though). If youknow Hagerty Class 1-4, this is a class 4vehicle. Average sales prices for the lastcouple years have been 14K or more.Asking $12,500. Have owned it for 21years. Just bought a TR6 and have to getrid of one of them (no room in the barnfor winter storage of both). The car is inHanover NH, but can easily make thedrive to anywhere in NH (if sold).Roger.D.Sloboda@dartmouth.edu

Sadly selling my 1977 MGB because Ihave too many! I have driven this car forthree seasons and it was just inspectedagain this week.It has a great look and a very nice interior.It runs and drives well. It has always beengaraged and the top is new. It has a fewblemishes that are cosmetic, which areminor and overall, not obvious; a trunkcrease and minor rust on one rocker. Thiscar is really fun to drive, as MGs are, andis quite attractive, turning headseverywhere! priced to sell at $5,700amysletten@aol.com , (603) 472-8005

1960 MGA 1600 coupe - Good lookingcar w Stone Gray exterior, and black wred upholstery. Rust free car, originallyfrom Oklahoma, 26,000 miles since 1981renovation. Upgrades and recentimprovements: oversized radiator, waterpump, t'stat and cap; oil pump andpressure relief valve; fuel pump and Vitoncarb bowl seals; stainless steel exhaust.Owned for 38 years; it's time for a newowner to pamper the car for another 38!$18,000obo, Dave Housermgs4dave@tampabay.rr.com

For Sale: Four MGs: A, B, MidgetDick Moody 603-660-0393rmoody341@aol.com

2000 Jaguar Type S. Black V-8 -automatic power windows, steering,brakes, mirrors; Power tilt, telescopicsteering wheel, cruise control; AM-FM,cassette, CD changer; auto headlights,auto wipers, GPS, power moon roof;leather seats, real wood trim on dash,102K miles, Southern car – NO RUST -- $5,500. Call Chris – 603 883-0288

T-Type Rally in Netherland

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From the Garage

by Dave Braun

(Reprinted from the Minnesota MGGroup Gazette)

Spare parts are both easy

and difficult to find for our cars. Easy,because as one of the most popularmakes of sport cars in the world, thereare many vendors supplying replacementparts, and many distributors arewarehousing, cataloging and shippingthose parts. Difficult, because some partsare of low demand, or the tooling for theparts are nonexistent, and so these partsare almost unobtainable. Restoration andrepair requires parts to repair parts,replacement parts, and acceptablealternatives. Paying the ‘right’ price andinstalling ‘almost correct’ parts can be achallenge. Finally, spares can be ofdubious quality, so knowing what youare getting is important.

When I started in the hobby, the MGCompany was selling cars and sparesunder the guise of British Leyland.Leyland Motors had purchasedStandard-Triumph and then merged withthe British Motor Corporation (theowners of Austin, Morris, MG and othermakes). You could go to HansordPontiac in Minneapolis or Young Motorsin Saint Paul and look at Jaguar, Triumphand yes, MGs in one show room. In theback of those showrooms were servicedepartments where you could getoriginal equipment manufacturer (OEM)parts, in boxes with the Girling, Lucas,BL or left over BMC logos on them.Today, such parts are called New OldStock (NOS) meaning that they are new(never used) parts, but of old stock andin theory were every bit as good as whatwas on the car new. Not that every sparepart was as good, or even perfectlyfitting, during this period as suppliers

changed and OEMs looked for universalreplacements.

A used clutch master cylinder and aNew Old Stock (NOS) repair kit readyfor assembly.

Certainly, finding parts at the dealer formy MG TD was not possible, unless itwas a universal joint (the same HardySpicer units used on the last MGB wouldfit a T-Series) or some other commonpart. MG TD parts were available bymail or phone order from a company inGoleta, California, named Moss Motors.Their catalog was a thing of beauty, andmany a TC, TD and TF were assembledusing their parts breakdown as a guide.They provided reprinted WorkshopManuals, and also clever accessories forour cars from the MG Mitten car coverto nifty helmets and goggles. AbingdonSpares in Walpole, New Hampshire wasthe go-to source on the east coast forthe same range of cars; while VictoriaBritish Ltd., a division of the Long MotorCorporation out of Shawnee Mission,Kansas, was supplying the later MGBand MG Midget models. These twocompanies had catalogs too, and onething all three catalogs had in commonwas their separate price lists. Distributorshad their own price list which wassomewhat lower and allowed them amargin on the parts. You had to havepretty good eyes, a sharp pencil and apiece of paper, to create your ‘needs’list, get the pricing, and place your orderwith your personal check. In any case, asteel ruler helped align the prices with

the part numbers.

Most of our club members canremember when there wasn’t an Internet,and an 800 number was the way onecommunicated long distance to buyparts. We would also scour Hemmings,Old Car Weekly, and Road & Trackfor vehicles, supplies, and parts andaccessories. Letters were the methodused when you wanted to make sure yourorder was crystal clear. Later, I canremember teaching people how to createfacsimile lead sheets in order to transmitcopies of papers across the country.Facsimile eventually got shortened to‘FAX’ and then gave way to on-lineordering. The internet has served a fewother purposes too, it has made it mucheasier to share information with otherenthusiasts; reduce your personalstockpile of parts by offering them topeople who seemed to need them more;and has given rise to photo sites (with anassist from digital cameras) thatchronicles many car restoration projects.Some of these blogs are better thanothers, and all are based on opinions.We usually decide for ourselves who totrust and where to get our information,after a few mistakes and do-overs fromlistening to the wrong people orsometimes interpreting things incorrectly.Sharing information on the internet is oneof the best ways to find a potentialsupplier.

Finding Trusted Local Suppliers

Sometimes you just want to handle thepart or pre-fit it in an assembly to makesure you have the right component. Inthe Twin Cities, we are fortunate to havea very large resource in QualityCoaches. With knowledgeabletechnicians and an impressive array ofused, hard to find parts, a phone call toQuality is usually a good place to startwhen looking for a spare. Their usedprices are usually calculated as half ofthe Moss Motors retail price, and sincethey are a pretty large dealer for Moss,

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you can make a deal or two for yourproject if you are ordering severalexpensive items at once. Quality is alsofamiliar with many of the specialtyvendors in the cities, and will send youto Paul Williams Tire to get your wirewheels properly mounted and balanced,or Brake & Equipment Warehouse tohave brake parts custom made andrepaired, including resleeving cylindersand arcing brake linings to match themachined drums. They also offer benchservices on parts that require specialtooling or processes and are eager tohelp you get your MG back on the road.I’ve sourced used suspension and engineparts, bought full interiors, and had themhelp me with special process such as kingpin reaming among other tasks and parts.In return, I have sometimes given themparts I no longer had a use for whichthey in turn have provided to someoneto keep a car intact, from suspensionparts to half an interior or two.

After Maggie’s ignition circuit short,the tachometer needed parts forcleaning out the smoke releasedinside. Picking through a local usedparts recycler like Quality Coaches isa great way to find the replacementparts.

Another place to get ideas for sourcesand parts are our club activities. A wellplaced question will usually direct youto someone who has been there beforeand is more than happy to share theirsources. The unobtainable recessed grillefinisher strip for Maggie, the 1970 MGBWire Wheel Conversion That TurnedInto a Restoration came from just such

a conversation. Another time, beingcompletely flummoxed regarding theneedle bearings holding a layshaft inposition led me to a friend who had acomplete kit of spare gearbox parts, andwas willing to share some of the parts hehad collected over the years. And I firstused APT Instruments in Bloomington(Minnesota) based on arecommendation from a friend.

Purchasing from the ‘Big Boys’

Getting back to those major retailers,Moss; Abingdon Spares and ‘VickyBrit’… after perusing their catalogs on-line, it is relatively easy to place an order.A credit card is the only thing that is reallyneeded, plus a mailing address that UPScan find. But did you know that most ofthe orders come into Moss by phone?This brings up a nice side feature ofphoning in your order. A lot of times, thetrained order taker at the other end ofthe line is an enthusiast themselves. Theyare armed with the same computerinformation you have, plus some extrasites and information Moss makesavailable to them. Phoning makes it easyto ask specific questions regarding thesuitability of the parts. I once ordered amuffler for another make of British car,unaware that with the advent of the largerear bumper over riders, the alignmentof the muffler with the rear of the car hadchanged. The customer servicerepresentative asked a couple ofpertinent questions, certainly saving methe cost of returning a bulky part that Ihad selected, and would not have fit!

It is also worthwhile to check anothersource if one of the sources doesn’t havethe part you are looking for. I’ve workedwith Moss UK as they have a differentselection of parts and a differentphilosophy in some respects from theirAmerican cousins. As mentioned earlier,several shops like Quality Coaches areMoss distributors and pass savings to theend user. Little British Car Company hasraised this level of service to a new height,

dealing exclusively with both Moss andother hard to find parts, at discountedprices. You do have to be carefulbecause you are one step removed fromthe source, and mistakes can happen.LBC once shipped me two kingpin kits,where one will do the job on an entirecar. It was a simple matter of the stockpicker not being aware of this, and ofcourse I shipped the extra parts back.

Small, Specialty Vendors

If you are willing to ship from overseas,it has never been easier to checkavailability with vendors in the UK. Theyare experienced in handling the customsforms and often have US Dollar andBritish Pound exchange information builtinto their sites. I have gone overseas forinteriors, electrical bits and full customwiring harnesses, taps and dies, andother items. In addition, From the FrameUp in Mesa, Arizona, is a fantastic MGTC specialist which is expanding theirofferings into other MGs, especiallywhen they overlap with the TC. Theirparts are often custom sourced, and ofvery high quality. I list them among thesmall specialty vendors because theowner is very hands on and is the personyou will likely be dealing with. Othervendors most of us are familiar with inthe niche areas of our hobby includeAdvanced Distributors in Shakopee,Minnesota, the go-to repairer of all thingsDistributors for our cars; Joe Curto inCollege Point, New York, for SUCarburetor parts; Martin MacGregor ofDundas, Ontario for door edge seals andthat hard to find vinyl for the top of thedash panel behind the dashboard of anMGB, among other things; Dayton WireWheels and Cocker Tires wouldperhapsround out this listing of specialists.

When the Usual Suspects Fail toProvide

There are times when the various largeand small suppliers don’t have that partyou need. Maybe it is an AdsorptionCanister for the fuel venting system on

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your car, or a no longer available (NLA)trim piece or light. In any case, your onlyhope is often an on-line auction such aseBay. The easiest way in most cases tobuy from eBay is to set up a PayPalaccount, which will deduct from yournormal bank account or a back up creditcard the money you pay to a vendor.Since eBay owns PayPal, the transactionand mailing information is seamlesslyhandled. You need to set up your PayPalaccounts carefully, and be aware ofPayPal scams perpetrated by thieves, aswell as use something more complex thanyour dog’s name for a password, soplease be careful out there!

EBay includes an eBay Motors section,which lists both cars and parts. At anygiven time there will be hundreds ofthousands of parts and cars on the site,but if you fool around a bit with the sortingand searching methods, you can findwhat you are looking for pretty readily.Results can be mixed. Any car you buyon eBay is like visiting a car lot andlooking at the car through a dirty windowfrom 30 feet, and trusting the salesmanthat yes, indeed, the car runs. Sammy,the 1974 Triumph Spitfire thatFollowed Me Home is one such car. Ididn’t inspect the car in advance and Iwas pretty sure I was in for some workwhen I bought him so I wasn’t toodisappointed. And frankly, a lot of thethings that were wrong with him wouldhave been very difficult to pinpointwithout taking him apart, I fully believethat the seller was terribly cluelessregarding the cars minuses. So caveatemptor, or let the buyer beware. On theplus side, it has been an interestingjourney (although much more involvedthan originally planned) and well worthit.

Simple parts are a different matter. Notall carsget restored, some get parted outso we canrestore and maintain our prizedexamples.

There are vendors who specialize in

stripping cars and selling their parts oneBay, they tend to be organized, andsometimes a bit overpriced. Privateowners are more realistic. I think it isbecause they just want to give the part anew home. The parts are sold as anauction; a best offer; or a buy it now.For an auction, I like to set a number inmy mind as to what I believe the part isworth, and then add just a bit and putthat in as my bid. The initial numbershown is just enough to open the auction,or beat the previous bidders best bid bythe required amount. Then I just putdown my mouse, and back away fromthe computer. If I receive an email thatsays my maximum amount was out bid,usually I will just ignore it and look forthe next item. Sometimes it may wakeme up to the fact that the part is harderto find than I thought, and I may considerother avenues, or bid up slightly to testthe waters. For a best offer or a buy itnow, I usually place a reasonable priceabout 20% below what the part is worth,and see if it is accepted. I always lookcarefully at the shipping prices becausesome sellers escalate the shipping andhandling prices to a level where it is nolonger a good purchase.

What happens if you buy a part on eBayand find that it just doesn’t work out?Well I’ve done that more than once,usually due to a lack of understandingon my part when a change occurred inthe part, but sometimes because the sellermisrepresented or didn’t understand thepart. I will usually contact the seller andask for a refund; shipping the part backat my own expense, if I feel like it wasmy error. If I feel like it was their error, Iask for return shipping as well. Most ofthe time, by keeping a positive attitude,I get positive results. On the few I haven’tI simply chalked it up to the cost of doingmy restorations, realizing that the vastmajority of items I’ve purchased haveworked out just fine. I have found originalbrake master cylinders that needed re-sleeving and rebuilding, lighting items;

interior parts; even a specific camshaftand head for building a European specengine. Whether you are looking for thatoriginal part to complete the restoration,or just keeping the cost down on arebuild, eBay can be a big help.

This master cylinder is not horriblyexpensive from the big retailers, but Ienjoy building them, and it can bedone for a fraction of the cost.

Here is the after picture as mountedon Sammy’s bulkhead. And yes, itworked beautifully.

I’ve also sold parts on eBay. The PayPalfees come out of the sales price; and thereare listing fees. These costs have to beconsidered when listing an item. I like touse a lot of pictures and set a fair startingprice. Since I’m usually selling a partbecause I don’t want to keep it around,I try to keep in mind that whatever I sellit for is more than I will realize if it is upin my attic, gathering dust. I usuallyinclude shipping, or if it is a small item, Iuse the USPS flat rate shipping so I caninclude a predictable price in mycalculations. I’ve sold interior parts;

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carburetors and manifolds I didn’t intendto incorporate in my current build; books(yeah hard to believe based on the wayI horde some of my reading collection);and other items. When I sell somethingon eBay, a lot of the time I will just keepthe money in PayPal to fund futurepurchases, which sometimes includeitems for that portion of the house notinvolved in automotive restorations.

There are other places to consider whenbuying or selling; Craigslist comes tomind, and I have had a lot of successwith that site. But I always use a blindHotmail style of account and I never golook at something I’m consideringwithout bringing someone with me, justto make sure it isn’t a scam or worse.The only time I violated this rule was whenI found my Audi A6 on Craigslist. It wasat a dealer about six blocks away, and Ifigured it would be fine.

Buying and Selling to Friends, BothReal and Vir tual

This final area is a bit more personal, asyou are selling or buying from someoneyou’ve gained a friendship with over time.I said both Real and Virtual becausewhile I personally know a number ofBritish car enthusiasts locally and aroundthe country, I also have friends frommessage boards and forums on-line thatI’ve never met. Locally, I’ve purchasedwire wheels; gently used pistons; a partswasher; even a set of welding tanks.From Virtual friends, I’ve purchased1975 and later interior parts for Sammybecause they are nicer than what wasoffered in 1974. A used air intake boxwas also purchased the same way, andfrom another source, bonnet latches anda single lug nut! In each case, thepurchase was negotiated off the forum,using the private messaging service a lotof these forums provide, and I was quitehappy with the results. I’ve sold an extrabut refurbished PDWA via this method,and a multitude of carburetor rebuilds,but most recently an entire gearbox.

This is a gearbox I sold to a virtualfriend in North Carolina. For $28 inmaterials and $90 in UPS charges, thegearbox was safely packed andshipped. Notice that the gearbox isbolted to the box sides throughreinforcing 2x4s. I learned thispacking trick from John Twist.

The gearbox sale was interesting becauseit was a now redundant piece due to thepurchase of an overdrive box from a shopin California. The OD gearbox came tome a bit banged up because the shipperdid a poor job of securing it in the box. Ireally didn’t need a second gearbox, andI mostly wanted to get it out of mygarage. A virtual friend in North Carolinasaid that when we moved out there, hewould take my low mileage gearbox offmy hands as he had just had one fail. Ofcourse, Diane and I decided against themove, but I offered to ship the box tohim at his cost, and if it worked, he couldpay me for the gearbox. He wisely said“let’s set a price now, so there are nohard feelings later”, so I suggested a pricethat I knew we could both live with. I’mglad I was able to help him out andpleased that I didn’t just toss out acompletely usable gearbox… and morethan a little pleased that the gearbox iscontinuing to provide great service inanother car. Of course, I made sure thatthis gearbox would more than survivethe trip halfway across the country. Ieven received an email from the buyerthanking me for those ‘handles’ I builtinto the shipping crate. Next time I’m inNorth Carolina on business, I think I’lllook up my virtual friend and make hima real one.

Last Gasp RallyBy Sue MacDuff

On Saturday November 1, we joined theNew England Triumph Club for their LastGasp Rally. This is our fifth outing withthis fun group. We met in Littleton, Mas-sachusetts at Kimballs on an overcast,chilly morning. There were eleven carswith only four being British, one TR3, twoTR6s and my MGB GT all led by a 1991Miata. As we started the rally in a coldrain, I was thankful for the hardtop andheat. This was a different type of rally, a“Follow Me Rally” where you have ques-tions to answer but instead of going onyour own you go in a group. Rallies arefun but I would rather drive with othersso this is the best of both.

This was a lovely area even with the rain.I do want to go back to see if we can findsome of the roads that meandered pastbeautiful working farms, explore thegrounds of Groton Academy, visit theShaker Historical Site and especially todrive Lost Lake Road again. Oh my, thisshould have been named “Roller CoasterRoad” with all it’s ups, downs and sharpcurves.

At the end of the Rally, we stopped forChinese Buffet. Prizes were given out forthe three best scores. The winners were,in First: Bob Lang and spouse LindaCragan fron Northboro, MA in their TR6,Second: John and Tricia Gibbs (NETnewsletter editors) driving their Rav4electing to leave their TR6 at home andThird: Former NET President Frank Frettand Carol Baker from Fall River ,MAdriving their new model Mini. There wasa tie for Second and Third. NET has aunique way of determining the winnerwhen there is a tie. The two participantsplay a card game and the winner takesthe prize. It can be any game they decideon including simply cutting the deck.

My thanks to NET for welcoming us yetagain and we hope to see you again atone of your events or one of ours.

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HOW TO BLEED AMG CLUTCH HY -

DRAULIC SYSTEM

BY THE BRITISH CAR GUY

If you are a Do-It-Yourselfer, you’re go-ing to like this. Bleeding the air from aBritish Car clutch hydraulic system canbe quite time consuming and frustrating.I’ve had a half dozen calls in the last 3months from guys wanting to know howto bleed the air from their MG clutch sys-tems after spending an extraneous amountof time and pushing several cans of fluidthrough the system, but to no avail.

Rather than getting into the nitty-gritty asto why it is so difficult and following upwith discussion on the various tricks Ihave learned over the decades I’m justgoing to tell you ‘how to do it’ with ease,speed and with less than a half of pint ofDot 4 Brake fluid, and, all by yourself.

O.K., you’ve just finished servicing yourMG clutch hydraulic system either by re-placing or rebuilding the master and/orslave cylinder and you are ready to bleedthe system. WHAT YOU NEED: A canof Dot 4 brake fluid, a two foot length ofclear plastic tubing with a 3/16” I.D.(Home Depot has it), a dab of wheel bear-ing grease, a 7/16” wrench and one clean(contaminate free) pump style oil can.

WHAT TO DO: First, fill the ‘clean’ pump

style oil can with fresh Dot 4 fluid. Next,extract the bleed screw from the slavecylinder and lightly coat the treads withwheel bearing grease. This helps to sealthe threads while the bleed screw is loose(open) during the bleeding process. At-tach one end of the clear plastic tubing tothe oil can and push the Dot 4 fluid all theway through to expel (displace) the air inthe line. Now push the other end of thetubing onto the bleed screw. Follow upby cracking the bleed screw open ½ to 1full turn. Begin to pump the oil can slowlyand watch the flow of fluid through theclear tubing. It doesn’t take many pumpsto fill the system so after a half-dozenpumps, go topside and check your clutchreservoir. If you over fill it, there’s goingto be a mess to clean up. Once the reser-voir is ½ to ¾ full you can merely top itoff with fresh fluid.

Now, go back down-stairs and tighten thebleed screw and remove the hose. The

last step entails the use of both hands.Hold the 7/16 wrench in your right handand while pushing the slave cylinder ac-tuating rod towards the front of the carwith your left hand, crack the bleed screwopen to expel a little fluid and any remain-ing air trapped in the cylinder. Voila!You’re done. A typically long story made‘very short.’ This procedure works greaton the bleeding of brake systems as well.This technique is referred to as ‘reversebleeding’ and works on any vehicle’s hy-draulic systems. (Pre-anti-lock and/or

computerized.) Once you’ve tried it you’llnever ‘push pedals’ to bleed, ever again.

So, the next time your Buddy needs yourhelp to push his pedals while he bleedshis hydraulics, just show up with your oilcan and clear tubing and proceed to shinelike the star that you are. You’ll be hishero for sure.

Got Questions? Call 216-408-4834

Steve Chivington

Reprinted from August 2014 eChatter,Publication of Emerald

British Cars of New Hampshire51 Durgin Road

Chichester, NH 03258

The Last Gasp Rally with New England Triumphs