Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc

Hornet Special Newsletter

Issue 66 September 2016

WHS Club ContactsSecretary

Bill Russell, ph (03) 9349 2262

PresidentJohn Prentice

ph (02) 6281 2618Editor

Henry Hancock, ph (07) 3878 2850

3 Gilia Court Indooroopilly Qld 4068hlaevt@aanet.com.au

2016 AGM and HORNET EXTRAVAGANZAThere’s still time! 14 - 16 October 2016 See page 3

DIRECTIONS FOR TRANSPORT FROM TULLAMARINE AIRPORT TO MARYBOROUGH - See Page 8 (back page).

At Maryborough, transport for the weekend is by private bus.

WHSCA Inc. Finan-cial Report - Page 4

Road Test Figures for Sanction 65 WHSThe Land (Sydney newspaper from 1911 to 1954) Friday, 28 July 1933, page 19This is the most comprehensive road test performance summary that the Editor has seen. The figures are similar to an Austin Healy Sprite of 1958 (Autocar June 20 1958) but with the Hornet’s large frontal area, the top speed of 69mph is lower.

ROB ROY HILLCLIMB RECORD SETSee Page 2

Page 2 Hornet Special Newsletter

Rob Roy Hillclimb Record Thrashed

14 August 2016 was an auspicious day for Hornet Specials in Victoria.Congratulations to John Balthazar who thrashed the old record time for a Wolseley Hornet Special on the Rob Roy Hillclimb. He did it in 34.58s to win Class 11 – PVT up to 1500cc, just ahead of a 1931 Fraser Nash replica and a 1934 Lagonda Rapier.

Hornet drivers’ fastest times at Rob Roy in the “good old days” were as follows:

Jim Gullan 44.09s in January 1938“Sport” King 42.20s in May 1948Len Slade 43.62s in November 1951

John Clucas had his Hornet Special there at Rob Roy too, but as a display car only.

The Staging Grid at Rob Roy

On The Vintage Car Club of Queensland last rally to Coffs Harbour I had a tyre blowout at Tenterfield. The local tyre people fitted a new inner tube to my 4.50 x 18 tyre and I purchased a spare. The inner tubes are for Massy Ferguson Tractor front wheels and are held in quantity in Brisbane by a wholesaler who only supplies tyre distributors.

[Peter had had trouble getting suitable offset valve tubes from the regular vintage tyre suppliers in Australia – Ed.]

I visited my tyre dealer TYRE PLUS Ace Tyres & Auto Care, 8 Container Street, Tingalpa and they ordered 3 for me at cost of $25 each (including GST). Size 400-19 TR15 Tubes. They have a rubber encased valve stem slightly off-centre to the rim and are ideal for most vintage cars. They fit 18, 19 and 20” rims and are heavy duty construction.

Peter Baker

Suitable Tyre Tubes in Australia

Issue 66 Page 3

2016 WHSCA AGM Weekend Extravaganza

All enquiries: John & Annabelle (03) 9874 5475, jclucas@topspin.com.au

2016 WHSCA AGM Weekend Extravaganza14-16 October, 2016

Maryborough - the heart of Victoria’s gold�elds(170km NW of Melbourne)

Maryborough Railway Station. “A railway station with a town attached,” Mark Twain (1895)

�ere’s still time!! Book Now!!�ere’s still time!! Book Now!!Book now, by sending $46 per person to John Clucas - by cheque to 14 Hodgson St Mitcham

3132 or by EFT to John G Clucas: BSB 062032 Acc 10074075 Ref WHS[+surname]. �e $46/head covers your Sunday winery lunch and our weekend bus hire. Everything else is pay as you go.

Full weekend program available soon.

Drive the Mt Tarrengower Hill ClimbRelax and be driven around in our own bus for the weekend

Be astonished by eccentric individuals with eclectic motoring collectionsExplore the culture and curios of historic Maldon and Castlemaine

Dine at Maryborough’s Supreme CourtFreeze on the Hornet Morning Frostbite Run

Browse the huge Talbot Farmers’ Market – by far Vic’s biggest and bestWine and dine at the celebrated Quoin Hill Vineyard

Get blown away by one of Australia’s largest wind farms

InterstatersBus it from Tulla to Southern Cross, then train/coach direct to Maryborough in time for the AGM

Melbourne billeting available either side of the AGM

�e Bristol Hill Motor Inn1 High Streetph (03) 5461 3833info@bristolhill.com.auwww.bristolhill.com.au

Room rate for two peopleStandard Room $130/nightFamily (up to 4/5 beds) $155/nightExecutive Room $150/nightSpa Room $175/night

Home Base (ours exclusively for the weekend)

First in Best Dressed, so phone the motel now. Quote Ref: Wolseley Hornet Special Club

Page 4 Hornet Special Newsletter

WHSC OF AUSTRALIA Inc.FINANCIAL RETURN FOR YEAR 1.4.15. TO 31.3.16.RECEIPTS:Subscriptions WHSC of Aust: $1766.00 Subscriptions WHSC of U.K.: $2060.00Payment for Parts UK: $00.00. Sale of Books + post $1038.64Total: $4864.64.Banked: 1.4.15. to 31.3.16: $4864.64.Total: $4864.64.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------PAYMENTS:Newsletter: $512.14Registration Fee: $107.40U.K. Subs & Parts: $1791.89Petty Cash: $25.00 Sundries (website and postage) $245.65 Total: $2682.08.BALANCE:Bank Balance @ 1.4.15: $2036.60.Plus Deposits 1.4.15 – 31.3.16. $4864.64.Total: $6901.24. Less Payments: $2682.08.Total: $4219.16.Plus Interest $00.37Total: $4219.53. Plus one cheque not presented $ 64.35. Final Balance: $4283.88.

BANK BALANCE @ 31.3.16: $4283.88.

Balance reconciled: John Ireland, Treasurer WHSC of Aust Inc.1.4.16.

Treasurer’s Report, 2015/2016.WOLSELEY HORNET SPECIAL CLUB of AUSTRALIA Inc.

TREASURER’S REPORT FOR YEAR 1.4.15. TO 31.3.16.A more relaxed year than last – with the book publication – but an increase in members up to around 45 now, with three of our friends in New Zealand joining us and we welcome them to our growing club.

Subs & donations for the year came to $1486.00. Recurring expenses were around $650.00. So we have done well, though this coming year will give a better idea of ongoing costs, and we have to bear in mind that at some point the Newsletter production costs will go up – the Editor has been getting it printed at a very low cost.

Issue 66 Page 5

The fastest Hornet of 1930

The Brisbane Courier, Thursday 24 July 1930, page 9.

WHSCA Website. Due to malicious hacking and despite a lot of work by John Clucas, the WHSCA website has not proved a success to date.

At present the Club is paying $202 p.a. to host the non-existant website, plus $35 p.a. to keep our domain name registered.

Professional hosting of the site to stop the hacking would cost a minimum of $360 for establishment, annual hosting and update costs of $280 and domain name costs of $35.

Do we need the website?

For discussion at the AGM.

Our Hornets have Australian connections by way of Fredrick Wolseley and Herbert Austin.Harry George Hawker was Australian, born at Moorabbin, Victoria. He became chief test pilot for Sopwith and regularly raced cars at Brooklands. Af-ter WWI he formed H. G. Hawker Engineering with Tommy Sopwith (later renamed Hawker Aircraft).

Page 6 Hornet Special Newsletter

Will I be finished by the AGM 2017 (the project started in 2006) – That’s the plan?The complete rebuild of the chas-sis, running gear (except for shock absorbers), brakes, timber frame and the extensive repair of the bodywork is completed and now the painting is finished except for some minor recti-

fication on one mudguard and for the wheels. For those, because a paint second mix may not be a perfect match, I’ll get another 500ml of body colour paint and keep the remaining 200mls of the original mix for future body repairs. The paint is hardening before a light cut and polish, but I’m pretty pleased with it as a first amateur attempt. I found that the cool weather and low humid-ity made the finish coats easier to apply than the undercoat. A section of the original paint was found which could be cut and polished and colour matched by Queensland Paint Supplies. A 1998 Mitubishi colour, Baikal Grey, was a very close match. To get “black” for the guards, I increased the black in the body mix from 40% to 75%.

I’m presently working on the lights and because one headlight glass is broken in two and the other has numerous stress cracks and looks ready to “explode” at any minute, I’ve ordered two new 200mm dia. original U-pattern glasses for £62.00 each from www.gregorysautoparts.co.uk. I thought I’d also order two new 215mm dia. U-pattern glasses for my Sanction 65 (these Specials were not fitted with wire mesh guards), but they’re not available. Peter Baker has refurbished my 3 brush dynamo, but with about 10 amps max charge, I’m looking to convert all lighting, including double filament headlights, to LED from www.dynamoregulatorconversions.com.

I’m presently stripping, staining and varnishing the internal timber trim and trying to recut and reuse the original leathercloth internal lining. Some years ago when heating the aluminium steering wheel boss to remove it from the steel keyed shaft, I burnt a hole in the headlining, so I’m using that to make up the damaged pieces for the internal lining.

The seat leather was too damaged to be reused, so an upholsterer is recovering the original springs with leather (an expense for something that I probably couldn’t do adequately myself).

The chrome is in acceptable condition and will just have to be kept polished (some is showing brass beneath).

Then I’ll refit the wind-up windows and do the electrical wiring.

Progress report on restoration of 1933 Hornet Coupe.

Door hinges and ventilator frames and screws painted.

New firewall and floors with rubber matting as the car would have been originally fitted.

The leathercloth headlining with the burnt hole; to be used to repair interior. The celulose plastic on the steering wheel is highly inflamable with a low ignition temperature and old leathercloth is highly inflamable too.

Issue 66 Page 7

Unfortunately when the body is finished the engine has to come out again to fit the new camshaft from WHSC Spares in the UK and this will almost certainly mean new valves. For the story on this see Newsletter Issue 58 September 2014 “Camshaft Tim-ing for Hornets”.

Also, the engine was originally fitted with the rear bearing oil feed, but this was not refitted at the original engine rebuild because details of how it worked could not be found. Now I know, so this this will be done.

I still haven’t found any original 3” dia. Luvax front shock absorbers, so will just have to rebuild and adapt some Dufor 4” ones from the club spares.

Henry Hancock

Lucas L 140 headlight complete with dipping solenoid. Twin fillament 35w/35w bulbs had been fitted. See a good article on dipping headlight conversion at www.ppowers.com/ddipconv.htm

Headlight glasses. Left with many right-through stress cracks, Right broken.

Light Car Club Relay Race at MaroubraA report in Motor Sport April 1933 of the 100 Miles Relay Race at Maroubra

The Wolseley Hornet Special Club of Australia Inc. (Victoria, No. A0034589S) exists to encourage the preserva-tion and use of Wolseley Hornets, Sports and Specials. The Club and its Committee take no responsibility for the accuracy of this newsletter’s content nor for the consequences of acting upon any information published herein.

Getting from Melbourne (airport) to Maryborough by TrainIf heading to Maryborough by public transport from Tullamarine Airport:

1. Skybus leaves from each Tullamarine terminal (departing every 10 minutes at $19 per head) and taking you straight to Melbourne city’s Southern Cross Railway Station. The usual travel time between Tullamarine Airport and Southern Cross Station is 20 to 30 minutes. However, due to the roadworks going on at Bolte Bridge, please allow 40 to 60 minutes of travel time especially on peak times (approximately 6am to 10am and 3pm to 7pm).

2. According to the current timetable (Aug 24, 2016), a train leaves Southern Cross for Ma-ryborough at 1:17pm, 4:33pm and 4:54pm on weekdays. If catching the 1:17 or 4:54 you will need to change to a coach at Ballarat Station. And if catching the 4:33 you may need to change trains at Ballarat. It will become clear if you look at https://ptv.vic.gov.au/route/view/4871.

The 4:33 would just get you into Maryborough in time for dinner on the Friday night. We can collect you from Maryborough Station and bring you to the motel. After that, the bus will be available all weekend to take everyone around.

The ignition warning light on the car stayed on and on recently. I checked all the usual suspects - oil on the commutator (no), faulty cut-out (no), broken wires (no). So I took the dynamo out (not undertaken lightly on a VD car!), joined the terminals, applied 12v and away she went drawing a nice 3 amps or so - grrrr.

I got out the books and saw that the field connections on the dynamo are connected across the armature terminals. Joe Lucas always gives a terminal for the field connection rather than just fixing it to the main output. This wire goes to a switch in the dash panel which, when I got the panel out, I found that instead of nice shiny brass it was a delightful green, covered in verdigris.

Some work with a small file and copious doses of Electronic Cleaning Fluid cleaned things up and now the light goes out just above idle - previously I had to get quite a speed up before the cut-out closed. These early dynamos had a fixed output - 10 amps in our case to cover the entire lighting and ignition load. If you did an eight hour run in daylight you would pump 80 amp hours into a 40 amp hour battery (already 90% charged) so some means of switching off the dynamo was needed, which Joe placed below the “off” point on the lighting switch - meaning that if you put the lights on you automatically switched the dynamo back onto charge.

Ah Well, keeps you out of the pub. John Ireland

Vertical Dynamo not Charging