Spring Meeting – Sunday May 1st

The Spring 2011 meeting of the VBCC was held at Debbie and Neil Coleman’s lovely house in Peterborough. The meeting was preceded by a run out to Keene – a little cool but no rain, and there was a good turn-out of more than 20 cars. It’s amazing how many of these old girls are running at the beginning of the season!

There was an excellent turnout for the meeting- 54 members - which was held indoors, and which gave us a chance to see the great renovations that have taken place in this lovely old farmhouse. The catered food was delicious featuring roast chicken , and there were lots of extras by way of appetizers and desserts. It was hard to decide what to eat, and everyone seemed glad to chat about the winter and discuss all the important news. Gord Sloan said a thank-you grace for the meal, President Warrant Grant welcomed members back, Roger Hunter gave us a financial overview and introduced a new member – Barry Spear who has a White 1979 MGB - and Ken Inglis updated us on Brits for this year.

Roger has produced a new club Membership List for 2011, again arranged by car colour, so contact him if you have changed your vehicle (or painted it)! The President thanked Debbie and Neil for opening their house to us all, and organizing everything so well.

(for more pictures from the run and the meeting, check out the VBCC website for Brian Glassford ‘s photos and Tim Hall’s photos at picasawebalbums 2011-05-03)

From the minutes the following items were discussed:

Roger explained the treasurer's report which was accepted. We still have a healthy reserve for that “rainy day” that haunts most non-profit clubs but which in our case is very literal – a rained-out Brits would probably eat up some of the reserve. Membership in 2011 is 58 members compared to 54 in 2010.

Great advertising for Brits! Ken encouraged people to get involved and volunteer to help out at Brits – contact the committee heads with your offers.

Helen Fowler contacted Moss Motors and they are supplying some prizes.

To commemorate his 80^th birthday, Doug Fowler was presented with a steering wheel for his MG TF, which he is currently restoring.

It was decided that those people who organized a car run

would get $50.00 towards gas for their planning trips.

It was stated again that Ron sends out an e-mail to remind everyone of upcoming events just before deadlines, so if you are not getting these you should let Ron know and check that he has the correct e-mail for you.

Website

Check out the website for news and let Ron Hunter know by phone or e-mail if you have news or information for the website. Don’t forget to go to the site later in the month to check out the June run.

Photo Contest:

Jim Hancock will again run this event. Remember, there are prizes for each of the following categories:

Best Car Photo

Best Landscape Photo

Most Humourous Photo (must include a caption)

Club insignia

Members are reminded that they can have the club logo and their name embroidered on any item of clothing

at Mark’s Work Warehouse in Peterborough for about $7.

Roger Hunter has club decals and magnetic name badges of various kinds – call him if you would like one.

Membership reminder

If you have recently received the invoice for your 2011 membership, we would appreciate your early attention to sending in the payment, if you haven’t already done so. If for some reason you are not able to renew again, we would appreciate knowing this as we we pay a liability insurance premium which is based upon the number of paid up members on our register. Thank you so much, Roger Hunter

June 5 Car Run Don & Leslie Collins

June 19 Mosport Roy & Pat Smith

July 17 Brits in the Park

July 24 Car Run Frank & Pauline DeCarlo

Aug. 21 Fowler's Golf Tournament

Sept 18 Bronte

Oct 2 Fall Car Run Jane & Bob Ellis

Nov 6 Fall AGM Warren & Pat Grant

Non-club events

April 24/10 Boots & Bonnets Kingston (Dennis Horne)

July 16/10 Run by Headwaters British Car Club ending at Brits

Aug 07/11 Brits on the Lake

Sept 18/11 Bronte British car day

Oct 8/11 Lindsay to Brighton Run

(All these events have links on the website for further information and some will tie in with our runs)

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We have reserved 10 rooms that are on a first come basis and the reservation is required by

August 1, 2011. A $100.00 deposit per person is required when reservations are made. One night’s accommodation will be billed to your credit card if cancellations are made after August 15.

To book your reservation please call the resort at 1-800-461-0243 and refer to the Victoria British Car Club weekend of September 9, 2011.

Our intention is to have a drive organized for Saturday and the choice of an extended drive or return to the Resort to enjoy their facilities.

Your Organizing Team

Sue, Pat, Tim and Warren

(Sue and Tim Hall and Pat and Warren Grant have kindly agreed to step in and arrange another trip to Sparrow lake since our original Overnighter planner, Bob Gardner, is unwell

Something for the British Car Lover’s Bucket List

At least once in a lifetime, British car lovers should consider attending the British Invasion in Stowe Vermont. Pauline and I have attended at least four of these events over the years and have thoroughly enjoyed them. The venue of Stowe Vermont in mid-September is spectacular and the show attracts enthusiasts from Ontario, Quebec, the Maritimes, and of course all of the north east of United States. At one recent event where Morgan was the Marque of the show Morgans from as far away as California made the trek and picked up many more Morgans all across the United States, arriving with 35 cars. The average attendance is between 650 and 700 cars, trucks and motorcycles of all marques.

Pauline and I plan on attending the show this year which runs from September 16th to 18th. For some, the distance may be daunting as it is 400 miles or 650 KMs one way. For us, the adventure is in the trip itself and we take a few days to get there. We like to stop in Lake Placid on the way down which is a great destination itself. I am sharing this information for you to ponder but not with the intent of organizing a convoy of VBCC members. However, if any of you are contemplating this trip and want to get more details, do not hesitate to contact me at: frank.decarlo9259@gmail.com

Here is the link to the website for all the details: http://www.britishinvasion.com/index.html

Frank and Pauline DeCarlo

I was just 17, and after recovering from a serious motorcycle accident, I started to look around for my first car. My brother found me a cheap used 1937 Morris 12 for the sum of ₤5, over a week’s wages for an apprentice in those days. It was not a glamorous looking car, but it ran well, so I bought it. It even had an early form of cruise control, which was basically a knob on the dash that you wound out, which was attached to the throttle linkage, thereby setting the speed. The only problem with this was when you wanted to stop. You had to be prepared to put the clutch in and wind the knob as fast as possible to lower the rpm while the engine was racing.

The upholstery was real leather and in very good condition, but the paintwork was a faded maroon color. So, my best friend’s father got me some cheap rusty brown paint from his workplace, and we both set about painting it one afternoon by hand with brushes. We had nowhere to do the job except in the street, and as cars drove by in busy London, the dust and grit stuck to the wet paint, but we didn’t care because it looked shiny!

The car’s only flaw was a recurring problem with the electric fuel pump, which was situated under the hood by the firewall. This would occasionally stick and the car would stutter as it ran out of fuel. Our cure was to bang the steel dash with the handle of a screw-driver which got the fuel pump working again. We got so used to doing it that it became second nature, and I drove the car like that for a year. The idea of fixing it never occurred to us, since the screwdriver worked so well.

Once I had a car, I became the main transport to work for my fellow apprentices. One morning we were late as usual, and I took a corner faster than normal, only to be confronted with a furniture van parked in the middle of road, which I promptly rear-ended. After being told off in no uncertain terms by the driver of the van, we managed to park the car and inspected the damage at lunch-time. We were able to beat one of the front wings out and straighten the bumper so that the car was drivable. Luckily, no mechanical damage had occurred, but I couldn’t afford to pay for the repairs it needed. So after a month or so I sold the car to another apprentice for the sum of ₤5, and that included the fuel-pump screwdriver and instructions how to use it. He drove the car as long as I can remember after his father repaired the damage, and I went back to motorcycling for a while.

He later told me he sold the car again for - you guessed it - ₤5.

Tech Tips

Want to remove paint without all the mess? Try oven cleaner, it removes paint without damaging the underneath surface. I recently used it to remove painted- on lettering from the sides of my enclosed trailer. I bought a good quality oven cleaner and sprayed it on one line at a time starting from the top. After leaving it to work for 10-15 minutes, I wiped it off with a wet cloth until the paint was gone.

After washing the sides with soapy water, the original painted surface was untouched. This works a treat and without all the mess that goes with paint strippers.

Racing News

Formula 1 Vettel and red bull racing are off to a good start and Mark Webber drove an inspiring race in China to finish third. Button and Hamilton are very competitive and the Mclaren looks to be a good car. Ferarri are struggling at the moment with Masse out qualifying Alonso. Let’s hope the season is as good as last year.

Moto GP. Pedroza on Honda,Lorenzo Yamaha, Stoner Honda and Rossi on Ducati lead the championship as of now.

World rally Car. Sebastion Loeb is ahead with 74 points.

Mosport: Organized by the Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC), this annual historic auto racing event features beautifully restored cars from the past 50 years of motorsports. This year’s event boasts two exciting racing features, ‘The Cars of Italy’ for popular marques such as Alfa Romero, Fiat, Ferrari and Maserati and ‘Those Amazing Porsches’.

Exciting racing and just on our doorstep!

Once more the club will be driving to the VARAC Car Show at Mosport as a group and parking together to watch the races and check out the cars. The date is Sunday June 19^th.The cost will be $20.00 again, and we will get a chance to lap the track during the lunch break. All those from Peterborough area interested in driving together should meet up in the Tim Horton’s car park at Brookdale Plaza at 9:00, and we will pick up any Lindsay contingent members in Pontypool as usual.

For further information, call me (Roy Smith) at 705-748-5964.

Final Word

Eileen and her husband Bob went for counselling after 25 years of marriage.
When asked what the problem was, Eileen went into a passionate, painful tirade listing every problem they had ever had in the 25 years they had been married.

She went on and on and on: neglect, lack of intimacy, emptiness, loneliness, feeling unloved and unlovable, an entire laundry list of unmet needs she had endured over the course of their marriage.

Finally, after allowing this to go on for a sufficient length of time, the therapist got up, walked around the desk and after asking Eileen to stand, embraced her, unbuttoned her blouse and bra, put his hands on her breasts and massaged them thoroughly, while kissing her passionately as her husband Bob watched with a raised eyebrow!

Eileen shut up, buttoned up her blouse, and quietly sat down while basking in the glow of being highly aroused.

The therapist turned to Bob and said, 'This is what your wife needs at least three times a week. Can you do this?'

Bob thought for a moment and replied, 'Well, I can drop her off here on Mondays and Wednesdays, but on Fridays, I work on my British Car.