Once again, there were only a few of us present for the monthly ABCS meeting - 14, in fact. But while we lacked in sheer numbers, we made it up in fun!
Officers for next year were discussed, but the slate remains incomplete as of this meeting and none of the nominating committee were present. Apparently, there is someone to take over the jobs of Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Newsletter Editor. A President and Drives Chairman are still needed. If you wish to volunteer for either of these jobs, let Ben Bailey know. Jane Ogle, the blessed person who will undertake the newsletter job, advised us that she intended to be simply an EDITOR and will take the articles that we write and put them into a newsletter. It will be up to us to contribute articles for Jane to edit into a newsletter every month.
The new caps had not arrived yet; at least as far as meeting time was concerned. Rich Williams promised us that they are coming. You can place your order anytime by mailing a check for $15 per cap to Al Bradley at the return address on this newsletter. There will be only 2 dozen in this first order, so supplies will be limited.
The next meeting on December 14 will be the annual Christmas Party. The usual craziness will prevail where everyone opens a package and then everyone else grabs it. This unorthodox method of gift distribution always makes for lots of fun.
Richard Williams mentioned that there was word of a trust fund being established for Joe Bowman's daughter, Jane Snyder Bowman, by Joe's brother. Members who are interested can contact Richard. Richard also reminded us to get photos of our cars for the club's web site.
Richard then moved right into his 'show and tell' item. He produced an item replated by Tri-City Plating. This was a now beautiful bumper overrider that Herren Floyd brought to a previous meeting for inspection. The overrider that was returned to Herren at this meeting was gorgeous. They do good work over there!
Randall Thomas brought in an item that wasn't auto-related but that was British. This was a water bottle used by British Troops in the African desert campaigns of WW II.
Carl Floyd had a Newsletter from the MG-V8 club and showed a Buick "Dual Path" transmission that was attached to the V8 engine that's going into his MGB. This 2 forward speed unit is most interesting and unusual in that it is air cooled.
Herren Floyd showed and discussed a chrome wire wheel from a set of 4 that he had purchased recently and that is causing trouble with damaging inner tubes. Several theories were discussed as to why this is happening.
Conversion Kit Available
Condensed by Allen Calcote
from an article by Don Harmer in
The Southeastern MG T Register.
New for your MG:
A new 5-speed transmission conversion kit for MGs is now available from Autogear. The kit allows a bolt-on replacement of the original four-speed gear box with a quieter, modern Ford Sierra 5-speed gearbox without requiring any modification to the car body or frame. Even the gearshift lever is in the precise original location.
The five ratios are almost identical to the five ratios available with the MG-B 4-speed plus OD gearbox arrangement.
Included in the kit are a transmission and all parts necessary to fit the unit to your MG TD, TF, A, or MG-B. Kits are being imported by Atlanta Imported Auto Parts.
The Sierra gearbox has crisp shifting, better synchros, and is smaller and quieter than the MG gearbox. Since no modifications to the car are necessary, the conversion is reversible. The kit provides an attractive alternative to adding an OD or changing rear end ratios.
An Open Letter to the Membership: by David Logan, ABCS member
A year or so ago my son-in-law stumbled across an internet address for a company in England that specialises in replacement parts for Triumph roadsters. He sent me the address and I checked it out; asking for a catalog. I received that very nearly by return mail and found some parts therein that I had never seen in American vendor's catalogs.
Last summer my wife and I visited Britain (I was in Birmingham for a conference and we took several days on each end to sight-see) and along the way we visited the Rimmer Brothers in Lincoln. They were great! They showed us through the warehouse (they call it "Triumph House") and helped me pick out the part I needed (that three foot section of the rear frame that usually rusts out on TR-6s). I arranged to have it shipped to our Elizabethton address and it now sits proudly on the garage floor awaiting its master's next burst of mechanical energy.
While there we browsed through their "museum" of Triumphs. These are splendidly well restored automobiles, a delight to see. Today, I received their new pricelist, with which was a flier concerning the sale of the museum collection. I thought our members might be interested in the sort of prices these vehicles are expected to fetch in England.
The flier doesn't include the e-mail and web addresses, so here they are:
http://www.rimmerbros.co.uk
Good driving, David Logan
[Editor's note: a copy of the sale brochure that David sent along with his letter is enclosed. Further, the editor wishes to thank Mr. Logan both for his contribution and for the fact that he no longer needed to write an editorial comment.]
HAPPY HOLIDAYS to you!
Past Newsletters
November 2000
October 2000
September 2000
August 2000
July 2000
June 2000
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
Past Meetings
May 2000
April 2000
March 2000
February 2000
January 2000
December '99
November '99
October '99
September '99
August '99
July '99
June '99
May '99
April '99
March '99
February '99
January '99
December '98
November '98
October '98
September '98
August '98
July '98
June '98
May '98
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