December 2006 No. 273 Mascot · Bath and surrounding areas members welcome. Contact Alan Lo on...
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Mascot December 2006 No. 273 www.mgcars.org/midgetspriteclub The Magazine of the Midget & Sprite Club
Transcript of December 2006 No. 273 Mascot · Bath and surrounding areas members welcome. Contact Alan Lo on...
Mascot
December 2006 No. 273
www.mgcars.org/midgetspriteclub
The Magazine
of the
Midget & Sprite
Club
THE WHO, THE WHAT & THE WHERE of THE MIDGET & SPRITE CLUB
COMMITTEE
CHAIRPERSON Bill Mohan, Tel: 0121 353 7211 or mobile 0798 461 6371email: [email protected]
GENERAL SECRETARY Terry Horler, 63 Littledean, Yate, Bristol, BS37 8UQ. Tel: 01454 881770TREASURER Anita Lachowicz, 5 Park Grove, Knaresborough, Yorks. HG5 9ET.
Tel: 01423 862738 Mobile: 07720 725429 email: [email protected] John Platt, 2 Pear Tree Gardens, Bearley Road, Aston Cantlow, Henley-in-Arden, Warks.
B95 6HT Tel: 01789 488321 email: [email protected] EDITOR Barry Lowe, email: [email protected]
Tel: 01943 608900 10am to 9pm, UK timeWEBMASTER Toby Anscombe, 46 Carolina Close, Stratford, London, E15 1JR
email: [email protected] MEMBER Martin Ellis, 22 Dartmouth Mews, Morley, Leeds. LS27 0UA. Tel: 0113 2049126
email: [email protected] MEMBER Gary Lazarus, 40B Hungerford Road, London, N7 9LP. Tel: 0207700 5696
email: [email protected] MEMBER Alan Lo, 23 Charnell Road, Staple Hill, Bristol, BS16 5NE. Tel: 01179 572 617
email: [email protected]
OFFICERS
CLUB ARCHIVIST Terry Horler, 63 Littledean, Yate, Bristol, BS37 8UQ. Tel: 01454 881770TECHNICAL ADVISER VacantEVENTS CO-ORDINATOR VacantMEMBERS ADVERTISING Alan Lo, Tel: 0117 9572617 Mob: 0775 3867806 email: [email protected] ASSISTANCE David Hill, Llyserfan, Beulah, Newcastle Emlyn, Ceredigion. SA38 9QB. Tel: 01239 811307CO-ORDINATOR email: [email protected] HANDLING Dave Symes, email: [email protected] ADVERTISING Gary Lazarus, 40B Hungerford Road, London, N7 9LP. Tel: 020 7700 5696.
email: [email protected]
Trade Advertising Rates For current rates please contact Gary Lazarus.
AREA REPRESENTATIVES
BRISTOL Alan Lo, Tel: 0117 9572617 Mob: 0775 3867806 email: [email protected] David Dixon, Tel: 01733 222810 email: [email protected] VacantDORSET Pete Downton, Tel: 01202 515544
Bryan Fox, Tel: 01202 683842 home, 01202 674017 workemail: [email protected]
HAMPSHIRE Terry Langridge, Tel: 01252 626063email: [email protected]
HOME COUNTIES Chris Jackson, Tel: 01707 261567 [email protected] WEST or Mark Hall, Tel: 01296 660103 [email protected]
KENT Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050 email: [email protected] Brian Sumner, Tel: 01507 328128 email: [email protected] Gary Lazarus, Tel: 020 7700 5696 email: [email protected] STAFFS & Bill Mohan, Tel: 0121 353 7211 or mobile: 0798 461 6371 email: [email protected] BIRMINGHAMCENTRAL SCOTLAND Carson Thomson, Tel: 0141 245 6327 day or 013606 22334 evening
email: [email protected] WEST Les & Diane Robinson, Tel: 01772 432138 email: [email protected] IRELAND Barry Stanage, Tel: 02890 401726 or mobile 07769 705497 or email [email protected]/DERBY Ian Cooke, Tel: 0115 938 3838 email: [email protected] Dave Bearne, Tel: 01823 412004 email: [email protected] David Wright, Tel: 0208 642 4789 email: [email protected] Alan Couch, Tel: 01564 773302
Chris Yates, Tel: 01608 665066 email: [email protected] VacantYORKSHIRE Anita Lachowicz, Tel: 01423 862738 or mobile: 07720 725429 email: [email protected]
Also see the Club Nights section on page 3 for new areas and contacts.
Compiled by David Hill. Please advise me of any changes, errors etc.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: IF YOU EXPERIENCE ‘MASCOT’ PROBLEMS UPON RENEWAL, PLEASE CONTACTTHE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY OR THE TREASURER STRAIGHT AWAY. The Committee
© Midget & Sprite Club
Printed by Quorum Print Services Ltd, Unit 3, Lansdown Industrial Estate, Cheltenham, Glos GL51 8PL. Tel: 01242 584984 Fax: 01242 527634
E-mail: [email protected]
Wheelnut
First of all I would like to say just a few words about the sad loss of Ian Rider. UnfortunatelyI never had a chance to meet Ian personally, as in these first three months of my Editorialjob our contact had been limited to just email and phone. He was always very supportive
and we got on very well. I know he will be greatly missed. Our sincere condolences go to hisfamily. My colleagues, Bill and Terry, have also written a few words about Ian in this issue.Well, this is my Third edition of MASCOT, and judging from all the extremely positive and kindwords of support, I must be doing something right! I was particularly pleased to receive themany positive comments about the November issue, especially highlighting the stunning articleon the Ecurie Ecosse Sprite. Even in B & W the photographs came out superbly and it is verygratifying that a magazine of the magnitude of Classic & Sports Car, recognises the influence ofMASC by allowing us to re-print the article in full. (If you come across any more Spridgetyarticles in your other monthly reads, please let me know and I’ll contact the publicationconcerned). Glad you all enjoyed the November issue. I do realise it’s somewhat impossible tosatisfy everyone all of the time, but to at least satisfy most people most of the time is.By the time you read this it will be December, and Christmas will be just around the corner. Inthis month’s bumper edition you’ll find the very interesting article on Bob Tooke’s EFi system onhis 1500; a special report on the MASC involvement at the Classic Car Show at the NEC inOctober and a record number of Area Reports (13). There’s a break in the tradition of recentyears, as the colour content (for the December issue) has been dropped (boo-hoo) in favour ofproducing a JANUARY edition (hurrah!). Yes, you’ll now be getting 12 issues instead of theusual 11 ... bonus time! Who knows, maybe this time next year, we’ll be able to offer 12 issuesAND some colour ... who knows? A January issue does have its implications of course.Schedules are very tight because of the holiday period and as a result, for the January editiononly, the deadline does have to be even earlier ... but only by a couple of days. I ’m sure you’llunderstand why this has to be so and will really appreciate a MASCOT dropping on your mat inearly January. So PLEASE can youensure that all contributions arewith me before MIDDAY 10thDECEMBER. Let’s be hearingabout all those restorationprojects/upgrades/repairs whichyou’re embarking upon – we’d alllike to read about them.Have a safe and Happy Christmas!Barry
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All articles and photographs for the magazine must be received by the first of themonth preceding publication. Articles submitted for publication should be e-mailed tothe editor if possible or on disc accompanied by hard copy. Members should beadvised that pictures will be returned the month after inclusion in MASCOT. Photos willonly be returned if supplied with a SAE.
The statements and opinions expressed in each and every issue of the MASCOT arenot necessarily the considered views of the Midget and Sprite Club. The viewsexpressed by the editorial contributors, letter writers and advertisers are their ownand do not necessarily reflect the view of the Club. The Midget and Sprite Clubaccepts no responsibility for the results of following contributor’s advice, nor does itnecessarily endorse the services or products offered by advertisers.
Front cover picture: Jeremy Cogman’s snowy Sprite MkII
Club Nights1st Monday London Area (Congestion Zone) – Meet at The Mulberry Bush Pub,
Southwark (200 metres or so East of the London Eye) 7:30pm. Alsogenerally meet at the Ace Café on 2nd Tuesday together with the ClassicCars Magazine night. Details: Gary Lazarus on 020 7700 [email protected]
1st Wednesday Wiltshire – Meet at The Forresters, Leigh, near Cricklade.1st Wednesday South Staffs & Birmingham – Meet at the The Green Man, Middleton
Village, 8.30-8.45pm1st Thursday Lincolnshire Area – Meet at The White Hart, Lissington, nr. Wragby.
8pm. Contact Brian Sumner on 01507 328128 [email protected] Thursday Notts/Derby border Area – (note change of day) at the Sitwell Arms
near Horsley Woodhouse from approx. 8.30. Just a mile north-west of theA608/A609 crossroads. Ian Cooke 0115 938 3838 [email protected]
1st Thursday Yorkshire Area – Special Meeting December 2nd, Meet in car park ofThe Gait Inn, Millington, Nr. Pocklington, YO42 1TX, Tel: 01759 302045at 11am. Short drive through Yorks Wolds and returning to The Gait Innfor lunch at 1:30pm. Call Anita on 01423 862738 or 07720 725429email [email protected]
2nd Wednesday Warwickshire – Meet at The Green Dragon, The Green, Sambourne,Reddich, B96 6NU, at 8.30pm as usual.
2nd Wednesday North West Area – meet at The Kilton, turn off M6 at Jct 20 onto A50towards Macclesfield. Pub 4 miles on left. Please note new venue.
2nd Wednesday Bristol Area will meet at The Star, Pucklechurch at 8pm. All Bristol,Bath and surrounding areas members welcome. Contact Alan Lo on01179 572617 email: [email protected]
2nd Thursday Cambridgeshire – Meet at The Mad Cat pub in Pidley Village, midwaybetween Huntingdon and Chatteris, 8pm
3rd Monday Dorset – Meet at St. Peter’s Finger, Lytchett Minster, Poole 7.30pm3rd Tuesday Central Scotland – Meet at The Garfield Hotel, Stepps, East
Dunbartonshire. 7:30pm in the Lounge. Check first with Carson on0141-245-6327 day or 013606-22334 evening.
3rd Tuesday Surrey – Meet at The Blue Ball, Walton-on-the-Hill, 7.45pm onwards.Contact Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 [email protected]
3rd Thursday Northern Ireland – Venue to be decided. Please contact Barry Stanage on02890 401726 or mobile 07769 705497 or [email protected]
4th Thursday Hampshire – Meet at The Poacher, South Warnborough. Note Changeof Venue. Please ring Terry or Harriet Langridge on 01252 626063 fordetails.
Last Thursday Somerset – Meet at The Lord Nelson, Norton-sub- Hamdon. 8.00pmOccasional Home Counties North West for members in Herts, Bucks, Berks,Meetings N. London or anyone interested! Please contact Chris Jackson
Tel: 01707 261567 or Mark Hall, Tel: 01296 660103Occasional Kent Area – Please contact Alan for the next meeting details. Contact Alan
Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050.
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Club WebsiteMembers Only pages for December
User name: spridget Password: heaven
EventsFrom David Hill and Webmaster Toby Anscombe
Events organised for 2006DecemberSaturday 2nd Yorkshire Area Run and lunch. Meet at 11am at The Gait Inn, Millington,
Nr. Pocklington, YO42 1TX. Short run through the Yorks Wolds then lunchback at The Gait Inn. More details contact Anita on 01423 862738
Sunday 10th Cambridgeshire Area Christmas Lunch will be held at the George & Dragonat Elsworth, 12:30pm Details from Dave Dixon on 01733 222810
Wednesday 13th Warwickshire Area’s Christmas Dinner at The Green Dragon. details fromChris and Sheila Yates, Tel: 01608 665066.
Monday 18th Dorset Area’s Christmas Dinner at St. Peter’s Finger, Lytchett Minster,Poole at 7.30pm. Contact Bryan Fox, Tel: 01202 683842 or Email:[email protected]
Tuesday 19th Surrey Area’s Christmas Dinner. Details from David Wright,Tel: 0208 642 4789 or email: [email protected]
Events organised so far for 2007MaySunday 27th Dorset Area are going to MGs at Kingston Lacey, near Wimborne. Details
from Bryan Fox, 01202 683842 or email:[email protected]
Area Reps please let David Hill (email: [email protected])have confirmed dates for new events asap.
Remember there are Club Night Natters throughout the year andthat area events are also open to members from other areas!
Please also note that the above lists only M&SC events or events where we havea presence or an interest. General classic events are listed in the classic press.
Mutual Assistance Directory
Well, the only good thing aboutDecember for me is Christmas.Otherwise it is usually a dreary month
with short days and usually miserableweather. The problem for me is that even ifthe day is nice I don’t like to take the Midgetout as there is probably salt on the roads andthat is the last thing I want getting into thenooks and crannies under the car. Still,Christmas is good and just think of all thelovely Spridgety pressies you will get! I amlooking forward to the spring and summer andto getting out and about again in the Midget.
Don’t forget, if you don’t carry your copy of theMutual Assistance Directory and you wouldlike a copy you can download it from themembers only section of our website.However, if you do not have access to theweb or don’t know someone who does, I willprint off a copy and send it to you. Pleaseremember that it is constantly updated so tobe up to date, download it at least everymonth.
David Hill
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Rambling to the AGM
Before I mention the AGM, it is a sad andpainful task to report that Ian Rider haspassed away. Ian made me feel very
welcome at the visit to the Heritage factorythis summer and was a fine, friendly man. Hispassing is a great shock to me. Bless you Ian.
I want to thank all who made the trek to Geeand Co for the AGM. A very interestingmeeting in a different room from the one weused for the last three years. Much morespace, we could have made room for manymore of you!
Whilst I await the written minutes I would liketo announce that at the committee meetingwhich preceded the AGM we were proud toaward an annually recurring lifetime HonoraryMembership to Nigel Williams, in recognitionof the 23 years of dedicated service he hasput in to the club since it was started. Inaddition to his familiar role as MembershipSecretary Nigel also performed miraclesoperating the club’s stand at many shows overthe years and also undertook many othertasks. This club owes him so much and more
that the committee was wholehearted insupporting my motion.
We were invited to participate in the Birthdaycelebrations for the 50th birthday of theAustin-Healey Sprite (and also in time, theMG Midget) by Steve Clark. After Steve’sthorough explanation of the hard work alreadyundertaken the AGM voted unanimously tosupport the affair and Steve was asked to stayat the helm of the steering committee, whichhe has agreed to do. The Heritage Museum atGaydon will focus our efforts and during thefestivities on the Saturday all the cars on aconcurrent event, a John o’Groats to LandsEnd run, will join us at Gaydon en route.
The new committee were introduced to themembership and we set out to make 2006/7a momentous year.
So, less Rambling than usual but far morefocussed. Please keep advising us with whatyou want from the club, our job is to provideall we can for you.
Chairman Bill
Secetarial Scribblings
Firstly, my apologies for not attending theAGM or pre-meeting committee meeting.I am now up to speed thanks to the
prompt production of the minutes byRosemary Couch. Should any membersrequire a copy of the AGM minutes, eithercontact Chairperson Bill for an electronictransfer, or yours truly with an A5 SAE if youare still firmly ensconced in the period of timethat our favourite cars come from!
I am very pleased to see Nigel Williams beingawarded a Lifelong Honorary Membership ofthe club. Nigel was a co-founder of the cluband Membership Secretary for the first 23years. Without Nigel, we would never havethe club we enjoy today. It is the very least wecan do for Nigel. Also, outgoing editor, MikeNorth is awarded Honorary Membership forhis 6 years at the helm of MASCOT. Mike sawsome difficult times in this role and it isthanks to his professionalism and dedication
that most members were unaware that thingssometimes fell apart in the engine room.
Mike handed over the good ship MASCOT infine fettle but now new icebergs need to benegotiated around. Editors of yore were oftenfaced with a lack of material to work from,frequent phone calls to the Secretarial abode“Help, send some padding” became the wayof life for TH. Eventually, we built up a stockof ‘padding’ that editors could draw from whenthere were areas of white to fill. Now, the tidehas changed, we have a wealth of materialcoming in each month (Good news). Troubleis, MASCOT does not have the space atpresent to use it all (Bad news). True, somearticles can be held over, but topical materialmost certainly cannot (Dilemma). Hence ournew editor, Barry Lowe, is having to live up tohis title – and Edit. Dangerous waters as ofcourse, all contributions to MASCOT are verywelcome and valued. The obvious answer is
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to make MASCOT bigger (Good news) but wedon’t have the budget to do this at present(Bad news). The option of going to smallerprint is not favoured by us older memberswith failing eyesight. MASCOT has twosources of income, Trade Advertising and alarge slice of our subscription rates. Already,we are amending our Trade Advertising ratesto be more in keeping with our current needsand worth of MASCOT. The other bit we needto consider very carefully. So for now, thegood ship MASCOT is limited to its presentTonnage. My view is that we are going toweather the storms when the new seasonkicks off. We have more areas doing morethings (Very good news), all of which deservetheir fair berthing space in MASCOT’s limitedholds (Is this getting just a bit too nautical?)So, are we going to have a bit of a problemyou may be thinking – well, yes. It’s a goodproblem, we are having too much of a goodthing to deal with rather than too little. Thecrux is that until we have fully considered allthe options, our editor is having some difficult
decisions to make in order to keep MASCOTon course. We all know that we cannot pleaseall of the people all of the time, trying toproduce MASCOT with the right balance ofnews and articles, on time, within budget andtrying not to upset anyone, is a very difficulttask. We need to find solutions toaccommodate a growingly active club, yourcommittee are on the case to do the rightthing and of course, welcome your input.
And finally, we wish a very happy retirementto our long standing Surrey area organiser,David Wright. David has represented theSurrey area for more years than within thisMillennium, certainly dating way back into thelast century, and can be very proud of his longand successful service to his area. Rumourhas it; he needs the time to count hiscollection of model vehicles. Thanks for allthat you have done David, have a very happyretirement – sorry, no club clock though!
Terry Horler
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Letters to the EditorWhat Do You Want For Christmas?
Dear EditorHi, I have only been a member for a few months; my membership number is 3752. So far Ihave not managed to get to any local meetings but I met the crew who manned the recentClassic Motor Show at Birmingham. They of course had the best stand in my opinion. I thoughtthe following may be of interest and possibly worthy of your excellent magazine.Please find attached a piccie of my 1966 Sprite outside our local Marks and Spencer in Perthon a Saturday afternoon with balloons attached. How did it get there? Well my daughter worksfor M&S and she was organising a special Christmas theme entitled “What do you want forChristmas” and had been promised by the local Audi dealership a brand new Audi TT to bedisplayed outside the store with helium filled balloons with this theme printed thereon. Theyalso had James Bond themed events in-store.I was at home thinking about checking the anti-freeze in my Sprite’s engine when my daughterphoned me to tell me the Audi dealership had let them down at last minute and wondered if Icould give them a loan of my Sprite for the afternoon. Of course I obliged and when I picked mycar up later in the afternoon, I was told that lots of people had been very interested in the carand thought it looked great. I think so too and was well chuffed to think that one of the mostsuccessful companies in the UK decided to dump Audi and James Bond’s Aston Martin for anAustin Healey Sprite. Incidentally a woman from the Audi dealership called at the store thatafternoon and when she saw my Sprite appeared very interested and asked my daughter whatthe mileage on it was. Obviously she must have thought it was a new model from one theircompetitors BMW, Ferrari, Jaguar etc. All the best for the New Year,Donald Campbell(yes it is my real name and no I am not related to a certain record breaking chappie!) KGO 181D
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Frogeye Hardtop ConundrumDear BarryDoes anyone recognise this hardtop?Having finally restored my Frogeye, renovation workhas now started on the hardtop I bought for £10,25 years ago.Although it is similar to the BMC works version, theshape of the back window, which is plastic not glass,is different. Also, unlike the original, this roof is notsecured to the windscreen frame with chromed overcentre catches, but with a pair of hooked bracketsmade from 2cm wide aluminium, which fit inmoulded recesses at the front of the hardtop. Each ofthese is secured by a coarse threaded bolt – on theoutside this has a knurled edge brass disc, about thediameter of a one pence piece, stamped “2D30”.Inside there is a wing nut; adjustment is by a 2cmslot in the bracket.Are these fixings original or has someone made them up to replace some that were lost? Inaddition, there are aluminium moulding drip rails (gutters) around each side screen aperture.If anyone out there can identify the manufacturer or knows the original colours it would havebeen inside and out, please give me a call on 01892 862656. Many thanksJohn Baggott
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CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS
The Warwickshire group organised theMASC stand at the NEC for this yearsClassic Motor Show. This year we
agonised about how many cars to show butfinally decided upon 3 as we know that mostpeople appreciate space to look around andalso as we do not have walls or chain linkfences unlike other clubs, we feel it creates aninviting and more friendly atmosphere.
This year by popular demand we againshowed Stuart Gunn’s fabulous V8 FWDMidget. This car really excites everyone andStuart finds himself talking about it throughoutthe show. On one occasion we actually senthim away to have a look round and foundpeople waiting for him to return.
Also on show was the Sebring Sprite Replicaof Martin Ingall who generouslybrought it all the way up fromKent. Martin had recentlycompeted in the car at “The Circuitdes Remparts” street race inFrance during September and itreally looked the part still in itsracing regalia. The third carcreating lots of interest was thesectioned Midget originallyprepared by BMC in the 60’s fordealer display and came on loanfrom The Patrick Foundation.
As usual it was an absolutepleasure for us to meet so manymembers and talk about ourfavourite cars for 3 days. We soldlots of regalia and gave out plentyof membership forms. ChairpersonBill was on hand during Saturdayto host his traditional BulletinBoard invasion and also Alan
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MASC at the Classic Motor Show 2006
V8 engine bay
Jones giving out details of his “Le Jogle” in2008. Sounds quite a trip in prospect. Muchinterest in the flyers for the Spridget 50thBirthday Party 2008, with many restorationprojects promised for completion for thisevent.
Clubman of the year awardmust go to Alan Ansteadwho finding himself doublebooked on holiday in Budemade the 4 hour driveeach way to be with us,after much persuasionfollowing a lengthy threadon the Bulletin Board.
Thanks go to Chris Yatesand Alan Couch forsupport setting up, DaveParker for gazebo, RoyCole and Andy Smith fortransporting the sectionedcar. The display carowners Martin Ingall andStuart Gunn. Gary Lazarusfor badges and all theGuys and Gals fromWarwickshire who give up
their time to man the stand – Thank you allvery much.
We are already planning next years show.Which cars to display? – answers on apostcard.
John Platt
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Martin Ingall’s Sebring
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Fast and Furious Street Racingat Angouleme
Sebring (JJO) comes 8th in GT Tourisme Speciale
Twenty three years since I last competedin an actual race, I took to the track oncemore at the Circuit des Remparts,
Angouleme in France in September, drivingmy Sebring Sprite coupe, 946 JJO. It waswith some trepidation that we trailered the cardown to stay with friends in Champniers,having seen only a sketch map of the circuitand a few photographs on the ‘net’. I did notknow what race I was entered in and found Iwas among mainly saloon cars which included2 Mini-Cooper S’s, 2 Lotus Cortinas, aquick-looking Mk1 Escort, a 2.6 Capri, severalAlfa Guilias, and a Volvo Amazon. The onlyother sports car was an Alpine-Renault A101which hit a kerb on the second lap of practicebending the chassis beyond immediate repair.
Practice went well with me delighting in theadhesion of my new Yokohama AO48Rs onwide wire wheels, and the brakes proved upto it as well. I had put my 4.55 diff in hopingthat I might get around each of the 3 hairpinbends in 2nd, but this was not to be. So itwas a question of double de-clutching into1st, three times on every lap! I managed tocome 12th out of 14 in the 14 lap practicesession. The track is some 0.8 mile long, hasseveral 90 degree bends, a sort-of straightplus the 3 hairpins.
The race didn’t take place until 5 in theafternoon by which time a few drops of rainwere threatening, which fortunately held offfor our race. After an initial lap on to the grid,there followed another behind the pace carbefore forming up again. I couldn’t see thestarting flag or light so had to rely on everyoneelse to know when to hit the loud pedal. Intothe first corner was a flurry of metal and thena struggle to get in line for the 90° right,shortly followed by another, then full throttlethrough a blind curve and down the straight tothe 1st hairpin. Here someone got it sidewaysand everyone stopped in a traffic jam. Wesoon got going again, only for this to happenagain on the 2nd lap. I managed to slip insidesome of the quicker cars between hairpins butwas not always able to fend them off on thestraight. One of the Lotus-Cortinas thendropped oil on the entry to hairpin 1 somarshals were trying to put down cementbetween the traffic. A bit later they decided toslow us down with waved yellow flags allround the circuit for 2 laps, followed by agreen and we were off again. The car wasgetting pretty hot, the oil pressure dropping abit, and rather than take top gear for a fewseconds on the straight I was pushing the revsover 8000!
Courtesy of Phil Messelet, la Charente-Libre
Courtesy of Phil Messelet, la Charente-Libre
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As the race went on I was having a great dicewith Michel Deldon in his Alfa Guilia, at one
point getting in front of him for nearly a lapbefore he passed me again accelerating awayover the start line. All came to an end about alap early when the red flag was displayed, oneof the Minis having hit the tyres going into thefirst hairpin (presumably on the oil), the driverunfortunately suffering a broken ankle and thecar severely damaged. We trickled round thefinal lap to the chequered flag. So ended agreat day’s racing for me, coming in 8thposition. Michel came over and shook myhand – he was delighted to have had such agood dice and promptly invited me to ahill-climb in Normandy for next year.
Martin Ingall
MASC Battlefield Trip 2007Thursday 7th June till Sunday 10th JuneFor the Midget and Sprite Club will this trip also be‘A bridge too far’.
The ‘Battlefields’ trip for 2007 will take us toArnhem.
Thursday we meet at Dover to board SpeedFerries Catamaran,from Dover to Boulogne, for a 50 minute Channel Crossing.www.speedferries.com We shall then drive in convoy toArnhem. We shall stay in a Campanile Motel at Zevenaar(www.hotel- traveling.com/hotels/nl/10202/campanile-hotel-4c2-restaurant-zevenaar.html) for threenights.( 205 for two persons sharing room for the three nights– breakfast excluded).
Friday will be spent visiting a War GravesCemetery, Oosterbeek Military AirborneMuseum, and Netherlands Open AirMuseum. There will be no professional tourguide this year so there will have to be acertain amount of improvisation.Saturday can be free to roam either exploringthe town of Arnhem or exploring the roadsand scenery lining the dykes.This will be an easy run for those amongst usunused to Continental travel. I shall havetools, and overalls, and be on hand to copewith any minor breakdowns. Check with yourinsurer or breakdown provider forbreakdown/rescue/ recovery details.Sunday we return to England viaSpeedFerries.Alan. Mail to: [email protected] Tel: 01322-384050For info on Arnhem and the area in general see: www.holland.com/uk
Courtesy of Phil Messelet, la Charente-Libre
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Thanks to: Practical Performance Car magazineReal cars, real tuning, real performance www.ppcmag.co.uk
ObituaryIan Rider
It is with great sadness that I have to reportthe loss of Ian Rider on Wednesday the25th of October.
Ian has been our Wiltshire Area Organiser formany years and also our Trade AdvertisingContact. As well as being a very active Clubmember, Ian also had a passion for ClassicMotorcycles, was a local councillor and ayouth worker. Never stuck for something todo, Ian also had an Austin pickup truck to fillin those odd moments of spare time.
I very clearly remember meeting Ian for thefirst time; this was a spur of the momentdecision to drop in on a Wiltshire area meetingat the Foresters, Cricklade one Wednesdayevening. It was a fine summer’s evening, so Ijust headed off in my Sprite Mk1V for the 30mile journey to Cricklade. Pulling into the car
park, a number of other Spridgley thingsproved that I had found the right place at theright time. Ian must have seen the arrival ofan unfamiliar Sprite and immediately left thegroup to welcome the “stranger”. My firstpriority was the loo (sorry but true) veryshortly, a voice from around the door “Anyonein here looking for the Midget and SpriteClub?”. Ian escorted me to the gathering andintroduced me to the members. Quite simply,Ian was somebody who genuinely cared aboutpeople. It showed to all who knew him, am Iglad that I am one of them.
On behalf of the club, I extend our sincerecondolences to Ian’s family and friends fortheir sad loss.
Terry Horler
Bristol Area Report
Things seem to be picking up; we had awell attended October meeting at theStar at Pucklechurch. I was just at the
point of suggesting we change the venue/date(or both) when suddenly things look up.However, the idea is still there to try anothervenue/date to see if we can do better. Please,we need your opinions Bristol based membersin order to do the right thing. Please contacteither Alan Lo or me if a change would suityou better.
We had one impromptu run in November,although it was not one that we would havewished under the circumstances. Throughout
the summer months, we meet up with ourWiltshire friends at the Vine Tree at Norton –a very pleasant evening run where the Bristoland Wiltshire groups can combine withSpridgley topics. A regular at these eveningswas Ian Rider, who was sadly lost to us onthe 25th of October.
As a mark of respect and pleasant memoriesof Ian, the Bristol branch made a run out tothe Vine Tree on the morning of Sunday the5th of November to raise a glass to Ian and toremember our gatherings there. As sunshinebecomes a rare commodity at this time ofyear, and the morning provided one of those
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rare moments, we also took theopportunity for an end of seasonphoto shoot. Using Andy Cross’sSprite Mk11 and Alan Lo’s MidgetMk1, a few shots were made onroute to the Vine Tree and on thereturn, in Castle Combe village.The cars were almost besieged bythe many tourists still in evidencethis late in the season. Betweensuch comments as “I used to ownone of these”. “How old is this”,
“Are you famous” and “Oi, youcan’t park that old heap theremate”, we did manage a few clearshots of the cars between thecrowds. By contrast, our Novembermeeting was a quieter affair, justfour of us. So back to mycomments at the start of this reportplease.
Terry Horler
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Mildred’s day out
Terry and Alan
Castle Combe
South Staffs and North Brumin Deepest Darkness
I had a cold drive down to Middleton for theclub meeting and when I arrived I put upthe hood in case it “precipitated”. Having
had the tonneau allow me a dose of“wet-b*m” at the AGM I didn’t want any more.
We had a lively chat about the AGM and thenew MASCOT.
All there like the new look which reinforcedtheir comments from last month too. Messageto Barry, keep up the good work.
We have arranged for us to have a Christmasmeal as usual, in the front snug area at theGreen Man. Meeting slightly earlier at eighto’clock, but non-diners are still very welcome.We haven’t organised a separate ChristmasMenu so it will be order if you wish as youarrive. We always do informal at theDecember meeting so no-one is tied down forETAs etc.
Bob Clarkson will be organising/ suggestingarea runs for next year and has started alreadywith suggestions for The StaffordshireMoorlands and The Long Mynd and ChurchStretton area, amongst others. Hitting all mybells Bob, I like it so far.
Dates will be announced soon as we have‘em. We are hoping for a Brum Tunnels run
again next year combined with a run out toRAF Cosford for a peek around the RAFMuseum. Keep a look out for that, always afun occasion and now with a new destination,can’t be bad.
And when I came out the night was fine anddry so it was, quickly hood down and offhome in convoy. It was hood down again onthe following Wednesday when Geoff and I setoff for our moonlit dash to Sambourne to visitWarwickshire “at home”. I thanked Rosemarywith a bunch of flowers for helping me at theAGM, with her secretarial duties of writing theminutes. We had another fine moonlit runhome too, the sort of nights that Spridgetsmust have been made for.
This morning as I write this I am off to theSpridget Auction at Nether Whitacre, we shallsee what the morning brings. I have a coupleof items for disposal myself. (ps, a good dayof chatting with Spridgeteers from the “otherclub”. Very useful.)
Barry, too dark for pictures at both meetings,sorry mate.
Bill
NW Area Report
At the October club night we had asurprise visit from Geoff Mears, BillMohan and John Collins from the South
Staffs/North Birmingham centre. It was nice tosee them and to meet Bill for the first time.Good job they came as we only had a smallturn out for our photo night. Obviously apopular event!
November club meeting was our quiz night.This was organised and hosted by Ian and avery good quiz it was too. An excellent mix ofquestions to suit everyone, not just carrelated. It was good fun and everyone seemedto enjoy it, we will definitely do it again. Thewinning prize went to Rob – well done.
Christmas lunch – we discussed this and havedecided to move it to January. The periodfollowing Christmas tends to be quiet so it willgive us something to look forward to. The planis to have a meal on the January club night(10th January). The venue is yet to beconfirmed although we do have somewhere inmind. Details will be in January MASCOT,however I do need some idea of numbers soplease ring me on 01772 432138 ifinterested.
Les
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Home Counties North West Report
Rain stops play! Well this monthwe learned how to read aweather forecast. Our monthly
gathering was due to be a road run outto Cambridge culminating at the rathernice looking Wimpole Hall (you can seea picture of Wimpole Hall in the Cambsreport in last month’s MASCOT as theybeat us there!). However, as theweather forecast said rain followed byrain with a little rain between theshowers Chris, this month’s organiser,sensibly decided that canceling beforeSunday would avoid those earlymorning calls and the disappointmentof not getting to take the car out for theday. The route and arrangements havebeen stored away with the sun creamready for next year.
As the weather seems to have turnedagainst us (apart from the last week oflovely cold autumnal sunshine) andChristmas has well and truly hit theshops we have started to review theyear and plan next year’s events. TheHome Counties North West area’s firstfull year has been an active one. Westarted off joining the CCZ group ontheir Bridges 2006 trip only two daysinto the year and we haven’t stoppedsince then! We have been on a numberof road runs throughout Beds, Bucks andHerts. We have made trips out toCambridgeshire and met up with ourneighbours there, to Wiltshire with the Bristolboys and been on our first weekender drivingaround the Cotswolds. We have visited teashops, airfields, race circuits (Silverstone andCastle Combe), car shows and quite a fewpubs. Some of us have made most secondTuesday nights at the Ace where we have metlots of you; Chairman Bill, the CCZ chaps pluslong distance drivers from Warwickshire. Oneof us even managed to make the Classic LeMans.
It hasn’t been plain sailing all year. We havesuffered a number of petrol leaks, a brokendrive shaft, flat tyres, leaking brake fluid, loosewire wheels, but nothing that I am sure youwon’t all be familiar with. Throughout the year
other members in our area have joined us andvery quickly they have felt like old friends. Ifwe ever manage to all be free on the sameday we will make a fine procession ofSpridgets.
So enough of this year, what about next year’sevents? Chris and I have had our first meetingto discuss the diary of events and we will becirculating our thoughts to others for theirinput and any ideas (a very democratic areawe are!). Hopefully we will be able to publishthe full calendar of our events in the firstedition of MASCOT in 2007. As ever if youlive in the Herts, Beds, Bucks or NorthLondon and you fancy joining us in 2007you’ll be most welcome.
Happy Christmas to you all from the HomeCounties!
Mark
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Surrey Area Report
This is a special report for me, as after 14years, Chris and I will be stepping out ofthe limelight in Surrey and making way
for Alan Anstead, who as well as running theKent Area, has been a longstanding memberof Surrey, and has offered to take on therunning of everyday activities, and be theSurrey Area contact.
Since first funding my Sprite, restoring it withfriend John, then sitting in the Blue Ball puband hoping some brave hearts would respondto my invitation on MASCOT, things havemoved on apace. John Page, Jonathan Webb,Ashley Hinton, Jim Nelson, Mike Gorman andMark Foreman were the founder members ofthe Surrey Area, and although Mark is sadlyno longer with us, John, Ashley and Mike areall very much in evidence. Every time we allblast on our exhausts under a bridge, weremember Mark’s Big Bore exhaust! In thoseearly days, we used Jonathan Bowles’Continental Tours to travel to France, Belgiumand Holland. These trips then became mostlyin the UK, with Surrey members becomingkeen to plan and organise our own homespun trips. Many other activities have beentried and enjoyed, including some really goodscenic runs. Interesting how our group wentthrough a cycle of lots of restorations, thensitting in fields on club stands, to nowenjoying the driving mostly, and the Blue Ballmonthly oasis has become a real key socialevent, with regular visits from our friends inboth Kent and London CZ Areas. Highlights ofthe 14 years have to be the tradition of the
May weekends away, when as a whole groupwe really enjoy each other’s company. Afterall, for me, our cars are simply vehicles towonderful and lasting friendships, with peoplewe may not have otherwise met. I’m reallypleased that Alan will now take the helm, andsupporting him are Chris Harding who willprovide the technical adviser role, and DavidSouthcott his experienced route planningskills. I’m sure everyone will continue tosupport these noble members in the sameway that you have all supported Chris and I.Surrey will continue to enjoy the pleasures ofthe Outwood Barbeque, thanks to Laura andChris, winter evening at the Warren thanks toAlan, a renewed Furzewood Frolic thanks toJacqui and Chris Harding, and that marvellousMay weekend trip, thanks to David and Linda,Elaine and Mike for 2007. Chris and I willcontinue to enjoy our Sprite, and moreimportantly, our friends in Surrey, whilstfacing the challenge of a move into deepestSussex.
Keep on Spridgeting. All for now, but do keepin touch with Alan if you’re in Surrey, and justtwo important dates – 19th December – don’tgo to the blue Ball, as we’re booked for dinnerat the Kingswood Arms! 16th January 07 –Don’t go to the Blue Ball as we’re all off to theWarren, West Wickham for a videos andHealey models social evening!
David
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Chris and David Wright
Kent Area Report
Why couldn’t Sunday (22nd October)have been Monday? Well Mondaymorning was fine with some
sunshine even if it did rain later in theafternoon. Sunday was not so good. As soonas I drove my Sebring Sprite rep. out of thegarage it started to rain getting progressivelyworse. Ralph Whitmarsh was the only soulbrave enough to challenge the elements andto attend the Kent meeting in a soft top – hisFrogeye arriving without side screens affixed.
Martin Ingall completed a Sprite hat trick withhis Sebring Sprite rep. Peter Seaman, JohnBaggott, Melvyn and Barbara Collins came intin tops although Melvyn did bring aphotographic update of his ongoing Midgetrestoration. Paul Coveney and Jane Pierceattempting to impress with the diversity oftheir motoring collection, and interest, came ina ... a Ford Transit van! Our meeting broke upafter about three hours. The rain, unabated,
had caused flooding of the lanes throughFawkham on my way home.
Next Kent meet at the Moat will be on 26thNovember 2006.
Alan AnsteadMail to [email protected]
Tel: 01322-384050 (answer phone)
Somerset Area Report
So what’s been happening in the land ofthe Summer Dwellers? And boy wasn’t’06 a good un, super weather for getting
out and about with the top down.
Since our last report in April when DaveBearne, recalling our run to The NorthSomerset Coast at Brean Sands, reported onthe bitterly cold weather conditions and roadsubsidence problems, (all cosy that day, in hisHonda S2000 with all the bells and whistles)things have improved dramatically and wehave enjoyed several warm and smooth runsout and supported various shows and rallies,both within our own area and in the nearbyCounties of Devon and Dorset. The 23rd Apriland BHVR Day gave us an excuse to get outand about, as if we needed one. After a heartybreakfast at Horton Village Hall’s SundayBrunch fundraiser we set off to meet TheCape to Cape Rally entrants at Langport. Alasdue to road works they were diverted andmost of us by leaving a little early missedthem completely! Though the summer monthswe supported the MASC Dorset areas’ MGS atKingston Lacey and Bournemouth MGO –
1020’s Picnic at Athelhampton both in goodcauses and excellent days out. Classics at theCastle (Sherborne, that is), Branscombe AirDay and Classic Car Show in Devon and a firsttime Festival of Transport show at TauntonRacecourse as well as the ever popularThornfalcon Meeting in Hatch Beauchamp atthe end of September, when some 700vehicles of all descriptions turned up.
Our Autumn Sunday Lunch run in Octobersaw us braving the wilds of South Somersetand West Dorset when we travelled to Bridportand the coast, via some very minor roads(grass central reservations – Dorset Motorwaysto the uninitiated) which took us well off thebeaten track to once again test suspensionsand collect some mud and manure Well most
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Kent October meeting
Bridport lunch
of us did!! Someone must have been aware ofthe conditions to be faced as a stop for petrolexcuse was used go on ahead, we’ll catch up– a likely story on reflection! This run shookup my old Sprite as on the way home itsuffered from The Embarrassing Horn Faultas amusingly described in the MossInternational parts catalogue on page 42.Thanks for whipping off the wires Malcolm –Hope to fix it soon
We continue to meet in the Lord Nelson onthe last Thursday of every month and normallymost of our area stalwarts/regulars turn up fora jar and a natter. We even had a visitor from
the depths of rural Devon back in thesummer, so if you fancy joining us you will bevery welcome. But best ‘phone Dave first tocheck. As, for example, our June meeting wasa BBQ on the Three Counties Borders andagain visitors came from afar, well Mineheadanyway, when John and Chris Rathboneturned up in a newly restored TD on a shakedown run we were told. Our next run out willbe for the Xmas Lunch on 10th December atThe Rose and Crown, East Lambrook. Meetingand starting point still being considered butthe Yeovil area anticipated.
QED
Dutch Report
First I’d like to thank ex-editor Mike onbehalf of the Dutch contignent for doinga great job on MASCOT for over six
years. Well done Mike and we will be prayingevery night for you that you will see the lightand realise there is no such a thing as areplacement for a Spridget! But as they saywith the monarchs: the old king is dead, longlive the new king! Thank you Barry the ItalianJob for taking upon the grateful task ofkeeping MASCOT alive. This magazineconnects us all with each other and makes itpossible to enjoy each others adventureswhich makes us a worldwide club of friends.
So what adventures were there during the lastfew months in Holland? There was a meetingof the Dutch Spridget BBs-ers on the classicracetrack of Assen in the east of theNetherlands but sadly my car was brokendown again (clutch cable) so I couldnt makeit.... The guys (where are the female owners?)had a great time at the meeting and will bethere again next year and hopefully will I.Then finally the weekend arived of the annualDutch Spridgetrun, which was the third time itwas organized by a group of three amigos inthe east of Holland. Looks like the east ofholland is THE place to be for a Spritgeteer.Sadly the right clutch cable didn’t arrive ontime so I was without my kamaradsky again,now what? I have been looking forward to thisgreat event whole year so I didn’t give up andwent anyway in an ...Opel Corsa!!! I know,burn me for this, but the alternative was aOpel Vivaro (van) so I didn’t really have a
choice now did I? This year the weather wasgreat again (third year in a row!) with 29Dutch and German Spridgets attending.
The run took us through a beautiful area offorest, open fields, many rivers and even hadsome good-to-drive dirt roads for the boys toplay on. Although the boys? There wereseveral women teams who were driving theirown spridgets! Funny thing I noticed is thatwhen a woman drives a Spridget she doesntdrive like a girly anymore but like a man: goodspeed, one hand on the steering wheel andthe other on the gearstick ready to shift power.And don’t you agree with me a woman lookseven more attractive when she drives aSpridget?
At the bbq after the run I met StephanieSchipper who owns a red-flared-arches-4-spoke-wheeled Frogeye with a white striperunning over the car. She was doing the runwith a friend of hers and they were having lotsof fun blasting their Sprite over these nice
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roads. Girlpower! When she asked me if I wasintrested to look under her bonnet I wasshocked, no woman had ever asked me thatbefore! Of course I didn’t refuse her offer andshe showed me a perfectly nice wellmaintained engine bay. Well done Stephanieand hope to see you and the others again nextyear. At the end of the night a Midget washaving troubles so we helped the poor owner... 4 men with beer in their hands givinginstructions while 2 men actualy doing workin the engine bay...that’s what friends are for.Because the route directions on the Dutch runare in English I expect to see some of youEnglish there too next year.
In the report where I told you about mysummer cruising through Wales I forgot to tellyou about the Midget I met. It was at in thesmall town on the Welsh coast, Saundersfootor Ddiwrnod. We wanted to see the nicebeach there and when we drove into thebeach-parking area, there it was: The first
Midget in the wild since I arrived in the UK 4days before. It was a yellow rubber bumper(rhd of course) with the remarcable regnumber FFR IS or FFR 15. I did not meet theowner so I am still wondering if it could havebeen a fellow Masc- eteer? Anybody from theMidget and Sprite Club then please let meknow.
Moving on... Now what do you do if yourengine isn’t running well? You startsetting/timing the ignition and get your
screwdriver and adjust your carburettors anddo what ever makes the car sound happy.However, if you want your car to run superthen go visit a rolling road. It’s amazing whatthese people can do with your (what youthought was nicely tuned) engine. I’ve visitedthe Speedcentre in Geldermalsen Holland.Professional and very friendly people. That isuntil they are in your car on the rolling roadbecause then you somehow feel sorry for thecar being pushed to the rev.limiter manytimes. What a incredible noise and somewhatscary to see, are those straps going to hold???On the K-series they simply plug in a laptopand manage the system while sitting in thecar – no more screwdrivers. As far as I knew,my second-hand K-Series engine was astandard 1800 which should deliver around120–130 bhp, but it doesn’t... It has 146BHP (on the flywheel) insted!! Special camsfrom the previous owner? I dont know but Ilike it. With a topspeed (on the rollingroad thatis) of 225 km/hr which is 140 mph I thinkthe midget is capable enough to keep up withmodern traffic. Of course real roadspeed willbe slower because of lack of air resistance onthe rollingroad. And after driving home again itfelt as if it was jet powered or something,what a great improvement compared to theengine before. It really is worth it tooccasionally treat your carto a rollingroad, your carwill love it and so will you!At the end of September wehad our first BBS-Spridgetmeeting here in Holland.Four of the most frequentDutch visitors of the Midget& Sprite bulletin board, Bas,Rolf, Olaf and me, met at Bas’s garage inGroningen and had a great time talking aboutSpridgets (what else?) while enyoing freshherring, beer and cigars. Needles to say therewill be more of these educational meetings. Asim writing this report its only 2 days until I dothe anual MG nightrun in my area. We startSaturday evening at Midnight, have a breakwith soup at 3 o’clock and then finish at6.00am and have a full english cookedbreakfast. I’ll tell you all about it in the nextDutch report. Cheers,
Arie
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StephanieSchipper
Lincolnshire Area Report
Here is another exciting tome from theLincolnshire lot. We met on 2November at the White Hart at
Lissington, to enjoy a sociable evening with apint or two. Tim and Jill resurfaced, they hadbeen very busy for the last few months; plusPete and Mary and ourselves. Pete and Maryturned up looking blue, with furry hats pulleddown to their noses, as they are exceptionallyhardy and had come in their MidgetTOPLESS!!!! Tim and Jill roared to themeeting in their lovely little Austin A35, andus in our stately Sierra (our Midget is still inbits in the garage).
A convivial evening followed with talk of LPGconversions (our Sierra is already running ongas) and Petes new boat – a Trimaran to addto the other two boats he already has in hisgarden.
Our Christmas lunch was booked for Sunday17 December at the White Hart and off wewent into the dark and chilly night to a nicecup of tea when we arrived home.
Hope everyone has a lovely Christmas etc. –talk again next year...
Sue and Brian Jeffery
Yorkshire ReportNovember Meeting
What a great venue Matt chose for us. It waslike going back in time as we stepped into agas-lit labyrinth of rooms making up TheKing’s Arms, Heath, Wakefield. It was lovelyto be welcomed by a roaring fire in the snugreserved for us.
Matt and Lizzie had already arrived in theirnew aquisistion. Claire had othercommittments but Ian was there. Andrew andJennifer McG came for the first time sinceFebruary. Andrew has recently been to anMGCC race meeting on Phillip Island inAustralia and showed us pictures of a K-SeriesMidget and a 6 litre MGB. Martin and Gailexplored the whole pub before they found us.Martin is considering a change of career.Hope it gives him more time to work on theFrogeye restoration. Mick is getting fired upabout progress on his Midget and broughtalong his newly made and painted mountingfor a 5-speed gearbox. Tim L has beenhelping and encouraging him and they aretalking of working on a joint Spridget project.Arthur arrived late as he’d driven top down allthe way from his daughter’s at Gainsborough.He was soon peeling off layers in the heat ofthe snug. Ann and Pete were running a bitlate so left the Midget at home but wishedthey hadn’t as the roads were salt-free. AndyB came in his beautiful Innocenti Mini. Hehas been experiencing difficulty with bonnet
fitting on his Frogeye. Tim and Sarah madethe long trip from Thirsk in their MKII MidgetSebrina, looking very smart in her Williamsand Pritchard outfit. Nigel and Sue hadbrought their black 1500 Midget along.Nigel’s last event was the Hexham rally. He ishoping to do the Johnston rally with daughterJenny in January. George arrived and wassoon deep in conversation with Arthur. Markand I came in KCY having managed to solvethe recent charging problem by repairing thedynamo harness.
Our winter meetings are moving to alunchtime on the first weekend of each monthto make use of daylight. Please check themeetings schedule or contact me for details.
Other matters
Mark and I went north to collect a Spridgetspit from Nick V. He is using his Dad’s garageto restore his Midget so I had to take apicture. Lisa popped over to see us and toldus of the plans she has for her 1500 thiswinter. Hopefully we have persuaded her toorganise an event next year in the Newcastlearea. On the way home we met up with newmember Jordan and his Isle of Wight Frogeyeand Mark went for a quick spin. Nick C andJosie came 1st in class in the Regis Rally.
I received some good and bad news. Goodnews – a previous owner of my ‘MexicanMidget’ saw the article in MGE and got in
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contact. Bad news – it is notan Atlantis as he did theconversion himself. It ishowever a faithfulreproduction of the originalAtlantis conversions as hereceived advice on themodifications from DavidMartell, who designed andbuilt them. I now have somevery interesting history on thecar as Robbie used to autotestthe Midget very succesfully.
Anita
Cambridgeshire Report
After a busy year we seem to have arrivedat the off season, the time for projectsand improvements the type of thing we
all promised we would do last winter and justdidn’t get around to. I have noticed howeverthat increasing numbers of Spridgeteers areextending the season (maybe a side effect ofglobal warming) and even braving the coldshort days, I normally reckon on giving theSprite a run every couple of weeks or so, justto keep the battery charged up and everythingworking and always enjoy those crisp sunnywinter days. It’s great to bowl across the fenson the lesser used droves (often with grassgrowing down the middle) blowing the leavesaround heading for an endless horizon undera dramatic winter sky.
Getting back to the plot, we had a good turnout for Mad Cat night (mostly in Spridgets andtopless too, well done guys), I was excused
Sprites on technical grounds since I had notgot the Sprite back on the road after poppingthe head gasket on the way back from France.The main items on the agenda were the menuand final arrangements for the Festive lunch,sorting out a non Spridget ten pin bowlingevent for mid November (sadly once again notime to advertise this) and the editing of lastmonth’s Cambridgeshire report. Nigelproduced a fumble bag and maybe he ismellowing a bit since it wasn’t as devilishlydifficult as usual (I even managed to identify3 of the six items). Graham had visited theclassic car show and gave us the low down onthat, a great show by all accounts and animpressive number of Spridgets on display,plus the chance to meet up with someprominent MASC members.
Regarding my Gaskectomy, as I write this Ihave just returned from a 15 mile test drive
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Nick’s Midget
Jordan’s IOWFrogeye
after getting everything back together, no bigdeal for a lot of you but this was my first everhead Gaskectomy (lucky or what). I did havea few issues and did find a few parts I wantedto clean up or replace altogether, and havingdislodged a few of the tappets when Iremoved the push rods, I needed to replacethe tappet chest seals. A trip to see those niceguys at Brown and Gammons soon sorted thatout though. I had to endure a few moments ofagony when the time finally came to start herup, first the battery needed charging up thenat first she would not fire up, but after a whilethe tappets started tapping, the push rodsstarted pushing, the rockers started rockingand the pistons did what pistons do and sheburbled into life. I quickly checked for visibleleaks and then set off on a few circuits of thevillage (look at that poser in the sports car,that’s the third time he’s driven up the highstreet in as many minutes) so as not to get too
far from home (just in case). But then allseemed well and she ran quite smoothly so Istarted my ever increasing circles until shewas thoroughly warm and I thought it wastime to go and check for leaks again. Theverdict, no leaks so far but the idling was a bitlow so next weekend top up all the levels (tohelp check for leaks) get her hot and make afew fine adjustments and a Sprite trip to thebeehive for a new heater hose (the one I putback has seen better days).
I think I will need a few more short local tripsand to re-torque the head before we ventureout on the 50 mile round trip to the Mad Catagain, but with a bit of luck we should make itto the Christmas lunch in the Sprite (whatabout the rest of you). Please note that (thesame as last year) the Christmas lunch is inplace of the December Mad Cat night.
Dave Dixon
Scotland ReportCrank up the Spaceheater!
Poor David held the ring on his lonesomeat the last natter until John and Dougcame to the ball late on...oh how
quickly those high summer, high water marksof attendance melt away under the harshblasts of early winter storms, agues and thelure of a warm homesome fire! Carson’s blackbonneted machine was hors de combatneeding its second new windscreen in 6months – he thinks it was stones, but I thinksnipers employed by the British tailoringassociation..did they ever do a bullet proofwindscreen for Midgets??
There are some celebs who may benefit fromthem. I saw a picture last week of Kate Mosspicking up her louche boyfriend Pete Dochertyin a nice blue Mk3 Midget. Good to see weare driving such fashion icons – and it mightput the prices up a bit too!
I was on hols in Engerland this month andwas amazed not to see a single old MG on theroad in 10 days of travel. I did however spotan odd little green MG Midget derivativepoking its nose out of a side ally in Looe –cute number plate too – NOD 18P! What afab place Cornwall is for MGs, loadsa
rollercoaster wee roads swooping alongfantastic coast roads and verdant green lanes.It reminds me of Scotland ... except of coursein summer those same roads will be morebunged up than a sink in a communal studentkitchen, wheras en Ecosse only the occasionalsheep and those pesky Dutch driving clubsobscure our roads!!
And so we begin the winter workshop routine,I have an engine rebuild and 4 square feet ofwelding to do, Carson is putting in hisFederation hyperdrive, John trying to findsome super strength springs, David isreducing the number of shades of red on hismotor from 17 to one and the MGOC arelaughing all the way to the bank!! First runnext year is our target and it looks like beingan early link up with Les and Diane of theillustrious NW MASC posse at the end ofApril. My only regret as we enter this year’sice age is that we do not have a fabulousCarsoni calendar to look forward to. My dad isgoing to really teed off at only get socks forXmas!!
Bob Miller
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Warwickshire Report
We made an early start at this month’smeeting to have a meal and celebrateMo Wood’s birthday, one of those
significant ones, but as protocol suggests youshould never mention a lady’s age, and shewould be in yifty fears of us doing so. HerChristmas parties always have fun and games,so, of course, she had a game for us. Thisresulted in a wide variety of suggestions forthe use of MASCOT, which included hamsterhomes, peashooters, umbrellas and someoneeven proposed reading it!
However, despite Roy being distracted by theattentions of our landlady, we did find time todiscuss club matters and having reflected onlast month’s activities, we looked towardsfuture events. Alan is looking forward toorganising another successful trip to foreignfields that we would like to visit next year,with France looking the most likely. A tie upwith our fellow frog and spridget owners willbe considered, along with a two-centre tripextending it to a week in length. We have alsomade note of next year’s Classic event atSilverstone, and Chris Jackson can bank onus for support again next year. Apart fromChristmas Dinner, our calendar is a littlesparse after this month, so at our next meetingwe will be discussing future plans.
Our congratulations go to John Platt, the newmembership secretary, who is alreadyshowing enthusiasm for increasing the club’smembership. This has not distracted him fromplanning the club stand at the Classic CarShow at the NEC and he took the opportunity
to select helpers from the vast number ofvolunteers. This year we had Martin Ingall’sSebring Sprite. It is a 1960 Austin HealeySprite which he restored in 1992 and fittedwith a Sprinzel Sebring Coupe top andbonnet. It has been actively used in historicrallies and hill climbs, coming 8th out of 14 inthe GT Tourisme Speciale race at Circuit desRemparts, Angouleme in France. There wasthe sectioned Midget from the PatrickCollection, auctioned by the Heritage MotorCentre some time ago, which received a lot ofattention and Stuart’s 4-wheel drive, V8engined Midget, which stole the show asusual. Even Margot Healey found itfascinating and Gary Lazarus was caught oncamera talking to her.
There were some comments about there notbeing any Frogeye’s, but perhaps 2008should be their show entirely. Our thanks goto John for his careful organisation and to all
those who helped him, especially RoyCole, who transported the Midget, DaveParker for the loan of his gazebo, AlanCouch and Chris Yates for helping to erectthe stand and to Martin Ingall and StuartGunn for putting their cars in the limelight.It was great to have Bill there on Saturday,along with his South Staffs colleagues,plus Toby, and Gary from London. Ourthanks also go to the Warwickshire crowd,including Roger Orgill, Andy Bourne, AndySmith who were there on the stand towelcome people and describe howwonderful it is to be a member of MASC.
Chris and Sheila
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Garymeets
MargotHealey
The club stand at the Classic Car Show
When I was about 11 (late ’70s) myMum passed her driving test and Dadstarted looking round for a car for her.
Fancying something a bit different they wentto see an MG Midget advertised locally andwe ended up with FPX 436C a black 1965Mk2 Midget. I struggle to believe it now butfor the first few years I would ride on the ‘backseat’ while Mum gave my friends lifts homefrom school. Madness! Back then it was just aused car although the enthusiast scene wasjust getting going and Graham Paddy inRichmond was very helpful. It was he whotold Dad that the factory did produce a fewMk2 Midgets in black with red trim so webelieve the colour combination to be original.The car was soon burning oil (we think theseller had filled it with gear oil) and beforelong Dad changed the engine for a goodsecond hand one. Although we now regret ourignorance in letting the car’s original enginego, it still makes us smile that Dad sold theold one for more than he’d paid for the newone. Somehow, keeping Mum’s car goinggave Dad and I the old car bug, despitememories like the lengthy removal of a lowerinner fulcrum pin with a grinding stone in anelectric drill. So, a few years later, I arrivedhome from my university vacation job for
Mum to tell me that Dad was ‘looking at a carfor you’. He arrived home having bought it (for£180) and a few days later a companion forMum’s car, in the form of 1781 PG, a 1963Mk2 Sprite, arrived at our house on a trailer. Itwas rotten from the doors down, purple andhad a Morris Minor engine fitted. It took therest of my time at university and my first yearof work before we had the car on the road. Daddid the welding, I refurbished all the bits andwe fitted the ‘rebuilt’ 1275 that came with thecar. It passed it’s MoT first time and becamemy daily driver, painted in Colarado Red.
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Spridgets: How We Got Involved
In the intervening 17 years I’ve donesomewhere between 150,000 and200,000 miles. These days I have anothercar but the Sprite is still used whenever Ican and only rests while there is salt on theroads. We’ve had many adventures inbetween but I’ll save those for another time.Likewise Mum’s car is no longer her dailydriver but still gets used when the weatheris nice. We like to reunite the cars when wecan and the photographs show them at thisyear’s Goodwood Revival.
Jeremy Cogman
My Elvington Experience
The day dawned wet at a little after 7amand I found myself out in the rain doingthe last minute preparations – wheel
nuts tight, belts and hoses OK, boot rack offand levels check before departing for ElvingtonAirfield (the site of Richard Hammond’s300mph crash). I was a little unnerved as Iarrived in Midge for my Drive your own car onTrack Day in the mist and rain, pulling upbehind an M3 and a VX220T, my nervesfurther shaken by the arrival of a Carrera 4Sbehind me. I had visions of a real hare andtortoise day, Midge after all is only 1972Midget with a 1380 engine and a lowly 80hpat the wheels. Anyway it turned out after thebriefing that there were only 2 of us doing mycourse in the morning and the other chap wasusing their Focus so a sigh of relief wasbreathed.
The rain came down steadily in the morningsession inducing a great pirouette on my first
run much to my instructor’s dismay as hisagenda was to have me driving fast to thecorrect lines and all I wanted to do wasshowboat with the tail out round the track. Wehad great banter as we did our laps with himtrying to reduce my inputs into the wheel toallow a quicker but less fun line to be taken.
When I jumped in Midge for my second15-minute session of the morning, I got a bigshock at the first chicane (luckily only plasticcones) as the brake pedal went straight to thefloor and Midge went straight on. Pumpingthe pedal I managed to get some brakes butby the next corner they had gone again andthe rest of the day was hamstrung by the fact Ihad to pump the pedal several times beforecorner entry! A few more spins were hadneedless to say, some induced by the instructorto demonstrate the horrible and violent effectsof lift-off oversteer (not recommended).
Before lunch, with the track drying and mybrakes dying I decided to have my last sessionin the Focus (1.8 petrol) to see how itcompared to Midge. It was about as fast,much easier to drive but just plain boring withvery controllable understeer. Needless to sayafter lunch it was Midge brakes or no brakes!
We returned from lunch in the RAF museumcafé with 2 new chaps in tow, one with a VR6golf the other with the Carrera 4S I mentionedearlier and had a great afternoon albeit notquite as much fun now the track had driedand the relatively new tyres (mistake)reluctant to give up their grip but not theirshoulders! I accused the guy in the Porsche of
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short shifting down the straight and I think hetook it to heart as the very next session I heardit hit the rev limiter and when questioned laterhe admitted it was a first. The Porsche pulled97mph down the short straight, the VR6about 90 and Midge a distant but notunrespectable 80 with dodgy brakes.
By the end of the session we were allowedtwo final laps on our own, the Porsche wentfirst and, with a huge screech did it go, a 720coming out of the hairpin to the cheers of allwatching, the chap pulling up later somewhatshocked and perplexed but grinning from earto ear all the same. I just managed to keepMidge from doing the same and as for the guyin the VR6 he simply wasn’t trying.
All in all then a great day out, Midge won thehearts of the others, the loud pipe contest andby far and away had the most fun, the chapwith the Porsche even suggesting it hadrekindled his days with a TR6 and thatsomething similar could well be on the agendaagain. Midge’s appetite for fuel mind washealthy at sub 20mpg after 75miles on track!!
A big thanks to all of you that encouraged meand I will be at the next track day for sure butyou all best give me a wide birth as Midge justloves to drift, this aspect is not somethingshared by the tyres and as for the brakes theysimply must try harder!! Mark can you help?
Mike N
News ReleaseWant to Beat the Car Insurance Price Rises? Talk to a Broker
The direct insurers use standard computerdata to base their car insurance quoteson. Their staff can’t usually move from
the ‘screen rate’, however happy they’d like toquote you. The problem can be exacerbatedby overseas call centres, where staff may haveeven less leeway. On the other hand, thesesame big companies sometimes offerloss-leaders to get business. Eventually,though, they have to put prices back up – justlike Norwich Union did recently.
So where do you go to get a better deal, if youcan’t find anyone offering loss-leaderpremiums? Ideally you need to talk tosomeone who can give you cheaper insuranceif you can persuade them you deserve it. Inother words, talk to a broker.
Gerry Bucke works for car specialist AdrianFlux Insurance. “If a broker thinks you’re alower-than-standard risk, they can quote alower-than-standard rate – so they can get youa cheaper deal than the direct insurers,” hesays.
It’s all down to the broker and theirrelationship with their underwriters, whoactually provide your insurance cover. If theunderwriters trust the broker, they may offerthem a ‘delegated- authority’ scheme.Basically it means the underwriter is happy forthe broker to use their knowledge and
judgement to offer a lower premium, providedthe broker thinks you deserve it.
“This is especially true for specialist brokers,since they will know their particular marketvery well,” says Gerry Bucke.
“There are brokers who specialise in variousvehicle types, such as 4x4s or performancecars, and those who look after types of people– women, over 50s, convicted drivers and soon. In these cases, a broker can get you abetter deal than the direct insurer.”
There are all sorts of ways to prove you are alower-than-standard risk, from parking in agarage every night to belonging to a carowner’s club. Showing you’re a dependablecitizen can help – for example, Flux offersdiscounts to motor bikers who take an‘emergency aid for bikers’ course.
“Any broker will try to beat whatever quotesyou’ve already been given,” says Gerry Bucke.“All you have to do is give them theammunition to cut the premium down.”
Adrian Flux has a huge range of policies forthe motoring enthusiast.
For details contact the Adrian Flux quote lineon 0800 505 3000, email the company [email protected], or see the Fluxhomepage on www.adrianflux.co.uk
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From the Editor’s LibraryBMC Accessories sales leaflet for Sprite MkIIIAKD 3067 November 1965
How I got into Midgets
After a lovely weekend spent in thebeautiful town of Edinburgh, I finallyfound some time (on the train, using my
smart phone and sitting opposite to the traveldirection - which means it will only take tenminutes before I start vomiting) to write abouthow I purchased my car, Eglentine, andhappened to meet many great and helpfulpeople.
Around a month ago, while keeping an eye onthe Internet for a car after I saw a Midgetparked near my house and fancied the idea ofowning one, I contacted Anita and Mark of theYorkshire Area of MASC to receive someadvice on a couple of examples of which Ifound promising adverts. One was a TartanRed 1969 Midget (with, as I found out at asecond stage, a dubious 1964 identity), whilethe other one was a green 1963 Mark 1,which was quite more pricey but definitelymore appealing. After the red Midget’sproprietor sold it to another gentlemanprobably just after half a day after we agreedthat I would view the car within’ a couple ofdays, I felt that my choice was narrowed tothe more expensive and gracious green Mark1 (despite being Italian, I was trying to avoidred cars as much as possible). The car was inBlackpool (I live in North Yorkshire), so it wasquite far from my house; moreover, due tosome insurance-related bureaucracies, I
couldn’t drive the car home even afterdeciding that I was buying it.
That was when Anita and Mark stepped inand offered the first of many generous andhelpful hands: to inspect the car with me anddrive it back together to our home county.Well, thank you very much guys, for withoutyour help I wouldn’t be here now writing thisreport with already some sweet memoriesabout Eglentine (and some minor headaches,as by now I am well aware it’s what isinvolved with owning a classic car). Andthanks for your presence too, I really feel partof a nice family of car owners and friends.
After just a bit more than a month then, I canalready recall a wonderful run through theYorkshire Dales, a nice BBQ where I metmany other car enthusiasts and members of
MASC, and other niceevenings and occasions to talkabout my car and have a pintin glad company.
While I regret I couldn’t makeit to the latest group meetingdue to a minor ailment, Ismile because I am sure therewill be other runs, pints andtours waiting for me, all withEglentine and with the bunchof people I’ve joined.
The future’s bright, and it’s onfour wheels. Plus, whenEglentine’s engine’s not onstrike, it sounds damn good.
Carlo La Duca
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Carlo and Eglentine
What’s in your Garage?
I have ownedmy red 1972Round Arch
Midget for 25years and the1960 OEWFrogeye evenlonger. This isonly just backon the road aftera 19-year detailed restoration. Is this a record?It is to original spec, even down to thoseterrible gear ratios, save for carpets and airhorns, which were on her when she was myeveryday car. The battle-scarred 1967 Midgetwas my original Modsports car which Steve
Gardiner, Mylong-suffering racemechanic, and Iput back on theroad as anHistoric Rally carin 1992. Thisexample has beenrolled at CastleCombe, up the
Armco at Brands and ended up in the middleof a Norfolk ploughed field on the BritvicRally. If I ever sell it I suppose I couldtruthfully advertise it as only used for pleasureat weekends!
John Baggott
Market PlaceAdverts to Alan Lo
23 Charnell Road, Staple Hill, Bristol, BS16 5NE
email: [email protected] Tel: 0117 9572617
For Sale1959 Frogeye. Part completed restorationwith all parts from original steel bonnet 948cccar plus several new panels including sills,rear shroud and wings, boot floor. Relocationforces sale. Offers.Roger 01276 22166 /07768 418419 (Surrey)
Wheels. Set of 5 Spridget standard steelnon-vented wheels. Good condition, blastedand painted. These are getting more difficultto find. Not to be mistaken for the morecommon Austin A30/35/40 wheel which isdifferent. Front Panel Assembly. In good solidused condition. Includes bonnet catchassembly. Removed from early ’70s Spridget.MG Metro parts. HIF44 carb, inlet manifold,cylinder head. 4 pot brakes and much more.Can email [email protected]: 01423 862738
New R.W.A. Midget parts; 7 gallon fueltank with sender unit / locking ring / seal £70.Copper fuel line £9. Copper brake pipe kit£22. Grille and Badge £75. Cross flow
radiator with plug and seal £55. Frontsidelights/indicators £45 pair. Rear cockpitmoulding (black) £5. Door seals (black) £10pair. N/side door shell £90. O/side door shell£90. Door hindges £65 set of 4.Tel: George 01457 864536 (Home)07913 341926 (Mobile) Derbyshire
Parts from a 1500 Midget, Engine,Transmision, Bumbers, Trim and other parts –Kevin Jarvis 01654 711400 mob 07831131274 Towyn Mid Wales (non member)
Frogeye Steering Wheel incl Shroud andHorn Push in excellent condition £300.00Very rare Frogeye Radiator Blind in originalpacking with instructions Offers –John Detheridge 01244 813814 Chester(non member)
WantedShorrock Supercharger Parts: CNM014induction manifold, CPP017 relief valve pipe,pulleys and mounting plate.Tel: 01892 862656 (John)
Working with cars like these since the ’60sactively involved in Club Motorsport at all levels.
COMPLETE RANGE OF GEAR BOXES & DIFFERENTIAL UNITSFOR ALL SPRITE & MIDGETS FROM FROGEYE TO
RUBBER BUMPER HELD IN STOCK.EXCHANGE OR OVERHAUL YOUR UNIT.NEW AND USED PARTS FROM STOCK.
Visit our Website at: www.hardyengineering.comAsk for Bill or Neil, Club discount given
SPECIAL SERVICESCompetition gearboxes built. Limited slip differential units.
Competition crownwheel & pinion3.7, 3.9, 4.22, 4.875
HARDY ENGINEERING, 268 Kingston Road,Leatherhead, Surrey KT22 7QA
Tel: 01372 378927 Fax: 01372 376794
HARDY ENGINEERING
