The Schofield V8 and RAF Jaguar

NNEEWWSSLLEETTTTEERRAPRIL 2008

Est. 1980

EditorialSeveral members attended Angie's funeral service at St. Laurence's Church on 14th April amonga huge congregation. It was a very moving occasion with a very evocative eulogy composed byher family, and contributions from Steve and others close to her. The music showed both sidesof Angie's character - Eva Cassidy's sensitive 'Fields of Gold' and Norman Greenbaum's raunchy'Spirit in the Sky', which gave us all a lift as the coffin and congregation left the church.

At Roger Schofield's suggestion, we're using the front page photo as a tribute the RAF's 90thanniversary and the inextricable link that seems to exist between the RAF and MG's. Roger andElizabeth's V8 roadster is shown with a Jaguar fighter at RAF Coltishall.

Our MGA went through its MOT without problems and is on the road, though no tax disc yetas the V5 shows it in the Private/Light Goods category and not as a Historic Vehicle, and I'vehad to apply to the DVLA for a new one.

Car for sale

1500 Midget 1976 very good condition. Chartreuse Yellow (looks like primrose), £1750ono.07921 994081 (no, it's not my Buttercup!).

Finally, a brain teaser -3 men hiring a car paid £30, the receptionist said that model was £25 and gave the valet £5 toreturn to them.The valet thinks £5 would be too difficult for three to share so pocketed £2.Now each man paid £10 and got back £1 so each paid £9 totalling £27 the valet has £2totalling £29.Where did the other £1 go?

Bill B

Andy’s Technical Tip (especially for Godfrey)

If you have just picked your MG up from it's yearly MOT, and you find that your indicators arenot working then the thing to do is switch your hazard warning lamps on and off a few times.This will clean the contacts in the switch because when your hazard switch is in the off positionyour normal indicators are wired through it.

Angie SummerfieldOn Friday the 28 March 2008 Angie passed away peacefully at St. Catherine's Hospice. Someyears ago Angie developed breast cancer and 3 years ago was diagnosed with a braintumour which has now taken her life at 56. She was a Yorkshire lass who married our exChairman Steve and with Steve was very active in the club, and whilst he was chairman theyowned a BGT. After that he restored a very nice BRG MGB Roadster in which they came on afew outings but as Angie's condition worsened, their involvement became less frequent. Shewill be sadly missed and our condolences go to Steve, Katie and Ben.

Chairman's ChatKaren and I were very sad to hear that Angie Summerfield had passed away. Please read thewords of Andy and Bill within this Newsletter.

On behalf of the Club and its members I send to Steve and his family our sincere condolenceson their loss.

The first meeting of the Annual Run committee for 2009 has met and work has started onorganising the event. The date for the run is provisionally set at 14th September. The runcommittee consists of:Dave Blacklidge (Chair)Joy HunterTony SharplesAndy SchultzRoger SchofieldIan ThompsonMore details will follow in the next Newsletter.

Now that Bill Ryding is back, we will start work on some of the routes for our weekend away atthe Trout Hotel. We have 12 rooms booked. We will issue a plan of action for all those goingon the weekend in May. The balance of the payment is due by the 30th April, this can be paidby cheques made payable to P&D MGEC. We will contact you direct about the balances.

Thanks to Kevin and Rosie for the St George' Day run. Karen and I were unable to attend butMike and Jo popped in on their way home for a cup of coffee and said it was a very goodturnout and that they had enjoyed the run.

Below is the start of our calendar. More detail will be added and published as soon as possible.

Forthcoming events.Tue 29th Apr - Club Night @ The Welcome Tavern.Sun 11th May - Cholmondeley Castle Thur 15th May - Evening Run.Fri 23rd May - North Lakes weekend based in Cockermouth.Tue 25th May - SYCO @ The Welcome Tavern.Sun 8th Jun - Hellifield Run.Thur 12th Jun - Evening Run.Tue 24th Jun - Treasure Hunt @ The Welcome Tavern.

Finally a few important notes and reminders.

• Although we have received some requests for club clothing, I need a few more orders to beable to get the best price. I am hoping to be able to place an order very soon, if you wantanything please contact myself or a member of the committee.

Tony

Secretary's ScribblesRosie and I met up with Bob and Carol Mooreon Sunday 13th April and together we tookpart in the Kimber Run, starting at ChatsworthHouse - Derbyshire. It was our first run of theyear, and if you get the opportunity to do itnext year, I can thoroughly recommend it.Well over 100 cars involved, it meant an earlystart but we had a fabulous day. Photo showsour RV8 and Chatsworth House. It waswashed before we set off … honest!

We are planning a Cheese and Wine eveningon Friday 29 August. We have arranged for awine importer to come and bring us aselection of fine wines and cheeses. I havebeen to one of this man's evenings before andbelieve me you will have a good time. Theimporter estimates that everyone is likely todrink in excess of a bottle of wine.

Being a responsible car club, it is only rightthat I should point out that you will not be inany state to drive a car at the end of theevening (and don't expect to be fit to drivefirst thing the following morning either) hencewe've arranged for this to take place on aFriday night. So taxis/lifts or walking is goingto be the order of the day.

It's going to take place at my house in Walton-Le-Dale (which might be a surprise to Rosiebecause I haven't mentioned it yet) about 1mile from the Welcome Inn. The cost will be£5.00 per head, but for obvious reasons weare going to need confirmation of those

planning to attend. I have attached a tear offslip at the end of the newsletter so pleasereturn that with your £5.00 to any of thecommittee confirming attendance.

Next, we have managed to obtain tickets forCholmondely Classic Car Show - 11th May.This is an annual event that a lot of ourmembers like to attend. We are meeting atCharnock Richard Services at 9:30 on Sunday11th May. We will provide tickets on themorning of the event - through the club we'vemanaged to get them for £2.50, (if you simplyturn up at the show on the day they willcharge you £7.50).

And finally …………

Paddy's pregnant sister was in a terrible caraccident and went into a deep coma. After being in the coma for nearly 6 months,she wakes up and sees that she's no longerpregnant, frantically she asks the doctor abouther baby.

The doctor replies “Ma' am you had twins! Aboy and a girl”

The babies are fine, however they were poorlyat birth and had to be christened immediately- your brother came in and named them. Thewoman thinks to herself “Oh suffering Jesusno, not me brother .......he's a flamin' cluelesseedyot!”. Expecting the worst, she asks the doctor,“Well, what's my daughter's name?”

“Denise” says the doctor

The mother is somewhat relieved “Wow, that'sa beautiful name; I guess I was wrong aboutmy brother..... I like Denise”. Then she asks“what's the boy's name?”

“Denephew”.

Kevin

Cheese and Wine Evening Friday 29th August

Please reserve me ................ places at this event. I enclose cheque for £..................

Name(s)...........................................................................................................................................

Rosie and Friends go to KimberThe alarm awoke us at 6.00am on an AprilSunday to find the sun streaming through theblinds and the promise of a brilliant day'sdriving top down through the Derbyshirelanes on the Kimber run. After a quick coffeethe picnic was packed, the top lowered onRosie, Carol's MGF, and we set off in thebright sun for the MGOC's Kimber Run fromChatsworth. After 230 miles we had an earlyspring suntan.

That was in 2007, this year was different. Carpreparation day on the Saturday began withbrushing the two-inch covering of snow offthe car! After some debate we decided toleave the hard top in place, the first time wehad done an official run with it the armourplating! Despite the forecast Rosie waswashed, wheels treated to shine the alloys,pressures and fluids checked ready for the 230miles that lay ahead on Sunday.

This year's 6.00am Sunday alarm call heraldeda very dull grey morning but at least it was dry.Carol decided a picnic was out of the questionon such a cold grey day so with no food toprepare we were on our way by 7.00am.

The dry weather lasted until Gisburn; just 6miles from home and most of the remaining79 miles to Chatsworth were covered intorrential rain, which only eased well into thePeak District. Two hours and one fuel stoplater we arrived at Chatsworth and registered.Kevin and Rosie in their gleaming RV8 haddecided to do the Kimber run with us havinglistened to our tale of the glorious 2007 runduring one of the Tavern club nights. Kevin inhis new role as club secretary felt he neededto set an example to mere members so he andRosie had got up at 5.30am for the trip south!We met up near check in and headed forrefreshments in the coach house beforemaking our way to the start line.

Over 160 cars were entered for the eventranging from a 1933 MG J2 to a 2006 MG TF.The event offers two routes. Both Preston Clubentrants had opted for the Masson Millsroute. Comfort break taken, we set off for thestart in turn. It was 4 miles into the run beforethe first driver navigator interface failed andwe missed the turn to Beeley Village. However,we were comforted to see M736 BMB comingtowards us, Kevin and Rosie having clearly

missed the same turn. We drove a few yardsfurther on, ready to turn in a farm trackgateway, only to be greeted by an iratefarmer, who refused to let us and a couple offollowing cars turn. He was one stop short ofa heart attack and after his tirade of fairlyexplicit words, stood guard to wait for othersto challenge. He obviously realised how thePeak District economy relies on visitors!

No further mishaps on the 26.9 miles toMasson Mills our mid run stop this year. Theroute was well planned and took us throughsome interesting if wet and muddy lanes. Thestop point turned out to be Arkwright's earlyMill, sadly now converted to a shopping outlet.A call to Rosie's mobile revealed she and Kevinwere in the clothes section and we arranged tomeet in the coffee shop. After some debate weagreed on a tour of the mill museum andsome shopping but were soon ready to moveon. Last year's run included Crich TramMuseum, a much better stop point.

We left the mill and after re zeroing the tripset off on the 41.2 mile second leg of theroute. This proved the more challengingsection both in terms of navigation anddriving as we ventured down many narrowlanes meeting junctions with no signposts andobscured markings. Another first for us wascrossing a river through a ford, fortunately nottoo deep despite the recent heavy rains. It wasjust after the ford that we received our secondwarm welcome from the Derbyshire natives. Agroup of young lads had thoughtfully parkedup their Mitsubishi Evo, lined up backs to theroad and dropped their trousers to “moon” atthe passing MGs. (A reference to “old farts inMGs”?) This proved a major distraction to theSat Nav. in the passenger seat but we stillmanaged to keep on track.

Rosie and Friends go to Kimber cont...

Some time around the 33 mile mark we musthave missed a turn and found ourselves at ajunction which did not appear on the routebook. We drove on to find a turning point butby now we were fairly close to Chatsworthand decided to make our own way to thecheck in.

Kevin and Rosie had stopped for their picnicso were later back at Chatsworth. After a lookround the cars and another refreshment breakat the coach house it was time for the 85 miletrip home. Two hours later we climbed out of

Rosie (car) tired but happy. She had done wellover 230 miles but by now looked likeGraham's Chelsea tractor after a day in DalbyForest! A long day, but despite the poorerweather, a good start to the 2008 MG season.A later e-mail to Kevin revealed they too had agood day. Kimber run is certainly one wewould recommend to other members. Wellorganised with interesting routes and anenjoyable run to and from Chatsworth.

Bob & Carol

Club RegaliaIf you are interested in any of the club clothing please fill in the attached form below (Please circle sizesrequired and enter quantity in the box to the right) and pass on to a member of the committee. A depositwill be required before orders are placed.

All “T” shirts are white with green embroidered badge; all other garments are green with whiteembroidered badge.We have the following items in stock: - Polo Shirts @ £8.00, Large white 'T' shirts @ £5.00 and Club Ties@ £0.50

Description

V Neck “T” Shirt

Sleeveless “T” Shirt

“T” Shirt

Polo Shirt

Rugby Shirt

Short SleevedOxford Shirt

Fleece

Baseball Cap. Bottle Green with Tan Suede Peak

X Small

N/A

Small Medium Large X Large XX Large

N/A

N/A

Price

£10.25

£7.25

£7.00

£12.50

£20.00

£17.00

£22.00

£6.00

Model No.

SS72

H704

ZT180

538

FR1

K109

870M

4200

Ladies

Ladies

All

All

All

All

All

Sized in shirt collar sized (14.5 to 20) Size rqd.............Quantity.............

One size fits all Quantity..................

8

8

34

34

10/12

10

36

36

36

37

12/14

12

38/40

38/40

38/40

41

14/16

14

42

42

42

44

18

16

44

44

44

48

46/48

46/48

46/48

5234

'Tin snips' - from Roger Schofield

Motoring journalists - can you believethem?

Giles Chapman, the former Classic & Sports Careditor has issued his latest book “The worstcars ever sold” (Sutton Publishing £9.99 - ISBN0 7509 4714 4). This book takes a look at theworst cars of the '70s and '80s. And alongsidethe Lancia Beta HPE, the Austin Allegro, theHillman Imp and the Mitsubishi Gallant is noneother than the Mk II MGB.

Whilst the MGB might not be the best car evermade, it is certainly nothing like the worst.And a lot of people agree with me - includingthe current editorial team of Classic & SportsCar magazine who, in 2007, voted the MGBsecond only to a Porsche 911 in their list of thetop 25 classic cars for under £25k. To achievethis accolade, the trusty 'B' beat the E-type (3rdplace), the Caterham 7 (4th place) and theMini Cooper S (5th place). In bestowing praiseon the B, Classic & Sports Car magazine saidthe car “…is just so willing and friendly, sousable, so practical, reliable, and easy tomaintain that it is not just the perfect firstclassic, but the ideal anytime classic. (It wasthe Porsche's extra power which allowed it toget the top spot.)

So, keep your money in your pocket and avoidGiles Chapman's book. It is clearly not one forMG enthusiasts.

Operation Tango a triumph!

The odds of colliding with an uninsured driveron Merseyside have been slashed thanks to atwo-year police campaign that has taken astaggering 20,000 vehicles off the road.

Officers have been using Automatic NumberPlate Recognition technology to stop anyonedriving without the correct licence or insurance& confiscating their vehicles - many of whichare often dangerously unroadworthy.

Confiscated cars are then displayed atprominent locations across the county to actas a warning that the Force is taking the issueseriously.

Insp. Mike McFall said: “Every member of thepublic is paying for drivers who are uninsuredand unlicensed. We want to ensure there isnowhere to hide for those who flout the law.”

What's in a number?

2591. The number is sacred in the minds ofV8 enthusiasts as the number of factory V8BGTs built at Abingdon.

However, the late Geoff Allen (ex-AbingdonRectifications Department, V8 archivist andhistorian) researched this 'mythical' figure afew years ago and found that 2600 (or even2601) may have been built.

The reason for this variety of numbers lies inthe fact that 5 pre-production cars were built(which are generally not included in the'official' production figures) and a further 4were built in the Development Department(and again, are not included in the productionfigures). The final 'mystery' car which makesup the 2601 is known to the V8 Register, but,as its chassis number does not follow the usualnumbering sequence, its provenance as a'factory' car remains to be confirmed.

If (in the future) it is proved to be a genuinefactory car, the total production of MGBGTV8sbuilt at Abingdon would number 2601; (orwould that be 2592)?

Burble, burble

And still on the subject of V8s, withmembership in the club looking healthy andgrowing all the time, V8 drivers (or, indeed,anyone else with Internet access - preferablyBroadband) might like to have a look at awebsite I have just discovered -http://www.britishv8.org.

This American-based on-line magazine is nowin its 16th year, but it is 'a cracker'! Take a lookand judge for yourself.

Spotted for sale

At Oakfields (www.oakfields.com):

MGTF 80th LE Anniversary - No 1 of the 1600cars made. New & unregistered. 45 milesonly. £29,950!!!MG SV & SVR - choice of new & unregisteredcars in RHD or LHD. £46,950 (on the road).MG ZT V8 Endurance - Race car. New/unused.The last competition car built by MG Sports &Racing. £55,000 + VAT.

McFuel

MacDonald's says it will run its 155-strongtruck fleet on bio-diesel, giving a carbon saving1675 tonnes.

Who owns who…?

We all know that MG Rover is now owned bythe recently merged NAC/SIAC conglomerateand 'Tin Snips' recently reported that Ford wasin the throws of trying to dispose of Jaguarand Volvo. But whose name is behind some ofthe other cars we see on a daily basis. Someare better known than others (and, of course,this might have all changed by the time weappear in print).

Aston Martin is owned by a consortium led byDave Richards of PRODRIVEBMW owns - Mini & Rolls RoyceChrysler owns - Dodge & JeepDaihatsu owns - PeroduaDaimler owns - Maybach, Mercedes Benz &SmartFIAT owns - Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lancia andMaseratiFord owns - Jaguar, Land Rover, Mazda & VolvoGM owns - Cadillac, Chevrolet, Hummer, Opel,SAAB & VauxhallHyundai owns - KIAProton owns - LotusPeugeot-Citroen owns…Citroen & PeugeotToyota owns - Daihatsu & LexusVW owns - AUDI, Bentley, Bugatti,Lamborghini, Seat & SkodaSubaru is owned by Fuji Heavy Industries; andSsangyong is owned by...SIAC (now NAC/SIAC)

(So, if Porsche can have the Cayenne, wemight yet see the MG badge on a 4x4!)

Not strictly Tin Snips, but worth reporting…

A schoolboy 'electronics genius' from Polandbuilt himself a TV-type remote device thatcould control the city's train system. The 14 yrold was able to use the device to switch pointsat junctions, putting trams onto different lines.The result was four derailments, severalemergency stops and a number of peoplebeing injured.

A spokesman in Lodz, Poland said: “He treatedit like any other schoolboy might treat a gianttrain set”.

Car park prangs cost a packet

Some 66,000 drivers will collide with anothervehicle this year whilst trying to park their car -and they'll incur an average repair bill of £1350as a result!

According to Accident Exchange, the growingnumber of parking scrapes is caused by thelarger size of today's cars which makes themmore difficult to manoeuvre in car parksoriginally designed for smaller models. This iscompounded by poorer visibility caused by thethicker windscreen pillars on modern cars andfront ends which are 'rounded' for pedestrianprotection but which make it harder for driversto judge where their car ends.

In closing…

Plagiarising Roche Bentley's 'trademark' closure,I spotted this joke and thought it worthincluding. (Female members stop readingnow…)

A senior citizen was driving along themotorway in his MG ZT. He eased the car upto 90 mph, enjoying the thrill of his stunningmachine. 'Amazing!' he thought as he flewalong the third lane, pushing the pedal furtherto the metal.

Looking in his rear view mirror, he saw a policecar behind him, blue light flashing and sirenblaring. 'I can get away from him - noproblem!' thought the elderly gent as heaccelerated up to 110mph, then 120mph andfinally 130mph!

Suddenly he thought: 'What on earth am Idoing? I'm too old for this nonsense!' and hepulled over onto the hard shoulder to wait forthe police car to catch up with him.

Stopping behind him, the police officer walkedup to the driver's window of the MG, looked athis watch and said, 'Sir, my shift ends in 10minutes; today is Friday and I'm off for theweekend. If you can give me a reason whyyou were speeding that I've never heardbefore, I'll let you go'.

The old man looked seriously at the policemanand said: 'Years ago, my wife ran off with apoliceman; I thought you were bringing herback!'

'Have a good day, Sir', said the policeman.

Calendar of Events for 2008Date Club Event At Time Meet

Tue 29 Apr Natter and Noggin Preston 20.00 Welcome Tavern

Sun 11 May Classic Car Show Cholmondeley Castle 09.30 Charnock Richard services

Thu 15 May Evening Run Preston 19.00 Welcome Tavern

Sun 18 May Leyland Motor Museum Leyland tba 25th anniversary

Fri-Mon 23 May North Lakes Weekend Cockermouth tba participants advised individually

Tue 27 May Show Your Car Off Preston 20.00 Welcome Tavern

Sun 8 Jun Hellifield Run Hellifield, Yorkshire tba tba

Thu 12 Jun Roger’s Run & Supper finish Southport 19.15 La Mancha Ristorante A59 Much Hoole

Sat 21 Jun North West Motor Show Southport - 09.30 Indian RestaurantVictoria Park Tarleton

Tue 24 Jun Treasure Hunt Preston 19.30 Welcome Tavern

Sat 5 Jul Lostock Hall Carnival Lostock Hall 12.00 4 open cars required

Sun 6 Jul Classic Car Show Garstang 09.30 Burlington’s, Broughton

Sun 13 Jul Classic Car Show Leighton Hall 09.30 Burlington’s, Broughton

Sun 20 Jul 21st Lancs Classic Car Show Hoghton Tower tba Hoghton Tower

Sun 27 Jul NW MG & Triumph Day Capesthorne Hall tba tba

Tue 29 Jul Auto Test Schultz Estate 19.00 Stoney Lane

Sun 3 Aug Northern National Pateley Bridge tba tba

Sun 14 Sep Lancashire Lanes Run tba tba

Outside Events

Sun 18 May Leyland Motor Museum Leyland (25th Anniversary)

Sun 1 June Classic Car Show Tatton Park

Committee, Contacts & Useful Information

Committee

Chairman Tony Sharples Leyland (01772) 495417 Mobile 07950 659470tony.sharples@blueyonder.co.uk

Secretary Kevin Doran Preston (01772) 877285kevin.doran6@btopenworld.com

Treasurer Mike Newton Liverpool (0151) 526 3419m.s.newton@btinternet.com

Membership Gordon Mallett Burnley (01282) 429658Mobile 07725503888gordon.mg@btinternet.com

Technical Andy Schultz Preston (01772) 627120Mobile 07817 173158andy@pr55xq.freeserve.co.uk

Events Bill Ryding Preston (01772) 323116william@wryding.wanadoo.co.uk

Newsletter Editor

Bill Bradshaw Chorley (01257) 261134bill.bradshaw@btinternet.com

8 Dale View, Chorley PR7 3QJ

All articles are to be sent to the editor by the 15th of the month. The Newsletter will bepublished and posted at the end of each month in time for club night.

Trading Members

Andy Schultz Cuerden Classics Preston (01772) 627120Mobile 07817 173158andy@pr55xq.freeserve.co.uk

John Ashworth Accident Repairs etc Croston (01772) 600964