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Issue 12 - Winter 2009

The magazine for vehicle enthusiastsClassic - Collectable - Unusual

North Norfolk

Classic Vehicle Club


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Cover PhotoJims 1968 Morris Traveller

The end of another successfulclub year, would you believeit. Winter is time to sort out those

odd gremlins with our motors andget ready for the excitement of spring and chance to get out andabout.

Club membership has continued togrow, but what has not continuedwith that growth is the growthin the number of articles whichare supplied to editor Roy. Since

the inception of our club wouldyou believe that all of the articlessupplied have been written by

just 20% of our total membership.Does this suggest that the clubmagazine is not an important itemin the minds of most club mem-

bers. Or is it more likely that you put off writing an article for onereason, or another. Put simply most

classic car drivers have somethingto write about even if they think otherwise. Some really good itemshave come from members whohave picked up the baton havingwritten nothing before for any pub-lication. Roy is passionate about

producing a good magazine, pleasesupport him and get writing. Hewill accept longhand articles, (we

have members who will type theseup) or send to him by email. Thereis no point him scratching aroundfor each issue, let us now pulltogether and keep him in print for years. One hour is all you need.He would be overjoyed to have a

library of articles to draw from.

That is the business bit out of the

way. What else do I need to say?At all of our events club membersget together and chat, at indoor events it is the same, this is a very

pleasing thing as membership of the club should give us all exactlythat. We all need to remember though that new people join theclub, they may feel on the edgewhen rst attending events. The

involvement of all members at-tending events is so necessary for everyone. Each of us can help out

by being on the lookout for a newface and making them welcome. Isee this happening within the cluband long may it continue.

I hope that you have had as gooda year within the club as I have

had. I look forward to our clubevents in 2010. Oh Yes the rstmajor event which you might wishto work towards is the St GeorgesDay on Sunday April 25th, if youcan bring your motor along and

join the run great, if you cannotthen please come along and help uson the day, your help will be vital,whether you can spare us a couple

of hours, a morning, or the wholeday.

Happy Christmas and a Prosper-ous New Year.

Geoff

Chairmans report - SEPTEMBER 2009

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Secretarys Jottings

W hen the Steering Committeestarted out in November andDecember 2006 we thought thatif about 45 to 50 of those who hadshown interest joined we wouldhave suf cient numbers to runa club as it happened 51 fullmembers joined up at our inauguralmeeting on January 22nd 2007 sowe had a club ! As I write we nowhave 168 full members and othersare applying to join all the time.If you take into account all thespouses, partners and children whoare associates we must have over 500 members. As to the number of classic, collectable or interestingvehicles owned by our membershipwe are not sure but it has to bewell over 300. I believe that myfellow of cers and committee havedelivered on our original promisesto provide a range of events, runsand shows to suit every ones taste.Particular thanks are due to Geoff our Chairman and Rex our Mem-

bership Secretary and Treasurer who both work tirelessly on our

behalf.

We are no fast approaching theThird Annual General Meetingso I am taking this opportunityof publishing the formal notice asrequired by the Rules and Constitu-tion of the Club. Should you want to

propose any changes to the Rules &Constitution please let me know inwriting before 11th January whichis the date of our next committeemeeting. Please remember thatyou do not have to own a classic,collectable or interesting vehicle to

belong to the Club. If you have an

interest then that is good enough.Please do not forget the dresscode when we have meetings atSheringham Golf Club no bluedenim jeans or trainers.

At this time I would like to thank allour Advertisers without which themagazine would not be viable.

May I wish you all a Prosperous andHappy and Healthy New Year

Roy

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Committee ContactsChairman/Events Geoff Jones 01263 860676

Vice Chair Christine Sparrow 07796 593461

Secretary Roy Beckley 01263 837619Treasurer/Membership Rex Chipp 01362 688814

Events Norman Fuller 01263 825501

07740816294Disclaimer:Please note that although every care is taken, the North Norfolk Classic Vehicle Club (The Club) accepts no responsibility for the retu rn of photographs

or other material submitted from contributors. Care is also ta ken to ensure that the contents of all our publications are accurate but the club cannot accept

responsibility for any errors that may occu r for the statements or views that occur editorially.

Whilst care is taken when accepti ng advertisements, if in doubt readers should make their own enquiries. The Club cannot accept any

responsibility for any resulting unsatisfactory transactions. Nor shall the club be liable for loss damage or injury to any

person or proper ty act ing on infor mation containe d in the Club Magazine or any other Club Publicat ion or the

Club Web site. The Club will however, Investigate any written complaints which they receive


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Motoring in Print.By Brian Thompson.

This summer at Weybournestation on the North Norfolk

Railway I bought three setsof old Motor Sport magazinespanning 1959-61. Being bornin 1961 I can just about say thatthis period of motoring history is

before my time! The main reasonfor purchase was to nd oldadvertisements for early spe-cials, the ancestors of todayskit cars, which is a subject I ndfascinating. Sure enough therewere ads for The ConvairFord 8/10 Conversion, Austin7 specials such as the Super,Cadet and Falcon Mk1, theFalcon Mk2, Ashley Laminates1172 body and many moreinteresting self build cars such

as the AKS Continental, but thesurprise was how interesting allthe magazines were as a recordof general motoring history,especially the period ads.

For example, when did you lastsee disc brakes advertised? In1959 these were still relativelynew and only to be found onracing cars and top quality roadcars. The Girling ad loudly pro-claims 43 rsts in 1958 GrandPrix and other major eventsthroughout the world and Now

Motor Sport gives top marksto Girling Disc Brakes. Thenfollows a list of cars tted withtheir disc brakes as standard,AC Ace, AC Aceca, ArmstrongSiddeley Star Sapphire, AstonMartin DB 2/4, Triumph TR3,Lister Jaguar, Lotus, Peerless,Fairthorpe and Tojeiro. Herewe are fty years on and I cant

think of a modern car that hasntgot disc brakes as standard.

Do you fancy Quicker warmingup in winter? Then t a MoryRadblind, which will also giveyou reduced engine wear,economy in petrol, increased

power and greater heater ef -ciency, prices from 50 shillings.

No thanks, Ive got a thermostat.Another ad, which brings home just how basic cars were in thosedays, is for Trafalgar Wind-screen Washers. This depictsan of cial looking gentlemanin a white coat saying, In myopinion nobody should

be allowed on the

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road without one. Oh dear, I dontthink my Clio has Trafalgar wash-ers, how irresponsible of me, and

they were only 27/6d.Rally cars have changed out of allrecognition as well. The 1959 Sun-

beam Rapier ad celebrates record breaking rally wins with a seriesof pictures showing the worksrally cars in action, with the onlyvisual difference to the standardcar being a pair of spot lamps and

a number on the side! Todaysrally cars seem to have more incommon with the space shuttlethan their road going equivalent.

Some of the written articlesare worthy of mention such asthe one concerning the Dunlop

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Maxaret unit. Initially developedfor aircraft use this unit wasan early form of anti lock

braking consisting of a mechani-cally operated bypass valve thatreleased hydraulic pressure toany one wheel when that wheellocked up. A Jaguar MkVII was

tted with one Dunlop Maxareton each wheel and tests werecarried out against a standardPorsche on a slippery runway.The tests revealed obvious

advantages in having anti-lock brakes tted, which begs thequestion, why has it taken nearly

fty years to have all road carstted with anti-lock brakes as

standard? Cost is my guess.There is a regular featureentitled Veteran-Edwardian-Vintage that is devoted to old

car matters. It is reassuring tosee that there were enthusiastic

people dedicated to the preserva-

tion of the older car, just like our club. Although pre war cars aresometimes referred to as WhiteElephants, which probablyre ects some peoples opinionthat older cars are just a money

pit, but some people seemed to be looking to the future, activelyseeking older cars. The classi edsection contains an advert that

starts White Elephants Wanted,anything stylish, exotic, sporting pre 1939. Other classi edsmake you wish for a timemachine to snap up some neold specimens. For example howabout a 1936 Railton StraightEight Saloon for 135, or aBugatti Type 44 for 50?

The classi eds is also a placeto nd humour, how aboutthis gem. Wife desires sale of 1950 D type Healy Silverstone,365. Or this, Too fast for

present wife. 1955 Frazer-NashSebring, or even this, SportingCommentator out talked byunsporting wife sacri ces hisFrazer-Nash Le Mans Replica,

NMA 631.Stuart Hall,Glossop 2325! Other lesschauvinistic examples also mademe chuckle. 6ft 2in owner,1933 J2 MG incompatible,Glorious Opportunity to corner the junk market! 1936 Morris 82-door saloon (clapped).Also 1936 Jowett

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7 4-door saloon (not quite soclapped but still a heap),Idiot Wanted to buy my FordV8-Alvis special and NotFor Peasants and MG types,Riley Imp..320.

Customers of Anthony Hyde-East insurance broker were alsotreated to a touch of humour every month. Anthony Hyde-East. Whilst conducting businessas a Life Assurance Consultantand Fire and General InsuranceBroker, can be persuaded, from

time to time, to arrange a limitedamount of Motor Insurance.And The Motor Show maymean a new car or just a resolveto brighten up old faithful. Itmust however, be pain with the

pleasure, that unpopular but by no mean insigni cant item-

INSURANCE. Anthony Hyde-East, international insurance

broker, is noted for his ability tomake the in iction bearable.

Attitude to speed was a lotdifferent to the safety conscioussociety of today. The editorial inthe December 1959 issue extolsthe virtues of the new M1 mo-torway and states, experienceddrivers can achieve usefully highaverage speeds on this road incomplete safety. A driver whohad never seen the Motorway

before covered the 57 miles between Watford and the A5 inexactly 30 minutes, an averagespeed of 114.4 mph. This was

between dusk and darkness, butnever once did he have to use the

brakes hard or blow the horn! Good grief.

Pauls rebuild - story for another day!

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Lots of bright eyed and

bushy tailed club membersassembled at Holt NNR railwaystation at 6.15am for the coachto the NEC. As usual the tiptop luxury coach from Richardsof Guist turned up on the dotand whisked us off to the NEC.Arriving at 10.40am we hadover 6 hours to wander roundend enjoy the sights.

There is so much to see evenin this short time. I always ndmyself like a kid in a sweetshop, having no idea what tolook at rst. Arriving in Hallone where lots of vehicles werefor sale we had a good look round, but what prices!!!

Whilst looking around the hallwe came across the TriumphSports Six Club. A rather special Herald was on display,a hatchback. Knowing they hadnot produced any Rex, SteveHubbard and yours truly wererather puzzled. It turned outto be a prototype, but, never having been put into productionit was purchased by someoneand used it till it collapsedwhen it spent 20 years under a sheet in a garden in Telford.

Now restored and painted pale blue it looked great. The bestfeature of it for me was the sidewindow area behind the frontdoors, for each side had been

built differently to assess which

people preferred before possible production. It was decided asthey had the coupe and theestate a hatchback was notneeded. Ah well.

I can only really mentionvehicles which took my eye sono apologies for missing outthe Bugatti Veyron and a lot of

other expensive kit.A Humber Imperial tted fromnew with a V8 engine and stillrunning was on show. Some 30were built as a trial but wereconsidered too thirsty to putinto production. Comsumptionit must have been poor for mostof the model range were notknown for economy.A couple of Borgward IsabellaCoupes took my eye too, inwonderful condition both insideand out. I have a thing aboutcream Bakelite knobs and

buttons on the dashboard. So

The club visit to the NEC Classic CarShow 2009

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few exist it may well be the casethat few wrecks remain to befound.

I also liked the cream knobsand buttons on the dash of theAustin Atlantic Convertiblethat was on show. This was theactual car used in the Indiana-

polis long distance trials wherethe car ran for 7 days both dayand night. The hood was fairlytattered generally dents andcreases here and there and the

paint was well past its best butit still looked a very

nice car. It is all very well hav-ing a pristine vehicle but oftenones that show all the scars of 50 years or more somehow arestill great to see.

Nearby were the DKW andthe Wartburg Stand, showingoff excellent examples of their 1950s cars. Two strokemotoring at its best? They were

popular motors in Europe butthey were also often seen in theUK, in fact a RHD DKW 1000is for sale in the UK now.

This year Citroen were celebrat-ing 90 years of production andalso the 75th of the TractionAvant. They had brought over three examples from their Conservatoire in Paris. Thiswas a really super stand, witha varied range of vehicles andmany early examples in RHD.

The Sunbeam Talbot clubhad I think the best stand onthe show. They had a pristine1954 model on display, with achassis and running gear alongside it, but most impressivelythey had a barn nd that satthere looking like it was still inthe bottom of the hedge it had


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been in for the last 30 years. Agreat deal of effort must have

been put into it, but it rang allmy bells.

Rex did his bit manning the6/80 MO stand for a while,Steve and myself had a wander round and agreed to meet him,

but when we arrived back hewas still deeply engrossed,so we left him to enjoy the

experience. They had a verynice Morris Six on display, anda well restored 1949 Oxford for sale at a fairly reasonable price,

but something rather unusualtoo. It was a Morris Oxford1953 ish four door in Ivory butconvertible. Still using the 4opening doors a huge amount of strengthening had been addedto make it rigid, it was thenused for the owners wedding.

Far too many other exhibitswhich I have not mentioned aresurely worthy of praise, but for that you will need to visit theshow at some point yourself.

Next year the club visit is to beon Friday November 12th thecoach leaves at 6.25am fromHolt and I am accepting book-ings now. Oh and no money isrequired until September 1st2010 either.

Geoff

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IAM flood advice for drivers

With more ooding predicted, the IAM (Institute of AdvancedMotorists) has today (18 November) issued advice to drivers.

IAM Chief Examiner Peter Rodger said: If the journey isunavoidable, motorists should take extra precautions when deal-ing with severe surface conditions. Torrential rain brings with itvisibility problems as the car mists up in seconds.

Advice for motorists considering driving in flood conditions:

1. Dont go in if the waters obviously too deep or owing tooquickly: consider an alternative route.

2. If you have to drive through water try to drive in the highestsection of the road and dont set off if a vehicle is travelling in theopposite direction. Leave time and space for each other, so youdont swamp other drivers.

3. Drive only fast enough to create a small bow wave in front of the vehicle - driving at speed may be dangerous to other vehicles

or pedestrians.4. Keep going once you have started - make sure you have a clear

run, put the car into rst gear, keep the revs high and set off. Dontgo in if you cant see a way out on the other side.

5. Do not take your foot even slightly off the accelerator, as thiswill allow water to travel up the exhaust pipe. As you go throughthe water, slip the clutch if you can. After you come out, dry

brakes gently before you need them - the best way is to lightly

apply the brake as you drive along for a few seconds.6. At the other side, keep moving and continue to rev the engine

to clear any water from the exhaust.

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IAM Check your mate -the pitfalls oflending your car

As Joey barton was due in court a few weeks ago for failingto.....

supply details of the driver of his car which was caught speeding,the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists) reminds car ownersthat it pays to know the potential pitfalls of lending your car. Were coming up to the season of designated driving, and car owners should make sure they understand their responsibilities

before handing over their keys.

As a car owner, its your responsibility to ensure your car isroadworthy, correctly taxed and insured.You will also be the one to bear the brunt of certain parkingoffences. [1]You also need to make sure the person borrowing has a validDriving licence, is insured and is not under the in uence of drink or drugs. Its also worth bearing in mind that as a driver you have certainresponsibilities for your passengers,for example making sure those under 14 are strapped in.

Owners are responsible for:Knowing who is driving the car Parking penaltiesBeing insured

Drivers are responsible for:Seatbelt wearing by passengers under 14Having the right address on their driving licenseBeing insured

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Born in the USA

Even as early as 1910 Americahad a burgeoning motor industry producing literallyhundreds of different modelsof cars and trucks, they had itwould seem very few long dis-tance roads on which to travel.Often towns had very poor unmade roads radiating a fewmiles out but not reaching anygreat distance towards the nexttown or county. The railroadsystem brought into being inthe mid 1800s allowed people totravel and settle across the wholecountry, but, generally not far from the railroad depots wheresupplies for came in.

The favourite method of

transport until the arrival of the automobile was of coursethe horse, the buck wagon, the

prairie schooner, the mule or onfoot. Speeds were low as no re-ally good road system existed or

perhaps even was really needed,wagons only travelled at walking

pace.

After the end of WW1 the motor industry renewed their produc-tion of automobiles and thegeneral realisation that improvedvehicles needed at least half decent roads to travel along, notold tracks in poor condition.

An expedition to cross thecountry was mounted by theArmy amongst using all manner of vehicles to cope with the poor conditions along the way. Thiswas a fourfold exercise. Firstlythe equipment used would be

put through as hard a test asthey could provide runningalmost always over roughground. Secondly observerswould conduct detailed studiesfor future road building plans.Thirdly it was to be a sort of recruiting drive. Over 3 milliontroops had been demobbedor were about to be so, whichmeant the army needed moremen to join up.(Interesting pointat that time the army apparentlydid not use conscription. Finallyand perhaps most important themotor train was the Govern-ments contribution to the GoodRoads movement. Washingtonhad decided it was time to get

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into the road building business.

Whilst there was some enthu-siasm for this huge numbers of

people still used horses and didnot want the imposition of roadsupon the nation.

In Pennsylvania there was evena Farmers Anti-AutomobileAssociation with this wonderfulset of rules.

1 Automobiles travelling oncountry roads at night must send

up a rocket every mile, then waitten minutes for the road to clear.The driver may then proceed withcaution, blowing his horn andshooting off Roman candles as

before.

2 If the driver of an automobilesees a team of horses approachinghe is to stop, pull over to one side

of the road, and cover his machinewith a blanket or dust cover whichis painted or coloured to blend inwith the scenery, and thus render the machine less noticeable.

3 In case the horse is unwilling to pass an automobile on the road,the driver of the car must take themachine apart as rapidly as pos-sible, and conceal the parts in the

bushes. Try doing that today

Crikey they forgot about the manwalking in front with a red ag!!

Before the advent of this huge plan it would take around 7 weeksto cover the distance from eastto west, nowadays it would takearound 5 days, so at least some-

thing has happened for the better.The rst Transcontinental Motor Train left Washington DC onJuly 7th 1919. Since there wereno decent roads of course theyhad no road maps as such. With81 vehicles including ex militarylorries and mobile kitchens theytoiled to make their way west.

Generally covering 50 or 60 miles per day they made camp in or near towns on the route. As theTrain rolled into the next townthey then had chance to promotethe plan to pave a road across

from coast to coast.Convincing localson the way was veryimportant, even local

towns raising moneyto pave a bit of road intheir area.

Many of the wooden bridges, often of thecovered variety, werequite incapableof car-

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rying the weight of the larger vehicles, thus much fording of rivers was necessary as the trainrolled on westwards.

Breakdowns were plentiful, theex army lorries acting mainly asrecovery vehicles. Dust, heat and

bumpy roads all played their partto ensure the trip was fraughtwith hazards.

Speeds of up to 7 miles an hour were often the norm, one canimagine how bad it must have been hour after hour day after day.

At one stop over the Red Cross provided sustenance for the crewson their rest day. It is recordedthat they consumed 70 gallons of lemonade, 35 gallons of icecream,400 chocolate bars and 500 pack-ets of cigarettes, some canteen.The route took them throughChicago to Omaha then via Chey-anne to Laramie and onward toSalt Lake City and eventually toSan Francisco. Interesting enoughis that on the route is a town bythe name of Wendover. It washere during WW11 that USAAF

bomber crew were trained before being deployed in Britain amongstother places. Many men serving atRackheath air eld were trained atWendover. A visit to RackheathIndustrial Estate will nd youdriving along Wendover Road,

a tting tribute toaircrew who ew

from the eld and did not return.

They arrive in San Franciscoon 6th September when all but6 vehicles made it to the end.Whilst this epic trip started the

plan to put in a national roadnetwork it was not until 1956 thePresident Eisenhower signed intolaw the building of the interstatesystem.

Why not read the whole story.

American Road by Pete DaviesPublished by Henry Holt and Co.ISBN 0 8050 6883 X (bb)

You did what witha two wheel drivetruck?

This excerpt is taken from thewar diary of my father, it may

not be politically correct, but itwas written between July 22ndand August 5th 1943. He was amember of the 11th battalionRoyal Tank Regiment. Postedto the Western Desert he spentsome time around Cairo fromwhere this journey was made. Theextracts from his war diary are

printed as written, these extractsare in italics. On July 22nd 1943 I was in- structed to draw a Bedford 15cwt wireless truck, being stationed in Cairo went for a last look round the city in the truck. Packed up ready for 05.00 reveille when they


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were to move off. The journey was to be one of 1500 miles to be made acrossthe western desert in the aforementioned truck which was only2 wheel drive. The conditionswere so bad that most vehicleswould only last 2000 miles or sodue to sand and its ability to geteverywhere. A small oil leak anywhere spelt a short life for any part involved, On July 24th we picked up aload of blacks East Africans straight from the jungle.Basuto tribe I think. They had the whitest teeth I have ever seen. Driving via El Alamein we

passed the crosses of the many who would not be returning home. Mine elds were about 40 miles thick so we keep to the main tracks even though it is more than a year since the battle of El Alamein nished the mines have not been cleared and will still do their deadly task. Anyone electing to leave the road will be blown sky high. Scores of German graves. July 25th Set off for Bug-Bug at 6.00am. Drove through Mersda Matruh and Sidi Barrami which is just a heap of rubble. We encounter hundreds of lorries,cars, tanks, guns and planes all burnt and smashed and blown up. The western desert is just hundreds of miles of sand and rocks. One road? and one rail-

way. Have a raging temperature took even more aspirin. July 26th Set off for Tobruk at 6.30am and arrived at Tobruk at 15.30 after 120 miles of very rough track full of shell and mine holes. We passed through Sollum and Hell re Pass which is a beauty winding above the bay. Shortly afterwards we crossed the border into Libya.Fort Carpazzio is only a pile of rubbish about 2 feet high.Nearby are two cemeteries and of course the Italian Arch which marks the longitude for clock altering. There are few buildings left standing, every town is a wreck. Scores of graves on the roadside near Tobruk. July 27th 07.00 start Had a drive round Tobruk, the harbour still full of sunken wrecks. Managed 109 miles today camped in the desert near Derna.

July 28thThe roads have been awful for the past three days.Set off at 07.00 went down the seven hairpins bends into Derna (the Jewel in the Italian Empire).Struck better roads out of Derna

passing many colonised Italian farms on the way, everywhere was green and lush, a change from the desert, trees and bushes

galore. July 29th Swarms of locusts today as big as sparrows, ying in huge swarms.


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Stopped for a break in Bengazi.In a convoy of about 80 trucks,it was dusty as hell, we were

pleased to have the chance to swim in a salt lake, lovely, our

rst soak for a week. After a week of bully beef and biscuits we had a cooked meal. The temperature was so hot the bully beef was just a runny mess in a tin. We were promised a day off here but as usual it was just a load of bull. July 30th Our vehicles were to be serviced by the ROAC (Royal Army Ordinance Corps), but then they decided we should do it, we messed around like a load of fools, drove three miles today. July 31st Set off at 6.30am, the road is very bad again so only about 8mph.The countryside turned back to desert once more. August 1st after two days hard driving we covered another 170 miles. Found ourselves by the Med, chance for a swim as the temperature is 110F in the shade.We need to be careful with mines and booby traps being everywhere, anything in the least bit attractive will be booby trapped for certain. Another night camped in the desert, this means lying under the truck, need the toilet? Well walk 100 yards into the desert and drop your trousers. Water

is a problem, every

water hole is fouled and we are thirsty as hell. The Basuto lads drink any sort of water just like cows do. Sucking a pebble helps. August 3rd. The whole day was spent driving over bombed tracks, one hole very 100 yards.Lots of salt marshes in the area,no drinking water till tomorrow.We have only stale water but no more chlorine tablets, so suck a

pebble. August 4th Drove through and area of palm trees (dates) some twenty miles across near Misu- rata. There is a Naa in Misurata but we are not allowed near it,they staged us 13 miles out in the desert. In the past 535 miles there were two Naa s neither of which we were allowed into, not even for a bar of soap.


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August 5th travelled our last 126 miles to arrive in Tripoli at 15.30 and handed over the trucks and our loads at the Grand Prix car

racing stadium, I managed to get a lap in rst. Camped near the sea, used a cup of tea to shave in.We are now out of a job waiting in the transit camp for transport to Rafah (Palestine). The food here is awful and there is a lot of it! Have seen maggots in the bully beef. Butter is painted on the bread with a brush (honest).

Temperature up to 120 in the shade.Pomegranates and monkey nuts are safe to eat the Basuto lads

have been on the scrounge for us. His journey was over 14 days

and covered 1500 miles, no restdays and driving dawn till dusk.The roads were composed of tarmac, dust tracks and puresand, all driven in a two wheeldrive truck. When you hear of the numbersof people today who cannotnegotiate the roads in the UK

unless they have a four wheeldrive!!!!

Geoff

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Could you writeanother piece forthe magazine theman said!

The man in question is of course our esteemed editor.IIl see what I can do was myreply and then I thought about it.I really covered all my 4 wheelexperiences in the long articleconcerning our Austin A30 sowhat next? I know lll bore themwith a short piece on outboardmotors. Well, after all, they arevehicles, or at least the propul-sive power for a boat. Las a boata vehicle yes it is a vehicle for traversing water at least thatsmy excuse!

As most of you will knowas well as our beloved A30,Olive, we collect and restoreold outboard motors. Not for

pro t just for fun. Ann isentirely responsible for thisinterest and I will explain why.About three years ago we werewalking around the Wells boat

jumble (as you do when youown small dinghies) and I spiedan old British Seagull coylysitting in the corner of a stand. Iinformed my management that itwas a 1960 s Century Plus andrattled on about its performanceetc. Following the initial look that all males will understandAnn said you know a quite alot about those, why dont youcollect them? Not a bad idea aswe already had oneSeagull in thegarage.


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Later that year I was clearing outa friends workshop and foundanother. That was the start andlike Topsy the collection hasgrown. My rst thoughts were to

concentrate completely on BritishSeagull but inevitably there arenow others in the collection built

by British manufacturers plustwo foreigners, one from theUSA and one from Canada.

The history behind the develop-ment of these machines isfascinating, or at least I nd it so.

In the USA there is a large fol-lowing of this interest with manyfolk of the Antique OutboardMotor Club Inc., owning collec-tions counted in the hundreds.Some restore the engines to avery high standard - too high inmy opinion becauseyou would be afraid to use themwhilst others restore to the condi-tion that the motorswould have looked like whenthey left the works. Membersalso keep them in thestate they were found with themechanics overhauled but theextemal condition, shallwe say, showing their age.Personally l like the ex worksand workaday condition andthe motors in our collectionre ect this standard. It gives mea good deal of pleasure whenwe use an old engine on our alloy shing dinghy with all thesmoke and characteristic noise.Ann says it gives her slightly less

enjoyment!

A Very Short HistoryOf Seagull Out-board Motors

P roduction commenced in 1931at Wolverhampton where theMarston Segue|l was

produced by the Sunbeam Motor Company (well known for their

bicycles andmotorcycles). The original modelhad many of the features of later versions but the

silencer of the exhaust systemresembled an inverted baseball bat! Other tments included aVilleins ywheel ignition system,Amal carburettor and an exhaustthat had its exit undenrvater. Theresulting outboard developed2HP for its 78cc capacity. Themotor was marketed by theBristol Motor Boat Company.

It was a quality built two strokeoutboard made from salt water resistant materials.

In the mid 1930s Marston soldtheir interests to an entrepreneur,John WayHope, and BillPincer a design engineer. Atthis point the product becamethe famous British Seagull and

production moved to Poole,Dorset. The baseball bat si-lencer was discontinued but withthe introduction of the 102 Modelthe company had a model thatwas to be produced for decades.Many 102s were built for theServices during WW2, including10,000 roughly nished motorsthat were needed in a hurry and

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please let us know. I say us because two of the motors thatwe own are ones that Ann likedwhen she saw themand are consequently in her

ownership. I have given Roy acopy of a short history of British Seagull wot I wrote for the History of Advertising Trustin South Norfolk. l hopeyou nd it of interest. They didnot have any information on thesubject (they haveowl), and were very helpful in

providing us with old advertise-

ments relating to Austincars. Ah well, back to the Asy-lum!Andrew Dawson and Ann Hook A30 JVG 540

NOTICE OF THIRDANNUAL GENERALMEETING

to be held atSheringham Golf Club on Mon-day 15th February 2010 at 7.30pmOrder of Business1 To receive Chairmans reporton the activities of the Club in the

preceding year 2 To receive the Treasurersreport and approve and adopt theStatement of Accounts3 To consider and approve anyalterations to the Constitution andRules (See below)4 To Appoint the Of cers andCommittee members to serve for the ensuing period5 To appoint an Honorary Auditor

who shall not be amember of the

Committee

6 To x the membership fees for the following period (See below)7 To deal with any other business,which the Chairman, at his solediscretion shall permit to be

discussed in open meeting. Anymember who wishes a matter not otherwise on the agenda to

be discussed shall within 7 daysof receiving this notice givein writing to the Chairman or Secretary details of the matter to

be discussed. Any matters dis-cussed under any other businessshall not be subject to any voting

whatsoever Note : The Committee are proposing the following as analteration to the Rules and Con-stitution. The changes are shownin redOBJECTS The principal aimis to promote through socialand recreational activities theinterest and enjoyment of classic,

collectable and interesting motor vehicles of every description.What constitutes classic, collect-able or interesting is subjective

based on or in uenced by the personal feelings, tastes andopinions of Members which will

be respected, however from timeto time the Committee may haveto decide if a vehicle be excluded

by reason of age, marque or model from a particular displayor parade, whether organised bythe Club or otherwise and their decision shall be nal.The Committee are als o propos-ing that the Annual membershipfee be unchanged at 18 for thecoming year so you can pay Rexas soon as you like.


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Design By Marc Wilford

Nncvc Winter 09

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Transcript of Nncvc Winter 09