26 nncvc magazine summer autumn 2013

7/27/2019 26 NNCVC Magazine Summer Autumn 2013

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Issue 26 Summer/Autumn 2013

The magazine for vehicle enthusiastsClassic - Collectable - Unusual - Interesting

www.nncvc.org.uk


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2

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Chairmans Report

3

Crikey the season is nearlyover and almost time toput our motors to bed for thewinter. I know many of us still

use them during the winter, butbeing able to nd a day whenthe roads are dry and salt freeas well as sugar beet sludge freedoes take some hope on behalfof the owner.Our winter events are upon usand some good things are onoffer. Miss at your peril the

November meeting when IanMcLachlan is coming to talkto us about The USAAF overhere!! Our popular festive lunchand the Mincepie night and theNew Years walk are all on thehorizon. Each and everyone ofthese events is worth turningout for. These are all a must.fornew membersWe are looking for possibleevents for our 2014 calendar,ideally we need to occupy ourpartners on as many events aspossible. If you have somethingin mind why not let one of yourcommittee know details, these

can be considered for inclusionnext year. The club belongs tous all and we are very happyto have suggestions from themembers for events.You will recall that I will bestanding down at the AGM,time for a new driver to take thewheel. To ensure continuity it is

best that my replacement comesfrom the existing committeeas experience is hence already

known about the way theclub runs. We have a suitablecandidate who has put himselfforward for the Chair and also aVice Chairman too. In the event

that no other members wishesto take the post they will goforward for election at the AGMin January. More about thisfrom Secretary Roy.Many of you will know that Iam passionate about the wellbeing of our club, so when Istep down I will still be helping

out where I can, or perhaps itwill be where the committeewill let me!! Whoever the Chairand Vice Chair are to be Iwould urge you all at this pointto make sure you fully supportthem in the task of taking theclub forward.

I am very much lookingforward to supporting myreplacement and I do so hopethat you are too. It is an excitingtime for us all.

I look forward to seeing you allduring our winter events, it is

always good to hear about thetasks on the horizon to keep ourmotors running.

Geoff

Front Cover - a scene fromour Summer Fair and Classic

Vehicle Show at BeestonRegis


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MagazineEditor - Roy Beckley

[email protected]

Design and layout - Marc Wilford

Printed by Cheverton Printers, Cromer

Secretarys Report

First of all apologies for the latepublication of this magazine butI hope you will nd it interestingespecially as we have some articles

from members who have not cotrib-uted in the past. In fact I have had tohold back some articles for the nextissue.

The Club has had a very busysummer with lots of events to enjoyin the good weather which nallyarrived. There has been plenty tochoose from incuding some goodaway visits on our MondayClub nights. Our thanks to BrianWillcocks for his efforts which alsoinclude organising the speakers forour autumn and winter club nights.

The Summer Fair & Classic Vehicle

Show held at Beeston Regis HolidayPark was a great success enablingour charity partners to raise over4.500 between them with uptoanother 900 being available fromGift Aid All the costs werecovered by sponsors and advertiserin the souvenir brochure and many

thanks are due to them especiallyour main sponsor Regent Garage.

Turning now to Club matters Geoffstanding down as our Chairmanand handing over the Horn after7 years. The Club was founded in2007 following a plea from Geoff inthe Autumn of 2006.Also Christine and Geof Sparroware standing down at the AGM.

I am pleased to advise members thatBob Smith ( of Triking fame) andColin Baxter ( of olive green MGB

and our walk organiser ) will beproposed by the committee asChairman and Vice Chairmanrespectively at the AGM inFebruary 2014.

The Committee are alreadyworking on the programme for nextyear which as always will enable

everybody to enjoy the lovelyClassic,Collectable Unusual andInteresting vehicles owned by ourgrowing membership.

Roy

Committee ContactsChairman Geoff Jones 01263 860676

Vice Chairman Christine Sparrow 01603 781917

Secretary Roy Beckley 01263 837619

Treasurer/Membership Rex Chipp 01603 788726

Events Graham Gibbins 01263 826042

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

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

responsibility for any errors that may occur for the statements or views that occur editorially. Whilst care is taken when accept ing adver-

tisements, 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 property acting

on information contained in the Club Magazine or any other Club Publication or the Club Web site. The

Club will however, investigate any wr itten complaints which they receive.4


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News from theFederation ofBritish HistoricVehicle Clubs

Stop PressFollowing a meeting with the

DVLA on 10th October the

Federation have been asked to pass

the following information to all its

members

DVLA Local Ofces will beginto close from 25 October. Thecentralisation of services atDVLA Swansea has meant thatnew policies and procedures havehad to be considered, includingthe photocopying and authenti-cating of documents supporting

a V765 application and how toobtain a tax disc following aV765 application.These changes and the newprocedures will be communicatedin detail to Owners clubs onthe V765 scheme before the rstofces close.

The V765 form is used to registera vehicle under its originalregistration Number

The Norwich ofce of the DVLAcloses on Friday 25th October

Massey Harris Trac-tor Collection

The May Club meeting wasa visit to Marsham, and thehome of Bob Parke. There arevarious levels of collector, whichrange from the casual to fa-natical, and I think, in the nicestpossible way, Bob must qualifyin the fanatical category. He hasamassed over 50 single marquetractors from The Massey Harrisrange. These are complimented

with equipment and models,and all have been painstakinglyrestored to a high order of nish.

They are also all in workingorder. Bob very kindly provided atour and explanation of the col-lection, and nished with a visitto the workshop. 40 membersparticipated in a very enjoyableevening. Tea was provided byBob, and the local Royal BritishLegion Womens section offeredcakes. The rafe proceeds were

donated to The RBLWS, andwere gratefully received.

Brian5


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HOLKHAM HALL.Holkham Hall Country Fairwas as usual held over twodays, this year being Saturdayand Sunday 27th and 28th July.

Classic Cars were restrictedto just fty each day and theparking area to say the leastwas very poor, with no viewof the main ring and almostout of sight of the publics eye.Marshalling on entry to thesite on Saturday was appallingwith nobody seeming to know

where we were supposed topark and this year there was noClassic Vehicle parade in themain ring. We have howeverbeen promised better next year.Watch this space!?

Other than this the show wasits usual entertaining self with

mounted pony games, paradeof the Championship YouthMarching Band and a wonder-ful display by the Kings TroopRoyal Artillery Musical Displaycomplete with gun carriages.

With lots of stalls to visit

together with all the entertain-ment this is certainly a goodday out for all the family insuper surroundings especiallyif the weather is kind, as it wasthis year.

One word of warning, if you gonext year for the rst tine, takea picnic, as we found the foodmostly awful and hideouslyexpensive!G.S.

Next years event willbe over the weekendof 26th/27th July 2014

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HEVENINGHAMHALLW

e attended the Wings &

Wheels (Country Fair) atHeveningham Hall which was on6th & 7th July via a picturesqueroute from Cromer.Unfortunately we were latearriving and the gate forexhibitors cars was closed sowe went to the main gate. Even

though we had booked, wewere unable to go to the classiccar area and had to park in thepublic car park. Consideringthat older cars are more likely tobreak down en-route,it would have been helpful if thedesignated entrance had beenopen for longer.Apart from that, the event wasvery well organised and in abeautiful setting. There were lotsof activities and events in themain ring to suit all tastes.There were two displays by theThe Blades RAF Team (ex

Red Arrow pilots) who gavea stunning show . They areperforming at the CromerCarnival in August, instead ofthe Red Arrows this year andI dont think people will bedisappointed.Among the classic vehicles was

a 1928 Vauxhall 20/60, towingan old Eccles caravan of simiarvintage, also a 1934 Austin 18

Carlton, again with a similartype of caravan.Over two days, approximately130 cars were listed to attend,together with motocycles and

tractors.We feel it would be a very goodday out for the NNCVC next,year the dates being 5th & 6thJuly 2014Kind Regads

Peter & Lynda Moore

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STONHAM BARNSCLASSIC CAR &VINTAGE MARKET

Sunday 18th August.

This years Stonham Barnsshow was bigger than everwith some 660 listed entries fromboth club and individual sources.Club members from N.N.C.V.C.who have attended in the pasttend to come back most years. Ascan be seen by the entries, thisis a massive show, but it is notjust the Classic Vehicles that arean attraction, as there is a largeauto jumble , many substantialstalls selling all manor of goods,plenty of food available and afull programme in the main ringstarting at 10am and nishingat 3.30pm. In addition there was

this year a very good Rock n Rollband playing at ringside, and ofcourse available at the Barns allyear round are the leisure andretail facilities which include thefamous Owl Sanctuary, numer-ous shops, garden centre andrestaurant.Club support in general for this

event is very good, with EastAnglian Practical Classics based

in Lowestoft bringing a massive104 vehicles to the show and theSuffolk Enthusiasts Club man-aged a credible 47, others from

around East Anglia averagedapproximately 18-20 cars, mostlyfrom small or specialist clubs.NNCVC. managed 9!! This is agreat pity as you really are miss-ing out on one of the absolute topevents of the year, and for mostits only a bit over an hour fromyour homes.

Those of us who attended had asuper day nished off as usualwith a great meal on the wayhome at the pub we always use.Sadly Geoff & Ann could not joinus as Geoff was unwell, but notto worry Geoff, as we all sharedyour meals between us!!!!

Roll on next year. G.S.

Vernon is doing a runningrepair on the Alvis, materials

used:- BLUE TACK!!!!8


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WROXHAM & HOVETON LIONS CLUB CARSHOW.The excellent Wroxham andHoveton annual car showmoved this year from the NorwichRugby ground to the West side ofthe Royal Norfolk Show Ground.Access and general organizationwas excellent as has always beenthe case with the Lions Club.Luckily a mostly sunny day onboth the Saturday and Sundaymeant that exhibitors and public

alike could really enjoy this ratherdifferent show, as in addition toa very good turnout of ClassicVehicles many new car retailerstake the opportunity to display

their latest products.There are plenty of stalls, somecar orientated , but many of amore general nature, and a goodvariety of food is available for thehungry, including Fish and Chipsand an excellent Hog Roast.This show, being well within easyreach for most members ,is verymuch worth a visit. There is muchto see, the location is ne and theclub plot sizes are generous. It

would be good to see this bettersupported by club members nextyear.

G.S.

Philip Groves lovely 1971 Triumph Trailblazer 250.

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LONDON TOBRIGHTON CLASSICCAR RUN 2013At last years NEC ClassicCar Show, I saw an advert fora London to Brighton classic carrun organized by GE Classic Mo-tor Events. I mentioned to somefriends that I had always wantedto do the London to Brightonsince seeing the lm Genevieve.Although this wouldnt be the realLondon to Brighton for Vintageand Veteran cars, it was as near asI was ever going to get.

Only three other couples, all clubmembers, were brave enough (orstupid enough) to agree to comealong. They were : Vernon & ValEnever in their 1960 Alvis TD21drophead, Tony & Ann Connell

in their 1936 supercharged MGPB and Malcolm & CherylGenever in their 1970 MGBRoadster. Hilary and I would begoing in our 1954 Riley RME as

our 1989 Jaguar XJS was a yearshy of being old enough for thedateline set for the event.

The plan was to make a shortholiday of it, a couple of nightsaway before and after the run. The

run was to start from BrooklandsMuseum on Sunday 2nd June andnish at Brighton Racecourse. Soon the Friday before, three carsmet up on a cold murky morningat Barton Mills on the A11 andthen proceeded to the BaldockServices on the A1 to meet upwith Malcolm and Cheryl. TheM25 was very slow going aroundHeathrow by which time theweather was quite warm and sowere some of our cars. However,we made it to RHS Wisley Gar-dens, our stopping point for lunch.After a very pleasant afternoonambling round the gardens and

the very impressive tropicalglasshouses, we made our way toour hotel. We got caught in rushhour trafc and Vernons enginegot very hot, which turned out to

be a sign of things tocome.

On Saturday we visited

Mercedes World andthen walked over to theBrooklands Museum.Here we discoveredthat entrants to theLondon to BrightonRun should havereceived a voucherfrom the organizers

for reduced entry feeto the museum, how-ever none of us had

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received them. We didnt realizeit at the time, but this was the rstindication of the poor organizationof the event. Things turned outalright thanks to Vernon blaggingus all in at the reduced price,and the fact that the Historics At

Brooklands Classic Car Auctionwas in full swing. We managed towander in and have a nose roundwithout paying the 25 catalogue/entry fee. Some very classy carswere there and Hilary, withoutknowing what it was, quite fanciedthe nice shiny navy blue onewhich turned out to be a DB6 thatsold for 123,200.

Sunday morning arrived and againit was sunny and dry for the bigday, so far so good. Tony andAnn had been staying close bywith relatives and were the rst ofus to arrive at Brooklands, only

to be marshalled in, marshalledthrough, and marshalled out theother side in error and had to goround again. The rest of us arrivedin convoy but were split up dueto the poor marshalling and wecouldnt nd anyone who knewwhere we should park. Eventuallywe all managed to sign in and

team up again, only to nd thatthe allocated departure timeshad all gone to pot. Somehow weall managed to escape the chaosat the same time and set off forBrighton. There were two sug-gested routes to follow, the shortroute and the long route of about100 miles. After getting lost wefound ourselves on a third verylong route to the halfway stop atChiddingstone Castle, Kent. Once

again a muddle was caused by thelack of signs and marshalls, andwas not helped by the fact thatthere was a wedding fair eventgoing on at the same time.

After that we gave up with the

suggested route and made our ownway to the nish. Here they tried(but failed this time) to split us upagain. Things did improve a bitwith a buffet and live singer whichwere laid on, but went downhillagain when Cheryl decided tojoin in with the singing! The bestthing was that Tony and Ann wereawarded a plaque for the oldestcar entered. We all thought it wasvery well deserved, after they haddriven all that way in a little carnearly eighty years old, not oncewith the hood up (personally Idont think they have got one as

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Ive never seen it). They wouldprobably have won the prize for

furthest travelled as well, if thebloke from Switzerland hadntmade it. Unfortunately Vernonscar had heard of the expressionBrighton or Bust and for thelast few miles had been makingan awful racket. It did make it toBrighton but then it bust, well thewater pump did. The car had to

be recovered back to home, andVernon and Val continued theholiday in a hire car.

After the run we stayed away fora few more nights and had a greattime and a really good laugh. Thatwas until I mentioned that I havealways wanted to enter the Pekingto Paris Rally ..(Im not surewhy, but there were no takers thistime!)

The GE event is not cheap at89.50 per car, and was verypoorly executed, and thereforenone of us would recommend

it. If you want to go to BrightonRacecourse, a cheaperand probably more

enjoyable event would be theone advertised on the hoard-ing in the background of thephoto of my car at the nish.However, I am sure that whatall of us would recommend isgetting away for a short breakwith other club members andtheir classic cars.their nice 1936 Hilary and Iwould once again like to thankthe others for coming andmaking it a very memorabletrip.Chris & Hilary King

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1967 Cox GTMRestoration.When Marian decided tobuy a Cox GTM in needof restoration it may have beena case of if you cant beatthem join them. It was the late1980s and she had already putup with a modied DolomiteSprint engined Triumph TR7,A kit car build, an Austin MiniMoke restoration and numerousvisits to car shows. The GTM

was a 1967 Cox, chassis number11 that had been registeredin 1975 and last taxed somethree or four years previously.It had been stripped, whichrevealed the amount of workrequired to get it roadworthyonce more. The chassis onthese early GTMs is all at

steel sheet, with the rotten sillsbeing the only curved panels;a new pair had been made butnot yet tted. The oor panelsalso needed replacement, butthe body panels, being glassbre, only needed minor repairsand a tidy up. Loose partssupplied included a laminated

windscreen, three boxes ofassorted bits, a 1275cc engineand ve Dunlop Denovo wheelsand tyres, which were not usedas they proved to be very heavy.

With the doors and bonnet offand both sub frames removed(because of the mid enginedlayout the GTM uses twofront sub frames with extrasuspension links locking the

rear steering) the body tub wasturned over with the aid of ahoist. The oor pans and sillswere replaced and points toaccept a Ford side lift jack wereadded to each corner.

Next came the reconditioningof the suspension and brakes,all of which were standardMini apart from the rubberspring cones, which had beenmachined in an attempt tosoften them up a bit.In a bid to rid the doors of the

leaky Perspex sliding windowsI developed toughened glasselectric wind down windowsconsisting of Cortina windingmechanisms and a couple ofdomestic door hinges. A plywood template was used toprove the system before goingto the expense of getting glass

made. The at glass swings outaway from the frame beforedisappearing into the door. Tenyears after this I developeda Mk2 adjustable version ofthis mechanism for the Mirovwindows.

Under the front clamshell

I tted a Mini saloon fueltank, a ten inch spare wheeland an Allegro radiator withelectric fan. Alongside thetank clips were tted to acceptthe jack and wheel brace. Theoriginal twin wipers wereconverted to a single bladesystem, which swept the screenmore effectively. Afterreconditioning theengine and

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gearbox they were tted to thesub frame and the body loweredover the top. This high lightedthe fact that the starter pinionhousing fouled the chassis bya good inch and a half. I hadtwo options; cut the housing

or modify the chassis. I chosethe latter. With the chassis cut,boxed and welded everythingwas retted. This time the clutchcover hit the chassis! Only alittle panel beating was requiredalong with a specially offsetclutch lever arm. An Allegroexhaust system was cut andwelded to t under the boot oorand a removable panel addedbetween the boot and the engineto improve accessibility. Thegear linkage used a late Miniremote lever housing, which wasconnected to the gearbox viaa long steel tube and two drop

links.To improve the look of thenarrow rear end and to addcooling air ducts the rear wingswere cut and moved out bya couple of inches each andthe gap breglassed. A largecardboard tube was used as a

former to fashion a rear bumperunderneath the Granada Mk2tail light assemblies. Air intakesin front of the rear wheels wereadded and nished off with cutdown plastic cutlery trays. Ashallow front air dam was addedto the front as well.Weeks of lling and rubbing

down were followed by twocoats of etch primer

sprayed using aborrowed

compressor. Grey ller primerpreceded six coats of cellulosewhite paint.Next were the electrics using amodied standard Mini loombought from a scrap yard.Stripped of all its tape it was

laid on the oor and, with theaid of a wiring diagram, I setabout identifying and labellingall connections and made a listof all the services whose positionhad moved due to the midengined lay out, and lengthenedand moved wires to suit.

The upholstery started withusing light grey dralon velvetglued to card board and stuckto the roof with half an inchof sound proong behind it.With this installed, along withblack vinyl A post trim thewindscreen was tted; a job that

took almost an entire Saturdayof frustration. A new dashboardwas designed, after countlesssketches, in separate modules toallow easy trimming and futuremaintenance. The instrumentpanel used Triumph Dolomitegauges and the glove boxreceived an interior light.

To minimise cutting errors andto ensure a good t I made fullsize wallpaper patterns for thecarpets before tackling this task.The carpets were edge trimmedin red vinyl before being nallytted.

Hand cut and polishedaluminium GTM badges weremade and tted inside and outalong with polished prancingpony badges at the front and14


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on the steering wheel; not forthat Ferrari effect, just becauseMarian likes horses. The frontone was pinched a year or solater. The oak gear knob wasalso inlaid with a miniature

aluminium pony set in resin.After bleeding the brakes, llingoil and water the engine wasturned over without plugs to getoil pressure. Countless attemptsto start revealed the ignitiontiming to be 180 degrees out,with this corrected it started atthe rst turn. A spectacular spray

of coolant a few minutes laterrevealed something amiss.

The Skoda expansion tank hada 7lb cap and this was too low. Ineeded a 13lb cap but they wereall too shallow, the Skoda onewas a bit deeper than average soby taking two caps apart a deep

cap with the required poundagewas created which solved theproblem. A test drive produceda slight misre under hardacceleration ; this was causedby three things. The timing wasslightly out, there was a looseearth wire in the distributor and Ihad inadvertently tted a 6V coilinstead of a 12V one, all of whichwas soon xed.

Marian enjoyed several yearsmotoring in the GTM apart fromthe time the brakes failed comingup to a junction in Saxthorpe(incorrect brake shoes tted)

and she had to go sailing across(luckily nothing was coming) andthe time when the throttle return

spring decided to come looseand the engine just revved andrevved! Hopefully my qualitycontrol has improved but shehasnt asked me to build her a carsince, I wonder why!

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JAZZ IN THEMEADOWTwelve club cars joined the lineup of other classic cars anda dozen or so Harleys for whatturned out to be a great afternoonof music at Wood Dalling onSunday August 4th

From 12.30pm till 3.00pm wewere royally entertained by theNene Valley Trad Jazz Band. Aswell as jazz they played a wide

range of easy listening musicmuch appreciated by the gatheredlisteners if the regular rounds ofapplause were anything to go by.Following a short break after theJazz singer Terry Adams took thestage. Terry plays in a variety ofstyles, Buble, Sinatra, Bennett,Diamond to name a few, he was

supposed to play till 6.00 butmuch to the delights of the crowdhe carried on entertaining us longafterwards.

We paid a very reasonable 5.00entry fee per car and for that gotthe music and also a two coursecold lunch for two!! Recognising

that the do was to raise moneyfor the BIG C charity pretty wellevery club member bought a loadof rafe tickets to add to theirfund raising total.

I was also pleased at thereasonable prices at the bar beerfor just 2.50 a pint is jolly good

these days.A prior meeting

with the

organiser allowed us to put upone of our events shelters incase of rain or sun, neither ofwhich occurred though the skiesdarkened at one point.

Over the years we have asked

members for suggestions ofevents to support that are a littledifferent, this certainly was that.Since the music was the mainreason for going no stalls of anysort were laid on, perhaps as wellas most people were captivated bythe music. As an outside event in

a fairly small area the music wasloud enough to hear and still quietenough to enjoy chatting to theclub members.

It is intended to run the event in2014 when we hope to support theevent again.GJ

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MY FIRST SET OFWHEELS

It was 1957, I would soon bestarting Agricultural College inLincolnshire and since I lived in

Huntingdon at the time some formof transport was indicated!!.Being of meagre means, four oreven three wheels were out of thequestion; so I went to our localmotor cycle/scooter shop. I didntreally fancy a motorbike so I wentfor a second hand Lambretta LI150cc, registration number YNM

340. Blue and white with tailoredwindscreen and pillion seats.Price paid was 550- I saw one inTinklers in Norwich at 4000!!. Itis amazing how I can rememberthat registration number but cantremember where I put my car keys.Ah well, age creeps up on one!!.In those days if you were goingto College you were given a non-repayable grant!!. Oh happy days,anyway I had my grant for 1000for my two years at KestevenAgricultural College. I was hopingthat in addition to covering myCollege fees, the grant would helptowards my transport costs; most

of the time it did.You have to remember thatscooters seemed to travel ahundred miles on a pint of petrol,so from my point of view it wasthe perfect way of getting from myhome in Huntingdon to Kestevenin Lincolnshire, a distance of some80-90 miles.

I must admit my earliestexperience after getting theLambretta ended up with mecoming off on a very nasty bend

and somehow cover the remaining20 miles home with a brokenfront fork, anyway the lesson waslearnt with regard to balance onbends in relation to footboards toonear the ground. What it is theysay oh yes its a learning curve.

On another occasion coming backfrom Kesteven one very foggymorning I rode straight over a newroundabout they were putting inon the Stamford bypass which wasbeing built at the time. This wasat 2am so no other trafc about!!.Anyway I had started my courseand was enjoying my wheels

travelling on the old A1 up toKesteven College and cominghome at weekends. You werentsupposed to do that every weekendbut I managed it most of the time.I must mention at this stage thatprior to me getting my grant myfamily had decided to emigrateto Australia on the 10 assistedpassage scheme. Also at thistime I was engaged so I had toincorporate a wedding into mystudies before my family left forthe other side of the world. Thewedding went off ne and soonafterwards my family went off okand I resumed my studies. When

I had nished my two year courseI went to take charge of a breedingock of free range Light Sussexand Rhode Island Red poultry plusturkeys and battery hens.I still had my Lambretta andshe had served me well but wedecided to upgrade and purchasea Heinkel 3 wheeler bubble car

but that is another story anothertime maybe!!.Colin Baxter

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Well Done FordFor all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the waycomputers have enhanced our lives, read on.At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates the boss of

Microsoft reportedly compared the computer industry with the autoindustry and stated, If Ford had kept up with technology like thecomputer industry has, we would all be driving $25 cars that got 1,000miles to the gallon. In response to Bills comments, Ford issued apress release stating:

If Ford had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all bedriving cars with the following characteristics.1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash...twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have tobuy a new car.3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. Youwould have to pull to the side of the road, close all of the windows,shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you couldcontinue. For some reason you would simply accept this.4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would causeyour car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you wouldhave to reinstall the engine.5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, wasreliable, ve times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run ononly ve percent of the roads.6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights wouldall be replaced by a single This Car Has Performed An IllegalOperation warning light.I love the next one!7. The airbag system would ask, Are you sure? before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you outand refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle,turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learnhow to drive all over again because none of the controls would operatein the same manner as the old car.10. Youd have to press the Start button to turn the engine off.

PS - Id like to add that when all else fails, you could call customer

service in some foreign country and be instructed in some foreignlanguage how to x your car yourself!

From Freddie George18


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ASHBY AUSTINS.My involvement with Austinmotor cars goes back quitea long time. In 1957 I took myFinals, waited for a positive resultand got married a fortnight later.I had always thought that AustinSevens were nice little cars soKarin and I looked around for asuitable model.A 1935 four seater open tourer,CYT 660, colour dirty grey withblack mudguards,, came to lightin deepest Essex. There ensued a

demonstration run around PeldonReservoir during which it brieybroke down - the low tension leadhad come adrift - and then afterthe handing over of the exorbitantsum of 35 we then rumbled offhome and have never looked backsince.It was in a pretty rough state

then and burnt oil to look like asteam engine. Often doing up theengine on the kitchen oor andapplying a coat of paint to thebody, we used the car from 1957to 1961, during which time weventured forth as far as the SouthCoast, Wales, and East Germanyin 1961. The latter trip was witha small daughter in the back. InEast Germany at that time therewere still many old BMW Dixies(really an Austin Seven madeunder licence by BMW) DKWsand Opels, so we were notparticularly conspicuous.1960 saw the introduction of the

MOT vehicle test. We survivedthat with much trepidation, butfrom then on many old cars

disappeared from the road.Before 1960 one saw cars oftenin really interesting dilapidatedconditions, with things such astyres not just worn bald but downto the second or third layer ofcanvas.

1961 to 1964 we were in Ghana.We left CYT 660 in England,in fact almost gave it away. Onreturning to England we nowhad three children so the Sevenwas rather too small. Fortunatelya colleague had almost doneup a 1935 Austin Twelve AscotSaloon. After the exchange of

5 and a bit of work on my partCGF 614 was back on the road.In fact we arrived in Holt in thiscar in 1965 and used it as aneveryday car until 1970.In 1968 a Fareld pupil Robartsused to laugh about this smallTwelve saying that his uncle inNorwich had a real Austin. Thistranspired to be an Austin Eight-een York Saloon. This acquisi-tion required the investment of50. The body and interior wasin very good condition. In factthe back seats looked as thoughthey had hardly ever been sat onuntil we got it. The six cylinder

2510cc side valve engine is fairlythirsty at the best of times, butat the time of purchase the cardid about 10 miles per gallon ofpetrol and 50 miles per pint ofoil.After reconditioning the enginethe car has been used regularly,and particularly for holidays until

1980. It has made trips to Wales,Holland, Brittany andthree to East

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Germany with four children andmuch baggage.In the seventies, the Austin Sevenand the Eighteen have beenused as background scenery invarious lms. A Danny La Ruelm entitled Our Miss Fred has

the opening scenes set on CromerPier and Cromer Promenade. TheEighteen is in the background.Danny La Rue walks off the Pierand actually drives the AustinSeven away. It survived! ITVbrought out a revival series toDads Army entitled Backs to theLand some scenes were shot in

Heydon Park. The Austin Eight-een was in this ,as were a smallcontingent of Greshams SchoolCCF dressed as World War Twosoldiers, and Major Peaver whocontrived to fall out of a tree andtwist his ankle.By way of variety I also acquiredanother old car from a venerableelderly gentleman who used toattend a French evening classI once ran in Holt. This was a1933 BSA Ten car NG 8289, witha Wilson pre-selector gearbox,which were infact forerunnersof automatic gearboxes. Thismodel called the Peerless coupe

body on it. I managed to rescue itfrom the scrap yard where it wasin danger of going (a) becausethe piston rings on cylinder onewere broken and it puffed likethe proverbial steam engine, and(b) it had had a slight broadsidecollision with the local dustcartwhich had dented the door, and

more seriously had slightly bentthe half shaft on the

back axle.

After considerable renovation Iused it for several years, but therewas a persistent problem withthe head gasket which insisted onblowing with monotonous regu-larity. I have since passed the caron to my son Mark who properly

renovated the car and the enginefor his Duke of Edinburgh Goldhobby activity. In 1983 he droveit to Spain and Portugal, return-ing over the Andorra Pass anddoing 6000 miles in the process.We now assume the engine isbasically all right.In the eighties Mark also made

three trips to France with variousbrethren and friends in theAustin Eighteen, notching up2000 miles each trip. The lasttrip included ascending to Puyde Dome and Clermont Ferrandwhich did not do the clutch muchgood.In the seventies gas guzzlers likeAustin Eighteens were hit by theSuez oil crisis. However, fatewas kind, and by dint of goingmodern I was able to continuemy Austin tradition. My brotherwith three children and two largedogs was beginning to outgrowhis Austin A35 Saloon number

BHW 755, cream in colour withsome 150,000 miles on the clock.As this car could do 50 - 60m.p.h. comfortably and some 45miles per gallon on a run, it hadan almost modern performance,and was eminently suitable foreveryday use.When one has an A35 it seems

to have a magnetic effect. Oneis stopped in the street andoverwhelmed by such inanities


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such as I learned to drive in oneof those and is pressed to more ofthem. There followed a black A35WPW 175, a grey one THU 919which my other son Nicholas had,and which younger daughter Katienow owns. And lastly I acquired

the latest blue A35 OBX 140 somemany years ago. In the meantimeI also acquired ve other A35cars and three A35 vans all rathertatty, which I have dismantled forspare parts.Incidentally, all my four childrentook their driving tests in the rstA35 BHW 755 and all passed

rst time. Mark also ran this carfor several years, covering manymiles including one 2000 miletrip to the South of France and onanother occasion coming secondin an economy run (49.2 miles pergallon achieved)to commemoratethe 25th anniversary of thesecars in 1982. Unfortunately Kateeventually parked it on its roof inSwansea which did not do it muchgood. It is now pensioned off toa quiet retirement in the REMEshed, where it still runs , albeitwith air conditioning as it is nowdoor less.In 1988 all three pre war cars

were brought out for Marks wed-ding cortege. By this time bothsons were outgrowing the ratherauntyish appearance of theirA35s and they both evolved andgraduated into acquiring MGBsports cars. They dont look muchlike or feel much like an A35, butthey are basically just a sports car

version. A35s have the Austin-cum-BMC A series enginewhich has evolved and developed

without much change right up tovery recent generations of Minisand Metros. Some 12,000,000 ofthese engines have been built, anunsung success story of Britishengineering. The MGB just hasthe enlarged B series engine.

For our personal use Karin andI have Austins Seven CYT 660and A35 OBX 140 plus one spareA35, and a pile of general spares.Barring accidents we do notintend acquiring any other cars, certainly NOT a NEW car, aswhat we have should last another20 years which should cover our

needs. I am afraid we will not beamongst those who will contributeto the boom in new car sales ifand when it comes.

K.eith Ashby

P.S.We have now reached the END ofan ERA. After 50 years we havesold CYT 660 and it has gone toa good home. However, we havenot given up Austins. We stillhave our modern A35s and it sohappens that they too are just 50years old.

Sorry I was unable to insertpictures in this article.Ed


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AUSTINS IN DOCK

Actually it should read on thedock The photograph withthis short article is one we havetseen before. One of our many

interests is all matters maritimeWe recently added the book AnIllustrated History of the Port ofKings Lynn and Its Railways tothe nautical section of our bookshelves It is written by Mike GFell OBE who has very kindlygiven us permission to publish thephotograph from his collection.

Apart from being an excellentand easily read book it also showsAustins on page 96.Thecars areA30s and although Mike cannotdate the photo our guess is that itdates from between May 1952 andOctober 1953 Close examination

of the print will reveal the fuelller cap on the offside rear wingand the socket hole with coverfor the TBar to open the boot,which has internal hinges. Withthe aid of a magnifying glassthe speedometer type can be see

which conrms that the car is anearly A S3 model. The other thingnoticed was that the cars seem tohave more ground clearance thanusual. Perhaps one of our moreknowledgeable members can ex-plain the reason for this increasedclearance. The port of destinationis not known. Maybe someonewithin our ranks may well be ableto help with this information.Andrew and Ann SteamlineBlue A30 JVG 540 OliveA30 JVG 540 Olive


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Bexhill Motor RacingBrooklands is generallyrecognised as the rstmotoring racing circuit in thiscountry built by Hugh Locke King

in 1907, however this is not thecase, Bexhill in Sussex makes theclaims to have held the rst regularmotor racing in UK. This was alldown to a gentleman, The 8th EarlDe La Warr who in 1902 held therst motoring event at Bexhill-on-Sea.

In 1896 he built an innovativecycling boulevard on his sea frontestate at Bexhill (he owned the seafront) and cycles could be hiredand riding lesson provided fornew cyclist. A fee was charged touse the mile track which wassurrounded by fencing to prevent

use by non paying cyclists. Asidefrom that the Earl was responsiblefor encougraging mixed bathing,making Bexhill the rst coastaltown to allow such outragiousbehaviour!!!

Later the cycling track becamea race track with the advent of

horseless carriages powered bythe internal combustion engine.During that famous period whenthe Bexhill sea front races wereheld between 1902 1907 hugenoisy cars were raced in pairs fromGalley Hill along the sea front eastto west against the clock, moreakin to drag racing today.

More than 200 cars competed inthe inaugural meeting in 1902

and the local hotels and boardinghouses were packed with thecurious who had come to witness,for the rst time on British soil, thespectacle of motor cars racing atspeeds in excess of 50mph when

the speed limit of the day was amere 12mph.

The major problem for the driverswas having to slow down in orderto prevent crashing into the ornategates and pillars of the Earl sestate at the western end of theroad. With the brakes not being

very efcient at the time and withcars of up to 8 - 9 litres they wereenormously heavy. One car didnish up at the bottom of Bexhillcliffs and eventually the racingwas stopped due to the dangerousnature and the do gooders at thetime.

In 1906 plans were drawn upfor a racing circuit which almostreached to Beachy Head, withgarages, restaurants and hotelaccommodation. The course unfor-tunately never saw the light of dayand the motoring set moved to thenew Brooklands circuit in 1907. In1913 the seafront land was aquiredby Bexhill Corporation and thatended any chance of racing. A fewattempts were made to resurrectthe races and the last competitionwas held in 1925 after which theRoyal Automobile Club withdrewpermits on public highways. Al-though Jubilee Speed Trials were

put on in 1954 to celebrate Bex-hills motoring heritageand for the rsttime the

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focus was on historic rather thancontemporary vehicles, this liveson today as the Bexhill Festival ofMotoring held annually..FootnoteFrank Nichols was born in Bexhill

in 1920. He opened a small garagein Pevensey in the late 1940s andlater set up a garage in LondonRoad, Bexhill, where he producedthe rst Elva car. Elva Cars movedto Rye in 1961 and ceased produc-

tion in 1969.

Hence Bexhills motoring hertit-age, there still exist a motor clubcalled the Bexhill 100 deicated toolder bikes and cars of aldl makes,similar to NNCVC.

Ray Bennett

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Unusual Motor Bikes.By Ray BennettIhave a friend called Fred wholives in Sussex now, who overrecent years has spend his timerestoring rare and unusual motor

bikes. His latest restorationsinclude a 50cc Maserati racer,Moto Rumi 125cc scooter and125cc Moto Rumi racer. More onthe Moto Rumis in a later article.

Brief history of MaseratiMotorcycles.Aleri, Bindo, Carlo, Ernesto,

Ettore and Marioi Maseratibrothers were born in the late 19thcentury and during their earlyworking lives they all worked fora variety of companies related tothe cycle, bike and car industryand various subsidiary industries.Aleri Maserati started hisengineering business buildingspark plugs and accumulators in1919. Aleri, Bindo and Ernestobuilt Grand Prix cars for Diatto.Following Diatto withdrawalfrom racing cars in 1926, theMaserati marquee was born. Oneof the rst Maserati Grand Prixcars won the 1926 Targa Florio,

driven by Aleri Maserati. Thecompany was sold off in 1937to Adolfo Orsi from Modena.After the Second World Warthe Orsi was keen to get intobike production with a needfor cheap reliable transport andpurchased Italmoto in 1953. TheItalmoto manufacturer produced

two-stroke 125cc and four-stroke160cc motorcycles. AlthoughMaserati motorcycles were notdirectly afliated with Maseratis

automobile they were allowedto use the companys tridentemblem. Maserati offered in50cc and 75cc mopeds as cheapfast transport for young Italians.Maserati went on to produced in125cc, 160cc, 175cc and 250cc

motor bikes with two-stroke andfour-stroke engines winning manyprestigious races on route beforeselling out eventually selling outto Citroen in 1968.

For those with internet accesshistory that is more detailed isavailable.

The bike is a Maserati Blue 50ccrace bike 1959-tuned engine with18 mm del-orto carb. The historyof how Fred acquired it as follows:Fred lived in Royston Herts andthere was a lady in the local bikeclub (she was in her 60s then)who used to race bikes in heryouth. In the 50s the ladies boyfriend at the time went to theMaserati factory to purchase partsfor his 250 Maserati and saw thebike laying around in the factoryand purchased it. He bought itback for the ladies 18th birthdayand she began to race it in a

lightweight class until she blewthe engine up and she retired fromracing.

The lady said she had a bike inher shed she wanted to disposeof it. A few weeks later the bikewas purchased and box full of bitswith the aim of restoring it not

really considering what had beenfound although it wasbadged Maserati.

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After getting in touch withMaserati in Italy Fred realisedhe had stumbled across a raremachine and problems started inearnest. It had sat in her shed for45 years, the piston had disinte-grated in the barrel, and engine

was in a poor state. Needlessto say, many new parts had tobe made specically and thereconstruction became a lengthyand very expensive business toreturn it to its original condition.The bike is only one of ve inthe country and always createsa lot of interest at the shows.

Many people thinking Maserationly made cars and Fred had onechap offer to buy the bike to sitalong side his Maserati car in hishouse. The bike is part of Fredscollection and was a labourof love at the time, which has

turned out to be an investmentnow. I doubt whether the bikewill ever be sold off, but whoknows? Stories about Fredsother bikes will follow at theEditors discretion.

Ray Bennett

To This

From This

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Group SpacesAs the Club has grown year on year - we now have over 200members and their families in membership - the Club has beentrialing a software programme from Group Spaces which is a London-based online company that provides technology to help real-world clubs,

societies, associations and other groups manage their membership andactivities, and promote themselves online. The company was launchedin the United Kingdom in 2007 and has since expanded into the UnitedStates and over 80 other countries.and, its software is used to host over 5million memberships.

The Club does not share the information it has in respect of its memberswith any third party so the Committee needed to be sure that the sitewould be secure and it is satised that sufcient controls are in place.

The Club is using the software to maintain up to date information inrespect of the data provided on the membership form. At present theClub uses the programme to send messages, particularly Newsletters tothe members who have provided an e mail address , print labels to sendout newsletters by post. We are also able to hold additional informationregarding our advertisers and other groups within the ClubIn the future the Club may control renewal of membership and paymentof subscriptions.

Currently only three members of the committee are registered asmanagers and are able to access the information and it is envisaged thatone further member of the committee will be added in due course.

Shortly we will be sending out details to each member a note of theinformation we hold so that you may check this and advise any changes.If any member would like to know more about Group Spaces and how

the Club is using the data we hold please do let me know.So far the programme is proving an excellent tool and is makingadministration of the Club more managable and easier and we are able toget information out to the members very quickly. For those with e maildo check your in box and if after looking in your spam and junk boxesyou are not receiving our Newsletter let me know. One was recently senton 8th October - Please tell me if you cannot nd it or have had difcultyopening it.

Roy Beckley Secretary [email protected]

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Dear Roy,

It was nice to meet you at the Beeston

Regis fete a few weeks ago. I did not

realize what an active classic car club we

had on our doorstep!

I have been driving classic cars for over

forty years... I learned to drive at the ageof twelve, when my father gave me his

old 1959 Ford Consul. No, I was not an

early law breaker, we did live in a private

park with over two miles of private road.

I remember taking the consul to the last

piece of private road and walking a mile

with my gallon can to the local village for

petrol. Over the years, I have owned all the

TRs, except the 7... I really regret sellingmy TR2. It is my ambition to

buy it some day

May I through your club, introduceBroadland Classic Car Hire and

Yourcarworkshop, both located in North

Walsham.

The Car Hire was started last year...

the season has almost nished for hire.

However, we are now busy sending out

Gift Vouchers which can be bought for afriend or relative for Birthdays/Christmas

etc.

Yourcarworkshop is due to open by the end

of September. It is a brand new workshop,

fully equipped with hoist and tools for the

DIY self-service mechanic. For further

details, please contact me direct on 01692

538060Kindest regards,

Kelvin Rumsby

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Some Photos from events visited during the year from John Allan

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26 nncvc magazine summer autumn 2013

Documents