december 2007 £2 no. 285 mascot

December 2007 £2 No. 285

www.midgetandspriteclub.co.uk

Mascot

The Magazine

of the

Midget & Sprite

Club

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THE WHO, THE WHAT & THE WHERE of THE MIDGET & SPRITE CLUB

COMMITTEE

CHAIRPERSON Nigel Williams, 7 Kings Avenue, Hanham, Bristol BS15 3JN.Tel: 0117 961 2175 email: [email protected]

GENERAL SECRETARY VacantTREASURER Anita Lachowicz, 5 Park Grove, Knaresborough, Yorks. HG5 9ET.

Tel: 01423 862738 Mobile: 07720 725429 email: [email protected] Toby Anscombe, 7 Lysander Court, High Road, North Weald, Epping, CM16 1HF.

email: [email protected] ADVERTISING Gary Lazarus, 40B Hungerford Road, London, N7 9LP. Tel: 0207700 5696

email: [email protected] MEMBER Bill Mohan, Tel: 0121 353 7211 or mobile 0798 461 6371

email: [email protected] MEMBER Philip Sellen, 40 Amberley Way, Wickwar, Wotton-under-Edge, Glos, GL12 8LP.

Tel: 01454 299222 email: [email protected]

OFFICERS

MAGAZINE EDITOR Barry Lowe, email: [email protected]: 01943 608900 10am to 9pm, UK time

MEMBERSHIP John Platt, 2 Pear Tree Gardens, Bearley Road, Aston Cantlow, Henley-in-Arden, Warks.B95 6HT Tel: 01789 488321 email: [email protected]

CLUB ARCHIVIST Terry Horler, 63 Littledean, Yate, Bristol, BS37 8UQ. Tel: 01454 881770TECHNICAL ADVISER VacantEVENTS CO-ORDINATOR VacantMEMBERS ADVERTISING Alan Lo, Tel: 0117 9572617 Mob: 0775 3867806 email: [email protected] ASSISTANCE David Hill, Llyserfan, Beulah, Newcastle Emlyn, Ceredigion. SA38 9QB. Tel: 01239 811307CO-ORDINATOR email: [email protected] REGISTER Bob Clarkson, Tel: 01902 842643 email: [email protected] OFFICER Mike Grout, 55 Park Road, Spixworth, Norwich, NR10 3PJ. Tel: 01603 890211

email: [email protected]

AREA REPRESENTATIVES

BRISTOL Alan Lo, Tel: 0117 9572617 Mob: 0775 3867806 email: [email protected] David Dixon, Tel: 01733 222810 email: [email protected] VacantDORSET Ian Beaver, Tel: 01722 326840 email: [email protected]

Bryan Fox, Tel: 01202 683842 home, 01202 674017 workemail: [email protected]

ESSEX Lee Reed, Tel: 01255 424112 email: [email protected] Terry Langridge, Tel: 01252 626063 email: [email protected] COUNTIES Chris Jackson, Tel: 01707 261567 [email protected]

NORTH WEST or Mark Hall, Tel: 01296 660103 [email protected] Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050 email: [email protected] Brian Jeffery, Tel: 01522 531425 or mobile: 07952 969514 email: [email protected] Gary Lazarus, Tel: 020 7700 5696 email: [email protected] STAFFS & Bill Mohan, Tel: 0121 353 7211 or mobile: 0798 461 6371 email: [email protected] BIRMINGHAMCENTRAL SCOTLAND Carson Thomson, Tel: 0141 245 6327 day or 013606 22334 evening

email: [email protected] WEST Les & Diane Robinson, Tel: 01772 432138 email: [email protected] IRELAND VacantNOTTS/DERBY Ian Cooke, Tel: 0115 938 3838 email: [email protected] Dave Bearne, Tel: 01823 412004 email: [email protected] Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050 email: [email protected] Alan Couch, Tel: 01564 773302

Chris Yates, Tel: 01608 665066 email: [email protected] VacantYORKSHIRE Anita Lachowicz, Tel: 01423 862738 or mobile: 07720 725429 email: [email protected]

Also see the Club Nights section on page 4 for new areas and contacts.

Compiled by David Hill. Please advise me of any changes, errors etc.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL: IF YOU EXPERIENCE ‘MASCOT’ PROBLEMS UPON RENEWAL, PLEASE CONTACTTHE MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY OR THE TREASURER STRAIGHT AWAY. The Committee

© Midget & Sprite Club

Printed by Quorum Print Services Ltd, Units 3&4, Lansdown Industrial Estate, Cheltenham, GL51 8PL

Tel: 01242 584984 Website: www.quorumprint.co.uk E-mail: [email protected]

Wheelnut December ’07As I mentioned in November’s WHEELNUT, I thought the local Council would start gritting here before we’dgot half way through November. GREAT! Christmas is almost here! I must admit, we did cut it fine, as we’donly just managed to get 3 of the Innocentis into storage the day before. That leaves me with the white oneto work on over the Winter. I haven’t even altered the front lights to RHD yet, never mind the new engine,dashboard trim, dials and new seats etc etc! Plus it then needs its UK registration. All interesting stuff!

No news to report on the AGM as yet, but there’s always the January issue ... yes, I’m hopeful to repeatlast year’s milestone and produce an edition of MASCOT for the start of 2008 – possibly the most significantyear in MASC history. As I’m sure you’re all aware by now, MASC celebrates it’s SILVER JUBILEE next yearand the SPRITE is 50 in May.

Our full-size A3 Calendar, shown on the facing page, officially marks this momentous year and so I hopeyou are all going to get one ordered for the start of 2008. They are running down steadily, but if you get yourorder placed in the next week you should get yours before Christmas (as long as you’re reading this in theUK, of course!). Support your Club! They’re £8.99 inc UK p & p from Mike Grout, our Regalia officer(contact details on p.1). Overseas buyers please email Mike for shipping prices to your particular country.

One more item to report: if you didn’t notice already from the front cover flash, MASCOT has won aprestigious National Award! YES! With the introduction of colour and the increase in page count, the judgesat CLASSIC & SPORTSCAR magazine voted it the Most Improved Club Magazine for 2007! So all the hardwork and many, many contributions from within the Membership finally paid off. We’re all very pleased atMASCOT Towers.

David Evans, C&SC’s Chief Sub-Editor commented: “...a magazine that wefelt boasts pretty much the ideal mix of technical articles, restoration storiesand event reports, plus archive road tests and race reports. And themagazine’s A5 size reflects its compact subject matter: Most Improved ClubMagazine is the Midget and Sprite Club’s MASCOT, edited by Barry Lowe. Infact I was that impressed with MASCOT as a whole that I nearly promoted itto the Club Magazine of the Year category.”

Apparently MASCOT was up against half a dozen strong contenders,including last year’s Club Magazine of the Year winner! We should all feelmighty proud that MASCOT has reached this new level – it couldn’t be done,of course, without YOUR contributions each month. So do please keep thempouring in – it’s particularly important this time of year.

Did you also see the free publicity we got in the December issue ofCLASSIC CARS? MASC is on page 24. It’s great to see we’re getting lots ofrecognition from the market leaders in the classic car arena.So, in your Award-Winning MASCOT this month we have a BeaulieuAutojumble article penned by Steve Bell “That Sprite Guy” from the AustinHealey Club in the States; there’s a full report on the Birmingham TunnelsRun organised by Bill Mohan; Gary Lazarus has sent in some of hisexpanding photo collection. Part Two of Adrian Turley’s detailed report on histravels to the Pyrenees is inside, together with a fascinating piece written byDavid Wright for Model Collector magazine entitled Little Sprites. Plus onceagain, we have had a bumper crop of Area Reports.

As I said last month, MASCOT really does go from strength to strength withall your help and support.PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for JANUARY issue is Midday WEDNESDAY 12DecemberBest wishes for ChristmasBarry, Editor, 1150, [email protected]

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The statements and opinions expressed in each and every issue of the MASCOT are not necessarily the considered viewsof the Midget and Sprite Club. The views expressed by the editorial contributors, letter writers and advertisers are theirown and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Club. The Midget and Sprite Club accepts no responsibility for theresults of following contributor’s advice, nor does it necessarily endorse the services or products offered by advertisers.

Front cover picture: A modified Mk.1 Sprite from South Africa, built in period to Sebring spec’ (Girlingbrakes, wire wheels, etc.), with parts shipped out from the Donald Healey Motor Co. The steel bonnet wasreworked by a South African B.M.C. dealership. The car also features an Ashley hardtop.

Club Nights1st Monday London Area (Congestion Zone) – NEW VENUE, Meet at The Plumbers

Arms, 14 Belgrave Street, Belgravia, SW1W 0LN at 7:30pm. Alsogenerally meet at the Ace Café on 2nd Tuesday together with the ClassicCars Magazine night. Details: Gary Lazarus on 020 7700 [email protected]

1st Wednesday Wiltshire – Meet at The Forresters, Leigh, near Cricklade.1st Wednesday South Staffs and Birmingham – Meet at the The Green Man,

Middleton Village, 8.30-8.45pm1st Thursday Lincolnshire Area – Meet at The White Hart, Lissington, nr. Wragby.

8pm. Contact Brian Jeffery, Tel: 01522 531425 or mobile,07952 969514

1st Thursday Notts/Derby border Area (note change of day) at the Sitwell Armsnear Horsley Woodhouse from approx. 8.30. Just a mile north-west of theA608/A609 crossroads. Ian Cooke 0115 938 3838 [email protected]

1st Saturday Yorkshire Area – Contact me, Anita 01423 862738 or 07720 725429email [email protected] for details.

2nd Wednesday Warwickshire – Meet at The Green Dragon, The Green, Sambourne,Reddich, B96 6NU, at 8.30pm as usual.

2nd Wednesday North West Area – meet at The Kilton, turn off M6 at Jct 20 onto A50towards Macclesfield. Pub 4 miles on left. Please note new venue.

2nd Wednesday Bristol Area will meet at The Rose and Crown, Pucklechurch at 8pm.All Bristol, Bath and surrounding areas members welcome. Contact AlanLo on 01179 572617 email: [email protected]

2nd Thursday Cambridgeshire – Meet at The Mad Cat pub in Pidley Village, midwaybetween Huntingdon and Chatteris, 8pm

3rd Monday Dorset – Meet at St. Peter’s Finger, Lytchett Minster, Poole 7.30pm3rd Tuesday Central Scotland – Meet at The Garfield Hotel, Stepps, East

Dunbartonshire. 7:30pm in the Lounge. Check first with Carson on0141-245-6327 day or 013606-22334 evening.

3rd Tuesday Surrey – Meet at The Blue Ball, Walton-on-the-Hill, 7.45pm onwards.Contact Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 [email protected]

3rd Thursday Sussex – Meet at The Friars Oak, Hassocks, BN6 9NA from 19:00.NEW! Contact Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050.

[email protected] Thursday Hampshire – Meet at The Poacher, South Warnborough. Note Change

of Venue. Please ring Terry or Harriet Langridge on 01252 626063 fordetails.

4th Sunday Kent Area – Meet at The Moat, Wrotham Heath at 12:00 for lunch.Contact Alan Anstead, Tel: 01322 384050.

Last Thursday Somerset – Meet at The Lord Nelson, Norton-sub- Hamdon. 8.00pmOccasional Home Counties North West for members in Herts, Bucks, Berks,Meetings N. London or anyone interested! Please contact Chris Jackson Tel:

01707 261567 or Mark Hall, Tel: 01296 660103

4

5

Working with cars like these since the ’60sactively involved in Club Motorsport at all levels.

COMPLETE RANGE OF GEAR BOXES & DIFFERENTIAL UNITSFOR ALL SPRITE & MIDGETS FROM FROGEYE TO

RUBBER BUMPER HELD IN STOCK.EXCHANGE OR OVERHAUL YOUR UNIT.NEW AND USED PARTS FROM STOCK.

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SPECIAL SERVICESCompetition gearboxes built. Limited slip differential units.

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Club WebsiteMembers Only pages for December, User name: Micro Password: Blister

EventsFrom David Hill and Webmaster Toby Anscombe

Events organised for 2007 and 2008 so far

DecemberWednesday 12th Warwickshire Area Christmas Dinner at The Green Dragon. Details from

Sheila Yates, Tel: 01608 665066Wednesday 12th North West Area’s Christmas Dinner. Contact Les Robinson on

01772 432138Sunday 16th Lincolnshire Area’s Christmas Lunch at The White Hart, Lissington. 12:30.

Details/bookings to Brian Jeffery, 01552 531425 [email protected] .

Tuesday 18th Surrey Area Christmas Meal. Venue to be decided but probably KingswoodArms. Details from David Wright, [email protected]

2008

MaySaturday 3rd Surrey Area Annual Tour. New Forest. Details from Sue Judd.To Tuesday 6th [email protected] or Chris Harding, [email protected] 16th International Healey Weekend at Goodwood.To Sunday 18thSaturday 24th Spridget 50 at Gaydon – The Big Party. To register an expression of

interest and receive priority booking, please contact Steve Clark on07963 433832 or email: [email protected]

JuneThursday 12th Surrey Area’s D-Day Beaches Tour.To Sunday 15thJulyTuesday 8th Surrey Area’s Le Mans Tour.To Tuesday 15thFriday 25th Cambridgeshire Area are going to Silverstone Classic Meeting. Details fromTo Sunday 27th Hubie Albany on 01733 265548Sunday 27th Kent meeting at Cliftonville Car Show, Margate, Kent.AugustThursday 21st 10th International MG Meeting in Berlin. Information and registration seeTo Sunday 24th www.mg-club-berlin.de or fax 0049- 3084-707204 or

Tel: 0049-3084-728381DecemberTuesday 16th Surrey Area’s Christmas Meal.

Area Reps please let David Hill (email: [email protected])have confirmed dates for new events asap.

Remember there are Club Night Natters throughout the year and that area events are also opento members from other areas! Please also note that the above lists only M&SC events or eventswhere we have a presence or an interest. General classic events are listed in the classic press.

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Mutual Assistance Directory

Well, winter has arrived and my Midgetis tucked up safe and sound. As soonas salt was spread on the roads

around here because there may be a frost, thatwas it until the spring. Why do they salt roadswhen only a frost is likely or possible? Theunsalted roads around here during a heavyfrost are no more skiddy that the salted roads.Strange. Seems a waste of money and effort tome.

So, once Christmas is been and gone, we canstart to look forward to summer and someSpridget trips again. Great! Hope that you allhave asked Santa for all the Spridgety

accessories you need. Don’t leave it too late ashe does get very busy in the coming weeks.

Don’t forget, if you don’t carry your copy of theMutual Assistance Directory and you wouldlike a copy you can download it from themembers only section of our website.However, if you do not have access to the webor don’t know someone who does, I will printoff a copy and send it to you. Pleaseremember that it is constantly updated so tobe up to date, download it at least everymonth.

David Hill

Secretarial Scribblings

Great news – MASCOT has been judgedthe most improved club magazine of theyear by Classic and Sportscar

Magazine. Announced at the National ClassicCar Show at the NEC, we should all feel veryproud that MASCOT has come out on tops.Editor, Barry Lowe, has put in an enormousamount of time and effort to improve what wasalready a very good magazine for a club of oursize and resources. No matter how hard aneditor works, it still needs the support ofmembers to provide the material to work with,and this year, it has been material aplenty.There was a time when it was difficult to fill24 pages; indeed, I have just found an oldMASCOT of just 20 pages. MASCOT hasswollen to 48 pages this year and could stilldo with a bit more to get everything in. Truthis, despite a big increase in advertisingrevenue, at 48 pages, it is costing more thanis sustainable for all 12 editions per year. It isgoing to be a tricky balancing act, to keepMASCOT near to where it is now and tobudget, but this is a much happier task thanthe lean years of a 24, or even a 20 pagemagazine. My thanks and congratulations toall the MASCOT ‘team’, Editor, Contributorsand Quorum, our printers, for truly a top job.Also at the NEC, the MASC show stand wasonce again in the very capable hands of ourWarwickshire branch. Although theWarwickshire branch has a large membership,

2 of the cars on display came from muchfurther afield. An Austin Sprite from Kent anda Midget Mk1 from Cambridge. Now you haveto admire support like that. It never ceases toamaze me how far some members areprepared to go for their club – fantastic. Theclub stand was absolutely buzzing when Iarrived there on Sunday afternoon, it was evenbusier on the Saturday I was told. TheWarwickshire branch was well prepared withplenty of members on hand to talk to thepublic and visiting members, of which therewere many. Practical Classics Magazine useda photo of our 2006 NEC Club Stand topromote the show (and of course, just a littlepublicity for the club too). Despite our rathermeagre club display equipment, I think wemust be doing something right.

Have you ordered your 2008 Club calendaryet? Mine has arrived and very good it is too.Stocks are limited and 2008 is not far away.Whilst in purchasing mode, I picked up someMASCOT binders from the club stand. Startingwith the earlier years of MASCOT, they slippedin quite easily but the larger editions of 2007took just a little more jiggling. I was almostrelieved when the 11 editions per year periodcame to be ‘binderised’. This is definitely thebest way to keep those ancient manuscriptssafe and sound – and I have the whole lot tolook after!

7

By the time you read this, our Annual GeneralMeeting will have taken place at the PatrickFoundation in Birmingham. Our newcommittee will be in place to serve your clubso please give them your support and ideas forthe future. I will not be amongst them as I amstanding down as General Secretary and assuch, this will be my last Secretarial

Scribblings. On the positive side, the loss ofthis page will go some way to help theMASCOT budget, unless someone else wantsto have a go.

Happy Christmas and a happy new year.

Terry Horler

New MembersWe extend a warm welcome to the following rejoined and new members

527 Graham Rodda Gwent Frogeye3644 David Bruzas Surrey Frogeye/climax engine3919 Bob Wallis Surrey Frogeye3920 Steve Cowling Worcestershire Midget Mk 3 RWA3921 Gary Keynes Hampshire Midget 15003922 Graham Dorman Leicestershire Midget Mk 23923 Neal Gelder Flintshire Sprite Mk 33924 Colin Scotchford Hertfordshire Midget Mk 3 RWA3925 James Steele-Sargent and West Sussex Sprite Mk 4

Madaline Farrow3926 anon3927 Dominique Petch Cleveland Looking for a Frogeye3928 Glenn Reid Greater Manchester Sprite Mk 43929 Leslie Grieve Northumberland Midget Mk 3 RWA3930 Michael Brennan County Kilkenny Frogeye3931 Paul Boland West Midlands Midget Mk 3 RWA3932 Damion and Ericka Mount Buckinghamshire Midget Mk 3 RWA3933 Michael Jones Denbighshire Midget 15003934 Michael Hogan County Galway Frogeye/Midget Mk 33935 Keith and Shanta Thomas West Midlands Midget 15003936 Anthony Griffiths Staffordshire Looking for a Midget RWA

Book Review

Just released in time for Christmas, Buyinga Classic British Sportscar is a very usefuladdition to any enthusiast’s library.

Whether in the market to buy a classic Britishsports car or just simply a reference to whatthere is, this book has it. Unlike many otherguides and reference works, the author hasgone to considerable lengths to ensureaccuracy by actually talking to the clubs andowners of the cars featured. Far from beingjust an A to Z guide, the information containedis gained from people with first handknowledge and experience of those vehicles.

The Midget and Sprite Club were consulted onall our models, including Innocenti, Arkley and

Lenham derivatives. If the care and attentionto detail given to our subject matter is anythingto go by, then this was indeed a mammothtask to ensure similar accuracy of all carsfeatured. Author Peter Hingston, has dealtwith each model in a very concise andmethodical manner, not easy considering thecomplexities that can exist with some models.All inside images are in black and white.

Priced at £22.95, I think this good value forall the research and material contained.

ISBN 978-0-906555-25-5www.hingston-publishing.co.uk

Terry Horler

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9

Signed Limited EditionGiclée Prints

from an originaloil painting

by Stephen Clifton

Austin Healey“Frogeye”

Sprite

Fine Art Giclée Edition Limited to 50 A4 and 50 A3A4 print – £28, A3 print – £37, unframed, includes post and packing

Send cheque/PO to Stephen Clifton, North Bristol Offices, 13 Soundwell Road,Staple Hill, Bristol, BS16 4QG stating quantity and size required.

Your signed print, with certificate, will be sent rolled in a postal tube within 20 days.

A Yank at Beaulieu

As a recently retired school teacher, thelegendary Beaulieu auto jumble was onmy to do list for this fall when I no longer

had to be going back to classes. So I madeplans with a good friend from the Michiganarea, Bruce Gearns to fly into London and takein this grand event for the frst time!

Staying at the Travelodge outside of Lyndhurstis a story for another time, not to mention thedeplorable breakfast at the Little Thief, oops, Imean Little Chef restaurants!

Even though I had read about Beaulieu andhad talked about Beaulieu I was not preparedfor the scope and size of the event.

We arrived on Friday, Dealer Day, and as aBugeye owner I began to make several smallpurchases. It is fairly difficult to hide my NewEngland accent, so every one I spoke withknew I was over from the States. I am not surewhat, if any, part that played in making dealswith the many vendors, but the fact that I waslimited in size and weight as to what I couldbring back was the final determining factor inwhat I could buy anyway!

To begin with, the additional car models thatexist in England and not in the States didcreate a bit of a disadvantage for me as thingsthat I may have recognized as Bugeye, maynot have been!

However, there was plenty of stuff that I didrecognize and I found there did always seemto be a quantity discount if I could afford tocarry the extra weight back home in myluggage.

I must say that every vendor seems to havetheir own slant on what an auto jumble shouldbe. There was one group of gentlemen whoset up a door and frame on their lot, completewith door knocker and electric buzzer! Theirsite theme was that of a British pub completewith bar, draught beer, wall (tent) decorationsand the like.

Upon entering, through the door, you wereimmediately met with a beer and acomfortable chair. Hospitable they were! A bitcrazy too, probably! But what a great visit wehad. After twenty minutes and upon making a

small donation for the libations, we leftthrough the door! They did this all weekendlong! I don’t think they actually had anythingfor sale, it was more of a weekend away fromtheir normal lives, if such there be!

Other vendors worked out of campers, trailers,motorhomes and many brought elaboratecanopies to set up to protect their goods. I metmany wonderful people including PeterLawrence, export manager for Lucas andDJ Grove of PBL 75 Sprite notoriety.

It was equally exciting for me to speak withpeople and get their story so to speak aboutwhy they were there and what association theyhad with British cars.

There were two gentlemen who used to workat the MG factory and made a donation of anoriginal piece of roof slate to me!

I had a long conversation with three youngmen who had recently broken away from avery reputable, well known Austin Healeyreplacement parts company to begin businesson their own. Fascinating stuff!

After 3 days I was exhausted, primarily fromcarrying all of the parts I kept buying. I camewith only one small suitcase and went homewith two, as well as bulging back pack. Myfears of curious customs agents wentunfounded and most of my booty has beensafely stored away for future use.

Oh yes, did I mention we met Lord Montagu ofBeaulieu? I had a great chat and took somephotos and I believe some of those may endup in the Austin Healey Marquee in the nearfuture.

I must say, I had a great time, met manywonderful people, bought too much NOS stuffand spent much too much money, given thecurrent dollar versus pound status! It looks likethis is going to be an event for which I will becoming back for many years to come.

Finally,after leaving Beaulieu, I travelled toPerranporth to spend a few days with Bic andMary Healey. Bic, or Brian, as perhaps youbetter know him, was the sales manager forthe Donald Healey Motorcar Company.

11

I must say I had a spectacular visit. I wasamazed at how sub-tropical Cornwall actuallywas. The Healeys were very gracious hosts.

I got my own personal tour of Cornwall, fromPerranporth to Land’s End to Penzance andback again with Bic giving me thedocumentary. I would not have missed it foranything! We chatted about many things, notjust the cars and the past, although thatcertainly entered into it.

As I was getting ready to leave for home, Bicwas taking a phone call from an area organiserwho wanted him to speak at an upcomingclub gathering. It seems that there will awaysbe that demand from this very entertainingand surviving family member.In closing, I must say that all the warnings Ireceived still had not adequately prepared mefor the width of the roads and the numerousroundabouts that I was subjected to in andaround Beaulieu. And for those of you whohaven’t had the chance to drive on thebackroads of New Forest, watch where youdrive as there are numerous road hazards tobe avoided and I’m not speaking of theroaming wild animals, but what they decidedto leave behind!I had a blast; I’ll do it again in a heartbeat. Ifyou haven’t been to the Beaulieu auto jumble,you just have to go! It is a one of a kindexperience!

Steve BellThe Sprite Guy

Austin Healey Marque Magazine

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Two Midgets go to Brittany

In 2006 I attended the Classic Le Mans inmy 1970 MkIII Midget. I was accompaniedon the trip by my friend Paul Evans from

Pontsian in Carmarthenshire. Also attendingwith us were friends Cliff and Syd in anotherMkIII Midget. We had a great time. In factPaul was so taken with our little adventurethat he couldn’t wait to visit France again andso suggested that we should visit France,taking our wives as well this time. And so thescene was set. Paul found a Gîte for us nearPontivy in central Brittany. Because we both

love driving we decided we wouldtake the long route and drivefrom our homes in West Wales toDover, taking the Speed Ferry toBoulogne and then head ondown to our gîte. On Saturday 31August 2007, with cars loadedup for a week’s stay, we travelledwith hoods down as far asAshford in Kent, staying the nightin the Travelodge. The nextmorning we were up bright andearly catching the 8am SpeedFerry to Boulogne.

Upon arrival in France we set offon our journey through Pas deCalais, Normandy and on toBrittany. Again hoods down allthe way. Our gîte in Langoelanwas a welcome sight. So far from

Tenby to the gite I had knocked up 750 miles.Both cars had performed impeccably. We weresoon settled in to our brilliant accommodationhaving been welcomed by our hosts, Davidand Nadine, with wine and homemade cake.

The following day, Sunday, was a special dayin the annual calendar of Langoelan village asa ‘Pardon’ was being held in the local church.I must confess that none of us had ever heardof such an event before but we soon got intothe swing of it! Following a church service, the

hundred plus people attendingsettled down to an all day party.Marquees had been erected in thechurch grounds and a Heinekenbeer tent next to the side door ofthe Church was doing a roaringtrade. At the rear of the churchwere six ‘Boule’ lanes whichprovided some enthusiastic andserious competition. Amulti-course meal was laid onfollowed by crêpes of alldescriptions washed down withcopious amounts of cider andwine. What a day we had. It isone all four of us will never forget!

Next day we decided to explorethe area and so headed off for the

13

north Brittany coast and the Rose Granitepeninsula. What a lovely area this is. We hada great day clocking up another 200 miles inthe process. Both cars once again behavedthemselves. That is until my Midget was acouple of miles from our gîte when it began tolose power. I continued to our gîte untilchecking out the problem. There was nothingobviously wrong.

The following morning, Paul and I began asearch for the misfire whilst Vanessa andSharon caught up with their sunbathing. Beinga pessimist I had taken a lot of tools andspares with me and so in a methodical fashionI replaced the various bits including rotor arm,condenser, coil, distributor cap and plug leads.This made absolutely no difference. A fewphonecalls ensued to friends back home foradvice. All suggested the things I had alreadytried. Paul and I then tested each plug toensure there was no fault with them. This waswhen we discovered a problem with the plugson 2 and 3 cylinder. A ‘Heath Robinson’compression test ensued (ie thumb over a plug

hole whilst turning the engine over.There was no compression oncylinders 2 and 3. It could onlymean a blown head gasket. Therewere no other signs to support thissuch as loss of water, water in theoil, milky deposits on the oil fillercap etc. but it couldn’t be anythingelse. A new head gasket was onething I didn’t have with me. I wasdetermined that I wasn’t going to betaken home on the back of arecovery vehicle and so I phonedMGOC spares and spoke to Andrew.What a gem he was. No problem he

said we will send one out to you by overnightcarrier. It will be with you by lunchtimetomorrow. Wow! The order was placed thereand then. In the meantime, our hosts Davidand Nadine, in a spectacular act of generosityallowed the four of us to use their own FordFocus to travel around in. How kind was this.Wednesday arrived and no part had arrived.Thursday and no part had arrived. Havingspoken to Andrew several times in themeantime he assured me it had been sent, buthad established that the delivery driver hadbeen unable to locate the address and so hadreturned it to the sender! Andrew arranged tosend another one out to me. Come Fridaylunchtime this had also not arrived. The clockwas now ticking. Our ferry back fromBoulogne was early Sunday morning. Somefrantic calls to the carrier established that ithad once again failed to find the address andso was on its way back to the depot. With theassistance of Nadine (very fluent Frenchspeaker) we got the van stopped, jumped inthe Focus and drove 35 miles to meet it andcollect the part. Success, I had the new gasketin my hands.

We arrived back at the gîte by 4.30pm andtogether with Paul we stripped the head off.We could then see the problem. The gaskethad blown between 2 and 3 as suspected. By6.30pm the new gasket was fitted, the headreplaced and the car started. It was back to itsnormal self. Job done. We celebrated in stylethat night with a fantastic crab supperbeautifully prepared by David and Nadine. Thefollowing morning we headed back toBoulogne where we stayed the night. Sundaymorning saw us catch the ferry back to Dover.

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Alas the story doesn’t endthere however. Whilst myMidget was running reallywell, as we wereapproaching the M4, Pauland Vanessa’s began todisplay very similarsymptoms to mine. Havingspent half an hour or sogoing through the samediagnostics as my car hadundergone, Paul summonedthe assistance of the AA.They were unable to find theproblem and so Paul andVanessa ended up beingrelayed home on a tow truck. Their problemtranspired to have simply been a timingproblem, the distributor having slipped. Wewere surprised the AA hadn’t discovered thatwith their diagnostic thingymejig! By way of apostscript I must stress that the Midgets arenot known for blown head gaskets. This wasthe first I had experienced in 27 years ofownership of this car. The reason it had blownwas my own fault, but that is another story!The support provided by Andrew was first

class and the delivery problem absolutelynothing to do with him.

Despite our little setbacks we had a crackingholiday with our friends Paul and Vanessa, thesuccess of which was made all the morepossible by the generosity of David andNadine. I’m off to Classic Le Mans again in2008. I wonder what excitement that willbring?

Neil Thomas, 3617

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Reprinted courtesy of Ken Smith, Editor: Classic MG Magazine (US), via John Sprinzel

To the Pyrenees withan Austin-HealeySprite – Part Two

Tuesday May 22nd

This was one of the really great days of drivingand sight-seeing. We decided to go to Andorra,a little principality set in two high valleys in theeastern Pyrenees. We drove through theGorges of St. Georges and de L’Aude: a gorgein the Pyrenees consists of a narrow road,possibly a stream, and not much more, setbetween vertical walls of rock which may beas high as 1000ft. As these roads are used bylorries as well as cars, care is required, butsomeone forgot to tell the locals! Onward toEscouloubre, driving the switch-back road overthe Col du Pradel and down to Ax-les-Thermes.What a road and at 6000ft. what a view overstunning scenery. We arrived in Andorra at thetown of Pas de la Casa, full of duty-free shopsand tourist arcades; not quite what we hadexpected, but a small restaurant with anoutdoor eating area provided an excellentlunch, with the added bonus of watching theworld go by. The return journey toAx-les-Thermes and then to Quillan throughthe Gorge du Rebenty was every bit as goodand breathtaking as the outward had been.Great roads and great scenery – what a day!

Wednesday May 23rd

The weather was getting hotter, so a trip to theseaside seemed a good idea, and St. Cyprienabout 10 miles south of Perpignan, looked tobe a good place. And so it turned out to be,with a large marina and sea-front with a longsandy beach. After the activity of yesterday, tosit on the shore of the Mediterranean andenjoy a cool on-shore breeze was great andvery relaxing. Another excellent lunch at alocal restaurant (we do pick ‘em!) wasfollowed by something of a disaster of a returnjourney. I chose a road that was difficult tofind and then went on forever and ever over amountain that failed to provide us with onedecent view-point. Some consolation wastaken from a visit to our local ‘Champion’supermarket and the purchase of some rathergood chocolate desserts.

Thursday May 24th

Once again, what a day. We decided to take insome more mountain roads and gorges andended up finding something completelydifferent. The road to St. Paul de Fenouilletand from Axat to Escouloubre were known tous from previous outings, but the road southwas new to us. From Escouloubre we headedtowards Puyvalador and the area known asCapcir, which is a high-altitude plateau. Inthe middle of this vast plateau is a largereservoir near the town of Les Angles whichprovided some scenery that would have beenmore at home in Switzerland. Anotherexcellent lunch; quiche, salad, and a rathergood red wine at Mont-Louis was, again,eaten outside watching the world go by,before setting off down the N116 towardsOlette and Villefranche-de-Conflent. This isone of the great roads of the region, approx.22 miles of switch-back, occasionallyfollowing a railway line, and in an area ofwonderful scenery, high mountains and deepvalleys. There was a bonus when we reachedVillefranche, as it was a walled town, a sort ofminature Carcassonne, but deep in a valleyrather than on a hill. Very spectacular, full ofSpanish school-children, but a nice end to agreat day.

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Friday May 25th

A quiet day by comparison to yesterday. Wewent to a very good market in Limoux, a nicetown and a very colourful and noisy market –all very French! The rest of the day was spentback at the Gîte, Management doing somewashing and ironing and me washing twoweeks of dirt and dust off the car. Rainfall inthis part of the world is strange; it consists oftwo parts water and one part fine dust. Thewater goes away but the dust stays, coveringeverything and getting everywhere. A monthafter getting back home we are still findingsome in the car.

Saturday May 26th. Moulin de Perle to Ales

Time to say ‘goodbye’ to our hosts at the Gîteand hit the road. We took a route through theGorges de Galamus, more wonderful roadsand scenery. The weather caught up with usat St. Pons and the hood went up (the firsttime in a week). This was a shame as wewere going to see what has been described bymany as the Eighth Wonder of the World, theMillau Viaduct. It may seem strange to saythat something made of steel and concrete isbeautiful, but it really is. Very long and veryhigh, it is something to be seen from theground as well as being driven over. Sadly, thelatter was not possible due to the weather (ourchoice) but it will be there next time. On toAles by which time the weather had improvedand the hood was down and to our hotel,close to the town-centre, but with secureundergroung parking. This hotel did not have arestaurant, so a foray into the town was made.Now, French eating establishments do notopen in the evenings until 19-00 or even19-30, and I cannot wait that long for myevening meal! So, McDonalds it was, and verygood it was, and very adequate, and followedby a refreshing walk through the town.

Sunday May 27th. Ales to Gap

We got lost coming out of Ales (surprise!) butthe weather was good to us and, with thehood down, we enjoyed the open countryside.The Gorge of the Ardeche was spectacular andheavily infested with tourists; let me make apoint here – WE are not tourists, WE arevisitors! The Gorge and the river runningthrough it provides some wonderful sceneryand views as the road climbs to the top. This

is a great area for anyone interested in watersports of a small boating nature; canoes,kayaks, and rowing boats being very popular.Lunch came out of a very nice ‘boulangerie’and was eaten in a picnic area next to awine-bottling factory in the company of aGerman gentleman, with a classic Mercedes,and a very good bottle of red wine! Theweather let us down in the afternoon and wearrived in Gap in a rain-storm, not toobothered by this, such was the quality of thered wine. The hotel was rather good too.

Monday May 28th. Gap to Roanne

In fact, the hotel was very good, the best todate. Good food, good service, and veryfriendly staff. Gap is an interesting town, a‘browsing’ town of alleyways and narrowstreets with small shops. The drive out of Gap,heading north, is very spectacular over the ColBayard and following the ‘Route Napoleon’towards Grenoble. Now we are in the FrenchAlps; it’s cold but the hood stayed down (don’tsay anything) and we enjoyed a different kindof mountain scenery to the Pyrenees. Here thepeaks are higher and the gorges and valleyshave a more gradual slope to them. The roadsare in a better condition and are 2- or 3-lanewide. Lunch at a roadside ‘Grillage’, very busy,was very good, which is more than can besaid for the weather. It was a wet and windyjourney round, firstly, Grenoble and thenSt-Etienne to our hotel in Roanne (which hada swimming pool).

Tuesday May 29th. Roanne to Marchaux

Weather-wise, a much better day, hood down,warm and sunny, oh, this is good. We areheading north-east towards the Vosgesmountains, which we should pass overtomorrow. Today was a day of surprises;coming across small towns and villages, eachwith something to offer. La Clayette, off themain road, has a chateau with a lake, close tothe town-centre, in which was a street market,all waiting to be explored and very good. In theafternoon, we found ourselves in Arbois andstopped to buy a sticky-bun. Furtherexamination of the town revealed it to be thebirth-place of Louis Pasteur; time for anotherwalkabout. The countryside has changed fromthe ruggedness of the Alps to the gently rollingtype, very neat, very French, and a nicechange. The hotel at Marchaux was next to a

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motorway service area, so the dining-roomthat evening was busy and noisy.

Wednesday May 30th. Marchaux toChateau Thierry

Sunshine and blue sky greeted us this morningand we set off for the Vosges mountains. Dueto getting lost several times, we saw more ofthe Vosges than was intended, but it wasworth it. Very different to the Pyrenees and theAlpes, more rolling and wall-to-wall trees. Bythe time we had got ourselves back on route,we had only covered about 70 miles and itwas lunch time. So, after anuncharacteristically quick snack, we set of ona long afternoon’s drive, heading north. Thescenery changed yet again, this time to mainlyflat countryside with long straight roads and nolarge towns for us to get lost in. The fineweather held up until tea-time, when the hoodhad to go up and the last forty miles werecovered in drips and drizzle until we arrived atour hotel. The hotel was next to a largechemical works; fortunately the wind was inthe right direction!

Thursday May 31st. Chateau Thierry toCalais

After yesterday’s long drive, we were glad oftwo things; one, the hotel was superb andtwo, today’s drive was planned as a short one.As we approached the Pas-de-Calais regionwe found ourselves having a lesson in militaryhistory; towns like Arras and St. Omer, oncefamous landmarks for the pilots of the FirstWorld War, and the many military cemeteries,of all nationalities along the road to Calais.We

stopped in St. Omer, where we had spent anight on a holiday many years ago. It hadchanged a bit, or our memories had faded (Ithink I will change the subject). As we gotcloser to Calais, so the traffic got heavier andwe eventually booked into the hotel that wehad used on our first night in France, and theReceptionist remembered us. The weatherwhich had stayed good for the whole dayallowed us to take an evening walk after a verygood meal.

Friday June 1st. Calais to Worcester

An early start to the ferry terminal for the 9.35crossing, which was very smooth and arrivedin Dover on time. Then a quick dash up theA2, M2, and M26 to Westerham to visitChartwell, the private home of Sir WinstonChurchill. This is a wonderful place; beautifulgardens with a fine view over the SussexDowns, and a grand house full of memoriesand artifacts of the great man. By the time wehad left Chartwell and joined the M25, theFriday rush-hour had started (why do they callit the rush ‘hour’ – it goes on for ever!) So itwas stop/go all the way round until we couldturn off and head up the M40. The eveningmeal was a rather good fish and chips, eatenin Thame town square, and then a gentle driveinto the sunset towards Worcester.

Postscript

So, after three weeks and 3,300 miles, whathave we got. The car performed perfectly,never letting us down, and was actually theright car for the roads that we had planned touse. It was big enough for all of our luggageand the sights, sounds, and occasional smellsof the mountains are best enjoyed in anopen-top car. We have five hours of DVDfootage, un-edited, which will give us many anevening’s entertainment, particularlyManagement’s comments on cars and tractorspassing close by on HER side, as she keptreminding me. We saw some wonderfulscenery and places and met some interestingpeople, and, yes, despite the weather and themileage, it was a very relaxing holiday. Wouldwe do it again? Yes, next year we are going tothe Italian Lakes and the Dolomite Mountains.In a Healey? – of course. Watch this space.

Adrian Turley3745

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Cold War, Warm SunThe second Birmingham Tunnels Run – October 21 2007

We got the weather I’d prayed for.When I woke up the sun wasclimbing over the far trees in Sutton

Park. After a light breakfast I set off to themeeting place at Frankie and Bennies inErdington to meet the gang. As the car parkwas empty at 9.30 I went on a “recce” tripinto Brum to make sure the tunnels were openand not closed for maintenance, whichsometimes happens to these roads which carryhuge numbers of cars during the week.Hooray, all clear except for a single lane closedon the Aston Expressway, with cone collectionon-going.

So after a solo dash through the tunnels andback out to the start point I arrived to find thatGary Lazarus had arrived on F&B’s car park in“Gaps”, his Frogeye along with Andy in his1500 with a recently fitted Triumph overdrivegearbox. The car park soon started gettingpopular with local Spridget owners includingMark and his mate from Walsall who hadheard of the run via the MG BBS, Mark’s carhas a marvellous walnut dash which can beseen on Spritespot (http://www.spritespot.com/gallery/Mark1/Picture_010). John C and Pom,Geoff and John W were joined by Bill2, Trevorand his better half and Steve with his co-pilotson, Matt.

Fantastic, ten cars at the virtual end of a busyyear. I was thrilled. To make things better yet,although it was only just after ten o’clock themanager of F&B’s offered to open up early and

serve coffee to the throngs as he saw us liningup for our photo session in his car-park.

After coffee and a comfort break we all set offfrom my favourite (now) Italian-American caféand drove off in convoy along to the AstonExpressway to start the day’s fun. As we cameoff the Expressway down into the first of thetunnels we had managed to stay together andthe sounds from behind me were all I’d hopedfor. Through the three Brum tunnels and outonto the “old Brum Grand Prix circuit” onBristol St and round onto Belgrave Rd and itstunnel the ten cars managed to stay togetherbut as we ran uphill to the Five Ways islandwe began to lose stragglers.

At the roundabout it seems some went offdown the Broad Street exit and had to make aU turn to catch up with me. I waited in a buslay-by until we were ten again then we movedoff back down to the tunnels. For some reasonthe cars made a fantastic and really quitejuvenile amount of noise as for some reasonall of the Spridgets needed lower gears thanusual to negotiate the Queensway. From thefirst car in the convoy inside the tunnel itsounded as if the road was full of high-speedracecars behind me. I could see children inthe family cars I was alongside excitedlycrowding against their windows to see whatwas coming. Amusing really as the convoynever passed them all because there was nospeeding in the tunnels at all from our crowd,simply a rather amazing sound. I do wish Icould have recorded a wave file of it, maybenext time.

Now we’d finished part one of the plan for theday I led the group out down the Expresswayagain to drive north west up the M6 to theM54 near Walsall. Passing the “usual” Sundayqueue to exit the motorway at IKEA wemotored on to junction 10A. Leaving themotorway at the Cosford exit I took Gary to thenearest petrol station for a much neededtop-up followed by John C and Pom in theirrather nice recently acquired Sprite MkIV (?)and then drove to our final destination at theRAF Museum at RAF Cosford. The others had

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reserved parking spaces for us in the car parknear the Bristol Britannia that is beingrepainted near the entry road. We took severalmore pictures and then wandered into theMuseum which occupied us all for the nextthree or four hours. Many years ago I used tobe a model maker and I was quite proud tosee the two models I had donated to themuseum back in the eighties were still ondisplay.

Boys, did you ever hang Airfix kits from theceiling in your bedroom? My first impressionwhen Gary and I walked into the Cold WarWarriors Museum was that we had wanderedinto a giant kid’s bedroom. Right in front of methere was an English Electric Lightningpointing straight up into the roof, hanging fromseveral cables. Amazing and evocative of theperformance these wonderful aircraft werecapable of in flight.

As this is a spectacular new display in a brandnew display facility (far too posh to call it ahangar) I won’t spoil the exhibit for any futurevisitors, but suffice it for me to say, please paythe museum (or its other branch in Hendon) avisit. It’s a grand day out for free, courtesy ofthe RAF and the generosity of the Lottery fund.

We had a late lunch in the fine restaurant inthe visitor centre then after fond farewells splitup and made our way home in variousdirections still bathed in warm (for October

rather amazingly warm) sunshine. A run thislate in the October Sun paid off big-time.

I wish to thank all who came along andparticipated, we just might do it all again nextyear now we know it worked out so well.

And this weekend SS&NB supported ourfriends from Warwickshire who did anotheroutstanding job manning the Club Stand at theClassic Cars show. A great show and I have tosay the most stunning car this year wasn’tStuart’s V8FWD Midget but the amazingBugatti Royale that greeted everyone on entryto the show, with that in one’s face all theothers were simply “less amazing”.

BillSS&NB Area

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May Run 3rd-6th 2008 – Early Bank HolidayNext year looks like becoming a bumper year with many events to attend.

The May Tour 2008, organised by Chris and Jacqui Harding; Sue and Jim Juddassisted by Colin Aldridge, takes us to the New Forest area of Hampshire.

The Midget and Sprite Club have the entire Hotel. That is 20 Double rooms (+ if wewant them there are 3 singles (only one single now left)) £195 per person for threenights Dinner B&B. Chris Harding will be taking bookings from August Surrey club

night £50/person The hotel is ‘The Watersplash’ inBrockenhurst, this is in the middle of the New Forest. It has

secure parking plus the use of a garage if required and aswimming pool.

Hotel can be viewed on www.watersplash.co.uk

Don’t miss out on this popular event

Details/Deposits [email protected]

Emails to the EditorBrabhams

Hi BarryI am trying to research the Brabham Sprite/Midget cars, the Climax engine ones that wereconverted during the early ’60s. I have a copy of the original road test published in Sports Carand also in Autosport in ’61. I have searched the web but without success. I think some MkISprites were converted in addition to the MkI Midgets. Any leads or information would be muchappreciated. Thanking you in anticipation.David #3923, [email protected]

CongratulationsHi BarryCongratulations on winning the best club magazine category at the Classic and Sports Carawards at the Classic Car Show today, very well deserved. RegardsPaul Webb

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A Mk. 1 Sprite and a rare Big Healey 100S atthe Euro Auto Festival on October 20, 2007, at

the BMW Zentrum in Greer, South Carolina.Austin-Healey was the featured marque at the

annual event at BMW’s manufacturing facility inSouth Carolina. Gerry Coker, the designer of the

Big Healey and the Mk. I, spoke at a banquetduring the three-day event.

Part of the Sprite line up at Euro Auto Festival.There were also a number of Midgets ondisplay.

Words and photos: Glenn Surrette, US

Euro Auto Festival – October ’07

Gary Lazarus’Early Cars

PhotoCollection

“At top right is a picture of aFrogeye that I bought in Coventryin 1964 and sold a couple of yearslater. The engine was built byDownton and the car was racedprior to my ownership in the1000cc class. I was told it was oneof a team of six cars that raced inendurance type races. The registrationnumber was 6TMT, I traded the car fora 65 MG Midget. As you can see in thepicture a Walker type fibreglass frontwas fitted to the car. I am currentlyrebuilding a ‘59 Sprite to similarspecifications, reliving my youth so tospeak. The photo was taken at the backof The Queen’s Hotel in Hertford St.,Coventry where I lived with my parentswho ran the hotel. The place wasdemolished years ago.

Best regards, Paul Brown, Ramona,California (hot, smelly, smokey and verysooty at present).”

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Reprinted courtesy of Model Collector magazine

The month’s events started with thetreasure hunt which was accompaniedby the usual Cambs MASC sunny

weather, we had arranged to meet up atCambridge services on the A14 and after aquick bite of breakfast we set off on ourstaggered start. Pat and I were commanded togo first, since we were not expected to be firstback (something to do with our tendency toget a bit carried away and enjoy the run a littletoo much and even stop for refreshment if themood takes us). As always Nigel and Dianehad done us proud and come up with abrilliant run mainly on small country roads andthrough some picturesque little villages thattook us to some interesting buildings andquirky things to see (and answer questionson), I was particularly impressed by thebrilliant post mill at Gransden (worth a visit inits own right). Treasure hunts always seem tounearth gems, known only to the locals andhidden away in obscure little corners of thecountryside that you just would have noreason to visit on the normal day to dayjourneys (I guess that’s what off the beatentrack is all about).

Another important ingredient in the treasurehunt is the need to interface with the locals inorder to obtain the treasure (and cut bits offtheir brushes while they are distracted) or tofind key landmarks. The thrill of the chase andthe slightly competitive nature of these eventstends to overcome one’s natural instinct not toask complete strangers daft questions, and it isto their credit that in most cases, faced withthis mad couple in the nice old car, they even

try to help (I suspect it is appreciation of ourlittle cars that persuades them to be kind tous). I have to say that the quality of theinformation or help given does vary immenselythough, from the nice lady in the village shopwho will ransack her shop and cottage nextdoor to find treasure items for you, to the manworking in his garden who doesn’t know thename of the village he lives in, or the guy whotells you the vital clue you are scouring hisvillage for was dismantled and taken away lastmonth. Despite all of this after a couple of verypleasant hours (or so) in the sunshine wereached the finishing point, and since nobodyhad overtaken us we had to be in with achance. Nigel informed us that we hadsuffered a slight time penalty, (having madeno allowance for our 1098cc engine, althoughmainly I put it down to negotiating thosebumpy and aptly named B roads) howeverwith our huge collection of genuine treasureitems (no bits of vandalised brush Graham)and correct answers we had done quite well (Ithink I detected a note of surprise in his voicethough)

After a short while (a little too short if you askme) we saw Mick and Trish flash past thepub car park entrance at breakneck speedand for one delicious moment we thought theyhad overshot and failed to spot the finishingpoint and would maybe not return for half anhour or so, but it was not to be and theyparked in front of the pub and soon joined us.Next to arrive were Hubie and Sally who hadactually managed to lap Graham and Maggie.Eventually all the pigeons came home to roost

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Cambridgeshire Report

(or were they albino sea pheasants), or at leastto eat a very pleasant reasonably priced lunchwhile Nigel and Diane waded through thepaperwork and fended of the hecklers andconducted steward’s enquiries, while they didtheir sums before arriving at a result. In theend it came to light that Hubie had managedto pip us at the post (by just a few points) tocome in first, Pat and I were delighted to takesecond place (it would have been unseemly towin wouldn’t it ) closely followed by Mick andTrish, and Graham and Maggie took the last ofthe podium places in forth position. Lunchwas followed by the presentation of thesilverware and the customary MASCOT photoof our winners in front of the placed cars.

After the normal ceremonials it was still quiteearly and the weather was still shining on usso Nigel lead us on a little bonus run to theAmerican cemetery. I have to say this is notreally a place I would have normally thought of

visiting on a car club run, but as it happensproved to be architecturally interesting, set in amagnificent position and had a fascinatingvisitors centre. This also provided a brilliantlocation for yet another MASCOT photo, and avery pleasant way to round off the event beforeheading for home.

Next up was the Mad Cat night, which was avery autumnal dark night with a decided nip inthe air and so only tempted out a few propercars (sadly it’s getting to that time of yearagain) but well done to those who did make it.The evening was the usual blend of chat,banter, beer (in moderation), food, informationand event details. The highlight of the eveningwas however the gift of the first pre-releasecopies of HTJs Midget movie (at least I think itwas the highlight for John). John was veryexcited about his newly discovered creativestreak, and has promised to launch us all tomovie stardom with his next epic production. Ihave to admit though that having watchedHTJs movie it was very smoothly constructed,with lots of Spridget content, a great choice oflocations, typical Cambridgeshire MASCweather and an appropriately quirky and verywell timed soundtrack, but best of all the veryattractive star remained completely toplessthroughout the whole thing.

Dave Dixon

Bristol Area Report

The Bristol area members were united forour November meeting – none of usarrived in our Spridgley things. A freezing

cold and dark evening precluded any car parkinspections so we sat in the warm and talkedSpridgley things instead. I should mention thatour furthest travelling member, Colin Gayle,arrived in his Morris Minor convertible – butwith soft top firmly in place. Nice try but nopoints for that Colin. It was good to welcomesome new members, Paul and Carolyn whoown the ex George Cooke Frogeye. This Spritewon a major concours trophy a few years agoand is still in tip top condition. With aregistration number of OFF, it was wellphotographed in times gone by when parkedalongside David and Jenny Smith’s Frogeye,registration number PEE.

Most of the Bristol contingent made its way,one way or another, to the National ClassicCar Show at the NEC. What a ritzy glitzy showit was too. The clubs are obviously all hell benton trying to out ‘glam’ one another but comingout on top for being the most welcoming – TheMidget and Sprite Club of course. No chainlink fencing, no ‘Do not touch’ signs. Thevisitors were welcome to take a close look atthe 4 cars on display and to talk to the team ofclub representatives that were always onhand. With little more than the display cars, agazebo, a table and a few chairs, ourWarwickshire branch did a cracking job ofrepresenting the club at this major show. Theyeven managed to sell me a quantity ofMASCOT Binders.

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Nearer to home, a couple of us visited theRestoration Show at Shepton Mallet theprevious weekend. This was the first run I hadmade in my Sprite MkIV for a couple ofmonths and will no doubt be the last foranother couple of months. Amazingly, itstemperamental charging system producednormal ammeter readings, but then, I didn’tuse the lights, blower or wipers!

Back to our November meeting, Philip Sellenbrought along the before and after results ofhaving his Midget MkII’s distributor rebuilt byThe Distributor Doctor. A graph of the advancecurve taken throughout the rev range clearlyillustrated how far off the plot a worndistributor can be. No surprise that Phil was

having difficulty in trying to tune his Midget’sengine. The rebuilt item produced an advancecurve right up the centre line of the originalLucas tolerance compared with the ‘before’plot that looked like the route of a Navigationalscatter event!

All being well, we shall try for the Tinterngathering on the first Sunday of December, ifyou are interested, please give Alan or Terry aring to find out times and meeting place.Otherwise, we shall meet again at the Roseand Crown at Pucklechurch on the secondWednesday of December.

Happy Christmas from the Bristol branch

Terry Horler

Dorset Area ReportCCOTP (Classic Cars on the Prom) Heather Run,

Sunday 30 September 2007

Chris and I set off from Salisbury, hoodup, at just after 10:00 in heavy rain forthe journey down to Highcliffe Castle on

the coast. The weather improved on the wayat Fordingbridge where we started meeting lotsof classic cars going to the last ‘Steam Up’ atBreamore House. We arrived at Highcliffe afteran hour’s drive where it was nice and dry butslightly overcast.

Included in the £5 entry fee was entrance tothe Castle, so whilst waiting to rendezvouswith other Club members we had a lookinside, which seems to be an endlessprogramme of restoration in progress, followedby a couple of miles walk along the beach.

Departure for the Road Run was between13:45 and 15:00 for a very scenic route via

Barton on Sea, Milford on Sea, Keyhaven theninland to the New Forest and down lots ofsmall country lanes that we never knewexisted. On exiting the forest we then headedfor the coast again and headed toBournemouth Prom via Hengistbury,Southbourne, Boscombe Pier and theOvercliffe Drive arriving just after 16:00. Itwas a really enjoyable route that was muchappreciated by our members.

By 17:00 it was starting to rain again so wemade a topless dash back to Salisbury after agreat day out.

Ian Beaver

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Dutch Report

Wow, this hasbeen a veryactive year

for the Midget, somany great eventsand runs, weekendtrips and hollidays.

Last weekend tripwas the DutchSpridget Run at theDutch/Germanborder. With over 30Spridgets this eventis getting morepopular every year with this year’s first Englishequipe Anita and Mark from Yorkshire! Theysure made a great impression on the Dutchiesby being 4th at the overall prize winning at theSaturday roadrun. Well done Anita for drivingyour Midget on the right side of the road andnavigating at the same time while Mark wasbusy waving to all female Spridget equipes,just kidding. Thanks to Sipke, Richard andTom for organising this brilliant Spridgetweekend and we all are looking forward fornext years special (5th year) Jubilee Run!

In October my friend in speedcrime Arjan and Ijoined in the Annual Nightrun organised by theDutch MGCC in our area. As tradition wearrived late, too late, as the briefing hadalready taken place and equipes were alreadystarting at the point of us arriving. Check in,get the road book and some hot coffee andapple pie before we get back in the car again.It was a clear sky which means it was coldand it will take you several hours (if you dontget lost on the dark country roads) before youfinish so it’s logical to fuel the car and yourselfbefore you enter the run. We had to drive as if

we were hunted by “male hating feminists” tomake up for our lost time and so we did. Ittook us 1 hour driving/navigating on small anddark dyke/dune-roads with Tulip-instructions,map-navigating and more unususalinstructions methods to finally catch up withan MGB, passing them, and giving them thehonour of being last in line. By the time wepassed half the competition field, thenavigating got tougher and us not wanting togive away the right route we occasionallydrove without lights (also means no braking)at crucial roadsplits and take off until safe toget the lights on again, great for an adrenalinrush! At 23.00hrs these small roads were allabandoned and Holland being flat you can seeoncoming vehicles from a safe distance atwhich we turned our lights on again for safety.When we finished we joined the other alreadyfinished 4 equipes at the bar to wait for theother 30ish cars to arrive. It seemed we werethe only Spridget on the run and got secondprize overall which really is the best prize,because winning 1st means you’ll have toorganise next years Night-Run.Even more fun were the reactions we got froman MGB V8 and TR6 equipe on how the hell itwas possible that while they were having theirtrafficlight race-fun, we came out of nowhere,overtook them and drove them out of sight.Sorry boys, size isn’t every thing, it’s the wayyou handle it! Respect to the Spridgets!Coming up: a Historical Car Rally for startersand experienced drivers/navigators in theWestland-Zuid Holland area on 22 December.For more info on Dutch Spridget activities orjust meeting for a beer: [email protected]

Arie

33

Home Counties North West

In the absence of any group activity torecount in this column I was going to fill thespace with a report on Pat and Zara’s

participation in the Norwich Union MSAClassic.

I was … but to coin a phrase from a certainMr F Howard “Woe, woe and twice woe.”

The Frogeye, as entered for the event and asseen in the HCNW wet pic of Octoberdeclared, “No, no and thrice no.” and did whatseveral of our mob have recently had to suffer,it decided to stand stock still for anundisclosed reason. All that came out of itwere Nov. 5th sound effects from its rear.Pat’s years of experience as a F1 Mechanicfailed to make it see reason. (Is it anothercheap condenser?)

So to plan B. The MGB was quickly entered assubstitute. Loaded and fuelled they left for theNorwich starting point in high anticipation andin improving weather. Forty miles on the MGBsaid “No, no etc” and went on to part timeworking. A holy piston was the likely cause.So home they went.

Inspection of the Brevealed adisintegrating clutchas well as the enginesickness. Plus othermaladies. Oh b…other. So, a winterproject but a new carfor next year.

However, despite Patand Zara’s woes, itturned out that one ofour number made itto the event! Mauriceand Sharon took partin their Frogeye andhad a jolly good time.More info may follownext month…

There, I’ve filled thecolumn, just made ita smaller column.

There may be anend-of-season run in November, perhaps,possibly. There will be a Christmas lunch inJanuary. There are plans afoot for 2008.

Thank you Ed. for the generous amount ofcolour in October’s excellent issue and againlast month. It must be Mark’s excellentphotography.

A few words of thanks here for Terry H. Thereis a feel good factor in realising that one is notcast out because of a few scuffs and bumpson the car. I know that Lily and Vic get comfortfrom parking alongside “Gaps”, which putstheir old faithful in a good light. So here ismore encouragement to you all who are ‘pasde concours’... Also, I hope, Terry, that youhave overcome your frustration at beingunable to solve my problem at Castle Combebut I feel relieved that my bafflement isunderstood.

Thank you Ed. Thank you all who power thisgood ship MASC. And a happy Christmas to allwho sail in her.

Chris Jackson

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At October club night we had our, nowannual, quiz night. Once again this washosted by Ian who produced an excellent

set of questions; he even brought pencils foreveryone, all nicely sharpened. After a veryclose competition the eventual winners werenewcomers Mike and Karen – the rumour thatwe let them win so they would come backnext month is totally unfounded!

On 28 October we went on a Halloween run.This is an idea we initially had last year but,as usual, left it too late. A route was devisedthat would take us around Pendle, the homeof the famous Pendle witches.

There was a good turn out of 5 cars. We allmet at our house for a brew and bacon buttiesbefore setting off. Neil and Shelly got into thespirit of things with Shelly dressing as a witch.The weather first thing that morning washorrendous and I was thinking aboutcancelling the run, however the skieseventually cleared and it turned out to be anice day.

I planned a route using an OS map but neveractually got round to driving it before the day.So off we set, through Hoghton, Waddington,

on to Bolton-by-Boland and then throughGisburn. This is the point that I wished I’ddone a dry run first. According to my directionswe should have turned right at a crossroadswhich we missed (sorry, that I missed!).Turning back it transpired that this road wasactually only a dirt track. At this point Idecided to ignore the directions and use myhighly toned sense of direction to guide us on– I eventually lost track of the number of

35

NW Area ReportHalloween run

Neil and Shelly

u-turns we made. Nevertheless we completedour run, stopping off in Newchurch at WitchesGalore shop for those who wanted to buy aspell or two.

We eventually stopped at The Myerscough atSamlesbury for lunch before setting off home.Despite getting lost once or twice I think we allenjoyed the day. Will do the same next yearbut will definitely have a dry run first!

The deadline for this report is before we haveour November meeting so will report on this inJanuary.

IMPORTANT NOTE: December club night isChristmas meal. If you would like to comethen please ring me a.s.a.p. We will NOT beat the Kilton that night.

So, that’s it for now and may I wish you all amerry Christmas.

Les

Linc’slot

The landlord of the White Hart atLissington very kindly reservedus a couple of tables complete

with window seats and sundry chairsand until ten past eight there wereonly the two of us, Sue and I. ThenLizzie turned up, followed shortly byPete and Mary. No Spridgets tonight,but who can blame us. It’s cold, darkand damp, and only the goodcompany and the welcoming pubatmosphere to warm us up.

We discussed our TV star Lizzie’sappearance on Mark Evan’sprogramme, on which she rebuiltFreddie The Frogeye. I have now seen theshow and was very impressed. I was

particularly struck by the Harley in the hall andthe living room full of parts. We also talked

about the Classic Motor Show at theN.E.C. which we were all going to onvarious day, but I have had to cry offdue to an illness in the family. Hopethe others still enjoy the day and tellme all about it.

Hope to see all the Lincolnshire area’snew members, and the old ones, at thenext get together on Thursday 6December at the usual time at theusual place.

Brian Jeffery

36

Pendle Hill

Surrey – October at the Blue Ball

Phew! I dashed back from several days inParis, with my wife Lisa, to be atOctober’s Surrey Meeting so that I was

able to prove to many that a wife is not afigment of my imagination for she is rarelyseen other than on the May runs or at theChristmas meal.The May Run next year. Colin and Jude, ChrisHarding, Sue and Jim Judd were huddledtogether like conspirators, whispering, whilstarranging for next year’s run. As Area Rep’ Iam only privy to the fact that it will take placein the New Forest, Hants, there are only threedouble bedrooms remaining at the Hotel, andthat Colin and Jude are about to ‘recce’ theroute. Would any of Hants group care to joinus whilst we are touring their area next year?Dave and Chris Wright were able to report thatthirty nine people have ‘deposited’ for ourChristmas Meal, in December, at theKingswood Arms.Peter Gardiner was getting excited at theprospect of having a ‘back to the metal’respray started on his car on 3rd November.Even though this will stop him from using thecar to come to club nights he has still broughthis car more times than any other this year.Non-member Mike Lay, Sue and Jim, Nay andCol, and Nigel Saynor brought their cars on thisoccasion whilst Chris Banton, Ashley Hinton,Mike Gorman, Linda and David Southcott didnot.

Hilary and Peter Stevens were forced to use atin top bringing a gearbox for me to pass on toJohn Clark. Unfortunately being appraised ofthe arrangement late, and being without myown car, the transfer was deferred untilanother time.Several People have expressed interest in atwelve day tour through France, Switzerland,and Italy taking in the French National MotorMuseum, Stelvio Pass and Mille MigliaMuseum (Brescia Italy) so I will proceed withplanning for September 2009. There wasconcern expressed that I have not yet posteddetails of our 2008 Battlefields Tour. Don’tworry folks as soon as the Hotels post their2008 details I shall circulate to all. This Touris definitely on. May I take this opportunity towelcome Devon members Simon and JoannaTennant who will be joining us, on this tour, intheir Frogeye.On a general note. Several Surrey/Sussex/Kentmembers have failed to respond to mye-mails. If you are not in receipt of my monthlyNotices or have changed your e-mail addressthen please get in touch with me as you maybe missing out on a lot occurring locally inthose three counties. I may not have a currenttelephone number to contact you either.

Alan AnsteadArea Representative: Surrey (Sussex?) & Kent

Mail to: [email protected] (answer phone) 01322-384050

Sussex Team Challenges theEstablishment

When word got around in Sussex thatthere was a quiz taking place at theAmberley Working Museum, the

South East Region’s Sussex members had tobreak into the cosy world of Friends ofAmberley working Museum, and a 6 personteam was assembled by David and Chris.

Linda, David, Sandra and Trevor formed theSpridgeteers team, and on 8th October theytook up their positions in the LimeburnersRestaurant. Questions ranged from

engineering to biology to musical intros, andSandra, scribe and main motivator for theteam, soon had us all really stressed, andpretty challenged too. Do you know whereyour Hallux is, well we didn’t, but we didknow what the Falkirk wheel is, and a fewmore besides. A ploughman’s supper roundedoff a brilliant evening, and we’ll be ready forthe next challenge, when we must do better!

David

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All Steamed up at Toddington

The GWR Steam and Vintage Gala atToddington on Sunday 14 October welcomedtwelve cars from the Warwickshire group andtwo visiting members. Nice to see BobClarkson from South Staffs in his Frog MkII,who went on to be singled out by the comperewhen the Midget and Sprite Owners took adrive around the main Show Arena. Secondly,Shaun Walsh from Gloucs. joined the line upin his MkIII Midget. Sadly, not many peoplewere watching our little car parade but weenjoyed the line up.

An early start had launched the day. Thehoods were down but the coats were fastenedup. It began with a nip in the air. Andy Bournerecommended that we gather for cake in theStation Café; the service was slow and theeating was quick. We recharged batteries withhot drinks and then enjoyed the exhibits.Throughout the day the hoot of the steamtrain, the smell of Castrol R from the old bikesand the belching of the smoke from thetraction engines reminded us that transportlooks good, smells good and brings goodfriends together. Our thanks go to John Platt,who negotiated our entry as a Club Stand,oversaw the erection of our banner andorganised.

The scenic run, which started at the Little Chefat Alcester with 9 cars and travelled South viaWixford and Ardens Grafton and the roadrepaired by “Top Gear” earlier this year toBidford-On-Avon. A long run followed alongthe old Roman Road Watling Street toBroadway and then via Snowshill and an old“unsuitable for motors” rally road of John’salong Stanway Plantation to the rally field atToddington to meet up with others who hadarrived direct. Mechanically all went wellexcept for Geoff and Janet’s Frog who began

guzzling water… is it the head gasket wewonder? Find out when we meet again.

Mo Wood, HFA 151E

The Classic Car Show at the NEC

Once again, the Warwickshire group led byJohn Platt supported the MASC stand, whichproved very popular with over 45 membershipforms being distributed at this stage with 5new members joining on the spot. John iswriting up a full report however, with this“half-time” (Saturday evening) score it lookslike being a highly successful event. We werevisited not only by our retiring chairperson Billbut also by John Canning who held the chairfor many years previously. As the pictureshows Chris‘s Frogeye was for sale, and hassubsequently been sold, which will take someadjusting to after 14 years of ownership!!Many thanks to all those who staffed the standover the three days and it provided a forum forthe representatives from many areas to gettogether to discuss club matters.Sheila has been accumulating the orders forthe Wark’s Christmas dinner and it looks as ifwe have managed to fill all the spaces at theGreen Dragon yet again. Attendance will beconfirmed at the next meeting and discussionsinto the events that we are planning to takeplace in 2008, will also be on the agenda.

Chris and Sheila

38

Warwickshire Report

Monthly Meeting

We had an amazingly beautiful sunny day forour meeting on Saturday 3 November. Thismust be the reason why so many of us turnedup to enjoy an excellent lunch at The ThreeHares at Bilbrough near York. The pub’saddress is Main Street but the car park, andaccess to the building, turned out to be onBack Lane. This caused a bit of confusionand, through the front windows, we did seeone Spridget going past a couple of times.Sorry we missed whoever it was. The turn outin the car park consisted of 13 Spridgets, anItal and a Norton Commando. Mark W and Pathad come with the Norton and another bikeand left their Sprite at home. Mark E from Yorkjoined us for the first time. Mark B and Irealised we met Mark E 3 years ago at theYork Knavesmire Show held in September. HisMidget is a green MKIII that he’s had for 8years. Mike Y was across from Manchester. Itwas Maggie and him that discovered this puba few months ago. Frank had the shortestjourney as he only lives in Tadcaster. HisMidget has gained a hardtop and Tim andSarah’s Sebrina had her W&P hardtop on too.Tim has produced another Yorkshire Spridgetscalendar for 2008 and had brought some withhim. Arthur brought his Stag owner friendLionel with him again in his Frogeye. AndrewH, home on leave, was there in his Frogeye.The pub owner sneaked out to take somephotos, as MKI Sprites are his favourite classiccar. John and Rachel’s Midget is in storage forthe winter so they came in the Ital. Rob livesnear them and it was good to see him in hisTurbo Midget again. Last time we saw himwas at Croft in May when the gearbox decidedto pack up. Mike N managed to get a pass outfor a couple of hours to enjoy some top downdriving. Adrian and Sandra popped in for ashort while too. They have been using theirMidget regularly during the summer. Ken H

managed to escape from work in time for himand son Mark H to make the meeting. Ian andClaire brought some visiting friends with them.Ray and Sue came down from Darlington tojoin us. I think their Midget may be getting arespray this winter. Nick C put in a rareappearance in his Midget. He and Josie wereactually having a weekend at home for achange. Nick has also been doing a number ofrallies with Nigel during the year. Carlocouldn’t make it as he was moving flat, Mattwas busy working and Andy B was putting insome hours on the Frogeye.

We set off from the pub and took the quickroute along the A64 to Stockton on the Forestto visit the Craven Collection where we werejoined by Nick M and his Dad Richard andMartin and Gail. Dick Craven had opened hisMuseum of Classic Motorcycles especially forus. Dick provides motorcycles for film andtelevision work. He has a long and variedassociation with bikes including competitionsuccess with sidecars and sprinting. There aremore details on his website (seewww.cravencollection.co.uk). Dick has anautojumble area and a few of us found someinteresting bits and pieces to buy.

Rally News

Simon and Trevor took part in The Rally of theTests coming 18th overall out of a field of 80and 2nd in their class. This year the 4-dayevent started in Scarborough before headingacross to Cumbria up into Scotland and thendown to the finish in Blackpool. Nick andJosie are planning on doing Le Jog at thebeginning of December.

January 2008 meeting

Saturday 5th in North Yorkshire contact me fordetails.

Anita

39

Yorkshire Report

Dear SpridgetfriendsIn 2008 the German Midget and Spriteregister will arrange its 3rd meeting;which this time will take place inPfronten/Allgäu. Pfronten is a town inthe south of Germany, on the border toAustria. Together with like-mindeddrivers you will discover beautifulroads and a dreamlike mountainlandscape. So you will have plenty ofpossibilities to drive your car along thecurvaceous alpine passes and you willbe able to enjoy the fascinating sight ofsome wonderful castles. Anyway it’sworth the trip. And you can also get toknow some of the Bavarian tradition.So let us surprise you.... In case you havesome time to spare after the meeting, it mightbe a good idea to spend some more days inthe area for holidays. You’ll find moreinteresting information about the meeting onthe following home pages:

www.spridgets.net Invitation and registrationwww.Pfronten.de Information about the

venue and tripswww.Schwangau.de King Ludwig II castles

Marcus PieperSpridgetregister Germany

Market PlaceAdverts to Alan Lo

23 Charnell Road, Staple Hill, Bristol, BS16 5NEemail: [email protected] Tel: 0117 9572617

FOR SALETonneau cover, black vinyl, in new andunused condition, to fit Sprite 4 1967-68 (thatsort of year – with the ‘fixed’ hood but noheadrests). Bought in error, and I can’t use it.Give me my money back at just £20.Tel: 01179 677606 (Bristol) [email protected]. Midget Mk IV 1969 G reg White (ornearly so) and rust. The going round bits areevidently sound but the standy up bits notnearly so. The asking price is around £500 soit might be worth a look. Call me and I willpass you onto the owner. Near Hertford.Chris Jackson – 01707 261567From 1966 Mk 3 Sprite – Front wire wheelfront hub assembly c/w calipers, discs,wishbone and splines @ £45.00. Windscreen@ £10.00. Prop Shaft @ £10.00. Steeringcolumn @ £10.00. Steering rack @ £10.00or offers as space needed –Tel John Platt 01789 488321/email [email protected](Near Stratford-Upon-Avon)

1959 Austin Healey Sprite Mk1 (Frogeye)in very good condition following a full baremetal respray in 1999. Mechanicals havebeen fully overhauled and reconditioned,where appropriate. Price £8100. Full detailsand photos. available fromChris Owen, (Member No. 3098),Tel. No: 01621893530, Maldon, Essex.EMail: [email protected] at page 33 in August 2007 MASCOT fora preview!

WANTEDA tandem master cylinder wanted forreconditioning, must be ¾" bores and have thepistons with it. Lid and rods not needed. Alsoone of those bracing pieces that secure thebottom of the dash (crinkly finish type) to thefirewall.Tel: 01179 677606 (Bristol) [email protected] for Frogeye, Mk 2 Sprite/Mk 1Midget .P. Waters (non member) 01624 842121

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Spridget Treffen13th-15th June 2008

Pfronten, Germany

december 2007 £2 no. 285 mascot

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