October, 2015

Next MeetingsOctober 5, 7:00 pm at MoeJoe’s Family Restaurant

2175 Candia Road, Manchester, NH 03104October 15, 7:00pm at the Common Man in Plymouth, NH

RUDY KRUEGERJanuary 12, 1936 - August 18, 2015

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RUDY KRUEGERThe MG community lost an enthusiasticand dear friend on August 18, 2015Rudy passed away at his home inWolfeboro, NH surrounded by his wifeBarbara, sons Eric, Kurt, Karl, anddaughter Janet and his twelve grandchil-dren at his side. He is also survived byhis three brothers: Kurt, Richard andDennis. Rudy was a man of many tal-ents; his restorations of his 50 MG TDand his MGA were a testament of hisdesire to achieve perfection in everythinghe touched. He was an accomplishedphotographer with many award winningphotographs at State Fairs, GOF PhotoContest and with his local photographyclub. Rudy also loved to be photo-graphed, he was proud of his trademarkhandlebar mustache and his blue eyes

and smile. He was a master wood-worker, machinist, electrical engineer andcould virtually repair just about every-thing from carburetors, fuel pumps, wa-ter pumps, starters and generators.

Rudy was always willing to share hiswealth of knowledge to anyone in needand was always the first one to volun-teer his assistance when needed. It wasa privilege for Pauline and me to haveshared many vacations with Rudy andBarbara, travelling with them on Euro-pean River Cruises, GOFs, Concertsand just recently our trip to New Mexicoand Colorado. Rudy became a friendthe moment you met him I’m sure manyof you have great memories of the timesyou spent with him.

To say he will be missed doesn’t seem

to fully express what I feel and I wish Icould find adequate words but uponlearning of his passing David Sander theChairman of the New England T-Regis-ter said and I quote “The MG commu-nity has lost a bright star” yes he was abright star, a dear friend and a remark-able human being”.

Rudy was proud of having served hiscountry in the US Navy aboard the air-craft carrier USS Champlain, it is fittingthat he chose the NH Veterans Cemeteryin Boscawen as his final resting place tobe in the section reserved for all USNavy veterans. Interment of his cre-mated remains will be private at the con-venience of the family sometime in thefall.

The family has chosen the KnudsonChurchill Scholarship Trust, 8 WoodstonLane, Palm Coast, FL 32164 for me-morial contributions in his honor.Ten years ago the followingCar of the month article waspublished about Rudy’s car.We are reprinting it in honorof Rudy’s memory.

LATE 1959 MGA REBUILD &

RESTORATIONby Rudy Krueger

This car was the third BMC car that Ihave restored. I bought it back in 1997from a friend of my oldest son, who tookit apart, stripped the body and frame andthen lost interest. I think he bought it in

1991.

The engine block was bored, the crankreground, the head redone and it nowhas lots of new parts. All the parts werein boxes, cans and jars and nothing wasidentified. Some parts were missing so Ihad to acquire them. The interior wastotally shot. The car was not badly rustedbut the rocker panels were gone all theway through. The frame was in reallygood shape. Also, the body had otherdamage, mostly on the front, driver’sside as well as the rear behind thebumper. Judging from the light wear Ifound, I’d estimate the car had about40,000 miles on it.

My goal was to re-assemble this car soit looked just as it did when it left thefactory and dealer fifty-plus years ago.

I started the restoration in 2007, inWolfeboro, NH. Every part and assem-bly was completely restored (plated,painted or chromed). Most of the origi-nal hardware was reused (except forcritical locations) after it was stripped andre-plated. New parts were wire wheels,tires, bumpers, headlights, small chromethings, windscreen glass, interior kits,top, tonneau and hundreds of other littlethings. BIG BUCKS!

The body was repaired and painted by“Paint Works” of Dover, New Hamp-shire.

Factory options ordered according tothe factory records:

- heater/defroster and controls- sixty-spoke wire wheels- adjustable steering column

Owner installed options:

- luggage carrier, factory style- hi-note Lucas original horn- wind screen washer “Tudor system”- original “Moto-lita” steering wheel

continued page 6

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BCNHMONARCHY

PRIME MINISTERRobert Mitchell

PRIME MINISTER EMERITUSWade dos Santos

CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER

John Giese

NEWSLETTERChuck & Diane Connors

John GieseOwen & Virginia Christiansen

REGALIAJoan Young

SECRETARYNorma Karle

WEBMASTERKate Stanley Robinson

MEMBERSHIP COORDINATORLouis Belanger

TECH SESSION COORDINATORWade dos Santos

ADVERTISING COORDINATOR(open)

PUBLIC RELA TIONS(open)

INTER-CLUB COORDINA TORBob Dougherty

CALENDAR COORDINA TORSue MacDuff

SHOW OF DREAMS DIRECTORBob Stanley

HISTORIANMike Sweet

www.bcnh.orgContact information on page 4

AC – ALLARD – ALPINE – TVR – DAIMLER – MORRIS MOTORCYCLES – TRIUMPH – MG - JAGUAR – AUSTIN HEALEY

LAND ROVER – RELIANT SCIMITAR – LOTUS

BRITISH CARS OF NEW HAMPSHIREMEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

Visit us at www.bcnh.org

If possible, please submit a photo and article of your car to be included inThe Boot, Hood & Bonnet - BCNH’s monthly newsletter.

Any photos submitted will be returned.

Name_______________________________ Spouse______________________

Address__________________________________________________________

City____________________ State____ Zip________ Phone_______________

E-mail address____________________________________________________

Year, Make, Model of Your Auto(s)___________________________________

_________________________________________________________________

Name of Referring Member_________________________________________

___ Paper Newsletter* or ___ electronic copy of the Newsletter

Please send application and $30 annual dues (payable to BCNH) to:Lou Belanger, 11 Forest Lane, Litchfield, NH 03052

*Dues for those who want a paper newsletter are $35.

British Cars of New Hampshire (BCNH) is an organization devoted to the preser-vation, restoration and enjoyment of all British automobiles.

BCNH provides to its members and their families British auto-oriented activitiesand social events throughout the year. Benefits of the club participation includemonthly meetings, rallies, tech sessions, club socials, car shows and other events.

The club publishes a monthly newsletter, The Boot, Hood & Bonnet. News ofupcoming events, club activities, car show results, technical tips and articles sub-mitted by members are included in the newsletter. Members also receive a dis-count on a subscription to the British Mar que, a monthly car club newspaper.

A club logo window decal is provided. Additional decals may be purchased.Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at MoeJoe’s restaurant andthe third Thursday of the month at the Common Man in Plymouth unless otherwiseannounced. All members are encouraged to attend and bring guests.

BCNH invites you to become a member of our active and growing club by submit-ting the application above.

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Prime Minister’sMissive

Contact informationLouis Belanger 11 Forest Lane, Litchfield, NH 03052 (603) 424-7835 80mgbman@comcast.netKarl Braconier 295 N. Mayhew Tpk. Hebron, NH 03241 (603) 744-8444 bractek@gmail.comChuck Connors 8 Mont Vernon Drive, Londonderry, NH 03053 (603) 401-0101 canddconnors@comcast.netWade dos Santos PO Box 840, Manchester, NH 03105 (603) 361-2653 wademds@gmail.comBob Dougherty 28 Ledgewood Drive, Strafford, NH 03884 (603) 948-2078 Rdocmg@gmail.comJohn Giese 153 Crooked S Road, Lyndeborough, NH 03082 (603) 654-2565 johgie@tds.netNorma Karle 51 Durgin Road, Chichester, NH 03258 (603) 437-8931 karle01@comcast.netSue MacDuff 510 Sand Hill Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 (603) 924-1066 Lucymac1@comcast.netRobert Mitchell PO Box 270, Stratham, NH 03885 (603) 772-1116 RBMit-MM@comcast.netBob Stanley 64 North Shore Drive, Center Barnstead, NH 03225(603) 776-6698 bobstan1950@gmail.comMike Sweet 3 Cross Street, Laconia, NH 03246 (603) 527-8563 CoventryCat71@comcast.netJoan Young 204 Concord Hill Road, Pittsfield, NH 02363 (603) 435-8660 TWYJGY@aol.com

$2,430.47$65.00

-$231.98

Start BalanceMembershipNewsletterEnd Balance

June 15 to August 15Club account

$12,183.08$250.00$216.00$53.92

$5000.00$5,000.00$2,595.16

Show of Dreams account

Start BalanceSponsorPorta-potty rafflePostageHigh HopesNH Food BankEnd Balance

Treasurer’s Report

After a long hot summer, we now go intowhat I think of as the best time of theyear. You may need a jacket – andmaybe ear-flaps – for top-down motor-ing, but as the leaves turn, it is a beautifultime to get our cars out onto the high-ways and byways of New Hampshireand Vermont.

If you look at the Calendar – both in thisissue and one the website - you will seethat the next month is second only to Junefor being the busiest on of the season.

We have scheduled:

A Fall Foliage Drive in South-CentralNH on Sept 27New England Triumph Club has alsoscheduled a Lobster Run in the SeacoastArea on Sept 27

Connecticut MG Club has scheduled a“Speckled Hen Run” in Vermont for the1st weekend of Oct

In addition:

British Invasion in Stowe, Vermont willbe on the weekend of Sept 19-20

Boston Cup show will be on the BostonCommons on Sunday Sept 20

Hemmings Magazine Annual Concourswill be in Saratoga Springs NY on Sept27

There is no expectation that any onemember will attend all of these activities.We are very aware that different eventsappeal to different people, so we try togive each Member the opportunity tochoose those events that most appeal tothem.

We hope you will all take advantage ofthis wonderful time of year to get outthere with your cars – and to spend timewith your BCNH friends.

We also hope that you will be thinking ofother things that you would like to do andthat you think other Members may en-joy too. Next spring we will be startingall over again, and your ideas may be theones that others would most like to joinin on.

On the subject of next year, election ofOfficers for 2016 will take place in De-cember. Please consider taking a moreactive role in the Club.

The Members that do the most are theones that have the most fun.

So Saith Prime Minister Bob

$2,235.49

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North CouncilMinutes

BCNH Northern CouncilMeeting Minutes August 20, 2015

The meeting of the BCNH NorthernCouncil came to order at 7:00pm; whenMinister Karl lowered the gavel we hada head count of 22 people in attendance.Several people from the southern partof the State joined us and due to thegreat weather most arrived top down!

Bob Mitchell took the floor, as manypeople had just received their food andhe shared the sad news of the passing ofa wonderful, long time member ofBCNH, Rudy Krueger.

Rudy was an engineer at HoneywellCorporation for many years. He lovedto tinker with, share his knowledge ofand had a passion for restoring old Brit-ish cars. He was a very active memberof British Cars of NH, and everyoneraised a glass in loving memory! Detailsfor attending his services will be sent outby Prime Minister Bob.

Bob chatted about the dessert first drivewith many stops at different ice creamplaces along the way. With about 16cars along for this drive, Bob said “youcould almost say that too much of a goodthing is too much.” The key word beingalmost.

Once Minister Karl finished his dinnerhe took over the floor and started offwith a tall tale of woe regarding one ofmany of his early speeding tickets, and itwent downhill from there. The adventof radar traps that took some of the funout of driving a sports car to its full ca-pacity.

Neil Flaherty was recalling a speedingstory of his younger days and his dadcommented “stop talking to me like I’mone of your friends”.

Fred Goodrich got a ticket in his F-typewhen racing with another driver. Theofficer who stopped him asked “do youknow why I stopped you” to which Fredreplied, yes, because you couldn’t catchthe other guy!

George Sherback received kudos for themost tickets in one week; a total of 3which he credits to his Sunbeam Alpine.

Barry Podmore talked about racing backon I-93 from the Weathervane oneevening after stuffing SOD bags and try-ing to catch up with the Stanley’s nearthe Manchester St. Bridge. FortunatelyBob and Diana saw the cruiser and tooktheir foot out of it. Barry was having atougher night, with all his instrumentsblown it was pretty certain that the bluelights were after him. He did get a ticketfor about 24 over the limit but the nightgot even better when on his last leg ofthe trip home the ticket blew off the dashand out the window. It was a tough yearfor tickets in the F-type.

Bob Stanley talked about how his daugh-ter had gotten off with only a warningbecause she explained to the nice officerthat she had Ice cream she needed toget home before it melted … will haveto try that one.

Pete Wirth finished up with a story con-cerning a trip to an airshow with fellowBCNH member, Mike Sweet whichended up with them following a truck fullof manure for quite a stretch. Pete waspretty worked up that Mike wouldn’tpass the truck as it was losing its cargo;especially because it was Pete’s carMike was driving. Mike didn’t recall thestory in that much detail.

We finished up with discussions of up-coming events and some other events inthe Northern area that would be greatdestination drives.

The Ice House Museum in New Lon-don with lunch afterwards (several greatluncheon pubs in the area) was a goodsuggestion. Also a few cruise

nights in the area, such as the Tilt’n Diner,the Gunstock Inn and the Route 104Diner sounded like they generated someinterest.

We would love to hear some input andfeedback from any members that are in-terested in setting up a drive. We areonly as active as the people who sug-gest, help plan and sponsor an event!

Our next meeting will be held Thursday,September 17th at the Common Man inPlymouth.

Respectfully submitted,Minister Karl & Kellie

Molly Stark Drive &Dunbarton Parade

Depending on your point of view, theSeptember 12 Dinner Drive turned outto be either a drive with attached pa-rade, or a parade with an attached drive.

The Captain John Stark Byway is a pic-turesque 40 mile loop of New Hamp-shire highway named after Captain JohnStark and his wife Molly, who are partof New Hampshire’s colonial history.Having traversed it many times, Inge andI thought it would be a fine dinner orbreakfast drive and proposed it at theannual planning meeting. It was sched-uled for September 12.

During mid-August, Inge and I wereplanning the route and wanted to havethe group stop briefly in the village ofDunbarton which is one of the prettiertowns along the way. When we stoppedinto the town office to assure that Sep-tember 12 would be an ok day to parkin the square, we were surprised to findout that this was the day of Dunbarton’sbiggest celebration in many years, their250th Old Home Days. Being a “Brit-ish” car group, we were quickly invitedto be a part of their parade and to dis-play our cars on the town square for allto admire.

Continued on page 15

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Not factory original:

- metallic gray paint- European front flasher lights (amber)- shift lever knob (MG)- rocker panel trim strips- single twelve-volt battery- stainless steel exhaust system- vinyl seat upholstery- rubber floor mats- seat belts- windscreen wiper arms- radial tires

It took over 4000 parts and more thanthree years to put this car back togetherand I did it completely by myself. I havesince driven it over one thousand milesin just two months.

Front nose damage

Front nose restored

Complete running chassisready for the body

Rear body damage

Rear body restored

Left front fender damage

Left front fender restored

New inner rocker panel

Rusted rocker panel

It’ s not a Bentley but……..

by ‘Spanner Rash’, aka Terry Haines

Maybe you have been there. You’redriving down the road and, for the firsttime, you notice in a nearby barn or fieldsome rusty metal just under a rotten, oldcanvas cover.

You ask yourself, could it be the classicmodel ABC you have been looking forfor over 30 years? Maybe or maybenot!

Your pulse is racing and you’re thinking,‘It’ s a very slim chance, but, could it bethat ‘Blower Bentley’ or Bugatti such asthe original that went to auction last yearand fetched a million!’

My own experiences over the past 50+years are that such ‘finds’ are rare in-deed. As a teen apprentice, I’d drivenpast a large house in eastern Essex, En-gland a hundred times. But this year, thehedge had been cut and what did I seebut a wire wheel!

My first ‘find’, in the hedge, buried formany years was an MG TA and what amess it was. I knocked at the front doorand spoke with lady whose son hadowned the car. He had died in WWIIand perhaps it had been parked or left

Rudy Krueger continues

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where the hedge had grown up aroundthe car. She said, “You can have it ifyou like but the front wall must be takendown AND rebuilt to get it out.” “DoneDeal, Madam”, says I.

My first restoration, oil bath clutch andall!

Over the years, various books and pub-lications give the collector advice on ‘barnfinds’ or the ‘It’s been sitting for 20 years,but it ran when I stored it’. Hold yourego; not so fast. We are all so anxiousto ‘move’ or try to start the car. Wecheck the fuel, change the oil, and checkthe electrics. We just have to make it‘live’ again.

So why is most of the expert advice sowrong? Stop and think ‘mechanical’before you drag it home or try to start it.

RULE #1: TAKE AN EXPERT WITH

YOU!!

OK, you say, I have read all about thesecars from the club, internet, Fred, Bill,and Joe who have one. In real life, youneed a mechanic/engineer who has hadextensive hands on experience with Brit-ish cars. It’s worth some $$ and maysave you a lot more in the future.

RULE #2: Unless it will run AND drive,

don’t move it…yet.

Think of what ‘moves’ when you try totow it out of the bushes. Maybe, thebrakes are seized, hub bearings are shot,gearbox has no oil or worse, has waterin it. Yes, the gearbox internals DOmove when you tow a car!! At the veryleast, the prop shaft should be removed.You may take a risk on the rear axle,hub bearings, etc. but at the very least,you have saved some parts that may bedamaged by movement.

RULE #3: DON’T be impatient.

Once you have it home, checks can bemade for fuel, spark, and rust INSIDEthe engine; where possible, try to get theclutch to disengage as most will berusted onto the flywheel. And, again, ifthe engine runs, the gearbox DOES ro-tate even in neutral!

(Sorry to belabor the guts of the gear-box, but, further on you will see somepics of what can happen if an unin-spected gearbox is rotated while mov-ing or starting the car!!)

RULE #4: Do not trust the fuel system.

The tank may be rusted inside, fuel linesclogged, pump stuck, etc.. To just fillsuch a car with petrol and bypass thefuel tank and lines is…nuts!! First checkthe carbs for dirt and then rig up the grav-ity feed from a small tank. You can checkout the ‘whole’ fuel system later.

RULE #5: Does the engine turn over,by hand with a spanner or socket on thecrank?

IF you try to do this, think of the pis-tons, cylinders and rings. They may haverust and trying to turn the engine overcould cause damage to the bores, breaka few piston rings, etc. Oil in the cylin-ders ‘could’ help but, any rust youscrape off is still ‘rust’ and can causemore damage. Unless you wish to re-move the cylinder head to check bores,fiber optics are the only way to see in-side the cylinders.

RULE #6: Cooling System.

Maybe it has water/coolant and maybenot. Does the water pump rotate or is itseized? What about the hose condition?Don’t forget, ‘IF’ you are able to startthe engine, MORE DAMAGE can becaused if you have no coolant. Howmany times have we heard, “But, I onlyran it for a minute or two?” Engines maybe damaged in many ways without cool-ant. Also, think of gaskets. If the engine‘died’ before the car was laid up, it couldhave blown a head gasket or worse.Note: if you add coolant, be sure itdoesn’t end up inside the cylinder boresor in the sump.

RULE #7: Engine and Gearbox oil

Love those KOGS, eh? Both shouldbe changed along with filter(s). Nevertrust oil pressure gauges or warning lights.If you are in a position to crank the en-gine, rig up a remote mechanical oil pres-sure gauge. If it does start and the gaugedoes not ‘kick’ and show pressure, shutit down ASAP.

RULE #8: Electrical System. TAKENOTE on this one.

All you need if you attempt to start theengine is 1) A circuit to the starter motorand

2) ’Hotwire’ the ignition circuit…yes,JUST the ignition circuit. Why you say?Chances are that the electrical wiring willneed some repair in its circuits. So, whyrisk having your dream ‘go up in smoke’(literally!!) by making the dashboard,generator, lighting circuits ‘hot’ when youhave not yet checked out insulation andconnections? Critters just love to nibbleon the electrical system of old cars. Dis-connect ALL feeds from the battery(which we assume is new) apart fromthe starter circuit. If you are not sure onthis, get an expert who can assist. If theengine runs with the ignition ‘hotwired’,then it is easy to disconnect the wire toshut it down if needed. ALWAYS have

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a fire extinguisher to hand when dealingwith duel and electrical systems.

Those are the ‘basics’. I’m sure I couldcome up with many more Do’s andDon’ts but I don’t want to scare you all!

A ‘runner’ or ‘rolling’ restoration is usu-ally easier to work on. Many ownerswill also say,

“Who cares about moving it, I’m goingto restore/rebuild it all anyway.” Faircomment…IF you have all the parts, etc.that may break by moving it and deeppockets!! Our classics age every dayand quality parts along with experiencedtechs, mechanics and engineers are be-coming few and far between.

Below are examples of a gearbox thathad issues due to the amount of time itwas stored, water in the gearbox, carbeing moved after a long layup, etc.

…this speedo drive pinion was seizedsolid, but the car was moved and as thegearbox rotated, it ripped off all the gearteeth.

This is what is left of a gearbox tail shaft

bearing. It was rusted and pitted badlyon a car that had been standing for manyyears. The problem was that the car wastowed with a rusted up bearing, thebearing was torn up and these parts werethat were left!

The pitted area SHOULD be verysmooth and polished, it is the cone thatthe syncro operated on. This one is badlypitted by rust. As an FYI, this sort ofrust can start even during a short layupof the car.

After a long layup, this is how the insideof your gearbox can look. Old oil,sludge and condensation contamination.Would you ‘just run’ a gearbox like thiswithout an internal inspection??

Terry Haines is Spanner Rash, BritishGearbox Specialist

Terry says that now is good time to bethinking about winter layup and gearboxrepair.

treat the gas with a stabilizer and/or prod-ucts that deal with ethanol related issues.To store a car for the winter, drainingthe tank is not generally done. If the caris going to be off the streets for years,I’d drain the tank and lines completely.

Gasoline is not stable, and it is commonknowledge that it deteriorates over time.Volatile elements evaporate. Depositsform over time, often described as “gum”or varnish.” Modern gasoline is fre-quently blended with ethanol, and thesefuels remain useable for 90 days in asealed fuel system with a full tank. Sealedfuel systems were required by law in theUS in 1970. (If you have a “carbon can-ister” in your engine compartment, youhave a sealed system). If your car wasbuilt before 1970, the fuel is exposed toatmospheric moisture and the ethanol inthe gas will absorb water relativelyquickly. The higher the humidity, the fasterit happens. There are products designedto increase the useful life of ethanolblends (E-Xtend, E-Zorb), and productsspecifically engineered to prevent theformation of gum and varnish, like Stor-n-Start.

Wiper Blades

Remove them and store them inside thecar. They have a tendency to stick to theglass and if left long enough, the bladeedge will deform from being pressed justone way.

Humidity and Ventilation

There are two ways to go. Either ensurethat the garage has a supply of fresh airand roof vents to promote air circula-tion, or seal the garage and control thehumidity. A room dehumidifier will takeless energy than actually heating the ga-rage, which is generally totally out of thequestion.

Alternatives to Storage

If the preparation of the car for storageseems impractical, you have options.

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Shirley Splaine’s Grandson,Gavin

1933 MG JA

ManchesterMinutes

On August 27, sixteen BCNHmembers met at Jake’s Seafood andGrill for dinner in West Ossipee andthen drove to Tamworth to theBarnstormers theatre to see a musical“Urinetown”. It was funny, had greatchoreography and music with asomewhat dark moral statement toconserve water. I good time was hadas always.

Bob Mitchell, our Prime Minister, calledthe September meeting to order atMoeJoe’s on Sept 14th late at exactly7:02 PM. We had no new members inattendance but we did have two visitors. Nancy Mellitt from the New HampshireFood Bank and Jessica Riendieu fromthe High Hopes Foundation joined us.

Our first order of business was to ac-cept the Secretary’s report as printed inlast month’s newsletter. The treasurer’sreport was given by John Giese, we have(now had) $12,183 in the Show ofDreams Fund. We presented $5,000 toHigh Hopes and $5000 to the NH FoodBank. The additional $2183 in the fundwill be kept as seed money for nextyear. We are at a point where we willneed to either buy a trailer or rent a stor-age unit and trailer for the show to keepthe show equipment in.

We then entered into a discussion aboutdonating some funds to the family’s cho-sen charity in remembrance of RudyKreuger. That discussion was tabled tothe next meeting.

August was a busy month for events suchas the North Country Drive – thanks toMoe and Deb for organizing this. Theevening at the Barnstormers – thanksBob M, the drive along Stark Highwayand participation in the Dunbarton250th anniversary parade thank you Ingeand Gerry, the dessert first drive – (bunchof wimps were only able to eat 3 of the5 planned ice cream cones) organizedby Bob Mitchell and John Gallagher at-tended British Car Day at Lars Ander-son and took a first in the Special Inter-est group with his Winchester.

Good thing you have an additionalchance in September.

Calendar Girl Sue MacDuff then re-viewed the upcoming events:

British Invasion number 25, The NETLobster tour, the fall foliage tour ,Speckled Hen run to the Kitzhof and theCCBCC Legends weekend. All shouldbe lots of fun.

Bob then made each of the “monarchy”get up and give their LBC life’s history so that newer members would knowwhat a bunch of dorks we are. So muchfor keeping our affliction secret.

We then proceeded to the nowhere near50-50, affectionately known as the portapotty fund. The $40 was won by AmySletten who then decided she woulddonate it back because like all of thewomen who attend the show she likesusing the trailer potty. We collectedabout $216 so we are 1/10th of the waythere! Go Potties!

BarnstormersTheatre

Ivar & Maggie Wold1956 Austin Healey 100M

Bob & Alice Valpey1952 Allard J2X, Center, Harbor, NH

Bob & Gertrude O’Reilly

1959 MGA, Berwick, MaineRoy & Marianne Babylon Jr.

New Members

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DESSERT FIRST DINNER DRIVE

(As it should be)

Kids think they own having a good time.Well, they’re wrong. They need theirparent’s money – we have our own. Yes,they do have youth, stamina, eyesight,hearing but…we most sincerely relishhaving a good time. On Aug. 16th 17LBCs gathered at Historic Motor Sportsin Candia and did a dinner drive right.Yep, we started out to eat dessert first.

Off we go to Moo’s Place in Derry.Thank goodness Bob’s route took us ontree shaded roads because… it – was -hot! Ummm, ummm, good. It was hardto choose a flavor because there wassuch a variety. After finishing our sampleswe hit the road. It was tricky keepingthe pack together due to non-British carsjoining the drive. We arrived (just in time)for another tasting at Memories IceCream in Kingston. Now it was gettingharder to choose. I know Bob advised“Kiddie” sized portions but…who canresist? Back in our LBCs and onwardover smooth roads cutting through bu-colic countryside to the Wright Place inStratham. It looked as if only a handfulof clubbers chose to partake. Were wetoo full of ice cream? How can that be?That old adage “too much of a goodthing” was true. How sad to learn thiswhen it comes to ice cream. There wasdemocracy in action as a vote was takento bypass the next ice cream stop andhead on up to Johnson’s Dairy Bar Sea-food and Steak for dinner. It was hopedthat the 45-minute drive would settle theice cream and make room for dinner.

The final leg of our drive was restful aswe took in the beauty of pastures,woods and a field of sunflowers watch-ing us drive past. Side roads were fewand far between and there was little traf-fic except our own. The only incident onthe drive did not involve anyone weknew. A hapless driver took a curve toofast and rolled over. It was unknown

whether anyone was injured.

We eventually arrived at Johnson’s inNorthwood putting over 90 miles on ourcars and with a stimulated appetite. Therewas good food, making new friends andchatting up old ones before we all headedhome after our dinner drive done rightwith dessert first. Respectfully submittedGinger Christiansen

Putting a Car Into Storage

If you’re covering the vehicle, use a carcover that will allow moisture to escape.Any plastic or other waterproof mate-rial will trap moisture on the paintwork.If you are storing the vehicle outside, beadvised that no car covers exist that willreplace a garage. Cars stored outsidealso become a haven for all kinds of crea-tures, most of whom will be lousy ten-ants. Make a list of the steps taken toready the car for storage, and leave it inthe car. Not a bad idea to include yournotes for “bringing it back to life.” Thatway, you won’t be searching high andlow for the information when that timecomes.

Tune Up

Why on earth would you tune a car thatis not going to be driven? The purposehere is to stop the guessing games thatcome next time you try to start the car. Ifeverything is in good working order whenyou stop driving the car, sorting out aproblem next season will be easy be-cause you know the basics were in goodorder.

Battery

Disconnect the battery, and remove itfrom the car. Inspect the area where thebattery lives. Clean the area carefullywith a solution of baking soda and wa-ter (2 tablespoons in 2 pints of water) toneutralize any battery acid. Rinse it well.Dry the area completely with a hair dryer.Take care of any rust you discover. Backto the battery. Clean the battery case and

terminals with the baking soda solution.Find a place that will remain cool (butnot freeze) and dry. If you have a non-sealed battery, top up the electrolyte levelwith distilled water if needed. Do notoverfill. Use a battery maintenance de-vice to keep the battery(s) fully charged.These are essentially small battery charg-ers (about the size of a paperback book)that plug into a normal 110V outlet. Ifthe battery voltage drops one volt, it willcome on and stay on until the battery isfully charged again. The alternative wouldbe to hook the battery up to a “regular”battery charger once or twice a monthfor an overnight charge at 4 amps. Ei-ther way, keeping the battery fullycharged will prevent sulfation, which canrender a battery useless in a matter ofmonths, and it will eliminate the possibil-ity of the battery freezing, which wouldalso ruin the battery.

Brakes

Release the handbrake and chock thewheels. Brake shoes can become firmlyrusted to the drums in a matter of months.If you are using glycol based brake fluid,be aware of the incredible ability it hasto absorb moisture out of the air. Glycolbased brake fluid should be completelyreplaced every 18 to 24 months. If thefluid has been in the car for over a year,drain and refill with fresh fluid before youput the car in storage.

Cooling System

The coolant should be no more than 30%to 50% antifreeze. Pure water transfersheat much better than any antifreeze/water mix, but antifreeze raises the boil-ing point and, as the name implies, pre-vents the coolant from freezing. The pro-tection provided is dependent on the ageof the coolant; as it ages, it becomes lesseffective. If the coolant is over 1 yearold, drain and refill the system using aname brand antifreeze designed for usein older cars. (Some modern anti-freeze

Continued on page 12

11

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12

Putting a Car Into Storage Cont.

formulations designed for aluminum en-gines or radiators adversely affect oldBritish engines.)Body & Paint

Carefully remove accumulated road gritand dirt from the nooks and crannies inthe fender wells. Left alone, rust andcorrosion will be the inevitable result.Wash the car thoroughly, including theunderside of the car. Dry the car com-pletely. Use a top quality automotive waxand apply it to all the painted and chromesurfaces, polishing with a soft clean cloth.The wax is essential to keeping moistureaway from the chrome and the body-work. Use wax on the chrome trim, nota “chrome polish.” Most commercialchrome polish has some abrasive ele-ments and they are to be avoided. Minutescratches in the chrome are where rustand corrosion attack first.

Oil & Lubrication

Oil has an effective life, and even if a caris not driven it will deteriorate over time.Perform a complete oil change with anew filter. Drive the car for at least 30minutes on a dry day to drive off anymoisture that has collected in the crank-case before putting it up for the season.We recommend oils that are formulatedfor classic cars that are idle for long pe-riods. These special oils will coat andprotect the internal surfaces of the en-gine better than modern oils.Lubricate the suspension in accordancewith the factory workshop manual.Upholstery & Interior Trim

Clean the interior thoroughly. If any ofthe carpets or padding are damp, takethem out and dry them. Treat all leatherwith Connolly Hide food or AutoGlymLeather Care Cream. Vinyl trim can betreated with AutoGlym Vinyl & RubberCream. Put the top up and give it a goodcleaning, and treat it with a suitableprotectant. The line of Renovo cleaningand preservative products for both vinyl

and fabric tops are excellent. Leave thetop up and either roll up the windows orfit the side curtains. Leaving the top upwill help prevent the development ofpermanent creases in the material andplastic windows.

Belts

Slacken the tension on the fan belt andany auxiliary belts.

Tires

If the car will be sitting for the winter,jack the car up and place jack standsunder the rear axle and the front suspen-sion. With the tires off the ground, theywill not develop the flat spots that causean unpleasant vibration when the car goesback on the road. If you choose to placethe jack stands under the frame insteadof the suspension, take a look at thebump rubbers up front. After severalmonths of being compressed with the fullpower of the front springs, the bump rub-bers will be ruined. Depending on thecar, you may be able to fit woodenspacer blocks between the upper armsand the frame to keep the bump rubbersfrom being squashed. In the rear, if theaxle is left hanging from the limit straps,the straps may fail, and if they don’tbreak, they certainly will not last as longas they should. Placing the jack standsunder the rear axle instead of the framewill work better. Some air will leak outof the tires given enough time, so over-filling them by 10 pounds is generally agood idea. Check the tire pressures ev-ery couple of months. Keep the tires outof direct sunlight.

Wheels

With the car on jack stands, you canleave the wheels on the car. Some peopleprefer to remove chrome wire wheels andbag them with desiccant to keep themclean and dry for longer term storage. Ifyou plan to leave the wheels on, removethem long enough to thoroughly clean thesplines on the hub and in the wheel.Carefully inspect the splines for signs of

wear. Apply an anti-seize compound(like Copaslip) or grease to the splinesand re-fit the wheels. Replace and tightenthe knockoffs.

Exhaust

Plug the tail-pipe(s) with a rag or rubberball and tape it in place. It will keep themice from building a nest in the exhaust,or worse, in the engine. Although unusual,I know of one Healey BN2 that simplywould not turn over after being storedfor several years. When the cylinder headwas removed, #4 cylinder was found tobe packed with walnut shells, acorns,string and upholstery stuffing. A mouse(with a real need for security, apparently)had climbed all the way through the ex-haust, through the open exhaust valve andinto the cylinder. When the car was even-tually started, the amount of debris com-ing out of the tailpipe was impressive.

Engine Air Intake

Depending on the length of time the caris going to be out of service, considerbagging the air cleaner and taping it toprevent moisture laden air from findingits way into the cylinders through theopen intake valves. A bag of silica-geldesiccant inside the bag will absorbwhatever moisture gets in, reducing thechance of rust building up in the cylin-ders.

Heater/Fresh Air Intake

Cover or plug any vents or openings. My73 MGB GT had a mouse nest insidethe heater box, which I did not discoveruntil I tried the fan. The fan would notcome on and when I pulled the motor Ifound a mouse bachelor apartment.

Fuel System

There are two basic approaches: drainthe system or fill it up completely and

Continued on page 15

13

Upcoming Events

September 8th is our BCNH Cruise Inat the British Beer Company inManchester. Club member Jerry Grif-fin is working on plans for a drive toNew Boston for Dinner at the MollyStark Tavern on September 12th. Wewill be leaving a meeting place TBD inGoffstown at 9 am to join in the paradeand festivities in Dunbarton along theroute. Due to Labor Day, our Moe Joe’smeeting in Manchester will be on the14th. Our Northern Council will meeton the 17th at the Common Man, Ply-mouth, NH. The British Invasion,Stowe, VT is the 19th and 20th. Manyof our members attend this yearly event.Arrangements have been made at theCommodore for $156.88 per night thatincludes tax and a Vermont style break-fast. Be sure to mention BCNH whenmaking reservations. Tim and JoanYoung will be leading our BCNH FallFoliage Tour on September 27th.

The 35th Annual British Gathering andPicnic hosted by the CT Triumph Reg-ister will be on the 13th, at WickhamPark, Manchester, CT. On the 20th is

the Boston Cup on Boston Commonwhere several, of our members havebeen invited to attend. On the 26th Brit-ish Wheels on the Green will be in Madi-son, CT. The Hemmings Concoursd’Elegance will once again be inSaratoga Springs from the 25th to the27th. NET will do their Lobster Tour onthe 27.

For future consideration, the SpeckledHen Run will be October 2nd-4th at theKitzhof Inn, West Dover, VT. Severalof our members go every year. The costis only $304 per couple and includes twobreakfasts and a British themed dinner.We also do a drive on Saturday.

An E-Blast will be sent out on BCNHevents. For more information and up-dates on all events, go to the event pageat our website BCNH.org.

BCNH 2015 Calendar of Events

Disclaimer:As a matter of policy, British Carsof New Hampshire does notendorse any of the businesses thatadvertise in this newsletter.

October:

2nd-4th Speckled Hen Run, KitzhofInn, West Dover, VT

4th Fall Rallye with NET

5th Monthly Meeting at MoeJoe’s,Manchester, NH

9th-11th British Legends Weekendsponsored by Cape Cod British CarClub

13th Cruise In, British Beer Company,Manchester, NH

15th Monthly Meeting at CommonMan, Plymouth, NH

November:

2nd Monthly Meeting Manchester, NH19th Monthly Meeting Plymouth , NH

December:

7th Monthly Meet Manchester , NH17th Monthly Meeting Plymouth, NH

::

14

15

One is simply to use the vehicle once ortwice a month in dry weather (assumingregistration and insurance are up to date).Simply driving the car will help keep theengine and other systems fully functional.Barney Gaylord (mgaguru.com) haspointed out that the time and effort re-quired to prepare a car for storage, plusthe similar amount of time and effort re-quired to get It back on the road makestorage very unappealing. He is verymuch of the opinion that driving the carregularly as conditions permit is just plaineasier. However, if you do decide todrive the car every so often, make sureyou go for at least 20 minutes to get allthe systems fully warmed up to minimizecondensation. As an alternative, there arealso companies that will, for a fee, storeand look after your vehicle. Some en-terprising shops will take your car andthe list of work you’d like to have done,and they do the work and store the car,spreading the expense over severalmonths.

Source: Moss Motors

Of course, the members of BCNH arevery shy about showing off their cars andafter about 30 seconds of convincing atthe following monthly meeting, I wasgiven the OK to set it up.

I attended one of the Dunbarton plan-ning meetings and we were promisedroyal treatment (as well as being askedif we would donate a car to their raffle).

September 12 blossomed as a grandday and 21 cars turned out at our start-ing point in Goffstown. Following ourdriver meeting, we convoyed thru town

with no problems and out to the desig-nated parade formation site just outsideof Dunbarton. After the usual hour ofstanding around wondering if anyoneknew what was going on, we were in-formed that we were actually going tobe at the front of the parade being ledby a Highland Drum & Pipe group –highly appropriate. All of the horses,tractors, Model T’s, assorted musclecars, and other common fare were ap-propriately placed to our rear.

As the parade progressed slowly for theshort mile into the village, we were show-ered with cheers and admiration from our

admirers along the sides. All went wellwith one small exception. The “WhiteWitch” Inge’s and My car at the head ofthe procession, became dissatisfied withthe slow progress, got hot under herbonnet, and blew her stack directly infront of the main viewing area.

Our Group was given fine parking un-der shade trees where we received ad-mirers for an hour or so. During this rest

period, the White Witch was given ex-cellent care and returned to fine operat-ing condition in short order.

At about 1 PM, the Group reformed andwe resumed the drive portion of our day.After a stop at the Everett flood controldam, we continued on thru Weare andarrived in New Boston about 2:30 PMand the former Molly Stark Tavern, nowcalled Molly’s, where we had our din-ner and the event ended. All seemed tohave a fine day and we consider the drivea complete success.

The Dunbarton Parade was a lucky eventwhich will not happen again. However,I do recommend that we consider thisdrive again but during a peak fall foliagetime, with some additional side trips, andperhaps as a breakfast drive.

Lesson Learned:

If one is driving an LBC in a BCNHevent and said LBC breaks down

GET OUT AND GET THE HELL OUTOF THE WAYBECAUSE IT IS GOING TO GETFIXED!

Molly Stark Drive (Cont.)

16

British Cars of New Hampshire51 Durgin Road

Chichester, NH 03258

Dunbarton 250th Anniversary Parade