February - Highland Classic Motor Club

CLUB OFFICIALS
ARCHIVIST
Chairman:
Trish Brown
Tel: 01862 832337
chairman@highlandclassic.org.uk
Secretary:
Alice Brown
Tel: 01862 832337
secretary@highlandclassic.org.uk
Treasurer:
Ian Thompson
Tel: 01463 790969
treasurer@highlandclassic.org.uk
The club has an extensive archive of
information relating to all aspects of
classic car ownership. To access this
please contact Ranald Smith, at
Hawthorn Cottage, 2 Burn Road,
Inverness IV2 3NG. 01463 236459
ranaldsmith@btinternet.com
MEMBERSHIP
COPYRIGHT
Bryan McIlwraith
Renewals should be sent to Bryan at 72
Lochalsh Road, Inverness IV3 6HW
Tel: 01463 222839 (Work)
01463 232144 (Home)
bm@invernessosteopaths.co.uk
Please let Bryan know if you have an
email address.
Neither the Editor nor the Officers of
the Highland Classic Motor Club are
necessarily in agreement with opinions expressed in this magazine.
Such opinions are entirely the views
of the author and imply no recommendation by the Highland Classic
Motor Club.
All rights reserved. Apart from any
fair dealings as permitted under the
terms of the Copyright Design and
Patents Act1988, no part of this
magazine may be reproduced in any
form whatsoever without the written
permission of the Highland Classic
Motor Club.
HCMC HOMEPAGE
www.highlandclassic.org.uk &
Webmaster@highlandclassic.org.uk
EDITOR
Alan Goff
48 The Cairns, Muir of Ord, IV6 7AT.
Tel: 01463 871114
Email: editor@highlandclassic.org.uk
COVER PICTURE
CLASSIC SCENE
A very good locking Ford spotted
The next ‘Classic Scene’
recently
in Inverness.
GOES TO THE PRINTER
on the Monday of the week preceding the next meeting
Please send articles by e-mail or typed.
CHAIR BITTY FEBRUARY 2015
Again our auction was a most enjoyable evening with a number of
good bargains thrown in. This year's most expensive item was a bottle
of whisky, with a trolley jack at £12 a close second. The auction raised
£24.80 for club funds.
Thanks also to Bryan for organising the Christmas dinner at the Maple
Court. It was an excellent evening out, including a quiz that had most
of us crying out for car related questions. Not a single one in this particular quiz. Just science, entertainment or geography, which had most
of us stumped for answers.
And here I thought our quiz last year
was a bit tricky!
The evening's entertainment was rounded off with
an impromptu comedy stand-up routine from Bryan and Tom.
Well, winter finally has made an appearance with high winds, snow
and frost. We have been pretty fortunate, avoiding any real damage
to property. Our neighbour made some very interesting preparations
for the forecasted high winds by bracing his fence with numerous 2x4's
and strapping other parts to a tree. Must have worked, as the fence is
still standing. And so is the tree.
I had a few interesting commutes to the station on my bicycle through
the snow and ice. The most knackering one was during the high
winds, where I had a headwind going uphill. The most hair raising
when I got blown sideways! And the most curious when we still has
fresh snowfall on the ground - just as I was expecting a car to overtake me (I could see the glow of the headlights from behind me) there
was a funny swishing noise and the car lights suddenly disappeared. I
stopped a few metres further along to see what had happened – the
car had done a 180. The most annoying commute was coming home
last week, where Scotrail eventually decided to cancel our train - supposedly because the doors had developed a fault, you close one set
and another set opens..... - and put on busses. I did eventually get
home at 8.00pm, more than 1.5hrs late. I can tell you, I was hungry.
Stuart Sharp joined our ranks last month. He owns a 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe. I always liked the shape of the older ones. When I was
still very young somebody a few streets away owned a very impressive looking 2 tone metallic blue one. I'll look forward to seeing your
car at our meetings this year.
Another year under the belt and here is a quick look back at 2014
1 – Several runs around the country side. The first one went a bit
awry when the pub turned out to be closed for refurbishment. Another one took place in thick fog.
2 – A happy camper’s visit
3 – Introduction to first aid
4 – History talk about the HMS Natal
The AGM will be at the Old North Inn at 7.30pm. I mentioned this before, we want you to come up with ideas for things to do / places to
visit / interesting subjects for a talk for this year’s program, so put
your thinking caps on and come to the meeting with suggestions.
Cheers,
Trish.
Local events for 2015
26th April
3rd May
9th May
21st June
4th July
6th Sep
Drive It Day, Inverness Local Highland Run to support
FBHVC Road Run at 1100.
Forres Theme Day
Inverness Classic Vehicle Day
Tain Vintage Rally
Gairloch Gathering
Motor Mania. Grantown on Spey
THE EDITORS MONTHLY RANT
Welcome to the first edition of 2015. (15! Tempus Fugit yet again!).
Not much to report regarding legislation etc. Just no more tax discs,
but you still have to pay VED. And as from 1st January the DVLA has
done away with the Part II (Paper) section of the driving licence. They
seem to think that everyone who has a need to check your licence can
now do it on line. No doubt for a fee. And the Government promised
that they would no longer look upon the motorist as a cash cow. Yeh
sure! I’ve just seen a pig fly past the window. Some good news, at
least OPEC has dropped he price of fuel considerably. But bad news for
the Government. VAT is charged on the base rate of fuel, so if that has
gone down so has the amount of VAT now collected. Who would like
to place odds on the fuel duty going up soon.
I was speaking to a former Black Rat that I worked with, he was quite
surprised at how many car shows that can be done in these Northern
climes. He may be at a show in the Borders in August and might try to
fit in a Highland show. He has a Vincent Black Lightning that he rebuilt
some years ago. In this months Octane magazine a Vincent White
Lightning went for $180,000 and a couple of Rapides for $100,000
each. Mick bought his Vincent after he finished his National Service
and he paid just £65 for it. It also had a Steib sidecar which he sold for
£15. £50 to $100,000. Well done Mick!
The AGM is our next meeting so please come along as the committee
want your input on where to go and what to do for the coming year.
Doug Gibson will also be attending and will be giving details of a Classic Car tour in Wester Ross that he will be organising and trying to
tempt cars from further south to come further north.
PS. If anyone wants to become an officer of the club……….
Just turn up late!!!
Brake Pads
I spent some time with my son, Jamie and family in Queenstown,
South Island, New Zealand this autumn past. Of course it was spring
there and I just caught the end of the ski season. He runs a Subaru
Legacy of indeterminable age, about 1997 I think. There are no agerelated registrations out there and an owner can have any registration he wants so long as it isn’t already used. Sounds like a plan.
Where did we go wrong? What happened to 1 JS to 9999 JS and all
the other S’s that were never used?
This Subaru is regularly driven 15 miles up and down a gravel road
with hairpin bends, corrugations and holes, at rally speeds throughout the ski season. This car should have had suspension renewed
every couple of years and it should have fallen apart years ago. It
hasn’t had any suspension renewed, not even a damper or a broken
spring. He does keep it clean though so maybe that’s the secret. I
think not. The answer lies with the climate as was evident when the
car was due for it’s twice yearly test. Drum brakes on the rear so no
problems there. Oh, I wish I had drum brakes on the rear of my MG
ZR. The front brake pads were a bit thin and needed replacing sometime fairly soon. Thin brake pads? I wish I had thin brake pads on my
MG. I have to replace the discs every two years and of course the
pads. The old pads are almost as thick as the new ones!
Jamie decided that he would change the pads and put the car
through the test later that day. This was totally unrealistic I thought.
He hadn’t even bought the pads. My MG is five years younger than
the Subaru and changing the brake pads takes me forever. The discs
have to be replaced every two years, as I’ve already mentioned, because they have excessive corrosion. Each brake pad carrier has two
bolts which at one time had 12mm heads. Now they are and assortment requiring 11mm, 10mm, 9mm, 3/8 AF, pipe wrench, chisel and
hammer. Invariably the slides are solid despite having a gaiter and
being filled with grease. Sometimes I have to grind and chisel the
disc off despite being fitted with copper ease. The new pads will not
fit in the corroded calliper without grinding down the metal backing
plate lugs of the new pads! The callipers require the gentle persuasion of a hefty G-clamp to retract the pistons.
The anti-squeal plates have long since disintegrated and a touch of
anti-seize has to do. You have the picture.
The supplier didn’t know which callipers were fitted to the Subaru and
that appears to be the only similarity between mine and Jamie’s experience; well, jacking up the car was much the same. The sensible
lad bought both types of pads and made for home. What happened
next was like something out of a Haynes Manual where everything is
simply “remove” whatever needs to be separated, usually after a protracted fight to the death. Jamie removed everything with the correct
size of socket, nothing was stuck and nothing was corroded. It had to
be seen to be believed. This was a seventeen year old car and the
bolt heads were mint. The dust shields were dusty whereas my dust
shields have fallen off never to be replaced because they are unavailable. The anti-squeal plates were as-new but they had to be discarded because the new pads had a layer of mouldable medium on
the back plates Looks like a good idea for Scotland but hardly necessary in NZ. The job was done, on schedule, no fuss, no hassle, no
sweary words, no scenes, as in the manual. Incredible. No, this is
normal. What I have to do is incredible.
So, little rust then. That means cars will go on forever in NZ. Right?
Well, cars are older there but there are no old cars running about. I
would expect plenty 80’s and 70’s with a goodly number of 60’s and
even a few 50’s running about as daily transport but no. Perhaps they
have suffered from rust over such an extended period of time but
that doesn’t explain their disappearance. As a nation, they don’t seem
to care what they are driving or what it looks like as long as it goes
from A to B. There are few cars to be seen as status symbols. I’d like
to think that they all come out in their thousands in the summer but I
doubt it. Perhaps, we in the UK have bought them all!
Cheers, Jim MacKay.
Concrete Camping 2014
When John and I lived in Derbyshire we belonged to the Manchester
branch of the 2CV Club and made friends and really enjoyed the meetings and runs where we often joined up with other clubs from Wales
and Yorkshire. So when we moved to the Highlands we decided to
join a 2 CV club. There wasn’t one in the Highlands so we joined the
Glasgow branch 2CV Ecosse.
Joining the club coincided with a weekend planned for the club in November 2012 at the Tarbet Hotel Loch Lomond, wittily named
“Concrete Camping”. As we are not able to attend many meetings we
thought this would be a good opportunity to meet club members. The
weekend was great fun and everyone was really friendly and we made
lots of new friends. It turned out that it was the first time that 2CV
Ecosse had had a weekend in Loch Lomond and that it was the idea of
Robert Cunningham, who did a great job organising it. That first
weekend there were about six cars.
It was such a success that we all unanimously agreed that Robert
should continue to organise the weekend each year. In 2014 it was
decided to invite the members of the Scottish section of the Citroen
Car Club to join us. In addition some friends of ours from the Manchester 2CV Club and visitors from Yorkshire also joined us. A couple
from France also arrived, coinciding the weekend with their annual visit
to their home town in Yorkshire. Consequently, in 2014 there were 54
visitors to the Tarbet Hotel. In the car park there were 17 2CVs and a
Crozier Special. The Citroens were a Traction Avant, DS, Xantia, XM,
C4, C5, DS3.
Plans for the weekend included scenic runs on Saturday and Sunday,
organised by Susie and Bill Wright. On Sunday afternoon there was the
choice of a boat trip on Loch Lomond, or whisky tasting in the hotel
lounge.
Proceedings were started by Robert Cunningham on Friday evening
when everyone met at 6 p.m. After dinner there was the chance to
meet up in the lounge. On Saturday a run was planned to Dunoon
with a lunch stop at Benmore Garden Cafe. The route would take us
up the side of Glen Coe on the A83 over the “Rest and be Thankful”
and onwards to Dunoon. However the recent heavy rain had caused a
landslip blocking the main road up the hill. The alternative route was
the old military road along the bottom of the glen with a very steep
winding road to the top of the hill. As it is a single track road, traffic
had to wait and be led up in convoy. The road is owned by the Forestry Commission and is only open for sports cars clubs to hold hill
climbing events, so it was a privilege to be allowed to drive the route
in our 2CVs.
After a photo stop at Ardgarten Forest, Bill and Susie led us in their
Xantia (their 2 CV being off the road for the time being.) It was a
marvellous sight to see 17 2CVs and a Crozier Special (built and
owned by Jim Davies) snaking up the hill followed by the other Citroens taking part.
After a pleasant lunch and visit to Dunoon there was a choice of
routes back to the hotel, although everyone had to descend to Glen
Coe by the Forestry road.
After dinner there was entertainment laid on by the hotel or in a
separate lounge, which the hotel allowed us to us to use, we could
chat and have our own entertainment by musicians from within the
club who provided a lovely musical evening.
On Sunday there was a variety of activities including a car run to Inverary on Loch Fyne with a return through Crianlarach. In the afternoon there was a choice of a whisky tasting in the hotel or a cruise
on Loch Lomond. Bert Beattie gave everyone a lesson on malt
whisky with a choice of five malts, each from a different region. The
cruise was very enjoyable and as it was the last one of the season we
were treated to a coffee and a wee dram – very welcome as it was
quite cold on the Loch. After the whisky tasting and the cruise, Dot
Moran provided a “Guess the parts” 2 CV competition.
Next year the “Concrete Camping” weekend will be held in the Best
Western Hotel, Crianlarich. As before there will be a two or three
nights option, 6th – 9th November 2015 - £99 for three nights – dinner, bed and breakfast.
Anyone who has a 2CV or other Citroen car is welcome to join us –
contact Hilary or John Holland on johnm.holland@btinternet.com.
HIGHLAND CLASSIC MOTOR CLUB
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
Old North Inn, Inchmore
Thursday, 5th FEBRUARY 2015 at 7.30pm
AGENDA
1.
Welcome and Apologies.
2. Minutes of 2014 AGM (previously circulated in March 2014 and this
months issue of “Classic Scene”).
3. Matters arising from the minutes.
4. Chair's Annual Report.
5. Committee reports on last year.
5.1. Treasurer’s
5.2. Membership Secretary
5.3. Event Co-Ordinator
5.4. Website and Club Forum
6. Determination of Annual Subscription.
7. Election of Office Bearers and Committee Members.
8. Members feedback and ideas for future visits.
9. AOCB
HIGHLAND CLASSIC MOTOR CLUB
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
6th February 2014 – 7.45pm.
Present.
Trish Brown, Alan Goff, Callum Beveridge, Mark Wilson, Miles Vincent,
Ian Thomson, Alice Brown, John Eastwood, Bryan MacIlwraith. Derek
Darnell, Tom MacCallum, Ian Nixon, Jeff Tavendale
The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Apologies.
Apologies were received from Ranald Smith, Liz Bligh, Hughie Urquhart, Gordon Jamieson, Hugh Finnie
2. Minutes of 2013 AGM.
The minutes were passed as an accurate account of the 2013 AGM.
Proposer Tom MacCallum, seconder Miles Vincent
3. Matters Arising.
One matter arising regarding Club bumper badges. This is an ongoing
action with Miles Vincent, who will shortly let the Committee see the
samples so they can decide which one to purchase.
4. Chairman’s Report.
The Chairman’s Report and Review of the year had been previously circulated in the current edition of “Classic Scene”.
5. Treasurer’s Report.
The Treasurer reported a balance of £2375.00 at year end, but also reported a deficit in running the club of £188.88 to one off payments for
a new printer and domain name purchase. The income and expenditure summary were circulated and will be published in the forthcoming
Classic Scene Magazine.
6. Determination of Annual Subscription.
Discussions took place about the subscription for the coming year. It
was decided that to save costs, the newsletter will be now printed on
black and white. Therefore the subscription will remain at the current
figure of £15.00
7. Election of Office Bearers.
All Committee members and Office bearers were re-elected unopposed.
(PTO)
8. AOCB.
Bryan MacIllwraith informed the meeting that he was arranging April's
visit to a VW Camper restorers in Inverness.
Tom McCallum informed the meeting that he had asked to visit the
pipe loading at Deephaven on to the ship (Apache II). This visit would
be a short notice, but was agreed to circulate the visit via the Forum
and email for those wishing to attend. The visit wouldn't be until
probably June or July. Callum Beveridge informed the meeting that the
Drive it Day this year would be on the 27th April, starting in Inverness
and finishing at the Aultguish Inn for lunch. Alan Goff had been asked
if the club could attend a fund raising event on behalf of the Inverness
Rotary Club on 22nd June at the Inverness Marina. Concerns were
raised that this is the same date as the Tain Rally. Alan will confirm the
date and details will be published on the website, forum and newsletter. Other events were discussed and all details are on the website and
forum. Miles Vincent made a plea for members to look at the website
and use the forum where there is a wealth of information available.
There being no further competent business the meeting was declared
closed at 8.05pm
Alice J Brown. Secretary. 07.02.2014
���������������������������������������������������������������������������
���������������������������������������������������������������������������������
�����������������������������������������������������