7-2015 BCCW NEWSLETTER JULY

The Wing & Bonnet
July 2015
Vol. 21, No 7
The Official Newsletter of The British Car Club of Wichita
www.britishcarclubofwichita.com
Looking Over The Windshield
By Rod MacLean, President
President
Rod MacLean
The heat of the summer is here, a good time for a
morning drive to Beaumont Kansas for our
breakfast meeting on Saturday, July 11th. I have
made a reservation for 20 people at the Beaumont
Hotel for Breakfast at 9AM. Please respond to me
if you plan to attend the breakfast and drive to
Beaumont. We will caravan from the McDonald’s
on East Kellogg where Lowes is located, leaving
around 8AM. You can call me on my cell phone to
confirm your attendance at 316-200-0316.
Vice President
Hank Brillhart
Treasurer
Tammy Vandruff 700 S Madison
Wichita KS 67211
Technical Advisors
Joe Henning
Tom Piacenza
Hank Brillhart
hankb72@cox.net
(316) 522-1339
Kenvandruff@aol.com
(316) 265-9954
(316) 524-4128
(316) 778-1549
(316) 522-1339
Newsletter Editor
Lewis Blackwell 929 East 52nd South, Wichita, KS 67216
(316) 990-2533
lewblac@cox.net
Web Site Team
Hank Brillhart
Ian Wood
Jeff Cowell, Web Master
The June All Wheels Car Show at Lake Afton was
sparsely attended both by our club and other clubs.
Rmac1125@aol.com
(316) 636-4261
hankb72@cox.net
ian_w1@yahoo.com
jeff@douglasphoto.com
July 4th, The Auchs have graciously invited the Club
members to their house for a BarBQ chicken picnic.
Please plan to attend if you can.
That’s it for this month. I hope to see you on the
drive to Beaumont KS.
Rod MacLean
The weather was threatening with rain most of the
day, which I suspect kept most people away. We
had 7 cars at the show. In general, there were
fewer cars at the show than I remember in
previous years. It seems to me that there are more
and more car shows every year, with one every
weekend in June, July and August.
The Automobilia Car show (July 11th) is tentative
this year. The show sponsors don’t have enough
money for insurance for the show (as of last
weekend). If they don’t have enough donations to
cover the insurance, then the show will be
cancelled.
P age |1
2015 BCCW MEMBERSHIPS
Our BCCW membership
runs from Jan to Dec so if
you haven’t renewed, send
your money to Tammy
Vandruff! Tammy’s
address is above on this
front page. Dues of $24/yr
payable by check to BCCW
provide funds to make all
aspects of your club run
smoothly. Dues are
prorated when you join in
follow-on months. Also available are memberships to
North American MGB Registry (NAMGBR). When a
minimum number of members register, club qualifies
for Insurance coverage on club events. With
membership, you get quarterly MG Driver AND a
Member Address book of all registered MG members
across the USA, in case you have an emergency on trips!
YODER SCCA FOR YOUR CAR
EVENTS COMING UP !
JULY SAT NIGHTS: SONIC at GREENWICH
AND KELLOGG (north side). Drive In, Sit
Around, Gab, & Grab some Ice Cream! 7 pm
SAT: July 4 – PICNIC at Auch’s. RSVP!!!!!
CALL 788-9253 if you’re coming! 601 Sharon Ct,
in South Derby. Bring dish to share & a chair!
JUL 24-26 – OZARKS BLOW-OUT at GOBMC!
Register by July 21. Host Hotel: Econo-Lodge at HWY 96 &
HWY 71, Carthage, MO 417-358-3900 and ASK FOR SHOW
RATE! FRI FREE Party & Cook Out 4:30. Also Boots Motor
Court at Route 66 & Hwy 77 – Call 417-310-2989 NOTE: YOU
MUST Register for BANQUET $17.50. Theme: GOBMC Sweet
16 Prom with live band! NOTE: MUST Register for Sunday
morning Drive-Away Breakfast with Dave & Rhonda Thorn
Historic Baker House 205 West Macon - $8 each – Call: 417358-9166.
JUL 11 SAT Gather at McDonald’s 8am and
caravan to Beaumont for Breakfast at 9am.
McD’s on East Kellogg near Lowes P Lot.
Arrive 8, Register by 9, Start Runs at 10 !
If
you go, drive SLOWLY on private property! West of
Yoder on Red Rock: Hank & Sharon raced July 28:
Dale was there with his Lotus Seven! Come 4 fun!
FIND MAP & SCHEDULE AT:
http://www.wichitascca.org/SoloII.html#Schedule
CARS & PARTS FOR SALE!
1990 Jaguar XJS V12 47,870 miBlue Leather. All work by Jaguar
Wichita. $7,500 OBO Ted
Wyglendowski 972-998-2699
http://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/3776075252.html
A
ALMOST FREE! 1600 Eng: Fast Road Cam , Big Value
Head, Block Eyebrows, 130# on cylinders, Rebuilt 2005
Kendall Clark: Clarkjag@yahoo.com 316-618-1985
SEP 12 BCCW PICNIC: Sedgwick Co Park at Shelter
Looking To Buy An MGB Hardtop!
#12, Club supplies meat / drink. You supply a covered dish!
Bring car & mate & enjoy the day!
Connor Kresky from McPherson: Looking for an MGB
Hardtop for my 78' MGB. Willing to pay around $500.
Email: ckresky@shortridgeacademy.com
RECOMMENDED OUTING: MAKE PLAN FOR
Oct 9 to 11 for the Lake Garnett Grand Prix
Revival Event <info@lggpr.org>
http://lggpr.org/2015Event.htm.
MORE CAR SHOWS: KEYN website
for car shows called Cruizin’ Calendar is found at
http://www.keyn.com/pages/9266268.php
HARRY PRICE RAT PATROL
Harry Price wants you to know about remaining
Chump Car Races! Wanna drive fast in circles?
Your Next 2 Chances On The Winner’s Podium:
2 Rat Patrol Races Set For 2015:
WRL - Hallett, OK - …………………Oct 17, 18.
9 hrs Saturday, 7 hrs Sunday.
P age |2
TWO 1971 MGB Project Cars! $2,400 FOR ALL!
Two Project Cars. Enough new+ and old+ parts to build
both cars complete with parts left over!
ALL MG stuff $2,400! Jerry Morris 316-775-7066
83 Silver Spur Rolls Royce
Drive this Rolls Royce and put
some class on your driveway!
Ron Lyon 687-6103
2000 Lamborghini Diablo Replica Price Reduced to
$28,000 OBO! Need the space!
Always garaged. Immaculate
condition! Call:
Geri Nicholson 316-249-4586
MGB Old
English white, red
For Sale: ’72 Midget
$16,000 Ready to Drive!
interior, new seats,
starter, battery. Dan
Minick Asking
$11,499/OBO.
dan@minicks-ks.com
785.263.5045
Contact Betty Smith at
bsmith811@cox.net
Wanted: TR3/TR3A 1957-1959 TR3 Prefer Ragtop
or hardtop, and I’m looking for the complete car.
Contact: Paul Wilde, Shawnee, KS
wilde@everestkc.net
PARTS FOR TR7 I have ALL NEW TR7 PARTS to
sell. You’re going to need them sooner or later! For list of
the TR7 parts, Contact Robert Reichert at:
Robert.Reichert@aero.bombardier.com
CHUCK GRAUEL Blue MGB For Sale Shown at
Brits on Plaza 2014: FOR SALE! Call 316-733-9727
73 Triumph For
Sale Contact:
Brenda Rogers
New Aluminum radiator
for 68-76 MGB $120. Also
Sanden A/C compressor, polished case $90 Call Tom
Reardon 316-251-1940 treardon2@gmail.com
For Sale: ‘69 MGB
All shined up, Top
is Down, and
Rubber Ready for
rolling down
Summer Roads!
Contact Jamie
Carroll
firefighter09@gmail.com photos: Wichita Craig’s List:
http://wichita.craigslist.org/cto/4988505263.html
Boe13911@yahoo.com Wichita Ks
ALSO HAVE: 1973 triumph Stag Mk III. Hardtop and lots
of parts. Restored ground up. 1,800 mi Asking $8,500
316-312-0841 Brenda Rogers
1961 TR 3 Signal
Red Blk Inter, tonneau,
cockpit cvr, car cvrDayton Wire Wh-spafe,
Redline Michelins, Jump
seat, orig mats-cust cocoa
mats, eng crank. Reid Squires ecurry@att.net816-585-3725
LOOKING FOR BRITISH BUCKET SEATS! Brett
Robinson, of the nearly famous Morris Minor Limousine
he is building, broke his arm, so work’s slowed, BUT
he’s still looking for bucket seats!
Contact Brett:
Bigbrett97@hotmail.com
GR Weltmer who operates the Titan Signs store on
1455 S. Washington, Wichita, is getting closer to showing us how he stuffed a Chevvy engine into his MGB!
Stay tuned and we’ll get some more details.
Call GR if you need a sign or want to talk cars! 522-4300
Triumph TR 3 1960 for sale. Signal Red with steel
wheels and o/drive. Restored #2 condition: no scratches
or road chips. Owned 40 yrs: meticulous condition.
Contact, Bill Chais at 816-805-4242
b.chais@masspolymers.com
For Sale 72 MGB
Rebuilt eng, o/drive, large
rally whls & tires, plus orig
13” wire whls. New brake
mstr, interior. Good
paint/chrome. REDUCED
TO $10,000 OBO 913-2695954 stewart.koesten@gmail.com
NOTE FROM TH’ EDITOR:
All botched copy and missing photos are due to only a
partial sanity check and critics should be aware that the
Editor is fully capable of committing errors deliberately.
P age |3
IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
The Start for Canada Stopped at Emporia…
Ken & Tammy
took the lead
into the Flint
Hills. Just shy of
Emporia, a
white puff of
smoke came
from Ken’s
tailpipe. Upon
arriving at the
Emporia toll
booth, BOOM!
Ken & Tammy
disappeared in a white cloud that STILL lingered as
Hank moved up to pay. The cashier & customers at
nearby Love Gas station all wanted to know what
blew up. Ken called an EXTREMELY good friend,
Maurice Dingler, who lives close to the exit, and
he trundled Ken back to Wichita for the spare MGB
LE, and decorated their driveway with the injured
one! Only a 5-hr delay & we were back on track for
MG2015 in Ontario. Fair weather with clouds kept
us all comfortable. Ken followed Route 5 along
shore of Lake Erie and as we got closer to the U.S.
/ Canadian border, more & more wineries appeared
P age |4
in our windshields against views of the lake. Ken
Vandruff scored the first attack of an underfed tick
while we waited for Hank & Sharon at Customs.
Unfortunately, Hank got sidelined on an old entry
technicality and opted instead for a side trip to
Wisconsin to spend time with Sharon’s relatives at
a nice forest resort. Hank got to play with a tractor
& pushed around some of next winter’s cordwood.
Kendall & Dana Clark, Charlie Anderson &
Kathleen Dennis got to Canada the day before us.
The boys picked up the girls from the airport and
drove around to the American Falls and visited
Goat Island. Ken & Tammy Vandruff, Al & Dee
Davis, and I, arrived the next day. It was cool,
cloudy, and rainy which was much preferred to hot
& humid. Niagara Falls was much more than
expected. 34,5 Million Gallons of Water Each
Minute go over the falls …except for rare winters
when the river ices up and ice blocks collect in the
basin nearly to the top of the falls, which, in past
times, allowed people to scramble across from the
American Falls onto the Canadian side of the falls
to avoid Customs…an attempt that killed many.
Shown: American, Canadian Falls. Naturally, we
took a city tour on the red double-decker bus
(which disappeared from my camera!) …rainy
windows ruined photo opps along the way. Before
Show Day, our dinner at the Americana host hotel
was exceptionally tasty, and we applauded a very
surprised wait and kitchen staff for their efforts. A
lost. At the show field, we prepped our cars for
showing and wandered through the vendors. I was
helping Peter Mittler get his fire-engine-red car
ready for the concours when a giant clap of thunder
turned everybody’s head toward a dark cloud 3
miles away. By the time I got my car top up, the sun
was blanked by a toad-strangler of a cloudburst.
Familiar with how pasture soil reacts to heavy rain,
a few of us made like frogs and leaped th’ heck
outta there to dry ground.
Kendall and Charlie stayed the course entering and
very nice couple joined us but I lost their names!
The day of the Show, we were assigned a letter &
number for caravans of 10 to Balls Falls, 20 miles
away. The drive was exceptionally picturesque,
shown by Dee’s photo, with curvy back-country
roadways that went up and down hills through
dense, close forest byways and intimate
neighborhoods, with members of the Ontario Car
Club coaching our turns to keep us from getting
P age |5
competing in the Valve Cover Races. Both Kendall
and Charlie were prize-winners in their heats. Nice
showing, Guys! There must have been a rain
reprieve for judging the cars for the car show &
Concours, but we opted for a dry change at the
Ramada, a walkabout downtown, more photos
down by the waterfalls and later, dinner atop the
Skylon Tower, a rotating restaurant. The Skylon
to it. The SUV broke off the trailer and spun Hank &
Sharon around, high-centering them in the middle
of the RR tracks! No train was near, but it took
several folks to shove the car and trailer off the rails
with Sharon shooting the scene. The trailer hitch
was broken, but the other driver knew a nearby
welder and got Hank & Sharon BACK on the road
in minutes!! Slammed, Railroaded, No Injuries, And
Still Drove Away! HOW LUCKY CAN YOU BE?
Is 520 feet
in the air
and turns
you and
your dinner
serenely in a
360-degree
view of both
the falls and
immediate
City of
Niagara.
The views
are very
impressive.
While we
ate, the
shelf
passing our
table was
punctuated
with plaques
of famous
people, events, & interesting history notes of
Niagara Falls. We chose the Skylon for our final
dinner for change in light from afternoon to evening.
We were hoping Ken’s disaster might be the only
one for the trip, but then we got word from Hank &
Sharon on the road that they’d had a RR wreck in
Gladstone, Michigan! A truck suddenly decided to
stop at a
RR
crossing
and
Hank
started
around,
but was
hit by an
SUV that
tried to
beat him
P age |6
After MG2015 closed, Kendall & Dana, Charlie and
Kathleen rose VERY early to take the girls to the
airport and start back to Wichita. Ken & Tammy, Al
& Dee, and I took off in separate directions. I
headed east for the Birkshires in western Mass
and, later, Wells, Maine, to meet up with my
daughter, Heather, Mike, & Emily and cool my toes
in the Atlantic.
While barefootin’ the beach, I came across some
once-in-a-lifetime sculptures. Some were of sand
and were very creative art.
Some were not sand but were art worthy of
competing in any medium. (Hampton was having a
sand castle
competition and
there were some
real WINNERS!)
The days at the
Hamptons and
at Wells, Maine,
were perfect
beach suit
weather! Took
lots of pictures
and made films
of parts of the
wiggly bits of
highway near
the Tail of The
Dragon that I
had not yet recorded. On the return to Wichita, my
little MG logged 2,094 miles just from Maine back
to my driveway. I deviated a tad with a stopover
with Air Force Buddy, Don & Charlotte Ryburn
in Mena, AR, who
convinced me to
hang out and catch
up on old times at
dinner. Their son,
Nick just graduated
with an armful of
degrees, so they
were in high cotton.
They put me on the
hunt for a “secret”
Toltec archeology
site near Route 88, which I never found because
nobody knew where it was.
On the highway, the name ABINGDON popped
up on a sign. I pulled off and spotted a Winery with
stone slab, 12’tall x 10’wide x 16”thick, it is incised
with letters of the runic alphabet carved by preColumbian Vikings who arrived long before
Columbus sailed for America. A state park was
erected around the mysterious rock that originally
stood tall atop the crest of the cliff. Vikings in
shallow 3’ draft craft sailed down the East Coast
and entered Arkansas and Oklahoma by the rivers.
The carved letters say: “…this territory claimed by
Glome” or “this is Glome Valley”. The steep stone
stairways pass a giant cave whose roof has fallen
in, preventing further search for Viking artifacts. It is
located at Poteau Mountain, part of the Ouachita
Mountains. Take comfy shoes, bug spray, and your
camera! The stone steps are many and go deep.
For Heavener Runestone, go to:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Heavener-
To MG 2015 And Back submitted by Lewis, with add’l
photos from Ken, Tammy, Al, Dee, Kendall, Charlie,
Hank, and Sharon. We had a great time!
Douglas Photographic Imaging supports our
BCCW! For your Photo & Graphic needs, call
Ric Wolford and return that support:
Douglas Photographic Imaging!
Got an idea? Put some rivets in the inspiration!
www.douglasphoto.com/BCCW/BCCWNewsletters/default.aspx
Harry: On The Road:
the same name and took shots of both the sign and
the Abingdon Wine! How many chances will THAT
come by again? I also stopped at Heavener, OK,
known for Heavener Runestone just outside the city
limits. I drove up to the top of Poteau Mountain to
On a recent business trip to Mesa, I stopped by the
restoration facility of Terry Larson and purchased a copy
of Jaguar C-type, D-type & Lightweight E-type Register
by Terry Larson, Penny Woodley, Den Carlow and Paul
Skilleter. Many Jaguar enthusiasts will recognize one or
more of these names as foremost authorities on the
Jaguar. Of course, I insisted Terry autograph my copy.
access the park they built around it. A giant, flat
P age |7
It may sound dull, a recitation of Commission Numbers,
race finishes, and series of owners. But read between
the lines, and other stories emerge: The 'who done it'
mystery surrounding C-type XKC020, stolen in the
1970s and unseen since. (all other C-types are
accounted for).
The 'if only'
stories. D-type
XKD530
recently
auctioned for
$3.65M plus
10% buyers
commission.
It's only racing
history was
extensive ice
racing in
Finland. It was
seriously
damaged
during it's life,
and
subsequently
subject to a major restoration. XKD532 was sold in the
1980s with 10,000 miles for a mere $125,000. Not bad
appreciation. But that's not the worst. XKD505 was the
first D-type to win at Le Mans. Broken up by the factory
for spares. C-type XKC003, Jaguar's first winning car at
Le Mans. Dismantled at the factory. Anybody care to
guess what these two historically significant cars would
bring today?
Love stories? Yep. Steve McQueen of Hollywood fame
owned XKSS713 (a street going D-type derivative). He
sold the car in the early/mid 1960s, only to repurchase
it in 1978.
Frankenstein/Death and Resurrection stories? Those
too. Many of these cars were raced hard and seriously
damaged. Parts were swapped around, mixed and
P age |8
matched. Remember, by this time these were just worn
out, used hard racecars that weren't competitive
anymore. Hardly rare and valuable, V8 transplants were
not uncommon. There are several stories of both C and
D-types being badly wrecked, the parts going several
directions, and, decades later two cars claimed the
same commission number (built up with factory and
reproduction spares). Eventually, many of these 'pairs'
were purchased by the same individual, and the original
components re-united. XKD530, the ice racer, is one
such example. This is documented in both the book and
the RM Sotheby's auction billing.
I won't give away the ending, because with the recent
sale of XKD530, the authors are probably already
working on another edition. It's a bit pricey, but a fun
book for the Jaguar enthusiast.. Teaser: Here is a photo
of the 1953 XK120 Hansgen Special. All I'll say now is
the name Walter Hansgen shows up regularly in the
above book. More on that later. The car is at Terry
Larson's for restoration.
Photos are three from the Terry Larson & Customer
collection. One of 'the book'. The white car is the
Hansgen Special. That leaves the self-aggrandizing
photo of Terry handing me 'the book'.
Harry Price
heard my Pastor Bob impersonation?
Harry 316-776-zero zero 65. Mark 785-234-2 zero zero 5
Harry’s Rat Patrol!
Well, the news from Rat Patrol's first outing this
year was a mix of Bad News, Good News, and
Even Worse News.
At the Hastings Nebraska Chumpcar Race we
had some birthing pains from all the modifications
done last winter. Little stuff, but some was tough to
diagnose (small hole in the siphon tube for the fuel
cell to fuel pump). Lots of time in the pits figuring
that out. Then a rear brake caliper came loose and
locked up the right rear axle coming onto pit road.
So much for the bad news. The good news
followed, getting that all fixed and figured out. The
car ran faster than last year, handled better, and
has better brakes. After about 3 hours of flawless
running, the Even Worse News showed up.
PLEASE NOTE! - We are not racing at MAM
on July 25. My daughter is getting married that day,
and I can't get her to move the wedding date.
Harry 316-776-zero zero 65. Mark 785-234-2 zero zero 5
A certain dummy tried an impossible pass on the
worst corner on the track, t-boned a competitor,
and put Rat Patrol out of the races for the balance
of the weekend. Let's just say it sucked to be me
that afternoon. That was a violation of the first rule
of endurance auto racing: one pass doesn't make a
race when it's twelve hours long.
I won't bore you with the apology to the other team
and the mandatory lecture from Race Officials. I will
tell you it was an expensive lesson with regard to
missing out on another 12 hours of racing that
weekend. Good part, all the safety equipment
works. Nobody was injured, and the Honda was not
knocked out of the race. The damage is almost
repaired. Sheetmetal is mostly back in place, two
new struts, and a replacement strut upright.
Ahhh.. the good old days: This 1915 Alfa Romero was
ahead of it’s time with a streamlined road & race body.
Note the optimal placement for the steering wheel!
With a fresh front end alignment, we'll be ready for
Brainerd International Raceway on August 15.
It's a 12 hour race. The usual deal, Mark and I have
seats for two to three drivers. With three or four
drivers, it's $750 and a share of the gas bill. With
five drivers, it's $700 and we'll cover the fuel.
Getting new tires for Brainerd. Looking at the Nitto
NT-05, Falken RT-215, and the Goodrich Rivals.
Anybody have any input? Other suggestions?
BACK PAGE: This month, our back
Let one of us know if you're feeling foolish and
ready to Race the Rat. And yes, we'll still tell your
wife/husband you are going to a Men's/Women's
Bible Study and Retreat for the weekend. Have you
page is dedicated to our favorite competing
owners / drivers, Ken & Tammy Vandruff
and Hank & Sharon Brillhart, who seem to
be in a dead heat for First Place in the
Annual BCCW Hard Luck Award.
P age |9
British Car Club of Wichita
6112 South Laura
Wichita, KS 67216
Membership dues are $24.00 for
the full year. New membership is
prorated at $2.00 per month.
Make checks payable to
BCCW and mail to:
Tammy Vandruff
See address on front page.
P a g e | 10