The Oily Rag - British Saloon Car Club

The Oily Rag 

July 2008 Issue 82 

Andrew Templer’s 1968 Wolseley 6/110 

Membership Meter 

We currently have 485 members including 46 in the USA and 3 in Europe! 

The Oily Rag is intended for the entertainment of our members only. The BSCCOC 

assumes no responsibility and makes no representation regarding the accuracy or 

validity of any statements, opinions or advertisements contained herein. 

REMEMBER: CAVEAT EMPTOR 

Deadline for the Sept. 2008 issue is Aug. 22nd 

Dedicated to keeping British Saloons on the road!

Chairman’s Chat 

Well here we are at mid year and as usual many of the plans and projects have yet to 

be completed, especially one brown hulk in my garage. Not to worry, that's what the 

second half of the year is for, right!. And besides this trend is nothing new this year is 

much like last year and the year before and... 

Two projects I would like all to work on, firstly to write an article about your Brit car 

experiences and send them off to Elva. We have a small group who dutifully send in 

articles about their cars but that means we don't hear too much about the others, 

Vauxhalls, Hillmans, Morris etc. So please put pen to paper and send them to Elva. 

Your prose does not have to be exact, as you can tell from my ramblings, but I know 

you have an interesting story to tell. The second chore is less fun, please have a look 

at the First and Second Chance gangs and if you are on the list, write a cheque or go on line and renew, it sure saves 

a lot of running a around. Otherwise I have a couple of friends with no necks who will come and visit. 

One of the fun things about this Club is all the people you get to meet and communicate with. They are from all over 

North America, are helpful, and pleasant to deal with. (OK there were a couple of %^@'s) Along with this expanded 

base of friends comes the sad news that once in a while we lose them. This happened recently with the passing of 

Amadeo Cutajar and Ian Mason. Amadeo, had served the club as Treasurer and we all got to know him and respect 

him for his work and attention to detail. On a more personal level he was a good guy to be around, always cheerful 

and the kind of person upon whom you could rely. 

Ian I had met some years ago when we were trying to set up a chapter, and while I knew him less well than Amadeo 

he also was eager to help,and brought his own positive personality to the discussion. The Club was far richer when 

they were around and is now poorer with their passing. I would ask that you keep them and their families in your 

thoughts and think about how fortunate we were to know them, even if for only a short period of time. 

In the meantime check out the events list in the Rag, plan to attend an event particularly the Club picnic at the end of 

August, come over and say hello to your fellow members and who knows a new friendship might grow. 

All the best, 

Roger (xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx) 

Wood takes the wheel from Stewart! 

Longtime club member Dave Wood has now assumed the role of Web 

Guy, taking over for Rob Sewart. Dave is hard at work at creating a user 

friendly, awesome website for us. Dave has a lot of html experience to 

his name and a flair for creativity and fresh new ideas. The website will 

be under construction for a while and we will certainly announce when it 

is ready for prime time viewing! 

Dave owns a red Bug Eye Sprite named Bugsy and they both reside in 

Elora, ON. 

Dave’s email address is xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx

BRITISH SALOON CAR CLUB OF CANADA 

2008 CALENDAR OF EVENTS for British Classic Cars 

Note: This year is the 50th Anniversary of AH Sprite, MGA Twin Cam, Rover P5 and Wolseley 15/60 

BSCCoC events in Italics 

JULY 11th FR Rolling sculpture car show, Ann Arbor, MI 2 till 10 pm www.mainstreetannarbor.org 

11/13th Fri/Sun British Car Days Across the Bridge, Charlottetown, PEI www.britishcardays.com 

13th SUN Brits in the Park, Lindsay www.glenhunter.ca/vbcc 

13th SUN Westenders breakfast meeting, Jim & Edith Walker 

13th SUN Eastenders -Cobourg Car Show, BBQ at the Russell's Frank & Chris Russell 

13th SUN Mad Dogs & Englishmen, Hickory Corners, MI www.maddogsandenglishmen.org 

16th WED Whale & Ale, Kitchener, Westenders meet 6.30 pm Jim & Edith Walker 

19/20th SAT/SUN Pittsburg Vintage GP & British car show www.pvgp.org 

26th Sat Hillman Meet, Bellevue Community College, WA. xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

24/27th Thurs/Sun New York to Paris race celebration, Springville NY www.thegreatautorace.com 

24/27 Thurs/Sun TTC CANADIAN Driving CLASSIC, Newmarket xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

25/27th Fri/Sun BMC parts sale and Mini camp out, Smithville xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

5th TUES Calgary Chapter, Clem's Shop, 2536B, 7th Ave E. 7.0pm Clem Murray 

5/8th Tues/Fri VTR convention, Ypsilanti, MI www.vtr-natc.com 

6th WED Southwestenders meet at the Waltzing Weasel, London Andrew Mclean 

AUG 8/10th Fri/Sun New Brunswick British Car Show, Rexton, NB www.michaeldunn.ca/NBBCS2008 

10th SUN Westenders breakfast meeting, Jim & Edith Walker 

10th SUN Eastenders Tour & BBQ - Mike & Arlene Alan Weller, Dave Lyon 

16th Sat Shaw Festival Theater, Niagara on the Lake, car show www.niagarabritishcarclub.org 


24th Sun BSCCoC Summer picnic, Kelso Park Tony Fox, Snr. 

24th SUN Wellington County classic car show, Fergus 

31st Sun 

Halton Place, Canadian Country Classic & BSCCoC 

Tony Fox, Snr. 

show 

SEPT. 2nd TUES Calgary Chapter, Clem's Shop, 2536B, 7th Ave E. 7.0pm Clem Murray 

5th FRI Watkins Glen US Vintage Grand Prix,Triumph cars featured www.TheGlen.com 

10th WED Southwestenders meet at the Waltzing Weasel, London Andrew Mclean 

14th SUN Westenders breakfast meeting Jim & Edith Walker 

21st SUN British Cay Day, Bronte Park 


28th Sun The Olde Dickens, Milton, 11.00 am Tony Fox Snr. 

28th. Sun Annual Last Chance Car Show, Welland Exhibition Grounds (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Sunday August 24 " Car Show & Shine" at Wagon Wheel Produce. Simcoe, Ont. 

Spend the day showing your pride and joy to fellow enthusiast. 

Bring the whole family for fun on the farm. Show area includes activities for children. 

Wagon Wheel Produce is located in the heart of Norfolk County. A prime agriculture/fishing and 

tourism area. The Koptik family have combined their farming with tourism to create an experience 

that is unique and memorable. Music featuring local musicians (and one from far away!) has become 

an added bonus and opportunity to showcase their talent. 

As WWP build their special event weekends, it was imperative that a car show be included. There is no 

better way to show our admiration for classic and vintage cars than to bring them together and 

Provide you the opportunity to brag! 

While at the farm, challenge yourself to the 12 acre Corn Maze. Admission to the maze for car show 

families only, $4.00. General admission to the maze $6.00. 

Live entertainment during the afternoon featuring "Slowpoke" (A donation box for the band will be on 

stage) 

A $10.00 entry fee/car includes a Pork Roast Dinner for 1. ($8.00 value) 

Show begins at 1:00pm. Awards will be presented at 4:00pm 

Questions? Email Elva and her Les Paul xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx or Call Arden at (XXX) XXX-XXXX

How to contact us: 

BSCCOC Executive Name Phone Email Address Snail Mail 

President/Membership Roger Tipple (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Deputy Chair/Events Co-ord Tony Fox sr (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxx xxx xxx 

Secretary Bill Davies 519 265 1355 xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxx xxxxxxx xxx 

Publications Directors Elva & Dave Allen (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxxxxxxxx, xx xxx xxx 

Treasurer Chuck McCormack (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Regalia Officer Anne Koopman (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxxx xxxxxx 

Website Dave Wood (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxx xxxxxxx xx. 

Area Reps xxxxxxxxxx, xx xxx xxx 

Ontario 

Bruce Grey Dave & Elva Allen (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxxx xxxx xxxxx 

Eastenders Alan Weller (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxxx xxxxx xx 

Dave Lyon (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Xxxxx 

Niagara Eric Robinson (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxxx, xx 

Northern Bill & Nona Schorse (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx xxx xxx 

North Toronto Ron Hill (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

South Central Oily Rag Fax # 

Westenders Jim & Chris Allan (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Edmonton, Alberta Frank French (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Calgary, Alberta Clem Murray (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

British Columbia Ian Cox (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Quebec Greg Ross (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Prairies Graham Wyatt (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Atlantic Declan McCann (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Parts Sourcing Officer Brendan O'Hara (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Raiders of the Lost Wreck Jeff Fenwick (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Technical Advisor Patrick Wilson (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

AdMINIstrator Dave S Allen (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

AdMINIstrator Dave G Allen (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

British Car Council Phil Miller (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Membership list online 

If you wish access to our Onliners list, you first must be a member of our club and 

then you need to email Elva, Roger or Tony for the URL and password info. This list 

is for club members only and we request that you do not share it with any non-club 

members. Please check your info on the list for accuracy and advise us of any 

changes. Our club has it’s own email address – xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Club Forums 

If you’d like to discuss British cars with other like-minded folks, we have our own forum at 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BritCarTalk. Registration is free, quick and easy! There are 257 members at 

present. 

We also have a MiniGroup list at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/BSCCOCMiniGroup and there are 47 members there. 

There’s a new group for GreyBruce Ontario at http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/bsccoc_greybruce. Just 6 members 

there, so please come join in and help us build up the membership! 

These groups are an excellent way to communicate with others!

A Place of Fame in the Movies – and Sharon Stone’s Bum 

Andrew Templer 

A few years ago I received a call from a Mr. Adam Luc in Montreal, mentioning that they were looking for a British car 

for a movie and that he had heard from a Mr. Tony Fox that I might have a suitable vehicle. What they needed was a 

right-hand drive car and, to add to the excitement, they might also be needing a driver to appear in the movie. 

Aha, I thought, my chance for fame and glory, and unlike the previous time, this time I would not miss my chance to 

appear in lights. The previous time my Wolseley had been filmed was for an HBO documentary on the life of the 

(in)famous Jimmy Hendricks. The car represented a police car in the final weeks of Jimmy’s life in London. The 

actual filming took place on a suitably English-looking piece of Front Street East in Toronto and I missed my chance of 

dressing the police part to drive my car. 

Adam mentioned that they were shooting part of a espionage thriller in Montreal called, “A Different Loyalty”??and 

needed a car of the type that senior police or government in Britain might have used in the ‘60s. I naturally felt quite 

touched at the prospect of my car playing the role of an exotic Q-car in the vein of James Bond’s DB3, but I suppose 

the more accurate image would be of the ‘60s equivalent of today’s blacked out CIA SUV. Anyway, when he 

mentioned that they would transport the car, cover all expenses, offer a modest shooting fee and have me as the 

shady government driver --- my heart fluttered with excitement. 

We arranged the pickup of the Wolseley from our cottage in Grand Bend where the car spends the winters. This was 

all very easy and I was most impressed at the professional driver in the exotic closed trailer – very definitely Aston- 

Martin service I thought. The entire operation was painless and within the hour I saw the last of my car disappear in 

the trailer towards Montreal. 

But then the schedule started getting deferred and I could see my place in the sparkling lights start slipping away. It 

appeared that “some of the actors from Europe” were not available when promised and I the piece I would be driving 

for would now be split over a couple of days. This would require my taking several days of vacation and staying over 

in Montreal. Sadly I had to Adam know that I would not be available and they would have to let one of their own 

seconds drive my beloved car. 

This need for “flexible scheduling” is the downside. On the positive, my car was returned a few weeks later in 

beautiful shape – perhaps even cleaner than it had been when it left. Mind you, I didn’t see those shots of heart 

stopping action driving that took place in the hidden areas of the movie set and the insured value of my car might 

halve if my broker recognizes the car in the movie! 

Overall, I feel it is worth it. This is part of what sharing the fun of British classics is all about. Also, it will give me 

another movie I can tell someone about when they see my car and say “what on earth is that –never seen one of 

those before”. To this point I have only been able to tell them that it is the car you see the British cops driving in Pink 

Panther movies. While A Different Loyalty was not shown in theatres in Canada, having viewed it myself I can affirm 

that: Sharon Stone’s bum was most certainly placed on my Wolseley’s back seat!! 

***** 

A Different Loyalty is a 2004 film inspired by the story of British traitor Kim Philby's love affair and marriage to 

Eleanor Brewer in Beirut and his eventual defection to the Soviet Union. The story takes place in the 1960s and stars 

Sharon Stone and Rupert Everett. 

?? 

------------------------------------------------ 

A Different Loyalty is based on the life of Eleanor Philby, whose husband, Kim Philby, was a spy who infiltrated British intelligence for 

the Russians before defecting to Moscow in 1963. See the web for details of its release next year.

Miscellaneous Ramblings 

by 

Kirk Blake-Dickson 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Well it’s been quite a driving season for me so far. Despite some cool 

nights and mornings, plenty of rain and thunderstorms here in 

southern Ontario my trusty LBC has been pressed into daily service as 

of late – and it has performed well! 

You may recall in my last report, that I got my B-GT on the road early 

and used it at first just for short trips and some weekend use. That all 

changed with the start of “British Car Week”- May 31st to June 8th. Yes 

it’s a good excuse to get the LBC out for some exercise – but I’ve 

managed to actually turn it into more like “British Car Month” with all 

indications at this point it may actually work up to “British Car 

Summer”. 

I’ve been two couple of shows, but the main mileage has been run up 

taking said British iron to work everyday. That’s a 90 km/ 55 mile 

round trip. Throw in some errands around town and a few weekend 

jaunts – and the mileage is adding up in a hurry. 

I won’t break it down into inches/centimetres like I did in the last edition of the Oily Rag, mostly because I can no 

longer give you the same accuracy as in that previous report. Why? Well, I can only estimate the mileage by punching 

destinations into Mapquest and Google maps – because I have yet to stay home long enough to get a permanent fix 

done to my broken speedometer. Despite removing it four times – cleaning various elements of the gauge and 

lubricating connections, making sure they are tight, it still bobbles between 40 & 60 MPH (for example) – so does that 

mean I’m doing 50????? A conservative tally on mileage however, would indicate that since getting the car on the 

road this spring, I’ve passed the thousand mile mark and am well on my way to doubling that. I’m happy to say that 

the car has performed very well, running strong and steady whether on two-lane blacktop or on the busier 400 series 

roads (for short spurts). 

I’m still getting a backdraft of some exhaust fumes through the hatch. I’ve tried to sort that out by adjusting the 

catch to get it to close a little tighter – but I haven’t totally eliminated it yet. It’s possible the rubber seal is not as 

supple as it should be and replacing it may help solve the problem. I’ll be walking around with elevated levels of 

carbon monoxide in my blood for the whole summer if I don’t get it solved soon. Any suggestions would be welcome! 

Regardless, the fun factor is in full swing in my world – how about you? Have you gotten you car out for some 

exercise lately? 

On the subject of LBC’s and running well, we are often subject to derision from family, friends, co-workers and even 

strangers for what they feel is our odd choice of hobby cars. You know what I’m talking about - the kidding about the 

Lucas electrics, the leaky oil syndrome, the rust catchers etc. How bad is it really? Do we suffer car troubles any more 

than those who choose to spend their time and money on some other make of automobile? 

To that end, maybe what follows can be a little ammunition for you in any future discussions you may have about the 

joys and benefits of owning an LBC. I found this information while reading a magazine or two that deal with other 

makes. It seems that maybe we are not alone. See if you can figure out what cars I’m talking about before you check 

the answers at the bottom of the article! 

Car ‘A’ – RUST – These cars can and will rust. Inspect any candidate before purchase. 

- ELECTRICAL – Make sure everything works. One of the biggest issues is the stock fuse box. 

- TRANSMISSION – Weak second-gear synchro. 

- SUSPENSION – Watch out for worn steering racks 

- OIL OR COOLANT LEAKS – This car will leak a bit. If it leaves a puddle you have a problem. 

Car ‘B’ – RUST – This can be a problem, especially around the bottom of the windscreen. Also check the usual 

wheelwell and rocker areas. 

- ELECTRICAL – Bad ground and switches. 

- TRANSMISSION - Both four and five-speed transmissions have weak third gear synchros

Car ‘C’ – RUST – Check the rear upper shock mounts, spare tire well, fuel tank area, rear suspension mounting 

points, rocker panels, A-posts, floors under the seats, fenders, front turn signal housings, the leading edge of the 

hood and the lower portions of the doors. 

- INTERIOR – Window winders commonly break. Speedo’s typically read about 10-percent fast and sunroofs leak. 

- ENGINE – Cylinder heads are an area of concern, particularly rocker arms and shafts. Look for cracked heads due 

to overheating. The engine has always had marginal cooling – particularly in hot climates. 

Well it’s time to close again, and get the ‘B-GT ready for another round of exercise. 

Have a great month! 

Cheers 

Kirk 

(Answers to above quiz – Car ‘A’ – Ferrari 308. Car ‘B’ – Fiat X1/9. Car ‘C’ 1966-’77 BMW 2002.) 

Swapshop 

For Sale 

MG Books for sale 1) The MGA MGB and MGC by Graham Robson -signed edition - 20.00 

2) Classic and Sportscar-MG FILE -(featuring MGA MGB MGC MG V8)-$15.00 

MG sales brochures -factory originals 

MGBGT and V8- Nuffield press $25.00 number 3089/A 

MGB GTV8 publication number 3023 --very rare -$25.00 

Thoroughbred and CLASSIC CAR magazines 1977-1983 Most available just $2.00 each . 

Call Graham (XXX) XXX-XXXX after 6.00pm 

Tires, 640x15 BF Goodrich wide whitewalls, approximately 8,000 miles. Came off a 58 

Austin 105.$200.00. Call Ian. (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX New Hamburg. 

1974 Austin Marina, 2 door, red, 35,000 miles, auto., exc. cond., strong motor, extra parts, not safetied, located 

near Wiarton, ON, appraised at $4,500. asking $2,500. OBO. Call Mike at (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

1965 MG Midget fully restored in and out. Excellent condition. Red with black interior. Many extras. $7,800. Call 

Ian at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX. 

Morris Minor Traveller, 1959, project. Complete car in pieces. Rolling chassis. Kit of new wood valued at $2,500. 

Everything for $2,500. Jim, Vancouver BC (XXX) XXX-XXXX. 

1988 Jaguar VDP, gold, approx 172,000 km, excellent condition, winter stored. Contact Denise (XXX) XXX-XXXX. 

Asking $9000. 

I am looking for a good home for the 1962 Blue, 4 door, 4 cylinder Vauxhall. Asking $400. Contact Denise 

Call (XXX) XXX-XXXX. 

1975 MG Midget convert. 1500 cc engine.77,000 orig, miles. Washington state car. Solid body, new rag top, 

exhaust. Was running prior to going into indoor storage 4 years ago. Needs some TLC. Never restored. $6,750., 

Cobourg Ont. (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

1968 Jaguar 420: blue, and very solid. Has been stored for a number of years, so fuel system gummed up, but 

engine turns. No severe rust noted, so it could be a good one. Belonged to a Georgetown resident who acquired it to 

drive, never did. Contact the owner through Bill xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

1980 TR7, Cashmere Gold, blue int. Two small surface rust spots behind front wheels. 

Been garaged for 4-5 yrs. 96,000 miles on the clock. Needs tune up, valve cover 

gasket replaced (included). Located in Stoney Creek ON, call Jim at (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Wanted 

Front windshield for 1957 Cambridge A55. Contact Ron at xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Interesting website 

The Bubbledrome: http://www.bubbledrome.com/index2.html

A Minor at 58 Years Old 

On April 29, 1950, a young man took delivery in Toronto of Morris Minor Tourer, Serial number SMM 41602, Engine 

number 40193. He bought the car from James L. Cooke Motors, for the sum of $1440.00 which included $5.00 for the 

licence and another $5.00 for Prestone antifreeze. He began a journal to record expenses and recorded the first 

$1.50fill-up the same day in Kingston. The next entry, April 30th at 525 miles is $1.46 for gas plus an oil change 

$2.50. 

The journal continues, with an entry every couple of days, as he drove between Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal that 

month of May and ends with a summary showing 2627 miles travelled, gasoline expense of $22.96, oil and grease for 

$6.29. Fuel consumption, averaged about 42 MPG. 

The journal continues for several pages as the car was used, without a heater, right through the winter and shows 

that by April 29th 1951 the one year old Morris had gone 11946 miles. Fuel consumption had been as bad as only 32 

MPG in winter but the average for the year was a respectable 40. The car was laid up the following winter on 

December 9, 1951 at 20,957 miles. Back in service April 5, 1952 the little Morris pottered along right through the next 

winter and by April 30, 1953 had now gone 35,077 miles. There are several mentions of carburetor adjustments, 

spark plugs and points replacement. Fuel consumption is no longer quite so good, running at between 32 and 40. 

By April 30 1954 the odometer read 46.410. April 23, 1955 shows 52059 miles and then in early July of 1955 a 

momentous entry, an Alta Head is fitted at 53,700 miles. What had happened is the the Morris had changed from a 

daily driver to a hobby. Entries for 1955 continue for only about a month to August then there is a hiatus of about a 

year to August 1956 before the next entry at 55227 miles. By May of 1957 the car had 55584 miles and the last entry 

for a very long time is February 27 1958 at 56407. 

To continue the story of this little Morris I must now rely on conversations with that man, who had kept the car and 

kept all correspondence and records of all work done up to the day in April 2008 he sold it to me. In a sense he has 

entrusted it to my care. It was his pride and joy for 58 years almost to a day. 

So, what is an Alta Head? Well, it is a piece of performance equipment designed to wring a little more power out of a 

tiny flat-head engine that had first been put into production in the early 1930s. The man had read in a magazine 

article about this new performance head. In July 1954 he wrote to the manufacturer about obtaining one and 

received a reply stating: 

"We are in receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, .. 

The car that was running At Silverstone belonged to a customer of ours who was carrying out experiments on our 

behalf, and unfortunately we are not quite ready yet with either literature or deliveries of our O.H.V. head." 

"We have put your name on our waiting list, and anticipate being able to give delivery within about nine weeks... " 

Various labour and delivery problems ensued but the invoice for the head that finally arrived is dated 16 March, 1955. 

Here are some of the details provided by Alta at the time: 

"The cylinder head is made from aluminium alloy to a special design and is fitted with Brico cast-iron valve seats." 

"The valves are actuated by push-rods and rockers, the push-rod sliding in the existing valve guides." 

"No modifications whatsoever are required to the engine, and one could readily change back to side valve if selling the 

car." 

"The Alta Head will fit the Series I, II and also the E types in addition to the Minor." 

There is a lot more to the story as events developed and a very nice job of customising was done but let me save that 

for another issue of the Oily Rag. 

Suffice it to say I am pleased and delighted to be the owner of this Morris, there is certainly not another quite like it. 

My job is to preserve it rather than to make any further "improvements". 

Darrell McDonald

Counties Counters Cambridge... 

Club archivist Norman Milne looks at some facts and figures pertaining to non-Stop 1,000 Miles-a-Day 

Austin A40 Somerset and A50 Cambridge Overseas Test Runs 

In March 1952 technical staff from the Austin Motor Company plant in Canada took a completely standard example of 

the brand new A40 Somerset saloon on a virtually non-stop 10,000-mile test and endurance run. 

Starting and finishing at their Hamilton, Ontario H.Q. they ran a circuit averaging 1,000 miles(1,600 km) a day - with 

the car stationary for less than five minutes daily - to average more than 43 MPH (69 kph) overall. Average fuel 

consumption was nearly 29 MPG (9.8 litres/100 km) and oil consumption 435 miles per pint. 

The demanding test route covered mixed highway, gravel and dirt road under conditions typicalof an Ontario winter, 

including long periods of ice, snow and torrential rains. Doubtless, theabove test figures would have been even better 

with an already fully-run-in example of the GS4, with better than 30 MPG a distinct possibility; Nevertheless, the 

results were outstanding fortheir day. 

Austin A50 Cambridge Has a Go 

Three years later a new A50 Cambridge, driven by K. Fry, S. Collins and R.Dimmick, completed a flat-out round trip of 

Queensland, Northern Australia at an overall average speed of 44 MPH (70 kph). Like the non-stop Canadian test 

team 

they covered an average of 1,000 miles a day, to log 28 MPG (10.1 litres/100 km) over a distance of 5500 miles 

(5,600 km) in precisely 3½ days. The overall oil consumption was obviously measured exactly, but is not recorded for 

us. 

The Cambridge was supplied by U.K. Motors Pty. Ltd. and the trial was intended to demonstrate the ruggedness and 

reliability of the car, which it most certainly did. Conditions on the run ranged from rain and fog to blazing heat on the 

dusty roads and rough tracks of the 'bush'. 

Though the Canadian and Australian test routes and the operating conditions were not strictly comparable, the type of 

treatment given to the two flat-out driven Austins was similar. The comparative statistics and performances of the 

1952 

and 1954 family cars are interesting, if not wholly conclusive, to say the least. The table below gives some idea of the 

similarities and differences: 

SPECIFICATION DATA AND 

PERFORMANCE SUMMARY 

Engine Size (c.c.) 

Net BHP @ RPM 

Unladen Weight (cwt) 

Net BHP/Ton (dry) 

Final-drive gearing 

(MPH/1,000RPM) 

RPM @ 75 MPH (120 KPH) 

MPH @ 2,500 FT/Min Piston 

Speed 

Mean (and Best) Max Speed 

(MPH) 

Av. Cruise Speed on Test Runs 

(MPH) 

Max. Speed in 3rd Gear (MPH) 

Max. Speed in 2nd Gear (MPH) 

Overall test average speed (MPH) 

Overall test fuel economy (MPG) 

Approx. MPG @ Constant 60 MPH 

A40 Somerset GS4 De 

Luxe Saloon (1952-54) 

1,200 

42 @ 4,500 

20.25 

41.5 

14.3 

5,240 

61.1 

74.2 (78.3. Best) 

60 – 70 

52 

34 

43.1 

28.7 

32.0 

A50 Cambridge HS5 

De Luxe Saloon (1954-57) 

1,489 

47 @ 4,400 

20.5 

45.9 

15.0 

5,000 

64.0 

73.6 (79.0 Best) 

60 – 70 

59 

37 

This article is reprinted with the permission of Pete Simmonds of the Austin Counties Car Club. It appeared in the 

March/April 2008 edition of the County Counsel Magazine. 

Sad news 

We regret to have to tell you that two of our long time members Ian Mason of London, ON and Amadeo Cutajar of 

Georgetown, ON have passed away recently. Our sympathies are extended to both of their families. 

44.1 

28.0 

28.5

July - Eastenders Report 

Alan Weller 

We are officially into summer now and things are looking up weather wise after a long and wet spring. It seemed like 

we were always in the path of a cold and rainy front moving through. Our merry group has managed quite well to 

miss the worst of this weather with our events and plan to do so the rest of the summer. 

Our first driving event was the Mother’s Day run and luncheon that ended with lunch at Capers in Campbellford. We 

had a great turn out of cars and the weather was cool but sunny. It wasn’t quite warm enough for top down driving 

but we had a couple of cars that had hardy drivers and passengers who braved the elements. 

Our next event was the “Run for the Hills Event” on June 8th, that took us through the wilds of the Northumberland 

Hills and we had a lunch stop beside the harbour in Newcastle. We had beautiful weather that lasted until after we all 

got home and allowed us to sit on the patio and eat while looking out at the boats. The drive back from lunch took us 

back up into the hills and back east culminating in a relaxing visit and BBQ at Mansel Griffith’s home in Port Hope. We 

got to ogle his new acquisition, a Mk 1 Jag that he purchased from another club member. Our thanks go to Mansel for 

hosting the event and providing us with a great ending to a perfect day. Well, some of us had a perfect day. My Mini 

decided to have ignition issues and had to be retired after part of the first legof the journey, but is now functioning 

again after an injection of cash for parts and some wrenching. Our daughter 

Jennifer helped with the plug, cap and rotor replacement and now knows 

what happens when the plug leads are mixed up. And I didn’t even say bad 

words (out loud). She is getting the hang of wrenches and how things 

function. I am selfish in teaching her this stuff so that when she gets older 

and the boyfriend’s car just happens to “break down” on a dark country lane 

she can call his bluff and get the car running again and be home by curfew. 

Ok, so I’m overprotective! 

We have been generously invited to join the Rolls Royce Club for a luncheon 

and musical theatre production in Port Hope at the Capitol Theatre on the 

12th of July. Some of us are signed up. This was thanks to Mike and Arlene 

who are also RR owners. They got us a great package rate for lunch and the 

show “Buddy”. I’m hoping we can park the Mini in the trunk of one of the Rollers for safe keeping during the show. 

The next event is the Cobourg Car Show on July 13th , put on by 

the ACCCC. 

This is a wonderful show at the Cobourg Victoria Park which we 

try to attend as a group every year. Unfortunately it conflicts with 

the Brits in the Park event in Lindsay this year so we will have to 

give Lindsay a miss. Frank and Chris Russell will be hosting a 

BBQ after the show as they always do and we never miss this 

great food experience. If you would like a change from driving to 

Lindsay get in touch with Frank or myself and meet us at the Cat 

and Fiddle in Cobourg departing at 10am so we can drive in as a 

group and have our club lined up together. There are many 

awards and prize draws and each entry gets a dash plaque. 

There’s lots of shade in the park just like Lindsay plus the beach 

at Cobourg is the best in Ontario. 

Our August event will be hosted by Mike Browning and Arlene Smith on August 13th. They are planning a brunch to 

start the day and then a road tour with interesting stops along the way. There will be a BBQ at their home in 

Roseneath Landing. I hear through the grapevine Val 

and Dick Lloyd will be helping with the food. For those 

who remember the Varac/Mosport weekends when we 

used to invade Val and Dick’s home for a BBQ, will 

remember the wonderful spread they used to put on. 

This event is bound to be a great one, so get in touch 

with Dave Lyon or myself and we can send you the 

details as we get closer to the day. Details of times etc 

to follow. 

September event will be hosted by me and is the 

Northumberland Artists Studio Tour followed by a BBQ 

at the Weller house. The date is Sept 14th, but their 

will be more detail in the next issue of the Oily Rag. 

Circle the date though. The last time we did this event 

there were about 30 people in the yard for the food 

and my driveway

looked like a car show. For those from out of town it makes a great weekend destination as the Studio Tour is two 

days of fun if you visit all of them. If any of you from the other parts of Ontario are interested please get in touch with 

me and I can help with accommodations in the area. 

By the time most of you read this my first (and hopefully) annual, Rice Lake Area Automotive Flea Market will have 

happened. The last couple of weeks there has been a good amount of interest from vendors and I am hoping to have 

a good first event. So far we have everything from Nascar memorabilia to Jeep parts and everything in- between. I 

will have a selection of TR3 & 4 to MG, Sunbeam, Morris, Volvo, Corvette to motorcycle parts, plus there will be cars 

for sale. (and that’s just my stuff!) We are going to have a club table to try and attract some new members. 

We are planning a family vacation to the Maritimes in August and with luck we will take in the British Car Show in New 

Brunswick along the way. I will have some pictures of the show to share with you when I get back. 

Cheers, 

Alan. 

THIS WILL MAKE YOU FEEL BETTER?? 

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump...Trying to find something funny in the 

absurdity of it all. 

The price of Gas versus Printer Ink 

All these examples do NOT imply that gasoline is cheap; it just illustrates how outrageous some prices are.... 

You will be really shocked by the last one! (at least, I was...) 

Compared with Gasoline... 

Think a gallon of gas is expensive? 

This makes one think, and also puts things in perspective to other things we buy. 

Diet Snapple 16 oz $1.29...$10.32 per gallon 

Lipton Ice Tea 16 oz $1.19...$9 .52 per gallon 

Gatorade 20 oz $1.59...$10.17 per gallon 

Ocean Spray 16 oz $1.25...$10.00 per gallon 

Brake Fluid 12 oz $3.15...$33.60 per gallon 

Vick's Nyquil 6 oz $8.35...$178.13 per gallon 

Pepto Bismol 4 oz $3.85...$123.20 per gallon 

Whiteout 7 oz $1.39... $25.42 per gallon 

Scope 1.5 oz $0.99...$84.48 per gallon 

And this is the REAL KICKER... 

Evian water 9 oz $1.49...$21.19 per gallon! $21.19 for WATER and the buyers don't even know the source 

(Evian spelled backwards is Naive.) 

Ever wonder why printers are so cheap? So they have you hooked for the ink. 

Someone calculated the cost of the ink at...(you won't believe it...but it is true) $5,200 a gal. (five thousand two 

hundred dollars) 

So, the next time you're at the pump, be glad your car doesn't run on water, Scope, or Whiteout, Pepto Bismol, Nyquil 

or God forbid, Printer Ink! 

Just a little humor to help ease the pain of your next trip to the pump... 

And - If you don't pass this along to at least one person, your muffler will fall off!! Okay, your muffler won't really 

fall off...but, you might run out of toilet paper. 

Submitted by Harold Leece.

Tales From Triumph 

The left hooker & the right hook 

Being a major producer of sports cars for the North American market a significant amount of vehicles were ‘left hand 

drive’ so called “left hookers”. 

Our boss, Stan Holmes, was to say the least a bit of a ‘boy racer’ rumoured to have raced with Tony Lee right from 

their apprentice days. In the days when Triumph Engineering was in Banner Lane they raced down Tile Hill Lane which 

in those days crossed the main A45, Fletchamstead Highway via a roundabout scuttlebutt has it that on at least one 

occasion one went one way round the roundabout the other the wrong way. 

My story deals with the same junction which had been converted to traffic lights, also at this time Triumph 

Engineering had moved to the building on the corner of Tile Hill Lane & the Fletch with access to the Fletch from a 

gate on that road. A left turn took you towards London, a right turn through the median towards Birmingham. 

Stan Holmes & David Dennis were in a TR, with Stan driving. A fast exit through the gate & median for a right turn 

towards Birmingham severely cutting of another car approaching from the London direction immediately to be faced 

with a red light and the necessity to stop. The very irate cut up motorist does no more than get out of his vehicle & 

puts a short right hook into the right ear of the right hand occupant. Needless to say the TR was a “left hooker” so it 

was Dave D that was the receiver of the irate drivers reaction with a bruised right cheek & ear. 

The Chicken Story 

In the late 60’s early 70’s rumours were rife that the US would require that air bags would be mandatory in the not to 

distant future, items that would add cost & weight to Triumphs sports cars, alternatives required. 

I was already dealing with the testing for existing safety legislation, Torso & Headform impact testing, so was the 

obvious candidate to generate constructive ideas to present to the US legislators in attempts to counter the proposed 

legislation. I might add that neither were successful & my wife & I are both glad that we had air bags installed when 

we hit a deer a few years ago. 

Back to the story, one proposal, which was patented, was for a seat belt system attached to the top of the front doors 

which automatically wrapped around the occupant after the door was closed. Very similar to some GM cars in the late 

80’s after the patent had run out. 

The second system involved allowing the vehicle to be driven up to 5mph or so to allow for getting in or out of garage 

or driveway. This was achieved by inhibiting the ignition. Above this speed it was essential that the seat belt was worn 

by the occupants with emphasis on WORN one had to ensure that the belt had not been simply connected & sat upon. 

This was difficult to achieve on Stag with its large range of both fore-aft & rake movement on the seats. 

My story is about the system installed in John Lloyds Triumph 2000, he had agreed to acting as a ‘guinea pig’ in the 

trials of the system. He however insisted that I install an override switch in the vehicle to ensure that any malfunction 

would not leave him stranded. My task was to review the various installations on a regular basis to ensure correct 

functioning etc. On a regular basis inspection of JL’s vehicle determined that the override switch was in-fact overriding 

the system, he was not using it. 

Stan Holmes having moved to Longbridge, Graham Minton was now my manager. The decision was to install a small 

battery operated pocket memo beneath the dash of JL’s car with a loop of tape with the recording, by Graham, of 

chicken sounds. The tape recorder being wired into the override switch such that operating the switch to switch out 

the system turned on the tape recorder. 

This was achieved during a wet November morning & JL’s car parked back in the experimental garage. Unbeknowns to 

me he had visitors from head office and as it was raining he & his guests get in his car in the experimental workshop 

to drive to lunch, JL normally walked. 

He turns on the ignition & operates the override switch to be greeted with the raucous cries of a chicken. To say the 

least he was not amused, I was called to his office during the afternoon for a right royal b........king, close to getting 

fired. The chicken switch was born. 

In later years he was heard to tell the tale with great amusement. 

Longbridge Lore 

When I moved to Longbridge I was following after a number of senior Triumph personnel who had moved over a year 

or so before. Starting at the top George Turnbull who was later to go to Korea to help in the start-up of Hyundai’s car 

production. Harry Webster Director of Engineering, George Jones Transmissions engineering, Ray Bates & Stan 

Holmes. Stan persuaded me to follow him. An ex Rootes guy Tom Penny was Chief Body Engineer. Later John 

Turnbull, Georges brother, joined from Ford at Lodge Road. 

Leyland, for what ever reason, insisted on retiring senior executives at 60, Harry Webster was soon therefore replaced 

by Charles Griffin, I believe an ex Cowley guy. 

My two stories are about Charley and both deal with the development phase of Metro. 

Charley was very anxious to get into the driving seat of the first vehicle which was virtually complete, simply requiring 

a rubber steering coupling. The supplier, Metalastik of Leicester, delivered a “one off” 

with strict instructions that it was a space filler only, NOT TO BE DRIVEN on the road. It had been glued together & 

had not gone through their regular bonding process. 

Charley being Charley, drove the car out on public roads. Returning to the plant he had to negotiate a roundabout, he 

turned left into the roundabout, then right to follow the shape of the roundabout. However as he tried to make the 

final left hand turn the coupling failed. He carried on across the road mounting the kerb & stopping short of a lamp 

standard. Needless to say it was Metalastik who got the brunt of his anger.

Latter in the Metro programme he drove a car into my workshop and requested that we investigate the reasons for 

severe shake at a speed of 95mph on the nearby M6 motorway. The vehicle had completed the full pave cycle with its 

normal run of structural failures which had been repaired to allow the procedure to be completed. 

I chose to ignore the request, I was not going to risk my life in such a vehicle nor exceed the speed limit. I certainly 

was not going to instruct my staff to do likewise. Not sure why but Charley never raised the issue again. 

The issue was a smooth surface shake generated by non centered road wheels, a subject of an earlier article. 

A One Off Mini 

A group of engineers & fitters in South Experimental at Longbridge led by Martin Ince (Mince) sweet talked the 

management into obtaining a Mini body to use as the basis for a “raft” to be entered in a charity raft race on the River 

Severn at Bewdley. Materials supplied by Leyland with the work carried out in the spare time of the individuals. Power 

was via pedalo type arrangements at front & rear with four individuals providing the manpower. The attached pictures 

show the so called AquaMini shortly after launch & later down river. Inspiration for the paddlers efforts was provided 

by Rod Stewart singing We Are Sailing on the installed sound system. 

I have no idea what happened to the raft after the event. 

Tony Hughes aka NVHONE 

Newbies! Newbies! Newbies! 

Ronald Singh David LaChance 

Scarboro, ON Williamstown MA USA 

1965 Morris Oxford Farina

Classic Ford Trip 2008 May 10 – 12th 

Classic Ford Magazine were back on board this year as we set off for the 

tenth Classic Ford Tour organised by Continental Car Tours. The trip, 

called the Dam Busters Tour, took us to Amsterdam in Holland. 

Lee and I left home just after 6am in 

his Mk1 Escort to meet up with Jon 

and Martin in Jon’s blue Mk1 Escort – 

the yellow one is in the middle of a heart 

transplant after the engine was damaged at 

the Nurburgring last year. Jon’s blue car is a 

standard 1300 automatic and it was about to 

go on its first journey of any length since Jon 

had owned the car. 

The trip to Dover was uneventful until we 

were passed by a cloud of smoke preceeded by a Mk1 Escort!! The rear oil seal 

in the gearbox had gone whilst they were on their journey to the ferry. 

We were all given plaques to fit to our cars whilst we were waiting to board 

the ferry. 

Once in Calais we had a 4 hour journey through France and Belgium 

into Holland to Haarlem and the hotel. The weather started the way 

it intended to carry on – HOT! Driving in a convoy with all the people 

rushing past in their modern cars leaves a certain degree of 

satisfaction when you get a thumbs up and you see their faces light 

up with a grin. 

Haarlem is a small town to the west of Amsterdam and very 

close to the race track at Zandvoort. It is only a 20 min train 

ride into Amsterdam. The hotel had no problems catering for 

the 79 cars worth of people who descended on it for a meal in 

the evening even though they could have used a larger car 

park! Some double parking was required but not when this 

photo was taken! 

On Sunday, after the headaches had cleared, there was a 

suggested tour which people could do visiting places like 

Volendam where people still wear the traditional Dutch 

costume and clogs and Edam to check out the cheese. 

We followed most of the route but then after 

“crossing the sea” from Enkhuizen to 

Lelystad we turned north instead of south. 

This sea crossing was a long road on 

reclaimed land and as we started on 

this section we drove through a wall of flies, 

which left the front of the car a different 

colour – it also gave us great difficulties 

seeing through the windscreen!! 

For Sunday lunch we had a Chinese meal in 

a seaside 

town call Urk. Why Chinese - it was the only 

place that was open. We parked either side of 3 German registered Minis that were 

part of the Dutch Rally. 

The next “sea crossing” was even longer and had a 

service area in the middle of it. When we left here we 

had a little excursion – we set off down the cycle path 

in error! Oops! The problem was finding somewhere to turn round….. We also had a 

second encounter with a wall of flies. I had hoped to go to Zandvoort as I hadn’t been 

there since the Grand Prix in 1971 when Jackie Ickx and Pedro Rodriguez drove away 

from everybody in the wet. The traffic jams near the circuit made the decision for us 

and we headed back to the hotel before catching the train into Amsterdam.

Amsterdam – well what can I say, it was much as I expected with the canals, historic buildings etc plus the seedier 

side of life. At least I can now say I have been there. 

Monday was a Bank Holiday in Holland but that didn’t affect us as we headed back south to Calais and home, a nice 

little 950 mile round trip to another part of Europe. 

There was 

an 

interesting 

collection of 

cars from 

Escorts, 

Capris, 

Corsairs 

and Anglias 

to Sierra 

Cosworths. 

Sadly one 

of the 

Sierras will 

not be 

coming back 

from the trip. 

They decided to visit the Nurburgring and had a big accident, fortunately without damage to themselves, but the car 

is very second hand. 

Submitted by Marc Lawrence of Hitchin, England

MARQUE COORDINATORS 

This service is intended to provide a point of contact. 

for members who need assistance with their car or project from other members 

These coordinators will either help you or point you in the right direction to get help. 

There is opportunity for unlisted models for additional coordinators, if you don't see your 

particular model covered it is because we are waiting for a member volunteer. 

Armstrong Siddeley Ian Young xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Atlantic Dave Lawrence xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Marina Skip Harris xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Somerset Dave Golding xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin A40 Devon Bill Wilkman xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Cambridge A50/55 Ian Cayton xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Healey Scott Morris xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austin Taxi Murray Jackson xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Austins A30/35 Tony Fox xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

BMC Farinas Brendon O'Hara xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

BMC 1100/1300 Jim Cumberland xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Daimler Garry Irwin xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Ford Prefect/Anglia Mike Aveline xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Hillman Roger Tipple xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jaguar 420 Martin Dombroski xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jaguar XJS David Keitly xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jaguar XJ and E Type Jeff Booth xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jaguar, XJ/VDP/XJR David Januczkowski xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jaguar XK Series Bill Schorse xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Jensen Peter Brook xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Lucas & general Clive Freeman xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

MG Fraser Cooper xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Mini Dave Scott xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Mini Dave Allen xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

MINI Don Dunlop xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Morgan Norm Kear xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Morris Minor Craig Buchanan xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Riley Mike Sweeney xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Rolls Royce Robert Thompson xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Rover P6 Dave Donoghue xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Rover SD 1 Vacant 

Triumph Herald Art Parker xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Triumph Stag Tony Fox xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Triumph Spitfire Leslie Bond xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Triumph TR3 Vacant 

TVR Dave Graham xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Vauxhall Cameron Steenburg xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Zephyr/Consul Patrick Wilson xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Should any member require a phone contact for a coordinator 

then please contact one of our executive on page 4

Mini 

- 1961 Austin Countryman: 850cc drivetrain intact but not running, floors rotted, Good for project, rear susp 

gone,$500 Firm, With Ownership. Ray xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx London, ON. 

- 1966 Austin Mini: Cooper S replica, red/white roof, 1998 Rover bodyshell, very low mileage, orig paint, rear mod to 

fit Mk1 small taillights, New doors, bonnet and orig Mk1 Cooper bootlid painted to match (wind up windows), 1999 

Cooper leather int with reclining seats, factory fresh 1300 A-plus block with rebuilt large valve cyl head - Zero miles 

on engine! Close ratio gearbox, windage tray and central oil pickup. Adj susp. 4-pot alloy calipers. Twin 1.5" SU, 

Maniflow header, double box RC40 exhaust. Orig Cooper S disc wheels with set of orig hubcaps. Car is perfect! 

$20,000 (US) Daniel (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Montreal, PQ. 

- 1968 Pickup: only 50,000 made, modified and is a good and fast fun car, not concours but has won many local 

shows, 1275 cc engine, Disc brakes with servo assist, 12 inch MiniLite like rims, Racing seats, Wooden bed liner, 

Tonneau, RHD, red with white roof, $14,000 (US) obo. Phil (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Yardley, PA. 

- 1968 Mini 1000: easy resto project, brought from New Zealand in 2002 but have just not found the time. All taxes 

and duties paid, titled in Ontario. $5000 firm. Mike (XXX) XXX-XXXX Richmond Hill, ON. 

- 1971 1275GT Clubman: red, immaculate shape, 1275 engine, about 4000 kms since rebuild, short shift, hi-lo susp, 

cobra bucket racing seats, 10" steering wheel, a lot of chrome and bling. $8000 without electronics. $9000 with 

pioneer tv radio, 2 tv monitor visors, sony ps2 in the boot and amp. xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Toronto, ON. 

- 1973 Innocenti Mini: red, 1000cc, Exc cond and runs great, LHD, many new parts, 80K km, $6,900 (US) Sarah 

(XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx West Barnstable, MA. 

- Two Austin Minis: yellow one is restorable, blue one is a parts car only. Four spare engines. Three 998cc and one 

850cc. No ownerships. $1,200 Sold as is where is - located in Port Hope - 1 hour east of Toronto. (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

after 6:30 PM or weekends. 

- 1976 Leyland Moke: Blueish Green, top and body are in very Good Shape, Strong 998cc Engine. $9,000. 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Toronto, ON. 

- 1979 Mini 1000 Clubman: imported from Scotland and owned 4 years, auto, exc cond inside and out. Repainted orig 

Butterscotch, prior to my purchase. 28K miles, have maint records. $8,000 David xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Montgomeryville, PA. 

- 1980 Mini: one of the last sold by British Leyland in Canada, all orig body, subframes etc, restored in the mid 90's 

and driven very little since. Light blue / white. Built to rally spec, but never made it out. 1275 +60 engine with 

Cooper S gearbox and clutch, lightened flywheel , twin carbs and oil cooler. Vintage 60's rally seats and 4 point 

rollcage. Lots of spare parts. $7,500 Colin (XXX) XXX-XXXX Toronto, ON. 

- 1990 Mini 1000: deep blue, 56K km, Minilites, bumper overriders, rust free, RHD, wood dash, stereo, air, Smith's 

tach, rebadged with CooperS hood and boot insignias, Morris steering wheel bezel and matching wooden shift knob. 

$6,250 Ed (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Regina, SK. 

- 1991 Rover Mini Mayfair: 34K kms, Auto, FWD, 1.0L, Air Cond, Alloy Wheels, Cassette, Power Brakes, Wood steering 

wheel & knob, RHD. Safety Inspected and BC reg. 1 year powertrain Global Warranty. $8,900 

www.AbbotsfordJapanAuto.com (XXX) XXX-XXXX Abbotsford, BC. 

- 1991 Rover Mini ERA Turbo: only 480 made, 96 bhp and 184 kph, aftermarket 13 inch alloys, factory leather, 

steering wheel, and floor mats. 61K km, red with bodykit, $13,900 Sean (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

http://www.zenautoworks.ca/Current%20Stock%20Units/MINI_ERA.htm xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Calgary, AB

“I’d Like to Teach My Car to Run in Perfect Harmony” 

To the tune of the Coke jingle 

A world in balance and harmony would certainly be a better 

place. A well balanced Mini should be a better car and we all 

know you want Hermoine the Mini to be as good as she can 

be. I am talking about the harmonic balancer, which may or 

may not be bolted to the front of the crankshaft on your car. If 

you don’t have a balancer you will just have a simple pulley for 

the fan belt to run on. The purpose of the balancer is to reduce 

harmful vibrations transmitted from the crankshaft through the 

valve train, which consists of the timing chain, sprockets, 

camshaft, lifters, pushrods, rockers and shaft and valves. 

The result is more accurate valve and ignition timing, a 

smoother running more efficient engine and reduced 

component wear. 

The harmonic balancer consists of three parts, the center hub 

which attaches to the front of the crankshaft, the outer pully 

which is grooved (groovy huh?) to accept the fan belt and a 

flexible rubber piece in the center which binds the outer and 

inner pieces together and absorbs the nasty vibrations. 

If your car is fitted with one, a yearly inspection is in order to ensure it is not getting ready to come apart which 

could have disastrous results. Simply hold a mirror, ( I use an old car interior one to keep in theme) in front of the 

damper, bathed in the eerie glow of a trouble light and look for deterioration of the rubber. If it is starting to crack or 

fail, it is time for replacement. 

Replacing your balancer or installing one is pretty straightforward. Drain cooling system, remove radiator, and fan 

belt. Pry back the locking tab on the bolt securing the pulley or balancer to the crankshaft. Remove bolt and carefully 

pry and persuade the pulley or balancer that it wants to come off. This is a good time the inspect your fan belt, rad 

hoses, water pump, radiator and that infernal little hose that connects the water pump to the cylinder head. The only 

thing worse than replacing that little hose with the head installed in your garage or driveway is doing it at the side of 

the road. I digress. Once you have the balancer off replace it wit the new one and reinstall rad. 

All of this should make your universe a little more in balance. Happy Motoring, Dave 

Inquiring Mini Owners Want to Know 

(I hope) 

I have been writing these articles for a few years now and often wonder, does anyone actually read them, does 

everyone find them useful, should I include more detail, what did happen to Jimmy Hoffa? What I am looking for is 

input. Is there a topic I haven’t pursued that might interest you, would you like more technical detail, is there 

something completely different we should put in this space? If you have any ideas on the above please send me an 

email, letter, fax, carrier pigeon message or just phone. We want this article to serve you the members as well as 

possible. 

Mini Happy Returns, Dr. Dave M.D. (Mini Doctor) xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx

A Mini Marvel 

by Bob DeShane 

It was a warm, sunny, beautiful morning in August of 1991 and I was motoring westbound on the 401, on my way to 

London. The last few hundred yards of runway at Pearson slipped by on my right and the skyline of Toronto was 

fading in the mirror and traffic was thinning. I could now concentrate on the business meeting ahead. 

Hey, there's a nice Mini – so much for concentrating. 

Ever since I first saw a Sprite at age ten, I had been 

crazy about British cars, about international racing, 

about great British racing drivers, Moss, Hawthorn, Hill 

and Clark. I'd read British motoring magazines cover to 

cover for years. I relished the stories of the small 

cottage industries that produced such fantastic cars but 

lamented that we rarely, if ever saw many them on our 

shores. I'd had my share of cars too, nothing exotic 

mind you, but beginning with a Morris Minor and 

progressing through a seemingly never ending list of 

Minis, MGAs, MGBs, TR6s, 1100s, 1300s and a Marina. I 

had delved into racing and rallying and thoroughly 

enjoyed, lived and breathed it all. However, I had given 

it all up to have more time for family and my primary 

business concerns. 

As far as my small sports car business, Little Britain Motor Company, apart from keeping the performance parts side 

of it going, I had put it on the shelf as well. That was over a year ago. Little did I know at that moment how it would 

all change very soon. 

The cell phone rang. It was long time friend, British car guru and best ever British car mechanic, Dave Jackson. I 

hadn't seen Dave much in the past year. It was one of the things that I'd sacrificed along with my addiction to British 

cars. Dave said “Bob, I've just got this magazine called Mini World and you've got to see it! I've got a copy for you.” 

He wouldn't tell me what it was about this new magazine that was so incredibly wonderful or important that I needed 

to see it, considering that I was no longer a British car nutcase or Mini nutcase. But, Dave was a good friend and it 

had been a long time since we had talked and I really kind of missed his shop seeing as how it was sort of my second 

home for the last twenty-four years and maybe it wouldn't hurt to see what he was working on now. So, I agreed 

that I would stop by for a brief visit the next day on my way back from London. 

The drive back from London to Oshawa seemed to take forever even though traffic was light and moving well. As I 

pulled up to the front doors of Commonwealth Motors, everything was warmly familiar. MGs Triumphs, Minis. The oil 

spots, the scents. Heaven. 

Inside, Dave greeted me in his ever-friendly way and after a few minutes of pleasantries and catching up, he revealed 

my copy of the new magazine. I couldn't believe my eyes. There on the front cover was a man that I had come to 

know through reading the British Motoring books as a true genius and a maverick in the same fashion as Colin 

Chapman. In fact the two of them were friends and competitors, having had similar paths of development in post-war 

sports car racing in Britain. The man was Jem Marsh, founder of Marcos Cars and Speedex Performance Parts. Just 

as importantly, he was standing next to one of his creations – a car that as a teenager, I had read about in all of 

those British motoring books – a car that had literally conquered the world of small-bore racers on tracks like Brands 

Hatch, Oulton Park, Silverstone, Spa Francorchamps, Kylami and the biggest of all Le Mans. Jem was re-introducing 

the Mini Marcos!! I couldn't wait to get home and settle into reading all about it. 

That evening, I wasn't much company for the family. I poured over the magazine. The new cars would use Mini 

Mayfair running gear complete with 12-inch alloy wheels, Corbeau seats and custom burled walnut dash panels with a 

complete set of instruments. After three very thorough, poured over, intensive readings of the article and a very 

enthusiastic, mostly one-way conversation with my long-suffering wife, Marilyn, I decided that I really did miss British 

Cars and that I needed a Mini Marcos! I couldn't sleep that night thinking about the telephone call that I would place 

in the morning to Jem. 

In late October I found myself over the North Atlantic on a British Airways flight to London and the Earl's Court 

Automobile Show as a guest of Marcos Cars for the re-introduction of the Mini Marcos. 

Earl's Court is a truly impressive exhibition hall in its own right, but for a car enthusiast – a British Car enthusiast – it 

was heaven! Every kind and shape and colour of British and European car imaginable was on display! I followed 

Jem's directions until I could see a large Marcos sign visible above a throng of several hundred people gathered in the 

aisle directly across from the Lotus and Mercedes stands, just past TVR. Wait, they were all facing the Marcos sign.

Under the sign, I could make out what appeared to be the top ropes and corner posts of a boxing ring, with a tall man 

in the centre of it, visible above the crowd. That was Jem! 

I made my way past stands of TVR, Lotus and 

Mercedes, practically devoid of onlookers and 

circled to come in around the back of the Marcos 

stand. As I approached the boxing ring, I 

realized that it was the diminutive Mini Marcos in 

its bright red livery and silver Minilight wheels 

that had captured the attention of all of these 

people. It was not the pretty and nimble Marcos 

Martina in Old English White or its brutal big 

brother, V8 Marcos Mantula in light blue metallic 

paint, or for that matter, the delicious offerings 

on the neighbouring stands, but this gallant little 

warrior, a victor of so many earlier battles, 

brought to life once again. 

Soon, I was able to meet Jem and introduce 

myself. He was a dashing and most gracious 

man, a true gentleman. It was a thrill to meet 

him in person. Jem was truly overwhelmed by the 

response of the crowd toward the Mini Marcos. I asked him why he thought it was that there was such keen interest, 

when it would seem entirely logical the greatest interest would be in the more exotic offerings, like the Mantula or 

those immediately beside and across the aisle. Simply put, he thought that it was because of the car's affordability 

and that given the public response, he should have done this earlier! 

I enjoyed my time with him and he had made arrangements for me to go out to the Marcos Works in Wiltshire to meet 

his son Chris and test the cars. The Marcos Works is housed in an array of large quonset huts on what was a second 

war airbase in Westbury in the west country. There, I was greeted by Chris and treated to a tour of the works. The 

main reception showroom was packed with Mantulas and photographs of Marcos cars and drivers and their racing 

exploits. It was breathtaking. Chris, himself was currently leading the British Sports Car Championship in a Mantula. 

In the centre of the showroom was the only Mini Marcos. It wasn't new. It was a 1960s version that they had bought 

back from a club member, having not even kept a copy for themselves and having only yet produced the Earl's Court 

Show car. I couldn't believe its diminutive size. We opened the doors and eased into the low seats with Chris behind 

the wheel. I was immediately impressed with the car and with its handling as Chris negotiated the trading estate 

roads (runways) out into the countryside. Despite this being powered by an 850, progress was brisk, handling precise 

and crisp and all things considered quite comfortable. It wasn't hard to accept that in 1966, a Mini Marcos powered 

by a rally-spec 1275 had seized the record for speed in the under 1300 hundred class on the Mulsanne straight at Le 

Mans at over 147 mph (that record stands to this date). Back at the Works, we traded the Mini for a Mantula. All I 

can say is WOW! But that's another story. It didn't take long to scribble out the deposit cheque and place the order 

for an exact copy of the Earl's Court car, less engine and in “knock-down” form in order to satisfy our government 

officials. 

Back in Canada, the car was assembled at Commonwealth Motors with a very nice 998 engine and prepared for its 

maiden trip. On June 11th, 1992 the car was completed and declared fit for the trip. There was no time for run-in or 

shake down because on the 12th, the little Marcos with my son Craig and I aboard set out for the “British Car 

Magazine” offices in Los Angeles and a day in the California hills with publisher, Dave Destler. That photo session and 

test drive resulted in a feature magazine article. 

Imagine a six-thousand mile trip over ten days that included two days in LA, driving on the Bonneville Salt Flats, a 

climb up Pikes Peak and hundreds of other great experiences in a car made of fibreglass, weighing only 900 lbs, built 

in a Quonset hut in Wiltshire and assembled in Oshawa, Ontario. And this was only the first of many adventures.

Raiders of the Lost Wreck 

Compiled by Square Deal Jeff 

These are all listings that I have seen in the past two months so they should be 

reasonably current, but I like to keep this list updated. If you find that any of the 

vehicles listed below have been sold let me know. If you did not sell your car, 

please let me know before the deadline if you want to run the ad again. Prices are 

$CA unless indicated otherwise. Phone numbers are given if possible, but 

sometimes only an email address is available. Try not to get carried away! 

Austin 

- 1950 A40 Devon: green, new leather int, very good cond, chrome redone, orig 

engine, sunroof. $10,000 Anthony (XXX) XXX-XXXX Toronto, ON. 

- 1950 A90: convertible, LHD, US delivery model, sound unrestored original car, 

runs well, needs resto, but all there and always stored indoors $17,500 (US). 

(XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Located in Virginia. 

- 1952 A40: very good cond, running when parked 10 years ago, engine turns over. $4,000 David (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Elmira, ON. 

- 1957 A35: 998cc, good runner, solid body, new brake shoes, new rear axle seals, new front tires, lots of parts, in 

dry storage. Colour grey. A very nice little car. Asking $7000 Mike (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX Milton, ON. 

1961 A-H Bugeye Sprite: white, 4 speed, perfect condition, off frame resto, runs like new. $19900 (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Moncton, NB. 

- 1962 A-H 3000 Mk.II: white, 5 spd with electric O/D, all original, 90% complete, exc running cond, 81K miles with 

only 2K miles on rebuilt motor. $22000 neg, (XXX) XXX-XXXX, Moncton, NB. 

- 1965 Westminster: Austin 6 cyl and twin carbs, magnificent sedan 16 page restor/service doc. Full leather int, burl 

dash&door caps, fold down picnic tables in rear. A mini Rolls Royce $11,500 (XXX) XXX-XXXX Vancouver, BC 

- 1972 1800 Mk II: 46K miles, body/interior all orig, looks and runs great, new hoses (2007) and clutch (2006). 

$7000, certified. Ryan (XXX) XXX-XXXX Paris, ON. 

Bentley 

- 1955 S1: Same owner since 1969. Painted 1965 - Willow Green Metallic GM 1408. Looks good from 20'. Int tear 

and rip free. Engine compart highly detailed. Stainless exhaust 1991. $32,500 Geoff (XXX) XXX-XXXX Full 

description and 50+ pictures at www.bramclassauto.com/showvehicle.php?action=show&id=1005 Toronto, ON. 

Ford 

- 1964 Corsair: RHD, Automatic, Daily Driver. $2850 Jason (XXX) XXX-XXXX (w) (XXX) XXX-XXXX (h) 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Southern ON. 

Jaguar 

- 1962 Mk II: Older bare metal repaint in 1981, Pearl Gray, some degradation around marker lights. Red int tear and 

rip free, normal cracking and fading. Detailed engine compartment. $25,000 Geoff (XXX) XXX-XXXX Full description 

and 50+ pictures at www.bramclassauto.com/showvehicle.php?action=show&id=1006 Toronto, ON. 

- 1964 S-type: needs full restoration or great parts car, $2,500 firm. (XXX) XXX-XXXX Williamsford, ON. 

- Jaguar XKE 2+2: Three dismantled cars, sell as lot only. View July 19th 10am. David (XXX) XXX-XXXX Elmira, ON. 

- 1985 XJ6: exc cond, 123K km. silver, from US. $5900. Brendan (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Toronto, 

ON. 

- 1987 XJSC: 12cyl, red on black, grand touring cabriolet, 2nd owner, winter stored, well maint, service history, no 

rust, recent tune up, updated AC. Great drive!! $13,500 Jim (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Bond Head, ON. 

- 1987 XJ6: 6 Cyl, last year before Ford took over. Owned by an 85 year old man (one owner). Very well maintained, 

good cond. Blows cold air, beautiful wood int, great alloy rims, sunroof, power windows. White. Moving to home 

with single car garage. $2,500. (XXX) XXX-XXXX St. Catherines, ON. 

- 1988 XJS: exc cond, no rust, 90K miles. $15,000. David (XXX) XXX-XXXX Elmira, ON. 

Jensen-Healey 

- 1973: two cars, assembly required, no rust, tons of spares incl engines, trans, body panels, some NOS, package 

deal, $9,800 (US). (XXX) XXX-XXXX Harwinton, CT. 

Lotus 

- 1967 Seven: 16K km, $16,000. obo. (XXX) XXX-XXXX Bradford, ON. MG Also, check out www.mgtoronto.com for 

many more cars and parts 

- 1952 TD: 4 cyl, 4 spd manual, Arizona car, BRG, black int. Rebuilt from the frame up by "THE MG SHOP" in Tempe 

Arizona. New paint, upholstery, carpet and tonneau cover. Asking $22,000 - Serious enquiries Gail - (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Ontario xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx

MG 

- 1953 TD: owned since 1964, running, last licensed 1995, orig engine, light grey paint is fine. New front + rear 

bumpers, battery, 5 tyres. Nearly new side curtains, tonneau, and top.$15,000 Paul (XXX) XXX-XXXX Port Hope,ON 

- 1964 MGB: Restored 2001, BRG, black int, Rostyle wheels. $11,500. John (XXX) XXX-XXXX Bond Head. ON. 

1959 MGA: runs great, 1622 engine, wire wheels $5,000 

1961 MGA: Mk.II, 1622 cc, stored inside 20 years, solid project car $5,000 

1967 MGB GT: overdrive, wire wheels, runs, incl 2 parts cars $2,200 

1969 MGB: overdrive, wire wheels, was running $1,500 

1973 MGB: runs great, new top/interior $2,500 

MGA: 2 ½ parts cars $800 each. Don (XXX) XXX-XXXX Orangeville, ON. 

- 1969 MGC: 3 litre 6 cyl engine. Well maintained older resto in lovely cond. First in class British Car Day 2005 and 

2006. 4 speed trans, overdrive, correct 72 spoke 15 inch wire wheels, upgraded susp, exc black int and top, 2 

tonneaus. Rare centre console. Much more. Making room for next project $26,500 xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Kitchener, ON. 

- 1971 MGB: green, tan int and roof, O/D, split chrome bumper car, 98K miles, orig bill of sale and part receipts since 

new, photo history and appraisal, lots of extra new parts, $9,900 cert. Dave (XXX) XXX-XXXX Cobourg, ON. 

- 1973 MGB: bodywork restored, new fenders, etc. Needs paint and final asm. All parts with car. Runs well. New 

brakes, battery. $3,000. (XXX) XXX-XXXX Southwest ON. 

- 1973 MGB GT: Immaculate! One-owner car. 53K miles. Fully restored ($20k). Black leather. Overdrive. AM-FMCD. 

$18,000. Visit www.archieknows.com/mymg or call (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Montreal (West Island), Quebec. 

- 19xx MGC GT: chrome bumper, BRG, wire wheels $inquire (XXX) XXX-XXXX Southern ON. 

- 1975 Midget: nut and bolt restoration. NONE better. Less than 1000 miles since complete ground up resto, definite 

100pt car, and show winner. Not Triumph 1500 motor - completely rebuilt 1275 'A' series engine, twin SUs as they 

were supposed to have. Asking 1/3 of the resto costs. email for pics and full details. $9500 FIRM xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Southeast ON, 

- 1979 MGB LE: one of a kind, full steel box frame, coil-over susp, 4 wheel discs, 350 cu.inch Chev, auto, alloy custom 

rad, MSD, Ford rear axle, Chev front spindles. Not another like it. Sacrifice $15,000. Steve (XXX) XXX-XXXX near 

Hamilton, ON. 

Morgan 

- 1938 4/4 Series I: Older restoration, recent engine and clutch rebuild, no rust, good runner. $28,000 (XXX) XXX- 

XXXX Vineland, ON. 

- 1989 Plus 8: one of the last V8 Morgans allowed into Canada, triple black with updated susp, incl gas shocks, nylon 

bushings, stainless exh c/w headers. Recently replaced convert top, tonneau, dash, carpet mostly due to sun fade, 

replaced windshield, newer tires, 42K km $67,000 (XXX) XXX-XXXX King City, ON. 

Morris 

- 1934 Ten Four: Roadster Convertible with Dickey Seat (Bumper) Seat and Side Turn Signals! Near orig cond except 

for electric fuel pump. Only three roadsters known to exist. 4 Cylinder and runs strong! Owners' manual included. 

Starts and runs on 6 volt battery. Paint in very good condition. Top and side curtains new. $16,500 (US) Diana 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx St. Petersburg, FL. 

- 1951 Oxford: complete resto 2006, new leather int. 700 miles on fresh flathead engine, flashing trafficators $16,000 

John (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Bond Head, ON 

- 1958 Minor 1000: runs well but does need body work, new floor from England installed last year. $8,000. Ken (XXX) 

XXX-XXXX Georgetown, ON. 

- 1965 Minor Woody: 57K miles, exct cond, nice green metallic, orig int in very good cond, RHD, stock engine, runs & 

drives great, engine compartment clean, side ash wood replaced, back doors original, $16,900 (US). (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

Mentor, OH. 

Nash Metropolitan 

- 1957: Hardtop, older resto, blue/white, looks and runs great, $6,500. (XXX) XXX-XXXX Collingwood, ON. 

Riley 

- 1950 RMB: saloon, project car. Original color is Green with green int. More info and pics on request. (XXX) XXX- 

XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Columbus, OH. 

Rover 

- 1969 TC: Ex-Calif car; very solid body. Engine very strong (150-155 psi compression, great oil pressure). Garaged. 

Factory A/C. Needs brake work and tires to be a driver. $1,000(US) (XXX) XXX-XXXX email for pics 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Southern Illinois. 

- 1970 3500S: V8, engine was running last year, needs brakes and the body needs rocker panels and front inner 

wings. Have repair panels from the UK. Interior is good, just needs a good clean, Speedo reads approx. 45K and I 

would say that is about correct. Can email pics. $1000 Graham (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx SE Manitoba. 

Standard 

- 1947: drophead coupe by Standard Triumph, rare, the only one in America, original, two owners, full historical docd, 

RHD, red leather upholstery, new tires, orig tools, $32,500 (US) Norm, (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx North 

Salem, NY.

Sunbeam 

- 1948 Sunbeam Talbot: needs complete resto incl new floors, motor not running. Can email pics. $offers Graham 

(XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Southeast Manitoba. 

- 1953 and 1954 Sunbeam Talbot 90 DHC’s: two rare and unique British convertibles for resto. Both dismantled for 

restoring but are complete and include extra parts from a third. One has had no work done, but the other has 

extensive prep and assembly could begin. Tasks done: powder coated frame and running gear; body primed ready for 

paint; new tires, tubes, wheels and hubcaps. Glass and stainless trim all in good cond. Restore one car without having 

to search the world for all the little bits and pieces and complete a second car with a little more effort. Not considering 

splitting up or parting out. $12,000 obo. xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Vancouver Island, BC. 

Swallow 

- 1954 Swallow Doretti: Black alloy body with dark red leather interior. Virtually as-new condition. $55,000(US). Call 

George at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or Bill at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. New York. 

Triumph Also, check out www.torontotriumph.com for cars and parts 

- 1961 Herald: No time for me to continue. Full chassis completed. Body in 3 parts sandblasted and primed. New floor 

boards, runners available. 2 engines (12 & 14) New brake line kit, gasket kits. Extra doors, tires. Tons of other misc. 

parts. Best offer as whole or in parts. Paul xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Burlington, ON. 

- TR3: two for sale: 1958 - good body - electric overdrive. 1960 - new frame. Plus many parts, package deal - $5,000 

Roy (XXX) XXX-XXXX Spring Brook, ON. 

- 1962 Herald: convertible. New clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing, new SU's, head rebuilt (valves, springs, 

guides, etc) new tires, brakes (cylinders rebuilt). Only rust, under drivers feet and left rear outrigger. $4500(US) in 

receipts and want that out of it. Ted xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Whippleville, NY. 

- 1965 Herald 1200: convertible, needs restoration. Body solid, frame bad, very nice dash, mechanicals unknown. 

$400(US) Tom xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Indianapolis, IN. 

- 1967 TR4A: One of the best TR4A restos in North America. Three time "Best in Show" at Toronto Triumph Clubs 

Annual meet. Totally rust free and restored to orig perfection. O/D trans, Pertronix elec ignition, rare factory option 

"Surrey top". All new int with wood dash and leather seats. New 72 spoke Dayton chrome wire wheels and 

Bridgestones. $32,000. Email for pics: Mike xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Toronto area, ON. 

- 1968 GT6 Mark I Convertible: Dark red metallic with charcoal grey interior. Not a Spitfire body; the roof was cut 

off during complete recent resto. Many mods and upgrades. First Place GT6 at British Car Day 2006. Matching Spitfire 

hardtop incl. $16,500(US) OBO. George (XXX) XXX-XXXX New York state. 

- 1973 Stag: Very nice, rust free with nice paint and chrome. Has early high compression head TR6 motor. 4 speed. 

Soft and hard tops. Engine purrs with 2 SU hif carbs and trans shifts well. Like-new alloy wheels. Red with nice orig 

deep chestnut color int with orig tan wool carpets. Dash has no cracks and all electrics work. New fuel pump, stainless 

brake lines, and brake master. $5,500 (US) Ed xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Cleveland, OH. 

- 1974 TR6: red with black int + top, overdrive, 91K km, exc orig condition, 3 tonneaus, trunk rack, roll bar, premium 

tyres $13,800 Norm (XXX) XXX-XXXX Mississauga, ON. 

- 1974 TR6: red, new black int, new tires, new top, recently overhauled trans, O/Drive, rustproofed, body and frame 

rust free, 76K miles, Certified, $13,900 OBO Robert (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Oakville, ON. 

- 1975 TR6: 75K km, 4 new tires and fuel pump. Tonneau cover, soft and hard top, dust cover. An everyday car. 

$7,500. John (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Deep River, ON. 

- 197x TR6: yellow, seen at a gas station in Burlington. (XXX) XXX-XXXX. 

- 1978 Spitfire: green with tan. Exc recent resto. Needs nothing. $8,500(US) Bill (XXX) XXX-XXXX New York state. 

- 1980 TR7: convert, blue with blue int; no rust at all on underbody. Top in exc cond. 5 speed, 115km. elec ign, man 

choke, etc. Extra parts, manuals, etc. Appraised $5,500. $4,250 obo xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Southeast ON. 

Commercial see http://bcluv.gotdns.com/bcluv/forsale.htm for more 

- 1933 Morris Truck: White, Older Resto, Was used as an ambulance during WW2 in Malta. $10,000 (offers or trades) 

Alan (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX, xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Gores Landing, ON. 

British Parts For Sale 

- GT6 engine: 1972, nice running 6 cyl with twin carbs $500. Also trans, rear end, drive shaft, axles, nice radiator, 4 

brand new tires on GT6 rims never driven on, wheel centres, 2 new brake drums etc. (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Peterborough, ON. 

- Jaguar XKE 2+2: Three dismantled cars, sell as a lot only. View July 19th 10am. David (XXX) XXX-XXXX Elmira,ON. 

- Jaguar: 1961 3.8 and a Moss 4 speed non-sync O/D tranny $750. 8 Mk.2 jaguar doors, 1 hood and 1 trunk lid plus 

complete dash, all the wood, electrics etc for a 1959 Mk.1 jaguar automatic car and some other parts Ken 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Southern ON. 

- MG parts: MGB gearbox, 3 syncro, non-overdrive. $100 / MGA gearbox, poor 2nd syncros, but is quiet and works. 

$150 / MGB Wire wheels, good condition, $20 each, quantity discount / MGB front cross member, complete with 

suspension and axles $100. MGB and MGA orig steering wheels. Cracked rims but repairable. $25 each. All prices 

negotiable, delivery available. Lots of other MGB parts, new and used. Fraser (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Cambridge, ON. 

- MG YT: gas tank, radiator, front valence (salvageable), top frame. $offer. Paul (XXX) XXX-XXXX Port Hope, ON. 

- Mini: huge collection of used parts. $500 for all. Email Ryan for list xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Windsor, ON.

- SU Carbs: several types and sizes, rock bottom prices. Get an SU or two to practice on! Fraser (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Cambridge, ON. 

- Triumph: Five steel wheels, 4.5 x 15, from TR-4, also fit TR-2/3 and MGA, MGB. Four are clean and ready for new 

paint; one is tatty and wants sandblasting. All are straight. $20 each or all five for $50. All prices negotiable, delivery 

available. Fraser (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Cambridge, ON. 

Literature: 

- Shop Manuals: Morris 1100; Cortina GT MKII; Jaguar V12 $15 each Fraser (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Cambridge, ON. 

- Austin A40 Service Manual - April 1950. Mint condition / A40 Running and Maint Instructions - Fair Cond $30 

Louise xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Langley, BC. 

- Owner’s Mauals: New Consul (published Oct 1956), Austin Devon & Dorset (Aug 1948), Austin A40 (March 1953), 

Morris Ten- Four Series "M" (12/47?), Standard Vanguard (1950) $offers. Marshall (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx Langdon, AB. 

Wanted 

- Parts for 1959 Mk 1 Jaguar saloon - transmission bits, it has a 3.8 auto (not the orig 3.4), trans is Borg Warner 

auto, will buy complete trans or parts. Also need rad and heater core. Other minor bits if anyone has anything. Does 

anyone sell window rubber kits? Contact smax at Fastco Fabrications (XXX) XXX-XXXX or (XXX) XXX-XXXX (cell). 


Classic Car Dealers 

K.M. Restorations, Orangeville, ON, 519-942-1722 www.kmrestorations.com 

- 1954 MG TF $32,500 1960 TR3 $25,000 

- 1968 GT6 $11,500 1951 Morris Oxford – ground-up resto 2006 $18,500 

lots of Jaguars, Lotuses, Triumphs, MG's - see website 

parts and project cars 

Bygone British Cars 150 North Queen St, Etobicoke, ON M9C 1A8 Phone Dave (416) 625-3516. 

Mr Mini 428 Millen Rd. Unit 11, Stoney Creek, Ontario L8E 3N9 www.mrmini.com (905) 664-4067 

- 1959 Austin Se7en: project car, possibly the oldest Mini in Canada $1,800. 

Al Guest Mini Mover Wainfleet, ON http://www.big-al-minimover.com/index.htm 905-899-3770 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxxSee website for pics and more details. 

- 1971 Mini Clubman Estate: New paint, new interior, smooth running all orig 998cc, orig wheel covers on 10 inch 

radials $7,500 (CA) 

- 1978 Mini: LHD, with a LAMM body kit- A 1275 metro engine with a manual sliding sun roof- 13 inch wheels with 

Dunlop L/P radials $11,900(US). 

- 1989 Mini 30: only 5000 made, custom paint, special wheels, ½ leather int, etc. 12 inch wheels, servo assisted front 

discs. Over 200 hours spent detailing engine bay and rebuilding many of the mech components. New paint, New boot 

lid. Wheels sandblasted and painted silver, 5 new tires, Rebuilt: radiator, wiper motor, clutch and brake hydraulics 

with silicone brake fluid, carburetor. New: rear wheel cylinders and shoes, battery, stereo system with CD player and 

speakers, grille and surrounds, bumpers, front & rear window seals, steel braided brake hoses & clutch slave cylinder 

hose, water pump, clutch disc-pressure plate-& throw out bearing, 30th anniversary decal kit and wheel centers. 

$12,000(US) Malcolm (XXX) XXX-XXXX. Located in Orlando, FL. 

Austinworks http://www.austinworks.com/salepart.html 

Rob Stuart, 800 S. Pacific Coast Hwy., #8343 Redondo Beach, CA 90277 xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

new and used parts for Austin A40 Devon, A40 Dorset, and A40 commercials (Panel Van, Countryman, Pick-up) 

Mini-Mania http://www.minimania.com/ClassList.cfm 100’s of listings for Minis (mostly USA, a few in Canada). 

www.wirewheel.com Vero Beach, FL – (XXX) XXX-XXXX Daimler SP250, Lotus Elise, TVR’s, Mokes, 1970 Marcos 

3000, race cars and other zoomy rides. 

Bramhall Classic Autos, Etobicoke, ON, 416-675-0220, 800-265-4187, www.bramclassauto.com (lots of 

nice pictures, here) 

LARGE DATABASE OF EUROPEAN CARS FOR SALE 

- 1933 Austin 10/4 1946 Humber Super Snipe $20,000 

- 1952 + 1953 + 1954 Bentley R-type 1956 XK140 FHC + convertible 

- 1958 A95 Westminster $12,000 1960 MG Magnette $7,000 

- 1960 Daimler SP250 $17,500 1964 Jaguar 3.8S $22,000 

- 1968 Mini Mk. 2 Cooper 998 $20,500 1969 Daimler 250 V8 saloon $15,500 

lots of Jaguars and Rolls-Royces, and sports cars 

JustBrits http://www.justbrits.com/ads/adsCarsForSale.html 

Small Classified Section for private sales, especially sports cars. 

McLean's Brit Bits, Rye, NH, U.S., 800-995-2487, www.britbits.com 

EXCELLENT CLASSIFIED SECTION especially MG and Triumph, with a few Daimlers, and Minis thrown in.

The Mechanics, Toronto, ON, 416-233-4787, www.themechanics.ca or www.britishclassiccars.com 

(owned by Tony Moon one of our members) Minis at the second website 

The New England Classic Car Company Stratford, CT 203-377-6746 www.newenglandclassics.com 

Lot of sports cars: Bugeyes, Minis, MGs, Lotus, Morgans, Triumph, etc Over 100 for sale when I looked. 

Steve’s British Connection, Sandwich, IL 630-553-9023 http://www.stevesbritishconnection.com/ 

- 1951 MG TD, 1964 AH 3000, 1965 MGB, 1965 TR4. Stock changes frequently. 

If you know of any British cars, parts or literature that need new homes contact: 

Square Deal Jeff Fenwick at (XXX) XXX-XXXX or xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

(adapted from an article for The New England MG T Register..."My 

Other Car is 1959 Riley 1.5") 

Now here is a neat little car that even the most ardent MG 

enthusiast can get their arms around. Not to be confused with the 

early 50's 1 1/2 litre Rileys. the 1.5 or One Point Five was first 

produced by BMC in 1957 and went through various minor 

changes until production ceased in 1965. 

Based on the Morris Minor chassis, the first 150 1.5's came off the 

line in Abingdon before production was moved to Longbridge. 

These first models came with fold down rear seats and are quite 

rare. 

The Riley 1.5 

The car featured a 1500 engine in an MGA state of tune with twin 

1 1/2 SU carbs, rack and pinion steering, a walnut dash with 

complete instrumentation and a 4 speed gearbox with a sensible 

3.73:1 final drive ratio. The front torsion bar suspension is the 

same as the Minor with lever shocks on the front and rear. The 

Wolseley 1500 is the detuned version of the Riley. Les Leston was an early enthusiaist on the racing scene with his 1.5 winning the 

1959 British Saloon Car Championship in his class. 

This particular example was found via the wonders of the internet. I was e-mailing a chap in California about MG Magnetts in 

1999 when I casually mentioned that my real interest was a 1.5. He in turn said that his neighbor had one in his garage and 

it was for sale! I had the owner take some photos of the car and I wound up buying and shipping it from Livermore to here 

in Northport. I never actually saw it up close until it arrived safe and sound in my driveway. 

Over the last three years I've redone the front and rear suspension, added tube shocks and new springs on the rear, had 

University Motors in Michigan attend to the rack, rebuilt the gearbox, installed a 1622 engine (with an alternator) and I'm 

currently wrestling with the tire situation. It takes 155 x 14s which are not available over here so I'm experimenting with 165 

x 14s. They need and ever so slight mod to the front or else they will rub on full lock. 

This has been a wonderful little friend. She's made the trip from here up to Lime Rock, CT a number of times as well as 

shows alll over the tri state area. An interesting side story to this article happened last summer. I was driving to a meet on 

the South Shore of Long Island with some friends in their Corvettes. They let me take the lead as they thought I might lag 

behind. After beating them to the show, they bitterly complained that I was going way to fast for their cars...80 MPH...and 

that they had to "baby" their V8s because their cars were getting to old for this sort of thing. 

All in all, a marvelous motor. 

Tim Gladding 

Northport, NY 1959 Riley 1.5, 1953 MGTD MK 2 email xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx

“The Affair” 

by 

Kirk Blake-Dickson 


It started out innocently enough, a few spare moments in front of the 

computer, a few idle keystrokes and suddenly an image on the computer 

screen that drew me in. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that’s really when 

‘The Affair” started. 

Oh, I suppose I could try and deny it, but the facts show otherwise. It 

wasn’t like one of those ads you sometimes see. You know: “Mature 

gentleman seeks companion for weekend trips and interesting encounters.” 

No it wasn’t like that at all. This started off more as a casual encounter, a 

fleeting moment when my eyes caught a glimpse of what I can only 

describe as natural beauty. 

I paused for a moment, shook my head and quietly berated myself for the 

thoughts that had raced through my head. I moved on to more important 

matters at the keyboard, but the curiosity wouldn’t let go. I found myself a 

short time later, taking in that beautiful image again, checking all the 

personal details listed on the screen. 

Who was I kidding? Me, a late 50-something male, falling under the spell of a 38-year old – ha! That’s the stuff that 

only happens in movies right? I shook it off and returned to the reality of the evening. 

I shook it off all right – for about 24 hours. I found myself back in front of the computer, staring again at the image. 

Well, I thought, what can it hurt to at least send a short e-mail to say hello. One e-mail turned into two, then three, 

followed by a phone call and a short conversation. That of course led to a couple of other conversations and an 

agreement to meet face to face the next week. What was I doing? 

The appointed day arrived, and I found myself standing in front of that same image I only just recently seen on the 

computer screen. Emotions ran high. I was lost for words at first, but finally managed to find my voice, expressing my 

deep feelings of affection for her. 

I know, it’s not good to rush into relationships – but I couldn’t help myself – and the feeling seemed to be mutual. 

Could our relationship blossom? Could we overcome the age difference, the cultural differences (I, born and raised in 

Canada – she born in Britain, but moved to Florida at an early age.)? Fate it seemed had brought us together, and 

fate no doubt would decide our future together! 

Now came the hardest part – how would I tell my wife? My kids would no doubt shake it off as just another crazy 

stunt from Dad – he can’t be serious. My wife however, was the wildcard in this whole affair. She has put up with a lot 

from me over our nearly quarter century together – but this might be the last straw! From rusty old Wolseleys to 

nonrunning Triumphs, Hillmans and barely running at times, Minis and MGs – she has said little, just kind of accepted 

it as my one little quirk. Would she put up with my latest wayward wandering? I fretted for days, then, finally could 

contain myself no more. I broke down and poured out the whole sordid story, how we had met on line, chatted on the 

phone, then met in person. I told her that I had tried to be strong, but had failed miserably. I asked for her 

understanding. 

As always, she was very calm and reserved while I blathered on. When I finished, she simply asked two questions. 

Was this really what I wanted? Did I think I could support her and the kids while lavishing untold dollars on this new 

love in my life? If so, then if that’s what I felt I needed to do, then go ahead. 

Well, you can imagine my relief. No harsh words, no silent treatment, no, “we’ll talk about this later”. I was free to go 

ahead with “The Affair”, spending not just money, but time as well with this latest love of my life – and love her I do – 

my 1969 MGB-GT – the ‘other’ love of my life. 

Cheers 

Kirk

W O L S E L E Y 

By Norm Kear 

Anyone who has watched British movies from the 50's and earlier has seen them - medium (for Britain) black saloons 

chasing across the screen with a big chrome Winkworth bell clanging away in front and, usually, an illuminated 

"Police" sign on the roof. Equally illuminated was the unique electric "Wolseley" marque on its radiator. A radio 

operator wearing earphones sits besides the driver. A good example is Alec Guinness' Lavender Hill Mob in which they 

had an important role but they can also be found in a number of other films of the era and now on television in period 

British dramas 

This, then, was the Wolseley, beloved of Scotland Yard and other police forces in the U.K. for several decades. Indeed, 

to many the marque became closely identified with its law-enforcement role although its history extends much beyond 

its police employment and involves some of the greatest names in the British automotive industry. 

The first Wolseley came into being around 1899 as a by-product of a manufacturer of sheep-shearing machinery and 

it was none other than Herbert Austin who was responsible for the initial design of the cars. The first production 

model used a single-cylinder horizontal engine of 3-1/2 horsepower, later enlarged to 6 hp. Bigger models soon 

followed of twin, three and four cylinders, ranging from five to twelve litres. Austin left Wolseley in 1905 in order to 

form his own company and the rest, as they say, is history. The Wolseley company, however, continued to expand 

and by 1910 was producing a new range of flour and six cylinder vehicles of between 12 and 50 hp. While Wolseley 

continued to offer some quite large cars after World War One, it also began to explore the small car market by 

introducing a 7 hp and a 10 hp model. Larger 15 and 16 hp four-cylinder variations, some with overhead camshaft 

engines, were also added but did not save the firm from financial difficulties leading to bankruptcy in 1927. At this 

point William Morris, Lord Nuffield, stepped in and acquired the company. He continued some of the Wolseley models 

but for the next ten years components designed for Morris and MG cars increasingly showed up in Wolseley units. 

This was especially true of the highly popular Wolseley Hornet sports car which borrowed heavily from the 

contemporary Morris Minor.and MG Magnettes.. By 1938 Wolseley offered a wide range of 10 to 25 hp cars, all of 

which were Morris-engined. Even a limousine version was briefly offered in 1947 but a year later the first true post 

WWII models were introduced in a simpler two-model range which were luxurious equivalent versions of Morris 

production and which lasted until 1954. 

A model line of lighter Wolseleys was begun in 1952, using the MG over-head valve engine and, later, Austin's BSeries 

engine. A small variation was also created using the basic Morris Minor chassis The latter was extremely 

successful enjoying a seven-year lifespan with few modifications. The Wolseley marque was included when the 

Issigonis-designed front-wheel drive cars invaded the market in the 1960's. The famous Wolseley Hornet name was 

revived to christen a Mini version in the era of "badge-engineering." .The larger BMC 1100/1300 configuration also 

entered the picture in 1965. Between 1954 and 1959 Wolseley also offered six-cylinder models using BMC's C-Series 

engine and, also in 1959, an enlarged three-litre version using a body shell shared with the then-current Austin 

model. These all went out of production in 1968 and the remaining Wolseley years were represented by 

transverseengine badge-engineered models. 

As may be seen from the above, Wolseley can hardly be considered an "obscure" marque, given its long history, 

popularity, model range and production in the United Kingdom. In North America today, however, the name is 

scarcely recognized save by those devoted to it. A few years ago the writer was tempted to explore the possibility of 

a Woseley saloon up for sale. Upon examination the car was found to be identical to an early 60's MG Magnette but 

with the characteristic illuminated Wolseley badge and a rather tatty specimen at that At least too far gone for my 

meager restoration budget at the time. N.K.. 

P.S. My efforts to determine how the actual name, "Wolseley" came to be used for the car have not been successful. 

My best guess is that it was named for a famous military figure of the late Victorian age, Sir Garnet Wolseley. Once 

called "Britain's Only General," Sir Garnet was the original "modern major general" caricatured in Gilbert & Sullivan's 

operetta Pirates of Penzance. He was immensely popular in real life and dominated the British military scene 

throughout the colonial wars of the 19th Century. But this, as I say, is only a guess. It was not uncommon to name 

cars after such figures in the early years of motoring. The "Napier" is another good example. 

Norm Kear

If your name is listed below, it’s time to renew your 

membership in the BSCCOC! 

You can pay via PayPal using the email address 

xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx to activate the account. This option 

costs $27.00 due to fees. Want a PayPal account? Go to 

www.paypal.com and sign up! 

$25.00 Canadian for members with a Canadian address 

$25.00 USD for members with a USA mailing address 

$30.00 USD for members with a mailing address that is NOT in 

Canada or USA. 

Need help? Email Roger at xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Please make cheques out to BSCCOC and send to Roger Tipple, 

address on Page 3 of the Oily Rag. 

First Chance First Chance Last Chance 

Colin Abbot Clifford Koch Rick DeBlois 

Ryan Adams Arnie and Anne Koopman John Erwin 

Dave Atton Earl Johnson Larry Flood 

Dave Barry John Lashmar Peter Gamblin 

Eric Belliveau Doug Lawrence Ashley Gravestock 

Peter Boileau Grant Leonard Willem Houwen 

Jeff Booth Sarju Manodatt Peter Johnston 

Chris Borsellino Paul Maltby Ken Lang 

Malcolm Bull Bill Matson Tom Lidbetter 

H Caratin Mike Minter Richard Lloyd 

Weldon Carlyle George Morita Lloyd McBride 

John Chalmers Douglas Ogle Brian McKague 

Jim Cumberland Chris O'Hara Geoff Morrison 

Don Dunlop George Oliver Dave Nickerson 

Mike Evers Gary Payne David Oldman 

Dave Fast John Peacock Art Parker 

Jeff Fenwick Jerry Peterkin Rob Phinnemore 

Frederick Fraser Barry Quartermain Kevin Rickatson 

Rob Garside Ed Ramado Eric Robinson 

Scott Gillen Jim Rayner David Rogers 

Mark Gillies Larry Read Paul Ross 

Isabella Greenfield Ed Roath Frank Russell 

Michael Hale Colton Roberts Charlie Sabila 

Ron Hill Bill Schorse David Scott 

Laurence Holbrook Mauri Simpson Norm Scott 

Ralph Holyoke Peter Snaith Roderick Sergiades 

Neville Hughes Cameron Steenburg Randy Smith 

Brendan Kavanaugh Gary Sutcliffe Barry Spear 

Norman Kear Terry Topinka Mike Thorne 

Joseph Kern JW Watts Ric Toyer 

John Kearsley John Wogan Tony Tracy 

Al Tupper 

John Walker 

Jim Wilkie 

Dennis Winterton

The View from Burlington 

By Tony Fox 

Niagara on The Lake 

The Shaw Festival Theatre, Niagara British Car Club, Ontario MG -T Register and the British Saloon Club of Canada 

invite their members to join in for a 'Picnic, Car Display and Theatre Performance' on Sat. Aug 16th. 100 tickets have 

been set aside for the Saturday Matinee performance of 'An Inspector Calls', this seasons Murder Mystery on the Main 

Stage! Parking is being arranged on the East Lawn, with overflow on the Commons. Security provided. Check out their 

web site and download an application form; 

http://www.niagarabritishcarclub.org/events08/shaw/shaw.html 

Mystery photo 

Are all Triumph owners bent like this? Are 

these people mad? 

To remind all our Triumph owners, the 

vintage Triumph Register (VTR) is holding 

it’s annual convention between Aug 4th and 

8th in Ypsilanti Michigan; this will be the 

closest this event is likely to be to our 

Southern Ontario and New York members. 

So, if you have always wanted to attend 

this great event, fill up the Triumph and 

head into Michigan. The Ypsilanti and Ann 

Arbor areas just west of Detroit are a nice 

place to visit and shop. Join us there and 

find out why some Triumph owners are 

bent. 

Classic Car Insurance 

A new insurance company has made it’s presence known for our classic car needs, Young’s Insurance Brokers, 

Burlington. 

They appear to offer a range of competitive prices so check them out at www.youngsins.com or contact Heather 

Malcolmson at (XXX) XXX-XXXX xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx 

Classic car scene in Europe 

The World Forum for Motor Museums held last year in England reported the following summary with respect to the old 

car hobby, 

- Historic vehicle activity is worth 11.7 billion pounds annually in the EU, 3 billion in the UK 

- People employed in old car activities number 55,000 in the EU and 27,000 in the UK 

- Roadworthy historic vehicles number 15 million in the EU, 400,000 in the UK 

- Export trade in such vehicles amounts to 2.2 billion pounds in the EU, 300 million in the UK 

- Seventy percent of these vehicles travel less than 1,000 miles per year 

- Historic vehicles account for only 1 percent of total mileage in the EU 

- Historic vehicles make up 13 percent of the 35 million registered vehicles in the UK 

- A third of historic vehicle families have an annual income of less than 20,000 pounds 

- Seventy percent of historic vehicles are valued at less than 10,000 pounds 

- There are 786,000 historic vehicle enthusiasts and 2,000 clubs in Europe 

Latest statistics show one in four people are suffering from some sort of mental illness, so if three of your 

friends seem normal…

Renewal Form 

If it’s time for you to renew your membership in the BSCCOC, here’s a handy dandy ready to go form for you to fill 

out! If you don’t want to cut up your Oily Rag, you can use a separate piece of paper. 

Name _________________________________________________________ 

Address________________________________________________________ 

City/Town ______________________________________________________ 

Province/State and Country ________________________________________ 

Postal/Zip Code _________________________________________________ 

Email address __________________________________________________ 

All renewals should be sent to: 

Roger Tipple, 

xxxx xxxxxxx xxx, 

xxxxxxxxxx, xx xxx xxx 

Questions? email 


Make cheque payable to BSCCOC 

Make/Model/Year of your British Vehicle(s)___________________________________________________________ 

PLEASE CHECK ONE: 

I wish to receive the Oily Rag newsletter by: _______snail mail ________ .pdf file 

********************************************************************************************** 

BRITISH SALOON CAR CLUB OF CANADA 

REGALIA 

Quantity Item Colour Cost Total 

Baseball Hat (Beige, Black, Blue) $10.00 

(Mailing for hats) $7.50 

License Plate Surround (2 for $5.00) $3.00 

Windshield Sticker $1.50 

Fridge Magnet $3.00 

Total 

Name: _________________________________________________________ 

Address: _________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________ 

_________________________________________________________ 

Tel. No.: _________________________________________________________ 

Note: Prices include all taxes 

Prices subject to change without notice 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

NEW: Note: For shirt orders please place your order directly with KDC Ventures 

There is no charge for the club regalia but additional embroidery will cost more 

The options are; 

go to their web site at www.logoranger.com 

or call toll free to 1-888-250-4917, fax toll free 1-888-700-7555 

To order Regalia only (not renawals) 

Make cheque payable to : BSCCoC 

Send to: 

Anne Koopman 

xxxx xxxxxxxxx xxx 

xxxxx, xxxxxxxxxxxxx, xx xxx xxx 

Tel. (XXX) XXX-XXXX 

email: xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx

“No Noise Is Good Noise” Part One 

The vehicle NVH (Noise Vibration & Harshness) engineer has four physical properties available to him to reduce/control noise 

& vibration within a vehicle. 

- Vibration or panel damping 

- Noise barriers 

- Noise absorption 

- Active cancellation 

Over my four or so decades in the industry available materials & manufacturing technologies have changed significantly. To a 

degree, driven by various factors, they have gone full circle. In the sixties available processes and materials resulted in only 

fairly lightweight products being available to function as either noise barriers or absorbers. At this time available vibration 

damping materials were applied by spraying. Whilst noise absorbing materials have remained lightweight noise barrier 

systems have transitioned from lightweight, through increasingly heavy, moulded, components to today’s dual density, 

significantly lighter, moulded products. 

The amount of text required to effectively cover this subject is felt to be too much for a single newsletter edition. Therefore 

the plan is to serialise into three or four editions. 

1. Vibration or panel damping materials. 

These materials are applied directly to the body sheet metal prior to painting; they are heat cured and bond intimately to the 

steel. Often, in older vehicles, those applied in sheet form, bridged the swages in the sheet steel resulting in holes in the 

material. The intention was that the material melted to conform to the actual shape of the steel. 

Such materials are said to be ‘visco-elastic’ they resist the vibrational behaviour of the vibrating sheet steel, converting what 

is essentially vertical vibration into horizontal movement within the material. Such shear energy is converted into heat via 

friction as mineral elements rub together. 

Damping materials are most effective against truly resonant behaviour that is where the panel is freely resonant & not being 

forced into vibration by surrounding stiff structure. It is all a question of the available correction force. 

As stated earlier original damping materials were sprayed onto the vehicle body, generally these materials were 

manufactured from waste paint products their effect being more about added mass than high performance vibration 

damping. There are two ways to control a vibrating system, introduce damping or add mass; in those early days it was more 

likely to be the added mass effect. 

At Triumph the introduction of the front wheel drive Triumph 1300 lead to a lot of work to obtain a material with increased 

performance to treat the front wheel housings. 

Spraying of materials in those days was hit or miss being manually applied. 

Obviously the ultimate test of the material was in its effect upon the vehicles interior noise & vibration levels (vibration can & 

does cause noise) However less costly testing was required to test material performance as new iterations were developed. 

In the UK a British Standard procedure was adopted, BSAU125-1965, which utilised a test bar nominally 24” x 2” x1/4”thick. 

This was of a specific steel type it having been determined that when supported on knife edges at its nodal points (zero 

vibration) it resonated at 100Hz when struck a sharp blow. Electronic equipment was used to determine the rate at which the 

vibration resulting from the blow decayed. Comparison is always made with an untreated bar. For convenience, as most 

electronic measuring equipment utilised Decibels as a unit of quantity, the results obtained were expressed in dB’s/second. 

The higher the reading the better the material. 

Interestingly the NA industry also utilised a thick steel plate to determine damping materials performance, the so called 

Geiger Plate Method. The plate used was thinner than the UK one, probably 1/8” and much larger in area, probably 18” 

square. This plate was supported on; I think three sharp points, again at nodal points. 

Both the UK & US methods tested at around 100Hz, most vehicle damping problems occurring at low frequencies 

The world industry standard today is the Oberst Methodology developed in Germany. Unlike the UK & US methods Oberst 

utilises strips of body gauge steel in a fixture. The system relies upon electronic excitation to vibrate the test steel. It is 

therefore capable of determining performance at a range of frequencies. The test stand can also be installed in a small 

climatic chamber which allows for the automatic testing over a range of temperatures. As with most materials damping 

materials change their state with temperature, it is important to determine the full range of performance 

Materials & application techniques have both evolved significantly. Much lighter weight, high damping efficiency materials 

have been developed which can be applied as flat die cut sheets or very accurately sprayed with robots thereby meeting the 

demands of high performance with lightweight. 

Detailed dynamic analysis of body structures enables us to accurately determine both where & how much material is required 

to alleviate/cure problems thereby increasing occupant comfort. 

Adding a stiff layer to the upper surface of the material serves to “constrain” that surface. This focuses all of the energy into 

the core of the material. Such Constrained Layer Systems may have a simple aluminum layer or a stiff cardboard as the 

constraining layer. Being less flexible they are more difficult to apply in end use as ideally they require a flat surface, which 

few vehicles have. 

We, as end users of the vehicle, can make little use of such visco-elastic materials because of the requirement of intimate 

contact with the sheet metal. However we can make use of another effect, “inter-face frictional effect”. That is a material laid 

upon a vibrating panel will resist the movement of the panel to a degree, dependent upon the material & its weight. Thus 

fibre batts laid onto your cars panels will have a positive effect on vehicle noise. Gluing negates the effect 

As we will see later in the discussion fibre products have additional beneficial effects. 

Tony Hughes, aka NVH ONE

Above are photos from the Sarnia, ON weekend, a "Westender's " event arranged by Christine and Jim Allan. We saw 

11 cars convoy to Sarnia on the Saturday with an overnight stay there. A social evening was provided by each party 

contributing to the pot luck supper at the hotel, very well done. Sunday saw the group meet up with a number of 

members of the Blue Water British Car Club for a cruise to the pretty town of Bayfield. We had a picnic in the park 

there, which again turned out very nice. From there, each car went it's own way. (Photos submitted by Tony Fox)

The Oily Rag - British Saloon Car Club

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