david cohen collectionrootes and, still in 1977 bought a 1961 hillman minx that was my daily driver...

VOLUME 17, NUMBER 5 Sept-Dec 2012

INSIDE THIS ISSUE London Brighton Run 3 Cars of Branch Members 4 Dickens Sweets / ECAIP 2012 8 New Meeting Places / Help Wanted BRBC 2014 9 Meeting Minutes 10 Smiths Instruments 11 Welcome to OECC / The Boot /

At the Wheel 12

UPCOMING EVENTS

Dec. 4th Branch Christmas Party—Sundance Place, 6574 Ladner Trunk Road, Ladner

6:30pm drinks, dinner 7:00pm .

Jan. 8th Regular branch meeting at Rainbow Station—slide show presentation of Monterey 2012

highlights.

For the rest of the planned 2013 meeting venues please see page 9

of this issue.

EDITOR’S BIT

As always, many thanks to our contributors for this issue, it is much appreciated. I hope every-one has a great holiday season and we’ll see you all in the new

year.

In late August we were invited to David Cohen’s house in

West Vancouver to look through his garage. What we saw

were some of the finest and rarest cars ever built. David

is one of the most knowledgeable car enthusiasts in our

area and his cars are a reflection of this. Most of them

are unique in specification of build or history. Also, most

are from the 1930’s which many consider to be a golden

era for sports cars.

You might have seen in the news a report on one of his cars winning the three top awards at one of the premier

concours in Europe. This was his beautiful 1933 Alfa Romeo 6C-1750 one off streamlined coupe recently restored

by RX Autoworks. The 6 stands for the number of cylinders, the C stands for compressor which is a super-

charger and 1750 is the engine size. Unfortunately the car was not there for us to have a look at as it was on its

way back from Pebble Beach where it won another two of the top awards.

Not all of David’s cars were at his home at our time of visit as some were being worked on and a few were stored

elsewhere. I believe he has sixteen. The nine which we had the pleasure of looking at were as follows with my

guess at dates:

1937 Bugatti type 57 with one off drophead coupe body

by Grabor of Switzerland. A great example of design, en-

gineering and craftsmanship coming together to make

something very special.

1929 Bentley 6.5 litre - a large and powerful car with a

lightweight body built for one thing, thundering down the

Mulsanne straight at big speed.

1956 Mercedes Benz 300 SL Coupe known as the gull

wing, shown to us with the doors open. Could be the best

looking car the Germans ever made.

1952 Bentley Continental R - one of the first cars to be

styled in a wind tunnel. Has the bragging right of being

the first with a cruising speed of over 100mph.

Mr. Mallard, a home built special that saw action in hill climb competition. Built in the late 1950’s on a pre

David Cohen Collection

Text by Steve Diggins

Photos by Dennis Nelson and Alan Miles

1952 Bentley Continental R (on the left) and 1929

Bentley 6.5 Litre (on the right)

1937 Bugatti Type 57

T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 7 , N U M BE R 5

war Riley chassis using a large 4 cyl. air cooled engine from an aircraft. It is light, fast and loud.

1929 Morris Shooting Brake with a wood station wagon like body used to take out a group of hunters to the

grouse range. Nothing exotic but lots of character.

1938 Bentley 4.25 Coupe with one off body with maximum glass including a sky light and skinny windshield

pillars to give the illusion of riding in an open car

1932 Invicta S Type low chassis -The low chassis was the new way to go for sports cars in the early thirties.

This rare all original example with light weight body powered by a 4.5 OHV straight six was very quick. I think

it is fair to say it was the AC Cobra of its day

Alta single seat racing car, 1936. This company was one of the first in England to concentrate solely on the

building of race cars with a number of successes and famous drivers to it’s credit. It lasted from 1931 to 1952.

The company name was chosen because the owner, Geoffrey Taylor, liked the sound of a province in Canada

called Alberta, so he modified it a bit to Alta.

Thank you very much to David Cohen for opening his garage door for our club members. I think this was our

best turn out all year and everyone enjoyed looking at these great cars. David told me he would invite us back

when all of his cars are assembled together. I look forward to that.

1938 Bentley 4.25 Coupe 1932 Invicta S Type Low Chassis

Alta racing car

1956 Mercedes Benz

300 SL Coupe (left)

Mr. Mallard

(right)


London Brighton Commemorative Run 2012

Text by Alan Miles (with input from Gil Mervyn, Les Foster and Steve Diggins)

Photos by Alan Miles and Les and Calla Foster

This year’s LB Run turned out to be a little wetter than last year’s outing but approximately 30 old English car

enthusiasts turned up to brave the elements anyways. As it turned out the weather was quite acceptable with

light showers at the beginning of the run which had stopped by the time we arrived at our final destination in

White Rock.

As was the case last year the run started at Rainbow Station in Burnaby with 25 cars registering for the 10:00

am start. Grand Marshal Les Foster gave a stirring and humorous speech to see the troops off before going home

and putting his feet up in front of the fire (or so he claimed). Les is forgiven for not participating in the actual

drive this year as his Thames pickup is currently in pieces.

Les ended up staying a little longer than expected as one of the cars had electrical problems and despite many

attempts by all present Don Bartlett’s TVR could not be coaxed back to life and after about an hour a tow truck

was called. Also showing up a bit after 10:00 was a beautiful 1934 Lagonda owned by Howie Wong . Also notable

was the appearance of John Chapman’s Imp, making it’s OECC debut.

Here are the numbers from this year’s run:

Total registrants: 25 (although about five more cars came later or joined us in White Rock).

Registration: $46.00 (plus two food bank donations in lieu).

Plates sold: 10 at $10.00 ea. = $100.00

Cash food bank donations: $8.00 (the VCB will also donate $100.00 to the food bank).

Special thanks to Steve Diggins for planning the run, Steve McVittie of the Celtic Treasure Chest for setting up

our reception in White Rock, the merchants of East Beach for opening up their stores and restaurants to us,

Mayor Wayne Baldwin for being on hand to greet each car and the City of White Rock for all their help and co-

operation in making the run a success.


Cars of Branch Members

and their Stories.

By Walter Reynolds

The Cars of Alan and Mary Lou Miles.

Alan’s parents were from Hertford, England where his

dad was a mechanic for Water’s Garage, Hertford, a

Rootes dealer. They moved to Canada in 1952 and took

up residence in Toronto. Alan’s dad was hired by

Rootes Motors Canada where he worked in their Parts

Department. He held this job until 1964 when he was

transferred to Rootes Motors Vancouver. Here his job

was Parts Superintendant, and was in this job until

the 1967 buy-out by Chrysler. He continued with

Chrysler until his retirement in 1981.

Alan and Mary Lou’s stable currently consists of the

1962 Sunbeam Rapier Series IIIA convertible and a

1969 MGB GT. All photos are from Alan’s collection.

Alan continues the story:

One could say that my interest in Rootes Group vehi-

cles started in my childhood, thanks to dad working for

Rootes for so many years. In my early years there was

always a Series Minx (or Mark Minx) in our driveway.

One of these cars took us all over the place on holidays,

even to Florida. Going on vacation with a load of spare

Hillman parts was not unusual due to the lack of

Rootes dealers in southern U.S. I’d play with my Dinky

toys on the rear parcel shelf while dad drove – no seat

belts in those days!

When we moved to Vancouver in 1964, our first car

was a 1963 Series IIIC Minx. This was the newer style

Minx which had debuted in 1956. The car was

equipped with the now infamous Smiths Easidrive

Automatic transmission. The original owner of the car

had returned it for a refund due to the number of times

the transmission had required service visits. Dad

bought the car on the basis that Rootes would convert

the car to a manual shift gear box. This car was in our

family for 12 years and, for a one dollar payment to

dad (never made), became my first car; I was in Grade

12 at the time. My friends and I had many adventures

in that ’63 Minx, but sadly, by about 1977, the old tin

worm had gotten the best of it.

After a brief foray into American cars, I returned to

Rootes and, still in 1977 bought a 1961 Hillman Minx

that was my daily driver for a year or so. I sold both

the ’61 and the ‘body rotted’ ’63 for about $500.00 and

that closed that chapter of my “Rootes Experience”.

Both of my parents had earlier passed away when the

second and current chapter of my “Rootes Experience”

commenced. I had been casually searching the classi-

fieds for Rootes product and wondering how many of

the marque were still around. Mortgage and two kids

barred any serious contemplation! When finances al-

lowed such serious Rootes contemplation, I “Googled”

‘Hillman Minx’ and was surprised by the mass of re-

sults. Who would have thought that so many, many

Hillman and Rootes fans there were out there: I imme-

diately joined the Yahoo Discussion Group on Hillman

Cars, a group I am still with today and which has pro-

vided Mary Lou and me with so many new friends. My

goal became a search for a Hillman Minx, preferably

Series IIIC, like the one my father owned.

Locally, I looked at a few rusted relics then a fellow

worker suggested I put a ‘Wanted’ advert into the Vic-

toria Times Colonist, the pretext being that there

would be lots of British cars over there. I took his ad-

vice and soon received responses. After looking at sev-Alan and his dad’s Minx in Florida

1963 Minx that Alan “purchased” off his dad in 1974


eral possibilities, including 13 rusted, rat-infested Hill-

man hulks scattered around one person’s property, I

was getting a little discouraged. Perhaps there were no

really good Hillmans left in this area. I was looking for

a Hillman in good to excellent condition as I was a nov-

ice mechanically and didn’t feel I was able to do a lot of

my own repairs. I’ve since done more than I ever imag-

ined I would, including two engine swaps (with the

help of Gerry P. and Les F.), but at that time, I wasn’t

so sure of my abilities in that area. Then came a prom-

ising response from a young fellow near Duncan. He

had a Series IIIC saloon that was apparently in good

condition and, at $1,000.00, sounded like a fair price.

I went over to see the car and it looked quite solid al-

though I felt that there may be some bondo in the rock-

ers and the paint colour wasn’t really stock (a metallic

blue Mazda colour), but it drove well. Needless to say,

money changed hands, temporary insurance was

bought and I found myself driving down the highway

in my brand new 1963 Hillman Minx. Two things

struck me on that drive; how narrow the car was and

how noisy it was. You could hear a heck of a lot of wind

noise. I started thinking how far modern cars had come

in the past 40 years, but I still couldn’t wipe the smile

off of my face! The brakes, four wheel drums, were a bit

dodgy so I made a note to have those looked at. The

brake shoes needed relining and two wheel cylinders

were replaced. Other than that, the car ran quite well,

although I did have a fair amount of work done to it,

things I would tackle myself now. (Like modern cars, I

have come a long way too – mechanical skills, speaking

- since this first car.)

The previously mentioned Minx was purchased in May,

2003 but that didn’t stop me looking! I’ve come to real-

ize that that’s part of the British Car disease, I mean

hobby, you’re always on the lookout for the next car. I

had realized that the Hillman wasn’t going to be able

to qualify for Collector plates without a lot of work be-

ing done to it and that the car wasn’t nearly as good as

I had first thought. It did however fly through AirCare

so I was running it on regular plates but I knew its

days were numbered. I had been looking at eBay relig-

iously and found a beautiful 1962 Sunbeam Rapier Se-

ries IIIA convertible for sale in Wisconsin. For those

that might not know, the Rapier was basically the

sporting version of the Minx. It came in a two-door

coupe version or a convertible. It shared all its body

panels with the Minx but had different shaped fins,

different front grill treatment etc. and nicer interior,

complete with wood dash and bucket seats. It also had

the Sunbeam Alpine aluminum head engine with twin

Zenith carbs which generated about 78bhp vs. the

Minx’s 54bhp.

The Rapier looked to be in excellent shape although it

was painted a non-Rootes colour, DuPont Torch Red,

which I didn’t really like but decided I would live with.

I had the car shipped to Richmond and it arrived in

August, 2003. As I had been a bit foolhardy by buying

the car without seeing it in person, or at least having

an inspection company look at it, I was relieved to see

it was indeed in very good condition.

In 2004 I had it repainted in a proper Rootes colour

combination of Pearl Grey and Pippen Red.

Unfortunately, it was not the best paint job and I have

recently had the car off the road for a refurbish-

ment/restoration which included rust repairs and re-

paint as well as some interior upholstery work (door

panels, dash pad, etc.), new carpeting and soft top. The

car is now mostly reassembled, including the rebuilt

1725cc engine and all-synchro gearbox with overdrive

which I installed with the help of Gerry Parkinson,

John Chapman and Les Foster. I also installed a new

wiring harness. I was hoping to have the Rapier ready

for the 2012 Brits Round B.C., however, I didn’t make

it.

In 2005, a friend sold me a 1960 Series III Rapier

Hardtop. It sported a very bad homemade paint job in

red and white. The interior was green but in excellent

Rapier in new colours and its current new top

Looks presentable, from 20 feet


condition and my plan was to repaint the car in its

original two-tone green. The body had a fair amount of

bad filling and bondo, especially in all the fenders and

sills but looked very presentable – from 20 feet away!

For $2,500.00 it came with a rebuilt engine although it

was not actually in the car but the previous owner said

he would help me install it, at no charge. This was

done shortly after and it did indeed run very nicely.

I bought this car because the plan at the time was to

have a saloon and a convertible. I had really wanted a

Hillman saloon but had been unable to find a good one

and this car was local and cheap, plus I imagined I

would use it as a practice car and, as previously men-

tioned, try my hand at some body work and auto paint-

ing. I soon came to my senses and sold it the following

year when I finally did find a good Hillman.

The next car that I added to our collection was a 1962

Hillman Minx Series IIIC Saloon. This car was brought

to my attention in the summer of 2006 by a fellow

Rootes enthusiast. It was in very good original condi-

tion and came with a functioning Smiths Easidrive

automatic transmission which, in itself is a rarity.

The Easidrive transmission was a fairly conventional

gearbox that was controlled electrically and featured a

powder friction clutch that basically eliminated clutch

drag or any power loss associated with a conventional

automatic. The Easidrive was a huge failure for Rootes

Motors as they were prone to many problems. Most

cars with this transmission were converted to manual

gearboxes. The fact that this car had a functioning Ea-

sidrive transmission intrigued me but my main inter-

est was the car itself and its wonderful condition.

Up until the time I sold this car, I did a lot of work to

it. The transmission still operated although not with-

out some quirks. I didn’t take it on long trips but it was

great for around town. We took it over to ECAIP at

Fort Rodd in 2010 and it ran fine. Although it had only

34,000 on the odometer when I bought it, the car was

very dirty from sitting in a barn for a few years. To

qualify for Collector plates I had to get some uphol-

stery work done as well as install new carpets. I also

cleaned up the engine bay, repainting auxiliary parts,

etc. and cleaned and repainted the underside. I sold

the car in 2011.

The latest Rootes car to be added to our collection was

a 1962 Sunbeam Alpine Series II that we purchased in

October 2008.

This car was bought from the son of my dad’s old boss

at Rootes Motors Vancouver. My dad had always

wanted an Alpine, having planned to restore one in his

retirement, but never got around to it so I thought I’d

give one a try. I had never been a real sports car fan

but once I drove it, I was hooked.

The Easidrive Hillman Minx

Dad with a Tiger (in front of an Imp and Minx).

The Miles’ Alpine, Brits ‘Round B.C. 2010


The fact that my dad’s old boss and his son (who coinci-

dentally worked with my dad at Chrysler) had restored

the Alpine made it seem like it was karma. Without too

much thought the deal was made and it became mine.

The car was by no means perfect (I noticed that the

gearbox was very noisy so realized that that would be

the first job) and still needed a fair bit of sorting out

which continued to the time I sold the car. The Alpine

took us on a fantastic 2,600 mile round trip to South

Dakota in 2009 for a Sunbeam meet. Unfortunately, it

didn’t quite make it all the way home – we blew the

engine about 8 hours from the Canadian border! In

2010, after an engine rebuild, we put over 1800 miles

on it what with Brits Round B.C. and several other

runs. I sold the car in the Spring of 2012.

At one point, I was working on the engine of one of my

cars while the valve cover was off. Somehow I managed

to drop a nut down one of the oil galleries, but I didn’t

know that the nut had found its way down into the oil

pan. It was one of those moments where, an instant

before it happened, a thought flashed through my

mind, ”You’re going to drop this”, and I did! On the off

chance that the nut had ended up in the oil pan, I

drained the oil and settled in for a long “fishing” expe-

dition using a goose-neck magnet to try and locate the

nut. On my first cast, so to speak, I heard a metallic

‘snick’ as the nut stuck to the magnet and I was able to

remove the nut without incident. My worst fear was

that I wouldn’t find it and would have to disassemble

the engine to find the nut.

Backing up to 1976, when I was 18, I lived in England

for four months and had a Mini.

The car leant to one side, plus it used a lot of oil. In

fact I would carry two quarts in the parcel shelf on the

driver’s door at all times. I used to joke that I’d pull in

a petrol station and say “check the petrol and fill up

the oil”. At one point the Mini broke down and the me-

chanic I took it to told me the engine had two burnt

valves. He replaced the valves and put everything back

together. Cost of the new valves and labour: 22 pounds

sterling. Now that was value!

In 2011, I bought an MGB GT. Why an MGB GT? you

might ask. Generally, I’ve always liked MGs, especially

the MGB GT. In 2010 I had the opportunity to drive

Gerry Parkinson’s MGB GT and the search was on! A

year later and while alone at our cabin in the Cariboo,

Gerry phoned from the Shuswap to tell me about an

MGB GT for sale in Vernon and, did I want to see it? I

drove over to Gerry’s place and we headed to Vernon to

see the car which I eventually bought. I’ve had to do a

few things to get it to my liking, including removing

the driver’s seat-raising hardware that a previous

owner had installed plus installing a smaller 14” Mota

Lita steering wheel and a centre console.

This car took Mary Lou and I on Brits ‘Round B.C. this

year and performed wonderfully. The only problem we

had was a broken wire on the brake light switch (now

fixed) and a water leak from the fresh air intake which

I have now been informed is a blocked drain hose un-

der the car (apparently a common problem).

The Rapier has been off the road for about three years

for body work and the repaint referred to earlier. Dur-

ing this time, I’ve also had Octagon work on the carbs

and clutch. The car is now back in use. Steve Diggins

put a new soft top on it, recovered the inside door pan-

els and the dash pad. He also made a new soft top

cover. There are still small things to be done to the car,

but it is now mainly finished.

Finally, with all the coming and going of cars, we are a

two British car stable again, one a Rootes Group car

and the other an MG

And there you have this month’s story. The contents

were gleaned through an interview with Alan, along

with a reading of the 2011 OECC Spanner article on

h i s c a r s a n d f r o m h i s w e b s i t e ,

www.theseriesminxpages.com. The “Cars of Branch

Members and their Stories” continues in future issues

as follows (subject to change): February 2013 – Elaine

Fontaine. As this section is for members to talk about

their cars, please contact me to have your British vehi-

cle’s stories told.

The B GT and Mary Lou ready for Brits Round B.C.

2012.

1965 Mini in front of my relative’s house in Essex,

England, 1976


Lorna Hoare sends in this report on the run she and John organized to Dickens Sweets on Sept. 8th.

Pictures by David Ballantine and Lorna Hoare

Five cars left Guildford Mall at 10:15. We enjoyed great weather and a run that took us through Langley, Alder-

grove and Abbotsford with a stop at Granny and Grumpy’s Antique Barns where we all found something we

couldn’t live without! Grumpy gave us fresh picked corn on the cob. Steve Hutchens left the group at Chilliwack

and the rest of us enjoyed lunch and high tea at Dickens Sweets and poked around the British museum and

shop.

Apparently they decorate a lot at Christmas with tons of lights etc. so another trip in the season might be of in-

terest.

ECAIP 2012

By Alan Miles (with assistance from Wayne Watkins)

Photos by Alan Miles

This years English Car Affair in the Park held on Sunday Sept. 9th saw just three Vancouver Coast Branch cars at-

tending. Mary Lou and I in our 1969 MGB GT, Malcolm and Barbara Tait in their 1970 Rover 2000TC and John and

Mary Jane Chapman who, due to unforeseen circumstances, had to attend in Mary Jane's new MINI Cooper.

The event was attended by about 140 cars if memory serves me correct with the Tait’s Rover winning the very prestig-

ious Bill Vance Award. Mr. Vance, as many of you will know, is a automotive journalist who has written many books

on classic and collectible cars and his articles are featured in in many major newspapers. In previous years Mr. Vance

has attended and presented the award himself but was unable to attend this year so passed his duties on to Jim Wal-

ters of Bristol Motors. Mr. Vance's criteria for the award is “advanced concept and/or engineering for the time at which

the vehicle was introduced”.

Congratulations to Malcolm and Barbara!

Malcolm and Barbara pose with the Bill Vance award

(left) while John and Mary Jane shop for a new car

(above)


NEW MEETING PLACES FOR 2013NEW MEETING PLACES FOR 2013NEW MEETING PLACES FOR 2013

by Steve Diggins

One of the challenges of our Vancouver Coast Branch

has been finding locations for our meetings. The leading

factors is trying to cover all our area from the north

shore mountains, south to the border and from the west

side of the city to points east of greater Vancouver. It is

hard to find interesting locations throughout the lower

mainland to have meetings and serve our members as

best as possible.

I will be taking over from Lorna Hoare as the events

coordinator for 2013. Lorna has done a good job of this

for three years and previous to this I did it for six years.

I am going to change the focus slightly from finding in-

teresting meeting locations to making sure we cover all

our bases and getting to see everyone. For example, we

will have meetings on the north shore and the west side

of the city where we have quite a few members and pro-

spective members. We haven’t had many meetings in

those areas recently. Interesting automotive and his-

torical meeting locations will still be welcome, however,

covering all our area will be the priority.

The following is the list of meeting places for 2013.

Please mark them on your calendar. So we hope to meet

you at these venues and bring a friend if you would like.

January 8th - Rainbow Station - North Willingdon

Ave., Burnaby includes a slide show of 2012 highlights

of Monterey

February 5th -Ocean Park Pub and Pizza - 12822 16

Avenue, Surrey - The meeting starts 7:00 but please

come down earlier for supper. We will be in the quiet

room up behind the fireplace on the west side.

March 5th - The Sports Pavilion at Hugo Ray Park,

No. 3 Street, West Vancouver. Also known as the

cricket club house it has a bar which will be open. The

meeting is in a room downstairs.

April 2nd—The Billy Bishop Pub - 1407 Laburnum

Street, Kitsilano - park at the beach parking lot and

walk a half block east on Cornwall to Laburnum. Meet-

ing in the Spitfire Room. This old style pub has no food

services but many tasty beers on tap.

May 7th -T.B.A. A restoration shop has been tentatively

booked.

June 4th -Sports Pavilion at Hugo Ray Park, No 3

Road, West Vancouver

July 2nd -T.B.A. A collection has been tentatively

booked.

August 6th - Ocean Park Pub and Pizza - 12822 16

Ave., Surrey. Meeting in the room behind the fireplace.

Meet at 7:00 but join us for dinner earlier.

September 3rd - Billy Bishop Pub - 1407 Laburnum,

Kitsilano. Meeting in the Spitfire Room. Note no food

services. Parking at Kits beach.

October 1st - Sports Pavilion at Hugo Ray Park off

Mathers, West Vancouver

November 5th - Club Annual General Meeting - Rain-

bow Station, 120 N. Willingdon in Burnaby

December 3rd - Christmas Dinner T.B.A.

If you enjoy touring in your car, especially with

'old' friends and meeting new ones, then we have a

position for you.

The OECC requires a 'Wagonmaster' to organise

the 2014 Brits 'Round BC Tour.

no experience necessary but having been on

any previous tour and organised hotels and

planned some meals for a group is an asset.

must be able to read a road map,

you get to pick the route you would like to

travel, participants will be happy with any

route you choose.

renumeration; seeing your friends enjoy a

drive you organised, 'Priceless'!

This is not a complicated undertaking, but does

require a bit of time and effort, so it's not too early

to get started with the planning.

Having done the 2012 tour, I found that the earlier

one gets started, the easier it is as one can do a lit-

tle at a time.

Previous 'Wagonmasters' will be most helpful with

any advice needed.

The Brits 'Round BC is one of the most impor-

tant events the OECC has, and the experi-

ences shared on the tour last a lifetime.

Here is a chance to really give something back to

your club.

Please reply to; Ric MacDonald

604-710-9506 or [email protected]

HELP WANTED


M inutes of the Vancouver Coast

Branch Executive Meeting held at Rain-

bow Station Sept. 22nd 2012

In attendance: Steve Diggins, Chairperson. John Chap-

man, Membership Secretary. Colin Crabbe, Treasurer,

and Alan Miles, Roundabout Editor & Communications.

Absent: Bill Grant, Vice Chair. Steve Hutchens, Past

Chair. Lorna Hoare, Events.

The meeting was opened at 10:00 am by Steve Diggins by

welcoming everyone and thanking them for coming.

Financial report: Colin Crabbe announced that we had

over $4,000 in the bank with nothing owing. He also said

that the budget for 2013 should be planned after the

AGM in November.

Secretaries report: John Chapman stated that we had 87

members in the branch. He then showed every one pre-

sent the current “welcome pamphlet” which is out of date

and asked who would be responsible, and had the capa-

bilities to update it. Steve Diggins suggested that John

get in touch with Candy Francis, the club Chairperson as

the pamphlet was originally organized by the club not our

branch. John said that he would contact Candy when he

had some time.

Steve Diggins then said that he had spoken to Steve

Hutchens recently on candidates for the new Executive

for 2013 which have to be voted in at the November 6th

AGM held at Rainbow Station. He would phone Steve

again to remind him.

Steve asked if any of the members present knew if the

branch had received a sample of the regalia which is

available. As nobody knew anything about it Steve said

that he would speak to Steve Hutchens for an update as

Steve has been involved in regalia with Judy Unia.

Steve then spoke of some of the annual events that are

organised but attendance by the membership is some-

what lacking. Events, such as the Fort Langley run, and

the annual picnic may have run their course. It was dis-

cussed and then decided that venues for these events

should be changed each year for variety. Steve also men-

tioned that Tuesday meeting venues should be spread

around the lower Mainland to include members that do

not normally come to meetings due to distance.

The route for the London to Brighton Commemorative

Run was discussed and it was suggested that entry to

East Beach in White Rock should be from the North, driv-

ing along the Esplanade and not from the South. Steve

said that he would look into it.

The last event of the year would be the Christmas Dinner

to be held at The Sundowner Motel in Ladner. Colin said

that the club had again, in the budget, decided to contrib-

ute $5 per head to the cost.

The meeting was then brought to a close at 11:55 by

Steve, again, thanking the members for coming.

M inutes of the Vancouver Coast

Branch meeting held at the Billy Bishop

pub, Kitsilano, October 2nd 2012.

Steve Diggins opened the meeting at 7:25 pm with 16

members present.

Colin Crabbe, the Treasurer gave a brief financial report.

We have $4,300 in the bank with nothing owed. There

was a discussion about the $600 received from the club

for the AGM held here in June. It was unclear as to the

branch having to pay it back to the club as the cost of the

AGM was covered by attendance fees. Gerry Parkinson

and Colin said that they would look at the costs and reve-

nues again and then contact the club Treasurer for clari-

fication.

Collin then spoke of the $5 per head subsidy that the club

was going to contribute to the Christmas Dinner this

year. There was a discussion as to put this up to $10 as

the branch had money accumulating in the bank. It was

decided that this should be a decision that should be

made by the members for next year’s budget and that this

year should remain as originally agreed at $5 per head.

The Membership Secretary, John Chapman, stated that

we now had 88 members in the branch, the same number

as last year, and that there was a new member present

and a prospective new member.

Steve Diggins spoke of the AGM next month at Rainbow

station and asked for volunteers for the Executive for

next year but none came forward. He then spoke of a pos-

sibility of spreading the venues for Tuesday club meet-

ings around the Lower Mainland to encourage members

to attend who would normally not due to distance.

He then roughly outlined the route for the London to

Brighton Commemorative Run on the 4th November to

White Rock. Entrance fees would still be $2 or a donation

to the Vancouver food bank. He also suggested that the

club donate $100 to the food bank. This was discussed by

the members present and a vote was taken. All members

voted for the donation with no vote against.

With no further business, the meeting was brought to a

close by Steve Diggins at 8:00 pm.

Meeting minutes submitted by John Chapman


SMITHS INSTRUMENTS

Tony Dowell 2008

At one time, Smiths car instruments were as English as Dunlop tyres,

string back gloves and, er, Lucas electrics. Most British cars from the

1920s to 1980s used Smiths instruments, or British Jaeger or VDO made

by Smiths.

From beginnings as S. Smith & Son, a jeweler making clocks and watches

near the Elephant and Castle in SE London in 1851, Smiths Industries be-

came the dominant force between the wars and after WW2 in auto, marine,

industrial and aircraft instruments, car radios and heaters, antifreeze and

spark plugs.

Now, Smiths is a shadow of its former self, and although the management

is highly regarded, is reduced to making scanners for airport security.

Its growth, dominance and fading away mirrors in many ways that of the

British watch making and motor car industries.

They acquired KLG spark plugs in 1919, and later merged it with Lodge, to compete with imported American

Champion plugs. Core income from spark plugs funded growth and acquisition throughout the 1930s and 40s.

Smiths began to make electrical clocks and instruments in the early 1930s, moving to the present site in Crickle-

wood in North London then, and reached a non-compete agreement with archrival Joseph Lucas. A substantial

clock making business was established between 1930 and 1939, and they began to make aircraft instruments and

automatic pilots. Instrument and automatic landing was added with the purchase in the 1950s of my father’s

company, S G Brown, and the Sperry Gyroscope Company, becoming the aviation division. Marine instruments

were added with the prewar purchase of my uncle Frank King’s company, Kelvin Hughes.

They acquired British Jaeger from the French-Swiss parent company in 1937, with distribution rights in the Do-

minions, Protectorates and Colonies., and in 1931 production and distribution rights for Bosch and VDO equip-

ment. Fresh air car heaters, a real novelty, as against the older recirculatory type, were introduced, and car ra-

dios, under the Radiomobile brand. Later, Motorola radios were made under license.

Smiths chairman at that time was Ralph Gordon Smith, a keen horseracing man, and accordingly factories were

built strategically near racetracks in Basingstoke and Cheltenham

The recent trend has been to use warning lights in place of calibrated gauges. Most car instruments are now

made in a single dashboard unit for mass produced cars, and eventually Smiths had only one customer for elec-

trical fuel and oil pressure gauges, and ammeters were bought in from (gulp) Lucas.

Smiths stopped making clocks and watches in the 1970s, most car instruments, and car radios under the Radio-

mobile brand. They had been making Motorola radios also under license, and Bluecol car antifreeze.

The growing Aircraft Division was housed nearby in the Radiomobile factory, which had been the prewar Bentley

car factory on the North Circular Road. It was close by the Van Den Plas coachworks, which built many vintage

Bentley bodies, and which was later bought by BMC, eventually becoming a badge name for deluxe Austin and

Jaguar saloon cars. My father’s office was W O Bentley’s original office, and had his original desk and office fur-

niture (still there, maintained by the Bentley Drivers Club).

The Aviation Division became the main growth area of the company, was renamed the Aerospace Division in the

1960s and moved to Wembley, with the factory in Cheltenham.

Portland Plastics was acquired then, and the Medical Division became the second key division.

The Aerospace Division was sold to American GE in 2007, leaving Medical & Diagnostics the only remaining ac-

tive areas in what was S. Smith & Sons, renamed Smiths Industries in the 60s, then Smiths Group, now Smiths.

Their main area of business now is making security and x-ray systems for airports.

AT THE WHEEL Chairperson: Steve Diggins 604-294-6031

Vice-Chairperson: Bill Grant

[email protected] 604-936-6454

Treasurer: Colin Crabbe

[email protected] - 604-590-621

Membership renewals: 56-9088 Holt Road,

Surrey, B.C. V3V 4H3

Membership Secretary: John Chapman


New memberships and correspondence:

7923 144A St., Surrey, B.C. V3S 8C1

Immediate Past Chairperson: Steve

Hutchens [email protected] 360 -

733-3568 Event and Meeting Coordinator:

Lorna Hoare


Communications Coordinator: Position

vacant

Roundabout Editor : Alan Miles

[email protected] - 604-272 -2145

ICBC/AirCare Liaison: Fred Bennett

604-939-1773 / Fax 604-939-1753

Good & Welfare: David Ballantine


Website Editor: Steve Hutchens


PAGE 12 T H E R O U N D A B O UT V O L U M E 1 7 , N U M BE R 5

TTTHEHEHE BBBOOTOOTOOT

WELCOME TO THE OECC !WELCOME TO THE OECC !WELCOME TO THE OECC !

Don and Sheila BartlettDon and Sheila BartlettDon and Sheila Bartlett———Vancouver, B.C.Vancouver, B.C.Vancouver, B.C.———1977 TVR 2500M 1977 TVR 2500M 1977 TVR 2500M

Russell and Kathryn JohnsonRussell and Kathryn JohnsonRussell and Kathryn Johnson———Port Coquitlam, B.C.Port Coquitlam, B.C.Port Coquitlam, B.C.———1974 Triumph TR6, 1959 Sun-1974 Triumph TR6, 1959 Sun-1974 Triumph TR6, 1959 Sun-

beam Rapier, 1965 Ebeam Rapier, 1965 Ebeam Rapier, 1965 E---Type Roadster Type Roadster Type Roadster

Malcolm Kenning and Liza ThompsonMalcolm Kenning and Liza ThompsonMalcolm Kenning and Liza Thompson———Vancouver, B.C.Vancouver, B.C.Vancouver, B.C.———no car at present but no car at present but no car at present but

looking for a Series III Hillman Minx looking for a Series III Hillman Minx looking for a Series III Hillman Minx

Michael and Gail DyerMichael and Gail DyerMichael and Gail Dyer———Ladner, B.C.Ladner, B.C.Ladner, B.C.———1972 Triumph TR6 1972 Triumph TR6 1972 Triumph TR6

David AveryDavid AveryDavid Avery———White Rock, B.C. White Rock, B.C. White Rock, B.C. --- 1961 Triumph TR3A 1961 Triumph TR3A 1961 Triumph TR3A

Barry RyleyBarry RyleyBarry Ryley———Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby, B.C. --- 1952 MG TD, 1958 MGA Coupe, 1960 MGA Roadster 1952 MG TD, 1958 MGA Coupe, 1960 MGA Roadster 1952 MG TD, 1958 MGA Coupe, 1960 MGA Roadster

Stephen Way and Brian Lees pose with Stephen’s 1970

Jaguar E Type and its original owner Michael Wainright

at the 2012 Van Dusen ABFM. Brian was the cars second

owner. See Alyn Edwards fascinating article on this at

http://www.vancouversun.com/1970+Jaguar+bought+new

lyweds+second+honeymoon/7173566/story.html

(Photo: Alyn Edwards, Vancouver Sun )

Missed ABFM AwardsMissed ABFM AwardsMissed ABFM Awards

Regarding the listing of ABFM awards won by

VCB members in the May/June edition of the

Roundabout. I inadvertently missed two

winners. They are as follows:

Ken Miles –1st place in Morgan Drop Head class

Les Burkholder—3rd in Morgan Drop Head class

My apologies to both

John Chapman poses with his newly completed

Sunbeam Imp. (the infamous Demon Imp!) John

reports that while the car still needs a fair bit of

“sorting” it did pass the AirCare test first time

through.

The Imp looks fantastic, congratulations on a job

well done.

david cohen collectionrootes and, still in 1977 bought a 1961 hillman minx that was my daily driver...

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