[Date]

Volume 44, Issue 1 January 2017

Holiday Party

2016! 

TMGCC December Meeting and Holiday Party Recorded by Bruce Easley

The Tidewater MG Car Club’s 2016 Christmas Party kicked off around 6:30 pm on December 10th, at the home of Faith and PJ Peterson. As we pulled up, there was no mistaking their home; the Christmas lights were visible from a block away, and the number and variety of decorations was nothing short of amazing. As we walked up the front sidewalk, we were greeted by Christmas music from one of the front decoration figures. Inside was a good crowd in a warm, bright home, with plenty of room for everyone in the many rooms set up with tables and chairs.

 

 

2

Nunc cursus magna quis 

 Partway through the evening, our President, Robert Perrone, called the group to order to conduct a little business. He first thanked our hosts for sharing their home and noted the decorations were “awesome”. The minutes of the November meeting were approved, and we moved on to the VP report. Tad Carter conveyed “holiday good wishes” from member John Terschak who is now in Ohio, and from Alan and Becky Watson in beautiful (but remote) downtown Beaverdam. Tad noted we have one open meeting date available for a host in March. He handed out 2017 MG event calendars for those who hosted meetings in 2016, along with the 2017 “Passport” providing insights to future events and drives. As usual, Tad (in his inimitable capacity as Activities Director) has a great lineup of activities beginning with our traditional meeting venue at Frankie’s in January and then a Brew Drive in February. Tad also did a review of the 2016 year: there were 48 families and guests that participated in events, we accumulated 32,523 MG miles, and 67,990 people miles (enough to go around the world 2.7 times). The Most Traveled members were Don and Rose Ladd, with 6,389 miles, for which they were awarded a custom MG logo badge. (Don’s MG is going to be nose heavy if he continues to add badges.) Tad was the recipient of an award from the Prez for the amazing job of planning and shepherding us through all the wonderful trips. In a fitting gesture, Betty Villers gave Tad a jar of “No Jam jam” (custom edible jam) for getting us through the CBBT traffic safely. Treasurer’s report from Jim Villers: zero expenditures for the month, zero income for the month, so $3,451.98 in the bank from start to finish. Membership report from Bill Yoshida: 113 paid memberships, 180 cars, and “Congratulations” to newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Bill Stutz. Dipstick editor Mark Davidoski announced there have been 43 consecutive years of Dipstick publishing, and presented the annual Dipstick award to Donald Ladd for his many contributions. His prize? A framed copy of a record album by Booker T and the MGs… in a Hagerty bag, along with his name on the Dipstick plaque. The President’s Award from Robert was given to Bill “Yank ‘Em In” Yoshida for his tireless work as Membership Chairperson. On a sadder note, Bill Olcheski mentioned that member Pete Olson has been diagnosed with cancer and is preparing to undergo treatments. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Then, back to the party! It was a tough job to consume the huge variety of great food and drinks, but we gave it our best effort. “Thanks” to everyone who attended and who brought Holiday treats! See you next year!

 

 

 

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A couple of weeks ago I thought of the perfect topic for this installment of the Dipstick. I just knew that anyone who took the time to read this, (both of you, not including Mark) would be amused by my selection of material and writing style. But unfortunately I have now completely forgotten what that was. So you’ll just have to trust me and believe that it was just great, great stuff. Very clever. Really. I think… I hope its not my age. Then again, I can already appreciate the line from George Burns when he said”You know you're getting old when you stoop to tie your shoelaces and wonder what else you could do while you're down there." And if that wasn’t bad enough, sometimes I’m not sure if I’ve already written something in the past and I have to check and see. At other times I’m too lazy to check, or I know that I need to get the Marque Time out before the deadline, or I have just decided that some things deserve to be repeated. So, in the words of the great Groucho Marx,“If you've heard this story before, don't stop me, because I'd like to hear it again.” On that note, I’d like to thank all of the members of the TMGC who have helped make this club possible, and so enjoyable for us all. Thanks to the hosts, planners, record-keepers and all of the others who do so much, often “behind the scenes” and without recognition for their contributions throughout the year. And, again, congratulations to the recipient of the 2016 President’s Award, Bill Yoshida. If there is anyone that wants to help out and see what they can do in our club, please let us know. Who knows, maybe your name can be on the 2017 President’s Award. All it takes is a little effort, a desire to help and a small check made out to my favorite charity. Remember, there are 2 “r”s in Perrone… Safety Fast! Robert

Marque Time

 

 

4

Membership Update 2017 Membership: As of 20 December there are still 113 paid memberships with 3 “Promises” to renew. New Memberships: None. . Cars: Total cars – 180 (If all remaining 2016 memberships renew for 2017)

Cars & Types: 173 of the following types of MGs: MGA A- Coupe B B-GT C C-GT TC TD TF Midget 29 2 78 18 1 4 7 20 4 10 Other/Various MGs – 7 (1-Cooper MG/ 2-VA/ 1-YB/ 1-ZB/ 2 ELVA Courier) Dues: A $20 dues check was provided to Jim Villers at the December Holiday Party/meeting at Faith & PJ’s. I do not hold any money for turnover to Jim. Cheers, Bill Yoshida

Activities  2017

January 2017 Activity Report  Ah  January –  that brief period of  rest and  recuperation  for our cars after a  lot of miles  in 2016 and  inpreparation  for the 2017 driving season.   For those who missed the recap at our Holiday Party  (thanksagain for hosting, Faith and PJ !!), this is the year in review ‐ We shared the road with 48 club families andseveral guests – 247 people in all.  We drove 32,523 MG miles to and from 12 official club events.  We losttwo more dates  to a  snow  storm and a hurricane.   And we  traveled a  record 67,990 people miles – arecord for one driving season.  Our Traveler Award winners (Rose and Donald) combined for 6389 peoplemiles.  To put that in perspective, that is enough for a drive west across the US with stops in Indianapolis,Mt Rushmore, Butte, MT, Coeur d’Alene, ID, and out to Vancouver BC.  Then turn around and come backthrough Bismarck and Fargo, a stop to see the World Champion Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, take in avisit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame  in Cleveland, Washington, DC and back home to Virginia Beach.And that leaves them with 200 miles for side‐trips.   Thank you to each of you who participated.  We hope to have all y’all back in 2017, along with any otherclub members who want to join us.    So, what’s in store for 2017 after our January hiatus? We start the year out with a local drive on Saturday, February 11th. This will be our 4th annual sampling of local craft breweries. Our first stop will be at Bull Island Brewery, which opened in November 2016. I met them just a few days after their opening, and they are quite happy to have a group such as ours come by for a visit. After that, we’ll stop for lunch at Deadrise at Old Point Marina.

 

 

5

Donec varius, felis eget lobortis vehicula, magna sapien elementum tellus, ut iaculis dui 

orci sed arcu. Nullam semper leo. 

Morbi turpis libero, pretium vitae, 

imperdiet ut, dictum consequat, odio. 

In a libero. Integer lobortis. Maecenas 

porttitor dolor non eros.  Justo id eleifend faucibus, urna dolor 

consectetuer dui, vel pretium risus 

purus sed pede. Integer diam elit, 

facilisis eget. 

This restaurant has been on the target list since they opened in 2015. I think you’ll enjoy the menu, thebeverage selections and the view of the water. After a quick trip through the walls of the old fort, we’re offto Oozlefinch Brewery. The owner’s father is an MG owner and may join us that day. This breweryopened in September, 2016. What is an Oozlefinch, you ask? You can research this on your own, or showup on February 11th for the true myths behind this mysterious creature. We’ll have one more stop back onthe Norfolk side of the tunnel, but that is still in the works, so stay tuned. We are planning a 10:13departure from the Waffle House at 4800 Portsmouth Blvd in Suffolk (just west of I-664). It will be abig help in finalizing our plans with the restaurant if you sign up in advance for this drive. Contact theActivity Wonk at 757-544-5668 or TMGC_Activities@me.com.  Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 11th.   We’ll venture a  little farther from home with an AntiqueTreasure Hunt to the Northern Neck.  We’ll have stops at several antique shops along the way, grab lunchin Kilmarnock, and pass out awards for the most unique acquisitions of the day.  Check out the FebruaryDipstick for details on this trip.    At last check, there was still room for a few more cars on the Spring Tour 2017 at the end of April.  Checkwith Beckey and Alan Watson for more details.  Hotel reservations will need to be finalized, so let themknow if you are interested.    We have more  in the works, but our calendar  is just a  little bit ahead of some of our chosen venues, soour details will just have to wait.  You’ll read it here first – Breaking News in The Dipstick!  PLEASE NOTE THE DATE CHANGE‐ Our January meeting will be on Thursday the 5th at the usual spot –Frankie’s Place for Ribs in VB.  If you are interested in dinner, plan to arrive between 6:00‐6:30.   Robertwill  call  the meeting  to order at 7:30 +/‐ a  few minutes.    I’ll have  full 2017  schedules  for  you at  thatmeeting, if you didn’t get one at the December meeting.  I look forward to seeing you there.  As always, Enjoy the Ride!    Tad 

 

 

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Dipstick Calendar – January 2017   Jan. 5 ‐  (Thu) Monthly Meeting in VB   Frankie’s Place for Ribs  Feb. 7 – (Tue) Monthly Meeting   Hosted by Eric Fee in Ocean View  Feb. 11  ‐ (Sat) Tidewater Brew Cruise  Mar. 1 – (Wed) Monthly Meeting – open   Mar. 11  ‐ (Sat) Antique Treasure Hunt  Apr. – TBD – Spring Tech Session  Apr. 4 – (Tue) Monthly Meeting in Seaford   Hosted by Jayne and Bruce Easley  Apr. 22 – Williamsburg British Car Club Show  Apr. 28 – 30 ‐ Spring Tour XV – Shenandoah Valley  May 3 – (Wed) Monthly Meeting – Hosted by Cynthia and Andy  June 2 ‐  3    Moss MotorFest 2017 – Petersburg, VA   www.MossMotors.com   (TMGC – Battlefield Tour on Friday 6/2)  June 6 – (Tue) Monthly Meeting in VB   Hosted by Issie and Bill Yoshida  June 19 – 23 – NAMGAR – GT‐42, Solvang, CA   www.NAMGAR.org  June 25 – 28 – NAMGBR – MG‐2017, San Diego, CA   www.NAMGBR.org  July 5 – (Wed) Monthly Meeting ‐ TBD  July 11 ‐15 ‐  GOF‐Central – Akron, OH   www.GOFentral.com  Aug. – TBD – Summer Tech Session   Aug. 1 – (Tue) Monthly Meeting in Hampton   Hosted by Faith and PJ Peterson  Aug. 19 – 22, 2017 – SYZYGY 2017 –   Journey to the Umbra  

 

 

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The Ride of Frankenstein (continued from last month’s Dipstick)            by Mark Childers      MGB front brakes are renowned for more than adequate  stopping power.  Even with both lines crushed, rendering the rears useless, many people wouldn’t even realize the difference in braking.  Crimped rear lines add significant pedal firmness giving a false impression of  a system that’s in great shape.    It’s not a huge deal if  the  car is not driven anywhere near its limits,  providing both sides are  equally crimped.    With only one rear  brake in operation,  a hard stop  from  fifty five on a damp road could easily cause an eye‐popping,  end‐swapping rendition of the  Swine Lake Ballet.          Replacing the brake lines is an easy operation, requiring only a couple of wrenches, a fair eye for calculating where to start a bend radius, and a steady hand for the bends without kinking the tubing.  The lines are very inexpensive,   and are available  at Pep Boys, Auto Zone and   Advance  in various lengths that lend themselves to a neat installation.     The correct thread andbubble flare is identified by a   brown label.  Buy two short and two long; if you crimp a line you won’t be out of work and extra parts can always be returned.        Before removing the existing steel lines, gently crimp off the rear flex line near the Tee‐block end  with a pair of padded flat nosed Vise‐Grips. A shot of PB Blaster on all the threaded fittings a half hour prior generally makes short work of seized threads.  It’s a matter of preference, but my take is that it’s a far easier and neater process to crimp the nut ends of the pipe an inch or two back from each fitting  with a pair of wire cutters, making  two crimps very close to each other, then back off an inch and make two more adjacent crimps ‐  they will act like a pair of  shut off valves ‐    then cut the line in the space between them. If they drip, you can simply  bend the lines hard over  to seal them off.  This allows you the luxury of loosening the nut ends even if they are frozen hard to the pipes.Once you get the nut and short section of pipe turning free, run them way out, lube the exposed threads with brake grease and   snug them up again until you are ready to install the new pipe.    It’s also far easier to cut the longer brake line into 2 or 3 pieces than to remove it intact.    A couple of clamps   affix   the pipes to the differential housing and a pair of soft metal  clamps hold the pipe to the differential tubes.  The soft clamps simply go round the diff tube and pipe, threaded thru an eyelet in one end then folded back on itself for  security.     

Most hardware stores sell rubber padded Adele clamps for about a dollar.   While the original line placement along the front of the tube, and across   top  is easy to duplicate, a better approach is to route the lines to the bottom half of the  back side of the differential tubes.  This will not only take up any  additional length of the new lines, but  will also  make it tougher for the lines to be crushed by a roll back operator. Gently “worrying” bends into the pipe using finger pressure works about as well as a bender. Don’t make repeated attempts to change a bend radius at the same point on a pipe, as continued bending back and forth can cause work‐hardening that promotes cracking under vibration.     When the lines are in place and fittings are all connected, crack both bleed nipples until they begin dripping steadily before retightening.  This will reduce the amount of time spent pumping the pedal to bleed the system.  Before bleeding, make sure the brake shoes are  equally adjusted. Raise rear wheels off the ground on stands, tighten the square drive slowly until the drum won’t move , then back off one click at a time;  properly adjusted, the shoes will make incidental contact with the drum without any binding. .  Setting the emergency brake several times during the adjustment process will ensure that the brake shoes are correctly positioned.   Tighten the cable below the  handbrake as a last resort to get about 7 clicks to lockup..  Bear  in mind that after you replace a crimped line, brake pedal firmness may decrease a little, but you should be pleasantly surprised with reduced braking effort .     Tool tip:If you don’t have a dedicated ¼ “ square socket,  a   ¼”  drive twelve point 7/16” socket will work just fine: the 7/16” ‐ 12 point end  of the socket  will fit on a 3/8 drive ratchet,  and the ¼” end  fits   the adjuster.    

 

 

 

Tidewater MG Classics 

C/O Kathy & Mark Davidoski 

4705 Little John Road 

Virginia Beach, VA  23455 davidoskicrew@cox.net 

FIRST CLASS 

The Dipstick 

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