Concours d’Elegance – April 22nd

VOLUME 53 ISSUE 4 APRIL 2017

Concours d’Elegance – April 22nd

Winner: 2016 Best Restored BentleyGlen MacDonald1949 Bentley Mark VI (13119FU)

APRIL 2017

April

2017 Regional OfficersChairman Lou Oddo lou@oddos.net Home: 714 522-5909 Vice Chairperson Rick CarronTreasurer Howard GreenSecretary Carolyn Quadt 562 598-7028

Appointed PositionsChief Judge Robert RatinoffTechnical Chairperson Ronny Shaver Membership Chairperson Karen PerraultAwards Chairperson Diane Cerveny Newsletter Editor Dori OisenHospitality Chairperson Joan Hugron Cell: 949 439-0465Marketing/Advertising Gene TowIeEmail: upstreetnews@AOL.com Home: 562 596-5049 Cell: 714 642-5001 Directory Editor Karen Perrault Webmaster Steve Power-Fardy Archivist Diane Cerveny Liaison to Dealerships Dr. Robert Wise

2017 Board of DirectorsPaul Dailey Joel CutlerDr. Donald Wise Harvey MoysesFulton Haight Bill SundinWilly Hugron Ronny ShaverAnne Vogel

Editorial StaffEditor: Dori Olsen

Cell Phone: (424) 644-5987 dorianolsen@earthlink.net

Please reference RROC in the subject line when sending an email to the editor. Do not send any material or photos that carry a copyright. It is our policy not to publish copyrighted material.

The Spirit of Ecstasy is published monthly, approximately two weeks after the meet. Articles and notices should be received no later than the 15th of the month prior. Please identify cars (with chassis numbers) and individuals in all photographs. Private party advertisements for Rolls-Royce/Bentley sales, wanted items, parts, lost and found, or information will be published for members at no charge. For car sales, include chassis number and asking price. Photos will be published at a nominal charge. Non-member advertising will be accepted at published rates. Display advertising is accepted, at the discretion of the Editor, for business card, 1/4, 1/2, or full page insertions in increments of three, six or twelve months. Advertisements are published as a courtesy to the membership. The Southern California Region and its Editor(s) do not assume responsibility in the event of a claim of loss or damage resulting from publication. Members are responsible for investigating any advertising claims prior to entering into an agreement with an advertiser. Please contact the Advertising Chairman for information or published rates. Articles reflect the opinion of the authors and do not necessarily reflect national or regional policy. The Southern California Region and its Editor(s) seek to publish accurate material but neither assumes responsibility in the event of a claim of loss or damage resulting from publication. The organization is under the control of the National RROC.

44TH ANNUAL CONCOURS d’ ELEGANCEApril 22, 2017 • By Thomas Warden, Host

Our celebrated Concours d’ Elegance will be held Saturday, April 22, 2017 at the famous Santa Anita Park. A representation of Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars spanning the last century will be on display. Each exhibited car will receive an outstanding goody bag with a vintage Concours badge and participation ribbon especially designed for this event.

The cars will be judged at this event and outstanding trophies will be awarded to the winners on the day of the Concours.

There are awards for 1st Place Concours, 2nd Place Concours, and 1st Place Touring in many special categories. Your PMC does not have to be judged or be in show condition to enjoy this fun-filled day. Everyone will be pleased with the buffet which will satisfy the discriminating palate. There will also be a raffle with outstanding prizes, where everyone has a chance to win.

If you want to learn more about your car and other cars in the region, join a judging team the morning of the event. We have experienced judges to head the teams and we need others to fill in to be the “eyes and ears” of those inspecting our various automobiles.

Your car does not need to be in pristine condition and definitely does not need to be a “Pebble Beach” winner: just a PMC you love to drive. Please join us for this very fun day. Please call me at (818) 710-8131 for any questions.

See you at the track!

Time: We need to be in the parking lot at Gate 6 between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. Some of the judging will commence in the parking lot before we are allowed to have access to the field.

Deadline to enter is 10:30 a.m., no exceptions. Location: Santa Anita Park 285 West Huntington Drive (Gate 6) Arcadia, CA 91007 (just east of Pasadena) Cost: $75 for each car with one person, including a goody bag, vintage commemorative car badge, gift and lunch $67 for each additional car, plus one person (includes all of the above)

$34 additional adult without a car and teens.

$16.50 (for children 12 and under)

Bring out your daily driver, as well as your show car to participate in this great event.

RSVP Deadline: April 14, 2017

NOTE: RSVPs THAT INCLUDE FULL PAYMENT FOR THIS EVENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE TREASURER NO LATER THAN FRIDAY APRIL 14th. RSVPs RECEIVED AFTER THAT DATE WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. SANTA ANITA RACETRACK HAS IMPOSED TIME CONSTRAINTS THAT REQUIRE THIS REQUEST.

Directions:

From the west: The 134 will become the I-210 Freeway East. Proceed on the I-210 Freeway East. Exit at the Santa Anita Avenue off ramp and turn right. Proceed to Huntington Drive and turn right. Bear right at the “Y” onto Colorado Place and enter the parking area through Gate 6 on the left.

From the east: Take the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10) west to the I-210 Freeway West. Exit at the Santa Anita Avenue off ramp and turn left. Proceed to Huntington Drive and turn right. Bear right at the “Y” onto Colorado Place and enter the parking area through Gate 6 on the left.

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RROC-SOCAL.COM

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APRIL 2017

Hi!

Diana and I and our guests enjoyed the Fox Hunt. We learned a lot about the Toluca Lake and Beverly Hills area, had a fun time and enjoyed a fabulous lunch. Joel and Toshimi, thank you so much for all of your hard work!

As this is written, yesterday was the event at the Nixon Library hosted by Diana and myself. We had 45 members and guests. I had a great time greeting everyone around the lobby. The beautiful cars and nice people made for a wonderful event.

The next event is our Concours on April 22nd. Tom Warden, Rick Carron and Bob Ratinoff are working very hard to make this a memorable event. We should have 50 cars and over 100 members and guests so this is going to be our best Concours ever. PLEASE come and join us! You don’t have to have your car ready for showing or finished but you can learn a lot about your car from the team. Most of all you will meet great people who love their PMC. You can be a judge, receive a goody bag and have a chance to win a great prize from our raffle. You are also instrumental in voting for the People’s Choice Award, the car that is the popular choice of the attendees Please send your money in early so we will have many people and cars. You will also love the delicious lunch.

The election of 7 directors for the National organization is taking place now. The new directors will be elected at the Members’ Meeting on May 15th in Mechanicsburg, PA. Your ballot is included with the 2017 National Directory. Please take a few moments to review the biographies and vote, either online at http://tinyurl.com/2017 RROCELECT or using the paper ballot. You must vote for at least 5 nominees and no more than 7 nominees. If your ballot does not fall within these parameters, it will not be counted. The DEADLINE FOR RETURN OF BALLOTS IS MAY 12, 2017

See you at the Concours.Regards, Lou

April1 Tech Meet – Judging Seminar Host: Ronny Shaver22 Concoursd’EleganceatSantaAnitaPark Host: Tom Warden23 Queen’sEnglishAllBritishCarShow This is a non RROC–sponsored event

May13 Tech Meet Host: Ronny Shaver7 San Diego Region 45th Anniversary Meet21 Multi Marque – Daily Driver Meet Hosts:HowardandBettyGreen

June3 Tech Meet Host: Ronny Shaver10 Board Meeting Host:RickCarron18-24 RROCNationalMeetatFrenchLick,Indiana

July16 Crevier Classic Car Collection Host: Don Wise

August27 Automobile Driving Museum Hosts: John and Caryl Levy

October28–29 BigBearWeekend Hosts: Karen Perrault and Bob and Kathleen Wulf

DecemberTBD Holiday Party Host: Karen Perrault

Chairman’s Corner

APRIL 2017

1950 Bentley Mk VI B119FU – An Unexpected Journey

B119FU, a 1950 Bentley Mk VI with a standard steel salon body, was the first Rolls-Royce or Bentley PMC owned by Glen and Joanne MacDonald. Glen’s day job is as a professor at UCLA, but starting with auto shop in high school and a 1950’s MGA, he has always had a thing for owning, maintaining and restoring British cars. Glen was originally searching for a Jaguar

Mk II in order to have something with more than two seats so that he and Joanne could take their kids or friends along on outings in a vintage vehicle. The Bentley just happened to catch his eye online and he thought “Now that would be different”! Having been an avid fan of James Bond since

high school, Glen knew Bentleys were 007’s favorite car and that helped. B119FU had been cosmetically restored some time in the past and more recently had a respray of outer panels, but not door jams, scuttle or boot. The rear doors seemed a bit hard to close. The chrome had seen better days and sported some dings on the bumpers. The interior had some incorrect leather finishes and the wood was tired. The engine had not been rebuilt as far as anyone knew and the engine compartment was pretty grimy. However, the car seemed to run OK, the color was right and the price quite reasonable. This was never intended to be a show car or a restoration project for that matter, but rather a driver with patina that he could use without too much worry when he took it on a drive or parked it in a busy lot. So, he and Joanne made the purchase.

Glen’s plan worked just fine and they had fun with Mark VI until the fateful evening a year later when driving to dinner with Joanne and a guest the Bentley suddenly lost power and started producing a lot of white smoke. After getting it back home he discovered the number 1 cylinder had zero compression. At that point he decided on a full engine rebuild. Once that decision was made, it seemed like a good idea to pull off all the front body panels along with the floor and clean-up the chassis and scuttle.

This led to completely rebuilding the brakes and Bijur pump. Of course now that the front steering and suspension was so easy to work on… Then while working on the rear chassis it was found that beneath the undercoating the inner fender body mounts had rusted away and the rear body was settling. Hence the hard-to-close doors. That then meant removing the entire interior and fabricating new inner fender panels and body mounts. This of course led to redoing the parts of the interior leather that were wrongs and repairing and refinishing all the interior wood. With all this work done it was a shame to have mismatched door jambs, trunk interior and upper scuttle… So, the paint was computer matched and that was resprayed in the correct color. Of course, the old chrome

looked very tatty compared to the rest of the car – so some was replaced and most of the rest replated. Then the scratches in the old door windows would have looked jarring and the glass simply had to be replaced.

The end result of all this is a Bentley Mk VI that now looks lovely and very clean inside and out – and drives like a champ. As Glen and his son Alex did almost all the work, including the welding and painting. this unexpected journey took

a few years to complete. The time and monetary expense of something like this was never part of the plan when Glen and Joanne entered the world of vintage Bentley ownership. However, the shear fun of learning about Early Post War RR engineering and mechanics, the satisfaction of completing a project like this through one’s own efforts and the opportunity to share the triumphs (and tribulations) with your family was well worth the time and priceless in terms of the experience.

5APRIL 2017

The 2017 Fox HuntBy Rick Carron

On a morning that threatened scattered rain showers, a group of nearly 40 RROC So Cal members and guests set out to the appointed gathering spot for the annual Fox Hunt. This year the area covered was parts of Griffith Park in Los Angeles and the nearby community of Toluca Lake. The intrepid fox hunters were greeted by Hunt Master and Mistress Joel and Toshimi Shapiro, hosts of the 2017 Fox Hunt. Toshimi prepared an abundant and tasty breakfast spread that was set out over a couple of picnic tables. Adjacent to our staging area we observed the New York Film Company setting up camera equipment for a film shoot in Griffith Park— a perfect “La La Land” moment.

Following breakfast, Huntmaster Joel provided instructions to the fox hunters and the cars were dispatched on a route to be discovered by solving cryptic navigational clues provided in a sealed envelope—one for each car. The first part of this route led through beautiful Griffith Park, the largest urban forest in the U.S. Unfortunately no one spotted the celebrity mountain lion that has lived in the area for several years. The driving teams all found their way through the park to the second part of the journey: Toluca Lake. This charming and upscale area is home to many A-listers and other celebs. Toluca Lake was home to Bob and Delores Hope for many decades, as well as Walt Disney. A revival in celebrity occupation is underway now and there is much construction going on in the area. Several of the clues led our fox hunting teams to the homes of past and present celebrities - all famous for their contributions to the entertainment industry.

During the drive the teams were challenged to respond to a test containing technical questions related to Rolls-Royce and Bentley motorcars. The tests would be graded by the Huntmaster at the end of the hunt and would be used in part to select the winner of the hunt. Most teams found the questions difficult.

The ultimate goal of navigating the route was to find the secret restaurant where a delicious luncheon awaited—and of course to determine which team would win this year’s fox hunt. All of the teams made it through Joel’s course without having to open a sealed “panic” envelope stating the location of the restaurant in the case where following a wrong direction would lead to being lost. The famed Tam O’Shanter restaurant was the fox’s lair this year. Its walls are adorned with framed photos and paintings of hundreds of movie stars as well as examples of old world heraldry on display.

Huntmaster Joel tabulated the responses to the technical questions and named the winner: Team Perrault. This was Karen’s third win so far this decade. She and her team comprised of Joan Hugron, Joy Jacot and Sonia Haight enthusiastically agreed to host next year’s hunt in true sportswomanly fashion!

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6

The Cover Story photos continued

Fromleft:MarkMatsumotowithhostsJoeland Toshimi Shapiro

RROC-SOCAL.COM6 APRIL 2017

2017 Fox Hunt continued There was much discussion in the restaurant during lunch over the day’s adventures. Asked for comments Karen Perrault said it was “great fun with a lot of energy and thought put forth by the hosts. We got to see a part of Toluca Lake and drove past many film studios. Our hosts Joel and Toshimi were very knowledgeable about the famous people who had lived in the area. When it came to deciding whether our team would host next year’s fox hunt our competitive nature took over, we had to commit.” Joan Hugron thought “…it was one of the most interesting Fox Hunts I have attended. Joel did a great job. Since Karen, Joy, Sonia and I won over my husband (Willy) and his “rat pack”, it made for a great day. I do wish more people would support this event.”

Howard and Betty Green added: “…it was an interesting and challenging hunt and it took us to areas in Toluca Lake that we had not been to before. The same goes for a new area of Griffith Park. All in all it was a well-organized and fun fox hunt.”

Finally Chairman Lou Oddo quipped “my team scored last in responses to the questions, but arrived first to the restaurant!”

7APRIL 2017

2017 Fox Hunt photos continued

RROC-SOCAL.COM8 APRIL 2017

Judging SeminarBy Ronny Shaver, Technical Chairman

For any of those members who have never shown a car or are interested in learning more about the judging process, the April monthly Tech event is this year’s judging seminar for the region. The date is April 1st and will be held at Ronny’s Garage, 1111 W. 1st St, Santa Ana, CA 92703. There is no charge for this event and as always, coffee, donuts and water are included. We will start at 10:00 a.m. but you can get there a little early and enjoy the refreshments and meet other members if you like.

The event will be presented by our Chief Judge Robert Ratinoff and myself. We will discuss different aspects of concours judging and will answer questions concerning readiness of member’s cars for an event such as this. I encourage members to bring their cars if they wish and we will run practice judging sessions as time permits. If anyone would like to learn and volunteer to judge at this years’ Concours d’Elegance, make sure you attend and sign-up with Robert. We always need more judges and it’s a great experience.

Let Your Car Show Off After the Concours

By Steve Power-Fardy

Take your victory lap after our Annual Concours d’Elegance at Santa Anita Park Racetrack at the Queen’s English All British Car Meet on May 23nd.

Why would anyone put away their car after all the hard work you put into getting her looking her best for the concours just the weekend before?

Let her be seen and appreciated by British car nuts at this great event.

I went last year and met up unexpectedly with four other members from RROC So Cal. There is no judging at this event so you can just relax and enjoy the day in the beautiful, enormous Woodley Park in Van Nuys.

One of the best things to do is to stroll around with the music of the British Invasion of the early 60s wafting through the air as you look at the other British car makes (and there are dozens of them and hundreds of examples) of the same era as yours. There’s always a few rare pre-war cars that have been restored to perfection.

The show is more than just a bunch of guys complaining about faulty wiring and temperamental ignition switches on their Brit cars. It’s a bustling get together that’s a perfect snapshot of the innovation and quirkiness of the British Automotive Industry. How does the best car in the world stack up? Come see for yourself.

There’s also an auto jumble (swap meet) with many vendors selling the common and uncommon British car parts by the suppliers to our cars like Lucas, Yale and Jubilee. You can probably make contacts and find sources to get the hard to find parts you need.

Registration is $20 for your car (download the application at www.queens-english.org and mail in your check before May 10 or you can wait until the last minute and pay $25 on the day of the event at the gate) and all the spectators are free. You get a goodie bag for free and you can even buy a souvenir T-shirt with an illustration of William Shakespeare on it driving a 20s era Bentley Blower!

NOTE: This is obviously not a RROC-SoCal sponsored event.

Concours D’EleganceApril 22nd

RSVP DeadlineApril 14th

9APRIL 2017

1997 TURBO R LWS2015 2nd Place Concours Winner. Custom $10Kwheelsandcustomrearlampcovers.

Full Story in August 2015 issueSpirit of Ecstasy.

42Kmiles.Drivenregularly.Showcondition.

Asking $42,500CallRichardDorsey,HaciendaHeights,CA.

562-696-4660 drdadv@yahoo.com

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Bring Your Other Car MeetBy Howard Green

On Sunday, May 21st, we will meet at Ruby’s Diner in Redondo Beach for an informal, non-judged car show. This Ruby’s location is right on the harbor and hosts informal car shows every Friday night, which are very well attended. Many of us have interesting cars other than a Rolls or Bentley and this is the day to show us your “other” car! If you have a Corvette, Porsche, Packard or Hispano Suiza or any other interesting car, bring it and let us have a chance to see it. If you do not have another car, please bring your Rolls or Bentley - we will enjoy seeing it also!

We will meet in Ruby’s parking lot at 10:30 a.m. and enjoy the cars. We will have lunch in Ruby’s at 12:00 Noon. The fee for the event is $25.00 and includes lunch at Ruby’s. (You may order your choice of lunch from their menu.)

The Calumet Collection is probably THE BEST Collection of Rolls-Royce and Bentleys in San Diego County. It is definitely amazing. John Ellison owns the Collection. He is a foundingmember of RROC San Diego and cars from his

collection.Winner:2ndPlaceConcours-SilverSpurII&III,BentleyTurboRClass

Owners:RichardandHoldaDorsey1997 Bentley Turbo R (SCBZP14C)

APRIL 2017 RROC-SOCAL.COM10

What Is The Difference Between Single Stage And

Two Stage Paint?by Ronny Shaver

One of our local RROC members is having her PMC painted and she asked me what the difference is between single stage and two stage paint jobs are. I promised her I would cover this topic to help clear up this question. First, I must declare that I am not a painter (at least professionally) but have been around that business for many years and have had quite a few paint jobs done by local shops. I have also, regrettably, painted a couple of my own cars.

The simplest explanation is that a single stage paint job is painted with only color coat and a two stage paint job has a color coat then a clear coat is sprayed over the color to provide a hard shell. The older cars were mostly single stage paint, with the exception of metallic or met-a-flake paint jobs. The old lacquer multicoated single stage paint had deep colors and really looked great, so long as one polished the paint every couple of months to keep the gloss. The problem with lacquer was that it was so soft it would get damaged and oxidized quickly. It would also shrink into the under surface showing the slightest flaws soon after completion, requiring repeated buffing and glazing (glazing is a polish that fills small scratches and makes the paint look smoother). One of my personal paint jobs was completed by myself in a metallic blue lacquer. The hardest part for me as an amateur was to keep the metallic even during coats. Not to mention during the sanding and re-coating process. I eventually got the paint to look even and shine. Unfortunately, I took the car to Las Vegas to get married. Gave the keys to the valet and didn’t see it for a couple of days. When I drove it home, I noticed that the car had water spots all over it that had most likely came from sprinklers, then baked in the Nevada sun. After a few hours of buffing and glazing the spots went away. But within a few weeks they all came back and needed buffing again. After a few cycles of this process, I was so fed up that I sold the car. My point being, modern paints are much better than old paints.

Modern cars are all painted in two stage paint for multiple reasons. The biggest reason is that the government has mandated it for years. One of the reasons is that (especially in Southern California which has some of the strictest air quality laws on the planet) they wanted to reduce the chemicals in the air. Another important reason is that the pigments used in color coats are increasingly expensive so the less color needed, the less the cost. One more reason I have discovered is that it is easier to control the consistency of the color coat since it never gets sanded like the top coat.

Let me explain the processes. Both style paint jobs first get primer coats which are sanded and coated repeatedly to get the smoothest finish possible. Then the single stage job gets two or three wet coats then allowed to cure. Then the paint is wet-sanded (sanded with very fine sandpaper that is dipped or sprayed with water to lubricate) to smooth out the finish. Once all of the orange-peel (rough finish that actually has the texture

of an orange peel) and dust particles stuck in the paint, runs (drips), or other imperfections are sanded smooth, then the paint is buffed with a machine buffer to bring up the shine.

The two stage paint job gets the same priming and sanding process to get the under surface as smooth as possible. Then the car is painted with a color coat and allowed to dry. Once dried, the car is then painted with multiple clear coats and allowed to cure. Once cured, the car is wet sanded to smooth out the clear surface, then buffed with a machine buffer to bring up the shine. One important fact to note is that the color coat is not wet sanded so there is no chance to alter the consistency of the color. When completed, the clear coated cars have a deep thick shine with the color seemingly floating below the surface.

Many people argue that the single stage paints are necessary to keep an older car looking like it did originally. This is a subjective matter, therefore many opinions are valid. Other people also argue that the single stage paints require more maintenance since the inevitable deterioration process (oxidation, scratching, bird-poop and so on) attacks the color of the paint risking earlier failure than the clear coated two stage paint jobs. Two stage clear coated paint jobs seem to retain the glossy shine a little bit longer with less maintenance. Another fact is that any metallic color will be done as a two stage paint job these days. Solid colors can be done either way but if one lives in Southern California, finding a painter to paint a car in single stage paint can be difficult.

One fact is undeniable though, modern paints are far superior to old paints. So if one wants to make a tired old car look its best with a new paint job, why not paint it with the “latest greatest” products?

Thank you for the questions and keep them coming. Please send your questions to Ronny at ronnyshaver@ronnysgarage.com.

Happy Motoring!Ronny

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thomaswarden@att.net Tel: (818) 710-8131Fax: (818) 710-8130

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11APRIL 2017

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714-953-0896 ronnysgarage@gmail.com

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