February, 2000 - Ottawa Valley Triumph Club (OVTC)

OVTC Overdrive February 2000

Send Newsletter submissions to: OVTC, c/o 8 Pentland Crescent, Kanata, Ontario K2K [email protected]

Web Site: currently under construction

February, 2000

The ‘Doctor’ and Mrs. Mills, as the ‘Doc’ receives a LIFE Member award

•••• Ed’s Excellent Adventure

•••• There really is a Santa Claus

•••• Plus much more!!




Cover: description of cover

OVTC are the 4th Tuesday of each month. Seemap on last page.

Message from the President:(Mike Graham)2How to Tell Where a Driver is from ............ 2Report from Last Meeting ............................ 3Calendar of events........................................ 4Web Sites ..................................................... 5OVTC Web Site ........................................... 5Club Membership Updates........................... 5Email ............................................................ 5The Richmond Show (reminder).................. 5New Canadian Car Magazine....................... 5Ed’s Excellent Adventure............................. 6The Great Hunt............................................. 8Next Month: ................................................. 9Oil Drips – the OVTC Gossip Column: ....... 9Pool & Pizza................................................. 9Advertisements........................................... 10

Classified:............................................... 10Contact ....................................................... 11

Message from the President:(Mike Graham)

Brian Mills Honoured

Our regular meeting in January was a treat for allwho were able to attend. Brian Mills gaveanother of his clear and interested presentations.This time the subject was transmissions and hedid an excellent job of explaining how thesebeasts work, some of the problems that can arisewhen you are forced to take a transmission apart,the special tools he has developed over the yearsto make the task a little easier, and the points tocheck when you are refurbishing a transmission.He certainly deserves the nickname "Doc".

However, the highlight of the evening foreveryone was the presentation of a LifeMembership to Brian "in recognition of hisoutstanding service, dedication, and contributionto the Ottawa Valley Triumph Club" (detailsand pictures elsewhere). In the short time I have

been in the club, Brian has helped me withseveral problems with my own TR6, makeseveral presentations at our regular meetings,helped many other club members witha variety of problems, and been a regular alongwith wife Pat at club events. Brian was one of thefounding members of our club and it is clear thathe continues to make it a success.

It was a real privilege and honour for me to beable to make the presentation. The heartfeltapplause along with the comments that weremade both publicly and privately reinforced justhow deserving Brian was of this award. Thanksto everyone who made this evening a success anda surprise to both Brian and Pat.

Our February meeting will not be at the clubhouse. We have arranged to visit the garage ofRobin Fredette (see map elsewhere in thenewsletter), who will provide us with a tour ofhis facility and explain some of the intricaciesrelated to the surgery that is quite often requiredto repair the cancer that can afflict the bodies andframes of our cars. Should prove to be aninteresting evening, especially if you are in themidst of, or contemplating, a restoration.

Look forward to seeing you on 22 February.

Mike

How to Tell Where a Driver is from

1. One hand on wheel, one hand on horn:Montreal2. One hand on wheel, one finger out window:Toronto3. One hand on wheel, one finger out window,cutting across all lanes of traffic: Ottawa4. One hand on wheel, one hand on newspaper,foot solidly on accelerator: Boston5. One hand on wheel, one hand on nonfat doubledecaf cappuccino, cradling cell phone, brick onaccelerator, gun on lap: Los Angeles6. Both hands on wheel, eyes shut, both feet onbrake, quivering in terror: Saskatoon, but drivingin Toronto




7. Both hands in air, gesturing, both feet onaccelerator, head turned to talk to someone in theback seat: Quebec8. One hand on 12 oz. double shot latte, one kneeon wheel, cradling cell phone, foot on brake,mind on radio game, banging head on steeringwheel while stuck in traffic: Vancouver9. One hand on wheel, one hand on hunting rifle,alternating between both feet being on the brakeand both feet on the accelerator, throwingMcDonalds bag out the window: Red Deer10. Four wheel drive pick-up truck, shotgunmounted in rear window, beer cans on the floor,raccoon tails attached to the antenna: PrinceGeorge11. Two hands gripping wheel, blue hair barelyvisible above windshield, driving 40 km on Hwy1 in the left lane with the left blinker on: Victoria

Report from Last Meeting

(John Day – certainly not retired)

A sizable crowd was on hand for the Januarymeeting. Despite the cold weather, it showed ourenthusiasm (and perhaps our yearning for warmerweather). Mike Graham officiated over his firstregular meeting since becoming president lastfall; his travelling and the Christmas partyprevented an earlier appearance (timing iseverything, eh Mike?). We came to order, and themeeting was underway. There were some newfaces on hand, so Mike asked our visitors tointroduce themselves. First was Tom Clarke, whois the owner of a GT6 Mk III. Tom's brother e-mailed John Day to obtain information on theclub (the 'Wheels' section of the Citizen paysdividends again) just a couple days before, soTom was able to arrive that evening. Also therethat evening were Peter &Judy Jeffrey, recentlyrelocated to Ottawa from Calgary with theirTR4A (inthe midst of a rebuild). I'm pleased tosay that Tom joined that night, and Peter & Judywill be joining shortly. Welcome everyone! Mikethen discussed the Executive meeting held onJanuary 8, the topics of which will follow below.The Exec is planning the upcoming season, andthere will be plenty of events and activities in

store for one and all this year. Certainly thenumber one event for the Club is the hosting ofthe annual Sporting & Classic show each June.It's never too early to be thinking about events, toensure success. Mike wish to mention thatunfortunately (for the club, at least), Ed Kayewill have to step down as co-Social officer forthe club. Ed will be working at nearby HurstMarina as a boat salesman (John Day said Edwill be 'Boating to work, and working to boat!').This will include some weekend work, so it willbe difficult for Ed to think of arranging caractivities. If anyone would be willing to replaceEd to work with Bob Thomas and the Exec onSocial, please contact Mike. Another item fromthe Exec meeting, and as announced in theJanuary newsletter, is the birth of the ClubWebpage on the Internet. Thanks to AndrewMiller, the OVTC will be having a voice on theWeb. All members(which is more than half ourtotal) who have Internet capability areencouraged to suggest to Andrew or the Execmembers what they would like to see on the page(photos, features, links, etc). It has already beenmentioned that there aren't any brown TR6pictures available! Or 2-toneTR3A's, red Spitfiresor even Heralds, for that matter (this is anoversight, surely?).Mike announced that theevening's speaker would be Brian Mills, whowould be doing another of his famous techseminars, this time on the intricacies of the TR6transmission. Rob Christopher is currently goingthrough a rebuild of his gearbox and overdrive,but Brian brought along his own components, notwishing to risk damage to Rob's pieces. Futuremonthly topics, guest speakers, and so on werethen discussed. The plan is that the subject willbe provided in the preceding newsletter: peopleare then encouraged to come out if they knowwhat will be going on. This is already bearingfruit, as the February meeting has beendetermined (see below).Next, Mike talked aboutthe All-Clubs meeting held on January 13 at theMuseum of Science & Technology. The idea ofthis meeting is that all club representativescoordinate their activities, share event dates andto avoid possible conflicts in schedules. A fulllist of all dates & activities should be madeavailable to us shortly, and key dates will beflagged in the newsletter as the seasonprogresses. One further item that was discussed




at the meeting was regarding a videotape JohnDay had received from Don Elliott of Montreal.As some of you know, Don is the formerAmbassador-At-Large of the Toronto TriumphClub, and a lifelong TR enthusiast (an originalowner of a 1958 TR3A). Don travels to Englandfrequently with his consultant work, and isclosely associated with the TR Register inEngland. Don & the Register are looking to builda Triumph memorial in Coventry at the locationof the former Triumph factory, now sadly torndown. In fact, the area now closely resemblessomething like Colonnade Road in Nepean, withlots of small industrial malls. Some traces of theformer works do remain (one street is named"Herald Avenue"), but not enough for theRegister. With the video and a newspaperclipping, Don was seeking financial support fromother TR clubs in this venture. The Executive hadwished this raised at the meeting, and it wasstrongly supported by those in attendance that theTR Register receive $50 from the OVTC towardsthe 6,000 UKP price of the memorial (which willconsist of two Triumph Shields about 5 feethigh). Don is looking to produce more videos ofEnglish TR events and activities in the nearfuture for this cause, and we will likely respondin kind. With all the business stuff out of theway, Mike turned the floor over to Brian Mills,who had brought along boxes of sparetransmission bits he 'happened' to have at home.Brian went through the basics of trannyoperation, from the nucleus of the four shafts(input, output, countershaft and reverse) to theprinciples of gear selectors, synchro rings, andstraight-cut vs bevel-cut teeth. Brian said that thetransmission in triumphs are usually prettydurable, but one sign of trouble is to note thecolour and particularly the smell of the gear oil.One should also be wary of bits of metal, bothlarge and small, steel and brass, that come out ofthe drain plug. Brian demonstrated the operationof the gear selector and the big brass forks, howthey mate up with the selectors. By the end, wewere all pretty confident we could rebuild ourown transmissions ourselves(or at least haveBrian on hand as we did so). Another finepresentation by 'the Doctor'. At the end of thepresentation, Mike thanked Brian for the talk thatevening, and for all the talks the past. Brianreplied that he liked doing the talks, and that he

has enjoyed doing so from time to time over theyears. That was exactly the lead-in Mike waslooking for, because at the Exec it was decided tomake Brian & Pat Mills life members in theOVTC, for their years of service! Brian & Patwere amongst the original group of memberswhen the OVTC re-formed in 1989; throughoutthe years, despite not having a running TR todrive themselves (Brian was often too busyfixing &restoring other people's vehicles in thegarage), they have been regular attendees at themeetings and events. In her own right, Pat servedthe club for years as Regalia chair, and started the'suitcase' inventory method now used by GordRobertson. This is truly a 'family' award.Congratulations!! The evening concluded, people'kicked tires', so to speak, for a few more minutesbefore Lori Day flicked the lights, as if to say"Don't you people have homes?" She's so subtle,is Lori!

Calendar of events

February 22 – meeting at Robin Fredette’s(see details later in newsletter)

March 28 – meeting at clubhouse

April 2 – Dart Tournament at Le Skratch21-23 The Gathering, by TriumphClub of the Carolinas, WinstonN.C.25 – meeting at clubhouse

May 23 – meeting at clubhouse27th – La Gala International,Montréal – details later in thisnewsletter

June 4- Byward Market Auto Classic200025 – Richmond Show27 – meeting at clubhouse

July 25 – meeting at clubhouseAugust 11-13 TRF Summer Party , PA

22 – meeting at clubhouseSeptember 26 – meeting at clubhouseOctober 24 – meeting at clubhouseNovember 28 – meeting at clubhouseDecember TBA – Christmas Party




Web SitesNew web sites this month includeBoot’n’Bonnet (Kingston Area)http://www.bootnbonnet.org

For Spitfireshttp://www.tiumphspitfires.com

OVTC Web Site

http://www.geocities.com/ovtc_2000

Club Membership UpdatesThe December 1999 issue contained the 1999membership list. Please review the list andforward any changes/additions etc. to DavidHuddleson. Telephone and emails are listed onthe back page.

Additional copies of the membership list may beobtained by emailing the newsletter editor [email protected]

EmailIf you would like to receive your newsletter viaemail (the photos are in colour !) please contactAndrew Miller.

Email address for the Executive and the clubitself are listed on the last page

Regalia

We are always looking for suggestions for newregalia items … so if you have any ideas pleaselet us know.

See Gord Robertson (the guy with the blue suitcase ) at the monthly meetings.

ITEM PRICE

Club licence plate frames $4OVTC crest lapel pins $4OVTC crest patches 3” $4T-shirts – S&C auto show $5T-shirt – 25 years of TR Register $20Baseball hats – new style $8Baseball hats – OVTC crest $8

The Richmond Show (reminder)The OVTC proudly presents the 11th AnnualSporting and Classic Show at

Where: Richmond Fairgrounds

When: Sunday, June 25th 2000 10:00-3:00

Park your sports car in the corral for show, shineor sale. Meet local club members and see theirbest cars on display. Vote for the ParticipantsChoice Award. Free dash plaques to the first 100cars. Vendor area with parts, restorationservices, books, art, models, regalia, specialty carsales, BBQ…

We will be looking for volunteers. Please talk toEd Kaye or Bob Thomas.

New Canadian Car Magazine

(Shannon Lee Mannion)The Capital Corvette Club received an interestingpromotional package from a new Canadian carmagazine, called CANADIAN CLASSICS. Incase this didn't get to everyone, I would like topass on the core information. The magazinecovers all brands and is nicely produced. Thespecial offer to clubs is for a six monthsubscription (for the club) at $31.78 (all taxesincl). They accept Visa and Mastercard as well ascheques.You can check them out at their website: Http://www.canadianclassicmag.com

http://www.bootnbonnet.org/

http://www.canadianclassicmag.com/




Ed’s Excellent Adventure

(by Travel Reporter Ed Kaye)

Is there a better way to enjoy winter in Ottawathan to fly south and check out many, manyautomobiles? I think not!

I’m fortunate in that my brother lives in Phoenix,Arizona, the self proclaimed automotive capitalof the U.S. I’m also fortunate that he also is a carnut, mostly American because that is what he isexposed to, although he does appreciate anythingwith wheels. He owns two sixties Cadillac’s, a’66 Chevy pick-up, a ’73 Blazer, a ‘78 Datsun,two Volvo Coupes as well as an all original(including paint) 1953 Harley Davidson FL,mostly original 54 Harley, a 1988 Harley PoliceSpecial and finally a 1985 BMW 1000cc bike.WHEW, and I thought Viv and I were excessive.

As you all know January is the time of year inPhoenix for classic automobile auctions such asthe Barrett-Jackson auction. This particularauction is the best of the best with million dollarcars for sale. What it has done is brought buyersand sellers from all over the U.S. and in fact fromaround the world. This industry is flourishingwith no less than thousands of cars for sale atnumerous auctions in the Phoenix / Scottsdalearea. Over the eight days I was there I saw mostof them. Truly an awesome experience.

Of course the types of cars varied, from exotics,to classic English and Italian, American musclecars, hot rods, trucks, restored and un-restored.What was common to all was that the cars wereall from rust free states, and all were verydesirable. What surprised me as well was theprices that they sold for; from what I saw therewere some excellent buys going on. This is dueto the large number of cars and perhaps thelimited number of buyers. Just a couple ofexamples: a real nice 1971 MGB somewhatrestored with 35K miles, didn’t need anything tofix up – sold for $1800., a 1981 Fiat 124 Sport,real clean - $2200., 1970 Dodge Charger (hemi) -$12,000., 1948 restored Jeep Jeepster for only$7500 (I had to keep my arm down on that one-wow.), a 1973 Pantera with only 30,000 milesfor $26,000. There was a 1961 MaseratI Tipo

“Birdcage” racer for auction as well as severalreal nice Lotus, Lamborghinis, Ferraris. And onand on goes the list, very interesting and excitingto take part in. Yes there was a couple ofTriumphs, a Spitfire (1969) and a TR4A which I

refused to partake in. I knew the bids would below, low, low; most bidders were after Americanand exotic, but how would I get them home? Yes,you’re right, my brother does have room for onemore car - maybe next year!

Besides the auctions there are other automotivesights such as “cruise-nights” which actually takeplace during the afternoon on weekends. Weattended the largest one in the area, which issponsored by a McDonald’s. I estimated sixhundred cars and a couple of hundredmotorcycles. Again the cars were 90% American,there had to be fifty Vettes, thirty T-birds, adozen Woodys, even a red, white and blue

American Motors Matador, race ready for theoval. A lot of these cars were for sale; definitelya buyers market.




The highlight of the trip was a road rallysponsored by Barrett –Jackson which includedsome of the cars up for bid. We got there early toget up close and check out all the fine machinerybefore they left for Las Vegas. Veteran racing

champion Phil Hill was there to lead off in avaluable ($3.4 million reserve-U.S. dollars) 1933Alfa Romeo 8C2600 Monza Racer.Unfortunately for him it was not quite “turn-

key”. While we were standing right there withhim, up came the bonnet and out came the tools,a fuel delivery problem we ascertained

somewhere near the supercharger. He is stillpretty sharp, he was able to diagnose and repairthe problem in short order. This highly technicalcar is the car that served as the potent weapon inScuderia Ferrari’s transition from independent toofficial Alfa factory team.

Some of the other cars lined up were a PorscheAbarth, a sixties Carrera GTS Lemans Racer(only one known to exist), a number, yes numberof Mercedes 300SL’s, an original Mercedes300SL Rally coupe (unrestored with full raceprep.), many, many Ferrari’s from the fifties rightup to a modern “F” type , early BugattI openwheel racers, and Lotus and Jaguar were wellrepresented including an XK SS. There were adozen Duesenburgs, couple of Delahayes andBugattis, one-offs of two very different lookingPackards with Pininfarina bodys. My favorite

had to be a 1957 BMW 507 that looked like itjust came out of the box.

All in all it was a memorable trip. Cars are a hugepart of life down there, very unlike what I

experience here in Canada. Perhaps it is becausethey just don't rust away. When they get old and




broken people put them in their garage or besidethe house, and at some point someone takesrenewed interest and they are restored. I’m surethat there is at least one junker per house that Isaw in my travels. We can’t do that here!

I contacted the local Triumph Club there and wechatted for a while on the phone. There were noorganized events for the club while I was therebut I did have an interesting conversation. Acouple of items of interest: although they don’tget any snow in Arizona they do get the heat inthe summer, even too hot for English sports cars.Most members in the club of one hundredmembers garage their cars for the summermonths. 110 to 120 degrees “F” is just too hot!Besides the overheating problems (mechanicaland personal), the rubber seals, bushings, etc.prematurely age, as do dashpads, convertible topsand such. I inquired as to the whereabouts of anyjunkyards or parts stores that specialized inEnglish cars so that I could go poke around, aswould any car guy love to do. I was told thatabout four years ago a Japanese fellow arrived intown, advertised his interest in purchasinganything English, in whole and in part, then heldmeetings and basically bought up everything intown, including a British parts specialist. Theynow have what we have, Moss, Victoria and thelike. However, I am envious, nothing likecruising around with the top down in eighty-degree heat – in January!

When travelling I always have a list of something(more like some things) that I need to purchasefor my Triumph, as some items are just toexpensive here in Ottawa, or too hard to get. Ishared this with my brother and off we went toone of his automobile buddy’s shop. But how doI get it home? You got the GT6 leaf spring backfrom Vegas, the four Panasport wheels out ofNew York, the five foot long sections of chrometrim from L.A., why not a TR4 windshield fromPhoenix, he responded? Right, after all it was onequarter the price of one back home. We picked itup and transported it back to his house. Whentaking it out of the backseat I must of ticked itagainst something. Damn…a quarter inch longcrack appeared in the corner. What to do? Well Icalled the shop, explained the situation, theychecked with their supplier, who said they would

replace it under warranty. Problem was it was inNew Mexico and it would take a couple of days,which I didn’t have. Anyway, to make a longstory short I did manage to make it home with anew one, and all in one piece. Customs officialsdidn’t even bat an eye when I told them what wasall wrapped up. I had expected some sort ofhassle. If anybody needs a case to transportwindshields you know whom to call.

Oh, and the golfing… Ed

The Great Hunt(Isobel Holbeche)

The great hunt started sometime in October,when I was thinking of a Christmas gift forDerek. No, I couldn’t afford carpets or a newpaint job for the herald. However, I didremember back to a particularly nasty wet day, atthe British car day held in Kingston. Derekremarking, how much he liked the golf umbrellaswith the car club logo on them. I remembered,seeing umbrellas being advertised in a ragtopmagazine. After patiently looking through a stackof them that were sitting in the living room.Eureka! I found the one I was looking for and toavert any suspicions, I placed it back into thepile, to look at it again later. Then one day I camehome from work, to find all of his car magazineshad mysteriously disappeared, on inquiringwhere they had been moved to, I was informedthey had been taken upstairs and placed intoboxes. Oh goody, goody.




not to be deterred I started my quest with thehelp of good friends namely Pat, Brian and Gord.Between them they were able to give menumerous phone numbers of their sources. Aftermany dead ends, I spoke to a wonderful womannamed Kim Chevalier of k & d enterprises. Whoinformed me, there would be no umbrellasavailable until springtime. But not to worry, asshe did have lots of other interesting things withlogos on them. By this time, Christmas was fastapproaching but I was assured that it would bedelivered on time. So I placed my order andrequested it be sent to my place of work. The lastday of work before we closed for the holidaysarrived, and I had not received my parcel yet. Iwould just have to resign myself that Derek andCraig would have to wait until after Christmasfor this particular gift.

On Christmas Eve I was busy working in thehouse, when Derek received a phone call andcame into the room looking very perplexedsaying there was someone from CANPAR tryingto deliver a parcel at Albany, did I know anythingabout it? As Albany was closed and my namewas on the parcel. The wonderful man looked upmy home telephone number and called me, to askif he could bring the parcel around, as he thoughtit may have something to do with Christmas. with tears of happiness running down my face, Iaccepted and signed for the parcel, hugging him,I told him he was indeed Santa.So the next time you see my husband or son, theyshould be wearing their shirts with theTRIUMPH logo, of course.

Next Month:

• More ‘Oil Drips’.

Oil Drips – the OVTC Gossip Column:Rumour has it that a certain editor is followingthe lead of a certain other former editor born inNorthern England in negotiating to add to hisfleet. In this case a 1970 BRG E-type. (Ed, Doyou have any tips on getting the family to buy into the business case?)

What no gossip?

Well let’s see what we can do with this invitationfrom the Ottawa VW club.Pool & PizzaSat. February 26th, 2:00pm at SLick's on BankSt. pizza will be served around 5ish. Pizza Hutwill deliver to our table. Pass the word at yourmeetings, trying something newMicheline

More humour from Trevor Boicey,http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey

The February 22 meeting will be held at thegarage of Robin Fredette [restoration surgeon]

(see Map above, please note NORTH is tobottom of the map)

http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey




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Classified:

Send Newsletter submissions to: OVTC, 8 Pentland Crescent, Kanata, Ontario K2K 1V5Email to [email protected]

Web Site: http://www.geocities.com/ovtc_2000

Contact

OTTAWA VALLEY TRIUMPH CLUB8 Pentland CrescentKanata, Ontario K2K 1V5

Post Name Phone Email

President Mike Graham 258-2901 [email protected]

Past President Vivien Kaye 692-1880 [email protected]

VP John Day 722-9876 [email protected]

Editor Andrew Miller 591-3409 [email protected]

[email protected]

Social Ed Kaye

Bob Thomas

692-1880

926-0842

[email protected]

none

Regalia Gord Robertson 226-5033 [email protected]

Membership David Huddleson 822-1315 [email protected]

Treasurer Vivien Kaye 692-1880 [email protected]

The Ottawa Valley Triumph Club is comprised of approximately 65 members. The Club meets at 7:30p.m. on the fourthTuesday of each month at the Manordale Community Centre, Knoxdale and Carola (see map). Meetings include technicalseminars, video presentations, restoration techniques and much more. The Club also publishes a monthly newsletter,Overdrive, which is distributed to members. Overdrive is also exchanged with newsletters from other clubs.

Nt o G r e e n b a n k

K n o x d a le W o o d r o ffeA ve .

*C a r o l a

O V T C

H u n t C lu b R o a d

Membership is open to all individuals and companies interested in Triumph sports cars. Membership is $30.00 per year(June/June) per household and $60 per year, corporate. Please send membership application to: OVTC c/o 5053Limebank Road, Gloucester, Ontario K1X 1E8

The OVTC is a member of the British Car Council and is affiliated with the TR Register (UK)

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

February, 2000 - Ottawa Valley Triumph Club (OVTC)