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Founded 1969 Mornington Peninsula Historical Vehicles Club Inc. — A0001922T (MPHVC)

Member of the Federation of Vintage, Veteran & Classic Vehicles Clubs and the Association of Motoring Clubs.

JUNE 2020

It’s hard to picture what today’s Teenagers,

in about 30 years time, will consider as nostalgic when

they reminisce about their first car.

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CLUB NEWSFLASH - REMINDER …. MEMBERSHIP IS DUE BY 30th JUNE! … You will notice there have been some changes to the payment methods including direct debit. If paying directly into the bank please ensure that you use your name as a reference and attach a receipt to the form when returning it. Failure to do so will mean that your membership will not be renewed. If cash is your only option, please contact a committee member to help organise this.

- Due to on-going Covid 19 restrictions (at time of print of this magazine) we continue to suspend Meetings and Runs. On a cheerful note, our restrictions are easing gradually, so hopefully we can have our meetings and runs again soon. We will notify you all when we plan to commence our Club Runs and Meetings. - We are currently forwarding update emails to all Members as soon as we received any from AOMC, Federation or Vic Roads etc. It is important during this time we keep informed re usage of our club permit cars, rather than wait to read about it in the next Sidelights. We realize that some Members do not have email addresses listed with us and therefore important issues can not be communicated to you. If you know of another Member, without email, that you are in regular contact with, maybe you can pass on the info. As in all businesses and life today, email is a very useful and important communication channel. - LATEST UPDATE FROM AOMC RE USE OF CLUB PERMIT VEHICLES (as at 21/05/2020) The Victorian Government has announced an easing of COVID19 restrictions. In addition to the reasons Victorians can leaving their home for: obtaining food and supplies, medical care and care giving, exercise, and work or education, Victorians can now attend social gatherings in their home with up to 5 visiting family or friends. In addition, the outdoor recreations of walking groups, hiking, fishing and golf can be undertaken, with appropriate social distancing. Club permit vehicles can be used during the current restrictions, but their use must only be in connection with one of the above activities (as well as being in accordance with the usual rules for use of club permit vehicles). - LATEST UPDATE FROM VIC ROADS RE CLUB PERMIT PAYMENTS (as at 21/05/2020) VicRoads Customer Service Centres will continue to accept payment for club permit renewals. If permit holders do not wish to attend a customer service centre, they can continue to renew permits though mailing the renewal to VicRoads, GPO Box 1644 Melbourne 3001. The renewal process is described on VicRoads’ website. Queries have also been received about applications for new permits. The process for applying for new permits has not changed, and is described on VicRoads’ website. New club permits can continue to be applied for at VicRoads’ Customer Service Centres. - Doreen Madeley, one of our current permit officers with the club, has changed contact phone number. New number is 0488 547 988. Members can contact Doreen when they require a permit signed. - If anyone has anything that they would like included in the next newsletter, can you please forward to Dawn & Wayne. Any Club Members selling a car...or buying a new one? (Reminder that all submissions for Sidelights need to be in by the 20th of each month)

HOW CAR GUYS DEAL

WITH COVID 19

REQUEST FROM ANOTHER CLUBS MEMBER Lets band together and see if we can help this car enthusiast out! Our magazine is not only shared with our Club but also many other Car Clubs across the State. I personally, would love to see more of this sort of thing shared amongst the many Car Clubs scattered across Aus. That hard to find part may just be laying in someone’s shed...unused, unwanted and un-loved….just has to have a channel by which it can find its way to a new owner and be put to good use! Hi All, I am after an axel for our 1951 Daimler - members of Castlemaine may re-call the car breaking down on the way home last year, and It has been sitting on the hoist all this time! Well, today it was towed to a repairer, and he took the diff apart and found the left- hand axel had snapped right off. Does anyone know where I can get this part from? Have trawled google with little success. Or if any other model car would have a part that fitted. Don’t suppose anyone has one laying round I can buy? Cheers Jan King Editor - Castlemaine Historic Vehicle Club.

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MEMBERS STORY (continued from May Sidelights edition )

THE STORY OF AN AUSTRALIAN FORD BUILT 1972 CLASSIC RACE CAR……. AND A LUCKY FIND

Not to be confused with the Phillip from Ballarat, who sold me my "Wild Plum" Capri GTV6…...Philip Thomas Clark (1935–1968) was an American automotive body designer who worked for both General Motors and Ford, and was responsible for ground-breaking designs such as the Ford Mustang and the Ford Capri. Ford in England employed Phillip to come up with England's answer to USA's Mustang, but with 4 cylinders only, since the UK had 40 times less area to cover, and more congested traffic. Unfortunately, UK weather meant salted roads to discourage dangerous "Black Ice" and snow led to the demise of so many millions of rusted out cars, forcing collectors in the UK to buy back so many cars they made that were exported around the world where climate was much kinder to their cars. Clark's fame for being the main element for creating & designing the USA famous Ford Mustang and the Pony Emblem, and instrumental for much of the looks and design of the famous GT40 racing car, managed to complete the blue-prints for the 1969 Ford Capri Mk1 as mandated by EnFo (Ford England), just before his untimely death at the young age of just 33 of an ulcer. The Capri went on to be a highly successful car for Ford, selling nearly 1.9 million units in its lifetime around the world, mainly in boxes as CKD (Completely Knocked Down). A wide variety of engines were used in the Capri throughout its production lifespan, which included the Essex and Cologne V6 at the top of the range, whilst the Kent straight four and Taunus V4 engines were used in lower specification models. The Mk1 like mine was so successful from its launch in 1969, Ford UK decided in 1970 to offer an exceptionally powerful engine alternative for the top of the range in 1970, known as the Essex 3 litre V6 and the Cologne 2.8 litre V6 for only GT models. Ford Australia luckily chose the Essex V6 which turned out to be the better V6 out of all V6 designs on offer.

Australia only ever saw the Mk1 officially imported here. Mk2 and Mk3 were exported to most other countries:…. always from England and often from Germany (Cologne). Automatic Transmissions were available for any engine, even though Manual was always the "shift of choice" by performance drivers. Demand for manuals outstripped that for Auto-matics as the Capri was so loved by so many would-be racers. Ford had provided an answer to their followers to compete against the Holden Torana, which also came in 4 cylinder and also a straight 6. The Mk1 Capri has earned the enviable world-wide reputation of being a Race Winner in both Track and Rally, including here in Australia. 99.9% of the Essex V6 powered cars in Australia were the UK Mk1 3 litre "Oval-Port" 144 HP engine. Continued……….

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MEMBERS STORY I have a funny corona virus story. I believe this to be true. Police who were recently on meal break during lockdown went to a local Mornington Peninsula pizza shop and overheard there was an order for 12 pizzas. They were suspicious and told the shops owner they would deliver the pizzas to the house. The pizza shop owner complied. Police delivered the pizzas to discover a house party in progress. Owners and visitors over 18 had a fine time but a very expensive night out.

Cheers….Ross Jones.

All production of Capri was to cease by end of 1972, as the Mk2 in UK was about to be released to the world, except Australia. Yet buyers were still screaming for V6 Capri but we were all sold out of Engines, Transmissions and Differentials, but had 11 new Body Shells that were un-used. Ford Australia's plea to UK EnFo for "more" was met with the mixed news that there were no more of the same 144HP Essex V6 and associated gear to be had, for love or money. The very good news was that we could have 11 Mk2 Engines and associated gear, and that they would look exactly the same as the Mk1 Gear, except internally, they were much improved and "UP-RATED". And so was born the exclusive group of 11 cars by Ford Australia known as the "Capri GT V6 165HP D-Port Specials". These 11 Specials had stronger Differentials, stronger and better geared Manual Transmissions, plus scores of Mk2 Engine design changes that vastly improved the power and efficiency to create another 21 HP over the first 3,000 V6's, which had less favorable Oval-port designed Intake Manifolds and Cylinder head induction ports. All V6's had Weber 40 DFAV 2 barrel Carbies, except the "Specials" which had the much improved Weber 38 DGAS that was matched to the improved D-port Intake Manifold. I have driven both GT's with the 2 V6 Essex engines, and I am amazed at the difference the 15% alleged power increase makes. Soon after buying my Capri, I intended to replace the 6 Exhaust valves, as one was burnt. On reflection after removing both heads, it made more sense to remove and strip the engine and transmission completely as the gaskets and seals everywhere were beginning to show signs of weakness, so why not do a complete job and ensure longevity via complete overhaul. Much to my delight, every single component inside my engine and transmission (except Gaskets and Seals and Exhaust valves) was still inside specification and as-new. However I did find many torque figures were too far on the loose side, and would have caused problems "down the road" had I not gone through with the Major Inspection via complete overhaul. No ancillaries needed attention, such as Starter, Carburetor, Fuel Pump, Alternator or Radiator, except Water Pump which was re-placed with a Brand new one, thanks to Mick at Repco Frankston. The 25 years of dry storage of my Capri was the main reason I have found this car to be a "great buy" with what has turned out to be a very low mileage car. When I took my Capri to the "track", I was amazed how fast and easy it got to 180 kph and my accelerator was only a little past half way down ! TRIVIA; Did you know the only mass produced car, at least in Australia, to be sold with Extractors (Headers) as Standard Equipment, is to this day, the Ford Capri V6 ? Cheers…..Bernie & Leonie

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Finer Details re Importance of ALL OILS (inc BRAKE-FLUID) & FILTER changes

on our OLD and NEW Vehicles. As a Qualified VACC Mechanic with over 50 years

experience as self employed, I can guarantee the way to save money and avoid failures, is to ALWAYS replace Oil and FILTERS not 1 km later than Makers recommendation at the very least, and no later than once a year for low use/collectables doing less than 5,000kms yearly. It's a no-brainer. I have always ignored Maker's recommendation (too long) on my own cars, and just change Oil and Filters every 5,000kms/once a year, on my Car's Engines. Experience has shown Maker's recommendations are BARE MINIMUM/too long, to hope-fully get past WARRANTY period (often not), and then to "hell with the owner"

after that! Sounds harsh, but they are in the business of selling cars and all the parts to go with keeping them on the road. From at least 1990, cars RUNNING GEAR & POWER PLANTS are made to much greater INFERIOR standards than earlier Makes and Models AND they're under greater stress than our "oldies" ..........I mean, who has ever owned a pre-1980 Vehicle that mandated NEW DISC ROTORS with every Pad change ? or a super expensive SEALED PCV System REPLACEMENT every 60,000 kms ? .......... or a MULTI-THOUSAND DOLLAR Catalytic Convertor Clean-out/Replacement every 60-80 thousand kms ? ........... or a TIMING Belt/Chain, Bearings, Oil Seals, Water Pump and Tensioner EVERY 30,000 to 100,000 kms ? ...... or Engine Components that fail/break because you don't change the OIL every 5,000 kms ? ........... or Transmissions that fail ad nauseum ? ........ or SEALED-IN-HUB wheel bearings that fail regularly and can't be replaced cheaply ? .......... or Creature-Comfort FAILURES due to INFERIOR Parts and/or Computer-Controlled Failures ? ......or Gaskets that are made to fail regularly ? ..... or expensive Fuel Pumps that are trapped INSIDE the Tank ? .... or failing Rubber Donuts in lieu of STEEL Uni Joints ? ...... or Dual Mas Flywheels/Clutches that cost a fortune ? ... etc , etc ? BUT...Credit where credit is due: Scrap Metal Workers now enjoy the prestige of crushing post-1990 FAILURES without the least bit of RUST ! ... LOL! .... China is getting OUR steel back rust-free! To melt down and send back to us in coils to repeat the whole process over and over ! Is it looking better and cheaper to change Oil & Filters EVERY 5,000kms/Yearly ? I believe so, unlike the very wealthy who choose to change their car every 2 or 3 years with hardly a service ! CHANGE Auto Trans Oil and Filter every 20,000kms or on low mileage club-cars: 3 years. CHANGE Trans and Diff Oil every 40,000kms or 5 years on low milers. ALL vehicles that use common Brake Fluid from 1930 to 2020 MUST get new Brake Fluid without fail every 2 years for Brakes to remain efficient. This Fluid sucks in water 24/7 and this water goes straight to the wheel cylinders and calipers, and we all know what happens when this water boils from red hot brakes ! ...... BRAKE FADE & FAILURE ! It's not over-kill, or over-servicing. All OIL naturally begins to disintegrate from the day you replace it. Finer points Re Engine Oil contamination ............. 1/ A tiny amount of raw fuel passes the rings & Valve Stems on EVERY stroke on EVERY Engine from NEW! 2/ Same with "ash" from exhaust gases on EVERY stroke. 3/ Condensation/Sludge forms every time you switch off and park till next morning re-start. 4/ Atmospheric "Fall-out" attacks ALL FLUIDS 24/7/365 in all units including Fuel Tank, Engine & Trans & Diff & Power Steer and BRAKE & CLUTCH Fluids. 5/ Metal shavings, gasket/seal material, etc are naturally being eroded inside your engine, to fall into the oil every km your car travels from NEW ! For any post-2000 vehicle to be reliable, Engine Oil MUST be changed every 5,000kms with the EXACT OIL the maker specifies. Anything less and you can expect failure/problems and/or short engine life, which are MUCH dearer than what appears as excessive oil & filter changes. (Every good Engineer I've ever known, including my Dad and Grand-Dad, advocates this for ALL cars, not just post-2000) So yes, "Prevention is MILES Better Than Cure". Once old, over-due oil causes problems, IT IS TOO LATE to then change the oil ! .......... the damage is done. Bernie Valentini ….

(dedicated to my Dad and Grand-Dad)

CAR CARE CORNER By Bernie Valentini — (VACC Certified SMM)

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Features You No Longer See in Cars It’s hard to picture what today’s teenagers will consider as nostalgic about 30 years from now when they reminisce about their first car. (It still required gasoline, perhaps?) Who knows how automobiles will change in the future; what we do know is how different they are today from 30 or more years ago. Most of the technologies that we have used in the past have been eclipsed by the remarkable technology that we use today. Advances in their design have occurred in tandem with the advances in technology and design. While we may laugh at the fact that anyone ever found this older technology to be cutting-edge, we can’t discount its place in history as a forerunner for all of the technology that wouldn’t exist today without its dinosaur ancestry. Here is a quick look through history at vintage technologies and features that we no longer use in this digital era with our current new cars.

Crank Windows Company founder Max Brose patents the “crank drive for lowerable windows” as early as 1926. After several years of experimenting and development work, series production of the Brose Atlas window crank apparatus began in Coburg in 1928. Instead of folding or sliding, now the window pane moved up and down. The use of a wrap spring brake in the window regulator finally made it possible to hold the vehicle window in any position. Some of the first customers to use the Atlas window regulator include Daimler, Volkswagen and Borgward. 1956: Electrically driven window regulator available as an upgrade . In line with the American trend, the demand for greater comfort in cars was growing in Europe in the sixties. In 1956, Brose presents to automotive experts the “electrically driven window regulator” available as an upgrade. 1963 marks the start of a series production of the first power window regulator in Europe in the BMW 3200 CS. On 26 September 1978 Brose celebrates the production of the 100-millionth window regulator at the location in Coburg.

Suicide Doors Before seat belts, rear-hinged doors took on this name of Suicide doors for their propensity to put a passenger on the pavement if they weren't shut tight when the car was in motion. But they were popular for quite a while up until the 1960s because of the convenience … there was no pillar separating the front and back seats when both side doors were opened, so there was plenty of room to daintily climb inside (especially in a time when women regularly wore dresses and high heels). Auto safety restrictions dispensed with them for a while, but updated versions have appeared on Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Mini vehicles. Once the norm on cars such as the 1967 Lincoln Continental, it's now mostly a nostalgic feature on newer models.

Bench Seats

The last American production model car to offer a bench seat in the front, was the Chevy Impala. Back before seat belts were even included in cars—much less mandatory to wear—three passengers could fit comfortably in the front of most cars, or four if one was a child or a skinny relative. Many hopeful males took advantage of the seat design while driving with a female companion. A quick unexpected sharp turn, made with his right arm resting on the seat back, sent the lady sliding right into his embrace.

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Ashtrays. People were smoking everywhere in cars through until about the 1980s, and ashtrays were in front and rear consoles, seat backs, and door handles for generations. With only 16 percent of the U.S. smoking in 2015 (compared with nearly 25 percent in 1997), the ashtray became more of a luxury than a necessity. You might still be able to get a “smoker's package” installed, but you were better off just picking up an ashtray for one of your car's many cup holders. Ashtrays were commonly found in the dashboard (along with an electric lighter), mounted on the back of the front seat, and in the armrests on opposite sides of the back seat. Even if you weren’t a smoker, the tray in the dash was handy for storing coins, and the rear ones were handy receptacles for candy wrappers and chewy gum.

Horn Rings Horn rings were originally considered a safety feature as well as a convenience device. Previously, the driver had to Completely remove one hand from the steering wheel to depress the button in the centre to honk the horn. The horn ring was designed so that both hands could remain on the wheel and just a stretch of a finger or thumb would be able to beep a warning sound. As driver side airbags started entering the market, horn activation was relocated to a button in the steering wheel spokes.

Cigarette Lighters Like the ashtray, the free, push-in heated-coil cigarette lighter that came with every car for decades … has been fading for decades. They've been relegated to a utility port for phone chargers and other devices, and Hyundai decided back in 2013 to do away with them altogether in favor of USB ports. It was only in the 1920s that the term "cigarette lighter" pre-vailed…. with the cigarette becoming more modern. Around this time, the first vehicles were equipped with this feature … initially in the US. The first car 'to come with a cigarette lighter' was the Lincoln L model in 1920. The Lincoln L model was powered by a 357.8 cubic-inch V8 engine producing 90 horsepower. The large body built by Murray features unique features such as a 'fat man' steering wheel that folds out of the way for ease of entry and a cigar lighter that extends from a reel to reach throughout the interior. Early lighters had a heating element connected by an extendible cord, but these were ungainly and awkward ….. getting the cord reeled back in couldn't have always been easy. Getting rid of that cord was key, and the earliest patent that seemed to have achieved this design was filed on October 2, 1919.

Foot Dimmer Switch From the late 1920s until about the '80s, you stepped on a little switch on the floor to make a car's headlights go from low beams to high. It was a button in the general vicinity left of the brake pedal, so even in an unfamiliar car all you had to do was tap around with your toe a few times to find it. (If you lived in the snow areas, you inevitably replaced the switch after rock salt tracked in during snow season rusted it into uselessness.) And when auto-makers moved from rear-wheel-drive to front-wheel-drive and space in the foot well got cramped, the switch migrated to the signal mast on the steering wheel.

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Hood Ornaments The origins of hood ornaments can be traced back to 'motometers', which were temperature gauges or thermostats installed on the radiator caps of the first automobiles. As time went on, manufacturers moved these gauges to the dashboard, but the radiator caps still remained outside. The 1920s saw auto-makers adding motifs to these radiator caps, like wings, animals and other ornamentation which later went on to becoming the norm till the late 1940s or so. By the end of the decade, the practical need for the hood ornament was gone, as radiator caps were relocated under hoods and temperature gauges moved to dashboards. But that didn't stop the auto mascot from enjoying a life of its own. Some sort of symbol topped most cars made in America between 1930 and 1950.

Pop-Up Headlights Back when headlights were roughly the size of street-lights, the best way to keep them from messing up a car's design was to hide them. The 1936 Cord 810 was the first to use retractable headlights (cranked by hand, no less), but in the '80s and '90s we remember them on everything from the Nissan 240sx and Mazda Miata to the Corvette and Ferrari F40. By the early 2000s the pop-up headlamp had largely left the mainstream, with the last cars to sport hidden headlamps being the C5 Chevrolet Corvette and the Lotus Esprit V8, both of which were designed in the late 90s and both of which ceased production in 2004.

Tail Fins First known examples of a tail fin were by Automobile engineer Paul Jaray who added a center fin to his prototype designs in the 1920s for aerodynamic stability. Influenced later by his patents some car producers made streamlined prototypes with one center positioned tailfin. General Motors got the idea to put fins on a 1948 Cadillac after designers got a peek at a Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane, and more vehicles added “stabilizer” fins to cash in on the Space Age. As more children were seriously injured by sharp protrusions on parked cars, auto-makers spent the 1960s rounding off the edges. Today, unless you're driving a Chrysler 300 or a Cadillac sedan, there isn't even a hint of tail fins in the marketplace.

Vent Windows The quarter glass vent window was once the preferred way to cool off a car and suck away cigarette smoke ... and to occasionally break back in after locking your keys inside. Vent or “wing” windows were popular in the pre-air conditioning era of automotive manufacturing. But they were convenient for many purposes that are still valid today. For example, on those days when it’s tem-perate enough to open windows rather than run the A/C, the vent windows allowed air to circulate freely without blowing street grime in your face and messing your hair. Smokers also appreciated being able to flick their ashes out the “no-draft” without the fear of them flying back in-side the vehicle. Many early closed cars, such as the 1940 Pontiac Torpedo had front and rear vent windows called "ventiplanes". It has hinges and a latch, so it can be opened for additional ventilation. Most vehicles since the 1960s have removed this feature for cleaner styling known as "ventless" windows.

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WELCOME TO TOMORROW … BY KEN NEATE You can see it coming... time frames maybe a little optimistic, but it's well on the way. Interesting read.... I think. Some things to think about ! All of the following will become reality in the next 10-20 years. Many of us won't see the changes, but our kids and grandkids probably will. Welcome to tomorrow. 1- Auto repair shops will disappear. 2- A petrol/diesel engine has 20,000 individual parts. An electrical motor has 20. Electric cars are sold with lifetime guarantees and are only repaired by dealers. It takes only 10 minutes to remove and replace an electric motor. 3- Faulty electric motors are not repaired in the dealership but are sent to a regional repair shop that repairs them with robots. 4- Your electric motor malfunction light goes on, so you drive up to what looks like a car wash, and your car is towed through while you have a cup of coffee and out comes your car with a new electric motor! 5- Petrol pumps will go away and street corners will have meters that dispense electricity. Companies will install electrical recharging stations; in fact, they’ve already started in the developed world. 6- Smart major auto manufacturers have already designated money to start building new plants that only build electric cars. 7-Coal industries will go away. Gasoline/oil companies will go away. Drilling for oil will stop. So say goodbye to OPEC! The middle-east is in trouble. 8- Homes will produce and store more electrical energy during the day and then they use and will sell it back to the grid. The grid stores it and dispenses it to industries that are high electricity users. Has anybody seen the Tesla roof? 9- A baby of today will only see personal cars in museums. The FUTURE is approaching faster than most of us can handle. 10- In 1998, Kodak had 170,000 employees and sold 85% of all photo paper worldwide. Within just a few years, their business model disappeared and they went bankrupt. Who would have thought of that ever happening? 11- Did you think in 1998 that 3 years later, you would never take pictures on film again? With today’s smart phones, who even has a camera these days? 12- Yet digital cameras were invented in 1975. The first ones only had 10,000 pixels, but followed Moore's law. So as with all exponential technologies, it was a disappointment for a time, before it became way superior and became mainstream in only a few short years. 13- It will now happen again (but much faster) with Artificial Intelligence, health, autonomous and electric cars, education, 3D printing, agriculture and jobs. 14- Software has disrupted and will continue to disrupt most traditional industries in the next 5-10 years. 15- UBER is just a software tool, they don't own any cars, and are now the biggest taxi company in the world! Ask any taxi driver if they saw that coming. 16- Airbnb is now the biggest hotel company in the world, although they don't own any properties. Ask Hilton Hotels if they saw that coming. 17- Artificial Intelligence: Computers become exponentially better in understanding the world. This year, a computer beat the best Go-player in the world, 10 years earlier than expected. 18- In the USA, young lawyers already don't get jobs. Because of IBM's Watson, you can get legal advice (so far for right now, the basic stuff) within seconds, with 90% accuracy compared with 70% accuracy when done by humans. So, if you study law, stop immediately. There will be 90% fewer lawyers in the future, (what a thought!) only omniscient specialists will remain. 19- Watson already helps nurses diagnosing cancer, its 4 times more accurate than human nurses. 20- Facebook now has a pattern recognition software that can recognize faces better than humans. In 2030, computers will become more intelligent than humans. 21- Autonomous cars: In 2018 the first self-driving cars are already here. In the next 2 years, the entire industry will start to be disrupted. You won't want to own a car anymore as you will call a car with your phone, it will show up at your location and drive you to your destination. 22- You will not need to park it you will only pay for the driven distance and you can be productive while driving. The very young children of today will never get a driver's license and will never own a car. 23- This will change our cities, because we will need 90-95% fewer cars. We can transform former parking spaces into green parks. 24- About 1.2 million people die each year in car accidents worldwide including distracted or drunk driving. We now have one accident every 60,000 miles; with autonomous driving that will drop to 1 accident in 6 million miles. That will save a million lives plus worldwide each year. 25- Most traditional car companies will doubtless become bankrupt. They will try the evolutionary approach and just build a better car, while tech companies (Tesla, Apple, Google) will do the revolutionary approach and build a computer on wheels. 26- Look at what Volvo is doing right now; no more internal combustion engines in their vehicles starting this year with the 2019 models, using all electric or hybrid only, with the intent of phasing out hybrid models. 27- Many engineers from Volkswagen and Audi; are completely terrified of Tesla and they should be. Look at all the companies offering all electric vehicles. That was unheard of, only a few years ago. 28- Insurance companies will have massive trouble because, without accidents, the costs will become cheaper. Their car insurance business model will disappear. 29- Real estate will change. Because if you can work while you commute, people will abandon their towers to move far away to more beautiful affordable neighbourhood's. 30- Electric cars will become mainstream about 2030. Cities will be less noisy because all new cars will run on electricity. Cities will have much cleaner air. Electricity will become incredibly cheap and clean. 31- Health: The Tricorder X price will be announced this year. There are companies who will build a medical device (called the "Tricorder" from Star Trek) that works with your phone, which takes your retina scan, your blood sample and you breath into it. It then analyses 54 bio-markers that will identify nearly any Disease. There are dozens of phone apps out there right now for health purposes. WELCOME TO TOMORROW – it actually arrived a few years ago…...And I'm still trying to figure out how to use my cell phone. STORY BY KEN NEATE

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WHAT WAS THE MOST POPULAR CAR

THE YEAR YOU WERE BORN ? 1948 - Tucker Sedan The 1948 Tucker sedan was an advanced automobile conceived by Preston Tucker and briefly produced in Chicago in 1948. Only 51 examples were made before the company folded on March 3, 1949. Studebaker was first with an all-new post-war model. But Tucker took a different tack, designing a safety car with innovative features and modern styling. His specifica-tions called for a rear engine like Porsche, disc brakes, fuel injection and a padded dashboard. The final car was only 60 inches (1524 mm) tall, but was very roomy inside. It featured a directional third headlight, dubbed the "Cyclops Eye," for use in turns. It lit up whenever the car was steered by more than 10 degrees. The body design came from Alex Tremulis and was called the most aerodynamic in the world. Although it still sported pre-war type fenders, it was startlingly modern. Of the 51 cars built (50 production and 1 prototype), 47 still exist, the majority in excellent condition. Today these rare Tuckers can sell for upwards of $3 million.

1949 - Mercury 8 The Mercury Eight is an automobile that was marketed by the Mercury division of Ford between 1939 and 1951. The debut model line of the Mercury division, Ford slotted the full-size Mercury Eight between the Ford Deluxe (later Custom) model lines and the Lincoln. In total, Ford assembled three genera-tions of the Eight (before and after World War II). During its production, the Eight offered a full range of body styles, in-cluding coupes, sedans, convertibles, and station wagons. For its first generation, the Eight was produced with its own body, adapting its own version of a Ford body for its second genera-tion; for the third generation, the Eight shared its body with the Lincoln. For the 1952 model year, Ford expanded its name-sake division to three nameplates and Lincoln and Mercury to two each, with Mercury replacing the Eight with Monterey (introduced in 1950 as a trim option), lasting until 1974. The first all-new postwar Mercurys were introduced toward the end of the 1948 model year, on April 29, 1948. They did not look like fancy Fords but instead shared Lincoln styling and basic body shells. The engine was still a flathead V8 now upped to 255 CID and now producing 110 horsepower. A new overdrive system was optional, activated by a handle under the dash. The Mercury Eight used full instrumentation found in round dials, two on either side of the large central speedome-ter. An optional eight-tube radio and electric clock were centered on the dashboard. The transverse leaf spring sus-pension was gone. The front suspension was independent coil-spring with telescopic-type shock absorbers mounted inside front springs. A stabilizer bar was fitted to reduce body roll. The 1949 Mercury Eight production totaled an astounding 301,307 units, far and away Mercury's best ever year.

Hope you enjoy this journey of the most popular cars pro-duced from 1918 to 2019. Follow the progress of the auto-mobile in its evolution throughout upcoming editions of Sidelights.

(Info and pictures obtained from https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/g23320934/car-history/)

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OUR CLUB

The Mornington Peninsula Historical Vehicles Club Incorporated was founded in 1969 as a Family Social Club, aimed at assisting in the preservation, restoration, use and maintenance of historic vehicles, stationary engines and other mechanical memorabilia more than 25 years old. Particular emphasis is on veteran, vintage and classic eras together with later vehicles of interest. The MPHVC will also endeavour to assist local non-profit clubs and organizations by participating in their events when invited. Please address any correspondence to: The Secretary MPHVC Inc. PO Box 7056 Karingal Centre, Frankston 3199 Club Email Address: mphvc@live.com.au

Office Bearers, Committee Members and Delegates 2019/20 President: Darren Crerar Vice President: Nyree Parker Secretary: Greg Harvie mphvc@live.com.au Treasurer: David Hunt Sidelights Editor: Dawn & Wayne Etcell - 0414 455 989 mphvc.sidelights@yahoo.com.au Sidelights Publisher: Noelene Warwick Activities Co-ordinator: Len & Glenda Butcher - - 0427 376 530 Membership Officer: John Schipper - 0419 551 378 Committee: Chris Warwick Noelene Warwick Ray Griffin Colin Gardner Welfare Officer: Lorraine Mayne - 0412 446 978 Memorabilia Officer: Colin Gardner - 0409 130 804 Permit Officers: Len Butcher - 0427 376 530 Doreen Madeley - 0488 547 988 Members who wish to post their renewal of permits can do so, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

MPHVC Inc. PO Box 7056, Karingal Centre, Frankston 3199

AOMC Delegates: Greg Harvie & Peter Anscombe Federation Delegates: Alan Saunders & Dominique Ruellot.

Club Meetings and Supper Roster Meeting place: St Francis Xavier Centre Where: Rear of St Francis Xavier Church, 60 Davey St Frankston. Car parks off Baxter Street and Park Street (wheelchair access). When: 2nd Thursday of every month at 8.00pm Supper Roster rotates supper duties among club members (see “Events Calendar” for members on Supper Roster). Duties are as follows: - First named Club Member buys 2x1 litre milks (reimbursed by

Club). - Set up tables, urn, cups and make tea and coffee. - Wash up and stow everything away after supper is finished. - Check tea, coffee and sugar supplies. If insufficient, please advise

next month’s rostered Members. - Put Roster book on table at door. All Members - Please remember to bring a plate to share.

Monthly Club Runs

FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Remuce Café Breakfast Run. 10am meeting at Remuce Café, 2680 Frankston-Flinders Road, Bittern FIRST WEDNESDAY OF THE MONTH Midweek Picnic Run meeting at 11.30 am. Balcombe Creek Estuary picnic area, Mirang Avenue, Mount Martha. SECOND THURSDAY OF THE MONTH Club General Meeting Club rooms 8pm. Rear of St Francis Xavier Church, 60 Davey Street Frankston. Car park at rear, 1 Park Street. (wheelchair access) OCCASIONAL MID MONTH SUNDAY RUN Sunday after GM. Decided according to seasons and destination planning. Watch Magazine for details. LAST SUNDAY OF THE MONTH Last Sunday Run: 10am meeting at Baxter Tavern Car Park for a run decided by members on that morning or previously planned. Watch Magazine for details.

Club Magazine - “Sidelights” Help make Sidelights a success by contributing material you consider will be of interest to fellow Club Members. The deadline for material to appear in the next issue of Sidelights is the 20th of each month. Where possible e-mail material to the Editor at mphvc.sidelights@yahoo.com.au Where you wish to have a photograph included with your material, please provide the original photograph, (not a photocopy) and/or email photograph in ‘jpeg’ format to the Editor’s email address above. All original material submitted to the Editor will be returned.

MPHVC FACEBOOK LINK

https://www.facebook.com/MPHVC-Mornington-

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DISCLAIMER

The information contained in this Newsletter is for general

information purposes only. The MPHVC Club assumes no

responsibility for errors, omissions or accuracy of advice

published in the Newsletter.

Do you want to contact the Club by email ?

Our Club Email Address is: mphvc@live.com.au