Jim Hall Kart Racing School – August 16th

Winner: 2nd Place Concours – Silver Spur II & III, Bentley Turbo R ClassOwners: Richard and Holda Dorsey

1997 Bentley Turbo R (SCBZP14C)

VOLUME 51 ISSUE 8 AUGUST 2015

Jim Hall Kart Racing School – August 16th

2015 Regional OfficersChairperson Karen Perrault Vice Chairperson Larry EwaskaTreasurer Terri Mercurio Secretary Carolyn Quadt 562 598-7028

Appointed PositionsChief Judge Tom Mercurio Technical Chairperson Ronny Shaver Membership Chairperson Pierre LemieuxAwards Chairperson Gary Cerveny Newsletter Editor Dori OisenHospitality Chairperson Joan Hugron Cell: (949) 439-0465Marketing/Advertising Gene TowIe Directory Editor Karen Perrault Webmaster Steve Power-Fardy Archivist Diane Cerveny Bylaws, Policies, Procedures

2015 Board of DirectorsCharles Bivens Paul DaileyFulton Haight Betty GreenDori Olsen Bill SundinClint Camomot Joan HugronRobert/Nancy Ratinoff

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 Editor(s) 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.

AUGUST 2015

August Jim Hall Kart Racing School

Join us on August 16th for an extremely unusual event that you won’t want to miss. This is your chance to challenge yourself as a performance car driver with the help and instruction from the experts at the Jim Hall Kart Racing School in beautiful Oxnard, California. Willy and Joan Hugron are hosting this exhilarating event and Willy has personally gone through this school of precision driving and can attest to what a fabulous experience awaits us.

In addition to class instruction, there will be three driving sessions of 10-12 laps each where you will be perfecting steering, acceleration, braking and cornering; all under the guidance of the Jim Hall experts. In between your racing sessions on the track, you will be getting pointers and advice from the experts on how to improve your technique and track time. Now remember, this is not a slick track and there is no bumping of the karts allowed. This is a racing school where you will learn proper racing and driving techniques. After a full morning of wonderfully intense racing, we will have a delicious catered lunch on the racing school premises. We will be able to build our own sandwiches from an assortment of meats, cheeses and breads with different pasta and fruit salads, condiments and (Yum!) fudge brownies and cookies for dessert. Interested spectators are encouraged to attend so even if you don’t think that you want to actually race the karts yourself, come on out and watch the driving and enjoy the wonderful lunch with your fellow RROC members.

Class sizes are limited so be sure to get your reservations in immediately because we have a firm RSVP deadline with the racing school of August 10th. This will be a sold out event. Be prepared to give the age, height and weight of each prospective driver so that the kart can be properly fitted for that driver, Drivers are welcome to bring their own helmet so long as it is a newer, safe model.

How fun is this!!!

What: Jim Hall Kart Racing School

Date: Sunday, August 16, 2015

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Where: Jim Hall Kart Racing School (805) 654-1329 2600 Challenger Place, Oxnard, CA 90303

Cost: $250.00 per person - includes the morning racing session and lunch $ 25.00 per person - spectator only and lunch

Hosts: Willy and Joan Hugron (714) 894-8417

RSVP Deadline: August 07, 2015

Directions:

Headed North on 101: exit Del Norte and turn left (west). Proceed 1.4 miles to Sturgis. Turn right on Sturgis. Proceed approximately ¾ mile and turn left on Elevar. At the end, turn right on Challenger Place. The entrance is immediately to the left.

Headed North on PCH/Hwy 1: Exit Rice Ave. Proceed right (east) approximately 5 miles to Sturgis. Turn left on Sturgis, then right on Discovery and then left on Challenger. The entrance is 300 feet on the right.

George PuckhaberLos Angeles

Dan ThibodeauGlendale

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AUGUST 2015

Chairlady’s Corner Hi to all my fellow Rolls-Royce and Bentley enthusiasts.

In this month’s picture I am the ripe old age of“sweet sixteen” and dating an older man of seventeenyears.ThoseofyouthatarefromSouthernCaliforniamayrememberthoseGradNightsthatwecelebratedatDisneyland. Some of you may recognize my guy, RayPerrault.Yes,weweretogethersince1966.

Typically,June“blessed”uswithmanydaysofJuneGloom,buthopefullyyoustill gotoutonourdryroadsandenjoyedyourwonderfulPMCs.WewerefortunatetohaveabeautifulsunnydayonJune13thwhenwealldrovetotheendofthe118freewaytovisitMoorparkandthefabulousTonyHartCollection.JulybeganwithabangwithourbreakfastmeetattheSALTrestaurantinMarinadelRey.

Wehavesomeveryexcitingeventsplannedfortherestof2015.AugustfindsusdisplayingouradventuroussidebyracingaroundtheJimHallKartRacingTrackinOxnard.Itwillbeathrillingdayofspeedbutnottoworry,theywillteachusthesafewaytomaneuverthetrack.ThereisashortRSVPdeadlineforthiseventsopleasebesuretogetyourreservationsinrightaway.

InSeptemberwewillhaveadayattheArtAstorCollectionviewingsomefabulousvehiclesandoutstandingcollectionsofsuchitemsasslotmachines,antiqueradiosandcoinoperatedrides.OctoberwillbetheverypopularFox Hunt, which is so enjoyable. Pierre Lemieux isplanningafabulousweekendinPalmSpringsinNovemberandwewillhavethedetailsforyousoon.DecemberwillbetheannualHolidayPartywhichisguaranteedtobewildandcrazy.Theseareveryspecialeventssopleaseclearyourcalendarsandinktheseeventsin.

And finally, don’t forget that each month RonnyShaver,ourTechnicalChairman,hostsaspecialTechnicalMeetthathasbecomeverypopular. ThemeetsrangefromtraininginregularmaintenancetospecialrepairstoourcherishedPMCs.Ronnyismorethanwillingtohaveyoutellhimyourmaintenanceorrepairissuesandhewilldesign a technical meet around the issue that you aredealingwith.Justgivehimacallorsendhimanemailbecauseothermembersmayhavethesameproblemsthatyou do.

A number of you are also showing your cars orattending other automobile events. Please be sure tosendphotosandinformationaboutyouradventurestoournewslettereditorsothatwecanallshareinthem.

Remember to drive safely but always enjoy yourbeautifulPMC.

Karen

August1 Board Meeting Hosts: Larry and Gary Ewaska

8 Technical Meet Host: Ronny Shaver

16 Jim Hall Kart Racing School Racing/Lunch $250 Hosts: Willy and Joan Hugron Spectator/Lunch $25

September12 Technical Meet Host: Ronny Shaver

13 Art Astor Collection and Lunch $30 Hosts: Lou and Diana Oddo

20 – 27 British Columbia Region Sea to Sky Tour

October3 Technical Meet Host: Ronny Shaver

11 Fox Hunt Hosts: Sanford Doi and Brian Kiligian

13 - 18 Yankee Region Cranberry Country Tour

31 Air Museum and Great Car Show, Palm Springs This is a non RROC-sponsored event

November7 Tech Meet Host: Ronny Shaver

13-15 Palm Springs Weekend Host: Pierre Lemieux

December5 Tech Meet Host: Ronny Shaver

20 Holiday Party Host: Karen Perrault

January ~ 2016TBA Awards Event Host: Karen Perrault

FebruaryTBD Hollyhock Collection and Lunch Host: Diane Cerveny

AUGUST 2015

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The Tony Hart Collection and Café Firenze Luncheon

By Karen Perrault

It was fascinating! On Saturday, June 13th, 40 of us went to Moorpark to visit Tony Hart’s extensive collection of automobiles. It includes his collection of fabulous race cars, and an eclectic group of fine automobiles including his 1931 Cadillac, his fine Silver Cloud III LWB, a Ferrari that was estimated by some of our collectors as being valued well over $3 million and a very rare Porsche with unbelievable horse power that is not street legal in the United States. There were approximately 40 other exciting and interesting vehicles in this fine collection. In addition, in this same location we were able to view and explore some of the most elegant RVs that I have ever seen, including one for Farmers Insurance that is used as a mobile office complex. Tony’s RV company repairs and customizes all sorts of recreational vehicles. His personal coach of forty-three feet was truly outstanding and is Tony and Laureen’s home away from home when they are racing. He confessed that he doesn’t spend too much time in the shop anymore, as his racing habit takes much of his time.

After oohing and aahing over the collection, we caravanned the short distance to celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani’s famed Café Firenze northern Italian restaurant for a marvelous multi-course luncheon in the private Wine Room that had many interesting wine racks. Chef Viviani is a noted author and appeared on Bravo’s reality TV series “Top Chef” and he joined us for lunch. The food was delish and the offerings included Caesar salad, Chicken Picata and Veggie Pasta, followed by Crème Brulee and delightful European pastries and coffee and juice.

This was a fabulous day! Huge thanks to our hosts Tony and Laureen Hart for sharing this wonderful collection with us.

Breakfast Meet in Marina del ReyBy Karen Perrault

July began with a bang (and not from fireworks) with a lovely trip to Marina del Rey on July 11th for a delicious breakfast with nearly thirty of our fellow club members. We met at the newly remodeled SALT restaurant in the multi-million dollar renovation of the Marina del Rey Hotel. This was the first event that some of our new members attended and there were also long time members, some with almost 50 years of membership. It was great to see the new faces and also faces that we had not seen in quite a while.

We enjoyed beautiful views in a casual setting with one long table, several low private tables and some bar top locations in a private room. A few of us chose to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful Southern California weather. There was quite a variety of food from which to choose; steel cut oatmeal with berries, cooked-to-order omelets, fluffy French toast and delicious scramble bowls

I was very pleased with the number of members that attended…great food and great friends and I got to drive home in a fine automobile that had heads turning all the way!

The breakfast meets have really been gaining in popularity from when they were first introduced a year or so ago. We have grown from a group of seven to groups of twenty to thirty. If you haven’t been to one, try one out.

Clint Camomt and his friend Kara were great hosts and reserved some splendid up-front parking for our lovely PMCs. Many, many thanks to Clint for arranging this fun and low-key way to begin the weekend.

Many Thanks to Leo and Ivy Chu for Their Hospitality

Leo and Ivy Chu have been active members of the RROC So Cal region for 27 years. They have sponsored several fabulous events over the years at the Hollywood Park Turf Club and the Casino and have graciously hosted the quarterly board meeting on several occasions.

The April 24th board meeting was held at the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, owned by Leo and Ivy, where they provided a private meeting room and a delicious lunch for all attendees. In appreciation, Chairlady Karen Perrault presented Leo with a trophy of recognition for their support throughout the years.

Our sincere thanks Leo and Ivy for all of your contributions to our club.

Progressive & eclectic California small plates restaurant

in Beverly Hills with captivating cocktails & fresh pasta

made daily. Under the creative direction of Grammy

nominated musician Dave Koz, we offer a mix of live

music ranging from renowned award winning artists to

up and coming breakthrough artists. With so much talent

in L.A., you just never who's going to show up on stage.

Join us for dineLA (July 13 - Aug. 31) Enjoy any 4 plates

on our menu for $40. SpaghettiniBH.com

310-424-4600184 N. Canon Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Progressive & eclectic California small plates restaurantin Beverly Hills with captivating cocktails & fresh pasta

made daily. Under the creative direction of Grammynominated musician Dave Koz, we offer a mix of livemusic ranging from renowned award winning artists to

up and coming breakthrough artists. With so much talentin L.A., you just never who’s going to show up on stage.

Join us for dineLA (July 13 - Aug. 31) Enjoy any 4 plates on our menu for $40. SpaghettiniBH.com

184 N. Canon Dr. Beverly Hills, CA 90210(310) 424-4600

5AUGUST 2015

The Hunt is On!!!Sunday, October 11th is the date.

Freddy has been out and about and has narrowed his search to the Pasadena environs. He is particularly interested in architecturally significant buildings and landmarks this year, as he is quite the cultured gent and very knowledgeable. We will be able to display OUR knowledge by answering many tough, but interesting, questions about places and things that we see along the way.

The challenge is on in just a couple of short months. Will you be ready? Start planning now!

The Art Astor Collection On Sunday, September 13th we are privileged to attend the Art Astor Classics Event Center and Living Automotive and Communication Museum in Anaheim. Our hosts Lou and Diana Oddo have made arrangements for us to view this marvelous collection of 65 beautifully restored cars. In addition, there are wonderful collections of antique telephones and radios, model trains, gas pumps, antique slot machines, movie memorabilia and other good things.

Art Astor is the owner, President and CEO of the Inland Empire’s KSPA AM 1510 (softer side of the ‘60’s, ‘70’s, and ‘80’s) and North San Diego’s KFSD AM 1450 (classical) and KCEO AM 1000 (financial news and talk) and has been in Southern California broadcasting for over 50 years. His dream of creating a center that is “dedicated to advancing education and knowledge through the preservation, restoration and presentation of a living collection of automotive and communication technologies” is embodied in this collection. You may see that phone that your family used to have in your home where you had to wait on your party line for others to get off the phone before you could use it. Or you may see that very radio where you and your family used to sit around and listen to “The Shadow Knows” and its mystery radio series. It will be a great walk back in time. After viewing this fascinating museum, we will enjoy a wonderful box lunch surrounded by the many collections.

This is a very special event that you will not want to miss because this museum is not open to the public. The cost is only $30.00 per person so be sure to mark your calendar and join us.

This is not black.

This is Rolls-Royce Mason’s Black, Code LB 31819

WHEN YOU LOVE CLASSICS, YOU SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

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This is not black.

This is Rolls-Royce Mason’s Black, Code LB 31819

WHEN YOU LOVE CLASSICS, YOU SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

Our world is colored by classics. They’re what we love and all we insure. Join us at hagerty.com or call 800-922-4050. We may sell insurance, but we live classics.

CLASSIC CAR INSURANCE

This is not black.

This is Rolls-Royce Mason’s Black, Code LB 31819

WHEN YOU LOVE CLASSICS, YOU SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY.

Our world is colored by classics. They’re what we love and all we insure. Join us at hagerty.com or call 800-922-4050. We may sell insurance, but we live classics.

CLASSIC CAR INSURANCE

RROC-SOCAL.COM6 AUGUST 2015

The Cover StoryBy Richard Dorsey

As a first time buyer it took years of scanning sources selling Rolls and Bentleys nationwide before I found my Perfect Motor Car. What set me on my quest was a long, dark and handsome Turbo, which had won its class at Santa Anita three years ago.

Off I went shopping, asking questions, comparing notes, and finding out that most RRs and Bentleys being sold by owners needed double the purchase price in repairs just to get them into running condition. The lesson I learned was that I had to take a prospective purchase to a qualified mechanic, like Ronny Shaver at Ronny’s Garage, before I could negotiate a sensible offer.

I purchased this 1967 Bentley Turbo R LWB beauty in the fall of 2014 from a couple who advertised, “Beverly Hills car available, in no hurry to sell.” I was told the vehicle was sold and serviced strictly by O’Gara Motors. Lodged all its life at the same hilltop address, it had “changed hands” twice as part and parcel of the sale price of the real estate.

When I looked the car over I found it cosmetically in showroom condition; everything worked correctly, including the clock, with not a scratch, dent, fade, or crack in sight. Registering only 41,000 miles, my biggest concern was discovering a reasonably serviced but needy garage queen. Gary Prothero of Scott Motors set me straight. Gary had the vehicle for a week attending to details, advising me for a small butcher’s tab that what I now owned was a seventeen-year-old, brand new vehicle.

The Bentley is breaking me in, gently. It won second place at this year’s Santa Anita Concours in its class. Fellow RROC members Harvey Moyses and Howard Green, who are also members of my book club, tell me belatedly, “Richard. It’s just a car.”

Sure it is!

On the other hand, I have owned a different car every year for the past sixty-one years since I was a fifteen year old kid and not one of them sang to me like this Bentley.

7AUGUST 2015

Safety First!by Ronny Shaver, Technical Chairman

Once again, I was searching for a good topic for this article when opportunity pops-up its head. I have a Silver Cloud II in the shop right now that was towed in with the complaint that “the starter won’t turn over and just change the oil.” I love the statement “just change the oil.” To me it means “I know the car needs work but I don’t want to spend any money.” This car is the perfect example.

The story began with a customer coming in a month or so ago (I hadn’t seen him or the car for over 9 years!) and him asking me to come to his house and just get the car started, “I’m sure it is something simple (which it actually turned out to be). I replied that I do not make house calls and that if he would like, we could set up an appointment to get his car towed to my shop. The customer declined and left. The following week he calls me with a “proposition” saying he would pay me one thousand dollars to come to his house and spend no more than one hour to attempt to start his car. I repeated to him that we could make an appointment to get his car towed to my shop. Once again, he declined. A week later he called, we set-up an appointment for a later date with the customer stating that he wanted “the starting problem fixed and oil changed.”

When the car was finally dropped off at my shop I walked up to the car and found this:

When I went to start the car it made a familiar clunking noise so I opened the right bonnet and reached down to the starter cable to give it a tug and it was loose. I tightened it up and it started right up! I’m sure you are thinking I could have made an easy thousand dollars! Believe me, it crossed my mind too!

Once the car was started, it ran very rough with a very loud hissing noise coming from the intake manifold area, another familiar sound indicating a leaking intake manifold gasket. I always try to road-test any car that comes in before working on it so I can get a feel for what the car may need besides “just an oil change.” After a very short around the block road-test I was fortunate enough to make it ‘safely’ back to the shop.

The first thing I noticed is that the power steering was very difficult in the parking lot and that it felt very loose (about ¼ turn free-play with an audible clunking noise in the steering column). When I pulled to the driveway to exit the shop the brakes did not grab very well at first (not too abnormal, sometimes these Silver Clouds need the brakes exercised after sitting for long periods of time), but once I applied the brakes on the road, they really didn’t grab and made a very loud growling or groaning noise from the front. Luckily I was able to slow down enough to make the turn and carefully made it back to the shop. At this point I realized that the customer’s note was addressing the roadworthiness of the car rather than his concerns about me damaging his car in any way!

I first added power steering fluid to the empty reservoir until it was to the proper level while turning the steering wheel back and forth to bleed the system. Then I raised the car to inspect the brakes and other safety items. I have included some pictures to show problems found.

This first picture is of the left front brake assembly. As you can see the shoes are soaked with brake fluid which caused the growling or groaning noise I heard while braking. The leaks are caused by the bad wheel cylinders which should be rebuilt if possible or replaced. The soaked linings not only make noise but more importantly do not

grab effectively, making the car hard to stop. Unsafe to say the least.

The next photo shows a severe power steering leak at the steering box area. One of the steering ram feed hoses was leaking badly. Since this car is left-hand drive, the exhaust pipes run directly under the gearbox. As you can see it is leaking directly onto the coming from one of the feed hoses to the steering ram. This is a possible fire hazard and definitely unsafe at any speed.

The last picture is of the “somewhat” bald tires. All four tires are in the same condition. As you can see, both tires have only a couple of grooves showing. Again, unsafe at any speed.

The interesting part of this story is that the customer didn’t want any of these or other unsafe conditions repaired. He told me that he was unsafe so it was no big deal that his car was unsafe. Since he wouldn’t repair the car I insisted that he would need to have the car towed from my shop and of course I also asked him to sign and date an invoice confirming that the car was unsafe to drive and he did not want to repair it. Scary to say the least!

I wonder how many other cars (of any type) are driving down the highways each day that are unsafe at any speed?

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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