Vintage Sports Car Gingerman Race and British Car Coral South Haven, Michigan. see web

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1 Our Club Activities for the 2012 Season May 12 or 19 Spring Drive Date to be confirmed June th Annual Michiana British Car Show at Saint Mary s College, South Bend. Details to follow. Sept Fall Tour Destination to be confirmed October Fall Drive Date to be confirmed Other Club/Organizations Activities for the 2012 Season May 5 June 3 July 7-8 Sept. 8 Vintage Sports Car Gingerman Race and British Car Coral South Haven, Michigan. see web The British Return to Fort Meigs British Car and Bike Show. Located at the Fort Meigs Historical Site, Route 65, Perrysburg, Ohio. While you show your car, tour the restored fort from the War of Contact: Tony Shoviak. Phone: Tenntony@worldnet.att.net. The Mad Dogs & Englishman British Auto Fair XXI Location: Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, Michigan Show registration applications available at 17 th Annual Austin Healey Club of America, Northern IN Chapter Show At the Round Barn Winery, Baroda, MI Club s Web Site - Membership - Currently the Club s annual membership is 71. Board Members President: Larry Palguta V.P. Membership: Herminne Marrese Phone: Phone: palguta@sbcglobal.net hmarrese@comcast.net V.P. Activities: Tom Shumaker V.P. Communications: Maurice Levitt Phone: mlfnl@att.net ets8@comcast.net Secretary: Maurice Levitt Treasurer: David Piser mlfnl@att.net Phone: david.piser@yahoo.com Page 2 of 8

2 British Marque Car Club News If you are not receiving this publication, please advise Herm Marrese at (574) Newsletter Submissions This is the Newsletter of the Michiana Brits, Ltd., Car Club and is distributed to all paid Annual Members as part of their dues. If you would like to submit articles for publication, they are most welcome, the deadline is the 25th of each month. Send all correspondence (electronic submissions are preferable) to the President, bring it to a General Meeting, or send to the Newsletter Editor at mlfnl@att.net Material is subject to editorial revision and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the 2012 Michiana Brits, Ltd., British Car Enthusiasts. Board Meeting February 7 th, 2012 The Board meeting was a brief meeting that was attended by Larry Palguta (via phone), Maurice Levitt and David Piser. Larry gave the following report: 1) Financial Report David reported that the current cash balance of the Club is $ Members are mailing in their dues. 2) Car Show - the catch phrase "Help Michiana Brits Drive Out Hunger" will be used for the food donation aspect of the Show. 3) February General Meeting Members to be sent a reminder about the February 18 th General Meeting at Jennie Rae s Restaurant in Rolling Prairie and in particular the time zone differences for the Meeting. The following tour of La Porte County Historical Society Museum that will follow the General Meeting was discussed. 4) Upcoming Events March 10 th breakfast/general meeting at the Le Peep Restaurant in downtown South Bend. Maurice has added a tour of the WNIT TV Station at 10 AM. Jennie Rae s Restaurant Breakfast/General Meeting Feb. 18th. 15 Michiana Brits members attended this meeting at this restaurant alongside Route 20 west of South Bend. This was our first meeting at this restaurant, and we were seated in a separate room. Larry ran the meeting that started with the following: Page 3 of 8

3 Financial Report: David reported that the Club s current cash balance was $ 2,208.00, which will increase as 2012 membership dues are received. New Members: Larry introduced new members at this meeting Car Show: The theme for the Club s food donation will be Help Michiana Brits Drive Out Hunger ; a donation food container is to be obtained. The British Marque will be adding our Car Show date in the May/June edition of the publication. Membership: Renewal dues are being received, and attendees were reminded that the dues are required by March 31 st. Upcoming events: The March 10 th Breakfast/General meeting at Le Peeps in downtown South Bend. (Maurice has subsequently added a 10 AM tour of the WNIT Television Station). Spring Drive: Our Club will be joining Mad Dogs on this Drive, and currently the potential date will be on May 12 th or the 19 th. Members will be advised when this date is confirmed. Fall Tour: Potential date of the 2012 Fall Tour date is Sept 20 th 23 rd. Destination of this tour is to be decided. Fall Drive: Suggested date of Oct. 6 th and a destination/routing is required. Tech Session: Date in April is to be confirmed with Roger Deacon and the session will consist of a basic car check on a floor lift. A Pot Luck will follow. Tour of the La Porte County Historical Society Museum Feb. 18 th. 13 members drove from the Breakfast/General meeting at Jennie Rae s Restaurant to this Museum, which was a real eye opener. The displays included the following: The Kesling 30+ Car Collection that included an MG, Austin America, Playboy and a DeLorean. A collection of 1,000+ Ancient Weapons. A single wing aeroplane yep in the building! 14 Period Room displays of different times in history starting with a pioneer log cabin, a Victorian parlor, an old fashioned business Office, a 1920 s kitchen, early TV s etc. etc. Native American artifacts. Two FANTASTIC operational model railroad layouts, and much more. One item that caught my eye was a 1976 electric car, that had a 50 mile range on a single battery charge, was designed and built locally 36 years ago, and consider that now the major car manufacturers are introducing their models! Here s a photo of the one in the Museum: Page 4 of 8

Consider driving this car down the road and parking it in a Walmart Car Park!! I bet it would draw a crowd of admirers!! The Club, as a group, enjoyed the tour and would certainly recommend it to all.

4 Consider driving this car down the road and parking it in a Walmart Car Park!! I bet it would draw a crowd of admirers!! The Club, as a group, enjoyed the tour and would certainly recommend it to all. We stayed for around 2 hours before we left. Stan Mason s TALE OF TWO BUG EYE SPRITES (as of 8/24/11) Beginning Interest in Sports Cars: My interest in Sports Cars was unusual when I was growing up as a young male. I occupied my time building plastic car models, enjoying Strombecker Slot Cars and reading Sports Car magazines while my friends were all normal American Kids with interest in Hot Rods. Page 5 of 8

5 1st Sports Car Race: In age 16, I talked my Dad into taking me to Mid-Ohio to see my first Sports Car Race. This was a Professional USSRC race and the warm-up races before the main event were some Production SCCA classes including HP. Watching 12 Bug Eye Sprites racing altogether was so exciting for me and made ownership of one of these cool cars mandatory with the intent of eventually racing. 1st Bug Eye: When I graduated from High School in the summer of 1967 (no cars before that point were the rules in my house) within the week I had purchased my first Bug Eye for $500. I was told by my American Car Buying Father that it was a piece of junk and that I needed reliable transportation to get to and from College that fall. I of course countered by saying it would be fine (knowing he was probably right). It just did not matter to me I was into the moment of having independence in a cool top down Sports Car with summer drawing near. This Bug Eye had been painted black with a paint brush and had a wedged piece of 2 X 4 wood to support the broken rear generator support. My first engine failure (severe oil leak at block to filter tube) occurred a month later requiring an engine rebuild. This car became my main year around transportation for the next 3 years. 2 nd Bugeye (Race Car #4): In 1968 working part time at a gas station making $20 a week while attending college when a fellow gas jockey and college friend (Dave Braun) mentioned seeing an advertisement in the Newspaper for Sprite Racing Parts. An immediate phone call followed with a visit to the owner John Brase s house. I examined the racing parts all of which were way more expensive than the $20 a week I could afford. He also had a Race Prepared Bug Eye BRG with Red interior. He asked if I was interested in a ride around the block. I of course gave him an excitable yes! He turned on the ignition switch triggering the sound of dual SU electric fuel pumps, as the clicking slowed after gaining pressure he pulled the starter cable, which resulted in a throbbing sound that only a race engine with headers and a straight exhaust can posses. After returning to his Garage I asked if he would be interested in selling the car (pretty bold for a $20 a week gas jockey). He explained that he was going on military duty in Germany for the next 3 years and would discuss with his wife. He called back after a week and said that it was important for him to sell his car to someone that really appreciated Bug Eyes, so yes he would sell it to me. I gulped deep and awkwardly explained that I only made $20 a week. He said, No problem, just provide a $100 down payment and pay his Mom when I could. I was able to pay off the car in the next 2 years with some of the pay off coming from the sale of extra race parts that were part of the deal (I wish I had those same parts today). Present Day: Thanks to John s generosity I have owned this car ever since and enjoy Vintage Racing and Showing it at Sports Car Shows. I am proud to say that every part of the car has been restored or rebuilt by me and I am only the 3 rd owner. I kept my first 1965 Mid Ohio Sports Car Program, and after buying the car I was surprised to see my new race car was listed as Number 14 John Brase Fort Wayne Indiana. The picture below is of me and the Bug Eye drifting through Turn 4 at the 2011 Gingerman Race. Page 6 of 8

6 In every month s Newsletter, I will include a topic that I hope you will find useful in connection with the maintenance and enjoyment of our cars. This month the topic is: A Leaking Water Pump Article written by Ken Streeter, with input from various sources and provided courtesy of The Vintage Triumph Registry, If the water pump is starting to go bad, there is a weep hole on the underside of the water pump, that will let coolant drip out, as an early warning signal that your pump might be bad. (It is intended to let excess lubricant from the bearings drip out rather than get forced past the seal into the coolant, and also let coolant drip out when the seal goes bad rather than contaminate the lubricant in the bearings.) If coolant is leaking from this hole, the water pump is starting to show signs of wear. In some cases, the pump will slowly weep on the first few runs after sitting for a while (months) and then stop. If your car is a Page 7 of 8

7 daily driver and its weeping, then I suggest replacing first off. If you just brought it out of winter storage, watch your fluid levels, engine temp, and the rate of the leak for about a week of running. If it doesn't stop, then replace. Don't go any longer, the pump might seize or fail!!! An additional check for water pump condition is to remove the belt and jiggle the rotor; too much radial play points to a bad bearing. New water pumps are not too expensive, and fairly easy to install. It is generally simpler to buy a new (or rebuilt) pump assembly than to try to repair an existing pump. Recipe Corner Due to lack of response from members submitting their favorite recipes, there will be no more Recipe Corner in this and future Newsletters. Naomi Levitt Page 8 of 8

After General Mtg. group visit to La Porte County Historical Society Museum

Board Meetings February 7, 2012 6:30pm Maurice Levitt 5321 S. Lee Ct. South Bend. IN 46614 Our Club Activities for the 2012 Season February 18 After General Mtg. group visit to La Porte County Historical