Abingdon Rough Rider Review

June 2015 Vol. LVII no. 6 President -

Brian Sonner

Vice President -

Joe Marcotte

Activities Director

Howard Shempp

Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor-

Allan Chalmers

Eminence Gris Bill Traill

Web Master

Rick Storms

A Dinner with Mike at the Marcottes’ TCs Forever is universally acknowledged as the ‘Bible’ on TC's, covering the

model, its status, development and preservation. It is a manual, testimony,

reference book and exposé rolled into one.

Mike Sherrell, the author of this gold standard of TC references, is travelling

from Perth, Australia to the Bay Area to attend the GoF in Rohnert Park this

month. Linda and Allan Chalmers will be accommodating him in San

Francisco for a couple of days before the event.

We’ll be hosting an informal dinner at our home on Friday, June 12th from

3:30 – 8:00 and invite you to join us in welcoming and visiting with Mike.

Please RSVP to marcottes at the address on the website before June 6th so that we can send you a

map.

Monday – Thursday June 14-19 Gathering of the faithful

in Rohnert Park hosted by Lawrie Alexander and the Sacramento Valley MG

Car Club. Check the web site www.gofwest.org

for schedule of events by day. If you only want to come for the car show, it will

be Tuesday.

Check the events page for a special event Tuesday nite of GoF

Our web site www.abingdonroughriders.org

An advisory from our webmaster

For those receiving the web version, remember, you can contact your esteemed officers by clicking the “About Us” link and

clicking on the name of the officer. This protects us from malefactors!

On the Events page, each month's event includes three icons. One is to email the host, one is a link to a Google map that shows

the starting point of the run, and finally, one to show weather conditions. – Rick”

If you’d like to drop the printed version and read this on the web site let your editor know

Coming Events

Monday – Thursday June 14-19 Gathering of the faithful in Rohnert Park

Tuesday, June 15 – a Barbie at the Chalmers’ temporary ranch in Santa Rosa

We have borrowed our friend’s place for the week and Tuesday nite is free at GoF, so come on over! We’ll be doing burgers and sausages. Details will

be emailed to those who email or call me to sign up 415 566 9796 or the address on the web site

Ranch is on the Santa Rosa/ Calistoga Rd., about 20/25 minutes from the hotel.

Sunday, July 26 A Mare Island tour, featuring the Tiffany windows in the base chapel - see

the write-up from the SF Chronicle http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mare-Island-s-key-place-

amid-the-tides-of-5990735.php hosted by the Taylors

Sunday, August 16 Blackhawk Museum tour and BBQ at our host’s (Gary & Alanna

Kennedy)

Sunday, September 13 Marin Sonoma Run (Chalmers) date

Late Sept or early October: 59th

Annual Conclave (TCMG) - date not set yet by the

TCMG hosts

November: Dinner in San Francisco (Sanders/Chalmers) Another Delancey St

event by popular demand – date not set

December 19/20: Christmas Holiday Party (Taylors) Note that the date has been set

Other Events

First Saturday of each month - Cars & Coffee, Pier 31, San Francisco, 8 – 11AM – June 6

Sunday, May 31 MGs by the Bay in Danville, see flyer last month

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Missive from the desk of your president:

Now that the Mini Conclave is behind us, we are focusing on the 2015 GoF West, 15-19 June. This

annual event will be in our backyard. At last count there are over 120 cars registered and the daily events are

planned and published. Anyone can catch up with the details by going to www.gofwest.org and segue to the

2015 event. All of the information, registration procedures, etc., are there for anyone who is behind the power

curve.

As a club, we have volunteered to help wherever needed. I expect that Barry Swackhamer will need

some folks to assist with the rally. The car show always needs people to direct traffic and get cars in the right

place. Be sure to look around and volunteer.

The following month is the Mare Island Tour on 26 July. Be sure to sign up and attend. It should be a

great event.

Two of our members, Jim Silva and Ed Pohle, both have had trailers with cars inside stolen recently.

After talking to local law enforcement folks, they indicated that these are not isolated incidents. Covered

trailers are easily sold and used since trailers are not too difficult to reregister by changing the identification

numbers. During my years in the Coast Guard we spent a lot of effort making sure our trailers were secured.

We would leave them at marinas for times when we needed to work in remote areas. Times have changed and

the techniques for securing and tracking a trailer have improved.

My trailer is not one of those that will be targeted. It is old, open and has a big MG painted on the front.

However, I have tried a variety of locks on both the trailer coupler and the hitch receiver. Most recently I have

settled on a Master Lock 2848DAT that has both a coupler lock and hitch receiver lock. I purchased them as a

set on Amazon for under $20. The advantage of the coupler lock is that it is adjustable and can be snugged up

to the receiver so that it is difficult to access to “attack” it. The hitch receiver lock comes with two rods (1/2”

and 5/8”) to match what you have on your vehicle. These will not guarantee a trailer will be safe, but it will

take special equipment, time and a lot of noise to steal it.

I had never considered a GPS tracking device as an option. I went on line and looked at a variety and

called a couple companies to get details. They are not cheap and there are recurring costs after the initial few

years. I talked to a technician at www.gpsandtrack.com about their trailer GPS tracking equipment. The price

is under $300 and is covered for three years without additional cost. After that it costs $20 per year to have the

service. The batteries last for 5 years and can be replaced. I do not endorse them but only use them as an

indication of what is available out there.

Times are changing, and we have to protect ourselves in areas that I never before considered necessary.

The reality is that locks keep honest folks honest. Determined thieves will get past them.

Brian

The 2015 Mini Conclave

The Mini Conclave was well attended and had

some high points and one real low point. We had 15 TCs

driving around El Dorado County for the weekend.

Friday night 34 folks showed up at our house and

consumed a substantial amount of food. Thanks to the

Shempps, Taylors, Chalmers and Alexanders we had lots

of food. The evening was delightful as everyone gathered

and caught up with one another. We had some new

members, Ron and Donna Engstrom, joining the

festivities.

Kurt Raffetto’s knowledge of the Placerville area’s

history of sports car racing was put to good use. Thanks

to his planning, Saturday morning we met and did the

drive to Lotus and then up the old Georgetown Divide Hill Climb route that was raced annually in the 1960s.

The weather was fantastic and the pace was reasonable. Some, namely Lawrie Alexander, was hoping that we

would push a lot harder. The buffalo, goats and donkey that watched us go by did not seem at all impressed.

Things went along swimmingly UNTIL we got to Placerville. The driving instructions and the maps did not,

apparently, properly provide the navigators with sufficient detail to allow all of us to get to the end point

together.

Once we all finally made it to our destination, we were treated to a very informative presentation about the

chemical and taste requirements for olive oil to be considered Extra Virgin. Elizabeth and John Taylor had

arranged for the visit and tasting experience at Collina di Mela olive oil farm that is owned and operated by

their long time friends. For six years Ron and Judy Sbragia have been harvesting and milling 4 acres of olives

grown at Collina di Mela. Ron followed in the footsteps of his grandfather’s family in Italy. Their estate grown

oil is primarily the Frantoio variety known for its flavor and peppery finish. The very first year they won a gold

medal from the L.A. International Olive Oil Competition. Since then they have won many awards, and most

recently have been named the only olive oil producer in the USA to have been named a finalist in the Good

Food Awards which has sponsors like Williams-Sonoma and Whole Foods. We now know that the vast

majority of olive oil claiming to be Extra Virgin does not, in fact, meet the standards. Ron and Judy graciously

opened their beautiful home to us and provided elegant tables and chairs for our picnic after the tasting. After

the picnic we departed and returned to our respective lodging.

Our Saturday evening dining was at a Mexican restaurant, Casa Ramos. The food and service were

good but the acoustics were not so good. It was pretty noisy. Since we were about the only people in the room,

the noise was all ours.

Shortly after this the LOW POINT occurred. About 10PM Ed Pohle’s trailer and car were stolen from

the parking lot next to his motel. Most of us found out about the theft about 8:30 the next morning. Since Ed

was working with the local police and there was nothing else we could do, we gathered behind The Cary House

and decided to head back home. Some of us were headed to Ione for brunch. Before departing, several

indicated the need to gas up. So we stopped at the QuickStop on Highway 49. During the stop, the girl behind

the counter said that she had seen a car like ours in a ditch on a local back road at 5AM that morning on her way

to work. She called the police and it turned out to be Ed’s car with some significant damage from being

dumped in the ditch and an apparent effort to hot wire it. Since, as you all know, the TC is a complex electronic

machine, they were unable to crack the technology and be successful. They did, however, know how to cut

wires and steal tools. Ed’s car was recovered—minus the trailer—and eventually towed to his home and awaits

repair/restoration. If anything could serve as a “downer” at the end of an otherwise fun gathering, that was it.

As is always the case, the best part of the weekend was being with friends and enjoying “a drive in the

country.” It takes a lot of people to make a weekend like this work. Thanks to all of you who reached out and

added to the enjoyment of the weekend.

Brian

Gathering for the Saturday Run Some jolly good roads

A very interesting olive oil talk Ed Dail brought his sombrero

Ed’s car at 5AM off the side of the road A bit banged up but he got it back

A visit to a J2

A few of us pre-war guys visited Dave Gallagher in Newark, to look at his project car. Dave inherited the J2

from his dad, who had driven it for 18 years in Manhattan. The car is in remarkably good condition, with only

surface rust. Dave has the engine out and it looks good too. A good project for a Tesla engineer!

Joe Crisafulli, Dave, Barry & Terry Dan Shockey & PA ready for the road

Gary’s Story As told to Joe Marcotte

Gary Kennedy has had an MG T car since he was 15 years old. Despite the

rigors of winters of his childhood home in Utah and the demands presented

to him as the long-time National Sales Manager of the William Wrigley

Company, he’s never lost sight of the importance of having an MG in his

life. Here’s his story.

As I recall, I was eight years old in 1960 when I experienced my first

sighting of an MG. My father had taken me to visit my Uncle Joe's bakery

where we lived in Ogden, Utah. My Uncle Joe quit school in the 8th grade

in 1905 to sell donuts on the street corners of downtown Ogden. It was a

rags-to-riches story for my uncle Joe, as he became the largest bread

distributor in Northern Utah. Along with his bakery operation came a fleet

of trucks and a workshop. On the day we visited the bakery, we were going

to see his collection of Pierce Arrows. His pride and joy was the nicely restored bright red Pierce Arrow that he

claimed was the touring car of Marlene Dietrich. I remember the huge car with red leather tufted seats and all

of the brass fittings. As we looked around the shop at the other dozen or so Pierce Arrows, I spied in the corner

of the warehouse a car that was just my size. It was an MG TD covered in dust and painted a dark maroon

color. From that instant I knew this was a car for me someday. As time went on, as a kid I always had an

interest in visiting my Uncle Joe. At his house in North Ogden he had his own junk yard of around two dozen

old cars, mainly Pierce Arrows, in various degrees of disrepair. I climbed all over those old cars and examined

all of their parts.

Fast forward to 1967 and the summer of love for you hippies in California. My brother who was five years

older than I brought home a bright orange 1960 bug-eye Sprite that he paid $80 for. I don't know who enjoyed

the car more, my Dad or my brother. I was 14 years old and this was the car I learned to drive in. This sparked

my interest in British Sports Cars as we would see a few Healeys, Triumphs and an occasional MGT or MGA

around town. At this time my Dad and brother had spotted a few TDs parked in garages and made some efforts

to buy one, with no luck. The search for a TD had ended, or so I thought, when 1968 rolled around and my

brother left for Special Forces training for the Utah National Guard in February.

It was early in March, 1968 as I was walking home from school after a very wet snow storm that dumped about

6" of snow, I realized that I was walking in the tracks of a car that led up to my house. As I turned in the

driveway, in the carport, was something that resembled a car. As I examined it I realized that having an engine

in the front seat might require a considerable amount of reassembly. My father, who was an aircraft mechanic

at Hill Air Force Base, arrived shortly after I got home. He explained to

me that he had bought the '52 MG TD from an airman at Nellis AFB

with an MGB Power train for $500. The challenge was to put it all

together. This was my introduction to all things mechanical. The

original engine, while complete, had a huge chunk out of the bottom of

one of the cylinders along with a crack in the side. I was fascinated

to see how all of the internal parts of the engine worked together. My

Dad and I went to work mounting the MGB engine and gear box into the

TD chassis. Most of the parts came from J.C. Whitney as we were unaware of Moss Motors or any other MG

parts supplier. There was however an MG import dealer in Salt Lake City where we could get some of the parts

for the MGB power train. Fortunately my father was an ace mechanic. I remember him meticulously wiring

the car one strand at a time and tying the bundles into very tight little knots. Although he was a civilian, the Air

Force flew him all around the world to diagnose and fix F-4 fighters. He was so good that he became the chief

mechanic for the Air Force Thunderbirds.

So my summer of '68 was spent sanding the TD/B (my version of my TD with a B power train) and cleaning

and painting chassis parts. With the car done mechanically, my Dad allowed me to drive it on many fishing trips

we took up the canyons of Utah. The car was painted and completed in August. As the seed money for the

TD/B came from the sale of my brother’s cars while he was at military training, Dad figured the car belonged to

my brother. Well, he drove it for a winter while going to college at the University of Utah, but quickly

discovered how miserable a British sports car could be in a Utah winter. Even though my Dad fashioned a

heater in the TD/B tool box it was cold, leaked and the wiper motors didn't have enough power to move snow

off the windscreen. At the start of the second winter my brother bought a VW so the TD came home. Yippee

for me!

By the summer of '69 I had saved $800 from my job at the local grocery store and bought the caramel-colored

TD from my brother. As I started my junior year of high school it life was as good as it gets. I had wheels, I

had my letter jacket as I'd lettered in track my sophomore year, was starting on the varsity football team, had a

job and was dating a blonde cheerleader. It doesn't get much better than that! I drove the TD for a few years

until I had saved enough money to buy a 1970 Chevelle SS 396. So the TD got parked and driven very little

once I got into college. While in college I saw my first TC; it was white and had Connecticut plates. I never

met the owner.

I graduated from Weber State University in 1976 with a B.S. degree in

Marketing and Economics, had gotten married the year before, and got a job

as a field representative for the Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company (yes, chewing

gum) and moved 100 miles south to Orem, Utah.

I was very fortunate to get such a plum job working for Wrigley right out of

college. I was on a national salary scale, paid benefits, bonus, stock plan,

company car and expense account. I was familiar with working with

manufacturers’ representatives, as I had spent my high school and college

years working as a manager for the local Smiths supermarket chains.

My territory extended from the southern half of Salt Lake City down to Moab, Utah over to Cedar City and all

of eastern Nevada. I was accountable for all the volume and merchandising of Wrigley Gum in this piece of

geography. In the 70's the checkout was not well developed in the retail trade so my job was to install small

gum racks on every checkout. Gum is very profitable with gross margins around 40% and it appeals to

everyone. Gum is also the ultimate consumable as it is the only food product that is "not a share of stomach"

item. (That is an actual marketing term in the industry). At this time period Wrigley's market share had slipped

to around 33% of the gum market and we were now the #2 manufacturer. With only three brands of gum, all

sugar products, Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit (which were also singular flavors), we had a

tough time competing in the growing sugar-free gum market. Five years later I was promoted to Regional Sales

Manager for the Rocky Mountain States and was able to move my market share in my region to 60%. During

this time period I was selected to work in our Chicago HQ with the brand teams on the sales plans for our sugar-

free gum Extra. I was promoted again and in 1988 moved to Roseville, CA. The TD came with me and sat in

the garage.

I was working on a new checkout program with the senior executives at Albertsons in Boise Idaho when I spied

the perfect red TD. It took me back to my high school days when a local, Dr. Flanders, who had befriended me,

owned a red- on-red TD. I cut a deal with the restorer and bought the car. You can imagine my wife's surprise

when the car was delivered, the day after Thanksgiving in 1993. I drove it that winter and spring but when

summer rolled around I had an overheating problem. Luckily, I discovered Lawrie Alexander and we soon

found out that the last person to work on the engine had put the head gasket on backwards! Lawrie sorted it out,

did a rebuild on the engine, and I was back on the road. In the meantime I got the first TD/B running again (just

barely) and shipped it to Lawrie to work on.

In 1994 another promotion took me to the Bay Area. I was now the Western Division Sales Manager with

accountability for the Western U.S. Along with the job came a second office in Chicago, and a 70% travel

schedule. I now had three tiers of managers under me, 110 sales people and was accountable for about a $400

million dollar annual gum business. Who would have ever thought that you could

make a good living off of something as insignificant as gum!

1997 rolled around and my son Connor was born in August. I had found a TF in

Lodi and closed the deal on the morning of his birth, while still at the hospital.

The TF was painted a hot pink color and had been owned by a lady for 25 years.

She had antique insurance on the car, so she only drove it 100 miles per year, to the golf course and back. The

TF had several mechanical issues so I shipped it to Lawrie and we put together a plan. Over the next two weeks

I meticulously disassembled and catalogued all of the bits with the corresponding Moss part number. Then I

sent the engine and gearbox to Lawrie, the frame and body to the bead blaster, all of the chrome to be redone,

etc. In late Jan. 1998 all the bits were back. Lawrie allowed me to start the reassembly in his shop and by June

the car was done. The now-black TF was absolutely stunning as it rolled out of Lawrie's shop, testimony to the

craftsmanship of Lawrie and his eye for detail.

A few years went by and I now had a son, two TDs, a TF and a high-stress

job. With barely enough time to be the dad of a very athletic son and

work, I figured it was time to jettison the two TD's. I sold both TD's and

wouldn't you know it, John Taforo's TC came up for sale. I bought the TC,

shipped it to Lawrie, put a plan together and started writing checks.

This TC was exceptional, as it had a new body tub, and the frame and

wings were near perfect. In struggling with a color scheme I decided that since it was such a straight car it

begged to be black and red. Lawrie had intended to make this his last

TC restoration, but he experienced some back issues and he felt it was

time to close up shop and semi-retire. So we shipped the TC to Martin

Hveem. Martin took over where Lawrie left off and completed the

painting and final assembly. The goal was to restore the car to concours

standards. I did the research on the TC and, with the exception of the

chrome wheels and walnut dash, got most of the car period-correct,

including the supercharger. This spectacular TC won the award for the best British sports car at the Danville

Concours d’ Elegance. Several of the docents told me this was the finest restoration they had ever seen on any

car, let alone an MG.

I remarried in 2009 and while on my honeymoon with my wife, Allana, we bought a second home, 22 miles

west of Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As the secondary home market had collapsed, we were able to buy our new

home for 30 cents on the dollar. Our home in Victor, Idaho is in a small resort community, complete with two

golf courses. With the purchase of the second home, the next issue was how to pay to furnish it. So I sold the

TC for the tidy sum of $70,000 to an investor from Canada. With my return to the mountains I've been able to

revisit my youth of hunting and fishing.

The Wrigley Company was sold in October, 2008 to the Mars Company for the sum of $24 billion. The Mars

Co. bought every share of Wrigley stock and took the company private. I retired from Wrigley two years ago,

after working for them for 37 years. I enjoyed working for three generations of the Wrigley Company and was

fortunate to have Bill Wrigley as one of my mentors.

I now spend as much time as possible at my home in Idaho. For the last four years I have been hunting on

horseback in the wilderness areas of Wyoming with a guide. Last year I was successful in bagging a mule deer,

two elk and a bear. I eat what I kill so the freezer is full. When not in Idaho I spend my time now attending my

son’s soccer games a few times a week and hunting pheasants with Brian Sonner.

As I look back at the number of cars I've owned over the last 45 years, my all-time favorite car would be the

TC. The styling is timeless and it is one of the most elegant post-war cars ever made. My TF, while a beauty,

drives like a somewhat modern car.

With my son now in his last year of high school, Allana and I are considering moving permanently to our home

in Victor, Idaho, population 1,850 people, with two stop lights in the entire county. As Allana's heritage also is

in the northern Utah and Idaho area, this return to our roots would represent both our long-term goals. I get to

hunt and fish and Allana has her horse.

As I sum up my interest in MG's, one thing is certain: from my first experience working on that TD with my

Dad to the many friends I have made along the way, the journey and the rewards have fulfilled many lifelong

dreams.

Thanks, Gary! What a great story. I only hope that, should the Kennedys secede from

the Bay Area to Idaho, your TF accompanies you. JM.

Denise McCluggage, January 20, 1927 – May 6, 2015

I’m sorry to say that Denise has passed on. A terrific driver, writer and former TC owner

Here’s an item she wrote years ago;

“My car to get me around in the ski country was of all things an MG-

TC. Red. I had a ski rack devised that carried one pair of metal skis,

then a new idea, attached to the passenger’s side front fender and the

rear corner of the tiny running board..I traveled alone. The Brits were

not much for creature comforts like warmth so I had a heater of sorts

installed. It was like a feeble dog breathing fitfully on my ankles.

Coming off a ski hill to drive off into the gathering darkness I donned

one of those tent-like parkas with a fur-lined hood left over from the

10th

Mountain Division’s WWII activities and a second pair of gloves.

A loose roller skate with pretenses of being a sports car was an uncommon sight on any road but in the up-

country it would have been cause for open-mouthed gawking. Except up-country folk didn’t do that. They had

corners of eyes for such unseemly scrutinizing. I got a lot of eye-corner.

But often I was far out of anyone’s ken on forsaken roads bandaged in white and collecting more. Maybe I

passed the occasional orange rectangle of a farm house window spilling in an elongated image on the crusty

surface outside, but mostly it was a trackless path just one snow-plow blade wide that I followed through (I

hoped) the semi-wilderness of the Adirondacks.

All these decades later I can replay on my retinal screen the TC’s headlights, two distinct little beams, probing

into the flurries coming straight at me like a swarm of luminous gnats. That’s all there was in the shaken glass

ball in which I drove.

When I want the calmness of suspended time, and even suspended gravity, I can allow another image to play

across my memory. I reach the lakeside cabin in which I was to stay, the lake recognizable in its masquerade as

an expanse of a flat field, some cross-country ski tracks still vaguely visible on its surface. The snow was now

floating slowly as if in heavy liquid, each flake turning slowly as if to let me see that it was truly different from

its neighbor. Count the sides. See? Six.

As I unfolded out of the TC a haloed light glowed a welcome by the cabin door. Then the snow, almost furry in

its fatness, suddenly became motionless and the TC and I, and the lighted cabin door, began moving upward

through this mime of a snow flurry. As I rose I collected snow on my shoulders. It melted into tears on my

cheeks. I was mesmerized by this magically inverted world for I don’t know how long because I think clocks

were winding a different way, too. Then the snow simply stopped. I wrestled my bag out of the car, clicked the

TC into ticking darkness and went in to bed. Dreams, on nights like this, swirled with snowy roads as well.”

(Ed. Note: Not many people are writing like that anymore. I’ll miss her AutoWeek column)

Rick Storms is leading a tour at the GoF on Tuesday

Member Businesses – Support your TC vendors!

Sure Fit Seat Covers Jim Silva

(510) 357-4355

13922 E 14th St,

San Leandro, CA 94578

btwn 139th Ave and 138th Ave

1526 Charles Dr Redding,CA 9600 Phone:

530 244-4153

Fax: 530 244-4169