Abingdon Rough Rider Review

March 2013 Vol. LV(55) no. 3 President -

Brian Sonner

Vice President -

Barry Swackhamer

Activities Director

Linda Chalmers/Eliz.Taylor

Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor-

Allan Chalmers

Eminence Gris

Bill Traill Web Master

Rick Storms

The St. Paddy's Day Run, Sunday March 17th.

Yes, it will be a bit of old Ireland in Marin. We will meet at the Park and Ride parking lot

at the Lucas Valley exit off Highway 101 in Marin starting at 9:00 and a takeoff time of

around 10:00. From there a run out Lucas Valley road to Point Reyes Station for a stop

and a bit of a walk around. Then off to ride some Irish Roads in Marin (a short drive

away), then back to San Anselmo via Sir Francis Drake Blvd to the home of our hosts –

the O’Storms. There you will be treated to a traditional Irish Fish Stew and Irish Brown

Bread. And of course Irish Beer. Please plan on bringing some munchies to share and any

thing to drink. Also please let our hosts, Rick and Judy, know if

you are coming.

Dues are due - $25 cheap to your humble servant !

Made out to Allan Chalmers 1231 12th

Ave. San Francisco, CA 94122

You may pay via Paypal – let me know and I’ll supply my Paypal address

Several of y’all have kept your purse strings tight - Those who get a printed copy will have a red mark

under your name. Others will be getting an email reminder. Membership list will be mailed next month.

An advisory about email 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 me know

Coming Events

Sunday March 17

a Point Reyes Run –

Sunday April 21

Run up Mt Hamilton- Barry Swackhamer

Friday to Sunday May 3 – 5

Jackson / Placerville Weekend – Brian & Jane Sonner

Sunday June 9

Wine Country Tour –

Sunday July 28

Berry Picking on the coast - Norman Tuck

August – date to be determined

check out the sailboats in GG Park – Jeff Stobbe

September Conclave – date & location unknown,

It’s the TCMG’s turn to host – no date yet

Monday thru Friday October 28 – November 2

GoF in Arizona, plus another event possible, locally

Sunday, November 17

Dinner at Original Joe’s SF – Linda C.

Saturday December 14

Holiday Party – at the Taylor’s in Healdsburg

Other events

April 27-28 - Pacific Coast Dream Machine Show – Half Moon Bay – see flyer

Sunday June 2 - MGs by the Bay in Danville

September 14-15 – British Fall Classic in Morgan Hill

Missive from the desk of the president.

The Capitola run was a success. Not only was there

a great turnout but the weather was wonderful. We

owe special thanks to the Stobbes and the Taylors

for hosting the event.

The effort to plan and execute an event is

significant. One of the best parts of this club is that

members volunteer to host these events and the rest

of us benefit from their efforts. Jane and I hope to

see quite a large turnout at the Point Reyes Run on

17 March sponsored by the Storms.

At the annual meeting the Mini-Conclave was

selected as an event for the spring. There was some

discussion about spending all or part of the weekend

in Jackson at the National Hotel. It was closed for 2

years and went through an 8-10 million dollar

rehabilitation. It is truly amazing. The Taylors and

Sonners went down for a look and to see if it made

sense to do it there. Had we planned it in January

and had members signed up by mid February we

could have gotten the rooms for about $165 per

night. However, at this point we are talking about

$265 per night. After some discussion, it was

decided that the cost would be too high. Next year,

we can decide to go there and make arrangements

early enough to get the reduced prices. Another

suggestion was Mokelumne Hill at the Leger Inn. It

is for sale and has had a $10,000 facelift, which was

basically a paint job and some work on the pool

deck and wine cellar. The basic problem is that

over half of the rooms have no private bathroom.

Again, the decision was that we would not go there.

So, we will be heading back to Placerville for the

Mini-Conclave. We will do different drives and

different restaurants.

Keep an eye on the web site for details and

schedules of future events.

On a personal note, any ideas for Geoffrey

Locquenutte’s activities would be appreciated.

Visit the historic gold rush town of Placerville

May 3rd, 4th, and 5th, 2013

Arrive Friday afternoon, check into the Cary

House Hotel in downtown Placerville (300 Main

Street). Parking in the city operated parking lots

behind the hotel is free while you are staying at the

Cary House. The hotel will rope off an area for us

immediately behind the hotel and notify the city.

There is parking available for trailers at the

Sonner’s for those who intend to trailer their cars.

Rooms are large and include kitchenette,

complimentary continental breakfast (7-10

am) and free wine tasting in the evening:

Queen Suite: $119.90/night

King Suite: $130.90/night

Large Suite: $141.90/night

All prices include tax, etc. I

recommend the Queen or King Suites.

Friday evening there will be a BBQ at the

Sonner’s home in Placerville. The membership

attending the annual meeting decided that the

‘treasury” would fund the cost of materials needed

for the BBQ. However, BYOB.

The Saturday drive (leaving about 9 am) we

will take some back roads and end up at Fitzpatrick

Winery and Lodge between 11:00 and 12:00. They

serve ploughman’s lunches, wine, beer and

nonalcoholic beverages. The cost of the lunches

ranges from $17.25 to $19.75 including tax

and gratuity. Each lunch feeds two people. Those

who sign up to attend the event will be given

details, can make food selections, and will be asked

to pay in advance. There is a web site for those

who would like a preview of the view from there

and the food. After lunch we will drive back to

Placerville.

Saturday afternoon will be open for relaxing

and/or wandering around the shops in Placerville.

We will be dining at Bricks Eats & Drinks

in Placerville. It is a short walk from the hotel. We

will be gathering at 5:30 for drinks and dinner. The

restaurant is accustomed to handling groups like

ours allowing us to order off of the menu and have

individual bills. By gathering at this hour we can be

assured that we will be seated. Bricks also has a

web site so you can take a look and see the menu.

At a reasonable time on Sunday morning

(about 9 am) the group will leave for home. Sunday

brunch will be in Ione at Clark’s Corner Restaurant.

It is a buffet brunch for $10.95. There are other

breakfast delights for those who do not want a large

meal. We will go through the brunch line and eat on

the patio or if you want something smaller you can

order it at the counter.

Carey House Hotel reservations should be

made individually at (530) 622-4271 indicating that

you are part of the Abingdon Rough Riders. They

are keeping a block of rooms for us for Friday and

Saturday nights. This is “downtown-frontier” living

so I recommend that you make reservations early,

request a rear room and that you be placed with

other members of the group.

If you plan on attending, please let me know

by email (see advisory on emailing on page 1 ) or

by phone at (530) 295-9406 as soon as possible.

Capitola

A number of folks fell out on this lovely day to

motor down to Capitola and the home of Jeff &

Colleen Stobbe, and the President’s Day weekend

habitat of John & Elizabeth Taylor. Meeting at

Woodside were a singularly MG-less group of

Chalmers - Porsche 356, Terry Sanders - Alfa,

both solo, and the Storms - BMW. Motored on

down to Hwy 9 and Skyline where no one was

waiting, then down to Soquel, picking up the

Marcottes, Swackhamers and Bill Traill, in the

proper cars. Meeting us in Capitola were El

Presidente Brian Sonner and Jane with grandson

Cruz – motored down to Monterey to stay at the old

Del Monte Lodge. Came in two MGS from

Placerville. Also there were Margene Chmyz and

friend/mechanic Patrick, driving down from Santa

Cruz in the resurrected TC. She was the recipient

of the perpetual Resurrection Trophy, circa 1960,

that several of us have earned.

We checked out the amazing Stobbe home, built by

Jeff, with enough stuff inside, that I wished Linda

was there, so I could point out that I was not the

only person with stuff.

Jeff is building a sailboat in the garage, has another

out back, has built a previous boat there too. He

also has built scatey eight model sailboats – we will

have an opportunity to assist in racing a few at

Spreckels Lake in GG Park – and several of these

were berthed throughout the house.

We then walked down to the condo on the beach

that the Taylors have been renting since the dark

ages, for a bowl of chili, libations and camaraderie.

A terrific day. I had an especially good time with

my trusty Porsche on certain lightly used roads.

New Members, or rather, re-enlistees

David and Jenny Miller, members some years ago,

have rejoined our illustrious group. They are long

time owners of their TC, since 1967. As I recall,

Dave found the car in Australia, where he also

found Jenny! Welcome.

David & Jenny Miller

1312 Ramsay Ct

Walnut Creek, CA 94597

T-Type Tool Tip What is the best way to remove a stud from an engine block or other? It seems that the tool of choice is channel locks, vice grips, pliers, or pipe wrench but these all damage the threads and leave nasty gouges. There is a special tool for stud removal. It looks like a socket but inside the “stud socket” there are 3 knurled rollers that grip the stud. This is done via a cam mechanism that tightens the rollers when the socket is rotated. Save yourself time and aggravation by using the right tool for the right job. Doug Pelton Ed. Note - The older version can be used too, but this is a better idea.

The old stud puller

Peking – Paris in a TC

Last month I mentioned Dr Peter Zernial of Bremen, Germany doing the Peking-Paris rally. Here are a

couple of Pics of the car, ready for next month’s exercise.

Peter put a couple of Terry’s LED tail lights on the car and, as you can see from the

picture, also has supplemental LED headlights.

Peter and his co-pilot, Udo Fink, also ran the Flying Scotsman rally last year, running

up B and C roads from the southern end of the Britain to Scotland. A quick video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r6Em1jS3GU

Also, you must see Peter’s web page - http://peking2paris2012.com/about-us/

Peter’s son and Daughter drive TCs also! Wow, sounds like an MG nutty family!

From the University motors newsletter, courtesy Bill Tantau..... Sounds as if Lucas was the engineer on this wiring job. A Kansas farm wife called the local phone company to report her telephone failed to ring when her friends called - and that on the few occasions, when it did ring, her dog always moaned right before the phone rang.The telephone repairman proceeded to the scene, curious to see this psychic dog or senile lady. He climbed a telephone pole, hooked in his test set, and dialed the subscriber's house. The phone didn't ring right away, but then the dog moaned and the telephone began to ring. Climbing down from the pole, the telephone repairman found:

1 . The dog was tied to the telephone system's ground wire with a steel chain and collar.

2.. The wire connection to the ground rod was loose.

3.. The dog was receiving 90 volts of signaling current when the number was called. 4... After a couple of jolts, the dog would start moaning and then urinate. 5.. The wet ground would complete the circuit, thus causing the phone to ring. Which demonstrates that some problems CAN be fixed by pissing and moaning.

MG TC For Sale

Lunches With Mr. Q is a story about

automobiles and so much more. Packed with

great stories about automobiles, motor sports

and business, it is the entertaining account of a

series of lunchtime conversations and adventures

between automobile pioneer Kjell Qvale, a 92-

year multimillionaire entrepreneur who was one

of the first to import MGs, Jaguars and VW

Beetles into the U.S. A Norwegian immigrant with

a passion for sports cars and speed, Qvale

(pronounced Cavalli) shares a lifetime of practical

wisdom on creating success in your life, staying

optimistic, taking risks, and much more. This

beautifully illustrated hardcover book features 80

photographs and full color throughout.

The author of this book about Kjell Qvale is offering

a car clubs a special deal on the book - $15 each if he

can sell 10 to the ARR. I’ve read the book and

enjoyed it. Please let me know if you are interested.

We have two people with orders in so far and won’t

be able to do the offer without a few more.

The entry form for Dream Machines follows