Abingdon RoughRider Review

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Abingdon Rough Rider Review May 2021 Vol. LXIV no.5 President Barry Swackhamer Vice President - Bob Alley Activities Coordinator Howard Shempp Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor- Allan Chalmers Eminence Gris Bill Traill Web Master Rick Storms West Marin Run Sunday May 16 There was a lack of response for this run in April and then it was also raining, so lets try again in May to do the Marin coastal run Meet at Larkspur Landing parking area, leave at 10AM Hills should hopefully still be green Please let me know if you will be there Allanchalmers(at)yahoo(dot)com Our web site - abingdonroughriders (dot) org

Transcript of Abingdon RoughRider Review

Page 1: Abingdon RoughRider Review

Abingdon Rough Rider Review

May 2021 Vol. LXIV no.5

President

Barry Swackhamer

Vice President -

Bob Alley

Activities Coordinator

Howard Shempp

Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor-

Allan Chalmers

Eminence Gris

Bill Traill

Web Master

Rick Storms

West Marin Run Sunday May 16

There was a lack of response for this run in April and then it was also

raining, so let’s try again in May to do

the Marin coastal run

Meet at Larkspur Landing parking area, leave at 10AM

Hills should hopefully still be green

Please let me know if you will be there

Allanchalmers(at)yahoo(dot)com

Our web site - abingdonroughriders (dot) org

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Coming Events

Saturday June 5 Sonoma/Napa Tour, Betz Miller

Sunday July 11 Marin Bodega run, Storms

Sunday August 1 Sausage Run Stobbes

Sunday September 12 Marin Headlands, Tucks

October 2-4 Conclave in Cambria

Sunday November 28 Annual Dinner, Basque Cultural Center, Linda Chalmers

Weekend December 11,12 Holiday Party Healdsburg, Taylors

Other Events

Gathering of the Faithful, Mt Hood Oregon July 26 – 29

See the website for plenty of details

El Presidente

Our beloved leader is gallivanting around in the RV, so we’ll have to wait for his message to the masses

2021 Conclave Conclave 2021 is scheduled for Saturday October 2 to Monday

morning October 4. After several years being in SLO & Morro

Bay, we are returning to Cambria and the Bluebird Inn. Rooms

are being held until August 15th as listed below. Please call and

make your reservation referencing “TC Motoring Guild” for

group rate. I hope by fall we will be comfortable to have a group

banquet on Sunday evening. Information to follow.

Bluebird Inn

1880 Main Street

Cambria, CA 93428

805/927-4634

> Rates as follows: sq=single queen, sk=single king, kdlx=king deluxe, 2qq=2 queen beds

> 7-sq @129.99+tax-Saturday & 109.99+tax-Sunday (269.26 total including 12.2% tax)

> 7-sk @ 149.99+tax-Saturday & 119.99+tax-Sunday (302.92 total)

> 5-kdlx- @169.99+tax-Saturday & 159.99+tax-Sunday (370.24 total)

> 3 2qq @ 159.99+tax-Saturday & 139.99+tax-Sunday (336.58 total)

> suites @ 229.99+tax-Saturday & 229.99+tax-Sunday (516.10 total)

>

> Must book a minimum of 11 rooms to be considered for group rates.

After making your reservation, please email me with your intention to participate. Banquet reservations will be

requested at a later date.

Richard Loe - TCMG 2021 Events Chair fordydelux(at) yahoo (dot) com

(This is a place we have stayed before. We were going to be at the Inn at Morro Bay but too pricey now.)

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GoF West 2021 at Mt. Hood in Oregon

Looks like GoF is on at Mt. Hood, July 26-29. Terry and I

were there several years ago. We trailered his TA. Also

there were Pat and Joe Marcotte. That was when Joe asked

for help in getting his TC running. It had been in the same

garage in San Jose for so long the garage sank and the doors

wouldn’t open. Stuart Locke and I went over, after the GoF,

with tools and stuff. Getting the doors open was fun without

sufficient jacks. We did get the car out and running but Joe

subsequently shipped the car off to Martin Hveem for a full

restoration. The rest is history.

Lots of information on the web site:

https://gofwest.org/gof-west-2021

From the Good Old days

Shuffling through ARR history, I came upon this article from Bill Traill for the Feb 1981 newsletter:

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A Moving Adventure

Walt Prowell, who has re-joined the ARR after buying Pat Marcotte’s TC, has sold his two other TCs; one to

Daniel Harrison of Woodland Hills, the other to Doug Pelton, of From The Frame Up.

The former was moved out of its long term storage in Antioch, CA, Saturday, April 24. The team of movers

consisted of: Walt, your editor, Norman Tuck, Daniel and his friend, also Daniel, from Woodland Hills in

Southern Cal, Joel Taylor of Reno, Steve and Linda Simmons of thousand Oaks and the TC Motoring Guild.

The whole move went remarkably smoothly. The two Daniels pumped up the tires, the wheels were free and

the parking brake worked, so the car rolled onto Joel’s trailer without incident.

The car had been sitting for about 35 years and was “running when parked” as the saying goes. Daniel got a

nice car, needing “refreshing”. Bob Alley is getting a scuttle.

Steve bought the extra body that Walt had bought to repair the other stored car, which had been seriously t-

boned many years ago. Next month will be the move of that car to Arizona.

Walt says goodbye to “Red”

Joel Taylor and Daniel and Norman

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All hands on deck

Its new owner and new home - Oh my, doesn’t it look good?

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From Mike Sherrell in OZ: xpag crossflow alloy head

The other day some interesting information arrived from TC owner John Canty, in the UK.

He has an 8 port, alloy, crossflow, XPAG head made by Robert Cowell (later Roberta Cowell!), the origins of

which are unknown to me, but in 1954 Mike Costin acquired one while working with Colin Chapman on the

Lotus 8, Frank Costin’s first streamliner SAR 5. The original heads had a small ‘Cowell’ cast in the side, but the

Chapman ones did not! John came across the head at a motor spares place when he went looking for a pair of SU air rams. We could be

so lucky! His head does not have the ‘Cowell’ cast in, so it might be a Chapman one. John was a TC racer

(TC/1403) back in the days when TCs filled the grids in UK. He could have done with the head then!

The story gets more intriguing: with the letters and photos John sent me, came a photocopy of a letter addressed

to him from Keith Duckworth himself (of Cosworth Engineering) dated 10/05/91. In it he outlines some of the

history of these heads, and it goes like this: “ It was Mike Costin who was with Colin Chapman at the time – 1954 – He had just returned from holiday.

They used a crossflow aluminium head, which was made by Robert Cowell – who incidentally became Roberta

Cowell by the assistance of the odd operation or two. Some heads had a small COWELL cast on the side of the

head. The Lotus had not got the Cowell name (and we all know why!) Had a leak from pushrod hole to exhaust

port, which Mike Costin lined with a copper tube. Mike and I think the heads were very rare… Best wishes

Keith Duckworth” Looking at the photos one can see the spark plugs have been shifted to the off side to be with the four individual

inlets and enter the (minimal) combustion chambers over the inlet valves. There appears to be little or no water

flow block to head and minimal oil drain head to block. One can only guess at the compression ratio (high) and

it would be pretty difficult to blow a head gasket with all that flat area. Exhaust ports are round as are the inlets.

The whole design looks very appealing, pity they are so rare. I believe these heads may be the source of some confusion over the Laystall Lucas alloy heads, sometimes

thought of as crossflow heads, which they were not. I would like to thank John Canty for going to trouble and

expense to share this interesting bit of XPAG history with us. Almost as interesting as the heads themselves is the story of Robert Cowell, who later became Roberta Cowell

after a series of operations, becoming a forerunner in the story of gender change. It’s worth looking up

Robert/Roberta Cowell on line: Spitfire pilot, racing driver, talented engineer and pioneering transgender

person, just a bit ahead of ‘her’ time.

Michael Sherrell

April 2021

(Do look up Robert/Roberta Cowell – Quite a story!)

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TA Terry’s TC is still for sale

His son Andrew visited and gave it a once over and a drive. Here are some of the details from the late

Bill Phy who began the restoration:

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Another car for sale

After 33 fond years, Mimi and I realized it’s not getting too

old for us, we’re getting too old for it.

It’s not a show car, it’s a venerable driver (original factory

black paint) but with redone interior and top by Joe Namnam

(Jaguar biscuit leather) and matching carpets by Little John,

new chrome, rebuilt wheels (stainless spokes, powder coated

silver-grey rims and hubs) with five new Blockley tyres. Its

cosmetic appearance is top-notch, (except for weathered

driver’s door and bonnet top).

In order to keep up with today’s traffic, I built a second

engine: late parts, bored and sleeved to 1500cc, reusing only

the original crank and rods (the testing lab said they’re fine).

With five new Blockley tyres. Its cosmetic appearance is top-notch, (except for weathered driver’s door and

bonnet top).

In order to keep up with today’s traffic, I built a second engine: late parts, bored and sleeved to 1500cc, reusing

only the original crank and rods (the testing lab said they’re fine). With 9:1 compression, a stock late cam and

many improvements to reduce parasite drag, and to improve safety (Datsun 240Z finned drums.) It is quite

quick.

Included are the original engine parts, MG manuals, and onboard tools. $29,000 fob Newport Beach

Gordon Glass 949-644-1954 [email protected]

(The Glasses are old friends and members of the TC Motoring Guild. His engine is sleeved to 1500 by the

same shop that did mine. Makes quite a difference on the road)

Doug Pelton’s From The Frame Up does a rare TB Tickford

From the Frame Up

completed a fantastic

TB Tickford restoration

and decided to make an

event of the delivery to

the owners at an Open

House.

Bill & Debra Gardner

from Florida were very

surprised to see the

crowd as they took the

keys and heard about

some of the history.

Only 379 TBs were

manufactured and of

those, only 57 bore the

Tickford drophead

body. This TB0264 was

the very first TB

Tickford

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A couple of TCs for sale in the Bay Area

In Alameda, a cream and brown TC is being sold by the son of the late owner. Asking $30K

(510) 988 9671

Another son of a late owner is parting with this two tone TC. Bill Raynor 510 557 1502

Lots of cars for sale. We need more young people to carry on! My grandsons hopefully will!

Clark Mason is keeping the

NA! The NA did not meet the reserve,

and he has had a change of heart.

and will hang onto it.

But he is looking for a TC!

Hey look Clark, three listed here!

I can vouch for the one in

Newport Beach and Terry’s–

don’t know about the others.

From Steve Simmons of the TC Motoring Guild A few recent inquiries from another group about the track rod modification I did a couple years ago, as seen in an article I did for our newsletter at the time, have pushed me to finally update the article with more info, part numbers, etc. If interested, it can be found here:

http://www.tcmotoringguild.org/techinfo/a-modern-track-rod-alternative.pdf

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Brian’s cartoon Page (plus)

Berlin 2013 Hold your speed to 40

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Some items from Terry’s Stash still for sale

I have been selling things from Terry’s collection.

Among them were two sets of Bob Grunau’s four

MG prints. Bob asks $25 for a set. Give me a

holler if you are interested.

Each of the four prints borders are 11 ½ x 16 and

the actual prints are 9 ½ x 14.

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