gtm newsletter 2
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Transcript of gtm newsletter 2
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Who’s WhoSecretary
Bob Snooks 73, Plough Lane Stoke Poges Buckinghamshire SL2 4JW
01753 662 951 0r 07730 703 180 [email protected]
Treasurer
Steve Bliss 17, Marti Close Melksham Wiltshire SN12 7JA
01225 793 121 [email protected]
Membership Secretary
Bob Hadlington 1 Callcott Drive Quarry Bank Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 2NF
01384 894 [email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Roger Brown Brownhill House Ruyton XI Towns Shrewsbury Shropshire SY4 1LR
01939 261 121 Fax 01939 260 626 [email protected] www.eleventowns.co.uk www.eleventowns.com
Editor’s columnI attended the AGM at Stoneleigh in 2010 tocomplain about the lack of newsletters and, totallythrough my own fault, here I am. My name is RogerBrown and you will see my contact details opposite.Yoland and I have a Spyder, and also a Birkin (Lotus7), Reliant Tempest and an Imperial, so we are notshort of kit cars. Yoland runs the ShropshireAlternative Car Club (www.shacc-uk.org) and Icoordinate both the Birkin Owners and the ImperialOwners clubs.
There is one major change to the Newsletter, whichis the condition under which I agreed to produce it,Although this first issue has been posted, it willbecome electronic so the intention is that you accessthe internet to receive it. You can of course print itas well as reading it on the screen but there are nopaper, print and mailing costs to the club. This makesa tremendous difference to the budget. It also has theadvantage that it can be produced as often as there isany news, with as much colour as you like and it canbe one page or lots of pages as there are no costrestrictions.
A newsletter was produced immediately afterStoneleigh 2010 with the intention of uploading it tothe forum web site. Unfortunately, for reasonsbeyond my comprehension, we were unable to uploada pdf file so the plan languished. Eventually, the clubhas bought its own domain name with hosting so oneyear late we are able to make an on-line newsletteravailable.
The content, as always, is dependent on what you putin - no contributions, no newsletter. Reports ofmeetings, runs and track days, accounts of building,tips for maintenance, sources of components - theyare all very welcome. About the only practicalrestriction is for the text format to be Word, OpenOffice or rtf so that I can read it. Pictures do not haveto be very high definition.
This newsletter was obviously put together withoutany call for contributions so you have to put up withit being mostly my jottings. However, we do havesome pictures of Stoneleigh, plus peoples’ contactdetails, regalia available and a list of events to come.
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StoneleighWe again went on the Saturday and the fine and dryweather ensured that both the journey and setting upcamp was enjoyable. Going early is much preferableto being rushed with only a one night stay - and a lotof people agree with us. We took Vanessa theImperial so there was acres of room to carry the largetent and all the camping gear. The Spyder missed outas we have a joint pitch for the Shropshire AlternativeCar Club and the Birkin Owners Club so the Birkingot priority. This unfortunately also means that weonly visited the GTMOC pitch for the AGM.However, we could see that there was a healthy turnout of cars and people. The secretary’s report and theAGM minutes follow
GTMs look good........
Shropshire pitch with our Imperial dominantbut look carefully and there is a GTM
...in both directions
One of the odder sights - a rather precarious loadon a three wheeler
Secretary's report on National Kit Car ShowStoneleigh 1ST and 2ND May 2011
The weather was kind to us in as much it was sunnyall weekend but it was also very windy which couldbe biting at times to say the least.
Attendance was down maybe as much as 40% but Ithink this was reflected over the whole of the show.
The Q & A with Julian Turner, MD of WestfieldCars, went OK. If we want any new parts, i.e.diffusers/splitters, we will have to make a group buyto make it viable for them. It was left that, if you arehaving problems with the Westfield parts dept, youshould let me know and I will alert Julian. Clearlythere are problems with them not getting back to youor replying to your e-mails which Julian stated hewasn't aware of.
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Web siteWe are now the proud possessors of the domainwww.gtmownersclub.co.uk which we hope willdevelop to be an important source of information forall things GTM. As it is very new there is as yet verylittle content, but the first thing to be uploaded is thisnewsletter.
Ideally, the newsletter would be distributed byattachment to an email but that is not currentlypractical because the club does not have a membersemailing list. Please respond to the request below torectify this situation.
In order to develop the web site we need to know whatsort of content you would like so please make yoursuggestions known. We also have to decide whatcontent is public and what should be members only -so lets hear your views on that.
Email to [email protected]
The AGM attendance was up, despite less carsparked on the club area, which is encouraging. Theminutes of the meeting are printed elsewhere in thenewsletter.
The BBQ in the evening seemed to go well, I hopeeveryone enjoyed themselves.
Thank you to Anne Britton for manning thetea/coffee/biscuit station as always and everyone elsewho helped man the marquee over the weekend.
Also thanks go to those who brought any equipmentalong to make the evening a bit cosier/brighter andJohn Dickens who entertained us with his guitar.
My biggest thank you goes to Sarah & Phil Cope whohelped me with the catering for the BBQ and endedup doing most of the work themselves, oops sorryguys.
I'm hoping that we're going to get lots of articles andphotos for the newsletter that will be produced soon.
Bob SnooksGTMOC Secretary.
Membership renewals due
May 2011 June 2011 July 2011
Malcolm Ball 754 Raymond Hastings 1179 Chris Bellamy 1229
Fred Bateman 1224 Daniel O'Hara 1067 Andy Boarer 869
Ian Cornes 1198 Anthony Peck 509 Sandra Boddy 929
Andrew Gomme 624 Don Stephenson 1105 Alan Britton 116
Stephen Griffiths 1028 Darren J Clark 599
Neil Hickman 1227 Michael Day 1228
Jonathan Hill 1166 John Jolleys 933
Timothy Jones 1201 John Lamont 1230
James Morrey 1253 Stuart Martin 785
Mark Paddick 1225 Gareth Woolridge 991
Nicholas Peacock 1101 Howard Yeoman 871
Malcolm Pugsley 1203
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Minutes of AGM ofGTMOC
1st May 20112.00pm at Stoneleigh
Park
1) Opening Remarks
The meeting was opened at 2.00 by Bob Snooks,Club Secretary who welcomed those attending.Apologies for absence were received from NeilWeston.
2) Minutes of last AGM held 2 May 2010
The Club secretary explained that due toadministration problems the minutes of the lastAGM were unfortunately unavailable.
3) Secretary’s report
Bob S reported that he had continued to arrangeclub areas and facilities at various Kit Car showsand events during the last year and hoped he hadhelped with members queries during that time. Healso reminded members that club regalia is stillavailable at shows and by post.
4) Treasurer’s report
The Treasurer, Steve Bliss, advised that last yearsClub accounts were available to those memberswishing to see them. He explained that the Club’smain expenditure during the year was for Marqueesat the Stoneleigh and Newark Shows as well as theClub’s Public liability insurance. Account balanceshad increased slightly since last year. Steve stated
that the Club funds remain healthy mainly becauseno printed newsletters had been produced duringthe year therefore expenditure costs were downfrom previous years.
5) Membership Secretary’s report
The membership secretary, Bob Hadlingtonadvised that the current Club membership wasabout 220 members. He stated that some memberswere still only paying the old rate of £8.00 insteadof the current amount of £10.00 a year thereforecould members check with their bank that thecorrect standing order amount was being paid. Headvised that any member who hadn’t paid theirsubscription for 2 years was removed from thedatabase and would need to contact him if theywish to rejoin. Bob H asked that members elect topay by standing order as this was more convenientfor both the Club and member.
6) Newsletter Editor’s report
Roger Brown, the newsletter editor, explained tothe meeting that he had agreed, at last years AGM,to take on the job of newsletter editor only if it wasan electronic version. He stated that, about a weekafter last years AGM, he had a newsletter readybut then discovered that it was not possible toproduce this on the existing forum (i.e. gtmdrivers)as hoped. It was decided, after discussions, that theClub should purchase its own domain name anddevelop a new website on which the newslettercould be made available. This has only recentlybeen set up and currently only contains last year’snewsletter however he hoped to have a newnewsletter on the site in about a weeks time. It wasagreed that a printed copy of this new newsletterwould also be posted to members. This wouldinclude a page which should be completed by themember and returned to the club secretary, BobSnooks, giving the member’s email address so thatthey could be advised when future newsletterswere posted on the website. Members withoutinternet access would also be able to request tocontinue to receive a printed version of futurenewsletters. Discussions are ongoing regarding thedevelopment and content of the new website.
7) 2011 Events
Details of future events during the year were givenby Bob S as follows-
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B-B-Q would be held on the evening of 1st May tocelebrate the 25th anniversary of production of theRossa 1. All club members were invited.21st/22nd May 2011 Detling show, Club area18th/19th June 2011 Newark show, Club area withmarquee9th/10th July 2011 Avon Park, Shakespeare CountyRaceway, Club area22nd/23rd/24th July 2011 Silverstone Classic atSilverstone circuit, Club area14th August 2011 Mini in the Park at Santa PodRaceway, Club area.22nd/23rd October 2011 Exeter showRegular monthly pub meets are also held on the 1st
Tuesday of the month at Elstree, Hertfordshire and2nd Tuesday of the month at Newark, Notts. Detailsof the venues are on gtmdrivers.com and will be onthe new website. All are welcome.
8) Election/re-election of Committee members
All existing committee members were happy tocontinue in their roles. Two new committeemembers, without portfolio were proposed.Don Stephenson was proposed by Bob Hadlingtonand seconded by Steve Bliss. Mark Henson wasproposed by Steve Bliss and seconded by BobHadlington. Following a vote by members presentDon and Mark were elected to the Committee.
9) Any other business
Don Stephenson asked why there would be 2websites. Bob S explained that the Club did not ownthe gtmdrivers website therefore needed it’s ownwebsite, gtmownersclub.co.uk. The plan was,hopefully, to set up a forum on the new websitewhich would link directly to the existing gtmdriversforum. Peter Cracknell offered assistance to developthe new website.Don Stephenson asked how Club funds could beobtained if an event for the Club members wasarranged. Steve Bliss explained that expenditure ofmore than £100.00 had to be agreed by thecommittee. A discussion followed regarding whowas authorised to sign on the Club bank accounts.Steve stated this was himself and Bob S howeveronly Steve held a chequebook. It was thereforeagreed that he would arrange for a cheque book tobe issued to Bob S.A question was asked about Westfield’s plans forGTM. Julian Turner from Westfield had attended a
question and answer session at the Owner’s Clubmarquee that morning and said that the new GTMmodel was still 2 or 3 years away and also that partswere still available for current Libra and Spydermodels. Because of member’s concerns regardingthe lack of a response from Westfield whencontacted regarding parts it was agreed that if amember was having problems getting informationfrom Westfield they should email Bob S who wouldthen contact Julian Turner the MD who would sortout the problem.Bob Hadlington advised that some previousnewsletters were available, free of charge, at theshow. Mark Henson asked if the members felt thatmeetings should be held more frequently than oncea year. Following discussion it was felt that thiswould be difficult because of the distance involvedas GTMOC is a national club.Francis Paget said that she would like to thank thecommittee, on behalf of the members, for their hardwork during the last year.
Meeting closed at 3-00 pm.
25th Birthday
Rossa
Launched at Stoneleigh 1986
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Regional GroupsThere are currently two regional groups:
The Southern group meet on the first Tuesday of themonth at The Fishery, WD6 3BE, while DonStephenson organises the East Midlands meet at TheRoman Way, Newark (junction of A1/A46) on thesecond Tuesday of the month.
Why not organise a gathering in your area? The call isout for volunteers to act as regional organiser/convenor /whatever you wish to call it. It should be avery enjoyable job that is not too onerous.
As you can see, I live in Shropshire so to set the ballrolling I volunteer to cover the Shropshire and midWales area. So, if you are also in this part of thecountry please get in touch to explore the possibilityof local gatherings. To date, we only know of twoGTMs in the area but suspect that there must be more.My contact details are on page 2.
Beautiful Welsh scenery for a regional run.
TechnicalLights
Perhaps the most bizarre problem we have had withour Spyder is having two headlights pushed out of thebody by some poor retarded soul. This happened at anevent at Capesthorne Hall so not even a car gatheringis safe. Regardless of vandalism, we find the lights tobe on the pathetic side of good. Hence the question -Has anyone found ways of improving the performanceover the standard spec? If you have any advice pleaseshare it.
Electrics
We have suffered a number of electrical faults whichhas resulted in use of the AA’s services and the cargoing to Westfields for diagnosis. The causes havebeen a mixture of obscure loom faults, corrodedconnections, mysterious fuse failures and wires beingloose in the fuse box. Perhaps we have been unluckybut, considering the ease of ingress of wet to theengine compartment, I suspect that we are not alone.Let us know if you have had similar troubles,particularly any tips for combating the ravages of theelements.
Rust
Perhaps not unrelated to the electrical problems, theSpyder recently dumped its coolant due to a jubileeclip snapping. We noticed in time to prevent anyserious damage but it was not an easy thing to rectifyat the side of the road. Fortunately, a kind soul livingnearby came to our assistance. The message is thatthe pipes below the engine going to the radiator arevery exposed to all the muck the road can throw atthem and stainless clips and/or periodic inspection arehighly desirable.
A Tool you can Wear - Finger Spanners
We have been trying out these ingenious tools andany doubts were quickly dispelled - they are magic.The nut fits into the spanner which is formed so thatthe nut can’t push right through and doesn’t fall outwhatever the angle of the spanner. Then, if you canget a finger into a space you can attach a nut with notrouble. No more struggling to get it lined up andstarted, or retrieving it from where it dropped.
An unexpected bonus was to find that if, like me, youare rather ancient and have slightly arthritic hands thefinger spanners make it easier to attach small nutseven when there is acres of space.
Although they will also hold bolts, the use is morelimited because smaller sizes almost always do nothave hexagon heads, but then its not often that thereis a problem holding a bolt in a confined space.
Finger spanners are available in metric or AF sets fromHexhold Ltd., Unit 9-11,Brooke Trading Estate,Lyon Road, Romford,RM1 2AT;phone 01708 735500;www.hexhold.com
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Club RegaliaAll of the following regalia can be bought by mail order (postage and packing extra) with theexception of the mugs and glasses which are only available at shows. Please make your chequespayable to ‘GTM Owners Club’.All garments have an embroidered owners club badge and are available in several colours and sizes.Please phone /e-mail to check choices available. If you are thinking of purchasing items at a Kit Car,show please contact me beforehand so that I can ensure that I bring the relevant stock as space in theLibra is limited.
Waterproof jacket £44.00
Fleeces £27.00
Sweatshirts - Round Neck £13.00Sweatshirts – V Neck £14.00
T- Shirts - Round Neck £8.00T- Shirts – V Neck £9.00Ladies T – Shirts £9.00
Polo Shirts £14.00
Baseball Caps £9.00
GTMOC Tax Disc Holders (stick on) £1.50GTMOC Mugs £4.00GTMOC pint glass £4.00GTMOC Leather Key Fobs with enamel badge £3.00GTMOC Enamel Badges £2.00GTMOC Window Stickers (3” dia.) £1.00GTMOC Embroidered Badges £2.00
Enquiries to Bob Snooks
01753 662951 or 07730 703180e-mail – [email protected]
Prices are for stock items and are subject to change with new orders.
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MAY21-22 The European Kit Car Show, Detling - Club area but no marquee
JUNE5 Kit Car London to Brighton
11-12 Le Mans 24 hour
18-19 National Kit Car Festival, Newark - club area + marquee
JULY1-3 Goodwood Festival of Speed
9-10 Le Mans Classic
9-10 Shakespeare County Raceway, Warwickshire - Club area, possibly marquee
16-17 Pageant of Power – Cholmondeley Castle
22-24 Silverstone Classic Meeting - Club area but no marquee
AUGUST14 Mini in the Park, Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton - Club area but no marquee
SEPTEMBER16-18 Goodwood Revival meeting – bringing the 1950s to life!
17-18 The Genuine Kit Car Show, Stafford - Unable to book a club area
OCTOBER22-23 Great Western Kit Car Show, Westpoint, Exeter - Unable to book a club area
Events Calendar
For Sale and Wanted
We can accept GTM related adverts from members. Please send to the editor
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#PLEASE READ –
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FUTURE NEWSLETTERS
NAME MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
EMAIL ADDRESS
If you do not have an email address please tick here
Following this edition of the newsletter future copies will be available by email or on the website only.To enable the newsletter editor to send an electronic copy or advise you when a new newsletter is availableon the website please complete the details below to include your email address and return to the ClubSecretary (Bob Snooks). Alternatively you can email Bob with the details at [email protected]
If you do not have internet access please state this and we will try to arrange for a printed copy to be sent toyou..
By not sending out printed copies to everyone we will keep down the club’s costs.
ADDRESS
Have a good day
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