the mg club of st. louis newsleer dec

Inside this issue:

The MG Club of St. Louis Newsle�er Volume 31 Issue 12 / December 2020

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Meeting Minutes: Events: Chairman's Message: Editor's Garage: Veteran's Day Drive: Guy Fawke's Day Tour: Classified Ads: Parting Shots:Staff Support:

18 15

November Photo Challenge

Photo by Robert Guinness

I only received one entry this month for the November Challenge, but as usual with Mr. Guinness it's an excellent picture!

Driving challenge for December:Photo with your car in a Holiday setting

See Parting Shots for a fun example

The December

Meeting will be held on

14 Dec, 7pmPaul will be sending out the notice in

an e-mail soon.

T H E S T . L O U I S M G M E T R O G A Z E T T E P A G E 2

The November mee�ng was relaxedMinutes from Club Secretary, Bob Horzmann

St. Louis MG Club Monthly Meeting Minutes November 9, 2020 The meeting was called to order at 7:04 pm by Paul Summers. We were joined this month

by a new face in that Larry Thompson identified himself to the eighteen people as being new to thegroupTreasurer's Report:

The treasurer’s report indicated that we have a balance in the club account of $8093.Current membership is at 75 people who have renewed. An update to confirm membershipinformation has been sent by e-mail.New Business:

This month’s new business was to request clarification of upcoming activities. Due to the uncertain nature of the times we can best only plan. We will try to have a Holiday Light tour at TillesPark.

Begin thinking and building your Pine Wood Derby car. We will have a schedule of eventsbut will do them in a responsible manner.

Discussion:

Member’s questions and comments this month were about tires and where to have local service. Seat belts were an issue and suggestions were given for replacement or repair these important safety features.

In an interesting twist time was spent on MGB-GT trunk floors. This discussion was whether these were one or two piece and surprisingly, since only about a tenth of MGBs production were GTs,many of those at the meeting have one. (Ed. Note: Ranney did verify that his '72 GT has the two piece design, not the one piece he mentioned in the meeting, further corroborating the concept that the one-piece luggage floor is only found on later GTs.)

We finished the meeting discussing Sabrina Bumpers. These 1973, early 1974 bumpers were interim safety bumpers that received their nickname from a Dancer turn actress of the same period.

The namesake for our late Chrome Bumper MGB overriders, Norma Ann Sykes (19 May 1936 – 24 November 2016), better known as Sabrina, was a 1950s English glamour model who progressed to a minor film career.


Tuesday, December 8, 2020, 6:30pm, Holiday Lights Drive at Tilles ParkWe will meet at the Central Bank, 9645 Clayton Rd, at Conway and Clayton at 6:30pm. If you drive your LBC to the event, the club will pay your entrance fee. HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!!!

Monday, December 14, 2020, 7:00pm, MG Club MeetingMonday, January 11, 2021, 7:00pm, MG Club MeetingMonday, January 18, 2021, 7:00pm, MG Tech SessionMonday, February 15, 2021, 7:00pm, MG Club MeetingMonday, February 21, 2021, 7:00pm, MG Tech Session

Events Calendar For a complete list of Club Activities, visit our website:

StLouisMGClub.com

Winter Events from the Gateway Relay9 Jan 21–Annual Jaguar Association of Greater St Louis Awards Dinner,at Deer Creek Club, 9861 Deer Creek Hill, St Louis. Monitor www.jagstl.com andthe online Growl.

21 Feb 21—Annual St Louis Triumph Owners Association Polar Bear Run, come on along the Triumph faithful’s traditional first drive of the season, dating to 1983. Details to follow, monitor www.sltoa.org in the meantime.

7 Mar 21—Annual MG Club of St Louis Pinewood Derby, 1:30 PM, details to follow, monitor www.stlouismgclub.com.

P A G E 4T H E S T . L O U I S M G M E T R O G A Z E T T E

By Paul Summers

These are interesting times: a holiday season that is mired in concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic and an election that proved that we still have a very divided country. The bright side is that we apparently have several viable vaccines coming soon and a new start to reuniting our people after an election.

Keep smiling….although it is hard to tell that I AM smiling when wearing my MG face mask.

We had a great rally on 15 November, when it was very windy and cold. I believe we had approximately 12 cars following a terrific route. Lots of fun and good speedy drive through the country.

In December, we have our monthly virtual meeting on the 14th at 7pm and we have scheduled our annual Holiday Lights Drive at Tilles Park for 8 December at 6:30 pm. We will continue to monitor STL County guidelines to assess whether Tilles Park will allow drive-throughs. If there is any change, we will notify all.

We have asked Stanley to get-together an updated list of MG Club apparel that people can order over the Holidays. Hopefully, we will see that soon. Also, if you have not yet responded to our updated member list and information, please do so ASAP. We would like to get a new paper Directory out to members as soon as feasible.

On a personal note: my M-Type is still at Brookland’s Restoration, waiting for a refabricated part to be heat treated and cured at a local machine shop. In addition, I noticed a leak from the nut holding the carb to the float bowl in my TC’s forward SU carburetor. The nut holding them together would not tighten. Bob Horzmann suggested I call Joe Curto at British Carburetor Vintage Parts in College Point N.Y. Joe indicated that it is common for this metal junction to erode over time, which he attributed to poor metal fabrication techniques back in the day. Joe offered to place a threaded insert into the

Chairman’s Message

P A G E 5T H E S T . L O U I S M G M E T R O G A Z E T T E

By Paul Summers

junction where the nut fits for a relatively small $ sum if I would ship the carb to him; which I did. Still waiting for the repaired part.

Lastly, I hope everyone is being very careful during this pandemic, especially during Thanksgiving. This is nasty stuff and it seems to be gaining on us.

Chairman’s Message


From The Editor's Garage by John Perkins

Have you ever gotten the feeling 'what's wrong with this picture'? I was getting ready to install the crankshaft in the V8 for the last time and start on the piston/rod assemblies when that feeling overcame me. So I started mocking up the rest of the engine just to make sure I was ready for the next steps.

I got out the timing cover that also incorporates the oil pump and it hit me like a ton of bricks. The 215 V8, Buick, Rover or Oldsmobile versions, all share a nearly identical short block. The oiling system is considered the weakest link in an otherwise great engine. The fix is to use the 1980-up Buick V6 oil pickup (GM 25505644 or Mellings S20IS) along with opening up the oil passages in the block to 1/2" and using a tapered bit to match the block to the Buick oil pickup along with modifications to the timing cover that I will detail as I get ready to install it. I had the Buick oil pickup, but I hadn't drilled out the oil passages.

All of which means I get to strip the block down one more time and carefully mask off everything I don't want to fill with aluminum swarf and get to work!

This picture shows where the oil pickup bolts to the block. It will be drilled to 1/2", then the tapered bit will be used to open up the hole to match the inscribed ring from the gasket for

the Buick V6 oil pickup. You can also see in this picture that I have installed the core plugs using a 21mm deep wall socket and deadblow hammer with a light coating of Permatex #1 on both the block and the core plug.Note: Core Plugs are not 'Freeze Plugs'. They are installed to cover the holes left from the casting cores when the block is manufactured. There is no such thing as a 'Freeze Plug' it's a misnomer that has bothered me for ages. (The other one that really bugs me is people who pronounce Willys as 'willies', instead of 'willis'!)

This picture shows the front of the block upside down. The hole at the top of the picture is the passage that connects to the oil pickup as the input to the oil pump. The hole at the bottom is the output from the oil pump to pressurize the bearings in the engine.

The oil pickup and galley to the pump measured 7/16", the output to the engine measured 1/2" from the factory, so I really only had to do the oil pickup side.

I've spent hours and dollars getting the block to this point and I'm pretty proud of what I've done so far. I will admit it took some intestinal fortitude to attack the block with a hand held drill and potentially render the block useless.


Here are the tools I used to perform this bit of block modification.

The oil pickup galley tapers smoothly from 5/8" to 1/2" where it meets the long

The really long drill bit is a 12" long, 1/2" aircraft drill bit. The tapered reamer is called a 5/8" alignment reamer - they are normally used to ream out misaligned joints in structural steel in building construction, but it worked great to make a tapered hole for my oil pickup.

I told my wife I would be invoking the 'Perkins Tool Rule' when I spent $60 to buy these two bits. The Perkins Tool Rule states that any tool that makes a job easier, more cost effective, more professional and might see future use is worth buying. I would add that she also invokes the Tool Rule whenever she needs a new tool for her quilting.

I spent about 4 hours first using the 1/2' drill with plenty of WD40 as a lubricant to open up the short galley from the pickup to the long galley, then opening up the long galley. The tapered reamer finished its function in about 10 minutes. Here are the results.

galley to the oil pump. I used a flash light in the front of the block to light up the passage. Here's what the long galley looks like.

The long galley isn't as pretty as the oil pickup galley, but going from 7/16" to 1/2" is a 29% increase in cross sectional area which really helps the flow of oil from the pan to the pump.

I still need to get a long enough brush to completely clean the new passages and make sure the gasket surfaces for the holes are perfectly flat, but I'm happy with the result and I am looking forward to finally getting this engine together!

Here's a picture of one of the heads for this engine. I'm getting excited to start working on the crank fired ignition and sequential fuel injection.

Triumph Club’s Annual Veterans Day Drive — by Glenn Owens Another well-planned drive with over twenty cars. We had Triumphs, MGs, Miatas and a Mercedes. The weather was great, but we missed out on the traditional meal in Perryville.

With that many cars, we did get separat-ed a few times, which actually added to the fun of it. There were a few missed turns and when we’d do the U-turns, it would change the order of cars. For awhile, the image of Ray Moot’s 1949 MG-TC was in my rear view mirror.

For the most part, the sky was cloudy and overcast, but as soon as Dave Massey started playing the military songs, the clouds parted and the sun shone brightly. (Notice the shadow in the photo to the right.) Mark Morgan suggested that next year, Dave may need one for the Space Force.


#2

At the drivers’ meeting, Mark reminded us not to take pix when we passed the prison and not to pick up any hitch-hikers wearing orange. Then we were off and running!


Triumph Club’s Annual Veterans Day Drive

Photos on the Drive by Mark Morgan




#2

Chester, IL—The site of the 6’ bronze statue of Popeye and the bridge across ol’ man river. We always get a group shot be-fore we head back home. This year, there was $850 donated to a veterans’ support group. Plan to join us next year.



Guy Fawke's Day Rally15 November 2020By Kathy Kresser

Who had the top down for the MG November rally held on 15 November? We traveled fifty miles in St. Louis and Franklin counties where it was scenic even though the leaves had dropped from the trees. The vast openness in some areas was impressive as well as the Purina Farms establishment outside of Labadie.

To answer the opening question: Hats off to Bob Bentzinger and Roger Douglasfor their display of true MG driving. Bob Horzmann organized the twisting, hilly drive forthis cool, windy but sunny Sunday. It was tricky finding one of the early, unmarked turns. Sharp turns were the words of the day. The hill climbs offered lovely vistas from theridges followed by quick descents. A good rally question would have been, “How many chevron signs did we pass?"

The route was fairly familiar to my husband, Chris, and we enjoyed finding a couple of new roads. Interesting street names included Little Tavern Road, which was extremely curvy. Followed by Grand Army Road and Fiddle Creek Road where Simon Dix and Chris tested their man skills against each other driving fast and faster around the curves. I double-checked my seat belt and considered asking for a stop, so that I could exit thecar. Another street I noticed as we zoomed past was Hoot Road. It would be fun to meetthe person who crafted that name.

A round of applause to Bob Horzmann!

Photo by Paul Summers




Photo by Mark Morgan




Classified Ads

The time has come to sell the 1969 AH Sprite. The Sprite was purchased in 2006, restored with a complete unibody rotisserie restoration and finished in a Dupont “Warp Speed Blue”. Every nut, bolt and component was removed, cleaned, rebuilt and/or replaced. There were lots of upgrades to improve driveability. It’s a proven show winner and long distance driver.

-rebuilt 1275 engine bored 0.020”-Blue interior with matching leather seats.Pattern copied from original seats (SouthtownUpholstery)-Custom mahogany dash with earlier Spritetach and speedo-Datsun 5-speed tranny-Electronic Ignition-Aluminum radiator

-Modern Radio (hidden under passenger sidedash)-added Oil temp gauge and clock-aircraft style switches on dash (verydependable!)-fog lights-Valve job and no-lead head installed in Spring2020-Well maintained

1969 AH Sprite

The result is a Luxury Sprite!

Asking $8000

Contact Bruce Hamper

Kirkwood, MO

314-822-4831

[email protected]


Classified Ads1974 MGB

1974 MG MGB - The odometer reads 48566. It has a hard top and the frame for a soft top. I do have a new in box soft cover but it is not on the frame. I am asking $5000. I am not sure of the value but have the $7000 invested to get it running. This car has been in my family for over 25 years. Here is the VIN GHN5UE333799GWork done in October 2018 included:

1. Replacing master brake cylinder,front and rear flex hoses, rear wheel cylinders, springs, adjusters,calipers, brake shoes & pads and bleeding system. Replace and adjust handbrake cable.

2. Disassembled, cleaned and rebush left and right swivel assemblies3. Remove, disassemble,clean, overhaul and adjust carbs.4. Replace fuel pump and associated flex hoses.5. Remove and replace cylinder head for valve work. Adjust valves6. Replace clutch master and slave cylinders & flex hose and bleed7. Remove and replaced complete exhaust system8. Four new tires

New paint job March 2019Work done September of 2019

1. Removed and replace carbs, intake and exhaust manifolds and clean and replace side cover gaskets,replenish filter material in front cover.

Michelle Hankinson can be reached at 314-496-3790 or [email protected]


Classified Ads

New Horn Set for an MG-TDChuck Keppler recently placed an order with Moss Motors and among other parts

purchased a pair of TD horns. In the mean time, he obtained some rather rough looking MGA horns that still worked. He was able to salvage the parts from the MGA horns to repair his original TD horns. He could return the new horns, but will have to pay the return shipping, and maybe a restocking fee. So he would rather sell them to someone at a discount.

New in the Box TD horn set $100 OBO. That would save the buyer $20 plus shipping. Contact Chuck Keppler, 573 450 7090 or [email protected]

1500 Midget/Spitfire TransmissionFree to the first person who contacts Andrew Yates and picks it up.

Contact Andrew at [email protected]


Web Site: www.stlouismgclub.com Editor E-Mail: [email protected]

PARTING SHOTS


Name Address Phone E-Mail

Paul Summers Chairman

Cell phone: (314)717-7287 Home: Chairman

@stlouismgclub.com

Steve CrossTreasurer

Treasurer

@stlouismgclub.com

Bob Horzmann Secretary

Secretary

@stlouismgclub.com

Roger DouglasEvents Chairman (314)578-4132 [email protected]

Club Officers & Support Roles

Tom Hurlbert Membership (314)565-7749

Membership

@stlouismgclub.com

John Perkins Newsle�er Editor

(314)378-0967 [email protected]

Registrars Name Phone E-Mail

Pre-war Bob Horzmann (636)227-3449 [email protected]

T-Series Paul Summers (314)717-7287 [email protected]

MGA/Magne�e Robert Guinness (573)898-5864 mga-magne�[email protected]

MGB/MGC Marcus Tezaff (770)596-2127 [email protected]

Spridget Bruce Hamper (314)822–4831 [email protected]

Cars In Boxes Walt Murphy (314)645-1665 [email protected]

Other Marques Byron Golfin (314)469-7146 [email protected]

FOR A FULL LISTING OF UPCOMING EVENTS, CLASSIFIED ADS, AND MUCH MORE,

BROWSE OUR EXCELLENT WEB SITE AT: h�p://www.stlouismgclub.com/

16217 Cancun Circle Drive Wildwood, MO 63040

412 Glenmeadow Drive, Ballwin, MO 63011

5211 Heege Rd. Affton, MO 63123

409 Spring Valley Court Chesterfield, MO 63017

431 Gunnison Gorge Dr Wildwood, MO 63011

(636)536-6606

(314)698-6657

(636)227-3449

the mg club of st. louis newsleer dec

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