VOLUME 20, NUMBER 2
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Member’s Cars
John Clarke Visit
Hearts and Tarts
Mount Baker Run History
New Member Profile
Rear View Mirror
Fort Langley Run
Welcome to the OECC /
The Boot / At the Wheel
1
6
8
10
12
13
14
15
Cars of Branch Members and Their
Stories
By Walter Reynolds
Mar-Apr 2015
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday, May 16, 2015 - Vancouver ABFM at Van Dusen Gardens.
See Western Driver online for more
details or call Joan Stewart at
604.736.6754 May 5, 2015 - Shop
Tour at Rovalution Automotive (Land
Rover Specialists), 867 3rd St.W,
North Vancouver, B.C. 7:00pm. Go
for coffee and dessert afterwards.
(see website for more events)
EDITOR’S BIT
Just starting my 6th year as editor
with one of our longest editions to
date. Thanks to all of our contributors for making it such a great issue.
There was just too much good stuff
to leave out or postpone to a future
issue.
Also, don’t forget to “like” our Facebook page and join our new Facebook Group. Thanks!
jobs was to remove the exhaust from a Rover P4 Cyclops,
I must have been bitten by the Rover bug at that point.
The first car I owned was a “Ford Special” built on a British Ford Prefect chassis and made to look a bit like a
Morgan. An accident involving a snow bank in the severe
winter of 1963 resulted in a total strip-down and rebuild another great learning experience.
The Cars of Malcolm Tait
This month we hear about the cars of Malcolm and Barbara Tait. Here is their story as told by Malcolm.
Why British cars and why a Rover?
From a young age I had an interest in mechanical things.
The father of a school friend owned a small garage, just
himself and one mechanic. In the summer of 1958 I was
asked if I would like to work there while the owner was
on holiday. It was the Castle Garage in Newcastle-onTyne right next to the 12th century castle and the workshops were two arches of the railway bridge.
Soon after arriving in Vancouver in 1966 we bought a
Rambler “American” for very little money just to have
something to get around in. It had problems so the next
purchase was a 5 year old white 1962 Austin A60 Cambridge, a car I knew something about. When we purchased the Austin it had done about 50,000 miles and
over the next 13 years we put more than 100,000 additional miles on it. In 1971 Barbara got her Canadian
drivers license and we needed a second car. I was looking
at the Volvo 142 which had just come on the market; I
liked the mechanical aspects but was not keen on the
body style. We lived close to Gordon Bros. Motors at 10th
and Alma in Vancouver. When I came home from work
one evening Barbara said she had seen something interesting at Gordon's so she took me to have a look. It was a
red Rover 2000 TC that had caught Barbara's eye. We
were both impressed by the Rover 2000's we had seen in
the UK before we left but thought something like that
was out of our league. The Rover bug bit again and I didn't need much persuading. Barbara had selected the Rover and it became primarily her car.
The two arches where Castle Garage used to be
located. (Google photo)
My main job was to take care of the petrol pumps so that
the mechanic could work with minimum interruption. I
got on really well with the mechanic and he soon gave me
jobs to do when I wasn't busy with pumps. He was a
great teacher and I quickly learned a lot. One of the first
The happy couple with their new P6.
(Malcolm photo)
Continued next page...
Purchased:
July 1971, Gordon Bros. Vancouver – used as a demonstrator by Mr. Gordon, 4000 miles on the clock.
Problems:
Next problem was me questioning my ability to tackle the
job. I considered it to be much more sophisticated than
any other car I had worked on, the workshop manual is
excellent but it was a bit intimidating and led me to believe that a large selection of specialized tools would be
required.
There was a slight steering shimmy when braking and
this was annoying but not serious. Several attempts were
made to cure the problem under warranty: Brake pads
replaced, discs machined, wheel bearings replaced, wheels
aligned and balanced – no improvement.
We put up with this annoyance until someone recommended Jay's British and European Motors saying “Jay is
expensive but he does the job right”. I removed the front
calipers and took them to Jay. As I suspected, the calipers
were partly seized. Jay overhauled them – problem
solved.
1980: At about 75,000 miles the Rover began to run a bit
rough. The problem was a burned exhaust valve on cylinder #4. Non-leaded gas had recently been introduced and
this was considered a possible cause.
1993: The B.C. Air Care exhaust emissions testing was
introduced. Jay tuned the car as best he could but it failed
and it was in need of other mechanical work. I was extremely busy at my work with no time to spend on the car
so I took it off the road and it sat in the garage. I hated
opening the garage door to see it gradually looking in an
ever increasingly sadder state and hated contemplating
that I would have to scrap it.
Malcolm in “uniform” dismantling a P6 at ABC
Parts. (Ruth Burgess photo)
Taking the approach there was nothing to be lost I bit the
bullet and got started and quickly gained confidence. At
least taking it apart was not as difficult as I imagined!
The car was now nearly 20 years old so the next question
was “are parts available?”
Several years prior to this I had a bad experience in the
UK. My father owned a 1967 Austin A60 so while I was
there I offered to do a few minor jobs. At the parts department of the main British Leyland dealership in Newcastle
I was told “We do not stock parts for old cars”. So with
this in mind, what were my chances with an even older
car in Vancouver?
At Bradner Hall, November 2007.
(Walter photo)
Retirement and Restoration.
1998: I retired and it was decision time: Do something
with the Rover or get rid of it. Was there really a choice?
Theoretically I now had time to work on it. I say
“theoretically” because the biggest myth about retirement
is “that one has all the time to do whatever one wants”.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
Engine bay restoration. Steering box is at right
rear with steering linkage in front of firewall; a
safety feature – no steering wheel into the chest in
event of a frontal crash. (Malcolm photo)
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PAGE 2
A friend had recently had a TR6 restored and when I told
him what I was attempting he suggested that I contact
Ken Bailey at Lancaster Restorations who had done the
work for him. I phoned Ken and as soon as I mentioned
“Rover” he said the person I needed to talk to was Ruth
Burgess at All British Cars. On December 3rd 1999, I met
Ruth for the first time. I gave Ruth a list of engine and
brake parts that would be needed and after looking over
the list her response was a reassuring “no problem”. (As I
type this it is exactly 15 years to the day since that first
meeting).
Stories:
Trips to the Rockies:
Will we get back to Vancouver?
When we purchased the Rover we kept the Austin A60
which was the daily driver and the Rover was used mainly for longer trips many of which were to the Rockies. The
first time we took the Rover to Banff we were parked at
the view point at Mount Norquay, a gentleman from Calgary came running over and said “I had one of those cars”
and regaled me with a tale of woe about how it spent
more time being fixed than on the road. It made Barbara
and I really worried that we might not make it back to
Vancouver. Thirty years later at the Van Dusen Car show
a gentleman from Calgary came up to me and told me a
similar story, I am sure it was the same person.
Problem Bear and Problem Parent:
Diff and in-board rear calipers ready to be reinstalled. The assembly is designed to operate with
the De Dion rear suspension. (Malcolm photo)
Ruth overhauled the cylinder head and the brake calipers.
For the overhead cam and tricky tappet adjustment I was
not confident enough at that point to tackle that job. Also
the rear calipers are a bit of a nightmare. The inner sills
had rusted out (a common problem with P6 Rovers), so it
was back to Ken Bailey to have those replaced. All other
work I did myself which occupied over 600 hours in 1999.
Collector plates were obtained in January 2000, very fitting to have a Rover 2000 back on the road at the beginning of the year 2000. I had not driven the car for 7 years
and my reaction on that first test drive was “Wow! Now I
remember why I liked this car”.
Another incident on a trip to the Rockies with the Rover
involved my father. At a roadside picnic site there was a
black bear with two cubs – very photogenic - so I pulled
in. Despite having given my parents lectures about bears
Dad was out of the car like a shot determined to get the
perfect picture. Mother bear left the cubs and came round
the car and placed one paw on the trunk and the other on
the back window right behind my mother who became
hysterical. We got Dad back into the car and fortunately
the bear returned to her cubs. Dad had reamed me out on
several occasions in my youth for doing stupid things but
this time it was my turn. There is still a slight depression
on the trunk lid from the bear's paw as a reminder of that
incident.
Bear family in the Rockies. (Barbara photo)
Barbara and the RCMP
The restored Rover outside our home.
(Malcolm photo)
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
We live on the University Endowment Lands and about
35 years ago Barbara became curious as to why the local
RCMP officers would salute or wave when they saw her
driving the Rover in the area. It later came to light that a
person of interest to the police who was indirectly associated with a high a profile case drove a red Rover. There
were very few Rovers in the area and even fewer red ones.
Both Barbara and the other person were blonde and both
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PAGE 3
Continued next page…
drove red Rovers, a case of mistaken identity!
Ends of the Earth
Since the restoration we have made several long trips
most notably with the Washington State MG Club. A
member of that group in Yakima who was also a member
of the Rover Club liked to organize wine tours in Washington and Oregon and other mystery trips to the “Ends of
the Earth”. We led two of the “Ends of the Earth” trips
from central Washington into BC.
several boxes of apples and enormous “Oh Henry” peaches. Again the Rover was called into service until the loot
could be distributed. They knew they were safe giving us
the wine and fruit to transport knowing we could not
bring any of it back across the border.
The large P6 boot, spare tire included.
(Malcolm photo)
Tait’s P6 in the lead at Grand Forks.
(Malcolm photo)
Forty Years On:
On one of these we were in the lead heading south from
Lytton, the Rover was running well but suddenly lost
power. I pulled over followed by a string of MGs. I quickly identified a fuel pump problem and by a stroke of luck I
had a spare. By the time I got the spare pump out of the
trunk two of the MG guys had their tool kits out and had
already removed the problem pump. They were enjoying
themselves and would not let me work on my own car!
Half an hour later we were mobile again. This is the only
time the car has “failed to proceed” on the road. The only
tool worth carrying with a modern car is cell phone – call
a tow truck.
In 2010 the car had it's 40th birthday so Barbara came up
with an idea of a poster for the Van Dusen show: A photo
of the two us beside the car when it was new and another
one taken just before the show. The caption was “Same
Car - Same Owners – 40 Years On”. That year the Rover
Club had a parts stall at the show which occupied much of
my time so Barbara was “on duty” beside the car. Later
Barbara told me that more than one gentleman admired
the car and the poster. One came up to her and said
“there are several men here today who have owned their
car for 40 years but very few still have the same wife”.
Later we added a note that I was wearing the same suit
in both the 1970 and 2010 photos.
At Gerhinger Winery near Oliver.
(Malcolm photo)
On another wine tour in Washington with the MG group
the Rover became the transport vehicle. The MG owners
were buying significant quantities of wine but the MGs
have limited trunk space. We were asked if we could
transport their “excess” back to the motel where they
would have time to cram bottles into every conceivable
space. One winery had a fruit stand and because the
group had been such good customers the owner gave us
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
Same car, same owners, same suit! (Malcolm photo)
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PAGE 4
This year (2015) will be “45 years on” but will I be able to
get into that suit again?
Rovers took over my life.
If I had any concerns about how I was going to occupy my
time in retirement I need not have worried. The initial
void was filled with the restoration during which I met
new friends and acquired a whole set of new skills. The
next “consumer of time” was becoming heavily involved as
a member of the executive of the Rover Car Club of Canada (RCCC). In addition, the Rover Club has a healthy
stock of Rover parts and it wasn't long before I got involved dismantling several cars for this purpose. This was
another way to make new friends and increasing my
knowledge by learning from others. I remember a school
teacher saying “it is a dull day when you don't learn
something new”.
2004 was the hundredth anniversary of the Rover Car
Company which led to Barbara and I and another couple
(Peter and Marie Heaster) from the Rover Club attending
the Celebration Rally in New Zealand. We met the owner
of a rare 1905 Rover in which we had the privilege of riding and since then I have even assisted doing a bit of work
on it. We have made a lot of friends in the NZ Rover fraternity and have been back several times attending their
rallies.
1950 P4 Cyclops and if I help him with that project it will
be full circle from the Cyclops I worked on in 1958 which
started all this.
First example of the “Auntie” Rovers, the P4 75.
This 1951 example shown in Cardiff on the 1952
Welsh Rally is a late example of the “Cyclops” front.
(Photo from George Mowat-Brown’s book, “The
Rover”)
In conclusion, it has been an added pleasure to have been
able to participate in several OECC events over the years.
Malcolm, Walter and Bill pose with their Rovers
after the 2014 London Brighton
Commemorative Run (Barbara photo)
A big “Thank You” to Malcolm for taking the time to tell
us about his Rover lifestyle.
Malcolm (R), Barbara steering with the Heasters
and the 1905 Rover 8hp in New Zealand. Photo
from the Apr – June 2004 RCCC Roverview, courtesy of Gary Bayne, ORCC, Dunedin, New Zealand.
I have almost completed the restoration of a second Rover
2000 TC. The only reason I can think of for doing this is
that I was bitten by the Rover bug again and my fingers
were itchy because I hadn't had a wrench in my hand for
some time. In addition, very recently I have become heavily involved in the restoration of another TC with a friend
who only has a limited amount of time to spend on the
project because of his work. That car has been in storage
for 40 years but we hope to have it at Van Dusen in May
this year. A new member of the Rover Club is restoring a
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
And there we have this month’s story. The “Cars of Branch
Members and Their Stories” continues in future issues of
the Roundabout. As of this writing, volunteers include Les
Foster and Doug Courtemanche. I have contacted three
other members (to complete the 2015 roster) but am awaiting their reply. In the meantime, if you would like to tell
Branch members about your British car, cars or motorbike/s, contact me at [email protected].
THE ROUNDABOUT
PAGE 5
Sports Cars & SunglassesThe John Clarke Tour
Text by Les Foster
Photos by John Clarke
Sports cars and sunglasses, they just go together and
John Clarke gave us a new twist on that theme when
he once again hosted the Vancouver Coast Branchthis time for our February 2015 meeting. As always,
our time spent with John was both educational and
very entertaining.
First, sports cars. Focus of this evening was John’s
beautiful restoration of his 1962 MGA, a car that he
has owned for some 37 years. John recounted the saga
in his inimitable style with the help of a PowerPoint
presentation.
It seems that a neighbour of John’s in Burnaby, who
was an engineer for Lockheed, was tired of driving his
wife’s aging and slightly-less-than-watertight MGA to
work and arriving with wet pant legs. When John
learned that he was about to trade it in for $200 on a
nice, dry, domestic car he rashly offered the owner
$400 (about twice as much money as he actually had).
John’s Dad became half owner and eventually John
bought out his interest to become the sole proprietor.
He always dreamed of the two of them restoring the
car together and enjoying joyous drives.
After sitting for 10 years, pushed to the back burner
by the demands of job, family, and life in general, John
removed the MGA’s body and blasted and painted the
chassis. Much to the amusement of his neighbours,
John cut the body into two halves to facilitate moving
it around on his own! The body and frame then were
filed away on a special rack in the garage.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
Previous picture: MGA body and frame part ways.
Above picture: MGA body sits on its special rack
in the garage
Another 10 years slipped by until, around 1998, John
succumbed to the charms of an E-Type Jag, albeit in
boxes.
By 2002, John was ready to spend serious money on
the Jaguar but it was strongly suggested by his much
smarter wife, Carol, that he finish the MGA first- after
all he’d had more than 20 years to get it done already!
Spurred on by the twin dreams of Jaguar ownership
and the desire to fulfill his promise to take his father
for that drive, the MGA restoration was on. It was
finished in a year. His father had cleaned and blasted
many of the parts over the years and this speeded the
effort so, with his father’s health failing, John had the
car done to perfection in time for that very memorable
ride with his Dad.
John confided that he had sneaked some work in on
the E-Type as he went along- rebuilding its engine in
parallel with the MGA. Carol apparently did not notice that on some days it was a four and on others, a
six. Somehow it seemed to be the most expensive
MGA engine ever, what with ten pistons and all!
The MGA was about 18 years old when John first got
it and some rust had already set in but, thankfully, it
was limited. John made most of the patch panels himself except a few with compound curves that were just
more sensible to buy. The patching was done with the
body bolted to the frame for alignment, in 18 gauge
steel rather than the original 20 gauge material as
this is easier to weld and stronger and more rust resistant. Corroded areas were carefully removed by
drilling out the spot welds and new material was plugwelded in giving the same visual look as spot welds
but greater strength.
After all the rust repairs were complete, the body went
off to Redi-Strip Metal Cleaning Canada Ltd. in Richmond (http://www.redi-strip.com/) for chemical stripping followed by a phosphate rust preventative treatment. Primer was next- the body was on and off the
THE ROUNDABOUT
PAGE 6
frame several times. The chassis and all its parts were
painted in black Endura (http://www.endura.ca/). This
paint is excellent for a durable and pleasing finish.
The body interior was then sprayed, paving the way for
the engine to be installed. After nearly 25 years, it
sprang to life and was run-in for about 25 minutes!
Final exterior paint came next.
John did all the prep work on the body himself. That
is, he stressed, where the real work is done. Painting,
while it is the crowning touch, can only be as good as
the preparation but the latter rarely garners any glory.
John has painted cars very successfully himself but
this time he left the actual spraying to a talented
friend who rendered it in a lovely Woodland Green.
This colour was available on special order from the factory.
The fun part of any restoration followed- the final reassembly where all that effort, a year almost full-time,
came together in a beautiful, like-new classic.
John’s tenacity and skill has been rewarded with
recognition. His MGA has been awarded top MGA in
North America by the North American MGA Register
(http://www.namgar.com/).
This award in Oregon
caused some grumbling amongst American enthusiasts
who were inclined to tag it as a “cheque book restoration”, and such, but Carol soon set them straight by
telling them that John had done it all himself- in the
basement garage! That, by the way, is John’s message:
Although the restoration is now more than a dozen
years old, the car still has it. The MGA is featured in
the March 2015 issue of MG Enthusiast Magazine, who
were in town last year and seemed intrigued by John’s
mantra of “making honey out of bear….! Classic Car
Magazine is also planning a story on this car. Pretty
good for a home restoration done 13 years ago and regularly driven not trailered! The bottom line is that
John keeps the cars he loves and loves the cars he
keeps. Amen!
The second and surprise half of our meeting at the
Clarke house pertained to sunglasses (and sports cars).
Remember that Jaguar engine that John was surreptitiously rebuilding alongside his MGA? Well that red
1969 E-Type was also a concours car and of such voluptuous beauty that it attracted the attention of the
Serengeti Sunglass people. They sponsored John on a
week long junket to Vancouver Island and Whistler for
shots of two beautiful people (boy and girl, of course)
wearing their new prototypes (about $30,000 a pair)
while exploring the gorgeous scenery of B.C.
The budget was huge and John and the crew stayed at
the Empress Hotel in Victoria on the ‘secret’, unmarked, VIP floor, and shot the models with the EType on the closed front lawn of the grand hotel. Much
partying was done (helps the creative juices to flow, no
doubt) and they even rented the Maple Bay Ferry for a
private sailing, much to the chagrin of delayed locals!
The Sea to Sky Highway was the backdrop for more
glorious publicity shots.
It was an epic adventure and one deserving of another
of John’s beautiful and beloved restorations. No, John
did not get free sunglasses!
What it looks like from John’s perspective.
The gang sits in John’s workshop listening to his
presentation.
You can do this! Sure, John is exceptionally talented
but he’d be the first to say that it is 90% perspiration
and help can always be found from fellow enthusiasts
or professionals for the scary parts.
Following this, he was invited to enter his car in the
prestigious Pebble Beach Concours although he respectfully declined owing to the very high costs involved. The car continues to attract attention and
awards everywhere it goes.
The E-Type in front of the Empress Hotel
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
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PAGE 7
Hearts and Tarts 2015
Text and photos by Steve Blake
The Hearts and Tarts drive is one that Steve and Susan Blake organize to fall on the
weekend closest to Valentine’s Day. This year we were able to schedule the drive for
Saturday, February 14th and thus be true to the Hearts and Tarts Valentine’s theme.
Our event originated as a Morgan Owners’ Group Northwest drive in 1999 but in 2010
the Old English Car Club participated and it has been a joint drive ever since.
While watching the news last night, I saw a report from Boston showing them shoveling three feet of snow to try
to get it out of the way in anticipation for the foot and a half of snow they were forecasted for later in the evening.
We are pleased to say we had a balmy winter day for our drive, starting cloudy at 8 degrees Celsius and rising to
12 degrees by the time we finished lunch. It was definitely blue sky and sunglasses to get us home! Why do we
live on the west coast?!!
The group met at McDonald’s in Tsawwassen at 10:30
for a brew before the 11:00 drivers’ meeting and engine
start-up. (Trivia – Tsawwassen is pronounced “Ta-wossen” not “Sa-wos-sen” as sometimes pronounced by nonresidents. Tsawwassen is derived from a Stolo Indian
dialect meaning “looking toward the sea.” The original
pronunciation was actually close to “Cha-wos-sen”.) We
had 19 people in attendance driving a 1962 Morgan +4,
4-seater (Steve and Susan Blake), a 1964 Morgan +4
drophead coupe (Les and June Burkholder), a 1969 Morgan +8 (Ken and Pat Miles), a 2003 Jaguar XJ8 (Bart
and Audrey Shaw, Bernie and Pat Miles), a 2001 Jaguar
XJ8 Van Den Plas (John and Lorna Hoare), a 1960 MGA
(Steve and Sheila Kauffman), a 1960 Morris Minor
(Suzanne and Bill Grant) a 1976 Triumph Spitfire
(Christine and Kendall Green) and a 1966 MGB (Neil
Simpson.) The OECC beat the MOGNW 11-6 for attendance and all 6 MOGNWers are also OECC members.
Where were all the Morgan people today? We also had
two guests in attendance.
Bill Grant parks up next to the Shaw’s Jag at the
McDonalds in Tsawwassen (above) and the
Blake’s and Miles’ plus Bill stop for a photo op
(below)
The drive started with a dash through Tsawwassen. We
drove past the shopping centres and Winskill Park
(named after the farmer who donated the land to Delta
years ago), along 56th Street and continued to 1 Avenue.
Turning right, we passed Diefenbaker Park, which is a
converted gravel quarry converted to a park named for
our former Prime Minister. Next we turned right onto
English Bluff passing Fred Gingell Park (gives upper
Tsawwassenites access to the beach via a wicked trail
used daily by exercise enthusiasts – 160 feet elevation
from the beach to the top.)
Parts of English Bluff were a bit bumpy due to new water mains being laid and temporary blacktop surfacing.
Our route continued along 12 Avenue, going left on 52 Street. We passed the new Tsawwassen golf course and
could see the construction taking shape for the Tsawwassen Springs Clubhouse. Once completed, a future drive
will end at this venue. Crossing Highway 17, we could see on the left the two new shopping centres under con-
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
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PAGE 8
struction. When completed in
2016 Tsawwassen Mills and
Tsawwassen Common will be the
third largest shopping centre in
Canada with over 1.75 million
square feet of retail space and
parking for over 6000 cars.
The drive continued to Arthur
Drive where we passed former Premier Bill Vander
Zalm’s house. We turned right on 44A Avenue, drove past
the Delta Hospital and City Hall and took Highway 17A
north to join Highway 99 to go through the Deas Tunnel
under the South Arm of the Fraser River. Now in Richmond, we left the freeway and turned down Sidaway
Road. We passed Mitchell’s car collection, Mylora Golf
Course and the Go Karting Track. All the Morgans signaled left to go into this facility to do a couple fast laps,
Christine and Kendall Green secure the tonneau
but it was not to be! We crossed Westminster Highway
prior to lunch at the Big River Brew Pub
and did a loop through the Richmond Auto Mall. While
some of us glanced at the new cars for sale, others were checking out the bunnies on the lawns. After people are
tired of their live Easter bunnies, they let them out at night in the auto mall. With few coyotes around, the bunnies breed and make a nuisance of themselves by digging up the gardens.
The drive continued North on Jacombs to Cambie and then north again on Viking. At the end we passed the
Richmond Plywood mill and could take in the aroma of the fresh-cut sawdust. Rounding the corner at the Albion
fisheries building, we continued for one mile along River Road passing log booms and some light industrial areas.
At No. 7 Road we turned south through cranberry bogs and farmland. (Trivia – BC is the third largest cranberry
producing province/state in North America, behind Wisconsin and Massachusetts. We produce 12% of the overall
crop at 750,000 barrels per year. One barrel is 100 pounds or 45.5 kilograms.) Points for those who spotted the
Holstein cow entering the wall at Savage’s farm.
We turned right onto Westminster Highway and turned south down No. 6 Road. Another bonus point for those
who recognized the building housing the Studebaker collection at this intersection! We could hear the popping of
the guns from the Vancouver Gun Club to our west as we drove past more golf courses and large mansions but
wondered what the turkeys at Edward’s Turkey farm were thinking. The drive ended as we navigated through
the parking lots of the ice rink and Silver City theatres and parked next to our lunch stop at the Big River Brew
Pub.
The pub was a hit with good food and good beer from its on-site brewery. On behalf of us Hearts, Ken Miles made
a Valentine’s toast to our Tarts! There were no mishaps, nobody got lost, it didn’t rain, the sun came out, there
were few cars on the road, so all-in-all it was a good day’s outing.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
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PAGE 9
A Short History of the Mt. Baker - “Drive at Speed”
Text and photos by Dennis Nelson
2006 - After a few trips up the mountain, the “License to Drive” article was
written for the OECC and BCTR newsletters, explaining how to enjoy a drive to
Mt. Baker. The article was based somewhat on Destination Highways, Washington.
In the early fall of 2006 I made the decision to do the drive each year, and to informally invite anyone who wanted to come, to just show up. Participation has ranged from two cars in 2006, to nine cars in 2012. To minimize
border pain, the drive occurs on the first Friday after Labour Day, and we cross at Sumas between 9:30 and
10:00. In reality, the less cars involved, the more fun the drive is.
From License to Drive, “This drive combines canopied mountain roads, lots of fast corners, snow-capped peaks,
and quiet farming roads with no stop signs. If you begin around 9:00 am you will beat most of the traffic up
Mount Baker, and then have the opportunity to drive down with almost no one on your side of the road. Counting the 12 minutes [now 20 minutes] at the border, my last time to the top was just under 2 ½ hours, for about
100 km fun miles [from the Campbell River Store]. Your engine will heat up a little due to the altitude and the
hills, but nothing is too steep. There is one challenge with this Destination Highway (ranked #8 in WA) however,
for much of the route there is nowhere to pull over if you had a flat, and there is essentially no bike lane.” Hence
we travel in packs.
2006 ( 2 ) Adrian Mooe, Dennis Nelson
2007 - no records found.
2009 ( 3 ) Bence McIntyre, Jerry Goulet,
Dennis Nelson
2010 ( 3 ) Denis Thompson, Bill Grace,
Dennis Nelson
2008 ( 6 ) Jerry Goulet, David Ballantine,
Red Rover, Harry Sharp, John Clarke,
Dennis Nelson
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
THE ROUNDABOUT
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2011 ( 7 ) Adrian and Trish Moore, Dennis Nelson, ?
Red MGA, Barry and Jeanette Puffer, ?
Green Jaguar, Larry & Linda Spouler,
Denis Thompson
2012 ( 9 ) Mike Holliday, Vito Donatielo, Dennis
Nelson, John Hunt, Frank O’Grady, Barry &
Jeannette Puffer, Ken and Joanne Nicoll,
Dan Brian, Denis Thompson
2013 - Rainout
2014 ( 7 ) Bence McIntyre, Ted Laturnus, Barry &
Jeanette Puffer, Richard Walker, Dennis Nelson,
Vito Donatielo, Ken & Joanne Nicoll
On the 8th annual drive, Sept 5th, 2014, we had perfect weather, and a great driving team of seven sports cars. More
pictures are on Flickr at:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dennis_j_nelson/sets/72157647156578627/
See you next year.
Dennis Nelson
60 TR3
( Mt. Baker photo credit: Gord McKenna on Flickr )
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
THE ROUNDABOUT
PAGE 11
New Member Profile: Michael and Nicole De Wilde
I have an Austin Healey 3000 Mklll
Phase 2. It was built on Tuesday,
May 19th 1964 and then shipped to
Philadelphia, USA. Its first owner
was a US Marine pilot who was stationed at Pensacola, Florida. When
he finished breaking the sound barrier with it he sold it to a guy in the
Northeast who kept it for 35 years.
He was going to leave it to one of his
three sons, but none of them wanted
it. So in 2006 I bought it.
I bought it sight unseen on the internet from Harwood Restorations
of Victor, New York. I did know the
company from my days of living and
working in New York so it wasn’t a
completely stupid move. I bought
the car as a simple driver. Nothing fancy, just a good solid rust free, slightly tired driver. It was red
on red and had 68,000 miles on the clock. Mine is not a unique story, in fact I have heard it many
times at car shows up and down the Pacific coast from BC to California.
It started with the phone call just after I agreed to buy the car. The owner of Harwood said,
” Michael we are going to install some new floor panels and a new wiring harness before we ship the
car to you.”
“That’s great”, I said.
Two days later he said, ”We are going to pull the
engine and the transmission to make sure that
everything is done properly. This is at our expense.”
“Great”, I said, “If you’re going to do that at your
expense maybe I should think about a new interior.”
Well, you know were this conversation was heading.
After the interior they wanted to know if I wanted
to change the exterior colour?
Fast forward fifteen months and my “new” completely restored Austin Healey arrives in West Vancouver in January 2008 in a snow storm on an open sided car truck. Would it start? No of course
not. Minus 40 degree weather across the Prairies had frozen everything solid.
Since then I have loved driving it every chance I get. I have played with it a little. Put disc brakes
all round. Improved the shocks. Changed the fuel pump, installed an alternator, modified the exhaust system and balanced the drive shaft. It has had triple Webers but is now back to twin SU’s.
When the Healey is unavailable, due to weather, I cruise around in my 2005 Jaguar X wagon dog
mobile.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
THE ROUNDABOUT
PAGE 12
REAR VIEW MIRROR
Here’s another picture of Walmsley Motors at 1233 W. Georgia Street (see Nov.-Dec
2014 issue for more pictures and info). Judging by the Hillman Minx in the showroom
window I’m assuming it is taken at or around the same time as the previously mentioned shots, probably late 1930’s or early 1940’s.
The second photo shows what I believe to be a 1939 Morris 10 in front of the Seaforth
Armories on Burrard St. in Vancouver. Again, there was no date on the photo but if it
was a publicity shot (which it looks like to me) then it probably is 1939 or 1940.
Photos are from the Vancouver Public Library .
Thanks to Steve Diggins for sending them in.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
THE ROUNDABOUT
PAGE 13
Fort Langley Run 2015
Text and photos by Alan Miles
At last November’s London to Brighton Commemorative Run, Walter and his committee had us all taking a
pit stop at the Fort Langley Historic Site parking lot
(there are washrooms there!). While we were all gathered there socializing and making use of the aforementioned facilities it was suggested that perhaps it was
time to resurrect the old Fort Langley Run.
Now for those newer members who might not know,
the Fort Langley Run was a regular run on the VCB
schedule until a few years ago when it was stopped
due to lack of participation. The run was always held
in April and organizing duties were usually split between Walter Reynolds and Steve Diggins with each
taking the helm on alternating years.
John Brettoner checks out some of the
participating cars
Walter rallies the troops at the 10:00am
driver’s meeting
The run itself lasted just over an hour and amazingly,
covered some roads we had not previously driven on
(not an easy feat considering how many years this run
has been going). The route wound its way through Fort
Langley (twice) and Langley itself ending up for lunch
at the Fox and Fiddle Pub on the Langley By Pass.
The original lunch destination was set for Adrian’s at
the Langley Airport but had to be changed as they
couldn’t accommodate our burgeoning numbers.
All in all we could not have asked for a better run. The
weather co-operated (not always a given in April) and
we had a lovely drive and a great lunch afterwards. As
is tradition the Old Sparks Award was given out to the
oldest car in attendance. This year’s recipients were
John and Lorna Hoare with their 1953 MGTD
“Poppy”. Special thanks to Walter for organizing a fabulous event. Hopefully the Fort Langley Run will once
again become a regular addition to our yearly calendar
of events.
Apparently Walter must have gone home after the LB
Run in November and started ruminating on whether
or not he should resurrect said Ft. Langley Run. Luckily for us he decided that he would indeed resurrect it
and I must say, from my perspective, it was one of the
best, if not the best, versions of the event we have ever
had. We had 23 people attending bringing with them
14 cars. I do not have access to past attendance records but I would bet that if we did not set a record re:
attendance we came very close.
As per tradition we all met in the Fort Langley parking lot and at around 10:00am Walter held a driver’s
meeting. He was keen to point out that he had managed to keep the driving instructions to one page and
that there were no questions to answer along the way.
In other words, or in Walter’s words in fact, this was
not to be a “divorce rally”.
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
Participants gather at the Fox and Fiddle
for lunch
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PAGE 14
Two pictures from our March
3rd visit to Pacific Auto Trim
on W. 5th Ave. in Vancouver.
33 members attended
Top: Sarah Wilson’s beautiful
Austin Healey 3000 draws some
admirers. Bottom: The three
amigos, Larry, Steve and David.
AT THE WHEEL
Chairperson: John McDonald
[email protected] 604-942-8223
Vice-Chairperson: Walter Reynolds
[email protected] 604-463-6305
Treasurer: Bernie Miles
[email protected] 604-943-0535
Membership renewals: mail to 207-4753
River Road West, Delta, B.C. V4K 1 R9
VOLUME 20,NUMBER 2
Membership Secretary: John Chapman
[email protected] 604-590-3749
New memberships and correspondence:
7923 144A St., Surrey, B.C. V3S 8C1
Immediate Past Chairperson:
Gerry Parkinson [email protected]
604-943-3824
Event and Meeting Coordinator:
Lorna Hoare
[email protected] - 604-584-2564
THE ROUNDABOUT
Communications Coordinator: Alan Miles
[email protected]—604-272-2145
Roundabout Editor : Alan Miles
[email protected] - 604-272 -2145
Good & Welfare: David Ballantine
[email protected] - 604-980-4120
Website Editor: Alan Miles
[email protected] 604-272-2145
PAGE 15