Volume 15 Number 1
January 2015
SMJC 2015 Officers
President
Peter Davis
Jonesborough, TN
[email protected]
Vice-President
Gary Cobble
Knoxville, TN
[email protected]
Secretary
Diane de Ropp/Barbara
Rigby
Knoxville, TN
[email protected]
Treasurer
Jane Ogle
Johnson City, TN
[email protected]
Membership Chairman
Terry Mosley
Farragut, TN
[email protected]
Concours Chairman and
Chief Judge
Gary Cobble
Knoxville, TN
[email protected]
Event Coordinator
Jim de Ropp
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Cyrus Taft
Harriman, TN
[email protected]
Board Members
A.W. and Gail Amanns
Vonore, TN
[email protected]
John Sapper
Knoxville, TN
[email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Cyrus Taft
Don’t Forget to Renew Your Membership - Now
From the President’s Desk
Welcome to 2015 and a promising new
year of activities being planned by the club
officers. 2014 was successfully concluded
with a great Christmas lunch at Rarity Bay
Country Club, hosted by retiring President
Gail Amanns. In appreciation of her extended Smoky Mountain Presidency term, she
was presented with a gift certificate for a
stay at the General Morgan Inn, Greeneville.
We are going to run the membership
challenge again this year, so anyone recruiting three new members during the year
will have their dues paid for 2016. In addition, if any of their new members attends a
club event during the year, I will award the
recruiter a gift certificate for the first and
any subsequent new member taking part.
The bleak mid-winter is traditionally the
time to fix broken bits on the cars, but if
there’s a sunny day and no salt around, get
them out on the road and surprise everyone. January’s UK magazine “Classic &
Sports Car” features the Jaguar XJ series on
the cover and in an article covering models
from the S1 to the present day. We’ve got
several good examples in the club, so let’s
see them out and about.
There will be a board and members
meeting at Dandridge on Monday February
2 to plan the year’s events, so come along
and give us your input. We will have a tech
session at Harper’s Saturday March 7, followed by lunch at the Chop House across
the road, so save some jobs for then. Members can also drop by to observe at the tech
session or just join us for the lunch. We will
have a head count nearer the date. The annual Dogwood drive and picnic, hosted by
the de Ropp’s, will follow in the spring.
In the meantime, send in your membership renewals, honor the timeless classics
and get the oil changed.
Peter Davis
Next Event: SMJC Members and Board Meeting, Monday, February 2, 6:00pm, Angelo’s at the Point, Dandridge, TN.
Upcoming Events
January 6, 2015
English Auto Society meeting, Tuesday, 6:30pm at Le
Noir restaurant in Lenoir City. Contact Barbara Rigby
at [email protected] for more information.
February 2, 2015
SMJC Members and Board Meeting, Monday,
6:00pm, Angelo’s at the Point restaurant, Dandridge,
TN.
February 5, 2015
English Auto Society meeting, Thursday, 6:30pm at
the Chop House at 9700 Kingston Pike.
February 7, 2015
Winter party for area British Car Clubs at the Greeneville Car Museum, Greeneville, TN. Plan to be at Museum at 11:00am. Lunch will be served, cost for admission and lunch $12-$15. RSVP to Jim Watson at
[email protected].
March 7, 2015
SMJC Work on your own Jaguar Tech Session at
Harper Jaguar, Knoxville. Lunch following at the
Chop House across the street from Harper.
June 13, 2015
Jaguar Association of Greater Indiana Annual Concours d’Elegance, Indianapolis, IN. Contact Debbie
Holley at 317-714-7586 for more information.
July 11, 2015
Jaguar Association of Central Ohio JACO Annual
Concours d’Elegance, Dublin, OH. Contact Jim Baker
at 614-846-7032 for more information.
July 16-19, 2015
Carolina Jaguar Club Head for the Mountains Concours d’Elegance, Little Switzerland, NC. Contact
Gregg Gaylard at [email protected] or 919-2701406 or for more information.
August 1, 2015
Jaguar Club of Ohio 43rd Annual Concours d’Elegance, at Ursuline College in Pepper Pike, OH. Contact Dominic Perri at [email protected] or at 330467-3953 for more information.
August 8, 2015
Jaguar Club of Greater Cincinnati 13th Annual Concours d’Elegance, West Chester, OH. Contact Don
Leedy at 513-777-9811 for more information.
March 21, 2015
September 17-19, 2015
Jaguar Club of Florida Concours d’Elegance, Celebration FL. Contact Phil Mannino at 407-312-0218
JCNA Challenge Championship hosted by Wisconsin
for more information.
Jaguars Ltd. Includes slalom, rally and concours.
More details to follow.
March 28, 2015
2015 EAS April Fools Bash at Kingston City Park Pa- September 18-19, 2015
vilion. Contact John and Barbara Rigby if you would SMJC 13th Annual Concours d’Elegance, General
like to help with this event.
Morgan Inn, Greeneville, TN. For more information
contact Concours Chairman Gary Cobble at
April 12, 2015
Cars and Coffee presented by Harper Auto Square at [email protected].
October 11, 2015
West Town Mall, Sunday, 8-11am.
North Georgia Jaguar Club Annual Concours d’EleApril TBD, 2015
SMJC Annual Dogwood Drive hosted by Jim and Di- gance, Chattahoochee Country Club, Gainesville,
GA. Contact John Hoffman at [email protected] or at
ane de Ropp. Stay tuned for date and time.
770-992-2856
April 24-26, 2015
Classic Motorsports Mitty Presented by Hagerty,
BMW is the featured marque for this year’s event at
Road Atlanta in Braselton, GA.
www.roadatlanta.com/the-mitty.
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Annual Luncheon and Meeting
by Cyrus Taft with photos by Gerry Mitchell and Cyrus Taft
Despite rather miserable weather on Saturday
morning, we had a good turnout for the Annual
Luncheon and Meeting at Rarity Bay Country Club.
By the time we left our home in Roane County, the
worst of the weather had moved to the east but
those coming from the Tri-cities area were not so fortunate. According to Peter Davis the visibility on I-81
and I-40 was very bad for almost his entire trip.
Fortunately the weather inside the country club
was very nice and our hosts, Gail and AW Amanns
had taken care of all the arrangements for the luncheon and meeting. The social hour provided time for
everyone to catch up with other members and also
time to view the two Jaguars on display at front of
the club. One was a brand new silver F-type R coupe
owned by Bob and Lori Stryer. The other was a 1992
XJ12L VDP owned by Neil Hattingh. This car is a Series 3 body style and was not available in the US. This
car was originally sold in Canada and later brought to
the US. Kudos to both car owners for bringing these
beautiful cars out in less than ideal weather.
New club officers for 2015, from left, Gary,
Peter, Diane, and Jane.
Gary presents Gail with the Robert L. Reid
Memorial Trophy.
Lunch was soon served with very generous portions which meant the leftovers could be enjoyed a
second time.
The business meeting followed lunch and included the election of our new officers for 2015. Peter
Davis is President, Gary Cobble is Vice President, Diane de Ropp and Barbara Rigby are sharing the Secretary duties and Jane Ogle is Treasurer. Gail Amanns
was presented with the Robert L. Reid Memorial Trophy for her leadership of and dedication to our club.
Other business from the meeting can be found in
Gerry Mitchell’s minutes on page 6.
Styer’s 2015 F-Type R Coupe and Hattingh’s
1992 XJ12L VDP.
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More Photos from the Annual Luncheon and Meeting
Gail presents Peter with the club gavel. A sampling of other clubs concours prizes.
4
Rev It Down Revisited
by Fred Secker, Jaguar Club of Southern Arizona
Editor’s note: I received the short article below in
response to Peter Davis’ article in the December
Mountain Jaguar about installing a new 5-speed
transmission in his E-type FHC. I thought it might be
of interest to our members. Peter has also provided
some additional comments.
A few connected jottings:
Fred’s approach of changing the gearing with a
replacement rear end is certainly cost effective, if you
can get a reliable unit and don’t have to change the
crown wheel and pinion yourself. Dropping out the
back sub-frame to fit it is also a good opportunity to
replace the rubber mounts and bushings, suspension
bearings and try to get the handbrake working again.
Second gear synchro was shot on my original
transmission and the engine needed a rebuild, including reconditioned heads by Dick Maury, so I thought I
would get everything done at the same time. Unfortunately there’s no room for an overdrive in an XKE
to get six or seven speeds like I have on the Healey
and TR. The T5 conversion kit was $4500, so my
quick shifting, modern synchro, “snicky” transmission
cost me $900 per gear. The 0.73:1 reduction in 5th
gives about the same gearing as a 2.88:1 back end
but I still have the four intermediate gears with direct
4th, so acceleration and response are optimized. The
XKE has a broad flat torque band, especially if you
free up the exhaust flow, so the response is not going
to be that different anyway.
I have considered changing the rear end gearing
on my Morgan +4 but nobody makes the gear sets
unfortunately. Again, there’s no room for an overdrive and I don’t really want to lose the character of
the centrally placed Moss transmission, so an oriental
five speed is out. It seems that project will stay on
the shelf for a while.
The article in your December issue about XKE
gear ratios would have struck a chord with all your
XKE owners because just as Peter Davis says the gear
ratios do not suit the way most owners drive their
cars. Replacing the existing gear box with a 5 speed
unit is a terrific upgrade as I know from experience
having a Tremec in my XK150 however your members
might like to know of an alternative method of
achieving the same result in their XKEs in a cheaper
and easier way.
The answer is to install a different rear end. I obtained a replacement unit for my own 1969 XKE from
Dick Maury at Coventry West. The new unit has a
2.88 ratio and was originally from an XJS HE and has
transformed the car. I now achieve effortless, quiet
cruising at 27mph per 1000rpm with the attendant
improvement in MPG. If there are doubts about the
XKE having sufficient torque to drive this rear end I
can only say that over the last 6 years I have found no
problems and have thoroughly enjoyed the new set
up.
Using this method of achieving the desired ratios
is considerably cheaper than purchasing a 5 speed
gear box not to mention the cost of removing and
replacing the engine. Peter Davis does not mention
how many thousands of dollars his modification cost
but it would be a bit more than the $940 cost of the
replacement unit in 2008. This is the total cost of my
upgrade as I did the work myself at home with the
aid of a friend. It is heavy work but you just follow
the instructions in the manual. And by the way the
replacement unit bolted straight up with no need for
adaptors or brackets.
Fred Secker
President & Editor
Jaguar Club of Southern Arizona
Peter Davis
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Annual Meeting Minutes
by Gerry Mitchell, Secretary
Rarity Bay Country Club, Vonore, Tennessee
December 6, 2014
Present:
Gail Amanns, President, and AW
Tom Ballentine, Treasurer, and Susan
Jane Ogle, Vice President & Membership Chairman
Gerry Mitchell, Secretary
Gary Cobble, Concours Chairman & Chief Judge and Kim
Joyce Ford
Cyrus Taft, Editor, The Mountain Jaguar and Julia
Diane & Jim de Ropp, Board Members
Jimmy George
Pat & Peter Davis
Gerda & John Sapper
Bob Stoll
Jack Harbourne
Terry Mosley
Richard Lockhart
Lori & Bob Stryer
Neil Hattingh
Natalie Bailey
Prior to the annual meeting the members enjoyed a won-
derful hour of visiting and fellowship followed by a delicious lunch.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 1:00 p.m. by President
Amanns who welcomed those in attendance.
Treasurer’s Report
Treasurer Tom Ballentine presented his treasurer’s report:
Balance as of 9/19/14:
$6943.68
Deposits:
3OCT14: Concours Banquet & Registrations
$200.00
5NOV14: Concours Registrations;
$370.00
Total Deposits:
$570.00
Debits:
3OCT14: Gary Cobble, Concours Expenses
$679.31
3OCT14: Jane Ogle, Concours Expenses
$221.44
24OCT14 JCNA—Hattingh
$15.00
28OCT14 General Morgan—2015 Concours Res. $500.00
28OCT14 Refund of Concours fees—Sapper
$110.00
5DEC14 Jane Ogle—President’s gift
$221.82
Total Debits
$1747.57
Balance as of 12/5/14
$5766.11
6
Annual Meeting Minutes, continued
Concours Report
Concours Chairman Gary Cobble discussed the recent
concours and the association of the American Cancer Society. Gary said that SMJC has over $1300 from ACS’s participation. He further disclosed that SMJC had $966.11
gain from the event. It was decided that ACS’s funds and
the amount of profit from the Concours should be turned
over to the ACS. Peter Davis suggested that the amount
be rounded off to $3000. This suggestion was approved.
Gary says we already have JCNA-sanctioned approval
for our next-year’s Concours at the General Morgan Inn in
Greeneville on the 18th & 19th of September. Jane is arranging for the usual Friday-night reception at the nearby
car museum. Gary will schedule Judges’ Training for
sometime in August.
Harper’s Tech Session
Gary asked for a show of hands of those who would
like a Tech Session at Harper’s early in March. There were
several and Peter says he already has a job for the Tech
Session. Peter suggested presenting a gift certificate to a
restaurant to each technician present at the Tech Sessions. This idea was approved by those present.
Harper New Dealership and Book Donation
Gary announced that Harper’s is building a new dealership on Parkside Drive and they have many boxes filled
with old owners’ and workshop manuals and wiring diagrams that they’re willing to donate to the club. These
books will be added to our club library.
2015 JCNA Annual General Meeting
Gary announced that the 2015 AGM will be held in
Philadelphia. There has been increasing concern that so
many perfect-100 scores are appearing at the JCNA Concours around the country. This is prompting consideration
of some rule changes at next year’s AGM.
Bob Reid Memorial Trophy
The Robert L. Reid Memorial Trophy is presented annually to a club member who has performed outstanding
service to the club. Gary presented the trophy to this
year’s recipient, President Gail Amanns. Gail has performed outstanding service to the club in taking over the
presidency when the office was tragically and unexpectedly vacated by the passing of then President, Jeff Erickson.
Gail expressed sincere regrets about Jeff’s tragic passing
and she thanked Jack Harbourne for making this beautiful
7
Annual Meeting Minutes, continued
trophy, other club trophies and also for making the Jeff
Erickson Memorial Box which houses the club gavel.
Jack Harbourne’s New Jaguar
Jack Harbourne related the story of how the 1963 E-Type
OTS he has owned for many years was sold and replaced
with a BRG 2007 XK8 Convertible with tan top.
Election of Officers for 2015
The club nominating committee presented a slate of officers for next year for the members’ consideration:
President
Peter Davis
Vice President:
Gary Cobble
Treasurer:
Jane Ogle
Secretaries:
Diane de Ropp and Barbara Rigby
This slate of officers was unanimously elected.
Membership Chairman’s Report
Membership Chairman Jane Ogle announced that we now
have 69 members but that only 19 of these have renewed
for next year, two of those renewals having been received
at this meeting. So, we still need 50 more renewals from
current members.
Future Events
Jim de Ropp led a discussion of potential future events for
the members’ consideration. Mentioned were the Concours, Tech Sessions, Dogwood Drive, participation in other clubs’ events, Townsend, Rugby, etc. He will prepare
and calendar for the year to put in the newsletter.
Cars on Display
Jim also stressed the fact that Neil Hattingh’s 1992 XJ12
and Lori & Bob Stryer’s new F-Type Coupe were being exhibited at today’s meeting just outside the front door. The
members very much enjoyed viewing these two outstanding Jaguars and many photographs were made of them.
The members were fascinated by the rear wing on the FType, which rises automatically at 70 MPH.
President’s Plans
New President Peter Davis discussed the plan for future
club meetings. Those present said they like the location at
Angelo’s at the Point in Dandridge. It was agreed that
meetings would still be held every other month as they
have been in the past. It was also agreed that having the
meetings close by after Tech Sessions is a good idea.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
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Member News
By the time you read this, a new year will have
dawned and you will have made all those wonderfully
optimistic resolutions that you may or may not
keep. If one of those resolutions is to renew your
club membership, please send your check and renewal form to our new Membership Chair Terry Mosley,
12742 Shady Ridge Lane, Farragut, TN 37934. As of
December 31, only 59% of our membership base renewed. Please send yours in today.
The club welcomes back to our membership Bob
& Lori Stryer. Their contact information is:
Bob & Lori Stryer
2345 Cherokee Blvd.
Knoxville, TN 37919
(865) 755-3979 (H)
(865) 755-3977 (M)
[email protected]
2015 Silver F-Type R Coupe
We also welcome new members Merle Eels & Sylvia Pratt. Their contact information is:
Merle Eels & Sylvia Pratt
12217 South Fox Den Drive
Knoxville, TN 37934
(360) 941-7104 (H)
(865) 288-3336 (W)
[email protected]
1990 Signal Red XJS Convertible
Gary Cobble, Richard Lockhart, Gail and AW
Amanns, Cyrus Taft and son-in-law Will Spearman
went to Harper Jaguar last Monday and loaded 23
boxes of Jaguar service manuals and other technical
documents into Cyrus’ truck for inclusion in the club’s
library. When Cyrus gets these books sorted and catalogued he will put a listing in the newsletter. Many
thanks to Harper for this generous donation.
Jane Ogle
Membership Chair
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SMJC Name Badges

To order a magnetic name badge, send a
check for the number desired and exactly
how you wish the names printed to Ben
Bailey, 2734 E. Oakland Ave., #55, Johnson City, TN 37601.
Classified Ads
1977 Regency Red XJS Coupe, one owner, 28K
miles, 5.3 liter V-12, excellent original condition, meticulously maintained, very minor body damage to
roof, GM400 transmission, runs and drives like new,
includes high quality car cover. Contact Gerry Mitchell at [email protected]. $12,500.
tired and can no longer give her the care she deserves. No. 1112 of only 1688 built. Excellent condition. 94,000 miles on the odometer. Perfect mechanically. Needs only minor coachwork (mostly interior)
to be considered fully restored. New petrol tanks
(original tanks included). Original interior woodwork
intact. Leather seats (restored) perfect. Same owner
since 1981. Garaged since 1982. Serious inquiries
only: (865) 693-3757. Lee Whittenberg. $45000.
1972 Norton Commando, complete with two helmets, spare parts, Whitworth tool set, and 30 years of
great stories. Contact Wayne Manges, 865-2160264. $5,000.
XJ-40 Parts Club Member Les Piniak is cleaning out
his barn and has many XJ-40 parts for sale. If you
need something call Les at (865) 318-7761.
1957 Jaguar Mark VIII, Looking to find a good home
for this 1957 Jaguar Mark VIII (LHD). Owner has re10
SMJC Membership Application/Renewal
Name(s) including spouse or other:
Address:
City, State, Zip Code:
Telephone: Home ______________________ Business
E-mail Address:
Jaguar(s) Owned: Use an extra sheet if necessary
Year
Model
Body Style
Color
Miscellaneous
Membership Dues Structure: $45/year if you provide an e-mail address for receiving the monthly
newsletter “The Mountain Jaguar” and updates electronically via e-mail or $75/year if you need to
have them sent by US mail.
I hereby make application to become a member or renew my membership in the Smoky Mountain Jaguar Club (SMJC), a non-profit corporation. I agree to abide by the by-laws of the corporation upon my
acceptance as a member. I enclose my check for $45 or $75 for a year’s dues ($23 and $38 after July
1 for half-year membership) made payable to the Smoky Mountain Jaguar Club. I will receive The
Mountain Jaguar newsletter monthly and six issues a year of the Jaguar Journal from the Jaguar
Clubs of North America (JCNA). Note Paypal option is available by contacting Tom Ballentine, Treasurer, [email protected].
Signature:_________________________________________________
Complete this application and mail with your check to:
Jane G. Ogle
SMJC Membership Chair
1212 Greenfield Drive
Johnson City, TN 37604
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Commercial Advertising Rates
In The Mountain Jaguar, we offer free classified ads to SMJC members selling Jaguar cars or parts. The ads run for
three issues unless cancelled. Classified ads for non-members are $5 for two issues. Classified ads (for Jaguars only)
can also be posted nationally at www.jcna.com under Classifieds. Below are commercial ad rates for businesses. These
ads will probably be, but not necessarily, Jaguar related. Please send your business card or ad copy to Tom Ballentine,
SMJC Treasurer, 4568 Gravelly Hill Road, Louisville, TN 37777.
When you’re looking for parts or services, please consider our advertisers first. They’re helping to support our newsletter and club. Mention that you saw their ad in our newsletter. Harper’s gives a 10% discount on service, parts, and accessories, and SNG Barrett and XKs Unlimited gives a 10% discount on parts and accessories to Smoky Mountain Jaguar Club members.
Instructions for Advertisers
Because this newsletter is primarily sent out electronically, it is important to keep the file size as small as possible. To
support this effort we prefer images be supplied at 100 dpi rather than the normal 300 dpi. Images supplied at 300 dpi
will be resized to 100 dpi.
Number of Issues
3
6
12
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