SWTVC Bulletin Volume 2018 Number 9 (November)
The SWTVC Website can be found at www.swtvc.org.uk and has up-to-date information about meetings.
Registered address of the SWTVC: 31 Roselea Drive, Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8HE
Committee
Ronnie Gordon: (Chair & Acting Secretary) 0141 956 2950 07906 042215
31 Roselea Drive, Milngavie, Glasgow G62 8HE
John Stewart (Treasurer)
Harry Sherry : (Webmaster)
member
John Young: (Membership Secretary)
Ian Stother: (Member)
Ronnie Johnston: (Editor)
Kevin Began: (Events Co-ordinator)
Dave Stewart: (Webmaster)
Monthly meetings: These take place on the 3rd Tuesday of the month in the Kirkhouse Inn at 08.00PM.
All members welcome.
The opinions expressed in this bulletin are not necessarily those of the committee or any of its members.
Editorial:
Winter is well upon us and somehow, working in the garage is not quite as much fun as in summer.
Here in the wilds of Lanarkshire the gritters are out much earlier than in the city.
There were a few cold bright days recently which would have been nice to venture out in with the oldie but I will not go out if there is any salt.
I doubt if my cars will be out again until spring.
How nice it would be if we had a climate that allowed us to use our cars all year round.
I took a run down to the NEC for the Classic Car Show. I never cease to be astonished at the sheer size of it. It would be fair to say that there is something for everyone. My preference is for pre-war cars and there were plenty of those.
It would be difficult to say which I liked best but a 1931 bright red eight litre Bentley would have been high on the list. I don’t think I have ever seen these cars in anything but dark green and I think red really suits it.It was substantially modified in the course of a restoration but this has been well done. It must be a real beast to drive and would be just the thing for any budding Mr. Toads out there.
VISIT TO CRIEFF HYDRO:
A few members took advantage of the kind invitation from Stephen Leckie of the Crieff Hydro to view his car collection. This invitation came out of the blue with very little notice but we hope to organise something similar again to give everyone an opportunity to come along.
Stephen has a sizeable collection with many cars in various stages of restoration.
These are kept in hotel outbuildings along with a selection of tools and equipment that would easily match a professional restoration workshop.
We were given full access to everything and hot drinks and scones were provided at no cost.
All told, a very pleasant day out and we are grateful to Stephen for his kind invitation.
LETTER FROM FEDERATION OF BRITISH HISTORIC VEHICLE CLUBS.
We received the following letter from Paul Chasney of the Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs.
Please take the time to participate in this survey as this gives the Federation the information to fight our corner when legislation is being considered.
The 2018
National Historic Vehicle Ownership Costs Survey
has now been launched.
Dear Club Representative or Associate Member,
As a Club contact or Associate Member of the Federation you will be well aware of the importance of the Federation’s research programme and its key role in helping represent the views of enthusiasts to Government, Government Agencies, Local Authorities and many other organisations. The Federation’s 2016 National Historic Vehicle Survey has been recognised as a definitive work setting out the importance of the historic vehicle movement to our national economy. As a next step we are developing this research and delving into the ownership costs incurred by individual enthusiasts as they use, maintain, preserve and renovate their historic vehicles.
The Federation’s 2018 National Historic Vehicle Ownership Costs Survey was launched today at the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC.
We would like to invite you and your Club members and friends to take part in the 2018 survey. Almost 14,000 individual enthusiasts took part in the 2016 survey and our aim this time is to exceed that number.
You can join in the survey now by just clicking the button below.
Alternatively the survey can be accessed directly from the Federation’s home page: www.fbhvc.co.uk.
Please encourage your fellow Club members and friends to take part in the survey, the Federation very much appreciates your support.
Thank you for taking part.
Paul Chasney
FBHVC Director Research
STORAGE SPACE NEEDED.
One of our members is looking for temporary storage of a car.
If you can offer secure, covered storage for a few months please contact me and I will pass details on.
CONTACT FROM AN IRISH MOTOR CLUB:
We received an interesting letter from the Garden of Ireland Vintage and Classic Car Club.
They are planning a weekend trip between 12th and 15th April and asked us for advice on places of interest to visit in west central Scotland.
They also extended an invitation for us to join them for all or part of their visit.
I made a list of suggestions and, as things stand at the moment, they propose to explore Loch Lomond on one day and visit the Riverside Museum on the other.
I have made no commitment on behalf of the Club but I have asked them to give me their final itinerary when this has been agreed.
I will pass this on and anyone wishing to join them can do so.
I rather like the idea of meeting enthusiasts from distant parts and hope to join them if circumstances permit.
MID-WINTER DINNER:
As previously stated this will be at the GWR 1051 on Friday 18th January.
Full details of menu and cost to follow.
AGM:
This will take place on Monday 3rd December at Kilmardinny House at 07.30.
This is your opportunity to have a say in the running of your club and help us plan events for the coming season.
The Committee does not have a monopoly on good ideas and your input will be most welcome.
It is important that as many members as possible attend. Please come along if you can.
MOTORING TRIVIA:
It was once said that motor racing is as old as the second motor car.
This is clearly an exaggeration but it is fair to say that motor sport has its roots in the embryonic motor industry.
Gordon Bennett was a wealthy American press baron who had an interest in motor racing and the money to indulge his passion.
He sponsored an annual race between national automobile clubs. The 1902 event was won by SF Edge driving a Napier, a very high quality marque at the time.
The rules of the event laid down that the nation winning an event would host the following year’s event.
This posed a problem as racing was illegal in Britain. There was good reason for this as there had been numerous fatalities in the course of these events.
A solution was found by passing local legislation to permit the 1903 event to be held in Ireland.
As a gesture to their Irish hosts Napier painted their cars “Shamrock Green”.
Sadly, the British team did not repeat their winning performance but green became the national racing colour for Britain although the actual shade has varied over the years.
AND FINALLY:
I had borrowed a set of jump leads from a friend and needed to return them.
I had arranged to meet him for a pint on Friday and took them along with me.
The bouncer spotted them and was reluctant to let me in with them.
After some discussion he said “OK, I’ll let you in as long as you promise not to start anything!”
That’s all folks,
Looking forward to seeing you at the AGM.
Ronnie Johnston