 Milwaukee, Peoria, Indianapolis, St Louis,, Rockford and the Quad cities all announced the event on January 25 as did announcements in several national publications. This event now attracts buyers and sellers alike from a multi-state area. Vendor offerings include parts, tools, regalia and memorabilia items, and more. The Swap Meet has become the major fund raiser for the club and this year, club members can earn “MG Bucks” by helping out. Whether you lend a hand or come as a shopper, don’t miss this fun event in an otherwise dreary month.
Club Email
We have again recently had need to contact all members via email, once regarding a funeral service and once regarding late delivery of last month’s Driveline. We are also sending a monthly reminder of club activities to all members on our list each month. If you did not receive any emails from the club in January then you are not on our list or perhaps you have not instructed your ISP to accept email from president@chicagolandmgclub.com.
In order to ensure that you receive timely emails from the club about club pertinent items, either include your email address on your dues renewal form or contact the club secretary at membership@chicagolandmgclub.com to verify that you are on our list.
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Natter ‘N Noggin -
The Search Is Over
As you know, we have visited several candidates for our Monthly Natter 'n' Noggin. We've been at the Roundhead's in Downers Grove and Lombard, at Stadium and Finn McCool's in Schaumburg, at Mullen's in Lisle, and at the Country Side Saloon in Des Plaines. There is not a clear winner; however there appears to be quite some enthusiasm for a South and a North location. Every time we are North, or South we see a little bit of a different crowd. Therefore, we have decided to switch between two locations. The second Tuesday of the even Months of the year we go to Roundhead's in Downers Grove. The second Tuesday of the odd Months we like to keep at the Country Side Saloon in Des Plaines, if we can resolve the issue with the separate checks. Otherwise it will become Finn McCool's in Schaumburg. If the attendance for these locations is sustained, we can even think of having Natter 'n Noggin's in both places every Month, but let's start out alternating.
Therefore this Month, being February and thus the second and an even Month, we'll have our Natter 'n' Noggin at Roundhead's in Downers Grove. They know that we're coming and we'll get separate checks. The reservations are under the name of MG Club.
Even Month Natter 'n' Noggin on February 10
Roundhead's Pizza Pub
2001 63rd Street (on the corner of 63rd and Woodward, about one mile East of I355)
Downers Grove
Ph. 630 343 9999
If you have any questions about the menu or need directions, check their website at www.roundheadspizza.com (which has been newly revised) or call Reinout Vogt at 847 342 9804
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An MGA Rises Again From the Ashes
The photos show our first experiences in the world of MG! Our 1957 MGA had been purchased in early ’58, used, but in like new shape. Summer vacation prompted a voyage down Route 66 to California. The MGA acted up a bit on the way down, overheating in the August temperatures, and if you have ever driven an MGA through the Southwest, you know how hot that footwell can get.
Leaving Kingman, AZ for Las Vegas, a long uphill climb, my foot was to the floor in order to maintain our speed. Finally topping the hill, I backed off on the gas only to hear the heart-rending clatter of a thrown rod. Towed back to Kingman, we left the “A” with the local Ford garage for repairs while we completed the voyage west by bus.
On our return, after ransoming our repaired MG, we proceeded back towards Chicago, varying the speed in order to break in the new bearings. Five or six hundred miles later, we were able to travel at highway speeds, when, just outside of Santa Rosa, NM, we encountered a sudden rain, with big, splashy drops. That rain turned the road dust to an oil slick, and we broke loose, going off the road sideways at about 60 MPH! Fortunately, only the desert was there to stop us, but we built a fulcrum of sand, and the MG was suddenly upside down, then rightside up again. My wife was small enough to hunker down and was protected as we rolled over. A good bit taller, I wasn’t as lucky as the crushed windscreen caused me to require fourteen stitches on my head. I had put in seat belts just before the trip, or I fear we would have fared far worse. That and the luggage on the rear deck, which acted as a sort of roll bar, probably saved our lives.
We eventually had the MG loaded on a railroad car and shipped back to Chicago. Once back, it was towed home to the Northwest side which just happened to have a nearby “foreign car repair” shop. I purchased a new bonnet from S H Arnolt and had the rest of the body straightened and primed by the shop. Once that was done, I was able to clean up the engine, which survived with only a little sagebrush here and there. With a rented compressor and spray gun, a couple of gallons of Dupont Dulux, and a lot of sand paper, we went to work. A few months later the black MGA was ready for service and looking good as new.
It served us well as our only car and got us through the heavy side-street snows of the early 60’s until our son was born, and we just didn’t fit any longer. The car was sold, and replaced by a Corvair, but the urge for another MG never really went away. Finally, in the late 70’s , our 1952 TD found us! The addition of our 1980 MGB LE a few years ago finally seems to have satisfied us, but still, if the right ’57 MGA came along............
- Bill and Scotty Cole
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February 2009
