Chicagoland MG Club: Driveline

March 2009

The Right Hand Drive (continued)
a V-8 conversion changing to chrome bumpers and lowering it to chrome bumper height, as well as all the detail work involved in bringing back a 35 year old car. The good part is that the previous owner made a major investment in bodywork including sills, patch panels, and all, so a costly part of the job is already done.
But these days cost is definitely a factor and the cost of a properly done V-8 conversion can't be ignored. The power of the original engine is adequate for my kind of driving. A 5 speed or an overdrive would be nice. I would appreciate a more relaxed engine speed on the road. But then again the 5 speed conversion isn't cheap and overdrives are getting scarce. Also the overdrive seems to add some complexity that could be a concern. After watching Barney at the trans rebuild tech session last fall, I feel that the original 4 speed may be something I can tackle with a little help from my friends. After all, what I’m looking for is a reliable driver and the prospect of any major road trips is less and less likely.
Since the GT is a 741/2 the rubber bumpers are still a question. The chrome bumper conversion is definitely not a bolt on, so with the fitting and welding required it is beyond my skills. Also I have been told that the 74 1/2 is somewhat rare and should remain original. There are lots of considerations that anyone who has gotten into a project knowing he's over his head has to face. Here's hoping I can learn on the job with a lot of help from my friends.

-- Dave Peterson

Business Meeting Minutes
Monday, February 16, 2009

Chicagoland MG Club
Monthly Meeting – February 16, 2009
Attendance: 33 members
The Annual Business Meeting was called to order at 8:07 pm by President, Jim Evans.
Past Events – Jim noted the following past events participated by club members.
Amtrak trip - The annual Amtrak trip hosted by Jake & Ann Snyder took place January 23-25 and included a visit to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. Dean Swanson noted the hotel contained an impressive collection of car design drawings by known designers decorating the hallways.
Driving Events meeting - A meeting took place resulting in a proposed schedule of events for the coming year. A copy of the calendar was attached to the Business Meeting document. Additional details will be posted in the Driveline.
Upcoming Events – See details in the Driveline or on the Website of the many events available for club members in the near future.
Swap Meet –The 13th Annual All British Car Swap Meet & Autojumble will be held on Sunday February 22, 2009 at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton, IL from 8 AM to 3 PM. Final preparations and staffing assignments were noted.

The Annual Business Meeting
(Brief synopses of the meeting high points follow in the below meeting minutes. A packet of the submitted documents can be made available upon request to
Secretary@chicagolandMGclub.com)
2008 Summary – Jim Evans
Major Challenges in 2008:
• Develop new contributors to club activities
• Relocate/revitalize Natter ‘n’ Noggin
• Integrate ongoing activities (i.e. dues) into new newsletter format
• Creative membership recruiting strategies
Scorecard for goals itemized last year:
• Improve monthly meeting programs Some progress made
• More emphasis on technical presentations and sessions Some progress made
• Continue efforts to improve driving program participation Minimal progress made
• Dispose of project car in a financially acceptable manner Achieved
• Revisit newsletter technology question New format initiated
• Finish financial plan No progress made
• Establish eBay program to sell donated parts Achieved
2009 Initiatives
• Resolve Driveline delivery problems
• Expand interest in eBay program
• Finish financial plan (this topic includes more than just the budget)
• Evaluate web site issues for advertising
• Improve Driving program participation
• Continued improvement to monthly meeting programs
• Investigate regalia alternatives
Membership report – Victor L’Heureux
Membership has been increasing the past three years at a rate of 4% per year. Prior to the 2009 Membership Renewal campaign the club had a membership of 303 members. Our current renewals to date for 2009 total 205 members.
Regalia report – David Ransom
Sales in 2008 generated $535.04 for the club. Emphasis in 2009 will be to expand the selection of items available to our members.
Library report – Wilbur Mennell
In calendar year 2008 we added 13 books and one CD set to the library. Two books were donated by members. This is in keeping with the goal of having one new item each month. Expenditures this year were $182.75, an increase from 2007 but within our budget of $200.
Website report – Barney Gaylord
The most notable recent change on our club web site ChicagolandMGclub.com is that there has been about 50% drop in visitors this past year. We were previously up to 2000 visits per day in summer and 1000 per day in the off-season. This year we were getting about 1000 visits per day early in the year, but since late summer this has dropped dramatically to around 400-450 visitors per day. On the plus side, people sill visiting are viewing on average 5 pages per visit vs. 3 in past times. The greatest interest by entry pages is still tech tips (100 per day) and classifieds (40 per day). People are looking at rebuilding

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