The Right Hand Drive (continued)
Input is needed from members on topics that you're interested in for increasing your confidence in your car. i feel that the first item to be dealt with on any car is brakes. If you can't stop you'd better not go. The next is starting which involves proper fuel delivery, and proper functioning of starting and ignition systems. Other topics I hope we address are alternator testing and maintenance, fuel pumps. (Mine doesn't tick - is that a problem?) The list goes on and on so let us know your priorities, and make a point to take part in these tech sessions.
In addition to the session on June 6th, at the June meeting Jake and Ann are going to show us again the amazing assortment of "bits" they carry just in case. When I started out for the Spring Tour I was wishing I had those "bits" in my boot because I'm one of those who have limited confidence in my MG. This is really unfair to the car because it has never let me down so far. Last fall it took us on a great 2 day tour to Elkhart Lake and back. Of course the next time I started it after I got home it backfired and blew the JB Weld plug out of the intake manifold and had me stymied for a while.
When we left for Lake Geneva in the rain last Friday (for the tour), I was depending on Rainx but low and behold with extended use the wipers limbered up and did a reasonable job. Sunday was beautiful and coming home with the top down I really enjoyed the music of the exhaust note. Monday I thought someone had taken a sawsall to the exhaust of the manifold. I was expecting a major project but fortunately it turned out that the connection of the exhaust pipe to the manifold was loose. One of the pipes only had one nut holding it (barely) in place. Why it suddenly got noisy is a mystery because the other two studs were very rusty and looked like they hadn't had nuts on them for a long time. Other than the fact that access was awkward it was an easy fix.
Monty Python had their Ministry of Silly Walks. They could have had a Ministry of Funny (alarming) noises MG's make. If you want to learn about some of those, get involved in the reliability tech sessions and get more enjoyment from your MG.
-- Dave Peterson 

Business Meeting Minutes
Monday, May 18, 2009

Attendance: 37 members

The monthly meeting was called to order at 8:00 pm by President, Jim Evans.
Jim recognized a number of new members attending for the first time and visitors this evening –
Ronald Warden – new member, Ed Venckus – new member

Current Car Projects – Seth Jones noted that things went well with the kingpin replacement but ran into a new problem when he blew a head gasket on his Midget. On-going work is keeping this vehicle on the road.

Past Events – See details in the Driveline or on the Website for additional details of these events.
Spring Tune-Up Party – there was a good turnout of MGA’s, MGB’s and MGT’s keeping the four lifts busy with vehicle

inspections, oil changes and safety checks.
Tech Session> – Midget front-end rebuild. The event took place at Barney’s garage on Saturday, May 2nd. Seth was able to use the newly-acquired kingpin tool on this project.
Spring Chicken Tour – What a fantastic day for an outing - weather was great for a drive in the country and the food plentiful. Thanks again to our host, Bill Reece for a wonderful event.

Upcoming Events – See details in the Driveline or on the Web site of the many events available for club members in the near future.

Guest Speakers - Dan Herman presented his trip teaser presentation of the upcoming Jo Daviess County tour scheduled for June 13th. Dan’s preview showed the roads to be traveled, the hotels we will be staying at and some of the sights and stops we plan on taking. Sign up now…

Rally & Driving School – Seth Jones, John Schroeder and Dave Bralich presented the differences between the types of events the club participates – Tours, Rallys, Autocross (Gymkhanas). For more information regarding the Driving Events Standard Rules, please refer to the May 2009 issue of Driveline or view on the website.

50/50 Raffle – Bill Reece went home $8 richer from the raffle.

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 pm
-Victor L’Heureux

New Members The officers and members of the Chicagoland MG Club extend a cordial “MG Welcome” to these new members who have joined our club in recent months. We wish each and every one of you “Safety Fast” and hope you will avail yourself to as many club activities as you can. Bruce L Ford - Chicago IL - 1980 blk MGB John D Gault - Glen Ellyn IL - 1968 white MGB Ed Venckus - Wheaton IL - 1953 red MGTD Ronald Warden - West Chicago IL - 1976 &1978 MGB, 1979 Midget Note: Any new member whose name does not appear above, your application may have missed our deadline. If you don’t see your name next month, please call our Secretary, Victor L’Heureux at (847) 516-3093 to verify.

Monthly Garage Keeping

Tool Program Addition
Our thanks to club member Jim Dades for donating a “Soda Blaster” to the club. This type of unit is similar to a sand blaster but uses a chemical similar to household baking soda instead of sand. Soda blasting is currently considered to be the best way to remove paint and light rust from body panels prior to repainting and is regarded as a superior approach to sand blasting. This unit requires the input of an air compressor to be effective, and club members will need to procure their own “soda” media. The blaster can be checked out from the club tool library by any club member.
Monthly Tech Sessions