The meeting was called to order by John Schroeder at 8:00 p.m., welcoming back all those who attended last month’s all-register convention in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Present were 35 members (none new) and no guests.
The following car projects / problems were mentioned:
-Tom Sotomayor has installed a supercharger in his MGB (not a problem)
-John Schroeder said his MGB is on its third alternator this year and mentioned he had trouble with the floats in his carburetor
-Seth Jones said some smoke has been coming from the front of his hood on his Midget – to which Maynard suggested adding some UV dye to the engine as a troubleshooter
-Victor L’Heureux said the tonneau for his ’67 MGB seems to be nearly two inches short and can’t be fastened to the body. Several members said that direct sunlight might allow it to stretch. “Cowboy” said it might not fit if the car underwent some bodywork in in the past. Doug Clark flippantly suggested trying to compress the car (which went over about as well as a fart in a space suit)

Past Events

John Schroeder briefly summarized the big MG convention (where we had 25 cars!) – as after the break a “panel” of members will provide their impressions of it.
On 6/25/06, an autocross was held, where those who participated had a good chance to improve on the handling of their cars in wet conditions.
On 7/9/06 the BBB Wings & Wheels show was held at Poplar Grove Airport.
“Cowboy” summarized the 7/14-7/16 Road America camping weekend (where a fire wasn’t needed at night since it was so warm).

Upcoming Events

Members were reminded of the car show in Aurora on 7/21/06 – where 20 spaces will be reserved for our Club (and where American English – Beatles look-alikes & sound-alikes will be performing).
Dean Swanson provided a preview of his 7/23/06 tour of the far western suburbs. The starting point will be at Rte. 59 and Butterfield Rd. at 9:30 a.m. It should cover about 80 miles and take about 2-3 hours – and will include a lunch stop. Wade urged Club members to show strong support for this event – one that has been planned by one of our own
Russ Mehaffey said he will be pulling the clutch on his MGA (on 7/30/06 at his house) and said that all interested members are invited to help.
On 8/6/06, the Ill. Railway Museum in Union, Ill. will hold a car show.
On the weekend of 8/20-8/21, a tour of Jo Daviess County will be held, with the planning of it done by Dan Herman. A self-confessed “shadow member”, Dan doesn’t make many meetings, as he lives 120 miles from our meeting location – but he pays his dues (so we know he’s no deadbeat). He prepared a superb slide show entitled “The Secrets of Jo Daviess County that gave us a taste of what will be in store for us – which included: A brief history of the county (unscathed by glaciers, it is very hilly), together with maps that show the roads to be traveled. A block of hotel rooms in Stockton, Ill. to be held at the special rate until 7/19/06. Saturday’s (8/20’s) agenda features150 miles of driving on winding & narrow “chip & seal” type asphalt roads, a stop in Galena for lunch, and possibly theatrical entertainment there that night Sunday was described as a “flexible” day, with possible activities including golf, winery tours, shopping, and, of course, more driving. It was clear that Dan thought out a lot of the logistical details such as where we might park our cars during the day and the security at the hotel parking lot at night. At the conclusion of the presentation, he was greeted warmly with a round of applause from Club members, who, no doubt, were duly impressed and motivated to put it on their schedules.
On 8/27/06 the season’s third autocross will be held in Warrenville.
On 9/9/06, the Donald Healey rally will be held (with the likely starting point again to be in Willowbrook).
“Cowboy” reminded everyone of the 9/10/06 BCU festival – the largest of its kind in this country – and that help with marshalling the cars will again be needed. He stressed that all cars are welcome – not just true show cars. Dean Swanson, who’s the Club representative to the BCU, will help coordinate the Club members.
John Schroeder said that he will work on planning the 9/16-917 (2nd annual) Wisconsin Beer, Wine & Cheese Tour.
Bob Schultz reported that plans are in the works for the Abingdon Weekend (to be held 10/6-10/8). 40 hotel rooms have been reserved. Likely activities: autocross, rally, car show, banquet (at the same country club as in ’05)

Other Business

Wade gave an update on the Club’s project car, a ’77 B (being restored at his facility). The rocker panel assemblies are nearing completion, and welding will be done. The dates for working on the car are in the CMGC web site.
“Cowboy” mentioned that British Wiring Co. of Olympia Fields may be selling out in the not too distant future.
John mentioned the recent articles about the possibility of the MGF being produced in Oklahoma by the company’s new Chinese owners - to which Jack Feldman, and to a lesser extent Seth Jones, played the role of killjoy by speculating that it won’t happen because of some unfortunate legacy issues MG had with suppliers and workers.

STAFF REPORTS

Regalia – David L. Ransom, Jr. says that the (Chinese-made) car badges should be arriving shortly – so maybe at the next meeting Club members can buy them.
No other staff reports were given. (Russ was especially disappointed that there was no Library report, as he wanted to impress Dave Lieb that he’s not the only one who can show up at meetings “N.S.”) (no socks) – although it was pointed out to him that there’s a difference between thongs and sandals (and that Dave doesn’t wear three sandals).
At 9:05 we took a break, during which time Club members socialized and 50/50 raffle tickets were sold. After the break, we reconvened with a program on MG 2006. The following members spoke of their experiences: Diana Gonzales, Bob Schultz, Russ, and John.
Russ thanked John for all his work for the Club in helping instill interest in the members and for his promotion of it. He also said what a pleasure it was to have his son there with him so they could enjoy the MG camaraderie together. Diana extolled the benefits of attending such a convention – esp. meeting MG owners from all over the country and pointed out that 1,200 cars were featured and 2,000 MG lovers dined at the banquet. CMGC members who shone were Rob Barr who won an award for his Midget and Reinout Vogt who took 2nd place for his pre-war M (not to mention that he managed driving with all those twists and turns – with his broken wrist!). Available for viewing by all members on a side table was a PowerPoint presentation of the Convention that included pictures of cars, the locales, and, of course, CMGC members in action.
The winner of the 50/50 raffle was drawn – and it was Bob Schultz (who cleared $15).
The meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m.

Respectufully submitted,
Doug Clark