The Steering Column
Left Hand Drive from our President

Jana and I attended our first NAMGBR gathering in French Lick, Indiana, last week and had a great time. I want to thank Oscar & Diana Gonzales for the work that they do for NAMGBR and encouraging our club's participation. There were lots of activities for everyone, along with a car show with lots of MGs, over 300 cars, and lots of great roads to drive on. This area in southern Indiana is hilly with lots of fun roads to drive on. Jana and I put over 800 miles on our B. We had not been to French Lick before and were really impressed with the facilities and Hotels. As a side note, the West Baden Springs Hotel dome is really something to see. The largest open unsupported structure from 1902 until the Charlotte Coliseum opened in 1955. Thanks to John and Ann Schroeder and Jim and Lois Evans for their route planning to French Lick. The club had a good representation at the event.

Congratulations to Dan Kerkman and Dino Perez on their awards for the car show. With that many cars and most of our members into driving as opposed to driving show cars, I would say that Dan and Dino did very well! Again, Congratulations!!

If you have not done so yet, it is still early in our driving season, and there are still many great events that you can participate in and enjoy. Have fun that is the attitude you should have as you participate. We are a fun club, and that is how we view our activities.

For our July monthly meeting we will have a look at the Christmas program video. We may have something else as well, but nothing is set in concrete at this point. We are working on having a presentation on lubricants at a future meeting.

Happy motoring and Safety Fast!

-- George Phariss

	The Steering Column
	Right Hand Drive from our Vice-President

It never fails. When you think everything is running well, the unexpected happens.

I have been rushing to get ready to attend my first MG outing this year. I downloaded the maps for the starting point and confirmed the starting location and time. I gathered all my rally stuff – clipboard, pen & pencil, paper, maps of the area (alas, not a Gazetteer), water bottle, sunglasses, hat and a few miscellaneous repair car parts.

The last time the MG car was started and run was when I moved last month to Crystal Lake. I was amazed that after a long cold winter the car started without too much trouble and made the 8-mile move without any difficulty. I did notice some kind of fluid leak had occurred under the spot where the car had been parked. But that spot was dry and didn’t appear to be recent. Must have been when I parked my Oldsmobile last year and had a transmission problem.

I awoke early Sunday morning in anticipation of the rally. It had rained the evening before and I wanted to wipe down the chassis and clean things up before heading to the rally start. The MG engine started on the first turn of the key. Unbelievable. This is going to be a great day. Then I noticed (and smelled) a problem. There was a puddle forming behind the right rear wheel. Gasoline. I shut down the engine and crawled near the rear wheel to see what the problem could be. There was a stream of gasoline coming from the fuel pump motor fitting. Darn! Luckily I was early and a fix was possible. It appeared to be a loose banjo fitting on the pump. All I needed is to tighten the fitting and that should fix the problem. The fitting was in a tight location and needed a 13/16 open-end wrench. Guess what size I do not have! Right.

Well to make a long story short, I was able to find a wrench at Menard’s and was able to fix the loose fitting in short order. I loaded up the car and headed out to the Rally start. I arrived with plenty of time – even able to get a coffee at the nearby Wendy’s.

If there is a moral to this story I will leave it to your imagination. To me there are more pitfalls in these vintage cars than the fabled Lucas gremlins.

-- ~~ Victor L’Heureux