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(Continued from page 6)
is ‘Newer Directions’. I started the top part of this column, with the standings, and Jamie will write what follows next. In coming months, as long as we are working together to transfer the activities of the driving events coordinator, we will continue to write this column together. But after that, it is really up in the air for now. Jamie may call the column ‘Newest Directions', choose a whole other title, change the format, or end this column and do something new altogether. There is still plenty time to think about it and make a plan. Jamie, the floor is yours…
Thanks Reinout...Hello everyone,
I am excited and somewhat nervous at the same time to take over the position of the Drivers’ event coordinator. I hope to make this a smooth and successful transition as our dear friend Reinout and Henneke prepares for their new adventures in Atlanta GA. They will be GREATLY MISSED!!!
 With that being said, I will need everyone’s help by making sure all organizers of events (tours and rally’s) make sure their sign in sheets are filled out properly (and legibly) so I can keep scoring as accurate as possible. This is a very tedious job and I want to make sure I get it right.
Also, it would be very helpful if the Organizer can show up to the MG Meeting held once a month on Mondays at Mack’s Golden Pheasant restaurant on North Avenue in Elmhurst a month prior to your event to pick up the sign in sheet, dash plaques and prizes. If that is not an option, I will mail out everything prior to the event. I also ask that the signup sheets either be emailed to me (jamie@jls-industries.com) or given to me at the following month MG Meeting.
Again, I look forward to hearing from anyone who wants to put together future driving events. I hope to keep the enthusiasm alive for participation in the ongoing driving tours and rally’s.
I welcome your help, advise and participation throughout the driving season!
Safety fast!
The Library Muse
Or how Rolls Royce saved the World for Democracy
In the past The Muse has written about things that may not strictly be about MGs, it’s hard to find something new about cars that haven’t been made for the American market for almost forty years. I have talked about turkey stuffing, civil war generals and rifles, Einstein, Teddy Roosevelt, boating nomenclature, and the proper grammatical use of periods. Usually I can show a connection to, if not MGs, at least British cars. This month all car geeks will recognize the names; Spitfire, Mustang, and Rolls Royce. Although not in the manner you may think.
In the early stages of WWII the Germans planned to invade England after the completion of ‘Operation Sea Lion,’ an attempt to gain air superiority over the English. But it didn’t work out as Hitler had planned. In the ‘Battle of Britain’ the Royal Air Force knocked out about half of the Luftwaffe, causing Germany to suffer its first major loss of the war. The RAF was flying Hurricanes and Spitfires, both powered by Rolls Royce Merlin engines. As the U.S. entered the war the American airplane of choice was the P-51 Mustang. It was powered by an Allison engine with a single-stage supercharger, but it lost power at 15,000 feet so it couldn’t escort the B-17 bombers effectively. However, when fitted with the Rolls Royce engine, with its two-stage intercooled supercharger (does that sound like a modern hi-performance car?) all bets were off. It was THE plane for the rest of the war. Today there are still over 200 privately owned P51s registered with the FAA.
So, outside of the RR engine, what’s the British car connection? After the war Kelvinator put an English engine (Austin) into an American chassis, forming the Nash Metropolitan, but I don’t think it was quite as high performance as the P-51. Or for a better connection how about this? With the success of the British Spitfire airplane, Morris Motors, under the leadership of Lord Nuffield and Herbert Austin, was tasked with building a factory to manufacture Spitfires. Due to poor management and labor problems (At Morris? Where have we heard that before?) Morris Motors was replaced by Vickers. But Morris was involved with making Spitfires long before Triumph became the Standard. Pun intended.
Bonus factoid: Studebaker, as in last year’s Amtrak trip, was one of the licensed manufacturers that produced the Wright ‘Cyclone’ engines for B-17 Flying Fortress.
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September-October 2017
