Chicagoland MG Club
Monthly Meeting
– October 18, 2010

Attendance: 52 members and guests

The monthly meeting was called to order at 8:00 pm by CMGC President, Dave Peterson.

Car projects:
Kyle Kruszewski remarked that he was in the process of opening up his transmission to repair a speedometer gearing assembly.
Tom Josefek noted that he was investigating a members’ Midget car overheating problem and found that there was no cooling fan installed. Tom is looking for a unit to install.
Dean Swanson remarked that his car would not start. Checking the electrical system he noted that the battery was 11 years old and appears to have reached ‘end-of-life’.
Jim Evans Dave Peterson is having difficulty in installing new lowering blocks on his car. It appears that the U-bolts were not long enough to attach the nuts. Modifications and suggested parts vendors were given to assist in correcting the problem.

Past Events:
MG Car Club 80th Anniversary – Kim Tonry noted that the worldwide event was a success. Over 50 local cars were present for the event. A recap of the event will be in the Driveline.

Upcoming Events:
See details in the Driveline or on the Website of the many events available for club members.
Fall Color Tour – TBD – Dan Herman is watching the weather to predict the best time to hold this event. May be cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
Halloween Rally – 10/31 – This annual event will take place in the Barrington Hills area and will take in some ‘spooky’ events.
Tune-down/Chili Party -11/07 – Dave Bralich will again sponsor at his home the annual tune-down party complete with homemade chili.
Community Service Project – 11/20 – Reinout Vogt noted that he is organizing a club event to assist the P.A.D.S. organization with winterizing personal vehicles. The idea is to provide oil change and basic maintenance for homeless folks’ vehicles. More details of this worthy project will be in the Driveline.

New Business:
CMGC staff is considering a reimbursement program for organizers of club-sponsored tours & rallies. The idea is in the planning stages and a resulting pilot program will be most likely start next driving season.

Holiday Party – CMGC staff is looking to change the party location next year for a change of pace. The club in past years has routinely moved the event to different locations to make the event conveniently available to all members.
CMGC Staff elections – Nominations were made and accepted for the following positions:
Vice President – Dino Perez
Treasurer – Ralph Arata
Secretary – Victor L’Heureux
No nominations to-date for President.
Nominations are open for all positions and all club members are eligible fora position. Nominations are open until the end of November.

Staff Reports:
Regalia – Dave Ransom noted that over $150 was collected for regalia sales during the British Car Festival. George Phariss added that the Fieldhouse website has been updated and additional merchandise is available for purchase.
Library – Wilber Mennell noted that the book titled “Carriages Without Horses” is now available for check-out.

50/50 Raffle –Mike Hirsch went home $36 richer after winning tonight’s raffle. A can of ‘Sea Foam’ motor treatment was also awarded to a member (I apologize – I did not get the name of the winner).

Meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm with cake and champagne to celebrate the CMGC 34th anniversary.

Respectfully submitted, Victor L’Heureux, CMGC Secretary

-- Victor L‘Heureux

Library Muse
A 16-year employee of the Los Angles BMC distributorship as well as the only American race mechanic for BMC's 1950s record speed runs at Bonneville Salt Flats, Gordon Whitby gives an overview of the motor industry of that era with loads of pictures.
A British emigrant to the USA, arriving in the USA in 1952, the author began work as a mechanic with the MG-Austin distributor Gough Industries in Los Angles, the Nuffield Car Company distributorship. This was a era when all import car sales combined were tiny compared to domestic car production. There are detailed stories of working on the record

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