A bit of creative writing by Ralph Holyoke

In his email Ralph says, "Original down below; slightly Altered version on top Insired by Phil and a wicked snow storm down here.


Desperata

Go placidly amid the noise and the traffic,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
Unless the silence is because your broken down on the side of the freeway.

As far as possible, without a crash,
be on very good terms with your mechanic.
Speak your engine troubles quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the stupid and the ill-informed they too have their secret fixes.
Avoid loud and aggressive mufflers they are vexatious to the spirit,
unless that muffler is hooked to your right foot and your motor is running silky smooth.
If you compare your car with others,  you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser motors than yours.
Enjoy your achievements, for the tune-up will not last forever.
Keep interested in your own car, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time and the only one you have.

A little prayer (submitted by Phil)

A different twist on the Serenity Prayer for LBC (Little British Car) owners:

Dear God
Grant me the Serenity to accept the car I can afford,
The courage to change it into the car I can,
And the wisdom to keep what it truly cost from my wife.
Amen!

2010 Winner of the Bug Splat Contest

I was surprised to win the giant bug splat award because of the keen competition with Bob LaR. and Bob H. I even heard that Mr. H. had touched up his splat with wheel bearing grease, but it didn't work. The dexterous Bob Earl made the beautiful paper Bumblebee from scratch.
Now I will make a shadow box to store it in.
The Winner,
Jim's B.

Notes from January 2011 FABAC Meeting by Bob E.

     A raucous 25 FABACians met at the Swiss Chalet on Prospect Street Wednesday evening for the first meeting of what promises to be a banner year.  This is, after all, our tenth anniversary.
      Gary beat the noisy group into submission and took the lull to thank the Crumleys for hosting our Christmas party, and the Woodfords for the New Years Eve eve music night.  Both events where terrific.  The only question that came up was the whereabouts of the mud flaps.  If they don't appear at next year's party, the club may have to fold.
     Many tours where discussed and we would like to attend something as a club to celebrate our anniversary.The Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK was presented as was Stowe in Vermont.  They both happen in September and anyone going to Stowe is urged to book a room soon.  The Nova Scotia
show is scheduled for July 9th and 10th in Windsor NS.  We will look into joining BATANS for a day or overnight tour on PEI this summer when they visit BMAPEI.  There was also a lot of interest in doing another overnight trip to Deer Island or Grand Manan.
     Bob E reminded everyone that this year is the 50th anniversary of the E-Type Jaguar.  Only Robbie Hogg and Joe Hines paid him any attention.  Bob also made a somewhat vulgar reference to length, girth and goeyness while presenting Jim and Ellie with the first annual (and last annual) bug splat award trophy.
    We discussed our next meeting at length and tentatively decided on the Oakland Farms in New Maryland. This will be a birthday party for the club.
    The last item was Kelvin announcing that he will again host the second annual St Georges day pot luck at his home.  It will take place on the Easter weekend Saturday.

Interesting tech articles

Bob E. is always digging around for this stuff. This time he has found a few neat documents for Weber, SU and Stromberg carbs.
(Webmaster: The Weber tips are the best I have seen anywhere.)
http://www.lotuselan.net/publish/fuel.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/crscapps/CSA/Page1/Page1.html

First FABAC Meeting of the New Year

To be held at Swiss Chalet on January 19th. As usual, members start arriving anywhere around 5:30 or 6:00.  A new policy at SC is that the meeting room is for 25 people minimum, so join us if you can. See you there.
Thanks to Jim B. for making the arrangements.

A visit to Joe's garage

Of course my heart skipped a beat or two. For those who haven't seen his E-Type project in a while, here's where it's at:

 

Definitely worth a look!

Received this email from Phil O:

Dave:
Some really great Downloads here with some very interesting British cars!   The Gallery is really worth a look too.
Phil O

http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/downloads/default.jsp
http://www.vscc.co.uk/vsccweb/gallery/default.jsp

Why am I putting this photo on our website?

Because it is so beautiful!!!

How long have you owned your car?

Mr. Allen Swift (Springfield, MA) received this 1928 Rolls-Royce Picadilly P1 Roadster from his father, brand new - as a graduation gift in 1928. He drove it up until his death last year—at the age of 102 !!! He was the oldest living owner of a car from new.  He donated it to a Springfield museum after his death. It has 170,000 miles on it, still runs like a Swiss watch, dead silent at any speed and is in perfect cosmetic condition. (82 years) That's approximately 2000 miles per year.
(Thanks to Alex H. for passing this along.)

Taking down the old calendars

It's always with mixed emotions that one takes down the 2010 calendars—a flood of memories of the events of the year and the fellowship found within the FABAC, and the anticipation of what a new year may bring. Thank you, Stephen, for all you do for our club and for this personal gift.

Did you know this about the famous Donald Healey?

Received an interesting email from member Ralph H. in Saint John:

"I was plowing thru a Classic Boat magazine I found in my stocking and lo and behold I ran across a snippet of info I thought might be of interest to the club followers.

Donald Healey was famous in his time for more than just cars  he formed “Healey Marine Ltd.” in 1956 and produced about 1750 boats over a six-year period.   I have not had any luck finding more info or History despite a search on the interweb but here is a link to an article from another LBC club  Great photos but light on hard info."

http://www.britishcarweek.org/healeyboat.html

An unusual MGB available on EBay

Here’s something an MGB aficionado should consider for a winter vehicle.  Just add a plow and go into the driveway clearing business…… :~)

 

(Submitted by Phil O.)

Feeling a liitle low after all the celebrations?

This will cheer you up! I laughed—then I laughed some more.
http://www.wimp.com/reliantrobin/
(submitted by John B.)

This sounds so familiar...

It seems that Richard Hammond (of Top Gear fame) owns an E-Type.  It
also seems that he needs help...
http://www.topgear.com/uk/richard-hammond/hammond-jag-e-type-2010-11-11
(Submitted by Bob E.)