Those going to the Tall Ships Festival in Miramichi will be meeting at Carleton Park, ie corner of Gibson and Union st. by 10:00 am, leaving at 10:15. We will be stopping in Doaktown, then onward to the Newcastle side, since a few thousand people are expected lunch could be difficult as a group. Weather will be quite warm. See you Saturday.
- Bob and Rita
A nice vintage (1961) film visiting the Jaguar factory in Coventry.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKJPFRNO344
(Thanks to Joe H. for this one.)
(Thanks to Joe H. for this one.)
The Foreign Auto Club
Two of our members, Jim McKeown and Bob LaRoche, brought this club to my attention today. I think members of FABAC should seriously consider participating in some of their events.
Here's one coming up on June 1st:
(Info from Bob LaR: There is a Tall Ships Festival in Miramichi this weekend, the Moncton car club will be there on Saturday June 1, anyone for going to Miramichi to see these ships? We could leave around 10 am, travel up route 8, fee for access to Tall Ships is $10. per person)
Here's one coming up June 22nd:
For more about this club, check out http://www.foreignautoclub.ca/ and let us know what you think.
Here's one coming up on June 1st:
(Info from Bob LaR: There is a Tall Ships Festival in Miramichi this weekend, the Moncton car club will be there on Saturday June 1, anyone for going to Miramichi to see these ships? We could leave around 10 am, travel up route 8, fee for access to Tall Ships is $10. per person)
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Final Lobster Dinner Update
I suggest those that are attending the Keswick Ridge United Church lobster supper meet at a well known location so we can all travel to the church together. As luck would have it Jim Woodford has kindly invited us to meet at his place on Mactaquac Heights at 3pm for a get together before leaving for the supper. I'd suggest we leave Jim's for the supper at 4pm so we can get seated before the crowd arrives. That said, I have also reserved a table under the name FABAC or British car group.
For those traveling directly to the church, here is the Google map directions:
http://www.wondercafe.ca/map.php?lat=46.0081&lng=-66.8891&churchName=Keswick%20Ridge%20United%20Church
I'll see you all at Jim's or at the church.
Gary
For those traveling directly to the church, here is the Google map directions:
http://www.wondercafe.ca/map.php?lat=46.0081&lng=-66.8891&churchName=Keswick%20Ridge%20United%20Church
I'll see you all at Jim's or at the church.
Gary
British Car Week
Some of us had forgotten that British Car Week is coning up: May 25th – June 2nd.
Hopefully next week’s weather will cooperate. http://www.britishcarweek.org/
“Drive ‘em, Don’t Hide ‘em”.
{A time set aside nationwide as recognition of classic British cars. Get your car out and drive it!
Summary: This special week is a calling for all British car owners to get their machines out of the garage and onto the roads and byways throughout their little corner of the world, and give these timely classics of the past the exposure they deserve. While not only heightening the awareness of these somewhat forgotten vehicles of the past, they will help assure their preservation for many years to come for future enthusiasts to cherish.}
- Phil
Hopefully next week’s weather will cooperate. http://www.britishcarweek.org/
“Drive ‘em, Don’t Hide ‘em”.
{A time set aside nationwide as recognition of classic British cars. Get your car out and drive it!
Summary: This special week is a calling for all British car owners to get their machines out of the garage and onto the roads and byways throughout their little corner of the world, and give these timely classics of the past the exposure they deserve. While not only heightening the awareness of these somewhat forgotten vehicles of the past, they will help assure their preservation for many years to come for future enthusiasts to cherish.}
- Phil
Lobster Dinner Update
Just a reminder that if you intend to go to the lobster dinner on Saturday you have to make your reservations now! The unconfirmed reservations that I made last week are being released for public purchase today and will, I'm sure, go quickly. Again the reservation is for the 430 PM seating with the details previously posted. I'll send a further note as to a meeting spot where we can collect and travel to the church ensemble.
Hope to see you there,
Gary
Hope to see you there,
Gary
Report on the May 19th Saint John run
You all learned your lesson didn't you...don't let Bob lead. Didn't we learn that last year too? ...and the year before? At least THIS year we got it over at the beginning of the season.
The cool temperatures and overcast skies gradually warmed and cleared as we headed down the 102 with the river presenting ever-changing scenery. Our minor self-inflicted detour only took us a bit out of our way and cost only a few minutes and really, hadn't you always wanted to see what was down that road anyway? It wasn't my fault as Joe was driving and he wouldn't follow my directions insisting that HE knew the way.
With someone competent (finally) in the lead we quickly found the restaurant and sat down to the serious business of eating. While it seemed to go quickly it wasn't until we had finished and assembled outside that I realized it was now late in the afternoon. People split off, some staying in town, some heading back on the highway and a couple of us followed Ralph and Karen back to the Homeport to admire his new engine in the MGA and enjoy the view from the 'Widow's Walk' of the inn.
Joe and I had a leisurely drive back up the 102 and enjoyed the much warmer and sunnier skies.
Thanks to Ralph and Karen for arranging lunch, and it was nice to see John Dewitt in the Spit/GT6/fire again. Hope you won't be a stranger.
Bob.
...and some photos from Bob:
The cool temperatures and overcast skies gradually warmed and cleared as we headed down the 102 with the river presenting ever-changing scenery. Our minor self-inflicted detour only took us a bit out of our way and cost only a few minutes and really, hadn't you always wanted to see what was down that road anyway? It wasn't my fault as Joe was driving and he wouldn't follow my directions insisting that HE knew the way.
With someone competent (finally) in the lead we quickly found the restaurant and sat down to the serious business of eating. While it seemed to go quickly it wasn't until we had finished and assembled outside that I realized it was now late in the afternoon. People split off, some staying in town, some heading back on the highway and a couple of us followed Ralph and Karen back to the Homeport to admire his new engine in the MGA and enjoy the view from the 'Widow's Walk' of the inn.
Joe and I had a leisurely drive back up the 102 and enjoyed the much warmer and sunnier skies.
Thanks to Ralph and Karen for arranging lunch, and it was nice to see John Dewitt in the Spit/GT6/fire again. Hope you won't be a stranger.
Bob.
...and some photos from Bob:
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A Tour plan for Sunday May 19th
This Sunday (the 19th) will see a 'kick off' to the eating...er...I mean driving season with a tour to Saint John for an afternoon lunch at http://www.lilylake.ca/lilyscafe.html The lovely and talented Ralph has made reservations and invited the gang to gather at the HomePort B&B with the Saint John crowd.
We'll meet at the Ramada Inn (Freddy north side of the Princess Margaret Bridge) and depart south at 11:00 AM. The Oromocto gang will meet the main posse on the Oromocto bridge and continue down the 102 towards Gagetown and Saint John. Lunch is scheduled for 1:00 PM. Watch this space for possible timing changes as I'm waiting to hear how long of a drive it is the the restaurant.
- Bob E.
PS: Maybe we should have a few walkie-talkies if you have them.
- David
We'll meet at the Ramada Inn (Freddy north side of the Princess Margaret Bridge) and depart south at 11:00 AM. The Oromocto gang will meet the main posse on the Oromocto bridge and continue down the 102 towards Gagetown and Saint John. Lunch is scheduled for 1:00 PM. Watch this space for possible timing changes as I'm waiting to hear how long of a drive it is the the restaurant.
- Bob E.
PS: Maybe we should have a few walkie-talkies if you have them.
- David
For a trial period, FABAC is hosting automobile for sale ads
Guidelines for the trial:
- Must be a British car
- Seller must be a member of FABAC
- The ad will remain on line for two weeks only
- The seller must immediately notify FABAC when car is sold
- Maximum of three photos
- Other restrictions may be applied without notice
- Click on "FABAC automobile ads" just to the right of this posting
- Contact for placing ad: fiddler2@gmail.com
Lobster Dinner - Further Details
Just to clarify that if you are attending the Keswick United Church Lobster Dinner you have to call Bonnie Kelly (363-2739) to confirm your reservation as detailed in my first note. You do not have to pay in advance. You pay at the church the day of the event but you do need to make your advanced reservation quickly to avoid disappointment.
- Gary
- Gary
Information on the Lobster Dinner at Keswick Ridge United Church
Here are the details on the Lobster Dinner at the Keswick United Church on Saturday May 25.
Based on the interest shown at our regular meeting last evening I reserved 20 advanced tickets to ensure we have reservations. However if you want one of these reservations you have to call B Kelly (363-2739) to confirm your attendance. Also please identify that you are with the British auto club (FABAC). Please do this as soon as possible as she will only hold these tickets for a few days and will then release them for public purchase. The tickets are going fast so to avoid disappointment book today!
The dinner includes a lobster, various salads, dessert (pies) tea and coffee for $18.00 per person. This price also includes all taxes and gratuities.The reservation is for the 430 pm seating and we will have our own table(s) if the numbers warrant it.
The Keswick United Church is located about 5 kms off Route 105. I'll arrange for a well known meeting spot where we can all meet and drive from there.
Call or email me should you have any questions.
Gary
Based on the interest shown at our regular meeting last evening I reserved 20 advanced tickets to ensure we have reservations. However if you want one of these reservations you have to call B Kelly (363-2739) to confirm your attendance. Also please identify that you are with the British auto club (FABAC). Please do this as soon as possible as she will only hold these tickets for a few days and will then release them for public purchase. The tickets are going fast so to avoid disappointment book today!
The dinner includes a lobster, various salads, dessert (pies) tea and coffee for $18.00 per person. This price also includes all taxes and gratuities.The reservation is for the 430 pm seating and we will have our own table(s) if the numbers warrant it.
The Keswick United Church is located about 5 kms off Route 105. I'll arrange for a well known meeting spot where we can all meet and drive from there.
Call or email me should you have any questions.
Gary
Report on the May 15th FABAC Meeting
The May meeting was well attended despite the somewhat chilly weather and we saw a truly international assemblage of cars early in the season. Represented was France, Great Britain, Japan, Germany and Italy.
- The first item was to welcome back Paul and Sue Brooks and their two Jags. We all hope to see you regularly now. If you need some help with your XJS just call. We won't actually help aside from drinking your beer, handing you tools and giving useless but well intentioned advice but we're sure you'll welcome the moral support.
- The first run of the season, now dubbed 'Gary's Romantic Foray' is set for this Sunday. Details are elsewhere on the site.
- There will be a lobster dinner at the Keswick Ridge United Church on Saturday the 25th of May. It's rumoured to be pay in advance(?) but Gary will find out more and post the details.
- Joe mentioned a fly-drive in Houlton, Maine for June 1st. This could be fun and make a nice day outing.
- Robert and Rita have invited us to their cottage on Grand Lake for the August meeting on the 14th. Retired folks will show up early and make a day out of it.
- Bob E (me) showed off an LED based instrument light system for our cars which I'll make available as a kit for anyone who wants one. Please come visit or email me for details.
- The highlight of the evening was John Bowles's 'Question Korner'. Despite the lack of a prize it was hotly contested. I'm going to have to bone up on British car lore as his quizzes are getting harder all the time.
VERY funny! But, not very funny!
Har HAr HAr How I felt when the car came home from the rebuild.
- Ralph Holyoke
- Ralph Holyoke
Monthly FABAC meeting this Wednesday (May 15th)
John Crumley has arranged our Wednesday meeting at 777 Restaurant at 86-88 Main St Nashwaakisis. We will have the large private dining area as in the past.The usual 5:30pm meeting and 6 pm eating times apply.
For a brighter future...
I'll bring the demo to the meeting on Wednesday.
Bob E.
Interesting MG items from Phil O.
An interesting car here. Started out as an MG Rv8 with the top from an
MGB GT grafted on. This website can gobble up a lot of time if one is so
inclined. http://www.pistonheads.com/news/default.asp?storyId=27685
Phil
Phil
Another interesting car. Here’s a couple of photos of a friend’s “modified” GT.
Remember Ralph H's 1966 Jaguar S-Type?
Well, Ralph wanted to sell it so that he could turn his attention to his beautiful MGA. Last month, he succeeded. Here are some photos, links and an email from Ralph:
Here's the original eBay listing. (Bet you wish now that you had bid on it!)
Yup the Jagster is off across the pond once again. Thanks to eBay I realized a sale and actually got almost what I wanted.
I listed it on EBay and had a huge response the first time round with over 2000 page views and over 100 people had it on the watch list, a couple bids came in but did not match the reserve. I wanted to put it on again but this time with a Thursday evening start so that on a 10 day listing it would expire on a Sunday night. Prime bidding time as far as I could see. I had a couple fellows email during the off time but again no serious offers so back it went. Almost immediately I had the starting bid from a fellow in Denmark and I thought “yea right, as if this is a serious bid”. So I checked out his buying history and there was lots of small car parts and name badges alongside jewelry and kids toys. I was going to cancel the bid but decided to email the buyer and ask if he was a serious bidder only to be informed that yes it was serious and in fact he had just purchased a Bentley Arnage (FYI starting price $85K used) and another newer Jaguar in Florida. Money did not appear to be too much of an issue all of a sudden.
So I let the bid ride and he calls me from Denmark on Sunday to arrange for the final purchase price. We discussed the car in detail and (keeping his new Bentley in mind) hammered out a price and poof it was sold. Deposit was in my PayPal in 45 minutes and the balance was in my account two days later. Gotta love eBay. Car sat here for another month while he worked out a very complicated and $$$ shipping plan out of the port of New Jersey. And off it went.
I have used most of the money already to pamper the MGA with a new 5 Speed transmission, front end rebuild and a full top to bottom engine rebuild. I even dabbled some MG red paint on the engine block so it looks all fancy now.
So we are all ready for the drive except for a new muffler and master cylinder that will be on order today. See you on the road.
Ralph
Here's the original eBay listing. (Bet you wish now that you had bid on it!)
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I listed it on EBay and had a huge response the first time round with over 2000 page views and over 100 people had it on the watch list, a couple bids came in but did not match the reserve. I wanted to put it on again but this time with a Thursday evening start so that on a 10 day listing it would expire on a Sunday night. Prime bidding time as far as I could see. I had a couple fellows email during the off time but again no serious offers so back it went. Almost immediately I had the starting bid from a fellow in Denmark and I thought “yea right, as if this is a serious bid”. So I checked out his buying history and there was lots of small car parts and name badges alongside jewelry and kids toys. I was going to cancel the bid but decided to email the buyer and ask if he was a serious bidder only to be informed that yes it was serious and in fact he had just purchased a Bentley Arnage (FYI starting price $85K used) and another newer Jaguar in Florida. Money did not appear to be too much of an issue all of a sudden.
So I let the bid ride and he calls me from Denmark on Sunday to arrange for the final purchase price. We discussed the car in detail and (keeping his new Bentley in mind) hammered out a price and poof it was sold. Deposit was in my PayPal in 45 minutes and the balance was in my account two days later. Gotta love eBay. Car sat here for another month while he worked out a very complicated and $$$ shipping plan out of the port of New Jersey. And off it went.
I have used most of the money already to pamper the MGA with a new 5 Speed transmission, front end rebuild and a full top to bottom engine rebuild. I even dabbled some MG red paint on the engine block so it looks all fancy now.
So we are all ready for the drive except for a new muffler and master cylinder that will be on order today. See you on the road.
Ralph
British Motoring Festival (BMF) in Windsor
Here are a few important details:
The registration form for the 2013 British Motoring Festival in Windsor is now on their website www.britishmotoringfestival.com
Also a note from Steve Wright, BMF organizer:
"We are hoping to have participants dress in garb that would have been in fashion when our cars were built So if you have bobby sox and blue jeans in your closet that’ll be just fine But I hope too that you will check the Goodwood Revival website We were there last year and the costumes people wore really added to the overall enjoyment of the event For those that do not wish to ‘dress up’, then don’t feel it is necessary to do so We’re just trying to do something a little different so the BMF doesn’t become repetitive".
The registration form for the 2013 British Motoring Festival in Windsor is now on their website www.britishmotoringfestival.com
Also a note from Steve Wright, BMF organizer:
"We are hoping to have participants dress in garb that would have been in fashion when our cars were built So if you have bobby sox and blue jeans in your closet that’ll be just fine But I hope too that you will check the Goodwood Revival website We were there last year and the costumes people wore really added to the overall enjoyment of the event For those that do not wish to ‘dress up’, then don’t feel it is necessary to do so We’re just trying to do something a little different so the BMF doesn’t become repetitive".
Nice Vintage Footage
All you vintage racing fans will love this from RoadandTrack.com. Mike Hawthorn drives a D-Type around the LeMans course with a movie camera prior to the 1956 race.
Enjoy - Dan Nicholes
http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/in-car-videos/in-car-video-mike-hawthorn-le-mans
Enjoy - Dan Nicholes
http://www.roadandtrack.com/racing/in-car-videos/in-car-video-mike-hawthorn-le-mans
FABAC Tour Dates
Here's what we have in terms of tours/events confirmed to date. There are other events/tours planned by others that are still being organized with details to follow soon. As you can see there are still many weekends and days available for a quick tour if you should wish to take one on.
The schedule:
Gary
The schedule:
- Apr 7 - Dumfries Maples Pancake House Tour - Organized by John B. Great kick off to our season and a wonderful time had by everyone. Thank you John.
- Apr 27 - St George's Day Celebration at Kelvin's - What are great time. Thank you Kelvin.
- May 19 - Lobster Supper Dumfries - Stephen W confirmed this event has been canceled this year. This will leave an opportunity for another tour should someone wish to take one on. There may be an opportunity for a church supper.
- Jul 19-21 - British Motoring Festival - Windsor NS - always a great time and well supported by many in our group. Stay tuned to our site for details. Bob E and Joe H who are regulars and bullish on this show usually have the detail on this one.
- Jul 28 - Larry and Sandy hosting pot luck dinner at their place in Stanley. Details to follow.
- Aug 8 or 9 - Bob and Rita have invited us to their cottage at Grand Lake. Boat rides in the zodiac, darts, swimming, ATV tours. Final date and details to be discussed during the June meeting.
- Aug 9&10 - British Car Festival - Rexton NB - The following from John B. - The event will feature a new improved format with a social program, tour of the area and a boat ride on the 9th and the car show on the 10th. Thus FABACians will have the option of going to/from Rexton, entering the show all in one day. For more info log onto http://www.villageofrexton.com/carDays.php or call 506-523-6921
- Aug 23-25 - British Car Days PEI - Rustico PEI - Details to follow
- Aug 26-29 - BATANS Tour of SW New Brunswick - Details to follow.
- Maine Tour
- Mini Rally
- Ministers Island
Gary
Music to my ears
http://www.youtube.com/embed/ik9AtJQXaHQ?rel=0
(Thanks to Phil for passing this one along.)
(Thanks to Phil for passing this one along.)
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