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NewsletterAugust 2011
GTMOC
2
Who’s WhoSecretary
Bob Snooks 73, Plough Lane Stoke Poges Buckinghamshire SL2 4JW
01753 662 951 0r 07730 703 180 [email protected]
Treasurer
Steve Bliss 17, Marti Close Melksham Wiltshire SN12 7JA
01225 793 121 [email protected]
Membership Secretary
Bob Hadlington 1 Callcott Drive Quarry Bank Brierley Hill West Midlands DY5 2NF
01384 894 [email protected]
Newsletter Editor
Roger Brown Brownhill House Ruyton XI Towns Shrewsbury Shropshire SY4 1LR
01939 261 121 Fax 01939 260 626 [email protected] www.eleventowns.co.uk www.eleventowns.com
Editor’s columnThe first in the new series of newsletters wasdispatched to members in traditional printed formthanks to what I believe was a Herculean effort byBob Snooks. That is the end of an era as henceforthnewsletters will be made available via email and bydownloading from the web. As there are no paper,print and mailing costs to the club this will make atremendous difference to the budget. Practically, italso eliminates a lot of work in organising theprinting and the distribution.
There has been no decision as to how often it will bepublished but will clearly depend on what newmaterial is available. Electronic publishing means thefrequency and the length can be a variable feast.
Since the last newsletter, a major activity has been toget the club web site up and running. A link todownload newsletters can be found in the Membersarea (see later in the newsletter for the password).
I need to repeat the message that the content, asalways, is dependent on what you put in - nocontributions, no newsletter. Reports of meetings,runs and track days, accounts of building, tips formaintenance, sources of components - they are allvery welcome. About the only practical restriction isfor the text format to be Word, Open Office or rtf sothat I can read it. Pictures do not have to be very highdefinition.
The response for this issue has been great with manythanks to Bob Snooks, Don Stephenson, Steve Bliss,Steve Henson, Barry Smith and Peter Cracknel forcontributions .
Front pageThis beautiful picture of his Libra is courtesy of PeterCracknell.
Photo Ó Peter Cracknell 2011
Send a photo of your car [email protected]
GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM
3
Stoneleigh
Photographsfrom Stoneleigh
courtesy ofSteve Bliss
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East MidlandsSteve Henson sent pics of a TVRi seen at an EastMidlands meeting at the Griffins Head,Papplewick. The headlamps and where the rear ofthe bonnet overlaps the door had similarity with theLibra. This was just one of many types of car atthe meeting from se7ens to a Grinall Scorpion.
DetlingThis year the show was moved from the usual Aprildate to mid May. Mainly because, usually, company'slaunch their new cars at Stoneleigh at the beginningof May and hopefully the weather would be betterthan previous years.
Saturday saw 5 Libras and a Spyder on the club areawith another Spyder parked with The Southern KitCar Club. The weather was nice and dry and we spentmost of the day sitting in the sun with plenty ofpeople to chat to about the cars .
Although there were only 6 of us staying at the B & Bon Saturday night the company was good and we hada nice meal along with lots of alcohol.
Sunday saw 5 Libras again (but 2 were different onesfrom Saturday) plus a different Spyder on the clubarea. We noticed, from the cafeteria, a Rossa 11 turnup who choose not to park on the club area. It's ashame we don't see more Coupe's and Rossas at theshows, where have they gone?. If you do go to a showplease feel free to park in the Owners Club area evenif you're not a member. The more the merrier.
Bob Snooks
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NewarkWe had a good turn out of cars for both days. Theweather was fairly cold with a few sunny spells onthe Saturday and we had a Coupe, a K3, 7 Librasand a Spyder on the club stand.
Sunday started a bit wet with showers in themorning but it brightened up late afternoon. We had5 Libra's, 3 Spyders, a Coupe and 2 k3s turn up.Thankfully, as the Club had hired a Marquee wekept dry and fairly warm.
On Saturday we were also treated to a fly past by aLancaster and a Spitfire and on Sunday the Spitfireflew over again and also a Dakota at the end of theshow.
The biggest highlight of the weekend has got to behaving Juls & Helen [ardent campers, well Juls atleast!) joining us regulars at the B&B. As theweather forecast for the weekend hadn't looked goodHelen didn't feel like camping. For the evening mealour table for twelve took over the main room in thepub's small restaurant. With pre dinner drinksstarting at 5pm when we arrived from the show, theevening turned into a rather noisy affair with goodfood and lots more to drink. A good time was had byall. Hopefully it hasn't put Juls and Helen off ofB&Bing with us again in the future.
Bob Snooks
The GTM Owners Club, for their May East MidlandMeet, decided to go to Papplewick and join theJenson Owners Club, for their meet on the thirdWednesday in May, where all sorts of cars, both Kitand Production, old and new are put on display bytheir proud owners.
It was while we were there that I was invited todisplay my Libra at the forthcoming "Luxury MotorShow" at Nottingham on Sunday 22nd May 2011. Ihave thought of my Libra as many things, fast, fun,compact, pretty, but not luxury. However I washappy to turn up on the day as requested.
On arrival, with my son-in-law as passenger, wewere directed to our appointed spot and wereamazed to find ourselves parked between a vintageCadilac on one side and a Porsche on the other witha Rolls Royce just the other side of the Porsche. Thepromoters of the event made us very welcome andprovided a complementary breakfast.
Luxury Motor Show We spent a very enjoyable day looking around theother vehicles which ranged from Rollers,Masseratis, Lamborginis, Ferraris, Porsches,Nobles, various kit cars including an almost newAK427 and 2 Zolfes, to Dragsters and olderproduction sports cars to cars built in the early1900s.
We also spent a considerable amount of timeexplaining to interested members of the public whata GTM Libra was, from where it generated and thedegree of difficulty of build. We were convincedthat had the kit still been available we could havemade several sales.
Although there were a few light showers throughoutthe day, they were short and in no way spoiled avery enjoyable time, and we were left wondering ifwe will get an invite back next year.
Don Stephenson
See pictures on next page
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Normally there is a profusion of Coupes at the BritishMini Showdown at the Avon Park Raceway in Julybut this year only West's Honda powered Coupe wasthere on the Saturday along with two Libra's and aSpider. The number of other runners was also downon previous years, the upside to this being that youcould get more runs for your money as the weatherwas unusually good.
West went down the track but was not trying to breakany records and was not using Nitrous, but eventually,he had to have a go-----and something broke! We lefthim and his Dad trying to find out what it was.
The only other GTM to run on the Saturday was DonsLibra, driven by his son-in-law Bill. Bob Snooks saidthat he was not planning on running, as having triedmany times, he could not improve his time. The onlything to encourage him out of "retirement" would be ifBill bettered his time of 15.146secs. This was like ared rag to the Bill - forgive the pun! so we strippedthe car down, everything out, including the spare tyre,result 15.685secs. To try to help, Bob S suggested thatwhen Bill was on the start line, "he should go whenthe last amber showed" not wait for the green. Result-Bill jumped the green. The following conversationbetween Bob and Bill mentioned "youth" and"experience" and “reaction times” but is not reallyprintable!
After several more abortive runs, Bob suggestedreducing the rear tyre pressure to 14psi--Result, Billwas off like a scolded cat, no tyre spinning in third,and over the line in 14.962secs. Bill was delighted.Bob was pleased for Bill but no, he was not going torun, and the weather was closing in..
Lets hope that next year the Coupe boys will havecompleted their rebuilds and some Rossas and more
Libras and Spiders will join them in this veryenjoyable Club weekend.
Don Stephenson
Mini ShowdownLuxury is in the eye of the beholder
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The Silverstone Classic was held from Friday toSunday, 22nd - 24th July and was added to theComplete Kit Car diary following Bob S trying toconvince Adam Wilkins that it was worth a visit.
This is the third year that the GTM Owners Club hashad a pitch at this event. We were first invited toattend when a highly tuned Rossa was to take part inthe Mini race as part of the 50th anniversarycelebrations for the Mini.
The Rossa unfortunately did not acquit itself verywell, blowing its engine on the third lap of its firstrace. However the Club members who attended hada very enjoyable weekend, so much so that we havecontinued to attend for the following two years.
As mentioned earlier, this is a three day event andfor Club members bringing their cars and apassenger, there is a 2 for 1 offer available, whichmakes an expensive event much more affordable.There is also the option of a one or two day pass, butthe savings are not as great.
This year the "Classic" was celebrating 50 years ofthe E Type Jaguar and on the Saturday 800 E Types
Silverstone Classic assembled on the old piece of the Grand Prix trackand did a parade lap around Silverstone. As theycame off the main track and were marshalled ontothe old track, 5 abreast, moving up and stopping toget parked, engines started to overheat on the hotday, and we saw many a bonnet being raised andquite a lot of steam.
From start to finish, there was always somethinggoing on; there was lots to see in the National andInternational Paddocks, which were free entry, andconnected by a fleet of "Red London buses" whichwere also free. Classic car racing continuedthroughout the day and there was much to see on allthe club stands. This year there were Jaguars ofevery type and year everywhere, outnumbering the(real) Ferraris and Porsches. In the evenings therewas a free concert with some well known acts; alsoin the day there were parachute displays, aircraftaerobatics displays and fly pasts by vintage aircraft.
This year we had a maximum of four Cars on thestand, three Libra’s and a K3. In future it would begreat to see more cars turning up to show the fullcross section of the GTM marque.
Don Stephenson.
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Drive It Day
The Federation of British Historic Vehicles co-ordinate a "drive it" day across the country toencourage clubs to organise events where memberscan get their "pride and joy" back on the road after along winter. The appointed day this year was Sunday17th April and my wife Susan and I decided to join"The Stilton Cheese Classic Vehicle run." organisedby the Kettering area Motor Club and the CitroenSpecials Club, in our GTM Libra. The StiltonCheese Run is a 39 mile drive through the back lanesof Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, andCambridgeshire, between Quenby Hall and the BellInn, Stilton.
The run commemorates the journey taken in theearly 1700s by the Housekeeper of Quenby Hall,near Leicester, to visit her daughter who married theInnkeeper of The Bell Inn at Stilton on the A1, southof Stamford. One of the reasons for the journey wasto take Blue Cheese made by the Quenby HallHousekeeper to her daughter. The Innkeeper realisewhat a good product had fallen into his lap anddecided to sell it to the hungry travellers on theircoach journey up the A1 from London to York. Thusstarted the legend of Stilton Cheese.
Susan and I arrived at Quenby Hall at about 10-30am, having followed a TR6 from Leicester whoseemed to know the way, but after turning off themain road we lost him as we had to slow downbecause we kept bottoming on the very rutted backroads. (the winter damage was not yet repaired.) Atthe Hall we joined the queue to book in and we weregiven our participants pack by Jim Barry and hiswife Joy of the Citroen Specials Club. The Hall bythis time was very busy with cars arriving to book inand cars departing on the start of their journey.
Although this was supposed to be a Classic vehiclerun there were cars of all shapes , sizes and agesparked up with their drivers and passengers enjoyinga glorious April morning, enthusiastically talkingcars with other participants. There was a line up ofCitroen Specials, Austin 7s, Mini Mokes, there werelines of Triumph and MG sports cars and manyothers. My Libra was parked between a Westfield(built with MX5 running gear) and an immaculate1930s Chrysler, imported from South Africa, as thiswas the easiest way of getting a right hand driveversion.
Having had a good look around the cars and chattedto some of their proud owners, we decided it wastime to start the journey. Back onto the rutted backroads, following the directed route and making slowinitial progress we crossed the A47 and enteredBillesden where there were several people whowatching and waving to the cars as they passedthrough. From here we made our way to Hallerton,after which the road surface improved and we madebetter progress to Uppingham. On arrival we foundthat many cars had parked up and their occupantsmade their way to the Falcon Inn, where cheesetasting and a coffee break were the order of the day.
Back on the road and the prescribed route takes us toSeaton and the magnificent Harringworth viaduct,which took the Midland Main Line over the riverWelland. The impressive 82 arch structure stretchesfor 3/4 of a mile, the longest masonry viaduct inBritain. Passing under the viaduct we enteredHarringworth, then on to Spanhoe and Laxton, butbefore crossing the A43 to enter Bulwick we arrivedat New Lodge Farm Shop where we could park up,enjoy a Hog Roast and a drink and ponder thedelights of the Farm Shop.
Feeling refreshed and back on the road we crossedthe A43, passed through Bulwick and on the way toSouthwick were delighted to see Red Kites soaringon the thermals. From here it was on to Oundlewhere the Lo-Cost Kit Car was first developed as aschool project. Leaving Oundle we pass by Ashton,famous for its Conker Championship, then throughthe pretty villages of Polebrook and Lutton beforeentering Stilton and parking up, along with manyothers to get our certificate signed by the proprietorof the Bell Inn and enjoy a coffee served with Stiltonand cake.
At Stilton we met up with four Club members, Annand Alan Britain and Wendy and Richard Way, whowe discovered had been following part of the routebut were not actually on the run. It was good to talkwith them and other run members before it was timefor us to set off for home at about 5-30pm. havingenjoyed glorious weather and a thoroughlyenjoyable day.
Don Stevenson
See the sort of variety you might find at a Drive ItDay on the next page
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Membership renewalsdueAugust/September
Roy Bolton 1211
Mick Borner 851
Derek Coombes 1207
Mick Coomer 1159
Phil Crowe 1048
Nick Forder 893
Trevor Giddings 1233
Mark Gould 1236
Wim Graafmans 1235
John Halliday 1140
Julian Hickman 890
Doug Lucas 774
Peter Osborne 951
Julia Powell 458
David Pridmore 852
Ferg Ranson 861
Philip Rhoden 1210
Ian Sheppard 1232
Allan Skelton 522
Barry J Smith 932
Paul Sutcliffe 1231
Darryl Tucker 1237
Kerry-Ann West 777
Terry Yates 882
Web siteGood progress has been made to add content to theclub’s new web site at www.gtmownersclub.co.ukHowever, to develop it further we need to know whatsort of content you would like so please make yoursuggestions known. We also have to decide whatcontent is public and what should be for membersonly - so lets hear your views on that. To add to thecontent, we need contributions from members,particularly on technical subjects, so if you can offersomething let’s hear from you.
A particular area that needs your input is the GTMhistory section. If you can add information orphotographs or offer corrections please let us know.
Email to [email protected]
Although the newsletter can be accessed from themembers area of the web site, it is more convenientto receive it by email, so if you have not yet done soplease fill in the form on the last page.
The password to enter the members page isimperial
Rossa25th Birthday
Launched at Stoneleigh 1986
GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM
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Regional GroupsReminder of the two regional groups:
The Southern group meet on the first Tuesday ofthe month at The Fishery, Elstree, Watford WD6 3BEThe pub serves good, reasonably priced, food ifrequired.
The group started to meet back in 2002 (ish) and havebeen meeting every month since then. We have had26 people attend a meeting but unfortunately numbersare not so great these days. Regulars meet whatever
the weather with a hard core of 9 of us and occasionalvisits from other members. We've even had a Scottishmember join us when he was on a business trip toLondon..
Between us, the regular members own 7 GTMshowever, unfortunately only 3 cars are on the road atthe moment,
The venue was picked because it is handy for the M1and M25 as most of the regulars have about an hoursjourney to get there. We are a friendly bunch andwould love to have some other members join us. Youdon't have to come every month but would be nice tosee as many of you as possible.
Don Stephenson organises the East Midlands meetat The Roman Way, Newark (junction of A1/A46) onthe second Tuesday of the month.
Why not organise a gathering in your area? The callis out for volunteers to act as regional organiser/convenor /whatever you wish to call it. It should be avery enjoyable job that is not too onerous.
I am volunteering to cover the Shropshire and midWales area. So, if you are also in this part of thecountry please get in touch to explore the possibilityof local gatherings. To date, we only know of twoGTMs in the area but suspect that there must be more.
Contact me (Roger Brown) [email protected].
TechnicalWeb site
Barry Smith wrote to give his contact details andincluded the address of his son Simon’s web site.Part of the site is devoted to the build of his Libraand is highly recommended for a wealth oftechnical information as well as being a veryinteresting account.
See www.sidewinderforge.co.uk/netlibrabild
Suspension
Our Spyder developed an odd sort of knocking soundsomewhere in the front end. Naturally, this occurredwhilst on holiday. However, inspection revealednothing loose or obviously worn so we carried on.On return we took the car to the local garage so thatit could be examined on the ramp. They found someplay in a ball joint which they replaced (after somedifficulty tracing it to being a VW Golf part). Thisdid not cure the noise, but the mechanic, who istwice as big as I am, had the weight to get moremovement in the suspension and he then discovereda seized roll bar link. Must remember to keepapplying some lubrication.
Response
Barry Smith also commented on the problems in theprevious newsletter:
Electrics – at the front under the “bonnet” a littlegutter on the RH Side directs rain water etc towardsthe centre of the car, also block up the unused vent(RH side) in the bonnet to stop water/snow getting atthe brake fluid reservoir switch, it brings on the brakewarning light.
Smother connectors in Waxoyl where the wires enterthe connector.
Early in the Libra’s life a wire got burnt in the loomin front of the engine near the exhaust, blew fuse &brought car to a stop.
Rust - Always use stainless parts especially nuts& bolts on the suspension etc. We had a couple ofnasty rusted bolts during our current suspensionrefurb’.
If steel is a must then use Waxoyl whenreassembling. We used Waxoyl on stainless bolts tohelp protect the steel brackets that they are clamping.
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Club RegaliaAll of the following regalia can be bought by mail order (postage and packing extra) with theexception of the mugs and glasses which are only available at shows. Please make your chequespayable to ‘GTM Owners Club’.All garments have an embroidered owners club badge and are available in several colours and sizes.Please phone /e-mail to check choices available. If you are thinking of purchasing items at a Kit Car,show please contact me beforehand so that I can ensure that I bring the relevant stock as space in theLibra is limited.
Waterproof jacket £44.00
Fleeces £27.00
Sweatshirts - Round Neck £13.00Sweatshirts – V Neck £14.00
T- Shirts - Round Neck £8.00T- Shirts – V Neck £9.00Ladies T – Shirts £9.00
Polo Shirts £14.00
Baseball Caps £9.00
GTMOC Tax Disc Holders (stick on) £1.50GTMOC Mugs £4.00GTMOC pint glass £4.00GTMOC Leather Key Fobs with enamel badge £3.00GTMOC Enamel Badges £2.00GTMOC Window Stickers (3” dia.) £1.00GTMOC Embroidered Badges £2.00
Enquiries to Bob Snooks
01753 662951 or 07730 703180e-mail – [email protected]
Prices are for stock items and are subject to change with new orders.
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MAY21-22 The European Kit Car Show, Detling - Club area but no marquee
JUNE5 Kit Car London to Brighton
11-12 Le Mans 24 hour
18-19 National Kit Car Festival, Newark - club area + marquee
JULY1-3 Goodwood Festival of Speed
9-10 Le Mans Classic
9-10 Shakespeare County Raceway, Warwickshire - Club area, possibly marquee
16-17 Pageant of Power – Cholmondeley Castle
22-24 Silverstone Classic Meeting - Club area but no marquee
AUGUST14 Mini in the Park, Santa Pod Raceway, Northampton - Club area but no marquee
SEPTEMBER16-18 Goodwood Revival meeting – bringing the 1950s to life!
17-18 The Genuine Kit Car Show, Stafford - Unable to book a club area
OCTOBER22-23 Great Western Kit Car Show, Westpoint, Exeter - Unable to book a club area
Events Calendar
For Sale and Wanted
We can accept GTM related adverts from members. Please send to the editor
GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM GTM
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#PLEASE READ –
IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING FUTURE NEWSLETTERS
NAME MEMBERSHIP NUMBER
EMAIL ADDRESS
If you do not have an email address please tick here
If you have found your way to this newsletter on the web site but have not sent us your email addressplease complete the details below and return to the Club Secretary (Bob Snooks). Alternatively, you canemail Bob with the details at [email protected] We can then send you the newsletter as anemail attachment.
By not sending out printed copies to everyone we will keep down the club’s costs.
ADDRESS
“When I grow up I want to be a man”
“Don’t be silly darling, you can’t be both”
