Annual Joint Picnic Slips in Between Thunderstorms
It rained all day Saturday, it rained until noon Sunday. But, at about
12:30 the skys cleared, the guests started arriving, the grills were
fired up and the 6th Annual Joint PBCA/SABCC Picnic at the Schmitzs' was
underway. About 75 hungry folks put away hot dogs, hamburgers and an
incredible variety of baked beans, potato salads, deviled eggs, side
dishes (some difficult to describe but, very tasty) and topped off by
some of the most delicious desserts made specifically to destroy any
diet for a month. Due to the rain, which commenced again later in the
day just after the last guests headed home, only six LBCs graced the
driveway. Actually only two were "little" British MGs, the other four
were "big" Jag XJ6s with dependable wipers. Actually there were more
LBCs in Tom's garage than on the driveway and some folks spent a good
deal of the ultrahumid afternoon enjoying the A/C there.
At about 2pm, Prez Ron Newman called to order a PBCA business meeting
which lasted about 8 minutes, an alltime record for brevity.
While the weather was more cooperative than the hurricane of several
years ago, we hope that next year will be more conducive to bringing out
the LBCs and we will again fill the front yard with British iron.
PBCA 2002 EVENTS
These dates are for your British Car activities planning for the
remainder of 2002. Details will be published in the "British Marque",
sent by email and US Mule and will be on the website,
www.geocities.com/pbca1 . PBCA is very active, 10 meetings and 15 LOCAL
CLUB EVENTS through the year. PBCA Club Events are in BOLD type. Other
events and shows will be announced as we find out about them. Let us
know if you know of others.
CONTACT RON NEWMAN, 850 492-9791, renewman@peoplepc.com or Tom Schmitz,
251 961-7171, tschmitz@ametro.net for details on any of the events
below.
SEPTEMBER
13-15th SOUTHESTERN MG CONFERENCE, DILLARD. GA.
14th BRITISH CAR DAY, CHARLESTON, S.C.
14th OPEN CAR SHOW, RIVIERA CENTER, FOLEY. AL (NOT RECOMMENDED, LAST
YEAR WAS A BUST)
16th MONDAY REGULAR MEETING, SEAFOOD SHANTY
21th SATURDAY AACA SEVILLE SQUARE CAR SHOW
21th BRITISH CAR CLASSIC MARK XIV, STL. AUGUSTINE, FL
28th SATURDAY MONTGOMERY BRITISH CAR SHOW
OCTOBER
5th, SATURDAY SOUTH ALABAMA BRITISH CAR CLUB SHOW, FAIRHOPE
11/12th FRI/SAT NATCHEZ, MS, BRITISH CAR SHOW. GREAT WEEKEND TRIP
18-21th EURO 2000, GREENVILLE, S.C.
19th NAVARRE BEACH CAR SHOW, NAVARRE HIGH SCHOOL
21th MONDAY REGULAR MEETING, SEAFOOD SHANTY
26th BRITS AT THE RENAISSANCE FAIRE, FLORENCE, AL
24-27th S.E. VINTAGE TRIUMPH REGISTER CONV., JEKYLL ISLAND
27th SUNDAY PROGRESSIVE DINNER
NOVEMBER
1-3th FRI-SUN MG JAMBOREE 12, HOMOSSASSA, FL
1-3th FRI-SUN SBCC BRITISH CAR SHOW, CHATTANOOGA, TN
9-11th SAT-MON FALL TOUR, PINE MOUNTAIN (MONDAY IS A HOLIDAY)
19th MONDAY REGULAR MEETING, SEAFOOD SHANTY
DECEMBER
7th SAT. NITE PBCA ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY, P'COLA BEACH
8th SUNDAY SUNDAY MORNING BRUNCH, PENSACOLA BEACH
14th SATURDAY CHRISTMAS PARADE, LILLIAN, AL
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The Saga of the Car Trailer
By Pete & Norma Peterson (aka: Looney and the Chicken)
(Eds Note: This is the fifth in a series of articles by members of
PBCA)
It all started one sunny afternoon in late June when a
departing naval officer visited my office to ask if I was interested in
his car trailer. We had talked about his various cars and trailers in
the past, but had never really made any commitment to repair or purchase
any of them. Well, it was time for him to make a decision, and he
decided that the trailer had to go. So, off we went to see what he had
and what could be done about it.
We went to a former horse stable that was used during the North's
War of Aggression against the South that has since been converted to a
storage barn. There, sitting in the darkness, was a trailer with a car
under cover on it. The tires of both the trailer and the car were flat,
but, being a bit of an automotive nut, all looked well and usable. I
expressed interest in the trailer, but was advised that if I wanted the
trailer, the car would have to go with it. We sort of discussed this
option, when the naval officer quoted a price that was totally
unbelievable for what was there. We got out some flashlights (the
storage area was not wired), pulled the cover off the car, and, to my
complete surprise (well, not so complete; I knew what was under the
cover) was a reasonably complete British car in pretty darn good shape.
I asked for the price one more time thinking he had misstated himself,
was told that the price he had quoted was fair as far as he was
concerned, money changed hands, and Norma and I became the proud owners
of a 1961 MGA 1600.
Well, the tires on the trailer had been flat for some time
and the bead was broken off the rim, so we jacked the trailer up and
took the tires and rims to the nearest tire store to check them out and
get them reseated. The tires had practically no miles on them, the tire
store said they would hold air with no problem, they weren't weather
checked (having been stored inside since 1983), so we pumped them up and
put them back on, backed my Ford truck up to the trailer, hooked it up,
and dragged it home
The tires on the MGA were still flat, of course, but upon
putting the air to them, three of them held overnight, while one of them
was completely shot. Not to worry, there was a new tire on the spare
rim in the boot, which still had the label. That one is still holding
air. Anyway, after pumping the tires up, it was time to untie all the
various ropes and chains that had been holding the MGA in place these
many years and get the car off the trailer. A friend of ours was
visiting from Atlanta at the time, so he helped try to push the thing
off. But it would not budge. We double checked the transmission to
make sure it was in neutral, we let the hand brake down to make sure it
was released - ah-ha!! There's the problem. The hand brake had been on
since 1983 and apparently the brakes had seized. So, we pulled the rear
drums and the front calipers off, replaced the wheels, and started
pushing. It came off the trailer a bit slowly, but off it came, and the
MGA was now on the ground for the first time since 1983!! Hooray!!
The next big job was to get the MGA into the garage. This
didn't seem like much of a problem, after moving 5 motorcycles, a
Triumph Spitfire, and assorted other stuff out of the way. Having
cleared a path, the process of pushing the MGA into the garage began.
Well, our friend from Atlanta tried and tried to push, while I tried to
push and steer, but the car wasn't cooperating. Maybe my overall
clumsiness and our friend's loss of a leg in a motorcycle accident a few
years ago contributed to our difficulties. Finally, we hit on an idea:
Take that piece of rope that was lying in the garage, tie it to the
front of the MGA, then tie it to the frame of the BMW motorcycle, and
pull the danged thing in. What a great idea!! We did all the
measurements (actually, none were required), hooked up the car to the
motorcycle, started the motorcycle, and in came the MGA just as planned.
Until the smoke started coming from the BMW's clutch. No problem, just
let it cool down a bit. Once again, the towing process began. The BMW
took hold in an authoritative manner until a forgotten piece of
cardboard got up under the back wheel and caused a slight spinning out,
followed by more smoke from the BMW's clutch. But by that time, the MGA
was properly positioned, the rope was untied, the BMW removed from the
front of the car, and it was pushed the remainder of the way into the
garage while the right rear tire of the MGA came undone and the tread
fell off.
Now, if you haven't seen tires that have been sitting
around for almost 20 years explode, you haven't seen anything really
exciting. The inner tube exploded, the steel belts in the tire broke,
the tread came off, leaving a pile of tire stuff on the floor and shreds
on the wheel. It didn't matter much, anyway, as the car was as far as
it was going to go at that time. The next morning, the left front tire
had started separating and the tube was bulging, so air was removed to
prevent another explosion. The next tire to go was the left rear, but
it was nowhere near as spectacular as the right rear one. Again, air
was removed, but the tread still fell off.
The MGA is now proudly sitting on stands in the garage with
the wheels removed, the brakes being rebuilt, and all attendant things
being repaired or replaced. The seller forgot where the title may have
gone, but as always, there is an alternative and it is now titled in the
State of Florida, after a two-month paper chase. And the BMW
motorcycle? Well, it was scheduled to go on a trip to Canada the
following week, but it made it up in a truck. The clutch held fairly
well while loading it and unloading it, with only a slight burning
smell. After putting 500 or so miles on it in Canada, it came back home
to Pensacola and a new clutch was installed.
We are working diligently to get the MGA up and running. It
is complete (except for a top and frame, some chrome pieces, and a few
other little things), but we are not easily discouraged and we figure it
should be on the road within the next year or so. This should be
different, as we have always messed with Triumphs (both cars and
motorcycles). But we're always looking forward to a new adventure,
which is where the names "Looney and the Chicken" come from (that's
another story).
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