Panhandle British Car Association: October 2004 Newsletter


PBCA masthead from British Marque

THE BRITISH LINE

OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF THE

PANHANDLE BRITISH CAR ASSOCIATION, INC.

October 2004


Contributing Editor: Bill Moseley
President: John Barber


PBCA and Ivan the Terrible
 
Bill Moseley
 
Pensacola, FL -  Next meeting - November 15.  Hurricane Ivan hit the Pensacola area hard on Sept. 15 --  So bad that it was impossible to get an article to British Marque, even by U.S. Mail.  About half of the PBCA members attended our first meeting since Ivan on October 18.  President, John Barber, asked everyone to tell their IVAN horror stories.  One member at the meeting, Frank Hubbard, reported that two feet of water covered the bottom of his TR-8.   Regretfully, word came that Page and Janet Simonson and Dick and Mitzi Maddux were hit very hard.  Page and Janet, who live on the water at Milton, Florida, lost all five of their British cars under a six-foot storm surge -- Three Jaguar XKE's, his XK-140 and TR-7.  He also lost his motor home, his other two cars and most of his home.  Dick Maddux, an airline pilot with Continental, had his TR-3 and his lovely vintage biplane parked in his hanger at the Chumuckla private airport.  Everything blew away.  The annual PBCA Chumuckla Airport Picnic was cancelled indefinitely.  Lloyd Stagg, who is also a member of the Pensacola Yacht Club, reported that his sailboat and Hatteras motorboat were extensively damaged.
 
Special note:   If you haven't been contacted by PBCA by this time, it's probably because you can't be contacted.  If you haven't been contacted by phone or email, please try to call or email Tom Schmitz.  Also, if you have a good IVAN story you want to share in the British Marque, just email it to me.
 
At this writing, PBCA's Christmas Party is TBA.  The Pensacola Beach location that we have used isn't functioning for an indefinite period of time.  You will be informed by email and PBCA website of the time and location.  As of this writing, the Lillian Christmas Parade is still on.   It will be on Sat., Dec.11.  Always check to see if any email with the subject line beginning with PBCA is on your computer.  As I said in the meeting, Cox Cable suggested that I download the freeware SpywareBlaster.  I recommend it.  It eliminated 99.9% of my hated SPAM mail without interfering with any other email.  Any good sixth grader could use it.
 
Sunday, November 21 -- The Third Annual PBCA Poker Rally, our first post-Ivan event. 
No entry fee - PBCA covers it.  You will receive (or have received) details by email.  Check the PBCA website for event details and for photos from the last two years.  For those who don't already know,  this event is not a true competitive rally.  It could be better named "Steak Dinner with a Nice Tour " but the name Poker Rally fits best. The Poker Rally will again begin and end at Mesquite Charlie's Steak House.  As Rallymaster, I will plan an approximately 45-50 mile course over scenic roads that you probably haven't seen before.  Winners will be the holders of the highest poker hands.  There will be a "people's choice" award as well as an optional enroute questionnaire award.  Awards will be given at a sit down meal following the tour.  As usual, other clubs such as South Alabama British Car Club, the Volkswagen club, Mustang Club, and Corvette clubs will be invited.  After signing in and reading over instructions, you start at your convenience..
 
Poker Rally start
 
Lou Goldstein's Jaguar at Mesquite Charlie's
(photo:  Bill Moseley)
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Featured PBCA Members - Bill and Melissa Silhan
 
Dr. William Silhan, Professor of Art, “Dr. Bill”, as his students at the University of West Florida call him, has been a PBCA member since it’s beginning.  One of his first contributions was creating the PBCA logo.  He has created many works of art for British car shows T-shirts.  He owns many “very interesting” British Cars, each of which a proven show winner, He also maintains some other historic cars including a beautiful supercharged Cord.  Bill keeps them in his large “Winged Wheel Garage”, named for the  wings that appear in several  British car logos (ie Aston-Martin, Morgan) and inspired his sign.  The garage is also located on Blue Angel Parkway.. As an artist, Bill appreciates British cars for their unique beauty. He calls them “rolling sculpture”. Bill and his wife, Melissa, have hosted delightful salons at his Winged Wheel Garage for PBCA and SABCC (South Alabama British Car Club), our sister club.  His Winged Wheel Garage is a showplace, complete with many automobile related items such as vintage gasoline pumps and signs.  Bill periodically takes each of his cars for a drive to keep them “exercised”.

Bill’s first car  in high school was a MGTD which was followed by an Austin-Healey 100-6 that carried him through college.  After Bill and Melissa moved to Pensacola in 1972, his interest in British cars continued to grow as did his British car collection. Bill’s most famous car is a lovely, restored 1967 Aston-Martin DB-6 that he bought from the movie company that featured it. In  the movie “Excess Baggage”.  He said that it was “pretty beaten up” and had a cracked windshield.  His cars, among others, include a 1949 Triumph 2000 Roadster, 1951 Morgan Plus-4, 1965 XKE Coupe, and a 1970 Triumph GT-6, complete with  a flame paint job! There is another most interesting car that is in restoration that is guaranteed to turn heads everywhere… more on that one later.

Hurricane IVAN , which blew through Pensacola on September 15, blew the large door and 20 feet of wall off his Winged Wheel Garage, but the building fortunately stood.  Bill said that the hurricane force wind pulled out the door and made a  mess of his garage interior, but his cars were covered and escaped damage.  Bill immediately gathered up his tools and car parts and locked them up wherever they would fit.  This created a problem because Bill had everything laid out in an organized way and now  it all had to be reorganized and cleaned.  Bill parked his motor home across the entrance to keep out potential souvenir hunters and spent  several nights in it to provide additional security.  It took four weeks to replace his garage door and walls but, on the outside at least, it is as good as new.

Bill lives on the water at Innerarity Island and PBCA has enjoyed parties at his home. Luckily, his home withstood, for most part,  the fierce hurricane, but his wooden deck, pier, and boathouse were destroyed and tons of debris was left everywhere.  Bill is a first class British car enthusiast and a good friend.


 
Silhan montage
(Montage: Bill Moseley --photos by Bill Moseley, Vince Cooke, and Mike Japp)
 
Silhan's garage after storm
Winged Wheel Garage after IVAN
(photos - Bill Moseley)