Welcome to 2005 and your favourite club news letter. The AGM came
up, some changes took place, your committee has met and we roll from
here on. I left out ‘rock &’ as it is an expression used far too
much nowadays. We are not a military unit, nor a band, but rolling
is what we do a lot of, on those expensive bands of black rubber,
nylon and steel we bank our lives on.
The first page is a shocker, but that is well intended. After
exactly 13 years of blissful driving, Ron Allen, affectionately
known as THE SURGEON, hefted a large angle grinder and proceeded to
slice off all the bits on GT40 frame he felt were superfluous.
Actually what happened, was a very neat cut in all the areas I had
so meticulously measured and marked out. You see I had been seduced
by this idea that my 40 would go even better if I spent large
quantities of cash on all sorts of pretty bits. These bits needed
space, space occupied by the original Ford Granada rear swing arms,
large springs, shocks and other paraphernalia. Those of our really
keen members who attended my constructors meeting, can all attest to
the necessary surgery and the deft and accurate cutting by our
friend Ron Allen. This is the third surgery Ron has performed and
one of the best in the trilogy. You see, he is getting so good at
it. Just keep your Cobra out of Ron’s way. He may think of improving
his expertise even more by doing something horrible on a Cobra.
Talking about expertise, you should have seen Bugs Theunissen
welding on the new suspension frame to my 40. Bugs very kindly
offered to do this very important job for me, something I was not
going to take a chance with.
I
express the greatest thanks to these two gentlemen, Ron and Bugs,
who have helped me so much in what has become a rebuild of my GT40.
Thanks also to Ron Casteller, Doug Wishart, Nick Carter, Chris
Simpkin, Brian Tarbotton and Mike van Es who all helped out with
manual and morale support for the traumatic moment (for me at least)
while you see your loved one lying there on the operation jacks and
stands.
Not much can be seen of Bugs behind the face shield, while Ron
Casteller lends a helping hand.
I
can’t say “Back to reality” as all the above was really, really
real. I have a yard full of cut off bits, and bolts to fill a
bucket, but I’m sure you would like to get on with the news letter,
so here we go. Thanks for your patience.
The last news letter was written prior to my departure for the US in
August, but I believe it contained all the necessary information for
the rest of the year. Not that it helped much as most of the planned
activities were cancelled for one reason or other.
The Poker Run that George Louwrens had spent lots of time on to put
together, had to be cancelled due to lack of participation. The
breakfast at Joe Kools was fine but with a poor turnout. Not even
the chance of bumping into your favourite Shark could entice some of
our members. The Microlight guys could not get their act together
and the joint run with them had to be cancelled. The braai at Midmar
also never happened (we are not giving up as we have planned for
this run again). Is it the time of the year when everyone is so
clapped out watching the months go by, or what? Let me know what you
think.
The racing movie demo, at Mod ‘n Sound near Gateway, was a bit
encouraging. A reasonable turnout and enjoyed by all who
participated. Paddy Tatton was so impressed that he got Gale to buy
a surround system for Xmas. Awesome!
Now, the Oval Track Races at Richards Bay sounded just like the
thing to shake some guys into activity. Edward Mitchell took it upon
himself to organize the run and accommodation. This was handled very
professionally and all of us who drove up to Richards Bay had a
wonderful time. The drive to and from RB, the hotel accommodation
and the camaraderie, all contributed to a great weekend. Our thanks
to Edward. The races? What races? Oh yes! The underwater hockey
game. Yes Yes, we did try the races but the weather had other ideas
and the lightning struck and the thunder clapped and the roof over
the stand was not designed to prevent supersonic, horizontal sheets
of water flying in. The rain first came in with the wind from the
West and then from the East, and it was our new club jackets that
rescued us from a miserable evening. The races were cancelled and
rescheduled for the next day. We had had our weekend and decided not
to stay and after Allen Stacey had bailed out all of the water from
his Cobra, we returned to Durban on the Sunday morning without
mishap.
The Xmas dinner held at the Wishart’s residence proved to be a great
success due to our hosts Doug and Karen and the camaraderie as usual
(or was it the lure of Karen’s monster being created down in the
garage). The exchange of Xmas gifts proved to be very popular and
I’m sure will become a tradition. On behalf of the committee and
members of our club, I thank Doug and Karen for providing us with a
most entertaining evening.
Now take a jump into the new year. At this rate I’m getting tired
just jumping!
Not the greatest turnout of members at the AGM, but a few new faces
appeared. Our chairman will welcome these new members in his
‘Chairman’s Chirp”
