This magnificent 1971 Mk III GT6 has been owned and driven by TSOA member Graham Jones since the mid 70’s and surprisingly has covered something like 319,000 miles! A full restoration over recent years has returned the car to pristine condition – what a beauty! And nicely done Graham.
The mid week run on 3rd November saw 18 people congregate at Eagle on the Hill Lookout in rather dismal cool weather conditions. See report by Maggie Smith.
The run on 14th November organised by John Sampson was attended by well over 60 people from TSOA and the Austin Healey Sprite Club. The cars were on display on the lawns outside the Greenock Aviation Museum where we all enjoyed a BBQ’d Barossa sausage and salad lunch before having a look around the museum, which housed numerous model aeroplanes, a World War II Avro Anson and Airspeed Oxford, an early De Havilland Vampire jet and other full size early model planes. There was also a craft shop to keep the ladies interested while the men wandered through the museum and inspected the machinery on display. There was an optional run route back to Adelaide via Virginia Nursery. A number of people took up this option and enjoyed a coffee and a wander around what can only be described as an interesting place to visit, with a large restaurant, gift shop, kitchenware shop and a very large plant nursery and pots etc for outdoors. This was a very successful Sunday run and the last one for 2010. Thanks John for your organisation.
The Annual After Christmas run is being held on Wednesday 29th December and heading to Lyndoch to the Monkey Nut Bistro at Kies Winery. This is always a popular event so if you are not doing anything on that day, please come along and join us. Bill Smith has organised the route, and we will meet at the Crafers Hotel for coffee from 10.00am departing at 11.00am.
January sees an informal meeting on Tuesday 18th when there will be a short technical talk by John Sampson on Bundy Tube for the men, and the ladies head off down King William Road to enjoy a coffee and/or gelato and a chat. The annual ice cream run is again being organised by Tom and Judie, who have been running this event for the past 18 years. Hopefully we will see a warm evening and nice sunset as we drive along the coast from Glenelg to Semaphore Park and Noonies Ice Cream Kiosk. There is plenty of parking alongside the kiosk and they also serve fish ‘n chips, donuts, coffee, milkshakes etc.
Rory & I take this opportunity to wish everyone a safe and happy Christmas and New Year.
DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS
Happy December birthday to Maureen Gold, Sue Taylor, Margie Berlemon and Natalie Farrell.JANUARY BIRTHDAYSHappy January birthday to Bob Farrell, Lyle Taylor, Tony Harvie, Roger Lange, Lorraine Page and all celebrating a birthday/special occasion during December and January.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sat 4th December – Christmas Dinner & Trophy Presentation Night 6.30pm for 7.00pm Royal Adelaide Golf Club
Wed 29th December – Mid week run to Monkey Nut Bistro Kies Winery Lyndoch meet Crafers 10.00am for coffee, departing 11.00am
Tues 18th January – Informal meeting 8.00pm Sporting Car Club King William Road Unley – Gelato for the ladies.
Sat 29th January – Ice Cream Run – meet 7.45pm Beaumont Road off Greenhill Road.
Tues 8th February – Ladies Technical Session 12.00 noon Café Buongiorno Mitcham
Sun 13th February – All British Day Uraidla OvalSun 20th February – MSCA Presentation Day Peter Lehmann Winery, Tanunda meet 9.45am TTP carpark Cnr Smart & Reservoir Roads
Regards Sue Gibson
The Day of Triumph was held at Civic Park opposite Tea Tree Plaza which provided all the necessary facilities.
The attendance of 60 cars was pleasing as was the weather which was excellent despite the poor forecast.
The outright Concours winner was Noel Schmidt with his newly restored red TR3A with Tony Rutter in his red Spitfire coming second and John Sampson in his white TR6 in third place. The trophy winners of both categories are listed below and all trophies will be presented at the Christmas Dinner on 4th December.
We can only run an event like this with a lot of help, and thanks go to Alan Gold and Lyle Taylor who co-ordinated the Concours and POO competitions and their judges. Thanks also to Bill and Margie Berlemon for providing the tent, tables and chairs.
Trophies were awarded as per the rules which were published in TRak. A notable change from previous years was that in Concours first place only was awarded if three or less cars were entered in any category. First and second prizes would be awarded if there were four or more cars in a category. No category had more than three cars. Pride of ownership remained the same with trophies awarded to first place getters only.
Rory Gibson
CONCOURS PRIDE OF OWNERSHIP
TR2/3/3A/3B Noel Schmidt Vin Anderson
TR4/4A/5 Tony Rutter Rick Staehr
TR6 John Sampson Rob Schaeffer
TR7/8 Roger Lange Richard Reynolds
Spitfire/GT6 Tony Rutter Graham Jones
Stag Peter Langdon No entry
Saloon Bob Cini David Wilson
Herald No entry Ron Smith
Dolomite No entry No entry
Modified No entry Kevin Foster
Competition Roger Lange No entry
Michelotti Trophy Tony Rutter
Harris Mann Trophy Roger Lange
Register Trophy Noel Schmidt
Two recent events are worthy of reporting in this column, the first was a tour of the manufacturing plant of Performance Alloy Wheels at North Plympton, where approximately 25 club members took the opportunity to learn more about the process of making Alloy wheels.
During the visit we witnessed the manufacturing process from the melting of the alloy in the furnace, the pouring of the molten metal into the forming moulds the subsequent heat treatment and quenching process that prepared the cast wheels ready for the machining and pressure testing after this the wheels were moved to the painting / clear lacquering process in the spray booths, all processes were working during our visit and members found them most interesting. Our tour was guided by Ed Sanders the owner of the business who was willing to discuss and answer all questions put forward. I believe we all left with a better understanding of manufacturing process and how the wheels are made ready for the showroom.
We are most grateful to Ed who has kindly donated a set of Performance Alloy Wheels and these will be our major prize for the raffle at the TSOA nationals next year. My thanks to Bob Farrell and John Tuohy for organising the visit.
The other event held during November was a combined run with the Healey Sprite club to the Greenock Aviation Museum, the event was very well attended with a total of 60 people meeting at Civic part opposite TTP for a pleasant Sunday run through Gumeracha, Williamstown, Springton and then to Angaston for a coffee break. We then travelled on through Nuriootpa to the Greenock museum where we set up a display of our cars prior to enjoying a BBQ lunch and visiting the aviation display.
The museum was a unanimous success with the display of many planes, aero engines and memorabilia along with a collection of Commer trucks, farm equipment and other miscellaneous items. Some of us stopped for more coffee and shopping on the way home at the Virginia Nursery. All in all a very full and successful day, and I thank all who attended from both clubs.
The last event for the year will be our traditional mid week run between Christmas and New Year, so give some thought to attending, for details please refer later in this Mag.
Our January meeting is normally an informal get together at the club rooms with the ladies leaving us for a period to partake in gelato and or coffee, with the men discussing cars and old times. This year we are trying something different and I will be presenting a talk on brake line material and hopefully a simple flaring and tube bending demonstration if I can acquire the tooling. So if you have heard of BUNDY TUBE and know it is the material to use for brake lines, but do not know why, I will try and explain the difference between BUNDY and other tube types.
Other topics to be covered on the night will be a brief history and description of the manufacturing processes, tube coatings, types of flares and tube nuts. Come along bring your questions and I will try and answer them.
Your committee has recently reviewed the point structure for the Clubman Trophy and has made revisions to points awarded for attending, planning and reporting on club events. New points as follows –
3 points for organising a club run
3 points for attending a TSOA event
3 points for attending a run in a Triumph
1 point for attending a run in other vehicle
3 points for an original article of substance in TRak
1 point for a monthly article of information
3 points for a letter of substance published in TRak
10 points for attending the National Rally
We have introduced this revision to encourage the promotion and use of our special vehicles, and in an effort to encourage a closer more even competition for the Clubman trophy.
I look forward to seeing you all at the Presentation Dinner on the 4th December at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club.
On behalf of Barb and myself I would like to wish everyone a very happy Christmas and New Year.
Drive safely over the festive season and hope to see you soon . . . . .
John Sampson
Another year has flown by and Christmas is once again looming.
From a club competition point of view, I congratulate the worthy winners of the Drivers and Competition Trophies. You will find out who they are at the Christmas dinner, if you haven’t already worked it out.
Personally, I have accomplished a lot this year. Life does get busier the older you get. So busy in fact, I have not had either of my race cars out this year. I have however been to the Phillip Island Historics, Lake Gairdner Speed Trials, the Bruce McLaren Revival in New Zealand and the Goodwood Revival and Mallory Park All Triumph Race while in Europe. By the time this is in your hands, I will also have returned from the Tasman Revival at Eastern Creek. I also attended the Ballarat and Bendigo Swap meets. I have thoroughly enjoyed these ventures sampling just a smidgen of the huge variety of motoring/car enthusiast venues out there.
To 2011. Peter Lehmann picnic day is scheduled for 20th February. Lets see if we can win best club display again. See details elsewhere.
We have interest from interstate for the 6hr relay race at Mallala. There will be lobbying for more interstaters to take part in this event likely to occur on 20th May. It is just possible we may be sporting two Triumph teams. Lots of work to be done between now and then though.
We may have a new sprinter about to come out of the woodwork. Work is progressing on the TR3A salt lake racer. Rod Carey is in the search for more speed from his GT6. Roger Lange is debating which way to turn in putting together another race motor for his GT6. Neil Martin will continue to show his regularity and sprinting enthusiasm in the TR7V8 and Tom Hutchinson in his TR8 will once again fly the flag for Triumph in the racing scene. We mustn’t forget Andy Ansell who crosses borders to get to SA’s 6hr.
As for me, well I am debating the merits of cheap cubes versus an expensive Triumph motor. If my garage and house extensions go to schedule I will be back out there next year.
2011 is also likely to see Roger and myself (maybe Rod also) take part in the MG & Invited British Series.
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to you and your family. May 2011 be Triumphant for all.
Trevor Lindsay
Pearce and Joan Bowman’s lovely Stag . . . at this year’s NSW Nationals, Kangaroo Valley.
My thanks go out to Ian and Raelene Rigby for setting this year’s All Triumph Rally for the Tony Esau Memorial Trophy. The wet weather held off and we had a pleasant run through the Adelaide hills to Strathalbyn with a club sponsored BBQ for lunch. The lucky winners this year were Bill and Margie Berlemon who will set the challenge next year.
Ian and Raelene set a new standard in the presentation of the run sheet with colour photo’s and other helpful information to help us get through the event – well done.
The club Christmas Dinner and trophy presentation night will be held at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club, Tapleys Hill Road, Seaton on the 4th of December. Please contact Sue Gibson on 8449 7814 if you intend coming but have yet to book. Your reservation and full payment is required no later than our November 16th meeting or you will miss out on our final event for the year. The venue and the meal are tops and I encourage any member who has yet to book their place for this year’s dinner to do so soon.
Your committee is currently working on the event programme for year 2011 and this will include the normal once a month Sunday run and the occasional mid week run as we have traditionally done. Further to this we are proposing to put a plan in place to reintroduce a minimum of 3 Technical meetings during next year. These could include practical demonstrations of panel work, spray painting and other restoration type work that would be of interest to members working on their own restoration projects.
We are hoping that this type of activity would be held on week nights or on Saturdays, and we will advise in the club Magazine from time to time. We would hope this may encourage members who would not normally attend club functions to come along and learn from these sessions but more importantly meet club members who could also pass on some experiences from their restoration projects.
Hope to see you soon
John Sampson
The All Triumph Rally for the Tony Esau Memorial Trophy was held on 17th October in what could only be described as cool conditions. The rain did hold off and the day ended up quite pleasant. Ian Rigby (last year’s winner) set a good run through the hills ending up at Strathalbyn where the annual swap meet was also being held. This gave members the chance to attend the swap meet before or after the club sponsored BBQ lunch. Thanks to Margie for organising the meat and Peggy for the green salad, Raelene and Faye for supplying cakes and slices. To all those people who assisted with the cooking and cleaning up thank you.
Congratulations to Margie and Bill who won the event and now have the honour of setting next year’s run. It was a closely contested observation run with Team Temby coming in second and Roger and Cherrie taking our third place.
The next Sunday run is on 14th November and John requires numbers for the run to Greenock Aviation Museum where they will be putting on a BBQ lunch. This run is being held in conjunction with the Austin Healey Sprite Club and the cars will be displayed on the lawns at the museum. Numbers are required by 5th November so please give John a ring if intending to attend.
The Christmas Dinner is on 4th December and payment is required no later than the November meeting. If you were a winner at the Day of Triumph please come along and collect your trophy and enjoy a three course Christmas dinner (menu is in TRAK) for the member’s price of $40ph and $55ph for non members. The venue is the Royal Adelaide Golf Club at Seaton where there is plenty of secure parking. There will be a happy “half hour” from 6.30pm to 7.00pm.
The annual after Christmas lunch run this year is heading to the Barossa and the Monkey Nut Bistro at Kies Winery in Lyndoch. This run is always a popular event and we hope to see you in attendance. Bill is the organiser.
Don’t forget there is no meeting in December and January is an informal meeting.
PAST
Victorian State Circuit Racing Championship 25 – 26 September. Tom Hutchinson (TR8) participated in Round 4 of this championship at Phillip Island. Tom qualified 1st and scored two 2nd placings and a 1st in the MG and Invited Sports Car class and qualified 9th and scored two 7th placings and an 8th in the Sports Car group. See http://www.natsoft.com.au/cgi-bin/results.cgi?26/09/2010.PHIL
FUTURE
Australian Hillclimb Championships 16 – 17 October Collingrove
Legends of the Lakes Hillclimb 6-7 November Mt Gambier
MSCA Sprint Rd4 Mallala 24 October
SA Circuit Racing Championship Rd 4 30 – 31 October
Phillip Island Classic 18 – 20 March 2011 More than likely, I will be attending this meeting. Want to know more – give me a call.
Lake Gairdner Speed Week 21 – 25 March 2011. I intend to venture to this venue again next year. If you are going or want to know more, please contact me. See http://www.dlra.org.au/
MSCA Dates for 2011 (Ist draft only) – very tentative
Rd1 – 27 March 2011
6HR – 15 May 2011
Driver Training or Come & Try – 19 June 2011
Rd2 – 3 July 2011
Rd3 – 14 August 2011
Rd4 – 18 September 2011
Rd5 or Driver Training – 23 October 2011
OTHER
As some may well know, my wife and I were overseas for 8 weeks getting away from the worst of Adelaide’s winter. Besides Paris, Vienna and London we called into a number of motor racing tracks. Mallory Park is located near Leicester, north of London and east of Birmingham. All Triumph races had been organised for Sunday 30th August and I was particularly keen to assess our overseas enthusiasts vehicles and performance. The day commenced with a barrel role and flip of a Ferrari 246 GT, which we were well placed to observe and was totally written off. The car clipped an official as it flipped over the safety barrier, but luckily the driver and official were both sitting up in bed in hospital later that day. There were 20 odd Triumphs in their own race. They included Heralds, Spitfires, GT6’s and TR3 – 6’s. I spoke to many of the drivers and they were all happy to discuss their cars and the competition scene in the UK. I was particularly impressed with an incredibly fast TR5.
We also attended the Goodwood Revival on the weekend of 18 & 19 September. This is an annual world renown purely historic meeting and the majority of people dress in 30’s – 50’s clothing and uniforms. The highlights for me were the grid girls, very fast Austin A30’s and the classic car park. This car park would have had well over a thousand vehicles, and many were Triumphs in all sorts of condition. One example was a very battered and well used TR3A that appeared to have done the 1986 Monte Carlo Rally. There were also many Daimler SP 250’s, another interest of mine. There was one Triumph racing – a Triumph SLR. I had never heard of this model so had to hunt it down and take a few pictures. It unfortunately was not very reliable and didn’t get much track time. SLR stands for Sprinzel LawrenceTune Racing. Four cars were produced in the early 60’s with Triumph motors, three Morgan chassis based and one based on a TR4 chassis. All were apparently aluminium bodied. Looks nothing like a Triumph, but I did recognise a saloon overdrive switch on the gearstick.
While in Scotland, we called into Knockhill Racing Circuit where an open practice session was taking place. This circuit is located north of Edinburgh and I was impressed with the undulating nature of the track and mostly flowing corners. I would have loved to put my GT6 around there.
I spent much of my British childhood in Kent and well remember the sounds of racing at Brands Hatch which was nearby. Obviously, while visiting old haunts, I had to call into the circuit, which I had never before been to. An open practice day was being held and once again, I was impressed with the undulating nature and flowing corners of the track. Ideally suited to GT6’s.
Earlier this year I commenced collecting diecast triumph models. The trip to Europe was an ideal opportunity for hunting these elusive items. I brought 49 back to Australia with me, all different. Not that I expected it, but I found some hard to find ones in Vienna of all places. I figure that they are cheaper than the real thing, and besides, I don’t have room for any more full scale ones. For some reason, my wife was very supportive on these hunts. I would be interested to hear from any other Triumph collectors.
Some pictures from Mallory Park and Goodwood will be on our internet site soon.
Cheers,
Trevor Lindsay
The NSW national rally is over and 18 weary South Aussies who attended, are now adjusting back into normal life patterns again. This year’s event was held in Kangaroo Valley just inland from Nowra on the picturesque NSW coast. This was a tremendous event and the NSW committee should be proud of their efforts, as there were activities to suit every taste from motor sport to a guided tour of a Buddhist temple, or a visit to the Bradman Museum in Bowral, but I am sure full reports will be published, if not in this month’s magazine then in next months.
While on the subject, next years national rally is to be held in S.A. in October, with 4 nights in Mt Gambier and 3 nights in Victor Harbor, with an after rally option on Kangaroo Island at an additional cost. We invite you to attend and meet new like minded friends and renew old friendships.Our rally committee is currently working hard fine tuning our event in an endeavour to satisfy every Triumph enthusiast. The registration forms are now available on this web site.
I would like to remind you of the combined run with the Austin Healy Sprite club to the Greenock Aviation Museum on the 14th November. For catering purposes I will need to confirm our booking numbers with the venue by 5/11/10. There will be a $10 cost to cover the BBQ lunch and entry to the museum, details of the run are shown later in this mag.
I believe a lot of members have heard of Bundy tube, but how many people know what Bundy tube is, what makes it unique, why it is specified for automotive brake lines and what safety issues should you be aware of when using it. Since I retired from TI Automotive (formally Bundy Tubing Aust.) a couple of years ago, I had heard some worrying stories from individuals and even Brake industry outlets that they were advising and or supplying unsuitable product to the public, to my knowledge this has now been rectified.
While it is not specifically a Triumph issue, I am proposing to make a technical presentation and answer any questions that members may have during our informal January 2011 meeting while the ladies are away enjoying a cup of coffee or ice cream. Don’t get me wrong if any ladies are interested they will be more than welcome to stay for the presentation, if it all comes together in time for the meeting. I will keep you informed over the next few meetings.
I hope to see you soon
John Sampson