Abingdon Rough Rider Review

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Abingdon Rough Rider Review April 2013 Vol. LV(55) no. 4 President - Brian Sonner Vice President - Barry Swackhamer Activities Director Linda Chalmers/Eliz.

1 Abingdon Rough Rider Review April 2013 Vol. LV(55) no. 4 President - Brian Sonner Vice President - Barry Swackhamer Activities Director Linda Chalmers/Eliz.Taylor Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor- Allan Chalmers Eminence Gris Bill Traill Web Master Rick Storms Mt Hamilton Run, Sunday, April 21 Meet at 9:30 am at the Starbucks located in Fremont at Mowry and Fremont. This is the SECOND Starbucks, on the right side when heading toward the hills from Hwy 17(Hwy 880). Do not stop at the Starbucks at Mowry and Blacow! The route, from Starbucks to Alum Rock Road in San Jose (where the tour ends) is approximately 90+ miles long. We will be driving on some very isolated, but beautiful roads. There are almost no gas stations and none on the last 70 miles. Please start with a full tank of gas and be sure your car is ready for this run. Lunch will be at The Junction which is your basic burger joint. They also have picnic tables available if you choose, but please be prepared to by a drink or something as a courtesy. There will be short restroom breaks at the Wente Winery and Lick Observatory. As a side note, I have been leading this tour, off-and-on for I don t know how many years. Sometimes it has been a rally or there has been a questionnaire, but not this year. However, it is interesting to note all the changes that have taken place on the roads from Fremont to Livermore and a delight to see that nothing (almost) has changed from Livermore to San Jose. Barry (408) Dues are due - $25 cheap to your humble servant! Made out to Allan Chalmers th Ave. San Francisco, CA You may pay via Paypal let me know and I ll supply my Paypal address Several of y all have kept your purse strings tight. Printed copies went out last time with a red mark under your name. Others got an reminder. Membership list will be mailed with this newsletter and separately for webbies. If you don t want to renew, I can put you on the ARR Friends list for web site only reading.

2 An advisory from our webmaster For those receiving the web version, remember, you can contact your esteemed officers by clicking the About Us link and clicking on the name of the officer. This protects us from malefactors! On the Events page, each month's event includes three icons. One is to the host, one is a link to a google map that shows the starting point of the run, and finally, one to show weather conditions. Rick If you d like to drop the printed version and read this on the web site let me know Coming Events Sunday April 21 Run up Mt Hamilton- Barry Swackhamer Friday to Sunday May 3 5 Jackson / Placerville Weekend Brian & Jane Sonner Sunday June 9 Wine Country Tour route & leader to be announced Sunday July 28 Berry Picking on the coast - Norman Tuck August date to be determined check out the sailboats in GG Park Jeff Stobbe September Conclave date & location unknown, It s the TCMG s turn to host no date yet Monday thru Friday October 28 November 2 GoF in Arizona, plus another event possible, locally Sunday, November 17 Dinner at Original Joe s SF Linda C. Our esteemed Activities directors are requesting a count of folks who would plan to go to this dinner. It s a terrific restaurant, in the location of the old Fior d Italia in North Beach and we will have a private room. The cost will be $60 per person, plus wine. Last year we did it at Capp s Corner, which wasn t totally satisfactory. They need to have a certain number of folks there to book the room. Please contact Linda at or or Elizabeth at or go to About Us on the web site for addresses. Saturday December 14 Holiday Party at the Taylor s in Healdsburg April Sunday June 2 - September October 10 to 13 Other events Pacific Coast Dream Machine Show Half Moon Bay see flyer MGs by the Bay in Danville British Fall Classic in Morgan Hill the Southeastern Fall GOF at the beautiful Calloway Gardens in Pine Mountain Georgia for those who hanker for a Southern adventure

Missive from the desk of the president. again, the St Paddy s day run was a fantastic success, mainly because of Judy Storms arranging for perfect weather.

Those who were unable to attend should know that the Irish Fish Stew was so good that extreme pressure was exerted on the chef to provide the recipe.

Let them know if you will be going. Plans for the Mini-Conclave are moving forward. At this point we have 10 cars signed up to attend.

3 Missive from the desk of the president. again, the St Paddy s day run was a fantastic success, mainly because of Judy Storms arranging for perfect weather. It was a great route with fun people to share the experience. Those who were unable to attend should know that the Irish Fish Stew was so good that extreme pressure was exerted on the chef to provide the recipe. Again thanks to Rick and Judy Storms for all of the work. Don t forget the Mt. Hamilton run scheduled for this month. Barry and Sue Swackhamer are putting that together. Let them know if you will be going. Plans for the Mini-Conclave are moving forward. At this point we have 10 cars signed up to attend. Those who have made reservations at the Cary House know that I made a clerical error in computing the room cost. I have worked with the hotel management to minimize the impact on attendees. We will be sending out packages to attendees the first week in April with menu information and other stuff to let everyone know the final details. If you plan on attending please let me know soon. A common subject of discussion among the TC owners is what will happen to our cars when we can no longer drive them. Judging from the interest and general reaction of people when we gather for these functions, there is a future for them. This club does a real service by showing the public that they are not just for car shows. They actually are real cars. Well done all. Brian St Paddy s Day Gambol The O Storms outdid themselves on this very pleasant run on a gorgeous day. It don t get no betta! We started out from the parking area at the Lucas Valley Road turnoff where we were presented with a bit of an Irish quiz, wee Irish flags and some tire kicking amongst the participants: The O Marcottes, McTucks, O Sonners, McTaylors, the aforementioned O Storms and the Mc Chalmers (my scots forebears would never allow me to put an O in front of my fine Scottish name). All of us were in TCs and four of them were green, appropriately. We ambled over Lucas Valley road, thru Nicasio, on out to the Coast Hwy at Pt Reyes. We did a little amble around town and continued on down to Olema and on over to Fairfax and eventually the O Storms, for a splendid Irish fish stew, Guinness and other Irish beers and some good socializing.

Check the web site for more pictures Bill Tantau

alive. That s the grandson in the blue shirt.

s review (415 826 4577 Offers Cars for Sale Jim

Write-up on it was in the September issue Asking

4 Check the web site for more pictures Bill Tantau with co-pilots Seat belts? we don t need no steenkin seat belts! Bill is doing his best to keep interest in our cars alive. That s the grandson in the blue shirt. GoF West 2013 If you aren t on the mailing list for the gazette, you really should sign up; it s looking good under Doug Pelton s leadership Bob Kaiser s TC See the write-up in last month s review ( Offers Cars for Sale Jim Fleming s TC is still for sale in Arizona. Write-up on it was in the September issue Asking 20K (480) Bob Kramer s Austin is still available he just took a First at a recent Palm Desert Concours Looking for $30K (760)

Q book Last month I asked for persons interested in the Mr. Q book, about Kjell Qvale. We needed ten buyers for the discount. Only three responded, so I guess you three will have to go to Amazon.

5 Ed Pohle makes news in the TC Motoring Guild Newsletter You can read all about him and also read a nice write-up on the tenth annual conclave by Dick Miura, who was also a Rough Rider for a while, commuting from LA for events here until he fell big time for Malkit and was busy pursuing her.. get.pdf The Mr. Q book Last month I asked for persons interested in the Mr. Q book, about Kjell Qvale. We needed ten buyers for the discount. Only three responded, so I guess you three will have to go to Amazon. The price there is now $20 for the book and $10 for the Kindle version Dream Machines Don t let all this fame go to your head, Ed old boy! It is a treat to go and look at the amazing selection of planes and vehicles. Go early, leave early, or you get caught in serious traffic

6 Don t forget to reserve! Visit the historic gold rush town of Placerville May 3 rd, 4 th, and 5 th, 2013 Arrive Friday afternoon, check into the Cary House Hotel in downtown Placerville (300 Main Street). Parking in the city operated parking lots behind the hotel is free while you are staying at the Cary House. The hotel will rope off an area for us immediately behind the hotel and notify the city. There is parking available for trailers at the Sonner s for those who intend to trailer their cars. Rooms are large and include kitchenette, complimentary continental breakfast (7-10 am) and free wine tasting in the evening: Queen Suite: $119.90/night King Suite: $130.90/night Large Suite: $141.90/night All prices include tax, etc. I recommend the Queen or King Suites. Friday evening there will be a BBQ at the Sonner s home in Placerville. The membership attending the annual meeting decided that the treasury would fund the cost of materials needed for the BBQ. However, BYOB. The Saturday drive (leaving about 9 am) we will take some back roads and end up at Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge between 11:00 and 12:00. They serve ploughman s lunches, wine, beer and nonalcoholic beverages. The cost of the lunches ranges from $17.25 to $19.75 including tax and gratuity. Each lunch feeds two people. Those who sign up to attend the event will be given details, can make food selections, and will be asked to pay in advance. There is a web site for those who would like a preview of the view from there and the food. After lunch we will drive back to Placerville. Saturday afternoon will be open for relaxing and/or wandering around the shops in Placerville. We will be dining at Bricks Eats & Drinks in Placerville. It is a short walk from the hotel. We will be gathering at 5:30 for drinks and dinner. The restaurant is accustomed to handling groups like ours allowing us to order off of the menu and have individual bills. By gathering at this hour we can be assured that we will be seated. Bricks also has a web site so you can take a look and see the menu. At a reasonable time on Sunday morning (about 9 am) the group will leave for home. Sunday brunch will be in Ione at Clark s Corner Restaurant. It is a buffet brunch for $ There are other breakfast delights for those who do not want a large meal. We will go through the brunch line and eat on the patio or if you want something smaller you can order it at the counter. Carey House Hotel reservations should be made individually at (530) indicating that you are part of the Abingdon Rough Riders. They are keeping a block of rooms for us for Friday and Saturday nights. This is downtown-frontier living so I recommend that you make reservations early, request a rear room and that you be placed with other members of the group. If you plan on attending, please let me know by (see about us on the web site for address) or by phone at (530) as soon as possible. Brian

For the benefit of members, and particularly, Roger Morse (see

and then on to San Francisco with the TC, so we want him to know

Sure Fit Seat Covers Jim Silva (510) 357-4355 13922 E 14th St,

7 For the benefit of members, and particularly, Roger Morse (see further), I am giving some of our suppliers, fixers and restorers some free advertising. Roger and his wife are planning to come to the Carefree, AZ GoF and then on to San Francisco with the TC, so we want him to know who to call! Sure Fit Seat Covers Jim Silva (510) E 14th St, San Leandro, CA Cross Streets: Between 139th Ave and 138th Ave Then there was this posting by our late,great friend, Phil Frank, to TA Terry a few years ago (1997!):

Don Wasserman s Ferrari got 1.2 Million at an RM Auction in Florida I have excerpted info from a rather long history of the car and our late member Don Wasserman.

9 Don Wasserman s Ferrari got 1.2 Million at an RM Auction in Florida I have excerpted info from a rather long history of the car and our late member Don Wasserman. You can read the whole magilla at : There are a number of photos and a nice video of the car being driven. Lot # Ferrari 225 Sport Berlinetta Tuboscocca, Body by Vignale; S/N 0168ED; Red/Tan leather; Estimate $1,000,000 $1,400,000; Competition restoration, 3+ condition; Hammered Sold at $1,125,000 plus commission of 10.00%; Final Price $1,237,500. Silver painted wire wheels, 5,50-16 Dunlop Racing tires, original tool roll 8th overall, 2nd in class at Sebring in 1953, later winner of the Sagua-Havana Rally in Cuba and the Cuban Sports Car Grand Prix. Restored for Donald Wasserman with an early 250GT engine. First in Class at Pebble Beach in 1979, later vintage raced. Recently gone through and upgraded for tours with a 5-speed full synchro gearbox (original included), Tilton clutch, rebuilt Houdaille shocks and more. Comes with large history file including its 79 PB ribbon and pass. Good paint, chrome and older upholstery. Restored to sound and attractive events condition. Sold by RM at Monterey in 2009 for $781,000, then by Gooding at Pebble Beach in 2011 for $880,000, this is a highly desirable, functional, handsome Vignale bodied car with good racing history from new that much enhances its eligibility for historic events and tours. The modern 5-speed will make it easier to drive, but does nothing to enhance its value. However, it looks cool, seriously cool, and on that alone the bidders willingness to part with a generous pile of dead presidents for it is understandable. A similar Vignale-bodied Ferrari race car of this ear with the right engine, etc. would be much, much more. This brings us to its longest term owner, Donald R. Wasserman, of San Francisco, who acquired the car in 1971 from a referral by noted Ferraris and author Richard F. Merritt. Wasserman was known to many as a larger than life character who was constantly ahead of the curve as an enthusiast of vintage racing machinery, as well as in business; for example, he was early to see the potential of real estate investments in the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco. As an avid historic racer, motorcyclist, and even winery operator (Great Bison from the California Central Coast), he was a founding board member of the CSRG, one of the oldest vintage motorsport clubs in the country. Sadly, Mr. Wasserman passed away in December of 2008, leaving behind the legacy of a true enthusiast and his long-term love affair with this particular car. Donald Wasserman owned other early and important Ferraris, including a 212 and a mighty F1, but it is telling about this car that 0168ED remained with him to the very end of a life well-lived.

Abingdon Rough Rider Review

Abingdon Rough Rider Review October 2013 Vol. LV(55) no. 10 President - Brian Sonner Vice President - Barry Swackhamer Activities Director Linda Chalmers/Eliz.Taylor Secty/Treas/Newsletter Editor- Allan