the Prez Upcoming Events 6/1 Cruise In 6/3 Dinner 6/5 Cruise After Brkfst 6/7 Membership Mtg 6/19 EUROCAR 6/28 Board Mtg 6/30 Brits on Beach 7/5 Annual Picnic 7/9 Turtle Races Details on Page 2 MGCCCNY Officers Pres: Mike Mastracco VP: Gary Dorion Sect: Neal Johnson Treas: Patty Golas Activities: AVAILABLE Committee Chairs Regalia: Pam Gordnier Eurocar 16 Don Nelson Membshp: Frank Gordnier Web Master: Jim Hearne Historian: Dee Lynch Newsletter: Tom Lynch As I start this month s newsletter in the middle of May, a little earlier than usual our weather is still questionable. I ll be out of town the last couple of weeks of May visiting several museums and watching the 100 th running of the Indianapolis 500 from the tracks grandstands. Hopefully the weather will be better when I return. I myself and chances are many of you are looking and waiting for better weather to come and stick around for a while. Let s all hope and wish for a good spring to enjoy our cars behind the wheel or from the passenger seat. June is a busy month for our club, our biggest event Eurocar 2016 is coming up fast. Planning starts many months before and continues until this splendid Sunday arrives. Over the last 15 or so years we hit all the weather gamut. We have had hot sweaty show days, along with a down pour of rain and everything in between. Let s all hope for another good weather day this year. Many Hands Make Light Work A cliché so true here. Come to our show, volunteer for a while, chat, and gaze at some of the finest European cars in New York State, but most of all have a good time. We are a hardy group, an outdoor adventuresome group, just look at the cars we play with. For ten plus years we changed our July general meeting site and type of meeting to a picnic meeting at an outdoor location. Again this year we are continuing with this fun filled practice. See inside this newsletter for details. Last year we tried something new for our August meeting, again we changed our location, enjoyed dinner indoors then many members participated in the first Tidy Bowl Open aka: Miniature Golf. Of course ice cream was involved. We are working on something similar this year. Keep a watch on our website bulletin board and any e-mails that may come your way for additional activities that may pop up to take advantage of our changing weather. Whether it s hot, whether it s cold, it s our weather, whether or not. Mike Mastracco
Welcome to our MG Car Club Activities Reminder: If you have not renewed your membership, please think about doing it now. Just click this link for application: http://cny.mgcarclub.com/application_club.pdf Thanks June: 6/1 Cruise-in to Three Rivers (weather dependant) for ice cream 6/3 Dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, then go for a drive for ice cream 6/5 Cruise after Breakfast Cinderella Café John & Patty Golas are setting up a ride for us. 6/7 General Membership Meeting. Barbagallo s, 6344 E Molloy Rd, East Syracuse, NY Dinner at 6 PM, Meeting at 7 PM 6/19 * * EUROCAR * * 6/28 Board meeting at Denny s, south bay road. 6/30 Annual Brits on the Beach at Sylvan Beach. See flyer. Rain date: 7/7 July: 7/5 Annual Club Picnic and General Membership Meeting at Oneida Shores County Park. At the Sports Pavilion 7/9 Turtle Races. Meet at 11 AM Dunkin Donuts Bridgeport. Drive to Osceola Hotel for a down home fun time and chicken barb-q. 271 Mary St, Camden NY. We are always looking for help and fun things to do, so don t hesitate to drop us a line at jmpcgolas@verizon.net Please watch the club website Bulletin Board or our emails for any updates or changes 6/10 Jerry Plenert 6/20 John Kaperek 6/10 John VanWie 6/21 Corky Bull 6/12 Jim Hearne 6/25 Eric Howard 6/14 Dave Bingham 6/27 Sara Farchione 6/14 Serena Enslow
EUROCAR 2016 What to expect at EuroCar 2016 Not a frame-off restoration, as EuroCar was already in very good condition. Just a few new parts and a tune-up were called for to make it simpler and more fun to operate. The 20 person planning team responded to this simpler and more fun mandate; we hope you enjoy the changes we've adopted. A larger big-top tent will house both our Regalia and Hospitality tables; eliminating the need for hours of club member time to set-up and take-down two old club-owned tents. Also, new, easy to put up and take down number signs have been obtained to show the various auto classes. Judging of all classes by the participants has been brought back; along with a new Kid's Choice to be judged and awarded by the young spectators. The premier class has been scrapped. In its place will be the Collector's Class; a ropedoff, by-invitation area for cars from large personal collections. Two collectors have committed to inaugurate this new area, each bringing two high-end European Cars (think Italian). Your food choices have been expanded (pizza lovers rejoice). We're adding an 'Ask a Mechanic' area that will be led by one of our major sponsors, Upstate Imports Auto Repair. We're also proud to welcome the used European auto folks at F.X. Caprara as our co-lead sponsor, joining our long-time lead sponsor Driver's Village. Two of our club members are bringing their photography skills to photograph the 1st place class winners, and to take posed pictures of member s cars on different parts of the Lorenzo grounds for future publicity purposes. A special 4-page newsletter has been prepared for distribution at EuroCar, with the sole objective of promoting membership in our club to folks with European cars. As existing club members move south with their cars, or grow too old to comfortably manage their classic car, we are reaching out to grow our membership... telling people you do NOT need to own an MG to join our fun car club. These are just a few of the things the planning group has been up to. We hope most every club member can make it to EuroCar 2016 at Lorenzo in Cazenovia this Father's Day, June 19th. Don Nelson, EuroCar 2016 team chairperson.
Members in the News 1 / 14 Pam and Frank Gordnier in their 1980 MGB. By: Kenn Peters Syracuse Post Standard Don't be upset by this, but truly unusual and mint condition antique and classic import cars are not common. There are plenty of imports out there but unlike their American-made counterparts it seems owners of imports are more interested in driving them than looking at them. That's good, but the end result is cars that often have more time to be on the road and less time for TLC. A sharp exception would be a 1980 MG MGB, owned by Pam and Frank Gordnier, of Tully, N.Y. Their car is not only flawless from top to bottom, but it's original. And it's driven. The Tully couple bought the car from a friend who bought it new. "We have an elderly friend who owned it, and I told him if you ever want to sell it let me know," Frank Gordnier said. Well, the friend did let them know, and Pam and Frank Gordnier made good on their promise. They bought the MGB five years ago and have enjoyed the car since then. "Oh, we drive it," said Pam Gordnier. "We're members of the MG Car Club of Central New York, so we have many opportunities to drive the car on club-related events." Even a quick glance at the car and most people would think it's not driven because the paint is flawless and the interior is clean and shows little wear. The interior, by the way, is an interesting part of the car, Pam Gordnier said. Their MGB is a 1980, the last year the British manufacturer, MG (Morris Garage) made the iconic roadster. "We believe MG used whatever they had in inventory to make these cars," she said.
In other words, a saddle interior might not have been the best color to match the bright blue exterior, but it's what MG had on hand. Their MG has black carpet, which is great for hiding dirt but again it might not have been the first choice of buyers who wanted to order a car. None of that is a major concern, however, because Pam and Frank Gordnier enjoy their car with the wind in their hair and sometimes rain on their roof. But that's part of the kind of use they and their fellow club (MGCCCNY) members give their cars. "We want to enjoy the car and drive it as often as we can," Frank Gordnier said. That means driving it on club outings to places like Stowe, Vt., or touring western New York, and at the very least taking it to the monthly club meeting at a local restaurant. "Getting there is half the fun," Pam Gordnier said. Do they worry about breaking down? Not really, they said. It turns out if a car's going to break down, a club outing is the best time because there are many loyal club members to help and many of them are first-rate mechanics. The thought of leaving someone behind doesn't even enter the picture. As it happens, club president Mike Mastracco, who's pretty good with a wrench, also heads up the repair garage during the annual PPG Syracuse Nationals at the State Fairgrounds. "We never leave anyone on the side of the road," she said. Many old British-made cars are infamous for breaking down largely because of their electronics, most manufactured by Lucas, a British company. The Gordniers say they've not experienced problems. But Lucas has earned a spotty reputation, to put it mildly. For example, one joke goes that the Lucas motto is: "Get home before dark." A couple more examples: Lucas is the inventor of the intermittent wiper, or inventor of the self-dimming headlamp. Well, you get the idea, and none of this is lost on the Gordniers, but that doesn't stop them and their fellow club members from enjoying their British-made cars.ok, one more: Did you hear about the guy who peeked into a Land Rover and asked the owner, "How can you tell one switch from another at night, since they all look the same?" He replied, "It doesn't matter which one you use, nothing happens." All of this apparently is good-natured ribbing for MG owners who love their cars. And the Gordniers have reason to love their car even more since it's the last year MG made the MGB.
Dust Off Run And Scavenger Hunt Graciously hosted by Claudia and Gary Dorion Our annual Dust Off Run was held on Saturday, May 14 th and was combined with a Scavenger Hunt. There were 5 teams that participated. We started at Barbagallos at 10:30 am and ended at Bull and Bear Roadhouse at noon for lunch. Here are some pictures of the photos we needed to capture of team members caught in the act. Some of the things we needed to do were: dance with a stranger, pump gas for a stranger, climb a tree, pose with a statue. The rules and a complete list for the hunt are available in a separate attachment Claudia Dancing with a Stranger Neal Pumping Gas for a Stranger Bill Pretending to be a Car in the Drive Thru
JULY PICNIC MEETING Tuesday July 5 th is our annual picnic meeting. INSTEAD OF MEETING AT BARBAGALLO'S, We are going to Oneida Shores Sports Shelter for a picnic and short meeting. For those of you who are new to our club, each July we meet at a park and have a picnic. The meat is supplied by the club and everything else is shared by the membership. There will be a signup sheet at the next general membership meeting or if you cannot attend that meeting (6/7) you can contact Patty Golas (687-3849) with what dish you will be bringing or ask what is needed. Also you will need to bring your own chair and drink. If you want to swim, please feel free to bring your beach wear and arrive early to use the park and shelter. I have reserved it all day. For those who can't spend the day we usually meet at the shelter around 5 PM ish and we are finished by 8 pm ish. So come join the fun and meet new members and share a bit of old fashioned American picnic food!
Video Corner: 1983 Ferrari 308 GTS Ride Along Courtesy of Haggerty.com