THE TUCSON BRITISH CAR REGISTER April 2017 Volume 23, Number 4 Articles, opinions, suggestions and items offered for sale printed in the Register are solely those of the authors or offerors and do not reflect the official policy or warranty of TBCR, its officers or members unless duly noted. Technical tips are for informational purposes only. Inside Drive Time Calendar On the Road Seen Around Town Interesting Events Drive Time Driving our LBCs (Little British Cars) is very important. If you don't drive your car, it's kind of like an invitation to make it leak more by having the seals dry up through dis-use. Goodness knows that many of our cars already mark their territory... well mine does anyway. In light of that, the solution is to participate in as many tours as you can with your LBC. I volunteered to be the tour leader and to put together tours for this year. I really enjoy doing that as well as participating in the tours. However, this is not a solo performance. Part of the fun and excitement is when one, and then many members arrive at the starting point. Since I am new at putting tours together, I am relying on the library of tours that Ben Cohen put together and forwarded to me. I am also trying some new things as well as the favorite routes we've used in the past. There are some areas I need help with: 1. Restaurants - These are our putative destinations. I lack experience about them. 1. Are the places we've visited in the past are still in business? 2. Are their hours the same? 3. Do they serve breakfast (times) lunch (times)? 4. Can they accommodate 10-20 people at separate tables all at the same time? 5. How much lead time do they need? 2. Destinations - Generally, we like to take tours that are about 1-1.5 hours long. Do you have ideas about new places to visit? Are there food venues at the destination? (see above) 3. My limitations - I do the snow bird thing. This means I need help coordinating in the summer months. Bottom line - I need your help! - Send me your thoughts. I have created the email address tbcrtours@aol.com for this purpose. If I don't get suggestions, we can't continue to exercise our LBCs in a thoughtful and fun way (see the items 1-3 above for thought starters). Continued next page
The Register Page 2 of 8 Drive Time continued If Ben could put together tours, sometimes while travelling abroad, then I should be able to do the same kind of thing. All we need are members to volunteer to be event starters and assist in a few other logistics when I m away. To put it another way: I'm starving: Feed me! (feed me your ideas that is). Coming events: BLAT: April 5 - Destination to be announced - possibly to Sonoita for lunch. May 3 - Destination to be announced - possibly to Mt. Lemon if the weather is good. Second Saturday Breakfast Run: April 8th is the DM show. We will be gathering at Wells Fargo (NW corner of Swan & Broadway) and going in as a group. Time TBD - It depends on the time they want us to arrive at the gate. Watch for an email. Garage Tour: I m putting together a slimmed down garage tour for April 15 th and am looking for some volunteers to host segments of the event for about 30-45 minutes each. I have two places so far. The end point will be at my house where we can order Jimmy John's sandwiches and have them delivered. Remember that every Tuesday morning we have coffee at the Starbucks at Grant and Swan. 7:30-9:30 AM. Keep the shiny side up and the rubber on the road... Pete Williams Your TBCR Tour Meister tbcrtours@aol.com
Page 3 of 8 The Register PRESIDENT Kevin McCue kevin@themccuesonline.net Events Calendar VICE PRESIDENT Ron Furtak rfurtak@cox.net SECRETARY Dave Germain dkgermain@aol.com TREASURER Brenda Johnson redsportscars@earthlink.net NEWSLETTER John Mead tucsonbritish@gmail.com DRIVING EVENTS Pete Williams tbcrtours@aol.com REGALIA Mari Peralta marigrins@gmail.com WEB SITE Harold Beekhuizen harold_beekhuizen@msn.com Wednesday April 5 Saturday April 8 Saturday April 15 April 28 30 BLAT D-M 50 Car Show Meet at Wells Fargo (NW corner of Swan and Broadway). Time: watch for an email, or on website. Garage Tour Watch your email and TBCR website for announcements. British Car Days La Mesilla, New Mexico TBCR Mail Address (Including Regalia Orders) Tucson British Car Registry PO Box 35748 Tucson, AZ 85740-5748 TBCR Website http://www.tucsonbritish.com Wednesday May 3 May 27 June 4 Friday June 23 BLAT 21 st Drive Your British Car Week (of course in TBCR every week is drive your British car week) MGB Coast-to-Coast Adventure in Tucson Featured Photos Pete W. Staff And every Tuesday: For Sale/Wanted BritCar Café 7:30 9:30AM Starbucks NE corner of Grant & Swan Wanted: TR6 parts. Dave Galloway is restoring a 73 TR6 and is looking for parts. He can be contacted at info@motorcycletours.co.uk or 520-222- 3883.
\ The Register Page 4 of 8 On the Road March BLAT to Bisbee It was a beautiful day for a drive to historic Bisbee on March 1st. The 125 miles included the scenic hills southeast of Tucson. We bypassed Sierra Vista and went through Tombstone. There were opportunities for comfort stops as well. Picturesque Bisbee lived up to the description. With all of the very steep streets and houses perched precariously on the mountains, I suppose living there takes some getting used to. The group split up for lunch. Some went to Anna's Kitchen and others went to Santiago's Restaurant. The restaurant pictures were taken in Santiago's. It was a fun trip.
Page 5 of 8 The Register On the Road continued Second Saturday (Lunch) Run The TBCR Second Saturday run is usually a breakfast affair, but in March we met at Cars & Coffee at La Encantada, hung around with a good showing of TBCR cars, then headed to Casino del Sol (by way of Picture Rocks Pass). The four drivers who made the lunch drive agreed that the lunch buffet was priced right and good. Ben s Healey on display Geo packing up Parked after great drive thru the Avra Valley. Relaxing at Casino del Sol.
The Register Page 6 of 8 On the Road continued How not to Lead a Tour By Pete Williams A funny thing happened at the March BLAT... I miss-read my own departure time instructions and showed up a half hour late. After sitting in the parking lot for a couple of minutes I got a sinking feeling that I had messed up! Next I decided that since it was such an excellent day that I could catch up if I would just take a short cut or two... On the way to the intermediate stopping point, I passed two members and waved at them. I know I was proceeding quickly because my inaccurate speedometer was pegged. When I got to the first comfort stop I didn't stop because I didn't recognize the cars. (a red Corvette is not a LBC... or so I thought.) So I pressed on to catch up. I had a wonderfully quick drive. At 11:30 I arrived at the destination a half hour ahead of the group and scouted out the lunch spots while I was searching for members. I was holding out hope that the folks I passed eventually would show up. And they did plus more... We had a terrific lunch and a good laugh at my situation. I drove around Bisbee and decided that even with a LBC the UPS and Fed Ex drivers and I could not share the steep streets. On the way back I stopped and checked out a lunch spot for the next BLAT. Then I found Dave Goodwin stopped on the side of the road. I stopped to see if he needed help. He was just taking a break. Here are a couple of lessons I learned: You can't catch up to folks who are actually behind you. Show up on time... Lesson learned... (Oh yes, I sometimes can't or don't read my own instructions and make wrong turns too.) Silly old me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Seen Around Town Hernan s taking a lot of pride in his new TR6 Alpine Mauve soon to be seen on the streets of Tucson
Page 7 of 8 Interesting Upcoming Events The Register T H E B R I T I S H M OTORCAR C L UB OF SOUTHERN NEW M E X I C O I N VI T E S Y O U T O P A R T I C I P A T E I N OUR 2 5 T H A NNUAL B R I T I S H C A R DAYS ON T H E H I S T ORIC MESILLA PLAZA A P RI L 2 8 T H - A P R I L 3 0 T H We are excited once again to be in Mesilla on the Plaza for this fun event! All British rides are welcome and we have once again included Brit Bikes! Hotel accommodations - TBA To register or for more up-to-date information click here: If you have any questions, feel free to contact our British Car Days Organizers: Event contacts are: BCD co-chairmen - Mike O Donnell 575-680-8333, email hdmodonnell@gmail.com ; and Peter Voris 575-312-5469, e-mail pvoris@q.com Registration coordinator -Mike O Donnell 575-680-8333, e-mail hdmodonnell@gmail.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MGB Coast-to-Coast Adventure is coming to Tucson Friday June 23. This year s MGB Coast-to-Coast Adventure is bringing together MGB owners for a drive across America from Savannah, Georgia, to the American MGB Register s MG2017 event in San Diego, California. The eight day trip will cross the southern US, stopping in Tucson on Friday, June 23. The organizers expect to have 30 to 40 MGBs heading to San Diego. They plan to be staying at the Tucson Marriott University Park. Dave Germain is assisting with local plans and has recommended the group go to dinner at Gentle Ben s. Watch for more details as we get closer to the event. Here s the itinerary in our area: June 23 - El Paso, TX to Tucson, AZ (320 miles) TX Route 9/AZ Route 80/I-10. Through the mountains of southwestern New Mexico past the Pancho Villa State Park into Arizona and the Coronado National Forest through Tombstone and on to Tucson. June 24 - Tucson to San Diego (470 miles) AZ Route 86 to I-8. Will visit Kitt Peak National Observatory before heading to San Diego.
TBCR members may have a complimentary business card ad on this page For info contact the editor: tucsonbritish@gmail.com