Welcome to Issue 10 and 2012! This is the second full year of the magazine (In 2010 there were three issues; August, October and December), so 2011 was the first full year of publication.
I start the year full of optimism, buoyed up by the wonderful support you all have given me. I occasionally have to pinch myself as a reminder that what I produce from this once tidy fourth bedroom, which has been turned into an untidy study, goes out to an appreciative worldwide audience, but I never forget that none of this would be possible without you, the contributors.
Now to the financials for 2011 and it’s good news!
Donations in 2011 amounted to £676.02; the balance brought forward from 2010 was £197.45 so the balance at the end of 2011 was £873.47. Donations which were received as amounts over and above the cost price of spares I supplied in 2011 amounted to £332.20; the balance brought forward from 2010 was £36.95 so the balance at the end of 2011 was £369.15. Adding these two income streams together (I have amalgamated the general donation fund and the TTT 2 donation fund to make life simpler) the total balance at the end of 2011 was £1242.62.
I made reference in the previous issue to the high cost of the printed copies of the magazine due to the small print run. Despite the fact that most ‘hard’ copy subscribers paid over and above the asked for subscription, the apportioned shortfall between the cost of providing them with the magazine (including postage) and their subscriptions was £125.49. The apportioned cost of providing the complimentary copies was £246.64 so a total of £372.13 needs to be deducted from the figure of £1242.62 quoted above, leaving a net balance at the end of 2011 of £870.49.
I regard the overall financial position as very satisfactory and confidently predict that even without another single ‘general’ donation in 2012, income from a small amount of advertising and from amounts contributed in excess of the cost price of spares (and treated as a donation) will ensure that the ‘balance sheet’ at the end of the year will be stronger still.
The first calendar year of our website ttypes.org has been a resounding success, with a number of essential resources being added, including an online database of nearly four thousand MG T-Types worldwide at the MG T Database. The website has also attracted over 700 new readers to Totally T-Type 2, and going forward into 2012 subscribers continue to grow at a similar rate of two per day on average.
My son is pleased to report that his eBay helper website, MG AuctionWatch, has just undergone a much-needed “rebuild”. MG AuctionWatch now lists more than twice as many T-Type auctions than before, dividing cars for sale, parts and books and manuals into helpful sub-categories, making the current selection of T-Type auctions on eBay even easier to browse. You can test drive the new MG T-Series section of the site at http://www.mgauctionwatch.com/ttype
Doug Pelton is now starting his fifth year in business – I find this hard to believe since it only seems like yesterday that he sent me some pedal spring sets to offer for sale here in the UK when his fledgling business was being established. Doug’s worldwide customer base has grown from 18 countries to an incredible 30 in the past year and he has just brought out the second edition of his catalogue (catalog for our cousins in the US). You can download the latest edition at fromtheframeup.com From The Frame Up LLC is an amazing success story built on service excellence and the supply of good quality parts, which have been painstakingly researched. I raise my glass of Old Speckled Hen to you Doug!
The MG International Show and Spares Day on Sunday 19th February is rapidly approaching so I guess it’s high time I dusted down the display tables and located the new spares which I offer for sale. I will have some XPAG head gasket sets and bottom end sets at roughly half the price charged by some dealers and also plenty of correct polyurethane suspension bushes for TC/TD/TF along with my usual offerings of kingpin sets (now only a few left) and shackle pins.
I shall be sharing a stand with Brian Rainbow and we shall be located in Hall 1, just over the way from Barry Walker’s stand. Brian always carries an amazing selection of spares, particularly those for the MPJG.
I leave you with a ‘shot’ of a freshly painted J2 rear axle – a mere ‘toy’ compared to the weight of a TC axle. It’s just what the dining room table was bought for all those years ago!
JOHN JAMES
DISCLAIMER BY THE EDITOR
Totally T-Type 2 is produced totally on a voluntary basis and is available on the website www.ttypes.org on a totally FREE basis. Its primary purpose is to help T-Type owners through articles of a technical nature and point them in the direction of recommended service and spares suppliers.
Articles are published in good faith but I cannot accept responsibility or legal liability and in respect of contents, liability is expressly disclaimed.