Issue 15 (December 2012)
The Editor
Welcome to Issue 15, December 2012!
This issue is out slightly earlier than usual due to my IT man heading off to Brazil for a few weeks. You’ve also got an extra four pages this time but the downside is that the cupboard is almost bare as far as articles for the February 2013 issue is concerned.
Subscriptions are due from those of you who receive a ‘hard’ copy of the magazine and you should find a subscription renewal letter in the envelope. I’ve decided to keep subscriptions the same as last year, which means that we are running at the same subscription level as was set when the magazine first came out in August 2010. The subscription asked for would not be commercially viable but we are not running a commercial enterprise; there are more important things in life than money and recent cases of illness in my family has brought this into sharp focus.
Notwithstanding the previous comment about money, the healthy state of the finances reported in the previous issue has, if anything, grown even rosier with several recent donations helping to swell the coffers. A full status report of the position as at the end of December will be published in the February 2013 issue of the magazine, due out around the middle of January 2013.
The Manchester University XPAG engine project mentioned in Issue 14 started formally on 5th October. Paul Ireland, who has done so much to get this project off the ground, has produced his first newsletter on progress to date; you can read about it on page 18. As readers will know, TTT 2 and ttypes.org pledged £500 towards funding of the project and a cheque for this amount has been sent to Peter Cole, who is acting as treasurer.
Since the last issue the Classified section of the website has been completely revamped with a separate section for ‘Cars for Sale/Wanted’. Our website has an enormous worldwide reach and recently a TA rolling chassis project was advertised, sold and paid for all on the same day! An advertisement by the same vendor for a TC restoration project was sold well within three weeks of the advert appearing. If you have a car for sale/wanted or parts to dispose of, or wanted why not try a free advert on the website?
However do be aware if you are placing a ‘wanted’ advert that there are ‘scammers’ alive and well just waiting to relieve you of your hard earned cash with exactly the parts that you need! One of our members recently got taken in by a ‘scammer’ and we were able to help identify the fraudster with the result that our member went to his local police station and gave a full statement. It transpired that the fraudster was known to the police in another area of the country but was casting his net in a wider locality.
Support for the TTT 2 Tour of Rutland has exceeded my expectations and I have twice had to reserve more blocks of rooms in the hotel. However, we are now at capacity for the Tour and there are only a couple of rooms remaining. The hotel has been asked not to accept any more bookings once these rooms have been taken. I very much regret having to ‘pull up the drawbridge’ but I am already planning a bumper Tour for 2014 when hopefully we will be able to accommodate everybody. Watch this space!
In May of 2013 Peter Cole and Gillian Smith are organizing a run to Bollezeele, a small village about 14 miles outside Dunkerque. The location is convenient for most of the channel ports and for people travelling from the North via Holland. The proposal is to arrive at the Hostellerie Saint-Louis, www.hostelleriesaintlouis.com on Monday 6th May in time for dinner and leave on Thursday 9th May. The price per room (2 people) for the 3 days Dinner, Bed and Breakfast will be in the region of 396 and 468 Euros depending on room choice.
Peter and Gillian have organized successful tours to this location in 2011 and 2012 and would welcome expressions of interest before Christmas to peter.cole11(at)btopenworld.com {substitute (@ for (at)}. Address: 10 Princess Drive, ALTON, Hants GU34 1QS
Whilst on the subject of touring in France I would commend this article written by David Pelham. This was a Tour of Brittany in September 2012 for Y-types with a TD also taking part.
It doesn’t seem very long ago since this year’s International MG Show and Spares Day at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire but next year’s date of Sunday 17th February is looming up on the horizon. I hope to be in attendance and sharing a stand with Brian Rainbow (as we have done for the last umpteen years). More details in the next issue of TTT 2.
Enjoy the rest of 2012!
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.