The Editor

Welcome to Issue 65, April 2021!

We are still counting the cost of the Covid 19 pandemic, both in terms of human lives lost and damage to the economy. As I sit here typing away in my ‘office’ in the small spare bedroom, I never cease to be amazed at the number of empty buses that go up and down the road in which I live. As we are on a main bus route between the cities of Bristol and Bath, we are well served with bus transport and I reckon that upwards of 70 double decker buses pass my door every weekday, including one service that runs right through the early hours.

At best, there are often no more than one or two passengers on each bus and I can’t help thinking what a terrible waste of resources this is. So, in the years to come (hopefully I’ve got a few more!) when all this is behind us, one of my abiding memories of the pandemic will be of all those empty buses.

Fortunately, the pandemic doesn’t seem to have affected the birds and from the start of this week (I’m typing this on 27^th February) they have started singing just before first light; it’s as though they’ve woken up from the dreary winter months and are looking to make a fresh start. They cheer me up no end!

It seems that the gradual relaxation of restrictions recently announced by the Government for England (the devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland make separate decisions) will enable us to participate in some events by early summer. I’m looking forward to joining the Octagon Car Club contingent at Pre-war Prescott  http://prewarprescott.com/ on 17^th July.

The front cover picture is of Andrew Baker’s TA. The picture was taken on 12^th February on a nice sunny day. The next day when this picture was taken there was snow on the Isle of Man!

The Department for Transport has recently announced the result of their consultation exercise on the introduction of E10 fuel. The result is that the Department will legislate to introduce E10 petrol as the standard 95-octane petrol grade by 1 September 2021. This will include a requirement for  higher-octane 97+ ‘Super’ grades to remain E5 “to provide protection for owners of older vehicles.”

I have to try to keep a straight face when conveying the following information to you …………..The GOV.UK website has a page entitled Check if your vehicle can run on E10 petrol. Before you go to the drop-down menu to find your car manufacturer, there is a stern warning This only applies to petrol vehicles. Diesel and electric vehicles cannot use E10 petrol. When you arrive at MG in the list of manufacturers, you are informed There is no compatibility information available for older MG’s up to 2005 when the company ceased trading. It is therefore recommended to use E5 petrol.

Royston Goodman, Octagon Car Club Regional Coordinator – Central and Southern Scotland, has drawn my attention to a change in the MOT Tester’s Manual with regard to headlights. Previous wording sates that if existing halogen units have been converted to be used with HID (high intensity discharge) bulbs, the car must fail the test. The revised wording adds after HID “or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs.”

The ‘scammers’ have reappeared on the scene again – I thought we had got rid of them. One Tina Laurence is using a couple of different email addresses, so beware!

I’ve recently joined the M.G. T Type Owners and Restorers Club Inc. (TTORC), Australia. Their bimonthly magazine contains really good feature articles and lots of technical articles – there’s always something new to learn about T-Types!

The last article in this issue is an update from Paul Ireland on progress with his Tanzania schools’ project – Helping Children in Tanzania -, using the royalties from his book Classic Engines, Modern Fuel. There is also a video which is good to watch. https://classicenginesmodernfuel.org.uk/Clubs/Shared/ShowGenPage.aspx?page=Supporting+Children&dyn_menu_mainmenu=1000001