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MINOR HEADLINES JUNE 2010  MORRIS MINOR Owners' Club (Johannesburg)  NEW MEMBERS A very hearty welcome to our new members: Ernie and Ilze Blignaut of Lyttleton in Centurion have joined the Club. They own a green ’58 4 door “1000”, which is under restoration. Wimpie and Ronell Joubert of Lydenburg are the owners of a red and black ’58 Pick-Up, which is not in its original standard condition. Wimpie is busy restoring the vehicle and still has to provide Chris with the vehicle’s body, engine and assembly numbers. John Cheney of Northmead in Benoni attended our AGM and joined the Club on the day. He has a Morris 1100. Willie and Trudie Agenbag of Sundowner in northern Johannesburg have a blue-grey, 1956 4 door splitscreen model which is busy undergoing restoration. We hope your membership brings you and your families a wonderful and rewarding experience with us. Please remember that you are not obliged to arrive at outings in your Minor. If it is being repaired or restored, please join us in “modern tin” and enjoy the friendship of our Club members. At this time, only 84 members have paid up for the 2010/2011 year. It is always low at this time of the year as the members usually forget to renew their subs on time. If members have not renewed their subs by the time the next magazine is issued, this will be the last issue they receive. See “Annual Renewal of Subscriptions” below. NEW COMMITTEE Following our AGM on 6 June, a new Committee has been elected to carry our Club through the next year financial year. Our sincere thanks go to Tommy Smith for a remarkable performance in carrying out not only his duties as Chairman, but those of the Treasurer and Membership Manager, after the incumbent members could not fulfil their roles. We are truly indebted to Tommy and Sharon for all their hard work. Dave Smith remains as the Club’s Honorary President. Our hooligan, Rusty Clover takes over the role of Chairman and the members are asked to give him the same support that they gave to Tommy Smith. John Lawton has accepted the position of Vice Chairman, Tommy Smith is the Treasurer (we could not find someone at the AGM with an accounting background to assist Tommy) and Sharon Smith remains as the Secretary. I tried unsuccessfully to resign from my portfolio. Sara Harper is the Vice Editor with assistance from Terence Redmond. Alex Berry takes over as the Events Manager, with assistance from Sara Harper, Terence Redmond, Willie van Zyl and Japie van Rooyen. Frederick Wilson retains the Website portfolio, with assistance from Clive Surtees and John Lawton. Albert van Heerden takes over that of Advertising. Albert will be assisted by Lawson Flint in his quest to find additional sponsorship for the Club. Our new Membership Manager is Lenette Klopper. Tommy Smith and George Bowen will be assisting her. Charles Gardiner and Mike Del Frate retain their Technical portfolios and in addition, Charles is our Club’s SAVVA representative. Our Regalia Officer is John Webb. Spares are managed by Dave and Tommy Smith and Chris Spinks is our Club’s Database/Librarian. SICK LIST We are sorry to hear that Ben Calitz has been admitted to hospital again and hope that he will soon be discharged. Regrettably, he advised that he would not be able to attend the AGM. No news is good news. CONDOLENCES Our condolences go to Philip Gordon and his family on the loss of his mother to pancreatic cancer a few weeks ago. Philip is well known for his sterling work as barman when we hold our meetings at the Piston Ring clubhouse. ANNUAL RENEWAL OF SUBSCRIPTIONS! You are all advised hereby that the Club’s subs have been raised for the first time in 3 years to R 150.00 to cover inflation, postage and magazine costs for the forthcoming year (May 2010 to April 2011). The subs should have been paid by the end of April 2010. You have already received your Renewal forms with the last magazine, so please forward or hand them in to your Committee member or to Sharon Smith, COMPLETED IN FULL. Members are please asked not to rely on the fact that they may have previously given information on their cars. Often, information like the body number or assembly number has been omitted or they only have the numbers without the letters on the original application form. The information is very important for the accuracy of the national database. I repeat, COMPLETED IN FULL! Those paying late will be subject to a re-joining fee of R 50.00. Account holder: Morris Minor Owners’ Club (JHB) Branch Code 016342 – Account No-427928567- Name –Standard Bank - Greenstone Reference: Your Name & Surname OWNERS ON THE MOVE! (i.e. MEMBERS GETTING AROUND) If you move from your present address, or change your contact details in any way, PLEASE contact Lenette Klopper, our new Membership Manager on 082 565 4678 or email her at lklopper@turntown.co.za or Tommy Smith on 083 308 9840 or email him at tsmith@avengman.com or George Bowen on (082) 483 2029 or email him at gib@iafrica.com to advise your new details. George Bowen successfully completed his first Comrades Marathon in eleven and a half hours. Do you think he could out run our Minors? I think not, but well done!! That is no mean feat. He is quite a busy chap. He says, “I'm off to climb Mount Elbrus in Russia on the 9th of August. It's the highest mountain in Europe at 5 694 m. Hope I don’t freeze!” Best wishes for a cool trip! Yours truly has blown his leave days! I have been away again, this time to Australia with my eldest son for a trip on the Indian Pacific train from Perth to Sydney. We then went on to New Zealand for the second week, culminating in my being at his graduation ceremony in Christchurch. Craig and Marj Stacey are due to partake in the reverse train trip from Sydney to Perth in the next month or so. Wouldyou believe how quickly the time has passed! The cover photo showsStacey Josman in her Minor on the way to her matric dance (formal in Australia), which was held on 23 April 2010 at the Brisbane Convention Centre. My little Aussie Grandson. The photo above was taken last year in February, while my son Richard, his wife Michelle and son came here from Melbourne for my daughter Vicky's wedding. Perhaps it is better to start them driving really young! (Chris Spinks).  MINORS ON THE MOVE! The following Minors are at Mike Del Frate’s workshop in Benoni. The finishing touches are being put to Karol & Pauline Jarozynski’s Minor. Mike Dickenson’s ’59 4 door “1000” has been completed and delivered. However, since then, it has come back so that Mike can fit disc brakes. Piet van der Merwe’s 1957/8 “1000” 4 door is still undergoing a major refurbishment. Mike has completed one of the Alfas and is still working on the other Alfa, which is being converted for classic car racing. Roy Malcolm has brought in a 4 door splitscreen model for a total refurbishment. Mike has also started work on a similar 2 door model. Ian Juszkiewicz is due to bring in one of his Minors for a total bodywork refurbishment. After the sad loss of Colleen Edgar’s Minor due to a horrible accident at the end of last year, the Edgars have purchased a new 2 door Minor 1000 from Dave Smith. The restoration project is being undertaken by Dennis, together with Lauren’s boyfriend, Shaun Ackerman. The project all came about after Shaun drove Dennis’ Minor to our annual Cullinan Minor Steam Run outing. Shaun is a steam train enthusiast and a qualified steam train driver. All of them are active members of the Reefsteamers Club. Duringtheir lunch stop in Cullinan, Dennis and Shaun chatted to Dave Smithand a number of other members to find out if there were any Minors for sale that they could buy and restore. Soit was on a very exciting, sunny, Saturday morning the 29th of May 2010that they drove to Dave Smith’s house to collect the Minor. It is now safely housed in Shaun’s driveway and the restoration process will start in the next 2 months. To view some of the photos taken by their good friend Lee Gates on the day of collecting the Minor, go to the following website. http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenedgar/sets/72157624375755676/. Piet and Enid Roets have just purchased Joshua and Sharon Cloete’s Traveller. Let’s hope that the Cloetes remain as members. They have always been keen members and help wherever they can. The Club would be sad to lose them. MINOR OUTINGS “You meet the nicest people in a Morris Minor!” FREEDOM DAY ADVENTURE TO OPPIE KOPPIE BASS FARM – TUESDAY 27 APRIL 2010.  On Tuesday the 27th of April, while most of you were comfortable and sheltered in your warm abodes, only the brave hearted ventured out on a very wet and cold Freedom day and headed off to Oppie Koppie Bass Farm. Although very comprehensive directions were provided, some Morristians like me took the initiative to look for additional directionsto the venue. With great trepidation, we found a wonderful website withnothing less than GPS co-ordinates. What a treat!! How I do lovemodern technology. This gives the normally late Harper’s an extra hourto pack braai packs, salads and “tea” for Paul instead of browsing maps and ruthless route planning. Withall paraphernalia packed, Joshua and I in the Morris and Paul and Adamfollowing in the modern tin, we set off on Freedom travels. Asthe leader with the GPS on hand, my co-pilot shouted any commands thatthe GPS recommended. However on several occasions the flickering lightsin my rear-view mirror suggested differently! Nevertheless, I decided,how wrong could the wonderful website and my modern technology be? 30kms from Sun City, a very thirsty person in the modern tin followingme, funny enough the same person who had been flashing his lights several times, phoned and asked “are we there yet?” My very brash reply was, according to the GPS we have 30 kms to go? Blondehair and all, somehow it didn’t feel right! Rusty and Marcus to therescue! With several cell phone calls, over some very unsympatheticspeed bumps, 100 kms of round about, a town that reminded me we are inthe deepest, darkest of Africa and a few kms of splotchy mud, we finally reached our destination. Only 3 hours late, but nevertheless we had arrived! Just for the record, I was not following Mike! And there were others who took the same route. Nestled beneath the lush green Magaliesburg Mountains, Oppie Koppie is surrounded by rolling green lawns. A picturesque dam filled with drift wood stumps protruding bizarrely from its depths, striking pink and yellow water lilies on the dam became the perfect hiding spot for bass fish. A rustic wooden double storey cabin with a large veranda, coveredwith an awning, a double braai with fires burning brightly, and lots offamiliar faces, this promised to be a very special day. Thanks to Ben and Sue for arranging this unique occasion. Attendancewas not huge, but by the mere fact that it was a long weekend andweather conditions were not the best, we thoroughly enjoyed thecompany of Tommy, Sharon, Ashleigh and Adrian, John Webb, Terence andNoeleen, Albert and Lorna, Aldo and Joan, Lawson, Ben and Sue, Rustyand Dawn, Vincent, Nina, Tracy, Martin, Sinead, Ronan, Paul andBradley, Sara, Paul, Adam and Joshua, Ben de Goederen and John. Asusual, the Harper’s, Smith’s, Marcon’s and Clover’s were the last toleave, which was a blessing in disguise as Lawson’s little car decidedthat it had had enough of these appalling weather conditions. Allthings happen for a reason. Earlier that morning, Tommy had wokenup to a burst water pipe at home and after a tremendous amount offrustration, had decided to rather drive in modern tin to the venueand he was then was able to tow the Morris to safety. This being theonly incident, I think it’s safe to say a good day was had by all. (Thanks to Sara Harper) THE MMOC NATIONAL RALLY – 21 TO 25 MARCH 2010 Here are some of the hard luck stories associated with the National Rally. THE ONE THAT DID NOT MAKE IT TO WORCESTER – CHRIS GRANT At a committee meeting three weeks ago, I was tempted to go to the Rally and fortunately, there was a cancellation. Despitethe difficulties surrounding work, I decided to take the plunge andjoin in. Morris has been in good spirits for a year now; with nosign of problems, so yes, let’s do it. Unfortunately, there was noplace for my Girlfriend, so the decision was made to have her joinme, but to accommodate her in Worcester. And so the preparations began.With accommodation along the way still in question, I received acall from Clive to ask if I would like to drive along with him, leavingSaturday. With accommodation not being a problem, I decided to accept. Morriswas duly taken out and as usual started on the first pull of thestarter and purred like a kitten with cream. Over the next few days, everything seemed perfect, except for the left headlight that was not working and which appeared to be a blown bulb. WEDNESDAY (Three days before ‘D’ day). Duringa trial run, the brakes suddenly failed. Upon return and checking, Ifound the brake fluid level was very low and an inspection of the right rear wheel revealed leaking fluid. THURSDAY (Two days to ‘D’ day) Thebrakes were stripped and the seal of the brake cylinder replaced(thanks to Tommy). However, thanks again to Tommy and his knowledge, hesmelt and felt diff oil on the cylinder. Back to Morris and furtherinspection. True enough there was diff oil dripping from a plate behindthe brakes. An awesome and frightening task loomed ahead for a personwho knows little about this sort of thing. The wheel bearing was dismantled and a new one put in together with seal. The diff was then filled with oil. FRIDAY (One day to go) Earlymorning inspection and low and behold, oil was still dripping from thediff behind the hub, albeit much slower. By now I was getting into a bit of a panic. I called a mechanic friend who told me to bring it around. Iarrived at the workshop around 11h00. Everything was stripped again. Tocut a long story short, I had filled the diff through the breatherplug (well how was I to know). Had the designers of the Morris had thesense to place the filler plug facing the rear instead of theengine out of view, I would have been alerted to check/think further.The diff was drained and refilled and the problem was over. Or was it! Nextwere the brakes. My mechanic friend was not happy. We stripped all thebrakes and found almost all the cylinders to be VERY badly in needof an overhaul. By 15h00 we were finished as best we could – mainlycleaning and bleeding – but better they were! An hour long drivewas undertaken; pushing little Morris hard. Upon return and inspection,all was okay except for a drop of diff oil on the left wheel again. It was so slight I was told I could go like that. 16h00.Okay, now the light bulb, light bulb changed but suddenly no lights atall! A couple of calls to auto electricians proved fruitless at 16h20 on a Friday. Nochoice but to do the lights ourselves! Now the search started. Duringthe search we found many wires with loose ends taped up and under allthe binding tape things looked a mess and very difficult to determinewhat went where. Decisions, decisions! We decided to re-make the lightingharness. By 21h00 we were finished. Lights were working, but noindicators. Ok where do we get a new flasher unit at 23h00? My friend said he knew of an all night spares place in Germiston. So in his car and a dash across town (his workshop is in Florida on the West Rand). Afteran hour we cannot find the place, but were directed to one inKensington. Off we dash. We arrive at the spares place at 00h10, butthey closed at midnight! Ok, that will have to be done tomorrow – nochance of leaving now. Girlfriend who by now is tired of sitting on her case in the passage of her home! Backto the Morris to clean up, re-tape and fasten the new wiring etc. Uponchecking the voltage charge etc. the voltage was found to be allover the show – 20 odd volts, down to minus volts in some cases. By nowit was nearing 01h00 – 5 hours to leaving time! AND I had notslept since Thursday night. I arrived home at 02h00 feeling quitedistraught. Nevertheless I packed but could not sleep so I busied myself with nothing! SATURDAY. Myfirst task was to call Clive and tell him I would not be meeting him,but was still determined to catch up with him in Colesberg. Thenit was off to find a flasher unit and a condenser for the coil (Ithink). Yes I know now that most Morris’s don’t have one, but mine did, and my mechanic friend did not think it was functioning properly.The latter took me many hours to find and I eventually settled for aFord unit. Ok, for those who really want to know why Ford, theanswer is simple, it looked similar and was the same size! I had alsopopped into Tommy’s to see if there was a spare regulator to behad. Tommy’s son and Sharon were there to greet me and hand me one, buta new one that he had taken out of Tommy’s vehicle beingre-furbished. As my mechanic friend had merely mentioned to get one ifI could, and did not emphasise a definite need, I decided to not take Tommy’s new one – thanks Tommy all the same. Read on! SATURDAY 14H00 Putin the condenser and the flasher unit. Indicators work fine, butcharging still wrong. Strip down and clean the alternator/generator – whateverit is! 16h30 still have not slept since Thursday night! Put thealtergenerator back, connect up and bingo, charge rate 12.5 volts. Takethe car for a run for 30 mins, the battery is already fairly drainedfrom the re-wiring and with constant checking, and I breakdown! Towback to garage and check, voltage charging rate all screwed up again.Take out the regulator, clean it, check it (as best we can) put itback and bingo again the voltage charge rate is right. Take it for arun, with a new battery, 30 minutes later all seems fine. Call mygirlfriend and tell her it’s all systems go and I will fetch her atabout 22h00. She is in Fourways and I am in Glenvista (in the south). Idrive home to shower and clean up and go to fetch girlfriend, mymechanic friend drives the Morris to my house and leaves it there. SATURDAY 22h00. Arrive back at house and load up the Morris with the luggage, my bag and the girlfriend’s four!!! – plus every tool I can find! AlthoughI have still not slept a wink since Thursday, I decide with the help ofLert (stay awake) tablets to continue and we could still make it if we drive straight through without sleeping over. Carstarts fine and we head for the garage to fill the tank. Fill the tankand the Morris won’t start. But lights are still bright (it seems). Pushstart and head off into the darkness. About 50k’s from Johannesburg thelights of the car start dimming and eventually the car dies. Ok Ithink, in the morning we won’t need lights, so let’s wait fordaylight and push start the car and we can still make it, but maybeonly on Monday morning. I still had the car cover in the boot,so we duly covered ourselves and the car and chatted all night. Toonervous to sleep as it was not far from the dangerous stretch nearthe Plaza. By now I had still not slept since Thursday! Nevertheless Iwas still feeling good. In the morning we push started the carand off we went. Luckily I called Tommy, who pointed out that if thevoltage fell below 9v we would stop again. We decided it was timeto give up and 10k’s from home Morris did die. Fortunately my son wasable to bring a new battery and we had enough steam to get home. WithVERY depressed minds and sad hearts we unpacked the Morris and calledit a day. Morris and I have not been able to look each other in the eye since. To those of you who suggested I travel down in one of my other cars, for various reasons, they weren’t up to such a long trip. The trip wasn’t to be! Vernon Morton had this to say in reply: Whata story to tell! You sound just like me. Too many balls to juggle andonce you make a commitment, you want to see it through! It wasalso a late decision to join in on the rally for us. We decided tocombine the Morris trip with the Argus Cycle Tour and the TwoOceans Marathon in Cape Town, as it fitted nicely in between theseevents. This was also an opportunity to extend our stay in Cape Townand do the "Route 62". The Western Cape Morris Club could not help withour late request. We managed to get a booking elsewhere in the resortand decided to go down, although this meant we could not join inofficially with any of the activities. We were therefore very grateful whenClive came to our rescue. As a result we could partake on the last daywith a run to Ceres to see an old car collection and do some wine tasting on the way back! We also attended the closing dinner. Backto the Morris Oxford bakkie. With three weeks to go, I did a routinecheck and also started off with a leaking diff seal! What should have beena small job resulted in a complete diff refurbishment, replacement ofbrake shoes, refurbishment of brake drums, master cylinder and those brakeunits that gave you a problem. The clutch was suspect and replaced.There was an overheating problem and a small radiator leak thatresulted in a recore, two days before departure, as well as anelectrical short when using the headlight dim switch (the fuse wouldblow after about 15 minutes and “I should stay away from electrical things!”) Ifthis was not enough to keep me awake, I was not happy with rusty doorsand between all things, resprayed the cab and had all four wheel rims resetand re-welded (in its early years it took a beating with an Africatrip). Looking back, I realise these were basic maintenance issues that were neglected over a lengthy period. Wasthe trip worth it? Absolutely! You must join in on the next one. Wehave been members of the Morris Club for many years and apart from attendinga couple of meetings, never did much (too many other things to juggle).We made many new friends during this outing and realised we were missing out - these Morris Club members we now realise, are an interesting bunch. The trip went well, with close to 5 500 kms travelled! UNFORESEEN HASSLES – CHRIS SPINKS Onthe day of departure from the Goudini Spa Resort, I left my car thereand went with Ron Clark and his wife Sharon to Cape Town, towing hisrather sick 2-door 1000 behind his V W Microbus. His car was droppedoff at Malcolm Jones' house, where we were all treated to tea, awaitingthe arrival of Richard Laubscher, who dropped off his yellowsplitscreen Minor at his house in Bellville and fetched his V W Jetta. Richardthen loaded up his A-frame (used for towing Ron's car) and took me backto Goudini and towed my car back to Paul Hoffman's house in Cape Town. My Minor has never been so fast in its life (over the Du Toit's Kloof pass)!! Paul(owner of the two-tone grey Convertible) had already taken my car'scylinder head with him to Cape Town for attention by a firm of automotive engineers. Paul is a motor mechanic. Towing mission accomplished, Paul re-fitted the head once it was ready. Allexhaust valve-guides had been replaced and a new exhaust valve and somereplacement springs fitted. On Saturday morning Paul phoned to tell me my car was ready. I can't praise the Cape Town members enough for their assistance and willing help - they have been brilliant! OnSunday I left Cape Town (as per my original schedule) for PE viaWorcester, Robertson, Ashton, Montagu, Barrydale (lunch), Riversdale, Mossel Bay etc. to an overnight stop at a Wilderness B&B. On Monday, I joined up with Lawrie, Mary & John Webb at Sardinia Bay, near PE, where Lawrie's sister lives. Tuesdayevening saw us all in Colesberg, where we met up with John and Sharonand Craig and Marj. John's Traveller had lost top gear, so he had covered the last 30 kms using 3rd gear. Johndecided to store his Traveller in Colesberg and phoned home to askson-in-law Shaun to leave early on Wednesday morning in modern plastic,to meet us along the way. We transferred the Bedford's luggage into my car and John travelled with me. About 35 kms out of Colesberg, there was a bang from under my car's bonnet and shortly thereafter, my heat gauge showed the water temperature was rising. Yes - the fan-belt was off but it was still intact and dangling from the fan. The lower pulley had emulated that of Charles Gardiner's, with a sizeable chunk missing. I reconnected the belt, but after another few kms, the belt came off again with yet more pulley flange missing. So I decided not to drive any further and to send the other fellow-travellerson their way. John, Sharon and I camped alongside the road, awaitingthe arrival of Shaun (some 4 hours later). From there we towed my car back to Colesberg and parked it next to John's Traveller at the B & B. Wethen hightailed it back to Jo'burg in Sharon's Corolla, arriving hereat 19h30. After leaving Kroonstad, we had heavy rain all the way, witha huge amount of traffic (several lorries). We peeled off at Sasolburg,using the R59, but there was still heavy traffic and lots of rain. Acrossthe way, the N3 South was gridlocked from Bedfordview all the way pastthe Linksfield offramp and as far as the eye could see, with three lanes of stationary vehicles!! Lawrie'srather poor eyesight forced him and Mary (plus John Webb) to stop inKroonstad at a B & B. Albert and Lorna carried on, but had anightmare journey, as did Craig & Marj. Where all the traffic wascoming from is a mystery, as the week-end rush to the coast should only have started today (Friday)! John,Shaun and I went back to Colesberg on Tuesday in John's Corolla,leaving at 04h00. John and Shaun towed the Traveller all the way home, arriving at 19h30. I refitted a spare lower pulley to my car, getting underway at 13h00. After an overnight stop at Kroonstad, I got home safely on the Wednesday at 11h00. The moral of this saga is, that while old cars can (and mostly do) long trips without trouble, they can let one down. But, by carrying suitable spares, we can get by with the help of fellow Minor owners. In this regard the Western Cape MMOC did a fantastic job in helping me out and must be heartily thanked. THE HARD LUCK PRIZE – CHARLES GARDINER CharlesGardiner was the recipient of the Hard Luck prize at the Nationalsbecause the pulley for the fan belt on his Minor split in half. Hewas fortunate enough to be helped by Piet Pretorius of the Western Capebranch. Piet sent for two pulleys, as I had a similar problem, and Charles worked late into the night to replace his pulley. Asfor my own Minor, we travelled from Johannesburg to Colesberg in oneday, which was a trip of 705 kms and then on to Worcester the next day, covering 743 kms. We just made it, as the generator was packing up.It was also found that the pulley for the fan belt was separating. Fortunately, our resourceful and experienced members were on hand to lend a hand. Tommy Smith lent me a spare generator and Rusty Clover and Mike Del Frate made the change over. I am most grateful to all of them for their assistance and was able to do 65 to 70 mph the whole way home, even on the hills. - Editor In echoing Chris’ sentiments, our cars are somewhat older each time we have a weekend away or travel to a national rally. This means that they are likely to have suffered further from fatigue and require special attention before undertaking these trips. To this end, our Johannesburg Club arranges a special day at Mike’s Auto Panel & Paint shop so that the vehicles can be inspectedby our experts. For the next trip, you would be well advised to use theopportunity to have your vehicle inspected long before the time, sothat you can effect the necessary repairs in time. John Lawton came across an article; “Morris Minor National Rally 2010” on the Car Magazine’s website. If you have not seen it, there are some good photos published with the article. Follow this link: http://www.carmag.co.za/article/morris-minor-national-rally-2010-2010-05-05. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING & BRING AND BRAAI – 6 JUNE 2010 TheAnnual General Meeting of the Johannesburg branch of the Morris MinorOwners’ Club took place on the morning of 6 June 2010 at the PistonRing Club house. The turn out was far better than the previous year.Approximately 50 members and their wives/husbands/partners arrived for the AGM. TommySmith, our Chairman, opened the Meeting by welcoming everyone. Thematters arising from the previous minutes were tabled and discussed and he then presented his Chairman's Report. Amongst other things, he mentioned the growth in membership numbers, of whommany of the members had joined via the Club’s website; the benefits ofthe website which was receiving in excess of 800 “hits” per month; and Chris Spinks’ data base which, at the time, contained more than 700 Minors in South Africa. Inthe Treasurer’s Report, it was pleasing to report a most favourablebank balance which would be used for the benefit of the members. The Meeting was asked to nominate persons to fill certain vacancies on the Committee. A separate report on this is shown above. At the adjournment of the meeting, the members then enjoyed a bring and braai. BAREFOOT DAYS IN BENONI – 27 JUNE 2010 TheJune outing was held at Barefoot Days in Rynfield, Benoni. We arrivedon a lovely sunny day for June, after meeting at various points along the way. Ithad been arranged that we would have wors rolls for lunch and thesewere prepared by me. Our hosts, Shaun and Joanne Steyn provided the venue as well as giving us tea and scones in the afternoon. We enjoyed a beer or two with our lunch and the usual natter with all of our Club mates. Our sincere thanks go to Shaun and Joanne for hosting us. Attendeesfor the day were John Lawton, Alex & Cheryl Berry, Tommy &Sharon Smith, Dave Smith, Mike & Norma Del Frate, LawsonFlint, Albert & Lorna van Heerden, Terence & Noeleen Redmond,Andrew & Lorraine Beetge, Ben de Goederen & Carol, ChrisSpinks, Lawry Bartle, Vincent & Nina Felgate, Les & MarleenMcleod & son Cameron, Shawn Spaan & his mom & dad, John& ColleenBowes, Frederick Wilson & Steven Jones, Rusty &Dawn and last, but not least Laura Josman, all the way from Brisbane inAustralia. Sincere apologies if I left anybody out. (Thanks to John Webb) GAZEBO TheClub has taken a decision to purchase a Gazebo for use at our monthlyoutings. The Gazebo is mostly required when we attend Cars in thePark type events and is very useful in attracting prospective membersto our stand. In the past, we have only had a banner which is displayed at the front of our designated area.  I am sure all of us are looking forward to seeing it at one of the next outings. Oursincere gratitude goes to Paul Harper and Airex, a climate controlcompany, which has helped us by contributing towards the cost. Below is a graphic view of the Gazebo taken from the top. FORTHCOMING EVENTS IMPORTANT STATEMENT OurMMOC Committee extends to all members, their families and friends andprospective members, a cordial invitation to attend all our outings, especially driving your Morris Minor! Ifyour Minor is under repair, please join us at our outings in “moderntin” instead of staying at home. We would love to see you there. Dateshave been provisionally set aside for our Club outings. Inevitably somelast minute changes do occur, so If this happens, our Events Co-ordinator, Alex Berry, will try his best to contact members. Please contact Alex on 072 446 9736, or Sara Harper on 083 292 2518 or Willie van Zyl on 083 442 0287 or one of our Committee members before the outings, to make 100% sure of the details. Our Planned MMOC Outings for the next few months are as follows: Sun. 29 Aug – Loch Vaal Picnic Lunch 10 - 12 Sep – Weekend away De Rust (near Kroonstad) Sun. 17 Oct – Horse Gymkhana Kyalami Sun. 28 Nov – End of Year Function OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST: Sun. 1 Aug – POMC Cars in the Park Swartkops, Pretoria Mon. 9 Aug – Bloemfontein Cars in the Park Sat./Sun. 4/5 Sep – Wheels at the Vaal Sat. 18 Sep – SAVVA AGM at VVC Fri 24 Sep – Benoni Heritage Show – Rock Raceway Brakpan Tue. / Sun. 28 Sep/3 Oct – Milligan Rally Eastern Cape Sun. 24 Oct – Smuts House Wheels day - Studebaker Car Club SCHEDULED EVENTS AT THE PISTON RING CLUB: Sun. 18 Jul – Toyota Show Day Sun. 15 Aug – Piston Ring AGM Sun. 19 Sep – National Swop Meet Sun. 17 Oct – Motoring Memories Show Sun. 21 Nov – German & Continental Cars, & Alfa Romeo Centenary SCHEDULED MMOC COMMITTEE MEETINGS AT THE PISTON RING CLUB: Sun. 12 Sep at 14H00 Sun. 07 Nov at 14H00 DISCLAIMER Any opinions and suggestions presented in our MMOC magazine “Minor Headlines” do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor or the MMOC Committee. Each reader should weigh up for themselves the pros and cons of the material presented and to make their own educated decisions thereafter. We cannot hold ourselves responsible in any way for the consequences of these suggestions. This applies in particular to the Minor Helpline below and any other information or suggestions in the magazine. The names of the listed service providers have been forwarded by various members or contacts who have had good experiences with a particular service provider. MORRIS MINOR OWNERS’ CLUB OF JOHANNESBURG’S WEBSITE Frederick Wilson, our Website Master continues to improve and update our website. He has done a sterling job. Please contact him at frederickwilsonuk@yahoo.co.uk if you have any suggestions for the website. We had 852 unique visitors who visited our website 1275 times in March,833 unique visitors who visited our website 1309 times in April,808 unique visitors who visited our website 1314 times in May and 660 unique visitors who visited our website 1039 times in June. The stats are impressive and although June has possibly been affected by divided attention to the World Cup soccer, they are similar to January and February. So please contact Albert van Heerden on van@dozer.co.za or frederickwilsonuk@yahoo.co.uk. if you can help them obtain sponsorship for the Club through advertising in the magazine and/or on the website. Please also support our advertisers. As mentioned in the article on the new Committee, Lawson Flint will be helping Albert van Heerden in sourcing sponsorship and advertising for the magazine and website. Chris Grant advises that there is an interesting classic car website http://www.myclassics.co.za/clubs.aspx. I don’t have access to that website, so I can’t comment on it. John Lawton suggests that if you enjoy old movies about driving / cars etc., mostly British, go to “Driving from London to Bath in the 'good old days'” can be found at http://sne.morrisminor.com/. You need to get to the end of the first You Tube movie and more will appear. Buffering is a pain so just leave it to complete. COTLANDS Please remember to give Purity baby food or your contribution to John Bedford so that he can pass them on to Cotlands, the charity organisation our Club has chosen to support. HUMOUR This is what the blonde lady said. “Last year I replaced all the windows in my house with that expensive, double-panel, energy efficient kind and today, I received a call from the contractor who installed them. He was complaining that the work had been completed a whole year ago and I still hadn’t paid for them”. “Helllooooo, ……………. Just because I’m blonde doesn’t mean that I am automatically stupid.” “So I told him just what his fast talking sales guy had told me last year, that in ONE YEAR, these windows would pay for themselves!” “Helllooooo? It’s been a year, I told him.” “There was only silence at the other end of the line, so I finally just hung up. He never called back. I bet he felt like an idiot.” We look forward to seeing you at all of our outings. Yours in a Morris, Clive Surtees (Editor) | |||||
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