Recent Newsletters

Editorial

Our Trade and Skills Director has good news to report in this newsletter with a report of the inaugural FBHVC Skills Training Working group meeting. All research results show that our trade supporters are concerned about finding skilled workers and apprentices and we hope that this new initiative will address this problem in a very practical way.

Drive It Day is approaching and we are looking forward to seeing and hearing about the many, many events that are scheduled to take place on 25 April. All our member clubs can advertise their events for free on our website using the club ID number and password issued at the end of 2009.

At the beginning of May we will be sending out subscription renewals to clubs’ nominated contacts. Please do take the opportunity to let us have any changes of contact details for our database.

Subscriber clubs and organisations may reproduce the text of items from this newsletter in their own publications provided that credit is given to FBHVC. Photographs and cartoons may be reproduced only with specific permission.  Those wishing to reproduce items can receive the text by email to simplify production if they wish. Please ask the secretary at secretary@fbhvc.co.uk

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LEGISLATION

David Hurley

Driver Testing, Training, Examining and Licensing: Implementing New European Union Requirements (Directive 2006/126EC - the third Directive on driving licences)

This consultation document (issued jointly by the Department for Transport, Driving Standards Agency and DVLA) relates to the transposition of the EU Directive into UK law, to be effective on 19 January 2013. It mainly covers changes that have already been in the public domain for some years; changes to the duration of driving licences, motor cycle classes, towing trailers etc.

However the FBHVC picked up on a vague statement under the heading of ‘Way forward’ about whether previous exemptions applicable under the second Directive could continue.

As a result of asking for clarification, it became apparent that the existing ability for Class B drivers to drive (under conditions) old commercial vehicles and buses had been questioned by the EU Commission. Similarly steam vehicle drivers are under threat - in fact the DVLA wrote in January (half way through the consultation period) to the National Traction Engine Trust offering an inadequate solution that had been suggested by the DSA.

The Federation were concerned that:

1) Neither we nor any other interested clubs had been consulted previously as Stakeholders;

2) The consultation did not actually consult on the possible withdrawal of existing rights.

Apart from the two aspects mentioned, the document clearly did not conform to the Government’s own code of conduct for consultations in other respects.

We quickly alerted the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society and the National Association of Road Transport Museums to our concerns and all four organisations collaborated in the responses. The robust FBHVC response included a demand for a joint meeting of the four organisations and the three government agencies/departments within 28 days.

Subsequently a meeting was convened at Swansea on 3 March between senior officials of the DfT, DSA, DVLA and our four organisations. To use a rather hackneyed phrase, a full and frank discussion ensued and a lot of detailed points were covered. The officials accepted that the subject matter should have been raised much earlier and they became fully aware of the strong case we all made for continuance of the previously agreed position which poses no increases in safety risks, which was the EU reason for query. A firm commitment was made to continue this dialogue and a strategy was agreed for future action. The UK does not have to submit their enabling legislative proposals to the EU until 2011 and any changes will not be effective until 2013. We four organisations will not allow this time to be wasted!

I would like to place on record my thanks to Colin Billington (NARTM) David Smith and Robert Herring (NTET) and Fraser Clayton (HCVS) for their detailed written submissions and their participation at the meeting.

HGV MoT Testing Exemptions

This is another consultation concerning the transposition of a Directive initiated in Brussels into UK law. For historical reasons there is a long list of vehicles that have been exempt from plating and testing and the EU have decreed that the UK list should be pruned. Modern vehicles in the categories affected are based on virtually standard HGV chassis and are no longer specially constructed. However some post-1960 preserved vehicles, previously exempt, will now become in scope, including armoured military vehicles which are designed as fighting machines rather than goods vehicles. I have been liaising with Fraser Clayton (HCVS) and Geoff Fletcher (Military Vehicle Trust) and all three of us will have submitted responses by the time you read this. I have a feeling that this will generate another meeting.

Changes to Tachograph Calibration Fees

As anticipated in the last newsletter a formal response has been sent expressing our reservations to the proposal especially to the prospect of a free-for-all approach by the Government.

Modified Vehicles

We have received several e-mails and have seen an article in Classic Car Weekly regarding vehicles allegedly having to undergo an IVA examination where an engine change necessitated modification to a monocoque shell. Several conflicting accounts have been received. It is not clear picture and we will investigate further.

EU LEGISLATION

(Taken from FIVA’s regular update provided by the lobbying service, EPPA.)

Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) - positive developments

At the end of December, the European Council agreed its position on the ITS Framework Directive as has been reported in previous Newsletters. One of the Parliament’s amendments stated that: ‘Vehicles which are operated mainly for their historical interest and were originally registered and/or type-approved and/or put into service before the entry into force of this Directive and of its implementing measures should not be affected by the rules and procedures laid down in this Directive’.

This amendment had been agreed by the European Parliament because MEPs recognised that enforced retrofitting of ITS to historic vehicles might not be possible or appropriate in many cases. The amendment was therefore designed to ensure against any such possibly in the future. The amendment was not considered a priority by the Council which only debated it near the end of its deliberations. However, once discussion started, it soon became clear that the amendment was not receiving sufficient support for agreement by the member states. FIVA therefore made further efforts to explain the rationale of the amendment with the effect that it was in the end accepted by a majority and is included in the agreed text. However, the final agreement on this proposal is now being delayed by internal procedures with the effect that the Directive may not be formally adopted until the summer. This means that the FIVA will have to watch developments to ensure that the amendment remains as a provision of the Directive when it is finalised.

Registration of new vehicles

The European Commission is currently drafting a Regulation for Individual Vehicle Type Approval. FIVA noted the draft Regulation states that:

For the purposes of individual approval, a vehicle is deemed to be new when:

a) it has never been registered previously or;

b) it has been registered for less than six months at the time of the application for individual approval.

By registration, it is meant that the vehicle has obtained the administrative authorisation for entry into service in road traffic, involving its identification and the issuing of a registration number. The term registration includes permanent, temporary and short-term registration as well.

FIVA has noted that this type of definition of new vehicles based on registration documentation is increasingly being used at national level as well and is causing problems for historic vehicle owners as the registration documents of a small proportion of historic vehicles do not accurately reflect their age because: there was no original registration; documents have been lost; original documents were destroyed after import into the EU. In these cases, the vehicle may then be classified as ‘new’ and therefore fail to benefit from other legal provisions/conditions specific to historic vehicles.

FIVA has raised this concern with the European Commission which in the first instance has appeared ready to find a solution. It invited FIVA to propose a footnote which may be used in the Regulation to clarify that the age of a historic vehicle with ‘new’ registration documentation (which does not reflect the vehicles true age) should be determined by the available documented evidence of date of manufacture of the vehicle, or documented evidence of first purchase, or of the year that typically corresponds to that vehicle. FIVA taken the matter forward and will maintain discussions with the Commission with a view to a positive outcome.

New Commission takes shape

Appointments are currently being made to complete the new European Commission which is due to take office on 10 February. As previously reported, DG Environment is being separated into two DGs - one for climate and the other for the environment. Janez Potočnik (a Slovenian) is to be the Environment Commissioner and Connie Hedegaard (Danish) will be responsible for Climate Change. DG Transport and Energy are also being separated into two - Siim Kallas (Estonia) will be the Transport Commissioner, while the current Transport Commissioner, Antonio Tajaniis, is due to be the Commissioner for Industry.

Commission plans to review VOC Directive

The European Commission has suggested that it may extend the VOC paint Directive to other products including wood coatings. FIVA will monitor developments to ensure that historic vehicle restoration is not impacted by any proposed measures.

ANTIFREEZE

In the article in the last newsletter, we said ‘Bluecol and Blue Star are well known brand names and both of these are declared suitable for classic cars‘. Perhaps we should clarify that we were referring to the traditional blue coloured Bluecol - but the company also sell a red coloured Organic Acid Technology (OAT) product suitable only for modern cars, not classics. Even more confusingly, there is also Bluecol U which marketed as a universal top up and not an antifreeze product with which you would fill the whole tank. The manufacturer has assured us that this is suitable for historic vehicles.

It has also been brought to our attention that Halford’s sell a blue-coloured ‘Advanced’ antifreeze which has a label containing the phrase: ‘Older vehicles can further benefit…’ but on further examination it was discovered that this product does indeed contain OAT and therefore cannot be recommended for historic engines.

Our postbag has also been swelled by correspondence relating to the extremely poisonous nature of ethylene glycol, indeed the Cats’ Protection League have gone so far as to start an on-line petition to highlight the danger to small animals accidentally ingesting tiny quantities of the product. Propylene glycol is much safer and one of our new trade supporters, AAA Solutions Ltd, is about to launch a propylene glycol based antifreeze specifically aimed at historic vehicles.

It does remain a rather confused picture, but the important facts to remember for historic vehicle owners are: use only Inorganic Additive Technology (IAT) products according to the manufacturers’ instructions and take great care with any liquid containing ethylene glycol.

DVLA

Nigel Harrison

Engine Changes

In the last Newsletter we requested examples of where DVLA had asked supplementary questions before accepting engine change information on the V5C. Thank you for all of the examples that you have sent to the Federation.

Many vehicle excise duty categories directly relate to the size of the engine and these have recently been further refined to take account of a vehicle’s CO₂ emission levels. It is therefore understandable why DVLA should want the engine size and type to be verified by an independent organisation as this could make a difference to the VED due. At present the Historic Vehicle class of is one of the few taxation classes which is independent of engine size and type, so the potential reduction in excise duty does not apply, although we cannot rule this out for the future of course.

The general principle is that the size and type of the new engine should be verified by an organisation independent of the owner. The standard DVLA ‘engine change’ letter gives a choice of various options. Understandably, the options are orientated around modern vehicles. For an historic vehicle an independent organisation with sufficient knowledge could be the appropriate vehicle enthusiasts club, so a suitable worded letter from the club should be sufficient.

There will be some vehicles where the actual engine might not have been changed but for some reason the DVLA record is incorrect. Once again, a suitable ‘engine identification’ letter from the appropriate vehicle enthusiasts club could well be sufficient to correct this.

Regarding the existing DVLA requirement that all engine changes require verification by an organisation independent of the owner, the Federation is in correspondence with DVLA in respect of this requirement for historic vehicles. We have been assured by DVLA that there has been no recent change of policy here and for many of the case histories that we have been sent the confusion has arisen because the change requested was to the engine capacity as well as the engine number or an over-zealous clerk has sent the wrong letter when a purely clerical error needed to be corrected.

DVLA Procedural Trial

In Newsletter No. 1, 2008, I explained that for a trial period, with a claim for an original registration number (a V765 claim), the acceptance slip from the V765 form would not be returned to the club who processed the application. The trial is now complete, and the Federation has accepted that this, the non-return of the tear off slip, will now become the standard procedure. If an application is rejected, the club will still be notified.

BOARD VACANCY,

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

The communications director has editorial responsibility for all our communications from the Newsletter to the website and in an ideal world would also have a conventional PR function arranging press releases and news items for other magazines.

Successful clubs know the importance of electronic communication and use all types of media to get their message across: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc. are all being used along with live video and radio feeds from events. Like it or not, this is the future and the Federation cannot afford to be left behind. Although we do have a very effective webmaster to look after the day to day running of our website, our new director needs to be au fait with electronic media of all kinds and be able to exploit new methods of communication as they develop.

The Federation would welcome applications from anyone who would like to help us continue to communicate effectively and make sure that we are not left behind by new technology.

For further information please contact the Secretary at secretary@fbhvc.co.uk

TRADE AND SKILLS

Tony Davies

Questionnaires

You may recall that during latter part of 2009 I distributed two questionnaires. One was sent to each trader, club and museum to solicit views on the requirements, availabilities and endangerments of services and skills needed to enable us to continue to use our historic vehicles in the future. Your replies have come in, it has to be said, more steadily than a torrent. Nevertheless, I offer my sincere thanks to all of you that did reply and hope that any analysis is representative of most of our historic vehicle movement.

We received seven replies from 300 trade questionnaires and 37 from 500 club and museum questionnaires

Analysis

Trying to draw conclusions from the detailed analysis below leads me to suggest the following:

frequency of demand is generally occasionally; volume is small scale; there is a definite need; for the majority, there is little difficulty in sourcing services currently.

The three key areas for preservation seem to be braking systems, wheel repair/refurbishment and magnetos. Having said that it does seem that any ‘Wheel repair/refurbishment’ requirements can be met currently.

The most threatened specialism is tooling, whereas methods and procedures and skills are deemed to be under threat.

Skills Training

In a move to make progress with our skills training initiatives I have set up an FBHVC Skills Training Working Group in conjunction with Midlands Group Training Services of Coventry together with a couple of trade supporter members and one museum member. Our inaugural meeting took place on 8 March and as a result a pilot project has been introduced to encourage FBHVC trade supporters to take advantage of the specialist skills training available from MGTS. The project’s key aim is to provide historic vehicle practitioners with access to young skills trained personnel ready for employment. Initially we will focus on trade supporters in the Coventry area but will expand it on a national basis following a successful pilot project.

For more information please contact either the secretary or Mrs Frances Lee, MGTS Employer Engagement Officer, Tel: 02476 630333 or email: lee@mgts.co.uk.

I will keep you abreast of developments and progress with this project via the Trade and Skills section of our website and future Newsletters.

Welcome to the following organisations that have joined us:

AAA Solutions Limited

Classic Car Engines Ltd

Moss Europe Limited

South Western Vehicle Auctions Ltd

WOLVERHAMPTON’S MOTORING HISTORY MAKES FOR SUCCESSFUL HERITAGE TOUR

Ian Edmunds

Demonstrating once again the power of the internet the reports on our website of the Federation’s Heritage activities and particularly the participation in Heritage Open Days produced an interesting response from Steve Corbett of the www.sunbeamsidevalve.com website. He tells us of an imaginative event that he arranged in the Black Country last year.

Steve used HOD to link historic vehicles and built-heritage by organising a walking tour of a dozen factories that survive in Wolverhampton from the pioneer/veteran era of motor manufacturing. This was a great success with just over 50 enthusiasts taking part and many more attracted by the presence of an old Wolverhampton-made Sunbeam motorcycle outside the Central Library. The Sunbeam attracted the crowds and created a feel-good atmosphere as kids of all ages enjoyed the opportunity of donning pudding basin helmet, goggles and gauntlets and re-living the golden age of motorcycling.

The tour itself took in the surviving factories of AJS, Sunbeam, Clyno, Star, Briton and Villiers in Blakenhall and Graisley - a number of which are protected as nationally listed buildings, although some, such as the huge Sunbeamland complex and small AJS Retreat Street works, have no protection against demolition. Those who were eager to wander through this relatively uncharted aspect of the city’s heritage had a diverse range of interests. Some had travelled a good distance especially for the event; some had worked in the city’s motor industries; others were simply interested in this aspect of the city’s contribution to 20th century history.

The tour finished each day in the former Sunbeam Experimental Workshop where a half-hour film made in the 1990s about the history of AJS and Sunbeam motorcycles was shown - along with much-needed tea and biscuits after the two-hour trek!

Although originally intended last year as a one off event Steve tells us that English Heritage are now encouraging a repeat for this year as they are keen to promote the motoring heritage of the Midlands. He says: ‘Because of this, I wondered whether there are links that could be made with other surviving factories in Birmingham or Coventry - or with historic vehicle groups that may be interested in the HODs event. Any help or advice would be welcomed’. Contact him at stephenbcorbett@hotmail.com

This serves as an excellent illustration that our motoring heritage covers many aspects in addition to the vehicles themselves. Although there was probably a concentration of manufacturers in the Midlands there were parts of the fledgling motor industry in some very unlikely locations. Is there some motoring history near you that could form the basis of a similar event in 2010?

Don’t forget, Heritage Open Days for 2010 are Thursday 9 - Sunday 12 September. More details on www.heritageopendays.org.uk

EVENT AUTHORISATION

Some clubs have questioned whether or not their events need to have formal authorisation.

No one will be surprised to learn that many factors need to be considered before an answer can be given. Broadly these are: whether the event uses the public highway or private land; whether or not there is any element of competition; and whether or not the organising body is a member of the Motor Sports Association (cars) or Auto-Cycle Union (motorcycles).

A. Events that take place on the public highway

If any part of an event takes place on the public highway, it is subject to the provisions of the Motor Vehicle (Competitions and Trials) Regulations of 1969 (Statutory Instrument 1969/414 as amended). These regulations appoint the Royal Automobile Club Motor Sports Association (MSA) as the body responsible for authorising events taking place on the road in England and Wales, with the Royal Scottish Automobile Club carrying similar responsibilities in Scotland. For motorcycle clubs the equivalent authorising body is the Auto-Cycle Union (ACU) and Scottish Auto-Cycle Union (SACU). Regular readers of this newsletter will know that different rules apply in Northern Ireland where requirements for ‘parades’ also apply to motor events.

The following article applies to car clubs: for more information on motorcycle events, where the authorisation process is slightly different, the ACU website is www.acu.org.uk and the SACU can be found at www.sacu.co.uk.

In general, SI 1969/414 requires organisers to obtain authorisation for the routes they propose to use, but it does allow for the following types of event to be authorised automatically:

1) those with twelve or fewer participating vehicles;

2) those which have no element of competition associated with them and which thus have no performance testing (i.e. timed sections) and no fixed route (other than common starting and finishing points); or
3) road safety events.

If an event falls outside those categories, then route authorisation is required. Applications may be made no more than six, but not less than two, months in advance.

However, even if authorisation may be automatic, the obligation on organisers of events to ensure that what they plan is not going to cause problems for the public remains, and to that end, organisers of events that have a fixed route (such as a treasure hunt) are advised at least to make contact with the relevant Route Liaison Officer (RLO) in order to minimise the risk of clashing with other events or exacerbating existing problems.

Route Liaison Officers are appointed by MSA to monitor motor sporting activity within their area and advise organisers where their planned route may cause clashes, public nuisance or other problems. It is a requirement that any MSA Recognised Club must clear the route for any events which use the public highway (including single venue stage rallies) with the relevant RLO, whether or not there is a requirement for formal route authorisation under the law. RLOs are listed in the MSA Competitors’ and Officials’ Yearbook at Appendix 8(c).

Non MSA clubs organising purely social events are welcome to contact RLOs and as a courtesy should always contact the local police in advance of an event taking place on public roads.

B. Events taking place entirely on private land

The Motor Vehicles (Off Road Events) Regulations of 1995 (SI 1995/1371) (as amended) lists bodies that are appointed to authorise off-road events. The list includes the Motor Sports Association, the Auto-Cycle Union and the National Traction Engine Trust.

Although there is nothing in law that requires the organiser of an event taking place entirely on private land to obtain authorisation from anyone other than the landowner, the wise organiser looks beyond that and considers wider implications, such as risk to public and participants; health and safety considerations; insurance and other such matters. Since these bodies have well tried and tested codes of practice that applicants must agree to, seeking authorisation is a practical and sensible way of maintaining administrative and organisational standards.

It is worth understanding why these regulations exist when there is no compulsion to seek authorisation. In the 1990s, changes to the Road Traffic Act extended various offences such careless and dangerous driving so that they applied on private ground to which the public has access just as they do on the public highway. An unintended consequence was that, for instance, doing handbrake turns in an autotest meeting on private ground could render the participant liable to a charge of dangerous driving because the ground was open to the public for that occasion. In order not to stop entry-level motor sport dead, the government introduced the off road event regulations to remove the possibility of careless or dangerous driving charges under the conditions set out in those regulations. Thus it is clearly in the interests of a club organising an event during which participants are expected to drive, either by way of demonstration or competition, to obtain sanction from one of the authorising bodies.

C. Clubs that subscribe to the Motor Sports Association

In subscribing to the MSA, clubs agree to be bound by the MSA’s Regulations which are in addition to any legal obligations. The requirement for a Recognised Club to clear routes with the appropriate RLO (see A above) is an example.

Regulation D4.1 states that no event may take place unless the MSA has granted its approval by the issue of an organising permit unless the event is of a type that has been exempted from the regulations, in which case a Certificates of Exemption should be obtained.

This leads to the obvious question: what is an event? The MSA considers any (motoring) activity organised by a club for its members and advertised through whatever medium that club uses to publicise its activities as an event. Such an activity places a liability on the organisers and that activity should, therefore, have approval from the MSA. A benefit is that in granting approval (whether by permit, or Certificate of Exemption) MSA provides public liability insurance cover up to £30 million under the MSA Master Policies arrangement.

The low-key events that fall outside the scope of the MSA’s Regulations include events such as Touring Assemblies; Road Safety Events; Processions for Historic or Charitable Purposes; Veteran Rallies or Runs; Gymkhanas; Treasure Hunts; and Concours d’Elegance. Certificates of Exemption for such events now cost £19 which covers the cost of the administration and the premium for the public liability insurance. The organisers are under an obligation to collect and record details of participants

These Certificates, which should not be confused with route authorisations described in A, above, used to be free. The introduction of a charge has caused some organisers to question whether their activity requires one. The answer is that the law does not require them to have one, even if it requires them to have route authorisation, but failure by an MSA Recognised Club to obtain one could mean they are (at least technically) in breach of their agreement with MSA and thus at risk of being expelled.

FBHVC has received representations from some member clubs that are also MSA Recognised Clubs who consider the MSA requirement to obtain a Certificate of Exemption (and all the clerical work recording insurance details that involves) excessive for what are purely social events, many of which take place entirely on private land.

As a result of these representations, the secretary and the chairman met Simon Fowler at MSA recently, and are pleased to report that MSA accepts that for small touring assemblies and purely social events the Certificate of Exemption conditions may still appear too onerous and have agreed to look again at the definition of a touring assembly and any small social event that does not have a set route and does not involve marshals and controls, avoids single track roads and sensitive areas. The exact definition of this ‘social run’ type of event is still to be decided and the FBHVC will keep members informed of progress with these negotiations.

Further details

There is a great deal more information on the MSA website: www.msauk.org and the staff at Colnbrook are also happy to take calls from member and non-member clubs alike to clarify any matters relating to event organisation.

EVENT NEWS

Colin Francis

I gave an outline of many 2010 events in the last Newsletter. However the FIVA World Rally scheduled to be run by Belgium in September has been cancelled by the organisers who blame the economic climate.

Space limitations in the last issue meant that a few events were not mentioned, including the Volta Madeira on 23-25 June. Parts of that island have suffered with very bad rainfall and damage in the last few weeks but I have no reason to think it will not run again. This event is very suitable for older cars and very good value when one considers the position of this island in the Atlantic. The price includes taking one’s car, a week’s stay for two people in a first class hotel in Funchal with all the food and support one would want. I am told that the hotel is not near to the recent floods.

It is also worth mentioning the Grand Britannic Trial, a FIVA B event, run by a new member club, the Wales Endurance Rally Association, from 9 September to 1 October using the best roads in the UK, Isle of Man and Ireland. This should be good for continental crews now that the euro and pound are not far apart. Also it is worth mentioning the Dutch organised Carerra Copacabana from 23 Oct to 21 November in South America. Both events have their own websites for more information

We are also looking forward to the FIVA World Meeting for motor cycles (or ‘Run’ as it is not competitive) to be held in the UK in 2011. This promises to be a fine event for our two wheel members and clubs. It is early days yet but the cost will be approximately £400 with accommodation for three nights, breakfast and evening meals, museum entrances, and souvenirs. The main organiser is Andy Steers on a.steers@btinternet.com, who will have more details by the summer.

This year the World Motor Cycle Meeting will be in Spain on 9-12 June based on Puigcerda, near to Andorra and Andy will be there. The cost is €474 per person and €300 if you are camping. It includes four nights’ accommodation, lunch, museum entrances, as well as gifts and souvenirs and the welcome and gala dinners. If you have a bike and want to go you can get details from www.bassella.com. This event is also open to three wheelers like Messerschmitts and Heinkels etc.

While on that subject The ASI Motto show will take place, as usual, at the Ricardo Paletti Racetrack near Parma, Italy on 14-16 May. After nine years this event has become a point of reference for historic motor cycles and includes road bikes as well as racing ones, scooters and utilitarian vehicles. I have registration forms if you wish to take your bike over and the deadline for participants is April 9, so one needs to move quickly.

There are a number of other events for micro cars and three wheelers. Get details of the Liege-Brescia-Liege (16-25 July) and the Micro Marathon (in Wales from 5-11 September) from www.classicrallypress.co.uk.

OBITUARY

Alan Putt died peacefully on 12 February 2010, aged 73. He had been diagnosed with cancer last year shortly after the death of his wife, Beryl, whom he had nursed through several years of Alzheimers disease.

Alan was born in Plumstead in 1936 and from age 16 or so he was frequenting Brands Hatch. In the early 1970s Alan became involved with the Monoposto Club, and it was his inspiration that established Historic Formula Junior as a separate Championship in 1976, the first Formula to become ‘historic’.

In 1989 he took early retirement from BT and became involved with many other aspects of historic motorsport. Alan served on the Historic Committee of the RAC (now MSA) since the 1970s and worked at MSA from 1999-2002. He served a year as competition secretary for the Aston Martin Owners Club and was heavily involved in FIA matters until 2000. He was much involved with Historic Sports Car Club race meetings over many years as well as being a contributor to many magazines. More recently he represented FBHVC on FIVA’s technical commission and was responsible for approving FIVA ID cards issued in the UK.

He attended FIVA’s General Assembly in Turin in October 2009 where, although optimistic about beating the disease, he stood down from the technical commission. Alan’s death came on the eve of the FIA Historic Conference meeting in London, which opened with a heartfelt tribute from John Symes of the MSA, and a minute’s silence from all the delegates.

Alan’s passing will be widely felt, especially as the father of Formula Junior, but his memory will live on in the Alan Putt Memorial Library, his collection of books having been bequeathed as a research facility to MSA at Colnbrook.

CLUB NEWS

David Davies

The Friends of the Classic London Buses newsletter inform us that the London trolleybus 1348 is coming home - well, as far as Sandtoft anyway. It is on a 25-year loan from the Irish Museum of Road Transport and should be on view at the Trolleybus Museum from 8 May onwards.

The magazine of the Traction Owners’ Club has the first of a four-part series on the Michelin story and the ‘Michelin Man’ www.traction-owners.co.uk

The magazine of the TR Register has a useful tip concerning SU carburettor springs. To aid identification, apply a touch of Humbrol quick-drying paint to both ends of the coloured spring, the anodized colour soon wears off-making identification difficult. The club will be supporting the Wallingford Classic Vehicle Rally and Parade on 9 May which raises considerable sums for local charities each year: www.wallingfordcarrally.org.uk

Safety Fast, the MG Car Club magazine, has highly informative article for those might wish to buy an MGA. The December issue of the same magazine mentions an Australian member who purchased a new original-looking windscreen wiper motor for his TD from a boating store. It made in Taiwan, was inexpensive and guaranteed waterproof! The same magazine tells us the procedure for purchasing a Category C vehicle from a salvage company: www.mgcc.co.uk

The Globe, the magazine for the Triumph Razoredge Owners Club, has an article on the Automotech Scissor lift, concluding that whilst it is not the answer to all problems, it does go a long way towards resolving access problems. The Automotech website is: www.automotechservices.co.uk and the TROC website is: http://www.trocltd.com

Congratulations to the Morgan Sports Car Club on winning the Classic & Sports Car Magazine Club of the Year trophy, with club member John Gibson winning the Car that broke the judge’s heart award with his 1938 DHC. www.mscc.uk.com

The Jaguar Enthusiast has the intelligence that Mark 2 3.8 saloon Reg. No BPC 638B - chassis No. P232370 has been stolen from Bramley in Surrey. Anyone with information should contact the police at Farnham CID. The same magazine has yet another report of local authority attitudes to large garages - in this case a four-bay structure, and restoration work therein, claiming that it is not incidental to the residential use of the property. www.jec.org.uk

The magnificent magazine of the Military Vehicle Trust has a fascinating article on the restoration of a WW2 S130 S boat see: www.S130.co.uk

The journal of the Riley Motor Club remind us of their 85th anniversary National Rally in Ashbourne Derbyshire on 13-14 August. www.rileymotorclub.org

Congratulations to the Mk IV Zephyr and Zodiac Owners Club on their 25th Anniversary and 100th edition of their magazine which has a fascinating article on the 1966 speed endurance records established by OWC 500D and Ford PR chief, Walter Hayes, at Monza. The objectives of 100 mph for seven days, 15,000 km at 105 mph and 10,000 miles at 105.35 mph were all achieved. Fuel consumption was 11 mpg - but this was not given very much publicity!

The newsletter of the Wirral Classic Car Club has a useful reminder of the colour code conventions for automotive wiring used by Lucas and the French, Italian and German variations/alternatives. www.wirralclassiccarclub.co.uk

The Morris Minor Owners Club magazine reminds us of the Austin J40 pedal car and also its reincarnation in 1961 as the Minor Junior in 1961. Unlike the J40 of which some 32,000 examples were built, only 56 Minor Juniors were sold - which is hardly surprising as the asking price was £1675. How many survive? The same magazine has useful and informative series of Technical Tips on paint and painting as well as the account of the participation of Morris Minors in the prestigious Tulip Rally of 1957 including that of Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom , who finished 16th in their class. www.mmoc.org.uk

The journal of the Fire Service Preservation Group reminds us of the London Fire Brigade Museum and invites interested parties to become Friends of the Museum. For more information see http://sites.google.com.site/londonfirebrigademuseumfriends/

There is a report and photographs of the centenary of the original AJS works in Retreat Street, Wolverhampton in the AJS & Matchless Owners Club magazine. www.jampot.com

The Naylor Car Club magazine has an article about Ants, not the fierce little insects but the intriguing ultra lightweight commercial vehicle based on the Reliant three-wheeler. Do any survive?

NECPWA News has collected information on websites that look at all aspects of rust. itnecpwa@ntlworld.com

A useful tip from the magazine of the Imp Club when you are faced with water/coolant hoses that insist on ‘kinking’ when required to bend. Look for ‘Unicoils’ on www.gates-unicoil.com. There is also  a list of the rally successes of the Hillman Imp in 1965 and lists the comprehensive rally conversion that was then available - I suppose that type approval EU regulations and our old friend ‘Elf an Safety’ would not permit such initiatives today. The magazine also lists 50 things to do with your Imp this year, which is relevant to most of us and our vehicles. www.theimpclub.co.uk

The Cavalier and Chevette Club newsletter has the sad news of the death of Pentti Airikkala, the Finnish rally driver, from cancer at the early age of 64. After retiring from competition, he set up his own rally school to promote his exhilarating style of driving that can be best summed by his famous quote: “Drive it like you stole it!”

The Cambridge-Oxford Owners’ Club celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Farina in great style at Stanford Hall with more than 100 cars attending on both days - even if they had to share the venue (quite amicably) with the Velocette Owners Club on the Sunday.

The newsletters of the Highland Classic Motor Club can usually be relied upon for tantalising photographs of ‘restoration projects’ - usually referred to as ‘Highland Heaps’ - a Wolseley, two Rileys, an A30 a Reliant Scimitar, an RS2000 and a Viva GT are up for grabs it would seem, have a look at the website www.highlandclassic.org.uk for more information.

Still in Scotland and in the home of Robert Burns, the Ayrshire Vintage Tractor and Machinery Club is very proud of a restored Fordson Tractor - complete with its restored muck spreader.

From the magazine of the Micro Maniacs (their name, not ours!) comes the intelligence that the Trabant is re-born, this time as an electric car. It is expected to be on the road in 2012.

The Hare and Hounds Classic Vehicle Club magazine has an informative article on ABS - a feature that is now not uncommon on cars that are 25 years old. www.hhcvc.moonfruit.com

The journal of the Dormobile Owners’ Club has a brief but tantalising article about a 1935 30 cwt Bedford van which served as the source of power for a boat. Apparently the conversion back to a road vehicle took but ten minutes. This contraption was out and about on the Thames just after the war - where is it now?

Another ‘floating contraption’ is described in the magazine of the Scottish Austin Seven Club. It seems that in 1914 one Leslie Lambert, of Bearsden, Glasgow, built a Hydrocar, using Riley Tricar components as a starting point. It is claimed that this device crossed Loch Lomond - among other lesser stretches of water. He had another Hydrocar on display at the Scottish Motor Show in 1931 and then, silence… anyone out there who can tell us more?
CROWW, the magazine of the Austin Cambridge Westminster Car Club, tells us that the oldest working petrol pumps in the country are at Laurel Garage, Ramsbury, Wiltshire - unless you know better!

A thought provoking article on paint and paint work in the magazine of the Triumph Sporting Owners’ Club includes the statement that 70% of the cost of building a new car factory is invested in the painting facilities.

Congratulations to the Austin Counties Car Club on winning the Classic & Sports Car Trophy for their stand at the NEC. The club’s magazine has a photograph of two very different Austins side-by-side in Lincolnshire - an Austin Tilly with Bomber Command markings parked in front of Just Jane, the only surviving Austin-built Lancaster that lives at the Lincolnshire Heritage Aviation Centre.

The magazine of the Vincent Owners’ Club has a very favourable review of the book ‘Perfect in Every Part’, the story of Francis Simpson, one of the foremost technical artists of the 1920s and 30s. They also suggest that concours people might wish to contact The Eastwood Company for details of their products that are especially suitable for sprucing up carburettors.

The Classic & Historic Motor Club magazine has some useful and highly topical comment on dehumidification and recommend the website www.dry-it-out.com

The magazine of the Mark Three Cortina Owners’ Club has a highly information explanation of a Ford Chassis plate- which may apply to other models than just the Cortina.

Rumcar News, the publication from the Register of Unusual Microcars that caters for ‘the dark side’ of micro motoring has the first instalment of the saga of John Groombridge’s hoard of vehicles in East Sussex.

Cheval de Fer, from the Ariel Owners’ Club informs us that a blue plaque has been unveiled in Peckham, south London, where Edward Turner used to work. An innovative designer and stylist, Edward Turner was responsible for the Ariel Square Four the Triumph Speed Twin and the V8 engine used in the Daimler SP250 among many other achievements.

There is a very nice period photograph of the Mk II Sprite and Mk I Midget production lines in the December issue of the Midget & Sprite Club magazine www.midgetandspriteclub.co.uk. The same publication brings to our notice Coal Tax Markers and their fascinating history and significance.

The magazine of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum tells us that the organisers of the Bo’ness Hillclimb on 11-12 September are looking for vintage buses to operate a free shuttle service in association with the event. If you are interested, contact: bonesshillclimb.org.uk for more details

Congratulations to the Morgan Three-wheeler Club for their contribution to the winning of the Best Club Stand along with the Morgan Sports Car Club.

The Colne Valley Classic and Vintage Club recommends the book by Jem Marsh on his 50 years of the Marcos - available from Jem himself via www.jemmarsh.co.uk/books.html. The same magazine has just commenced a serialised history of Auto-Union which is on-going www.brmmbrmm.com/cvcvc

The Rochdale Owners’ Club magazine reminds us of the Liege-Brescia-Liege Rally for small capacity cars to take place in July. For more information, try www.classicrallpress.co.uk

In the MG Octagon Car Club bulletin there is an important piece on fire extinguishers. It is recommended by their contributor that you should look for the BS EN3 kitemark on a 1kg dry powder fire extinguisher as a minimum. Paul Ireland has also written a thought-provoking article on his experiences with modern fuels in his MG TC. www.mgoctagoncarclub.com

For those of you who think that amp, volt and ohm are three of the seven dwarfs, perhaps the book recommended by the AC Owners Club magazine is just for you, ‘Classic British Car Electrical Systems’ by Rick Astley, published by Veloce at £24.99 ISBN 978-184584-215-4

Staying with books, the Greeves Riders’ Association speaks highly of ‘Villiers - Everybody’s Engine’ by Rob Carrick and Mick Walker - available direct from Mr Walker at 01945 461914.

The National Steam Car Association features the work currently in hand on the archives of Light Steam Power, which was based in Kirkmichael, Isle of Man. Appropriately, most of the archive is stored in an old Manx Railway carriage body. There is an interesting and informative article on Doble steam cars The question arises, How many were actually built and how many survive? www.steamcarassociation.org.uk

Vintage Taxi, the magazine of the London Vintage Taxi Association, tells us that the Beardmore taxi is ninety years old this year - do any survive?

The back cover illustration on the December issue of the Invalid Carriage Register shows a challenging restoration project in the form of an AC Allweather invalid car on the back of a Sherpa pickup. There is also the first instalment of the saga of the Model 70 invalid carriage.

There is some comment in AM News, the magazine of the Aston Martin Owners’ Club, on the appreciating values of their cars as examples by recent auction results with one outstanding example exceeding £500,000!

Congratulations to David Waller on achieving a 12-year reign as editor of the London Austin Seven Owners’ Club magazine and on his success in finding someone to take over from him!

There is an interesting article in the magazine of the BSA Front Wheel Drive Club on the effect of wear on the performance of gear-type oil pumps www.bsafwdc.c.uk

There is a thought-provoking comment in the magazine of the Model T Ford Register of GB on the alleged adverse effects of the flywheel magnets on a Model T on pacemakers. Personal experiences have shown that our television becomes quite excited when I crank up my trembler coil-ignited motorcycle, but does anyone have any ideas?

A few words of warning from the magazine of the Vanden Plas Owners’s Club - beware of mice! A member’s car had succumbed to mouse attack on the hydraulic and fuel lines sufficient to immobilise the car.

The January issue of the Bullnose Morris Club magazine includes the depressing news that the National Trust feels unable to purchase Lord Nuffield’s House and so its fate remains in the balance. The theme for the January issue is ‘Ladies and Motoring’ and provides a very good read indeed www.bullnose.org.uk

Apologies in neglecting to mention the 70th anniversary of the Singer Roadster in 2009. A good-looking practical little car somewhat overshadowed by its glamorous relation, the Le Mans. Out of some 12,000 produced, some 600 survive- an indication of their enduring appeal. The Singer Owners’ Club magazine tells us that Tuvalu featured a 1934 Singer Nine on their 10 cent stamps for 1987. To conclude this session on Singers, The Singer Owner has a tantalising glimpse of pickup trucks (utilities) built on Singer chassis for the Australian market - do any survive?

The Austin A30-A35 Owners Club is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with an international rally at the end of May in Gloucestershire. www.austina30a35ownersclub.co.uk

The Bugatti Owners’ Club magazine can be relied upon for its magnificent period photographs and the Winter 2009 edition is no exception. The magazine carries an article on Bugatti’s extraordinary and revolutionary concept for a motor torpedo boat with eight supercharged type 50B engines! www.bugatti.co.uk

Sentinel Drivers Club members are made of stern stuff. Not only do they revive and nurture the distinctive products of the Shrewsbury factory, but they have been involved in the rebuild of VIC 96, a delightful little steam powered naval auxiliary of 1945. Their magazine also tells us that the oldest surviving diesel powered Sentinel lorry has been saved for preservation. www.sentinelwaggons.co.uk

The cover photograph of the Steam Car Club of GB magazine captures perfectly the dreadful conditions on the 2009 London-Brighton. Inside is a treatise on steam car thermodynamics, a fascinating article on land speed record steam cars and some photographs of primitive steam-powered vehicles in the Automobile Museum in Le Mans. www.steamcar.net

Staying with steam and coal smoke for the moment, the National Traction Engine Trust has a delightful posed night photograph of a steam roller and a tram at the Beamish Museum on the cover of the latest magazine. Inside is a photograph of Aveling & Porter one-ton roller, No. 2018, which is claimed to be the oldest in-steam roller in the world - unless you know better. Another story from the forgotten and murky past: ‘Steam on the Road in the Soviet Union’ is also covered in some detail in. It seems that development work and limited production of steam powered vehicles continued up to and including the 1950s. www.ntet.co.uk

The Ford Y and C Model Register remind us that November 2009 was the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first 67 mile stretch of the M1 from Crick to Berrygrove by the then Minister of Transport, Ernest Marples, whose company was actively involved in the construction! There is a nice little story concerning BFG 475, a 1936 Model Y Ford. This car was purchased new by Mr Andrew Christie and it has now returned to the family as his grandson has repurchased it.

On a similar vein, there is an article on Petrol and Holed Pistons that is well worth some study in the Rapier Register News.

Staying with fuel, there is a blow-by-blow account of a successful fuel tank wash and brush up in the magazine of the Armstrong Siddeley Owners Club. The club recommends a visit to the Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust Open Days held at Derby which included a Merlin, mounted on a twin-axle trailer, being run up ‘briskly’. There is a cautionary article on the subject of asbestos, its treatment and removal. It is worth remembering that in older vehicles, asbestos was used in other applications as well as for brake and clutch linings - insulation against heat and noise may well involve asbestos. www.siddeley.com

There is some good news from the Messerschmitt Owners Club in their magazine: sources for appropriate tyres have been found. There is also an extraordinary story of a 1961 KR200 that has only covered 47 miles from new! www.messerschmitt.co.uk

A little-known story of the collapse of the Borgward Company in 1961 is covered in detail in the Borgward Drivers’ Club magazine. www.borgward.org.uk

A comparison of the advantages and the disadvantages of various routing methods employed for motorcycle runs is discussed in the magazine of the British Two-Stroke Club. www.britishtwostrokeclub.org.uk

The Sunbeam Motor Cycle Club, a club that has specialised for many years in events for pre-1931 motorcycles of any make, has made a monumental decision to include machines up 1939 for a number of their annual events. The club is best known for its organisation of the Pioneer Run which it has run since 1930 and is the motorcycling equivalent of the London to Brighton Car Run. On 14 March this year the club received 369 entries for machines made from late 1800s to 1914.

The West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Club raised over £4,600 for leukaemia research at its annual Classic Vehicle Show in 2009, taking its fund raising total to over £50,000. The WBCVC was formed from the Newbury LRF local branch in 2001 by Dave Mills and continues to enjoy close links with the charity. The 2010 West Berkshire Classic Vehicle Show will be held at Newbury Racecourse on Sunday 25 July (see the WBCVC entry in the Member Clubs and Events sections of the Federation website for more details.) Individual and club group entries are welcomed.

DRIVE IT DAY - RIDE IT DAY

DID, or RID for the motorcycle clubs is on Sunday, 25 April.  For all the information about vast number of events taking place that day go to FBHVC’s own site, www.fbhvc.co.uk where there is a page dedicated to this day’s events. Many of our member museums are offering special parking areas and reduced entrance charges for FBHVC members.

FBHVC’s own activity will be to repeat what we have done for the last few years and go the Royal Oak at Bishopstone.  The secretary and one or two FBHVC directors will there from breakfast to evening.

The Royal Oak is not on a main route, and the approach roads are narrow in places (so, sadly, it’s not really suitable for large commercials) but it is within five miles of the A420 Oxford to Swindon road (due south of Shrivenham), and similarly close to the A345/A419/M4 interchange.  Map reference: SU 245837 (OS 1:50 000 sheet 174).  Post code (for those using vintage sat-nav) is SN6 8PP.  Light refreshments will be served throughout the day and lunches from 1200 to 1500 (pre-booking for a sit-down lunch is essential - Tel: 01793-790481).  Clubs wishing to make the Royal Oak their focus for the day, or to include a stop there as part of an informal road run, are welcome to do so.

To include a club event on the website DID events page simply go to the members section of the website and add your event using the club’s ID number and password.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Subscriptions for clubs, museums and individuals fall due for renewal at the end of May and as has been the case for several years any increases will be pegged to the Retail Price Index for the previous year. This rate will apply to new applicants immediately and to renewals for the 2010-11 financial year. The £25.00 minimum rate remains, and applies to clubs with 67 or fewer members. Trade supporter subscriptions do not fall due until the end of the year.

Invitations to renew subscriptions will be sent to all subscriber clubs’ nominated addresses as well as museums and individual supporters early in May.

The renewal forms will also ask for the information we hold on our database to be checked. Please do let us know if there are any changes, particularly if this is to the nominated contact details. Changes to the information held on the club directory on our website can only be made by clubs themselves using the ID number and password we sent out at the end of 2009.

MEMBER ORGANISATIONS

All of our member organisations are listed by club name on our website, but it is down to the individual clubs to add or amend their own details and events - see www.fbhvc.co.uk. The club ID numbers and passwords were issued to the clubs’ nominated contacts at the end of 2009.

Welcome to the following clubs who have recently joined:

Ford Classic and Capri Owners Club

Vintage Hot Rod Association

Western Desert Recce Group