News, Recent Newsletters

Drive It Day provided the perfect opportunity to meet up with like minded enthusiasts, and what a day it was! We have reported the event mostly in pictures within these pages but there are many, many more on our website. Thank you to everyone who took part and also to everyone who sent in photos and reports.

It is subscription renewal time for all our member clubs and museums and for individual supporters. This is the opportunity to update us with any changes of address, email addresses etc, but please do remember that this database is completely separate from the information on the website in the club directory section. This latter section is only updated by you, the clubs and is great free publicity, so do please take advantage of the club listing and also the events pages.
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

HGV Plating and Testing Exemptions - Reduction of categories
As reported in the last issue the long list of vehicles that have been exempt from plating and testing in the past is to be severely pruned and as foreseen a meeting took place on 31 March between representatives from FBHVC, the Historic Commercial Vehicle Society, the Military Vehicle Trust, the National Association of Road Transport Museums and Invicta Military Vehicle Society with two officials from the Department for Transport to discuss the problems arising from this.

Broadly it was accepted that in-use commercial vehicles based on normal HGV chassis would now have to have annual checks. However the DfT accepted that preserved military vehicles not designed for carrying goods but for fighting purposes may need special consideration and over-width vehicles, physically too large for rolling roads will also need special treatment. It was agreed that club representatives would supply further information and photographs for a detailed report which will then be considered by the DfT. The opportunity was taken to raise the hope that the 1960 cut-off date for exemption from testing for preserved commercial vehicles should be re-examined and converted to a rolling date and will be an ongoing discussion topic.

Consultation on Changes to Motorway speed limits for Heavy Good Vehicles and Passenger Carrying Vehicles
The purpose of this proposed legislation will be to standardise motorway speed limits for lorries and buses. HGVs would have the same maximum speed limit of 60 mph - whereas there are two limits currently (70mph for HGVs not exceeding 7.5 tonnes and 60 mph for HGVs exceeding 7.5 tonnes) and PCVs would have the same maximum speed limit of 65 mph - whereas there are also two limits currently (70 mph for PCVs not exceeding 12 metres and 60 mph for PCVs exceeding 12 metres).

Coupled with this consultation was the consequential need for the recalibration of speed limiters fitted to these vehicle types (irrespective of whether these are in commercial use or preserved). Before formally responding, James Fairchild (a member of the FBHVC legislation team) wrote to the DfT regarding the high cost which would be incurred by owners of elderly preserved vehicles of these types which rarely used motorways. I am pleased to report that the DfT have accepted this point and they have confirmed in writing that: ‘The reason that speed limiters on the older pre-1988 vehicles will not be required to be reset from 70mph to 65 mph or 62 mph is that this can be an expensive process for the older vehicle types where the limiter is an electro mechanical device and it would impose unreasonable costs on the operators of these old coaches which are comparatively few in number. Nevertheless the maximum permitted speed on a motorway (for these vehicles) in Great Britain will be 65mph and not 70mph.’

It also follows that these vehicles will be banned from the outside lane of any motorway with more than two lanes.

Third Driving Licence Directive
This was reported in some detail in the last newsletter and there is an ongoing dialogue with DfT. We will report progress when appropriate.

Increasing the uptake of eco-training for LGV and PCV drivers
The DfT is considering options to achieve a 90% uptake of eco-driving training for drivers of Large Goods Vehicles (LGVs) and whether a similar approach should be adopted for drivers of Passenger Carrying Vehicles (PCVs). The legislation team is considering a response and a possible code of practice for drivers of preserved vehicles in these categories.

Amendment to the Motor Fuel (Composition and Content) Regulations
There have been no surprises in this consultation and our fuel specialist, Matt Vincent, is considering what, if any response might be required.
EU LEGISLATION UPDATE
(Taken from FIVA’s regular update provided by the lobbying service, EPPA.)

FIVA meets with MEP Berndt Lange to discuss MEP Group
On 23 March, Horst Brüning, (FIVA President), Andrew Burt (Senior Vice-President) and Andrew Turner of EPPA met with Berndt Lange MEP in the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss the possible formation of a European Parliament Historic Vehicle Group. The formation of such a group would allow FIVA to share its knowledge about historic vehicles and regulation with a group of MEPs who have a personal interest in these vehicles and would thus enhance FIVA’s ability to protect the right to preserve and use historic vehicles for the future.

During the meeting, Mr Lange, a German MEP who is also a historic vehicle owner (with both four and two wheeled vehicles) accepted an invitation from FIVA to help establish a European Parliament Historic Vehicle Group. In the first instance Mr Lange and FIVA will invite MEPs known to be owners/enthusiasts to participate in the group and will aim to bring these MEPs together for a first meeting in Strasbourg in July. The group members, with the support of FIVA, will then be able to merge their passion for historic vehicles with their regulatory knowledge and political influence to ensure that historic vehicles may continue to be used in a changing traffic environment.

EU told that transport must cut emissions by 50-80%
A European Commission funded project has found the transport sector needs to cut its emissions by 50-80% compared with 1990 levels to reduce the EU’s total emissions by 80% and that the most ambitious scenario developed so far would only deliver a reduction of less than 60% by 2050. The analysis was based on combinations of policy options and technological improvements including new vehicle emission limits, increased fuel taxes, support for electric and hydrogen technologies, EU motorway speed limits and land transport’s inclusion in the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).

The project team is still working to develop the range of policy options which it believes would deliver the greatest reductions and aims to present its findings by the end of April. The Commission has already stated that the findings are likely to be used in the anticipated Transport White Paper for the period 2010-2020.
IMPORT TARIFFS

Newsletter 1/2009 carried an article by Martin Emmison reporting the success of his firm (FBHVC trade supporter solicitors, Goodman Derrick LLP) in resisting an appeal mounted by HM Revenue and Customs. HMRC was seeking to overturn an earlier decision that a (now) rare Ford of the 1950s should be treated as a collectors’ item for the purposes of assessing the duty and VAT payable on its import to UK.

The case, which reached the High Court in July 2008, highlighted the difficulty of obtaining consistent application of the regulations, with different officials interpreting the associated official ‘Explanatory Note’ in different ways. The High Court decision clarified one element of the decision making process.

Subsequently (as reported in Newsletter 2/2009), FBHVC learned that HMRC was in discussion with the European Commission with a view to obtaining further clarification of the regulations..

In November 2009, the relevant part of the ‘Explanatory Note to the Combined Nomenclature’ relating to motor vehicles was amended. The new text can be found on the FBHVC website (follow link from Information). The main change is that there is now more emphasis on originality and less on age - previously, any vehicle made before 1950 would qualify as a collectors’ item: now it might not if it has been modified or is incomplete.
Other criteria that may exclude an historic vehicle from the collectors’ item for import purposes include lack of technological interest (such as mundane vehicles of no special character) and lack of rarity (mass produced vehicles that have survived in relatively large numbers).
DVLA

Modified vehicles
Our electronic and conventional post boxes are still receiving queries about modified vehicles, especially relating to chassis and engine changes as well as the distinction between a vehicle with a chassis and one of a monococque construction. The topic has proved far more complex than we originally thought involving a number of government agencies.

Information given by the DVLA in their information leaflet INF26 (Guidelines for the registration of rebuilt or radically altered vehicles and kit cars) gives some help but there are also cases which may involve the Basic Individual Vehicle Approval (BIVA) scheme. The distinction between the two is unclear in places and both our DVLA liaison officer, Nigel Harrison, and our deputy legislation committee chairman are hard at work sifting through DVLA and VOSA regulations. Some of the information published by VOSA indicates that ‘this is given for general guidance and each case will be judged on its merits’ and ‘The information on www.direct.gov.uk is regularly reviewed to reflect changes in legislation’.

We hope to be able to make the situation clear in due course and have therefore decided not to publish our findings so far, but to wait until we have the entire picture.
BYWAYS UNDER THREAT
Dave Giles, Land Access and Recreation Association (LARA)

LARA, the motoring organisations’ Land Access and Recreation Association believe that the lobby to get mechanically propelled vehicles out of the countryside is increasing and ‘down-grading’ in the form of Restricted Byway, Quiet Road or Greenways will soon begin to bite unless the historic vehicle organisations do something to counter the trend: a trend that it believes National Parks and Highway Authorities favour because it reduces their maintenance budget.

LARA is now offering information, support and expertise at a more local level to resist the erosion by the ‘back-door’ of our access: in short a Forum to provide a grass roots meeting place for club organisers to forewarn and assist with potential access problems.

The inaugural meeting was held at the AMCA Offices in Cannock on 18 May and to find out more contact Tel: 01332 552288 or e mail: dlg70 @tiscali.co.uk

HERITAGE
Ian Edmunds

I recently attended a symposium on Heritage Impact as part of the Federation’s ongoing activities to promote and understand the role of our transport heritage within the overall heritage sector. This work for us is still very much in its infancy and in terms of assessing ‘impact’, in the sense of how a particular attraction or event impacts on the lives and economy of the local area, we are at the bottom of a learning curve of first gear severity.

However an additional benefit of such gatherings is always the contacts that are made and I was able to have a brief discussion with a gentleman from the head office of the National Trust to explain our objective of historic vehicle displays at other heritage attractions. He recognised the potential for mutual advantage that these could offer and has volunteered to circulate the idea to NT property managers in a regular weekly email. Property managers will be encouraged to contact the Federation if they are interested in hosting such a display and we will then pass the information on to clubs in the appropriate area. I hope that if your club receives such a request you will be able to respond in a positive manner.

In addition venues are starting to advertise their participation in Heritage Open Days between 9-12 September. Although the HOD register will not appear for a while searching under ‘Heritage Open Days’ in Google (other search engines are available) will produce information on many venues preparing to open in September. Remembering the success at Baddesley Clinton last year why not contact a venue near you and offer them a crowd drawing display of historic vehicles to support their activities.
TRADE AND SKILLS
Tony Davies

Questionnaire Analysis
We were unable to print the detailed analysis of the motorcycle clubs responses to the questionnaire in the last issue of the newsletter, but this is available on our website www.fbhvc.co.uk in the Trade and Skills section. The results for other vehicles and traders will soon be available in this format as well. For those without access to the internet please ask the secretary for a printed copy.

Skills Training
The next meeting of our Working Group will take place on Monday 5 July. I will keep you abreast of developments and progress with this project via the Trade and Skills section of our website and future Newsletters.

FIVA Trade and Skills initiatives
The FIVA initiatives for Trade and Skills issues are still moving forward, albeit rather slower than I would like. Some of the initial 10 ANFs (national federations) involved in the pilot scheme have withdrawn due to lack of resources but others are asking to join. I shall be holding a seminar in Brussels in August to try to improve the momentum of this work.

Welcome to the following organisations who have joined as trade supporters:
Mulsanne Motor Co.
Carrott Cycles
Michael Fare
CLUB NEWS
David Davies

Some of the fascinating magazines and newsletters included in this survey have been the editions for April. I am resigned to have fallen victim to at least one ‘masterpiece’.

Rumcar News, the magazine of the Register of Unusual Microcars, is a periodical that fearlessly goes into areas where other periodicals dare not tread - concludes the story of the Sussex graveyard of more than 100 microcars that had been collected by the late John Groombridge. At the other end of the spectrum is a report on the Bruce Weiner Microcar Museum in Madison, Georgia USA. And for those with a strong constitution, there is an illustrated report on the use and misuse of microcars in the Indian sub-continent.

Congratulations to Phil Boothroyd of the Messerschmitt Owners’ Club who has just completed 50 years service as an officer of the club.

Bill Munro of the London Vintage Taxi Association has reported back to us that there are plenty of old Beardmore cabs surviving, but sadly none of the Mark 1 or Mark 2 from the 1920s. About three Mark 3s survive, (1928-1932) including one in the Glasgow Museum of Transport, as well as several Marks 4, 5 and 6 from the 1930s and possibly 30 or more post-war Mark 7s, which is probable they highest survival rate, percentage-wise of any historic London cab. www.lvta.co.uk

It’s in the April edition of the Ariel Owners’ Club magazine and so I tread carefully: a photograph of a very unusual Ariel with what appears to be the designer, Edward Turner, standing behind it accompanies a brief article querying the nature of the beast. www.arielownersmcc.co.uk

AC Action the magazine of AC Owners’ Club has some atmospheric photographs of the 1955 RAC Rally taken in deep snow at the Cadwell Park Race Circuit. There is a nostalgic and well-illustrated article on the first RAC International Rally after the War in 1951 - those were the days when all you needed was a rug, a big torch and your father’s car to be qualified to enter! There is also a reference to the $7.25 million paid at auction for the 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe. www.acownersclub.co.uk

The two major events in the golden jubilee year of the Model T Ford Register of GB are the rally at Brockenhurst in June and the recreation by devious means of the ascent of Ben Nevis by a Model T in 1911. www.modeltregister.co.uk

For those of you who enjoy your prime time with your computer, the NECPWA magazine has an interesting list of websites that are relevant to our interests. www.necpwa.org.uk

There is the tale of a 1957 Volkswagen Minibus having been salvaged from a Norwegian Fjord in the newsletter of the Cambridge and District Classic Car Club. www.cdccc.org.uk

The Cumbria Steam and Vintage Vehicle Society magazine has a delightful photograph of a pair of shire horses on the front cover and to conclude, there is a table of ‘proper’ - i.e. pre-metric - volume measures which concludes with the observation that there are 262,144 tablespoons in a Tun.

The Fairthorpe Sports Car Club has produced a delightful little booklet of illustrations of Fairthorpes and their derivatives. www.fairthorpescc.com

There is an unsettling photograph in Buzzing, the magazine of the National Autocycle and Cyclemotor Club of 1,234 mopeds in Holland en route to an entry in the Guinness Book of Records.

The Riley Register Bulletin tells us that Riley Monacos were owned by ‘Dick Barton - Special Agent’; R.J. Mitchell, the designer of the Spitfire; and Anthony Blunt, the ‘fourth man’ in the Cambridge Spy Ring.

Members of the Scottish Vintage Bus Museum have just restored a 40 tonne rail weighbridge.

The Bulletin of Commercial Transport in Preservation has a delightful photo gallery of period road tankers in as new condition. There is also a feature on Jeep Number One by Charles Probst, the son of Karl Probst, the designer for the Bantam company of Warrendale.

Never underestimate a Bond Minicar. There is a report in the Bond Owners Club magazine on the epic ‘Three Capitals in 24 Hours’ achieved by Andre Baldet in 1960. In fact, thanks to Silver City Airways, the London-Paris-Brussels-London project was achieved in 14 hours at an average speed of 38 mph. For those of you lucky enough to own a vehicle equipped with a ‘dynastart’ the intelligence that a company exists who cherishes and repairs such devices may be welcome news.

The Chester Vintage Enthusiasts’ Club newsletter draws our attention to another surviving factory. The Clyno Fort Works in Pelham Street, Wolverhampton is still in use by an engineering concern.

The Jaguar Enthusiasts Club is planning a Jaguar 75 Drive-it Day to commemorate the launch of the SS model on 24 September 1935. There is an excellent article on tyres - including detailed information on what all those numbers and symbols on your tyres can tell you. www.jec.org.uk

The Swansea Historic Vehicle Register newsletter has some thought-provoking statistics for the USA from 1900 including a life expectancy of 47. There were 230 reported murders in the whole of America and heroin was freely available at your local corner chemist, being advertised as: ‘Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health’. www.swanseahistoricvehicleregister.co.uk

This may have some connection with April the first but there is a reference in the Micro Maniacs newsletter to a Sinclair C5 fitted with a JFS100-13A Jet turbine. www.micromaniacsclub.co.uk

There is the start of a tantalising story in the magazine of the Vanden Plas Owners’ Club concerning a 1932 Citroen C4G MFP. Congratulations to the club on its 30th birthday and a reminder that the appropriate celebrations will take place over the weekend of 31 July - 1 August at the RAF Cosford Museum.

There is review of the book ‘Alexa’, the account of a journey from London to South Africa in a 1937 Austin 7 in 1967, in the magazine of the London Austin Seven Owners’ Club. There is also a helpful and informative article on threaded fasteners, nuts and bolts and the many ways, devious and otherwise, of dealing with recalcitrant examples. www.austinsevenownersclub.com

The Triumph Sporting Owners’ Club magazine has a brief but informative biography of the Sunbeam name and an interesting article on colour and paints. www.triumphsportingowners.com

An intriguing article on six-wheel Mokes appears in the Mini Moke Club magazine. How many of the six believed to have been built survive? www.mokeclub.org

There is a report in the newsletter of the Leeds and District Traction Engine Club of the success of Jack Dibnah, son of the late Fred, John Fayle and James Madrell, in passing their steam roller driving exams in the Isle of Man - the first candidates since 1951. (I am surprised that there was anyone still alive who was qualified to supervise the test. DD)

In these days of instant obsolescence, it is heartening to read an article on the dismantling and overhaul of a rear suspension unit in the magazine of the AJS/Matchless Owners’ Club. www.jampot.com

The magazine of the 6/80 and MO Club has an account of a 7,000 mile twenty day circuit of the USA in a Morris Oxford in 1954 - I wonder what became of the car? The magazine also has an illustrated article on a J-Type van restored as a mobile beer dispenser by the Carlsberg Brewery in Copenhagen. The front cover of the June issue has a delightful series of photographs of Wolseley Police cars of the 1950s, including the amazing complexity of the dashboard of a patrol car of that period. The club has also published an extremely useful little booklet on relevant consumable parts. www.680mo.org.uk

The cover of the newsletter of the Vintage Horticultural and Garden Machinery Club has a photograph of a real lawnmower, a 1902 Ransomes Patent 42 inch monster - see the website for the fascinating history of the beast. www.vhgmc.co.uk

It is the 85th anniversary of the Riley Motor Club and the 40th anniversary of the Ulster Riley Club this year and the National Rally will be in Dovedale on 13-15 August with the Ulster Club is holding an anniversary rally on 17-18 September, contact: urc@aovc.co.uk and www.rileymotorclub.org

The February issue of ‘Safety Fast’, the magazine of the MG Car Club has a series of atmospheric photographs of the production lines at Abingdon in 1960 - no a robot in sight, but plenty of inspectors in those regulation grey dust-coats! www.mgcc.co.uk

The Land Rover Series One Club magazine points out that whilst Series One Land Rovers are under the weight limit for a class 7 MoT, when the DVLA does not have the correct information on file it uses the default GVW of 3499 kg and advises members to check their V5C document.

There is a reproduction of a fascinating advertisement for hiring Daimlers in 1912 where the American Express Company was acting as an agent for the Company in the magazine of the Daimler and Lanchester Owners’ Club. www.dloc.org.uk

Some startling statistics on the Dagenham Works of the Ford Motor Company are outlined in the magazine of the Ford Model Y & C Register. Apart from having its own integrated ironworks, the waterfront onto the Thames was capable, at high tide, of taking the biggest ocean liners of the day. www.fordyandcmodelregister.co.uk

There is an interesting article in the newsletter of the Norfolk Military Vehicle Group on the sole surviving LRDG vehicle which is lurking in a corner of the Imperial War Museum in London. www.nmvg.org.uk

Staying with military vehicles, there is an illustrated feature on the Currach’s Rolls - one of only two surviving Rolls-Royce armoured cars (unless you know better) in the impressive magazine of the Military Vehicle Trust.

There is an interesting and informative article on Girling mechanical brakes in the Ford Sidevalve Owners’ Club Magazine www.fsoc.co.uk

A thought provoking piece in the magazine of Austin Sheerline Club describes the levels of taxation on motor vehicles between 1945 and 1954. There were periods when purchase tax on cars rose as high as 66.7 %. At one point in time, this extremely high rate applied to motor vehicles costing more than £1,000 so Len Lord cut the price of the Austin Sheerline to £999!

The magazine of the Invalid Car Register informs us that the 2010 World Meet for micro and mini cars will take place in Chicago on 21-22 August. www.worldmeet2010.com

We are informed of the 150th anniversary celebrations of the David Brown Company in Huddersfield on 19 June by the Aston Martin Owners’ Club. www.amoc.org

An article in the magazine of the Dormobile Owners Club stretches one’s credulity. The Globecruiser campervan boasts a 12.8 litre diesel engine, bath, shower and a proper porcelain toilet - serviced from a 550 litre on-board water supply. There is a luxury fitted kitchen and a five star dining room - all for a mere £350,000!

There is an interesting article on a low-cost electronic ignition system in the magazine of the Pre-1940 Triumph Owners’ Club magazine. www.pre-1940triumphownersclub.net

Something extraordinary can always be found in the magazines of our member clubs. In the magazine of the Austin Counties Car Club is a photograph of one of the surviving Austin A40 Somerset cars assembled by Nissan under licence in the 1950s.

The Eurotunnel authorities could usefully study the magazine of the Fire Service Preservation Group which has a photograph and a brief description of the Swiss Railway’s latest emergency fire and rescue train. www.f-s-p-g.org

There is just enough time to inform you of the National Mini Cooper Day at Beaulieu on 13 June to celebrate 20 years of the Rover Mini Cooper. www.minicooper.org

There is still no sign of the trophy awarded at the Brian Stonebridge Memorial Scramble which seems to have gone to ground. We now know a little bit more about it. It bore the name ‘The Daily Herald Trophy’ and any information please, to the Greeves Riders Association. www.greeves-riders.org.uk

The magazine of the (Hillman) Imp Club has a striking photograph and a description of a fearsome racing Imp that is campaigned by Leo Nulty. www.theimpclub.co.uk

The magazine of the BSA Front-wheel Drive Club tells us that the Lucas CAV-Rotax Catalogue for 1939 can be bought as a CD on eBay. It contains, apparently, all the Lucas equipment fitted to British cars from 1929 to 1939.

Rudge Enthusiasts are celebrating 100 year of their machines with a full calendar of events this summer culminating with a centenary parade in Coventry on 17 July. For more information, try www.rudge.co.uk

OBITUARY

C.E. (‘Titch’) Allen OBE BEM
6 May 1915 - 18 March 2010
This extraordinary man was a major influence on the development of the old bike movement, not only in this country but throughout the world. The formation of the Vintage Motor Cycle Club as a result of ‘Titch’ convening a gathering of some forty or so like-minded souls at the Hog’s Back Cafe in April 1946 led to an organisation that today has more than 16,000 members world-wide.

Titch’s ideals were always focussed on the use of old motorcycles, especially in competition, and to this end he remained a regular competitor in road racing, sprinting and grass-track events. As advancing years dictated eventual retirement, he retained a ‘posing’ sidecar outfit for special occasions - the most celebrated of which must have been his appearance in the ‘Past Masters Parade’ at the Mallory Park Festival of 1000 bikes in 2006 at the age of 91.

A journalist by trade, he was the author of innumerable articles and features in motorcycling magazines down the years and was still contributing a monthly column to the VMCC Journal at the time of his death. He conceived and wrote numerous books on vintage motorcycles, all in his inimitable highly personal style. Whilst he will be best remembered for the six volume ‘Vintage Road Test Journals’ and his autobiography, his work on other publications are important legacies for the movement. His last work on the life of George Brough and the Lawrence of Arabia connection will be published later this year.
EVENT NEWS
Colin Francis

Drive it Day in April was a great success and I went on the MK Classic charity run which attracted well over 150 cars. Many events are being cancelled (the actual word used by most organisers is ‘postponed’) these days with the economic climate being blamed. But some are growing and proving immensely popular so the real reason, in many cases, lies elsewhere.

Examples of cancellations include the FIVA World rally in Belgium and HERO’s Icelandic Saga in May while others are tottering on the brink. These include the Grand Britannic Trial at the end of September. The latter was planned for 12 days and covered nearly all of the British Isles for the cost of over £6000. A combination of the cost and duration meant that many people could not do it. The last I heard was that the organisers had over 3000 enquiries but no one had actually entered. It was also a new event so did not have a regular following. Successful new events usually start with a very reasonable price and increase it as they get a following and people gain confidence in the organiser.

A future one day tour worth mentioning is in Wiltshire on 3 October in support of Help for Heroes. It starts near to junction 16 of the M4 at Studley Grange Butterfly World and visits many places of interest including Wotton Bassett and Lyneham Air Base. The entry fee is £60 and you can get information from John Varney or Dave Bullen on 01278 458957 and 01458 251806 respectively.

Further away my friend George Pontikogiannis, from Thessaloniki in Greece, is helping organise two events - the Adriatic and Ionian Classic rally, mostly in Albania, on 21 - 24 May, and the Cappadocia Classic rally in Turkey on 21 - 30 October. You can get more information at www.mroe.org or by e mail to info@mroe.org as well as the FIVA website.

Even further away is an event for the more adventurous, the China Open of International Classic Car takes place on 24 - 30 October and runs from Beijing to Shanghai providing accommodation etc. for 10 days. The cost for two people is about €6,000 and the organisers tell me that they can arrange a deal to take the car from the UK to China for about €1,500, making the total for two people €9,000. Contact me or Yangli on liyang6810@hotmail.com or autohelper@sina.com for more information. One word of warning: do not expect any foreign events, especially this one, to be like British ones; it is probably a lot easier! But, for sure, it will be different.

Finally I should mention the SLS Classic (Scheveningen/Luxemburg) on 25 - 28 August. This is Holland’s oldest regularity rally and there are two categories, Touring and Sporting: details from www.slsclassic.nl. I hope to be there.
INCORPORATION PACK

For clubs considering going down the route of incorporation the Federation have updated the information pack, originally prepared at the request of members, to provide an introduction to the benefits and disadvantages of incorporation and what incorporation of a motor club entails. The pack also includes some specimen Articles of Association and a suggestion for an objects clause for a motor club wishing to restrict and set out its objects.

Any club that originally purchased the pack and would like to update their copy may do so free of charge, please contact the secretary for more information.

Further information and the relevant forms can be obtained by visiting the Companies House website
http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk and clicking on the button ‘Incorporating a Company’.
SUBSCRIPTIONS

Renewal notices went out early in May to all clubs, museums and individuals whose subscriptions fell due for renewal on 1 June 2009. These have been sent to the ‘nominated address’ in accordance with the articles of association, and in the case of clubs this can often mean that the renewal notice goes to someone other than the treasurer… if you’ve had a renewal notice that needs to go to someone else, please pass it on; if you haven’t had a renewal notice that you were expecting, please contact the secretary.

The renewal notice contains the list of the contacts within each club and this is the opportunity to make sure that we have correct details for everyone on our administrative database. This list is completely separate to the website Club Directory which can only be amended by clubs themselves. Many of the clubs listed in this directory do not have any contact details published at all beyond the basic club name, so please do make sure that you have taken advantage of this benefit of membership - you could attract some more members for your club and there is the facility to advertise all of your events completely free of charge.
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 - see www.fbhvc.co.uk
Welcome to the following clubs, and a museum, who have recently joined:
Brooklands Museum
Burnham Steam and Historic Machinery Club
Classic Friends Car Club
Claymills Classic Car Club
CSMA Club (Classic Vehicle Group)
Grange over Sands Historic Vehicle Society
North East Bus Preservation Trust Ltd
Nostalgia Customs
Split Screen Van Club
DRIVE IT DAY

Thank you to everyone who took part in this year’s Drive It Day and made it another outstanding success. We have received countless emails with pictures and reports of the very many events that took place on 25 April - all of them much appreciated. A small selection is shown here in the newsletter and there are many more on our website - so many that we had to start a second page. Special thanks must also go to Classic and Sports Car magazine who designed this year’s logo for us.

The Federation’s own effort was once again concentrated at the Royal Oak in Bishopstone near Swindon at the invitation of the landlord Tim Finney. We filled the car park and the overflow parking with 140 vehicles of all kinds throughout the day representing over 50 different clubs. There were certainly some rarities among them but all were most welcome and everyone enjoyed the party atmosphere (and the inimitable bacon butties). The local photographer also took plenty of pictures and these can be seen (and purchased) at http://www.photoboxgallery.com/martinphelps

A number of our member clubs have expressed concern that the nearest Sunday to 23 April in 2011 is Easter Sunday, and the following weekend is a bank holiday. To avoid a clash with Easter and inevitably heavy holiday traffic a decision has been made to alter the date of Drive It Day to Sunday 17 April 2011. We appreciate that many clubs and organisations plan their events calendar a long way in advance and we hope that this early announcement will make it possible for clubs, individuals and organisations to support the day next year.