dispatch
number 33 Winter 2011
News and views..........
Firstly Bill and I wish you a very merry Christmas and Delightful 2012; believe it or not this is the ninth Christmas for the Group and yet another bumper 2 page issue. Trust you all had a good year in 2011 – judging by my emails and phone calls certainly seemed a lot more activity from the running cars and on the restoration front! Keep it up. Sadly in October we lost our staunchest ally in the States – Jim Hodges, more words later.
The first event in 2012 of interest to us will be the Annual MG Show and Spares Day at Stoneleigh on February 19th. As usual Bill and I plan to be near the MG Octagon Car Club stand at 12 o’clock for half hour or so; please come and say hello if you are attending. We picked the MG Octagon Club stand as in earlier years they were in a corner with lots of space on one side, last time though all clubs were together in one area but still room in between for us to congregate!
Still a few 80th Plaques available for the garage wall. If you asked for one and haven’t received it yet please do let me know.
News on cars...........
Firstly yet another D has come to light after going missing for quite a few years – D0454, seen in France during a competition in August. As can be seen from this picture, and the one we have on our website, it is a special bodied one on C Type lines. We are indebted to PB owner Graham Holdsworth for the pictures; we have been in touch with the French owner.
This ‘find’ brings the tally of surviving D chassis known to the Group to 60 – Bill will correct me if I’m wrong! We don’t have a picture for six of these, and a lot need updating, and I shall be chasing for these next year! There are a few more listed on the Triple M Register but the current whereabouts of these are not known to us yet.
D0453, for sale in an earlier Dispatch and on the website, has been sold. It has ‘moved’ to Gloucestershire so we shall hope to see it at Prescott next year!
At the time of writing D0263 is for sale in the States at an asking price of just $5000. Pictured here, It is in need of restoration but most if not all parts are present. The owner Chris McCoys can be contacted on cdakmccoys@aol.com or on +1(651)459-3691.
Bits and pieces...........
Firstly a couple of items for your Christmas lists! If you have any room on your garage wall the MGCC are selling a new metal sign which portrays the M and the D Type as cars available for 1932. The pictures are taken from the brochure of the time and the sign is well worth the £9 cost plus postage.
It is available from MGCC direct, on their website or by phone, or even from their ebay shop.
Also I have a couple of copies left of the reprints from a few years ago now of ‘List of Spare Parts for the 8/33 MG Midget Sports Series D (Long Chassis)’ at cost of £5 each plus postage; first come first served.
D0407 salonette update.........
The two Salonette bodies, one for a J1(Chris Wallis)and one for Chris Blood’s D0407, now just need skinning. It has taken virtually a year of research and effort but the quality of the build is superb, with constructive improvements being made along the way. There are quite a number of unique pieces to a Salonette body so if there is any reader with skills, knowledge and /or spare parts that could help then please do get in touch with Chris Blood, he’ll be pleased to hear from you.
The progress made since early this year (see Dispatch 30) can be seen from these pictures. The Salonette dash is particularly interesting; the wooden dash is larger than the one on the standard tourer and stands upright whilst the instrument panel itself has a built in ‘slope’ making the instruments easier to see for the driver.
This is likely to be the only D Salonette in existence when finished, and ever likely to be, so we wish the Chris’s well.
Jim Hodges.........
Sadly Jim died this October after a brave battle against cancer. He was ‘our man in the States’ and was an enthusiastic member of the Group from the beginning and very keen to get his D absolutely as original. He finished the car just last year (see Dispatch 29 and the Video slot on the website) just a couple of months before his illness was diagnosed.
I first met him by chance at a MGCC Silverstone meeting, well before the D Group was begun, having overheard that he had a D Type to restore. A few years later he visited me and had a ride in my D. Always ready to pass on spare parts free or restoration experience or knowledge if it would help another D owner, a real ‘ambassador’ to the Group.
Our picture shows Jim, in trade mark shorts and cap, standing next to D0464, doing his other great love – talking! A great friend, who will be sorely missed.
Finally for 2011.........
A reminder of what a sunny Silverstone we had this year. Paul Regan’s D0481 in the Triple M parking opposite the MGAs.
Download this Issue as a PDF by clicking here
Back Issues
To download previous issues, please use the drop down menu to pick an issue