Exhaust Notes

Newsletter of the St. Louis Triumph Owners Association

www.SLTOA.org October 2002

October Meeting, Danny O’Tooles, Tuesday October 15th, 2002, 7:00 PM

Danny O’Tooles is located at Westport Plaza in the old McNulty’s location

President's Corner, By Richard Etz

Fall is the time when we move indoors for our meetings. Don't forget that Danny O'Toole's at Westport is the venue for our October meeting. This is in the former McNulty's location. Many events are coming up this month; October weather can be quite pleasant and with some resemblance to English weather, conducive to British car use. As of this writing, members are attending the Memphis Car Show. Next weekend, Dave Massey organizes our participation in the Scottish Games at Forest Park. Check with Dave if you can assist with this show. We got a little preview with a bagpiper at the All British Car Show. This "piper" is our Triumph guru's (D. Massey) bagpipe guru! That same weekend is the Brits in the Ozarks Car and Cycle Show. The MG Club always invites us to their yearly Halloween run. It involves costumes and is reportedly great fun. I've not yet found a listing for it on their website.

Thanks to all those who helped make a success of our part of the All British Car Show. The weather was great, leading to a terrific turnout of both cars and spectators. The food booth was a group effort with cooks, cashiers, and bun splitters sharing the work. The 8 A.M. set-up crew was well staffed by some of our finest new and old members, including several distinguished club officials. Special thanks to Joe Mueller who shopped and organized. As I recall, we sold 100 hot dogs and 280 brats, along with sodas, pastries, coffee, bottled water, ice cream and chips. Since the demise of our Jamestown car show, this has become our main fundraiser. Thus, such success is particularly important.

Our Christmas party will be held at Bevo Mill again this year. The date will be Friday, Dec. 20. We will arrive by about 7:30 P.M. and eat at 8:00. Last year we had 37 participants (35 the previous year) and it was a fun time. Last year the food was great (no kidding!) and it was good the year before. This contrasts sharply with ordinarily lethal buffet fare. Hopefully we'll have the traditional "trash and treasure" gift exchange (where are those Rambler shocks?). It looks like the club will subsidize each ticket to the tune of $5. Thus the tickets will cost members and spouses/significant others $11.95 each. Sorry, Aunt Mabel, Uncle Zeke, and cousin dad will have to pay full price! Sign up soon! We have to pay Bevo in advance; members please pay Bonnie as soon as practical.

Happy motoring!

SLTOA Meeting Minutes, September 17th, Chuck-A-Burger, By Joan Carroll

Meeting called to order by SLTOA president Richard Etz.

Old business, none.

New business, Meet MG club at Red Roof Inn to show at Forrest Park Balloon Race, Saturday Sep. 21^st. Price to show, $5. Twenty Second St. Louis British Car Show, Sep. 22^nd, Creve Coeur Park. Joe is heading food stand. Volunteers needed. Serving brats, dogs, coffee, soda, Ted Drews frozen yogurt etc. Matt Finch bringing grill and ice.

2002 6-Pack trials, Grandville Ohio. Dave Massey discussed this event.

Branson Tri Healey – Sep. 27 event Kimberling

Brits in the Ozarks Event Oct. 12^th

Scottish Games, Oct. 11^th & 12^th, Forrest Park at the History Museum. Friday night, calling the clans. Saturday games begin, bag pipe music, story telling, and British Car Show. Cost to show, $15 includes admittance.

October 7^th Memphis Car Show. See Arlie King for details.

We move indoors in October!!! Danny O’Tooles is the place. This is the old McNulty’s – located in Westport upstairs by the radio station in the corner.

The Christmas party dates (on the calendar) were discussed. Bevo Mill was discussed along with Del Pietros, Bartolinos, Lewis & Clark in St. Charles. Bevo Mill, the Oak Room (the one downstairs) was settled on. A deposit of $200 will need to be sent to reserve a date. Friday Dec. 20^th appears to be the preferred date of the dates available.

Creig Houghtaling suggested we start thinking about the Polar Bear Run. Are there any volunteers out there?

Andy Stark will be racing October 26^th at Gateway International. Maybe club could go as a group to cheer him on. Discussion at next meeting.

Upcoming Events:

October 26^th & 27^th - Two-Dog Racing with Andy Stark and Frank Axelrod - Gateway International - Saturday the 26^th we would like to have a beer and Brat cookout after the races are done. Andy will supply the brats and some beer. The rest he would like it to be kind of a pot luck dinner. He will have one good table to put stuff on but will need more. Frank and Andy will handle bringing a grill. Again the races start around 7:30 am and end around 4pm. Andy will be at the SLTOA monthly meeting on the 15^th for coordination and more information. Contact Andy Stark at (636) 978-9128 or whitedog72@hotmail.com to let him know if you plan to attend and also to let him know if you can bring food/drinks or help with setup or cooking.

October 26^th - March 22^nd & 23^rd - St. Louis MG Club Invitations from Robert Rushing
Creig, can you include these two events in your club's newsletter? Of course, it goes without saying that the Triumph club is welcome at both events! In fact, I really really hope that some more of your members will give the Endurance Rally and/or the Mini-Endurance Rally a try. Maybe this year will be a Triumph's year to win.
Also, we are having our annual Halloween Rally and Costume Party on Saturday, Oct 26th. Your members are also welcome. Please let John Mangles (636-939-9338) know if anyone wishes to attend so we can make sure we have enough food.
It's only six months before the Eighth Annual Missouri Endurance Rally is here. March 22^nd & 23^rd. The winter months are coming and you'll have plenty of time to finish up those projects and get the car ready before the great event. This year, we are returning to the standard format - 10 stops in 25 hours. The mileage should be under 800 this year which should allow plenty of time for map work and finding the shortest route. Also, new this year is the Mini-Missouri Rally. It will be roughly half the size of the standard endurance rally with 5 of the 10 stops being made with teams having 14 hours to complete it. This is to give those who have always wanted to try out an endurance rally a chance to get a taste of one and hopefully become as big a fan as most of you are.
Anything any of you can do to help get the word out for this event would be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at rarushin@up.com or mgslime@swbell.net
Thanks! - Robert Rushing - MG Club of St Louis, MO

December 20^th - SLTOA Christmas Party - Bevo Mill - Make your reservations by mailing your check today to our treasurer, Bonnie David, 500 Marie Dr., St. Charles, MO 63026. Members and spouse/date etc.: $11.95 each. Everyone else: $16.95 each. Cash bar available.

The following is the second installment of Detailing Tips and Tricks. It is re-printed here in our newsletter, Exhaust Notes with the generous permission of Brad Bloomquist,

Rubber and Vinyl Protectants
It’s important to keep rubber and vinyl hydrated and protected from UV degradation.
NOTE: Many manufacturers put concentrated silicone oil in the solution to add to the shine. This is very bad for the rubber/vinyl and should be avoided. The silicone dehydrates the rubber and causes cracking. Armour All is evil!
Water based products are better/safer and offer a more natural shine. (I hate that used car lot look!)
(Michelin Tire Company recently issued a bulletin internally that it may soon void warranty claims of tire damage should they find that silicone was used as a dressing. That should be a hint to stay away from the stuff!)

Tire Dressings
Some Silicone Facts:
Penetrating type silicones form a protective layer on rubber. Liquid silicone seals small openings in rubber with a film to stop penetration of moisture and dirt. Most dressings leave a never-dry gloss film. There are many myths regarding silicone, specifically the negative long-term effects of silicone on rubber and vinyl. The fact is, silicone is an inert material. The benefit of silicone is its ability to easily penetrate the tires surface and not evaporate. Some silicone based dressings contain petroleum distillates as a cleaning agent these are harmful to rubber and vinyl and will cause it to dry and crack. If you decide to use a silicone dressing be sure it does not contain a cleaner. The only true negative property of silicone is the difficulty of adding UV protection.- From Autopia Guide to Detailing by David Bynon
There are dozens of tire dressings on the market. Most use silicones that contain petroleum distillates that are harmful to the rubber in the tires. Avoid them. The best tire dressings (and vinyl protectants) are water-based.
Brands to avoid: STP, Castrol, Penske, EagleOne All Finish, Armour All, Turtle Wax, and a host of others commonly found at Auto Zone and department stores.

Tire Dressing Application tips:
Apply dressing to clean tires. Wash your tires 4-5 times a season with a bucket of water and Dawn dishwashing liquid. Dawn has a high alkaline make-up which will cut through old dirt, rubber gassing (that brown film on sidewalls), and silicone oils.
* Spray the protectant on an applicator or sponge and then wipe on the tire.
* For a glossier shine let soak in and dry.
* For a satin shine buff off excess immediately.
Eagle One curved sponge applicators are the best. They fit the contour of the tires and waste little dressing.
Concours hint: Please, PLEASE, don’t use unnatural, overly shiny, tire dressings. Unless, of course, you got your car from “Lenny’s Used Car Corral”.

Rust, By Creig Houghtaling

Rust is the worst evil known to owners of classic cars. The way to avoid rust is to understand what it is and what causes it. Rust is like fire. It takes more than one element to progress. Fire requires three elements to exist: fuel, oxygen, and ignition. Any two of these elements without the third will not cause fire. Rust requires iron and oxygen with the catalysts of moisture and/or salt. Keep your iron clean and dry, and most rust will be avoided. Keep your car in a heated garage at night. Wash away dirt that holds moisture and salt. Rust is slow, so short term exposure to the elements is not immediately catastrophic. Drive your car, but take care of it at night. A note about a heated garage: If you can keep your garage even slightly above ambient temperature than you are sure to keep your vehicle temperature above the wet-bulb temperature (or dew-point temperature). The wet-bulb temperature is the temperature where moisture condenses out of the air. Everyone has seen this when moisture condenses on the outside surface of a glass of ice water, or when you see dew on your grass or windshield in the morning. So when you turn your defroster heat on your windshield in the morning, eventually you can quit wiping the moisture off the outside surface. The time when you can turn off your windshield wipers off is when your windshield temperature has finally gotten above the wet-bulb temperature. So when your car is in a garage and is kept even slightly warm (1 degree makes a difference between wet and dry), you will keep your iron dry. That aside, naturally the best way to keep you iron from rusting is to keep it away from oxygen completely with paint. But during the 60s and 70s when most of our cars were built, most car manufactures use paint only on exterior visible surfaces. So until you have the chance to coat all surfaces of your car, keep it clean and dry as much as possible.

Classified Ads: Contact Creig Houghtaling at the address listed below, or oldtoys@brick.net or 636-305-1143 to place a free ad in this newsletter.

1973 TR6 - Partially restored - rebuilt engine, new top, tires, gas tank, red with tan seats and top. Asking $6,750. Call 314-878-8230 or e-mail to V1014@msn.com.

1965 TRIUMPH TR4 Ready for Restoration Elderly owner had stripped and ordered over $2,700 in new parts Solid straight body – Engine and drive train still intact Production Record Trace Certificate from the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust No 91/4272 New parts include, but are not limited to: Seats, Carpet, Dash Panel and Top Pad, Convertible Top 3 pages of new parts, one page of used parts Asking Price $5,000 car & parts fob Houston, TX OBO Contact:

Mark C. Anderson (281) 731-2191 mcanderson@houston.rr.com

St. Louis Triumph Owners Association

Creig Houghtaling

36 Copper Mountain Court

Fenton, MO 63026-5682