Exhaust
Notes
Newsletter of the St. Louis Triumph Owners Association
www.SLTOA.org January 2005
January Meeting, Tuesday Jan. 18th, 2005, 7:00 PM, at Schlafly Brewery
The brewery/restaurant is located on Southwest Ave. west of McCausland Ave. about a block from the intersection with Manchester Ave.
President’s Epistle, By Dave Massey
T’was the month after Christmas and all through the town
Not a Triumph was driving top up or top down.
The cars were all idle due to the cold
And tops were all taking a set in the fold.
The drivers were all warmly ensconced in the den
Watching football while the wives all said “Men!”
Twas not the cold winds that brought driving to a halt
More because of the road crews and salt.
But out in the garage there arose such a clatter
And it wasn’t a home project involving a ladder
‘Cause Santa’s recent visit to these car owning fools
Left them with all kinds of really neat tools.
Pliers and screwdrivers and ratcheting wrenches
And all manner of power tools for use on the benches
“Let the winds blow, let the weather be savage
I’m safe in here with my tools in the garage”
(Well, it rhymes if you say it right)
No more waiting for inspiration of muse
“I’ll know how to put this tool to good use.”
“That trim’s a bit crooked, I’ll straighten it out
I have the right tool, of that there’s no doubt”
“I’ll make this baby sparkle again
The others will be filled with chagrin.”
“She’ll run real smooth, nothing’ll be neater
All because of my brandnew dwellmeter.”
And come February 13, it’ll be fun
coming out at last for the Polar Bear Run
For now is the season for matching and mixin’
New additions and the things that need fixin’.
Dave
Polar Bear Run
The Polar Bear Run is set for Sunday February 13th, 2005. Meet at Jack David’s at 10:30 AM – leave 11:00 AM. Bring a dish to share. Chili and soda furnished. Bring other drinks if you want. Drive will be 1 ½ to 2 hours starting and ending at the David’s home. Lunch follows.
The Davids live at 500 Marie Dr., St. Charles, MO. Their phone number is (636) 949-0825 From 370 exit on Elm/New Town. Go South to Marie Drive. Turn left (east) to 500. Numbers are not exactly sequential. (approximately 1 ½ blocks) -- From Highway 70 exit First Capitol Drive, north to Kingshighway (past Lindenwood College) to Elm – several miles to Marie Dr – turn right. (See previous.)
10th Annual Missouri Endurance Rally and 3rd Annual Missouri Mini-Endurance Trial.
March 19-20, 2005: Open to all pre-1981 British-made vehicles. Teams will meet in St Louis, Missouri and rally around the state. For more information, contact Robert Rushing - mgslime@swbell.net or call (314) 995-8664.
Stories
About Those Triumph Cars, By Kathy Kresser
This column will return next month, the holiday fun and cheer consumed my time in December.
Happy New Year.
What
Happened in 2004! By Kathy Kresser
The start of 2005 prompted me to draft this partial listing of drives and events held in 2004. I hope the 2005 listing is as fun filled. If you have an idea for a club outing, share it, let’s do it.
February Polar Bear Party without the Drive
March MG Endurance Rally
May Polar Bear Drive and Second Party
Champaign British Car Show
June SLTOA Picnic
TRA in Springfield, Ohio
European Car Show at Plaza Frontenac
July London to Brighton Rally and Cincinnati Car Show
VTR in Richmond, Virginia
Campsville, Illinois Drive
Portland Place Mansion Tour
Hermann, Missouri Drive
August Augusta-Hermann, Missouri Winery Drive
Meramec State Park Drive
Augusta, Missouri Winery Drive
British Car at Plaza Frontenac
September Hawn State Park Drive
St. Louis All British Car Show and Great Balloon Race Car Show
Scottish Games Car Show
Wabash Pacific Train Ride and Drive
Villa Antonia Winery Drive
Shaw Nature Reserve Drive
October Bias Winery Fall Color Drive
New Harmony Overnight - Cancelled (very limited participation)
MG Halloween Rally and Party
MG Fall Color Tour and Villa Antonia Winery
Hannibal to Poplar Bluff Road Trip
November Parentin Gun Shoot (no drive)
December SLTOA Holiday Party
Santa came From Atlanta This Year, By Creig Houghtaling
Some people take this Santa thing and being home for Christmas very seriously!
Chad Jones (aka Santa) delivers a TR8 to one very happy Creig Houghtaling
A couple of months ago I saw a TR8 for sale in Atlanta. My friend Tom Jones has a son, Chad Jones, who lives in Atlanta. So I asked Tom if Chad would consider looking at it for me. Well, Chad not only looked at it for me, he purchased it for me, he towed my trailer down after a Thanksgiving visit up here, then he pulled the car back up here the day before Christmas Eve. Does anyone remember a very bad streak of snow and ice that occurred south of here that day? The radio reported people sitting on the interstates and not moving anywhere for hours on end in Kentucky. Well Chad had left Atlanta with a loaded trailer at 6:30 AM that morning. When he got to Tennessee snow began to slow traffic on the interstate. When he got to Kentucky it slowed to a crawl. So does Chad stop at a hotel and continue the next day. No! If he can move, he is going to go. No matter how slow. He gets off the interstate and proceeds north on 41 to Hopkinsville. Then he drives a small 2-lane, route 91 to Illinois. When he gets to the Mississippi River he is looking for a bridge, but all he sees is river. Finally he sees a sign for a ferry. Luckily it is still running for a couple more hours, because with a two lane highway, and snow fields both sides, there is nowhere to turn around with a truck and a trailer. He crosses on the ferry, takes 1 & 13 to 57 in Illinois and doesn’t see clear road till nearly Mount Vernon. At 10:30 PM he finally arrives safely at his Dad & Mom’s home north of Alton IL. I breathed a big sigh of relief! My trailer he was towing has no brakes. So he has nearly doubled his moving weight with no more brakes; on snow and ice no less! If something bad would have happened to Chad or his truck I would have felt responsible.
I picked the car up the day after Christmas. It was covered in road grime, but the sound of that V8 engine is sweet sweet music. A couple days later I cleaned it up and drove it around the neighborhood a little bit. WOW!!! That V8 has the bite to equal its bark. Woo hoo! What a merry Christmas. What a happy New Year!
Thanks Chad. You’d make a wonderful candidate for our Missouri Endurance Rally!
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.
SLTOA Shirts, $25, Call Bonnie David for delivery to out next meeting. What better Christmas gift could you buy to donate to the Christmas party auction? (636) 949-0825
For Sale, 1980 TR7 Spider $1,800, Contact Dave Gries 618-514-1200 Cell
or Jim @ (618) 977-5548
1980 TR7 parts for sale - too numerous for this ad. Please call or email for complete list. 618-514-1200 or 04to10@apci.net Jim Alexandesr from Belleville Dave Gries from Collinsville
61 TR3, Call Joe Mann, (618) 357-8168, joegmann@webtv.net
Wanted: TR6. Call Kevin McMahon (314) 997 7752 (O), (636) 207 6838 (H)
Cars for sale; Charlie Key, British Cars of America - 314-428-9335
Triumph GT6, runs good, needs rust repair, bright yellow, I can E Mail pictures. asking $1200.
TR7 convertable, original red paint, no rust, needs brake work. asking $2700. 314-428-9335
TR7 coupe, low miles, paint needs to be polished, has a dent in left front wing, rare car. asking $2500. 314-428-9335
TR6 have two of these. one a good rolling car without the engine, the other a rusted out car with an engine and trans that work. The car with the engine will need wheels to move it. This is a great pair to build one good car and have alot of extras. Asking $1200. 314-428-9335
Reason for selling all these is that I must have more space for customer's cars. Thanks Charlie
Spitfire windshield aluminum surround for sale. This is brand new, never been used. It was bought for a 1500 Spitfire, but never installed. Karl Schmitt (636) 797-4203
St. Louis Triumph Owners Association
Creig Houghtaling, Editor
36 Copper Mountain Court
Fenton, MO 63026