Rumblings, September 1954

Triumph Sports-Car Owners’ Association
The Triumph Motor Company (1945), Ltd., has developed a useful idea in connection with the TR2 sports model. This is the formation of a Triumph Sports-Car Owners’ Association, the aim of which is to keep owners of these cars informed of technical developments. Open to any TR2 owner, membership of the association costs an initial 5s., to cover cost of a car badge and the handbooks issued from time to time by the organisation. Registration has to be made yearly, but no additional registration fee is envisaged.

Members of the T.S.C.O.A. are invited to inform the maker of their cars of any competition successes gained, and the first edition of the association handbook contains pages for logging results, entering servicing data, etc., besides carrying a detailed specification mad a power-curve relating to the TR2 and details of approved extras available for it.

This seems to us an excellent means of ensuring that keen users of Triumph TR2 sports cars may get the best out of their vehicles. Details are available to such owners from the Triumph Motor Co., Ltd., at Coventry.

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Second Childhood?
The collection of motor-car miniatures may denote second childhood, but it is a very satisfying pursuit for all that, and one that is growing apace. Some good new specimens have come on the sales-counters recently. For example, Scalex have brought out a replica of the TF M.G. Midget two-seater, to a scale of about 1:30. It has imitation wire wheels shod with Scalex “5.50-15” tyres, including a spare behind the petrol tank, and is endowed with the usual Scalex steering and keyless clockwork mechanism. British made, it represents excellent value at 4s. 9d., inclusive of p.t. The makers are Minimodels Limited, New Lane, Havant, Hampshire (Havant 1251).

Regular readers will not need to be told that we are “Dinky” collectors, and it is pleasing to record that new vehicles are being added to this fascinating range of small-scale replicas. An Austin van of the Shell Petroleum Company, a Bedford 10-cwt. van of Kodak Limited, the Austin Champ cross-country vehicle and Army 1-ton cargo truck and 3-ton covered wagon are recent arrivals, fully up to previous Dinky standards and to a larger scale.

There is also a set of International Road Signs, twelve in all, which will be invaluable to school road-safety classes, driving-schools, exhibition layouts, etc., and which should provide excellent table-decor at club functions, and constitute novel embellishment of the enthusiast’s study.

These models are made by Meccano Ltd., of Binns Road, Liverpool 13, whose constructional sets gave so many of us a proper grounding in practical engineering and still do so for the rising generation. Meccano are to be congratulated on refraining from mechanising their sturdy, realistic miniatures. Indeed, in an age when there are all too few proper scale car replicas they deserve the thanks of all enthusiasts for making the Dinky model cars, and we hope each of our readers will go out and buy at least one new one as an expression of appreciation. If you feel this is beneath your dignity, use a young son or nephew as an excuse and enjoy handling these models before passing them over! We await further car models with interest.

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The Anglo-American Vintage-Car Contest
Those whose duties do not transfer them from England to Ireland for the T.T. or to the wilds of Norfolk for the Aston Martin O.C.’s race meeting at Snetterton (where, rather unfortunately, a race for historic racing cars has been engineered for the same day) will find a very big concourse of vintage, veteran, post-vintage thoroughbred, Edwardian and, no doubt, mere thoroughbred cars at Goodwood Circuit on September 11 th.

The occasion is the final tests of an Anglo-American Vintage-Car Contest organised round England and Scotland by the V.S.C.C. from September 4th to 11th. This event is not open to ordinary members of the V.S.C.C., the committee having elected the V.S.C.C. team, which is to meet the American team, before the event was announced. But by paying 2s. 6d. each and another half-dollar for their cars, V.S.C.C. members may watch the final stages of the contest at Goodwood on September 11th — where competing drivers, including the American Pilgrims will thus adopt a role rather of the animals at a zoo, with members of the V.S.C.C. observing them critically over the Goodwood railings. We hope they will give our American friends a big hand.

Besides the tests there will be a vast Concours d’Elegance of V.S.C.C., A.M.O.C., B.D.C., B.O.C., Twenty Ghost Club, V.C.C. and V.M.C.C. members’ vehicles, enlivened during the afternoon by a one-lap demonstration by all veteran cars present, a two-lap demonstration by vintage motor-cycles (watch Tich Allen’s blown Brough-Superior!) and a three-lap demonstration by ten cars from each invited club, including the V.S.C.C., selected as worthy for this honour by the V.S.C.C.

This occasion will be the nearest approach we have had to the motoring garden-party which Motor Sport first suggested some years before the war. Given fine weather it should he a great success and a memorable occasion, and most old-car enthusiasts will wish to he present. Some one-make clubs are being offered special car parks inside the circuit, for those of their members who present decently-groomed, true-vintage specimens of the appropriate marques before 10.30 a.m.

The Anglo-American team tests commence at 11.30 a.m., and one of them, scheduled for the afternoon, will comprise a 40-minute high-speed trial, in which each team will lose marks if it fails to cover 360 aggregate-miles in that time. The cars, of which those to have survived will have covered nearly 770 competitive-miles from Edinburgh, via Alnwick, Durham, Harrogate, York, Boston, Ely, Cambridge, Sulgrave Manor, Oxford, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Stratford-on-Avon, Prescot, Cheltenham, Savernake Forest, Winchester, South Harting and Chichester, are as follows: —
American team: Elmer Bemis (1906 model-K Ford), Paul Tusek (1906 Stanley steamer), Richard Shreve (1913 Lozier), Ralph Buckley (1914 Mercer raceabout), Samuel Bailey (1914 Simplex), Henry Clark, Jnr. (1916 Pierce-Arrow raceabout), Clarence Kay (1919 Stutz), Edward Hansen (1918 Biddle roadster), A. C. Baker (1923 Kissel speedster), and Glen Harrison (1929 Duesenberg speedster).

English team: D. Fitzpatrick (1906 Wolseley-Siddeley), R. Barker (1908 Hutton), S. J. Skinner (1910 Rolls-Royce). D. Deane (1913 Sunbeam), F. W. Hutton-Stott (1913 Lanchester), T. W. Carson (1920 30/98 Vauxhall), H. Clarke (1925 12/50 Alvis), A. S. Heal (1926 twin-cam 3-litre Sunbeam), A. T. Pugh (1928 Frazer-Nash), and T. P. Breen (1928 4 1/2-litre Bentley).

Various tests will have been undertaken on the way to Goodwood.

The whole party is sponsored by the British Travel and Holidays Association, which in itself is history. L. T. C. Rolt will, in effect, run affairs for the B.T.H.A. and Tim Carson is taking a rest from his arduous duties as secretary of the V.S.C.C. to captain the English side.

One thing which could damn this B.T.H.A. party in the eyes of motoring enthusiasts would be for misguided persons to regard it as a St. Christopher-sent opportunity to sell historic British motor cars and white elephants to the States. If anyone is so ill-mannered as to attempt such a procedure we hope our American guests will refuse to open their cheque-books or part with their dollars on this occasion.