President’s Report – December 2024

I’m writing this report a few days after the 2024 Kimber Run – and what a great day that was! Congratulations to Ken and Heather Burke and their team of helpers on putting together a really good event – well organised, great route through the Fleurieu, and a good lunch venue. We finished up with nearly 200 people all up, so once again, well done.

A couple of notices as reminders . . .

The December MGM moves from the clubrooms to Lobethal to take in the Christmas Lights on Tuesday December 10th, this will be a social event without the usual reports, so the next ‘normal’ MGM will be on January 14th – and a reminder that from that date, MGMs will start at 7.30pm, not 8.00.

The Club’s Christmas Event will be held in the Clubrooms on the evening of December 14th, more details elsewhere.

Some news from the November Committee meeting . . .

After considering various options for the ongoing management of our website, it was decided to stick with Secure eHost (who have been looking after the site since the death of John Kemp) for at least another six months. Alan Cardnell will monitor costs over that time and a decision will then be made on a permanent host. Importantly, please note that ALL website material must go to Bev Waters, clearly identifying where on the website it is to go, and she will collate and send to Secure eHost on a weekly basis. Please do NOT contact Secure eHost yourself: Bev is the single point of contact (along with Laurie as needed) and to keep costs down and avoid confusion it’s important that no-one else contacts our host. Thank you.

The Committee has also approved that an application be made to the State Government toward the cost of building a new, larger shed which would provide secure storage for the trailer as well as ‘general’ club property. More details later.

And to round off my last report for 2024, some President’s Tips:

Re-installing seats in an MGB , use a couple of bits of double sided tape to keep the spacers in place while you’re juggling the seat into position.

I found it pretty straightforward to get the two rear bolts of the seat in position but could barely see the front ones and had to align runners, spacers, carpet and captured bolts. The solution I found was to use an Allen key, jiggle it around in the hole to line everything up, and after a couple of tries managed to get the bolt into position, finger tight, then finished off with an open-ended spanner. I got both seats installed in about half an hour.

Next tip – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to track down anyone who’ll do a steam/chemical clean of the underside of a car. I can recommend Honcity Motors at 581 Port Road, West Croydon, phone Frank on 0412 601 561. They did a great job on my MGB, complete underside plus engine bay at a very reasonable price. They also do detailing.

Final tip – when using an electric drill, use a vice to hold the object to be drilled. I held the item in left hand, drill in right hand, thought I was saving some time, and the result was a drill bit in the fleshy bit between my thumb and forefinger. ‘Gosh’, I said.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.
Safety Fast!