Pacific Tiger Club



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|Rootes of the Pacific Northwest |

From the President

Last month’s meeting was hosted by Budd Bennion and attended by 20 members. Budd described how to test continuity of your spark plug wires to make sure there is enough resistance to ensure a healthy spark. If your wires don’t produce a good spark your car will run rough and horsepower will be reduced.

Larry Atkisson next demonstrated how using a power sander with a composite stripping pad is an excellent way to strip old paint and rust. By using this method the bare metal is ready for primer after a good wipe down with wax and grease remover. Larry likes using the Makita GV 5000 which has a maximum 4,500 rpm’s. As pointed out by Brian Doan, do not use this type of pad with an angle grinder as they can turn up to 10,000 rpm’s which would disintegrate the pad and cause serious damage to the operator! Both Larry and Brian stressed the need to wear eye protection and use a respirator. Old paint and rust can be very toxic.

Many thanks to Budd for hosting and to both Budd and Larry for their demonstrations. If anyone would like to host a tech session in the future please contact Larry and Eileen Ingersoll. The club pays for the food and drinks so don’t worry about the expense to host an event.

Planning for Sunbeam Northwest has been progressing; Budd Bennion has agreed to chair

the Rallye and would certainly like any help you all can provide. Thank you Budd for taking this on. Hotel reservations are available to book by calling Amy Stark at (360) 252.0977 at the Red Lion Inn, Olympia. Tell her you are attending Sunbeam Northwest to get the group rate. We also have the Event Registration forms available from Budd or me. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible and know schedules get busy but we will have a great Autocross, Concours and Rallye for all to enjoy.

Lastly, our June meeting has been arranged by Dan Kuenzi for us to see the new LeMay car museum in Tacoma on June 9. The museum has organized a Coffee Cruise Inn from 9:00AM to 12:00PM. We will select a meeting place prior to arriving for the event so we can all drive in together and be parked as a group in the display area. There will be a number of car clubs attending so the display should be diverse. For more info about the museum, visit .

Dunn for now

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Secretary’s Report March/April

March - brief meeting held at the auto restoration shop - Fenders and Fins, in Woodinville, WA called to order by Dave Dunn - 18 members in attendance

New business: Dave reported that the Sunbeam NW event was on track for August. He recommended reserving a room early and that the best number to reach the Red Lion, in Olympia, was 360-943-4000. Be sure to mention the Sunbeam Northwest event and ask for Amy Stark.

Dave thanked Jon Carson, for giving the club a lengthy tour of his shop. His web site is

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April - Meeting held at Budd Bennion’s home in Lake City, WA called to order by Dave Dunn - 20 members in attendance

New business: Dave reported that he has a web site set up for the Sunbeam NW event; but wondered what to do now. He is hoping someone with tech savvy will volunteer to make it work. No one present volunteered. Is anyone available?

Treasurer’s report: Bob Bennion reported the club had $11,459.00 in the treasury. Bob also reported that the club has seven registrations for the Sunbeam NW event in August. He urged members to send in registrations early. Dave had some registration forms, if anyone needed one, and Budd can get you a form if you email him. (budd.bennion@)

Membership: Budd reported that we have 77 current club members. He also added that he is able to have the club logo applied to most any jacket. New caps are also available.

Future events discussed:

June 9th - the club will meet in Tacoma, WA at the Le May car

Museum.

Special Event: Dan Kuenzi reported on the Le May Museum, which is planning a yearlong display entitled “British Invasion”. The museum is interested in Rootes cars and is looking for “factory original” looking cars. If anyone would like their car in the display, they can contact Dan K. (509-592-7120) or Budd B. (206-364-8478)

The club then voted, by a show of hands, on a date to attend the Le may Museum. The vote was between the 2nd or the 9th of June; on the second of June the club would have been in a large show and had to be on grounds by 10 AM and stay until 3 PM. Voting for the 9th meant a more relaxed and shorter day with fewer people.

The club will meet on the 9th and will most likely meet at a yet to be determined spot and then drive to the museum as a group.

Thanks to Larry and Budd for the great information, I know I enjoy the Tech sessions very much.

Meeting was adjourned

Minutes submitted by Jim Clark

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History of Sunbeam Northwest

By Dick Sanders

The idea for a weekend-long Sunbeam owners meet in the Pacific Northwest was first hatched in 1978. It had just been announced that Tigers United, the mainstay event for west-coast Tiger owners, would again be held in southern California the following year. A group of Oregon Sunbeam owners who had been lobbying hard to bring Tigers United north to Oregon got together and decided it was time to put on our own show. Acknowledging the equal enthusiasm of non-Tiger owners, the event departed from the Tigers United concept by inviting enthusiasts of all Rootes Group cars to enter and participate.

Some of those original Oregon folks have moved on to other interests, but several of the original core group are still active with their Sunbeams, including Jerry Rathburn, Gary Haslip, Ed Fullerton, Frank & Cindy Cardiff, and Bob & Bev Hokanson.

Springfield, Oregon, just south of Eugene, was selected to host the first Sunbeam Northwest in 1979. The turnout exceeded expectations, with over 60 Tigers and Alpines filling the host hotel’s parking lot. Off-and-on rain throughout the weekend couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm.

The success of that event guaranteed there would be a Sunbeam Northwest II. The picturesque Inn at Otter Crest on the Oregon coast hosted this one. The attendee demographics skewed a bit younger in those days, many of us not long past 21, so in addition to the usual awards for concours, rallye, etc, trophies were also given out to the winning beer chug-a-lug teams: men’s and women’s.

Pacific Tiger Club hosted NW III, moving it north to Olympia in Washington State. The 2012 event marks a return to the same host hotel, then called the Westwater Inn, now the Red Lion Inn.

Three years later, the Canadians gave us their first hearty welcome near Vancouver, BC at Sunbeam Northwest VI.

Over the years Sunbeam Northwest continued to find new locales, stretching from Victoria, BC on Vancouver lsland to the little town of Sisters in the mountains of central Oregon. After a few years’ hiatus, Sunbeam Northwest came back strong in 2011 with a healthy turnout at the Little Creek Casino, near Shelton, Wash. Some forty-plus years after the last Sunbeam hit U.S. shores, the enthusiasm by their owners is unshakeable.

No matter where it’s taken place, Sunbeam Northwest has always been about fun and camaraderie. We hope you’ll enjoy your weekend in Olympia whether you’re a Sunbeam novice or grizzled veteran of many Northwests.

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Laps from the Past

May, 1993: The Datsun club is sponsoring an autocross and has asked PTC to co-sponsor. Jim Leach is has been scouting rallye routes for SNW this summer. SUNI II is planned this month in Lake Geneva, WI.

May, 1997: May club meeting was part of the Burger King, Lynnwood Cruise In. In the classifieds is a 65 Tiger available for $11,900, withy 29,000 miles. Long time Sunbeam enthusiasts Frank and Cindy Cardiff sent a letter to the club offering an overnight stay at their home in Southern Oregon to any PTC members planning to attend Tigers United in Eureka, CA.

May, 2000: Wayne Reuter is on the front cover with a photo of him and his Tiger at an autocross in Bremerton in 1988. Inside is an extensive interview with both Wayne and Sharon. Wayne was one of the charter members of PTC. The writer of this column first met Wayne in 1977, and he was very welcoming to a new Tiger owner, who knew next to nothing about the car or how to drive it.

May, 2003: Buel Ish’s Sunbeam Harrington Series D arrives in the NW. Spot on, Good Show, Old Chap. The magazine British Car has an article entitled “Tiger vs. Alpine”. They didn’t really compare the cars head to head and the authors split on their verdict of which car they preferred. And you thought being PC was a new concept. It was reported that former member Tom Bennett had been in town finalizing the purchase of a Pantera.

June, 2005: Club meeting is at Show Quality Metal Finish in Georgetown with a tour of their plating shop. I can still remember that there were a few of the tanks that you didn’t want to stand near when taking a deep breath. PTC has 83 members. Photo and short article on “Buttercup”, the yellow Alpine originally built for vintage racing by Brent Edinger, and currently (in 2005) owned by John Rankin. Brent’s street Alpine had a vanity plate that read “um bah” or something similar. The car had just that sound when he would rev the engine going thru the Mt Baker tunnel.

Thanks: Kevin Jewell

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2012 Executive and Officers

President: Dave Dunn

5906 Mont Blanc Place NW

Issaquah WA 98027

ddunn@

VP/Newsletter Kathryn Fitzgerald/Mike Clark

4723 Woodside Place

West Vancouver, BC V7S 2X5

Tiger2@

Secretary: Jim Clark

17711 – 10th Ave. NW

Shoreline, WA 98177

206-533-1187

jwclark2@

Treasurer: Bob Bennion

37904 Fawn Rd NE.

Hansville, WA 98340

360-638-1992

904star@

Chairpersons

Activities: Larry & Eileen Ingersoll

29206 61st Ave S

Auburn, WA 98001

253-946-0762

Laingersol@

Membership: Budd Bennion

14720 30th NE

Seattle, WA 98155

206-364-8478

budd.bennion@

Historian: Brett Simpson

10005 SE 267th St.

Kent, WA 98031

253-859-5096

brsjal1@

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2011 EVENTS CALENDAR

Official PTC activities are printed in red. We have listed other possible activities of which you might want to participate. Call a couple of friends and try something new.

June 9 - Tour of LeMay Car Museum – Tacoma

July 28 -  All British Field Meet (it will be our monthly meeting) Bellevue College

Aug 24/26 - Sunbeam Northwest Olympia, WA

Sept 15/16 - Overnight tour to Yakima- Ponies in the Sun Car Show on Sunday

Oct 13 - AGM- Front Street old gas station- Issaquah

If you know of other events we should be listing, please contact our activity chairs, Larry & Eileen Ingersoll.

New “Stuff” at the ABFM for 2012

Plans are well underway for this year’s event, and in response to requests and suggestions made by participants, there are a great number of changes planned for 2012. The date for this year’s ABFM is: Saturday, July 28, 2012. The venue will once again be Bellevue College.

The featured Marque this year is: The Morris Minor (not so minor - the first British car to sell over 1 million cars!), And we will also be celebrating several significant automotive milestones, including the 60th anniversary of the introduction of Lotus by Colin Chapman and the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the iconic MGB.

We will be trying out a new venue for the Friday Cocktail Party. This year, we will have moved the party to Club Auto Kirkland, an affiliate of the LeMay/America’s Car Museum. Club Auto brings a premier collector car storage and clubhouse facility to the greater Seattle metro area – and a very attractive location for our event.

There will be live music to go along with a revamped menu by our food vendors to provide a lighter and healthier offering of goodies – to include ICE CREAM (if the weather cooperates…)

We will be simplifying the balloting process so that each entrant will not be asked to vote for every class of car on the field, this should free up time to enjoy with friends, visit vendors and promote your own car. Entrants will not be able to vote on cars in their own class. This system will be very similar to that used at the Vancouver BC ABFM.

We will be partnering with Food Lifeline to host a canned food and cash donation collection contest amongst the marques. The “winner” of which will receive a $100 donation to either their club treasury or a charity of their choice in the club’s name to go along with a newly designed perpetual trophy to display those ever important “bragging rights”.

We will also be partnering with the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of America to recruit and train a committee of youngsters between 13 and 15 to judge and award trophies for their top choice in the two classes of cars that are celebrating significant anniversaries this year: 60 years of Lotus and 50 years of the MGB.

We will once again have a special award for the ”Young Enthusiast”, an owner or worker under 30 (the enthusiast… not the car!).

In partnership with Griot’s Garage, we will also be giving an award to the “Survivor”, a car that is over 30 years of age with no restoration or refurbishment, still with us exclusively through love and proper maintenance.

In addition to the regular class awards, best of show and the President’s choice award, there will also be an Award given to recognize the best debuting restoration. This is for any car that has recently emerged from restoration or refurbishment and is being presented for the first public judged display.

There will also be recognition for the enthusiast who is attending the Western Washington All British Field Meet for the first time.

We will also see a return of the drawing to win the use of a Jaguar for the weekend, courtesy of our faithful and honored sponsor, Jaguar/Land Rover of Tacoma. Tickets will be available at the Cocktail Party.

We will also be continuing the tradition of holding a drawing for the Early Entrant prize. This is a cash prize of $250 to the enthusiast who enters a vehicle in the show prior to June 1st, 2012.

We are very excited about these changes and hope that they will help bring the show to a higher level of enjoyment for the folks who participate and attend as spectators.

We recognize that this is quite a list of changes, and there are many details to communicate. For a much more thorough discussion of the changes, please see us on the web at: , check back often as details are updated!

As always, comments and suggestions are welcomed. Please contact: Steve Hanegan (206)365-5807 or steve@

Thanks: Budd

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Study shows most green cars aren’t worth the price premium



The June edition of Collectible Automobile Magazine has an 11 page article about Sunbeam Tigers and Alpines.  It’s a pretty accurate article with lots of photos including Jerry Rathburn's Tiger and a Get Smart Alpine photo I hadn't seen before.

 

Jim 

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VanDusen ABFM Vancouver, BC 2012

The God’s finally smiled upon the event and delivered a beautiful sunny day. The weather drew large crowds as well as 651 cars to the event. There were 15 Rootes vehicles on display (9 Tigers).

The results of the judging:

Tigers:

1st—Bruce Brawn—1965 Sunbeam Tiger

2nd—Rick Ambrose—1965 Sunbeam Tiger

3rd—Brian Marks—1964 Sunbeam Tiger

Rootes Group:

1st—Craig Burlingame—1955 Hillman Minx Convertible

2nd—Pete & Karen Woodall—1951 Sunbeam Talbot

3rd—Jerry & Nancy Logan—1962 Sunbeam Harrington LeMans

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Words fail me! Apparently the original 4 cylinder just didn’t offer enough torque.

Thanks: Jim

SNW 2012

Red Lion - Three night group rate reservation.

The Reservation Call Center in Spokane WA which you get when calling the “800” number and when the hotel transfers you to reservations is not applying the three-night rate correctly in every case.  

Best to call Olympia Red Lion direct 1-360-943-4000 and talk to Amy Stark, Sales/Catering

Administrative Assistant, her direct phone number is 1-360-252-0977.  Note, you can make the reservation with the call center.   Amy does review the SBNW block and corrects any rates that are not applied as contracted. The three night rate can be changed any time up

to check out.   So make your reservation now and verify the rate when you check in. 

Bob Bennion 904star@

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PTC Club meeting - April 14, 2012

The April 14 meeting of PTC was held at Budd Bennion's home with a good turnout of 21 people and a few cars. As you can see it was a sunny day and members were 

gathered around to find out what is going on under the bonnet of an Alpine. Yeah, strange to Tiger owners. Tech tip by Budd was about checking your spark plug wires. Use a 

Ohm meter to check the resistance. The Ohm's should be less than 4000-5000 per foot of wire. Some of us are are using a Pertronix type of distributor and I had a conversation with them about using solid wire type of spark plug wires. Their response was: "The issue with the plug wires is the RV noise that comes off of the wires can cause the Igniter to fail sometimes. Most of the time it is OK but we have seen them make the module fail. So we like to avoid them if possible".  I have heard it is a good idea to carry a set of points in case the module fails. On my Husky I have solid wires and have run the Pertronix for about 4 years and I do drive my car. Not sure what happens when they just sit in a garage.

A tech tip by Larry Atkisson was about identifying and repairing a malfunction turn signal indicator. There are early and later models. The later ones require the plastic wish

bone type of return canceling part that breaks. Sunbeam Specialty has the parts. Larry also gave a tip on an easy way to strip paint of your car. You can hand strip a Sunbeam in about a day using a Makita hand held side grinder that spins at 4000 RPM, this is the key (sorry I can't find my note with the model number, ask Larry). Chemical stripping is too hard and messy.

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Thanks: Budd

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May PTC meeting

Pictures taken at the May 2012 PTC meeting at the "Flying Heritage Collection" Paine Field, Everett Washington.  The tour guide was very knowledgeable about the planes and their history.  Note most of these planes still fly and are flown on a regular schedule.

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Thanks: Budd

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Want to avoid mail delays? Receive your next issue of the PTC Newsletter emailed to you on-line. Contact us at Tiger2@ with your email address

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The LeMay Museum

The LeMay Museum's grand opening planned for this June will include a special British exhibit noted as the "British Invasion" in which it will feature British cars, motorcycles, and other period culture from across the pond.  As of last week the museum was still looking for half a dozen cars and was interested in learning if our any of our club members would have an interest in offering their British car for the exhibit.  The exhibit runs for 12 months, from June 2012 to June 2013.  However, recognizing the length of the exhibit and less likely to find folks willing to loan their car for a full 12 months, the museum is willing to consider accepting cars for a minimum 3 month period (for example from June to September, October to December, and so on - this is my understanding of the timeframes in discussions with the museum, actual 3 month periods could be different once museum has identified their exhibit cars).  In terms of what the museum is looking for in selecting the cars, it was suggested they are looking for original appearing cars that are of very nice driver quality (in other words, do not need to be a high quality show car).  

 

If you are interested in submitting your car to the museum for consideration, please email me with your car's make, model, and year.  Once I hear back from any interested members, I will contact LeMay with the basic information about our cars and will relay back to each interested PTC member on how you can submit your car to the museum for consideration.

 

You are welcome to give me a call if any questions.

 

Thanks 

 

Dan Kuenzi

509 952-7120

shelbycuda@

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Youth Involvement

A report by Jake Hanegan

This year, at the 24th annual ABFM, some of our community youth will take a new role. In an effort to increase involvement of the next generation of British car enthusiasts, a group of young adults will be selected to award additional “Young Judges” awards for the Lotus and MG groups.

ABFM chairman Steve Hanegan will be working with the Kirkland branch of the Boys and Girls Club of America to find and enlist youths interested in cars. He hopes giving them the basic knowledge and tools they need to judge a car in a show setting will give them a fun experience and create a lasting positive impression of the hobby. As it is the 50th anniversary of the MGB, and the 60th anniversary of Colin Chapman rolling the first production Lotus off the line, this group of youths will award additional trophies for these cars in honor of these significant milestones. Steve envisions expansion on this push for youth involvement in future years of the ABFM.

This is part of an on-going effort to create a new generation of vintage car enthusiasts. Just as, year-by-year, these beautiful cars grow older so does the current pool of vintage car enthusiasts. “When I was younger, everyone I knew had a story of an uncle or friend with one of these cars – they left a lasting impression on our generation, and that’s why we have things like the ABFM today”, said Hanegan, “To keep this enthusiasm alive, we are going to need to reach out into the community and get youth involved. That’s why I created this special award and special program, and I really hope folks all across the vintage car spectrum take the idea and run with it so we can keep this passion thriving for many generations to come.”

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In the event that you are trying to find “real” gas in the northwest, Jim has found an interesting link

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PTC Newsletter: by E-Mail?

Do you wish you got your newsletter earlier? Well, we can solve that very easily. If you are willing to receive your newsletter via email, we can probably save at least a week in the time it takes for you to get the newsletter. That week is what it takes us to print the newsletter, collate, and mail. Sound good? Simply confirm with our newsletter editors your current email address to: (tiger2@). Not only will you get the info earlier, but you will help the club control our costs.

We need your help! If you know of any Sunbeam Events, please contact your Activities Co-coordinator and we’ll get it in the newsletter.

Want to avoid mail delays? Receive your next issue of the PTC Newsletter emailed to you on-line. Contact us at Tiger2@ with your email address

We want to hear your great stories! Do you have a great story to share? Send us the details with your photos. Let us know!

DO WE HAVE YOUR CURRENT ADDRESS AND EMAIL? HELP US KEEP OUR RECORDS UP TO DATE AND SEND YOUR CHANGES TO BUDD OR THE EDITOR.

Profile your car!

We would like to have a profile of your car, even if everyone knows who you are. Please email your profile to Mike & Kathryn. New to the PTC, Let us know the details, as we would like to do a feature article on your car!

We want to hear your great stories! Do you have a great story to share? Send us the details with your photos. Let us know!

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New Sunbeam Tiger die cast model being made – follow the link



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Vintage Racing

2011 SOVREN EVENT CALENDAR

All vintage events sponsored by SOVREN. More info for these and other NW vintage events can be found at:

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same:

A recent Audi advertisement caught my eye. The lead in to the advertisement states:

“The yellow light was invented in 1920. Almost one hundred years later, 85% of drivers have no idea what to do when they see one.”

Doesn’t that seem true?

Thanks: Kevin

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Renewing your membership?

Members are asked to please send all membership correspondence to Budd at: 14720 30th NE, Seattle, WA. 98155 (206)364-8478 or via email: budd.bennion@.

Annual Membership fee $32.00 US/35.00 for foreign members.

Canadian Funds Payment to PTC

We ask each Canadian member to calculate the current exchange rate into US funds. Example: dues today $35.00USD=38.50 CAD (based on 10% exchange rate)

Make payment payable to Pacific Tiger Club and we will process via our bank. Exchange rates are constantly changing. For assistance you may use the following website:

Nostalgia Link

This is a web-site featuring the original factory brochures for nearly every American car you have ever owned.

Pick the manufacturer, the year and the model. Enjoy! 

lov2xlr8.no/broch1.html

Thanks: Budd

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'If you think the price for Obamacare is too high, wait until you see what they want for the "Obamacar."

A car that once belonged to Barack Obama -- a 2005 Chrysler 300C -- is now on the auction block, and the minimum bid is $1 million.



 

From the Huffington Post article:    ................
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