June 2014

Chairman, John Green, 01709 373561 neverdareafool@hotmail.com

Secretary, Di Belcher, 01709 376250 dicolbelcher@talktalk.net

Treasurer Colin Belcher 01709 376250 dicolbelcher@talktalk.net

Editor Peter Fawcett 01142 301023 jagxjsport@btinternet.com

Meeting venue, The Waverley, Brinsworth Road, Catcliffe, Rotherham, S60 5RW

Meeting dates, the third Wednesday of the month at 20-00hrs

This month’s load of drivel

Well! We had a very good Drive it Day, those of you who were not there missed a treat but we will try to repeat it for everyone’s benefit, one day! Our last meeting was a bit of a quiet do, the room we normally use at The Waverley was in use by a Wedding Party (well, they pay, we don’t, so something has to give) so we adjourned to an alcove in the Lounge near to where the Triumph Motorcycle Club were having their meeting, popular place for Motor Clubs this Waverley. Not being able to run our quizzes etc we sat around and discussed the state of the union e.g. the Branch. General consensus was that we need most urgently a website; Paul is going to consult his Son who works in the IT Business for some guidance. Events were discussed and the general agreement was that we should give Harley a miss due to the organiser’s reticence to allocate a Branch stand for the ASMMOC, should anyone have an idea for filling July 13th please let me know. I was given the task of contacting Rotherham Council re the Clifton Park bash and the organisers of the Brinsworth Village Gala and Classic Car Show re Branch areas for the ASMMOC, I have done this and both parties are in full agreement, I will give details as and when. Reminders for the next month are, Renishaw Hall on Wednesday June 11th and the MMOC Northern Regional Rally at Kirklees Steam Railway on June 15th, you all should have got details of these two events but if not please contact me. There is an updated Events Diary at the back of this Newsletter. Finally, read Paul’s article, it is good. JG

Don’t forget the next meeting June 18th (if it happens, several Members are away on holiday).

I am playing with the idea of a Branch outing on August Bank Holiday Monday. The Anson engine Museum at Poynton sounds interesting, a couple of hours there and then drop down into Buxton, Bakewell and Rowsley for the Ladies entertainment (shopping), might make for a nice day out. Interested?? Please let me know.

Our Host Day on August 10th is fast approaching. Most of the organising is done but we still need Volunteers on the day as are suitable tombola gifts for fund raising. I will be calling a ‘Committee Meeting sometime over the next couple of weeks to finalise the details, you are all welcome to attend.

MEMBERS’ OTHER CARS: the P4 Rover.

During the 1950s, the P4 Rover epitomised middle class taste in motor cars; it was discreet in its styling, quiet and refined in its manners, and still retained the vestiges of traditional English coachbuilding and associated craftsmanship. Colin Belcher’s delectable example of the breed is a 1956 ‘90’ in sober black with a delightfully original red leather interior.

Introduced in September 1949 for the 1950 season, Rover’s P4 in ‘75’ guise replaced the P3 which had been an amalgam of pre-war styling and modern independent front suspension and a new six cylinder engine which incorporated overhead inlet valves with side exhaust. Rolls-Royce also adopted this configuration in pursuit of a large inlet valve which was thought necessary given the low octane rating of ‘pool’ petrol available just after the war.

The P4 range had an impressively long production run from 1949 until its demise in 1964 by which time it was looking decidedly long in the tooth. For such a conservative manufacturer as Rover, the P4’s styling looked positively progressive when introduced in 1949, based as it was, upon the post-war designs for Studebaker by Raymond Loewy. The single spotlight within the Rover’s grille echoed exactly the central ‘faux’ jet orifice of the Studebaker’s, and it was this distinctive feature which gave rise to the endearing epithet, ‘Cyclops’ (the Cyclops was one of a fabled race of Sicilian monocular giants, with their single eye in the middle of their foreheads). The P4 is also known as the ‘Auntie Rover’ within the classic car firmament.

Rover ingeniously generated a myriad of models from this single P4 ‘model’ during its fifteen year life with 60, 75, 80, 90, 95, 100, 105R, 105S and 110. The nomenclature referred, more or less, to the bhp output of the cars, so much variation in performance was evident within the range; the 60 with its four cylinder mill was a modest performer, whilst the 110 with Westlake cylinder head was considered by some pundits to be somewhat overpowered for its now-antiquated chassis. The 105R represented Rover’s attempt at producing its own automatic transmission (hence ‘R’ for Roverdrive) which was unsuccessful; it employed a power-sapping and highly complex arrangement of hydraulic torque converter, single dry plate clutch, two speed synchromesh gearbox and Laycock overdrive (made in Sheffield!). By contrast the 105S (S for synchromesh) was a sprightly performer; 0-60mph in 12.8 seconds as opposed to the 105R’s lethargic 25.2 seconds. Little wonder that many 105Rs were converted to ‘S’ specification and they remain a very rare sight indeed today. In retrospect, it seems incredible that Rover should see fit to develop their own unique automatic transmission, when well- proven devices were available ‘off the shelf’ from General Motors and Borg Warner.

Towards the end of production, Rover rationalised its P4 range to just two six cylinder models, the 95 and 110, the 95 devoid of overdrive, and both cheapened with steel body panels replacing aluminium. But by 1964, Rover’s luxurious P5 3-litre was selling well, and their ground-breaking P6 2000, a car that would forever dispel Rover’s traditional image of sobriety, was almost ready for production.

Footnote. Your editor has a soft spot for the P4, having owned over the years no fewer than five of the model, a 60, two 80s, a 100 and a 110. They all made excellent family cars, but were prone to excessive corrosion given Sheffield’s salt-laden winter roads, and in some areas were labour-intensive to work on. I recall replacing over thirty rubber bushes in the front suspension on my 100, and overhead inlet valves with side exhausts were a singular pain when top end overhauls loomed! My P4 100 was registered 175 WPB in 1960, so may have been have been supplied by the same Surrey Rover dealer as Colin’s 1956 P4 90.

Prof. PF

Little things help a lot

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

Albert Einstein Part one

A look at modern updates that benefit Minoring.

Modifications to Minors are in some quarters looked on with disdain, like disc brakes, radial tyres, alternators the list goes on. I am going to try and convince the naysayers that some of these modifications benefit modern day Minoring. Let’s face it, road conditions today are far in excess of the days when Minors were the popular family car, today we have drivers who look about 12 years old aiming a 200 BHP Subaru up to the traffic lights and then slamming the brakes on at the last moment, this is how they teach them these days, no progressive slowing down by using the gearbox and applying the brake in plenty of time like we were taught. With this phenomenon we need to improve the mechanics of our Minors to cope with these road conditions and those motorists that think the roads were made just for them.

To modify your Minor is no great sin, ‘keep it original’ is a cry we often hear, it does not gel with me. My saloon has disc brakes, a servo, tele shockers and a myriad of small mods which in my eye go towards safe and successful Minoring, and I look at it as making your car as you want it.

Gas tele shock conversion, highly recommended

Let’s kick off with the favourite, disc brakes. You can buy a conversion kit from the Minor Specialists for not a lot of money. ESM do a Marina based kit for about £400, should you wish to go more exotic there is a Ford based kit which will hit you the best part of £600+, you pays your money, you takes your choice but at the end of the day it does improve your braking, making it easier to avoid a coming together with the last minute braker in front of you. In the early days you could go to the Scrappy and get the necessary parts from a dead Marina. The hubs would need modifying to take Minor wheel stud centres, a simple task for an accomplished machinist. I went down this road and to date have not had a ha’porth of trouble with them. Downside of this is that there are not many dead Marina’s about these days, if fact there’s not a lot of Marina’s around, period!

Marina based disc brake. Never had any bother with these, still on the original pads

Next, a servo. Now these rascals are not there to improve your braking. No, they are there to make pushing the pedal easier. Simple to fit and costing up to £150 for a complete conversion kit. Cheap way out? Do like me and go to the Scrappy and find a car with a remote servo, something like a Humber or a Hillman. Clean it up, make the necessary brake pipes up and wallop, an easy pedal.

Servo fits nicely in the right hand side of the engine bay

While we are on the subject of brakes, a remote brake fluid reservoir is worth every penny of the thirty or so quid that they cost. The reason for this is, we all know what a thingy the Minor brakes can be to bleed, well the remote reservoir eliminates a lot of these problems by keeping the fluid level above that in the master cylinder. With the level of the fluid in the master cylinder being level(ish) with that in the wheel cylinders air is difficult to get out by normal bleeding methods a higher level helps force out the air trapped in the wheel cylinders. And as daft as it might sound it does improve your braking.

Homemade remote brake fluid reservoir, originally from a Scania Truck!

One of the downsides of fitting disc brakes and a servo is that under hard braking the back end of the car would like to jump to the front of the car, this is called axle tramp. To eliminate this, the fitting of telescopic shock absorbers and a front anti roll bar are advisable.

I have fitted tele shockers all round and did fit an anti-roll bar it worked fine taking away the axle tramp and eliminating the inherent oversteer that Minors suffer from. Silly story is, I took the anti-roll bar off to do some front suspension maintenance and did not refit it immediately, when it came to refitting it I could not find it and still cannot find it to this day, has someone nicked it? This is the only thing I can think of because I am normally a very tidy person with a place for everything and everything in its place. Can you solve the mystery? Answers on a twenty pound note please (I need the money to buy another). Following the updating of this article I have bought and fitted a new anti-roll bar, corners and roundabouts improved!!!! Part two next month. JG

Teenage memories of the day the Derbyshire Police visited my home in Gainsborough Lincs by

Paul Richardson

or

Is there a Morris Minor Traveller owner out there who has committed murder?

One midweek day in October 1970

I had arrived home from school at about 1630 on this day, my brother usually arrived home a little later and my sister had not arrived home yet although she should have been home by now.

Waiting outside my home was a dark blue coloured saloon (memory fails me as to the make) inside were two smartly dressed strangers talking but being very nosey as to who was passing.

I did not have to go past the car as it was parked on the opposite side of the road. They looked very interested in me when I went down the drive.

I looked out of the front window to see the two men walking down the drive. They knocked on the back door and I answered (at this stage I was quite worried as they looked like meanies), one of them was looking through the garage doors where our Green Morris Minor Traveller was registration 311 EEW (no longer on the road unfortunately) this was my mother` s favourite car nicknamed `the Oxo box` (term of endearment)

The bald one asked me “where is your dad” ( his manner was somewhat aggressive), I replied at work (they commented that he worked in Scunthorpe which is 18 miles away (this gave me a really scary feeling because they knew where he was really and appeared to be testing me) the younger one then asked “where is your mother” I replied that she was at work, “when will she be back” the bald one asked I replied that she would be back at about 1700. The younger on said “ok”. The bald one then made some signs to the younger one and said “we will be back”. I was scared particularly as they got into their car and waited outside our house. The curtains never stopped twitching as I was alone and scared.

At approximately 1700 from my rear bedroom I could see my mother walking home the stranger`s car was parked at the front of the house.

I was in a right panic as I could not tell my mother that two strangers were in a car at the front of our house.

My mother entered the drive and then the house into the kitchen and was greeted by me trying to tell some garbled story about the men in the car. I did not finish the story when there was a knock at the door.

The two men asked who my mother was and introduced themselves as a Detective Inspector and a Detective Sergeant from the Derbyshire Police, this had to be strange as we were in Lincolnshire (cannot remember their names). They then said that they wanted to interview my dad but would not say what it was about.

I was then told to go upstairs to my room and my sister who had also arrived home was to told to do the same (my brother was taking part in some after school activities so was not in the house)

This sent all sorts of alarm bells ringing for my sister and me as the only other comment we heard was that as my father would be arriving at 1745 they would wait for him to arrive.

My Father duly arrived at 1745 and we could hear upstairs muffled conversations as my father answered questions about our car, his place of work and where he was on October 12.

The next thing we could see out of my sister`s bedroom was my father walking to and getting into the dark blue saloon with the two men who we now knew to be Derbyshire police.

We immediately went downstairs to see our mother who was clearly confused and upset which was distressing but made worse because she would not tell us what it was all about.

After what seemed an eternity of asking questions of mother and getting nowhere my father arrived back home after about 1 hour.

The relief on my mother`s face said it all.

Apparently my father had to make a statement as to his movements for the whole week. He was told that his statement would be checked via work records.

It was only then that my father was able to tell us some of the details of what it was all about.

They were looking at owner/drivers aged between 35 and 50 of green/white Travellers.

As you can imagine the story was news on the telly for quite some time as it was a shocking murder.

It made things a little difficult for me at school as the subject was much talked about in town, and word got around that my father had been interviewed, he was at that time a local town councillor.

The subject was commented at the time by my geography teacher in front of the class. (Doubly difficult as he was a town councillor of a different political persuasion to my father). There must have been several Morris Travellers in town but the police were mainly interested green and white ones (later only white ones) and our registration had some of the numbers or letters of a suspect car seen in the murder area.

Our car still remained a favourite by all the family and did not stop my father from keeping the car. Thankfully we never saw those detectives again.

Unfortunately the murder has to this day still not been solved.

Was Barbara Mayo murdered by a Morris Minor Traveller owner?

Is that Traveller still around?

Is the driver still alive?

Does he or has he belonged to the MMOC?

Some background information to the Barbara Mayo murder

Student teacher Barbara Mayo, 24, was found strangled in woods at Ault Hucknall by a group of friends from Mansfield in 1970.

Detectives look set to link Peter Tobin – convicted of killing three young women – to nine other murder victims, including Barbara.

Her murder sparked the biggest manhunt the country had seen at that time. She had been raped, battered and strangled.

It is thought Barbara was murdered while hitch-hiking to Catterick, North Yorkshire, to fetch her boyfriend's car.

Following an investigation into numerous leads, the murder hunt was scaled down but never stopped.

Tobin's suspected link to Barbara's murder comes as a result of Operation Anagram, which is has been co-ordinated by Strathclyde Police.

Anagram was launched in 2006 and involves detectives in eight UK forces who have investigated Tobin's life.

Derbyshire Police originally investigated Barbara's murder, and Inspector Kam Bria said: "Any new information will be looked at by Derbyshire Police, in consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service."

Derbyshire police promised in 2008 that the hunt for Barbara's killer would not end until someone was convicted.

Barbara went out on the morning of Monday, October 12, 1970, but never returned to the flat she shared in London with David Pollard.

Barbara's body was found a mile from the M1 and eight miles from Mansfield, a week after she was reported missing.

A witness thought they saw Barbara at Trowell service station.

There were also reports that Barbara got into a white Morris 1000 Traveller on the A610 at Kimberley.

Read more: http://www.nottinghampost.com/Serial-killer-linked-murder-student-teacher-1970/story-12249858-detail/story.html#ixzz32XYSvRhX

Read more at http://www.nottinghampost.com/Serial-killer-linked-murder-student-teacher-1970/story-12249858-detail/story.html#ILrOCUlwvSrljGyh.99

Since the hunt for Barbara's killer began, more than 47,000 statements have been taken, 126,300 people interviewed, nearly 185,000 Morris Travellers checked and 78,000 telephone messages taken.

Events we are encouraged to attend

July 6th a new event. Brinsworth Gala and Classic Car Show. We have a Club area booked for this one. I sent you all copies of the entry form so get ‘em filled in and sent of plus let me know who is going.

July 9th, Wednesday. The Rover P4 Group Annual Bash at The Waverley, 6pm onwards, free entry. This is one of the premier midweek events in the area and is well worth attending just for the magnificent pie and peas put on by the Landlord. uly 20th, Madmog at Rufford Abbey. This is one of the nicest rally fields in the MMOC with the attractions of the ruined Abbey and the magnificent Park, well worth a day out just for the Carvery. Advance entry is recommended; see the Madmog website for entry details. We can go to this one in convoy if needed.

July 20th is the Madmog event. An excellent ‘do’ are we going “in convoy” or individually??? Let me know.

July 27th, Brid and Wolds at Wansford. Annual bash of the Brid and Wolds Branch. Over the weekend camping available, contact Chris Ackrill on their website for more details.

August 3rd, Sheffield City Centre Motor Show, 8-30 am to 10-30am entry, open to the public 11-00am to 16-00pm. A premier event in the centre of Sheffield, all the shops are open and there are other attractions and entertainment. I have booked us a Branch Display Plot for seven cars but we will be able to accommodate more.

August 9th, Saturday. Leeds Branch Rally at Temple Newsum. Yes, the day before our Host Day but, fair exchange is no robbery!!!

August 10th, our Host Day at the Transport Museum. Organisation is well advanced but we will need lots of entries and lots of helpers and lots of Tombola prizes. Free admission to the Museum, free bus rides to Retail World, Rotherham Town Centre, Whiston and Wickersley.

August 17th, East Yorkshire Branch Rally at Sewerby. This is one of our favourites, held at Sewerby House with Bridlington next door, a day at the Seaside and a Morris Minor Rally what more do you want??? Need to set off at 8-00am.

August 24th, North Lincs Branch Rally, at the Waters Edge Visitors Centre, Barton on Humber. I do not have full details of this event but will investigate and let you know.

August 31st, Wentworth Woodhouse, another phenomenal bash at this most delightful venue, pre entry is strongly advised see the Stately Solutions website for entry forms etc. can we have a Branch display at this one??? Ideas are welcome.

September 7th, Rotherham Show, details are on the Rotherham Borough Council website. We have a Branch stand at this event. Again please get your entries in and let me know

September 14th, South Yorkshire Transport Museum Annual Rally. A good day out with free entry to the Museum and free bus rides; see the Museum website for details.

Should I have forgotten any events please remind me and I will include them in the next diary?

And after all this I am going to pootle off to Spain for a couple of weeks to recover and view the all Spain Volkswagen Rally.

Wanted

An Events Diarist to research events and compile a diary for Members information, not exactly difficult but would take a lot off my workload, will not involve event organising we need a separate Events Organiser for that task, interested? Talk to me.

Addendum, aka the lack of a Newsletter

Due to technical problems i.e.; the Editor having one too many and falling down, dislocating his shoulder and yours truly having had a bit of remedial surgery on my right hand, key pushing has been difficult. We will, however, make it up to you by catching up with Newsletter editions, that is, there will be a July Newsletter following shortly (like next week).