Re: Re: November/December

A survey would be good – I was searching for the Practical Classics magazine survey they did. It was very interesting with regards to age and classic car ownership.

You are probably all correct with regards to pension and to spare time. I am lucky enough only to work 6 months of the year so have plenty of time to do my cars and tap away on this forum 😉 . But on the down side, I am going to have a really crap pension 😕

I also agree on the hands on work on “real” engines – I have been lucky (with zero persuasion) that my son bought an austin mini when he was 16 and totally rebuilt the engine, learning as he went. He learnt even faster when he did not realise it needed the oil checked from time to time which led to a 2nd engine rebuild with a new block. But 5 years on and he is onto his second mini (now with my help and tools that I had to buy for the Traction) changing suspension, brakes, exhaust systems without a bother. The car specific forums are crucial to this [hence this Forum will be the No1 method of attracting new members in the future]. He joined a local club here in toulouse and the age of those guys is not “youthful” and they help with all the technical issues, have deals with local garages and have a run around toulouse once a month with a café stop for a social. He loves it and has made a lot of contacts (which is helping me with my little ’69 Mini project at the moment)

The technical side does need to be at the forefront of the club including the spares and support. With out this then the classic will die out. The social side comes along with that but the emphasis should be on the driving and not just the drinking 😯 .

I do find that with older cars at shows (like the Traction), that they are put behind a string fence, are all shiny and black with the bonnet shut and stood next to them is a disgusting old mannequin dressed in an old oxfam dress (exactly what we have with Traction Universelle here) It is enough to scare any prospective member off 😆 😆

As I mentioned above, if the AGM and the show stand are butted up to each other then I am very happy to help out between the end of September and the end of April…. but the last time I wore a suit was my last day in the office 12 years ago and it will be 5 sizes too large now 😆 😆

More comments good or “constructive” should be welcome with out demonising anyone….Baz 👿 👿 👿 😆 😆 😆