Another year Begins, but this year is a Special one as the Club celebrates its 50^th Birthday.

At the February Meeting we heard of the great plans ahead that you can enter on your Social Calendar. The committee has approved some extra funding so it is sure to be great value but also a great chance to catch up with old & new friends in their old and not so new cars. Listen out soon for a special 50^th Birthday polo shirt that you can wear proudly in & out of your Triumph.

Personally, I am looking forward to October. The Adelaide Motorsport Festival Returns, along with the Classic Adelaide Rally, many including me will head off to the National Meeting in Bathurst NSW and at that time of year we also have our Day of Triumph and Annual Observation Run.  Meranie’s Dad will be paying his first visit to Australia in October also, and it will be great for him to meet and experience the club that we both chat so much about.

However lots of exciting and fun stuff before then. I spent a few hours polishing the Spitfire before the All British Day, so I am sure you will see me out and about in that soon on a run while I have no need for a baby seat.  Hope to see you in your Triumph at as many events as you can this year.

Duane Kaak

November 2014 Report – the Shortest one yet?

The Committee had a meeting in early November to discuss FasTRak and I am pleased to announce we will be adding some more information in there as a result of your feedback.

On the opposite side, my Presidents reports will also be a bit less as I am told I can go on a bit too long ? I am sorry, I am passionate about my cars and our Club.

So to keep it short, we are still looking for someone to join the Executive Committee. Don’t worry, I do not go on as long at the Committee Meetings, it is only every second month or so for an hour, and a quick catch up at events and general meetings etc.

Other than that, as this is likely the last chance to say it, I would love to wish all the TSOA Members and their families a very Merry Christmas. It seems so early to do it, but as the Christmas events are just around the corner and the Pageant has been held it is not too early and better than late.

Travel safely wherever you go, enjoy your Triumph and don’t forget to add all the upcoming events into your 2015 TSOA SA Calendar if you have one already, or purchase one soon!

Duane Kaak

October Report

This is my favourite time of year in the Club’s Calendar as my favourite annual events of Day of Triumph and All Triumph Observation Run. Then the Christmas Dinner, Mid Week run and the Ice Cream Run. Great weather for driving a Triumph with the roof off, down or just the windows down.

Competition events are still on, and each month our club mailbox is flooded with other clubs in other towns holding classic car events for this time of year and into the new year. Certainly something for everyone with any taste of a Motoring Passion.

Our last meeting had on stage an Audi R8, not a Triumph, but it was great to meet the owner who is as passionate about his car as most of you are. His story was certainly entertaining of how his purchase of an Aston Martin turned into the Audi. And his love of his car shone through.

Reminded me a little of how my search in 1999 for an MG resulted in a car I had never seen nor heard of, the Triumph Spitfire. The places the Spitty and I have travelled to have likely amazed the most qualified mechanic with its whines, grinds, wheezes and rattles, but I love that car so much and despite the occasional fault from lack of use, it never stops to put a smile on my face.

On the last club run through the Adelaide Hills it was given a chance to stretch its legs without a navigator, enough to catch up on the cars in front, and leave some behind all at legal speeds. The Spitfire can barely exceed the legal limits, but handles so well through the twists and turns of the Hills areas and due to my recent absence from the race track, it was a blast hugging the apex and zooming through our glorious country side with the breeze blowing around me. I truly feel alive when driving my classic cars. There is nothing boring about it.

Thankfully on our runs we always keep our driving standards safe. It is a shame that we have to share the road with other less attentive drivers and it was with great shock I was alerted to an accident involving one of our members on his way to the National Meeting in WA. All the signs indicate he was not at fault, but I fear that his beautiful Triumph, featured in our 2015 Calendar, will no longer feel the open road again. However Triumphs can be replaced, lives can’t and it was pleasing to hear that although he sustained some serious injuries, he lives another day to enjoy his passion of Classic Cars. On behalf of the TSOA, we wish him a full & speedy recovery.

Due to my Wedding Plans, I will not be able to attend the Day of Triumph at Civic Park which I am sure will be a huge success. Come along in your Triumph to get your Historic Rego Inspection completed, or to collect a free copy of our 2015 Commerative Calendar. I am looking forward to seeing some great photos and hearing some great reports. Until then, safe and happy motoring.

Duane

September Report

Spring is here, and the Social Calendar is filling fast.

And so are the committee positions thankfully, with a new Secretary. Thank you and welcome to Dianne to the Executive Committee.  We are still seeking one more dedicated Triumph enthusiast to join the executive committee, as the “Competition Secretary”. No need to attend every race event, the reporting will be done by the racing guys who participated. However the committee needs someone to vote and assist with the administrative tasks that come with the club. The executive committee meets every few months, typically before the general meeting so you won’t have to lose any free nights on your calendar.

Speaking of Calendars, we are planning a 2015 TSOA SA Calendar. I have seen a few great photo submissions, there are still spaces, but get in fast if you would love to have a photo of your pride and joy considered. I am really looking forward to having one of these on my wall early next year. Email these through to Natalie Farrell.

We had some passionate discussion about our club communications at the general meeting, most members seem to feel the email newsletter doesn’t give them all they want? So this month as you read this email newsletter, make a note of what else you would like added and let us know how we can improve it. Several members advised they still like paper newsletters. Cost has never been an issue, sure these email ones are cheaper, but producing a lighter newsletter bi-monthly was intended to make the Editor’s position responsibilities lighter and just include the essentials. What other essentials are needed each month? The executive committee will consider your feedback and discuss this further so please pass it all to me for consideration so we can keep you all updated as you need!

Until then, this is the best of time of year to be driving your Triumph when the sun is shining to keep you warm enough to not freeze with the roof off or dodgy heater, but not too hot that your radiator boils at the stop lights! I hope to be spotting you all on runs soon.

Duane

It is going to be a big year ahead for the TSOA. We just held our AGM for 2014 and the big items such as arranging a National Rally for 2016 and 50th Birthday Celebrations in 2015 were all mentioned. These events should showcase our club and let us celebrate all that is good with our club and the Triumph marque. I am very excited to know that I will be there for them and of course I will be happy to go to extra meetings, make calls, go on field trips, send emails whatever is needed to get these events done and all the other usual club running activities.

But I need your help….

As I write the Secretary and Competition Secretary Positions are vacant. These positions are not too much work, taking a few minutes and sending to the Editor, giving a brief report. Not too onerous, but still vitally important. Your Club Needs You

Do you have any Event Management Skills? Are you a Marketing Guru? Do you love Catering? Have you got some great connections? What can you bring to the Club for the big events?

We have plenty of people who are always involved, but we always need fresh ideas, wisdom, enthusiasm and someone to share the load. Spring is just creeping around the corner, new things are growing and blooming, maybe you can too?

Please feel welcome to contact me or any other committee member to discuss however you feel you can help, for a short while, or for the next year, large or small contributions are always welcomed.

Duane

July Report August is the AGM time again. Our long term members know the drill really well, a short general meeting, open bar for 1 free drink, then the AGM formalities begin. Each year it is always a little nervous wondering who will nominate for the Committee Positions. I intend on nominating myself again for President, but like all other Committee members, we welcome anyone else to nominate. Maybe then we can actually have an ?election?. I truly love being involved with the Club in any position, helping however I can. Remember my IKEA theory? For those that feel like they don?t get much value out of the club, here is your chance to change it, by putting something in yourself and making a difference. Thankfully many other committee members are also happy to re nominate, however at this stage no one has expressed an interest in Nominating for the role of Secretary. Jack has done a wonderful job of compiling all the mail in, taking minutes, braving the stage each month to sit alongside various Presidents, and been actively involved in Committee meetings inputting into the club. However, like most people putting in a good few years it is time for someone new to take over. All Committee Positions are declared vacant, so even if the Secretary Position isn?t for you, but you would like to nominate for any other position, please do, as I know many Committee Members are happy to be involved wherever they are needed or wherever there is a vacancy. So as you read this, if there is even the slightest interest in helping your Club to thrive, grow and achieve, please feel welcome to contact me or anyone on the current committee to have a casual chat. Just like IKEA, all tools for the job are provided!

My June “Report” or more my monthly thoughts….

Last month was pretty quiet on the social side of the club and given the current weather (windy, cold & raining as I write this), I am sure many of you prefer to stay in a warm snuggly bed, or cosy lounge room than venture out to brave the elements. This is a great time to write my monthly report, indoors rather than working on a car or the house. Maybe you also read the Trak when the weather is not so nice outside, curled up with a coffee? Once the read is over, maybe you could also jot down a few words, write a technical article on how to do something, or a humorous story about how not to do something, or just a story about you and your Triumph. The magazine is a much better read when it has a great variety of articles. Go on, do it! I’ve not heard everyone’s story as to how they came to buy their first Triumph, and why? Or some pictures of you and your Triumph from many years ago? At the last meeting we were donated a large back catalogue of Trak magazines, with some great old photos, but I know there are many great photos and stories out there that have never been told through the magazine.

The Competition side still had some activity recently with members participating in Hillclimbs, Super Sprints & regularity competions.  By the time you read this a group of cars from SA will have also competed at Wakefield Park in NSW, so I am sure they will have some great photos and stories to report. I am attending as a spectator, Junior Pit Crew, coffee guy etc. I also went with Neil Martin 2 years ago and my favourite memory was of “Jeff” in his early 20’s in his Dad’s TR7 V8 (Peter Wards) starting last place in the reverse grid,  going cross country, using every inch of track and every horsepower under the hood to get around and pass the 20 or so slower cars. David Lindsay will be competing in his Dad’s (Trevor Lindsay) GT6 so with young lads at the wheels of Dad’s car driving them like they stole them, it is sure to be just as fun to watch as it is to compete.

Coming up soon is an afternoon run, leaving about 1:30pm in the afternoon for an Afternoon tea. Plenty of time that morning to wash off the dust, check battery, fuel, oil , lights etc and meet us there! Maybe it is a late enough start that your son can get of bed and you can let him have a drive of your Triumph? Hope to see you there.

Duane

Winter is now here, although I have to say that Autumn was much kinder weather for driving a Triumph than I’d normally expect. The weekender had great weather for a trip over to the Copper Coast region of Yorke Peninsula, and Mallala track days have not seen any rain as yet. Regardless of rain, cold or not, I still enjoy getting in my car and going on a Club run or to a Club event throughout winter. I believe it is good for my windscreen wipers which otherwise would seize up!

My TR7 will be having a short stint off the track as I undertake a gearbox removal to fix a 3rd gear synchro problem that resulted in my completing many laps of Mallala in 3rd gear only. I am certainly impressed by the way those 5 speed boxes can handle some hard labour behind not only the TR7 4 cyl, but the Rover V8. Of course, eventually something had to wear out or break, I do my best to ensure the longevity of the parts (too dear to replace them too often) but I surely take my hat off to the team at the Leyland Motor works back in the 70’s for developing and fitting a great gearbox. I still drove the TR7 home and took it on the weekender, occasionally forgetting to be at the right speed or revs to change into 3rd. Ouch….

I really love telling new people how my Spitfire gearbox has overdrive (albeit not currently working), again, another credit to someone from many years ago. Despite it’s lack of synchros, oil changes and age, it still lives on and manages to survive, as do so many parts fitted to these old triumphs. I have no fear in jumping into an old Triumph and driving it anywhere.

One thing that has not lasted as long though, is our Club’s constitution. Next year is our clubs 50th Birthday (Yay!) and the constitution was originally written in 1965, before TR7’s or Stag’s were even dreamt of. Despite an update since, it is now time again for an overhaul to accommodate the parts and pieces of our Club that we now all love and enjoy. The aims will be the same, of ensuring the Triumph marque lives on for many, many years to come, and that as a community we support anyone who loves Triumph cars and their passion for historic motoring but with some timely updates to ensure it is politically correct and reflects how we have historically seemed to operate to ensure that we look after the members and the marque, and how we believe we will need to operate over the coming years.

t is not an easy task, and thank you to Roger Lange for agreeing to take over as the Club’s Public Officer, and to Mike Temby for all the research and development he is putting into it. There is consultation with other groups and departments to be had but we expect to have a draft out to you all soon. Perhaps removing a gearbox is not that hard a task at all in comparison?

Duane Kaak

This month is the first time the Committee is sending an electronic newsletter via email. Maybe you prefer to get it in paper, that is still possible and over the coming months naturally there will be lots of changes as we set this up, alter it, add things, take things out, update email addresses and tune it up, all in the name of keeping you up to date about the important things you want to know, or need to know in a timely manner. If you have access to email, then it will be fast, hence our initial thought of naming it FastTrak.

I like the name, not just because it describes how quick you can get the condensed Trak, but also I think because I like to go Fast on the Track and after fitting and rebuilding my brakes, I will be happy to report my results again soon. This year I am hoping there will be a few other Triumphs, or TSOA members joining me, Geoff Burdon has sorted out some issues in his TR7, Bryan Young continues to amaze all with his sleepy looking Vitesse, and I know Robin George is rebuilding an engine, hopefully in time for the 6 hr Relay. A new member Richard is also keen to get his Datsun out at Mallala. But be it participating in Motorsport, or on a Social Run, I hope to see you all and your Triumph soon.

Duane

We had our first formal meeting for the year earlier this week and it was again great to see all the usual faces and even more great to see a few new members again that have recently bought a Triumph. 3 new faces and wonderful new members, enthusiastic about their new pride and joy. They likely won’t believe it, but I think the regular members all know that that pride and joy somehow never leaves you when you own and drive a Triumph and are involved and participate in this club. Hopefully in many years to come they will know this to be true! It seems “Stu” already has got lost on a Club run, so his initiation is complete and he has learned who and who not to follow. It will be great to see many more new members in their Triumph on a run, or even longer term (was going to say old but didn’t want to be misread…) members that have finally completed restorations or rejuvenations or simply just blown off the dust.

I always encourage you all to also display your Triumph on stage, in any condition at an upcoming meeting. Sure we have had some absolutely amazing examples of Triumphs on stage, a few non Triumphs too, and even my humble little Spitfire has graced the stage twice over the past decade. It has rust, scratches, panel gaps and that bootlid… by the way I have another bootlid to go on now, just needs a bit of work and a coat of paint, so it is on what is a rather long list of Triumph tasks & projects, but until then I will still proudly drive it around as is, bruises and all.

It was exciting to see Bill Jones GT40 project this week. I couldn’t have asked for a better example to help nail home my IKEA message about building it yourself and how good it feels to put some effort in and see the reward at the end. I know a build from kit project does require some extra special skills above that of the average home mechanic, I would love to think I could do all that work myself but there are so many things that are best left to the experts. Plus if we did all the work on our Triumphs I’d hate to think of what the quality or knowledge of tradespeople would be like in the future. It is already becoming difficult to find a Mechanic under 25 y.o who knows what Twin SU’s are, let alone how to tune them!

Computers in cars controlling everything are here to stay and becoming more and more popular. So to are computers in our homes. In future, maybe you will be reading these reports on a computer screen as the switch to faster communication continues to creep into our everyday lives. Having just moved house, I now have all of my bills delivered to me ‘online’ or via email. Maybe one day mail boxes will be a historical item. It is impossible to imagine where what life will be like in 10 – 20 years. We have now made a decision to reduce the printed number of Trak magazines to bi monthly, and where possible, it is my intention that we keep you all updated via our Website, or an email of hello and our important upcoming events. I know many of you don’t mind this at all as you are already comfortable with this technology. The Committee welcomes your feedback as to how you all find this, good or bad, as we will review it at the end of this year.

The end of the year is also being filled up with other Triumph events. The WA team are hosting the National Meeting in mid to late October, November is our Day of Triumph, the Observation Run (and a Presidential Wedding…. ) And the Christmas Dinner date is set already.  But well before then I hope to see you all in your Triumph soon.

Duane