April sure started out well with wonderful sunny and warm weather, however, as early-May showers have kicked in and it looks like the rain is here to stay for a couple of days. Having said that it was great to get the TR out for some early spring blasts to clear the cobwebs after a very long winter.
Spring Ragtop is at the printers so it should be arriving in your mailboxes in a couple of weeks. A special mention to Wayne and Debbie McGill’s TR6 which on 19th April celebrated 50 years of being under their stewardship. You can read this story together with many more enjoyable articles in our favourite magazine. Here’s a teaser of what to expect:
It was fun to get out to J.D. Auto in mid-month. Joe as always did a fine job of covering a number of topics near and dear to our hearts. Now that Shell is gradually adding ethanol to all its gasoline, including the 91 octane, there was a fair bit of discussion on what the impacts of ethanol are on our Brit cars. Joe indicated to stick with 89 and 91 octane, avoid 93 and quite simply drive the car. New components are more tolerant of ethanol but I think we need to do some more investigating on what’s the right thing to do to ensure that our Triumphs are protected as much as possible. Any volunteers out there to write an article for Ragtop? We had a great turnout of more than 40 club members and there was a smattering of Triumphs there too. Derek looked after us by organizing pizza courtesy of the club.
On the following Sunday it was time for the 40th British Car Show & Flea Market at the Ancaster Fairgrounds. It was a tad chilly but the rain held off and there was a good turnout of ~300 LBCs in the busy parking area. There was the usual variety of about 130 tables for vendors inside Marritt Hall together with lots of flea market participants outside. Volunteers, including Al, Clive, Derek, Rob, Ron, Warren and yours truly, manned the TTC tables and we had lots of opportunities for chatting with club members, both old and new. The time just flew by and by the time we were done my voice was getting quite hoarse.
Although the routes are not yet finalised, we’ll be organizing drives over the long weekend in May so look for invites over the next week or so.
On the Monday of the long weekend – 24th May – we’re planning to attend the Thornhill Cruisers opening night event in Markham which runs from 4:00-8:00 pm. We’ve been invited by the club, and they will allocate a special parking area for us – stay tuned for the email invitation to secure your spot (admission is free).
Planning is also well underway to resume the summer BBQ that we haven’t held in a few years. It is going to take place on Saturday, June 24th, and in order to make the event more accessible to more members, we’re changing things up a little: The BBQ is being held on a weekend afternoon to allow people to come and go in daylight (it used to be held midweek in the evening). We will also be organising drives from various areas to get to the site, which is in the Rockwood area. We’re hoping that this will be our biggest one-day event in a long time. Stay tuned for more information in the next couple of weeks.
I sent a note last week indicating that time is running out to register for Spring Fling which is centred around Midland this year and runs from 26th to 28th May. The deadline for booking the hotel with preferred pricing was 30th April, however, there may be some leeway to accommodate late entries. This joint venture between the MG Car Club of Toronto (MGCCT) and the Toronto Triumph Club (TTC) has been a staple for many years. As you may know the planning for this event has alternated between the two clubs, and this year the MGCCT is proud to be your host. To book your hotel go to Hotel Reservation to register On-line click on MGTORONTO.com
To allow you to plan into June there are a number of events that you may want to plan for. Details are on our Events Calendar and in summary:
- The BritishInvasion, Locust Lane Estate Winery, Beamsville – 3rd June, 1 to 3 p.m.
- All British Classic & Antique Car Show, Caledon, 10th June – 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- VARAC Vintage Grand Prix, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – 15th to 18th June.
- Session for Street Cars at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – 15th June.
- Field of Dream Car Show, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – 18th June.
- Toronto Triumph Club BBQ – afternoon of Saturday 24th June.
Do hope I’ll see you out and about at some of the planned events over the next couple of months … it’s always a challenge to cram a bunch of car activities into a short summer window. As always, if you have any questions or comments on our club, please drop me a line.
Cheers; Dave
Dave Sims
President, Toronto Triumph Club
dave.sims@cogeco.ca
905-331-1496