The Octagon 

NEWSLETTER OF THE CLASSIC     CLUB

   Vol. 46                       No. 10                    Issue 553                     October, 2009 

MAINTAINING THE BREED FOR OVER FORTY YEARS

PRESIDENT:   Jim McSweeney.  3516 Seaford Ln., Casselberry, FL 32707 phone 407 695 2981  E-mail jimspeedmaster@aol.com.

EDITOR:   Al Cook, 8554 Amber Oak Dr. Orlando, FL 32817.  Phone 407 6678 6814- E–mail arcpa@mpinet.net.

WEBSITE:  www.classicmgclub.com  WEBMASTER:  Paul Plasschaert, E-mail: webmaster@classicmgclub.com.  Or pplasschaert@cfl.rr.com.

MEETING:  As usual it is the third Thursday, October 15^th at 7:00 PM in the Maitland Senior Center, 145 S Maitland Ave. in (you guessed it!) Maitland.    Directions: from Horatio and Orlando Ave. (AKA 17-92), Go West on Horatio to Maitland Ave. Then left (South) on Maitland Ave. to Packwood. Go right (West) on Packwood about ½ a block to the parking lot. Pull into the 1st driveway on the left.  We will discuss our October overnight tour to the Tuckaway Shores Resort in Indiatlantic.

SEPTEMBER EVENT REVIEW:  A number of our members and guests met in Maitland on Saturday September 19^th and drove to Umatilla along a lovely, off-the-main-drag route selected for us by John and Jean Camichos. We met up with another group of folks who had taken in the Lake County British Car Breakfast Club meeting earlier that morning.  We ended up with over 20 people by the time we got to Pete Rogers’ Sterling Equipment & Manufacturing Co. facility.  Pete  treated us to a tour of his plant and we got to see his growing collection of MGs.  Many of the ladies in our group took a side tour to The Clifford House Museum in nearby Eustis.  Comments from that group were uniformly positive.  We met up again for a seafood lunch back in Umatilla at the nearby Quarterdeck Restaurant where we were surprised by the generosity of our host who picked up the tab!  Thanks, Pete!  Obviously this put a smile on everyone’s face and capped off a wonderful event.

OCTOBER OVERNIGHT TOUR:  Our event for October takes place on Saturday, October 24, 2009 and will include a tour to, and an overnight stay at the Tuckaway Shores Resort in Indiatlantic FL.  The full address, for you folks with GPS toys, is 1441 S. Miramar Ave.,Indiatlantic, FL 32903.  The local telephone # is 321-723-3355 and the toll-free # for reservations is 800-820-1441.  If you haven’t made your plans yet, call now!  The resort is an old Florida Style Beach Hotel, right on the Atlantic Ocean.  It was converted to Condominium ownership a couple of years ago and was updated at the time.  Fortunately for us, this is their off season and the rates for daily rentals are surprisingly low, lower than we paid three years ago.  Be sure to tell then you are with the MG Club.

Our tour plans are to meet at our AAP (Alternate Assembly Point) which is the McDonald’s restaurant on Aloma Avenue at the corner of Aloma and Howell Branch Road, on Orlando’s west side.  Let’s meet at the reasonable time of 9:00 AM and plan to leave at 9:30.  We will stop along the way at a suitable luncheon establishment and plan to arrive with enough time for a Beach Walk.  Bring some goodies and your favorite beverage for the traditional Classic MG Club Social Hour!  At our meeting on the 15^th, we will entertain suggestions for a luncheon location and will publish the location at a later date, so that any of you who have to travel separately will have a chance to meet up with us.  

OTHER EVENTS OF INTEREST:  This is the time of year where you could, if you paid enough attention, go absolutely crazy with all the choices you have to get out in your MG.  The following is, in no sense, a complete list of events:

--Brit Bash at Wickham (formerly the Fox Lake Car Show), an event sponsored by our Friends at the MG Car Club, Florida.  It is November 6-7, 2009 in Melbourne, FL.  For information, go to BritBash@comcast.net or call Danica Perhacs, Show Coordinator at 772-770-0083.  For registration forms, go to www.mgcarclubflorida.org.

--The Famous Flankey Annual Mini Car Show and Picnic will, again this year be held at the West Orange County home of Jim and Camile Flankey on Sunday, November 22, 2009.  Put this on your calendar as a “Gotta Go” and watch your next edition of The Octagon for further information and directions.

--GOF South, Mark 44 will be hosted by MG Classics of Jacksonville and will be held on April 9-11, 2010 at Jekyll Island, GA.  The hotel is the Oceanside Inn and Suites and it isn’t too early to make both your overnight reservations and to register for the event.  For information go to www.mgclassics.org/gof2010 or get information at one of our monthly meetings.

--23^rd Annual All British Field Meet & Auto Jumble, Safety Harbor, FL is on October 23^rd (if you can’t make our October Overnighter) and is organized by the Tampa Bay Austin Healey Club.  A good alternate, if you find yourself on the wrong side of the State.  For information, go to www.tbahc.com or call Clete Gardenhour at 727-735-1447.

CLASSIFIED ADS:  Note: space permitting, we will run your ad for cars/car services or car parts for sale/needed, for one month.  If you want the ad modified or placed in the OCTAGON for another month, let us know.  Send all requests to your editor.

FOR SALE: 1973 MGB Roadster.  Restored 10 years ago and garaged since (shame, shame).  Runs and looks great.  No rust or leaks.  Eric: 386-233-8336.  Ormond Beach.  Asking $7,500 – will consider trades.