In this issue
(Click on a page number
(Click
on a page
to go directly to it.)
number to go
Annual
directlyGGAHC
to it)
dinner & meeting
report….……….…..
Annual
GGAHC dinner 1
& meeting report….…. 1
Editor’s Column … 3
Editor’s Column …..... 3
Golden Gate
Healey
Happenings
Calendar …….….… 4
Calendar
4
A Rough…….….……
Road in
Collectible Cars…. 4
A Rough Road in
Collectible Cars……...
Thunderhill
Endur- 4
ance Race ………… 7
25-Hour Endurance
Rendezvous
2009 7
Race
at Thunderhill….
Registration Form. .10
Rendezvous 2009
Newsletter
Club.... 10
Registration &
Form
Golden Gate Austin Healey Club, Inc. Sunnyvale, CA
Vol 11, No. 1
January/February 2009
Event Report: TheAnnual
GGAHC Holiday Dinner
Extraordinary people with a common interest
Information ….….. 11 GGAHC members and sympathizers met at The Old Spaghetti
Newsletter and Club
Factory in Concord on Sunday, December 7 to speak British,
Healey
Classifieds..
11 dine Italian, and have some social time. Dinner was preceded
Information
….…..… 11
Follow Magoo
to Rendezvous!
by a planning session for Rendezvous 2009, and of course a
lot of work was accomplished in the bar. Volunteers have been
identified for some of the tasks that need to be done, but more
are needed (see the Editor’s Column.)
Continued on page 2
Annual Tech Session
at British Car
Specialists, Feb 21
Registration form
on Page 10
Dave Nock will show
us how to manage
horsepower
See Calendar Page 4
Go
to page:
2, 3, 4,Happenings
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 January/February
January/February
2009
Golden
Gate1,Healey
2009
Page11
Page
GGAHC annual dinner (continued)
Attendees
Loren & Diana Parks
Nigel & Linda Rhodes
Roger & Donna Hawk
Len Hartnett
Robert & Marie Sandeman
David & Cindy Cross
Stephen & Connie Korbay
Jim & Ida Morton
Nick & Sandra Klein
Bill & Carol Putman
John & Beverly Soderling
Dave & Jerri Nock
George Henke
Terry & Linda Parsons
Kirk & Roberta Polson
Dan Sekella
Lee & Susan Bardellini
George Quintero
Cully & Julie Anderson
Norman & Shona Nock
C. Thomas
Following some intensive socializing the group moved to the
designated dinner area where introductions commenced. Unfortunately the process broke down because some of the attendees couldn’t remember their names. Dave Nock appealed for
Rendezvous
2009
volunteers and conducted the annual
business meeting. It
was a difficult meeting
situation because of
the table layout and
lack of isolation from
other restaurant patrons, but somehow
he got through it. After spirited political
competition the incumbent officers of
the club were reelected. We still need
a VP of Events.
All in all it was a good
time for all (as far as we know), and we look
forward to a fun year of events and friendships in 2009.
END
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
January/February 2009
Page 2
Editor’s Column
Loren Parks
Chico, CA
The GGAHC has a busy year planned—
especially with Rendezvous 2009. Volunteers are needed for Rendezvous
2009 before and during the event.
Tasks include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Advertising / Marketing
Registration
Road Rally
Car show at Ironstone
Arts & crafts exhibits
Funkhana
Ladies event
Awards banquet
Regalia (shirts, hats, patches)
Tour setup and guides
Tech sessions
Program design & reproduction
Photography
Parking
You can volunteer for more than one
task. Please let me or any Club officer
know if you can help.
Participation in the Rendezvous 2009
planning process is welcomed. The next
planning sessions will be January 10 and
February 14 at Lee Bardellini’s office in
San Ramon. See the Calendar section
for details.
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
GGAHC membership renewal
Renewals for 2009 h ave bee n
mailed. Please look over the information
we have on file for you and make corrections—especially if your e-mail address has changed or if you have a
first-time e-mail account. Return the
form (whether changed or not) to John
Trifari along with your renewal check.
Newsletter evolution continues
Some changes have been made to the
newsletter this issue to facilitate computer file readers. The previous format
was organized for printing, but nearly
90% of our members now receive only
the file version. Changes include keeping
multiple-page articles contiguous when
possible, inserting some internal navigation links, and eliminating the mailer
page from the file version.
Chico event—April 25 & 26
A Club trip to Chico is in the works
which coincides with the Chico British
Car Show. The featured marquee this
year is Austin Healey. Participants will
assemble in Vallejo and drive through
the Napa Valley to Clear Lake, then
through Williams. We’ll have a barbeque dinner at my house Saturday evening. More info to follow.
January/February 2009
Page 3
Calendar of Events
To list an event, contact Loren Parks
(530) 893-8643 [email protected].
For a more complete list see the
GGAHC web site:
www.GoldenGateHealeys.com
Saturday Jan 10 and Feb 14, 10:00
am. Rendezvous 2009 planning sessions at
the office of Lee Bardellini, 2000 Crow
Canyon Place, San Ramon CA, 94583. Contact any Club officer for information.
Saturday, February 21, 10:00am.
GGAHC annual Tech Session at British Car
Specialists , 2060 N Wilson Way, Stockton
CA, 95205. Let Dave Nock know if you will
attend so he can buy enough pastries.
(209) 824-1562 Healeydoc@sbcglobal,net
From The Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2008
A Rough Ride in
Collectible Cars
by Jonathan Welsh
For some, the first sign of trouble was a Daytona Spyder.
When one of these rare early-1970s Ferrari
sports cars turns up at an auction, high-end
collectors typically bid aggressively, even
fiercely, to acquire it. But at a recent sale in
California, one Spyder failed to fetch the minimum bid.
In recent years, the vintage car market has
soared, led by the priciest European models.
But now, as the economy worsens to the point
where even the wealthiest collectors feel
pinched, demand for million-dollar sports cars
is starting to skid.
Dealers, auction-company executives and others in the business acknowledge the downturn
April 3—5. CSRG Historic Car Races at
but say that, until recently, it has mainly afInfineon Raceway, Sears Point.
fected the low end of the market: cars costing
www.csrgracing.org/
up to about $100,000, many of them American models. And while some insist that FerraSat/Sun April 25/26. GGAHC-sponsored
ris, Mercedes-Benzes and Alfa Romeos are
tour to Chico on Saturday, and Chico British still holding their value, an increasing number
of sellers are looking to unload their cars in a
Car Show on Sunday featuring Austin
hurry to raise cash after losing their jobs, or a
Healey. BBQ Saturday evening at Loren &
large chunk of their wealth in the stock-market
Diana Parks’ house. Register for show at:
plunge, say car auctioneers and others.
www.chicobritishcarshow.com.
Recently, two of Michael Sheehan's clients
Sunday, April 26. Pacific Coast Dream
came to him looking to sell their Ferraris in a
hurry—an unusual request. "They needed
Machines Show, Half Moon Bay, CA.
www.miramarevents.com/dreammachines/ cash now," says Mr. Sheehan, a longtime Ferrari broker in Newport Beach, Calif. The cars,
lead.html
a $110,000 1982 Berlinetta Boxer and a
$950,000 1972 Daytona Spyder, wound up
selling for about 25% less than they would
For Healey Events nationwide, go to the
have sold for just a few months ago.
Austin Healey Club of America web site:
www.serve.com/AHCA/events.htm
Continued on page 5
Go
to Page
2, 3, 4, Happenings
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 January/February
January/February
2009
Golden
Gate1,Healey
2009
Page
Page24
A Rough Ride...(continued)
Both sellers themselves were
in hammered industries: One
was a home builder from Chicago, and the other a former
Lehman Bros. executive from
New York.
Mr. Sheehan says he and others saw it as a bad omen when
the Daytona Spyder failed to
sell during an annual weekend
of car shows, auctions and racing events on California's Monterey Peninsula in August. The
event attracts some of the
most sought-after cars and
well-to-do collectors, and sales
this year included several record prices.
Surprisingly, though, there
were four Daytona Spyders—
which are sleek, shapely twoseat convertibles—up for sale this year by
three auction companies. That's considered
too many for a car of which only about 120
were made. While one sold for about $1.5 million, two others sold for between $1 million
and $1.1 million. The fourth failed to sell because bids fell short of the reserve price.
There were other signs of trouble at the summer auto auctions. Mike Regalia was at an
auction in Pebble Beach, Calif., in August
when bidding began for a Porsche that once
belonged to actor Steve McQueen. The auction house's estimate was $125,000 to
$175,000, though Mr. Regalia, a Sun Valley,
Calif., collector who also restores vintage
"Monterey was the swan song," Mr. Sheehan cars, says he thought it would fetch at least
says. "Since then the Ferrari market has fallen $200,000. After all, collectors have paid outlandish sums recently for the late actor's property.
Bidding on the Porsche slowed just above
$100,000. "I realized that the car wasn't going
to get anywhere near the number I expected,"
he says. So he wound up bidding $125,000
and taking the car home. "I hadn't planned on
bidding, but I kept thinking, 'These people
must be asleep,' " says Mr. Regalia.
Continued on page 6
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
January/February 2009
Page 5
A Rough Ride...(continued)
ing. The price of a 1934 Packard Touring is
down 17% on average, compared with two
Or maybe they just ran out of money. Amid years ago. The 1957 Ford Thunderbird is
the broad economic deterioration of recent down 15%, and the 1940 Ford DeLuxe Coupe
months, spending on extravagances like an- is down 40%.
tique cars has slowed. In many cases, people
can no longer afford even to keep their collec- Market watchers are bracing themselves for
tions, says David Gooding, president of Good- the next big round of high-end auto auctions
ing & Co., a Los Angeles car auction house.
in Scottsdale, Ariz., in January—long a collective barometer of the market's condition.
In the past year, many collectors who used Some fear that these auctions may disappoint,
home equity loans or other credit to buy the much like this month's New York contempovintage convertible or muscle car of their rary-art sales by the Sotheby's and Christie's
dreams have had to sell as the housing and auction houses. The Sotheby's sale totaled
credit markets have declined. The same fac- $125 million, well below the low estimate. The
tors have kept new collectors from entering Christie's sale brought in $113.6 million, or
the market. As a result, many staple collector about half the low estimate. At both auctions,
cars like 1957 Chevrolets, 1940 Fords and about a third of the lots failed to sell.
1960s Pontiac GTOs are selling for half what
they commanded two or three years ago.
For some collectors, the downturn could be a
good time to amass a long-coveted vehicle or
According to industry tracker CNW Research,
long-established classic cars are also sufferContinued on page 7
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
January/February 2009
Page 6
A Rough Ride...(continued)
The National Auto Sport Association’s
are suddenly available. John McCue of Half
Moon Bay, Calif., bought a 1958 Mercury Park
Lane last summer for $39,000. The 61-yearold retired software executive says it probably
cost him about 5% less than the car's value a
by Loren Parks
year earlier. But since he has pursued the car
for years, he knows the former owner wouldn't Having never attended an automobile endurhave sold it then.
ance race, I decided to visit Thunderhill on December 6 for the start of the National Auto
Sport Association’s 25-hour endurance race—
billed as the longest endurance race on the
planet. (www.nasa25hour.com/). The photos in this article are a combination of mine
and theirs.
25-Hour Endurance Race
at Thunderhill Raceway
Nearly 70 cars lined up on the track before the
11:00am Saturday start, with the finish scheduled for noon on Sunday. The weather was
perfect, spirits were high, and teams were
"There are those cars that you think will never busy assembling behind their cars for photos.
be for sale, the ones the owners will take to
their graves," he says. "Well, now a lot of
those cars are changing hands."
While many in the collecting business say
there will always be enough wealthy people
who want vintage cars, others fear the market
could be headed for a repeat of its last crash
in 1989, when speculators who had no particular interest in vintage cars drove a steep, if
fleeting, run-up in prices. Today, more of the
buyers are car lovers, but speculation underpins their motives as well.
"The love of cars never outweighs the love of
money," Mr. Gooding says.
END
It takes a village to support a car
Endurance racing has a formidable set of
rules. For example, I was surprised at how
quiet the cars were compared to the historic
car races I usually attend, then I discovered
that car noise cannot exceed 95 decibels
measured at a distance of 100 feet. Six car
classes are defined by NASA, five of which
were represented by the entrants.
Continued on page 8
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
January/February 2009
Page 7
vices, machine shops, and automotive liquids.
There were numerous crew people because
There are additional options to which the en- of the need for some to rest periodically.
trants may subscribe. For example, six entrants elected to race 6 hours instead of 25, The interiors of production cars are gutted and
and some chose to enter fewer than the five refitted to reduce weight and improve safety.
The exteriors look normal in most cases exdrivers allowed per car.
cept for painted sponsor names and logos.
Wandering through the pit area left me im- Sponsors are critical to this expensive sport,
pressed with the magnitude of resources it
takes to support a car. There were mobile
workshops with generators and air compressors, large inventories of parts, and stacks of
Thunderhill 25-hour enduro
The office (steering wheel removed)
and consequently their names seem to cover
every square inch of surface.
“Grandpa, why does this car have so many tires?”
tires. Some teams brought an extra car to use
as a source of parts—that’s the most efficient
way to transport at least one of everything.
Vendors were there with tires and tire ser-
The race began on time and, after about an
hour, I left. As usual at Thunderhill, there was
no narration whatsoever over the PA system.
The only way to know the status of the cars
was to visit the projection room and view a
status sheet which was continually updated.
70 cars ready to race
This VW has a 4-cylinder water-cooled VW
engine; it’s a parts car.
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
Continued on page 9
January/February
Page 8
The Davids beat the Goliaths in this race; big
engines and prototypes didn’t hold up well.
My wife, Diana, and I stopped by on Sunday The fastest four cars completed 477 laps in a
enroute to the GGAHC dinner in Concord in counter-clockwise direction on the 3.2 mile
expectation of seeing the finish of the race at track; that’s enough to unwind anyone’s clock.
A total of 271 drivers competed.
Thunderhill 25-hour enduro
When the checkered flag was waved the Mazdaspeed Team was the overall winner and ES
Class winner in a Mazda Miata MX5. Second
overall and first in the EO class was the BMW
M-3 of Team Achilles Motorsport. Team
Dream Motorsports came home third in a
Honda and finished second in the EO class
A crop duster flew turns over the track
noon. Not so. The fog crept in on little cat
feet Saturday night and conditions became
too dangerous to continue. A car left the track
In the mornin’...
and became stuck, but nobody could see it
even though the driver called in and told them
where he was. The race was halted for 7.5
hours, restarted at 5:00am Sunday, and called
to a halt at 3:00pm. Total race time ended up
being 17 hours instead of 25. Three hours
before the finish I counted 51 cars still on the
track, but there were undoubtedly some active
cars in the pits or workshops when I counted.
...in the evenin’...
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
...ain’t we got fun! Race halted due to fog.
after a spirited battle right down to the wire
with Team Achilles.
The all-female team Divaspeed Racing scored
31st overall and 6th in the E2 class. The ladies piloted a Honda Integra. Their all-female
effort was plagued by an oil leak that required
a lengthy pit stop early in the race.
END
Pit stop: A fresh Diva enters the car
January/February 2009
Page 9
Rendezvous 2009: June 14 to 18, 2009
Name______________________________________Spouse/Guest__________________
Street Address __________________________________________________________
City/State/Zip___________________________________________Country__________
Telephone _______________E-mail _________________________________________
Children attending _______________ __________________ ___________________
(name/age)
(name /age)
(name/age)
Local Club ________________________ National Club _________________________
Attendees must be registered. Fee covers one car and up to two adults, hospitality functions, registration packet,
tours and car show. There will be additional charges for other events as specified below. Children under 15 are
admitted free of charge.
Accommodations at the Jackson Rancheria Resort for Rendezvous 2009 can be obtained only through the Jackson
Rancheria after a registration number has been issued. All charges and taxes relating to accommodations and
other Resort services are the sole responsibility of the attendee. A registration number will be provided upon
receipt of this form. All payments are in US dollars.
I would like to participate in
___ Car Show
___ Funkhana
___ Touring
___ Ralley
Vehicles to register
Model _________________
Year _________
Model _________________
Year _________
Model _________________
Year _________
Registration fees:
Registration:
____/@$95 ______________
Additional cars
____/@$25 ______________
Additional adults
____/@$50 ______________
Awards dinner
____/@$40______________
TOTAL
______________
Make check payable to Rendezvous 2009 and send along
with this form to John Trifari, 1160B La Rochelle
Terrace, Sunnyvale CA 94089. [email protected]
Release and Waiver (signature required)
By signature below I/we release the Golden Gate Austin Healey Club, the Austin Healey Club of America and any
and all other participating organizations, their officers and members, and any and all event sponsors from any and
all liability for any loss, damage or other claim resulting from any injury to any person(s) or property resulting from
my/our participation in Rendezvous 2009, including travel to and from this event. The car(s) I have registered for
this event are covered by liability insurance.
__________________________ ______________________________ _____________
Signature
Print name
Date
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
January/February 2009
Page 8
Healey Classifieds
ADVERTISING RATES
(no submittals)
Rates effective in 2009 for 10 issues.
Full Page (6 ½ ” by 8 ¼”)….……….……...…..$350
One-half page horizontal
(6 ½” wide by 4 1/4” high…...…...….…....…...$200
One-half page vertical
(8 ½” high by 3 ¼” wide)……………...………..$200
One-fourth page
(4” high by 3/14” wide)…….………..………….$120
One-eighth page horizontal (business card)
2” high by 3 ½” wide………...…...……………...$80
Art work must be in JPEG format. The printed version is distributed only in black-and-white.
For advertising information contact the editor.
Newsletter & Web Site Management
Editor:
Loren Parks
[email protected]
530-893-8643
Distribution of the
printed version
Golden Gate Austin Healey Club Officers
President: David Nock. 209-824-1562
Healeydoc@sbcglobal,net
George Henke
707-226-5445
VP Membership: John Trifari. 408-373-6479
[email protected]
Web site: www.GoldenGateHealeys.com
Webmaster:
VP/Counsel and Secretary: Lee Bardellini.
510-582-6246 [email protected]
David Cross
[email protected]
408-893-4912
VP Treasurer: Dan Sekella. 925-825-8966
[email protected]
The Golden Gate Austin Healey Club
is affiliated nationally with the
VP/Events: Position vacant
Advertiser Web Sites
If you are interested in more information about our
advertisers visit the following web sites:
Golden Gate Healey Happenings is the official publication of the
Golden Gate Austin Healey Club Inc. and is published for the benefit
of its members. Material which appears in Golden Gate Healey Happenings represents the opinions of the authors and does not express
the positions of the Golden Gate Austin Healey Club Inc. unless
specifically noted. We do our best to insure accuracy, but cannot be
held responsible for omissions or errors.
Golden Gate Healey Happenings
Collins Classics e-mail
[email protected]
Victoria British
www.victoriabritish.com/
January/February 2009
Page 11