In this issue, September 2015, of Vintage Metal there is a review of the latest book from the inimitable Sir Stirling Moss (I seem to have spent most of my life reading his books!), a detailed listing of expenditure on the ‘Caversham’ Car and a farewell to Charlie Urwin, a longstanding and valued member of the VSCC of WA.

The book is Stirling Moss – My Racing Life by Moss with Simon Taylor. It is a high class photo album with chapter headings and very extended captions by Sir Stirling, as told to Simon Taylor. The foreword is by Lewis Hamilton and it is a fascinating book, well worth chasing up at your favourite bookshop.

The Caversham Car is a 1950s fibreglass body on an Austin A40 chassis with A40 mechanicals. The wheels are from a Triumph TR2, which fit the A40 hubs and the steering is rack and pinion. Both of these would have been welcome modifications to my A40 Devon way back when, as would the twin SU carburettors and tubular exhaust, but I was an impecunious university student and such things were the stuff of dreams.

All of the money expended on the car to date is listed and there is also a list of all the people and companies that have sponsored and supported the project.

Charlie Urwin was a major supporter of the Caversham Car project and his expertise with fibreglass was invaluable in preparing the body. He was also unstinting in his support of the club and of two other clubs, the Sports Car Builders Club of WA and the Sports Aircraft Builders Club of WA. He was licensed to build and repair aircraft and was involved in one of WA’s leading speedway teams.

All this and more in spite of being wheelchair-bound since being stricken with Polio at the age of six. He led an active life until shortly before his death at 74, which represented another victory over the naysayers who predicted a life expectancy of less than 50.

The August issue of Vintage Metal has reached VSCC of WA members and the format is still evolving.

Dad’s Army News, a regular feature of Vintage Metal, in this issue describes the Christmas in July trip by the Dad’s Army boys to Cunderdin and Kellerberrin.

There is also another book review, this time of Klemantaski: Master Motorsports Photographer by Paul Parker. I used images of the front cover and three sample photographs from within the book to illustrate the review. It is a wonderful record of motor racing the way it used to be.

New in this issue is Letters to the Editor, which I hope will encourage other members to write in and create a members’ forum. Two of the letters are the result of on-going discussion prompted by the article State of the Sport in the June issue.

The other feature in the August issue is an article about HANS devices that first appeared in a supplement to the May 2015 Octane magazine (with the permission of Octane’s publisher of course). It is aimed very much at the sort of people who are VSCC of WA members, so is a valid comment on the desirability of such devices.

The July 2015 issue of Vintage Metal is on its way to members. Highlights include a photo-montage of the Albany Classic around the houses regularity event and the Mount Clarence Hillclimb held on May 30 and 31.

There is also a tribute to the late Mike Tighe and a follow-up story to the article in the June issue about attracting younger members and competitors. A book review of Tony Brooks’ autobiography, Poetry in Motion 

and a table of the results of the Mount Clarence Hillclimb are additional features.

I have completed the June issue of Vintage Metal and it is now with VSCC of WA members. It is back to the standard 20 pages, but includes three feature articles.

The first feature describes the reproduction 1912 Coupe de l’Auto Sunbeam that is displayed in the Myreton Motor Museum in East Lothian, Scotland. It isn’t there all the time as the owner takes it out to compete in historic sprints and race meetings.

The second feature is by permission of Vintage Motorsport the leading American magazine of historic racing and motor racing history. It discusses the increasing age of historic racing competitors and how the sport can be made more attractive to younger enthusiasts.

A third feature is an appeal for more volunteer officials to help run the VSCC’s events. Like the competitors, the officials are getting older and the club needs more volunteers to work behind the scenes and keep the sport going.

This blog is a little late because I have been on holiday, but I have returned.

The May issue of Vintage Metal features a three-page gallery of great

photographs from the Northam Festival of Speed. There were also obituaries for one of Western Australia’s top race drivers of the 1960s, Mike Tighe,  and for Russell Murison, an enthusiastic member of the VSCC from Esperance, who passed away after a long fight with illness.

VSCC member David Moir supplied the story, with photographs, of the Longford Revival Festival in Tasmania, while Bill Buys provided an article describing the Spikins Singer Bantam, part of VSCC member Trevor

Eastwood’s fleet of classic cars.

An unfortunate incident that resulted in injury to one of the club’s most enthusiastic supporters, Robyn Larkin, during the Northam event was described by Lynn Oxwell. Ross Oxwell followed up this story with an explanation of the rules that govern Regularity Trials and the necessity to follow the rules in order to comply with the requirements of our insurance cover.

The results of the Motorkhana and Hillclimb held on the Saturday of the Northam Festival were included as two-page spreads.

Overall I am pleased with the May issue, which extended to 28 pages to accommodate all of the content.

The April issue of the VSCC newsletter reached members in late March.

The Feature article was a photo gallery of shots from the Ice Breaker Race Meeting at the Collie Motorplex. The photographs were courtesy of Mick Oliver of Olivers Photography. Click here for more photographs from the Olivers Photography web site.

Other articles included a report on a visit to New Zealand by a team of nine WA cars and drivers from the WA Racing Museum provided by Brian Searles and a review of a superb collector’s book, Twice Lucky by Stuart Turner. the book is out of print, but is listed by various online sellers at prices from $20.86 for a Kindle edition to an amazing $US358.68 for an original edition from an American site.

An online copy of the newsletter will be found at the VSCC of WA web site, www.vsccwa.com.au. The web site is currently under redevelopment, so some items are still coming.

The March issue of the VSCC of WA newsletter, Vintage Metal, is on its way to members.

This issue promotes the Northam Two Day Festival of Speed on March 28th and 29th.

The front cover and a poster on page 13 promote the Northam Two Day Festival of Speed. this event includes a hillclimb at Mount Ommanney and a ‘Round the Houses’ regularity event through the streets of Northam.

The newsletter also invites members to compete at the Vintage Collingrove Hillclimb in South Australia on October 2, 3 and 4.

A poster encourages members of the VSCC to enter this great historic racing event at Australia’s top permanent hillclimb course.

Alongside the poster is a brief story with photographs of a similar event at Collingrove in 1992. The photographs were taken by me and captioned with the assistance of Peter Godfrey in the Sporting Car Club of SA library.

There is also a story about VSCC member Steve Wyatt, who competed in the recent Bathurst 12 Hour Race, but did not finish after the AF Corse Ferrari he was driving was hit from behind by a Mercedes.

On other pages you will find the list of club trophy winners for 2014 and a description of an early 1950s TQ racer.