Through the Windscreen: Club News Winter 1994

What do you get if you mix the following? A hundred gallons of gas, 80 gallons of fresh water, 28 gallons of LPG, six big Michelin 8R X 19.5 XZA, Bachor Brubeckon the stereo tape deck, a gross vehicle weight of some eight tons, and a six foot Union Jack! All this traveling down the road at 60 miles an hour?

That’s correct! The new Moss Motors “Mossmobile” RV has just completed 11,000 miles attending British car events with the Moss Roadshow all across the country. Lots of you who met with us commented on how great the rig looked, and at many of the meetings the RV was the center of the action and attracted lots of attention.

And the attention didn’t come from just British car owners! Who was the driver of the BMW who opened his sun roof to wave at us as he sped by? Who were the people in Virginia driving the Mercury who held up copies of “Moss Motoring” and honked their horn? We often get a wave or a toot from people driving British sports cars but these acknowledgments were just a little bit different.

How about this? Rounding a bend we could see construction up ahead with a flag person controlling the traffic. The line of cars in front of us were all allowed to go through, but as we approached, the “stop” sign suddenly was turned round against us! I was not thrilled I’ll tell you to have to bring the coach to a standstill. The young lady holding the sign approached the driver’s side window. “I’m sorry-but I saw you coming round the bend way back, and just had to stop you and tell you what marvelous service I get from Moss in respect of my Sprite”!

What can you say? Then there was the owner to the KOA campground in Fort Scott in Kansas. As we pulled in he was beside himself and I knew why, because we’d spotted the MG TF under the car cover as we entered the gate! Another evening spent talking cars and parts and brakes with an enthusiast who was also a Moss customer! And this chap had suffered tremendous flooding of his site and loss of income, but still remained cheerful and a true enthusiast.

Some of the locations of the meets were unusual too! There’s no way you can get an 11 foot tall RV up to the ninth floor of a multi-story car park, which is where the concours at the Austin Healey Conclave in Atlanta was held! And how about closing off the whole of the old, historic downtown area of Davenport, in Iowa, to hold a car show? Frank Ege’s team at ‘Quadfest 94’ did just that and attracted non-car people who were thrilled at the sight of British classics filling the streets on the banks of the Mississippi. Beautiful Eureka Springs in Arkansas was another highlight stop on our tour where we attended the GOF Central.

So despite hail, humidity, tornadoes, floods and everything else that Mother Nature threw at us this past year, we, for our part, enjoyed every minute of bringing a little bit of Moss to your part of the world. We thank you for your warm welcomes, and look forward to being out with you again in 1995.

….Now to a few answers to your questions.

“Did you bring any parts with you on board the Moss mobile”?! My answer invariably is “What would you bring?” With the vast number of parts we hold in stock at our two locations, and bearing in mind that we attend not just single marque shows, would you bring a fender for a big Healey? A tail light for a Midget? A windscreen wiper blade for a TR6? It’s impossible to cater for unknown demand even if we had the room!

“Do you have a cellular phone on board?” No! “Do you have a fax with you?” No! But we do have, and have been asked for – hammer, nails, adhesive tape, paper clips, pens, staples, stop watches, public address systems, and a thousand other things! You can at least ask…

“Do you have anything for Singers/Lotus/Minis/Morgans etc…?” Well, not specifically, but a lot of the parts we do stock ate generic to, and fit, many British cars of the period, especially the Lucas items. So if you know the original pan number, or have a crossover to a Moss number we might be able to help.

THE MOSS CLUB SUPPORT SCHEME-1995

Once again for next year, we are delighted to extend our offer of support, to clubs who are on our database. Those already on the Moss list benefit from special offers, donations to events, and a perpetual 10% off for faxed or written orders when placed, mentioning the name of the club. If your club is not already listed then please advise us, marking the envelope “Club Coordinator”.

Again we remind you that we need six weeks notice of events for which you need our support, and only one request per club, per year please! You’ll find some of the major events for 1995 listed in our events calendar above.

SAND IN YOUR SHOES?

Another new club has been formed following our feature on organising a club in the Summer edition of Moss Motoring! This one is out in the Mojave Desert and is appropriately titled: The High Desert British Car Club. President John Hed says the club goals are mainly social activities, and all British cars are welcome.