Peninsula T-Register History

WAY BACK WHEN

Reprint from the Oil Spot, 1984

Rod Sweiger approached me last November with thus idea of writing an article for the 'Drip Pan' on how I and Jim Fleming started this club.

To begin this narrative, Jim and I became friends through our common interests in MG TCs. We spent many afternoons and evenings together working with and discussing the pros and cons of these fascinating little cars. One thing led to another and we often said that we should start a club. We both met several other enthusiasts during our many sessions with the cars, and we all agreed that a club would be of real benefit to all.

The first meeting was scheduled in August of 1973 at my home in Los Altos. We started the club with six charter members: Jim Bentley, Dick Ott and Warren and Pat Becker all driving MG TFs, Don Abramson driving an MG TD, Jim Fleming with a 1948 MG TC and myself and my wife Billie with 1946 and '49 TCs. Jim Bentley's car had a Volvo motor. An interesting sidelight: Jim Bentley and Dick Ott were both young resident plastic surgeons at Stanford.

I was elected chairman and Jim Fleming vice chairman. Pat Becker was elected secretary. As we all belonged to the New England MGT Register, and our club was to be a chapter of this parent group, the name selected for the club was: The San Francisco Peninsula MG T Register. The primary goals were to foster the preservation and interest in the marque.

Time has certainly flown by and ten years have passed since this first meeting. The membership has grown and I am the last of the original charter members. I believe that I started the nucleus of what is today one of the best MG clubs in this country. We all seem to learn from each other and contribute something for everybody. The late good member, Ivan Neudorfer, said to me once that the thing he liked the best about our group was that there was no bickering or discord. I like to think that this spirit still exists and we may continue the next ten years in the same manner.

Looking back to the early days, perhaps the only regret that I have is that perhaps we have lost a bit of the actual MG tech talks that were so prevalent in the original members. I don't think that I am anti-social but I did enjoy participating with the early members in a shared project in one or the others garage on a given Saturday. We all learned so much from each other.

Good luck to the future.

Stu Brown, 1984

Stu passed away in 1998. This article was submitted by alert reader Stuart Locke.

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

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