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SVVS at the Black Horse,
Sunday 3rd November. 2024
On the day of the annual
London to Brighton veteran car run, it is traditional for us to hold an
informal lunchtime gathering at the Black Horse Hookwood. This year, good
weather saw a small but select and diverse number of club vehicles in
attendance, I counted 11 "proper" cars and 4
"moderns".
Chairman Malcolm with his Jaguar XJ6, Mick and Jo in their lovely MG YB
saloon,Clive and Myetta aboard the Humber Hawk, David with his Porsche
356, Max and Sonia in their MG A Coupe, Andy arrived in the ex Desmond
Peacock Amilcar CG Ss looking magnificent following Andy's excellent
rebuild, another Andy in his newly restored VW T 2 Campervan, Robert with
his Ford Capri, Alan bought along his very neat Austin 7 special, Bruce
with his amazing Ronart W152 and last but not least, Doug in his rare NSU
RO 80.
President Bozi cruised up in his supercharged Jaguar XK R, Arthur dropped
by for a chat in his MG ZT saloon and your PR Officer came in his 2002
Mondeo Zetec S V6 estate admitting to being a bit too lazy to drag out his
1937 Ford 7W tourer !
We were delighted to welcome a new member Naing who signed up on the day
having met Chairman Malcolm while observing the veteran cars. Naing owns
an Austin 7 and a Morris Minor. A very pleasant gathering with much
friendly chat and a light lunch in the pub, thanks for sharing the chips
Malcolm, they were delicious!
Tony Russell November
2024
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SVVS Vintage Cars in the 2024 London
To Brighton Veteran Car Run
A number of SVVS
Members have veteran cars that are eligible
for the London to Brighton Veteran Car run. Not all of them are on the Run
every year due to eligibility, and/or the state of the vehicle or owner.
Below are some members /cars that were on this year's Run :
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Penelope Chew with David Ralph (passenger) in a 1904
De Dion Bouton 6HP Two Seater
Penny's De Dion has been rather naughty for the past month and not
starting or running well despite hours of work. When we unloaded from the
trailer in London she refused to start. After a good telling off she did
start and took us as far as Westminster Bridge where she just stopped,
blocking the traffic lights. I got her going again and all was well until
100 yards before the Crawley halfway stop where she made some strange
noises and stopped. The cotter pin had come out of the inlet valve. The
pin was soon put back in place, but at Pease Pottage the same thing
happened. I rummaged in the boot and found the spare inlet valve assembly.
We got as far as Hassocks this time, where she died again! A new spark
plug got her running but, for the whole journey she hadn't been going
well, so we weren't looking forward to climbing Clayton Hill. However, she
stormed up there and delivered us to Brighton by 3 o'clock.
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Robert Pedler in the 1904 De Dion Bouton 6HP Rear
Entrance Tonneau
Following 2023 when we ended up with a horrible
squeak from the rear phosphor bronze bearings, we decided to have said
bearings attended to (replaced). Thus, three weeks before this year's run,
we had a De Dion car ready to go but lacking the vital components of a
rear axle and wheels!! However, after some midnight oil we were at the
start on November 3rd with new bearings in place and well-greased! We had
an 8am start and despite traffic and traffic lights made good time through
South London. A lot of it was 20mph which does not worry us too much, but
the majority of the traffic lights seemed to be phased to turn red just as
we reached them! The weather conditions however were ideal (no rain!!)
although a little more sun would have been appreciated. A welcome coffee
and bacon sandwich in Purley and coffee and sausage bun at the official
stop in Crawley set us up during the run. The car behaved impeccably and
we arrived in Brighton at 3pm - our best time yet! The complicated day
before: getting the car into London and the trailer out to Brighton, then
us back to London again (by train) also worked well this year. The car
only threw one minor spat - in the hotel car park at 7am she decided she
did not like the sparking plug fitted and demanded a replacement. Luckily,
we have several more on board and with only one cylinder it was easy to
trace the culprit! And the new bearings worked a treat! |
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David Smart (passenger) in his 1905 Cadillac 9HP Limousine
After a few weeks of finding odd jobs we could do to the
Cadillac, we got our act together and loaded the car on to the trailer on
Saturday ready for the start at 5.15 am Sunday. Unloaded about a mile away
from the start and was in line in good time. Collected our tracker so that
they could monitor our progress or any hold ups. Met many people and
walked about half way down the line until a young lady with the board
telling us to be ready to move. A large number of cars then went to the
start waiting for the lights just outside the park to get our 7-minute
slot. We were on the blue route which took us past Horse Guards Parade
then over Westminster Bridge and down via Clapham. First stop at Christ
Church Purley for a comfort break and coffee. Filled up with petrol at
Earlswood and changed my front seat to one in the rear, so Ben had his
friend Drew with him and I sat with my daughter Fiona in the back. Called
in at the Hawth Crawley for coffee, sausage bun and a check in. Car went
well up the hills and the traffic was quite good, apart from a near miss
at Cuckfield! When we arrived at Brighton, the RAC had organised a hot
toddy and beef stew which went down well.
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