MG Car Club, Central Jersey Centre

News

Minutes		Presidential Thoughts		Other Events
May 2026 The May 26, 2026 meeting of the MGCCCJC was called to order at 7:18 pm by President Butch O’Connor at the Morris Plains Community Center.  There were 19 in attendance. Butch welcomed everyone  and was pleased to see a number of MG’s actually driven to the meeting. He then began relaying the lesson he learned while trying to remove his rubber bumper.  While  the first  nuts and bolts weren’t that hard to to take out, the last one became a real challenge. After quite a struggle, the nut slowly broke free. The lesson learned……..always keep an easily reached nut and bolt in place while removing the stubborn one and avoid being hit in the head with a very heavy bumper! The treasurer’s report was given by Rob Alper and accepted. Paul Flexner invited the group to attend the All MG event in Sandusky, Ohio the end of August.  He then addressed his concerns regarding club meetings and the need for sustenance to keep the club going.  He suggested renewing tec sessions which, in the past, had been part of every meeting and to revive more drives each season. He challenged every member to present something, anything at a club meeting.  He acted on this challenge by volunteering as editor of the club’s newsletter, reiterating the need for support by members in submitting articles.  He enthusiastically urged each member to be an active part of our group. Steve Wagoner encouraged participation in the re-scheduled “Spring” tune-up, Saturday July 11, 9:30, noting an active turnout might encourage Shade Tree Garage to consider future events.  Butch added the importance of looking at your car from the underside even if you choose not to do any type of work on it. Charlie Tregidgo reminded the group of past rally’s and asked if there would be any interest. He also asked anyone interested in joining the Britfest zoom meeting to let Rob know. He showed off the new Britfest poster explaining the need to have them displayed anywhere and everywhere. Art brought up how lasting impressions can be made by allowing a car to be “touched” and suggested alternative plaques to “Do not Touch” be made available. A reminder was made of the upcoming picnic at Brundage Park on June 27. After no more discussion, meeting adjourned at 8:25pm. Respectfully submitted, Linda Wagoner Secretary		February 2026 Happy 2026! I hope everyone is staying warm these days. I don’t think the temperature has been above freezing since Christmas here in Sparta. Added to that are a couple of snowstorms which dumped 24 inches of the white stuff on us in a little more than a week. Think Spring. It’s Groundhog Day as I write this and I think Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, which is not a good sign. In any event, we should all be working on our Winter projects to get our MGs and related LBCs ready for when it’s safe to venture outside. Many of our members said farewell to our long-time member Karl Marx, who passed away last month. Karl was our steady hand who guided the Club and many of its officers over the years, including me, in the right direction. He will be missed. Our meeting last week followed Karl’s service and was pretty well attended given the bitter cold weather. It gave us an opportunity to welcome our newest member, Dan Carlson, to the Club. With the help of Dave Collier, Dan found and purchased a very nice red 1967 MGB and I’m certain he is looking forward to some nice drives once the weather warms up. Chris and Dick (Bobbi) brought home-made cookies for all to enjoy, and the membership made very short work of them! Thanks!! The Board will be meeting via Zoom shortly to plan activities for the year, so if you have an idea, please reach out to me or any member of the Board. As mentioned in my last column, I have a long list of projects to accomplish before the racing season begins in early May. The major one was figuring out how to fix the front sway bar mount on the MGB. The right front sway bar mount had ripped completely out of the mounting points. As the front suspension was overdue for rebuild, I decided to do that as well. Well, I was able to rebuild the suspension and figure out a way to address the sway bar mount, so the MGB will be ready for the mid-May Jefferson 500 event in West Virginia. Our February meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 24 at 7:00 pm. This will be a farewell to Sam (Samantha) Orna, who will be reporting for duty in the Air Force in March. Please join us to give her a proper sendoff. Until next time. Safety Fast! Butch   Safety Fast! Butch