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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
 Posted - 18/01/2012 : 03:37:54
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I've been communicating with Peter Lansdown, amongst others.
I'm finding it hard to identify J type owners within the ranks.
A Magna site has a "where they are now" map showing current locations.
I know some owners do not want to be at the beck and call of the Club, but it would be nice to have a county by county reference log.
Cars, suppliers, meets, all within "striking distance".
Many owners have restoration projects. A network of "smaller MMM ponds" would promote what is in an hour's reach.
I know Mike Hawke had kicked the idea of a J2 Register about.
If it produced a couple of books, then why not?
The J2 was THE CAR that introduced the cycle winged Flying Midget.
A concept that no one had great faith in.. Yet became iconic.
It demonstrated the flair and verve of Cecil Kimber before they started to take him down a few pegs.
What I like about the Js is their cyclecar rawness.
Any thoughts? |
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Gideon
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 12:47:24
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Good morning Spitfire,
I read your topic with great enthusiasm just now. As the owner of an F1 Magna, I found it extremely hard to gather information on the car and on the model itself until I chanced upon Ian Ross's excellent site FMAGNA.ORG He had put together a great registry for the F type which I regularly visit and would encourage all other F owners to. Much like all other Pre-War MG owners, I was bitten by the bug in earnest and soon found myself in the possession of three further wrecked pre-war MG's ...... all J types.
Once again I found it very difficult to gather information about the history of my cars or find one specific site that would provide all J type information. Frustrated by my inability to find this.... in December I started exactly what you and I (and I assume many others) have been looking for. My site is only in it's infancy, however if you visit it you will see that it is heading in the right direction (I think). I am already under way building the register itself, which will record where cars are, who owns them, the state that they are in etc etc. Obviously the possibilities are endless in terms of how one harnesses this information so as to bring together J type owners around the world.
So how do you find the site?..... www.MGJTYPE.COM it's up and running. Please do register your car(s) and fill in this gap, for just as you say ....this was "THE CAR"......
I do hope that this registry is exactly what you were looking for and that it complements the great information gathered from the fantastic Triple-M site.
I look forward to reading your reply.....from one J owner to another!
Very best regards
 www.triple-mregister.org/forums/uploads/Gideonmll/2012118124055_j type back 2.jpg" border="0">
Gideon
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 18:33:27
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I've had a look at the start of your site.
It would be great to run series of restorations, around the world.
You photograph "what you've got" and others can suggest possibilities, witness how it runs.
Just simple things like correct routing of cables, wiring, alternatives, specialist fabricators... All coming in, when you need it.
Would be handy to have the world involved with current projects in your garage!
A collection of pictorial, even via You Tube, videos of how we are looking after "Our Charges."
There is much that this digital age can do to augment past times, and it's first hand knowledge.
Linking Those In The Know
with
Those Who Need To Know. |
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kimber
United Kingdom
1529 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 18:47:57
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| Whilst all this information on-line has to be a good thing, part of me feels slightly saddened that it is not happening within the confines of the Triple M Register website. How many websites conveying Triple M data do we need? |
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Robin Macmillan
United Kingdom
415 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 19:54:57
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JohnSteedman
United Kingdom
41 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 19:57:25
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Dearr "Spitfire",
I don't think we need another register, the current one does a magnificent job and the help available is ten times more than when I joined the club in 1967. Like you I have recently acquired a J type MG (J 0312). Can I suggest the following:-
1. Attend your local MGCC "Natters". At my local one there are 3 or 4 J owners with a mine of information (thanks Terry!) that they are willing to share with newcomers. Visit as many "Natters" as you can, I have four or five in driving distance.
2. Get hold of all the literature (MMM yearbooks, MMM Register, Copies of "Octagon Heaven", Malcolm Green's "MG Road Cars, Volume 1"
3. Get to Stoneleigh and Silverstone, network, ask questions.
4. Look for people, not databases
Good luck!
John
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Gideon
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 20:43:11
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Hi Spitfire, Kimber, Robin and John,
That's part of the fun of this hobby.... so many different opinions! Spitfire, I fully agree with you, that there are limitless options for the registry. I am working on a Youtube template as there are some good videos of J's in restoration as well as on the road. A technical area would also be of great value. Essentially the registry is intended to benefit J owners.
With regard to the number of websites offering Triple M info.... I would just like to stress that I am an avid reader and loyal member of the Triple-M....but that does not prevent me from visiting, promoting and contributing to Ian Ross's, FMAGNA.ORG. These sites do not need to be mutually exclusive. Furthermore.... on the links page of www.mgjtype.com the first mention is of the Triple-M ! Any vehicles listed on www.MGJTYPE.COM are also run by the Triple-M, to ensure that both have the most up-to-date records. The site is intended to complement the arsenal of data available to J Type owners, NOT to compete with the Triple-M.
Furthermore, despite being a Brit with British cars, I now live in the States, in an area where there are no local MGCC "Natters". I envy those who have 3 or 4 within driving distance. I have also acquired as much literature as I can (and I shall continue to do so)..... but the reality is that this literature will always be out-of-date before a website! With regard to Stoneleigh and Silverstone.... do you realise how many J owners there are who live in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada the USA etc? The point is that not only would they all benefit from access to a J-specific site, but more importantly....so would you! The information and ideas, enthusiasm and assets, parts and history, new generations and restorations that all of those who don't live within a Stone(leigh's) throw of UK meets could bring to the J world (without cluttering up the Triple-M and turning the Triple-M into a J-only site) via a J registry is limitless.
One final thing to consider is....that most new owners of J-Types google search "J type" or "J2" etc when looking for information and resources, much like Y owners search "Y" and F owners search "F". Thus www.mgjtype.com should prove to be a fantastic contributor TO the Triple-M Register.
With best regards
Gideon |
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greg
United Kingdom
833 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 20:48:27
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| I think this is a great idea. d type f types have there own website so why can't j's. There are over a 1000 j's in existence and nearly a 1000 j owners so I think this will be very popular. I have lots of interesting photo's of my build you can use. Its ok going places and meeting people I do that a lot but in 20 years time there won't be many knowledgeable people to talk to. Web sites like this j one will be good places to go to for the younger generation. |
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JMH
United Kingdom
911 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 20:51:38
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A complete J register already exists. It was compiled over many years (nearly 60) & extends to many metres of shelf space & is still slowly growing. Much of the data was transferred to the MMM registrar as it emerged, yet more was provided in confidence. For some chassis there is more info than you can shake a stick at (J2396!) for others there is no more than a build date & that's part of the problem. Cars can suddenly "appear" out of nowhere especially if it's "no news since 1932", maybe because some are less honest than others & can attach a genuine ID to a repro chassis, taking a gamble that the real chassis has long since become razor-blades. If you doubt it, just look at the survival rate of "KNs"! I'm all for sharing technical info & the MMM Register has always done that very well indeed, just looking through back issues of the Infoletter, Bulletin & Yearbook shows that in spades.
The original "75 Years" (still available from the Register) was just a summary and itself generated a mass of further info & "How They Ran" the result of hundreds of hours research, cross-referencing through period publications, programmes & results, some of which was often contradictory (what it is to have the time in retirement).
The assimilation of information to give a true picture is almost an academic exercise in itself & often user populated databases do not always stand up well to scruitiny (look at "Wikipedia"). I for one think that the best repository for historical & current information on our cars is the Register itself.
That said, good luck with your venture, although in my experience & as others have said, just "getting out there" to events, or even onto this forum, will soon put you in touch with like minded people who've stripped their cars many times & are only to happy to pass on help & advice.
JH |
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Oz34
United Kingdom
2542 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 21:44:02
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Dare I suggest that most of those advocating this new register, going purely on their numbers of posts, are new to Triple M ownership? Why not give the existing Register a chance guys before rushing off into the sunset? I think you'll find it has an awful lot to offer.
As to finding J2 owners Gary, I have thought for a while that member profiles might usefully include types of cars owned. There was a move a while ago to have locality, but not address included in the profile which can also be useful and the combination, so that you know Bert Blogs has a J2 and lives 20 miles away, even better. I see there is now one relative newcomer of whom we don't even know which hemisphere he lives in.
Dave |
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Gideon
USA
47 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 21:56:32
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Dave,
Please feel free to suggest that, however I for one have been involved with Pre-War MGs for many years as my late Grandfather introduced me to them as a kid. Nobody is disputing the value of the Triple-M....quite the opposite in fact, however this would provide extra value. Do those opposed to this extra site suggest that the F, D, P, etc sites all shut down? Furthermore, surely we should be welcoming new members and their new ideas?
Thus no-one is "rushing off into the sunset"..... the proposal here is to bring new light to one specific area of our mutual interest!
WWW.MGJTYPE.COM could have provided me with so much help had it existed when i started out in the J space, much as FMAGNA.ORG helped me out in conjunction with the Triple-M
Sincerely
Gideon |
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 22:13:52
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Good points by all. In the dead of winter, having owned the J for a month... I have got to one Natter already. Mine was the only MG in attendance.
It is thankful to know, and not at all surprising, that reams of collected data etc are within folders' reach of the Club..
...I was repeating Mike Hawkes concept of a J Type Register. An MMM one.
I'm a Newbie, and as such can cast a fresh eye over what I (don't) see on a marque dedicated site.
The MMM owners within an hour's drive from me that I have e mailed ALL have restoration projects. I find it a bit glib to suggest swanning around the country in your pride and joy, when I am talking to people IN THE CLUB apologising that their cars are not on the road.
We would al love to enter a wood panelled showroom and purchase the cream of the crop. Sweep a duster over the old girl until the sun returns.
It can be a plod to find what you require. Not just parts, but information.
There are still alot of barns left in the world... Usually ten minutes walk from a link to the internet.
Are we in the domain of jealously guarded information? I look at what I casually find on You Tube, and am fascinated by the wealth of information on there.
Many sites are FULL of links to pictures that speak a thousand words. Humour and enthusiasm to counterbalance... the ominous rumbling inside an engine case, grazed knuckles and bloody cold in the base of your back on an evening nut twiddling. When you just want to Get Back in the Race.
I am flagging up an idea by a Stalwart of the Club, who produced books on the model J2.
Unfortunately I don't have the chance to natter with him, but I'd like to think I'm giving him a warm tap on the shoulder and seeing him smile. |
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 22:17:15
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Oz34.
Exactly. |
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spitfire
United Kingdom
371 Posts |
Posted - 18/01/2012 : 22:41:22
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I e mailed an owner who is willing to lend his hood frame to Wessex Workshops, so that they can make a faithful copy.
Would it not be a lovely resource to have a workshop On Our Suppliers, who has technical drawings of hood frames FOR ALL MMM CARS?
A Club based One Stop knowledge and Production Centre.
Rich, at Vintage MG Parts, is taking the bull by the horns and throwing some fresh metal into the system.
I don't advocate running off into anyone else's sunset.
Like the individual body tubs we have, a tweaking of information ON HAND to provide a benefit to those who've been smitten by these cars, and have now bought a length of carpet to lay under them!! As Oz34 says, if the car model were included with the Users profile, we could quickly hone down a kinship.
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Bob Clare
United Kingdom
278 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 00:19:22
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I retired after 10 years as keeper of the wrold-wide Triple-M Registrar in 2010. I was blessed with a number of very hard working enthusiasts (Mike Hawke and Ian Ross have been mentioned) which included a vital network of what might be called "Country Registrars". These great people worked on keeping registers of Triple-M cars existing in their countries, both large (USA & Australia for instance) and small (Norway, New Zealand). We exchanged information on the understanding - and this is the important bit - that such info was given in good faith and would be treated as confidential unless the owner of the vehicle concerned gave permission to pass details on.
The only exceptions to the latter rule are those bits of information which appear in the published Triple-M Register (available from the Librarian).
Now if an individual owner wants to know what the Register knows about the car, then that info can be obtained from the current Registrar (details on the contact list).
When I became Registrar it was the K3 imitations that were worth the money to justify chopping up a K1 or whatever or even making a completely new chassis and giving it a chassis number of a car that the builder had found out, by fair means or foul, was gone to the great garage in the sky, or at least so the builder hoped. The Register Committee did (and does) its best to prevent this type of fraud.
Now the value of a nice J2 is building up to the point where it's worth forging one. Hence we need to be even more careful about divulging info on specific cars/chassis numbers.
I hope that fills in a bit of background and discourages folk from accumulating information useful to the fraudsters and making it public.
Bob Clare |
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LewPalmer
USA
3243 Posts |
Posted - 19/01/2012 : 01:38:16
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There is a very active Triple-M Register, as Bob mentions, in various countries, not the least of which is right here in the US covering all of North America. So I would encourage Gideon to look to us for the purposes of membership and support.
Having said that, I support Bob's position on the necessity of confidentiality of ownership and survival of specific cars, as he and I have chased down numerous duplicate chassis numbers, no shortage of which were at the hands of unscrupulous people trying to make a quid or two passing off fakes as something they are not.
Technical information, help, parts sources are quite another thing. This very forum is a wealth of information and a source of some of the most knowledgable Triple-M (including J) people on the planet. I doubt that there is anything about a J2 that multiple people on this forum couldn't answer. All it takes is a question. In addition, there are a number of years of such questions and answers archived in a fully searchable database maintained by our brilliant webmaster Nick Feakes.
Finally, for a wealth of drawings and technical information, there is the website http://www.mgmmm.com to which many members of this forum, myself included, have contributed a huge number of very useful bits of information.
So, in summary, while I applaud the effort of those who would like to establish a site dedicated solely to the J2, to the idea of a database of cars I suggest might consider confidentiality, and the idea of a technical resource might first examine the wealth in information already posted elsewhere. If there is something which no existing resource accomplishes, then I say go for it. Otherwise, contribute, support, and strengthen what already exists.
Lew Palmer
Registrar, NAMMMR |
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