Kevin Riggs posted some questions which I'll happily answer
and I thought I might as well distribute to the rest of the
british-cars folks also since I've been a b-c participant for
almost 3 years and haven't really given any input as to "who
I am" since my original posting as a new "subscriber" in 1989.
>Bill, you've talked about this VTR a couple of times, and you've caught
>my interest. I'm thinking about sending in my money and giving it a
>try. But first, just out of curiosity, I wanted to ask you what your
>relation with VTR is and to get an idea of what your automotive
>background is.
Well, I recently stepped down as VTR president, having served
in that position for 8 years (1983-1991). I joined VTR
in 1978 after learning about the club from Steven Rossi.
Steven at the time was the membership chairperson and then
the President. In 1979 I offered to replace a non-functioning
position as the coordinator of new chapters. Back then VTR
had about 15 local chapters. Today there are over 40 local
clubs in the USA. Anyway, I became the President after
Steve stepped down. Today I have the title of Public Relations
Manager which includes the obvious PR stuff, but also includes
working on the production end of the VTR magazine and looking
after (editing?) the current events type stuff (eg. calendar
of events, classifieds, display advertising, etc.)
In addition to "official" PR duties, I do enjoy writing technical
articles and have had several published in the VTR magazine.
Now as to my automotive background: Well, at 49 years of age,
I've owned a fair number of vehicles, starting out as a teenager
with a 1950 Ford convertible (in 1958) which I "hot rodded"
a bit (dual Stromberg 97's) and customized (nosed, decked,
rounded rear wheel arch, etc.) My first TR was a 1961 TR-3A
(I still have it as a very long term restoration project
after a short non-ownership by my brother). I also owned
a 1965 TR-4a (was stolen from a public parking lot in 1972)
and another TR-3 which I set-up for auto-x in the early 70's
and also did some time trials at Bridgehampton Racetrack.
The TR-3 auto-x/racecar was sold a few years ago.
Additionally, besides the long term TR-3a restoration project car,
I have (actually I should say we have because this Triumph
love affair extends to my wife and son also. My wife, Linda,
edited the VTR newsletter for 10 years and is very much a
participant in club activities with me.) several Triumphs
today: a 1961 TR-3A (totally original, second owner, 47,000
miles), a 1968 TR-250 (high mileage, daily commuter car),
a 1969 TR-6 (needs restoration, runs, but not registered
for road use, essentially in storage as a future project),
a 1981 TR-8 (fuel injected, original car, great touring car).
My son has a 1981 TR-7 that is his daily driver (commute
to college).
In terms of automotive involvement, it is strictly limited
to my personal life. I'm a "member-of-technical-staff" for
Bellcore. Bellcore is the R & D house for the "baby-bells."
I have an AAS degree in electronics and a BA degree in Economics.
As far as my Triumphs go, I do almost all work on them
myself. I do "farm out" machine shop work as needed (eg. cylinder
head valve job, etc.) Besides just a general love of driving,
I have autocrossed, done timetrials, and rallied. My greatest
exploit (accomplishment) was in 1988 when I co-drove the TRF
TR-250 with Charles Runyon in the One-Lap of America. We placed
15th overall in a field of 53 cars. We drove over 8300 miles
in eight (yes, 8) days, great time, great fun, I'd do it again
in a minute!
>Because of your enthusiastic support of VTR, Bill, I'm assuming that you
>have more than a passing aquaintence with it. Are you an officer in the
>club? Your last message talked specifically about the newsletter---do
>you work on it? What I'd really like to know is, given what you've just
>learned about me, how do you think the club will lend itself to my
>interests? Currently, my only association with other motoring
>enthusiasts is through Road & Track, the TRF newsletter, and the British
>Car mailing list. I'd like to have broader and more informative
>associations, but if I'm going to pay $20, I'm just curious to know
>more.
Well, hopefully my response above has provided you with
the info you're interested in. I would like to comment on
the $20 VTR dues though. It seems to me that at $20,
VTR dues is an outstanding bargain. (In fact, regardless of
the marque or model car you own, I firmly believe that all of
us that claim to be enthusiasts of Triumph or MG or Lotus or
whatever, should support that marque by joining at least one national
club and the local club for your marque if there is one nearby.)
Sure, you can get
a Road & Track subscription for that, but how much Triumph
material appears in Road & Track these days (or any other
generic automotive interest magazine?) Additionally,
as a member, you can use the classifieds for free and
be in contact with over 4300 other Triumph owners if
you are after a specific part(s) that might not be
currently available in new or reproduction form from
the regular parts vendors. As a final note, the VTR dues
structure is a function of your receipt of four issues
of the VTR magazine. That is, we do not ask you for
dues automatically every 12 months. If our magazine
does not publish on an exact quarterly
basis your membership continues until you have received
the 4th issue of the magazine you are entitled to.
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Standard Disclaimer- Any opinions, etc. are mine and NOT my employer's.
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Bill Sohl (K2UNK) || email
Bellcore, Morristown, NJ || UUCP bcr!taichi!whs70
(Bell Communications Research) || or
201-829-2879 Weekdays || Internet whs70@taichi.cc.bellcore.com
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