Yes, the rumors are true. Starting with the April '04 issue, I'll be doing
my best to fill Dan's shoes. Lets start off with lowering our standards,
and I'll be less likely to disappoint you. I'm not doing this alone, though
A person who wishes to remain anonymous will be helping me with the
web-hosting/IT aspect of things, and another person, who I'm not sure how
much attention he wants, will be helping as necessary, with the creative
aspects. Good sir, I'll let you stand up and be counted if you wish, or we
can keep it on the QT as well.
But what it really comes down to is you folks at large: YOU need to
write the articles (we can help) and YOU need to subscribe, and YOU need to
support our advertisers by buying their wares, and letting them know where
you saw their ad. Dan is still at the helm, so I don't want to steal his
authority 'till his last issue comes out, but there will be a few changes
that he and I have discussed. First, we are going to keep putting issues on
the web, but they will no longer be free (unless you are a subscriber). We
are also working to put ALL the old issues on the web so that they can be
bought individually, as well as in bulk. I, for one, always avoided
shelling out $90 for the old issues, since I didn't know if I needed them
all. This way, people can decide what they want. We still have alot of
details to figure out in order to implement it, but it should be possible.
One other change we discussed is making it a for-profit newsletter. I
mention this because I want everything to be above-board. Both of the
previous publishers mentioned that one of the drawbacks was the amount of
time they invested in the magazine, and out-of-pocket expenses. A number of
subscribers have encouraged the concept of the publisher making a little
green for his/her efforts, to keep his morale high and make up for the time
he could have spent in the garage or on the back roads. I plan on doing the
Newsletter, regardless, so this is not a priority issue for me. I'm not
sure how to implement this yet, and if it's even feasible, but it will
depend on our income: Advertising dollars and subscriptions. If we have
plenty of both, we can do great things, like increase the size, or the
number of issues per year. Who knows where we can take it?
I encourage all of you to document your work with photos and drawings.
I really want our articles to be high on technical content, so that anyone
else could replicate your work. That means dimensions and measurements! I
still want people to send in photo montages of their rides, but ask yourself
as you write your article, could Johnny Sixpack reproduce my work from the
information I've put in here? Also, reviews of products are good too! If
you buy an XYZ fuel pump, and have driven with it for 20K miles w/o a hitch,
write about it. If you have access to a Dyno and can compare Halltech EFI
w/ Electromotive EFI, or DynoMax mufflers vs. Purple Hornies, have at it.
Perhaps if the magazine generates some $$, we can finance some comparisons
like that.
I really want to bring our hobby to more people. I want our kids to
want to make a souped-up TR-4 or Spitfire instead of putting neon tubes
under their Honda Civics, but this means making it easy and available to the
masses. I've been working on the side to do a few things. I've contacted
TA engineering to see about making improved 215/300 heads (still waiting to
hear back, but they make aluminum heads for the Buick V-6, and big-block
Buick, and they are in the process of making a head for the Buick 350). I
ve contacted Ferra about making custom oversized valves with the wasted
stems to improve flow and the proper length. I've also contacted a fellow
(Alan Johnson) who puts the Cadillac Northstar in just about anything. He
has responded, seems eager and this is what he says:
"The engine is light, about 400 lbs and will produce 475 hp and turn 8000
rpm with a change in cams, springs, and retainers, which we make."
Now who wants to volunteer to put that monster under the hood? Seriously.
I will try it in a year or so, but if someone wants to work with him now to
develop engine mounts and headers, let me know!!!
With the first two vendors, it comes down to "how many can they sell",
so if you want to get them to take the time and effort, we have to show
interest, and show that ours is not the dying hobby of old men (apologies to
all the "old men" in the group).
Anyhow, I've wasted plenty of bandwidth,
Take Care and send me your articles and ideas.
James Jewell
p.s. Do we have any lawyers in the group who would consider pro-bono council
if any legal questions arise? How 'bout CPA's?
-------Original Message-------
From: T. S. White
Date: Monday, December 08, 2003 10:37:10 AM
To: Greg Myer
Cc: mgb-v8@autox.team.net
Subject: Thanks James!
Thanks James, I am really glad someone has stepped in to give Dam a
break. Finding the British V-8 Newsletter has really improved my life.
I thought I was alone out here for thirty years. I feel a lot more sane
knowing there is a group of us.
--
Best Regards,
Tom
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