L to R: Margaret Lang, Martin Boothman, John Lang, Frances McDougall, and John Hetheringon.
John & Margaret Lang, Andrew & Frances McDougall, John & Margaret Hetherington, along with Chester & Sally McKaige (not yet pictured) have been responsible for organizing this amazingly brilliant tour. Kudos to them and the Alvis Car Club of Victoria organization for their extraordinary efforts!
Wednesday was a rest day in Ballarat.
In the morning we visited the Sovereign Hill Gold Mining Town of the 1850s. Highlights were watching the wheelwright create wooden wheel hubs, spokes, rims and tires on mid-19th century belt driven machinery, and observing the massive log fired boilers generating steam to power an engine driving a beam pump. The entire town is a faithful recreation of what the mining town would have looked like over 150 years ago.
In the motel car park, the intermittent rough running of the Higgins 1923 SB 12/50 tourer was cured when the graphite spring-loaded contact in the distributor cap of the magneto was found to be inadequately touching the rotor arm. Alan McKinnon to the rescue!
Dinner celebrated 80 years of the front wheel drive (FWD) Alvis, first launched in 1928. Five fully roadworthy FWD cars were on display to augment a virtuoso PowerPoint presentation by FWD guru Tony Cox, ably abetted by John Lang and John Hetherington, on the history to date of the Alvis FWD cars. Most outside Alvis circles are unaware that Alvis were the first FWD cars to be manufactured on a production basis. Only 143 cars were produced as the market in 1928 was not ready for the innovation of FWD.
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