Hello, I’m Steve Skegg, your new Technical Coordinator. I have been a club member since 2007. First I’d like to thank Dave Bralich on behalf of us all for all his help & insight over the years. Dave will continue to run the spring tune up & fall down events which will be much appreciated by us all.

Coming from the other side of the pond I am used to working on British cars, (amongst others), and have been doing so for over 40 years. The first MG I worked on was an early B belonging to my high school chemistry teacher. I remember lying in two inches of snow (a fairly rare event in the UK) bolting the prop shaft back in. For some reason an overdrive shaft had been fitted by a previous owner to his 4-speed car. The shafts are different lengths ……….. That was around 1970 when I was growing up in Wallingford, a small town on the Thames about eight miles down the river from Abingdon.  So I probably wasn’t very far away when your car went down the production line.

In the late 1990’s I owned a 1973 MGB GT as my daily driver, rather than take a company car. Currently my fleet consists of a 1967 Austin Mini Countryman, a 1974 Triumph TR6 and a 1978 Mini 1275GT. Professionally, I am a mechanical engineer who has worked all over the world in various engineering roles for large corporations. I have a Bachelor of Science in engineering science from the University of Durham. I am also a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, as well as being a Chartered Engineer. These are the UK's equivalent of a Professional Engineer in the USA. This background helps understand the theories behind the practical experience you get when one’s hands become dirty.

I will be letting Barney & David know when there is something going on at my garage in Downers Grove that might be interesting to you. So far this year we have removed four MGB engines & gearboxes (and not put all of them back), built up a 1961 Triumph Herald engine, Replaced an MG Midget dashboard (don’t mention Magnolia gauges to me!), installed new carpets in a B, put a new top on a TR6 and replaced the Brake Master Cylinder on a 1957 Austin Healey. Most recently I changed the clutch on a 2009 Mini Cooper, not the easiest of jobs to say the least!

Finally if you have something going on or you want to get some help from the club with a project be sure to let me know so it can be suitably broadcast. Thanks and I’m looking forward to hearing from you. Please contact me by e-mail or phone if you have any questions about your cars and I will try and help diagnose the issue.

~~Steve Skegg