July - Mazda MX-5 Club of Victoria & Tasmania

The MX-5 Club GrillIntroducing ...Allan PryerSouthern Tasmania ChapterName? Allan PryerAge? 48Born (specifically where)? Ware! (Herts.,UK)Current abode? On the edge of the bushand at the foot of the mountains inMontrose, HobartProfession? Manager/Supervisor withthe Australian Bureau of Statistics in theagriculture area. Prerequisite: countingsheep doesn’t put you to sleep!Partner? Married to StaceyPets? Three cats, eight chooks andnumerous itinerant wallabies, possums,cockatoos etc.Fave food? Lamb Rogan JoshCan you cook? Secretly, yesFavourite tipple? Full-bodied redFirst drive? At 17, “Land crab”, aka Austin1800 (Mk1), called “Myrtle”First car? 1962 Hillman Minx – “Jim”,$240. Loved that car!First fender bender? 1981. The Austin1800 was T-boned by an ex-school matewhen he failed to give way. Poor “Myrtle”!Everyday driver? Hyundai ElantraCurrent MX-5? ’ 93 NA Classic Red, powersteering, needs a name ...MX-5 improvements? “Off the shelf” it’sa wonderful package. To get the best outof it, it’s mostly the driver that needs theimprovement! These help too: Mania coldair intake, KYB AGX adjustable shocks,King springs, Flyin’ Miata butterfly brace,headers, hi-flo catMX-5 dislikes? NoneWhy an MX-5? I thought such a car wasout of reach for the average person andthey still seem too good to be true. Truly acredit to Mazda to achieve what they didwith this little sports car for the price tag.A dream come true.Fluffy dice? No. No prismatic pendants, nopelvic Presleys on the dash, no frangipanis,and definitely no RMW longhorns on therear window!Passions besides the MX-5? “CW”, theAustin Healey Sprite ‘resto’; soccer; playingand recording music; video editing and3D graphics and I squeeze in the odd bit ofcake decoratingFavourite TV show / movie / book?Always like a bit of “Top Gear” but historicand science documentaries generally /anymovie where character development isat least as important as the effects / justenough time for a classic car mag!Dream wheels (money no object)? 1964Ferrari 250 GTO, Series 1 E-Type JaguarRoadster, ’60s Ferrari 250 CaliforniaWould you drive a Daewoo orSsangYong? I drive my daughter’s DaewooLeganza from time to time. Simpleanswer: NO!Favourite other Mazda? RX-8If not a Mazda (gasp!) what? Jaguar orBoxsterHow long in the Club? About five yearsHow many MX-5 Club runs? Beyondmy digital capacity (ie, more than I havefingers)Favourite Club run? From Hobart upTassie’s east coast to St Helens or across toStrahan, then a good evening with otherClub members as part of an overnighterFunniest thing seen on a Club run? Manythings, but memorable was running backup a road ½ a km to find the answer toa clue on a car rally then racing back toavoid giving the answer away to othersclose behind. Still lost ...Done DECA? No, but would like toFord vs Holden? FordWhat’s playing in your MX-5? The Church- Singles CollectionFooty team (AFL/NRL/Soccer)?Collingwood / Dragons / MelbourneVictory / Derby CountyFinal comments? I’m not sure if it’s afunction of owning an MX-5 but it doesseem strangely coincidental that all of theClub members I have met are great people.Oh, and keep raising those pop-ups or givea wave when you see another MX-5 onthe road; they need to know friends andfellow ‘5’ tragics are out there!9