This page contains material from the June 2001 newsletter.

Volume 27 - Number 6 - June 2001 - Issue # 309 EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday June 6th, 7:30 PM Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University THIS MONTH: Dues Due and New Members Sylvan Zuercher May Meeting Notes Jim Pittman May Board Meeting Notes Chuck Vertrees From the Driver's Seat Hurley Wilvert Calendar of Coming Events Everybody Cars and Parts For Sale Everybody Seven Years Ago in CNM Jim Pittman Albuquerque Museum Car Show Report Robert Gold Tri-State Reports by: Steve Goodman, Kay Sutt, Elizabeth Domzalski, Mary Lou Martinek, Jim Pittman Big-I Tour Quiz Del Patten TECHNICAL: Busted Door Lock Dennis Pleau (VV) COVER: Garden of the Gods Car Show, Manitou Springs Tri-State Meet === The Cat's Diary "Day 751: My captors continue to torment me with bizarre dangling objects. They eat lavish meals in my presence while I am forced to subsist on dry cereal. The only thing that keeps me going is the hope of eventual escape -- that, and the satisfaction I get from occasionally ruining some piece of their furniture. "I fear I may be going insane. Yesterday, I ate a houseplant. Tomorrow I may eat another." Dues Expired or Due or Approaching Due: Bill McClellan 04/2001 David Patten 04/2001 Boedean Belt 05/2001 Dennis Pleau 05/2001 Terry Price 05/2001 Ben Abeyta 06/2001 Mark Morgan 06/2001 Dan Post 06/2001 Robert Gold 07/2001 Will Davis 08/2001 Sylvan Zuercher 08/2001 If your membership is due or has expired, please send your dues to: Wendell Walker, CNM Treasurer, 301 Utah Meadow, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 Note: the Club will mail in your National dues when you renew, but only if you send us the renewal form from CORSA Communique! The CORSA Home Page: http://www.corvair.org CNM's home page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 Wayne Christgau from Iowa Corvair Enthusiasts with his 525,000-mile 1967 Monza coupe. === May Meeting Notes Jim Pittman President Hurley called the meeting to order at 7:31 PM. Welcome to the meeting on this bad hair day. Sylvan said we should have two new members who may come to the meeting but they aren't here yet. April meeting minutes were accepted as published. Wendell reported on the state of the treasury: we have $183.10 in our bank account and $5,502.96 in the money market account for a total of $5,686.06. Larry Blair reported that he called the Pikes Peak Club contacts to check on the list of registered CNM members for the Tri-State. Only three or four members are listed so far! Some said they had registered and/or sent e-mail but still weren't on the list. Larry suggested it would be worth the cost of a phone call to be sure you are counted for the Tri-State. Larry went over the Big-I tour quiz from last month's newsletter. Several questions definitely had more than one right answer and some other answers may have been correct. Hurley got the best score and won a prize: a golden rebar. Larry regretted that Del was not present to rebut some of the answers. It was a good quiz and a reminder of what a nice tour that was for all of us who attended. Larry also passed around a few photos from the recent progressive dinner. Mark Martinek reported on the April Car Council meeting; meeting notes are below. Reminder: the Route 66 event is 20-22 July and there may not be any official CNM participation. Bring this up at the June meeting if interested. Mark Domzalski's CORSA plea: please mail your ballots! Convention in Flagstaff: dormant right now; we will talk about it at the Chicago convention. Mark says the Chicago convention location is really nice; it's all indoors; there's a huge facility; there is a 400-450-ft parking lot for concours and autocross. It was suggested that the concours cars be used as pylons for the autocross, but perhaps this was merely a jest. Steve Gongora remarked on the progressive dinner: possibly we did not have enough publicity for this event because there was a lot of effort put into organizing it and there was a lot of excellent food, but too few people showed up. Ruth said there were about 20 people. Several members commented that the food was great. There was a discussion of Mark's kidney stone - it's still there, waiting to pass - and there were suggestions of how to break it up. Jerry suggested we could all circle Mark with our Corvairs and simultaneously blow our horns; or perhaps we could get a circle of Harley Davidsons to rev their engines? Do we have a June event? A mystery tour? Mark Domzalski says, Yes, probably in the middle of June. Details will be in next newsletter. In July there's the national convention and the Fourth or July show and parade at the Santa Fe Plaza. It costs $20 per car to enter unless you are a member of the Santa Fe club; in the past some of us have "joined" the club to enter our cars; the problem is, membership ends in January and no one pays dues to continue in January. There was discussion, mostly between Wendy and Tarmo, about the various problems of the Santa Fe club and suggestions about how to mend them. Wendy said he'd push to have the fiscal year changed from January - January to July 4 - July 4. Tarmo said they should have membership renewal at the date a person joined, as CNM does. For those going to the Fourth of July event, you are supposed to be there and in place by 7:00 AM when the pancake breakfast begins. In recent years, CNM members tended to slide in about 9:00 or so and park out at the periphery and at least some of them, after their first taste of rubber pancake and battery acid coffee, sought breakfast elsewhere in Santa Fe. In September there's the State Fair car show; more on that later. In August we will have our annual camping event. Ruth has volunteered to have it at her cabin on Saturday August 11th. Debbie will be social director for the weekend. Tarmo remarks that he can't do hula hoop any more; he could twenty years ago; why not now? Perhaps he'll provide hula hoop contests at Ruth's campout. Steve Gongora printed out maps to Castaways (headquarters motel) and to the Pleaus' house for the Manitou Springs Tri-State event. Debbie & Dennis are having a cook-out Thursday night; details were in last month's newsletter. Some members are going up on Thursday and some on Friday. To caravan up I-25 to Colorado Springs to the Tri-State on Friday May 18th: meet at the Bernalillo bridge at 7:00 AM. Steve said that Ken Halverson needs window regulators for a 1962. Mark Martinek asked if those who aren't going to the Tri-State are going to get together to go as a group to the Museum car show? If anyone wants to do so, contact Robert Gold who won't be going to Colorado that weekend. New business: Sylvan reported that he got a call from Will Davis in Florida. He bought a dune buggy with fiberglass body and a Corvair 140 engine with a Holley 650 four-barrel. Sylvan thinks it's a cobbled job so Will will have a lot of restoring to do. Will has declared himself to be an official Florida sub-chapter of Corvairs of New Mexico since the local Corvair club is apparently not up to satisfying his needs. Hurley stopped to visit Wayne Ward in Las Cruces; he's planning to go to the Chicago convention and says he really likes being a member of CNM and really enjoys the Newsletter. Ruth said that Jim Craig stopped by to visit; he had been to the Ultravan gathering at Richard Finch's place in Tularosa. He said the Ultravan get-together was enjoyable. Wendy announced that after Hurley talks about removing windshields, he has the tool to remove them. Bill said you just need piano wire. Probably Wendy's is special in some way; more experienced? Since there appeared to be no more business to discuss, Hurley adjourned the meeting at 8:18 PM. Several members enjoyed a show-and-tell by Hurley on early and late windshield removal and replacement. Thanks, Hurley, for bringing in an early and a late windshield for this talk. === May Board Meeting Notes Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order on 5/16/01 at 17:11. Present were Jim Pittman, Wendell Walker, Steve Gongora, Robert Gold, Sylvan Zuercher, and Chuck Vertrees. Jerry Goffe came by later to discuss the Mystery Tour. The minutes of the last board meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Wendell phoned me the treasurer's report after the meeting. We had $209.95 in the checking account and $5,502.96 in the Money Market account for a total worth of $5,712.91. The San Felipe car show on the 26th was discussed. Information about entering is on our web page. It sounds like a pretty good deal. July 28th will be the Santa Fe VMCCA Club annual picnic. It will be at Jemez Springs this year because of the lack of shade at Cochiti. It will be a potluck picnic this year. If you haven't gone to one of these, you do not know what you are missing. The only problem is that it is the same weekend as the Edgewood show. It was mentioned that the V-8 Corvairs now have a web page. There is usually a large turnout at Palm Springs in the fall. There was quite a long discussion about the Route 66 Celebration in July. Unfortunately, the people that were originally planning this have been fired and the city and the Fair Grounds have taken over. It seems that now it is primarily a big money making scheme. If you want to show your car at the State Fair grounds, it will cost you a $40.00 entry fee plus admission to the Fair grounds. There is a question about what will be happening in which CNM can participate. There was no information about the Tri-State Trophy which you'll recall was stolen last year in Albuquerque and was supposed to have been replaced in time for this year's Tri-State. It was reported that Dennis Pleau was checking with Laura of Rocky Mountain CORSA. Steve reported on the patches (Large rectangular for jacket back, etc). He has gotten a price of $5.75 each or a total of $304.00 all-inclusive. This is an embroidered patch and not silk screened. This is a very good price and the layout will be similar to the license plate. It was discussed as to whether we should spend this amount and if there was enough demand in the club for the patches. The board asked Steve to hold off ordering until the demand could be estimated at the June meeting. This then led to a discussion of what should be given to new members. It was decided that they would receive a "Care and Feeding" booklet and a license plate. The patches would be available for sale for $7.00 each. The speaker at the June meeting will discuss researching titles. The meeting was adjourned at 18:20. -- Chuck === From the Driver's Seat Hurley Wilvert Here it is the weekend of the Tristate Meet and I will be at home to chaperone my twin daughters' 11th birthday "sleep over" party. What a tradeoff. On the one hand, I miss out on a really nice drive through some of the prettiest country in the world, getting to socialize with some of the nicest people I know and getting to drive my Corvair for the whole weekend, away from home no less. What an adventure! On the other hand I get to be in the same house all night with about ten 10-12 year old girls enjoying a birthday party. Now that's adventure! They plan to stay up late watching the movies I have rented for them, eat goodies, gossip and make lots of noise. Can you remember when you used to do those things? It sure was great, wasn't it. In not too many years, my girls will be more mature and will not appreciate their dad being around to chaperone them. It would be embarrassing you know. Soon after that they will be adults and I will probably hardly ever see them. You know how busy adults are. I think I will be enjoying the best of the two activities available to me this weekend, one of the last chances I will have to watch my daughters be children. Just don't ask me how good it's going at 11:00 tonight. I hope everyone who goes to Manitou Springs has as good a time as I will have. I want to thank Robert Gold for stepping in for me at the board meeting this month. I had business out of town and could not make the meeting on time. I did make it there just as it was over; great timing! A few weeks ago I got a chance to go to Las Cruces and stopped in to see our member there, Wayne Ward. Wayne is always working hard, but he is always willing to talk while he is working. His shop always has a couple of Corvairs outside to give you that "at home" feeling. Thanks Wayne for your hospitality. I look forward to seeing you all again at the June meeting at Galles Chevrolet. I will want to hear about all your adventures at the Manitou Springs Tri-State Meet, and I'll fill you in on the plot of 102 Dalmatians. Hurley Wilvert - CNM President === Seven Years Ago in C.N.M. June 1994 Volume 20 Number 6 The June 1994 cover showed us the "oldest known" registered Corvette in New Mexico: a 1954 6-cylinder that was in an Albuquerque Museum car show. President Del ran the meeting. Guests were David Patten and Gary Rudolph; a new member was George White. Treasurer Will reported $918 in the bank; $50 was sent to the Michelle Goffe Foundation Scholarship Fund and $200 was used to start our 1996 Convention fund. We discussed various upcoming car shows and a planned rally and/or econorun. Several members planned to go on the Villanueva campout. It was our turn to host the Tri-State next year; popular demand dictated it would be at Red River again. Technical articles included an update on replacing shroud seals by Larry Blair and a report on our recent shifter clinic by Steve Gongora. Shoe's old DeSoto reportedly got 30 miles per gallon - of oil, not gas. And this issue presented nine photos from our Museum Car Show. Fourteen Years Ago The June 1987 cover was another Mark Morgan fantasy: two CNM members fight BERNALILLO VICE in their Corvair/Ferrari replica. President Clayborne ran the meeting and LeRoy said we had $529 in the bank. Seven Corvairs went on a rainy trip to Madrid. New name tags had arrived. We planned our participation in the May Museum car show, a June picnic and a June econorun. LeRoy listed items to be auctioned in June. An illustrated tech tip by Jerry Goffe told us how to get and install a replacement license plate light housing for our 95 FCs. Other tech tips told how to remove the oil pickup tube when disassembling an engine and the proper way to use a test light. Bill Reider reported on the Museum car show. Tarmo's 1964 Monza convertible took Best of Show and no fewer than 15 Corvairs were entered! Twenty-one Years Ago The June 1980 cover showed a Porsche, an Elephant and a Beetle, all with racing stripes, and asked, What did they have in common with Corvairs? Historical tidbit: this was the first issue of Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter to be printed on the editor's new Apple II Plus computer and NEC Spinwriter letter-quality printer, using a word processor called Super-Text. Although this and later issues of the newsletter looked more or less the same as before, editing the newsletter by computer was a major improvement for the editor! No more typing on a borrowed IBM Selectric, no more white-out, no more re-typing an entire page to correct a minor error. Being able to use a computer to produce the newsletter pushed back the editor's burn-out crisis by many, many years - in fact, he hasn't reached it yet! At our June meeting we may have had a Club officer in charge, we may have had a treasurer's report and the minutes may have been approved, but none of this made it into the newsletter. We learned that Corvairs were no longer wanted at the State Fair. We were invited to Morarity for their July Fourth parade. Mary Twilley donated a Corvair billfold for a drawing. Jim Godlevski demonstrated his technique for welding and balancing flywheels. Bill Reider gave a talk on distributors. A new member was Bill Hector. We donated $100 to the Kidney Foundation of New Mexico in memory of Ike Meissner. An article on fuel mileage by your editor discussed the changes in the way mileage is reported now as compared to back in the sixties when our cars were new. Jim asserted that EPA gas mileage figures are inflated some 25 to 30 percent as compared to the SAE ratings that were common during the sixties. Also, since gas mileage isn't actually measured on the road but rather is calculated from running an engine in the lab, you can't count on getting the mileage the EPA says when you buy your new Chevrolet or Toyota. It also means you can't readily compare published road test figures on Corvairs to road test numbers on modern cars. Jim thought we could have some fun with these facts. He gave actual measured gas mileage figures for two of his cars and showed what (he said) the EPA figures would be if his argument was valid. This issue contained an article about a "Devin" Corvair-powered sports car, a call for statistics on who in the club were "old timers" and two tech tips: where to find a suitable replacement radio speaker and how to use a Wisk bottle as an oil funnel. Finally, we had a letter from Seth Emerson who was running for CORSA director and asked for our votes. === MY IMPRESSION OF THE MAY 2001 TRISTATE Mary Lou Martinek What a great day to start off on a journey to one of my favorite states, Colorado. Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak sure seemed to be the place to go. We drove our 24-foot, Class C RV and used a tow-dolly to tow the '63 Monza Convertible. The scenery in Northern N.M. was great, with green everywhere and lovely different colored wild-flowers. The signs of Spring with new life of foals and calves was great to see. I thought the color of red cattle in a field of pink flowers was quite unique. After we crossed into Colorado around Trinidad, the rains started and they seemed to get worse the closer to Colorado Springs we got with a lightning show which seemed to be right on the highway in the direction we were heading, I'm glad Mark was driving at that time! It was about 3:30 P.M. Thursday when we checked in at the Twin Peaks RV park just a couple blocks from the Castaway Motel. By the time Mark unloaded the car and set up the RV he was soaked to the skin. It slowed down to a drizzle by the time we headed out for Debbie and Dennis Pleau's ranch for a barbecue on the front porch. It sure was nice to see their lovely new home and see Jon and Deb Anderson and girls again; seems like part of our Albuquerque Club has moved to the Pikes Peak area? One of the neat things about the Pleau's place besides lots of Corvairs around are four goats, two of them just babies and very cute with lovely color/markings. Mark and I really didn't do much tourist things; it was nice just to relax, and our campground was very pretty with lilacs and rocks and a stream with foot bridges. I noticed a guest of the Motel next door try to catch a fish in the fast moving water; he had what looked like a cane pole. Directly behind us on the hill was a "Bed and Breakfast' and in the evening it was lit with lots of white lights. We were told that it used to be the Wrigley's (of chewing gum fame) Summer home. I watched the antics of a couple of squirrels who were really having fun and driving our dog, Bonita, crazy as she didn't know what they were, so decided they needed to be barked at if I wouldn't let her run after them. The Pizza in the Park on Friday was nice. The weather cooperated so it was comfortable and a good time to visit with others from the different clubs. Having the "Show and Shine" at the Garden of the Gods Visitor Center was a great idea. The visitors who came earlier in the morning not only saw an air show of vintage aircraft fly over, but got to go right past our nice Corvairs as well. Of course Mark D. and Tarmo S. got to have quite an audience as well as advisors, as they repaired part of Tarmo's car right there on the sidewalk and in the rain. The barbecue on Saturday night was okay, but the room was much too crowded to get up and do any visiting with others in the room. I enjoyed Sylvan Zuercher's interesting as well as humorous stories in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the Tri-State this year. I was disappointed that there were no Souvenir T-shirts for us to purchase this time, but luckily, Mark had bought me a "Colorado" T-shirt earlier at the gift shop in the RV Park. We had an uneventful trip back Sunday. The Corvair was put on the tow dolly facing the RV this time, with the speedometer disconnected. It tracked great. Mark had "fun" when we hit New Mexico with the strong wind. My only complaint was that I couldn't stay a day or two longer to do the tourist things, but now we have a good excuse to come back! I hope we can go to Grand Junction next May. For those who didn't get to go to the Tri-State this time, give it a try next year; you'll be glad you did. OH! Is there anyone out there who would like to help me get bugs off the loft, rear view mirrors, windshield; in other words,the whole front of a very tall vehicle?? === NEWSLETTER COMMENTS Kay Sutt This year's Tri-State Meet was a little different for the Sutts. First of all we brought two students this year instead of just one. Second, Tarmo and the girls left earlier because I had to work later Friday. I drove up with my boss, who was on his way to Denver, and we arrived fairly late that night. I was sorry to miss the pizza party. Several people told me the company was great, even if the pizza wasn't. My boss enjoyed meeting some of the folks he's heard so much about over the years. Saturday morning was threatening, but Ruth and Rita decided to take the kids horseback riding, so I had the task of getting two 18-year old girls out of bed and ready to be seen in public in 30 minutes (at 9:00 A.M.!!!). A daunting task, but they were up to it. They all had a great time and finished before the rain. Only problem was the kids all wanted to go again Sunday morning. It was a pleasure to see all our friends at the show and shine, and there were a few new people this year to get to know too. It seems every year the cars are a little better looking. I remember the first few Tri-States where most of us looked like traveling gypsies in our old, rusty Corvairs. But now many of those same cars are a real joy for Corvair owners and the others who attend the show. (Actually, my favorite perspective is from the balcony of the hotel where you can see all the friendly activity as the cars are brought to that ultimate shine on Saturday morning.) I especially enjoyed the antique and quilt shop spree Debbie Pleau arranged for several of us. We had fun despite the downpour, and we now know just how many middle aged women you can cram into a van (no wise cracks please). Ruth spent the afternoon showing me hand quilting. (Now we'll see if it's true that practice makes perfect. I've certainly defined the term "beginner" in my attempts so far.) The banquet was typical of Tri-State Meets. The food was adequate, the room was crowded, and the feelings expressed were genuine. Steve and Ruth Goodman were almost speechless winning the St. Francis of Corvair award, and it takes something special to make either of them speechless. I'm sure Francis was smiling that evening. I rode back home on Sunday with Wendell. I learned about all the traveling he and Ilva have done and his stories and good company made the miles fly by. We had a six-car caravan coming home, which was great, but every stop (and with six cars full of people there are lots of "pit stops") looked like a Chinese fire drill, and it took some doing to get everyone back on the road. Writing this short piece reminds me of Ilva's comments after the Lake City meet. She said something to the effect: "I don't give a hoot about the cars, and a lot of the places aren't so great, but the people are my reason to come back every year." Well, Ilva, this year you would have been pleased. The location was great, the cars were better looking than ever, and the people were just as friendly and even more interesting than in past years. This is truly an event that just gets better every year. Thanks to all of you who organized and attended who who made this Tri-State meet a wonderful and worthwhile weekend. === Subject: Re: Tri-State Statistics From: Steve Goodman (rearengine.steve@worldnet.att.net) To: Jim Pittman CIRT (casa unm edu) Some information on the Manitou Springs Tri-State Meet: Clubs represented; Rocky Mountain CORSA (Denver) 48 in attendance Pikes Peak Corvair Club (C/Springs) 39 in attendance Corvairs of New Mexico (Albuquerque) 27 in attendance Bonneville Corvair Club (Salt Lake City) 2 in attendance San Francisco Bay Area 2 in attendance Iowa Corvair Enthusiasts 1 in attendance There were two folks from West Virgina who belonged to no club. States represented: Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Kansas, Iowa, California, West Virginia, Kansas. (The folks from Kansas belong to CNM.) Total number attending the banquet: There were 123 adults and 4 under 12 at the restaurant. I didn't keep count of those at the pizza party Friday evening but there were several other youngsters, those of Jon/Debbie Anderson and Dennis/Debbie Pleau. The pizza party consumed 29 14" pizzas. I might also add that Sunday afternoon a weather front passed through the area and the temperature in Denver went from 80 degrees at about 1500hrs to 30 degrees and SNOW at 1700hrs. About 3 inches of snow was on the ground by 2200hrs. There were several who got caught in the snow on their way home too, those who live in Boulder and Ft. Collins. Regards, Steve === From: Steve Goodman (rearengine.steve@worldnet.att.net) To: casa unm edu I would like to add a paragraph or two to your next newsletter if I may, it goes something like this: To all members of CNM: On behalf of Ruth and myself, I would like to say that it is an honor to receive the St. Francis Boydston award this year. Francis was a very good friend and of course Ruth Boydston still is. To be considered in the group with Jim Pittman, Tarmo Sutt and Sylvan Zuecher is something that I can't quite find words to describe. The Boydston award means more than just the CORVAIR, it is the people that make the CORVAIR what it is today. Francis always found time to help fellow CORVAIR owners and that is what made him a virtual legend in the community. The two of us are proud to be a part of that group and we hope to continue for many years. To all of you we say "THANK YOU, see you all next year" -- Steve and Ruth Goodman ============================================================================ C O R V A I R S o f N E W M E X I C O C O M I N G E V E N T S | | | | | J u n e | J u l y | A u g u s t | | | | | | : : : : : 1 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | : : : 1 2 3 4 | | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 8 8 10 11 12 13 14 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 29 30 31 : : : : | 26 27 28 29 30 31 : | | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | Wed 6th Jun 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 9th Jun 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - Brenda Stickler's Wed 20th Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 22nd Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 4th Jul early!! Santa Fe Plaza Car Show, Pancake Breakfast, Parade Wed 11th Jul 7:30 PM Regular Meeting: one week late - GALLES CHEVROLET Sat 14th Jul 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - .... Wed 18th Jul 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 20th Jul 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 1st Aug 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 11th Aug 1:00 PM CNM Ladies - .... Wed 15th Aug 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 24th Aug 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sun 2nd Dec 11:00 AM Christmas Dinner - Kirtland AFB - Rita Gongora =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= JUNE MEETING TALK Robert Gold So you just bought the Corvair of your dreams. Just one problem - it doesn't have a title. Sound familiar? The speaker at our June 6 meeting can help you out. Mr. Hyman Eisenberg makes a living researching titles for those of us who need one. He knows what to do and where to go so that your dream car will have a factory fresh title. Here's your chance to ask questions and find out what procedures our wonderful New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division require to replace a missing "pinkslip". I'm sure that in addition to describing the procedures, Mr. Eisenberg will have some interesting stories to tell about his paper quest. I'm also working on having a State Trooper attend the meeting to see if your title matches your car body -- Just kidding! So join us and hear what no doubt will be a very interesting talk. -- Robert L. Gold NEW MEMBERS - Sylvan Zuercher Welcome new members Barbara & Gordon Johnson of Corrales, NM. Their son gave them a 1965 convertible; they may be looking for a second one! Their son works on light aircraft engines, so an air-cooled Corvair was right down his alley. CNM LADIES UPDATE Jim, Sorry to have to do this to you. It turns out that the ladies' plans for this month are not gelling. So we will be postponing our gathering at Brenda Stickler's cabin until July. I'll send you info for the newsletter as soon as I know what's going to happen. Again sorry and thanks for doing the Corvair newsletter! - Anne Mae Gold NEW MEXICO COUNCIL OF CAR CLUBS CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS Jun 9 Las Lunas 5th Annual Benefit Car Show (Visitor's Center Jun 16 6th Annual Hub City Mopar Fest (Auge's in Belen) Jun 17 Pine Top Car Show (Ruidoso) Jun 17-22 CHROME ON THE RANGE Chrome Glidden Tour (Chinle AZ) Jun 26 History Channel: Great Race Comes to Farmington Jul 4 Fourth of July Car Show - Santa Fe Plaza (Norton - 466-4854) Jul 14-21 Tucumcari 75th Anniversary (Call 505-461-1694 for details) Jul 20-22 Land of Enchantment Rod Run (Farmington) Jul 20-22 Grants Fire & Ice Festival of Route 66 (Call 505-287-4802) Jul 20-22 75th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee Festival of Route 66 Albuquerque Convention & Visitor's Bureau (505-247-9101) Jul 28 VMCCA Jemez Falls (formerly Cochiti) Picnic Aug 19 Rio Grande Corvette Club 10th Annual Make-a-Wish Car Show Aug 25 Kensington Manor Car Show (Santa Fe - Norton 505-466-4854) Sep 8 Orphan Car Show Sep 18-20 Western National Meet: Early Ford V-8's. Sep 21-23 Roadrunner 1000 Rally (Santa Fe Vintage Car Club) Oct 5-7 Collector Car Weekend (Farmington) Oct 21 Frostbite Tour (Santa Fe Vintage Car Club) Oct 21 Southwest Packards 7th Annual Chimayo Tour Nov 10 Truth or Consequences Show & Swap Meet Nov XX Bosque del Apache Tour ALBUQUERQUE CRUISE NIGHTS: Hot Cars Cool Nights Car Show (Reliable Chevrolet) Jun 8, Jul 13, Aug 10 South 66 Cruise (Bosque Farms to Las Lunas McDonalds) Second Saturdays Owl Cafe (Eubank & 140) - Pre-1960 Rides - first Tuesday of each month May thru October Owl Cafe (Eubank & 140) - Muscle Cars - third Thursday of each month May thru October Christian Rods & Customs and Route 66 Rodders (SONIC at Juan Tabo & Candelaria) - third Saturday of each month April thru October ALBUQUERQUE RACING VENUES: Albuquerque National SpeedWay - 505-873-2684 (currently closed) Sandia MotorSports Park - (505) 352-8888 * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE: 1965 Corsa Convertible -- $600 -- Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Body only - drive train still in car. No heads on engine block. It has a 140 block. FOR SALE: 140 engine -- $800 -- Call Bill Reider 299-4597 It has a new valve job and rebuilt flywheel. Complete with all sheet metal & air cleaner. FOR SALE: White convertible top -- $125 -- Call Bill Reider 299-4597 New in box w/pads. Late model. FOR SALE: 1960 Monza coupe -- $750 -- Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Needs ground up restoration. Automatic, Radio, gas heater. Powder coated engine shrouding. Full set of 60 Monza wheel covers. Extra front and rear suspension. Less that 27,000 miles. Included: Assembly & Shop Manuals for the 1960 Corvair. Extra gas heater parts. FOR SALE: 1966-67 Corvair -- $1400 -- Call Bill Reider 299-4597 Automatic recently rebuilt. 110 engine with recent valve job. New black carpet needs to be installed. New black headliner to be installed. New black rear package area carpet needs to be installed. New black dash pad. White bucket seats in good shape, rear seats need recovering. Dual master cylinder installed. Needs battery & paint. Body straight. FOR SALE: Tire & Wheel C-78-13 White Cruise Master 4-ply 6.50-13 tubeless Ruth 821-1506 * * * * * CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS * * * * * ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM CAR SHOW Robert Gold For those of you who wondered if there were any Corvairs at this year's Museum Car Show I'd like to proudly say, yes, yes, yes. That's one yes for each CNM car that was there. While many of you were trekking to the Colorado Tri-State, the Gold clan was displaying three of our cars. There was Anne Mae's daily driver 1961 Lakewood, my rare factory option 425 Olds V8 1966 Corsa, and my seldom driven 1964 Monza convertible. There was also a 1964 Monza convertible driven down from Santa Fe by a couple who might be future CNM members. The day started a little rainy, but it cleared off and was your usual magnificent New Mexico day. The folks running the show did a nice job. The check-in went well and we had no problems finding a nice corner to park our cars. There did seem to be fewer cars this year, though the quality was still very high. I was really impressed by the number of T-Birds. All in all it was a very nice experience. I hope that the Council of Car Clubs and the City of Albuquerque can get together so we can attend the show next year. === Subject: Trick Big I Tour Question! Del Patten Hi Jim... finally read the newsletter!! Maybe you can use this "commentary" too!! So did I get the question that was just for me right??? I guessed 300 tons but I wasn't sure!! I hate those tricky questions. Just like Larry to try and trick me since I disputed his ascendancy to the throne of the DoMC. Well, this next example of my alleged mechanical ineptitude may not count for DoMC membership but it did make for a fun day. I jumped in the GB ready for the trip home one night and everything came on when I turned the key... everything that is except the starter (this was a clue but one I missed)! So although it was dark, I reached under the dash and wiggled things around... still nothing... smokey fingers not counting. Then I go to the back and wiggle the big harness plug around... you know, thinking it might be that big power wire teasing me. Doesn't make sense when I thought about it later because the lights and fuel pump wouldn't be coming on if that was the case!! So I finally got a tow home, thank you AAA, and finally got a chance to expand my search for the missing electricity on Sunday. Having spent much time in the company of Bill and Wendy over the years, I figured I would do it like they would... track that stuff down with my meter in a logical process of elimination. Well, you do have to turn the meter on and I did that.... now what am I supposed to do with these darn wires??? Oh yeah!!... sounds good right?? Like I might have a clue?? Well, I did sort of and some hours later I called Wendy and told him what I had done... "Did you turn the meter on?" says he. "Well, of course" says I! So we study what I have done so far and it seems I am headed in the right direction and I should press on. As I was starting to run out of wires to check, I decide to pull the starter (Wendy thought that might be a good idea) to see what I can get see and check since all points look to the starter solenoid as the culprit!! As you may remember, there are three wires down there... the big fat red one from the battery and a purple one and a yellow one. That is strange... the yellow one isn't attached to the starter!! Sometimes success comes in really small packages... a two minute fix as it turns out!! So will I grab the meter the next time?? Heck no, at least not at first!! I will check those darn wires!! And then I'll call Wendy or Bill!! Still full of it!! -- Del === MANITOU SPRINGS ADVENTURE Elizabeth Domzalski "Green green, It's green they say, on the far side of the hill." (I think that was a Peter, Paul and Mary song.) We went to the far side of the hill and it was so green! Now, I did overhear one of our club members say (tongue in cheek), that "They just don't have the shades of brown we do." We met Wendell and the Vertrees on I-25 north of the Bernalillo/Placitas exit, headed out at 8:00. The Pattens joined us in Santa Fe and we continued on. We drove through a very heavy rainstorm complete with huge bolts of lightning and loud claps of thunder. We experienced one "flash-boom" that was so close that Wendell and Chuck said they could smell the ozone. We arrived in Manitou Springs around 3:30 and got settled. We then started on another journey to visit the Pleau Ranch along with several others on Thursday. They have a really nice place. (And it is so green!) Debbie treated us to one of her many menus that included chicken, bratwurst, hamburgers, beans, bean salad, lemon bars, brownies, beverages, good company and great views. Debbie Anderson contributed a delicious fresh fruit salad. As an added bonus, we got to see the most adorable baby goats I have ever seen. Friday brought touring around Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs. Debbie Pleau chauffeured Dennis, the Pattens, Wendell and me around. We first visited the home of the late Starr Kempf where we saw his artwork in the form of huge steel sculptures. There were birds, windmills and unusual pieces, but all were designed to move when the wind blew. You really had to see it to appreciate it. (Mark has pictures.) Debbie drove us past the Broadmoor Hotel, another form of art. We then shopped in Manitou Springs where Mark landed another antique Coleman lantern for his newly started collection. The guys had a great time in the Mountain Man shop. Mark replenished some of his black powder gun supplies. We visited Filthy Wilma's, which is a tasteful art gallery, nothing like what its name suggests. We then had lunch at a deli across the street, where they seemed to be out of everything we asked for. They had just returned from a trip at 1:00 a.m. earlier that same day and were waiting for us to begone so they could go be a part of the birth of their first grandchild. Before we left, however, Del got a free lemon bar, which Debbie ate, since Del had lemon cake and Debbie talked the owner into giving her the recipe for the lemon bars. We ended up having an enjoyable time. We shopped at antique stores - one where I picked up several pieces of depression glass I spotted last month when I was in Colorado Springs on business. We found a great antique store where Kim, Sylvia and I went while the guys checked out the surplus store. Mark and I excused ourselves from the Pizza in the Park event, took Jerry and Sylvia to see Starr Kempf's art, grabbed some dinner and went back to the motel, so Mark could rest. Saturday brought the car show at the Visitor's Center for Garden of the Gods. Another spectacular place - the views, the center and of course all of the Corvair Enthusiasts. Debbie arrived and we womenfolk went again. We went back to the huge antique store we had discovered the day before, but not before getting chocolate covered donuts for one of the dealers at the store. There we connected with Sylvia and Ruth who had been horseback riding with Rita Gongora. We left there, grabbed a Wendy's sandwich that we ate in the van and we were off to a quilting store. What a great store. Everyone bought something, even Sylvia. When we all back on the van, Sylvia announced that she had bought a quilter's cookbook and proclaimed, "I now belong." (Sylvia is like me in that we are neither one seamstresses.) We had a great time. The Colorado club did a very nice job. The dinner Saturday night was crowded but entertaining. Jim and Sylvan made excellent presentations. Sylvan gave us a history of the Tri-State that really brought the past to life. And Jim - what a great job you did with the St. Francis Award. Sunday was an eventful trip home made up of many stops, losing each other in Garden of the Gods and a lot of fun. There were sixteen of us in six Corvairs and one Gongora van. I can't show you Kay's animated description of what happened when this caravan stopped, but I will try to give you a word picture. It was sort of like putting your finger in the middle of a group of ants. They just scattered in random fashion with no observable deliberation involved until everyone stopped. It was quite amazing to witness. Mark and I had a wonderful time, despite the ever-present kidney stone. It was great spending time with all of you. === BRAND X-ING TO COLORADO Jim Pittman There are two Corvairs in the back yard and they actually run, but for a trip to Colorado we chose one of our "new" cars: the 1990 Honda Civic. It has a new set of Michelin X-ONE tires, and I was curious to learn how the tires would work out in the rain. I found out. They were great. We went up "the back way" on old North 14 via Madrid. The weather was beautiful. Beyond the highway to Cimmaron we were in new territory and we could see thunderheads building up to the north and west; they were going to rain on somebody today. Going over Raton Pass was like driving into a dark blue curtain and by Trinidad we were creeping along in blinding rain. This was just the first of many trillions of raindrops we'd see on this trip. Check in to the motel. A few Corvairs show up. Several of us head out to the Pleau Ranch. On I-25 we feel right at home, driving through a stretched version of the Big-I reconstruction. Many hills and dales later we find the final turn and see lots of Corvairs among the low-hanging clouds. Nice visit with old friends. Can't see any mountains from the bathroom window, though. Next morning four of us Brand-X'ers go for breakfast then head west to find the road to the top of Pikes Peak. The park guy at the bottom of the road wants to tell us all about growing up in Albuquerque and says we can only go up as far as mile 13. Lots of photos along the way. At a gift shop there are three colorful cars that can only be retired participants in past July Fourth Hill Climbs. Soon we are in the snow zone. Many twists and turns later and we get to mile marker 13. No apparent reason we can't continue on. The road surface is fine gravel and is now wet with melting snow. There is quite a lot of traffic. The view is magnificent but some of us are pretty nervous about the mud, the lack of guard rails and the thousand-foot drops. Near mile 14 we found a ranger SUB blocking the road, a lot of cars parked and people admiring the view or heading downhill on snowboards. We managed to get turned around and get back down the mountain without sliding off one of those hairpin turns. Next stop was the cog railway. It would have taken us up to the very top of the mountain, but it was late in the day and there were crowds of tourists, so we contented ourselves with photos of the old, short, tilted locomotive at the end of the track. That evening an exciting trip through Colorado Springs brought us to the pizza party in the park. A well-preserved 1883 locomotive got my attention. Lots of old friends to talk to. I enjoyed the pizza, too. The rain was only a slight drizzle. Saturday: another scenic trip brought us to the car show. How do so many people keep so many Corvairs so clean and shiny and bring them to Tri-States year after year? In the middle of my photo session, here comes an air armada of old trainer airplanes. It was a kind of slow-motion reminder of what the sleepy sailors must have seen at Pearl Harbor on that Sunday morning before the bombs started falling. Wonder how many of us were able to identify those old planes? I'm sure about the T-6s but don't know about the others. The event organizers had prepared a tour with questions and we set out to run it. Rain and clouds failed to dampen our spirits and we enjoyed driving in several directions at once, seldom able to tell which direction we were going. We saw a lot of clouds. Eventually we could tell we were finally headed for the Air Force Academy and when we went by the B-52 we could hardly see it for the heavy rain. We had to back-track several times to find the answers to questions. The Academy was awe-inspiring even in a downpour. We detoured onto the airfield for photos of a T-38, an F-86, an A-10 and an F-104. The banquet was unusual - and crowded - but we finally got our food. When the barbeque arrived it was tasty and some of us had to force ourselves to stop sooner than we really wanted to. When I'm at a barbeque I always think of our cave-man ancestors who, when they had a chance at roast mammoth or bison, had to stuff themselves against the many days they'd be living on roots and berries... I don't know how long I would have survived as Alley Oop. Soon we all crowded into one room for the speeches and door prizes. Best car in the show? Ben Benzel's 1962 convertible. One of many really nice cars. During the last year or so, whenever I thought about "Tri-State Event" I found myself preoccupied with the "Saint Francis of Corvair" award. During recent months there has been a lot of talk in our Club about the Ike Meissner Award and the Saint Francis Award. Some of us think we should quit one of them, or scale one back, or combine them. Several times I have heard something like, "Well, there are not many members left who even knew Ike; maybe the award does not mean much to us any more." I understand this, but I'm not ready to let the awards go just yet. I think we need to re-evaluate the awards and what they mean. I was especially keen on making this year's Saint Francis Award as meaningful as possible. The award was started as part of a Tri-State event, so members of the Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain clubs were involved, not just CNM alone. The more I thought about it, the more I thought about the years of support Steve and Ruth Goodman had provided to the Tri-State and to both the Denver and the Colorado Springs clubs. I determined to get a consensus to present the award to them. Fortunately the committee members agreed with me, and we did it. In a way, my speech about the Saint Francis Award was the high point of the trip to the Tri-State at Manitou Springs. But the next morning as we started back home, headed west on US 25 through the valleys surrounded by snow-covered mountains, I realized that, despite the rain and clouds and apparent lack of organization, this had been a marvelous Tri-State, laid-back and relaxing and fun and memorable. Exactly what they are supposed to be. Thanks, Pikes Peak folks, for this event. I'm glad we were able to attend. === Subject: Re: door lock BUSTED!!!!!!!! From: Dennis Pleau (dpleau@efortress.com) I got the door open at the Tri-State Meet. We used the Steve method because I didn't have a wrapped 2x4 handy. I found an 82-year young gentleman to hold the button and pull on the door, while I hit the inside with my shoulder. It broke loose on the second hit. Steve says I should pull the mechanism and make sure the Nylon part has fallen out, Ed says it will fall out, since I'm lazy, I'm hoping Ed is right. Seth's input was: "You need a supervisor to break a part? You've been in a big company too long! (grin) - Seth" Thanks to both Ed Corson and Steve Goodman, they both came up with the exact same problem for my door latch and similar solutions. Isn't this list great? -- Dennis At 07:05 AM 5/16/01 I wrote: When I got to work today I couldn't open the driver's side door from the inside. I got out the passenger's side and couldn't open the driver's door from the outside either. I can lock and unlock it from inside or out. Anyone have any ideas on how to open it. - Dennis At 12:53 PM 5/16/01 EDT, Ed wrote: Dennis, You don't state what year your car is. My wife's '65 4 door has had the same problem with the rear passenger door and now the front passenger door. There is a small piece of plastic in the door latch that becomes brittle with age and breaks off and drops down into the release mechanism and jams it. The fix for me was to lower the window, wrap a piece of 2x4 about 24 inches long in a blanket or towel, place it against the top edge of the door on the inside, lie down on the seat and push against it with my feet while someone depresses the handle release on the outside and pulls the handle as hard as they can. This will usually break the piece of plastic and it will fall out of the mechanism. Then the latch will work OK again. If you don't use the wood wrapped in a towel you will dent the door top edge with your feet. How do you think I know that? Ed Corson - IECC At 07:22 PM 5/16/01 -0700, Steve wrote: Hello Dennis: You have broken the nylon follower inside the door latch. Look at the pass side and you will see the part. NOW TO GET IT OPEN: You need one strong person on the outside of the door and another on the inside. Roll the window down so the outside person can get a good grip with at least one hand because he is also pushing in on the button. Next with the two of you in rhythm, jerk on the door on the outside while pushing violently with your shoulder on the inside. It WILL come open, just a matter of time. After you clear the piece of nylon the latch will be good as new in most cases. Regards, Steve =end=