This page contains material from the April 2003 newsletter

EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday April 2nd, 7:30 PM Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University THIS MONTH: Dues Due Sylvan Zuercher March Meeting, Board Meeting Chuck Vertrees The Driver's Seat Robert Gold For Sale, Trade or Wanted Everybody Calendar of Coming Events Everybody Speaker for April meeting Larry Blair Trinity Site Tour Chuck Vertrees CNM Ladies Anne Mae Gold, Sylvia Goffe Route 66 Cleanup David Huntoon Ike Meissner Award Anne Mae Gold Twenty-nine and Counting Heula Pittman Historical Vehicles Plates Richard Finch Grass (April Fool) Lifted from the Internet Words about the War Jim and the Internet TECHNICAL: Fuel Pumps, Part 1 Richard Finch COVER: Dave and his VW (well, it does have an air-cooled engine) Geoff's new Buick (well, it does have an aluminum engine) The group after our Route 66 cleanup (photos by Jim Pittman) Dues Expired or Due or Approaching Due: Doug Gadomski 2003-January John Dinsdale 2003-February Carl Johnson 2003-February Jerry Goffe 2003-March Mike Hacker 2003-March Geoffrey Johnson 2003-March Ruth Boydston 2003-April Mary Lou Martinek 2003-April Gordon Johnson 2003-June Mark Morgan 2003-June 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! =cnm= MARCH MEETING NOTES by Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order at 19:30 (That's 7:30 PM Ruth) on 3/5/03 at Galles Chevrolet. All officers were present. The above is for Ruth Boydston, who asked me why I had to use the 24 hour clock all the time. I told her because that is what I use all the time at the hospital. It reminds me of the times in "M*A*S*H" when Col. Henry Blake was always having the problems with the 24-hour clock time. My wife has the same problem, and unless you get used to it the 24-hour system means you have to stop and calculate each time mentioned. There were two guests introduced: Joan Myers, who has a 1965 Monza, and Morton Bicoll, who will be our speaker at the end of the meeting. A possible new member was also introduced: Ed Calhoun who has moved here from Michigan. He had 20 to 30 Corvairs back in the 70's. He was into ice racing and said they were great. He is now into VWs but is possibly looking for a Corvair. There were 30 members at the meeting. Our attendance recently has been outstanding in my opinion. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Treasurer Wendell Walker reported that CNM has $868.57 in the checking account and $4,871.93 in the GMAC account for a total worth of $5,740.50. Mark Martinek gave the Car Council report for the February 26th meeting. He apologized because with the holidays and the changing times of the C.C. meetings, it is quite possible that the March meeting may have been published before. Anyway the March report is on line and will probably be published in the newsletter. Included with the report is a copy of the Car Council Constitution and by-laws. If anyone would like to see them I will keep a copy. Mark Domzalski reported that he had received e-mail from Dennis Pleau saying that a position as a Western Division was going to be open because Seth Emerson was not going to run again. He asked Mark if he would be interested in running again. However, Seth changed his mind so Mark doesn't have to refuse. The contract for management and publication of CORSA is under consideration. Another item that the CORSA board has to consider is a possible dues increase. There has not been a dues increase in seven years. CORSA dues are very cheap when compared with any other national automobile club. Ask anyone that you know who belongs to another club. Bill Reider reported that Ollie Scheflow called him to say that he would not be at the meeting because he had had a hip replacement. Since he is still unable to get around, Dave Huntoon will run the Old Route 66 cleanup on March 8th. Ollie was contacted by a gentleman in Rio Rancho who has a 1966 2 door which is possibly a Monza for sale. It has to be moved because the village said he had to get rid of it. His name is Robert Valiolette (phone 891-2442) and he wants $800 for it. Ollie saw the car and said it was fairly straight. It was running 4 or 5 years ago when they parked it. Bill also reported that LeRoy has the Library van back at his house. He is in the process of cleaning out the squirrel residue in the van. He has the top and bottom cover off the engine and has the first garbage bag filled with squirrel housing material etc., and hopes to have the project finished next month. He'll be making a list of the books that are Corvair related and will have them ready, possibly next month. If you wish to check out any books see LeRoy. Bill also showed the Tri-State Logo. The board will approve at the next meeting. Larry Blair has made a set of templates for cutting to convert a 110 top shroud to a 140 shroud. If you would like to borrow them, see Larry. Larry also suggested that since there are many specialized tools that are very handy when working on a Corvair, that a registry be established of the tools and who would lend them. This will be discussed at the board meeting. Possibly a deposit covering the cost of the tool could be established. Sally Johnson announced that Hot Wheels are now making Corvairs. She showed some that had been customized. If you would like one customized to match your favorite, see Sally. The are $5.00. Members were reminded of the Progressive Dinner that is coming up on the next Sunday. Doug Gadomski knows of a machine shop that has a 1965 Corvair. The engine has been rebuilt and the person who brought it in did not want to pay the bill, which is $1,250.00. They now own it through a mechanic's lien so they can sell it, but they do not have a title. Check with Doug if interested. Wendell is now in charge of the quilt raffle for the international convention. He has raffle tickets and a picture of the quilt. Robert Gold said that the garage tour was a wonderful experience and that many thanks are due Steve Johnson for arranging the tour at the Double Eagle airport. Robert's only complaint was that the lunch stop was at a truck stop where it was difficult to find a place to park and that all the truckers were smoking in the restaurant. The "Spring Thaw" is on March 29th at the Old Town Garage. Contact Mark Martinek about how to contact them for an appointment. Mark Domzalski suggested that a collection be taken up to get Ollie a fruit basket. This was done. Hurley Wilvert announced that there will be AMA sanctioned motorcycle races at Sandia Motorsports Park on April 19th and 20th. Hurley will be racing in the vintage class. The meeting was adjourned at 8:15 PM (20:15). See, Ruth, the military 24-hour clock time takes two less keystrokes. =cnm= BOARD MEETING NOTES by Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order on 3/19/03 at 17:05 (5:05 PM) at House of Covers. Present were Jim and Heula Pittman, Sylvan Zuercher, Joel Nash, Steve Gongora, Robert Gold and Chuck Vertrees. Jerry Goffe turned up at about 18:00 and several present apologized for his lateness. VP Joel announced he would not be at the next meeting and President Robert Gold said he would not be there either but that Anne Mae Gold would chair the meeting. This brought a round of applause from the other members present. Wendell Walker was unable to be present as he had a cold. He sounded terrible on the phone when he gave me the Treasurer's report. As of 3/19/03 CNM had $831.57 in the checking account and $4,871.93 in the GMAC fund for a total worth of $5,703.50. We hope Wendell will soon get over the cold. The progressive dinner was discussed and it went so well that the board felt it should be included as one of our activities every year. Joel said that he thought there was not enough to eat. Sylvan said it was the first time he had gone to Wendell's through Bernalillo. The speaker at our next meeting will be J. T. Parker of Mountain Aviation. During the fire season he acts as a spotter for slurry bombers. It was recommended that we always have listed in the newsletter who our speaker will be at the next meeting and what the topic will be. This will possibly help our attendance, although the board members are all pleased at recent attendance. It has been 29 or 30 ever since the first of the year. The Route 66 trash pickup went well with good attendance. Thanks again to Dave Huntoon for taking over while Ollie is incapacitated. It was very noticeable to me how much better our mile looks compared to some others. The Trinity tour will be Saturday April 5th. Details are elsewhere in the newsletter. Possibly we can find someone as a speaker who could tell us more about this time. (Your Secretary was part of the Manhattan Project, but I was associated with the enriched Uranium end.) It was thought that maybe we could get some speaker or speakers on "Crime Doesn't Pay Well." How to get into cars and such. We were looking at the schedule of events for the second part of the year. October has an Aspencade listed. The success of this depends very much on how much moisture we have had. The high road to Taos has been designated as a "Scenic Byway" and possibly we could figure out a tour that would include our many members in the Northern part of the state. Stay tuned. The meeting was adjourned at 18:10 (that's 6:10 PM for some of us). =cnm= FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT Robert Gold My family has added another member and it's the Corvair Club of New Mexico's fault. Added to my three wonderful children and Anne Mae, wife extraordinaire, is now Ike Meissner. The three past recipients of the Ike Meissner award were kind enough to present this year's award to Anne Mae Gold. With that award presentation Ike Meissner will always be a presence in our household. I've always known how wonderful and industrious Anne Mae is. What's gratifying is that the Club knows it too. As many of you know, Anne Mae is fully committed to the Corvair culture. She owns her own 1961 Lakewood, which she drives every day, rain or shine. In addition she puts up with my mania and the 10,000 Corvairs that are registered in my name. This is in addition to the countless hours she has expended doing Club business. What a special woman and what a wonderful club. Thanks. Switching gears completely, I want to describe my latest experience picking up trash along Route 66, or as CNM calls it, the Route 66 cleanup. They say timing is everything and that was the case with the March cleanup. If it was scheduled a week earlier we'd have been tramping through the snow looking for litter. But March 8 turned out to be absolutely beautiful. I was 30 minutes early and the first to show up. Around 5 minutes to 9:00 Dave Huntoon showed up. About 10 minutes later I looked around and the roster totaled 4 CNM members (Dave Huntoon, Chuck Vertrees, Jim Pittman, and yours truly.) Dave, who is cool under pressure, didn't seem concerned that we were about to clean up a mile of highway with 4 people, but I was. All I could think of was that my new boots were going to be totally broken in by the end of the cleanup. So off I went to tackle my 1/4 mile side of the road. Before I knew it there was a traffic jam of CNM members arriving and by 9:30 we were up to full force. All I can say is that this club definitely makes life exciting. What's nice is that I can again thank all the members who showed up and especially thank Dave Huntoon for his leadership. One last thing, there wasn't really much in the way of interesting trash this time, except for that ten miles of tie line that Del Patton and I wound up. Someone had to work pretty hard to unwind that stuff along the highway. Now comes the time when I waste perfectly good newsletter space while talking about my ramblings into the myth and mysteries of the Johnsons. Sorry, Anne Mae, I'm going to do this again this month. For those of you who think this is a bit strange, just remember you're the ones who voted me into this office and gave me the chance to write this stuff. Before describing my journey into the internet I'd like to say something constructive. I think it was wonderful that Sally and Goeff Johnson have begun customizing Hotwheels Corvairs into the colors of your choice. They did a great job on Del Patton's "Plum Crazy" late model. Let's have more club members commission the Johnsons to do cars. Anyway, back to the internet. This month I did a search on Yenko, Stinger, and Johnson. I mostly got the results of a bunch of races. However, I did land on a most unique site titled, "Celebrities who died in airplane crashes and other incidents." Can you believe that someone would compile a comprehensive list of this sort? It went on and on and the strange thing was it started to be pretty interesting. I found out about the demise of a lot of people I had heard of. For example, did you know that Knute Rockne died in a plane crash in 1931 or that Audie Murphy was 46 when he died in a crash in 1971 or that one of the four Flying Elvises died in 1996 when he was blown off course into a yacht club in Massachusetts? So what was Corvair related on this page: "In 1987 Legendary car racer and builder Don Yenko died in a plane crash near Pittsburgh. Yenko was the builder of the Yenko Stinger" and "In 1977 Ed Cole, president of General Motors and creator of the Corvair died while piloting his plane to a proving ground in Michigan." And they said that the Corvair was unsafe at any speed. Well I guess I've beaten this subject to death ‹ oops. Looking towards the future, the next big Club event is a trek out to the Trinity Site at the White Sands Missile Range on April 5. After hearing all the atomic energy stories at the Board Meeting this ought to be an entertaining event. How many of you know what a paperclip immigrant is? There should be a discussion of that term and other fascinating frightening stories at the next meeting. Anyway, we'll be meeting for the trip down to White Sands at the gas station east of I-25 and Gibson around 7:00 AM and the caravan will begin at 7:30. This event should be a real blast. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. One last thing, this year we have a unique opportunity. By some scheduling messup the Council of Car Clubs did not schedule their Albuquerque Museum show to conflict with our Tri-State. Therefore, CNM can be represented by more than just the Gold clan. Please circle Sunday, May 18 on your calendars and let's make an effort to have a good turnout at the show. This event has always been fun (even if it moved down south last year). My family looks forward to the breakfast at Garcia's to start the day. I guess that's it for now. I need to let you know I will not be attending our next meeting on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:30. I will be out of town attending a very important safety conference in Phoenix. My absence will not have anything to do with the fact that I have opening day tickets to the Diamonbacks - Dodgers game. That's just a coincidence. In addition, Joel Nash is traveling to Italy to avoid the meeting. So it is my pleasure to announce that the current holder of the Ike Meissner Award, Anne Mae Gold, will be chairing the meeting. So let's have a good turnout to put her on the spot! ‹ Robert Gold =cnm= ============================================================================ | 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 | | | | | A p r i l | M a y | J u n e | | | | | | : : 1 2 3 4 5 | : : : : 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | | 27 28 29 30 : : : | 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 29 30 : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 2nd Apr 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 5th April 7:30 AM Trinity Site Tour - leave from Gibson & I-25. Sat 12th Apr 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - Sylvia Goffe's - see directions below Wed 16th Apr 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 25th Apr 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 7th May 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 10th May 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - TBA Sat 18th May ? Albuquerque Museum/NMCCC Car Show Wed 21st May 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 23rd May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Fri-Sat May 30 - 31 Tri-State Meet - Raton, New Mexico - Bill Reider Wed 4th Jun 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 14th Jun 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - TBA Fri - Sun Jun 13 - 15 Campout in the Pecos - Ruth Boydston Wed 18th Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 20th Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Tue-Sat July 15th-19th CORSA Convention - Carlisle, Pennsylvania =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= =cnm= SPEAKER FOR APRIL 2 MEETING Larry Blair Our speaker will be J. T. Parker of Mountain Aviation, who flies a spotter plane for the slurry bombers. He reconnoiters the forest fire, determines the best way to attack it, and then leads the bombers on their "bomb run." He worked the big fires in Arizona, as well as many others. Bring your family ‹ it will be very interesting. =cnm= TRINITY SITE TOUR Chuck Vertrees CNM is scheduled to make a trip to the Trinity National Historic Landmark site on Saturday, April 5th. Those who want to convoy down will meet at the gas station on the North side of Gibson just West of I-25. We are planing on leaving at 7:30 AM. If you go before or after the group, Stallion Gate is located on U.S. highway 380 about 12 miles east of San Antonio and will be open from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. For the younger members in CNM that do not really know what Trinity Site is, here is a little information. Trinity Site is in the northern part of the White Sands Missile Range and is the spot where at 5:29:45 a.m. Mountain War Time on July 16, 1945, the first atomic explosion took place. In 1975 the 51,000-acre area was declared a national historic landmark. Since it is in a part of the missile range, it is only open to the public twice a year, on the first Saturday in April and October. The Manhattan Project was pretty sure that the bomb made with enriched Uranium from Oak Ridge would work. However, since the Plutonium bomb was to work by compression of the core with high explosives, they were not sure it would work. Project leaders decided that a test of the Plutonium bomb was essential before it could be used as a weapon of war. From a list of eight sites in California, Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, Trinity Site was chosen as the test area. It was already controlled by the government because it was part of the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. Don't worry about radiation. A one-hour visit inside the fence will result in a whole body exposure of one-half to one millirem. As a comparison you receive between 35 and 50 millirems yearly from the sun. If you don't want to convoy, to get there go to the Stallion Gate. Go South on I-25 to the San Antonio exit. Take highway 380 East then go about 12 miles from San Antonio. Turn South for 5 miles to the Stallion gate. It will be open from 8 AM to 2 PM. There are pages more of information online about Trinity Site. ‹ Chuck =cnm= CNM LADIES PART 1 Anne Mae Gold (gold@aps.edu) I'd like to thank everyone for participating in the annual Progressive Dinner. The turnout was phenomenal! The food was fantastic, and as usual the Golds ate too much! Thank you to Ruth, Elizabeth and Mark, and Wendell for opening their homes and hosting us this year. Now I'd like to hit you all up for volunteers for next year! Anyone want to host one of the courses? Let me know...268-6878. At the Progressive Dinner Sylvia Geoff let me know that she wanted the CNM Ladies to meet at her home for our April meeting. This will be a field trip type meeting. One of Sylvia's friends is moving and has a housefull of material she really doesn't want to move. So, she is interested in having us over and selling us her materials. So all you sewers and quilters, do not miss this opportunity! If you'd like to carpool over, give me a call and we'll see what we can throw together. If not we'll see you there around 1:00pm on April 12th! Ta ta for now! Anne Mae =cnm= CNM LADIES PART 2 Sylvia Goffe Hello Corvair Ladies, You are in for a change regarding the April 12th Corvair gathering. We will gather at the Goffe's house (Syl and Jer) at the regular 1:00 p.m. time. * 1009 El Alhambra Cr. N.W. See directions below. From there we will caravan to Syl's friend's house, Merle Sanders, for a fabulous fabric see and sell. "Come one, come all. I am paring down my fabric stash for a major move. Lots of yardage, scraps, yarns, notions, and patterns. Very reasonable prices." We will return to the Goffe's for food and beverages, courtesy of Rita Gongora and Sylvia Goffe. * Directions to Goffes' residence: o From 4th street and Montgomery o North on 4th Street to Chavez (it is immediately South of Northdale Shopping Center) o Turn West (Left) on Chavez, Go .7 mile o Enter development Caballero Norte (the street is called El Alhambra) o Turn North (Right) into development, and then stop at stop sign o Turn Left onto El Alhambra Circle, go past one speed bump o Turn left onto cul-de-sac. Address is: 1009 El Alhambra Cr. NW Questions: Call Sylvia at 345-3100 or Rita at 292-5570. =cnm= TRI-STATE MEET UPDATE LeRoy Rogers The 2003 Tri-State Meet will not be held at the Raton Holiday Classic as originally planned. Hurley recently stayed there three nights on a business trip. It was decided that the motel and their restaurant did not meet the standards that a Corvair enthusiast would expect. The meet is still on, however, and is scheduled for May 30 and 31, 2003. While Hurley was in Raton he checked out other places. It was decided to use the Microtel Motel at 1640 Cedar Street as the host motel. Their rates are $44.95 plus tax for a room with two queen size beds and $53.95 plus tax for a suite which consists of a room with one queen size bed, a kitchenette and a couch that makes into a double bed. When you make reservations mention the Corvair Meet to get these rates. The phone number is 505-445-9100. Two alternate motels are recommended. The Super-8 at 610 Cedar Street, 505-445-2355 and the Motel-6 at 1600 Cedar Street, 505-445-2777. I do not have 2003 room rates from them yet. There is also an RV park available in Raton. It is Summerlan RV Park at 1900 South Cedar, phone 505-445-9536. The banquet will be held at Domingo's at 1903 South Cedar. They will offer three entrees in the $13 to $14 price range. More details to follow. We plan to have a patch for the meet. If you have any ideas for a design, turn them in soon! Bill Reider will accept ideas for a patch. Call him at 299-4597. =cnm= JIM, HERE IS MY WRITE UP OF THE RT 66 CLEANUP David Huntoon Well group, we had our first Route 66 cleanup for this year. Since Ollie is still on the mend, I volunteered or was that selected, to man the orange vest patrol on 3/8. A very nice morning, cool with no wind to speak of, made it a reasonably pleasant task. I can report there were no injuries and the trash volume seemed unexpectedly light. As for me, I only collected one bag in 90 minutes. Although at the conclusion of the pick up subtracting the number of unused bags from the starting number indicates we filled 40 bags. Maybe I just wasn't working very hard that day. Those participating included Larry, Del, Chuck, Hurley, Jim, Steve, Robert and Joel. I can't explain it but I enjoy this task, trash pick up that is. I think I have only missed one. I lead an exciting life, no doubt about it. Ollie, get well soon and I will relinquish the reins gladly. I need professional help. Faithfully, Dave Huntoon =cnm= IKE MEISSNER AWARD Anne Mae Gold (gold@aps.edu) Where to begin? I must tell you that I was completely speechless at the Progressive Dinner when it was announced that the Club was presenting me with the Ike Meissner award. I still get tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat when I think about it! Rob and I have been married for 10 years and I started attending the CNM meetings about a year before we that. I was one of the few females that made the meetings. Despite being outnumbered by the male members, not once did I ever feel unwelcome, unwanted or put down. Thank you guys! The Club has really become part of our extended family. One thing that Rob and I both regret is that now that Javier and Sara are keeping us busy with school events, soccer games and taekwondo practice, we haven't had the free time to participate in a lot of the events the Club puts on. Over these past 11 years I've become a Corvair owner and have learned so much about the Corvair that I can now bluff my way through car conversations with the total strangers that come up to me to talk about my car. It seems to me that everyone has some kind of tie to the Corvair! Anyhow, through the meetings and events I was lucky enough to meet the wonderful Corvair wives... some of whom are also Corvair drivers and owners. I think that we have a wonderful group of members and I'm glad that we have all these opportunities to share some time with each other. I'm rambling... I've been married to Rob for too long! The point of all this is to thank you with all my heart for the award. I truly do not feel worthy, but I feel supremely thankful that you all are a part of our lives! Corny, but heartfelt. Thank you! =cnm= TWENTY-NINE YEARS AND COUNTING ... Heula Pittman Corvairs of New Mexico celebrated its twenty-nine year anniversary on March 9, 2003 with a progressive dinner. We began the festivities at the home of Ruth Boydston where the aromas of homemade soups and fresh baked bread filled the air outside her home. As everyone enjoyed Ruth's delicious creations, we were all surprised and pleased to see former members, George and Sandy Morin, join our group. Next we caravaned to Placitas to the home of Elizabeth and Mark Domzalski. By this time our number had grown to approximately 50 people! Jim and I arrived to find Mark in a cloud of smoke outdoors on their patio. You understand, of course this is the best kind of smoke to be in a cloud of... that of Mark's beef brisket, salmon, chicken (and who knows what else; there was so much!) cooking on the grill. Elizabeth was indoors happily finishing up last minute jobs for the party that was about to continue at their house. All around the house, both inside and out, groups of us visited while indulging in the tasty foods provided by both the Domzalskis and other club members. President Robert Gold made presentations of certificates of appreciation to several club members while many of us continued to eat. Rita Gongora, last year's recipient of the Ike Meissner Award, was then introduced. After reminding everyone of the meaning of this award, she presented this year's award to Anne Mae Gold. This earned a round of applause from all. Our last stop was the home of Wendell Walker in Rio Rancho. Here we topped off our progressive dinner with yummy desserts. Wendy's table was filled with delicious, sinful, scrumptious delicacies, enough to satisfy any sweet tooth in the crowd. Among the many goodies was a birthday cake, complete with the Chevrolet emblem, baked by our own Ruth Boydston. Not only was the cake decorated beautifully, but it was one of her most delicious cake creations ever! Our appreciation goes to Ruth, Elizabeth, Mark and Wendy for hosting our party in such an elegant way. We also thank everyone who furnished all those marvelous foods which we all enjoyed. It is great being a part of a Club which does so many things, has so many energetic, talented people working in harmony together. It is amazing to me to see so many things accomplished with so few people involved; we are a relatively small club. All this takes a great deal of cooperation and dedication. Do you suppose our Corvairs will last another twenty-nine years? Who knows? Jim added: Sunday March 9th may have been an all-time high CNM event for many members. The weather was faultless, the food was delicious and plentiful, and the company was superb. Many of us truly appreciate having the priceless opportunity to gather with such a fine set of friends as are to be found in Corvairs of New Mexico. Here's a (partial?) list of those attending: Blair, Kathy & Larry; Boydston, Ruth; Domzalski, Elizabeth & Mark; Goffe, Sylvia & Jerry; Gold, Anne Mae & Robert & Javier & Sara; Gongora, Rita & Steve & Emily & Bernadette & guest; Huntoon, Dave; Johnson, Barbara & Gordon; Johnson, Carl; Johnson, Geoff & Sally; Morin, Sandy & George; Nash, Joel; Patten, Kim & Del; Pittman, Heula & Jim; Reider, Lee & Bill; Stickler, Brenda & Mike & sons; Sullivan, Leslie & Kevin; Sutt, Tarmo & student; Vertrees, Julie & Chuck; Walker, Wendell; Wilvert, Brenda & Hurley & kids; Zuercher, Sylvan. If we counted correctly, there were close to 50 attending, with who knows how many vehicles ‹ several of them Corvairs! Did I leave anyone out, or spell any names incorrectly? If so, let me know. Many thanks to Ruth, Elizabeth, Mark and Wendell for opening up their houses to the hungry hordes, many thanks to those who brought food, and many thanks to the great people who attended. ‹ Jim =cnm= Seven Years Ago - April 1996 - Volume 22 - Number 4 The cover showed CNM members giving a final polish to our convention raffle car, shaded by giant hot-air balloons. Jerry was about to shoot a cover photo for CORSA Communique. At our March meeting we welcomed guest Lisa Meissner, Ike's daughter, who owned a late model. We had $1184 in the bank. We planned a trip to Trinity Site in April. We already had twelve registrations for the convention. Larry gave an excellent tech talk, having brought in his early suspension for a show-and-tell. We hoped to get one or two special interest Corvair vehicles to display at the convention. We had several choices for sections of highway to be adopted but had no decision as yet. Brenda organized a "Ladies' Night Out" to be held at the Pleau residence. Steve Goodman of Pikes Peak Corvair Club provided a short history of the Tri-State event. This year we looked forward to going to Montrose, Colorado. Mark Domzalski reported on the fun-filled photo rally which served as a dry run for the convention rally. He also gave us a couple of tech tips on FC front suspension rebuilding. Chuck Vertrees reported in depth on the Photo Rally ‹ a Corvette won it ‹ and Bill Reider told us some more about the how and why or recurving a distributor. Fourteen Years Ago - April 1989 - Volume 15 - Number 4 On the cover there was ... a 1964 Mustang?! Well, why not since it beat out the Corvair fair and square. Well, maybe not fair. We had $392 in the bank and gained new members Joe Ashton, Neil Alessio, Wendell Walker, Jim Gould, Mark Deters, James Scoughton and Ernest Preciado. We were working on a fifteenth anniversary party and a special jacket patch. Work on the library van was proceeding. Our guest speaker, Scott Stapp, told us about oxygenated fuels and how they were going to reduce the brown cloud in Albuquerque's winter skies. Some of us still wonder, first, if smog was really reduced, and second, whether EtOH has damaged our old cars? We planned an auction at the April meeting. Kem Owen told us about installing a rack-and-pinion steering unit from a Thunderbird on his V-8 powered Corvair. And Jim (who all-too-often writes about non-Corvairs) told how the Mustang led directly to his infatuation with sports cars and indirectly to his career as a Corvair owner. Twenty-one Years Ago - April 1982 Volume 8 Number 4 The cover was an April Fool joke showing rare Corvair parts available only from a Chevrolet/Tatra dealership in Tibet. Your editor, always happy to talk about non-Corvairs (see above note) continued his story about selling his 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk. III to buy a turbocharged 1966 Corvair Corsa coupe. Only a Corvair fan would agree this was NOT a case of temporary insanity. This issue also reported on an April Fool joke of another kind: our March Fun-Run in which most of the participants got lost. Twenty-eight Years Ago - April 1975 - Volume 1 Number 4 The cover featured two views of Mark Morgan's fabled 1965 Monza. (It must be mentioned that no living member can remember ever having seen it.) Our March meeting was again held at House of Covers and 20 members showed up. A "birthday tour" to Bosque del Apache was snowed out; five members went to a pancake house for breakfast instead of braving an icy I-25 in search of snow geese and the odd whooping crane. Francis provided a "How much is your Corvair worth" printout and it said that your editor's 1966 Corsa coupe might bring about $1600. =cnm= * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED * * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE: FC windshield, small bullseye, light wiper scratch, no cracks, $100 FC rear window, small delamination, $25 Larry Hickerson 296-1636 SPRING CLEAN-UP in the yard. Lots of Corvair parts. Very reasonable. Mike Stickler 344-2039 FOR SALE: 1953 MG-TD. Needs to be assembled. A great buy. Jerry Goffe 345-3100 FOR SALE: Early sedan fender skirts, new, painted white. Asking $25. Geoff Johnson 344-3178 FOR SALE: 1955 Ford Crown Victoria Mark Martinek 275-3271 FOR SALE: 1991 Honda Civic EX 4-door sedan, 1.6 L. 105 HP, automatic, air, AM/FM/cassette, great Michelin tires, 60,200 miles, all maintenance records, yes the timing belt has been replaced. White, blue interior, great condition. This is a mid-sized car, does NOT have air bags, has fuel injection so it has reasonable performance, good gas mileage. Real freon A/C. $4,000.00 - Jim Pittman - phone 277-8131 (w) 275-2195 (h) * * * * * CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS * * * * * =cnm= HISTORICAL VEHICLES PLATES Richard Finch When Gayle and I were at the local New Mexico Motor Vehicle Department, changing the title of our "new" 1961 Corvair Rampside from an Arizona title to a New Mexico title and into our names, we noticed a form to fill out to buy Historic Vehicle license plates. So, we decided to try getting one for our Rampside.... Here is what we found: o 1. Any vehicle that is 35 or more years old is elgible for Horseless Carriage plates. o 2. The cost of the plate is only $7.00 for 5 years, just $1.40 per year, (pretty cheap, huh?) o 3. The vehicle must only be used for car shows and/or educational purposes. (I suppose that when we haul trash to the city dump, we should educate the dump gate guard about the history of the Rampside!!) o 4. You send in the form, a xerox copy of the New Mexico title & the NM excise tax form, which is the license plate fee, and a personal or business check in the amount of $15.50. The check includes 5 years of license fees and the processing fee. o 5. Actually, we were told that if we pass out a small "info sheet" and a CORSA membership application to all who inquire about the Rampside, we are doing the agreed job of "educating" all those who ask questions about it. Our new plate came today, and it is the old style yellow one with: (1938*HC, Horseless Carriage, and New Mexico USA)... on the plate. Maybe the entire CNM club could get historic plates and make an impression at car shows. Richard & Gayle Finch =cnm= AFTERMARKET ELECTRIC FUEL PUMPS (AND WHY I HATE THEM!) Richard Finch, SAE - Richard Finch Books ( finchbird@zianet.com ) About four months ago, I was preparing our 95 hp Corvair powered Ultra Van for a trip. It had been sitting for several weeks, so I turned on the auxiliary electric fuel pump to fill the carburetors while I did a walk-around, as a prudent person should do before every trip in an old RV. I usually check all the lights and tire pressures as well as looking for loose items before driving off. This walk-around usually takes about 5 minutes. As I walked around the right rear of the Ultra Van, I noticed gasoline dripping out of the muffler! So, I quickly shut off the electric "clicker" fuel pump and pondered what to do about the obvious safety problem. If fuel was running out of the muffler, then at least one or two cylinders on that bank of the engine were filled with gasoline. Trying to start the engine could result in bent connecting rods or even an explosion and possible fire from the gasoline that was surely in the cylinders, the exhaust manifold and throughout the muffler. After letting the thing sit for about thirty minutes, I first removed the coil wire from the distributor and grounded it to the body of the engine compartment. Then I carefully "bumped" the starter, and sure enough, I had a liquid lock in one or more cylinders. So, I waited about five minutes and "bumped" the starter again. The engine was still liquid locked. After about 5 more tries, the engine finally would crank over without being liquid locked. And by that time, most of the gasoline had dripped and run out of the muffler. So, I started the engine without any further trouble. Another problem with electric fuel pumps is the noise they can make if not carefully installed with proper sound and vibration damping. Our newly acquired 110 hp Rampside has an electric fuel pump mounted directly to the frame rail. The pump clicks so loudly that I can not hear the starter over the clicking of the fuel pump! And while Gayle and I were driving to the CORSA National in Daytona Beach, FL three years ago, we came upon a vehicle driving down the freeway in San Antonio, TX, with large amounts of black smoke coming from under it. As we caught up with it, we noticed actual flames coming from under the vehicle. We tried to speed up to pull along side the vehicle to warn the driver, but as we pulled along side, the driver of the 1980's Ford pickup quickly pulled off at the off-ramp for the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. As we were directly beside him, the pickup burst into flames, completely engulfing the whole vehicle. As I looked in the rear view mirror, I could see a sickening ball of flame and a big plume of black smoke coming from where the pickup had stopped on the off-ramp. Later that week in Daytona, I told a CORSA member from San Antonio about the fire, and he said that the man has escaped, but with 2nd and 3rd degree burns to most of his body. A broken line on an electric fuel pump had caused gasoline to spray on the exhaust system and then the gas tank had exploded. In 1960, I bought a brand new 80 hp Corvair and it still had the original fuel pump on it when I traded the vehicle in with 98,000 miles on the odometer. In late December, 1964, I bought another new Corvair, a Corsa coupe with the 140 hp engine. When I traded the Corsa off with 75,000 miles on it, the original mechanical fuel pump was still on it and working well. My own 1965 Corsa (4-door) had over 250,000 miles on and working well. My own 1965 Corsa (4-door) had over 250,000 miles on it with the original mechanical fuel pump on it when I foolishly replaced the pump "because the original fuel pump might fail some day." It never did......... The moral to that story is "They ain't making Œem like they used to!!" Since 1998, I have purchased about ten, new design mechanical fuel pumps for our "fleet" of Corvairs and I have gotten as little as ZERO miles, to about 1,000 miles when they start leaking profusely. Some of the 1,000 mile leakers have no fabric in the diaphragms. Fabric is a MUST for diaphragm fuel pumps to keep them from cutting themselves apart like a cookie cutter. Recently, I bought three new fabric diaphragm fuel pumps from the source of good (?) fuel pumps, and the first pump I installed began spraying a steady stream of gasoline out the rear vent hole as soon as I started the engine. The problem with the leaking of the fabric fuel pump was the apparent need for the fabric to swell up when immersed in gasoline. After about 15 minutes of running, and with me tightening two of the screws, the leaking stopped, mostly, but not completely. [ to be continued next month ] [Since this is after all the April Fool issue, I present you with a story that may bring a chuckle or two. - Ed.] =cnm= "LEAVES AS MULCH" Newsgroups: rec.humor.funny Upon observing the way we waste our precious natural resources, imagine the conversation The Creator might have with St. Francis: "Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there? Where are all of the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I planted eons ago? I had the perfect no-maintenance garden plan. My plants grew in any type of soil; they withstood drought, and multiplied with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracted butterflies, honeybees, and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of color by now, but all I see are these green squares." "It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers Œweeds' and went to great extent to kill them and replace them with grass." "Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract birds or bees, only grubs and sod worms. It's temperamental with temperatures. Are you sure they really want all that grass growing there?" "Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it, and keep it green. In the Spring they fertilize the grass, and kill any other plants that crop up." "The spring rains and cool weather probably make the grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy." "Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little - they cut it." "Cut it? Do they then bale it like hay?" "No, not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags." "Oh. Is it a cash crop? Do they sell the bags?" "No sir, just the opposite. They pay taxes for the bags to be hauled off." "Now, let me get this straight. They pay to fertilize the grass so it will grow, and when it does grow they cut it off and pay to throw it away?" "Yes, sir." "Then, these suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work." "Sit down, Lord. When the grass stops growing, they drag out the hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to have it hauled off." "What nonsense! At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. Plus, as they rot, the leaves form a compost to enhance the soil." "You still sitting, Lord? The Suburbanites have grown a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them up, bag them, and pay to have them hauled off." "You're kidding! What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter, or keep the soil moist and loose?" "After the leaves are hauled off they buy something they call mulch and spread it around under the trees." "And where do they get this mulch?" "They cut down the trees and grind them up." "ENOUGH! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight?" "ŒDumb and Dumber', Lord. It's a real stupid movie about..." "Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story." =cnm= WAR WORDS Jim [At this unprecedented time in history, I feel it necessary and appropriate to say something about the war. Like everyone else, I am alternately angry, hopeful, sad, proud and scared. While I would be happy to see the dictator of Iraq killed or tried and jailed for his crimes, I feel our leaders have displayed enormous arrogance and selfishness in their approach to the problem of getting rid of him. While the courage, skill and attitude of our military troops are enormously encouraging, I have little confidence that our leaders are on the best path to effectively fight terrorism and build a better society in the Middle East or anywhere else. [Few of us have any idea what the civilian citizens of Baghdad are feeling and thinking as they wait for the next explosion from the sky. On the other hand, few of us have any idea what it is like to live in a country where a word against the ruler can lead to the secret police breaking into your house in the dead of night to haul you away to a terrible fate. [Like everyone else, I have heard and read reasons, excuses and emotional or religious justifications for all sides. I think the events of 9/11 have become myth for most of us. While we think we know what they mean, in reality they have been wrapped in a cocoon in our minds and we mostly behave as if the world is the same as it was before. It is not. But we don't really understand how and to what extent it has changed and what we must do to cope with the changes. I think we had better devote our attention to finding out. [Anyway, here are comments on the war, gleaned from the Internet on 19 March 2003. -- Jim] o I believe that the Iraqis have cynically exploited the divisions in the western nations, and have been given more than enough time to disarm. - Phillip D, Wales o By waging war, the US government falls prey to the evil terrorist spirit of harming innocent lives, which is what the infectious terror spirit wants to promote, thus losing its war against terrorism. "The path needs as much attention as the result." The US war may disarm Iraq, but an attack will rekindle the spirit that motivates terrorism. - Raj N, India o As a Deputy Head teacher, I would liken the UN to many of the parents I meet who express a desire to discipline their unruly children. Unfortunately, they have neither the skills nor determination to follow it through. The children know this and play upon the weakness of their parents. To merely tell an unruly child to behave and listen is not enough. Words MUST be followed by defined consequences. - Richard S, England o I think if we had a better understanding of the real political reasons behind what is going on we might be more sympathetic to Bush's ultimatum. The media coverage seems to be giving out a fair degree of political propaganda and the real motivations for this war seem particularly unclear. War on terrorism OK but Iraq is far from being the only country supporting terrorists - take the examples of Israel, Palestine, North Korea or Pakistan. Why are they not receiving peace-keeping ultimatums and why are we not all trying to make this world a better and more harmonious place to live in! - Anne L, France o I agree with the Bush deadline. Inspections would never work. Any one who thinks they will work should consider that the only reason Saddam is showing the tip of the iceberg now is because there are 300,00 troops on his border. Inspections should work without any troops to threaten Saddam if they are to be genuine. I wish Bush could remove the troops for 90 days and then let the world see how much the inspections can work. - Tim F, UK o We have international organisations that were set up to defend of allied countries, and to prevent conflicts and humanitarian crises. A decision on war or on the continuation of inspections should have been conducted through these legal channels: the UN, NATO, EU. It is a war between two non-democratically elected presidents. - Alain T, Canada o The majority is often wrong. It takes courage to walk an unpopular line such as the one Bush and Blair have chosen. The Iraqi peoples' 30 year nightmare will soon be over. - Al C, Canada =cnm= APRIL FOOL COVER: Encrypted Courvairs Newslitter - Corvairs de Nuevo Me'xico A Charming Chapter of CORSA - The Corvair Symphony of America Vol. 29 - Nr. 4 - Special April 2003 Issue - Nr. 331 EDITOR: James Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday April 2nd, 7:30 PM Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University THIS MONTH: Are Dues Due? Sylvan Zuercher March Meeting Seconds Chuck Vertrees March's Boring Minutes Charles Vertrees The Driver's Hot Seat Robert Gold New NMCCC Jokes Mark Martinek For Sale, Trade or Give Away Everybody Calendar of Probable Events Everybody CNM Ladies and Gentlemen Anne Mae Gold Seventeen Years Ago Jim Pittman Mustang GT vs Cobra 427 Road Test A. J. Foyt Rebuild your car in only 8 years Del Patten Photograph birds at night Jerry Goffe New race track in Tularosa Richard Finch COVER: We plan to buy a nightclub and make some real money Enhanced Corvaires Newsledger Corvairs off New Mexico Vol. 29 - Nr. 4 - Special April 2003 Issue - Nr. 331 =end=