Updated 30-Jan-2007 - Copyright (c) 2007 Corvairs of New Mexico. Volume 30 - Number 2 - February 2004 - Issue 341 EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 04 February 2004 at 7:30 PM Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University THIS MONTH: Dues Due Dave Huntoon January Meeting Notes Jim Pittman January Board Meeting Chuck Vertrees Trip to Bosque del Apache Wendy Walker Rebuilt & Restored Mark Domzalski Hospitality & Care Committee Heula Pittman Calendar of Coming Events Everybody CNM Ladies updated schedule Anne Mae Gold Seven Years Ago Jim Pittman CNM Breakfast - Owl Cafe Heula Pittman You Won't Believe This... Steve Goodman Visit to the USS Kidd Jim Pittman February 7th Garage Tour Sylvan Zuercher COVER: Part of the CNM group at the Owl Cafe Breakfast The USS Kidd in the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge Dues Expired or Due or Approaching Due: EXPIRED: Robert Harvey 2003-Aug Jacob Schlessinger 2003-Aug Jason Ward 2003-Oct Fred Edeskuty 2003-Dec DUE THIS MONTH: Mike Stickler 2004-Feb Carl Johnson 2004-Feb John Dinsdale 2004-Feb DUE SOON: Mike Hacker 2004-Mar Geoffrey Johnson 2004-Mar Jay Ecclestone 2004-Mar Ruth Boydston 2004-Apr 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! These Corvairs belong to the Pattens and the Golds and were among those parked behind the Owl Cafe on Saturday, January 24th. =CNM= JANUARY MEETING NOTES Jim Pittman Early arrivals found themselves locked out of the meeting room again, but it was not too cold to congregate at the bottom of the stairs and gossip until the security agent came by and opened the door for us. Members politely refrained from complaining that secretary Chuck Vertrees was absent, which meant another wacky meeting minutes narrative composed or imagined by your editor. President Mark Domzalski called the meeting to order at 7:32 (that's 1932 HRS, Chuck) and the minutes from last month were speedily approved. Wendell reported the hefty sum of $1020.28 in our checking account and the healthy sum of $4697.93 residing in our GMAC account. The total comes to $5718.21. Mark asked about new members and David Huntoon reported there were none. Mark asked who was charged with handling name tags and David said he had them. Mark asked for a report on the NMCCC meeting and Robert Gold assured us that there were no new developments or great arguments to report on -- because there were no meetings in November or December. He assured us he'd have a lot more to report next month after the January meeting which he planned to attend as our enthusiastic representative. Mark moved on to coming activities. The first was the Bosque del Apache tour set for 10-11 January. Anne Mae reported that the CNM ladies group had been somewhat inactive lately but would coordinate by telephone or other means for upcoming meetings in February and March. The next board meeting will be Wednesday 21 January at 5:00 PM and Steve Gongora said that it would be at House of Covers as usual. Next was our Saturday breakfast on 24 January at the Owl Cafe on Eubank near I-40 and Lomas. Ruth said that she missed the last breakfast (at the Cracker Barrel) because it was not in the newsletter. Your editor was sure it was, but upon checking, no it was not. Sally Johnson send e-mail which was quickly posted on the web page, but due perhaps to creeping old age effects, the notice did not get into the printed newsletter. This is a chronic problem because the web page is not readily available to everybody. Our next event is the regular club meeting at 7:30 PM on Wednesday February 4th, and then we hope to have our Garage Tour at Empire Engines & Dan Palmer's on Saturday 7th February. Mark announced as another upcoming event a "Spring feed" at the Domzalskis' on Sunday 17th April starting at 3:00 PM. All CNM folks are invited. More on this later. Old Business: For our 30th anniversary dinner we will need a committee. If you want to help organize this let someone know sooner rather than later. For our Bylaws & Constitution committee we have volunteers Sylvan Zuercher and Bill Reider. If you'd like to contribute to possible changes to our Bylaws & Constitution (possibly drafting a Bill of Rights for Corvair owners) please contact Bill or Sylvan. For our Awards committee, Mark will ask Sally to chair it, and Sylvan & Bill will help. No doubt help from other members would be appreciated, so ask Sally if you are interested. For our Member & Family Care committee, Mark said he had not done the organizing work he had intended because of the sad events with his and Elizabeth's families: Elizabeth's grandmother died and Mark's mother died. We will soon resume work on this committee. If you want to help with this, please volunteer. Elizabeth will help but we need a chairperson. New business: Richard Finch donated copies of his new book on air conditioning Corvairs for door prizes or raffle items. It would not hurt, says your editor, to get a good book review written for the newsletter. Someone named Kirt came by House of Covers and told Steve of an opportunity to buy a Corvair in Michigan. If this tweaks your interest, contact Steve. Sylvan brought in a drawing of Mark's Rampside which was done at the Galles Car Show a few years ago by Perry R. Key, whose business card said he'd draw a picture of any cars you send him photos of. Del brought up a tech tip on how to "adjust" the engine thermostats and asserted that there's no effective way to adjust them! Sylvan and Bill explained but possibly the topic was left somewhat unresolved. Some of us think it's pretty important to keep the thermostats working correctly, especially when it's really cold (so the engine warms up quickly and the heater works) and when it's really hot (so the engine won't over-heat) so let's have more on this. Ruth asked if anyone is interested in going on a campout in June? Do we want to go to the Pecos or elsewhere? Her cabin in the Pecos will available the second week of June. Or, since the national convention is later in June, maybe the first weekend would be better. All interested, speak up! Mark wanted to comment on missing our Christmas party this year because he and Elizabeth were on their way back from Georgia where they had to attend to family matters. Mark said his dad wanted to be sure to thank the club for the hospice donation. Please ask Mark or Elizabeth about the hospice process at a later time. It was very helpful to them and a most worthwhile organization. As we prepare to end the meeting, Wendy sold tickets and Mark Martinek won the raffle for the Finch air conditioning book. The meeting was adjourned at 7:55 - was this a record short meeting? Possibly it was a record meeting for most business done in the shortest time. Jerry Goffe made a presentation on the birds we can expect to see on our Bosque tour this weekend. Jerry's photos and his descriptions of the different wildlife was very interesting. He had pictures of some wildlife that he said we would not see at this time of the year. The fly-in at sunset and the fly-out at sunrise are spectacular. =CNM= JANUARY BOARD NOTES Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order at "House of Covers" at 17:18 on 1/21/04. Present were Sylvan Zuercher, Jim and Heula Pittman, Robert Gold, Ollie Scheflow, Geoffrey and Sally Johnson, Steve Gongora, Mark Domzalski, Wendell Walker and Chuck Vertrees. Sally reported that the monthly breakfasts seem to be successful. The next one is this coming Saturday at the Owl Cafe. They are planned to be in the future on the first Saturday after the board meeting. Sally does not have a program for the next meeting, but if she is able to make her connection, she will e-mail Jim so he can get the information in the next newsletter. The question was asked if we want a tech session as an after meeting event or as a club activity. The consensus seemed to be that the tech session would be preferred as an activity. Sally's next question was what topic would the club like for tech sessions. It was suggested that the membership be asked what topics they would like in forthcoming sessions. The topic would also be based probably on the weather. Future planned activities are: February: A garage tour on the 7th, first to Empire Engines at 10:00 AM, then possibly lunch, and then a trip to Dan Palmer's. Dan is East of Tijeras and builds Corvair engines to power aircraft. March: The 30th anniversary banquet. April: On the Saturday after the board meeting, the 24th, have breakfast at Kokopelli's at 9:00 AM and then either go up the Turquoise trail or go to Tinkertown. Also a cookout at the Domzalski's in Placitas on the 17th to celebrate the passing of the Ides of April, Tax day. May: there are two events, the museum car show and Tri-State. The dates do not conflict this year. June: Again two events, the camp out with no date set and the CORSA Convention the week of the 14th. July: The car show in Santa Fe on the 4th. August: On the 7th, the progressive dinner with so far, Wendy's, the Golds' and the Gongoras' committed. September: The State Fair Car Show. October: Possibly an Aspencade. Wendell reported that the CNM has $1,054 in the regular checking account and $4,697.93 in the GMAC account for a total o $5,752.20. There was no membership report or CNM Ladies report. Robert Gold announced that the first Car Council meeting of the year would be next week. Elizabeth Domzalski is working on the 30th anniversary dinner. The tentative dates are either March 20th or the 27th. There is a possibility that it might be at the Albuquerque Aquarium dining room or at Milagro. The 30th Anniversary newsletter was discussed. It was pretty well decided to have the special edition in addition to the regular monthly newsletter. This will depend largely on CNM members contributing articles to Jim for the special edition. Pressure will be applied to some members! Jim will need the special material within a month. OLD BUSINESS: We need to set up a regular presentation schedule that is available in both the newsletter and the web site so members will know what will be happening at the upcoming meeting. This is being worked on. Heula Pittman is chairing the Hospitality and Care Committee with the assistance of Elizabeth Domzalski. Cards and a mention in the newsletter will acknowledge birthdays. Illness and hospitalization will be acknowledged with flowers and food assistance when appropriate. The Bylaws & Constitution Review Committee will be composed of Mark Domzalski, Bill Reider, Sylvan Zuercher and Larry Hickerson. They will set their meeting times at the next meeting. The Awards Committee will be composed of Sally Johnson, Sylvan Zuercher, Wendell Walker and Mark Domzalski. They will also set their meeting schedule at the next chapter meeting. The committee is set for the 30th anniversary dinner. We are looking for ideas for special recognition and awards. We especially need to recognize the charter members who are still around. We also should invite past members who were active but have drifted away for various reasons. Choosing an Emcee for the dinner was delayed until the next board meeting. An agenda will be determined at the same time. Steve has been checking into getting an embossing shield or clip for CNM. It will cost about $80.00. The board authorized him to order it. Treasury management will be delayed until after the 30th Anniversary dinner. We need to order some decals and various CNM wares. Sally will check into procuring a supply. NEW BUSINESS: Sylvan said that it was time to start inquiries for CNM jackets. It was suggested that a package deal with jacket, big square back patch and name embroidery be investigated. Ollie suggested that it was time to determine the dates for our "Old Route 66" highway cleanup. It was decided that these 2004 dates would be March 6th at 09:00, July 10th at 08:00 and October 9th at 09:00. Sylvan said that while he was at Palm Springs he got quite a few comments on both our newsletter and our web site. The meeting was adjourned at 18:20. =CNM= TRIP TO THE BOSQUE DEL APACHE Wendy Walker - 1/10/2004 Please forgive me if I have left anyone out, but as best I can remember, we had thirteen Corvair people at the Bosque for our Saturday / Sunday event. Those in attendance were, our Leader and Mentor the one and only JERRY GOFFE. The group followers were Gordon & Barbara Johnson with their grandson; Kay & Tarmo Sutt with their two students; Larry Hickerson; Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski; Mary Schuler; and Wendy Walker. About 2:30 Saturday afternoon we met in the parking lot of the Bosque del Apache Visitors Center, joined up with Jerry's bus and took the twelve mile loop around the park. There were not as many birds, that I could see, as I remember from last time I was here, BUT Jerry saw many birds. "Look, there is a young Blue Tailed Shuttle Cock," he would say. "You can tell by the light blue breast, he's sitting in that tree on our left at 10 o'clock, he's resting now, see, his head is tucked under his wing." (I saw a dark spot in the tree.) This went on for several hours. God bless young eyes. Just a little before sunset we stopped at the north end of the park to watch the White Geese take flight. Jerry stated that he calls them white geese because there are three different kind in the flock, with different markings. What a beautiful sight this was. The air was filled overhead as several thousand took off at once. I saw one goose, very high in the sky, just a few seconds before they took off. I think that this one was like the Balloon Dawn Patrol. "Okay boys, let's GO." I ran for my camera but it was locked in Mark & Elizabeth's SUV, "DARN IT." Saturday evening we all joined for dinner, at a Socorro restaurant. To our dismay they had about a two hour wait, so off we went to a nearby Steak House where we were seated at once. The food was (supposed to be) not as good, but the company was GREAT. Some jokes were told at the dinner table. We got so loud that the waitress came over and joined in and told some of her own jokes. I think that everybody had a good time. Tarmo wanted to stay down in the Hotel Lobby and talk some more. -- PAUSE-- "It's 8:30. We are getting up at 5:30 AM. We are going to bed." Sunday morning. Up and ready to go, it's 6 AM. We drove to the Landing Field. But the Dawn Patrol goose must have been an earlier riser because we got there just AFTER all the birds took off -- so -- we head up to Parking Lot #3 to see the first stopping point. The White Geese flew off again after what seemed like a very cold hour's wait, at least thirty minutes or more. We stayed around for a long time waiting for the Sand Hill Cranes to wake up. They would stretch out their necks, look around to check if any one else was awake already, then they'd take off in groups of five or more. We all joined together for breakfast at a very small restaurant in San Antonio and then we headed for home. I hope everyone had a wonderful time. I know that I did. -- Wendy =CNM= REBUILT & RESTORED Mark Domzalski January 24, 2004 I wonder how much more winter we'll have to endure. Ground Hog day might let us know. With the rapid and drastic changes in temperature and weather we've seen in January, I don't think I'll be making any bets on February. After our membership meeting on the 4th, we'll be taking a garage tour on the 7th. Sylvan has set us up to visit Empire Engines and Corvair aircraft engine builder Dan Palmer. It should be plenty interesting. Plan on joining us. We will start the tour at 10:00am at Empire Engines just off of Jefferson between the freeway and McCleod. Our 30th Anniversary Banquet is coming up in March. I will be asking for some help at our February and March meetings. Your Board also agreed to publish a special newsletter to commemorate the occasion. Editor Jim could use articles for the special edition. So, if you have a recollection of something special you have experienced in your CNM years, I encourage you to write it up and submit it to Jim as soon as you can. Don't worry about length (unless you plan to submit a book...). A paragraph or two will be just fine. Your unique perspective on your CNM experience is what we are after. Another nice thing about February, other than the onset of spring weather, is the change back from winter gasoline. I can tell you, as a commuter to and from Los Alamos, there is a definite difference in performance and economy between winter and summer gas. My hill climbs are noticeably easier and quicker with summer gas than they are between November and February. If the weather is nice enough in February, I like to spend a day on each running Corvair and run through a spring check-up. I generally check the brakes, lights and ignition. Part of my brake check-up is to flush the fluid. It's a very cost efficient method to extend the lives of wheel and master cylinders. Ignition work is often just checking the wires, plug gap and timing since I now run electronic ignitions on my Corvairs. Of course, once the ignition is done, I generally find that the carburetors need a flush and tweaking. Then I move on to the cosmetics of the spring awakening.... Chip touch-up, chrome polish, wheel cleaning and weather gasket repairs are performed and I'm into repairs or ready for the road. It's a lot better to find and repair problems before that first road trip than during that first road trip.... VP Sally asked the Board what topics might be of interest for tech talks. In the past we have had carburetor rebuild tech talks/clinics, suspension rebuild demonstrations, tune-up tech talks, generator and starter rebuild talks, body and paint seminars. If you have a subject that you would like to hear about or participate in, let Sally know and we'll get it scheduled if we can. Until next time, remember, the dirty side should stay down and the shiny side up. I think there might be a few running exceptions to this... Please be safe, and we'll see you at the meeting. =CNM= HOSPITALITY & CARE COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONAL NOTES Heula Pittman We are organizing our Hospitality & Care Committee and will be glad to get suggestions from the membership. If you know of a Club member who is ill, give me a call. If you know of a member who is in the hospital, give me a call. If you would like the Club to mail you a birthday card on your special day, give me your birth date. (Don't worry, the year is optional.) If you would be willing to help with providing a meal or delivering a meal to a Club member, give me a call. I would appreciate anyone who would help Elizabeth Domzalski and me with these personal contacts with our Club members. Kim Patten and Anne Mae Gold have agreed to work on this committee too. Give any of us a call if you should know about a need of a club member. Thanks, Heula Pittman 275-2195 =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 ============================================================================ | | | | | F e b r u a r y | M a r c h | A p r i l | | | | | | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | : 1 2 3 4 5 6 | : : : : 1 2 3 | | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | | 29 : : : : : : | 28 29 30 31 : : : | 25 26 27 28 29 30 : | | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 4th Feb 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 7th Feb 10:00 AM Garage Tour - Empire Engines & Dan Palmer's Wed 18th Feb 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 20th Feb 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 28th Feb 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - TBA Wed 3rd Mar 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 6th Mar 9:00 AM Route 66 Clean-up - Oliver Scheflow Sat 13th Mar 1 - 4 PM CNM Ladies - Rita Gongora's Wed 17th Mar 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri-Sat 19-20 March Fifth Annual Corvair Gathering, Mesquite, NV Fri 26th Mar 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 20th Mar 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - tentative - location to be decided Sat 27th Mar 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - tentative - location to be decided Sat 20th Mar ....... CNM 30th Anniversary Banquet - to be decided Sat 27th Mar ....... CNM 30th Anniversary Banquet - to be decided Wed 7th Apr 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 10th Apr 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - TBA Wed 21st Apr 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Wed 23rd Apr 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 5th May 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 8th May 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - TBA Wed 19th May 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 21st May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 2nd Jun 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 19th Jun 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - TBA Wed 16th Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 25th Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CNM LADIES UPDATED SCHEDULE Anne Mae Gold Hello to one and all. It has been a long time since I've updated our schedule. I encourage all of you Corvair wives to think about hosting us some time. It is a wonderful companionship enjoyed by everyone who attends. Thanks to those of you who have offered to host us in the very near future. We had originally planned on meeting in February at Ruth Boydston's home; however she will be indisposed. Ruth will be having a hernia fixed. Ruth, you are in my prayers! Instead, we will be meeting the second Saturday of March at Rita's home. The meeting time continues to be from 1-4; if that changes I will keep you all informed. The CNM Campout is scheduled for June, so we will meet then up in the Pecos. Pray for lots of rain and snow now, so it's safe this summer! Bring your handicrafts, tents, grills, and join us for a very wonderful time in a most beautiful place. As Valentine's Day rapidly approaches, I'd like to wish you all blessings of love and contentment. Happy Birthday to Wendell on Feb. 9! Javier still reminds me that that's your special day! A speedy recovery to Ruth! If you'd like to host us, call me at 268-6878. Keep cruising in your cool Corvairs! Cheers! Anne Mae =CNM= SEVEN YEARS AGO Jim Pittman Seven Years Ago February 1997 Volume 23 - Number 2 The cover featured a drawing of an early coupe - borrowed from the August 1996 Fanbelt Flyer, Cactus Corvair Club. President Domzalski called the meeting to order at 7:30. Treasurer Will Davis was moving to Florida and Wendell Walker agreed to take over the job. We had $7543 in the bank. Sylvan said, no new members; Bill said, no Car Council meeting. We all said, thanks to Rita for organizing the successful Christmas party. Congregation Albert Synagogue and the YMCA thanked the club for contributions to Michelle Goffe memorials. We planned a carburetor rebuild session at Larry's and later in the newsletter Jim reported on how it went. It went great. Jerry, Mark and Wendy drove their Corvairs in a Christmas parade, only to hear an announcer call them Mustangs. Oh the shame. Among many tech tips this month, Steve Goodman had an article on Smelly Heaters which we cheerfully plundered from one of the Colorado newsletters, and we stole another on what may happen to cause you to "lose" reverse, and how to find it again. Other tips told how to do a proper repair on a battery clamp, how to keep your engine cool with aluminum valve covers, how to install an electric fuel pump, and make your long-stored car run much better by installing a new fuel tank. Fourteen Years Ago February 1990 Volume 16 - Number 2 The cover was a rear view of a late coupe. Interim Treasurer Sylvan said we had $755 to spend. We planned an auction for March, a cheese & wine tour, a picnic, an econorun, an aspencade, a trip to Trinity site and a Christmas party. President Dale Housley told us the story how his wife bought a Corvair for him while he was overseas with the Army. Tom Martin reported on member Milton Sanchez, our sponsor at Ed Black's Chevrolet. Tom also told about encountering a whole herd of horses on the highway near Anthony, New Mexico in the middle of the night. We reprinted an article listing the cars with the best and worst heaters. The best was a tie between a 1946 Oldsmobile and a 1960 Corvair with gasoline heater. Worst was a tie between the VW Beetle and the standard-heater 1961-1969 Corvair. Twenty-one Years Ago February 1983 Volume 9 Number 2 The cover sported a map of the Albuquerque Sun-Tran's bus system. Your editor suggested you'd save wear & tear on your Corvair by riding the bus. In 2003 I'm still saving wear & tear on my Corvair by riding the bus to work. Jerry told about his misadventures going to Phoenix when everything went wrong with his 1962 Greenbrier. Rumor has it that the Greenbrier is still out in the Painted Desert somewhere. Or at least its soul is lost out there. Chuck Hollingsworth gave us the part number for a replacement high-capacity fan for our heaters. For our January garage tour we saw Joe Lite's 1963 Avanti, a 1961 Lakewood, a 1953 Packard and a 1930 Model A; Francis showed off his newly-painted Ultravan; Bud Knapp showed a 1906 Cadillac, a 1956 Cadillac, a 1953 Buick and a 1930 Indian motorcycle. Last but not least, LeRoy's collection of Chrysler iron included a beautiful 1929 DeSoto. Was this a record-setting garage tour or what? Twenty-eight Years Ago February 1976 Volume 2 Number 2 Cover photos showed one of Francis Boydston's 1964 Corvairs sitting next to a Porsche 911. The Corvair was a dark blue low mileage 1964 coupe. President Mark Morgan told us how Francis got started in the Corvair hobby. We learned that CNM was now an official CORSA chapter. We planned activities for the year and plotted ways to raise money. A technical article by Ike Meissner described a high-performance ignition system for Corvairs: it had three ignition coils and no points. =CNM= CNM BREAKFAST - OWL CAFE Heula Pittman Several of us gathered at the Owl Cafe on Eubank this morning for breakfast. As usual, Jim had us "pose" for photos. I believe some of the pictures came out rather well. Thanks, Mr. Photographer. Look for one or two of them in the newsletter if there's room. If any of you haven't had the opportunity to be a part of one of these breakfast gatherings, you really should make the effort and come and join us. It's a great time to catch up on the latest goings-on and a good time to visit with each other. It was great to have Robert's son and family with us, and Steve showed up as well. =CNM= YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS.......... by Steve Goodman Rocky Mountain CORSA Denver, Colorado Every month I will write about a CORVAIR myth; something that was passed on to me at the shop through the years or a repair job that was absolutely ridiculous. This are all true, honest. Years ago some folks called about a VW bug that had spongy brakes. They told me that the car had been to many VW shops for complete brake jobs, master cylinder replacement etc. When I got the bug, sure enough when the pedal was pushed down it was a curious feel. It felt like stepping on a balloon. Naturally I looked at the wheel cylinders, drums and inspected for leaks. When I got to the right front I noticed a rubber hose where the solid steel brake line normally would appear. I didn't think that much about the rubber hose until I had my old shop partner Speed Roberts push on the brake pedal so I could see if anything was happening under the car. When I looked at the right front, he pushed the brake pedal and that rubber hose expanded like a football. I looked closer and realized that the rubber hose was simply fuel line that someone had spliced into the system. Remember please that 'real' brake hose is a very high pressure hose and fuel line holds very little pressure. When the brake pedal was pushed downward, the fuel line would bulge like a football. Due to the high pressure of hydraulic lines, it amazes me still that the hose didn't split open while they drove the car around town. =CNM= * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED * * * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE: 1961 Monza coupe, '66 110-HP engine, Powerglide. New interior, needs paint and minor body work. Price negotiable -- Hurley Wilvert 281-1732 FOR SALE: 1968 Monza coupe, 110-HP rebuilt engine with 4 carbs, Powerglide. New paint, good interior. Price negotiable -- Hurley Wilvert 281-1732 FOR SALE: Electronic HEI distributor and coil for 110 hp engine. Can run on regular gas without pinging. New coil, cap, rotor and module, plus spares. Just bolt it in. $150. Richard Finch, ( finchbird AT zianet DOT com ) 1-505-585-8037 WANT TO BUY : Rebuildable 110 hp or 140 hp engine complete, (carburetors not required), and rebuildable. Powerglide complete (no missing parts). Will pick up at your location. Richard Finch, ( finchbird AT zianet DOT com ) 1-505-585-8037 FOR SALE: Lots of Corvair parts. We're moving so please come and help yourself to very low priced parts. Mike Stickler 344-2039 FOR SALE: Elliott Knapp's daughters want to dispose of a few Corvair parts, including: = one pair of brake drums = one Monza wheel cover = two mufflers = other assorted car-related parts are available = a 1950 Buick with 30,000 miles is available, but it's in a barn in Oklahoma. For more information, please call 296-9421. FOR SALE: Yellow Tri-State T-shirts - $10 - XXL $12 Call Bill Reider Yellow Tri-State Golf Shirts - $14 - XXL $16 299-4597 * * * * CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS * * * * * =CNM= Visit to the USS Kidd Jim Pittman In Baton Rouge, next to the east bank of the Mississippi River and a mile or so south of Huey Long's state capitol building, there's a gray Navy warship, the USS Kidd. It bristles with gun turrets and is known to the locals as "The Battleship" and the first time I saw it I assumed it dated from about 1913 and was perhaps a relic of The Great War. Last November when we were in Baton Rouge I made it a point to go see the ship and its museum. For a landlubber with almost no naval experience (I was aboard the USS Kodiak for about a week in 1967 and we only ventured a mile or so out into the bay) it was a vivid glimpse into a world I had only read about. We arrived at the museum, bought our tickets and walked toward the ship, looking over the brochure. It was somewhat amusing to learn that the ship I was told was a Battleship was not an old dreadnaught but was "merely" a World War II Fletcher-class destroyer. In all the books about the Navy that I have read, destroyers are usually called "tin cans" and are not considered to be of much importance in comparison to the mighty battleships and cruisers and aircraft carriers and submarines. What a letdown - except for maybe tugboats, I was about to see one of the Navy's least impressive ships. Was this one of those obsolete baby warships like the worn-out destroyers Roosevelt gave away to the British in 1940? We started our tour at the stern and the first thing I noticed were rows of depth charges and the mechanisms that hurled them out into the ocean so they'd sink to where they could kill lurking submarines. You've seen the movies: the fat cylinders arc through the air, sink out of sight, then there's a muffled boom and lots of bubbles come to the surface. The destroyer steams about, hurling more depth charges, to no apparent effect. Meantime, in the submarine below the heroic crew keep silent, darting left or right to escape the clumsy surface ships. You don't hear much about submarines that destroyers succeed in destroying. Think about it -- these guys didn't come back to tell us about their encounter. Walking along the starboard side of the ship, we can peer into various rooms - compartments? - where the business of the ship is conducted. It all looks rather primitive. Surely modern Navy warships don't look like this. The galley is about as big as your kitchen, has water and steam pipes running everywhere and has really big pots and skillets and coffee makers. Over here's the sick bay. It's about as big as your bathroom, if you have a fairly large bathroom. It has a shelf of old medical books, a microscope, a lot of brown glass jars and various instruments whose medical use at sea one can only shudder to think about. Here's the bridge where the captain conns the ship. Steel helmets lying around. Several binoculars. Life jackets here and there. A nice big wheel to steer with. The engine room telegraph. Big optical range finders. The big round thing must be a radar screen. On each side of the ship there is mounted a telescope like a big piece of iron pipe with brass fittings. I peer through one and it really works. What can you see out on the ocean with the ship bouncing through the waves? There's a lifeboat. The front third or so is enclosed and in the bottom it has a motor, so I guess the hearty sailors don't have to row it to the nearest island. The ropes (cables? hawsers?) have beautifully intricate sailors' knots. The various antiaircraft guns are impressive and look really basic and businesslike. Plenty of those big odd-shaped helmets hanging conveniently nearby. As a gunner, you'd sit on a tractor seat, lean into the crescent-shaped shoulder pads, sight through the cross hairs above the guns and blast away. One can only try to imagine the noise and confusion and absolute terror at the thought that one of those airplanes would get close enough to feed you a bomb or torpedo. Well, in April 1945 off Okinawa the USS Kidd was hit by a Kamikaze but managed to survive, although thirty-eight American boys died and fifty more were wounded. Way up in the air aft of the second smokestack are huge, long tubes with rounded ends. They are torpedoes, and they are sitting on what must be movable launchers that can fire them out toward enemy ships. Down below right under the main turrets are mechanisms that lift shells and power (stored separately, no doubt) up to the big guns. These are "only" five-inch guns - the mighty Missouri had 16-inch guns - but seen up close they look quite formidable. I guess it depends on what you are shooting at and what he's got to shoot back at you. We wander through part of the crew sleeping quarters. The steel sides of the ship seem to be insulated with thick packages of kapok or cork or, who knows, sawdust. It's all painted gray, whatever it is. I suppose it kept some of the cold out if you were in the north Pacific. And it probably kept some of the heat in when you were in the tropics. It probably did little to keep the torpedoes and 16-inch shells out. Having walked around the ship I am trying to visualize what it was like to serve on a destroyer in World War II. My first impression: I am too tall for this ship. I'd either bang my head everywhere or walk in a perpetual stoop. Second impression: the ship seems to offer precious little protection against bullets, bombs or torpedoes. Better hope our lookouts keep a sharp eye and better hope our gunners are aggressive and quick. Third impression: how would anyone survive a Perfect Storm on this vessel? Surely it must not be uncommon in the Pacific to encounter waves higher than the masts? Where does all the water that breaks over the bow go? How many sailors, on average, are washed overboard by your typical storm? Of course I cannot resist thinking whether I would have been on this ship if I had been born fifteen years earlier. Why not? After all, I had three uncles who were in the Navy and I might have volunteered too - who wants to get drafted and march through mud and dig foxholes? But if I had found myself on the USS Kidd instead of the Enterprise or the Iowa, would I have felt like I was relegated to the Navy's second team? Maybe not. As I think over what we've seen, I realize that a Fletcher-class destroyer is a pretty amazing ship. It has everything any warship needs, only everything is small. Sure, it might roll and pitch in a storm, but think of its power and maneuverability. It would be the sports car of ships: fast, agile, able to go just about anywhere at any time. It could take the battle to the enemy and then quickly get out of harm's way. Yes, I think, if I had been 20 in 1945 I might have seen Okinawa, or in 1952 I might have seen Korea, from the desk of this ship. But can I really imagine what it was like to serve on a destroyer in wartime? No, I can't. But I can visualize enough to say, my hat's off to the men who did. The USS Kidd was launched 28 February 1943 and was named for Rear Admiral Isaac C Kidd who was killed aboard his flagship, the Arizona, on December 7, 1941. The USS Kidd served throughout the Pacific war and was later active during the Korean conflict. Between 1942 and 1944, 175 Fletcher class destroyers were built and the USS Kidd is one of the few still in existence. If you go to Baton Rouge and have any interest in naval history, don't pass up a chance to see this ship and its museum. But please, don't ask to see "The Battleship." =CNM= FEBRUARY 7TH GARAGE TOUR Sylvan Zuercher We plan a garage tour on Saturday February 7th, first to Empire Engines at 10:00 AM, then possibly lunch, and then a trip to Dan Palmer's. Empire Engines is one block south of Alameda NE on San Pedro. Turn north on San Pedro from Paseo del Norte. Dan is East of Tijeras and builds Corvair engines to power aircraft. There will be more information on the tour at the February meeting. Meanwhile, here's a map to show you how to get to Dan Palmer's. Questions? Call Sylvan at 299-7577.