Updated 30-Jan-2007 - Copyright (c) 2007 Corvairs of New Mexico. Volume 30 - Number 4 - April 2004 - Issue 343 EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 07 April 2004 at 7:30 PM Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University THIS MONTH: Dues Due Dave Huntoon March Meeting Notes Chuck Vertrees March Board Meeting Chuck Vertrees Route 66 Cleanup Oliver Scheflow CNM Birthdays Sunshine Committee Italian Student in America Staff Reporter Know Your New Mexico Highways John Dinsdale Calendar of Coming Events Everybody Seven Years Ago Jim Pittman Borrowing from Newsletters Staff Reporter The Miata Hardtop Jim Pittman Tech Tip Steve Goodman Rebuilt & Restored Mark Domzalski Our 30th Anniversary Mark Domzalski Letter from Tom Tom Martin Ike Meissner Award the Committee Car Council Report Robert Gold COVER: Our 30th Anniversary Cake was a Real Treat Route 66 Clean-up Crew with New Safety Jackets =CNM= DUES EXPIRED OR DUE OR APPROACHING DUE: EXPIRED: Jay Ecclestone 2004-Mar Geoffrey Johnson 2004-Mar THIS MONTH Ruth Boydston 2004-Apr COMING DUE SOON: Hurley Wilvert 2004-May John Myers 2004-May Gordon Johnson 2004-Jun Mark Morgan 2004-Jun 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! Cover: Our intrepid cleanup crew models our new orange saftey jackets! We no longer feel like we are on the chain gang! And thanks to Steve for the 30th Anniversary Cake photo! =CNM= MARCH MEETING NOTES Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order on 3/3/04 at Galles Chevrolet at 19:37. All officers were present. There were no guests or new members to introduce. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Treasurer Wendell Walker reported that CNM had $696.22 in the checking account and $4,708.75 in the GMAC account for a total worth of $5,404.97. There was no membership report. The committee to remember members' birthdays, anniversaries, and health consists of Heula Pittman, Anne Mae Gold, Elizabeth Domzalski and Kim Patten. They met 2/18/04 and decided to call their committee the Sunshine Committee. They decided to mail birthday cards to each member of the club, and to keep track of our members and their possible needs. The board expressed a desire to have birthdays and anniversaries of members printed in the newsletter. They have mailed a sympathy card to Dave Huntoon and to his father, Walter Huntoon. Dave's mother, Doris, died last month. They have also delivered a plant and food to Ruth Boydston while she is recovering from her surgery. The committee also wishes to thank Wendy Walker for designing and printing greeting cards for mailing to club members. The awards committee met 2/28/04. Mark has minutes of the meeting. They discussed criteria for the Boydston and Meissner awards. There will probably be committees set up under the Vice-President. If you wish more information, please ask Mark for a copy of the minutes. The Constitution Review Committee has had to change their first meeting from 3/13/04 to 3/20/04. Robert Gold reported that he was proud because he was able to make two Car Council meetings in a row. There were three items that they spent most of their time on. The Museum Car Show will be May 16th and the GTO and Mustang will be the honored cars since this is their anniversary. There will not be a change in the registration fee. It will stay at $5.00. A site and time for the annual Car Council Picnic has not been determined. The swap meet will be 9/24-25/04 in Los Lunas. The Car Council has signed a 5-year contract with them. Upcoming events are the cleanup of our mile on "Old Route 66" on 3/6/04, our monthly breakfast on 3/20/04 at Dos Hermanos, and our 30th Anniversary banquet at County Line Restaurant on 3/27/04. April events are the President's Cookout at the Domzalskis' on the 17th and the Turquoise Trail breakfast on 4/24/04 at Kokopelli's restaurant on North 14. The June campout will probably be the 1st or 2nd weekend in June. This can be determined when Ruth is better. (But - check the Board meeting notes.) Bill Reider needs many photos from members covering old CNM events, so that he can set up a slide show at the banquet. A list of the people who are planning to attend the 30th Anniversary banquet was circulated. With those who signed up and the guests that we hope to have attend, we are looking at about 70 people. Mark needs to know which people on the list are founding members and which are charter members. Jim Pittman thanked all who supplied information and articles for the special newsletter. It made it easy for him to assemble the newsletter. The meeting was adjourned at 20:26. =CNM= MARCH BOARD MEETING Chuck Vertrees The meeting was held at House of Covers on 3/17/04 and was called to order at 17:10. Those present were Mark Domzalski, Sylvan Zuercher, Wendell Walker, Jim and Heula Pittman, Robert Gold, Steve Gongora, Geoffrey Johnson, Sally Johnson and Chuck Vertrees. The next board meeting is scheduled for 4/21/04 but Mark will be out of town. It will be decided later as to whether we will change the meeting date or not. Vice-President Sally is planning to show her Corsa at the April meeting. She has a representative from PPG to talk about painting scheduled for the May meeting and possibly a body work person in June after he is able to check his schedule. Upcoming activities will be the breakfast on 3/20/04 and the banquet on 3/27. April brings the President's cookout on 4/17 and the breakfast and Turquoise Trail tour on 4/24. May has the Museum Show on 5/16 and the Tri-State meet on 5/21-22. June has the International Convention starting on the 14th. Note that the campout scheduled for June has been moved to August. The exact date will be decided on later. Wendell Walker reported that CNM has $390.77 in the checking account and $4,206.14 in the GMAC account for a total worth of $4,596.91. Jim Pittman has contacted three former members, George Morin, Dale Housley and Tom Martin. All have expressed interest and are planning on attending. Those of us who are older members are looking forward to seeing them. Jim would like the information for the newsletter in by Friday the 26th. However, he will hold space for banquet information on Sunday the 28th. Robert Gold's Car Council report was the same as given at he regular meeting. There is supposed to be a car show in April (22-25) of concept cars. There has been very little advanced information available. The Sunshine Committee sent a card to "Lube" Lubert, whose mother died in February. They also need members to report what their anniversaries are. The Awards Committee has held their first meeting and minutes are available from Mark. There is another meeting planned soon. The Meissner Award has been ordered. This will be presented at the 30th Anniversary dinner. Jim Pittman and Dennis Pleau report that the recipient of the Boydston Award has been discussed and decided on. It will be awarded at the Tri-State Event in Cripple Creek, CO. The Constitution and Bylaws committee has not met, having had to reschedule their planned meeting. Mark has checked with County Line Restaurant and they say that they can squeeze 70 people into the room we have reserved. After going through the list of possible attendees it looks like we will have four Founding members and thirteen Charter members attending the banquet. (A Founding member attended the very first club meeting in March 1974 and a Charter member was a member when CNM was chartered as an official chapter of CORSA in late 1975.) The new CNM lapel pins have arrived. We will give one to each primary active member at the banquet. Extras will be available for $3.00. It was discussed whether it is time to get together an order for shirts and jackets. Sally brought this up at one of the regular meeting and got very little response. We should bring it up again at a future meeting. There was some discussion about the city's new initiative to tow "inoperative" cars. More information is needed since there are rumors of all kinds about. The meeting was adjourned at 18:01 =CNM= ROUTE 66 CLEANUP Ollie Scheflow The Club held its first cleanup of 2004 on Saturday, March 6. It was a Goldilocks kind of morning, not too hot nor too cold. The ground dried sufficiently from the week's rain that it did not hamper the cleanup. As can be seen in the cover photos, we had our new orange vests. Steve had our club patch on the back of each vest. We no doubt felt much better at our jobs while wearing our new vests! We had a record large crew, twelve participants. The old adage, "Many hands make light work," was true as we finished by 10:30. The find of the week by Larry Blair was a half full bottle of Jim Beam; unfortunately, it was uncapped and full of bugs. We did not evaluate the level of inebriation of the bugs. Those participating were: Larry Blair, Larry Hickerson, David Huntoon, Steve Gongora, Geoff Johnson, Gordon Johnson, Steve Johnson and daughters Yvette and Jessica, Del Patten, Ollie Scheflow and Jim Pittman. =CNM= BIRTHDAYS AND ANNIVERSARIES Sunshine Committee Our club extends Happy Birthday wishes to five of our members who celebrate in April: Elizabeth Domzalski LeRoy Rogers Mark Martinek Oliver Scheflow Mike Stickler This month CNM Congratulations go to: Opal and Sylvan Zuercher who celebrate their 58th Wedding Anniversary this month! Note: The Sunshine Committee needs several more birthdates and many wedding anniversary dates to complete our list. Please contact one of us if you can help supply this information. Heula Pittman 275-2195 Elizabeth Domzalski 867-0030 Kim Patten 286-6690 Anne Mae Gold 268-6878 Spread a little Sunshine today! =CNM= AN ITALIAN STUDENT IN AMERICA CNM Staff Reporter For several years Tarmo and Kay have been hosting exchange students from many countries and they often bring them along to CNM events. Their current student is Francesca Motta from Guastalla, Italy. Last September she accompanied them to the State Fair car show and was the centerpiece of some Corvair photos as you see here. Francesca remarked that while she has been in the USA she has been to see a Ferrari dealership, something she had never seen in Italy. Maybe when she goes home she will take a Corvair? =CNM= JOHN & DEBBIE'S NM TOUR (GRANTS TO RATON) March 2003 -- John Dinsdale In the 30th Anniversary issue last month I told you that last March Debbie and I stopped overnight in Grants. The following day our route from Grants to Raton totaled 347 miles traveling 17 different highways. I asked if you could figure out our route from Grants to Raton? Get out your New Mexico road atlas and follow along - here are the answers. Direction To Via Miles Cumm.Miles ========= ===== ===== ===== ========== West Milan I-40 6 6 North Jct. NM605 14 20 North Whitehorse NM509 36 56 East Torreon BIA-9 39 95 North Cuba NM197 27 122 North LaJara US550 5 127 East Jct. NM96 49 176 S-East Jct. US84 10 186 East Jct. NM554 21 207 South Jct. NM111 3 210 N-East Jct. US285 9 219 East Jct. NM567 11 230 South Pilar NM570 7 237 North Jct. NM68 14 251 East Jct. NM585 2 253 East Jct. US64 88 341 North Raton I-25 6 347 Notes: NM585 is not found on most maps; it's a good Taos bypass. BIA = Bureau of Indian Affairs. The most scenic portions of the 'tour' are NM509, NM96, most of US64, and the 'gorge route' via NM567 and NM570. Deb and I have stayed in Grants other times and used the first portions of this route to US84, once we turned south to EspaNola then east via NM76, NM75, NM518, and NM120 to get to I-25. Twice we turned north, once to US64 then north on US285 into Colorado, once to Chama then took NM/CO17 into Colorado. -- John CORRECTION: NM161 runs between NM518 & I-25, not NM120. (NM120 runs between the Angel Fire Area & I-25.) =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 | : : : : : : 1 | : : 1 2 3 4 5 | | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | | 25 26 27 28 29 30 : | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 | 27 28 29 30 : : : | | : : : : : : : | 30 31 : : : : : | : : : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 7 Apr 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 17 Apr 3:00 PM Domzalski's Spring Cookout -- Placitas, N.M. Wed 21 Apr 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers (...date may change...) Wed 23 Apr 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 24 Apr 8:30 AM CNM breakfast -- Kokopelli's north of Cedar Crest Sat 24 Apr 10:00 AM Turquoise Trail Tour following breakfast Wed 5 May 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sun 16 May early! Albuquerque Museum - Car Council Car Show - Robert Gold Sun 16 May 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast meeting - Little Anita's in Old Town Wed 19 May 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 21 May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Fri-Sat-Sun 21-22-23 May Tri-State meet - Cripple Creek, Colorado Wed 2 Jun 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 5 Jun 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - Ruth Boydston's Wed 16 Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 25 Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sun 4 Jul early! Santa Fe Plaza Car Show and Breakfast Wed 7 Jul 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE Sat 10 Jul 8:00 AM Route 66 Clean-up - Oliver Scheflow Wed 21 Jul 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers Fri 23 Jul 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 24 Jul 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - TBA ... .. Aug ....... CNM Campout - first weekend in August - more later =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= CNM LADIES UPDATE Anne Mae Gold Hello one and all! I have been so happy to see the rain this spring! How beautiful and refreshing it has been. I just wanted to touch base with all of you and let you know about some changes that have been made to our CNM Ladies meeting schedule. First off, the annual CNM campout has been moved to the first weekend of August up in the Pecos wilderness. We have always met on Ruth's screened in front porch, and that remains the same. The next date that the CNM ladies will meet is Saturday, June 5th. Meeting time will be from 1-4 pm and we will gather at Ruth Boydston's home. Give me a call at 268-6878 if you need directions or want to carpool or to chat or whatever! See you all soon! -- Anne Mae =CNM= SEVEN YEARS AGO Jim Pittman Seven Years Ago - April 1997 - Volume 23 - Number 4 The cover featured a map of Australia. President Mark ran our meeting. Robert introduced his brother Allen. We thanked LeRoy and Bill for photos in the March issue. Wendell reported $7,360 in the bank. Sylvan said new members were Christopher Burke and Steven Parker. There were upcoming events including the Tri-State Meet, the Museum car show and other car shows. Worldwide Automotive planned a "Spring Thaw" where you could get work done on your old car at no charge. At our board meeting we proposed an amendment to our constitution to require CORSA membership in order to join CNM. The board also proposed the position of "Fellowship Chairperson" who would keep the rest of the membership up to date on the health and welfare of members. Mark provided a tech tip for taking care of chrome parts: even if the visible surfaces of bumpers and bumper guards look good, the inside surfaces may need protection against rust. When chrome parts are removed, treat the non-visible surfaces with Extend and satin black paint to keep rust at bay. Chuck Vertrees provided an article "Motoring Down Under" based on his cruise to Australia and New Zealand. Chuck had a number of interesting observations and anecdotes about driving in these southern countries. I was disappointed that he didn't mention that the sun comes up the wrong way down there. Fourteen Years Ago - April 1990 - Volume 16 - Number 4 We had four new 1965 Chevrolets on our cover: Chevy II, Corvair, Chevelle and Impala. President Dale called the March meeting to order; we had $634 in the bank. Jerry replaced LeRoy as our representative to the Car Council. LeRoy was recognized for his role as Club auctioneer and was named "Colonel Rogers" and given a colonel's hat and string tie. Then he conducted our auction. Sylvan welcomed new member Johnny Silva who had a 1963 convertible. Dale commented on the 1990 census forms which he had great fun filling out. He was impressed that his form asked how many Corvairs he had, when he bought them and what they were used for. Bill's column discussed clutch linkage binding and what to do about it. Other tech tips told how to keep your glove box latch from sticking, how to get stuck spark plugs out, how to keep your lifters from rattling, how to keep your battery from running down, and how to fill out your insurance form. Tom Martin's La Ventana told us about the automotive career of long-time CNM member Elliott "Bud" Knapp. Tom also reported on our wine and cheese tasting party at Sandia Shadows Winery on a rainy day in March. We had a great time despite the weather. Twenty-one Years Ago - April 1983 - Volume 9 - Number 4 Our April Fool cover showed an automotive smorgasbord made up of bits of at least five different cars; the rear quarter appeared to be from an early Corvair. This was a classic April Foolish issue with a biography of CNM's latest member, Tom Joad. (He was played in the movie by Henry Fonda.) A reprint from Western Pennsylvania told how to get your Corvair's cooling system ready for spring by flushing the antifreeze and cleaning out the radiator. As a public service, the revised IRS 1040 form was reprinted in the Newsletter. The editor's self-referencing editorial drew no comments from readers. Francis was ordering a batch of reproduction thermostats. Bill told how to stop leaks around the blower bearing top cover. Twenty-eight Years Ago - April 1976 - Volume 2 - Number 4 We had forty-one members. We voted to approve our new constitution. We worried about how to raise money. Mark Morgan departed for a tour with the Navy. Glen Thompson took over as Newsletter editor. We planned a tour to Bandelier National Monument. =CNM= BORROWING FROM OTHER NEWSLETTERS Jim Pittman We get newsletters from other clubs and I look them over for tech tips or articles we can "borrow" for our newsletter. I also get a kick out of seeing articles from our newsletter show up in one of these publications. It makes us at CNM feel good to know somebody out there appreciates our work. Recently I saw a tech tip labeled "Enchanted Corvairs" but there was no indication of the author's name. I could tell who wrote it, although it had been retyped and edited. I wondered what the author would think? Would he be irritated that he wasn't credited? Would he approve of the editing? Would he be glad to see his work given wider publication, even without credit? We have always granted permission to any CORSA organization to copy our material for the benefit of CORSA members, provided credit is given. This includes the name of the author and the name of our publication. We don't pay our authors anything; their name at the top of the article is the only payment they get. I try to credit everybody by name when I "borrow" from another newsletter. My belief is that we are all better off with as much good Corvair lore as possible being distributed as widely as possible. But I feel we editors owe it to the authors to reproduce their articles accurately -- and give them and their club full credit. =CNM= THE MIATA HARDTOP Jim Pittman Those who read the July 2002 newsletter may remember the story of how we came to own a 1996 Miata. By now we have driven the car some 4,500 miles and have enjoyed driving on winding mountain roads with the top down. But from the moment we got the car the idea of getting a hard top for it was a big priority. In the 1970s I owned a nice 1965 Corsa convertible for several years and took several trips with it. It was comfortable and economical (it won - or at least made a respectable showing in - at least one CNM econorun) but after a few years I realized I was never putting the top down. Why? Well, several reasons: first, in my younger years I had plenty of top-down experience with my British sports cars and the Corvair just wasn't the same. Second, the top was really a chore to put up and down. Third, this is New Mexico, the land of enchanting - or is that incinerating - sunshine. Unlike when I was 27 and invulnerable to life's mishaps, it was time to think about the bad effects of solar exposure. Can you say "basal cell melanoma" and drive top-down without thinking about it? I couldn't. We got the Miata and drove it top-up and top-down and I kept thinking about that hard top. Buying one from the Mazda dealer was an option but would have cost a small fortune - maybe half the price we paid for the car. Wendell suggested that I look for someone selling a Miata with a hard top who would sell the top separately. A great idea. Finally a 1993 Miata with hard top appeared in the paper. The seller said he'd consider selling the top separately and invited me over to see the car. It was all white and was in pretty good condition. But his asking price was steep. I eventually found (where else? on the Internet) a couple of hard tops for sale at a reasonable price, both the same color as our Miata. One was in British Columbia and the other was in Phoenix. I suggested to the Canadian owner that he take a vacation to drive down and see the Grand Canyon and White Sands and leave off the hard top on his way home. He was not quite ready to do that. The Phoenix seller was a better bet. He was happy to ship the top to Albuquerque along with all the mounting hardware. So the deal was done and soon we had a Miata with hard top to drive through the winter. What does this have to do with the Corvair Club, you may ask? Well, Steve Gongora works on Miatas (as well as Ferraris and Porsches and Jaguars) and said he'd install the top for me. Also, he said it could be shipped to House of Covers instead of to my front door. So, once again, one of the city's most friendly and optimistic businessmen helped out a member of the Corvair Club. Who knows, without the Corvair Club I may never have met Steve and Rita, who have contributed so much to the well-being of all of us over the years. And you know what? There are lots of other members of our club who are just as helpful and friendly and pleasant to know. How does the Miata do with the hard top? Well, it is a factory hard top with matching color and makes the car that much more attractive and distinctive. It is a little (but not a lot) quieter to drive. Wind noise is nearly absent. Visibility to the back quarter is significantly better and the glass window is easier to see through - much better than the plastic one. I rigged up a pulley lift to make it easy for one person to remove the top when we are ready to face up to "erythema solare" in the spring or fall. So it's a big winner for me. Thanks for your help, Steve and Rita. -- Jim Pittman =CNM= YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS by Steve Goodman - ROCKY MOUNTAIN CORSA Another story that will seem unbelievable or completely ridiculous about our favorite car, the CORVAIR. I scheduled a 1968 Corvair for an engine miss on #6 cylinder in about 1973. The owners (original, bought the car new etc) told me that they had the left head replaced by GM in 1969 due to a seat ring failure. When I removed the left valve cover a rocker arm fell on the floor. That didn't really surprise me, the rockers have always had the ability to break the bottom out of them. What did surprise me was when I realized that the rocker arm stud PLUS part of the push rod guide were still attached to the rocker arm. Upon closer examination I found the stud pulled from the case. Instead of repairing it, a headless bolt was screwed into the case under the cylinder (to stop oil leaking) and the rocker arm stud was WELDED to the pushrod guide. It had taken 4 years for the pushrod guide to fail after being constantly flexed by the rocker arm and valve spring action. =CNM= TECH TIPS by Steve Goodman - ROCKY MOUNTAIN CORSA This month I will remind everyone of a couple of OLD tech ideas. First is when you are removing the engine from the differential. There is a bolt on each side of the bellhousing into the differential case. These two bolts are slightly difficult to reach because of the heater hose outlet. If you cut a slot in the end of the bolt, then you can re-install (and next time remove) it with a screwdriver after the initial loosening with a wrench. Much easier and faster too. Next is removal of the heater hoses from the above mentioned outlets. If the hoses are actual rubber they generally will slip off easily, but if they are the older cloth impregnated rubber, then spray some WD-40 or ARMOR-ALL on them; it will soften the grip that the rubber has made with the metal over time. I also coat the inside of the heater hose end with grease before installing. The grease will allow the hose to be removed easier several years later. -- Steve =CNM= REBUILT & RESTORED - MARCH Mark Domzalski March 28, 2004 Okay, spring has sprung. The juniper and cottonwood pollen is here to remind us that we still have a while to go before summer... Don't forget to set your clocks ahead the evening of Saturday, April 3, so that you are set for daylight savings time on Sunday. On the 17th you are all welcome to enjoy an afternoon and evening of barbecue at our house in Placitas. If you are having a bad tax year, come on over and relax. Tax time will be over and you can share in the Corvair optimism of the spring and driving activities to come. If the weather is fair, we should have an enjoyable time out on the patio, under the veranda or in the kitchen. All we ask is if you have a special drink you like, please bring it along. We'll have some soft drinks and other libations for those who wish to partake. The menu (as I look into the crystal ball at this early date...) will likely be some sort of beef, fowl (probably chicken) and seafood (probably shrimp) done outside. There will be a supporting cast of veggies, salad, bread and condiments. A desert to follow the fabulous 30th anniversary cake will be hard to do, but we'll have something on hand. Thanks to all of you who have asked about Elizabeth and her stepfather. Elizabeth's stepfather was burning some leaves and brush on March 18th when the fire flared up a little. He tried to stamp out a little of the spreading flame, but at 78 and after a couple of mild strokes, his balance failed him. He fell into the fire and suffered burns on his feet, legs, back, arms, hands and head. After a short stay in a hospital in the Tallahassee area, he was airlifted to the Shands Burn Center at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. On the 24th he had some skin graft surgery with the remainder to be conducted on March 29th. Elizabeth flew as immediately as possible to help her mother during the hospitalization and probably the early convalescence at home. Her stepfather might be released to home care around April 5th. We don't know exactly when Elizabeth will return to New Mexico (Hopefully she'll be home by the 17th...), so we'll keep you posted. She really missed being able to attend the 30th Anniversary Banquet and sends her heartfelt gratitude to all who share concern and prayers that this episode end positively for all concerned. Don't forget about our breakfast at Kokopelli's and Turquoise Trail tour on the 24th. Spring is nearly always a great time to go touring in a Corvair and it will be the first opportunity for many of us to get the bugs out so we're ready for Tri-State and other driving events in the summer. I am currently scheduled to be traveling for work on April 21, so Vice President Sally will have to handle the duties for the Board meeting. I hope to see as many of you as possible at our next general membership meeting at Galles Chevrolet on the 7th. Until then, I hope your spring efforts are rewarding. -- Mark =CNM= CNM TURNED 30 Mark Domzalski March 28, 2004 I don't know about you, but I thought the 30th Anniversary Banquet went pretty well. The food was good, and the company was exceptional. We had Founding and Charter members, past and current to share memories. Bill and Jerry did a great job with the picture show. I never knew some of our more senior members had so much hair... Thank you all for the honor of allowing me to orchestrate the evening. I hope we can put together another memorable evening in another five years. Thanks to Sylvan and Jim and some reading, I need to correct some information that was printed in my "Lies" article in the last newsletter. After considerable research, the best we can determine, the letter chartering CNM in CORSA was received in December 1975. The February newsletter reported that then president Sylvan announced the Charter at the January 6, 1976 membership meeting. So, my statement about being chartered since 1974 is an error. The founders started organizing in March 1974 and the Charter with CORSA followed in 1975. I guess this means we have another reason to celebrate next year... Now to answer the trivia questions that I posed. According to the records I have, three CNM Presidents have (or will have) served three years. Bill Reider and Sylvan Zuercher both stepped in for a third year after a hiatus from serving two years. I am serving a third year after a little break. Seven CNM Presidents have served two years. LeRoy Rogers, Clayborne Souza, Steve Gongora, Del Patten, Dennis Pleau, Hurley Wilvert and Robert Gold have all served two years. Mark Morgan, Joel Nash, Norm brand, Francis Boydston, Bill Hector, Dale Housley and Larry Blair (our latest Ike Meissner Award recipient) all served one year. Here's one other piece of presidential trivia that I discovered. I served as your 16th CNM President and, oddly enough, your 16th CORSA President. When it comes to your Vice President, only Joel Nash has served three years. Tarmo Sutt, Robin DeVore, George Morin, Bill Hector, Tom Martin, Dennis Pleau, Bob Beasley and Robert Gold add up to eight two year Vice Presidents, not seven as I reported. Steve Gongora, Norm Brand, Bill Reider, Clayborne Souza, Will Davis, Terry Price, Jon Anderson, Paul Campbell, Larry Blair, Sally Johnson and I can claim serving one year. The eight CNM Secretaries are a little easier. Chuck Vertrees will complete his nineteenth year in October. Bill Hector served three years, Sylvan Zuercher served two years. George Morin served one year. Steve Gongora served three years as Secretary/Treasurer, Les Campbell served one year and Dirk Coffman and Larry Saunders shared one year. CNM Treasurers are slightly more complicated. Wendell Walker will complete his ninth year in October. Will Davis served five years; Brian Zolna served more than two years as did LeRoy Rogers with Sylvan Zuercher helping to complete a year for both Brian and LeRoy. Mary Twilley served two years. Robert Gold, Chuck Hollingsworth and Francis Boydston each served one year. Again, Steve Gongora served three years as Secretary/Treasurer, Les Campbell served one year and Dirk Coffman and Larry Saunders shared one year. Last, there have been four CNM Newsletter editors, not three as reported. But, it's a fine point... Of course, Jim Pittman will complete twenty-six continuous years in October. Glen Thompson served two years as editor and Mark Morgan served a little less than two years because of a change of station with the Navy. Steve Gongora filled in as editor for three or four months when Mark departed. Now as you might imagine, the only CNM member who has performed all of the elected jobs and provided editorial service is none other than Steve Gongora. So, in keeping the Founding and Charter Officers straight... Mark Morgan and Steve Gongora are our current members who served respectively as Founding President and Founding Vice President. Sylvan Zuercher, Joel Nash and Steve Gongora served respectively as your Charter President, Charter Vice-President and Charter Secretary/Treasurer. Finally, the members who have accumulated five or more years of service in elected or editorial service are: Jim Pittman, 26 years; Chuck Vertrees, 19 years; Wendell Walker, 9 years; Sylvan Zuercher served somewhere between 5 and 7 years depending on where he stepped in to help out on the Treasurer's job, Bill Hector, Steve Gongora, Will Davis all served 6 years, Robert Gold can claim 5 years and LeRoy Rogers can claim somewhere between 4-1/2 and 5 years depending on where Sylvan stepped in to help. Okay, I hope I have corrected my "Damned Lies and Statistics"... I'm sure there is still room for more accuracy. If you have more information, let me know and I'll get it right. -- Mark =CNM= 30th GALA Tom Martin Thank you for extending your invitation to me. The evening was thoroughly enjoyable. The bright and shiny faces prompted the instant recall of all of the names and many of the fine times. We no longer remember the 14 Corvairs we owned, but my wife reminded me of one. It was 1975 and job transfer had taken us to Lincoln, Nebraska. We immediately met the neighbors and they were smitten with hunting and fishing. Me, also. Knowing the winters were snowy and needing a commuter to the duck pond we would locate, I searched for a Corvair. I found the "throw away car"... a white 1965 2-door. Ridden hard and put up wet. With complete tune-up parts and two $19, glass pack mufflers from Warshawsky's we were in business. The cheap glass packs quickly became noisy straight pipes and we would coast down the street teeing near our driveway and pop the clutch for our 5:00am getaway enroute to our blind. But that is not what my wife, ROSIE, remembers. Says she. She liked the snug handling and the stability in the snow to taxi kids to and fro. But, on one jaunt to the store through 11" of new powder, she was startled to look over and see half a bushel of snow pushing up the mat on the passenger side. She bought her groceries and was assisted by a young man who commented favorably on her "cute" car. She says she blushed but he did not notice the conspicuous bulge. I heard about it that evening... wasn't perturbed in the least as it wasn't pristine... and being a mechanical genius promptly fixed it with a 15" square piece of 1/2 inch plywood and some liquid nail! With LOVE - Tom Martin, 627 Frederico Blvd, Belen, NM P.S. - No GPS needed---backyard is a wedge away from the green of the short 5-par, 16th hole. The 2004 Ike Meissner Award =CNM= IKE MEISSNER AWARD FOR 2004 This year's committee presented the 2004 Ike Meissner Award to Larry Blair. An active member for many years, Larry has contributed to the club in many ways. Some of us remember the board meetings in the AMFAC offices, a quiet spot with the noisy freeway visible just outside the front doors, and a mural containing an early Corvair just beyond the freeway. Some of us rebuilt our carburetrors at Larry's garage, in between bites of elk stew. Some of us enjoyed seeing an entire early Corvair front suspension hauled into our Casa Chevrolet meeting room. And who could forget the gasoline-fired heater show-and-tell at our meeting room at Galles Chevrolet? Just a few weeks ago we had a fascinating slide show and talk about the work of combat engineers in Vietnam. Thanks for all your contributions to CNM, Larry! We were honored to have in attendance at our 30th Anniversary party a number of former members as well as two sponsors. Here Mark thanks Milton Sanchez for his years of support for CNM at Ed Black's Chevrolet and later at Casa Chevrolet. Milton told us about retiring from his career as a car salesman and buying a Mercedes - the height of luxury and comfort. Unfortunately he learned the hard way that parts such as catalytic converters were sky-high. Milton told us he was planning to get back into an inexpensive, reliable, classic car -- a Corvair! Our current sponsor at Galles Chevrolet, Joe Trujillo , and Betty Trujillo. Joe told us he has been associated with many organizations and car clubs, and CNM people were the best. We certainly appreciate his efforts as our Galles sponsor. We were disappointed that our first president, Mark Morgan, was not able to arrange his military travels to be with us. But we had several former members and others as guests. Hopefully I will not omit too many: Tom Martin, Dale & Linda Housley, Bill & Flo Hector, George & Sandy Morin, Joe & Betty Trujillo, Milton & Ninfa Sanchez, Jon & Olivia Linke who are Richard Finch's friends from Las Cruces. Hector Gongora was an early member and used to host our meetings at the original House of Covers. We also were pleased to see members' significant others who rarely come to meetings. To all those I left out, just blame my poor memory and remember we were all glad you came. Hey, let's do this again in another 30 years! =CNM= CAR COUNCIL REPORT - FEBRUARY 25 Robert Gold I can now report that for the first time as your Car Council Rep I have attended back to back meetings. Even though I really want to attend every meeting, my work schedule sometimes makes that impossible. I guess I need to get rid of that job and concentrate on what's important-car stuff! Anyway, my regular attendance has allowed me to follow more closely the twists and turns of Car Council activities. There were several developments that I think you would be interested in hearing about. The Council President, Jim Clements, began the February 25th meeting by asking for a motion that the Council will be the lead group in underwriting and organizing three activities during the year. Those activities are: 1. The Museum Car Show 2. The Swap Meet, and 3. The Car Council Picnic. I guess Jim did this because last year the council lost some money financially supporting some other activities. That puts an end to my hope of council support of the Gold family dream of a revolving platform in front of our house to feature our car of the month. So goes life. We next talked about the Museum Car Show. By the way, the car show will be held on Sunday, May 16. Sorry that I neglected to mention the date in my report last month. This year will mark the 40th anniversary of both the Mustang and the GTO. Those cars will be featured at the show. If we can think of any other cars that are having a major anniversary those cars will be added to the featured car list. The possibility of hiring security to prevent early birds from entering the parking lots before the $5.00 entrance fee can be collected was suggested. Be assured that the $5.00 entry fee will not be increased. No decision was made about security. Once we finished the car show discussion, attention turned to the report of the treasurer. John Haynes reported that the council had $18,585 in its checking account. The plan was to take a portion of the money and invest it in oil futures in order to maximize the return (just kidding!!), some of the money will be put in a CD or other such thing. John also mentioned that it is planned to spend about $2,000 on the Museum Car Show and $3,000 on the swap meet. Speaking of the swap meet, the council approved signing a 5-year agreement to have the swap meeting in Las Lunas. The plan seems pretty good - we'll have a really big grassy area for the meet and the active support of the people running things in Las Lunas. This is in contrast to the underwhelming support we got from the UNM folks. Hopefully this will turn out to be as nice as advertised. Moving on to advertisements, there is supposed to be a really cool car show coming to town on April 22-25. It's going to be called the Albuquerque International Car Show. It the will be the same type of car show that is held in Detroit and Los Angeles to showcase the best of the automakers creations. The car show will be held at the Convention center. It was mentioned that Ford will have its GT 40 supercar as well as the 2005 Mustang prototype. I can't wait to see these cars! Albuquerque will be treated to some cars that we only see on TV. It was also mentioned that the car dealers in town should have discount tickets available. I guess we ought to talk to Galles about getting tickets. Oh yes, for those who don't know the Car Council web page address is: http://nmccc.tripod.com This came up because they want to update the mailing list to get rid of the dead wood (junk cars?) and post the updated list on the web page. If you want to receive a mailed copy of the council newsletter to supplement my sparkling council report please let me know. Right before I went to the meeting I read an article in the Journal about how the Mayor had decided to ticket and tow any abandoned vehicle that they could find. That would include vehicles on private property. That didn't seem right to me. Well, we had plenty of discussion on this at the meeting. One individual had done some research and came up with a State law (law #66-11-1 through 4) that says the City can't just take someone's car from their back yard if the car is a collector car and the car has been obscured from view by a wall or bushes or something similar to that. The law also says that it is up to the individual to decide if a car is a collector car. Sounds like possible lawsuit time in the City. The council will be sending out letters to various officials advising them of the conflict with State law. They also suggested that individual clubs write letters also. I think it's time for the Golds to build that underground garage I've dreamed about. It will be like a fallout shelter, except for cars to hide in instead of people. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that the swap meet is scheduled for September 24-26, 2004 in Las Lunas. As the meeting was winding down one member mentioned that the Rod & Custom Magazine folks (I subscribe to Rod & Custom) were going to have their Americruise come through Albuquerque on June 3rd and 4th. It had traveled north of us in the past. Anyway, it was suggested that we might want to get involved so that if the cruise participants stop in town they don't get treated the way the 2001 Hot Rod Power Tour was treated. The City of Albuquerque did a wonderful job of hiding the cars all over downtown instead of blocking Central like they did in 1999 and 2000. It just so happens that 2001 was the last time the Power Tour came through. I hope we don't make 2004 the only time the Americruise happens by. I guess that's it. The meeting adjourned around 9:00 pm. I just realized that I won't be able to attend the March Car Council meeting. I guess my string will be broken at two... -- Robert Gold =END=