This page contains material from the May 2006 newsletter

Updated 30-Jan-2007 =-= Copyright (c) 2007 Corvairs of New Mexico. EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 3 May 2006 at 7:00 PM Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE THIS MONTH: New Members Sylvan Zuercher Dues Due Membership Chairman April Meeting Minutes Chuck Vertrees Birthdays and Anniversaries Sunshine Committee April Board Meeting Minutes Chuck Vertrees Tri-state Preview LeRoy Rogers Mechanically Un-inclined Ray Trujillo Tri-State Preparations Sunshine Committee In Memoriam, Marian McClellan Sunshine Committee Econo-Run to Madrid David Huntoon CNM Outing to Isotopes Park Robert Gold Albuquerque Museum Car Show Robert Gold Seven Years Ago Jim Pittman Calendar of Coming Events Everybody For Sale, Trade or Wanted Everybody Overhaulin' a 1961 Rampside Richard Finch Clutch Replacement Part 3 John Priddy Tri-State Memories, 1976 Steve Gongora COVER: LeRoy Rogers' 1965 Corsa attended our 32nd Anniversary Party in March OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: Ray Trujillo 839-7436 ray @ bpsabq.com VICE-PRES: John Wiker 899-3076 wiker @ aps.edu SECRETARY: Charles Vertrees 299-0744 vertrees @ swcp.com TREASURER: Wendell Walker 892-8471 defarge505 @ aol.com MEMBERSHIP: David Huntoon 281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com NEWSLETTER: Jim Pittman 275-2195 casa @ unm.edu PROPERTIES: Ruth Boydston 821-1506 CAR COUNCIL: Robert Gold 268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com DUES: CNM: 12 months $15.00 or 26 months $ 30.00 CORSA: 12 months $38.00 or 26 months $ 76.00 BOTH: 12 months $53.00 or 26 months $106.00 CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~casa CNM's home page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 =CNM= NEW MEMBERS Sylvan Zuercher Bill and Florence Hector have joined us again. Bill was a member in the early eighties, served three years as Secretary, two as Vice-president and one as President. Bill is now retired and they have a 1964 green sedan with 110-hp and automatic. Let's extend Bill and Flo a big CNM welcome! =CNM= DUES EXPIRED OR DUE OR APPROACHING DUE: OVERDUE, DROP ON APRIL 22: Mike Hacker 2006-Mar Geoffrey Johnson 2006-Mar DUES, DUE THIS MONTH: Jerry Goffe 2006-May Hurley Wilvert 2006-May DUES, COMING DUE SOON: Gordon Johnson 2006-Jun Robert Moore 2006-Jun Mark L Morgan 2006-Jun Robert Gold 2006-Jul If your membership is due or has expired, please send your dues to: Wendell Walker, CNM Treasurer, 301 Utah Meadow, Rio Rancho, NM 87124 Past due memberships will be dropped after a one-month grace period. Note that the Club will mail in your National dues when you renew, provided that you send us the renewal form from your CORSA Communique! =CNM= Photo: We are about to leave on the Econo-Run to Madrid, NM, 8 April 2006 Cover Photo: Emma and LeRoy Rogers drove to the Anniversary Dinner in a Corvair. =CNM= ENCHANTED CORVAIRS NEWSLETTER is published monthly by Corvairs of New Mexico, a chartered chapter of CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Contents are copyrighted in the names of the Authors and CNM. Articles may be reprinted in any CORSA publication as a service to CORSA members provided credit to the Author and this Newsletter are clearly stated. All opinions are those of the Author or the Editor and do not necessarily reflect endorsement by CNM or CORSA. Material to be published should reach the Editor by the 15th of each month. Submit material as ASCII TEXT via e-mail to ( casa @ unm.edu ) or in ASCII TEXT format on Apple II, Macintosh or MS-DOS disk, or submit a readable manuscript. I don't like MS Word documents (they are ten times as big as the text they contain) but no problem, I can read them, thanks to icWord 3.0. The same goes for RTF files. So, send what you have, I'll read it! Photographs including digital JPGs are welcome too! This newsletter was produced in a nearly Microsoft-free environment using a 1989 Apple IIgs with GS/OS 6.0.1, a 1998 Macintosh G3 with OS 9.2, a 2003 Macintosh G4 PowerBook with OS-X and a 2003 iMac with OS-X. Software includes Bernie To The Rescue 2.6, Addressed For Success, ShadowWrite 1.3.4, Platinum Paint 2.0, Pointless and Harmonie for the Apple IIgs and AppleWorks 6, Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter 5.6, BBEdit 8 and InDesign CS 3 on the Macs. Printing is via HP LaserJet IIp and Apple LaserWriter Pro 630. Ask for more technical details if you are interested. Transportation requirements provided by Albuquerque SunTran, 1965 Corvair Monza, 1990 Honda Civic, 1996 Mazda Miata and 2003 Honda Civic. And when I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. =CNM= APRIL MEETING NOTES Chuck Vertrees THE MEETING WAS CALLED to order at 19:06 at our new meeting place, Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE. There were 24 people present including all officers. We were very glad to see Bill Hector who was a long time member and past president whom we had not seen for quite a while. I hope he will join us to become another long time member. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Treasurer Wendell Walker reported that CNM has $370.26 in the checking account and $2,398.99 in the GMAC account for a total of $2,769.25. Several prospective new members were introduced. First was Mike Rogers who has a 1963 coupe. Mike is in the Air Force. Larry Blair introduced Gerry Chapman who has a 1962 coupe. Larry met him at a veterans' meeting because he is a Korea Veteran from New Mexico. Steve Gongora is making up a new membership form which will show that membership is one price and includes a membership in both CNM and CORSA. Robert Gold reported that he needs volunteers for the annual Museum Car Show. CNM through Robert has the responsibility this year for a large part of the show. He needs volunteers for the mailing project at the Old Car Garage on April 12th (about 18:30), also parking cars as they arrive for the show on May 21st. A sheet was circulated for volunteers to sign up. He also would hope that someone is able to donate plastic bags (size & type ?) for handouts that will be distributed at the Museum Show. The Sunshine Committee has all of the center pieces ready for the Tri-State banquet and would like to thank all those who came up with the square Kleenex boxes. Also, their funds were almost depleted so they were give $102.00 from the raffle proceeds at the Anniversary dinner. Bill Reider reported that tonight was the last opportunity to sign up for T-shirts, Golf shirts and Sweat shirts. He will try to have them at the next meeting. Please pay on receipt of your shirt. A sheet was also sent around for members to sign up for duties at the Tri-State such as welcoming party, registration, parking cars, judging and the dinner. As a side note Bill also mentioned the CORSA Registry which is a list of all CORSA Members nationally with their location, address and phone. They are available from CORSA for $6.00 each or 20 for $5.00 each. They are great for anyone traveling in the Corvair. If you have a problem on the road, a local CORSA member will usually be available to help out. Editor Jim Pittman said that Friday the 21st is the deadline for submissions for the Newsletter. He also said that Steve Gongora had updated the Club's web site. It was announced that this meeting was the last time to turn in Boydston Award nominations. The first upcoming activity is the Econo-run to Madrid and back on Saturday the 8th. Dave Huntoon said to fill up at the Shell station at Tramway and Central about 10:30. At Madrid there is plenty of parking at the Mine Shaft restaurant. Then shop, eat or whatever and then head back down NM 14 to Albuquerque and refuel at the same Shell when you get back to town. Give Dave your results. Next is breakfast at 08:30 at Loyola's Restaurant, 4500 Central SE on Saturday April 22nd. Also on the same day is the Rio Rancho Car Show. Saturday May 6th is the next cleanup on old Route 66 at 08:00, and the Museum Car Show is on Sunday May 21st. June is a busy month with the Tri-State on June 2nd to 4th and the Isotopes Ball Game on the 11th. A sheet was sent around to find out how many want to go. We need 20 people or more to get the $7.50 ticket price. THE ANNIVERSARY AND award dinner is past and everyone had a good time. The high point was when Tarmo Sutt was awarded the Ike Meissner Award. A great choice! Also certificates of appreciation were awarded to Steve and Rita Gongora for the many years CNM was invited to hold their board meetings at House of Covers. Certificates of appreciation were also presented to Jerry Goffe and Mark Domzalski for arranging and being our tour guides over the last few years at the Bosque del Apache wildlife refuge. We also presented them with the "pass the hat" donation of $50.00 to the Friends of the Bosque. Also we need to thank those who came up with raffle door prizes. John Wiker brought up the matter of CNM needing new business cards showing our new meeting place and time. For those who just want to see an interesting group of cars, every Saturday morning interested car owners informally gather at the Krispy Kream doughnut shop on Juan Tabo. I am told that there were 60 cars there last week! AFTER WE ADJOURNED, we had a presentation by Bill Gilmore of the Route 66 Chamber of Commerce. Bill revealed several little-known facts about the Tijeras Canyon area. =CNM= APRIL BOARD MEETING NOTES Chuck Vertrees THE MEETING WAS HELD AT BUSINESS PRINTING SERVICE on April 19th. Present were Wendell Walker, Jim and Heula Pittman, John Wiker, Dave Huntoon, Ray Trujillo and Chuck Vertrees. Wendell reported that CNM had $169.66 in the checking account and $2,398.99 in the GMAC account for a total of $2,568.65. He was having trouble with GMAC since it seems that they have been sold to another bank. I think that I read somewhere that General Motors was transferring GMAC, although it was one of their money making divisions. Wendell has it all straightened out though. Ray asked Wendell if he had received the check from Galles yet, he had not, so Ray will check with them again. John said that the April 22nd breakfast is still scheduled for Loyola's at 4500 Central SE at 08:30. Next month the breakfast will be at the Route 66 Diner on Central, the Saturday before the Museum Show. Chuck has received the request from IRS about the 990 form required of non-profit organizations. They have changed the form for this year. Although we do not have to file a 990 since we do not make more than $25,000 per year, they want to know how much we received over the last year and how much we had at end of the last fiscal year. Wendell will get the figures after he gets back from California. Wendell also said that the Boydston Award plaque was ordered and would be ready on May 15th. Robert Gold needs a few more people committed to help at the Museum Car Show. Also we need about ten more members to sign up for the Isotopes game in order to get the lower ticket price. The Crossword Placemats for the Tri-State are ready. Ray did a beautiful job. Bill Reider has some short pencils that we can place with the placemats at the banquet on Saturday night. The answers will be sent to the clubs after the Tri-State and they can publish them in their newsletter. The hotel in Montrose has changed its name but all of the reservations and prices are the same. The web page is still under the old name. America's Best Value Inn is the new name. Bill Reider has the T-shirts, golf shirts and sweat shirts ordered and the should be available at the next regular meeting on May 3rd. He ordered 50 T-shirts, 20 Golf shirts and 15 sweat shirts. Pay for them when you pick them up. It was brought up that we will probably have a hospitality room for a few hours on Friday night. Wendell has some ice chests that he can bring for cold drinks and we can pick up cookies and that sort of items in Montrose. Wendell asked if he should bring his popcorn machine. We will need to staff it as part of registration. The Sunshine Committee will get some of the left over yellow Raton shirts for the goody bags and also some of the cookbooks from our convention. Heula said the center pieces for the tables at Montrose are all boxed and ready to go. She would like some assistance in transporting them because there would not be enough room in their car for everything. The center pieces can also be door prizes. Heula has also filled a large glass jar with jelly beans, and for a 25 cent donation, a guess of the number of jelly beans can be made. This is NOT gambling but a test of perspicacity! Dave said that he has had no new nibbles about joining but that at the Museum show he will have applications for membership, some issues of CORSA Communique and other things that will help entice new members who do not know about CNM. Jim said that he needs all items for the newsletter by this weekend. Richard Finch is going to send him an article with photos. Jim said what it would be about but I missed it in my notes. ON MAY 3RD, IMMEDIATELY after our business meeting, Bill Reider will give a presentation on how to get your Corvair to run smoothly and give better gasoline mileage. Bill, along with Jim Pittman, got the best mileage on our recent Econo-Run. The Econo-Run went well thanks to Dave Huntoon. There were six Corvairs and one VW. I don't know whether any Brand Xs went along. A report on the cars and mileage figures can be found elsewhere in the newsletter. There was a discussion about where we could go next year and combine it with a picnic. There were several possible places mentioned such as Quarai or Gran Quivera in the Mountainair area. Our next Route 66 clean up is due on May 6th at 08:00. There were some bags along the side of the road a few weeks ago so it might be pretty clean this time. We don't know who did the wrong section. The meeting was adjourned at 18:20. All CNM members are invited to our board meetings. -- Chuck =CNM= A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY wish goes to each of the following CNMers: May 2 Mary Alice Scheflow May 6 Jerry Goffe May 18 Andrew Stickler May 19 Samantha Wilvert May 19 Stephanie Wilvert May 20 Pat Hall May 23 Brenda Wilvert May 26 Mary Lou Martinek May 28 Anne Mae Gold Five couples celebrate WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES this month. Congratulations to each of you! May 1 Mary Lou and Mark Martinek May 6 Mary Alice and Ollie Scheflow May 13 Leslie and Kevin Sullivan May 27 Lee and Bill Reider May 30 Julia and Chuck Vertrees =CNM= TRI-STATE PREVIEW LeRoy Rogers THE HOST MOTEL FOR THE TRI-STATE IN Montrose has changed its name! This should have no impact on our planning, but you should know. We recently received the following e-mail: From: "Amy Larsen" ( abvimontrose @ hotmail.com ) To: 004873 @ comcast.net Subject: Tri State Meet Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2006 22:23:54 +0000 Hello Leroy! I just wanted to let you know that we have "branded" our hotel, so the name has changed to Americas Best Value Inn (from USA Inns). Our phone number has stayed the same, and of course your reservations and group booking for the Tri State Meet are still scheduled. In fact, I think we have booked every room instead of the 50 rooms you first thought you needed. Just thought I'd make you aware of the change. We look forward to seeing you on May 31st and the rest of the group when they arrive. Take care and warmest wishes, Amy Larsen General Manager Americas Best Value Inn Montrose, Colorado (970) 249-4507 OUR PLANNING FOR THE TRI-STATE IS ON track. If you still haven't made reservations, you should be able to do so via the Internet. Point your web browser to: http://www.usainnsofamerica.com and follow the directions to register. Our room rates will be $50 per night. The rates go up in May, but we Tri-State people will get this rate, provided we register by ten (10) days before the event. So, when you register, ignore the posted rates. When you register, be sure to fill in the "Business Affiliation" blank with "Tri-State" so they will know you are with us. There are T-shirts, sweat shirts and golf shirts with the 2006 Tri-State logo for sale. Prices are $10 for T-shirts, $15 for sweat shirts and $16 for golf shirts. The deadline for buying shirts was April 15 and in fact the shirts have been ordered and should be available at the May 3rd CNM meeting. Bring your money and pick up your shirts! WE ARE STILL IN NEED of suitable door prize items. All CNM members are asked to bring their door prize items to the May 3rd meeting so we can see where we stand. The Show-n-Shine at Montrose on Saturday will be in the street in front of City Hall and the street will be roped off for us. We have been informed that a local car club is planning a swap meet for this same Saturday. We don't know if the swap meet was planned all along or was organized because they heard a group of car nuts would be in town. There will be a model car display and awards for the best model cars. If you have model cars, plan to bring them! The banquet will be at the Elks' Lodge Saturday evening. The Sunshine Committee is preparing table decorations - they don't need any more tissue boxes. We need more items for door prizes and items for the goody bags. We are looking for a suitable item of some value to raffle. There will be dash plaques for everybody participating. -- LeRoy =CNM= MECHANICALLY UN-INCLINED Ray Trujillo HELLO EVERYONE! Our warm weather events schedule got off to a good start with our first econo-run in a few years. We had six Corvairs and one Volkswagen Bug convertible involved in the event. The VW belonged to Cary Hubbard. It turned out to be an absolutely beautiful New Mexico spring day and we all had fun driving our Corvairs on the Turquoise Trail to Madrid. Once we all got there our group had a tasty lunch at the Mineshaft restaurant and when we finished visiting with each other we walked through the quaint town of Madrid. In addition to walking off those lunch calories we shopped and explored the many interesting shops along the way. After a couple of very enjoyable hours in Madrid we all began to head back to Albuquerque to see who would have the best gas mileage results in our econo-run. Well, our two top gas misers were Bill Reider (35 miles/gallon) and Jim Pittman (32 miles/gallon). Congratulations Bill and Jim on some great results! To the rest of the gas guzzling gang (my lead foot self included), thanks for coming out and participating. Anyway, we still had a real fun time, and special thanks to Dave Huntoon for organizing and running the econo-run. Since Bill Reider had the best results in the event he has graciously volunteered to do a tech session immediately following our May 3rd membership meeting. Bill's tech session will be about getting your Corvair to run more efficiently, and surely this should lead to better gas mileage. Knowing Bill, this will really be a good tech session that will be valuable to basically all of us, so please plan on attending. Okay, moving on now, we have a busy schedule planned for May and June. In May, we'll start off with our next Route 66 clean-up on Saturday the 6th at 8:00am, then on the 20th we'll do our monthly breakfast at 66 Diner, 1405 Central NE, at 8:30am. Wow, that's a lot of 6's, which reminds of me of a funny story. The story starts out with a guy who begins his day by awakening exactly at 6:00am. As he's getting ready for his workday he hears on the weather forecast that the temperature for the day will be 66 degrees. Then while he's boarding the bus that takes him to work he notices the bus is numbered 6. Once at work his boss gives him 6 files that have June 6th dates on them. Next, he goes to lunch and the cashier tells him "That'll be $6.66 please." So now this guy embraces the incredible recurring theme of the number 6 and believes his lucky number for the day is the number 6. He figures he better take advantage of this revelation and decides to take the afternoon off and go to the racetrack. Upon arriving at the racetrack he buys the daily racing form and begins to study the upcoming races. As he reviews the form he sees a horse named Sixthsense in the sixth race! "Of course!" he exclaims to himself, and now runs to ticket window number 6 to put $6 on Sixthsense in the sixth race to WIN! And can you guess what happens. That's right, the poor guy's horse finished sixth. Well I digress, but I thought it was a story that you might enjoy. NOW BACK TO BUSINESS. On May 21st, our club has volunteered to be a major participant in the annual Museum Car Show. So let's spruce up our Corvairs and have a good turnout since our club is one of the main featured cars this year. Just as soon as May ends our club is set to host the 30th Anniversary of the Tri-state Meet which will take place in Montrose on June 2nd-4th. Please read LeRoy Rogers article for all the details. Also, if you ordered a T-shirt, golf shirt or sweatshirt for the meet, please bring your payment to the May 3rd meeting. On Sunday June 11th, we've scheduled an outing to an Isotopes baseball game, so if you're interested in going please read Robert Gold's article for all those details. As you can see we have quite a few activities lined up over the next few months, so take advantage of as many of them as you can. Well, I guess that's enough said for now, so hopefully I'll see you at the next club meeting. -- Ray Trujillo =CNM= TRI-STATE SUNSHINE COMMITTEE REPORT Heula Pittman THE SUNSHINE COMMITTEE WILL BE decorating the tables and making door prizes for the Tri-State this year at Montrose, Colorado. These photos show one of our assembly sessions where we made centerpieces for each of the tables for the banquet on Saturday evening. Thanks to those who provided tissue boxes for our centerpieces -- we don't need any more! Brenda Stickler, Ruth Boydston, Kim Patten, Elizabeth Domzalski, Anne Mae Gold, Wendell Walker and I are on the committee. Maybe we'll need more help -- such as, transporting some of the items to Montrose. Thanks to Ray Trujillo for printing the special crossword puzzle place mats and for providing a year's supply of envelopes for mailing newsletters! For the Committee -- Heula Pittman =CNM= The Sunshine committee reports that Marian McClellan died on April 13. Marian was born August 24, 1912. Bill and Marian were active members for years, attending many club functions with their early coupe which "they just drove" without doing any work on it. We also learned that Bill broke his hip a couple of weeks earlier. He is recovering in a private home as he needs continual care. Our thoughts and love go to Bill and his family. =CNM= MADRID IN THE MORNING....... Dave Huntoon I AM SURE EVERYONE IS ANXIOUS to learn the results of our impromptu econorun to Madrid. First you you will have to endure my brief account of the day. We all found our way to the Shell station on Central and Tramway. There were six Corvairs and Cary's VW convertible, but we let him tag along anyway since his collection of Corvairs are not quite road ready. Just a few minor things to finish, you know, drivetrains, brakes, electrical, etc. Just a couple more days I am sure. Everyone left after topping off and we all made it to Madrid with no problems. After meeting at the Mineshaft parking lot, we decided lunch was the first thing to tackle. A large table at the Mineshaft tavern and that problem was rectified post haste. Then we kind of separated to explore Madrid's Main Street. I saw a few things that would make nice gifts if I can remember the next time family birthdays roll around. I left around 2 PM and the others followed shortly to all meet back again at the Shell station to top off once more. So now here are the results....... 35.40 mpg The Reiders 1965 Corsa coupe 140 hp 4 speed 31.07 mpg The Pittmans 1965 Monza coupe 110 hp 4 speed 27.19 mpg Cary Hubbard VW convertible 1641cc, maybe 65 hp 4 speed 26.22 mpg Wendell Walker 1964 Monza convertible 140 hp powerglide 23.37 mpg Ray Trujillo 1965 Corsa convertible 140 hp 4 speed 17.35 mpg Dave Huntoon 1961 FC 8 door ? hp powerglide 14.21 mpg Geoff Johnson 1965 Corsa ToroVair V8 300 hp automatic I was actually shooting for 20 mpg, but as you can see I failed miserably. After getting home I decided to check it out and found a fuel line leak at the inlet of a carburetor. Not enough in my opinion to matter much, but there it is. Then I found the vacuum advance was not working and the distributor flyweights seemed to be sticking also. So my timing was retarded when the call for vacuum advance was needed. Sort of reminds me of my mental state lately, retarded. All I can say is it used to work. These things are fixed now but I have not had the chance to check the results. Perhaps I can find that elusive extra 2 mpg. Congratulations to Mr. Reider for his good results and also to Geoff for keeping me out of last place! Of course Geoff has about a bazillion more hp, yet I think he was still pleased with his result. Thanks to all who took time out of their day to participate. Hope everyone had a good time and maybe we can do this yearly just for the heck of it. Thanks again -- Dave Huntoon =CNM= REMINDER-- CNM OUTING TO ISOTOPES PARK Robert Gold LAST MONTH I TOLD YOU ABOUT the planned CNM outing to Isotopes park to see our Albuquerque Isotopes battle the Memphis Redbirds on Sunday, June 11. Well, it is now the time for all of you who want to attend to "show me the money"! I'll be at the May 3rd club meeting. If you want to attend you'll need to give me $7.50 per seat. That will get you a discount ticket in the reserve section. We'll need to have at least twenty people attend to get that discount and to have our club name displayed on the 'Topes scoreboard. Remember this will be your chance to be treated like the special person you are, socialize with fellow CNM members and save money at the same time! See you at the May club meeting. -- Robert Gold =CNM= ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM CAR SHOW Robert Gold MAY IS THE MONTH THAT THE NEW MEXICO COUNCIL OF CAR CLUBS will be hosting their 22nd Annual Automobile Show. The show will be held at the Albuquerque Museum in Old Town, 2000 Mountain Road NW, on Sunday, May 21, 2006, in the parking lot directly in front of the Museum and the enclosed parking lot between the Museum and Old Town. The registration fee for this year's show is $10.00 (still a bargain for a first-rate car show!). This car show is special to the members of Corvairs of New Mexico. Why you might ask? First of all this year our club has taken a lead role in organizing the show for the Council. This is a way for us to declare to the car community in Albuquerque that Corvairs dominate! Another significant aspect of the show is that we have our own judging class. That means that they will award three trophies to the best Corvairs. We got our own class because of the outstanding turnout by Corvairs in past years. Unfortunately last year was not one of those outstanding years. Because of scheduling conflicts only a few Corvairs made that show. This year is our chance to show we are worthy of the special judging and also a way to show our support for our car show organizers. So I urge you to plan to be there. Remember, this club isn't about perfect cars, it is about participation. So dust off your Corvair, in whatever condition it is in, and drive it over to the Museum Car Show on Sunday, May 21. As in past years, we'll be gathering in the north parking lot of the Sheraton Old Town at 800 Rio Grande Blvd NW at 7:00 am and enter the show around 7:15. We'll set up in a group (except for one car) and have a wonderful time. This year the organizers have selected Larry Hickerson's spectacular Rampside for a special display. So, I hope to see a whole bunch of you at the show! -- Robert Gold =CNM= SEVEN YEARS AGO Jim Pittman Seven Years Ago - May 1999 - Vol 25 - Nr 5 - Issue 284 The cover was a Wendell Walker digital photo of Mark Domzalski's Rampside in process of being restored. President Dennis Pleau told us that Paul Campbell was moving to Tulsa, so we needed a new vice-president. We had $6058 in the bank and were about to move some of our money to a money market fund. We got the latest news on the Museum car show, a show at the new Cottonwood mall, a Reliable Chevrolet show, the NMCCC picnic, the CORSA convention in Tahoe, a camping trip to the Pecos, the Fall swap meet, and a drivers' education program at Southwest Auto Sports. After our meeting we had a presentation by Charles Incendio on the proposed Wheels Museum. Ollie called for volunteers for our first 1999 Old Route 66 cleanup, postponed three times already! We had a letter from former member Bob Beasley, now working in the aerospace industry in Dalesville, Alabama. We had a report from Ilva Walker entitled "THE STRIPPERS OF RIO RANCHO" which told about, well, recent activities of some strippers in Rio Rancho. Yes there were photos. Technical: Larry Claypool (Chicago club) expanded on Mark Martinek's recent article on the dreaded heater hose short. Sylvan Zuercher told about increasing frustration getting a 140 to run with a NEW set of points. Turns out, the points were slightly non-original, and installing the distributor cap pushed on the points, changing the dwell. So, be careful if you get "Corvair" points from Auto Zone. Ray Sedman mentioned several lower-cost, higher-performance items on modern cars, some of which can be adapted to Corvairs. Finally, we borrowed an article on what materials to use for what kind of sandblasting job -- no, sand is not always the best material. How about walnut shells, glass beads, aluminum oxide, poly abrasive, silicon carbide or black beauty slag. Fourteen Years Ago - May 1992 - Vol 18 - Nr 5 - Issue 200 Our cover featured a map of New Mexico highlighting the "Viva Las Vegas" area which was the site for our Tri-State event. President Steve Gongora presided over the meeting. Treasurer Wendell Walker reported a total of $963 in our accounts. Our editor featured his clever Burma Shave signs: OUR CARS HAVE ENGINES IN THE REAR NO FRONT-WHEEL DRIVES FOR US, MY DEAR! We planned ahead for the July 4th car show on the plaza in Santa Fe: Tarmo said we'd need to be there by 5:00 AM. Debbie and Dennis reported on the rally they put on for CNMers. As Jim recalls, it was a great rally but a little too long for his creaky old bones. We had a page of suggestions of places to go and things to see in and near Las Vegas, New Mexico. And a tech tip told why you might want a magnet in your transmission. Twenty-one Years Ago - May 1985 - Vol 11 - Nr 5 - Issue 116 The May 1985 cover featured Mark Morgan's fantasy Corvair, XSZ-2. President Francis Boydston presided over the meeting. Sylvan Zuercher reported $480 in the treasury. Bill McClellan continued his series on welding with the article, "Gas Welding, Part 1." Clayborne Souza reported on the White Sands Fun-Khana trip and Karen Jackson reported on our flea market. Tech tips? Clear out carb dirt by putting your palm over the carb for a second... Part numbers for brake parts for 95's. Twenty-eight Years Ago - May 1978 - Vol 4 - Nr 4 - Issue 32 The May 1978 issue's cover featured a drawing borrowed from the Tucson Corvair Association's newsletter "CORVAIRSATIONS." President Joel Nash presided. We enjoyed a talk by Dave Clawson on turbocharging as applied to Corvair Spyders and Corsas. Ike Meissner provided a technical article, "Horsepower, Corvair Style", which included detailed diagrams. In this article Ike elaborated on Corvair horsepower ratings and where they came from. Mark Morgan, in his clever cartoon, depicted an old "junker" Corvair and two CORSA members itching to own it. Tech tips: when installing a clutch, check for uneven finger heights; use a mirror and drop light to help you see the top of the shock tower when changing shocks on a FC vehicle. (Note: What ever happened to the Burma Shaves, sometimes known as "Corvair Power"? I know I enjoyed them, Mr. Editor, and looked forward to reading them each month. Does anyone out there feel this way? More Burma Shaves!... Heula) =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 ============================================================================ | | | | | May | June | July | | | | | | : 1 2 3 4 5 6 | : : : : 1 2 3 | : : : : : : 1 | | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | | 28 29 30 31 : : : | 25 26 27 28 29 30 : | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 | | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | 30 31 : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 3 May 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Sat 6 May 8:00 AM Route 66 Clean-up - Ollie Scheflow Wed 17 May 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Sat 20 May 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - The 66 Diner - 1405 Central NE - Photo Op! Sun 21 May early! Albuquerque Museum Car Show - CNM will be setting up! Fri 26 May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Thu 1 Jun ....... Some of us leave for Durango, Colorado - Tri-State Fri 2 Jun ....... Tri-State Event - Montrose, Colorado - Registration Sat 3 Jun ....... Tri-State Event - Montrose, Colorado - Car show - Banquet Sun 4 Jun ....... Tri-State Event - Montrose, Colorado - Farewells Wed 7 Jun 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Sun 11 Jun 6:00 PM Isotopes Baseball Game - Robert Gold Wed 21 Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 23 Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 24 Jun 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast - TBA Tue 4 Jul early! Fourth of July on the Plaza - Santa Fe Wed 5 Jul 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Wed 12 Jul 6:00 PM Process mailing for the Museum car Show - Old Car Garage Wed 19 Jul 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 21 Jul 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 22 Jul 8:30 AM CNM Breakfast TBA Sun 6 Aug ....... NMCCC All Clubs Picnic - TBA Coming up in August: Tour of Unser Racing Museum - tentative date is the 19th. Fri-Sun 22-24 September - NMCCC Swap Meet - Los Lunas =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= =CNM= = = = = = = = = = = = = = FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED = = = = = = = = = = = = = = FOR SALE: 1 Gas Guard used 65-69 $12.00 High & Low Horns - Early and Late Used all work $10.00 each GM Emergency Brake front cable 65-69 heavy duty $20.00 1 Set Hydra Lifters for Corvair $40.00 Shifter Shaft Seals. Early or Late $ 3.00 each Air Cleaner Gaskets Late. Tube to Cleaner Base. $ 1.50 Air Cleaner Gasket top of Carb. $ 1.50 pr. PVC Valve for Corvair CV584C $ 6.00 Turn off your Headlights 30 seconds to 3 minutes after you leave your car. New. $10.00 Call Bill Reider - 299-4597 FOR SALE: 1968 Corvair Monza Convertible, 110 HP, 4-speed. New front seat upholstery, New carpet, 2-year old top. Sheet metal in floor has been replaced. Needs paint, has rust. $3,000 ---- John Arnold 505-281-5542 FOR SALE: 1962 Wagon 700 $1.500.00 OBO ------------------- Terry Price 872-0100 1967 Monza 2-door coupe, 110-HP, automatic. $2,500.00 OBO Great interior, good condition. ---------------- Terry Price 872-0100 = = = = = CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS = = = = = =CNM= OVERHAULIN' A 1961 RAMPSIDE FOR GAYLE FINCH Richard Finch MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN THE POPULAR TV SHOW, by the name of "Overhaulin'", on the Learning Channel, that is highlighting the auto customizing talents of master craftsman and designer, Chip Foose. A lot can be learned about customizing and restoring a car or a truck by watching that show. Coincidentally, Gayle and I are acquaintances of master craftsman Chip Foose and his family. I worked with Chip for two years at a small design company (The ASHA Corp.) in Goleta, CA from 1992-94. Gayle owned a condo in Solvang, CA and Chip's sister was on the condo advisory board and was Gayle's neighbor for about three years. Chip's father, Sam Foose, lived just down the road from another acquaintance of ours. Sam Foose produced many of his award winning hot rods at home in his backyard garage workshop in Santa Ynez, CA. Chip was laid off at ASHA Corp. (for lack of work!) in 1994. We were designing and testing full-time 4 wheel drives for Ford, GM, Chrysler Jeep, BMW and Renault. You can now buy many cars that have our "Gerodisc" units as optional equipment. We even put a unit in Gil deFerrin's Jim Hall Chaparral Indy Car in 1995, and he won a few races with it. After Chip was laid off, he went to work for Boyd Coddington as a designer, but Boyd is not easy to work for, and Chip struck out on his own and soon got his own TV show(s). So, I unabashedly took what I learned from Chip Foose and put these things to work for us while I am restoring/overhaulin' Gayles' 1961 Corvair Rampside. In the TV show, the crews of about 20 or more people simply tear a car apart and put it back together in about 7 or 8 days and nights. My crew is me, not 20 or more, so I had to be more creative. I began buying parts and restoring parts of the Corvair vehicle and then I would just put the restored and the new parts on the shelf for use later. And later is now! (I hope I did not destroy your belief in me when I wrote the April Fool's story about the flying saucer. This story is the truth, so help me!) I will list some of the things we (that's me) are doing to "Overhaul" Gayle's Rampside. * Wheels and tires: In my whole life I was never able to buy myself a set of new "mag" wheels, so I bought a new set for Gayle's Rampside. These are American Torque Thrust II polished and chromed wheels. They are 1" larger diameter and wider at 15" x 7" @ $599. for the set, from Rodparts Warehouse in Nebraska. When the pretty new mags arrived, I did a fit check and sure enough, there was about 1" clearance all around. I then took them down to my local Wal-Mart and bought a set of Goodyear Viva II blackwall tires, size P195/65 R15, 3-ply tread, 1-ply sidewall. But these tires have a load capacity of 1,279 lbs. per tire for a total of 5,116 lbs vehicle capacity. The GVW of the Rampside is only 4,600 lbs, so we have a safety margin of 516 lbs. when we are fully loaded. (Did you know that the Rampside is actually a 3/4 ton load capacity vehicle?) * For the front suspension, I bought a set of CORSA Director Ken Hand's Mustang II springs and Gas shocks. Ken claims that the F.C. Corvairs will ride like a Cadillac with these springs and shocks. For the rear, I will just install new Clark's shocks, but after I get the Rampside on the road, I plan to build an Ultra Van type rear suspension that will incorporate Firestone Air Bag suspension (1,300 lbs capacity) with automatic ride height adjustment like the 1968-69 GM cars had. I will have to build a new rear cross-member to accept the late model Corvair axle hub and bearings. My youngest brother, Phil Finch, has air bags on the rear of his U.V. S/N 294. There is no camber change from full up to full down with the Ultra Van rear suspension. I should be able to road race the Rampside with the suspension improvements!! The drums will be painted light blue to match the accent stripe on the side of the truck. They will show through the Torque Thrust II mags. * Lighting improvements include J.C. Whitney clear driving lights and J.C. Whitney L.E.D. stop, directional and tail lights for the rear of the tail gate where the factory reflectors would go. The high-beam headlights will be tri-bar, blue halogen 5-3/4" bulbs from Southern Air. * The interior of the cab is a real work of comfort and convenience. I have installed / fit checked a refrigerated air conditioner and hot water heater unit (from Vinatge Air, San Antonio) under the glove box, and have fitted an early model Corvair air conditioner outlet under the radio housing which now holds a new RoadGear CD from Wal Mart. The A/C condenser is a shrouded, fan cooled unit from Barry White Street Rods. It is ducted to cooling air by a Chevy S-10 front spoiler.Temperature sensors and relays let the fan run in town and shut off on the highway. The compressor is a Sanden unit with custom made pulleys and brackets. We will be using R-134 refrigerant. We have a pair of speakers in the doors, and another pair mounted in the back of the seat like those Pontiac Fieros have. The extra sound should vibrate you in the back! The hot water heater could later be used as an auxiliary engine oil cooler and heater in the winter. * Steve, Rita and Jake of House of Covers have made all new door panels just like they have on their Rampside, except ours are medium blue. They also sewed us a new blue carpet, a new blue headliner insert, and a new blue dash cover. Cal Clark personally picked out a custom seat cover for us while we were at his place last August. * I purchased a Spyder dash and glove box door at Palm Springs two years ago and later decided to replace all the factory gauges with AutoMeter cylinder head temp, fuel, and oil temp gauges plus a Dixco tach and Auto Meter trip speedometer. We also have a volt meter and an oil pressure gauge in the dash by the ash tray. * I bought a brand new Chrysler Le Baron 4 door in 1987 and after driving it for around 200,000 miles, I liked its interior so much that I cannibalized its overhead console with outside temp gauge and electronic compass. The overhead console also has compartments for garage door opener and Gayle's sunglasses. The console also had padded and lighted mirror sun visors that fit into the console, so they are now fitted to our Rampside. The center arm rest console from the Chrysler is now in my 1965 Corvair 4 door and it works just great. Chryslers have some really nice interior features.The new seat belts and retractable shoulder harnesses came from J.C. Whitney. There are also new toggle switches for lights, etc. * We bought power window kits from EZ Wiring for $145. * The power door locks are much modified units from J.C. Whitney. They also incorporate a burglar alarm and headlight flasher and horn beeper, just like the new cars have. * I am looking for a fluorescent light for interior lighting to augment the stock light. * And no good vehicle should be without a cruise control, so J.C. Whitneywas the source of an AutoLogic unit. Gayle also has Italian air horns and an "ooga horn," plus the stock Corvair horns. * And yes, the arm rests are new 1964 Monza units from Clark's. The center console is also a 6-can pop cooler and cup holder, in blue of course. * The aluminum tool box on the bed of the truck is mounted to the left bed rail in the normal manner and the right side is mounted on a piece of 1 1/2" angle that is also bolted to the front side of the bed frame rail, so that the ramp will still open and close. Right now, the tool box is full of overhauled and restored parts, like carburetors, distributor, overhead console and etc. Gayle wants me to install a linear actuator to open and close the ramp at the push of a button!! She is pretty smart! * Clark's Corvair furnished a clear windshield, (it was ordered in tinted, so they gave me a $25 credit) and the outside paint was pretty good when Gayle bought the Rampside from Howard Boso at Palm Springs 4 years ago, so I just waxed it and will touch up some chips.This is going to be Gayle's daily driver, so we won't try to make it a 99 point show car. But it sure will be fun to take to town and to Cruise Night at the Sonic Drive In! And it will be very comfortable!!!! Well, that is it for now. I will send some pictures when we are back on the road again. And incidentally, I sold the cannibalized 1987 Chrysler to my neighbor for $400 to use as a work car, and it is still running just fine! -- richard f. =CNM= CORVAIR CLUTCH REPLACEMENT - PART 3 By John Priddy - with a lot of help from Tom Schrum Fanbelt Flyer - April 2006 Last month I covered the removal of the parts needed to remove and replace a Corvair clutch disc and related parts to ensure smooth, chatter-free shifting. This month we'll cover how to properly install the parts. We'll start with the pilot bushing. Take the pilot bushing out of the motor oil it's been submerged in for the last week, wipe it dry and add a thin film of grease to the inside surface. This will help to contain the oil that's been impregnated in the bushing. Insert the rounded, end of the pilot bushing onto a clutch alignment tool - a shortened (8" long) input shaft works best - and insert the bushing and tool into the end of the crankshaft. The fit will be tight so be careful to get it in straight. Lightly tap the end of the tool with a mallet to get it started, and then continue tapping until the bushing is completely inserted. Stop when the bushing lines up with the inside edge of the bevel on the crankshaft hole, about 1/16 inch inside the crankshaft. Remember easy does it - you don't want to scratch, bend, dent, or distort the bushing. When the pressure plate and flywheel were balanced, they were marked or indexed so that when they're reassembled, they must be positioned exactly the same way as when they were balanced. This is a critical step so before taking the assembly apart, confirm the location of the marks or mark them yourself. Use a dab of paint on both parts to show the alignment and make sure you can see the marks when the flywheel and the pressure plate are inside the bell housing. The flywheel must be clean and oil-free, especially on the clutch face side. Brake cleaner (NOT brake fluid!!!) does a really good job and doesn't leave any residue. Locate the six, new, 1/2-inch crankshaft bolts. These hardened bolts are made to take the torque specified and are the correct length to fit through the spacer ring and the flywheel and into the end of the crankshaft. Failure to use the correct length bolt and the spacer ring can result in the bolts being driven into the timing gear teeth, and catastrophic damage to the engine. Clean the new flywheel bolts and the threads in the end of the crankshaft to remove all traces of oil. Use a thin coating of gasket sealer on the bolt threads. Using too much gasket sealer can cause sealer to be forced into the engine, and using too little can allow oil leakage onto the clutch. I recommend using Ultra high temperature copper RTV silicone gasket sealer. Place the flywheel on the end of the crankshaft and rotate the flywheel without the bolts. There should be no interference from the bell housing bolts, especially the four at the bottom. Install the flywheel bolts through the spacer ring and then through the flywheel and into the crankshaft. Tighten lightly using the ground-down six-point socket described last month. Then, using a beam torque wrench, alternately tighten the bolts in five ft-lb increments until torqued to 20-25ft-lb. Re-insert the clutch alignment tool into the end of the crankshaft and slide the clutch disc onto the splines of the tool. Check to ensure that the clutch disc is installed with the extended side facing away from the flywheel. Rotate the clutch disc and make sure that there is no interference between the disc and the flywheel, and that only the clutch face material and the flywheel face are touching. Check that the pressure plate face is clean and oil-free (clean with brake cleaner). Then bolt the pressure plate to the flywheel checking the alignment marks to make sure the pressure plate is correctly positioned. Use new bolts with lock washers and torque to 20-25 ft-lb. To install the input shaft seal, make sure the opening in the transaxle is clean and rust-free. Lightly wipe the seal with oil to remove any dirt or debris. Insert the seal with the rounded metal edge facing you. Using a socket slightly smaller than the hole that the seal is going into, tap the: seal into the transaxle with a mallet until it bottoms against the stop. To insert the split ring, use a Crescent wrench to compress the ring so it fits or nearly fits into the opening and then tap it in with a socket until it contacts the seal. Clean the input shaft and insert it in the transaxle being careful to not rub excessively against the seal. Make sure the shaft completely seats in the transmission. Twist the shaft with your fingertips. If it turns, push gently and rotate it until it slides in, about half an inch. Then you won't be able to turn it and the splines that mesh with the clutch disc should almost touch the throwout bearing snout. Next, install the new throwout bearing on the snout of the differential. To do this, first position the clutch release lever on the pivot ball that's had a small amount of axle grease applied to its curved surface. Then slide the throwout bearing on the snout with the large end facing away from the differential and toward the pressure plate. The clutch release lever's springed, forked end goes into the grooved end of the throwout bearing while sliding the throwout bearing toward the differential. The clutch release lever should snap into place. Check the operation of the clutch release rod and make sure that the throwout bearing moves smoothly on the snout. Refer to the shop manual photos if necessary to make sure the lever is positioned correctly. The final step is to re-join the engine and the transaxle. First locate the bell housing bolts, make sure the bolt threads and the threads in the bell housing are clean. You'll want to be able to quickly and easily insert the bolts once the engine and transaxle are aligned, so keep the bolts close by. With the engine secured horizontally, position the transaxle so that the end of the input shaft and the splined hole in the clutch disc are at the same angle. Guide the transaxle forward until contact is felt. The input shaft splines have to mesh with the clutch disc splines and the end of the input shaft has to fit into the pilot bushing. You may have to lift, rotate, or change the angle of the transaxle slightly until the bell housing contacts the lip of the transaxle. While holding the transaxle firmly against the bell housing rotate the transaxle until you can insert a bolt onto one of the bell housing holes and tighten finger tight. Insert the rest of the bell housing bolts and tighten. You're now ready to re-install the drivetrain and rediscover the driving pleasure of your Corvair! =CNM= TRI-STATE MEMORIES... Your editor Here is how one of our members reported on going to the very first Tri-State Meet in Montrose, Colorado. Remember the time when citizen-band radios were becoming popular and everybody tried to talk trucker radio jargon? The article is from the Corvairs of New Mexico newsletter issue dated July 1976, Volume 2 Number 7. TRI-STATE MEET Steve Gongora "Breaker 19, you got the HOC and Goldfinger sitting side saddle." "How's it looking over your shoulder?" WHA? Those were some of the sounds emanating from my 1965 blue Corsa as it tooled along at... Well, I better not say my exact speed, but it was fast enough to get across some of the desolate parts of New Mexico to the green mountains of Colorado in no time flat. Those roads in Colorado were just made for the CORVAIR. All those twists and turns are a problem for most American cars but the CORVAIR handled just as well or better than some of those expensive foreign imports. On our trip to Montrose, Jack Sellers, Andy Ciupryk, and I passed through places that would have made you think that you were in Switzerland. (Three different times, during the trip, we were above 10,000 feet above sea level and I enjoyed every minute of it.) We arrived in Montrose Friday afternoon and joined Bob Langlois and his two sons. Then later we met with Sylvan Zuercher and Leo Ford of the Denver Club and planned the activities for the next two days. The Economy Run, organized by Jim Foreman of the Salt Lake City Club, we a 60 mile round trip to Ouray and back to Montrose. At Ouray we spent most of the afternoon at the Box Canyon Falls before our trek back. The winner of the Economy Run was Jim Foreman and his Corsa with a whopping 29 mpg. Yours truly came in sixth with 25.5 mpg. With the help of navigator Jack Sellers, I did take second place in the Fun Run. The Fun Run took you through the streets of Montrose. What you had to do was follow instructions given by Leo Ford and you had to answer questions that had to do with identifying certain objects. You'll have to talk with Ike Meissner and Bob Langlois concerning the difficulty of the event. These were some of the people who got lost trying to complete the run. It was a memorable experience, you should have been there. The Denver and Salt Lake City clubs say there should be a TRI-STATE meet next year. Why don't we all make plans to go? -- Steve Gongora =end=