The May 2008 Newsletter - Text Version Updated 10-Sep-2008 ==== Copyright (c) 2008 Corvairs of New Mexico EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 7 May 2008 at 7:00 PM Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE THIS MONTH: Dues Due .................................. Membership Committee April Meeting Minutes ........................... Chuck Vertrees CORSA Chapters Google Map .......... forwarded by Chuck Vertrees Birthdays and Anniversaries ................. Sunshine Committee April Board Meeting Minutes ..................... Chuck Vertrees Stick to Vairs! ........................ President Mike Stickler Calendar of Coming Events ............... CNM Board of Directors The Last Word on Corvair Cooling Fans Part 2 .......... Bob Helt 14th Annual Spring Thaw Report ..................... Jim Pittman My First Ever Auto Accident .. Richard Finch 1969 Ultra Van #443 For Sale, Trade or Wanted ............................. Everyone Albuquerque Museum / NMCCC Car Show ........... Geoffrey Johnson April 5th Rally Report .......................... Chuck Vertrees Cover Story: Visit from the Andersons ........ Vickie & Pat Hall Pagosa Springs Tri-State Meet ... Steve Goodman & Laura Wilshire Adding Audio Input to a Stock Corvair Radio ... Geoffrey Johnson CNM Financial Report and Recommendation ............ Bill Reider In Memoriam - Dale Wilshire ............... Rocky Mountain CORSA Saturday Tuna in Los Lunas ........................ Ray Trujillo Seven, 14, 21, 28 Years Ago ..................... Club Historian COVER: Pat Hall, Bill Reider and Jon Anderson visit in Los Lunas =[CNM]= PRESIDENT: Mike Stickler 856-6993 sticorsa @ hotmail.com VICE-PRES: Pat Hall 865-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com SECRETARY: Charles Vertrees 299-0744 vertrees @ swcp.com TREASURER: Wendell Walker 892-8471 defarge505 @ aol.com PROPERTIES: Ruth Boydston 821-1506 sg730 @ comcast.net CAR COUNCIL: Cary Hubbard 350-0483 bus63kombi @ gmail.com CAR COUNCIL: Art Gold 620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com MEMBERSHIP: David Huntoon 281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com NEWSLETTER: Jim Pittman 275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu 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/~jimp CNM's old home page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 =[CNM]= MEMBER LIST & DUES DATE = 26-Apr-2008 Due last month, inactive as of 25-May-2008: 2008/04 Florence & Bill Hector Since_2006.04 Due this month, inactive as of 25-Jun-2008: (none) Due next month, inactive as of 25-Jul-2008: 2008/06 Ruth Boydston Since_1974.04 2008/06 Mary Alice & Oliver Scheflow Since_1992.05 Coming due later: 2008/07 Jerry Goffe Since_1977.05 2008/07 Anne Mae & Robert Gold Since_1982.08 2008/07 Brenda & Hurley Wilvert Since_1992.10 2008/08 Barbara & Gordon Johnson Since_2001.06 2008/08 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo Since_2003.08 2008/08 Opal & Sylvan Zuercher Since_1974.12 2008/09 Kay & Tarmo Sutt Since_1976.07 2008/10 Debra & Jon Anderson Since_1992.10 2008/10 Guadalupe Arellanes Since_2006.10 2008/10 Mary & Art Hurley Since_2007.10 2008/11 Linda & Dick Cochran Since_2006.09 2008/11 Wibke & Robert Garrecht Since_2005.09 2008/11 Leslie & Kevin Sullivan Since_2002.07 2008/11 Nancy & Bernard Urbassik Since_2004.08 2008/12 Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski Since_1994.01 2008/12 Gayle & Richard Finch Since_2000.06 2008/12 Kelly & Art Gold Since_2006.12 2008/12 Vickie & Pat Hall Since_2005.10 2008/12 David Huntoon Since_1994.11 2008/12 Walter Huntoon Since_1992.11 2008/12 Steve Johnson Since_2001.08 2008/12 Roger Pape Since_2002.12 2009/01 Rita & Steve Gongora Since_1974.12 2009/01 H. C. "Lube" Lubert Since_1987.10 2009/01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer Since_2006.01 2009/01 Emma & LeRoy Rogers Since_1975.07 2009/01 Anne & John Wiker Since_2001.01 2009/02 Cary Hubbard Since_2006.02 2009/02 Carl Johnson Since_1974.04 2009/02 Lee & Bill Reider Since_1974.09 2009/02 Frank Stadler Since_1990.02 2009/02 Brenda & Mike Stickler Since_1976.07 2009/03 Robert McBreen Since_1989.11 2009/03 Sally Williams Since_2003.09 2009/04 Deborah & John Dinsdale Since_2000.02 2009/08 Bob Philips Since_2007.06 2009/12 Diane & Robert Galli Since_2007.10 2009/10 Mary Lou & Mark Martinek Since_1990.08 2009/12 Kathy & Larry Blair Since_1985.11 2010/01 Marilyn & Richard Foster Since_1999.07 2010/01 Kim & Del Patten Since_1980.07 2010/02 Susanne & Larry Hickerson Since_2002.08 2010/02 Julia & Chuck Vertrees Since_1983.05 2010/02 Wendell Walker Since_1989.01 2010/04 Heula & Jim Pittman Since_1974.04 2010/05 Jack Bryan Since_1982.02 2010/05 Tracey & John McMahan Since_1983.12 2010/06 Joel Nash Since_1974.12 INACTIVE AS OF 25-APR-2008: 2007/02 Clay Keen Since_2006.02 2007/03 Clint Collins Since_2006.03 2007/04 Sandra & Jerry Chapman Since_2006.04 2007/05 Mike Hacker Since_2002.03 2007/06 Terry Price Since_1992.01 2007/11 Kathy & Doug Gadomski Since_1999.11 2007/12 Mark L Morgan Since_1974.04 2008/03 Geoffrey Johnson Since_2002.03 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 become inactive after a one-month grace period. The Club will mail in your National Dues when you renew, provided that you send us the renewal form from your CORSA Communique! =[CNM]= APRIL BOARD MEETING Chuck Vertrees The meeting was called to order at 19:05 on April 2nd at Highland Senior Center. There were 23 members present. The minutes of the last meeting were approved as printed in the newsletter. Vice President Pat Hall reminded everyone that tonight was the deadline to hand in nominations for the Boydston Award. He has received several. Treasurer Wendell Walker was unable to attend but he planned to send the results to Mike or Chuck by the weekend. And he did: Our checking account holds $253.74, our GMAC account totals $2,206,05 and the club's worth is $2,459.79 as reported by Wendell on Saturday April 5th. Dave and Sylvan said there were no new members to report at this time. We had a visitor, Brian Rowe, who had just picked up a really nice 1969 coupe. Cary Hubbard said that the Car Council meeting was not as wild as some of them have been. The Museum car show was the big topic. There will not be pre-pay this year as it stands right now. They will try to have two entry locations through which to bring in cars, and you will pay as you enter. They are hoping that each club will come in as a group and try to space out their entry times. Possibly clubs will be assigned arrival times? There will be some very nice trophies this year for special categories. Lots of advertising is planned. Another topic brought up was renovation of the Car Council's web site and whether it would be all right to hire a professional to set it up. Apparently doing so would be quite expensive. Heula Pittman said that the Sunshine Committee had nothing special to report at this time. Newsletter editor Jim Pittman said that the deadline for the April newsletter would be the 25th. Also a circular was shown about an exhibit of Jerry Goff's photographs. Also, members were reminded of the Spring Thaw at the Old Car Garage. Jim said that the Denver Rocky Mountain Corsa chapter no longer mails him a paper copy of their newsletter, the DENVAIR NEWS, but sends it to him via e-mail. The latest issue had a very interesting article on the latest developments in Corvair fuel injection. If you want to see this, Jim has their newsletter on his web site. It is downloadable as a PDF. Upcoming events will be the Road Rally on the 5th and Sally Williams' Shower on the 6th. This will be in Corrales. Mike suggested that the men could take their wives to the shower and then go to Kevin's garage about a mile away to see what he has in the way of interesting cars. The Spring Thaw is on the 12th, and the TUNA at Pat Hall's is on the 19th. Throw in the Board of Directors meeting on the 16th and it is pretty obvious that CNM is an active club. May has the next Old Route 66 cleanup on May 10th. Ollie says that we will start at 09:00. The Tri-State Meet is in Pagosa Springs, Colorado on the weekend of May 16th-18th. And as usual this conflicts with the Albuquerque Museum show on May 18th. Those who are not going to the Tri-State can make the Museum show. Jim brought in a rather large "piece of trash" or artifact that he picked up on the last Old Route 66 cleanup. His conjecture that it was a Samurai sword sounded like April Foolery to me. It seemed to be heavier than aluminum and it looked a little like a spoiler from an S-10 pickup. I thought it might be part of a rear window shade assembly from a sports car hatch back. Jim gave it to our master metallurgist Pat Hall who said he may make a front spoiler with it. Steve Johnson was present so Jim expressed the club's thanks to him for arranging the tour of the B-17 at Double Eagle Airport. Steve said it may be back at Double Eagle for winter maintenance next year. Art Gold said that he had ordered a new convertible top from Larry's. I couldn't hear all the details of the story, but I think he ordered a top for an early model but was not able to install it right away. When he was ready to install it he found that the top was for a late model and would not fit. (Or maybe it was the other way around as regards early or late.) Anyway, he contacted the vendor to return it but learned that Larry's has a 30 day return policy and they would not take it back. If anyone needs a late (or maybe an early) top, ask Art Gold about the one he has. There being no tech talk, the meeting was adjourned at 18:25. -- Chuck CORSA CHAPTERS GOOGLE MAP Forwarded by Chuck Vertrees I received an e-mail with a pointer to a web site that produced a world map with all CORSA chapters. Try this URL: http://tinyurl.com/ynjkam The map above is the North American portion of this map. It is impressive to actually see where all the chapters are. I believe this map was compiled by Gary Moore of Kansas City. =[CNM]= HAPPY BIRTHDAY Wishes go to nine CNMers: Mary Alice Scheflow May 2 Jerry Goffe May 6 Marilyn Foster May 11 Andrew Stickler May 18 Samantha Wilvert May 19 Stephanie Wilvert May 19 Pat Hall May 22 Brenda Wilvert May 23 Mary Lou Martinek May 26 Anne Mae Gold May 28 Four CNM couples celebrate Wedding Anniversaries this month: Mary Lou & Mark Martinek May 1 Mary Alice & Ollie Scheflow May 6 Leslie & Kevin Sullivan May 13 Lee & Bill Reider May 27 HAPPY ANNIVERSARY! =[CNM]= APRIL BOARD MEETING Chuck Vertrees April's board meeting was called to order at 17:00 on 4/16/08 at Ray Trujillo's print shop. Present were Vickie & Pat Hall, Mike & Brenda Stickler, Jim & Heula Pittman, Chuck and Julia Vertrees, Robert Gold, Dave Huntoon, Wendell Walker, Cary Hubbard, Bill Reider and Ray Trujillo. The first item discussed was whether we were still sending a copy of the newsletter to Galles, our sponsor, and whether we still had a subscription to CORSA for them. We bought their CORSA membership for one year and we did not renew it, and apparently they did not either because they don't know about it. But Mike Kaminski (the Galles person Mike Stickler and Ray Trujillo have spoken with) does receive the CNM newsletter and does enjoy reading it. We appreciate the assistance that they give to CNM and we need to find out if there is anything we can do for them. If they have a car show, for example, we could participate, but we'd need advance knowledge. A week or two is not enough time. Treasurer Wendell reported that we have $251.49 in the checking account and $2,206.05 in the GMAC account for a total of $2,457.54. Dave Huntoon reported that he has a possible new member who is having trouble getting a title for his Corvair. It was suggested that if he would join and come to a few meetings, there are plenty of CNM members who have been through this and know the short cuts and whom to see. Also Brenda and Cary have seen this nice looking Greenbrier sitting in a yard. It turns out this belongs to Charlie Mann and he will be worked on. Cary said that the Museum Car Show is on track. The Car Council will try to sign up groups (clubs) to come in together at staggered times and they hope it will work. The city has said that we must keep Mountain Road open or else. Also if you want a canvas shade fly bigger than 8 by 8 you will need a permit and a fire extinguisher. I notice that Robert Gold is forwarding the Car Council minutes to some members and think Jim has been updating his web page with Car Council minutes when he gets them. Heula Pittman said that the Sunshine committee was aware of the death of Dale Wilshire, president of the Denver chapter, and a card had been sent on behalf of the club. Brenda said that the lodge in Taos that she has been working with to host the 2009 Tri-State called her to say that they may have a conflict on the target date, the first weekend in June. If so, then we would to have to either move ahead to the second week in June or back to the last week in May. They were supposed to call Brenda at the end of the week. Regardless of which weekend we might pick, the arranged price would still be in effect for us. After discussion, our consensus seemed to be that the last week in May would be preferred, even though it would conflict with Memorial Day. The next item discussed was the two CNM awards, the Boydston Award and the Ike Meissner Award. Few of the current members know who Ike was and few remember Francis. The Meissner Award has traditionally been presented at our Christmas party and later at our Anniversary party. The Boydston award has traditionally been presented at the Tri-State event and has included the Denver and Colorado Springs clubs. We are not sure of their interest in continuing this award. Should the awards be combined under another name? Sylvan Zuercher has asked to chair a committee to consider these questions. No conclusions will be reached until after the Tri-State and the Colorado clubs have been consulted. Club finances was the next item on our agenda. Bill attended the meeting to talk about the club's financial health. Jim produced a graph showing monthly treasury reports over recent years. The treasury showed a big jump when we had the International CORSA Convention in 1996. Since the Convention the treasury balance has gradually declined, with a big drop when we had our deluxe 30th Anniversary dinner. We can expect the cost of printing and mailing to go up with inflation. The newsletter now costs about $1.00 per member per month, but is something which really helps keep the club together and is well worth the cost. Bill did some on-line research and produced a lot of information about the dues of other Corvair clubs. Most were in the range of 18 to 25 dollars per year. Some clubs charge extra for family members, which we do not, and some had a lower "newsletter only" rate which we do not want to do. We decided that, with general membership approval, the CNM dues should go up $5.00 per year. We thought the new rate would take effect as of July 1st. Members could pay before July 1st at the current rate to extend their membership by 12 months or 26 months, and members who paid after July 1st would pay the new rate. As part of the dues question, we were reminded that the CNM constitution requires that (except for a few members who were "grandfathered" in) all CNM members must also be members of CORSA. In the past our published policy has been that members could give their CORSA Communique renewal notice to our treasurer with a check for their CNM dues plus their CORSA dues, and the treasurer would mail in the CORSA dues for the member. This system could only work if the member gave the treasurer the renewal form, and if CORSA and CNM renewal dates were in synch. The system has occasionally been a major burden on the treasurer's time and has often failed. What if the CORSA and CNM dues are not synchronized? What if a person wants to renew CORSA annually but wants to renew CNM 26 months at a time? What if the member does not bring in the renewal form? What if the renewal form gets lost? The CORSA member ID number has to accompany payment, and without the renewal form the treasurer does not have the ID number. When the inevitable errors are made, the club has no positive knowledge of or control over a CNM member's CORSA membership. After much discussion, we decided that first we'd contact Harry Jensen to see if he could send us an official current list of CORSA members who should be in our chapter and we could compare it with our membership list. We didn't reach any other decision for action to follow up, so stay tuned. The next item we discussed was the club library and the library van. We guessed that most of the current members do not know about the CNM library or the Library Van. According to an article by LeRoy Rogers in the July 1989 newsletter, the van itself is a rather rare 1961 eight-door and has a 1964 95-HP engine and Powerglide. Several members undertook a project to turn the stored (almost a basket case) van into a rolling library for the club. Body work, new upholstery and a sharp Lemonwood Yellow paint job were soon completed and Clayborne Souza drove the van to our Red River Tri-State in June of 1989. Over the years LeRoy drove the van to many Corvair events, but when his work schedule prevented his attending club meetings, the van began to be neglected and it sat for several years. Finally David Huntoon bought the van from LeRoy. Dave removed all library material from the van into safe shelter to prevent loss or deterioration. There is an index of the contents on Steve Gongora's web site. The library has lots of shop manuals, assembly manuals and tons of other items and new material has been added periodically. Dave is the custodian of the library so if you need any library material, contact Dave. Although it may seem too early to be talking about it, we wanted to discuss plans for our annual Christmas dinner. This has been at the Kirtland AFB Officers' Club for many years. Our host in past years, Hector Gongora, can no longer sponsor the event, but John Wiker is a member and could set it up again. The question is, do we want it there again this year. There have been problems such as the long walk to the serving area, through the dining area and the quality of some of the food. Also some of us civilians are uncomfortable to go on a military base. We all need to decide what we want to do so someone can start planning way ahead. Upcoming events are the May 10th cleanup of Old Route 66, and the May 16-18 Tri-State in Pagosa Springs and the May 18th Museum show for those who cannot go to Pagosa Springs. Also, Dan Palmer would like to host a dinner out at his place in the mountains sometime in June. Details will follow. Someone said that they had seen Hurley Wilvert and he was out of his sling and seemed recovered. The meeting was adjourned at 18:17. All members are invited to the board meetings. They are the second Wednesday after the meeting night. -- Chuck =[CNM]= STICK TO VAIRS! Mike Stickler I sure hope everyone has an opportunity to head out to Pagosa Springs for our 2008 Tri-State Meet. What a refreshing change to be out in the cool mountain air and relax in the Hot Springs in this beautiful country. It was great to see the wonderful turn out in Los Lunas for the Tuna that Pat lead on lubrication of late rear wheel bearings. Pat says he would love to have us out again and this time let us see the 40 Corvairs that were under cover while we were there. Pat was a great instructor and impacted on us that we would be extending the life on all mechanical bearing items by just keeping them well lubricated. Speaking of lubrication, I am reminded of a trip that I took with my Mom and grandmother to Philmont Scout Ranch in northern NM as a young teenager. We were cruising along near Santa Fe in our 1961 Monza, when I noticed some smoke coming out from the engine behind us. As I let Mom know about this, she looked down and the Oil light was on. Needless to say the engine was cooked. It seems that Dad had changed the oil before our trip and there was an oil leak at the new filter. Apparently, Mom was so busy visiting with us in the car that she did not notice that the oil light had come on until after the engine had pumped out all of the oil. The story ended out well because we upgraded the old engine with a more powerful 110 HP engine from the junkyard. You know life sure gets busy, but it seems very important that everything in life get routine lubrication. Look forward to seeing you at our May meeting. Happy Corvairing -- Mike =[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 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | : : 1 2 3 4 5 | | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | | 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 29 30 : : : : : | 27 28 29 30 31 : : | | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | : : : : : : : | ============================================================================ Wed 7 May 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Sat 10 May 9:00 AM Our second "Old Route 66" cleanup for 2008. Lunch? Fri 16 May ....... Tri-State Meet - Pagosa Springs, Colorado - Registration Sat 17 May ....... Tri-State Meet - Car Show - Banquet === BOYDSTON AWARD Sun 18 May ....... Tri-State Meet - Finish Up Sun 18 May ....... Albuquerque Museum / NMCCC Car Show - Old Town Wed 21 May 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 23 May 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 4 Jun 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Wed 18 Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 20 Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 21 Jun ....... Moriarty EAA Chapter 179 Young Eagles Rally Sun 22 Jun ....... Corvair Time Trials - Willow Springs Raceway Sixty drivers, stock or modified, $150. Deposit now $50. Contact: Jack Pinard, 116 E Garden Green, Port Hueneme, CA 93041 805-984-2692 -- 805-340-6533 -- corvairjack @ verizon.net Wed 2 Jul 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Fri 4 Jul early! Fourth of July on the Plaza in Santa Fe Sat 12 Jul 9:00 AM Our third "Old Route 66" cleanup of 2008. Lunch anyone? Wed 16 Jul 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 25 Jul 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 6 Aug 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Wed 20 Aug 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 22 Aug 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Sat 23 Aug 6:00 PM Potluck Dinner at the Palmers' in the mountains - TBA Wed 3 Sep 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Fri 12 Sep ....... Moriarty EAA Chapter 179 Fly-in and Old Car Display Wed 17 Sep 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 19 Sep 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 1 Oct 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Sat 4 Oct 9:00 AM Our last "Old Route 66" cleanup for the year. Lunch? Wed 15 Oct 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 24 Oct 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman Wed 5 Nov 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Fri 14 Nov 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman - EARLY THIS MONTH! Sat 15 Nov ....... KAEG Double Eagle II Airport - EAA Young Eagles Rally Wed 19 Nov 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Wed 3 Dec 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Wed 17 Dec 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE Fri 26 Dec 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman NEXT YEAR: Fri-Sat-Sun 2009 -- Tri-State Meet -- Taos, New Mexico =+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= =[CNM]= THE LAST WORD ON CORVAIR COOLING FANS - PART 2 -- BY BOB HELT [This is part 2 of Bob Helt's article on Corvair Fans -- ed.] 1962-63 PRODUCTION The answer for 1962 was a new light-weight fan molded from a plastic called Delrin. This fan had 16 straight vanes emanating from the hub and extending out to the periphery of the fan, and was similar in appearance to the 11-vane magnesium fan released for 1964. This Delrin fan was very light-weight to allow excellent belt-following, however, no flow data was ever released. But as we know, this fan developed a problem and it was pulled from production before ever getting to a customer. According to the story, during the winter of 1960-61 a high-limit generator overcharged the battery on a test Corvair, which resulted in minute particles of battery acid being expelled from the battery and landing on the pre-production Delrin fan. This acid-on-Delrin, produced formaldehyde fumes which were then drawn into the Direct Air heater system, causing extreme breathing problems for the driver. Well, let's see now. The 24-vane fan was too heavy and resulted in poor belt life. The Delrin fan could not be used because of undesirable fumes, so what could Chevrolet do? We don't know any of their thought processes, but apparently, they put a back-up-design fan into production. This of course was the 10.7 inch diameter, 16-curved-vane, stamped-metal fan, with vanes extending from the hub out to the fan's periphery. This fan was rated at 1460 cfm at an engine speed of 4000 rpm, but actually developed 1550 cfm at 4000 engine rpm on a 1963 turbo engine (the only flow data we have on this fan), compared to 1400 cfm for the 24-vane 1961 fan at that same speed on the 80 hp engine. Assuming equal engine restrictions, that would indicate the 16-vane was flowing 150 cfm more air. But what a strange solution this would appear to be. Replacing a heavy fan with another almost as heavy. What kind of improvement in fan belt life was that, all for 150 additional cfm? So, for whatever reasons Chevrolet might have had, the 16-vane stamped-metal fan was put into production from late 1961 thru the 1963 model year. Horsepower requirements were about the same for both fans, being 7.9 hp for the early 1961 fan and 8.6 hp for the 1963 fan both at 4000 rpm engine speed. Plenum pressures were 6.1 in.-H20 for the 1961 and 10.0 for the 1963 fans, both again at 4000 rpm, indicating a significant difference in fan efficiencies or cylinder head restrictions. Apparently the 1963 fan was capable of moving more air at a higher pressure requiring greater horsepower than the 1961 fan at 4000 rpm engine speed. However, this new fan apparently does have some air-delivery problems according to the data we have. Airflow over the 1963 turbo engine was linear up to about 3600 engine rpm; but from that speed up to 5200 rpm, the airflow was less for each increase in speed. In fact if one were to extrapolate the engine speed out to about 6000 rpm, the airflow maxes out, and no increase in airflow is possible despite a projected increase in engine speed. This is likely due to the fan stalling. But is the fan or slipping fan belt at fault? Or is it due to excessive head restrictions? Also, is it possible that this fan stall might contribute to the lack of cooling of the turbo engine Bob Benzinger, Corvair engine designer, referred to in his speeches? (He said that Chevrolet Engineering knew the cooling system would not cool the full output of the turbo engine.) It is also of interest that Corvair expert and experimenter, Bob Ballew, ran some measured cooling-airflow tests using these three fans on his 1961 80-hp engine. He found that the 1963 fan provided an increase of about 7% in average cooling airflow (cfm) at all engine speeds from about 500 to 3000 rpm over both the 1960 and 1964 fans, which flowed nearly identical volumes of air. 1964-69 PRODUCTION For 1964 Chevrolet released a brand new 11.2 inch diameter fan molded from magnesium with 11 straight-vanes extending from the hub out to the periphery of the fan. (But why 11 vanes instead of the 16 vanes used in the Delrin fan?) The question of whether aluminum might have been considered for this fan was raised by Bob Benzinger, who once (incorrectly) stated that the fan was made of aluminum. It's not known whether he was just mistaken, or whether aluminum was seriously considered and might have been an early choice. This 1964 magnesium fan was also used in all 1965-69 Corvair production, but with slightly smaller mounting holes from those in the 1964 fan. This fan was also rated at 1460 cfm at 4000 engine rpm, but tests showed an air delivery of 1370 cfm for the 1964 engine and 1510 cfm for the 1965 140 hp engine, both at 4000 rpm. Plenum pressures were respectively 8.2 and 8.4 in.-H20 at 4000 rpm. Cooling air delivery was linear up to 4400 rpm for the 1964 engine and 4000 for the 1965 engine. But at higher engine speeds, the 1965 engine showed a fan stall and airflow reached a flat-flow at about a theoretical 6800 rpm. So at higher theoretical engine speeds, no additional air would flow over the engine. Again, we think that this fan stall is due to air restrictions in the heads, but it could be fan belt related too. Corvair cooling tests run by Chevrolet during the summer of 1966 (on 1966 Corvairs) indicated that both head and oil temperatures were decreased by a significant amount (13 and 11 degrees respectively at 80 mph) when the magnesium fan was replaced by a steel fan (presumably a 1962-63 fan). Is this steel fan really better at cooling than the magnesium fan? Apparently Chevrolet engineering thought so too. SO WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Well, unfortunately, not a lot. The Chevrolet data seems to be muddled, and in some circumstances to contradict actual experiences. We already knew that Chevrolet kept their fan data mostly secret. We also already knew that the fans all produced similar cooling effects, except that the 16-vane fan apparently supplies slightly more air than the others. The data pretty well supports this thinking. We already knew that many cylinder heads tended to have excess flashing blocking air flows in the factory heads, so it is understandable that the airflow varied so much in the test data. Logic would have already told us that the magnesium fans provided better fan belt following and thus, improved belt life. So maybe the fact that we learned very little new information tells us that cooling was never a great concern or problem for Chevrolet and that they thought "all is well" on the subject of engine cooling for the Corvair. Reprinted from: VEGAS VAIRS VISION Vol 8 Nr 1 January 2008 =[CNM]= 14TH ANNUAL SPRING THAW REPORT Jim Pittman Scheduled for 10:00 AM, I had the 1965 Monza coupe at Worldwide Automotive by 9:00 AM so I could get photos of any exotic cars that presented themselves. A 1950s fixed-head Jaguar was the first I saw, followed by a 1970s Pontiac GTO, a 1950s MG and a 1951 Ford. Inside, a 1950s Buick Century was on a lift being checked underneath. It was immaculate. Next to it a 1970s Olds 442 was on a lift. Equally immaculate. While I was waiting a red Jaguar E-type showed up, top down, looking like a million bucks. There's just nothing on earth like an original Jaguar XK-E. When my turn came several people gathered around, notwithstanding the Corvair's need for a new paint job and the need to fix a few minor dents and rust spots. Some guessed the year correctly, some asked if it had a 140, some just remarked on the lack of oil leaks. It didn't take long to drain the oil and hit the chassis lube points. The mechanic pointed out some hard, cracked rubber bushings on the front suspension but commented that most everything underneath looked to be in pretty good shape. The lift came down, we changed the filter (Genuine AC PF-4 that I had brought with me) and added my 4 quarts of 30-W Pennzoil. No comment on my choice of oil. Start the engine -- it runs smoothly -- no leaks. Make my donation to Cuidando los Ninos and I'm on my way. I drive out past a parked huge immaculate 1950s (or was it 1940s? I could not tell) Rolls-Royce. Thanks to the friendly folks at Worldwide Automotive for this event. -- Jim =[CNM]= MY FIRST EVER AUTO ACCIDENT Richard Finch, 1969 Ultra Van #443 I had just completed a total Knee surgery on my right knee on February 12, 2008 and the date of the accident was March 30, 2008. That was just barely six weeks of recovery time and I should not have been driving yet because the doctor wanted me to wait for eight weeks before driving a car, to say nothing about driving the more difficult to drive Ultra Van. My youngest brother, Phil Finch, owner of Ultra Van S/N 294 was here from his home in Reedsport, Oregon, with a fellow Physical therapist friend, to run the annual BATAAN Death March Marathon. For the past three years, Gayle and I had driven our Ultra Van over to White Sands Missile Range Headquarters to support Phil before and after the 27 mile marathon run. The run went well with over 4,400 runners entered. My brother and Mike did the run in about 6 hours and under. We ate afterwards and were ready to come back to our house in Tularosa, NM by 2:30 PM on Sunday afternoon. I had managed to get to WSMR by using a plastic pipe hand control to operate the throttle, using my right hand to operate the throttle and my left hand to operate the steering wheel. Everything went well getting there on Friday before the marathon. But I made several mistakes on the way home. Mistake # 1 was in not asking my brother to drive us out of the base headquarters. Mistake # 2 was in not letting the 110 HP Corvair engine come off of fast idle before starting off. Mistake # 3 was in not being more careful in steering away from the high curb as we came around a left hand curve near the Frontier Golf Course where we had been parked. Ultra Vans have a very wide tread where the two front wheels are nearly as wide as the 8 ft. wide body. Accident scenario: I cranked the Corvair engine up and immediately started driving. I made three left turn corners and on the third corner, I could feel the right front wheel dragging the curb for about 25 feet, then suddenly the van made a hard right turn and jumped the curb, and because of being on fast idle, it seemed to accelerate over the curb and it then hit a sign post that read, "Speed limit when passing marching troops, 5 mph." We knocked down the sign and broke it off at its break-away joint. It did not slow us down any because of the fast idle still running on fast. I was pushing hard on the brake pedal with my left foot but since my left knee had just been replaced in November 2007 it did not have much strength, so we just kept on pushing on ahead!!! The next thing in front of me was the left rear of what I later learned was a parked, brand new 2008 BMW Coupe!!!! I just thought, "Surely, this will stop us" and surely, it did stop us. We hit the new car with a very solid hit and we stopped moving forward, thankfully. I then put the gear shift in reverse and backed up about 3 feet to see how bad we were bent up. I saw that the whole rear fender of the coupe was bent around the rear wheel and tire. It looked bad, and when I got out of our Ultra, I saw that we had a broken right headlight and a broken right direction light. There was also some cracked fiberglass around the headlight and we had a cracked right windshield. My right hand was beat up by the spinning steering wheel and was bleeding a lot, but it was not broken. Gayle was sitting on the couch and was hit on the head by the toaster oven when it fell from the overhead shelf, and she was hit in the ribs by the TV set when it flew forward. She was not hurt except for some bruises. The cats were on the floor near Gayle and they both flew forward to the front bulkhead, but they were not hurt either. In a later article I will tell about the damage to the Ultra Van. After changing a blown out rear tire, I was able to drive it home and we arrived home at 10:15 PM. A next day picture is attached. The moral to this story is "There are those who have had a wreck and there are those who will have a wreck." And another: "Don't drive when you are not 100% able." Oh I almost forgot. I have a hangar partner who is an A&P sheet metal mechanic. He has offered to help me repair the damage to our Ultra Van. =[CNM]= = = = FOR SALE, TO TRADE, OR WANTED = = = = = = = Without your $5.00 payment, your ad won't be in the newsletter. Tell me if any of these are obsolete! - Jim = = = CNM ADS ARE FREE TO MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-MEMBERS = FOR SALE: 1962 Corvair Loadside pickup ........................ Make Offer! I have first title on this vehicle -- about 60,000 miles I rebuilt the engine about 2,000 miles ago - excellent condition! 1 FC rear end, 4-speed .................................... $40 1 4-speed tranny .......................................... $15 1 Set of 2 drive-up ramps off lift -- heavy -- you haul it Call my cell phone ......... 505-385-3333 ......... Jerry Goffe FOR SALE: 1965 Corsa - runs good - needs paint and _T_L_C_. $4,000 1964 Monza coupe - 4-speed - runs and drives great. Silver with a white interior. $9,000 Rebuilt bolted flywheels $200 with exchange Rebuilt differentials starting at $250 with exchange Rebuilt late rear axles - 1965 $100 with exchange Rebuilt late rear axles - 1966-1969 $100 with exchange Lots of other parts available for cars and vans. Pat Hall - Los Lunas, NM 505-620-5574 (cell) or patandvickiehall@q.com WANTED: Working Powerglide Trans. -- Geoffrey Johnson - 505-730-6601 I have no time for restoration projects, etc. so these babies are FOR SALE: Note, for each unit sold I will give to the Corvair club $150 if a Corvair member buys the vehicle, or $100 to the Corvair club if a buyer is referred by a club member. 1. 1964 Corvair Spyder coupe .................................... $3,200 2. 1999 body, custom Mustang Cobra driveline, featured Magazine "fony pony" 2001 Bullitt clone. 12 k miles .... $15,500 3. 1990 Thunderbird Super Coupe 35th special edition, loaded .... $2,750 4. 1985 Thunderbird (hot rodded son's folly, vortex, etc.) ...... $8,500 5. 1976 Early Bronco, uncut, 5.0 motor, auto, 119 k orig miles $13,500 6. 1973 VW Thing, solid, nice ................................... $7,500 7. 1970 Ford Ranger XLT F100 .................................... $2,500 8. 1979 Ford F250 workhorse ..................................... $1,350 Robert Philips, Corrales, New Mexico, 505-898-1255 Shown by appointment... of course! FOR SALE: 1963 Greenbrier -- runs, drives. Complete original truck. 80-HP with four-speed. Body OK. Call Cary at 505-350-0483 $1,500 =[CNM]= ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM / NMCCC CAR SHOW Geoffrey Johnson When: Sunday 18 May at 7:00 AM Where: the Albuquerque Museum in Old Town On Sunday, May 18th the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs will be hosting its 24th Annual Automobile Show. The show will be held at the Albuquerque Museum in Old Town, 2000 Mountain Road NW, 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, payable on entry. This is cheap for one of the best shows in New Mexico. This year we are trying for as many cars as we can field! Even if you only make one show a year, make this one it. Is your Corvair roadworthy? Licensed? Insured? Then bring it out, no matter what it looks like. Please note: We'll be gathering at the usual spot in the north parking lot of the Sheraton Old Town at 800 Rio Grande Blvd NW by 6:45 AM and enter the show around 7:00. Remember, this club isn't about perfect cars, it is about participation. Also, we'll be asking our members to volunteer to count ballots at the show. We hope to see a whole bunch of you there! =[CNM]= APRIL 5TH RALLY REPORT Chuck Vertrees Well, the Rally is over and the results are in. We all met shortly before 10:00 AM at the Old Route 66 clean-up rendezvous spot. The weather was perfect with a little wind coming up during the later part of the route. There were six competitors and something which very few clubs can boast of, two of the teams were in Ultra Vans! After getting route instructions, admiring our vehicles and taking a few photos, we started our engines and the first car was out at about 10:03. The rally was timed to meet all the posted speed limits along the way. They varied from 25 mph to 55 mph. I drove the route three times using cruise control, always on a Saturday, and my average time was 62 minutes, 30 seconds. The spread of my three runs was 2 minutes. The distance was about 42 miles. There were twenty-one questions that the teams could find the answers to along the way. A missed answer was a one second penalty. When we all arrived at the restaurant in Cedar Crest I collected the answer sheets and found these results: 1st place Dan Palmer driver and Jonathan Reider navigator. Ultra Van. Time 60 minutes, 3 wrong answers = 63 points 2nd place Jim Pittman driver, Heula Pittman navigator. 1965 Monza. Time 61 minutes, 4 wrong answers = 65 points. 3rd place Bill Reider driver, Lee Reider navigator. Brand-X Impala. Time 66 minutes, 5 wrong answers = 71 points. 4th place Pat Hall driver, Vickie Hall navigator. 1964 Monza. Time 62 minutes, 10 wrong answers = 72 points. 5th place Kevin Sullivan driver, Mike Stickler navigator. Ultra Van. Time 79 minutes, 3 wrong answers = 82 points. 6th place Geoffrey Johnson, both driver and navigator. 1962 Lakewood. Time 54 minutes, 4 wrong answers = 58 points. Rallymasters: Chuck & Julia Vertrees. Brand-X Toyota Camry. Time 62 minutes, 30 seconds and believe it or not, no wrong answers! The 1st and 5th place teams were in the Ultra Vans. Team 5 missed one turn and it took them a little time to find a place to turn around. Geoffrey had to guess at his average speed because he had to stop from time to time to safely read the questions and write down his answers. Pat and Vickie turned around and backtracked at least once to check an answer. Jim and Heula missed three signs but chose not to backtrack due to traffic! I was amazed at how close everyone was to the correct time. Maybe it speaks well of their driving abilities, or maybe it was just luck! Pat and Vickie had an almost perfect time. Geoffrey came in under the speed limit. We have not had too many driving events in recent years and it was about time we had a rally. It was great to see so many competing Corvair-powered vehicles. Thanks to all who participated. -- Chuck =[CNM]= DON'T MISS THE TRI-STATE MEET! Steve Goodman Wanna have fun with your Corvair instead of letting it sit in the garage? If so, make your reservations for the TRI-STATE CORVAIR MEET in Pagosa Springs for May 16-18. You can meet fellow Corvair owners from Colorado Springs, Albuquerque, possibly Salt Lake City and every once in a while a surprise guest or two from Oklahoma or even Washington state attends. Do you want to take your Corvair on a spirited drive on mountain roads and see some of the most spectacular scenery in the world? Drive your Corvair to Pagosa Springs. The typical directions from Denver take you over Kenosha Pass and through South Park (where all of the snow is accumulating right now) and on over Poncha Pass (where more snow is being shoveled) and finally on south and over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs (which is also being inundated with the white stuff right now). Does being on a "time table" bother you? Since most of our jobs entail tight schedules, this is a weekend where being "close" to the right time is good enough, there simply isn't much pressure being placed on the attendees to be exactly punctual. Think "relaxation." Does listening to Pagosa Springs locals tell their "Corvair stories" to you while admiring your car interest you? It certainly should, every town we've visited has people with "Corvair stories" just waiting to be told, and the praise they heap upon us and our shiny cars is tremendous. Just the feeling that is derived from having a line of 25-40 Corvairs in all of the colors of the rainbow driving down the road and into the show area is exhilarating and people line the streets when they see the cars coming towards them. Let's all plan on attending this year. RMC is the host club, we want to support our local club don't we? We can also show support, and just maybe get our cars working a little better by attending the Tri-State Tune-Up at Eric's home near Sedalia on April 20. Reprinted from: THE DENVAIR NEWS, Rocky Mountain Corsa, March, 2008 Vol. 34, Issue 5 =[CNM]= TRI-STATE MEET - PAGOSA SPRINGS, COLORADO - MAY 16-18, 2008 Rocky Mountain Corsa Come to Pagosa Springs, nestled in the valley of the San Juan Mountains. Registration Friday. On Saturday, People's choice car show and banquet. Near to hot springs pool, Chimney Rock formation tour, wildlife park, hiking trails, art museums and so much more! Host is Oak Ridge Lodge, 1-866-4-PAGOSA Mention "Corvair Club" and reserve by April 1 for $65-$71 group rate. Contact: Laura Wilshire, 303-828-4203, ( lwredvair @ comcast.net ) =[CNM]= COVER STORY: VISIT FROM THE ANDERSONS Pat and Vickie Hall We had a visit from Jon, Debra, and daughters Erica and Jamie Anderson. Jon is the Vice-President of the Pikes Peak Corvair Club in Colorado Springs. In early March, Jon contacted us about some Corvair parts that he needed and said that he would be coming through Albuquerque toward the end of March and would give us a call to come by and pick them up. On March 22, 2008, as they were on their way to their vacation in Arizona, they stopped at our house. As it happened, Bill Reider was here that day working on his 1968 Corvair project, so we had a nice reunion between Jon and Bill. It was the first time we had met the Andersons. For the benefit of new members, Jim tells us that for several years Jon and family were active CNM members (actually, they are still CNM members) and while they lived in Albuquerque they had a beautifully restored late Corvair 500 coupe. Jim thinks Jon still owns and drives it. One of Jon and Debra's daughters borrowed Bill's camera to get the snapshot which ended up as the cover illustration for this issue of the newsletter. We think the Andersons enjoyed looking at our merchandise and we certainly enjoyed visiting with them. We welcome them back any time. We hope to see them at the Tri-State in Pagosa Springs later this month. =[CNM]= ADDING AUDIO INPUT TO A STOCK CORVAIR RADIO Geoffrey Johnson Here are the pictures and text detailing installing an audio input line into a stock radio so it will accept an audio input line. The first picture shows the standard adaptor plug from an electronics supply store. All it does is convert stereo into mono with a built in diode. It's $2 at Radio Shack. One wire gets soldered to the tip of the connector that connects to the volume control, then another one gets soldered to the base of the connector that gets connected to the radio chassis ground. http://www.unm.edu/~geoffj/Vair/Radio/AM-Radio-Input-1.JPG The second picture shows a wire soldered to the input potentiometer for volume control. For the ground wire, I soldered the other end to a connector that gets screwed down under an existing screw going into the chassis. http://www.unm.edu/~geoffj/Vair/Radio/AM-Radio-Input-2.JPG The third Picture shows the completed unit. I made a little metal strap to hold the input plug to the radio chassis. http://www.unm.edu/~geoffj/Vair/Radio/AM-Radio-Input-3.JPG This one I put in Art's new Corsa convertible with the Clarks' dual speakers that fit in the stock location. They are wired in series so as to approximate the original speaker impedance. The input line I ran under the carpet and out between the seats so that the installation appears completely stock. The radio sounds great and has plenty of power to hear while driving down the road with the top down. =[CNM]= RAISING OUR DUES Bill Reider Our club's financial situation concerns me, and I went to the April 16th board meeting to lay out my worries. I went over our income and expenses and suggested that we increase our dues to $20. After some discussion the board agreed and asked me to make a presentation to the members about raising the dues. If you want to join this discussion, come to the May 7th meeting with your input. I went over back issues of our newsletter to come up with baseline data. In 1974 when our club was first organized our dues were $5 per year. Then in 1976 we had to raise them to $7, and we stayed with that until 1981 when we raised them to $10. We had to raise them again in 1988 to $12 and in 1992 to $15. We haven't raised them since then while other clubs and organizations have had to raise dues to keep up with our slow rate of inflation. We were fortunate to have had a successful CORSA national convention in 1996. By carefully managing our expenses and with fund-raising projects we ended up with a good profit. We have been living off the profit since then. We need to look at our financial condition and see what will happen if we continue in this direction. After the convention we had over $7,800 in our account. This was more than we could use and we invested most of it. Now we are down to $2,400. Our newsletter costs run us something like $1,600 a year while our dues only cover about $750 a year. Our membership is not very high and the club, while holding its own in recent years, is not really growing. It is true that our sponsor, Galles Chevrolet, is currently contributing to our newsletter expenses each quarter, but I do not believe we can afford to depend on that as club income. Postage and other Newsletter production costs are going to keep increasing. Since we do have a few other expenses, if we continue as we are going it won't be long before we won't be able to put out our Newsletter. I for one don't what that to happen. We have one of the best Newsletters in CORSA, I want it to continue to be so. I am proposing a dues increase to $20 per year, with the 26-month rate increased to $40. A number of our neighboring clubs charge from $20 to $25 in dues. We may have to raise our dues again in a few years, but at least if we act now we will keep on top of our upcoming problem. At the board meeting the board members asked when the new rate should take effect. We proposed that the effective date would be July 2nd, 2008. Furthermore, we proposed that anyone who wants to extend their membership an additional one or two years can do so at the old rate before the end of the July 2nd meeting. Please come to the May 7th meeting and contribute your ideas, and VOTE. Thanks for your attention. -- Bill Reider =[CNM]= IN MEMORIAM - Wilshire, Melvin Dale October 24, 1941 ---- April 7, 2008 Melvin Dale Wilshire of Loveland, formerly of Boulder, passed away April 7, 2008 in Loveland. He was 66. Dale was born October 24, 1941 in Keller, TX to Estel C. Wilshire and Frances D. Blevins. He married Joan L. Penner on August 30, 1969 in Boulder. Dale worked as a Facilities Manager at Storage Tec for 25 years and worked at StarSys/SpaceDev for 12 years. He was a member of St. Paul UMC in Boulder as well as a member of Rocky Mountain Corsa. He was a passionate restorer of classic Chevy's, including the Corvairs that were current projects. Dale was a beloved husband and father. He was an avid gardener and outdoorsman, who enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping throughout Colorado. Dale is survived by his wife, Joan; children, Lance, Ryan, Andrea and Laura Wilshire; brothers, Charles (Judy) and Larry Wilshire; sister, Janice Wilshire; uncle, Pete Wilshire; aunt, Mrs. Laniece Blevins and numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and good friends.He is preceded in death by his parents, Estel and Frances Wilshire. Visitation will be held Saturday, April 12, 2008, 1:00pm, at Crist Mortuary, with funeral service at 2:00pm. Interment will follow at Mountain View Memorial Park, Boulder, CO with a reception following at Crist Mortuary, 3395 Penrose Place. Memorial contributions may be made to: Rocky Mountain Cancer Center of Boulder, 4715 Arapahoe Ave., Boulder, CO 80303 or Hospice of Larimer County, 2000 N. Boise, Loveland, CO 80538. Published in the Denver Newspaper Agency on 4/10/2008. http://legacy.denverpost.com/denverpost/obituaries.asp?Page=SEARCHRESULTS =[CNM]= SATURDAY TUNA IN LOS LUNAS Ray Trujillo Hello Friends! Well it's been a few months since I last wrote and I hope you've all been doing well. As for my family and me, we've all been doing great. During those few months I've attended about half of our club's functions and have been glad to see and visit with many of you at those events. The last event I participated in was the Tuna Saturday on April 19th at Pat and Vicky Hall's place in Los Lunas. For those of you who haven't made it down to their place let's just say you're missing a great opportunity to experience Pat and Vicky's "Corvair Heaven." They truly have a nice home and a yard large enough to keep a lot of Corvairs. It's really amazing to see! Now I'd been to their home once before when they had around twenty-some Corvairs but when I showed up for the Tuna I couldn't believe there were at least thirty-some Corvairs on their property. You know maybe someday I'll be able to have that many Corv..., now wait a minute, for the sake of my marriage I better not finish that thought. I better just stick to telling you about the Tuna. The Tuna started shortly after 10:00 AM and members were educated on how to rebuild the rear axle wheel bearings for our late model cars. The members who attended were Sylvan Zuercher, Dan Palmer, Bill Reider, Larry Blair, Dave Huntoon, Jim and Heula Pittman, Mike and Brenda Stickler, myself, and of course our hosts Pat and Vicky. While Pat and Bill explained the procedures on how to take apart and rebuild the axles the women of the group went inside to visit with each other. Throughout the class several questions were asked and a lot of show and tell answers were given. Pat has a really great set-up that allows him to do this kind of work, so this project for the most part moved along very smoothly. The session was done in around two hours and was quite interesting and informative. After the Tuna the majority of us went to have a delicious lunch at a wonderful little restaurant named "Sopas" located on Highway 47 in the pleasant Village of Bosque Farms. As we waited for our meals to be prepared we talked and visited with each other. Since our members have many varied backgrounds the conversation is always lively and entertaining. But no matter the topic, Corvairs or not, I just know it feels great to be in the same company as others who absolutely love the Corvair hobby. In addition to an excellent learning experience, great conversation and a very tasty red chile enchilada lunch (my favorite entree when it comes to New Mexico cuisine), I also really enjoyed the drive to Los Lunas in my 1965 Corsa convertible. I figured the mid morning drive to a beautiful rural country setting was a perfect way to start the day. Boy was I right, because the day turned out to be really nice, not too hot and not too cold. Now I didn't want to get there through the customary "get there as fast as you can" Interstate 25 route because I wanted to enjoy a slower paced cruise through my old stomping grounds that went through the beautiful South Valley. To me there's nothing quite like a spring morning in the valley, I guess it's just all that blossoming of every kind of plant in sight. Everything seems to be alive again and driving at a slower speed really lets you take it all in. The most amusing thing that occurred on my drive was when I slowed down to watch a young boy riding his horse as he kept his sheep from wandering. As I watched him handle the horse with ease he briefly looked up and saw my car. Now he began to admire my convertible. I know for a brief moment we both envied each other's current situation because before going our own separate ways the boy and I almost simultaneously gave each other the thumbs ups signal. You know, that small gesture between both of us really convinced me that choosing the slower route was right. I then continued on the scenic drive and a few minutes later I arrived at P & V's Corvair Heaven. Well there you have it, and on behalf of CNM we extend a big thank you to the Hall's for hosting a terrific Tuna Saturday. Well I guess that's enough said for now because writing this article has really worked up my appetite. You know I think it's time for another batch of red chile enchiladas. I hope to see you at the next club meeting. -- Your friend Ray =[CNM]= SEVEN YEARS AGO Jim Pittman Seven Years Ago - May 2001 - Volume 27 - Number 5 - Issue 308 Our cover featured Larry Blair and his spectacular Spyder convertible. Inside, a photo of Ilva Walker who died on March 28, 2001. Our April meeting at Galles was conducted by President Hurley and Treasurer Wendell reported $5700 in the bank. Mark Martinek reported on the Car Council meeting. The Museum Car Show was to be May 20, yes, on Tri-State weekend. We traded in a Funkahna for a Progressive Dinner. New name badges were available. Eight Corvairs participated in the first drive over the high flyover bridge of the Big-I project. Photos of our tour of the Big-I were on Jim's web page. President Hurley praised many "old reliable" members who always do their parts to keep CNM running smoothly. Debbie Pleau updated us on many details of the upcoming Tri-State at Manitou Springs, making us all feel welcome. Anne Mae Gold reported on club Ladies' activities, in particular, a meeting at Kay's home in Santa Fe. A tech tip from Virtual Vairs told more than anyone could ever need to know about '66 turn signal wiring. Finally, Larry Blair reported, with photos, on his visit to St. George, Utah, to a gathering of the Bonneville folks. He wrapped up our issue with a quiz on what we learned on the Big-I tour. Fourteen Years Ago - May 1994 - Volume 20 - Number 5 - Issue 224 The cover showed a Rampside. President Del ran the meeting and Treasurer Will reported $1075 in the bank. We planned details of our participation in the Museum Car Show. We discussed several other events, trips and tech sessions. Debbie Pleau reported on plans for the 1996 convention. We had our famous photo rally and we all had lots of fun but encountered some frustration trying to count those "HILL BLOCKS VIEW" and "35 MPH" signs. Del Patten's tech talk on replacing shroud seals made it sound easy, at least if you make your own new staples out of pieces of wire. Another tech tip told about a 68-cent space-age gasket for drain plugs: GM number 24571185. Finally, from the North American MGA Register, a claim that oil leaks on British sports cars were actually a feature, not a bug. If you have a drippy Corvair and need to tell your Honda or Ford friends why your car is followed around by a mist of petroleum droplets, maybe you should read this. Twenty-one Years Ago - May 1987 - Volume 13 - Number 5 - Issue 140 On the cover: a secret spy photo of the 1988 Corvair. Well, that's what Bill Reider told us. Actually it was a drawing produced by a new Apple III computer program. Tarmo ran our meeting in the president's absence and Treasurer LeRoy reported $690 in the bank. Our auction made $75. Steve was working on seats for the Club's library van. Jerry told us how to keep stray oil out of the engine area when doing your annual oil change. President Clayborne encouraged us to clean off those nasty oil deposits before showing our cars at the Tri-State, coming up in Ouray, Colorado. A tip called "The Dime Test" revealed the secret to tightening valve covers "just enough" to seal and not leak. A news item said Don Yenko, father of the Stinger, had died in a plane crash. Bill Reider previewed our Museum car show; we planned to treat it as a major concours event following CORSA's rules. Twenty-eight Years Ago - May 1980 - Volume 6 - Number 5 - Issue 56 This issue was our first without some kind of "picture" on the cover; instead it had a tech tip by Sylvan about proper positioning of spark plug leads from the distributor. We had 31 members and guests at the April meeting. Secretary Mary Twilley donated for our raffle a handsome handmade billfold with a Corvair design. Bill Reider gave a talk on carburetor balancing. Tech tips told how to remove door trim, how to build and use a special oil pressure tool, how to restore rubber moulding, how to properly connect the condenser on the generator housing, how to use a 3/4" 12-point socket to remove a 5/8" square plug and how to use an 11/16" 12-point socket to remove a transmission filler plug. Finally, a new product called "Rain-X" was praised for keeping the windshield clear during our pesky New Mexico spring downpours: you know, the kind where we get a third of our annual rainfall allocation in twenty minutes. =END=