The October 2009 Newsletter - Text Version
Updated 28-Sep-2009 ==== Copyright (c) 2009 Corvairs of New Mexico
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OCTOBER 2009 / VOLUME 35 / NUMBER 10 / ISSUE #409
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EDITOR: Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 7 October 2009 at 7:00 PM
Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
THIS MONTH:
Dues Due Membership Committee
Photos of Airplanes from the EAA Fly-in in Moriarty The Editor
September Meeting Minutes Chuck Vertrees
Birthdays and Anniversaries Sunshine Committee
September Board Meeting Minutes Charles Vertrees
Stick With Vairs President Mike Stickler
Christmas Dinner Heula & Rita & Lee & Emma
Book from 1960s Elgin, Illinois David Huntoon
No Pay-to-Play Slate of Candidates (ELECTION) Sylvan Zuercher
CNM Younger Member Contest Heula Pittman
Calendar of Coming Events Board of Directors
State Fair Car Show 2009 Robert Gold
Chevrolet Volt Gets 230 MPG? Wait a Minute! Jim Pittman
Where Have the Gearheads Gone? Eric Schakel RMC
For Sale, Trade or Wanted Everyone
Photos from the State Fair Car Show 2009 The Editor
Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago Club Historian
COVER: LeRoy Rogers and his 1960 Corvair at a State Fair Car Show
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
PRESIDENT: Mike Stickler 856-6993 sticorsa @ hotmail.com
VICE-PRES: Pat Hall 620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
SECRETARY: Charles Vertrees 299-0744 vertrees @ swcp.com
TREASURER: Robert Gold 268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com
PROPERTIES: Ruth Boydston 821-1506 sg730 @ comcast.net
SUNSHINE: Heula Pittman 275-2195 heula @ q.com
CAR COUNCIL: Art Gold 620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com
CAR COUNCIL: Cary Hubbard 350-0483 bus63kombi @ gmail.com
MEMBERSHIP: David Huntoon 281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com
EMERITUS: Sylvan Zuercher 299-7577 flat6 @ hubwest.com
EMERITUS: Wendell Walker 892-8471 defarge505 @ aol.com
NEWSLETTER: Jim Pittman 275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
DUES: CNM: 12 months $25.00 or 26 months $ 50.00
CORSA: 12 months $38.00 or 26 months $ 76.00
CNM & CORSA: 12 months $63.00 or 26 months $126.00
CORSA DUES WENT UP AUGUST 1st 2009! See your CORSA Communique.
CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org
Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871
CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DUES DUE DATES FOR OCTOBER 2009:
== DUE LAST MONTH = INACTIVE 25-OCT-2009:
2009.09 Kay & Tarmo Sutt 1976.07
== DUE THIS MONTH = INACTIVE 25-NOV-2009:
2009.10 Debra & Jon Anderson 1992.10
2009.10 Mary Lou & Mark Martinek 1990.08
== DUE NEXT MONTH = INACTIVE 25-DEC-2009:
2009.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 2006.09
2009.11 Pam & Charlie Mann 2008.11
== DUE DEC = INACTIVE 25-JAN-2010:
2009.12 Kathy & Larry Blair 1985.11
2009.12 Robert Galli 2007.10
2009.12 David Huntoon 1994.11
2009.12 Roger Pape 2002.12
== DUE JAN = INACTIVE 25-FEB-2010
2010.01 Darlene & William Darcy 2009.01
2010.01 Marilyn & Richard Foster 1999.07
2010.01 H. C. "Lube" Lubert 1987.10
2010.01 Kim & Del Patten 1980.07
2010.01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer 2006.01
== DUE FEB = INACTIVE 25-MAR-2010:
2010.02 Susanne & Larry Hickerson 2002.08
2010.02 Frank Stadler 1990.02
2010.02 Brenda & Mike Stickler 1976.07
2010.02 Julia & Chuck Vertrees 1983.05
2010.02 Wendell Walker 1989.01
== DUE MAR = INACTIVE 25-APR-2010: (none)
== MEMBERSHIP EXPIRED = INACTIVE AS OF 25-SEP-2009:
2008.04 Florence & Bill Hector 2006.04
2008.10 Guadalupe & Jim Arellanes 2006.10
2008.10 Mary & Art Hurley 2007.10
2008.11 Nancy & Bernard Urbassik 2004.08
2009.02 Carl Johnson 1974.04
2009.03 Sally Williams 2003.09
2009.07 Jerry Goffe 1977.05
2009.07 Geoffrey Johnson 2002.03
2009.08 Marci & Gary Calabrese 2008.08
Send your Dues to:
Robert Gold
CNM Treasurer,
1301 Valencia NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Past due memberships will become inactive after a one-month grace period. The
Club will mail in your National Dues when you renew, if you send us the renewal
form from your CORSA Communique!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September Meeting Notes
Chuck Vertrees
Mike Stickler called the meeting to order at 19:05 (7:05 PM) on 09/02/2009 at
the Highland Senior Center. There were 32 members present. The first item of
business was to present Sylvan Zuercher with a T-shirt from the Taos Tri-State
meeting. He has missed very few of the Tri-States and the CNM board members
thought he should have a Taos shirt.
Mike said that there would be two or three tech talks after the meeting. He
showed a piston with ceramic coating for the engine he is building, Bill Reider
was prepared for a reprise of his demonstration on rebuilding steering boxes,
and Mark Jones had some engine parts to show.
Pat Hall reminded the members that the October meeting is when we will have
election of officers. Sylvan said that he had made quite a few contacts and had
found some candidates to run for office. He also said that if there is someone
that you would like to nominate, be sure that they will agree with the
nomination in advance. No railroading!
Treasurer Robert Gold reported that CNM had $2,739.30 in the checking account
and $1,146.98 in the GMAC account for a total of $3,886.28. He also reported
that he had e-mailed the Highland Senior Center about the problem last meeting
when they were closed for cleaning and we were not informed. They said that
there is a newsletter available all the time with everything that is scheduled
to happen. John Wiker checked and indeed there is a box with newsletters right
by the entrance. The only problem is, they give the things that will happen that
month, so unless someone goes by the first of the month to get a copy, it would
be of little value to us. However, the center said that they would keep Robert
on file and would inform him if there would be a problem on any of our Wednesday
meeting nights.
Dave Huntoon said that there were no new members or guests to introduce.
Art Gold said that the Car Council meeting was not very exciting. The swap meet
is the big thing. Volunteers are needed for setup and for parking. The swap meet
is from Thursday through Sunday. A signup sheet was circulated for CNM members
who will work the swap meet. If you are interested, it only takes a couple of
hours of work, you get lunch and also you get first chance to check out the
goodies. The All Clubs Picnic: Art said that there were about 250 people and 70
cars at the picnic at Villanueva State Park. This is the last year the picnic
will be there. Next year they are looking at going to Nambe Falls which is a
beautiful park on the Nambe reservation and is about the same distance as
Villanueva. He also showed us a new automobile magazine which will be available
at parts stores or dealers and will be free.
Jim Pittman asked who had received their CORSA Communique for September. In the
"In Memoriam" section there was an announcement of the death of Diane Galli. She
had been a long time, what could be called, "CNM member in absentia" because she
liked our newsletter and wanted it every month, and only thought it proper to be
a dues paying member. Read about her in the Communique. Jim also said that he is
getting fewer and fewer newsletters in the mail. Many clubs are going on line
with their newsletters. You can check them out by going to CORSA's web site and
branching out from there. Many web sites are very good but some look like they
were put up two years ago and never changed. Denver has just gone on line with
their new web page, possibly because they will be hosting the 2011 national
convention. Pikes Peak has had a web site for some time. Jim had printed a few
entry forms for the Great Western Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet in Palm Springs and
said they were also available on his web site. Those who have attended the
GWFBT&SM say that it is very much worthwhile to visit.
Jim wanted to talk about an article he wrote on the new Chevrolet Volt but had
to put off until next month. He asked the members how Chevrolet could come up
with the 230 miles per gallon rating for the Volt and for their thoughts on the
future of electric, plug-in cars. John Wiker said you'd only buy a Volt to drive
to work, not for taking trips. Hurley told us about his impressions on driving a
new Prius. It had a distracting display but drove very well and got great gas
mileage. Maybe by next month we will have more information on these new
developments in automotive technology.
Heula Pittman told us about our Christmas charity this year: The Safe House.
This is a place where people can go to get away from, usually, an abusive
situation. The Safe House staff can use just about anything except stuffed toys.
They need clothing of all kinds for adults and children. They also need
toiletries, school supplies, games and toys. Start collecting them now and bring
them to the Christmas dinner. If you would like to, give Heula your money and
she will shop for you.
The many activities during the month of September were enumerated. The calendar
is pretty full. Robert Gold pitched the State Fair car show. We will try to get
a representation of all of the Corvair models and as many years as possible. He
thinks that we have 1960 through 1966 models committed.
October is also a full month. First there is the Balloon Fiesta car show on
October 4th. To go, drive up Edith to the Alameda overpass by 7:30 AM and then
all the cars go in together. You'll get a great spot to see the balloons and
you'll be done no later than noon. Check with Robert Gold and he can tell you
more about it, including what he described as the re-enactment of the invasion
of Poland by the Germans. Also in October is the next Route 66 cleanup on the
Saturday 10th at 09:00 with, probably, breakfast afterwards.
We decided there will not be an economy run in October because there were not
enough interested. Maybe next spring?
The meeting was adjourned at 19:44 (same as 7:44 PM).
After the meeting interested members joined Bill Reider for another go at
rebuilding steering boxes, and some practiced the art of installing the steel
balls into the blocks on the worm shaft. Maybe it works much more easily without
grease? Mike's piston had a ceramic coating on the face of the piston and on the
skirts and he described the cleaning, coating and baking process required. This
is supposed to prevent a significant part of the heat of combustion from going
into the piston, thereby reducing wear and enhancing efficiency. Mark Jones
showed us a turbocharger unit for a SEMA Corvair engine he is building. It will
have an intercooler and waste gate. We look forward to learning more about this
impressive project at future meetings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HAPPY BIRTHDAY wishes to:
Dan Palmer October 3
John Myers October 4
Keirin Mann October 8
Bill Reider October 17
Erica Anderson October 25
Jon Anderson October 27
Mark Jones October 28
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
September Board Meeting
Chuck Vertrees
The board meeting was called to order at 17:10 (5:10 PM) "right on time" on
Wednesday September 16th at Ray Trujillo's Business Printing shop. Present were
Robert Gold, "Lube" Lubert, Vickie & Pat Hall, Heula & Jim Pittman, Brenda &
Mike Stickler, Ray Trujillo and Julia & Chuck Vertrees.
President Mike said he had nothing to report except that he was finally getting
his engine together. He hoped to have the Greenbrier running by State Fair time.
Pat reminded us that at the next regular meeting we would have the election of
officers for the coming year. He said a slate of candidates should be published
in the October newsletter. If anyone wants to nominate someone, they should get
in touch with nominating committee chairman Sylvan Zuercher as soon as possible.
Treasurer Robert Gold said that CNM had $2,739.30 in the checking account and
$1,149.15 in the GMAC account for a total of $3,888.45 and the usual summary of
treasury activity was given to board members.
There was no membership report and those present knew of no new members.
Car Council representatives were not present, but Robert said he went to the
Car Council meeting. The annual swap meet in Los Lunas was the big topic for
discussion. Some of our CNM members will help set up on Thursday the 24th and
will be there early on Friday the 25th to help with parking. Sunday the 27th
will be the car show at the State Fair grounds. Anyone who wants to go to the
swap meet should have done so on Friday or Saturday. There were comments on
whether there was a best day and time to be at the swap meet to get bargains.
Jim Pittman said that he and Heula went to the EAA air and car show at the
Moriarty airport. Their 1965 Monza was the first car in the display and soon a
VW Beetle arrived, so there were a couple of air cooled cars parked together.
Later Dan Palmer arrived with his Ultra Van. Richard Finch had said that he was
going to come up from Tularosa, but he had not arrived by 10:45 so Jim called
him. Richard said that he was just loading up and would be there in three hours.
We don't know if he was able to continue to Santa Fe to attend the Ultra Van
meet as planned.
Heula reminded that we would need to start getting gifts ready for our Christmas
charity. You should plan to bring them to the Christmas dinner. Heula will shop
for anyone if you give her the money. Heula asked whether we should have the
contest to identify childhood pictures of members at the Christmas dinner or at
the Anniversary dinner. Heula says that she has enough pictures that it could be
at the Christmas dinner.
Pat brought up the Ike Meissner award. Were there going to be any changes in the
rules and procedures? If so we'd need to get on it right away. After discussion
it was moved, seconded and approved that the existing rules and procedures for
the Meissner award would be followed again this year.
That is, a nomination form will be published in the January 2010 newsletter,
nominations will be due by the end of the February meeting, and the previous
three award winners (David Huntoon, Heula Pittman, Ray Trujillo) will serve as
the committee to select the 2010 award winner. The award will be presented at
our March Anniversary celebration. Check your "Care and Feeding" book for more
information about the Meissner Award.
Future activities include the Balloon Fiesta car show on October 4th. Go to the
Car Council web site to find out details. Our election of officers will be held
at the October 7th meeting.
Someone asked whether we would have some kind of a fund raiser in November as we
have done in the past. If so, should it be an auction, a game get together or
something else? There was no decision. It will be considered.
The meeting was adjourned at 17:50. Please note that all members are welcome at
board meetings. They can take part in discussions but not in the voting. The
board meets on the third Wednesday of the month.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STICK WITH VAIRS
Mike Stickler
The State Fair car show is this coming weekend and I'm working hard to get the
engine installed in the Greenbrier, so I can make the show. Every year Robert
Gold does a great job of organizing that event and it certainly is the most
laid-back way to spend a Sunday showing off our 'Vairs. It is also a great venue
for generating interest in our classic cars and our club.
As a youth, our family lived near the Fairgrounds and it was at the edge of town
at that time. I can recall an abandoned sheepherder's shack just north of the
fairgrounds along "Las Lomas" (a dirt road) which is now a major paved street
that is called Lomas Boulevard. My brother and I built model airplanes and flew
them at the fairgrounds. There was also a small track where kids could race
Quarter Midgets there. Lacking sponsorship, I could only watch.
As an adult I was once nearly trampled by thoroughbreds on the horse racing
track. The materials testing laboratory I worked for sent me out there to gather
soil samples from the track surface. It was off-season and I guess they assumed
there would be no racing activity at that time. Guess again.
The New Mexico State Fairgrounds has been an icon of entertainment for many
decades. They have tried to move it to other locations with more space. They
even renamed it to "Expo New Mexico." But it's still there and everyone still
calls it the State Fair Grounds. It remains a timeless never-ending source of
cheap thrills - just like a Corvair!
Happy Corvairing !! -- Mike
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christmas Dinner
Heula Pittman
Once again, Rita Gongora has set up our annual Christmas Dinner. This year it
will be held at Roper's, 8810 Central SE which is east of Wyoming. We will meet
at 5:00 PM and we will have the entire restaurant reserved for us. The meal
costs will be approximately $12.45 each. Dessert will be provided. More details
will come later.
Don't forget to bring your items to donate to the Safe House. Emma Rogers and
Lee Reider will collect the donated items and see that they get delivered. We
don't exchange Christmas gifts among us members; instead, we chose a worthy
organization to contribute needed items.
The Safe House temporarily houses folks who have been displaced from their
homes, often because of domestic abuse. Many times they leave with only the
clothes on their backs. Clothing for men, women, boys and girls from ages birth
on up are needed. Toys, games, books, school supplies, etc. are all accepted.
This organization will accept just about anything with the exception of STUFFED
TOYS! Therefore, please, no stuffed toys. Please do not wrap your items. We urge
you to be generous with your selection of gifts for the Safe House. If you would
like for me to shop for you, I'll be glad to. Just let me know.
Be sure to make your calendars for this fun evening - December 5th, 5 PM at
Roper's. Bring your items for the Safe House, enjoy a good meal and fellowship
together and learn the results of our "Younger Members" photo identification
contest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Newsletter Stuff
David Huntoon
My Dad just sent me an old book about my hometown. The town he has lived in all
his life. Browsing through it and found these nice articles and pictures.
PHOTO 1: Plumbing company with a Corvair Van
PHOTO 2: Refrigeration company with a Corvair pickup and two Corvair vans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHAT do you mean, "Time for ELECTIONS" !?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No Pay-to-Play Slate of candidates for CNM offices
Sylvan Zuercher
What seems prevalent in many places, no envelopes stuffed with large bills were
offered to the committee by any of the candidates. Our election will be held at
the October meeting and the floor will be open for additional nominations for
any office.
To be a candidate, you must be a paid up member of CNM and CORSA, and you must
have given permission to be nominated.
The present slate of candidates is:
President Pat Hall
Vice President Ray Trujillo
Secretary Charles Vertrees and Art Gold
Treasurer Robert Gold
Since no pay-to-play was offered, I will remain neutral until time to cast my
ballot at the meeting. Come to the October meeting where you'll have the
opportunity to cast your ballot. - Sylvan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CNM Younger Member Contest
Heula Pittman
At our recent CNM Board meeting, the Board voted to have the presentation award
for the winner of our "Younger Members" contest at our annual Christmas dinner
on December 5th. As of "press date" I have received twenty-two photos and I have
been promised two or three more.
If you have not contributed a photo and you want to, the deadline for accepting
photos for the contest is our next meeting night, Wednesday October 7th, at 9
PM. You can send your photo as a digital JPG by e-mail to ( jimp @ unm.edu ) or
you can give me your photograph, I will scan it and return it to you.
To get all the photos published before our contest, I'll have to "double up"
this month and next, and I'll have to re-number the photos. Below are the next
four photos, and next month we'll publish all that are left.
I will distribute score sheets at our regular meeting on November 4th to all
members who wish to compete. These score sheets will have the same photos as
printed in our newsletters over the past several months along with a space to
write in the member's name. Remember, this is a contest, so no fair sharing
guesses with others! I will collect the score sheets, count the correct answers
and determine the winner.
We'll have the results of the contest at the December 5th Christmas Party. Plan
to attend!
-- Thanks, Heula
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
============================================================================
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
============================================================================
| October 2009 | November 2009 | December 2009 |
| Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa |
| 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 |
============================================================================
Fri 2 Oct 50th ANNIVERSARY OF INTRODUCTION OF CORVAIR AT CHEVROLET DEALERS
Sat 3 Oct through Sun 11 Oct -- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Sun 4 Oct 9:00 AM Festival of Wheels Car Show / Balloon Ascension
Wed 7 Oct 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
This is election night to vote for our 2010 officers!
Wed 7 Oct 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
at 1405 Central NE (between University Blvd and I-25)
Wed 7 Oct 9:00 PM Deadline for submitting "Younger" photos to Heula!
Sat 10 Oct 9:00 AM Our fourth "Old Route 66" cleanup of the year
Sat 10 Oct 9:30 AM CNM Breakfast - to be arranged - suggestions?
Sat 10 Oct 6:00 PM Los Lunas "66 Cruise" starting at Bosque Farms
Sat 17 Oct 8:00 AM Car Show at a Park on Rio Grande Blvd near Los Ranchos
Support Hydrocephalus Association. Contact Russ McDuffie
Wed 21 Oct 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 23 Oct 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Fri 23 Oct Great Western Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet - Palm Springs, California
Sat 24 Oct Great Western Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet - Palm Springs, California
Sun 25 Oct Great Western Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet - Palm Springs, California
Wed 4 Nov 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 4 Nov 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
Wed 18 Nov 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 20 Nov 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Wed 2 Dec 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 2 Dec 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
Sat 5 Dec 5:00 PM Christmas Dinner - Roper's Restaurant 8810 Central SE
Wed 16 Dec 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 25 Dec 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
2010
= MEISSNER AWARD: The nomination form will be in the January newsletter.
Wed 6 Jan 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 6 Jan 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
at 1405 Central NE (between University Blvd and I-25)
Wed 20 Jan 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 22 Jan 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Wed 3 Feb 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
= MEISSNER AWARD: The nomination forms are due at TONIGHT's meeting.
March CNM's 36th Anniversary Party - IKE MEISSNER AWARD
Spring Pat Hall will conduct another metal recycle project as a fund
raiser. Collect your scrap metal and save it for the collection.
May 21-22-23 The 2010 Tri-State will be held in Canon City, Colorado.
Sponsored by Pikes Peak Corvair Club, Colorado Springs, CO.
More activities: New Mexico Council of Car Clubs: http://www.nmcarcouncil.org
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STATE FAIR CAR SHOW 2009
A 66 High Straight -- Robert Gold
This year's State Fair Car Show was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the
introduction of the Corvair. Fifty years! It's hard to believe that the cars we
treasure have reached the half century mark. In honor of that fact, and in
response to Sylvan Zuercher's suggestion, we decided to try for a display of
every year of Corvair production (1960-69). We almost made it... This year you
CNM'ers came up with at least one car from 1960 through 1966. In poker terms
that's a Straight, 66 High. Thank you so much. In addition to all those model
years, we had most of the Corvair body types represented. The only version not
there was a late 4-door.
This year's show began as usual with our group get-together at the old Furr's
cafeteria parking lot. Well, not really the Furr's parking lot since they tore
down the building. Just the same, we met in the parking lot for a group shot and
to organize the cars and FCs by year. It was quite a caravan that left for the
fairgrounds. What was really wonderful was that this caravan had 19 vehicles in
it. A modern State Fair Show record! By the time we set up on Heritage Avenue
our line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see. We actually rivaled the
Classic Chevy display on Main Street.
By mid-morning the temperature had warmed up nicely and everyone was either off
exploring the Fair or heavily into conversations about Corvairs. This is a good
time to mention specifically several of this year's exhibiters. After years of
my nagging, Dave Langlois showed up with his family and his 1963 Monza. That was
the car that Ruth Boydston restored. Dave has done a fine job of keeping that
car in wonderful shape. The second is the couple, Larry Hickerson and his wife,
Suzanne with their to-die-for 1963 Rampside. After an absence of several years
Larry has returned with his FC that is even more wonderful than before.
I also want to thank Chuck Vertrees, Annette Saiz, and Javier Ortiz for driving
Gold family cars to the show. In addition I want to recognize Art Gold, who was
unable to attend this year's show due to his bird watching prior engagement.
I hope it is obvious from what I've said so far that this year's show was very,
very special. Our club members did a great job of honoring the anniversary of
the Corvair. With that in mind, here is a listing of who came and what they
drove:
1. Vickie & Pat Hall 1960 Monza
2. The Golds 1961 Rampside
3. Geoff & Anne Johnson 1961 Lakewood
4. Dave Huntoon 1961 Corvan 95
5. Mike & Brenda Stickler 1962 Greenbrier
6. The Golds 1962 Greenbrier
7. David & Mona Langlois 1963 Monza
8. Larry & Suzanne Hickerson 1963 Rampside
9. Vickie & Pat Hall 1963 Spyder Conv.
10. Vickie & Pat Hall 1964 700
11. The Golds 1965 Corsa Conv.
12. The Golds 1965 Corsa Conv.
13. Ross McDuffie 1965 Corsa Conv.
14. Tarmo Sutt 1966 Cosa
15. John Wiker 1966 Monza
16. Gordon Johnson 1966 Monza
17. The Golds 1966 Corsa
18. Sally Williams 1966 Corsa V8
19. The Golds 1974 Volkswagen
(Corvair Powered)
Next I need to recognize the best of the best cars at our show. What follows are
those purple ribbon winners. Congratulations to all you folks who drove the best
on Sunday.
1. Best car - late (1965-1969) Tarmo Sutt 1965 Corsa
2. Best car - early (1960-1964) David & Mona Langlois 1963 Monza
3. Best Forward Control Larry Hickerson 1963 Rampside
4. Best Gold Family Car The Golds 1974 Volkswagen
I want to again thank everyone for supporting this year's show. I hope you plan
to attend next year. See ya then! -- Robert Gold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chevrolet Volt to Get 230 Mpg? Wait a Minute!
Jim Pittman -- 12-Aug-2009
Yesterday (as I write this) the headlines trumpet "GM Says New Volt Could Get
230 Mpg in City Driving" and the article raves about how the Chevrolet Volt will
eclipse the Toyota Prius and other hybrids in fuel economy. This will by
implication bring General Motors back from the dead, re-create millions of jobs
and save us all from the evil princes of OPEC. Am I the only one who finds this
story fishy?
Think about it. The Volt is a car that is expected to weigh some 3700 pounds,
about the same as a Toyota Camry. It's a fairly large car, plus it has all those
heavy batteries. The Volt runs for about 40 miles on the batteries. If you drive
farther, then the 1.4-liter (that's 83 cubic inches or about HALF the size of
the Corvair's engine) gasoline engine automatically starts, recharging the
depleted batteries and sending some of its 53 kilowatts of electricity to the
electric motor to continue running the car.
When the Volt's batteries are fully charged, the electric motor will be able to
provide adequate, maybe even dazzling, performance. But when the batteries run
out of charge you will find yourself running your Volt on the power of a small
internal combustion engine capable of providing only 53 kilowatts (the
equivalent of 71 horsepower or about HALF the power of a good Corvair on a good
day) to run your car on the electric motor while at the same time recharging the
battery.
As far as I know, no one has repealed any of the laws of physics. There is no
way in my universe that an engine HALF the size of a Corvair engine is going to
provide significant acceleration to a car the size and weight of a Camry,
whether or not it is simultaneously charging up the batteries.
Okay, let's suppose you buy a Volt and your commute is less than twenty miles
one-way. You remembered to plug in your Volt Sunday night to charge it up, so on
Monday morning it's all ready to go. You drive to work, you drive to lunch. You
pick up the laundry, you drive home. You plug in your Volt to your house
current. By Tuesday morning you are ready to do it all over again. You do this
all week. The gasoline engine never starts up! You are running on silent,
non-polluting electricity! After a couple of months you realize that you have
spent maybe $20 for one tank of gas and the gas tank is still two-thirds full.
You write letters of praise to Bob Lutz of General Motors and you sneer at every
Toyota Prius and Honda Insight you see driving down the street.
Are you getting 230 MPG? Maybe so. Or maybe this particular 230 MPG is being
measured in General Motors' fantasy world.
Let's say you live in Atlanta, Georgia. Do you know where the electricity to
charge your Volt every night comes from? Well, out in Wyoming there are strip
mines. Miles and miles of strip mines. Huge machines (burning diesel fuel) haul
rocks and dirt out of the way so other huge machines (burning diesel fuel) can
scoop up the coal and load it onto huge trucks (burning diesel fuel) that haul
the coal out to the railroad spur. Three or four locomotives (burning diesel
fuel) haul train loads of hundreds of coal-filled gondola cars over hill and
dale some 1,700 miles to Atlanta where the coal is burned (the smoke is very
expensively scrubbed to somewhat reduce its pollution quotient) to make
electricity. The electric company builds and maintains power lines and
transformers to take this electricity to your house where your new 220-volt
charging station lets you charge up your Volt's exotic Lithium-ion batteries
every night. (If you just use your regular 117-volt house current it will take a
lot longer to recharge.)
Which parts of all these complex, energy-intensive processes are cheerfully
ignored by General Motors in calculating that 230-MPG statistic?
Let's say half of your fellow citizens in Atlanta become convinced by the
industry-government-entertainment propaganda cartel that the Chevrolet Volt is
the true wave of the future. They all somehow come up with the $40,000 to buy a
new Volt for themselves. Where are all those high-tech batteries going to come
from? (According to news stories, Bolivia is the major source of lithium for
these high-tech batteries.) At the end of their life, how much will it cost in
dollars and energy to recycle the batteries? When the thousands of new Volt
owners plug their cars in to charge them up overnight, how much more coal from
Wyoming, how much more diesel fuel and how much more pollution is it going to
take to make the electricity required? Oh, and by the way, we taxpayers are
going to be subsidizing every purchase of a Volt to the tune of $7,500 each.
If you need to drive more than 40 miles on a trip, will you enjoy driving the
rest of the ride in your 71-HP Camry-sized car? If you need to drive somewhere
in the evening before the batteries finish charging, will you worry about
running out of charge and having to limp home? Is it possible some day you'll
park in your driveway and forget to plug in the charger and find yourself
crippled for transportation on Monday morning?
As for me, even if I am now part owner of Chevrolet via my partial ownership of
"Government Motors" you can bet I will not be running out to buy a Chevrolet
Volt anytime soon.
Meanwhile, since the Chevrolet Volt will not be available until "late 2010"
anyway, maybe someone in the industry-government-entertainment propaganda cartel
can explain to us exactly where that 230 MPG statistic comes from.
REFERENCES:
Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt
Sticker shock:
http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14292008
Pender, Kathleen "Will the Chevy Volt really get 230 mpg?"
The San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/pender/detail?entry_id=45351&type=tech
McPhee, John A. UNCOMMON CARRIERS New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006
McPhee, John A. A Reporter at Large, "Coal Train - I,"
The New Yorker, Oct 3, 2005, p. 72
Chevrolet Volt in Doubt:
http://interested-participant.blogspot.com/2009/08/chevrolet-volt-in-doubt-
recently-there.html
JUSTIFICATION FOR ELECTRIC CARS
I suppose I should be fair and try to think of factors that favor having many
commuters in the country buy electric cars. Here are some.
1. Can be designed for great performance. Example: the Tesla Roadster. The
designer of the Tesla roadster makes the point that, while gasoline holds much
more energy than an equivalent weight of battery, the gasoline motor is only
about 20 percent efficient. Thus the battery-motor combination can be much more
efficient overall because the efficiency of the electric motor approaches 100
percent.
2. No polluting emissions from the car. The more you drive in crowded urban
streets, the more important this is. New York City pedestrians will love
electric cars.
3. Energy from braking recharges the battery instead of being wasted. Yes,
riding the brakes while going downhill gives you "free" energy compared to doing
the same in your Corvair.
4. Silent running. Well, maybe those who love the exhaust sound of a big V-8
would not agree, but most of us would enjoy a decrease in urban decibel levels.
(Wait! The latest news story says Nissan is trying to figure out how to ADD
noise to their hybrids when they are running on battery power only. Is it
possible that cars can be too quiet? Apparently yes, because pedestrians don't
hear them and, walking without looking, step out in front of them and get
squashed. Evolution in action?)
5. A central power plant can be much more efficient than individual power
plants. You pour all your money into optimizing the power plant and transmission
system, and you don't need to worry about individual cars being poorly tuned or
wasting packets of heat for each car.
7. A central power plant can be more efficient at controlling pollutants. No
more need for expensive, platinum-filled catalytic converters on every car.
8. Many possible power sources. Your local power plant uses the source that's
best for it. If it's renewable (hydroelectric, wind, solar, tides, geothermal)
so much the better. If it's non-renewable (coal, nuclear) well, make sure it's
an environmentally responsible and economically feasible plant design.
9. Reduce dependence of the country on foreign petroleum sources. This may
provide at last an end to sending dollars to countries that don't like us.
Let's just hope that Bolivia, when it becomes the next lithium empire, will be
our friend, not the leader of a new OPEC.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Where Have The Gearheads Gone?
Editorial Ramblings by Eric Schakel
Our society is no longer producing gearheads. This has interesting
ramifications.
Many of us in RMC are, or were, gearheads. If you rebuild your own carbs, change
your own points, and do your oil changes at home, you probably qualify as a
gearhead. If you've ever rebuilt your own engine (and got it running, duh!) you
are definitely a gearhead. Gearheads are the can-do branch of car owners.
Modern engines don't have carbs or points, and used oil is now a toxic waste.
The Green Movement assures us that cars, not people, are the source of our
environmental woes (sort of opposite of the gun philosophy, but we won't go
there). Cars are no longer the training ground for fledgling gearheads, which
will ultimately lead to total extinction of the breed.
My "no more gearheads" claim is not made lightly. It comes after a great deal of
research, with input from a number of my college-sophomore-daughter's friends.
Sure, they show some interest when you bring out a collector car. But the
interest is brief and polite, and there's rarely a technical question.
Basically, the old cars are nothing more than curiosities to them. The key thing
is, they have no desire to even ride in one, never mind owning one.
Those who say the collector car business is just fine will point to the
expensive hot rod builds going on, and the success of the big auction houses in
raking in massive selling prices for increasingly obscure cars. To that, I will
say that the telling element is to look at the buyers: They are just about all
old guys.
Others point out that classic car magazines like Hot Rod and Car Craft are still
extremely well subscribed. In response, I will point out that the average age of
the subscribers is probably 55 years old or more, with a massive preponderance
of ancient boomers in comparison with the Gen X/Y folks. Once again, old guys.
Don't get me wrong here; I'm working hard at becoming an old guy myself. There's
nothing wrong with old guys. The problem is, if no young people fill in the
lower gearhead echelon, there won't be any old gearheads later. The chain will
be broken, the arts no longer passed down.
I don't think my Dad liked working on Corvairs, but he spent many weekends with
me doing just that. It was social work, bonding, teaching and mentoring, all
combined with sweat and occasional "shop language." I remember those days
fondly. What's the equivalent today?
A few weeks ago, my little business suffered a network failure that was beyond
my ability to fix quickly. I called around to a few Geek businesses and managed
to get a young man to respond.
His name was Rick, and he was 26 years old. He hod all sorts of IT
certifications, and a "can-do" attitude. We discussed the problem for a few
minutes, I provided network maps and codes, and he went right to work. Within
two hours, Rick had cleared up all the damage I had inadvertently done (love
those Microsoft "wizards"!) and had gotten us back up.
Afterwards, we talked a bit. Since I had provided detailed tech info, Rick
decided I had geek tendencies and told me about his home computer system. He
described a networked system of Win2007 and Linux servers linked to his X-Box,
Playstation and Wii using a combination of Cat 6 cable and wifi. His face glowed
when he rattled off impressive boot times and through-put numbers.
Somewhere during his emotional system soliloquy, it dawned on me: Rick was the
modern equivalent of a gearhead.
Reference: Denvair News, Rocky Mountain CORSA,
August 2009, Page 7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
================================================================================
NOTE: Please let me know if any of these ads are obsolete and should be removed!
NOTE: Newsletter Advertisements are FREE to CNM members & $5.00 to non-members.
NOTE: Without your $5.00 payment, your ad won't be in the published newsletter.
================================================================================
FOR SALE: 1960 Monza coupe. Runs and looks good. $3,500.00
1964 Monza convert. Good interior, good top, good tires. Runs. $3,500.00
1965 Corsa coupe. Black, 140 HP, runs good. $2,500.00
1964 Monza coupe. Runs. $2,000.00
Several cars for sale - to restore or for parts.
Lots of used and rebuilt parts such as:
Carbs, starters, distributors, heads, axles, differentials.
Contact: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 in Los Lunas, New Mexico
FOR SALE: Many mid-1960s Mustang parts are available. Owned by Joe Lite,
Rio Rancho. Need to sell all. Prices negotiable.
Larry Lite, Albuquerque, 505-268-2557
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVEN YEARS AGO
Jim Pittman
Seven Years Ago - October 2002 - Volume 28 - Number 10 - Issue 325
The cover featured the famous Galles Chevrolet balloon photo. A guest was Brian
Zolna, who years ago was a CNM member while in the military and stationed at
KAFB. Joel Nash asked us to revise last month's minutes to state that he was not
in violation of city zoning laws after all. Wendell reported our bank account
stood at $5537. The Car Council was negotiating with the city about the 2003 car
show: would it be back at the museum or would it move to Los Lunas permanently?
A new New Mexico resident from Arkansas found his 1968 Corvair did not like our
5,000-foot altitude and he was pointed to Dave Langlois to make adjustments. Did
he ever join CNM?
President Robert Gold reflected on his year in office, rejoicing that he didn't
bring the club's days to an end. He attributed the club's continuing success to
great support from many members. Anne Mae reviewed activities of the CNM Ladies
and previewed our November "White Elephant Auction and Potluck" extravaganza.
Mark Martinek provided an article on what happened after Mary Lou's 1964
convertible engine was rebuilt. Let's just summarize: he installed an electric
fuel pump. And finally, along with pages of photos from the State Fair Car Show
we reprinted an article on how to safely store your classic car for the winter,
and how to safely wake it up.
Fourteen Years Ago - October 1995 - Volume 21 - Number 10 - Issue 241
The cover depicted a California Corvair van with five (!) open doors on the
passenger side. The illustration was not photoshopped. A van had been built by
surgically joining a front two-thirds section with a back two-thirds section on
a lengthened Buick frame. It was powered by a 325-HP Buick V-8 with fuel mileage
in the 12-14 MPG range. Only in California.
In September Larry invited us to meet at the AMAFCA office because Casa
Chevrolet was still being remodeled. We had $1,068.64 in the bank. Bill Reider
reported that the NMCCC swap meet and the State Fair car show were on the same
weekend. Corvair belt buckles had arrived and were $16 each. We planned an
auction, a photo rally, a visit to the Marine Corps Band and our annual
Christmas party. Monthly committee meetings for the CORSA convention continued.
Larry Blair's "swan song" as president reviewed our accomplishments during the
last year. Our board decided we would accept no paid advertising in the
Newsletter. Bill Reider was editing the third edition of his Care & Feeding
booklet.
Inexplicably, the newsletter mentioned Rush Limbaugh's analysis of the career of
our friend Ralph Nader. Since this is a family newsletter, we attempted no
analysis of the career of Mr Limbaugh. Tech tips: cleaning your old steering
box, fixing dim tail lights and the world's best concrete driveway cleaner. Kay
Sutt sent a report on the State Fair Car Show in which Kay's 1964 convertible
took first place.
Twenty-one Years Ago - October 1988 - Volume 14 - Number 10 - Issue 157
The cover was a Mark Morgan fantasy of a Corvair-based hot air balloon. This
theme was later adopted for our 1996 CORSA International Convention. We had $562
to spend. We planned our work at the NMCCC swap meet. Bill Lawless asked for
help for planning the Aspencade for next month. Richard Twilley announced he was
quitting the Corvair business and would auction off all his tools and parts.
Sylvan reported on escorting the Dare-Vair from Clines Corners to Albuquerque.
Steve Gongora reported on a trip to Las Vegas and a tour of Montezuma Castle.
Twenty-eight Years Ago - October 1981 - Volume 7 - Number 10 - Issue 73
On the cover, U. S. Navy Lieutenant Mark Morgan and his Avis Greenbrier were
being passed by a tiny Fiat as he continued his series of articles on driving in
various foreign countries. This month: Italy.
Robert Gold was a new member this month. Bob Phillips gave another interesting
talk on body work. The "Dummy of the Month" told about buttoning up an engine,
complete with sheet metal, carbs, fuel lines and throttle linkage, only to
realize that the fan belt could not be installed. Why? Because the fan bearing,
the fan and the fan pulley were sitting on a shelf, not on the engine. Tech
tips: Use the correct short bolts to install door hinges because long ones will
dimple the door skin. What is the correct lubricant for positraction. How to
prevent thermostat breakage. How to fix early model water leaks. There was a
handy tire-pressure table.
Thirty-five Years Ago - Oct 1974
At our eighth meeting we were led by Francis Boydston in planning our first
Winrock Car Show, which turned out to be a great success.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=END=