The January 2010 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 29-May-2013 ==== Copyright (c) 2013 Corvairs of New Mexico
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JANUARY 2010 / VOLUME 36 / NUMBER 1 / ISSUE #412
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EDITOR: Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 6 January 2009 at 7:00 PM
Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
THIS MONTH:
Dues Due ................................ Membership Committee
Drive a Corvair! .......................... President Pat Hall
December Meeting Minutes ............................ Art Gold
No December Board Meeting .......................... CNM Board
New Member ... Tech Talk in January .......... Sylvan Zuercher
Galles Chevrolet Sponsorship .................... Ray Trujillo
Two Thousand Miles, Many Billboards .............. Jim Pittman
Where Goeth CORSA ......... Eric Schakel, Rocky Mountain CORSA
Christmas Dinner at Roper's .................... Heula Pittman
Tech Tip: Oil Cloth on Work Bench .............. Heula Pittman
Twas the Night Before the Run ...................... Ron Kelly
Birthdays and Anniversaries ............... Sunshine Committee
Fifty-Year Anniversary Poster ................ Vickie & Sharon
Calendar of Coming Events ................. Board of Directors
Technical: Battery Voltage ....................... Jim Pittman
Tech: Check Battery Voltage .... Steve Goodman, Rocky Mountain
Technical: Voltmeter or Ammeter? ................. Jim Pittman
Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ............... Club Historian
CNM Member List, December 2009 .................... the Editor
Ike Meissner Award Nomination Form..... CNM Board of Directors
COVER: We gather at Roper's Restaurant for our Christmas Party
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ELECTED OFFICERS:
President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
Vice-pres: Ray Trujillo 505-839-7436 ray @ bpsabq.com
Secretary: Art Gold 505-620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com
Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com
BOARD MEMBERS:
Car Council: Art Gold 505-620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com
Membership: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com
Sunshine: Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
Past Pres: Mike Stickler 505-856-6993 sticorsa @ hotmail.com
Correspondent: Chuck Vertrees 505-299-0744 vertrees @ swcp.com
Membership: Sylvan Zuercher 505-299-7577 flat6 @ hubwest.com
OTHER VOLUNTEERS:
Emeritus: Ruth Boydston 505-821-1506 sg730 @ comcast.net
Car Council: Cary Hubbard 505-350-0483 bus63kombi @ gmail.com
Emeritus: Wendell Walker 505-892-8471 defarge505 @ aol.com
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DUES: CNM: 12 months $25.00 -or- 26 months $ 50.00
CORSA: 12 months $45.00 -or- 26 months $ 90.00
CNM & CORSA: 12 months $70.00 -or- 26 months $140.00
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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
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DUES DUE DATES FOR JANUARY 2010:
DUE THIS MONTH = WILL BECOME INACTIVE 25-JAN-2010:
2009.12 Robert Galli 2007.10
2009.12 David Huntoon 1994.11
DUE NEXT MONTH = WILL BECOME INACTIVE 25-FEB-2010:
2010.01 Darlene & William Darcy 2009.01
2010.01 Kim & Del Patten 1980.07
= DUE FEBRUARY = WILL BECOME 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 Wendell Walker 1989.01
= DUE MAR = WILL BECOME INACTIVE 25-APR-2010:
(none)
= DUE APR = WILL BECOME INACTIVE 25-MAY-2010:
2010.04 Deborah & John Dinsdale 2000.02
2010.04 Heula & Jim Pittman 1974.04
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DUES NOT PAID ======== INACTIVE AS OF 25-DEC-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
2009.08 Marci & Gary Calabrese 2008.08
2009.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 2006.09
2009.11 Pam & Charlie Mann 2008.11
==============================================
If your membership is due or has expired, please 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,
provided that you send us the renewal form from your CORSA Communique!
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DRIVE A CORVAIR!
Pat Hall
The Club's Christmas dinner party went well. The food was good as was the
service. A big thanks to Rita for great planning and thanks to Roper's
Restaurant. I also want to thank Heula for the great work she did on the
"Younger Member Contest" and for the prizes given to the winners.
I have accumulated more Corvairs and enjoy looking at all of them even though
some of them don't run, but I'm building engines as fast as I can.
Christmas Day has come and gone. As in past years we spent the day at Vickie's
sister's house in Albuquerque. We had a great dinner and a good time visiting
with family.
The year 2009 is gone. Now it is time to make plans for the new year. So let's
get started thinking about events and activities for the months ahead. Bring
your thoughts, on paper, to the January 6th meeting.
Thanks to everyone -- Pat Hall
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December Meeting Notes (12-02-2009)
Art Gold
Meeting was called to order at 7:03 pm with 23 people in attendance.
Pat Hall (President) stated that he apologized for the controversy over the
price of the CNM license plate. He also added that this topic may be brought up
at a later date for clarification, possibly at a board meeting.
There was no vice president's report, since Ray Trujillo was not in attendance.
Treasurer's Report (Art Gold, filling in for Robert Gold) - Cash Account
$2,983.46, GMAC Account $1,153.28, total $4,136.74.
Jim Pittman (Editor) stated that he wanted to thank Bill Reider for his help in
mailing out the newsletter. Jim went on to discuss his attendance at the Nuclear
Museum show. Though he went late, Jim did see two really nice cars, neither
being Corvairs.
Heula Pittman (Sunshine Committee) stated that she is still taking collections
for the Safe House. The items that are to be donated must NOT be wrapped, and no
stuffed animals.
Upcoming events:
December: CNM Christmas Dinner (12-05-2009), Roper's at 5:00 pm.
January: Breakfast (01-23-2010), Jimmy's Restaurant at 9:30 am.
February: Garage Tour (02-06-2010), J&R Vintage Auto Museum in Rio Rancho at
1:30 pm, with lunch occurring prior at the Range Cafe in Bernalillo
at 12:00 pm. Hosted by LeRoy Rogers.
March: Anniversary Dinner and Ike Meissner Award, hosted by Anne Mae Gold.
Venue and exact date TBA.
Spring: Tour of city and lunch afterwards, hosted by Chuck Vertrees. Date
and place TBA.
.... Written by Art Gold
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New Member
Sylvan Zuercher
Please welcome new member Larry Yoffee to CNM. He joined at the December
meeting. Larry has a 1965 maroon Corsa with 180-HP engine. The engine has a
racing oil cooler and a Weber carburetor. Probably many of our members have not
seen a Corvair so equipped. We will be interested to see Larry's car and hope he
will bring it to our club events.
By the way, I understand that at the 66 Diner after the December meeting, Russ
McDuffie was discussing a new way to install Corvair thermostats and was
promptly "volunteered" to give a tech talk at a meeting. So, come to the January
meeting for this tech talk!
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Our Sponsor, Galles Chevrolet
Ray Trujillo
Hello everyone!
On Friday December 18th Pat Hall and I went over to Galles Chevrolet to visit
with Mike Kaminski. For those of you who don't know, Mike is our contact at
Galles for our club sponsorship. We went to Galles hoping that they would be
able to continue being our sponsor for 2010. When we got there and asked to see
Mike, we were told he was out on medical leave due to back surgery. A Galles
employee then directed us to see Cory Galles about our matter.
Pat and I then met with a very cordial Cory and we asked if they had made a
decision regarding sponsorship for our club. She told us that Galles had really
cut back on all sponsorships due to slow car sales and a down economy. Cory then
said she would notify us on the following Monday if they would be able to help
us. On the following Monday she called me to say that Galles was unable to
sponsor CNM this year but would like us to try again next year.
I thanked her for the many years of support that they had given us. So in the
mean time, our best get wishes go out to Mike for a speedy recovery and a big
thank you to Galles Chevrolet for being a great sponsor to us for so many years.
See you all at the next meeting. -- Ray
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Two Thousand Miles, Many Billboards
Jim Pittman
As we have done every year since 1990 we drove through eastern New Mexico and
across Texas to Shreveport and Baton Rouge during Thanksgiving week. We found
that the mysterious yearly stretching of the Panhandle of Texas (every year the
distance from Clovis to Shreveport gets longer) was still in effect. (We
acknowledge it may merely be a psychological effect.) Anyway, this year we added
2,445 miles to our total which now comes to 51,540 miles.
In the past we have reported seeing Corvairs in odd places along the way. Again
this year we saw two Corvairs in the front yard of a house facing U.S. 82 near
Gainesville, Texas. There were no signs saying they were for sale. We should
have stopped to get photos but we didn't. We saw no other Corvairs. Other than
driving through world-class rain on I-49 in Louisiana and racing a snowstorm
near Lubbock, this trip was not much out of the ordinary.
However, headed west on I-40 we suddenly saw a veritable forest of billboards
blotting our view of the distant mountains. I suppose we have seen them before,
but there just seemed to be a thicker collection this year.
Do you remember when Lady Bird Johnson started a movement to beautify the
roadways of America? There was an act of congress, the Highway Beautification
Act, that was passed in the fall of 1965. I remember this remarkable legislation
in a peculiar way.
In 1965 I was at Wright-Patterson AFB near Dayton, Ohio. In driving around the
base's perimeter road I discovered an aviation graveyard. There were hulks of
old airplanes that had been used for firefighter practice. There were the
remains of prototypes that had been tested and discarded. It was an airplane
junk yard, with no junkyard dogs. I could park my car and climb under and
sometimes into the wrecks. Two I remember were the YF-102 delta-wing fighter and
the YB-52 bomber. The YF-102 was memorable because it had the cylindrical body
that many jet fighters had before the implementation of the "area rule" that led
to the "coke-bottle" or "wasp-waist" fuselage of later supersonic aircraft. The
YB-52 was memorable because it had the bubble canopy of the B-47 rather that the
cockpit windows of the production B-52s.
Well, a couple of years later I had occasion to drive by Wright-Patterson AFB
and wow! the airplane junk yard was no more! It seems the wrecks were visible
from the busy Ohio Route 4 highway and the junk had all been removed as part of
the Highway Beautification Act. I was not happy because it seemed that a lot of
the history of aviation had been destroyed, and not to a particularly worthy
cause.
I thought about all this as we drove by the Clines Corners billboards. The signs
were there to lure the traveller in to the big truck stop to spend money. The
fact that they were obscuring my view of the mountains near Las Vegas or Santa
Fe or South Peak near our part of Albuquerque was of no consequence to the
owners of the truck stop.
I thought about other advertising signs. They are everywhere. We just take them
for granted. If we want to drive somewhere in our classic cars to take a picture
with a snowy mountain in the background, we have to avoid not only buildings and
power lines but multitudes of often ugly billboards.
Here's one web site that points out how toothless the Highway Beautification Act
has become:
http://www.scenic.org/billboards/hba
Companies continue to litter the landscape with often ugly, sometimes dangerous
billboards. Do we really need them? So my question is, where is Lady Bird
Johnson now that we need her as much as, or even more than, we did in 1965?
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Where Goeth CORSA?
Eric Schakel
The December Communique arrived in the mail today. For reasons unpondered, I
picked it up before Autoweek and Businessweek, which were also in the mail pile.
Is that my first subtle signal that Corsa matters?
President Tim Mahler wrote an upbeat, supportive column, as he usually does.
Director Jackson Dell Weaver, though, had a rather rough assessment of Corsa. He
opined that it is not only broken, but not worth keeping in its current form.
Three things struck me:
1) Someone elected this guy to be representative to Corsa; 2) His radical
position was dutifully published in the Corsa journal, and; 3) There are notable
hints that political impasses exist within the organization, frustrating
attempts at change.
This episode made me think about our local Rocky Mountain Corsa group: There's
an ebb and flow within every organization, and I think RMC is showing a positive
flow pattern right now.
In the business world, bosses either accept the status quo, or hire people to
shake up and transform the organization. Since these are paid positions, people
rarely (especially now when the job market is tight) just walk away.
In volunteer activity groups like RMC the members are the management team. Like
a business, RMC members can accept the status quo, or they can become involved
and shake things up. Unlike most business people, they also have the option of
simply fading away.
Corsa is lucky to have a robust chapter like ours, and we're all fortunate to
have a group of volunteers and active members who commit time, energy, and
creativity to various club events. I believe Corsa could learn from us, as we've
shaken the status quo.
The jewels of any organization are the people who make it up. RMC has some
incredible creative assets, and a solid core of doers who turn the ideas into
reality. I've never been associated with a special interest club that is so free
of "cliques", and it's incredibly refreshing.
RMC has a lot of tradition, but I'm pleased at the open-minded acceptance of new
thinking. Again, are you Corsa BOD members listening?
At the end of the day, to enjoy socializing with Corvairs, it's important to
enjoy socializing with the Corvair owners. We have to focus on the things we
have in common, not our differences.
In this season of special reflection, I'd like to thank the officers and members
of RMC for maintaining a club that's a pleasure to belong to. No matter what
happens at the national Corsa level, we're covered here in the Rockies, as long
as we listen to the people who make up RMC.
If it ever just comes down to the cars, it'll be time hang up the sign and call
it a museum...
[ reprinted from the DENVAIR NEWS, Rocky Mountain CORSA, December 2009 ]
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Christmas Dinner at Roper's
Heula Pittman
Rita and Steve Gongora did it again! They set up everything with the owner of
Roper's Restaurant on Central for our annual Christmas party. The employees
really decked out their building with pretty decorations for our party on
Saturday night, the 5th of December. Their Christmas trees were especially nice
as they were decorated in the cowboy theme with cowboy boots, ropes, saddles,
bandanas and so many other western-type items.
The buffet was set up with traditional holiday foods - turkey and dressing,
sweet potatoes, green beans and green salad. Rita brought little mint-chocolate
candies and she baked brownies and her famous traditional biscochitos which were
DELI-SI-OH-SO, as usual! I baked a Red Velvet sheet cake and Jim wrote out "CNM"
with red and green M&Ms across the top. I believe all these decadent desserts
adequately filled our sweet tooths - or is it "sweet teeth"?!
One of the Gongora's friends, Ron Kelly, read a poem he wrote titled, "Twas the
Night Before the Run". And after hearing it, we all knew he had indeed had lots
of experience with air-cooled vehicles. This poem is published elsewhere in this
newsletter. Be sure to read it.
President Pat Hall and Vickie passed out several certificates of appreciation
recognizing members who had contributed in different ways throughout the year.
Then we moved on to the "Younger Member Contest". As I called out the numbered
photographs, the member featured stood and told a little bit about when the
photo was taken and any other interesting information they wanted to share. Not
all the members were able to attend but it was nice to hear from the ones who
were.
Twelve members submitted score sheets. Their was a tie for the winner. Brenda
Stickler and Bill Reider each correctly identified nine of the 24 photos. Little
blue plaques were awarded to them along with Pumpkin-Cranberry breads and
special jars of Louisiana jellies. (Guess one could never guess where these came
from!)
Someone commented to me after the party that this was a really fun thing to do
and that we should do it again in about five years using different photographs.
Well, I enjoyed it and I hope everyone else did too. Thanks to all of you who
submitted photographs.
Emma Rogers and Lee Reider did an excellent job of putting out the publicity for
our Christmas charity this year. Many items were brought to the dinner and then
taken to The Safe House for distribution to the folks there in need. We
appreciate the generosity from our club members for this worthy project.
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Tech Tips (from a woman's point of view)
Heula Pittman
Guys, I'm sure lots of you already do this but maybe all of you haven't thought
of it. Before starting a mechanical project out in your garage, be sure to
spread out an oilcloth-type covering on your work station bench. This will
protect oil and grease spills from penetrating the workbench surface. Then
spread a light-colored cloth on top of that. Then, whenever you are working with
tiny parts that you really don't want to lose, you should be able to keep better
track of them. Also, you could mark off your work area with standing pieces of
scrap lumber to keep items from rolling off your work area.
Save used clothes-dryer sheets from the laundry. These sheets are great to use
whenever you guys wash our cars. They will clean off bugs and their remains from
headlights without scratching. They are even gentle on painted surfaces.
So - you guys keep our vehicles clean (good luck with that in New Mexico!) and
we ladies will keep your greasy, gunky work clothes as clean as is possible!!
How about it??!
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Twas the Night Before the Run
Ron Kelly
CNM Christmas Dinner Party, December 2009
Twas the night before the run
And in the garage,
There sat an air cooled
Or was it a mirage.
It was real enough all right
And I tweaked on it all night
I wanted it to run
My motto is "gitter done"!
Air cooled are a remarkable breed
In the winter they never freeze
In the summer they never boil
Just tweak them some and add oil.
Like everything else life's not easy,
At least the fan worked strong & breezy.
Oil dribbled from the cooler like water from a spout
My work was cut out for me, there was no doubt.
With two tiny oil seals
It was time to get real
And removing only one large bolt,
It was loose with just a little jolt.
Now to the carb that looked like a riddle
No time to fit and fiddle
I grabbed a rebuilt in a flash
Installed it quickly, gotta dash.
The night is passing really quick
Daylight will be here in just a lick.
Got the battery charged up
Time to grab a quick cup.
With the moon on the new fallen snow
I realized only one thing left to go:
Get the timing just right,
Or the mixture in the cylinders will not ignite.
The timing marks were set by the book,
But let's take one last look.
Set the points just so, so
Turn the key and give it a go.
It comes to life with a roar
Ready to go out the door!
There it was sittin' pretty
While I took time to write this ditty.
Now as we go on the run
I cruise by and give her the gun.
With my foot to the firewall on the fly,
I pass the other and wave goodbye.
To all gathered here
Have a "Happy Yule"!
And remember this:
AIR COOLED RULES!!
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Happy, Happy New Year Birthday wishes go to five CNMers:
Javier Gold January 9
Carolyn Palmer January 10
Steve Gongora January 11
Del Patten January 13
LeRoy Rogers January 20
Happy, Happy New Year Anniversary wishes go to three CNM couples:
Kim & Del Patten January 8
Nancy & Russ McDuffie January 16
Vickie & Pat Hall January 18
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Fifty-Year Anniversary of Corvairs
Heula Pittman
Vickie Hall and her sister Sharon made this excellent fold-out display depicting
the Fifty-Year Anniversary of our little Corvairs. They displayed it in
September at the State Fair Car Show and then again at our Christmas Dinner this
year. These ladies put in a great deal of thought and work to make this an
extremely interesting and informative display. Thanks, Vickie and Sharon.
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Garage Tour
LeRoy Rogers
Our 2010 garage tour will be at the J & R Vintage Auto Museum in Rio Rancho on
February 6, 2010. The museum is located at 3650-A Highway 528 (on Highway 528 a
short distance South of Highway 550). Those who want to go to lunch will meet at
the Range Cafe, located in Bernalillo at 925 Camino del Pueblo, at noon.
For those who want to go directly to the museum, we should be there at about
1:30 PM. The entry fee is $3.00 for all ages in groups or three or more. Updates
or changes in plans will be noted at our monthly meetings or in upcoming
Newsletters. I was unable to bring the museum site up on Google maps, but I did
get it on Bing.
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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
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| | | |
| January 2010 | February 2010 | March 2010 |
| Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa |
| 1 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
| 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 |
| 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 |
| 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 |
| 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 28 | 28 29 30 31 |
| 31 | | |
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= MEISSNER AWARD: The nomination form will be in the January newsletter.
Wed 6 Jan 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Tech Talk: Russ McDuffie on a way to install thermostats.
Wed 6 Jan 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
Wed 20 Jan 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 22 Jan 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Sat 23 Jan 9:30 AM Club Breakfast at Jimmy's Restaurant 7007 Jefferson St NE
= MEISSNER AWARD: The nomination forms are due at TONIGHT's meeting.
Wed 3 Feb 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 3 Feb 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
at 1405 Central NE (between University Blvd and I-25)
Sat 6 Feb noon Lunch: Rancher's Cafe in Bernalillo before the Garage Tour
Sat 6 Feb 1:30 PM Garage Tour: the J & R VINTAGE AUTO MUSEUM, Rio Rancho
Wed 17 Feb 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 19 Feb 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
March CNM's 36th Anniversary Party = MEISSNER AWARD =
= BOYDSTON AWARD: We anticipate getting information from the Pikes Peak club.
Wed 3 Mar 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 3 Mar 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
at 1405 Central NE (between University Blvd and I-25)
Sat 6 Mar 9:30 AM CNM Breakfast - to be arranged - suggestions?
Wed 17 Mar 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 19 Mar 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
= BOYDSTON AWARD: We anticipate getting information from the Pikes Peak club.
Wed 7 Apr 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 7 Apr 8:30 PM (time approx.) after our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner
at 1405 Central NE (between University Blvd and I-25)
Sat 10 Apr 9:30 AM CNM Breakfast - to be arranged - suggestions?
Sat 10 Apr 1:00 PM Los Lunas "66 Cruise" starting in Bosque Farms at the
Wells Fargo Bank. This is every second Saturday.
Wed 21 Apr 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 23 Apr 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
= BOYDSTON AWARD: We anticipate getting information from the Pikes Peak club.
Spring Pat Hall will conduct another metal recycle project as a fund
raiser. Collect your scrap metal and save it for the collection.
= BOYDSTON AWARD: We anticipate getting information from the Pikes Peak club.
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
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Battery Voltage
Jim Pittman
In the olden B.C. days (Before Corvairs) automobiles traditionally presented the
driver with at least six displays of vital information: speedometer, odometer,
fuel gauge, coolant temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge and ammeter.
Additional gauges were sometimes seen: tachometer to show engine speed, oil
temperature, easy-to-reset trip odometer, manifold vacuum gauge.
By the time the Corvair appeared on the scene many manufacturers had replaced
the temperature gauge and the ammeter with idiot lights to flash red in case
something was amiss. The Spyder added a combination manifold vacuum/pressure
gauge, a cylinder head temperature gauge and a tachometer.
I have often wished for a genuine ammeter on my cars so I could keep an eye on
the health of the battery and charging system. Soon after getting my 1966 Corsa
I added an ammeter, an oil pressure gauge and an oil temperature gauge. Over the
years I found they provided me with useful information.
Once I complained about the absence of ammeters on Corvairs and Dennis Pleau
remarked that it was much easier to add a voltmeter. He believed that knowing
the voltage of the system (high means the battery is being charged, low means
the battery is being discharged) told you just as much about the health of the
battery and charging system.
Well, I agreed with Dennis up to a point, but if given a choice between the two,
I'd pick an ammeter every time.
In the December DENVAIR NEWS from Rocky Mountain Corsa, Steve Goodman has some
technical information about battery voltage. Here's his article:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Checking Battery Voltage
Steve Goodman
When you "hit the key" and the starter does nothing there are several avenues to
follow for eliminating each part in the charging and starting system. One of the
most misunderstood is battery voltage.
Attached is a table reprinted from SIEMENS and TROJAN BATTERY -- look at the
voltage numbers closely and you will realize that there is a minimal spread
between fully charged and completely discharged. Next month I will continue with
other problem areas to look at as we investigate the "non-starting" problems.
% OF CHARGE 12-VOLT BATTERY
100 12.70
95 12.64
90 12.58
85 12.52
80 12.46
75 12.40
65 12.32
60 12.28
55 12.24
50 12.20
45 12.16
40 12.12
35 12.08
30 12.04
25 12.00
20 11.98
15 11.96
10 11.94
5 11.92
discharged 11.90
We can see from these figures that the old style 'sweep hand' volt/ohm meter is
virtually useless to obtain readings this critical. The only accurate instrument
is a digital volt/ohm meter. Remember that these above figures are checked with
the engine NOT running.
The alternator charging system will alter the readings while the engine is
running, provided of course that the alternator/regulator/wiring is all in good
working order and all connections are clean and in place tightly.
Also it must be noted that many times an error in judgment occurs when trying to
determine why a part is failing, too many times a bad starter is blamed but in
reality it is a bad battery connection; OR a starter failure is really caused by
a partially discharged battery.
Now the next step is to determine whether the battery is discharged due to its
failure or a problem in the charging system.
To be continued next month...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
More On Battery Charging System
Jim Pittman
So, how can an ammeter or voltmeter tell you useful information about the health
of your battery and charging system? Well, the two instruments give you
different views of a complex system.
What does the battery - generator - voltage regulator do for you? The battery
holds chemical potential energy that is used to start the engine, or to run
electrical devices like the radio or lights while the engine is not running.
This chemical potential energy is depleted by the starter motor or by the radio
and the lights, so it must be replenished. This is the job of the generator (an
alternator is just a different kind of generator) which can only supply energy
to the battery (in the form of electricity) when the engine is running. (And you
may have a battery charger that plugs into your garage / house electric power.)
The voltage regulator magically controls the generator to let just enough
electrical energy be produced to charge up the battery and to run all the
electrical devices you are using. So, when you have started the engine the
voltage regulator tries to replenish the battery. If you turn on the lights,
that reduces the available electrical power to charge the battery and increases
the time until the battery is fully charged. When you are driving down the road
with a fully charged battery your car probably has enough generating capacity to
run all the electrical equipment on your car -- unless you have added
high-intensity supplementary driving lights or an electric-powered winch or a
super high-power shortwave radio or a megawatt sound system! At idle the engine
is turning more slowly and thus the generator can make less electricity and with
all lights on and the radio and heater / air conditioner running at full speed
there may not be enough generator power to keep the battery fully charged.
With an ammeter you can easily tell which of these conditions exist, with a
voltmeter it is, in my opinion, not so easy.
Here is a summary of what I think an ammeter and a voltmeter tell you for
different conditions:
AMMETER
Engine off, no load Ammeter reads zero
Engine off, radio on Ammeter shows discharge (probably at a low rate)
Engine off, lights on Ammeter shows discharge (probably at a high rate)
Starting engine Ammeter shows discharge (probably a high rate)
Engine running, no load Ammeter shows charge (initially a high rate)
Engine running, no load Ammeter tends toward a lower charge rate
Engine running, lights on Ammeter shows low charge - generator supplies
electricity to lights
Engine running, all Ammeter shows discharge - generator can't provide
electrical equipment on enough electricity to all the electrical
equipment at the same time
VOLTMETER
Engine off, no load Voltmeter reads about 12-1/2 volts depending on
state of charge
Engine off, radio on Voltmeter reads slightly less than before
Engine off, lights on Voltmeter reads less than before, tending down
Starting engine Voltmeter reads much less than before
Engine running, no load Voltmeter reads about 14 volts as generator
charges battery
Engine running, no load Voltmeter tends toward "charged" 12.7 volts
Engine running, lights on Voltmeter tends toward the maximum "being charged"
level of 14 volts as the generator supplies
electricity to the lights
Engine running, all Voltmeter stays near the maximum "being charged"
electrical equipment on level of 14 volts as the generator tries to
provide enough electricity to all the
electrical equipment at the same time
As Steve points out, you can hardly tell the difference among all the possible
voltage readings with an analog "sweep hand" voltmeter!
I claim that with a little practice it is far easier to tell the condition of
the battery/generator/charging system using an ammeter as compared to making the
same determination using a voltmeter.
Now we need actual reports on how mechanics use an external ammeter and an
external voltmeter in combination to diagnose problems with the charging system.
Can anyone contribute? Or, tell me why I'm wrong about the superiority of an
ammeter over a voltmeter. -- Jim
[ Thanks to John Wiker for the use of his 1966
Corsa coupe for the photograph on page 2. ]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVEN YEARS AGO -- Jim Pittman
Seven Years Ago - January 2003 - Volume 29 - Number 1 - Issue 328
Heula & Jim went to Baton Rouge for Thanksgiving and brought back a cover photo
of a 1998 BMW coupe that Jim got to test-drive. Inside, a photo of a 2002
Porsche Boxter S that was the subject of another test drive. Jim said its
toggle-switch throttle response was something like selecting afterburner mode.
For our December meeting we had 21 members present and one new member, Roger
Pape, owner of three convertibles and a dune buggy. Wendell reported $5751 in
the treasury. Mark Domzalski, Tarmo Sutt, Sylvan Zuercher and Joel Nash had
great praise for the Fan Belt Toss, despite a bit of rain. Mark Martinek asked
how to get into the D.U.M.B. club, and an avalanche of stories followed on
really stupid mistakes made by supposedly competent Corvair mechanics.
Anne Mae updated us on the doings of the CNM Ladies and LeRoy told us the latest
plans for the Raton Tri-State. An anonymous author called for Mark Martinek to
become president of the Dummy-of-the-Month club for towing Mary Lou's Spyder
with the transmission in gear. Mary Lou got a new engine out of this episode,
and Enchanted Corvairs got a couple of great articles.
Richard Finch told about going on a 3,754-mile round trip to Arizona, California
and Oregon in the Ultra Van. They came back from Arizona towing a Rampside! The
cap of the adventure was having to have Gayle sit in the Rampside and "push" to
get the Ultra Van up the San Augustine Pass just east of Las Cruces.
An article called "Into the new Millennium" by your editor presented a bleak
view of the submersion of people in a sea of complexity. Maybe it was just a bad
dream. Finally, the annual member list recorded 53 dues-paying members, 8 of
whom were out-of-state.
Fourteen Years Ago - January 1996 - Volume 22 - Number 1 - Issue 244
On the cover: early and late coupes. Mark Domzalski authored our meeting notes
(Chuck may have been away on another cruise) and new members were Mickey &
Billie Payne. Our treasury hovered at the $1257 mark. At five months before
convention time, our raffle car was in mid-paint. The 3rd printing of Bill's
CARE & FEEDING book was available. Mark praised the new meeting room facilities
at Casa Chevrolet. Mark told us he planned to run for CORSA Western Director and
asked for our support. Terry Price gave us a good tech talk on steering box
rebuilds. He passed around many worn parts for our perusal.
Tech tips included a list of Corvair sites on the Internet and a note on what
engine shrouding would fit what year car. We planned to go to Galles Racing to
see their new Indy cars. Our garage tour was scheduled to include the Paul
Maloof car collection and the Gab Joiner car museum. Bill Reider's occasional
column on CARE & FEEDING covered many aspects of steering boxes. Billiken
featured the change of speed limit signs on our freeways from 55 to 75 -- was
Governor Gary Johnson the first person to drive over the new speed limit on
I-25? Finally, the 1996 member list included names and phone numbers for 53
members. Of these, 32 resided in Albuquerque and five were out-of-state.
Twenty-one Years Ago - January 1989 - Volume 15 - Number 1 - Issue 160
On the cover, Corvairs could be found around the world and four views of the
globe proved it. Bill Hector presided. We had $613 in the bank. LeRoy said
shelves had been installed in the library van. He was ready to begin collecting
material for the library and he had a list of items to be stored in the van.
(How many members have used material from the library van? How many have even
see it? How many know where it is?) We planned the Red River Tri-State. We voted
to design a 15-year anniversary patch. We hoped to have a speaker to tell us
about oxygenated fuels. I cynically never believed there was any value to
oxygenated fuels other than to line the pockets of the Archer-Daniel-Midlands
executives.
President Bill wondered how many of us used our Corvairs as daily drivers, how
many of us were "Corvair-only" families and what our annual "Corvair miles"
would be. In his opinion, we'd have the highest scores of any CORSA chapter.
Tom Martin was praised for his organization of a "top drawer" Christmas at the
County Line restaurant. An article by Malcolm Wells claimed that making left
turns was our most dumb and selfish driving habit. In my opinion it is dangerous
as well. Albuquerque has lots of left-turn lanes and left-turn arrows,
alleviating the danger somewhat. One of the club's "unsung heroes" was praised
for his continual service to the club in many ways... then as now, that member
was Sylvan Zuercher. And our member list named sixty CNMers.
Twenty-eight Years Ago - January 1982 - Volume 8 - Number 1 - Issue 76
The cover featured an illustration of the innards of a carburetor. President
Reider told us that the club was now incorporated. George Morin gave a talk on
distributors and ignition. This issue was the first to feature Jim's monthly
SEVEN YEARS AGO column, but Murphy arranged for it to be erroneously labeled
"SIX" YEARS AGO. Tech tips: why to hold down your battery; how to brighten up
dim headlights; diagnosing slow starting; a list of carb screw sizes.
Thirty-five Years Ago - January 1974 - Volume 1- Number 1 - Issue 1
The first issue of the club newsletter was actually mailed last month. Editor
Mark Morgan claimed the rear-engine Corvair was the best snow car. The member
list contained 35 names.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CNM MEMBER LIST AS OF DECEMBER 24, 2009
FIRST_NAME LAST_NAME E_MAIL_ADDRESS CITY_STATE HOME_PHONE WORK_PHONE
=================== ========== =============================== ============ ============ ============
NEW MEXICO:
Melba J & Tommie J Anderson motormeter30 @ aol.com Rio Rancho 505-892-4055 =
Kathy & Larry Blair blairylar @ hotmail.com Albuquerque 505-821-1386 505-249-1035
Ruth Boydston sg730 @ comcast.net Albuquerque 505-821-1506 =
Linda & Dick Cochran @ Grants 505-287-8403 =
Darlene & William Darcy @ Belen 505-864-6423 =
Gayle & Richard Finch finchbooks @ tularosa.net Tularosa 505-585-8035 =
Marilyn & Richard Foster @ White Rock 505-672-9404 =
Wibke & Robert Garrecht @ Albuquerque 505-255-2212 505-884-0133
Alan Gold alanmgold @ sbcglobal.net Albuquerque 505-268-6878 =
Anne Mae & Robert Gold beisbol30 @ msn.com Albuquerque 505-268-6878 505-830-7930
Kelly & Art Gold rollerart @ gmail.com Albuquerque 505-620-7434 =
Rita & Steve Gongora stevegongora @ houseofcovers.com Albuquerque 505-292-5570 505-256-0551
Vickie & Pat Hall patandvickiehall @ q.com Los Lunas 505-865-5574 505-620-5574
Susanne & Larry Hickerson hyosilver @ comcast.net Albuquerque 505-296-1636 505-228-5284
Cary A. Hubbard bus63kombi @ gmail.com Albuquerque 505-350-0483 =
David Huntoon corvair66 @ aol.com Cedar Crest 505-281-9616 =
Geoffrey Johnson geoffj @ unm.edu Albuquerque 505-730-6601 =
Barbara & Gordon Johnson gjohnson @ unm.edu Corrales 505-898-7688 =
Steve Johnson @ Belen 505-864-6278 =
Mark Jones @ Tijeras 000-000-0000 =
H. C. "Lube" Lubert @ Albuquerque 505-256-9331 505-884-1083 505-400-3680=cell
Pam & Charlie Mann @ Albuquerque 505-344-7190 =
Connie & Robert McBreen @ Albuquerque 505-265-2808 505-830-7915
Nancy & Russ McDuffie russ.mcd @ msn.com Albuquerque 505-856-2613 505-400-5526
Tracey & John McMahan jtmacs1 @ comcast.net Albuquerque 505-323-1196 505-301-1169
John Myers @ Albuquerque 505-301-6440 =
Joel & Lori Nash joelnash @ msn.com Albuquerque 505-884-5064 =
Carolyn & Dan Palmer danpal @ swcp.com Tijeras 505-281-7275 =
Roger Pape @ Bosque Farms 505-869-7200 505-238-0276
Kim Patten pattendk @ msn.com Sandia Park 505-286-6690 505-846-2951
Bob Philips rp96rp @ aol.com Corrales 505-269-1001 =
Heula & Jim Pittman jimp @ unm.edu Albuquerque 505-275-2195 =
Lee & Bill Reider breider28 @ msn.com Albuquerque 505-299-4597 =
Fred Riggs @ Las Vegas 575-425-3126 =
Emma & LeRoy Rogers 004873 @ comcast.net Albuquerque 505-294-0623 =
Mary Alice & Oliver Scheflow @ Corrales 505-897-2611 =
Curtis Shimp clshimp @ juno.com Silver City 575-534-9576 =
Frank Stadler @ Albuquerque 505-255-7326 =
Brenda & Mike Stickler sticorsa @ hotmail.com Corrales 505-856-6993 =
Leslie & Kevin Sullivan tildekevins @ yahoo.com Corrales 505-417-2481 =
Kay & Tarmo Sutt tarmo @ juno.com Santa Fe 505-471-1153 505-827-6190
Sylvia & Ray Trujillo ray @ bpsabq.com Albuquerque 505-839-7436 505-266-4011
Julia & Chuck Vertrees vertrees @ swcp.com Albuquerque 505-299-0744 505-272-2033
Wendell Walker defarge505 @ aol.com Rio Rancho 505-892-8471 505-280-2190=cell
Anne & John Wiker wiker @ aps.edu Albuquerque 505-899-3076 =
Brenda & Hurley Wilvert hurbrenwil @ msn.com Sandia Park 505-281-1732 =
Larry Yoffee @ Albuquerque 505-321-5909 =
Opal & Sylvan Zuercher flat6 @ hubwest.com Albuquerque 505-299-7577 =
OUT-OF-STATE:
Debra & Jon Anderson jbanderson65 @ hotmail.com Colorado Springs 719-572-6747 =
Jack Bryan @ Duncanville, TX 972-296-6300 =
Deborah & John Dinsdale john_dinsdale @ adp.com Aurora, CO =
Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski edomzalski @ aol.com Arlington, VA 571-970-6327 =
Robert Galli rdgalli @ tcsn.net Atascadero, CA 805-466-2737 =
Walter Huntoon @ Elgin, IL 847-464-4848 =
Mary Lou & Mark Martinek mjmartinek @ juno.com Vancouver, WA 360-896-3807 =
Del Patten vairbear @ msn.com Fredericksburg,VA =
INACTIVE:
Marci & Gary Calabrese gcalabrese3 @ msn.com Rio Rancho 505-896-3056 =
Jerry Goffe jgoffe20 @ comcast.net Albuquerque 505-345-3100 505-346-4220
Carl Johnson @ Albuquerque 505-344-3178 =
Nancy & Bernard Urbassik @ Albuquerque 505-294-7751 =
Sally Williams stripepike @ mac.com Albuquerque 505-977-3149 =
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ike Meissner Award
The IKE MEISSNER AWARD is presented annually to a Corvairs of New Mexico (CNM)
member, in good standing who best exemplifies a spirit of camaraderie and
fellowship, in the Corvair realm, with other CNM members and other Corvair
enthusiasts.
To commemorate the occasion, the recipient shall be awarded a plaque suitable
for prominent display. The award shall read:
YEAR
Corvairs of New Mexico
IKE MEISSNER AWARD
AWARD RECIPIENT NAME
The selection committee for the awards shall be comprised of three CNM members
appointed by the CNM President, within two months of the last presentation, who
will work with and report to the CNM Vice-President. It is recommended that at
least two of the three members be immediate past award recipients. It is
preferable for the last three immediate recipients to serve on the selection
committee.
The CNM Vice-President shall achieve approval of the award by concurrence with a
quorum of the officers of CNM. (i.e., Three of the four CNM officers must
concur to approve the award.)
Guidelines for consideration for the Ike Meissner Award, in order of priority,
shall be:
1. Attend meetings and plan, coordinate or organize CNM activities or events
2. Share Corvair knowledge, contribute technical information and tips to the
CNM newsletter or other CORSA publications.
3. Encourage owners to preserve, maintain and share in the lore of the
Corvair.
4. Serve in CNM as a committee person, chair, director and/or officer.
5. Attend an official CORSA event and/or serve with CORSA in an officially
recognized capacity.
6. Recruit at least one new member.
The presentation of the Ike Meissner Award shall be made at the annual CNM
Anniversary Banquet or at a time and place designated by the CNM President. The
presentation shall be made by the CNM Vice President or an alternate designated
by the CNM President.
The content of the oral award presentation shall be scripted in advance and have
achieved concurrence of the Ike Meissner Award Committee and the CNM Vice
President or an alternate designated by the CNM President.
The oral award presentation and engraved plaque shall be prepared no later than
one week prior to the annual CNM Anniversary Banquet or the otherwise designated
time and place.
PREVIOUS AWARD RECIPIENTS:
01. 1987 Bill Hector 12. 1998 Wendell Walker
02. 1988 Jerry Goffe 13. 1999 Dennis Pleau
03. 1989 LeRoy Rogers 14. 2000 Rita Gongora
04. 1990 Jim Pittman 15. 2001 Oliver Scheflow
05. 1991 Sylvan Zuercher 16. 2003 Anne Mae Gold
06. 1992 Bill Reider 17. 2004 Larry Blair
07. 1993 Steve Gongora 18. 2005 Robert Gold
08. 1994 Michael Stickler 19. 2006 Tarmo Sutt
09. 1995 Charles Vertrees 20. 2007 Dave Huntoon
10. 1996 Debbie Pleau 21. 2008 Heula Pittman
11. 1997 Mark Domzalski 22. 2009 Ray Trujillo
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ike Meissner Award
Nomination
The Ike Meissner Award is presented annually to a Corvairs of New Mexico (CNM)
member, in good standing who best exemplifies a spirit of camaraderie and
fellowship, in the Corvair realm, with other CNM members and other Corvair
enthusiasts.
This form is confidential. To avoid disappointment, do not
divulge to or otherwise advise the nominee of this action.
This form shall be submitted to the CNM Vice President or an alternate appointed
and designated by the CNM President.
This form will be distributed in the January issue of the Enchanted Corvairs
Newsletter and at the January Membership Meeting.
The DEADLINE for submission of this completed nomination form shall be NO LATER
THAN adjournment of the February Membership Meeting or as otherwise designated
by the CNM President. Any exceptions to this deadline shall be made by
agreement between the CNM Vice President or the appointed alternate and the CNM
President.
To the Ike Meissner Award Committee:
It is a pleasure to submit the following Corvairs of New Mexico member
to be considered for the Ike Meissner Award.
Name: ___________________________________________
Address: ________________________________________
City, State and Zip: ____________________________
Has been a CNM member since: __________ Has been a CORSA member since: _________
Has served as a CNM official, chair or leader: Y _ N _ Approximate years: ______
Has promoted the Corvair and Corvair hobby: Y _ N _
Has helped other people: Y _ N _
Briefly describe the merits of this member and nomination: _____________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
Date of this nomination: __________________
Author of this nomination: __________________________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
=END=