The February 2016 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 24-Sep-2016 = Copyright (c) 2016 Corvairs of New Mexico
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FEBRUARY 2016 / VOLUME 42 / NUMBER 2 / ISSUE #485
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Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2005
Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, Third Place, 2010
Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2012
EDITOR: Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016 at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE
THIS MONTH:
Mechanically Un-inclined ........................... Ray Trujillo
Dues Due ................................... Membership Committee
January Meeting Minutes ........................... Anne Mae Gold
New Members: Victor & Belinda Sanchez ...... Membership Committee
January Board Meeting Minutes ..................... Anne Mae Gold
Birthdays & Anniversaries .................... Sunshine Committee
The Planets Align: NMCCC Board ...................... Robert Gold
Breakfast at Sergio's ................................ John Wiker
The Holbrook Enigma ................... DENVAIR NEWS Eric Schakel
Plus Size Door Handles .............................. Robert Gold
Treasury Report ..................................... Robert Gold
Warming Up Your Car ................................. Jim Pittman
Calendar of Coming Events .................... Board of Directors
February Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ..... Club Historian
Nomination Form for the MEISSNER AWARD ......... Awards Committee
COVER: To a Saturday Morning Club Breakfast at Sergio's Bakery We Did Go!
The bakery makes New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake! Misspelled on the sign
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OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS
President: Ray Trujillo 505-814-8373 ray bpsabq.com
Vice President: John Wiker 505-899-3076 wikerj63 yahoo.com
Secretary: Anne Mae Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com
Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com
Car Council: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com
Merchandise: Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall q.com
Membership: Larry Yoffee 505-321-5909 corsa180 gmail.com
Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp unm.edu
Old Route 66: Lube Lubert 505-256-9331 williamlubert gmail.com
Past President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall q.com
Past President: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com
Past Vice-Pres: Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo juno.com
MEETINGS: First Wednesday of each Month at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE
INTERNET: CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org
CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp
Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871
Larry Yoffee's home page: http://www.corsaturbo180usa.com/
New Mexico Council of Car Clubs: http://www.nmcarcouncil.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
DUES DUE DATES FEBRUARY 2016
EXPIRED =============================== INACTIVE DATE
2015.01 Darlene & William Darcy 25-Feb-2015
2015.02 Frank Stadler 25-Mar-2105
2015.08 Linda & Anthony Berbig 25-SEP-2015
2015.09 Lisa & Dan Thompson 25-OCT-2015
2015.12 Mark L Morgan 25-JAN-2016
DUE LAST MONTH ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2016.01 (NONE) 25-FEB-2016
DUE THIS MONTH ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2016.02 (NONE) 25-MAR-2016
DUE NEXT MONTH ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2016.03 Mary Ellen & David Feasel 25-APR-2016
2016.03 Carl Johnson 25-APR-2016
2016.03 Emma & LeRoy Rogers 25-APR-2016
DUE APRIL 2016 ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2016.04 Deborah & John Dinsdale 25-MAY-2016
2016.04 Art Gold 25-MAY-2016
Send your Dues to:
CNM Treasurer
c/o Robert Gold
1301 Valencia NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Past due memberships become inactive after a one-month grace period.
The Club will mail in your National Dues if you send us the renewal
form from your Communique.
On 23-Jan-2016 we had 45 active family memberships.
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MECHANICALLY UN-INCLINED
Ray Trujillo
Hello everyone!
Now that a cold and dreary January has passed, to me January seemed that way
anyway, let's move on to February and hopefully we'll get some warmer and less
cloudy days.
CNM's club activity for February is a visit to the Unser Racing Museum. The cost
will be $4.50 per person if we get at least 15 people, if less than fifteen
attendees the cost will be $6 per person. At either cost the price is very
reasonable, especially for the quality of the museum. I feel comfortable saying
CNM will have at least fifteen members come and take advantage of learning about
this legendary family and its racing history . If you have never been to the
museum, and even if you have, you owe it to yourself to come and see what a
treasure Albuquerque's Unser family has given to our community. The last time I
went to the museum was about eight or nine years ago with CNM and I really
enjoyed it. I'm really looking forward to going again as some other exhibits
have been added. So plan now to attend and remember it's on Saturday February
6th at 10:00 am and the location is 1776 Montano Rd NW. When you see John Wiker
thank him for taking the time to arrange this club activity.
As many of you know March is CNM's anniversary month. This year CNM will hold
its anniversary dinner at the Highland Senior Center on Saturday March 12th from
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. Since March also features Saint Patrick's Day I thought it
might be a good idea to make an Irish corned beef and cabbage meal. My lovely
wife Sylvia and I will prepare the corned beef and cabbage with red potatoes and
carrots in a warm soup broth. I'm hoping many of you like corned beef and
cabbage, but if you're one who doesn't care for it feel free to bring a dish of
your liking. At the next membership meeting we'll pass around a list of other
items we'll need to complete our anniversary dinner, so if you can, please sign
up for any items on the list that you'd like to bring.
Also, don't forget to bring in your Ike Meissner Award nominations for the
member you feel deserves special recognition for their contributions to our
great club. This will be CNM's 42nd anniversary so please save the date for what
should be a nice celebration.
Last month we held a club breakfast at Sergio's Cafe and Bakery. CNM had twelve
adults and one child attend and from what I understand everyone had a good time
visiting with each other and for the most part the food was good. Thank you to
both Steve and Rita for recommending Sergio's to our club. For more information
about the breakfast please read John Wiker's article in this newsletter. Please
remember if you have any suggestions for other club activities let me or one of
your board members know.
Well I guess that's enough said for now, so I hope to see you at the next club
meeting. -- Ray
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JANUARY MEETING MINUTES - 2016.01.06
Anne Mae Gold
Call to order: 7:07 pm
Approval of old minutes: approved without change
President: Ray was in attendance! Welcome back! There are some calendars and a
DVD up for grabs after the meeting. Larry Blair also brought a new car magazine
called NM Rods and Rides, it has a listing of car clubs and events. Visitors
tonight are: Victor & Belinda Sanchez and daughter who have inherited a 1962
Corvair Monza 900. They will be joining CNM. Welcome!
Vice-President: John reported that his wife Anne took a picture of the principal
whose school received the school supplies the club donated. He will try to get
it into the newsletter. Please let everyone know about the Saturday February 6
Club Tour of the Unser Museum. If we have more than 15 people we only have to
pay $4.80, if fewer than 15 we will need to pay $6 per person.
Secretary: nothing to report
Treasurer: Art Gold reported for Robert: $4,776.45
Committee Reports
Membership: Larry asked who was in charge of name tags, that person is John
Wiker. Larry brought the shirts in. Please pay the treasurer $19.50 per shirt.
Members can take their shirts tonight and pay at the next meeting.
Editor: Jim has several items. Deadline is Friday January 22 for the newsletter.
Jim brought in copies of the nomination forms for the Ike Meissner Award, they
will be printed in the February newsletter, and nominations are due by the end
of the February meeting. As for Google Analytics, Jim said he has learned very
little from it and will probably remove it from the CNM website.
Car Council: Robert was not in attendance at our meeting because he was
attending a Car Council Board Meeting.
Merchandise: Nothing to report. Vickie has some calendars to give out.
Tri-States: The 2016 Montrose Tri-State: Jim just received an update email from
Pikes Peak Corvair Club. He will put the update on the website. Please go to the
CNM website, look under "Tri-States" and "Preview the 2016 Tri-State" and read
the update. For our 2017 Tri-State, Terry does not have much news to report. The
Wilverts have agreed to organize and run the Hospitality Room... thank you to
them! Terry said there are still three possibilities for the venue: Pagosa
Springs, Las Vegas and Taos. At this time Taos is the most likely place. A
decision will be made soon.
Upcoming Events:
Jan. 9 9:30 AM: Club breakfast at Sergio's Cafe and Bakery.
Feb. 6 10:00 AM: Tour of the Unser Museum at 1776 Montano NW.
March (TBA): Anniversary Dinner. We need volunteers to set it up and will need
nominations for the Ike Meissner Award.
Past Events:
The Christmas dinner was well attended at The Quarters. Thank you to John Wiker
for organizing the dinner and also for delivering the donated school supplies.
Miscellaneous Topics:
The 50/50 pot was $8. It was won by John Wiker. Terry asks the membership to
bring in the freebies from Harbor Freight. Please give him any items that we
want included in the welcome packages.
Adjourned.
After the meeting, club shirts were distributed to those who had ordered them.
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JANUARY BOARD MEETING MINUTES -- 2016.01.20
Anne Mae Gold
Present: Ray T, John W, Jim P, Larry Y, Rob G, Anne Mae G, Lube L, Terry P
Called to order: 5:01 pm
Officer Reports
President: When are we having the Route 66 cleanup? Lube says Saturday April 9
at 8:30 am will be the first one. The second one will be determined at a later
date. Which months should we NOT hold board meetings for 2016? No June or
December board meetings for now. For the Anniversary Dinner, Ray proposes an
Irish Pot Luck to be held on March 12 from 2:00 to 3:30 at Highland Senior
Center.
VP: Manzano Mesa Senior Center could be a back-up site for the Anniversary
Dinner. At the next meeting a sign-up for sides, drinks, and desserts. John gave
Robert a check for the Sanchez Family dues.
Treasurer: $4,916.77
Committee Reports
Membership: Tim Shortle from Durango joined the club. Larry gave Robert his
check and he's already a CORSA member. Not everyone has picked up or paid for
their shirts. Larry showed us a shirt that Vickie had embroidered for Pat. If we
have a minimum order of 12 shirts, then for $10 you can have any new shirt or
jacket embroidered. Larry says that the Smith's Grocery on Paseo del Norte would
be a good place to have a car show this summer. They have a nice parking lot
with lots of visibility. We have been asked by Domingo Baca Multigenerational
Center to have a Corvair Car Show on Father's Day weekend, June 19.
Editor: Newsletter deadline is Friday, January 22. As Robert lets Jim know who
has paid their dues, he updates the membership list. CORSA has started to have
leveled membership costs depending on if you get the Communique in the mail or
on-line. The price we have listed on the newsletter for CORSA dues is
incomplete. We can just continue to sign up new members at CORSA's original
rate.
Car Council: Next week is the January NMCCC meeting. Robert is now involved with
the Car Council newsletter. He will be printing and mailing the newsletter.
Tri-State: Terry has still not received a response from Las Vegas. He got
feedback from Pagosa Springs. It would cost about $25 more per night to stay
there. They are going to have a Bluegrass festival on the same weekend. Terry
suggests we go with Taos. They have offered us a wonderful package. The board
agreed unanimously. Larry asked if we want to do T-shirts for this event. The
board agreed unanimously. He asked for permission to make executive decisions on
the design. The board agreed unanimously. Larry will most likely set up an
on-line store on his website to handle out-of-town sales.
New Business
Feb. 6 - Unser Museum garage tour at 10:00 am. 1776 Montano Rd NW
Mar. 12 - Anniversary dinner @ Highland Senior Center 2:00 to 3:30 PM
Apr. 23 - Spring Thaw at the Old Car Garage, 3232 Girard NE
Adjourned at 5:52
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FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS:
Alan Gold
Nancy McDuffie
Belinda Sanchez
Anthony Shortle
FEBRUARY WEDDING ANNIVERSARY:
Rita and Steve Gongora
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THE PLANETS ALIGN - JANUARY CAR COUNCIL BOARD MEETING
Robert Gold
I heard a character on the NCIS TV show say that there is no such thing as a
coincidence. Based on my experience in attending this month's Car Council Board
meeting I know that isn't true. Here is my tale of coincidence:
On Wednesday, January 6, I went with my son, Art and my lovely wife, Anne Mae to
the monthly meeting of Corvairs of New Mexico. As I wandered through the lobby I
came across two Car Council Board members about to enter the elevator. That was
weird. When I said hello to them I was in for quite a shock. At the very time
CNM was scheduled to meet, the Board was to also have a meeting! A meeting that
I had not heard about. What to do... My first reaction was to forget the Board
and do my duty to CNM. My second thought is that I had two people who could do a
great job filling in for me, so I abandoned the CNM meeting and went to the
Board meeting and it was lucky that I did. It turned out that only 3 Board
members were there ahead of me, making them one short of a quorum. Because I was
there they were able to hold the meeting. Weird huh? I forgot to mention that I
came in a separate car from Art and Anne Mae so I could stay as long as I needed
to be there. We NEVER come in separate cars.... The planets had aligned and I
was meant to attend that meeting!!!
Here is a summary of what the Board covered.
To begin, the purpose of the meeting was to agree on a budget for the coming
year. Joe Ballengee, our treasurer, did a great job of preparing the
documentation we needed to figure how much we needed to spend. However, before
we got into that there was a discussion about the bylaw changes. It was
generally agreed that the changes approved at the December regular meeting were
adequate.
Following the bylaw discussion we turned to the future of the newsletter. Joyce
Clements indicated that she would continue to filter the upcoming events listing
to make sure that only appropriate events made it in. I'll be helping with other
aspects of the newsletter in the future. I should know what I need to do after a
meeting I'll have with Joyce on January 12. We agreed that Joyce is the one to
be the initial point of contact for the events and that she would use her
judgement on what to list. We want to avoid those events that don't benefit the
community in some way. There was a thought that we shouldn't list things that
conflict with the Car Council events, because we don't want to limit attendance
at our events. We finally decided to leave that up to Joyce.
I next took the opportunity to ask for Board approval of a payment to Paul
Krause, the IT specialist, for his work on the website. I noted that without
Paul there would be no website. The Board approved a $350.00 payment to Paul. It
was noted during the discussion that in the past the Council had spent a
considerable amount of money (more that 2,000 dollars!) to produce a
nonfunctioning website. It was obvious we had gotten a lot more for our money
this time around. I also got approval for the $120 per year that we'll spend to
keep the email going in Google Apps. All these expenditures are subject to the
approval by the full Council.
Lastly, we got around to discussing the budget. It took awhile to go through
Joe's budget documents, but in the end we agreed on how to spend our money next
year. It was quite a lesson to look at all the elements of the budget.
With that the meeting ended. We'll be holding our first regular Car Council
meeting in a couple of weeks. I'll let you know what went on as long as the
planets align... -- Robert Gold
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BREAKFAST AT SERGIO'S
John Wiker
Twelve adults and one child braved the cold, raw weather on Saturday to enjoy
each other's company and some homemade breakfast at Sergio's on Wyoming. New
members Belinda & Victor Sanchez joined our group. Once again, the club was the
major business partner of the day and the kitchen did a good job of keeping up
with the demand -- once we learned the system of ordering and paying at the
counter.
Larry Yoffee was one of the last to arrive but he broke the code on the system
first and let us all know how to do it. Too many of us spent time socializing
with each other, thinking we would soon get a waitress to come to the table. I
even acted as the host by providing everyone their silverware and napkins and
helping push the large round tables together so we could all sit together like
one big happy family.
Well, not all of us were happy. Just ask Jim about his order and how his "over
well" eggs turned out. It was obvious that the staff were not used to serving so
many at one time. Most customers I saw walked in and placed an order for one or
two and mostly to go. I only saw one other couple and their child sitting at a
table at the other end of the place while we were there.
Everybody enjoyed themselves and about two hours later, we were on the way home
or other destinations.
It does my heart good to see how our club helps some little Mom and Pop place
have a good day at the register. Anyone who knows of other places like this, let
me know so we can get it on the calendar for the April breakfast event. See you
there.
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Reprinted from: The Denvair News Volume 42, Issue 1, January 2016
THE HOLBROOK ENIGMA
Eric Schakel
Thursday, October 22nd, the maroon Corvair was humming contentedly along
westbound Interstate 40 at a cruise-foot-controlled approximate 75 MPH in 4th
gear. The gears whirred quietly, the fan whirred noisily, and the Schakels were
singing along to old car songs and enjoying the sunny warmth.
It was early afternoon as the trio of one car and two Schakels entered the
boundaries of Holbrook in northern Arizona. At that particular time and place,
without warning, and for reasons only known to the gremlins of metallurgical
physics, the idling first gear abruptly ceased to spin freely on the
transmission mainshaft. Linae looked at me when the car slowed slightly, and
asked, "What was that?"
I didn't know, and did not have much time to cogitate. The sudden friction
between the spinning journals exponentially raised the temperature, incinerating
the remaining lubricant layer and welding the two metal surfaces into one rigid
piece. This abruptly stopped the rotation of the rear tires, which began
skipping/chirping on the highway surface, and applied a massive torque shock
through the long, slender input shaft.
I pushed the immobile clutch pedal and tried to select neutral as the engine
attempted to overcome the lockup threatening to kill it. Neither succeeded, and
brief grinding roar signaled the disintegration of the clutch disk friction
surfaces. Another stab at the clutch pedal, delivered with gorilla mode
enthusiasm, snapped the tunnel pulley of the clutch linkage when the
centrifugally-compacted disk fiber prevented motion in the Belleville spring.
But the shift lever moved miraculously to neutral, and we found ourselves
coasting calmly westbound on I-40 at 65 MPH with the engine idling at 900 RPM
with no gears available. Perhaps 10 seconds had expired since Linae's question.
Happily, there was an exit coming up, and a clear, safe lane to move into. I
signaled, pulled off the exit, and brought the idling car to a halt short of the
US Highway 40 (Old Route 66) intersection. We summoned AAA, and they had Ari on
the scene in 15 minutes with his roll-back, and we had the broken Corvair safely
inside a massive security fence in another half-hour.
Phone negotiations fortuitously turned up Dollar Pawn and Car Rental in nearby
Winslow, Arizona. The good old boy at Dollar (for a fee, of course!) was kind
enough to send Jack to pick us up in a 2014 Buick that had been badly repaired
after an accident. We feared the worst.
But, once Jack (a nearly mute Navajo of indeterminable age) had delivered us to
the shop, we learned that they would bestow a 2015 Nissan Sentra upon us, as
long as we promised to bring it back when we were done with it. The deal was
signed, and we headed west in our dark blue economy rental. Roughly three hours
were lost along the road, and Mrs. Schakel did not have to walk, push, or fight
off hungry vultures. The adventure continued, as we reported in the previous
issue of The Denvair News.
So it was on Halloween that we found ourselves once again heading to Holbrook,
Arizona. The trip started at 4:20am that clear Saturday morning, in our Chevy
Avalanche with Jon Whiteley's 16 foot flatbed trailer in tow. Our mission was to
bring our broken Corvair home.
The trip itself was uneventful, as trips should be. After years of towing a 24
foot enclosed trailer, the 16 foot flat trailer was a delight. It was easy to
forget the trailer was attached behind our old Avalanche. We popped the sunroof,
and fired up the oldies, interspersed with some strategic Beethoven symphonies
and Gershwin rhapsodies. It really doesn't get much better than that.
Holbrook came into view about 2:00 Denver time, and our man Ari met us with the
keys to the compound. I am extremely sorry that I did not have the presence of
mind to take any pix of the car as we recovered it, but the whole scene was
surreal and oddly moving. Imagine:
The fence itself was corrugated steel rusted to that nasty red-brown color of
tetanus-infected nails, roughly 16 feet high, of sheets 3/16" thick. It looked
like a compound from Mad Max, complete with a rusted, creaky gate that would
have stymied King Kong.
Oddly, the fence was created to guard what could only be termed a desolate
family junkyard, strewn with weeds and rotting piles of unused building
materials among the modest assortment of old cars. The Corvair was straight
across the yard, between a faded, leaning Pearson 26 sailboat on rotting metal
and wood pilings, and a white late 80s Cadillac with flat tires melting into the
earth, set off by a full set of shattered windows.
The Corvair faced the gate, and when it had opened enough that the car could see
us standing there, I swear I saw tears run down the headlight lenses. Linae put
her arm on mine, and said, "If it could move, it would come over and rub your
leg, crying 'Daddy, you came back for me!'" You may think that to be an
exaggeration, but even now the memory chokes me up. One could almost hear the
bumper creak as the car tried to smile as it was loaded onto the trailer and
secured for the trip home.
Unlike the trip to the Fan Belt Toss, this trip remained uneventful. It took 250
miles to get used to seeing what looked like an aggressively-tailgating Corvair
in the rear mirror, but that shock passed. We continued to sing along, and
marveled at the fact that I-25 after Albuquerque was almost a ghost highway.
Halloween is apparently not one of those "over the river and through the woods"
holidays, and there were literally intervals of 5 minutes where no other
headlights appeared on the highway. Now, that was downright spooky.
We rolled onto the home ground at 1:20am, completing a long, tiring, but oddly
satisfying day. Our broken Corvair, re-christened Holbrook, was safely home.
The astute reader might wonder why we didn't just rent a truck and tow it home,
avoiding the second adventure. We actually made just such an attempt, waiting in
Phoenix until Monday morning to discuss a flat tow trailer with a U-Haul
corporate manager. If you actually tell the truth (one of my character flaws - I
can stretch things, but refuse to outright LIE), no one will rent a flat trailer
to you for hauling a Corvair. U-Haul will rent a tow dolly, but as I explained
to Mr. U-Haul, the trans had suffered unknown damage, and might be locked. There
is no steering lock on the front of a Corvair. We needed a trailer.
That washed us out - the decision was made to drop the pawn rental off, which
required a car that could be dropped in Denver. We visited the folks at Hertz
Sky Harbor, and were on our way. Have you ever driven a Nissan Altima with the
CVT transmission? It was just plain weird, particularly after a transmission
issue in the Corvair.
Now, weeks later, with the failure identified, people ask if we will ever go on
a long trip in the Corvair again. The answer is, of course we will! The bizarre
failure was literally one of those things a lawyer might accurately call "force
majeure". There was perhaps a 0.001% chance of occurrence, and we just happened
to be in the right place at the wrong time. We are now working with a major
international Corvair repair and restoration firm (Rear Engine Specialists) to
put the driveline back together around another 50 year old transmission.
Assuming it will live another 50 years with fresh lube, Linae and I will be able
to travel with impunity until I reach 112 years of age, at which time we will
consider our options.
Drive them - it's good for both you and the Corvair! -- Eric Schakel
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PLUS SIZE DOOR HANDLES
Robert Gold
I have big hands. You know what they say about big hands... they say you need
big door handles.
I can't agree more with that statement. I noticed recently that on my Lakewood
it hurt to open the door because the handle was so short. This was the sorta
"art nouveau" door handle that came on the early models. I love the look of the
handle, but it just didn't work for me.
This was confusing to me because on my 1964 500 that has those handles I didn't
have that problem. What was going on? Upon closer inspection I discovered that
the door handles in my 500, even though they looked a lot like the ones in my
Lakewood, were, in fact, handles used on full size Chevys from about 1949-1964.
They look the same as the Corvair ones, but they are so-o-o-o-o much more
comfortable.
So if you have a size problem, like me, I'd suggest you look into this quick
change. The bigger handles still install just fine, and they look factory.
I don't know who made that change on my 1964 500, but I want to thank him or
her.
-- Robert Gold
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TREASURY REPORT ............. 12-17-2015 to 01-22-2016 ............. ROBERT GOLD
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $4,938.45
========== ==== ========== =========== =========================================
2015.12.21 2222 -$ 212.00 Graphic Connection --- CNM T-shirts $ 212.00
2015.12.29 2224 -$ 45.00 CORSA L.Yoffee 12 m CORSA $ 45.00
2016.01.05 +$ 95.00 Dues D.Huntoon 12 m CNM $ 25.00
2016.01.05 +$ Dues D.Palmer 12 m CNM & CORSA $ 70.00
2016.01.06 2227 -$ 26.30 H.Pittman JAN 2016 Newsletter_Printing $ 26.30
2016.01.06 2228 -$ 87.05 H.Pittman Newsletter postage, 3 months $ 87.05
2016.01.05 2226 -$ 246.33 L.Yoffee CNM Polo Shirts $ 246.33
2016.01.19 +$ 500.00 Dues K.Sullivan 26 m CNM $ 50.00
2016.01.19 +$ Dues T.Price 12 m CNM $ 25.00
2016.01.19 +$ Dues R.McDuffie 12 m CNM & CORSA $ 70.00
2016.01.19 +$ CNM Polo Shirts $ 355.00
2016.01.05 2225 -$ 45.00 CORSA D.Palmer dues $ 45.00
2016.01.05 2229 -$ 50.30 H.Pittman Stamps for birthday cards $ 50.30
2016.01.23 +$ 50/50 raffle for January $ 8.00
2016.01.23 +$ Correction for unknown error $ 87.30
========== ==== ========== =========== =========================================
2016.01.22 ********************** ENDING BALANCE ********************* $4,916.77
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NEWS ITEM: Albuquerque Police report 10 cases of car warm up theft
By Mo Haider -- Published: January 15, 2016, 12:33 pm
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - It has been a busy day for the Albuquerque Police
Department and Bernalillo County deputies. They were chasing car thieves
all morning who were taking advantage of people who left their car
warming up unattended....
WARMING UP YOUR CAR === 16 JANUARY 2016
Jim Pittman
In yesterday's news there was a story reporting ten vehicles stolen in
Albuquerque in the early morning hours. What they had in common: all were
warming up in the driveway in preparation for the owner's drive to work.
The story reminds me of my winter in Fairbanks, Alaska at Fort Wainwright,
1966-1967. I routinely drove my new turbo Corsa to work on the other side of the
post every day. Not the theft part of the story, the warming up part.
My 1966 Corsa coupe, new in May, made the trip up the Alaska highway with no
problems. It handled the miserable road conditions okay and never failed to
start. As winter approached the car was "winterized" per the advice of old
Alaska hands. Winterization included lighter transaxle lubricant, lighter engine
oil, an electric battery warmer, an electric oil pan heater, blocking off three
of the four openings above the engine where cooling air comes in, and a resolve
to change oil and filter every 30 days until spring. Alaska lore said air-cooled
engines were especially vulnerable to damage during the winter because they
would never get warmed up to correct operating temperature so the oil would soon
turn to sludge, destroying the rings and bearings. Being forewarned, I took
steps to get the engine warmed up every time I drove the car.
The drill was: when I parked at the barracks I'd be sure to plug in my electric
extension cord (made with special low-temperature material that wouldn't freeze
and crack at forty below) and the battery blanket would keep the electrons ready
to roll while the oil pan heater would keep the oil semi-liquid. I made sure to
leave the gear shift in neutral. The next morning I'd go out and put in the
clutch and crank over the engine. It always cranked and started. Then I'd goose
the throttle until the engine would run by itself on fast idle. I'm still
holding down the clutch and after a while I'd try letting it up. When the engine
was able to keep running in neutral with the clutch engaged I could leave the
car, heater fan blowing at full speed, and go back inside for another cup of
coffee. Fifteen minutes or so would be enough warm-up time so I could drive out
of the parking lot and head down the perimeter road on the way to our lab. I
would drive all the way in second gear, then park in our lab parking lot, plug
in the electric cord and go inside to work. After work I'd do the same thing to
drive back to the barracks. Most of the winter this would all be done in total
darkness.
In the fall, the first time there was snow in the parking lot, I backed out of
my parking spot and started to drive out in first gear. The car did a
slow-motion spin and at about 180 degrees I put in the clutch and the car
stopped spinning. Okay, I said, I'll start in second or third on slippery snow!
No more spin-outs.
One of our guys at the lab had a new Ford. I noticed that when it was time to go
home he'd get in his Ford, start it up, and sit there for a while before
leaving, no matter what the ambient temperature was. I finally asked him why he
did that. He said he was waiting for the blue "cold" light to go off. The Ford
had no temperature gauge but had a blue idiot light for "cold" and a red idiot
light for "hot" and he would not drive with that blue light glowing.
One of the army guys had a VW beetle and in addition to an oil pan heater he had
a little space heater on the floor of the passenger side of the car. Violating
regulations, he'd leave it running all night! In the morning his Beetle was
always toasty warm, no windshield frost, no cold vinyl seats, and the shifter
would work.
My tactics for never running the engine too cold must have worked because the
car survived the winter, the 5,000 mile trip to New Mexico and 40,000 more miles
of desert driving.
I guess I was able to keep my car because we did not have Albuquerque-qualified
car thieves operating at Fort Wainwright that winter.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
============================================================================
| February 2016 | March 2016 | April 2016 |
| Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa |
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 |
| 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
| 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 |
| 28 29 LEAP YEAR! | 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
============================================================================
WED 03 FEB 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER,
at Wyoming & Carmel, north of Wyoming & Paseo del Norte NE.
After the meeting, we may go to "JASON'S DELI" at 5920 Holly Ave. NE.
WED 03 FEB Nominations for the 2016 IKE MEISSNER AWARD will be accepted.
Nomination forms are printed in this month's newsletter.
SAT 06 FEB 10:00 AM Garage Tour to UNSER MUSEUM 1776 Montano Rd NW 505-341-1776
Group cost is $4.80 per person if we have 15 or more members or
$6.00 per person as seniors if we have fewer than 15. This includes
a "free" guide who will explain everything in all the areas if we
want that. We can also just wander around on our own. -- John Wiker
WED 17 FEB 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 19 FEB 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2016 newsletter
WED 24 FEB 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
============================================================================
WED 02 MAR 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER
SAT 12 MAR 2:00 - 3:30 PM Our 42nd Anniversary Celebration
SAT 12 MAR 2:00 - 3:30 PM HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER, 131 Monroe NE
SAT 12 MAR 2:00 - 3:30 PM The 2016 IKE MEISSNER AWARD will be presented.
WED 16 MAR 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
WED 23 MAR 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
============================================================================
WED 06 APR 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER
SAT 09 APR 8:30 AM - Old Route 66 Cleanup - meet at bridge over I-40
WED 20 APR 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
SAT 23 APR ....... WorldWide Automotive Annual Spring Thaw - Old Car Garage,
3232 Girard NE, Albuquerque / Oil & Filter Change, Inspections
WED 27 APR 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
============================================================================
SAT 14 MAY to SUN 02 OCT ... Route 66 Exhibit at The Albuquerque Museum
SUN 15 MAY ................ Albuquerque Museum / NMCCC 32nd Annual Car Show
============================================================================
FRI 03 JUN Tri-State == Montrose, Colorado - Sponsor Pikes Peak Corvair Club
SAT 04 JUN Tri-State == the Holiday Inn Express has been confirmed
SUN 05 JUN Tri-State == Stay tuned for phone numbers, T-shirts, other details
More information == http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter809/
MON 04 JUL Early! .......... Fourth of July on the Plaza in Santa Fe
SUN 14 AUG ....... NMCCC Picnic - Oak Flat Picnic Area, South 14, Tijeras
SUN xx SEP State Fair Car Show --- CHECK ON DATE AND TIME!
SAT xx SEP Concours du Soleil - Albuquerque - andy@albuquerquefoundation.org
FRI-SAT 23-25 SEP NMCCC Swap Meet, Los Lunas
============================================================================
2017 June 02-03-04 Tri-State == Sponsored by Corvairs of New Mexico. Taos, NM
============================================================================
See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities
======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SEVEN YEARS AGO FEBRUARY 2016 [ This month is Vol 42 Nr 2 Issue 485 ]
2009 Vol 35 Nr 2 #401
Larry Hickerson's awesome Rampside adorned our cover. VP Pat told about a new
member, Bill Darcy, owner of 5 Corvairs in Belen. Robert gave $3,511 as our bank
balance. Chuck listed Rafee Corvair in Wister, OK as a dealer in Corvair parts.
Try 918-753-2486. Corvair Underground, a long-time parts dealer, was to close.
Tarmo told us of a 1928 Lincoln in Sante Fe that could be had for a mere
$110,000. Our anniversary celebration was planned for the Indian Pueblo Cultural
Center. We needed nominations for the Ike Meissner Award. Mike said there had
been requests to present more tech sessions at meetings as we used to do. Brenda
reported on progress in planning the great Taos Tri-State. Kim Patten planned
our next breakfast. Heula presented Part 2 of the "Can You Identify This
Member?" series. Steve Goodman gave us tips of maintaining and driving our
Corvairs in the wintertime. Photos showed members at the board meeting, Corvairs
at Jimmy's Cafe and Kay looking over Tarmo's new 180-HP engine for the red
convertible. Finally, old (still good) tech tips: in 1996 Bill Reider told how
to take care of your steering box, Mark Domzalski outlined an FC transaxle swap,
and Bill and Mark discussed speedometers.
2002 Vol 28 Nr 2 #317
The cover: an early coupe. In a Mark Morgan cartoon, Billiken was job hunting
and finding it hard due to the collapse of Boeing and the dot-com bubble. Our
January meeting was held at Galles Chevrolet. Wendell reported $5658 in our
accounts. We were investigating a better investment than our money market
account. Bill recommended GMAC. Corvair Ladies planned meetings in the new year,
as well as the ever-popular progressive dinner. We planned a garage tour to the
Doll Museum and Dave Langlois' shop and a tour to Bosque del Apache. Jerry
recommended the April tune-up opportunity at Old Car Garage. The Board heard a
report by the Awards Committee. Among other recommendations, the committee said
we should have three elected board members. Did we ever act on this? I think
not. The award committee's report to the board was covered in detail in the
newsletter. President Robert Gold reported on an enjoyable tour to Bosque del
Apache, including a ride in a big white school bus. Five screen shots showed a
Greenbrier van seen in a recent Hollywood movie. Mark Martinek reported on the
January Car Council meeting where many events were being planned for the new
year. A preview of the 2002 Tri-State Event told us about tourist opportunities
near Grand Junction, Colorado in the middle of May. Finally, Jim reported on the
state of CNM's web presence: Steve posted many photos, club history and recent
news on the club's "official" CORSA web site, while Jim posted current and back
issues of the CNM newsletter on his University-hosted web site. In Jim's opinion
there was not much interest in the web sites because few of our members had
internet access and many who did were limited to telephone modem speeds, i.e.,
SLOW.
1995 Vol 21 Nr 2 #233
Our cover featured a side and top view of a 1965 8/10 Cord. The replica car from
Tulsa was front-wheel-drive, powered by a Corvair engine, with a body of
Expanded Royalite plastic. According to Road & Track, only 30 were ever sold,
making the 8/10 Cord a rare Corvair-powered vehicle indeed. The "8/10" name of
the replica car comes from its size: eight tenths scale compared to the original
1936 Cord 810, which was also front-wheel-drive and was powered by a Lycoming
aircraft V-8 engine. Other innovative features included a lack of chrome trim, a
lower body and seating position than other cars of the day, no running boards,
and disappearing headlights. The 1929 Cord L-29 was the first front-wheel-drive
car sold in America. President Larry ran our meeting; we had no new members or
guests at this meeting and our treasurer reported $1475 in the bank. Planning
continued for our Tri-State "Red River Rendezvous II" and our 1996 CORSA
Convention in Albuquerque. At our board meeting we asked for more tech tips for
the newsletter and set dollar rates for "For Sale" ads by non-members. We
discussed programs for meetings and proposed to set up registries for tool
loans, patterns, free parts and advice. We hoped these registries would pump new
life into the under-used CNM Library Van. A third edition of the "Care and
Feeding" booklet was under way. Bill Reider contributed an article on rebuilding
a differential, and drawings of special tools were included. Chuck Vertrees
reported on the use of Milk of Magnesia to treat bolts that would be exposed to
high temperatures. Finally, a tech tip liberated from another newsletter told us
all we needed to know about installing a 1963 padded dash.
1988 Vol 14 Nr 2 #149
Mark Morgan's cover drawing showed a rear-engine Renault with 180-hp. We learned
we had $464 to spend. Dale Housley found a source of club jackets at $30 each.
Our guest speaker was from MADD and reported on that organization's efforts to
curb drinking while driving. At the board meeting we proposed a dues increase
(postage rates were going up) and LeRoy listed items to be auctioned in
February. We planned a garage tour to see the facilities of LeRoy Rogers, Butch
Uher and Bob Philips. Your editor reviewed THE RECKONING by David Halberstam and
highly recommended it to car buffs. It was a study of Ford and Nissan as car
companies with very different philosophies, failures and successes.
1981 Vol 7 Nr 2 # 65
The cover featured the now-familiar CNM dragon and his friends jumping into
Noah's Ark - but the ark looked like a Rampside. George Morin brought in two
pressure plates to let us see why one was acceptable and the other was not.
Robin DeVore brought in samples of carpets, one by Clark's and one by American
Corvair. Bill Reider showed us how to rebuild starters. A tech tip discussed the
effects of dirt in the carburetor float bowl and how to deal with it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Corvairs of New Mexico
Standing Award
Ike Meissner Award
As approved the Corvairs of New Mexico Board of Directors, October 20, 2004, and
re-established by the Corvairs of New Mexico Board of Directors, July 16, 2014.
This tribute was written by Past President Sylvan Zuercher:
In Memoriam John A. Meissner
"Blessed are those with the Corvair hobby, for they shall be allowed to get
dirty."
Ike wrote those word in an article for our club newsletter entitled "Hints -
Kinks - Sense and Nonsense."
Ike was as unique to our club as is the Corvair.
He was enthusiastic in his approach to club activities, club members, Corvair
owners and to finding answers to Corvair car problems. He encouraged many to
keep, preserve and maintain his favorite car. This he did with advice, trading
or giving of parts and by sharing his knowledge.
He attended meetings and club activities under distance and weather conditions
and later his own physical condition that would have kept most of the other
members at home. Ike arrived on many a meeting night after a session with
dialysis when the meeting was nearly over, to share what he could and I am sure
for the fellowship of the members. I feel that his overall outlook on life was
the reason for such enthusiasm.
Ike was the author of many articles about the Corvair, and several were
published by CORSA. His sense of humor showed in these articles, such as his
account of Clyde and the 500. This was the story of his daily drive from Santa
Fe to Los Alamos and the competition he was getting from a driver going the same
route.
Ike's determination was evident several years ago during a Corvair fun run near
Montrose, Colorado. It seems he misread or missed some directions and became
somewhat lost. Eventually he was found, but upon learning he was close to the
finish line, he declined to be led there, saying that he would find the way.
Ike's approach to Corvairs seems to have been: If it can be fixed or some part
can be made to work better, I'll find the way to do it.
While visiting Ike at the hospital two weeks ago, he told me that he just had to
find a way to get better. Maybe Ike found his way.
Blessed are we of the Corvair hobby who were privileged to know you and to
fellowship with you.
Sylvan Zuercher
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The IKE MEISSNER AWARD - Established 1987
01. 1987 Dec 2 Bill Hector
02. 1988 Dec 7 Jerry Goffe
03. 1989 Dec 6 LeRoy Rogers
04. 1990 Dec 5 Jim Pittman
05. 1991 Dec 4 Sylvan Zuercher
06. 1992 Dec 2 Bill Reider
07. 1993 Dec 1 Steve Gongora
08. 1994 Dec 7 Michael Stickler
09. 1995 Dec 9 Charles Vertrees
10. 1996 Dec 7 Debbie Pleau
11. 1997 Dec 6 Mark Domzalski
12. 1998 Dec 6 Wendell Walker
13. 1999 Dec 5 Dennis Pleau
14. 2000 Dec 3 Rita Gongora
15. 2001 Dec 2 Oliver Scheflow
... 2002 (Change from December to March)
16. 2003 Mar 9 Anne Mae Gold
17. 2004 Mar 27 Larry Blair
18. 2005 Mar 26 Robert Gold
19. 2006 Mar 18 Tarmo Sutt
20. 2007 Mar 10 Dave Huntoon
21. 2008 Mar 15 Heula Pittman
22. 2009 Mar 7 Ray Trujillo
23. 2010 Mar 21 Ruth Boydston
24. 2011 Mar 6 Brenda Stickler
... 2012 - 2013 - 2014 (no Meissner Award these years)
25. 2015 Mar 21 Larry Yoffee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Ike Meissner Award Nomination Form
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 February issue of the Enchanted Corvairs
Newsletter and at the February 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: ____________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter is published monthly by Corvairs of New Mexico,
chartered Chapter #871 of CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Copyright by
the Authors and by Corvairs of New Mexico. Articles may be reprinted in any
CORSA publication as a service to CORSA members, provided credit to the Author
and this Newsletter is clearly stated. All opinions are those of the Author or
Editor and are not necessarily endorsed by Corvairs of New Mexico or CORSA.
Material for publication should reach the Editor by the 15th of the month. Send
material via e-mail ( jimp @ unm.edu ) or submit a readable manuscript. I prefer
ASCII TEXT, but MS Word or RTF are fine. Photographs are welcome. I still print
mailing labels with a 1989 Apple IIgs on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIIp. The
newsletter is composed using Apple computers. Software includes OSX, AppleWorks,
Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for
more details. Transportation: 1965 Corvair Monza, 1990 Honda Civic, 1996 Mazda
Miata and 2013 Honda Civic. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my
friends.
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=END=