The October 2017 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 26-Sep-2017 ==== Copyright (c) 2017 Corvairs of New Mexico
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OCTOBER 2017 / VOLUME 43 / NUMBER 10 / ISSUE #505
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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 Regular Meeting: September 6th, 2017 at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE
THIS MONTH
President's Message ................................ John Wiker
Dues Due Dates ........................... Membership Committee
September Meeting Notes ......................... Anne Mae Gold
September Board Meeting Notes ................... Anne Mae Gold
Instant Gratification (Corvair Models) ............ Robert Gold
Birthdays & Anniversaries ................ Membership Committee
Miles of Smiles (State Fair Car Show} ............. Robert Gold
State Fair Car Show Photos ............. The Golds & Tarmo Sutt
Treasury Report ................................... Robert Gold
Shipping a Sports Car ............................. Jim Pittman
Short & Sweet (NMCCC Meeting) ..................... Robert Gold
TECH: Mounting Spare Tire .......................... Herb Kamer
TECH: Turbo Vacuum Advance / Pressure Retard ...... Jim Simpson
Calendar of Coming Events .................. Board of Directors
October Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago .... Club Historian
COVER Terry Price's State Fair Award-Winning 1966 Monza Convertible
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OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS
President John Wiker 505-239-3311 wikerj63 yahoo.com
Vice-Pres Lube Lubert 505-256-9331 dirtlube gmail.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 dirtlube2 gmail.com
Past President David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com
Past President Ray Trujillo 505-839-7436 ray bpsabq.com
Past VP 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 www.corvair.org/
CNM's newsletters www.unm.edu/~jimp/
Steve Gongora's page www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871/
Larry Yoffee's home page www.corsaturbo180usa.com/
New Mexico Council of Car Clubs 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 OCTOBER 2017
DUE LAST MONTH ================= INACTIVE DATE
2017.09 Rita & Steve Gongora 25-OCT-2017
2017.09 Tracey & John McMahan 25-OCT-2017
DUE THIS MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE
2017.10 Debra & Jon Anderson 25-NOV-2017
2017.10 Carl Clasmeyer 25-NOV-2017
2017.10 Mary Lou & Mark Martinek 25-NOV-2017
2017.10 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo 25-NOV-2017
DUE NEXT MONTH ================= INACTIVE DATE
2017.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 25-DEC-2017
2017.11 Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski 25-DEC-2017
2017.11 Cheryl & Ed Halpin 25-DEC-2017
2017.11 Leslie & Kevin Sullivan 25-DEC-2017
DUE DECEMBER 2017 =============== INACTIVE DATE
2017.12 Linda & Anthony Berbig 25-JAN-2018
2017.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2018
2017.12 Fred Riggs II 25-JAN-2018
2017.12 Larry Yoffee 25-JAN-2018
INACTIVE ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2017.01 Nancy & Russ McDuffie 25-FEB-2017
2017.02 Victor Sanchez 25-MAR-2017
2017.07 Carol & Larry Haynes 25-AUG-2017
2017.08 Kathryn & Douglas Gadomski 25-SEP-2017
2017.08 Alan Gold 25-SEP-2017
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.
As of 25-SEP-2017 we have 46 active family memberships.
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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
John Wiker
How is everyone doing? Woke up to 46 degrees. Fall is here. I've got leaves to
rake that I did not have in Albuquerque. What a difference a few miles and 2,000
feet in altitude can make!
I want to take this opportunity to thank Robert Gold for the excellent turnout
at the State Fair. We had 18 cars show up. That's more than I can recall in my
18 years in the club. The weather was great, although we did have a brief shower
pass through about 0900 as we finished setting up. Everyone had a good time and
we had plenty of visitors and comments about our beloved Corvairs. In the
newsletter you'll see photos by the Gold family and Jim tells me some of the
photos were made by Tarmo with his new iPhone. Thanks to our photographers!
Now let's talk about the planned cross-country/fuel econo run scheduled for 14
October in the East mountains. As some of you know, I am President-elect of the
Kiwanis Club that sponsors the Balloon Fiesta each year. I am responsible for
supervising and ensuring that all the gates are manned to collect entry fees.
Because we are understaffed and have less experience this year, I am forced to
work a double shift on all weekend days. So I can't help with our Corvair event.
Dave Huntoon has volunteered to take on the task alone if we stay with the 14th
date. If we move it to the 21st, I will be there to help. The choice will be
discussed at the October general membership meeting. Come prepared to give us
your choice of dates. We will go with the date that brings in the most entries.
if you can't make the meeting, call me at 239-3311 and let me know your desire.
Don't forget that October is our month to install officers and committee
chairpersons. We are looking for a membership chairperson to replace Larry
Yoffee. Also, we are still looking for a volunteer to plan the Christmas party.
Time is running out to set up this annual event.
Speaking of our Christmas get-together, I got a nice "thank you" note from The
Storehouse thanking us for our contributions last year and asking us to consider
them again in our Christmas donations this year. What do you think, Vickie?
I hope to see all of you at our next club social event event -- the always
popular Pot-luck/Bingo night at House of Covers at 5:30 on the 4th of November.
Or, see you at the Econ run or the general membership meeting on Wednesday the
4th of October. Until then, keep those Corvairs running.
-- John Wiker
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SEPTEMBER MEETING -- 2017.09.06
Anne Mae Gold
Approval of past minutes: approved
OFFICER REPORTS
President: John passed out the maps to the Econo Run. He also presented what the
Econo Run trophies will look like. Staggered start times begin at 9 AM and end
at 10 AM. Starting point is the Shell station on the corner of Frost Road and NM
Route 14. Everyone will fill up their vehicle at that time. It has been decided
that tanks will be filled until the pump clicks off... do not top off. At the
end of the run you will fill up again and figure out gas usage. You can drive
anything you want, but the plaques will ONLY go to Corvairs. Please support the
club by participating. John and Anne experienced another power outage. This one
was a planned test that residents didn't know about.
Vice President: Lube was not able to attend the Gunnison Car Show. Lube is
keeping busy working on all his cars. He asked if anyone uses a high-volume oil
pump. Larry Blair and Pat both have them. Lube says his is running hot. On
Saturday, September 23, Lube will be attending an open house for NM Historical
Society Steam Engines.
Treasurer: Robert reported $6,860.55 in the checking account. He is also
updating the Care and Feeding of your Corvair booklet. He proposes that the
color of cover be changed from yellow to blue. The membership agrees. Robert
will continue in this position.
Secretary: Anne Mae will be missing a few meetings due to surgery. No firm date
yet. Anne Mae will continue in this position.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Membership: Larry Yoffee will not seek re-election to this position. If anyone
would like to put their name forward for this next round of elections, please
let John Wiker know, or nominate yourself at the October membership meeting.
Merchandise: Vickie sold one Care and Feeding booklet. LeRoy gave her some
pictures of a Corvair. For a small donation, a picture could be yours. For $2
you can own a Tri-State dash plaque. She explained how Uncle Sam came to be.
Vickie will continue in her position.
Car Council: September 23-24 will be the Swap Meet in Los Lunas. Pat and Lube
will help paint lines on Thursday. John and Robert have signed up to work the
gate. The Swap Meet has lost 50 spots to a soccer field. This may be the last
year for the Swap Meet at this location. The Car Council picnic was a great
success. Robert will continue in this position.
Editor: Jim sent word that Thursday, September 21 at 9:00 PM is the newsletter
deadline. This deadline comes after the State Fair Car Show, so please share
your photos and don't be afraid to submit an article. We urge everyone to write
and submit articles anytime, and Jim or Heula will proof read and publish them.
NEW BUSINESS::
SUN Sep 17th - State Fair Car Show. Meet at 7:00 AM at the San Pedro Mall, south
of Central.
SAT Oct 7th - Old Route 66 Cleanup at 8:30 AM
SAT Oct 14th - Road Econo Run - around the east mountain area. Approximately 33
miles in 45 minutes. [Note: this may be reschedules for October 21st.]
SAT Nov 4th - House of Covers Potluck and Silent Auction starts at 5:30 PM.
Bring your junk so we can treasure it! $1 per card per Bingo game.
SAT Dec 9th - Christmas Party: Who, What, Where, How much?
Ike Meissner Award progress report: Steve Gongora is working on simplifying the
process.
Candidates for offices and committees... please feel free to run for any
position, even if the officer has stated they will stay on in that position. Do
not be afraid to participate!
TUNA: Pat Hall offered to hold a tech session down at his place. Let him know
what would be a good topic and set a date to have it soon. John needs some push
rods that need replacement, also carburetors are always a good topic, linkage is
a sore subject... but a necessary one!
50/50: The pot was $18.00 and the winner was John Wiker. John donated all but $2
to the Sunshine Committee.
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BOARD MEETING MINUTES - 2017.09.20
Anne Mae Gold
OFFICER REPORTS
President: John showed us the award plaques for the Econo Run. Since he will
need to work with the Kiwanis during the Balloon Fiesta, he won't be able to run
the Econo Run as planned on October 14th. At the next meeting there we will have
a vote to either keep it on the 14th (Dave Huntoon says he can run it that day)
or move it to the 21st when John can run it. The finalized date will be posted
in the next newsletter. We should all turn out in our Corvairs or Brand-X
vehicles for a pleasant drive in the country. The State Fair was attended by 18
Corvairs, a large number compared to other makes! The weather was great. John
appreciates the last minute reminders that Robert sends out. It makes a
difference. John was contacted by "The StoreHouse" saying they would love to be
on the receiving end of our generosity this year. Our Christmas donation went to
them last year.
VP: Lube told us that the Steam Locomotive Open House is this Saturday,
September 23rd, at 1833 18th Street NE. Come and see the restoration of the
AT&SF locomotive Number 2926. You will be impressed! Their web page starts at
http://www.nmslrhs.org/ and goes from there. There will also be a model train
swap meet at a location near San Mateo and Indian School this weekend. Don't
forget, this is also the weekend to attend the Los Lunas Swap Meet.
Treasurer: Robert was at the Car Council meeting but sent his report. The
checking account balance is $7,010.55.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Editor: Jim says the newsletter is essentially done and ready to go and is just
waiting on John and Anne Mae to submit their parts. If anyone has anything to
submit for the newsletter, the deadline is Friday the 22 at 9:00 PM. Someone
named Charlie called both Jim and John with a Corvair for sale. John returned
the call. It's a 1966 Corsa with a racing engine and has appeared in the film,
Corvair Summer. John said Pat Hall was going down to Socorro to look at the car.
Car Council: Robert is attending the NMCCC meeting to prepare for the Los Lunas
Swap Meet. The Board would like to know if any clubs will be driving onto the
field during Balloon Fiesta. Robert may be able to find out at the meeting.
Merchandise: Vickie was not in attendance
Membership: Larry was not in attendance
UPCOMING EVENTS:
SAT Oct. 7 = Old Route 66 Cleanup at 8:30 AM
SAT Oct. 14 or 21 = Econo Road Tour in east mountains
SAT Nov. 4 = Bingo Night/Potluck/Silent Auction at 5:30 PM
SAT Dec. 9 = Christmas Party - need someone to organize!
Meeting adjourned at 5:30
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INSTANT GRATIFICATION
Robert Gold
I have three passions in life - 1. My family, 2. Corvairs, and 3. Baseball. The
last two components have led me on a life-long journey to acquire stuff. Anyone
who has visited my house will see the fruits of my labors hanging on the walls,
jamming my bookshelves, and filling up my driveway and garage. In pursuing those
passions I've always been an advocate of "delayed gratification." To me it means
that the creation of a collection takes a lot of time... that's half the fun!
So it came as quite a surprise last Sunday when I violated my philosophy and
jumped right to the completed collection phase. Before I go into it, I'd like to
talk a bit about how I see the car hobby. I've thought that if you were into
collecting cars, you collected CARS. By that I mean those big gas-guzzling jobs
that choke our roads. Some are big and some are small, but the one thing they
have in common is that a human-type being can sit inside one, and if they are
lucky, drive the darn thing.
In contrast to those drivable things, I viewed the itsy-bitsy plastic things
that come in a cardboard box to be sort of a toy. I need to note that even
though the German Trabant is made up of cardboard-type construction, I do
consider it a real car. So all of that means I really didn't take the model car
part of the hobby seriously. It may have stemmed from the fact that I was really
good at breaking up any model or toy car I had as a child.
However, since I became a member of the Car Council I have changed my mind. In
case you're not aware of the fact, the treasurer of the Council is a member of
the New Mexico Model Car Club. From observing Joe Ballengee's passion for model
cars I have come to realize they are a really significant part of the car hobby.
The magnificent model car display that is part of the Council's annual Museum
Car Show also proves that point. Another fun thing has to do with the image of
the elderly woman that John Wiker showed us from the last Corsa Convention. Her
look of complete joy at winning an award at the model car event was truly
memorable. I hope to be like that when I reach her age (maybe as soon as next
year?!).
With all that in mind, last Sunday I delved completely into model car collecting
by simply traveling to LeRoy Rogers' house. By sheer chance I heard from LeRoy
that he was interested in turning loose of his model car collection. Hearing
that the collection contained lots of Corvairs I made the trip up to LeRoy's
place to take a look. I did more than look. To the delight of Emma, LeRoy's
wife, I bought ALL of Leroy's model Corvairs, including the case to display them
in.
So today I have a model Corvair collection. Will I be looking to add to it?
Probably not. But I'm secure in the notion that I now am part of both aspects of
the car hobby. And guess what? I didn't have to add a room on to my home to
house it! -- Robert Gold
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Happy Birthday Wishes to Six CNM'ers born in October:
Jon Anderson
Erica Anderson
Dan Palmer
Terry Price
Bill Reider
Matthew Shortle
(There were no October Anniversaries.)
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MILES AND MILES OF SMILES AND SMILES -- STATE FAIR CAR SHOW
Robert Gold
Sometimes I wonder after 23 years of organizing the State Fair Car Show, why do
I continue to do it? Well, this year gave me the answer. As usual, the Gold clan
(and friends) headed out from my house and on our way to this year's meeting
place. I need to first mention the meeting place had to be moved slightly due to
the ART construction. We were just another of the many casualties of that
ill-conceived project. Anyway, the Gold caravan of seven cars arrived at the
parking lot, and what did we see? An amazing group of spectacular cars! There
were lots of cars and even nicer, lots of CNM'ers with broad smiles on their
faces. When folks finished arriving we had a field of 18 cars. That was enough
almost to completely fill our section Heritage Ave. Truly, a year to go down in
CNM history.
In addition to story of the cars today, another thing of note had to do with a
friend of mine who was kind enough to drive one of my cars. Her name is Betty
Williams, and she is a secretary at Sandia High, the school where Anne Mae
teaches. It turns out that in addition to being a first class secretary she has
a connection to one of the icons of CNM, Francis Boydston. One day after she saw
me driving my 500 to school she asked if I knew Francis. She then let me know
that for many years she was close friends with both Francis and Ruth. She even
rode in the Boydston Rampside bringing construction materials to the Boydston
home up near Pecos, NM. Truly a small world. But wait, there's more. When we
showed up she was greeted by a hug by our President, John Wiker. John knew her
when she spent many years as a secretary at Del Norte High School. Needless to
say, Betty and her family were feeling right at home.
So now without further ado, here is this year's list of entrants. A very
memorable list indeed.
1. Geoff & Anne Johnson .... 1964 Monza Vert.
2. Art Gold ................ 1964 Monza
3. Art Gold ................ 1965 Monza
4. Anne Mae Gold ........... 1961 Lakewood
5. Dave Huntoon ............ 1963 Monza Vert.
6. Sara Gold ............... 1974 Corvair Powered VW Bus
7. Lube Lubert ............. 1963 The Great White Hope
8. Geoff & Anne Johnson .... 1966 500
9. Robert Gold ............. 1964 500
10. Robert Gold ............. 1965 Corsa Vert.
11. Pat & Vickie Hall ....... 1965 Corsa
12. John & Anne Wiker ....... 1966 Monza
13. Ray Trujillo ............ 1965 Corsa Vert.
14. Tarmo Sutt .............. 1965 Cosa
15. Terry Price ............. 1966 Monza Vert.
16. Sara Gold ............... 1964 Monza
17. Javi Gold ............... 1966 Corsa
18. Robert Gold ............. 1962 Loadside
From this illustrious list the following are the cars selected for
special honors. Really, every car was a winner this year.
Best Early ............. Geoff & Anne Johnson 1964 Monza
Best Late .............. Art Gold 1966 Monza
Best FC ................ Sara Gold 1974 VW
Best Gold Family Car ... Robert Gold 1965 Corsa
Best of Show ........... Terry Price 1966 Monza
(Best of Show was recognized both by CNM and by a State Fair Commissioner)
That's all folks... See you next year!
Robert Gold
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2017.09.18 08:30:07 (TEXTS VIA IPHONES)
JIM: I see from Robert's report that you brought your 1965 Corsa to the State
Fair car show!
TARMO: Yes I did drive the 1965 Corsa down, looked for you at the gathering
photo before going in, sorry not to see.
JIM: Sorry I was not at the gathering to get photos. How did Terry's "new"
Corvair look?
TARMO: Terry's car looked very very nice, enjoyed looking it over and listening
to his thoughts about it, I like it very much. He got a CNM best of show award
and the State Fair best of show award, the look on his face was priceless.
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TREASURY REPORT FOR 08-26-2017 to 09-19-2017 Robert Gold
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,883.05
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2017.08.25 2297 -$ 22.50 R.Gold NMCCC Picnic -$ 22.50
2017.09.06 $ 150.00 Dues L.Blair 26 m CNM $ 50.00
2017.09.06 $ J.Yelich 26 m CNM $ 50.00
2017.09.06 $ Geoff Johnson 26 m CNM $ 50.00
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2017.10.01 OCT NEWSLETTER ========================================== $7,010.55
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2017.07.15 $ 50.00 Dues H.Wilvert 26 m CNM $ 50.00
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SHIPPING A SPORTS CAR
Jim Pittman
Robert's August article about how he got his new Hemi from Dallas to Albuquerque
reminded me of my only experience with shipping a car. Here's the story.
It was summer 1964 and I was in the Air Force stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB
near Dayton. I had joined a charter flight conducted by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
for an inexpensive three-week vacation in Europe. New York to Amsterdam, tramp
around Europe for three weeks, then Amsterdam to New York.
Getting to New York, touring Europe and getting home from New York were my
responsibility. KLM took care of the rest. They did a super job with the two
DC-8 jetliner flights across the Atlantic. We were in the lap of luxury all the
way there and all the way back.
As soon as my friends learned of my upcoming trip, they started asking, "What
kind of car are you going to bring back from Europe?" I was a Ford man and had
never given a thought to owning a foreign car. My plan after the European trip
was to trade my 1962 Fairlane for a 1965 Mustang along about Christmas. My
friends were not having that. "You can get a European car very cheap, drive it
for three weeks anywhere you want, then ship it home. You can sell it at a tidy
profit if you still want that Mustang."
A test drive in a TR-4 opened my mind to the possibilities of owning a British
sports car. I decided I had to have one and this trip made it possible! But,
which one? I finally ordered an Austin-Healey 3000 from the Dayton dealer. I was
to arrive in Amsterdam on Saturday October 24th and the car was be delivered at
the British Motor Corporation centre in London on Monday October 26th.
With my sights fixed on Paris, I had not intended to go to England. Now my plan
became, land in Amsterdam, take a train to London, go to the BMC center, pick up
the car, sign all the paperwork, drive directly to Dover, cross the Channel to
France, then to Paris to begin my European adventure.
I spent Saturday exploring Amsterdam, then took the train via Brussels,
Dunkerque and the Channel ferry to England. I was at BMC in London early Monday
morning. They told me, Sorry, the car has not been delivered yet. A strike by
some faction of British Labour. Yes, you can telephone tomorrow to inquire if it
has arrived by then.
Thus I had to change my plans again and find a hotel in London.
As it happened, this was a wonderful turn of events! Day after day I would
telephone BMC, no car yet, then I would spend the day exploring London. Were it
not for that strike I would have missed a week in one of the world's great
cities, not to mention getting to drive from London to Yorkshire, visiting
long-lost family, touring the "Lake District" and then driving south to the
White Cliffs of Dover.
On Friday October 30th the car was there! I made my way to the BMC office,
signed the papers, and by 5:00 PM was in possession of my brand-new American
export Austin-Healey. Now I had to drive an unfamiliar car, left-hand-drive, on
the wrong side of the street, in rush-hour London traffic, to my hotel on the
other side of London. I managed to survive. Early Saturday morning I departed
London for Huddersfield, some 200 miles via the M1 motorway.
After my Yorkshire weekend adventures I drove to Dover and took the car ferry to
France. Paris was wonderful. I had a great time driving around the Continent,
then returned to the Netherlands and turned over the car to the shipper,
destination Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Another day in Amsterdam, then the KLM
flight to New York, then home to Dayton to wait. Eventually I learned that the
ship was supposed to unload my car on Tuesday December 1st. I took the train to
Baltimore. The ship had not arrived! Some delay due to a Longshoremen's strike,
they said. No worries, it would arrive on Thursday and be unloaded on Friday. I
got a hotel and once again had a completely unplanned vacation in a great city.
I remember wonderful seafood, fine coffee and Fort McHenry's 15-stripe "Star
Spangled Banner" flag.
But on Thursday they told me the ship would not unload until sometime next week.
I couldn't stretch my vacation further. I took a bus to the airport for a
space-available flight back to Dayton.
Confirming by telephone that the car had definitely been unloaded, I flew TWA
from Dayton to Baltimore and by 3:00 PM on Monday December 7th I was picking up
the car and checking it for shipping damages.
It was filthy! It was covered with a layer of what seemed to be coal soot. I
looked the car over top to bottom and everything seemed to be there except a
small chrome fitting on one of the heater controls. And the car had NO GAS.
Apparently the storage area was a choice spot for fuel thieves to siphon car
tanks dry. But, there was just enough fuel to get to the nearest gas station.
I now had my new British sports car and it was now safely in America! I rested
up in a Baltimore motel and set out the next morning to drive from Maryland to
Dayton. And, near Springfield, Ohio I got my very first --- speeding ticket.
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SHORT AND SWEET -- September Car Council Meeting
Robert Gold
They say, "good things come in small boxes" and I'm sure my lovely wife, Anne
Mae, would agree with that, especially when she discovers a sparkling piece of
jewelry that I had given her for, say, our anniversary.
In like manner, good things revealed themselves at our latest Council meeting.
First of all, we had just a few reps in attendance, so the room was hardly
filled. Secondly, it took a very short time to go through most of the agenda. It
was the last topic, the upcoming Swap Meet, that provided the "sparkling" part
of the evening.
We quickly moved through the routine reports -- the treasurer gave his report,
we said hi to a visitor who was into Honda cars, I gave my website report (it
was sparkling!), Jamie said we have close to 2,000 "likes" on Facebook, and that
was that.
Then up stepped Joyce Clements and the meeting revved up. She was there to talk
about the Swap Meet that was to start the next day. With a smile on her face she
informed the sparse crowd that it looks like the Swap Meet will be continuing in
Los Lunas, at least through next year, 2018. It wasn't official, but it seemed
that the weight of the logic that the event contributed in many ways to the
Village of Los Lunas had carried the day. Joyce said she hoped it would be
official soon. What good news!
The balance of Joyce's time was spent on the various aspects of the upcoming
2017 Swap Meet. All the spaces were pretty much sold. CNM will be contributing
six volunteers -- Lube Lubert, Pat Hall, John Wiker, Art Gold, Alan Gold, and
myself. Remember, the Swap Meet runs from Friday, September 22 through Sunday,
September 24. If you'd like to have a good time, come and try it out.
With the conclusion of Joyce's report we adjourned the "short but sweet"
meeting.
-- Robert Gold
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Reprinted from: GROUP CORVAIR'S NEWSLETTER FOR THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA
VOLUME XLV. No.8 - September 2017
MOUNTING SPARE TIRES
Adapted from a note by Herb Kamer, 1977, Green County Corvair Group
Did you know there is actually a right way and a wrong way to mount your spare
tire on the spare tire bracket? Yes there is! The right way is to use the lug
nut upside down. If you take a good look at the holes in the wheel, you will
notice that they are beveled from the outside in with the lug nut beveled to
match. When the spare is mounted on the bracket, the wheel is upside down. Now
if you put the lug nut on the way you would normally use it (bevel to the
wheel), it will tend to deform the wheel hole pushing the thin edge of the bevel
in. So put the flat side of the lug nut against the wheel while it is mounted on
the spare tire bracket.
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Reprinted from: GROUP CORVAIR'S NEWSLETTER FOR THE NATIONAL CAPITAL AREA
VOLUME XLV. No.8 - September 2017
CLARK'S NEW TURBOCHARGER VACUUM ADVANCE/PRESSURE RETARD UNIT
Jim Simpson, Group Corvair
For those of you who own turbocharged Corvairs, I'm sure you know that the
distributor on your car's engine came equipped with a pressure retard instead of
the conventional vacuum advance. This was Chevrolet's means of controlling
pinging and detonation in the combustion chambers when the turbo was making
boost pressure. (Uncontrolled detonation would quickly lead to a severely
damaged engine; by retarding the ignition under boost, the chances were greatly
reduced.)
But all other Corvairs were fitted with a vacuum advance, as are just about all
other cars in the world. A vacuum advance, as its name implies, advances the
spark timing under low load conditions such as during idle and normal driving.
Advancing the ignition improves fuel economy and tends to lower engine operating
temperatures as well as reducing the "off-the-line" stumble as load is applied.
As a quick tutorial on how a vacuum advance (or pressure retard) works, take a
look at the pictures below. A vacuum advance is pretty simple; it is a "can"
with a flexible (rubber?) diaphragm in the center. On one side, a hose connects
it to the source of vacuum or pressure, usually the base of a carburetor or the
intake manifold. As the vacuum or pressure changes, the diaphragm flexes, with
vacuum pulling or pressure pushing on an arm coming out the far side. That arm
moves a lever going into the distributor that rotates the ignition points to
change the ignition timing.
It's hard to fathom why Chevrolet didn't attempt to provide a vacuum advance on
the turbocharged engine. Complexity? Cost? Perhaps they just figured you didn't
need it at the time; after all, gas was cheap and the turbocharged engine was a
"performance" engine and who expected economy from such an engine.
Well, Dale Manufacturing (David "Dale" Langsather) set out to rectify that
omission by creating a combination vacuum advance/pressure retard unit. Instead
of just retarding the timing during turbocharger boost, it would also advance
the timing under light load/high vacuum conditions. People who bought the Dale
units have claimed various amounts of improved gas mileage and generally better
response.
I purchased one of Dale's units years ago and it seemed to work fine although I
never saw major improvements in gas mileage. Unfortunately after several years
of operation, the flexible diaphragm that provides the advance/retard motion
failed. And unfortunately Dale had changed the focus of his business away from
the Corvair to rebuilding harmonic balancers for just about every make and model
of car in the world. So I reverted to the stock Chevrolet pressure retard.
Recently Clark's Corvair Parts decided to reproduce the vacuum advance/pressure
retard units. I came across one at their display at the recent CORSA
International Convention and bought it on the spot. Once I got home, I checked
it out with a vacuum and pressure gage; it worked perfectly on the bench. As
pressure was applied, the arm that changed ignition timing moved out as it
should to retard the ignition and then as vacuum was applied, it retracted so
that timing would be advanced.
It was only when I installed it on the car's distributor that I found a problem.
As built, it would NOT retard the ignition under pressure boost. (I was testing
it using my hand vacuum/pressure pump.) The timing arm from the distributor was
hitting the end of the slot on the side of the distributor.
As you can see in the first picture, the timing arm was hard up against the end
of the slot cut into the side of the distributor. In that position, turbocharger
boost could not push it any farther, hence there would be no pressure retard
effect! Vacuum advance would work fine since the arm would be pulled back. (If
you have sharp eyes, you might notice that there are no mounting screws holding
the advance/retard unit in place - they were removed to stage the pictures.)
I contacted Clark's and told them about the problem. After the usual "Well,
we've never had that problem before!" response, they were very helpful. It turns
out that the mounting brackets on the reproduction advance/retard units need to
be adjusted a bit to make them fit properly. When I questioned them about just
what to do, they sent me one that they had fitted to a turbo distributor. I
compared it with my unit and saw what they had done.
It's pretty simple. Take a pair of needle-nose pliers and bend the mounting
bracket slightly. You will have to bend it in several places, essentially all
the places where it already makes bends and may have to try a few times to get
it right, but the object is to center the timing control arm so it has room to
move both in the retard (clockwise or to the left in the picture) and in the
advance (counter-clockwise) direction. It doesn't need a lot of room, the arm
will only move about 1/4 inch under full vacuum or full pressure.
So if you have a turbo engine and buy one of Clark's combination vacuum
advance/pressure retard units, check the fit carefully. If it can't move in the
retard direction, you are putting an expensive turbo engine at risk next time
you put your gas pedal to the floor!
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============================================================================
| October 2017 | November 2017 | December 2017 |
| 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 7 | 1 2 3 4 | 1 2 |
| 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
| 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 |
| 29 30 31 | 26 27 28 29 30 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
| | | 31 |
============================================================================
MON 02 OCT DRIVE YOUR CORVAIR DAY --- FIRST RETAIL SALE OF CORVAIRS, 1959
MON 02 OCT CORVAIR HERITAGE DAY (Corvair's official birthday)
WED 04 OCT 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 04 OCT 7:00 PM ELECTION OF OFFICERS AT TONIGHT'S MEETING
SAT 07 OCT 8:30 AM Old Route 66 Cleanup -- Lube Lubert
SUN 08 OCT EARLY! Classic Cars Drive on the Balloon Fiesta Field -- CHECK DATE
SAT 14 OCT or SAT 21 OCT (date to be decided at the October 4th meeting)
ECONO-RUN in east mountains. Start between 9:00 and 9:30 AM
Start and finish at gas station at Frost Road and NM 14.
WED 18 OCT 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI-SUN 20-22 OCT - Great Western Fan Belt Toss & Swap Meet, Sunrise Park,
Palm Springs, CA. Inland Empire Corvair Club, PO Box 63, Sun City, CA 92586
FRI 20 OCT 9:00 PM Deadline for items for November newsletter
WED 25 OCT 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
============================================================================
WED 01 NOV 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER
SAT 04 NOV 5:00 PM Auction / Bingo / Potluck at HOUSE OF COVERS
SUN 05 NOV 2:00 AM --- Set your clocks forward an hour because the government
stole an hour out of your life back in March. The hour you get back is
only slightly degraded. Why is it that EVERYONE you ask thinks that
changing into and out of daylight time is a bad idea, but year after
year WE KEEP ON DOING IT?! Why can't we repeal this BAD law?
WED 15 NOV 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 24 NOV 9:00 PM Deadline for items for December newsletter
============================================================================
WED 06 DEC 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER
SAT 09 DEC ....... Christmas Party / Dinner / Celebration!
WED 20 DEC 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 22 DEC 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2018 newsletter
============================================================================
WED 03 JAN 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER
WED 17 JAN 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
WED 24 JAN 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
FRI 26 JAN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for February newsletter
============================================================================
See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities
======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================
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SEVEN YEARS AGO [ JULY 2017 VOL 43 Nr 10 ISSUE 502 ]
Jim Pittman
2010 Vol 36 Nr 10 # 421
A group photo at the New Mexico State Fair. We had a nice airplane photo from
the EAA fly-in at Moriarty. Former member Joe Lite recently died, leaving behind
a classic car collection including an Avanti and a rare Loadside. We had $3806
in the bank. John Wiker reported on a Kirtland AFB car show featuring his yellow
Monza. Heula described how our newsletter is produced. The newsletter must have
been pretty good in 2005 and 2010 because of its two CORSA newsletter awards.
Robert praised the mechanical skills of Geoff Johnson. Richard Finch wrote an
article on the virtues of "Velvetouch" metallic brake shoes. Alas, they are no
longer available.
2003 Vol 29 Nr10 #337
A club breakfast at the "Owl Cafe" in Albuquerque. Sylvan introduced new members
Sally Johnson, Ray Trujillo and Dick Foster. A visitor was Bobby Bentz. Wendell
Walker reported $5,462. We attended the Car Council picnic. It was suggested
that we set up a committee for the Boydston Award. Robert said he had enjoyed
his tour of duty as CNM president. Larry Blair planned a talk on combat
engineering in Vietnam. Dennis Pleau reported on the Pikes Peak club's web page.
From the DENVAIR NEWS, September 2003, we reprinted "Corvair Aging Tips" by
Steve Goodman about little but important things to do for our Corvairs.
1996 Vol 22 Nr10 #253
Mark Morgan's fantasy: a Forward Control steam locomotive. President Mark
Domzalski ran our meeting. Treasurer Will Davis said we had $1541 in the bank.
Bill Reider said that the state fair people called up the VMCCA president to
apologize for the misunderstanding about the state fair car show. Mark brought
in a broken input shaft. Ollie Scheflow had an appointment for safety training
for the Route 66 cleanup. Your editor reported on the first cleanup event on
September 14. The negative aspects of dealing with all the nasty and thoughtless
littering were offset by the beautiful vegetation and rocky mountain scenery.
Mark Morgan's "Keystone Blues" described his experiences in Pennsylvania. Mark's
articles on "Driving In..." various places deserve to be re-read from time to
time, as they address a lot more about a location than just driving.
Are New Mexico drivers really that bad? No, says Mark, drivers elsewhere are
often much worse.
1989 Vol 15 Nr10 #169
A drawing showed how to remove a late model headlight switch shaft. The State
Fair was to feature 1964 cars, but our econo-run was on the same date. We
discussed exchanging newsletters with other clubs. We planned an Aspencade to
Santa Fe with a picnic at Hyde Park. Bill Hector listed the ten most common
questions a Corvair driver gets. Tom Martin's column focused on your editor's
careers. Tech tips borrowed from other clubs included: Avoiding defective fuel
pumps; How fuel pumps work; How to clean a convertible window; Using door panel
clips from Horizons or Colts; Using diesel fuel as a parts cleaner.
1982 Vol 8 Nr 10 # 85
The cover showed Norm, Robin, Francis and LeRoy with an early model. We had $394
in the bank. We distributed new Clarks' Catalogs. We formally applied for the
1987 CORSA convention -- we did not get it. Jack and Sharon Bryan hosted a
picnic at the Doc Long campsite in the Sandias. A new Corvair club was starting
up in Roswell. Tech tips included a chassis tuning chart, an article on keeping
your turbo carb working right and the sorrow you'd feel if you bought shock
absorbers that were too long for your car. Result: broken mounting brackets.
1975 Vol 1 Nr 9 # 9
On the cover: a photo of the "Nader Hater" Corvair in Denver. Steve Gongora
reported on the Denver CORSA convention and driving his Corvair in an autocross.
Two V-8 Corvairs showed up at our meeting. We ordered front license plates. Nick
from Albuquerque Glass spoke to us on getting windshields and window glass. Jim
reported on Richard Finch's new book, HOW TO KEEP YOUR CORVAIR ALIVE, and
recommended it along with Bill Fisher's HOW TO HOT-ROD CORVAIR ENGINES.
James Breeden had a tech tip on the difference between early and late throwout
bearings.
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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. The newsletter
is composed using Apple computers. Software includes Mac OS-X, AppleWorks,
Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for
details. And when I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends.
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=END=