The June 2018 newsletter - Text Version 

Updated 27-May-2018 ==== Copyright (c) 2018 Corvairs of New Mexico    

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   JUNE 2018 / VOLUME 44 / NUMBER 6 / ISSUE # 513  
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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, June 6th, 2018 at 7:00 PM
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE

THIS MONTH
 Veterans' Park Car Show .............................. John Wiker
 Dues Due Dates ............................. Membership Committee
 May Regular Meeting ............................... Anne Mae Gold
 May Board Meeting ................................. Anne Mae Gold
 In the Driver's Seat: April Car Council Report ...... Robert Gold
 Treasury Report ..................................... Robert Gold
 Corvair Buddies: May Car Council Report ............. Robert Gold
 Fuse Box Replacement Tech Tip ....................... Lube Lubert
 Twice the Fun: Museum Car Show ...................... Robert Gold
 In Memoriam Carl Johnson ................................. Editor
 Corvair Story (from the May 2004 newsletter) ....... Carl Johnson
 Calendar of Coming Events .................... Board of Directors
 Birthdays & Anniversaries .................. Membership Committee
 June Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ......... Club Historian
 Photo Credits: John Wiker, Robert Gold, Larry Yoffee, Jim Pittman

COVER   Carl Johnson and Blue Van at our 1974 Winrock Corvair Show
     Right: Carl at a club get-together in Placitas, 17 April 2004

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OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS

  President          Lube Lubert    505-256-9331         dirtlube  gmail.com
  Vice President      Art Gold      505-620-7434        rollerart  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      Pat Hall      505-620-5574 patandvickiehall  q.com
  Past President    David Huntoon   505-281-9616        corvair66  aol.com
  Past President      Ray Trujillo  505-814-8373              ray  bpsabq.com
  Past President     John Wiker     505-239-3311         wikerj63  yahoo.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: 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 JUNE 2018

DUE LAST MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE
2018.05         === none ===

DUE THIS MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE
2018.06         === none ===

DUE NEXT MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE
2018.07       Carol & Larry Haynes     25-AUG-2018
2018.07       Sarah & Terry Price      25-AUG-2018
2018.07         Anne & John Wiker      25-AUG-2018

DUE AUGUST 2018 ==================== INACTIVE DATE
2018.08               David Hutchinson 25-SEP-2018

INACTIVE =========================== INACTIVE DATE
2017.01        Nancy & Russ McDuffie   25-FEB-2017
2017.02              Victor Sanchez    25-MAR-2017
2017.08   Kathryn & Douglas Gadomski   25-SEP-2017
2017.10                Carl Clasmeyer  25-NOV-2017
2017.10     Mary Lou & Mark Martinek   25-NOV-2017
2018.02    Lilian & Timothy Shortle    25-MAR-2018

NEW MEMBERS
	Bob Kitts and daughter Lesha Curtis  bkittszia@gmail.com
	1604 Narcisa Ct NW --- 505-507-2001
	Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, NM 87107
	They are affiliated with the Corvette Club.
Welcome Bob and Lesha!

As of 21-MAY-2018 we have  46  active family memberships.

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VETERANS PARK CAR SHOW
John Wiker

I attended the Veteran Park show on Saturday. There were 42 cars there. Twenty
came from the Mustang Club and twenty-two were various other types. There was
also a motorcycle show as well as many vendors with home-made jewelry, wood
carvings, stonework, homemade aprons, and other nicknacks. Of course there was a
good selection of food items and deserts. The Rail Runner personnel were also
there to give out free passes to all who have a VA card that are good for life
with no renewal required. They told me that all you have to do if you missed
this opportunity, just go downtown to their HQ and get it done if you have that
VA card. Good deal for my wife and me since we can take the Rail Runner to Santa
Fe to see the grandkids as often as we can.

All profits will be going to the Veterans' Olympic Games being held in
Albuquerque this year. Over 1,300 handicapped Veterans will take part in many
types of games. The event was over at 3:00 PM and then I was off to the Unser
Museum to supervise some of my Cadets setting up tables and moving cars from the
inside display area to outside to make room for eighty people attending a
banquet that night. Just some of the community service projects we do outside of
school. Drove home with a dust storm pushing me all the way with rain falling in
Edgewood just enough to put dirt spots all over the car. Oh well, it was a good
day!

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MAY MEETING - 2018.05.02
Anne Mae Gold

Called to order at 7:09 PM with fourteen members present.

OFFICER REPORTS

President (Lube) Carl Johnson passed away at the age of 81. Carl was a charter
member of this club. Members spent some time talking about Carl and his car
collection. The club started in 1974 and the first meeting was held in his home.
It was suggested that we create a CNM Hall of Fame for members who have made an
impact on the club.    Lube reported on the Old Route 66 cleanup. Robert gave a
bit of history, explaining why the club carts off the trash bags... DOT was not
picking up the bags. Robert pays the dump fee to dispose of the trash, however,
the club will no longer pick up the BIG stuff, like lumber or tires. A minimum
of four people are needed to make it successful.

VP (Art) Nothing to report

Secretary (AM) 16 days to retirement

Treasurer (Robert) Current balance is $6,962.78 plus a few renewals.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Editor (Jim) newsletter deadline Wednesday May 23 at 9:00 PM, early this month
due to the Memorial Day weekend. Jim thanked Tarmo whose 1966 Corsa was on the
newsletter cover. Jim and friends went up to Santa Fe on the Rail Runner. We
were told that riding the Rail Runner is free on Wednesdays for seniors until
September. Jim shared fun stories of some of the charter members who founded the
club. Did you know that a teenager was crucial to the founding of the club?

Car Council (Robert) As Vice President of the Car Council, Robert chaired his
first meeting. It was sparsely attended. May 20 is the annual Museum Car Show.
May 16th is the next meeting and it will be to stuff goodie bags. The day of the
Museum Car Show, our members will meet at 6:30 AM across the street from the
former Old Town Sheraton at Rio Grande and Sawmill Road. CNM members will
caravan in at 7:00 AM. There is a $10 fee per car. There will also be a model
car display inside the museum. Visit the website (nmcarcouncil.com) for more
upcoming car events.

Membership (Dave) No new nibbles, but our three new members were in attendance!
Please visit Dave's Facebook page (Corvairs of New Mexico) to see his listing of
Corvair-related car events.

Merchandise/Sunshine (Vickie & Heula) reported that no merchandise was sold this
month. Vickie asked if anyone knew about the War Eagles Air Museum near El Paso.
They have a collection of airplanes and cars. The museum is southeast of Las
Cruces near the town of Santa Teresa, New Mexico. She suggests that this might
be a great spot to visit. Possibly a few old-timers will remember that Sylvan
Zuercher organized a club trip to the War Eagles Museum back in April 2000. Dave
suggested organizing another visit to the Atomic Museum in Albuquerque.

UPCOMING EVENTS

* May 5-13 Corrales Running of the Tractors and Tractor & Car Show at Corrales
	 Recreational Center.
* May 5 Owl Cafe Cars-N-Coffee 7:30-10:30 AM.
	 Open to all cars.
* May 5-24 Annual Summer Car Show Series
	 Hooters East -- 10 AM - 4 PM.
* May 20 Car Council - Museum Car Show at
	 Albuquerque Museum, Old Town.
* May 20 Florence, Colorado -- 17th Annual
	 Merchants' Car Show.
* June 8-10 Tri-State at Crested Butte, CO.
	 Rocky Mountain CORSA is hosting.
	 http://www.rockymountaincorsa.org/2018-tri-state-ralley-promo/

OLD BUSINESS

Robert and Art attended the Sonic Car Show.

NEW BUSINESS

Tarmo Sutt said that the Santa Fe Concorso will not be held this year. The
organizer passed away.

Larry Blair said he will be attending the Tri-State. He had registered at the
hotel, but he was called to register with the Rocky Mountain club as well. Larry
also shared a TECH TIP. He showed a kit from Clarks for adjusting headlight aim.
Bob Kitts and his daughter Lesha are rebuilding a Greenbrier van and would
appreciate contacts and information that would be helpful in this rebuild. They
want to install disc brakes. Larry said that there have been many reports of
problems when disc brakes are added and suggested they start with getting the
brake shoes arced to make the brakes more efficient. McBrides would be able to
do this.

Dave Allin is looking for a Corvair. He has seen a Corvair that was too nice for
him and one that was too much of a project... so he is still looking for that
Goldilocks Corvair that is just right!

50/50 WINNER ($20 pot): Vickie Hall. All proceeds were donated to the Sunshine
Committee.

We adjourned at 8:13 PM.

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MAY BOARD MEETING - 2018.05.16
Anne Mae Gold

Meeting called to order at 5:02 PM with Jim, Anne Mae, Lube present.

OFFICER REPORTS:

President: Lube will be attending the Merchants' Car Show in Florence, Colorado.

VP: Art was Stuffing goodie bags for the Museum Car Show.

Secretary: Art will be secretary for the month of June while Anne Mae
recuperates from surgery.

Treasurer: Robert was stuffing goodie bags for the Car Show and reports
$7,148.86 in the bank.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Editor: Jim set the newsletter deadline for Wednesday May 23 at 9:00 PM to work
around Memorial Day. Each month we receive the AIRHORN newsletter from Chicago.
An article listed their editors for the last FIFTY years. Their Club started in
1968. They have been printing and mailing out their newsletter for all those
years and there is no on-line version.

Car Council: Sunday May 20 is the Museum Car Show. CNMers will meet about 6:30
AM and go into the display area en masse at 7:00 AM. There is a $10 registration
fee per vehicle. Meet on Sawmill Road, across from the big hotel at 6:30 AM to
drive in together.

Membership: Dave was not present

Merchandise/Sunshine: Vickie and Heula sent a report of no recent sales of
merchandise. Vickie has all remaining copies of the Care and Feeding books. New
members get a copy of the book. What will we do when the books run out? Robert
has been working on editing and updating the booklet. Robert and Vickie should
coordinate a plan for when to print more books.

NEW BUSINESS:

* Our regular meeting will fall on a holiday, July 4th. We discussed whether we
should cancel the meeting or try to move it a week to Wednesday July 11th. If
the 11th we will have to be sure a room is available. Lube will present this
question to the membership at the June meeting.

* The next Old Route 66 cleanup should be sometime in July. It could be Saturday
July 7th or Saturday July 14th. We will decide on a date at the June meeting. We
will have a signup sheet for the cleanup and will make a reminder call to those
who signup. We need at least four or five people for the cleanup.

* It was suggested that we could do better at recognizing guests and new members
at meetings. The president could call for everyone present to introduce
themselves as each meeting starts.

Adjourned at 5:27 PM.

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IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT
April Car Council Report

I imagine that a few of you CNM'ers can remember how long I've been serving as
the CNM rep to the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs. What you're missing is that
long before I succeeded Mark Martinek as your rep, I attended meetings just for
the drama. Way back when, the meetings would occasionally erupt in yelling
between the reps. What fun! After several years of that I ascended to the status
of Corvairs of New Mexico rep. Oh, by the way, those drama days are long gone.
When Bob Agnew became president he put an end to all that controversy. We are
now one happy family.

I was very happy simply being your rep when, due to a set of circumstances, I
wound up, first as a Board Member and then as Vice-President. Well, after some
18 months or so of serving as the VP I finally have the honor of actually doing
my job. The Council constitution states that the sum duties of the VP is to
substitute for the Council president when the president is gone. So for the
first time since I was voted VP our president, Jamie Saavedra, was unable to
attend a meeting and I served as meeting Chair. What power!

I'm not going to lie, I was a bit nervous when I entered the meeting room.
However, I shouldn't have worried. First of all there were not many attendees
and secondly, after moving chairs around for the meeting, I lost my nervousness.
Another nice thing was to look out at the attendees and see our own CNM
president, Lube Lubert, was there as well as his brother Bill. Thanks for
backing me up Lube!

I called the meeting to order at 7:05. It should have been 7:00, but I was
having a really good time talking with folks. When things settled down I began
moving through the agenda, thankfully given to me by Jamie.

I began by asking for the introductions of any visitors. It turned out a rep
from the Air Cooled Alliance, a VW group, was there for the first time in many
years. It was easy to spot him since he had a T-shirt with a big VW on it. He
talked about some activities the group has planned for 2018 and that he planned
to attend our meetings on a regular basis. I told him I once displayed my
Corvair powered, 1974 VW bus at one of their events and they were very nice to
me. Vairs and air-cooled VW's really have lots in common.

Joe Ballengee, our treasurer, gave his report. As is usual, the Council is in
great shape financially. Before the meeting Joe and I discussed fellow CNM'er,
David Allin's visit to look at a car I heard for sale. It was a 1964 Monza in
need of more work than David wanted to take on. Joe knows David from the Model
Car Club. It's nice to have people in common. I'm confident David will find his
car. Up to this point, though, the cars he's looked at were either too nice or
not nice at all.

The meeting hurried through descriptions of various upcoming events. Please keep
in mind that the Museum Car Show will take place on Sunday, May 20. We'll meet
across from the Old Town Hotel between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. After a group picture
we'll enter the show grounds at 7:00. Let me know if you have any questions.

The next meeting of the Council has been changed to May 16 at 6:00 PM in order
to stuff goodie bags to be given out at the Museum Car Show. Don't forget, after
the stuffing, those who attend will be fed pizza, so be there!

After Joyce led a discussion of the Museum Car Show we talked about Collector
Car Appreciation Day, scheduled for July 14th. The location will be determined
later. Joyce then gave a short report on the Swap Meet to be held in Los Lunas
from September 28-30. Things are looking good on that front.

I then called for anyone to talk about upcoming car events. Rather than list all
that here I suggest you look at the listing on the Council website --
nmcarcouncil.com.

With that I adjourned the meeting. I now understand what Bill Reider went
through when he was Council President. I'm sure of one thing: Bill must have
done a better job than me when he sat at the head table.

		-- Robert Gold
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TREASURY REPORT FOR 04-20-2018 to 05-23-2018
DATE      CHECK#    AMOUNT PAYEE       DESCRIPTION           BALANCE = $6,962.78
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2018.05.07       $  265.00 Dues        J.Dinsdale     12 m CNM         $   25.00
2018.05.07       $         Dues        R.Gold         26 m CNM         $   50.00
2018.05.07       $         Dues        B.Kitts        26 m CNM & CORSA $  140.00
2018.05.07       $         Dues        Art Gold       26 m CNM         $   50.00
2018.05.09 2316 -$   78.92 H.Pittman   Newsletter Printing MAY 2018   -$   25.85
2018.05.09      -$                     Newsletter Postage 31 x $0.70  -$   23.10
2018.05.09      -$                     Envelopes (4 X 25 = 100)       -$   29.97
2018.05.21       $   95.00 Dues        M.Morgan       12 m CNM & CORSA $   70.00
2018.05.21       $                     G.Johnson      12 m CNM         $   25.00
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2018.04.06 JUN NEWSLETTER  ==========================================  $7,243.86
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======   If you have any concerns or questions about this report please    =====
======   contact Robert Gold at 505-268-6878 or email: beisbol30 msn.com   =====
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CORVAIR BUDDIES
May Car Council Report
Robert Gold

This month's meeting was a bit special. Only a few times a year do we change the
traditional day and time for a Council meeting and this was one of those days.
We moved the day up a week and started one and a half hours earlier so we could
stuff baggies for the May 20, Museum Car Show. This is one of the more popular
meetings, since we got a chance to talk a lot with other car folks and better
yet, we got fed pizza after we were done.

Obviously, we didn't do much traditional meeting business so I don't have much
to say about that. Joe Ballengee, the Treasurer, said we have lots of money and
haven't earned a penny on our two CDs. By the way, Joe helped one of our newest
members, David Allin, buy a Corvair. Joe and David went down to our Corvair
Mecca in Los Lunas and David bought a 1966 Corvair from Pat Hall. We're looking
forward to seeing David in his new ride.... maybe at the Museum Show? We'll see.

There's not much more to report about the business meeting. We talked a bit
about upcoming shows, which are listed on the website, nmcarcouncil.com. The big
discussion was about the Albuquerque Museum Car Show. Joyce renewed her plea for
volunteers. So far Art Gold will be counting ballots and I'll be parking cars.
Contact me if you want to help out.

I want to also note that your Vice President Lube and my son Art were there to
help stuff those bags. I gave out bags to the folks and Art filed the bags when
they were stuffed. We were sorta like bookends to the line or workers. The
stuffing was over in no time and the pizza was great.

With that the meeting broke up and I went home to take a nap... yawn! I hope to
see you at the Albuquerque Museum Car Show on May 20th. We will meet across the
street from that big hotel in Old Town and we will drive in at 7:00. Be there!

		   -- Robert Gold

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FUSE BOX REPLACEMENT
Lube Lubert

A friend of mine made a replacement fuse holder using a small wooden box. He
used eight heavy duty ATO inline fuse holders. He installed the new fuse box in
his 1970 Ford E-300 Econoline Motor Home, in the cab of the truck. It uses
modern bladed plugin plastic fuses.

I asked my friend Cannie Kilmer to make one of these for my 1963 Corvair 4-door
sedan. He sealed the top side with clear epoxy and the back side with black
sealant. Seven heavy duty ATO inline fuse holders were installed with the wires
coming out the back side. I extended the bottom side with a 3/4" x 3/4" piece of
wood. I used wood screws on the small piece of wood and on the Barrier Strip on
both sides. I used a metal plumbers strap to mount the new fuse box to the
center underside of the trunk shelf. I used self-tapping screws to hold up the
new wooden fuse box. I installed two pieces of vacuum hose on the sharp ends of
the self-tapping screws. I may replace them with bolts with nylocks.

I purchased two barrier strips, 6-position, Grote #82-2334 to install in the
box. I purchased seven heavy duty ATO inline fuse holders, Grote #82-2211. The
last one is not being used at this time. I purchased six Grote #83-2504 ring
terminals for the larger wires and used Grote #83-2505 ring terminals for
smaller wires.

I made a 14-gauge purple wire for a jumper wire with ring terminals. You can use
a heavier gauge wire if you like to. I will do that next time. I used the
14-gauge purple wire from the wiper fuse down to the radio fuse, down to the
heater fuse and down to the turn signals. I studied the old plastic fuse holder
for wire positions. I tried to get 14-gauge wires the same colors as the
original ones from the original plastic fuse box. I bumped up the fuse on the
radio from 5 amps to 10 amps so I could connect my electric fuel pump to the
radio fuse.

When installed, I hooked up the negative battery post to try out all my
connections to the new fuse box. I saved the old glass fuses to give to another
Corvair owner.

Web sites:
	www.littlefuse.com
	www.grote.com
	www.velvac.com
	www.napa.com

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TWICE THE FUN -- CAR COUNCIL MUSEUM CAR SHOW
Robert Gold

One of the reasons I like writing for the CNM newsletter is the fact that Jim
Pittman, our editor, is nice enough to print most of what I have to say. I
consider it a sign of charity. With that in mind, I hope Jim is in a charitable
mood and lets me talk about more than the Museum Car Show. May 20 was a very
busy day for me and my bride, Anne Mae. I guess I'll begin with the show.

I couldn't believe it, but the weather for the show was actually better than
it's ever been even though I cannot remember a show that was marred by bad
weather. This day was close to perfect for the seven Corvairs and two Pontiacs
that were on display.

Here is the list of those cars owned by CNM'ers:

1. Robert Gold	  1964 500.
2. Larry & Elisa Yoffee	  A perfect 1965 Corsa
3. Sara Gold	  1964 Monza, Lime Green (both the car and Sara)
4. Javi Gold	  1966 Monza. My first Corvair!
5. John Wiker	  1966 Monza. This car had the most popular trunk at the show!
6. David Allin	  1969 Monza. Our new member with a just-purchased 1969 beauty.
7. Terry Price	  1966 Monza Vert. A terrific car.
8. Art Gold	  1972 VenNova II. I made it an honorary Vair for the show.
		  It's a Pontiac, mostly.
9. Geoff Johnson  1950 Pontiac Convertible. One word -- WOW!

I can say that our cars made a very nice grouping for the public to see. We
played fast and loose with the rules and angle parked our rides even though the
lines told us not to park them that way. Art managed to fend off several
assaults by the car show staff who tried to get him to adjust his car in the
parking space. Go Art!

So here comes the part that I ask for Jim's kindness... It turns out that I had
a conflict for the show. A student of Anne Mae's invited us to join him for his
grad party. Tyler Wilson had just graduated from Sandia H.S. It turned out the
party was in a private suite at the Isotopes. There are two things I truly love,
in addition to my family - Corvairs and Baseball. So, at noon, Anne Mae and I
plowed through the show crowd and escaped for the ballpark. I'm sure the show
went on great without us.

If you haven't had the chance to attend a 'Topes game in a suite, I highly
recommend it. We were given gratis food and drink as well as a terrific view of
the game. The 'Topes were kind enough to totally outhit the Reno Aces. In one
inning the 'Topes scored 10 runs. It doesn't get much better than that. So as
you can see, May 20 2018 was a stellar day for Anne Mae and me. Two wonderful
experiences in one day.

Lastly, I want to thank all of you CNM'ers for attending the show. Oh, I almost
forgot to mention Geoff Johnson's pristine 1950 Pontiac Convertible. This red
beauty really caused quite a stir at the show. My only regret is that he parked
it in another area of the parking lot. I know one thing - Geoff has great taste
in cars. See you all next year!

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Rumor has it that Terry Price's 1966 Monza with 140 engine took Best of Show at
the Museum Car Show!

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Charter member CARL B. JOHNSON passed away on 29 April 2018 at age 81.

Carl thought it was a great idea to form a New Mexico Corvair Club;
Carl invited Corvair owners to a meeting at his home, March 17th, 1974;
Carl was one of the eight founders of Corvairs of New Mexico, 10 April 1974;
Carl owned and repaired innumerable Corvairs;
Carl's adventures with Corvairs are beyond counting;
Carl brought his 1961 Blue Bus to our 1974 Winrock Car Show;
Carl wrote occasional tech tips and commentary for the newsletter;
Carl's two children Geoffrey and Sally became key members of our club;
Carl was generous with parts and knowledge to help us maintain our Corvairs;
Carl brought his notebook to meetings and events to record technical details;
Carl was a true Renaissance Man with far-ranging interests;
Carl never received enough credit for his contributions to our club.
Carl's generosity and knowledge: I was rebuilding a 1966 4-speed transmission
     and he gave me working parts from two 3-speeds and helped me remove
     pressed-on parts from the 4-speed.

In 2004 Carl wrote an article for ENCHANTED CORVAIRS newsletter that outlined
his life with Corvairs and shed some light on his involvement with the founding
and the early years of our club. Perhaps it is a fitting tribute to Carl to
reprint the article here. -- Ed.

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CORVAIR STORY
Carl Johnson

There we were, checking our mail while home on a break from the summer's
archaeological work. Pete Colburn? Oh, he found us through the CORSA mailing
list. All eleven New Mexico members. Meet to talk Corvairs? Many of us had
driven and learned about Corvairs long before we found each other here in CNM.
We hadn't simply spent a few years driving "a car" and dumped it for something
else. We liked our cars. So here we are , with all those organizational
concepts--social, educational, mechanical, philosophical, and economic; all
organized around Ed Cole's car.

I got into Corvairs because I saw the advantages of the Greenbrier over anything
else for short trips around town and for long trips, with carrying and camping
abilities. We bought an FC, a Corvan, and used it in exactly those ways. It and
other Corvairs ever since. It was many years before I did much driving in the
cars; the microbus is just so convenient.

We built this house on Griegos Road with the original Corvan, called Blue Bus.
It is a 1961. Lumber, windows, appliances, loose pumice, flooring, etc. Wire,
pipes, sewer lines, no problem. We did have to draw the line at vigas.
Twenty-five fir logs 20 feet by 10 or 12 inches diameter might have crushed Blue
Bus! They were delivered from Taos by big truck. Locally, we carried ten much
smaller vigas in Blue Bus. We rented a flatbed truck to haul home the logs of an
abandoned Navajo hogan after having paid for and dismantled it near Smith Lake.
The hogan is a partially attached room of the house.

To return to origins. The Army taught me about air-cooled engines as a
helicopter mechanic. On leave in 1958 I visited a family friend in Germany. Lots
of Volkswagens. Dietrich drove his to show me around Trier and the Mosel River
Valley. In 1960, Father and my brother each bought VWs while I was in college.
Living at home and often sharing cars, I quickly learned the advantages of the
VW over our "old Detroit" fare. I often used our VW on long trips into northern
Minnesota and Wisconsin for archaeology and canoe trips. Great gasoline mileage.
Small body? So what. It was easy to take care of. Big problem such as a broken
clutch cable on the far side of town--easy. Early synchro practice for potential
problem on Corvair.

Summer work at the University of Minnesota's garage brought me face-to-face with
Greenbriers! I had barely heard of these nifty vehicles. Much like the VW
microbus, but more powerful. There they were, for me to service. Part of the
University fleet, they had been purchased for use by a family friend. The two
Greenbriers spent summers being beaten up on gravel roads in Mexico on Dr.
Warner's ornithology field trips. The best birding seems to be on the worst
roads. That situation was the case in Minnesota when I took his class.

Years and classes passed. There were occasional rides in Corvair cars and a VW
bus. Graduation was in 1964 after which I drove my 1955 Mercury wagon to
Guatemala for more archaeological studies and to make a film of a work camp
sponsored by the Society of Friends. My 1960 trip for summer classes in Mayan
archaeology had been in my 1952 Chevy.

It was January 1966 when we arrived in Albuquerque, my newly married wife Ann
and I. We both had jobs and needed a second car. It was time for the Greenbrier!
We soon found out at the Chevrolet store that the FCs had been discontinued. We
didn't want a poor substitute, so we looked around at the used market where we
found Blue Bus, a 1961 Corvan. It was, indeed, a used car. After one trip to
Mexico City, and much other highway driving, it needed a new engine. I'm still
not sure why it suddenly began to slurp oil as we left Mesa Verde National Park,
but I suspect collapsed rings from overheating of hard driving with 10-30 oil;
consequent viscosity improver-shearing and breakdown??

The folks at Galles tried to get me a 1965 or '66 engine, also a 4-speed
transmission and positraction 3.55 rear axle. A car engine arrived in a big
crate, so we drilled the crankcase and welded in a one-inch aluminum pipe stub.
Looks and works just like the proper FC crankcase. I put it all together and
into the car. It worked great! Experience has caused some changes. I no longer
use the 3.55 axle in FCs. Too much engine heat. I still use 205-15" tires, but
use 3.89 axle and the early fan with full fins. I used to drive 80 mph in those
days. Oil temperature of 365 degrees isn't good. I also dropped the positraction
unit after having destroyed two on rough and rocky roads. It is too weak a
design for some of my uses, pushing the somewhat heavier microbuses. Eventually
I got hold of two of the low speed first gear units which were supplied with
some 1961 FCs. Ratio for first and reverse is 4.25:1 vs about 3.65:1 on the
common four speeds. Mine are now housed in 62-63 carriers to get away from the
weak reverse detent of the 1961 design. I've hit reverse in error often enough
myself. It becomes dangerous when a novice Corvan driver does that at the
intersection of Cerrillos Road and St. Francis Drive in Santa Fe. Edite Cates
was momentarily lost; a dangerous moment for us all, herself, three kids, her
husband and me. Get rid of that problem reverse detent!

I acquired more Corvairs. Then the prize, when it became available from another
archaeologist, Bill Sundt. Brown Bus is a 1964 Greenbrier with air conditioning.
Ann had left. There were several lovely girlfriends... Before long I found a
woman even better than any car, the mother of Sally and Geoffrey. Zoe, also
known as Paddy, and I drove Brown Bus to Guatemala that year, 1972. On the
dashboard we checked off the few remaining Corvairs which we saw along the way.
Only eight total. We were elated to find an in-use match to our bus parked on a
Guatemalan mountainside.

Meanwhile, 1972 was a big year in other ways. Various people were beginning a
Corvair family. Alvin Jones told me of a little advertisement for CORSA. I
joined. Next summer we got Pete Colburn's letter. I told him we had parking
space here along the irrigation ditch; tell everyone to come over... so it
goes... what do we call us? Oh my. Decisions... We're still here and still
driving our Corvairs. National group and super local friends. We learn a lot
from each other as we mix and match our experiences and solutions to problems.

Brown Bus is still my favorite automobile. It is together and up and running
today. I don't drive it every day because I haven't figured out how to get truly
high fuel mileage from it! Maybe fuel injection? Stay tuned. It might have to
wait until my next life.

Brown Bus languished for many years. The turbo engine began to smoke near the
end of the Guatemala trip. Prior use in a dune buggy had worn it out. After
limited use for a year or so, it was parked for a long time waiting. And
waiting. Its "wheels didn't squeak" as it sat. Others were in good condition for
a lot of commuting to Portales and back. Life repeatedly intervened. The kids
needed more and more of my time. They enjoyed working with me on the cars after
about age two. Be careful--check transaxle oil after your car sits a while.
Shifter shaft leaked just a little.

As we prepared to move back to Albuquerque, I hitched the bus behind something
else I was driving. The pinion shaft bearing lasted five miles before lock up.
Brought on a trailer, the car waited longer. Then, time to do it. New TRW
pistons and rings, rebored cylinders from Francis Boydston, and milled heads
which Francis had found somewhere. The improved squish works; it never pings on
regular. Lots of power, perhaps more than turbocharger. Now it's really right;
air conditioning, heater improved with better blower motor and lots of
insulation on the ducts; transaxle with 4.25 first gear and 3.89 axle, tires
205-15, and the good cooling fan. Perhaps holding it to 75 mph will help it have
a long life. It still gets onto the rough roads just fine.

For field trips, collecting rocks or doing archaeology, the forward controls go
almost anywhere that a regular pickup truck can go. A four wheel drive SUV might
get me one-quarter mile farther along some of the worst roads I've ever needed;
however, I can get off my butt and walk that far. I don't like to scar the land
with my new tracks. I have been known to take my small sacrificial pickup truck
into some known difficult areas. And if you'll look at the underside of our
light blue '62 two door coupe you will observe that it has been in some very bad
places. Use it carefully, but don't baby it!

Are we proud of our club? Emphatically yes! We are all keeping the club
together, and we are proudly passing our collective knowledge to the next
generation. Our team goes forward. Perhaps after all little did Ed Cole realize
just how successful his team's product could be.

-- Carl

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============================================================================
|     June 2018          |    July 2018           |    August 2018         |
|  Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa  | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa   |
|                  1  2  |  1  2  3  4  5  6  7   |           1  2  3  4   |
|   3  4  5  6  7  8  9  |  8  9 10 11 12 13 14   |  5  6  7  8  9 10 11   |
|  10 11 12 13 14 15 16  | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21   | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18   |
|  17 18 19 20 21 22 23  | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28   | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25   |
|  24 25 26 27 28 29 30  | 29 30 31               | 26 27 28 29 30 31      |
============================================================================
SUGGESTION: A visit with other clubs to the Telephone Museum on Fourth Street
SUGGESTION: A visit to the new WEATHER LAB at the Balloon Museum
SUGGESTION: A visit to the Soaring Museum in Moriarty
SUGGESTION: A visit to the Atomic Museum on Eubank

WED 06 JUN  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.

JUNE 8-10 Tri-State at Crested Butte, Colorado -- Rocky Mountain CORSA
	   http://www.rockymountaincorsa.org/2018-tri-state-ralley-promo/

WED 20 JUN  5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
WED 27 JUN  7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE

============================================================================
WED 04 JUL  7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER.
WED 18 JUL  5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 20 JUL  9:00 PM Deadline for items for August 2018 newsletter

	MON 23 JUL - 48th International Corvair Convention
	TUE 24 JUL - Doubletree Hotel Greentree
	WED 25 JUL - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
	THU 26 JUL - 1-800-222-TREE (8733) and use code CCA
	RESERVATIONS www.corvairpittsburgh.com
	CONTACT ---- Jim Weppelman 412-577-6447 cell / text

WED 25 JUL  7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE

============================================================================
WED 01 AUG  7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER.
SUN 12 AUG  NMCCC ALL CLUBS PICNIC at Oak Flats Picnic Area, Tijeras
WED 15 AUG  5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
WED 22 AUG  7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
FRI 24 AUG  9:00 PM Deadline for items for September 2018 newsletter

============================================================================
SUGGESTION: Let's do another east mountains Econo-Run or Road Rally.

WED 05 SEP  7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER.
WED 19 SEP  5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 21 SEP  9:00 PM Deadline for items for October 2018 newsletter
SEPTEMBER 28-30 - NMCCC/LOS LUNAS 40TH ANNUAL SWAP MEET, MORRIS FIELD, LOS LUNAS
WED 00 SEP  7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE

======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================
See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities
======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================

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Happy Birthday Wishes to June CNM'ers:
	Phil Finch
	Robert Gold
	Rita Gongora
	Heula Pittman
	Jonathan Reider
	Timothy Shortle
	Sylvia Trujillo

June CNM Anniversaries:
	Janice & David Allin
	Jon & Debra Anderson
	Carolyn & Dan Palmer
	Heula & Jiim Pittman
	Sarah & Terry Price

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SEVEN YEARS AGO [ JUNE 2018 VOL 44 Nr 6 ISSUE 513 ]
Jim Pittman

2011 Vol 37 Nr 6 #429

The cover: Tarmo's 1966 Corsa gets its new top at House of Covers. Kay Sutt told
the story of how Tarmo found and restored this car. Mike Stickler discussed
modern coatings (not just paint) to help engines run cooler. Robert Gold
reported on being on "cloud nine" at another successful car show and we had many
photos. John Wiker reported on a Friday the Thirteenth gremlin that
incapacitated his 1966 Monza and required some Pat Hall surgery to drill out and
replace a broken bolt. Finally, we were fully prepared for the Red River
Tri-State.

2004 Vol 30 Nr 6 #345

The cover: Terry Price and Sara Gold were proud of their Corvairs at the Museum
Car Show. VP Sally Johnson ran our May meeting at Galles Chevrolet where 26
members greeted new/old member Terry Price and guest John Marousek. Wendell
reported $2,590 in the bank. We looked forward to the Tri-State in Cripple
Creek, Colorado. We needed a new edition to the Care & Feeding book because
Clarks had ordered fifty and we only had 18 on hand. Board discussions included
a club breakfast, the Santa Fe July 4th show and a campout at the Boydston cabin
in the Pecos. Our revised constitution was carefully reviewed and finally
accepted. Were we going to get new club jackets? No decision at this time. Mark
Domzalski told about finally finding a slow leak at the crimped seal on the oil
sender on his Rampside. Jon Anderson reported on the Cripple Creek Tri-State
which many of us enjoyed. The Boydston Award was presented to Ben Benzel of the
Pikes Peak club. We borrowed a tech tip from Steve Goodman in which he told
about a car radio played so loud, a failing wheel bearing couldn't be heard.
Robert Gold reported on Car Council doings. Heula Pittman covered the careers of
Wendell Walker in a new edition of LA VENTANA.

1997 Vol 23 Nr 6 #261

The cover: Corvairs at the Journal Center where we saw how a daily newspaper was
put together. Ilva Walker reported on the tour. We had $7,133 in the bank. The
Museum Car Show conflicted with our Gunnison, Colorado Tri-State Meet. We
amended our constitution to require 100% CORSA membership. Bill was updating the
Care & Feeding booklet. Mark reported on the great success of the Gunnison
Tri-State. Next year we'd be in Lake City, Colorado. Dennis told us about a
sudden lack of fuel to the carbs. He discovered a broken spring in the top of
the fuel pump.

1990 Vol 16 Nr 6 #177

The cover drawing was from Car Life magazine: geometry of the 1964 and 1965
Corvair rear suspensions. New members were John Folkerts, Eric Mather, Bill
Medcalf, Eric Medcalf and John Martinez. John Baca and his 1962 convertible were
guests. We looked forward to a Car Council picnic. At the Ed Black's All-Chevy
Show the Club turned out with 19 of the 170 vehicles and we got seven awards.
Bad news for those who like nice-looking car restorations: Bob Phillips was
closing CAR & TRUCK FACTORY. While the Walkers and the Sticklers won trophies at
the Museum car show, several CNMers went to Durango to visit with the Rocky
Mountain CORSA people, the Pikes Peak club members, and to ride the narrow-gauge
railway to Silverton. Tom Martin's column, La Ventana, was a "This is your Life"
story of long-time active CNM member, Steve Gongora. Tech tips included a
warning about how to seat push rods when you install TRW valve lifters,
preventing leaks around the shifter shaft seal, and keeping your heater hose
away from the exhaust pipes. Finally, we had a very nice letter from Mr. Ed
Black thanking the Club for our participation in the All-Chevy Show.

1983 Vol 9 Nr 6 # 93

The cover showed the Car Life drawings of 1964 and 1965 rear suspensions,
showing their geometry during cornering. They are clearly different, but how do
they feel? New member Eugene Drye owned a Spyder in Las Vegas. We weren't quite
ready to vote on 100% CORSA membership yet. Jim gave a tech talk on shift
linkage adjustment. Sylvan previewed an econorun. LeRoy reported the details on
the Museum car show and the various prizes awarded.

1976 Vol 2 Nr 6 # 17

Thirty-one members and guests attended. Terry Gray confirmed the date for the
Winrock Car Show; we expected 12 to 15 Corvairs. We planned a flea market
fund-raiser. LeRoy was working on a roster of all cars owned by club members.
Mark Morgan wrote about early and late Fitch Sprints, Corvairs that had been
enhanced by legendary race driver John Fitch in Falls Village, Connecticut. Mark
bragged about out-dragging a Capri (remember those German-built mini-Mustangs?)
with his mythical 1965 Monza, and told us about the benefits of contributing to
CORSA's museum and racing funds.

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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
more details. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends.
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