The September 2019 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 04-Sep-2019 ==== Copyright (c) 2019 Corvairs of New Mexico
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September 2019 / VOLUME 45 / NUMBER 9 / ISSUE 528
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First Place, Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, 2005 & 2012
Third Place, Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, 2010
EDITOR Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING Regular Meeting: September 7th at 7:00 PM
Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Albuquerque NM 87108
THIS MONTH
President's Message ............................................ Dave Allin
September Dues Due Dates ............................. Membership Committee
August Regular Meeting ....................................... Linda Soukup
Michael Bertran and his 1964 Monza Convertible ............... Linda Soukup
Corvairs at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance ................... Dave Allin
Available: Bill Reider's 1965 silver-with-black-trim Corsa Coupe ... Editor
State Fair Car Show Preview ................................... Robert Gold
Birthdays & Anniversaries ............................ Membership Committee
Speeding on Eubank ............................................ Jim Pittman
Driving in Yurp: The United Kingdom (Part 1) ............... Mark L. Morgan
Looking Forward to the State Fair ........................... Craig Vencill
Treasury Report ............................................. Steve Gongora
Calendar of Coming Events .............................. Board of Directors
September Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago .............. Club Historian
COVER "Corvair Vagabond" Mike Photographs CNM Corvairs
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OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS
President Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin comcast.net
Vice President David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com
Co-secretary Linda Soukup 763-226-0707 studeboytony gmail.com
Co-secretary Kay Sutt 505-471-1153 tarmo juno.com
Treasurer Steve Gongora 505-220-7401 stevegongora msn.com
Car Council Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin comcast.net
Membership David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com
Merchandise Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall q.com
Sunshine Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 heula q.com
Newsletter Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp unm.edu
Old Route 66 David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com
Past President Ray Trujillo 505-814-8373 rtrujilloabq505 gmail.com
Past President Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall q.com
Past Vice-Pres Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo juno.com
MEETINGS: First Saturday of each Month at 10:00 AM
Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108
INTERNET CORSA's home page www.corvair.org/
CNM's newsletters www.unm.edu/~jimp/
New Mexico Council of Car Clubs www.nmcarcouncil.com/
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PRESIDENT'S LETTER
Dave Allin
There are a lot of activities coming up, so plan your schedule now. After our
monthly meeting on Saturday, September 7, everyone is invited over to Larry
Blair's house for a start-up party. He has rebuilt a 140 engine that is still on
the stand, and he would like advice and assistance starting it up for the first
time. He will be providing beverages and pizza.
On Monday, September 9, we will have our next highway cleanup session. We are
hoping that having it on a Monday will be more convenient and allow more people
to join us in the effort. Please come help. We meet where Old Highway 66 crosses
over I-40 interstate just a couple miles east of town.
The State Fair is coming, and Corvair Day is Sunday, September 15. Get into the
Fair for free, have a shady spot to sit, and exhibit your car. We'll meet at
7:00 AM in the parking lot on the southwest corner of San Pablo and Central.
The saga of my car's over-heating problems continues. David Huntoon came over
and helped me disassemble the top of the engine so we could inspect the cooling
fins around the cylinders and heads. We found a lot of what appeared to be
insulation packed around the engine cooling passages, and removed it with
needle-nose pliers and a hacksaw blade. While that helped, it did not totally
resolve the problem. The right bank of cylinders still runs about 40-50 degrees
hotter than the left, and the airflow out the right lower shroud vent is still
half that of the left side. Overall the car seems to run about 10% cooler than
before, but is that really enough? Does anyone have any other suggestions about
what might be causing the right bank to run hotter than the left, and why the
airflow is less on the right side?
Then stupidity struck. Driving home from our Board meeting, I got caught in a
rainstorm and turned on the lights. By the time I got home, the sun was out, and
I forgot about the lights. Discovering the dead battery the next morning, I
tried to jump start it, and stupidity struck again. I hooked up the jumper
cables backwards, and fried the small wire on the positive battery cable. As I
write this, the car is at a garage getting a new battery-to-starter cable
installed and checked out for other damage. The new cable, from Clark's, is red,
to help me remember which post is positive.
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SCHEDULE CNM: 12 months = $25.00 or 26 months = $ 50.00
OF CORSA: 12 months = $45.00 or 26 months = $ 90.00
DUES CNM & CORSA: 12 months = $70.00 or 26 months = $140.00
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DUES DUE DATES SEPTEMBER 2019
DUE LAST MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE
2019.08 Kathy & Larry Blair 25-SEP-2019
2019.08 Anne & Geoffrey Johnson 25-SEP-2019
DUE THIS MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE
2019.09 Tracey & John McMahan 25-OCT-2019
2019.09 Valerie Nye & Joel Yelich 25-OCT-2019
DUE NEXT MONTH ================= INACTIVE DATE
2019.10 Debra & Jon Anderson 25-NOV-2019
2019.10 Jenny & Phil Finch 25-NOV-2019
2019.10 Alan Gold 25-NOV-2019
2019.10 Vickie & Pat Hall 25-NOV-2019
2019.10 Curtis L Shimp 25-NOV-2019
2019.10 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo 25-NOV-2019
DUE NOVEMBER 2019 ================ INACTIVE DATE
2019.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 25-DEC-2019
2019.11 Rita & Steve Gongora 25-DEC-2019
INACTIVE ========================= INACTIVE DATE
2019.01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer 25-FEB-2019
2019.02 Mike Butler 25-MAR-2019
2019.03 Brenda Wilvert 25-APR-2019
2019.06 Brenda Stickler 25-JUL-2019
Send your Dues to:
CNM Treasurer : Steve Gongora : House of Covers
115 Richmond NE : Albuquerque : NM : 87106
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 01-Sep-2018 we have 41 active family memberships.
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CORVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO MEETING MINUTES AUGUST 3, 2019
Linda Soukup
President David Allin called the meeting to order at 10:07 AM Aug 3, 2019.
Officers present: Dave Allin, David Huntoon, Steve Gongora, Linda Soukup.
Vice President David Huntoon made a report on the National Corvair meet in St.
Charles. The following club members made the trip: David Huntoon, Pat and Vickie
Hall, Curtis Shimp, Tony Berbig and Linda Soukup. Tony brought his 1967 Stinger
tribute car by trailer.
Treasurer Steve Gongora reported that the treasury stands at $6,697.67.
Secretary Linda Soukup had no official reports to offer, but, did update the
club as to the minimal success she had with her valve cover racer car at the
nationals.
David Huntoon announced that there will be no highway cleanup this month. The
last cleanup, in July, produced about 10 bags of litter. Present for the cleanup
were David Huntoon, Dave Allin, Tony Berbig, Linda Soukup and Larry Blair. David
is scheduling the next cleanup for September or October and, very likely, on a
weekday, hoping for a greater number of people to be available to help.
In new business, President Dave Allin advised that the elections for new
officers was coming up in October.
The plans for the Christmas party were briefly discussed. Most present agreed
that Copper Canyon restaurant on a Saturday afternoon would, again, be the best
arrangements.
There was a discussion of the upcoming NMCCA picnic at Oak Flats. David Huntoon
volunteered that he had bought the plates that were requested and would be
delivering them to the picnic site.
It was decided that August is a busy month for everyone so no club activities
were scheduled.
Robert Gold requested help to get the necessary equipment down to the State Fair
Car Show this year as he will be out of the country on that day.
There was further discussion about the 2020 Tri-State meet. Tarmo Sutt has made
arrangements through a friend to get an official website set up. Dave Allin
suggested that it would be fun to come up with unique trophies. He's hoping
someone has some ideas. The hotel contract has been signed. Linda Soukup
informed that Vickie Hall has goody bags lined up. Discussed suggestions for
goodies for the bags. It was mentioned that it would be fun to find pens that
could have the meet info printed on them or possibly try to get some Clark's
Corvair pens. Hoping for ideas. Dave Allin passed around a sign up sheet for
people to indicate what activities they can help with. Secretary Linda indicated
she would get a copy of the sign up sheet out to the Tri-State committee soon.
Rita Gongora voiced concern that the Tri-State committee needs to have a meeting
very soon to get more organized and to avoid running into problems closer to the
Tri-State meet date of May 15 and 16 of 2020. She strongly suggested that a
Tri-State meeting immediately following the next club meeting be scheduled.
Lube Lubert collected $24.00 for the 50/50. David Huntoon held the lucky number
this month.
Lube also informed the group of two upcoming shows in Colorado that he likes to
attend. One is in Gunnison on August 16 and the other is in Florence on
September 21.
The newsletter deadline for this month is Friday August 30, 2019.
Steve Gongora motioned for adjournment and Tony Berbig seconded it. Meeting
adjourned at 11:03 AM.
Attending: Dave Allin; Tony Berbig; Robert Gold; Steve Gongora; Rita Gongora;
David Huntoon; Gordon Johnson; Steve Johnson; Bob Kitts; Lesha Kitts; Lube
Lubert; Jim Pittman; Linda Soukup; Anne Wiker; Guest: Mike Bertran
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CORVAIR VAGABOND : MICHAEL BERTRAND
From: Secretary Linda Soukup
After the August 3rd meeting a few members gathered around Michael Bertrand's
1964 Monza convertible in the parking lot. Michael is a temporary member of the
club for the next 7 weeks. He is temporarily living in Santa Fe for his job. He
is up from Corpus Christi Texas.
He gave a little tour of his lovely convertible. He noted the use of the Nova
bumper guard on the front that fit right in. He had the hard-to-find stone
guards over the headlights. He had a special setup on the brake lines coming to
and from the master cylinder. He was adding air conditioning in the engine
compartment in a unique way that allowed it to be moved out of the way with much
less effort. He also had some unique interior highlights.
He is the "Corvair Vagabond" on Facebook. He has traveled with his Corvair to 38
states. His adventures can be followed on his Facebook page.
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CORVAIRS AT PEBBLE BEACH CONCOURS D'ELEGANCE
Dave Allin
Actually, there weren't any. But I did see some Corvairs at other events during
Monterey Car Week. In the paddock area of Laguna Seca Raceway, where the
Monterey Motorsports Reunion was being held, I saw a very nice 1964 Monza
convertible, presumably owned by the person who was entering historic race cars
in the event. And at the Concours d'Lemons there were two late Corvairs in fair
condition. To me these were far more interesting than the plethora of Ferraris,
Lamborghinis, McLarens, and Porsches that filled the streets of the Peninsula.
Monterey Car Week is more car stuff than any one person can absorb. We arrived
too late to see the Little Car Show, featuring small cars, but we were in
Carmel-by-the-Sea to watch arrival of the cars that participated in the Pebble
Beach Tour d'Elegance down Highway One and back. These cars would all be shown
at the main Concours on Sunday, but were driven on Thursday to prove they
weren't trailer queens. The featured marque this year was Bentley, and there
were a lot of them. Looking closely at the ones from the thirties, you can see
why they were sometimes referred to as the world's fastest trucks.
Friday we went to Laguna Seca to see the hundreds of historic race cars in the
paddock and out on the track. For me, this was my favorite event, as these were
all unique automobiles with racing history attached. That afternoon we went to
the RetroAuto sale of memorabilia on 17-mile Drive, featuring expensive
clothing, paintings, and rare artifacts. I managed to find a small embroidered
patch of an early Corvair logo for only $10, the only thing I could really
afford there.
On Saturday morning we attended the Concours d'Lemons in Seaside, an event that
features "bad examples of good cars and good examples of bad cars." From rusted
out beaters to oddball foreign cars, it was a fascinating conglomeration of
automotive weirdness. It's all done in fun, and was very enjoyable. That
afternoon we attended "Exotics on Broadway" in Seaside, which was poorly
organized and tremendously overcrowded. All the exotic cars were there as
displays put on by various corporate sponsors, and I quickly became jaded to the
point I was saying, "It's just another Ferrari."
The actual Pebble Beach Concours on Sunday was extremely well organized, but you
would expect that when tickets at the gate were $450 per person. We parked at
the beach on 17-mile Drive and were shuttled to the event in nice tour buses.
From the bus we walked through various corporate display areas, including one
featuring an electric SUV made by BYD (the same company that made the
unacceptable buses for the ART project). The Concours itself was beautiful, with
the cars parked on the fairways along the beach, and people strolling around
with flutes of champagne in their hands. There were lots of Bentleys, plus
pre-war Bugattis, various Zagato versions of cars, Packards, Deusenbergs, V-12
Cadillacs, and even several Thomas Flyers, including the one that was famous for
driving around the world.
All in all it was a tremendous week that I thoroughly enjoyed. I had attended an
earlier Concours in the 1980s when I was stationed in Monterey, but it has grown
since then. If you plan on going, get your room reservations at least two years
in advance, and bring lots of money.
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AVAILABLE: Bill Reider's 1965 Corsa Coupe: With 1966 upgrades. Balanced and blue
printed 140 with four primary carbs, 4-speed Saginaw drivetrain, built by long-
time Corvair mechanic. Silver with black trim, rust-free New Mexico car, custom
gray interior, cruise control, AM-FM radio, remote mirror, 13-inch wheels, new
windshield. Asking $8,500. Lee Reider, 505-299-4597, br236425@gmail.com
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STATE FAIR CAR SHOW 2019
Robert Gold
CNM'ers -- After being your car show chairman for 23 years I will be unable to
do that job this year due to poor planning on my part. My bride, Anne Mae, and I
will be in Spain to visit our son, Javi. Since it's a bit far for me to come
back for the show I have to bow out. Luckily for me, Geoff Johnson has agreed to
take my place. We don't anticipate that this will cause any major changes in the
show. With all that said here is the info on the show:
The State Fair Car Show will take place on the last day of the Fair, September
15, 2019. You'll meet in the parking lot on the southwest corner of Central and
San Pedro at around 7:00 AM. Just drive south on San Pedro and pass Central and
you'll see the gang on the right. Around 7:15 we'll have our photo op and then
caravan north on San Pedro and enter the Fairgrounds through gate 3. We will be
parking on Heritage Ave just south of the Manuel Lujan Building. Show times are
from 8:00 AM to approximately 3:30 PM. As in the past, all participants will be
awarded a ribbon recognizing your willingness to get up early to be at the show.
Cars will be duly judged and certificates will be given out to class winners.
I want to mention that the State Fair folks have always been quite supportive of
our event. In fact Craig Vencill, from the State Fair has told me our group is
by far the best group to show cars at the Fair. Let's not disappoint him this
year!! Needless to say, the weather will be great, and I guarantee you will all
have a fun time. If you have any questions please Contact Geoff Johnson at
geoffj66@gmail.com .
Let's have a good turnout for 2019!! -- Robert Gold
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Happy Birthday Wishes to September CNM'ers:
Jamie Anderson
Linda Soukup
David Huntoon
Gordon Johnson
Janet Johnson
Connie McBreen
Christian Deyermond
Curtis L Shimp
September Anniversaries:
Kathy & Larry Blair
Jenny & Phil Finch
Emma & LeRoy Rogers
Kay & Tarmo Sutt
Valerie Nye & Joel Yelich
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SPEEDING ON EUBANK
Jim Pittman
The other night at 3:00 AM our suburban quiet was disturbed, as it so often is
these days, by the sound of the high-revving, un-muffled engine of a street
racer or perhaps a motorcycle. The driver, I assume, was showing off his power
and driving skills and his ability to disturb the peace of hundreds of residents
of our fair city as he blasted along Lomas or Eubank. Possibly part of the
thrill was the real but small chance that he would be impeded in this illegal
exercise by the authorities.
For some reason this reminded me of the time back in 1988 when several of us CNM
members might have been caught driving at illegal speeds on Eubank, not at 3:00
AM but in the middle of a quiet Saturday afternoon. Let me explain.
Back in the dark ages (or perhaps, during our club's Golden Age) we often had
tech talks and tech sessions. Some of these were dreamed up by Bill Reider or
Sylvan Zuercher and some were held as Saturday events at Bill's "Car Tune" shop
on Trumbull SE, just off south Eubank. In those days, during weekday rush hour
Eubank bustled with workers going to or from Sandia Laboratories and Kirtland
AFB, but on weekends it tended to be fairly quiet, almost deserted.
The club had scheduled a tune-up session for a March Saturday, and Bill said the
theme would be "See and Be Seen." The idea was that we would drive our Corvair
into Bill's shop where he had put alignment marks on the floor and carefully
measured targets with "X" bullseyes on the wall. We'd park on the lines, turn on
our headlights to illuminate the targets. Then we'd align each headlamp
properly, left, right, up, down, low beams, high beams. We'd then check turn
signals, brake lights, instrument lights, horns, wipers, tire pressures. We
could even do a quickie alignment check with a string if we wanted.
Founding club member Dale Housley, now retired from his career as a state police
officer, had access to a radar unit and he would be checking the accuracy of our
speedometers at 30, 45 and 60 miles per hour as we drove one car at a time down
Eubank from the Sandia gate toward Central. Thus all who showed up would get at
least three passes along a mile or so of south Eubank while Dale manned the
radar gun and recorded actual speeds.
I don't remember the speed limit on south Eubank at that time, but it's a safe
bet it was not as high at 45 miles per hour.
Quite a few Corvairs showed up for the tech session. Headlights were aimed,
other functions were checked, questions were asked and answered. Soon it was
time to drive over to Eubank for the speedometer tests. Dale parked his 1965
Monza coupe on the east side of the road and aimed the radar gun south. He
manned the radar as we all took turns driving north along Eubank toward his car,
keeping our speedometers locked on 30 or 45 or 60.
As you may know, mid-sixties cars tended to have optimistic speedometers. An
incorrect speedometer drive gear, a replaced differential with a different
rear-end ratio, different size tires, or even simple age or wear and tear could
affect speedometer accuracy. What could you do if your speedometer was not
reading correctly? Well, maybe install the correct drive gear or install larger-
or smaller-diameter tires, even install a different differential. In any case,
determining your speedometer error could only be good.
The Corvairs present made a number of runs and we were all enjoying the
afternoon. Suddenly Dale announced, "Okay, end of test. Everybody quit running
and get ready to head for home." Dale not only had a borrowed police radar gun,
he had been monitoring a police scanner. He had heard police officers discussing
the odd radar readings they were getting and they were now on the lookout to see
where those radar signals were coming from. Before they could get their
detectors zeroed in on south Eubank we had the radar gun and scanner hidden away
and none of us were speeding along Eubank.
As far as I can tell, details of this tech session were never written up in the
newsletter and I guess we all gradually forgot about it. It was just one more in
a string of tech events we used to hold back during our club's golden years.
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Mark Morgan started our newsletter in December 1974 and left for
duty with the Navy in 1976. As he traveled the world he occasionally
sent articles entitled "Driving in ...." various locations such as
Los Angeles, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Guam. He updates his September
1984 article with this story. Part 1 this month, Part 2 later.
DRIVING IN YURP: THE UNITED KINGDOM (PART 1)
Mark L Morgan
During the course of my life I've been fortunate to visit 13 foreign countries
at various locations around the world. For the majority, I owe thanks to the US
Navy. Yes, it's true; if you join the Navy, the chances are pretty darn good you
will in fact see the world. In several of the countries I've also had the good
fortune (?) to drive and thus to learn all sorts of rules of the road, driving
cultures and yes, to try out vehicles that have never made it to these shores.
In June, I managed a rare re-attack, i.e., a two-week trip to England and
Scotland.
The last time I was in the United Kingdom was in May 1984 (short pause to catch
my breath: good grief, has it been 35 years already!), when I flew over from Los
Angeles to London-Heathrow for two weeks with my parents. Dad was with McDonnell
Douglas at Khamis Mushayt Air Base, Saudi Arabia, working on the F-15 Eagle
program and it was their idea to meet at roughly the halfway point between
California and the Kingdom and enjoy a short vacation. We had an absolute ball;
several days in London, rode British Rail (still nationalized at the time) to
Edinburgh via Glasgow, then rented a car and drove back to London via Wales (the
ancestral Morgan homeland; my family emigrated to Philadelphia from
Merionethshire in 1683) and Yeovil down in southwest England.
After returning home and reporting to my new assignment at Fleet Intelligence
Training Center, Pacific, at Naval Training Center San Diego, I wrote up the
experience for my home Corvair club, Corvairs of New Mexico in Albuquerque (see
"Driving In Yurp, Part 2: The United Kingdom," Enchanted Corvairs, September
1984). I noted at the time,
The United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but you
already knew that) may not strike you as a particularly exotic locale, seeing as
they speak the same language and are the "mother country," et al. Believe me,
it's different over there; the language and customs are different and the cars
and driving conditions bear little relation to what you'll find on a typical
Saturday afternoon on San Mateo NE.
In 1984, I noted all sorts of brands we didn't see in the states including
Diahatsu (sold in the US from 1987-1992), Hyundai (first imported to the US in
1986 and now, with Kia, the GM of the Republic of Korea) and Londsale
(Australian badge-engineered Mitsubishi, produced 1982-1984). The really
entertaining cars were from the Warsaw Pact nations: FSU (Poland); Lada, a
Russian-made Fiat, with new, modern designs, reliability and even an excitement
factor; Zastavia (Yugoslavia) and \0x0160koda (Czechoslovakia). And, British
Leyland still existed.
The British auto industry has been at death's door for several years. For
various reasons, over here in the states that had (deservedly so) achieved a
reputation for being unreliable and technologically behind the time. From what I
observed, the industry is making a comeback.
BL's range is rather extensive, the major part being Austin Rover. The
"flagship" of the Austin line is the Ambassador, which was the ugliest car I saw
over there, sort of a four-door TR7. The old Rover series is still in
production, and still looks modern. You may remember when the V8-powered Rover
3500 (Note: AKA the SD1) was sold here in the States a few years back for about
15 minutes. The last Brit sedan sold in the US, the Austin Marina (eminently
forgettable and disappeared quickly) carries the Morris nameplate in the as the
Ital. Austin's newest offering is the Montego, which is modern, has distinctive
looks (something like a cross between a Subaru and a Mazda 626), good
performance and is getting rave reviews from the press. Austin also produces the
Maestro (fwd hatchback), the Metro (replacement for the old Mini) and the Mini
(still popular enough for production; you can have archaic and eat it too).
What about the classic sports cars? Well, the names live on, but they bear no
relationship to their predecessors. The current MG is a sporty, badge-engineered
variation of the Austin, offered in the Maestro, Metro and Montego series, while
the Triumph is a British-made Honda Civic sedan! Somewhere in the auto
junkyards, TR3s, -6s, MG TCS and MGAs are spinning in their graves! The new
Honda Civic sedan will apparently be sold in England as a small Rover, which
indicates the end of the line for the Triumph name. Sigh...
Thirty-five years later, the story of the collapse of the British automotive
industry is well known. With the exception of a few notables like McLaren,
Caterham and TVR, the remaining names now fall under foreign ownership. They
include Rolls-Royce (Volkswagen), Bentley (BMW), Mini (BMW; the German
corporation also acquired the Triumph and Riley brands when it bought the Rover
Group in 1994), Jaguar/Land Rover (Tata Motors Ltd, India), MG (SAIC Motor,
China), Morgan, (Investdustrial, Italy) and Lotus (Geely, China). Last March,
General Motors sold Vauxhall and Opel to France's PSA, manufacturers of Peugeot
and Citroen.
On the plus side, when traveling in Britain, you still see plenty of British
cars among all the French, German, Japanese and Korean vehicles, including the
occasional classic Brit sports car. During the course of our two weeks in the
UK, I noted one TR6, one late-model crash-bumper MGB, three Spitfires (two
running, one project in a lot near Cambridge, England) and two original Minis.
Regret to say, I only managed photos of the Minis; the other cars blew by me
before I could get the camera up and ready.
And, no surprise, London is crawling with the current version of the British
London taxi or "hackney." Ah, but there's a catch; while the current cabs
closely resemble the legendary Austin AX4 - driver up front with luggage space
on the left side, room in back for six or so passengers - they're built by The
London Taxi Company, a subsidiary of China's Geely Automobile. They're
diesel-powered, with hydrogen fuel cell and all-electric versions on the way.
More startling, they're not uniformly black anymore; many of the cabs serve as
rolling advertisements, quite colourful. I suspect the debut of the
multi-coloured taxis had the same impact on the English psyche as Colin
Chapman's shift from BRG to Gold Leaf Team Lotus colours in 1968 (okay, I admit,
a bit of a stretch there...). Anyway, in and around the high costs and
restrictions placed on private vehicle usage in greater London, the taxis -
black or otherwise - still serve as an excellent way to get around town, along
with Uber and the London Underground.
Back to the cars, the selection and assortment found in Britain remains
incredible; about every five minutes for the duration, I found myself doing
double-takes, wondering what make of car I'd just seen. All of the European
major manufacturers have a substantial presence (gee, go figure) and you will
see a wide range of vehicles that aren't sold here in the states, including
makes such as the Czech \0x0160koda, which has not only survived but flourished
as a subsidiary of VW.
One big point is this: while Ford, GM and Fiat-Chrysler are on course to pretty
much abandon sedans and wagons here in the states, in England they're all over
the place, along with three and five-door hatchback variants. Their popularity
is such that even the upscale manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Alfa
Romeo produce small, sporting hatches; Benz produces the A35 and A45 AMG "hot
hatch," BMW the 1-Series (nice!) and Alfa the Giulietta (really nice... dang, if
this car was available in the States I'd have to re-think my long-established
concerns about Italian cars...).
Also, as mentioned above, the MG brand is in business, under Chinese ownership
with the title MG Motor UK (https://mg.co.uk), with the former Austin plant at
Longbridge housing the corporate headquarters and R&D center. The current
offerings are the MG3 five-door (1.5L, 5-speed, three trim levels starting at
#9495/$11,884) and the MG ZS and GS SUVs (#12,495/$15,639 and #15,095/$18,894
respectively). During a walking recce of our Westminster neighborhood, I
stumbled across the local dealership, WLMG Marlybone and had fun looking at the
cars. The current MGs get consistently high ratings in polls and magazine evals.
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, it's the fastest
growing brand in the UK.
Anyway, as it turned out, we wound up renting an Alfa Romeo, in this case the
company's full-size Stelvio, powered by a 2.2L diesel, backed by an 8-speed
automatic. While sold as a "compact luxury crossover" SUV, the car was as big as
my wife's Volvo XC90, which resulted in some excitement down the road...
However, in the meantime, it had more than adequate power, handled in an
impressive fashion and had more than enough room for four adults and their
luggage. Perfect for cruising the Scottish highlands, eh? By the way, for the
record, diesel fuel ran about #1.32 per liter, which translated to $4.98/gallon.
Gasoline/petrol was #1.26 per liter, $4.79 per gallon.
Before we hit the road, a couple of other vehicle options, starting with pickup
trucks (yes, pickups...). While not seen in any large numbers, some Brits do
like driving trucks, although what qualifies as "mid-size" in North America
rates as a full-size LARGE vehicle in England. The two prevalent types we saw
were Nissan Frontiers - sold as the "Navarra" in the Isles - and the new Ford
Ranger, which went on sale overseas in 2015. According to reports, the latter is
now the best-selling pickup in Europe.
Finally, during our two weeks in the UK, I saw two American cars: a Cadillac
sedan and a first-generation Mustang. There are more over there; if you read any
of the British car magazines like Classic & Sports Car or Octane, you'll learn
that big American metal is highly popular. Any weekend, you may stumble across
the Brit equivalent of a cruise or car show with heavy emphasis on Fords,
Chevys, Oldsmobiles and the like.
(To be continued......)
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WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU ALL HERE AGAIN!
Craig Vencill
This year's theme is "Love is in the Fair!" ... and of
course our Covairs are loved by all.
Call me with questions.
Spain ? - sounds great! Have fun and we'll txt you pictures.
Creative Arts Corvairs -- Division 13 -- New Mexico State Fair
September 5-15, 2019
Event Coordinator -- Craig Vencill
Show Chairman -- Robert Gold (505) 268-6878
Show Date: Sunday, September 15, 2019
Entry Date Sunday, September 15, 2019 - by 7:30 AM
Special Rules
1. Registration will be on Heritage Avenue by 8:00 AM. Cars must be set up by
9:00 AM! Enter through Gate #3 - No Exceptions
2. Cars must be on exhibit from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Exit Time 3:00 PM
3. Cars must exit through Gate 6
4. Vehicles are NOT allowed to be displayed on grass areas.
5. Entries are open to all Chevrolet Corvair cars, truck and vans manufactured
between 1960 and 1969
6. Exhibitor recognizes that marketing of the Fair and its grounds requires use
of photography and video. Exhibitor hereby expressly grants to the Fair
the irrevocable, assignable right and license to take, use and publish
exhibitor images and property without the need for any other approval.
Exhibitor also releases the Fair, its agents or assigns, from all
claims related to the licenses that have been granted in this release.
7. Ribbons will be awarded. For further information contact the club
representative.
Section 509 Ribbon Awards: Best of Show Rosettes Participation Rosettes
Craig Vencill ~ Main Street ~ Theme Days
505-222-0788 ~ desk
505-250-6140 ~ cellular
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TREASURY REPORT FOR 07-11-2019 to 08-12-2019
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,768.70 $6,768.70
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2019.xx.xx xxxx -$ 25.89 xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -$6,742.81 $6,742.81
2019.08.03 2354 -$ 45.14 J.Pittman Newsletter Printing AUG 2019 -$ 23.13 $6,719.68
2019.08.03 -$ J.Pittman Newsletter Postage 31 x $0.71 -$ 22.01 $6,697.67
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2019.09.01 SEP NEWSLETTER ========================================== $6,697.67 $6,697.67
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============================================================================
| September 2019 | October 2019 | November 2019 |
| 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 5 | 1 2 |
| 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
| 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 |
| 29 30 | 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
============================================================================
SAT 07 SEP 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
SAT 07 SEP 10:00 AM Nominations for election of officers due at today's meeting
SAT 7 SEP After meeting Larry Blair Start-Up party 7309 Luella Anne Dr NE
MON 09 SEP 9:00 AM Old Route 66 Cleanup - Meet at the "Y" at I-40 and NM 333
SAT 14 SEP NMCCC 41st ANNUAL SWAP MEET - DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION!
SUN 15 SEP 7:00 AM New Mexico State Fair Car Show
WED 18 SEP 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 25 SEP 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
FRI 27 SEP ..... NMCCC 41st ANNUAL SWAP MEET
SAT 28 SEP ..... Isleta -- Resort -- Casino -- 11000 Broadway SE, 87105
SUN 29 SEP ..... MORE INFORMATION: email ( swapmeet@nmcarcouncil.com )
FRI 27 SEP 9:00 PM Deadline for items for October 2019 newsletter
============================================================================
SAT 05 OCT 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
SAT 05 OCT 10:00 AM ELECTION OF OFFICERS
SAT 05 OCT 10:00 AM Planning needs to be underway for CNM Christmas Party
WED 16 OCT 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 23 OCT 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
FRI 25 OCT 9:00 PM Deadline for items for November 2019 newsletter
FRI-SUN OCT 25-27 2019 Great Western Fan Belt Toss and Swap Meet Palm Springs,CA
============================================================================
SAT 02 NOV 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
SUN 03 NOV 2:00 AM - Set your clocks back an hour because the government stole
an hour out of your life back in March and we all have to
tolerate a one-hour jet lag experience to get it back.
WED 20 NOV 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 27 NOV [ NO CAR COUNCIL MEETING THIS MONTH ]
FRI 29 NOV 9:00 PM Deadline for items for December 2019 newsletter
============================================================================
XXX xx DEC ........ CNM CHRISTMAS PARTY -- TO BE ARRANGED
SAT 07 DEC 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 18 DEC 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 27 DEC 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2020 newsletter
============================================================================
See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities
======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================
SUGGESTION: A visit 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: Activities with other clubs such as VMCCA.
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SEVEN YEARS AGO [ SEPTEMBER 2019 VOL 45 Nr 9 ISSUE 528 ]
Jim Pittman
2012 V.31 Nr9 #444
COVER: Classic cars gathered in Albuquerque for the drive to Oak Flats. Mike
Stickler reported on Car Council doings and a proposal to become a non-profit
organization. We had reports on the forest fire damage in northern New Mexico.
We were reportedly running low on copies of the Care & Feeding books. Robert
Gold described our new State Fair stanchions. Larry Yoffee reported on a triop
to Chama to line up venues for next year' Tri-State. Our newsletter was awarded
first place in CORSA's annual competition. Heula Pittman reported on our dinner
at Sadie's East with Trevor and Bryan Blackwell who were traveling from Virginia
to Arizona in a Mazda Miata. Pages of photos of classic cars from the All-Clubs
picnic topped off the issue
2005 V.31 Nr9 #360
COVER: Robert, Anne Mae, Javi & Sara brought their late sedan to the July
meeting. President David ran our meeting at Galles Chevrolet. Wendell reported
$2,822.77 in the bank. Former member Clayborne Souza visited from California.
The Car Council picnic was set for El Morro and our club breakfast was set for
Milly's. Someone complained that we no longer had tech talks at meetings and
tech talk volunteers were called for. Planning was under way for next year's
Tri-State in Montrose, Colorado. Mark and Mary Lou Martinek reported on the
CORSA Convention in Portland, Oregon. Ollie Scheflow reported on the picnic and
tour to "Inscription Rock" AKA El Morro and Wendell Walker previewed a tour by
the VMCCA to the Gilman Tunnels north of Jemez, New Mexico.
1998 V.24 Nr9 #276
COVER: Mark Domzalski's Rampside, carrying a long, crated flagpole, headed for
the Pecos cabin of Ruth Boydston. Dennis ran our meeting at Casa Chevrolet. Mark
was now president of CORSA. Wendy reported $6,830 in our account. The
Albuquerque Urban Council was trying to get a Transportation Museum started, to
be located near the railroad station. We discussed getting a new club banner.
Did we want a special 25th Anniversary celebration next March? Dennis and other
members reported on the St. Louis convention. Heula reported on the
flagpole-raising at Ruth's cabin in the Pecos, Dave reported on starting out for
St. Louis in his VW bug, and Herb Berkman told about some of the problems and
difficulties that cropped up at past conventions.
1991 V.17 Nr9 #192
COVER: Wayne Christgau's high-mileage 1967 Monza parked at the Billy the Kid
Museum at Fort Sumner where Wayne was visiting. Our Aspencade destination was
Rancho de Chimayo. Ilva Walker donated a hand-woven tapestry to the Club to be
raffled at the Christmas party. President Steve Gongora thanked Dick Cochran for
putting on a terrific economy run with a trip to Indian ruins and lunch at the
CO-OP in Estancia. Wendell Walker's automatic Corvair got 31.1 MPG and Will
Davis got 36.2 MPG with a manual. LeRoy previewed the State Fair show. We
reprinted a newspaper photo of Ralph (you-know-who) sitting in an early Corvair
at the CORSA convention, a nervous smile on his face. Steve reported on our tour
to Flagstaff. Wayne Christgau contributed an interesting article on adventures
with his Corvair in the USA and in Greece with the USAF. Finally, Orville
Eliason told us about vacuum leaks and how to cure them.
1984 V.10 Nr9 #108
COVER: Artist, writer and past president Mark Morgan provided a sketch of a
fanciful London double-decker bus for our cover. Sure enough, inside there was
another great article by Mark about driving in Europe, one of a series. Bill
Reider's regular column reported on the effects of unleaded gasoline in
Corvairs.
1977 V.03 Nr7 #028
This "September/October" issue proved to be the last for the year 1977. State
Fair awards went to Francis Boydston, Clay Keen, Benny Abeyta, Steve Gongora,
Hector Gongora, Glen Thompson, Doug Morgan and Joe Vertrees. We had a car show
at Winrock with at least eight Corvairs, including James Giblin's 1961 Lakewood
and Brian Ballou's 1966 V-8 Corvair. A club dinner at Bella Vista was well
attended. Ike Meissner planned a "rally race" event in Pojoaque, with lunch at
The Line Camp. Glen Thompson officially resigned as newsletter editor.
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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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