The October 2019 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 30-Sep-2019 ==== Copyright (c) 2019 Corvairs of New Mexico
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October 2019 / VOLUME 45 / NUMBER 10 / ISSUE 529
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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: Saturday October 5th, 10:00 AM
Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Albuquerque NM 87108
THIS MONTH
President's Message .................................. Dave Allin
October Dues Due Dates ..................... Membership Committee
September Regular Meeting Minutes ...................... Kay Sutt
The Existential Joy of Starting a Rebuilt Engine .... Larry Blair
Title Transfer Nightmare, Chicago to England ......... David Neal
State Fair Photos .................... Dave Allin & David Huntoon
Mid-Engine: Cummings Diesel in Loadside .............. Tarmo Sutt
Birthdays & Anniversaries .................. Membership Committee
Pete Frailey "Song of the Old Corvair" ... Group Corvair Comments
Driving in Yurp: The United Kingdom (Part 2) ..... Mark L. Morgan
Treasury Report ................................... Steve Gongora
Calendar of Coming Events .................... Board of Directors
October Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ...... Club Historian
COVER: Larry invites CNM Members to startup his rebuilt 140
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/
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 OCTOBER 2019
DUE LAST MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE
2019.09 Valerie Nye & Joel Yelich 25-OCT-2019
DUE THIS 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 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo 25-NOV-2019
DUE NEXT MONTH ================= INACTIVE DATE
2019.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 25-DEC-2019
2019.11 Rita & Steve Gongora 25-DEC-2019
DUE DECEMBER 2019 ================ INACTIVE DATE
2019.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2020
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
2019.08 Kathy & Larry Blair 25-SEP-2019
2019.08 Anne & Geoffrey Johnson 25-SEP-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 11-Sep-2018 we have 41 active family memberships.
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President's Letter
Dave Allin
It was a fun, but wet, day at the State Fair this year. It would have been nice
to have more Corvairs, but various circumstances kept some of our members from
participating. Nonetheless, we had eight cars, and we drew lots of interest. We
were all in place by eight A.M., just in time for the rain to start around nine.
The rain continued, off and on, for the rest of the day, but it didn't keep the
visitors away from the Fair. Club members spent much of the day inside their
cars, or under the overhang of the Lujan building, but we still had a good time.
The Old Route 66 cleanup went well, but again, participation was less than
optimal. The weather was great, and we collected a lot of trash. I would like to
encourage more people to come out, as it is kind of fun, and you get to see a
lot of interesting things on the side of the road.
As I write this, the big New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Swap Meet is happening
at Isleta Casino. Yesterday I helped out with the setup, and it looks like it
will be very successful. All the spaces were sold, and the venue is much nicer
than the muddy soccer fields in Los Lunas. In fact, I dropped into the casino
while I was there and won twenty dollars. I'm going back to the swap meet today
as a customer, because I really enjoy looking at rusty old car parts.
There is always something interesting going on in Albuquerque, and many of the
events involve cars. Let's all try to be more involved and spread the gospel of
Corvair far and wide.
People who have participated in past years tell me the Fiesta of Wheels at the
Balloon Fiesta is a great experience. It's Sunday morning, October 6th. Drive
your Corvair or classic car onto the field with the balloons! Be at the Rail
Runner station, Edith and El Pueblo NE before 8:00 AM and wait for the first
wave of balloons to take off before driving onto the field. What better way to
go see the balloons, a lot of of exotic cars and their enthusiastic owners!
Dave Allin
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General Meeting Minutes of 09/07/2019
Kay Sutt
The meeting was called to order by President Dave Allin at 10:10 A.M. at
Highland Senior Center.
VP's Report: David had nothing new to report this month.
Treasurer's Report: Steve Gongora was not present, but he reported to Dave Allin
that after the most recent bank statement was reconiciled the account contains
$6,649.04. The only bill paid last month was for the publication of the
newsletter, and there was no income.
Newsletter Report: Jim Pittman reported the deadline for the next newsletter is
9:00 P.M. on Friday, 09/27/2019.
Merchandise Committee Report: Vickie reported sales of $35 for "Care & Feeding
of your Corvair." She has more books available at $5 each. She sent a book to
new member Lloyd Piatt.
Secretaries' Reports: The minutes of the last meeting as published in the
newsletter were approved by the members present.
Old Business:
The next Old Route 66 Cleanup is scheduled for Monday, September 9, at 8:30. It
is being scheduled during the week so more people can come to help.
The State Fair is upon us, and the Corvairs will show on Sunday, September 15.
Members are to meet at the parking lot in the old shopping center at the SW
corner of San Pedro and Central at 7:00 A.M. Geoff Johnson will bring the
stanchions.
The Christmas Party has been scheduled for Saturday, December 7 (the regular
club meeting date) at 2:00 P.M. at Copper Canyon Cafe at 5455 Gibson Blvd, SE,
subject to David Huntoon being able to schedule that time with the restaurant.
Vickie asked everyone to remember the gift giving to charity. It was discussed
that donations would go to The Storehouse again this year. They accept clothing,
household items, food, money... virtually anything except furniture. If anyone
has any other charities to suggest, contact Vickie and it will be considered.
New Business:
Next month is club elections, and the standing officers agreed to work for
another year, if the club wishes (except Linda Soukup was not present, so we
can't speak for her). No other nominations were forwarded. The election will be
held at the October general meeting on October 5, and nominations from the floor
will be accepted before the voting begins. Standing for election are: President
- Dave Allin; Vice President - David Huntoon; Secretary - Kay Sutt & Linda
Soukup (?); and Treasurer - Steve Gongora.
Larry Blair reported he has worked on Bill Reider's car (fuel system, new
battery, clean-up etc.) so potential buyers can test drive the car. Dave Allin
reported he has talked to someone who is interested, and Larry reported he had
asked the guy to hold off driving it for a couple of weeks until he can get the
carburetors cleaned and functional because the car won't idle properly yet.
Mark Hodges, the person interested in Bill's car, is looking for a Corsa, and if
you know of others available, you can call him at 701-509-1429.
Dave Allin reported he has had one person ask to be removed from the NMCCC/Joyce
Clements e-mail forwards. Let Dave know if you want to be removed from this
thread as well.
The upcoming NMCCC swap meet at Isleta Casino is scheduled for September 27-29,
with registration for a vendor slot due by September 14.
Dave Allin asked who was going to the Fan Belt Toss in California in October,
and David Huntoon was the only person who thought he might attend.
Dave also received flyers, with photos, for two cars available in Santa Fe: a
1964 500 and a 1961 700. Both appear to be 2-door cars in need of major work,
however if you are interested you can call 505-570-1843.
David Huntoon gave a quick rundown of the CORSA National Convention he attended
in St. Charles, just outside Chicago. He said six NM folks attended, and it was
a good show. His brother sold some parts and made a small profit. He thought the
vendors and the swap meet attendance were down, but said there were lots of
great cars and he had a good time.
Terry Price was the only CNMer to show at the National Street Rod convention
held a couple weeks ago. He said there were 765 cars, a number of which were
stock. He said it was a fun event, very comfortable, with lots of prizes. His
1966 Corvair Monza convertible drew a lot of attention. The event will return to
Albuquerque next year and will be held at the State Fairgrounds.
Lube Lubert reported there will be a toy train exhibit and swap meet for anyone
interested, to be held October 5 at the northwest corner of San Mateo and Indian
School.
Terry Price won half of the $22 Lube collected for the 50/50.
The Tri-state committee was to meet after the general meeting, but that was
postponed until after the October meeting because not enough members of the
committee were present to constitute a quorum. The one item which was discussed
was the need for photos of cars and Tri-State related pictures for the webpage.
You can forward anything you would care to contribute to tarmo@juno.com, and he
will see the webpage creator gets the info.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:20.
Six members followed Larry Blair to his home to witness the inaugural firing of
his new 1966 140-HP engine he has been working on for the last two years. After
minor tweaking the motor was running smoothly and was deemed ready to drop into
his red 1966 Corsa coupe car.
Attending: Dave Allin, Larry Blair, Pat Hall, Vickie Hall, David Huntoon, Gordon
Johnson, Bob Kitts, Lube Lubert, Jim Pittman, Terry Price, LeRoy Rogers, Kay
Sutt, Tarmo Sutt, Anne Wiker.
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The Existential Joy of Starting Up a Rebuilt Engine
Larry Blair
Thirteen years ago, a guy came to a club meeting with a 1966 Corsa coupe for
sale. "It was running when I parked it" he said, "but it's being vandalized, so
I want to sell it".
I looked at it, and it appeared to be in good shape, except for a couple of
busted headlights and a cracked windshield. And it had a telescoping steering
wheel, which I knew was worth more than he was asking for the car. I bought it.
Towing it home brought an exasperated outburst from Kathy: "Not another one.
What are you going to do with THAT thing?"
I explained [rationalized] that although I had restored, to one degree or
another, three early models, I needed to expand my knowledge of Corvairs by
restoring a late model. Besides, if and when my 1964 died, I would need another
daily driver. And, restoring it will keep me out of the bars. And, if the US is
ever attacked by Electro Magnetic Pulse, a Corvair will still run. She bought my
rationalization. Especially the part about the bars.
So I ventured into a complete engine rebuild. It ultimately took three years to
tear it down, clean, replace and rebuild everything. I faithfully followed the
shop manual, checking off each operation, several times more than once.
With the help of Clarks and Empire Engines, I finally got it all ready to run
"on the bench." I had rebuilt the carburetors, CC'd the heads, balanced the
pistons, set the gaps, adjusted the valves, and much more, but had it gone
together right? Did I get the little mark on the cam gear lined up right with
the crank? Was it timed right? Was it getting oil pressure? Spark? Gas? Plagued
with doubt, I asked President Dave Allin if he would schedule a tech session in
my driveway, as a pretense to get some expert help on the scene.
Dave Allin, Tarmo Sutt, Pat Hall, and Jim Pittman showed. Dave supervised;
Tarmo's expert eye found things that needed fine tuning; Pat dove right in and
cranked it up; and Jim mumbled something about piston slap. I tried to keep up
by fetching tools and worrying. After fixing a flooded primary carb due to a
maladjusted float, tightening leaky gas lines, and tinkering with the timing, it
coughed and sputtered, meaning it had to be getting something close to the right
combination of fuel, spark, and oxygen. More of Pat's and Tarmo's adjustments,
and it FIRED UP and ran beautifully! Good oil pressure, no valve noise, and that
unique rumble of a flat six! Success!!
What joy! All those sleepless nights of tossing and turning in the bed wondering
if it would start were gone. My relief in worrying about what I would do if it
wouldn't start was profound. I slept well that night, happy with the day's work,
happy that I was in a club with such good and expert friends, and proud that I
had met another challenge in my Corvair love affair.
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*** Lee Reider called to tell me that Bill's silver car has been sold,
*** and to offer an article for the newsletter from the buyer who had
*** a traumatic experience several years ago, buying another Corvair
*** from the States and shipping it to England. Here's the story:
From: David Neale [ chevroletflatsix@gmail.com ]
Date: Fri, Sep 20, 2019, 5:51 PM
Subject: Title transfer woes
To: Bill Reider [ br236425@gmail.com ]
To: SIDEKICK STER [ livelifefree95@gmail.com ]
Dear Lee and Laurie,
As promised ... an account of the travails I underwent when a car's title spent
some time swanning around in the postal system, en route to England; for your
Club's newsletter.
About 14 years ago, I purchased a 1965 Monza Convertible, with 140HP motor, from
a gentleman in Chicago. The gentleman was a regular contributor to the Virtual
Vairs forum on the internet, and his car came up for sale. Having been a VV
member for some long time, it became apparent that he was a very highly thought
of, and knowledgable person, and absolutely honest. The car was, at that time,
just what I was after; a price was struck, and the deal was done. I had never
imported a motor car from the United States before; it isn't something most of
us do with any regularity; and the received wisdom at that time was that he
would endorse the title to show that I had purchased it ... he would send it to
me ... I would endorse it as the purchaser, and return it to him. It would then
accompany the vehicle to the port, for export. Only by doing this would the
authorities in the US allow the vehicle to be exported.
The gentleman sent the title to me by regular mail. In truth, it is normally
very reliable, but in this instance, the normal 5 to 7 days for a letter to
travel from the USA to England passed ... then the days turned to weeks. After
around 8 weeks, we determined that the title had without doubt been lost
somewhere in the postal system; and a replacement had to be obtained. This
involved the gentleman in Chicago travelling to Springfield, some considerable
distance ... and obtaining a replacement title, at some considerable cost.
In the meantime, the car had been collected from Chicago, and was languishing in
the Shipping Company's yards in New York, right at the side of the water. And
during those weeks, New York had some most inclement weather ... in fact, there
were severe floods. The Shipper's yard was flooded, and my Corvair sat in 18
inches of salt water.
The replacement title arrived at my home in England about one week after it had
been mailed in Chicago ... and to my astonishment followed two days later by the
original title. I signed the original title, and sent it to the Shipper ... it
arrived in New York about 7 days later, and the car was put into a container and
arrived in England about one month later, as I recall, superficially quite
undamaged. I immediately washed it very thoroughly in fresh water, and squirted
a "rust prevention waxy oil" into what we call the sills, and what you call the
rocker covers, which I had hosed through very thoroughly indeed. In Britain,
rocker covers are what you call valve covers! Those sills are especially vital
in the case of a convertible, and about two years later, they had been corroded
so much by the salt water in New York that I had to import new ones from Clark's
Corvair Parts, and have a shop weld them into place after chopping out the
originals. The rocker covers for the convertible are, as many will know, of much
heavier gauge steel than those for a hardtop car; so the shipping cost to
England, and then the imposition of duty, and then tax at 20% on top of
everything, including shipping, made it an extremely expensive process.
There is a moral to this; doubtless you already know precisely what that is ...
treat that title as a Most Important Document, and never, ever, send it through
untracked mailing systems.
Very best wishes from Burbage, in the very centre of England, to the good
Corvair enthusiasts of New Mexico ... where rust is probably an exotic material!
And that, ladies, concludes the horror story I might refer to as "The Comedy of
Two Titles".
Kindest regards,
David B. Neale, in leafy Leicestershire, England.
A safe haven for lovers of Francoise Madeleine Hardy, the Chevrolet Corvair, and
any equipment that utilises thermionic valves.
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Subject: State Fair
From: David and Jan Allin dnjallin@comcast.net
Date: 2019=Sep=18 14:52:05 MDT
Jim, here are some photos I took Sunday. Only eight cars showed up, and three of
them were from the Johnson family. Anne Wiker and David Huntoon showed up just
as we drove onto the Fairgrounds. The rain started around 8:30, and continued
off and on for the rest of the day. Still, a lot of people came to the Fair that
day, and many showed interest in our cars. Pat and I talked to a guy named
Leroy, who wants to join our club. He recently bought a late coupe that is
mostly a project car right now, and wants advice on how to fix it up. Pat
offered to sell him some used parts. -- Dave
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Facebook
Corvairs of New Mexico
September 15 at 3:36 PM
Today was State Fair car show. 60 degrees when we got there and same when we
left. Started raining after we parked. Sometimes heavy sometimes light. All day.
8 Corvairs stuck it out for 7 hours but we made some new friends!
David Huntoon
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Happy Birthday Wishes to October CNM'ers:
Jon Anderson
Erica Anderson
Terry Price
Bill Reider
There are no October Anniversaries.
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BIRTHDAY CARDS:
Subject: Steele
From: STEVE GONGORA [stevegongora@msn.com]
Date: 2019=Sep=08 19:12:35 MDT
To: Jim & Heula Pittman [jimp@unm.edu]
Thank you for remembering our Steele.
Steve and Rita
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iPHONE MESSAGES, 2009.09.24 12:31:48
TARMO As seen a few weeks ago at at a
Saturday afternoon car show in Santa Rosa
NM. A Loadside with a Cummings Turbo Diesel,
mounted in the bed, so, a mid-engine. Very
interesting, but I have no details.
JIM Super dragster?
TARMO Seemed more like a lot of torque, putting power.
TARMO Dodge trucks have these motors, an additional option
from the factory.
JIM Wonder what the person who installed this engine actually
had in mind?
TARMO That is hard to tell, yes, I wondered the same thing.
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*** Peter Worthington Frailey == On July 1, Peter Worthington Frailey
*** of Laytonsville, Maryland, at the age of 86 was called home. An
*** Army Veteran, musician and artist leaves an extended family; his
*** loving wife, Barbara; sons Charles and Douglas; step-daughter,
*** Kim Adair; nine grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
*** A memorial service will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2019
*** at 11 a.m. at Unity of Gaithersburg, 111 Central Avenue,
*** Gaithersburg, MD 20877. - Washington Post, Sunday, August 25, 2019
Pete Frailey === GROUP CORVAIR NEWSLETTER
by Bob Hall ==== September 2019
I don't know how many of the current members of Group Corvair remember Pete, but
Pete Frailey was one of the founding members of Group Corvair. I did some
digging through the club archives and found that he was elected Vice President
in December, 1970, the first VP of Group Corvair. In December, 1974, he became
editor of the club newsletter, Group Corvair Comments. This inspired him to
write a series of editorials addressing the rapid changes that the automobile
industry was undertaking to address federal regulations on safety and emissions
as well as the growing import market These continued, intermittently for several
years, even after Mike and Carol Lienhard took over as newsletter editors.
According to a club roster from 1970, Pete owned two Corvairs, a 1969 Monza 140
hp and a 1965 500 that had been extensively modified. From the outside, the most
noticeable feature was the Fitch Sprint "flying buttress" roof that he had
faired into the body so you couldn't tell that it wasn't original to the car.
Looking a bit more closely, you'd spot the rectangular rear tail lights, small
round side marker lights and the front rectangular headlights. Again, you
couldn't tell them from a factory installation. But the big change was the
engine. This was a conversion pioneered by Art Silva and from the outside, was
completely invisible. But it potentially gave the car as much as 200 hp and 240
lb-ft of torque from an engine that weighed about the same as the original
Corvair engine. The radiator was concealed up over the transaxle. Unfortunately
the car was hit from behind sometime in the 80s; I'm not sure if it was ever
repaired. (He also owned other cars, including a mid-50s Mercedes 300 SL
"Gullwing" coupe.)
Pete will probably be best remembered for his musical talents. He sang and
played guitar, specializing in folk songs. He was a regular part of the
entertainment at the Group Corvair awards banquets. When Group Corvair hosted
the 1991 CORSA International Convention here in Washington, Pete composed his
ballad "The Song of the Old Corvair" especially for that Convention. He made
cassette tapes (remember those?) of the song, along with a selection of other
folk songs, and sold them at the convention. I finally dug my copy out and
converted it to digital format. That made it easy to transcribe the lyrics:
The Song of the Old Corvair
Pete Frailey
Oh, the good old USA, my friends, is a very nice place to be.
With green and rolling countryside and farmlands fair to see.
There's sure a lot to do out there, a dance or a country fair.
But the thing that I like best is going out in my Corvair.
Oh, driving my Corvair is fun wherever I may be,
The spirit of Ed Cole is riding in my seat with me.
I've been to a few conventions, though some have been to more.
But every time I go I know the fun that lies in store.
And though he tried so very hard, old Ralph did not prevail.
Our gallant old Corvair, my friends, has weathered every gale.
Oh driving my Corvair is fun wherever I may be,
The spirit of Ed Cole is riding in my seat with me.
We've talked a lot about Corvairs, the car that we all love.
Some we drive, and some we show, and a few we have to shove.
While driving in my old Corvair on every road and street,
The thing that means the most to me is the people that I meet.
Oh, driving my Corvair is fun wherever I may be,
The spirit of Ed Cole is riding in my seat with me.
Yes, driving my Corvair is fun wherever I may be,
And the spirit of Ed Cole, my friends, still rides along with me.
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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. This is Part 2 of the two-part article.
Driving in Yurp: The United Kingdom (Conclusion)
Mark L Morgan
Okay, now for the actual driving experience. In 1984, the parents and I rented a
1984 Ford Sierra sedan (or saloon, if you prefer), Ford's standard mid-range car
at the time. You may remember the two-door hatchback variant with turbocharged
2.3L four, sold over here by Mercury dealers from 1985 to 1989 as the Merkur
XR4Ti. As exotic as the Merkur seemed when it hit the US dealerships, I remember
being surprised at how, well, mundane the Sierra sedan ws. But hey, it did the
trick (side note: I recall yer traditional Lincoln-Mercury dealerships didn't
really know what to do with the XR4Tis and the larger Scorpio, Ford-Europe's big
car. Hence, Merkur's demise after only four years).
This time around, the Stelvio... much larger, much taller but, seeing as I'd
already proven my ability to drive in the UNK on the left side of the road, I
wasn't too worried. However, what followed was a quick lesson on the realities
of driving a big vehicle on British roadways, leavened by the discovery that 35
years later, I wasn't quite the bold, hell on wheels risk-taker I used to be
(anyone who's run against me in the Boeing autocross series will vouch for
that).
To a large extent, our route replicated the 1984 trip; public transit in London,
British rail north to Edinburgh, rent a car and get out and see the Scottish
countryside before driving down to Brighton and vehicle turn-in. The first part
of the trip went great, courtesy of the London Northeastern Railway. We enjoyed
excellent accommodations and great service (and food) in the first class car
while enjoying our view of the English countryside and coastal North Yorkshire,
Durham, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland. Our Airbnb rental in old Edinburgh - a
rock's throw (flaming arrow launch?) from Edinburgh Castle was equally nice,
quite roomy with a fantastic view...albeit accessed by five flights of stairs
(whuf!).
After a couple of days in Edinburgh, I walked a few blocks to the Enterprise
outlet and picked up the Alfa Romeo. Both of the salesmen/attendants who signed
over the Italian SUV raved about how envious they were; oh, if they only knew...
I proceeded back up the hill to our lodging, loaded the other three members of
the family and the bags, turned the vehicle around... and immediately put it up
on a sidewalk, startling various passers-by. Hmmm... maybe I should get one of
those "Beware! American Driver!" signs for the back window (what's really
amazing is the number of tour buses which manage to negotiate Edinburgh's very
narrow, century-old streets. The bus drivers have my permanent admiration).
With my stepdaughter Grace serving as the primary navigator, we sortied forth
from the city onto the M-90 Motorway and hauled north to Inverness. The
motorways serve as Britain's counterpart to our interstate system and are quite
good: plenty of room (just remember, the slow lane is far left), with shoulders
and more than suitable for high-speed transit. Once we got to Newburgh, we
shifted to a secondary road, the A9 and things got a tad more challenging. The
secondaries - the A and B routes - tend narrow and don't always have shoulders
or run-offs on the sides, which makes passing a challenge. However, we
persevered and after a couple of hours we pulled up to our next AirBnB in
downtown Inverness, hard by the River Ness. Again, really fine lodging and a
wonderful view of the town and the river. It served well for the next four days.
While in Inverness, we made two excursions, to Culloden Moore (the site of the
16 April 1746 dust-up between the English under the Duke of Cumberland and
Scottish forces under Charles Edward Stewart, aka "Bonnie Prince Charlie." The
English pretty much wiped out the Highlanders, ending the Jacobite rebellion
against George II) and down Loch Ness. On the drive to Culloden - which has an
outstanding visitors center/restaurant - I finally remembered how to negotiate
the ubiquitous roundabouts (traffic circles). After getting honked at twice, it
all came back to me: approach the roundabout, clear right, steer left, repeat as
necessary...
The following day we made the drive on A-82 south down the west short of Loch
Ness, with stops at Urquhart Castle and a turnaround at the south end of the
lake, in Fort Augustus. Again, a secondary route without shoulders, winding and
possessing spectacular scenery (no, we didn't see "Nessie"), but I honestly
didn't spend much time taking in the sights; I was too busy trying to avoid very
large, very fast oncoming lorries and the ubiquitous tour buses. Sheesh...
On the plus side, the castle ruins, which date to the 1200s, were fascinating
and we thoroughly enjoyed our walk about the structures and the interpretive
talk by a living history volunteer:
(https://www.historicenvironment.scot/visit-a-place/places/urquhart-castle/
history/). Fort Augustus was a pleasant small town where we had lunch.
Then came the drive back and once again... when you're tooling along in a large
Alfa Romeo SUV and some big semi comes blasting around the corner going in the
opposite direction, it tends to get sporting real quick. Three times, while
attempting to shift slightly to the left in order to (hopefully) preserve my
driver's-side mirror, I managed to put the left rear tire of the Alfa into a
pothole, which needless to say jarred everyone. The third one was a big'un that
briefly launched the vehicle towards the right lane, into oncoming traffic, but
somehow I managed to stay in our lane.
Once we got back to our parking garage, I managed to pry my white knuckles from
the steering wheel. The three others all uniformly praised my driving skill
although Grace later admitted a non-stop prayer session took place in the back
seat all the way back to Inverness...
Came the 'morn, and the planned start of a two-day drive down the length of
England, via the Morgan ancestral homeland of Wales. Then fate intervened; Grace
and Jeremy came upstairs and advised the left rear very low-profile (45-series,
IIRC) tire was flat, flat, flat. No biggie... called Enterprise, they dispatched
a rescue vehicle from AA (The Automotive Association; obviously, the Brit
counterpart to AAA) and the driver did a fine job of removing the flat tire,
inflating the spare and getting us ready for the road. However, a problem: he
strongly advised we not drive more than 100 miles on the spare (made sense).
Hmmm... where does one get a replacement Alfa Romeo tire between Inverness and
the wilds of Wales?
Truth be known, we punted: we put the bags that would fit on top of the flat
tire in the back, stuffed the rest between Grace and Jeremy in the back seat and
motored over to the local Enterprise office. While I worked with an agent to
write up the damage assessment for the tire with the ruptured sidewall, Kelli,
G&J held a quick a conference and decided it was time to switch back to the
train. As we were looking at an 8 hour drive this day, followed by a 10-hour
drive to Brighton, and seeing as it was now mid-day, I agreed.
Thus ended this trip's short, three-day driving experience in Great Britain. I
told Kelli that if we ever get back over there, we'd get a much smaller vehicle
and hopefully have fewer high stress moments. And, if anyone in the St Louis
Alfa Romeo Owner's Club reads this, I apologize: I regret I didn't get a chance
to do a longer evaluation of the Stelvio. Other than rather funky automatic
transmission controls and a regrettable tendency to put too many functions on
two steering wheel stalks, the SUV was actually a major hoot. In a different
land and different time (where roads have shoulders), I could see owning one.
The remaining three days of our stay in the UK passed quickly. We took the train
to Brighton via Glasgow and London, spent a highly enjoyable day on the beach,
and then returned to a hotel in London to prepare for the flight back. Our
voyage to JFK International in an American B777 took about eight hours, no big
deal; from JFK, across Long island to another hotel and an early Sunday morning
return to St Louis/Lambert via Southwest, while Grace and Jeremy headed home to
Kansas City. At the Morgan homestead I happily reunited with my 1980 TR8 and my
commuter car, a Hyundai Elantra GT N-Line and, at 0400 on Monday, headed back to
work. Jet lag? I scoffed at the concept... although for whatever reason, over
the next three days I consistently woke at 0200 Local (0800 London time).
Flat tires and narrow roads notwithstanding, overall a great trip. I'll close by
repeating my comment from the conclusion of my 1984 article: If you get a chance
to go to the UK (or Australia, for that matter), by all means rent a car and
venture out. I can pretty much guarantee you'll survive the course...
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******* * * * * CORRECTION TO TREASURY REPORT FOR 07-11-2019 to 08-12-2019 * * * * *******
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,768.70 $6,768.70
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2019.07.15 2353 -$ 25.89 Made to Order Stamps Deposit Stamp for CNM -$ 25.89 $6,742.81
2019.08.03 2354 -$ 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
TREASURY REPORT FOR 08-13-2019 to 09-xx-2019
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,697.67 $6,697.67
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2019.09.06 2355 -$ 48.63 J.Pittman Newsletter Printing SEP 2019 -$ 26.62 $6,671.05
2019.xx.xx -$ J.Pittman Newsletter Postage 31 x $0.71 -$ 22.01 $6,649.04
2019.xx.xx $ 35.00 Sale "Care & Feeding" books $ 35.00 $6,684.04
2019.09.11 $ 50.00 Dues C.Shimp 26 m CNM $ 50.00 $6,734.04
2019.09.07 $ 11.00 50/50 50/50 $ 11.00 $6,745.04
2019.09.16 2356 -$ 35.00 CORSA CORSA Annual Chapter Fee -$ 35.00 $6,710.04
2019.09.19 +$ 50.00 Dues J.McMahan 26 m CNM $ 50.00 $6,760.04
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2019.10.01 OCT NEWSLETTER ========================================== $6,760.04 $6,760.04
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| October 2019 | November 2019 | December 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 | 1 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
| 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 |
| 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 |
| 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 |
| 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 29 30 31 |
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SAT 05 OCT 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
SAT 05 OCT 10:00 AM ELECTION OF OFFICERS
SUN 06 OCT 8:00 AM 17th ANNUAL FIESTA OF WHEELS CAR SHOW. Drive onto the field
after the first wave of balloons ascends! Be at the Rail Runner station,
101 El Pueblo NE (near the corner of Edith and El Pueblo) by 8:00 AM.
More information: www.fiestaofwheels.com and www.balloonfiesta.com
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 ]
THU 28 NOV ....... THANKSGIVING
FRI 29 NOV 9:00 PM Deadline for items for December 2019 newsletter
============================================================================
SAT 07 DEC 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
SAT 07 DEC 2:00 PM --- CNM CHRISTMAS PARTY -- COPPER CANYON RESTAURANT
At the corner of Gibson & Valencia SE, just across from the hospital.
WED 18 DEC 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 25 DEC [ NO CAR COUNCIL MEETING THIS MONTH ] And, Merry Christmas!
WED 27 DEC 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2020 newsletter
============================================================================
SAT 04 JAN 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
WED 15 JAN 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
FRI 24 JAN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for February 2020 newsletter
WED 00 JAN 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE
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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 [ OCTOBER 2019 VOL 45 Nr 10 ISSUE 529 ]
Jim Pittman
2012 V.33 Nr 10 #445
COVER: Art Gold's "Fire Engine Red" Monza Convertible. We had lots of State Fair
photos. President Wiker told about "vapor lock" on a hot afternoon. Larry Yoffee
revealed plans for the "Hot Air & Corvairs 2012" event. Robert Gold told of a
great 15-Corvair State Fair show. Pat Hall had a vast collection of green
aluminum street signs, only slightly beat up. Photos included the Washington
DC-to-Phoenix Miata of Bryan Blackwell.
2005 V.31 Nr 10 #361
COVER: Corvair owners seem to be always standing around our engine bays. New
member Robert Garrecht owns a 1966 Corvair. Wendell reports $2,814.82 in
treasury. City Councilor Craig Loy spoke to us about the "No Cruising"
ordinance. Tech Talk: Wendell told how to install late brakes on early Corvair.
Steve & Sylvan posed for a photo next to Steve's "new" red Rampside. This was a
"before" photo and you should see it now! A report by Wendell told about our
tour to J & R Vintage Auto Museum, to Ponderosa Winery and to Gilman Tunnels. It
was a great fall tour! We were making plans for a Potluck and Auction dinner,
and we needed a logo for next year's Montrose Tri-State. Sylvan provided a short
history lesson on the history of the Tri-State meets which started in March
1967. A very few members who went to that one are still around. Robert Gold told
a tale of replacing front springs and shocks on a Forward Control and a
follow-up tech article by Geoff Johnson gave us more details. We had a nice
letter of thanks from Paul Hopkins describing his 40th wedding anniversary,
aided by the late yellow coupe of John Wiker.
1998 V.24 Nr 10 #277
COVER: A Rampside and a Corvan, plus the balloon logo for the CNM convention.
Dennis ran our meeting and Wendy said we had $5880 in the bank. Kay & Tarmo were
the "parents" of an 18-year-old exchange student from Sweden. Bill & Lee and
Chuck & Julie were the only CNM members who attended the NMCCC picnic where
Bill's fan belt toss game was a big hit. There was discussion of the move to
create a Transportation Museum in downtown Albuquerque; a problem was where to
get the $3.2 million to buy the railroad's building. This issue was full of tech
tips. Benny Abeyta told about fixing slop in a Forward Control shifter. Mark
Domzalski told in detail how he installed an electric fuel pump on a 1966 Monza.
An article by Norm Helmkay was titled "The Powerglide Brake" and said -- well,
you should read it to get the full meaning of the title. Let's just say, the
Powerglide is one tough transmission to survive being shifted into reverse when
cruising down the freeway at fifty MPH. A discussion from Virtual Vairs told why
you should not put your spare tire (or bags of sand) in your Corvair trunk.
Finally, Sylvan told us about seeing the SURF BALLROOM in Clear Lake, Iowa when
he visited our former member Wayne Christgau.
1991 V.17 Nr 10 #193
COVER: A white Greenbrier with dark stripe. Sylvan introduced new member Bob
Carlson. Wendy said we had $465.95 to spend. Members said they had a good time
at Flagstaff; Larry Blair's Spyder got top prize. Our sponsor Milt Sanchez
reported that Ed Black Chevrolet was to be sold to Ken Johns and moved to Lomas
and Louisiana NE. Rossie Morris of Sundance Automotive talked to us about his
adventures driving a Model-T in the Great American Race. President Steve Gongora
complained that the year was going by in a blur, and he'd probably agree that
time is passing even faster these days. Steve pointed out how fortunate we are
for the quality of people in our Club. That's still true today. Bill Lawless
previewed our excursion to Rancho de Chimayo for a pleasant lunch. Tech tips
included wintertime paint protection, more places to look for vacuum leaks, how
and why to prime your oil pump after a rebuild, retrieving something you dropped
into the intake manifold, alternator ball bearings, brake bleeding and steering
gear adjustments.
1984 V.10 Nr 10 #109
COVER: members stared at the tail of a B-52 at the Atomic Museum located at
Kirtland AFB. Your editor said that walking around among all those casings of
hydrogen bombs gave him the willies. We had no key to Ed Blacks so our September
meeting was under the stars. Bill Reider's column discussed cylinder heads and
included many part numbers. Clayborne announced details of the Christmas party.
Tech tips told of shock installation and fuel filter changing.
1977 V.03 Nr 7 #28
State Fair car show awards went to Francis Boydston, Clay Keen, Benny Abeyta,
Steve Gongora, Hector Gongora, Glen Thompson, Doug Morgan and Joe Vertrees. A
car show at Winrock Shopping Center had at least eight Corvairs, including James
Giblin's 1961 Lakewood and Brian Ballou's 1966 V-8 Corvair. Los Alamos member
Ike Meissner planned a "rally race" for the club in Pojoaque, with lunch at "The
Line Camp" restaurant. A club dinner at Bella Vista on North 14 was well
attended. Glen Thompson resigned as newsletter editor. Baxanne Sutt took over
the editor's job for this one issue for this issue, which turned out to be the
last one published during the year 1977.
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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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