The October 2020 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 28-Sep-2020 ==== Copyright (c) 2020 Corvairs of New Mexico
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October 2020 / VOLUME 46 / NUMBER 10 / ISSUE 541
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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 3rd 9:00 AM
The Sawmill Market, 1909 Bellamah Ave. 505-563-4470
THIS MONTH
President's Letter ........................... David Huntoon
Dues Due Dates ........................ Membership Committee
September Regular Meeting ......................... Kay Sutt
September Board Meeting Cancelled ................ The Board
Nomination Form for October Election ............. Committee
Our Newest Members .......................... Heula & Vickie
Mustang Story ................................ David Huntoon
Winning: The Racing Life of Paul Newman ....... Movie Review
Back Home in Oklahoma ........................... Dave Allin
Treasury Report .............................. Steve Gongora
TECH: Oversteer ............... Mike McGowan CHICAGO AIRHORN
Twenty Years Ago: Campout: August 4-5-6, 2000 Steve Gongora
Twenty Years Ago: Saving Another Corvair ..... Richard Finch
Calendar of Coming Events ............... Board of Directors
Birthdays & Anniversaries ............. Membership Committee
October Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago . Club Historian
COVER: David Huntoon's "New" 2006 Rousch Mustang
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OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS
President David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com
Secretary Kay Sutt 505-471-1153 tarmo @ juno.com
Treasurer Steve Gongora 505-220-7401 stevegongora @ msn.com
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 Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin @ gmail.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: Saturday October 3rd: The Sawmill Market,
9:00 AM -- 1909 Bellamah Ave. 505-563-4470
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 2020
DUE LAST MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE
2020.09 Anne Wiker 25-OCT-2020
DUE THIS MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE
2020.10 Debra & Jon Anderson 25-NOV-2020
2020.10 Tony Lawler 25-NOV-2020
2020.10 Sylvia & Ray Trujillo 25-NOV-2020
DUE NEXT MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE
2020.11 Linda & Dick Cochran 25-DEC-2020
DUE DEC 2020 ======================== INACTIVE DATE
2020.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2021
2020.12 Lee Reider 25-JAN-2021
INACTIVE ============================ INACTIVE DATE
2020.02 Larry Yoffee 25-MAR-2020
2020.03 Natalie Robison 25-APR-2020
2020.04 Conner Siddell 25-MAY-2020
2020.04 William Darcy 25-MAY-2020
2020.06 Art Gold 25-JUL-2020
Send your Dues to:
CNM Treasurer -- Steve Gongora
c/o 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 26-Sep-2020 we have 42 active family memberships.
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WHAT'S UP DAVE?
David Huntoon
My message for this month is ......
Remember elections are at our next club meeting.
Also the next meeting is Saturday October 3rd at the Sawmill Market at 9:00 am.
Basically a club breakfast with an election thrown in. Hoping for some to step
up and volunteer to help the club in the next year. Think about how you can
help.
After breakfast Larry Blair has arraigned a visit to the New Mexico Museum of
Military History. In the same area. The Sawmill Market is in the Old Town area.
I have scheduled our next and last Old Route 66 cleanup for Monday October 5th
at 8:30 am. This will be our 5th and last cleanup of this year. Usually we have
only three. I believe five is a better number as it makes each cleanup easier
and faster. We had a crew of five last time. The usual suspects. Linda, Tony, me
and this time Anne Wiker and our newest member Gregory Nelson. Thanks to all.
Recently in contact with our UK member David Neale. They are of course under
COVID restrictions that are changing week to week. Much like here! David
expressed his amazement at our weather conditions. He mentioned how we can have
fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados and floods all in the same day. England
is a good deal more moderate. Certainly fewer weather disasters! No place is
perfect it seems.
See you at the meeting, David Huntoon
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CNM GENERAL MEETING, 09/05/2020
Kay Sutt
The meeting was called to order by President David Huntoon at 10:05 at the
Mariposa Basin Park. Fifteen members were present. (The group was good at
practicing social distancing with their lawn chairs and masks.)
We are happy to welcome a new CNM member this month! He is James Richardson, and
he lives in Santa Fe. He owns a 1963 Monza 900 coupe. Welcome to James (Jim?).
We hope to see you at a meeting soon.
President's Report: David Huntoon reported the next Old Route 66 cleanup is
scheduled for Monday, September 7, at 8:30 A.M. He indicated he will have the
final cleanup in October, weather permitting.
Secretary's Report: Kay Sutt had nothing to report, except a minor correction to
the August Board Meeting Minutes. Steve Gongora was not able to attend that
meeting due to work.
Treasurer's Report: Steve's reconciled bank statement shows a balance of
$6,997.93. The Sutts handed him a $5 bill, so the balance exceeds $7,000, and
Steve reported he just received a check from Tim Shortle from Durango for five
years membership dues. Thank you, Tim, we hope to see you at club events from
time to time. (More about Tim later in this report.)
Sunshine Committee Report: Vickie Hall and/or Heula Pittman were not present at
the meeting, so there was no report.
Newsletter Committee: Jim Pittman was not present, but previously informed the
secretary the deadline for the next newsletter is 9 PM on Friday, September 25.
Old Business:
Jim Pittman reported the change in CNM leadership has been requested for the
CORSA website.
Lee Reider was available after the September meeting for those who wished to
help her clear her garage of Bill's machines/tools. Larry Blair reported tools
were the main items remaining, but there was also a 20-ton drill press. Two or
three members indicated they could go with Larry after the meeting to Lee's.
No nominations for club officers had been received by David Huntoon as of the
meeting time. Club Members are reminded that Jim will include another nomination
form in this month's newsletter. Please return nomination forms to David or come
to the meeting and vote in person. Your participation in the club is what keeps
Corvairs and CNM alive. David has indicated he would prefer not to be president
next year, and your humble secretary will also be glad if someone else is
willing to take on that responsibility. The major activity for the next officers
will be completion of the 2021 Albuquerque Tri-State meet. Since most of that
was planned for 2020, the main duty of the new board will be to provide
oversight for the Tri-State committee. CNM has been in existence 46 years, with
a few charter members and many people who have belonged since nearly the
beginning. Especially in this time of social distancing and social isolation,
active club participation is beneficial for CNM, but also for each member who
participates.
New Business:
The next club meeting will be at Sawmill Market at 1909 Bellamah Avenue, NW,
on Saturday, October 3 at 9 A.M. (NOTE: this is an hour earlier than typical
meetings to ensure we can find seating closer together than later in the
morning. Breakfast is available from several venues in the facility - check it
out online to find your favorite.) Larry Blair suggested a trip after the
meeting to the New Mexico Museum of Military History, and he will check to see
if we can make a reservation for the group to tour that facility. Starting in
November, if pandemic restrictions continue, we will need to make other
arrangements for meetings when the colder weather precludes outside meetings in
person. Will we meet remotely (i.e., Zoom), will we meet in a restaurant
somewhere? We need to be thinking about this and make a decision at the October
meeting, so come with ideas!
Terry Price has agreed to head the Tri-State Committee. Thanks, Terry! He
reminded everyone that strong club participation, both in the planning stages
and during the event, is vital to make it a success. The Albuquerque Tri-State
event has been rescheduled for May, 2021. Contact Terry to volunteer your time
to help!
Announcements:
It was reported that Terry Copp had been in the hospital, but was now home and
doing better.
A condolence card was sent to Michael Bertrand upon the death of his girlfriend.
Michael, the Corvair Vagabond, visited NM for a few months last year and
attended several club meetings.
Tarmo announced Tosh Gregg, who now owns Dan Palmer's old Ultra Van, called him
because he was having problems with the differential. Tarmo and Pat Hall agreed
to work on it for Tosh, to get him back on the road.
Tarmo gave a report about his Volvo. He replaced the surface belts on the engine
in the spring, and a few weeks ago the car started making noise (luckily, he was
close to home) and the engine simply died and would not restart. Examination
showed one of the new belts had shredded and wrapped itself around the gear,
damaging the timing/cam belt, resulting in damage to the pistons and head. Tarmo
reached out to Tim Shortle, a fellow Corvair owner in Durango, and Tim helped in
diagnosis and potential repair of the car. Tim operated a Volvo repair shop in
California until he moved to Durango, where he opened a Volvo shop in the mid
2000's. His generous assistance and extensive experience provided Tarmo great
help in the diagnostic and decision-making process regarding his beloved Volvo.
Many thanks, Tim!
The meeting was adjourned at 10:50, after which folks spent time catching up
with one another in the parking lot.
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BOARD MEETING 09/16/2020 CANCELLED
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Nominations for CNM Officers for the October Election
Elections are to happen at the October meeting. A Nomination Form was
included in the September newsletter and here. You may nominate someone, or
volunteer yourself. Get the names to David Huntoon before the October meeting.
NOTE: If you nominate someone, you should clear with them in advance that they
will be willing to serve.
We need: President: _________________________________
Vice-President: _________________________________
Secretary: _________________________________
Treasurer: _________________________________
If you want to help determine the trajectory of the Club as we make our way out
of this pandemic, consider running for one of these offices. It can be fun and
rewarding if you make it so!
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NEWEST MEMBERS
A big welcome to our newest members, James Richardson and Mary Zelli who live in
Santa Fe. They own a light blue Monza 900 2-door convertible. We welcome you
guys to CNM and look forward to working with you in the future and seeing you at
Club events and meetings. We will mail a new member packet to these guys soon.
AND, welcome back to our friends, Timothy Shortle and family from Durango who
recently "re-upped" as continuing CNM members.
Vickie and Heula
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MUSTANG STORY
David Huntoon
So, here's the thing.
Nearly 10 years ago, 10/25/10, I was told ....... 2 months to live. A little
surgery, rip open chest, partially disassemble the heart, insert new valve (low
compression) and out of hospital 5 days later. Four or five emergency room
visits and a couple "procedures" over the next few years and I am completely
fixed. No meds, etc.
This year I will be 75 and decided to give myself a nice present. After all 75
is kind of a milestone. New computer, no. Bicycle, no, Motorcycle, maybe. Car,
ok! First looked at used Corvettes but not enough room for golf clubs and cart.
New cars? Covid had dealer showrooms shut down. Takes some of the fun out of new
car shopping. Beside that new Camaros and Mustangs look ANGRY! Not to my liking.
Used cars online can be fun. So many nice used cars online. After a few months I
saw this striking 2006 Mustang. White, Roush stage 2 with 20 inch aftermarket
wheels. Stage 2 is suspension, interior and aero body kit with a little carbon
fiber. Motor is stock but seems extra healthy and sounds great. Called, drove
it, bought it.
Interesting that it weighs 700+ lbs more than my '63 Monza cvt. Has more than 3
times the horsepower and gets slightly better mpg. 25-26. 70mph is at 2000 rpm,
that helps. I know you can now buy new cars with 450-700 horsepower. I feel real
good with just 320. A nice, tight, good looking machine with many styling cues
of the original Mustang. Grille, roofline, tail, etc.
Happy motoring, David
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WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF PAUL NEWMAN -- MOVIE REVIEW
Jim Pittman
For all of us who are car enthusiasts (and what member of Corvairs of New Mexico
is not?) and for those of us who are really really tired of this COVID pandemic
(and you know that all of us are tired of it) it has been a chore to occupy all
our time for the last half year staying at home, avoiding crowds, missing out on
car shows and suiting up in a mask, a six-foot avoidance bubble and an anxiety
level cranked up to 11 whenever we venture out. We drive our cars occasionally
(they need to be driven regularly) but we can't go to stores (closed) or
restaurants (closed) or to visit friends -- we may get (or give, who knows) the
dreaded virus. But we yearn for the good old days of January or February when we
had no pandemic worries and our plans for many events for the year 2020 looked
promising.
So while the Pandemic months tick along with no end in sight, we while away the
time with streamed movies or sports events, or we pretend we are having visits
(hey, it's better than nothing) with friends and family members via Skype or
Zoom.
So! I want to tell you about a great racing movie that we recently saw courtesy
of Netflix. It was a documentary about something that, I am chagrined to admit,
I knew nothing about: the auto racing career of Paul Newman.
The last time I was at a car racing event (with Richard Finch and his SAAB
racer, Riverside, California) was in 1968 and in the years since then the
closest I have been to car racing were club tours to Galles/Kraco Racing and a
couple of visits to the Unser Museum in Albuquerque. Somehow I didn't know that
movie star Paul Newman was an accomplished race car driver and a successful
racing team owner. This included his team finishing second at Le Mans in 1979.
For whatever reasons, I just was not paying attention to car racing.
In recent years and months we have watched several movies about cars or racing
or car people, including: "TUCKER"; "FORD V FERRARI"; "DRIVEN" about John Z
DeLorean; "1" about Formula One; "GRAND PRIX" with James Garner; "LE MANS" with
Steve McQueen. And most recently, a documentary "WINNING: THE RACING LIFE OF
PAUL NEWMAN."
This action-filled movie told us things about Paul Newman that I never would
have suspected. His interest in motor racing started with the 1969 movie
"WINNING" when he was 44 years old. The documentary emphasized how "P. L.
Newman" started at the bottom, learning to race in cars like Datsun 510s and
Datsun 1600s. He totally concentrated on racing, learning, practicing and
perfecting basic skills and working up to the ultimate, co-driving in the
Twenty-Four Hours of Le Mans, perhaps the world's most demanding race. The
documentary is full of interviews with racing greats and celebrities such as
Mario Andretti, Sam Posey, Bob Bondurant, Willy T Ribbs, Robert Redford and Jay
Leno, just to name a few.
For Corvair fans who are interesting in racing, or for movie fans who think of
Paul Newman only as a highly respected actor, this documentary is a must-see.
I highly recommend it.
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BACK HOME IN OKLAHOMA
Dave Allin
Well, we made it. Jan and I are now fairly settled in our new home in Oklahoma
City, and are very pleased with the house and the neighborhood. I really love my
new three-car garage with epoxied floor, with plenty of room for all three cars,
all my tools, and space to work. Now if it just had a lift. . . .
We towed the Corvair out here, not because it wouldn't make it, but because it
was high summer and the car has no air conditioning. My friend Jud, who you may
have met at the Alamosa Tri-State, volunteered to tow the car out with his
pickup. We went to U-Haul to reserve one of their car-hauling trailers, and ran
into a problem. After giving them all sorts of information about his truck and
my car, we were told that their computer said my car wouldn't work on their
trailer. According to them, the bumper height on the Corvair was too low, and
the computer recommended we use a two-wheel tow dolly on the front wheels and
disconnect the drive shaft. I asked them to double check what car they had
entered, and they assured me they had correctly entered 1969 Corvair. Our
assumption is that when someone programmed the computer, they entered the data
for a 1969 Corvette instead of Corvair. We signed a waiver and they rented us
the trailer anyway.
We initially loaded the Corvair nose first, since it was a four-wheel trailer,
and initially it seemed fine. When we got out on the interstate, however, Jud
said the trailer was wandering back and forth, so we pulled off into a parking
lot and reloaded the Corvair rear first. The U-Haul trailer has a nice fold-down
fender that allows you to open the car door, but when we reversed the car, that
meant we had to exit through the passenger door. Not a real problem, but
something to consider. With the weight bias now corrected, we resumed our
journey, and had no further problems. We made it to Oklahoma City in about nine
hours, and parked the trailer at the motel that night. The next morning we
unloaded the car and took the trailer back to a U-Haul center that was about
four blocks away. All told, it cost me about $280 to rent the trailer, which
seems very reasonable.
One of the advantages to living here in Oklahoma is that almost all gas stations
carry pure gas with no ethanol. Now I can be less concerned about having my fuel
pump go out on me. I had to check tire pressures right away, because at this
lower elevation, the tires were correspondingly lower in pressure. With that
corrected, the car runs great. I've taken it on several fairly long drives at
highway speeds, and even in 95-degree temperatures it did not overheat.
I have joined the local Corvair club (Central Oklahoma Corvair Association).
We were still getting settled in when the August meeting occurred, and the
September meeting was canceled for some reason. They have informal meetings
every week, however, at the property of one of the members, a guy named Ken, and
I attended one of them. Ken has a small cattle ranch on the east edge of OKC,
along with several large buildings full of Corvairs. On Sunday and Wednesday
mornings all members of the club are welcome to come have coffee at Ken's, and
if necessary, use one of his lifts. Among his cars is an 8-door Greenbrier
undergoing restoration, and he has several station wagons in various stages of
completeness. Fortunately for Jan, Ken says he never sells his Corvairs.
I miss the New Mexico club, and really appreciate all that the club did for me.
If the Tri-State actually happens next year, I will try to be there. Happy
motoring.
Dave Allin
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Reprinted from the SEPTEMBER 2020 AIRHORN - Chicago Corvair Enthusiasts
MCSCELLANEOUS RAMBLINGS
by Mike McGowan
Oversteer
Corvairs oversteer. Oversteer is evil. Therefore, Corvairs are... wait, there
must be a flaw in that chain of reasoning. Oversteer isn't evil, its just
different; unexpected. Neither oversteer nor understeer is problematic until you
get up to cornering speeds where tire traction is noticeably slipping away. At
that point, most drivers will lose control. This may include you. In surveys of
drivers, especially men, most all consider themselves "above average." I studied
statistics in college, so believe me, it is not possible for virtually everyone
to be above average. Overconfidence does not compensate for lack of skill if you
find yourself driving into a corner too fast.
What is oversteer? It is simply a way of saying that the rear tires will exceed
their maximum traction limits before the front tires when speeding through a
curve. Understeer is the opposite, the front tires give up first. The joke
description is that an understeering car goes off the road front-first while an
oversteering car goes off the road backwards. A technical test is to drive in a
circle and hold the steering wheel steady, then accelerate the speed; an
understeering car will go in an ever-widening spiral while an oversteering car
will spiral inwards. If you don't adjust the steering angle, eventually the
understeering car will go straight off the road but the oversteering car will
spin. If you corner fast enough, any car will lose control in some way.
What makes a car oversteer? If most of the mass (weight) is at the rear, that
creates more sideways force at the back when accelerating (turning). This is in
accordance with Newton's law F = ma where greater mass and greater acceleration
cause greater force. The greater weight also presses down on the tires making
more friction, but there is an upper limit where the rear tires are overloaded
and slide. Understeer is the opposite, when a car is heavy on the front axle,
which is most prevalent in modern vehicles.
Which is better for driving safely? Well, the virtue of understeer is that
unskilled drivers will instinctively correct for it. When a front-heavy car
starts to lose traction in a curve and veer towards the outside, most all
drivers will turn the steering wheel in harder which is the right thing to do.
Unfortunately when the limit of traction is reached the car will plow nose-first
into the outer guardrail no matter how you turn the wheel. By contrast, an
oversteering car going too fast into a turn will actually rotate inwards as the
rear axle loses traction. The proper tactic here is to turn the front wheels
toward the outer guardrail, which most drivers will not dare to do, so the car
will continue to rotate until it slides sideways or backwards into some bad
place. The thing is, if a driver can skillfully countersteer with the tail out,
then both the front and back axles of the car will generate their maximum
traction and maybe get through the curve. This is superior to an understeering
car that never uses its rear axle steering potential as it drives straight off
the road.
Of course the safe way to get through a curve is to slow down before going into
it. That is Plan A, if you have the skills and self-restraint to do it. Braking
in the curve when you realize you are reaching the limit of traction is an
instinctive reaction but maybe not effective. Braking transfers weight forward,
onto the front wheels and off of the rears. On an understeering car this makes
more downforce on the front wheels which increases total traction there, a good
thing, but the braking uses up some of that traction thus compromising the
steering traction. On an oversteering car the result is disastrous: braking
steals some of the cornering traction from the rear tires, and weight transfer
reduces the total traction at the rear. It takes skill and courage to keep your
foot off the brake when your Corvair is speeding through a curve at the limits
of control.
What about neutral steering, a perfect balance between oversteer and understeer?
That seems like an attractive concept, and some cars are designed with the
weight balance to do that, but remember that is a balance point so under
real-world driving conditions the response will change from oversteer to
understeer as you drive. This requires skilled driving to manage.
So your car oversteers, what can you do about it? Not much. Unless you can move
a lot of weight to the front or seriously redesign your chassis and suspension,
your adjustments are limited. On a late model Corvair you can run seven-inch
wide wheels at the rear with appropriate size tires; keep narrower wheels and
tires at the front. This increases rear track width (slightly) and rear tire
contact area, which helps the rear axle traction. (I also upgrade the wheel
diameter to 14 or 15 inches to give more wheel and tire choices.)
One effective way to improve rear-to-front traction balance is by reducing front
traction. Chevrolet recommended low pressure in the front tires of all Corvairs.
This was a serious compromise, but necessary for handling balance.
Another way to tune handling balance is with anti-roll bars, sometimes called
swaybars. Their obvious use is to regulate body roll, when you speed around a
corner and the car leans to the outside of the turn. But it also reduces
cornering traction on that axle. What is less well understood is that a swaybar
increases traction on the other axle. So, a front swaybar reduces front axle
traction and increases rear axle traction. Corvairs were originally designed to
have a front swaybar, which was deleted for cost-saving reasons. In 1962-63 that
was an option, and from 1964 till the end it was standard. The bars got bigger
and stronger over the years, so the 1965-69 cars with their improved rear
suspensions and strong front swaybars can almost feel like they understeer. Of
course at the limits of cornering performance the Corvair's true nature will
re-emerge and the tail will swing out
My tech tip for this month may sound perverse, but on a well set up late model
Corvair I like a rear swaybar. After you have balanced the car by widening the
rear wheels and tires, and maybe moving the weight of the battery or at least
the spare tire to the front, a modest rear swaybar adds back some oversteer.
Addco makes, or in the past did make, a swaybar that fits below the rear
trailing arms and gives a moderate amount of body roll control. It won't do you
much good if you get out of control in a fast corner, but in everyday motoring
it makes a Corvair into the happy tail-wagging puppy we love to drive.
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TWENTY YEARS AGO (ALMOST) AUGUST 2000 NEWSLETTER
CAMPOUT - AUGUST 4TH, 5TH, AND 6TH
Steve Gongora
The camping was supposed to start on Friday August 4th, 2000 but everyone made
the push on Saturday morning on the short trek up to Ruth Boydston's cabin.
Chuck and Julia Vertrees had rushed to the Bernalillo stop at 7:15 AM only to
find an abandoned meeting place. He continued on to Ruth's to catch up only to
find that they were the first family to get there. I guess everyone had the same
idea and started later, both in a day late and a later hour. Sorry about that
Chuck.
The Gongoras and Pleaus caravanned up a couple of hours later. Debbie drove her
Ford van trailering her pop-up tent and Dennis followed in his 65 Monza. Dennis
was headed up to Colorado Springs after the campout to start his new position at
Intel.
The Decks, the Pattens, and the Wilverts got to Ruth's cabin just minutes after
we arrived. I'm surprised that we didn't see each other on the highway. Ruth had
set up a large tent just in case it rained. Everyone set up camp and all pitched
in to make each site look like they just came from a Boy Scout School. The
afternoon brought the company of the Golds, the Domzalskis, and Mr. Jerry Goffe
and Kaluha, the dog.
After all settled in we took turns surveying the community with the "Turtle".
The "Turtle" is the small gas powered 4-wheel transport that Ruth uses to travel
from cabin to cabin in the area. The kids had a blast.
Debbie Deck had activities for all the campers. The "fishing tournament" had
everyone fishing for items on a special list she had put together. This was a
sort of scavenger hunt from copper wire to paperclips. The winners were tied and
the prizes went to the Gongoras and Ruth for collecting 14 items each from the
list.
Everyone brought dishes and meat and were treated to a feast for dinner. I'm
sure the neighbors could get a whiff of the meat cooking. After dinner, we sat
around the campfire. The copper wire, from the scavenger list, was to be used to
throw in the fire. Debbie showed us that the copper wire gives a beautiful green
glow. The event was such a hit that we all are looking forward to next year.
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TWENTY YEARS AGO (ALMOST) SEPTEMBER 2000 NEWSLETTER
SAVING ANOTHER CORVAIR!
by Richard & Gayle Finch
Actually, Dennis and Debbie Pleau "saved" the little 1964 Monza convertible
several years ago when they bought it from Frederico and Rebecca Garza and
parked it at the Pleaus' great house in Albuquerque. Gayle and I merely took
possession of it last Saturday and towed it home to Tularosa.
For the past 12 months or more, Gayle and I had been looking for an early model
Corvair convertible for Gayle to drive as her daily-driver car. Her current
daily driver is a 1991 Chevy Cavalier convertible with 135,000 miles on the
odometer. It isn't worn out yet, but the way we both look at the car situation
is that as long as we are driving a convertible to Corvair events, it might as
well be a Corvair. My daily driver is a 1965 Corvair 4-door with over 250,000
miles in its record book. Our 1969 Corvair powered Ultra Van only has 27,500
miles on its odometer.
We have been very busy moving from Santa Barbara to Tularosa and trying to
attend car shows and air shows for our book business, and we did not find an
early model convert that was near us until last month when we saw Dennis's ad in
the "Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter." Last month I called Debbie and Dennis and
we made a deal for me to buy their 1964 convertible. Dennis said it was towable
and I made a date with him to pick it up last Saturday. The drive from Tularosa
to Albuquerque is 220 miles and takes 4 hours including a food stop in Corona,
NM. We arrived at the Pleaus' really nice house at 11:45 AM and saw the yard and
driveway full of Corvairs. Well, there were only three of them there.
After giving the 1964 Monza a general look over, Dennis and I started removing
the front bumper and hooking up the custom made tow bar. By 12:30 we had the bar
hooked to the Corvair and to our 1991 convertible and had the rear auxiliary
light bar attached. Dennis jacked up the rear of the Monza and I crawled under
it with a quart of 90 wt transmission oil and put most of it in the dry
transmission. I could see a leak at the shifter shaft seal that warned of a low
oil level in the tranny. The differential dip stick showed oil in the operating
range.
Dennis told me that he had driven the Monza to his house several years ago and
that the handling was really squirrely and that the engine was running rough.
The body showed rust spots at three fenders, indicating previous body work from
replacing three fenders. I did not see any other damage and when I was under the
car to fill the tranny, I saw very little rust except under the driver's side
floor. There were two baseball-sized holes there. The trunk floor was not even
rusted through.
Several really positive things showed in the cursory inspection at the Pleaus'
house. The original jack and lug wrench were in the trunk. The wsw bottle was
intact and even had a small amount of factory fluid still in it. The three wire
wheel covers were factory options. The odometer showed only 59,485.0 miles and
this seemed pretty accurate as backed up by several repair receipts in the glove
box.
After we visited for just a few minutes, Gayle and I said goodbye to the Pleaus
and drove off for Tularosa. We stopped about one mile down the road on 2nd
Street and I checked the temperature of the front and rear wheel bearings and
brakes on the Monza and the tow bar hookup. Everything seemed fine, so we drove
on to the Winrock Center to shop for lawn mower parts. I checked the Monza wheel
bearings again there.
Next, we headed out toward Moriarty on I-40 and I got a taste of the squirrely
handling of the Monza. After getting the car home, I discovered that it had good
radial tires on the rear and 78 series bias-ply tires on the front plus totally
ineffective rear shocks. Mixing radial tires with bias-ply tires is asking for
poor handling.The secret to getting the Monza to track behind the Cavalier was
to stay on the road and not make any brisk steering inputs.
We stopped for gas at Moriarty and I checked the wheel bearings again there. We
also stopped in Carrizozo to take pictures at a wrecking yard and I again tested
the wheel bearings. On any trailer or car towing trip, I feel of the rear axle
part that shows at the wheel and I feel of the grease cup on the front wheels.
If the hubs feel hot, then I know I have a wheel bearing needing grease or worse
yet, about to go out. The Monza made the entire trip without a single problem.
After we got the car home on Saturday evening, I parked it and rested. On Sunday
morning I disconnected the tow bar from the Cavalier so we could drive the
Cavalier to church. On Sunday afternoon, I began taking out the seats, carpet
and cleaning out the New Mexico "sunshine" (dust). I must have vacuumed out a
gallon of dust and washed out another gallon of dust with the garden hose! I
found that the rust in the driver's side floor was caused by the large rubber
boot around the speedometer cable being grossly out of place. Every time the
Monza drove through a water puddle, the left side floor would get a dose of
muddy water in through the speedometer cable cut out. Then the muddy water would
stay in the carpet and rust the floor on that side of the car.
On Monday I put a spare battery in the car and actually motored the engine over
several revolutions to prove that it was not seized. The car is now parked under
our carport with a "real" car cover over it, and it is very clean now. I must
have spent 12 hours washing dust out of every crack and crevice.
Glove box records show that the car was sold new at Curry Chevrolet in
Scarsdale, NY. The 110 hp engine number shows it was manufactured in April 1964.
Then it was owned for several years by Joseph and Mary Lite of Albuquerque
before Frederico Garza bought it in 1990. I could not find who had purchased it
new.
Gayle and I plan to start restoring the Monza in December. We will install air
conditioning in it like Mr. Del Delaney had done in his 1962 Monza, and use it
for our primary, daily transportation. Our Siamese cat turned her nose up at it
when we brought it home all dusty and dirty, but as I continued to wash it and
clean it up, she has now taken to taking naps on top of its black rag top.
Sleeping on it means that she has accepted it.
I will write more about the car as we start to restore it. Gayle and I really
like the car and are glad we decided on buying an early model.
.............................................................................
.............................................................................
Happy Birthday Wishes to October CNM'ers:
Jon Anderson
Erica Anderson
Terry Price
Happy October anniversaries:
NONE
.............................................................................
.............................................................................
TREASURY REPORT FOR 08-17-2020 to 09-14-2020
DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,887.93
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2020.09.03 $ 100.00 Dues T.Shortle 52 m CNM $ 100.00 $6,987.93
2020.09.14 Cash $ 5.00 Donation Kay & Tarmo Sutt - Donation $ 5.00 $6,992.93
2020.09.14 $ 50.00 Dues J.Richardson 26 m CNM $ 50.00 $7,042.93
========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= =========
2020.10.01 OCT NEWSLETTER ===================================================== $7,042.93
.............................................................................
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| October 2020 | November 2020 | December 2020 |
| Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa |
| 1 2 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | 1 2 3 4 5 |
| 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 |
| 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 |
| 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 |
| 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 29 30 | 27 28 29 30 31 |
============================================================================
SAT 03 OCT 9:00 AM BREAKFAST MEETING: MEETING AT THE SAWMILL MARKET
SAT 03 OCT 9:00 AM 1909 Bellamah Ave. 505-563-4470 **** WEAR MASKS ****
SAT 03 OCT 9:00 AM Election of Officers today
SAT 03 OCT 9:00 AM After breakfast Larry Blair has arraigned a visit to
SAT 03 OCT 9:00 AM New Mexico Museum of Military History in the same area.
MON 05 OCT 8:30 AM -- Old Route 66 Cleanup -- meet at the I-40/NM-333 Triangle
WED 21 OCT 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
WED 28 OCT 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING: CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
FRI 30 OCT 9:00 PM Deadline for items for November 2020 newsletter
MON 02 NOV >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER <<
============================================================================
SUN 01 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.
SAT 07 NOV 10:00 AM Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
WED 18 NOV 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
FRI 27 NOV 9:00 PM Deadline for items for December 2020 newsletter
MON 30 NOV >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING DECEMBER NEWSLETTER <<
WED 00 NOV [ NO CAR COUNCIL MEETING THIS MONTH ]
============================================================================
SAT 05 DEC 10:00 AM Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
WED 16 DEC 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
FRI 16 DEC 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2021 newsletter ! EARLY !
MON 17 DEC >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING JANUARY NEWSLETTER << ! EARLY !
WED 00 DEC [ NO CAR COUNCIL MEETING THIS MONTH ]
============================================================================
SAT 02 JAN 10:00 AM Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
WED 20 JAN 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
WED xx JAN 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED
FRI 29 JAN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2021 newsletter
MON 01 FEB >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER <<
============================================================================
See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities
======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ======================
.............................................................................
.............................................................................
SEVEN YEARS AGO [ OCTOBER 2020 VOL 46 Nr 10 Issue # 541 ]
Jim Pittman
2013 Vol.39 Nr 10 #457
COVER: Corvairs wait to enter the State Fair. Ollie Scheflow is honored for
seventeen years of Old Route 66 cleanups. David showed off his Smart fortwo 2dr
Cabriolet. Former members (1983-2001) Karen and Clayborne Souza visited. Vickie
told about a trip by Pat and Lube and friends to bring five Corvairs and many
parts down the mountain from Cedar Crest to Los Lunas and the overheated engines
that resulted. Planning was going well for the 2014 Chama Tri-State.
2006 Vol.32 Nr 10 #373
COVER: Airplanes and the "Library Van" at the Moriarty airport. Returning member
Dick Cochran was introduced. Christmas plans including supporting the Barrett
House. We met Richard Finch at the EAA fly-in. Photos of historic aircraft
filled the newsletter. Jim suggested compiling a CD with back issues of the
newsletter. David suggested making videos at club events. Ray's "Mechanically
Un-inclined" letter suggested that we all go to the upcoming pot luck and
auction. He predicted that fall weather was the perfect time to drive your
Corvair. Steve Goodman previewed the 2007 Monte Vista Tri-State. Santa Fe
resident Bill Lawless was restorating a Canadian-built turbo Corsa. Bill
completed this project single-handedly in record time. Robert was the first to
warn us that our initials had been appropriated by T-VI.
1999 Vol.25 Nr 10 #289
COVER: Jim's 1966 turbo Corsa was pictured at Dog Canyon near Alamogordo in
1967. New members Ron & Debbie Deck were introduced. Our campout this year was
very wet. Tarmo & Mark planned a Fall Tour. Debbie worked on the 2000 Tri-State.
Wendell told us about the Wheels Museum. Chevrolet dealers displayed the new
1960 Corvair on October 2, 1959. To celebrate, we planned a parade down Central
in our Corvairs. Dennis thanked us for a fun two years as CNM president. A
newspaper article profiled CNM member Larry Blair with interesting details of
his careers and adventures. The issue wrapped up with photos from the State
Fair, possibly the first digital images to appear in our newsletter.
1992 Vol.18 Nr 10 #205
COVER: The 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage to the new world. The three
Spanish ships had Monza crosses on their sails. We discussed the Swap meet, the
State Fair, the Aspencade, CNM elections and our Christmas dinner. Jon Anderson
was a guest and soon became a member. Carl Johnson told about driving a Corvair
to the Alanta convention. President Steve thanked Bill Reider for putting
together the Care and Feeding booklet which has garnered national attention.
LeRoy reported on the State Fair show: eighty cars on display, thirteen of them
Corvairs. Chuck reported on the Orange Barrel Funkhana: fourteen drivers
negotiated the course and the winner was Debbie Pleau. Brenda previewed the
Christmas dinner at the All-Indian Pueblo Center. A guest article by Mark Shaw
examined the pollutants emitted by old cars in typical driving conditions. Even
well-tuned sixties cars contribute more than their share of environmental
degradation. Tech tips included a recommendation for using Dow Corning GN metal
assembly paste when assembling your engine, filling the bowl of your
newly-rebuilt carbs with gas before trying to start the engine, and a report
that tuning up all old cars would be the most cost-effective way to
significantly reduce smog.
1985 Vol.11 Nr 10 #121
COVER: Another Mark Morgan early-model styling concept. Bill Hector took notes,
Francis presided and we had $543 in the bank. We saw a television news story
about Clark's Corvair Parts. Bill Reider's monthly column discussed the
importance of keeping springs in shape and told how to check ride height. He
recommended new springs, not spacers to prop up sagging springs. Tech tips
included a template for mounting late model bumper guards and how to fix a leaky
trunk. To get those stuck jets out of your carb without damage, use a
screwdriver with a blade the same width and thickness as the jet's slot. The
blade should be straight-ground or hollow-ground, not tapered.
1978 Vol.4 Nr 9 #37
COVER: A snail's path spelled out CORSA. Congressman Runnels got the Manuel
Lujan bill shelved; this bill would have paid dealers or junk yards $300 to
scrap any pre-1968 vehicle. Joel Nash was our president, Tarmo Sutt our VP and
Steve Gongora our secretary-treasurer. Les Campbell was organizing the State
Fair show and we wanted to put on another Winrock show. New members were Greg
Corazzi and Ken Bell. Jim's article "Don't Paint Your Wagon" asked CNM people to
think about why they own Corvairs. Jim asserted it was more important to keep
them running well so they'd be fun and useful to drive than to paint them up so
they'd look so good you'd be afraid to drive them. What do you think? The third
part of Bob Helt's tune-up article covered ignition timing. Terry Gray reported
on the State Fair where nine Corvairs showed up. The crowd was overheard making
the usual remarks: Where's the engine... My brother used to have one of those...
My dad's Corvair was the one with four cylinders... I had one and never should
have got rid of it... I'd never own a car like that...
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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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