The June 2010 newsletter - Text Version
Updated 29-May-2013 ==== Copyright (c) 2013 Corvairs of New Mexico
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JUNE 2010 / VOLUME 36 / NUMBER 6 / ISSUE #417
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EDITOR: Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday 2 June 2010 at 7:00 PM
Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE
THIS MONTH:
Dues Due ....................................... Membership Committee
Cover Story: Electrovair II photo from 1986 ............. Bill Reider
Drive a Corvair! ................................. President Pat Hall
May Meeting Minutes [No May Board Meeting] ........... Chuck Vertrees
The Gang's All Here: Museum Car Show Report ............. Robert Gold
Our Prize Winners: Museum Car Show ...................... Vickie Hall
The Rest of the Show: Museum Car Show ................... Your Editor
Birthdays and Anniversaries ...................... Sunshine Committee
Lost-in-the-Glare Log ........................... Resident Curmudgeon
Calendar of Coming Events ........................ Board of Directors
Grease Fittings in 1965-1969 Rear Axles ............... Richard Finch
Canon City Tri-State Report ............................. Jim & Heula
Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ...................... Club Historian
COVER: Bill Reider: photo of Electrovair II, GM 1966 Electric Vehicle
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President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
Vice-Pres: Ray Trujillo 505-839-7436 ray @ bpsabq.com
Secretary: Art Gold 505-620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com
Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com
Car Council: Art Gold 505-620-7434 rollerart @ gmail.com
Merchandise: Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com
Membership: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com
Sunshine: Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu
Past Pres: Mike Stickler 505-856-6993 sticorsa @ hotmail.com
Correspondent: Charles Vertrees 505-299-0744 vertrees @ swcp.com
Membership: Sylvan Zuercher 505-299-7577 flat6 @ hubwest.com
Emeritus: Wendell Walker 505-892-8471 defarge505 @ aol.com
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DUES: CNM: 12 months $25.00 -or- 26 months $ 50.00
CORSA: 12 months $45.00 -or- 26 months $ 90.00
CNM & CORSA: 12 months $70.00 -or- 26 months $140.00
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CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org
Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871
CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp
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DUES DUE DATES JUNE 2010
DUE LAST MONTH INACTIVE 25-JUN-2010:
Jack Bryan
DUE THIS MONTH INACTIVE 25-JUL-2010:
Tommie Anderson
Mark Jones
John Myers
Joel Nash
Fred Riggs II
DUE JULY INACTIVE 25-AUG-2010:
Geoffrey Johnson
DUE AUGUST INACTIVE 25-SEP-2010:
Ruth Boydston
Alan Gold
Russ McDuffie
Bob Philips
Oliver Scheflow
RECENTLY PAST DUE INACTIVE 25-FEB-2010
Del Patten
Send your Dues to:
Robert Gold, CNM Treasurer
1301 Valencia NE
Albuquerque, NM 87110
Past due memberships will become inactive after a one-month grace period.
The Club will mail in your National Dues when you renew, if you send
us the renewal form from CORSA Communique!
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COVER STORY:
Bill Reider
I was going through some old photos and came across this photo of the
Electrovair II from 1986 at the CORSA National Convention in Grand Rapids.
It was at the Sloan Museum in Flint. The "electric Corvair" got about the
same "mileage" as the new Volt is expected to get. As I recall, it only
got about 45 to 50 miles to a charge.
I shot the original photo with my Nikon F and copied the color negative
with my digital Nikon with a slide copy attachment, very handy for copying
color slides or negatives.
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DRIVE A CORVAIR!
Pat Hall
For our highlight of the month we had The New Mexico Council of Car Clubs
Albuquerque Museum Car Show on Saturday the 16th of May and what a show it was.
I can't begin to tell you how many cars, trucks and motorcycles there were. I
walked for hours and I'm sure that I didn't see them all. We had quite a few
Corvairs to celebrate our 50th year and Corvairs were awarded four plaques. Read
more about this event elsewhere in this newsletter. I want to thank all who
brought their cars. I am sure all who attended this Car Show were impressed by
the large number of cars. There were certainly some nice ones.
By the time you read this, the Pikes Peak club will have hosted the 2010
Tri-State and it will be but a memory and I'm sure that everyone will have
shared their stories about the Canon City, Colorado event. Just maybe, some news
of the event will get into this edition of the newsletter! Keep those Corvairs
on the road! -- Pat Hall
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MAY MEETING NOTES
Chuck Vertrees
The meeting was called to order at 19:00 at Highland Senior Center on May 5th.
All officers were present except Secretary Art Gold. Art was excused to take his
siblings to a concert which allowed Anne Mae Gold to attend the meeting. We were
glad to see Anne Mae. There were 25 members present.
There were no reports by the President or Vice- president. Treasurer Robert Gold
reported that CNM had $2,512.45 in the checking account and $1,163.49 in the
GMAC account for a total of $3,675.94. Robert was asked, "What interest does the
GMAC account now pay?" The answer was about 2% which is about as good as you can
get at this time.
Dave Huntoon was asked if he or Sylvan had any possible new members. Dave said
that he had not heard back from the possible Taos member.
Dave also reported in his capacity as the Car Council representative. Most of
the Car Council meeting was about the upcoming Museum Show on the 16th. It was
reported that the Car Council was again online with a web site and that the
Council had about $5,000 in its account.
One of the big things, however, was that a gentleman named Robert Jacobs was in
attendance at the meeting. He has been very active in the automobile field and
is particularly interested in restoration of old automobiles. He is donating
$40,000 to the Car Council to set up an awards fund that will, each year,
recognize the best restoration at the Museum Show with an award of $2,000. There
will be a panel of judges (probably five) who will make this decision at the
show. The details have not been published as yet. It will probably be limited to
older (pre-1960) automobiles.
Jim Pittman, newsletter editor, said that because of the Tri-State and the fact
that there will not be a May board meeting, the deadline for items for the
newsletter will be May 19th. Jim has also been asked to circulate a list for the
members of CNM to indicate how many are planning on attending the banquet at the
Tri-State, and how many want T-shirts, etc. Jim mentioned the ongoing
controversy about CORSA. CNM members who are online know there has been quite a
lot of heated debate on the future of CORSA. Some of the suggestions are to have
the Communique come out every other month, to increase the dues, going online
with the Communique! There is a slow decrease in membership in CORSA because we
older members are dying out and we are not picking up enough new members. The
consensus of our members seemed to be that the Communique should continue coming
out every month. If necessary a small increase in dues would be warranted. Bill
Reider suggested that anyone who wishes to contact the CORSA Officers and Board
members should not only give their gripes but make suggestions as to what they
think might be of help. "If you don't suggest a solution, then you are part of
the problem."
President Pat commented that this meeting was going along very well, without a
lot of extraneous talking and visiting. Thanks to Heula for her article in the
last issue of the newsletter. As Pat was saying this, our previous guest
offering a title recovery service came in and... well....
Heula Pittman mentioned that Dave Huntoon's dad was back in the hospital. Dave
says that he seems to be doing about as expected. Still not eating much. Heula
also reported that the Geoffrey Johnsons had made Carl Johnson a grandfather.
Carl told us that they were twins, a boy and a girl and that while they were
quite small they seemed to be doing very well. Ollie Scheflow's wife, Mary
Alice, sent a cake with Ollie and Mike Stickler to the meeting and told Ollie
that she didn't want it to come back home with him! We all consumed cake after
the meeting.
Brenda Stickler could not be present but she asked Heula to bring up some things
about the Tri-State we will be hosting in 2011 at Red River. The motel
(Lift-West) is set up with mini-lodges. Cost is $63.00 PER BED! There is
underground parking. There are 30 beds reserved. We need volunteers for at least
the following activities: car show, door prizes, refreshment and hospitality,
media, logo design, and possibly running a tech session. All are encouraged to
volunteer their time and their ideas.
Vickie Hall has club merchandise for sale. Vickie reported that the club made
$341.38 on our recent scrap metal collection. Pat said that he "swapped" items
that were donated with items that he had, to maximize our profit on the sale of
the scrap collection. Thanks to Pat & Vickie for this project!
Those who are entering Corvairs in the Museum Car Show should be ready to leave
the Sheraton parking lot NO LATER than 07:00 AM on Sunday May 16th. We will go
in together and we will park together. Robert reminded us that the Car Council
has a separate class for Corvairs and it is our responsibility to have a good
turnout.
The Tri-State in Canon City, Colorado, is May 21st-23rd. Steve Gongora offered
to lead a convoy (caravan? corvairavan?) of those who would like to travel
together on Friday May 21st. Meet just north of the second Bernalillo exit (the
Placitas exit) on I-25, north of town, to leave at 06:00.
Ollie reminded us that Saturday June 6th is the next Old Route 66 cleanup. There
will be a sign-up sheet at the next meeting.
On Sunday June 20th there will be an Annual Father's Day show at the Valley View
Christian Church in Edgewood, NM. Pat and Vickie have gone in the past and say
it is a great show and there is lots of free food. Can we get a group together
to go? It is the same weekend as the CORSA International convention in Iowa.
This might be a good event for those who are not going to Iowa.
Chuck Vertrees will have a city tour in the month of July. The exact date has
not been selected. This was changed from May because there were so many
activities already planned for May.
Anne Mae Gold said that she finally has a Corvair to drive. Before it was
repaired (after a long time according to Anne Mae) the position of the steering
wheel had little relation to where the car would go, and this was exaggerated by
the steering produced by the brakes! We are glad that Anne Mae again has a
Corvair to drive, and even more glad that the steering has been fixed.
The meeting was adjourned at 19:55 and most of us partook of the cake that Mary
Alice Scheflow provided. After the meeting many, as usual, went to the 66 Diner
restaurant on Central.
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THE GANG'S ALL HERE!
The 2010 Albuquerque Museum/ NM Car Council Car Show
by Robert Gold
To paraphrase an old baseball movie, "Schedule it and they will come." That's
what happened with this year's New Mexico Car Council's Albuquerque Museum Car
Show. With a minimum of publicity the members of Corvairs of New Mexico turned
out in significant numbers to show the other Car Council members how it is done!
Thirteen Corvairs were entered in this year's show.
Here's the list of this year's owners and vehicles:
1. Pat & Vickie Hall -- 1964 Spyder coupe.
(That turbo always draws a crowd, and it runs well too!)
2. Robert, Anne Mae, Javi & Sara Gold -- 1962 Greenbrier.
(Driven to the show by Chuck Vertrees -- thanks!)
3. Larry & Suzanne Hickerson -- 1963 Rampside.
(This winner still takes my breath away whenever I see it!)
4. LeRoy Rogers -- 1960 Monza coupe.
(I wish that beauty was at last year's State Fair Car Show!)
5. Anne Mae Gold -- 1965 Corsa convertible.
(See, I told you I'd have it finished sometime!?)
6. Mike & Brenda Stickler -- 1962 Greenbrier.
(Jim said it was one of the club's old reliables!)
7. Robert Gold -- 1966 Corsa coupe.
(Just like Jay Leno's -- almost...!)
8. Alan Gold -- 1962 Loadside pickup.
(You now have one show down and many more to come!)
9. Larry Yoffee -- 1965 Corsa 180.
(The paint was still drying! A super-equipped turbo engine!)
10. Ray Trujillo -- 1965 Corsa convertible.
(This car is always a crowd pleaser!)
11. Julian Trujillo -- 1962 Monza convertible.
(That deep, dark, electric blue sets it apart!)
12. Art Gold -- 1964 Monza coupe.
(A really cool car once owned by a singing star!)
13. Isaac Trujillo -- 1964 Monza sedan.
(That classic early model sedan styling!)
When we rolled up to the motel parking lot around 7:00 the air was still and the
temperature nicely cool. At first it looked like we were going to have a rather
light turnout. But in short order the lot was filled with the sounds of Corvair
engines as more and more CNM members drove up. By the time we headed out for the
display area our line stretched several blocks. The only problem was with the
leader -- me. Somehow I lead the group into a major traffic jam! I don't know
how that could happen. But in short order we were in the museum parking lot and
had set up our Corvairs, all in a row together.
However, at that point we were informed that the show's organizers had reserved
special "up front" spots to celebrate our Corvairs' 50 year anniversary. We
selected four of our cars and drove them into the honored parking spots. As a
byproduct of these new spots, some of us had the best shaded seating area in the
whole show. Life was really good!
By the time all the cars had entered the show area there wasn't a space left. My
lovely wife, Anne Mae, was driving the last car they let in and she got a great
parking spot. It's sure nice to have friends in high places.
I can happily report that our cars attracted lots of attention. Our members
spent a good amount of time answering all sorts of questions. Chuck Vertrees
looked like the king of all he surveyed as he sat in my Greenbrier and talked
with a number of folks. What's really nice is that we might actually wind up
with a new member because of the show.
I want to recognize a current CNMer, Fred Riggs, who came down from Las Vegas
(New Mexico, not Nevada) to visit with us. He wasn't able to drive his Corvair,
but it was great that he was able to come down to be with us. I hope to see his
ride at a future show.
Sadly, before we knew it the car show was winding down and it was time to go
home. It's days like this that keep me coming back for this show. Thanks to all
the CNMers for their support on this very important anniversary of our treasured
Corvair. See you next year! -- Robert
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Subject: MUSEUM CAR SHOW
From: patandvickiehall @ q.com
Date: 2010-May-16 19:19:59 MDT
Jim,
You will probably hear from others but here is my count and the award winners.
There were 13 Corvairs and 20 members and families that attended the show. We
and the Hickersons were the only ones who stayed for the awards.
Julian Trujillo took third place, Larry Yoffee took second and Ray Trujillo took
first. We have their plaques and have called them but no one answered so we left
a message to call us.
Larry Hickerson was presented with a plaque for, I'm not sure exactly what the
Car Council called it, but it was like "Best of Show" in the compact division.
-- Vickie
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June Birthdays:
Larry Hickerson June 09
Chuck Vertrees June 13
Sylvia Trujillo June 19
Jonathan Reider June 20
Rita Gongora June 24
Heula Pittman June 24
Robert Gold June 30
June Anniversaries:
Susanne & Larry Hickerson June 01
Carolyn & Dan Palmer June 05
Heula & Jim Pittman June 08
Debra & Jon Anderson June 13
Gayle & Richard Finch June 16
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THE REST OF THE SHOW
Jim Pittman
Just after 9:00 AM I headed west on Lomas in the 1996 Miata (it is almost a
classic in its own right) to Old Town and the site of the car show and found a
shady spot to park. There were already lots of people and nearly all the show
cars were in place. It was not difficult to find the "honored" Corvairs and I
chatted with Chuck, Vickie and Robert before heading out to walk up and down the
lanes to try to at least get a glimpse at every car. Well, there were too many
cars for that and I'm sure I missed more than a few. It was not the best weather
for photos -- a typically sharp, clear, sunny summer day with deep contrast
between shade and light. Well, a few of the photos worked.
My impression (I made no attempt to count) was that there were more cars than
usual, there was greater variety than usual, and nearly all the cars were
beautifully prepared. I stopped and talked to the owners of a Citroen SM and
admired the Maserati V-6 engine. It had a unique storage method for a spare fan
belt! You'd have to see it to believe it. The owner was very proud of his French
car which, in the seventies, was the fastest front-wheel-drive car extant.
I stopped to talk to the owner of an early bright red Austin-Healey. Having
owned a 1965 Healey for a few short months, I can never see one of these
beautifully proportioned cars without a rush of nostalgia. A couple of
Alfa-Romeo owners came by to chat and one of them told me a red Giulietta might
be for sale. No thank you! I could not live up to the image of one of these
jewels. There were several gorgeous Alfas including a perfect 1959 convertible.
I have always been a terrific fan of Alfas, alas, always from afar.
I spotted a dark green Fiat 850, rear engine, a tiny little car. It brought back
memories of one of the best rally days I ever had back in Ohio in the late
sixties. The owner wanted to navigate so I got to drive! Even though it was
rather underpowered, it handled so well that it made me feel that once I got it
up to sixty or so, I could go around the curves without slowing down!
LeRoy's car was our representative "actually-50- year-old" 1960 Corvair. I did
not see any 1960 Falcons or Valiants. There were some beautiful middle-sixties
Valiants including a sharp convertible that we saw "off base," not in the show.
I came across a 1954 Corvette with three Carter side-draft carburetors feeding
the straight-six engine. Since Ray and I had just inspected the turbo engines in
Larry Yoffee's 1965 Corsa and Pat and Vickie's 1964 Spyder, I went to find him to
show him this rare car. Yes, the first Corvettes had the same Carter carburetors
that showed up on the 1962-1966 turbocharged Corvairs!
I don't know how the Museum/Car Council car show keeps bringing in these
wonderful cars year after year, but they do. And it seems to me the show just
keeps getting better every year. All car fans owe it to themselves to attend
this spectacular one-day- automotive-museum event every May. -- Jim
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Lost-in-the-Glare Log
I started a log of sightings of vehicles with hard-to-see
turn signals or brake signals -- due to sunlight reflected
from gaudy, chromed or clear plastic tail light housings.
Friday 12 Feb 09:05 Prius Wyoming NE near Montgomery
Monday 29 Mar 08:50 Ford Fusion Indian School, Juan Tabo NE
Monday 26 Apr 08:15 Prius Juan Tabo NE near Comanche
Friday 14 May 09:32 Lexus SUV Paseo del Norte NE & Eubank
Sunday 16 May 11:45 Ford Taurus Rio Grande Blvd & Bellamah NW
Saturday 22 May 14:25 Nissan SUV Canon City, Colorado
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C O R V A I R S o f N E W M E X I C O C O M I N G E V E N T S
============================================================================
| June | July | August |
| 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 3 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 |
| 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 |
| 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 |
| 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 |
| 27 28 29 30 | 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 29 30 31 |
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Tarmo Sutt suggests a tour to Glorietta (east of Santa Fe) to see a collection
of old guns, some as recent as World War I. Date and time to be determined.
============================================================================
Wed 2 Jun 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 2 Jun 8:30 PM After our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner, 1405 Central NE
Sat 5 Jun 8:00 AM Second Old Route 66 Clean-up of 2010. Brunch afterwards
at Golden Corral. More info: Ollie Scheflow 897-2611
Sat 12 Jun 1:00 PM Los Lunas "66 Cruise" starting in Bosque Farms at the
Wells Fargo Bank. This is every second Saturday.
Wed 16 Jun 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Sun 20 Jun 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM Annual Father's Day Car Show, Edgewood, NM.
Location: Valley View Christian Church in Edgewood. Arrive as early as
7:00 AM -- be early for good parking in the car show.
This event includes live entertainment, a silent auction, all types of
vehicles to see and free food. From the Edgewood exit go North on Hwy 344
past Church St., which is the first traffic light. Continue on just past
the next traffic light and the Church is on the right.
Pat & Vickie Hall went last year and this event is well worth the drive.
MON-FRI JUNE 21-25 CORSA International Convention - Cedar Rapids, Iowa
See the web site: http://conventions.corvair.org/2010/ for latest information
Fri 25 Jun 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Sun 4 Jul early! Santa Fe Plaza -- Pancake breakfast, Car Show, Parade
Wed 7 Jul 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 7 Jul 8:30 PM After our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner, 1405 Central NE
Sat 10 Jul 1:00 PM Los Lunas "66 Cruise" starting in Bosque Farms at the
Wells Fargo Bank. This is every second Saturday.
Wed 21 Jul 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 23 Jul ....... Car Show at Kirtland AFB -- John Wiker, information
Fri 23 Jul 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
July - Albuquerque Tour hosted by Chuck Vertrees. Possible meeting place to
begin the tour could be at the Winrock Mall parking lot.
Wed 4 Aug 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 4 Aug 8:30 PM After our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner, 1405 Central NE
Sat 7 Aug 8:00 AM Third Old Route 66 Clean-up of 2010. Brunch afterwards
at Golden Corral. More info: Ollie Scheflow 897-2611
Sun 15 Aug 11 to 4 NMCCC All-Clubs Picnic - Nambe Lake near Espanola
Drive your hobby car, and bring the family for a beautiful
drive through scenic New Mexico. There will be door prizes,
lots of food, friendship and collector cars to admire.
Picnic is open to all members of Council Member Clubs.
Wed 18 Aug 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 20 Aug 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Wed 1 Sep 7:00 PM Meeting: Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE
Wed 1 Sep 8:30 PM After our meeting, we go to the 66 Diner, 1405 Central NE
Wed 15 Sep 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Business Printing Service - 4316 Silver SE
Fri 24 Sep 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Fri-Sun 24-25-26 Sep NMCCC Los Lunas Annual Swap Meet. Morris Field, Los Lunas.
Auto Related Parts Only. 12' x 40' Spaces.
$20.00 Pre-Registration, $30.00 at the Gate.
Sat 2 Oct ....... CORVAIR HERITAGE DAY (Corvair's official birthday)
Reference: http://www.vintagecorsa.com/ Vintage Corsa
Click on the event link in upper right hand corner.
Sat 9 Oct 9:00 AM Fourth Old Route 66 Clean-up of 2010.
============================================================================
2011: 3-4-5-June - Tri-State Event - Red River, NM - Corvairs of New Mexico
============================================================================
2011: 20-23 July - CORSA Convention - Rocky Mountain CORSA - Denver,Colorado
============================================================================
More activities: New Mexico Council of Car Clubs: http://www.nmcarcouncil.net
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INSTALLING GREASE FITTINGS IN 1965-1969 REAR AXLES
by Richard Finch, SAE
The week after the Apollo Astronauts first landed on the moon back in October
1969, I needed to replace the brakes on my 1965 Corvair Monza 4 door. The car
had about 95,000 miles on it then. The week-end that the Astronauts landed on
the moon, I was racing my Yenko Stinger S/N 003 at Sears Point, north of San
Francisco,CA. (I finished 5th out of a field of 20, D-Production Nationals race
cars for the week-end race.)
I had flat-towed my Yenko behind my 1965 4 door to the SCCA National Race
because I could not afford a pickup truck and flat bed trailer, and besides, it
was relatively easy to tow my Yenko Stinger on a tow bar and have much less to
worry about on the trip. I had just moved back to Santa Maria, CA to work on the
MOL Astronaut's program at Vandenberg AFB, CA. On my way to the race track, I
was following my friends, Stan and Pauline Laskin, who were trailer towing my
SAAB powered D-Sports race car to the race track also.
As we crested one of the famous hills in San Francisco, Stan stopped for a red
light and the right rear brake on my 1965 Corvair locked up and I skidded all
the way down the hill, just managing to stop about 1 inch from the rear of
Stan's trailer ahead of me! At that point, I vowed to replace the brakes on the
1965 Corvair as soon as I got back home to Santa Maria after the National race
was over. In the next installment of this series of articles, I will tell you
about installing a set of new Velvetouch (tm) brakes.
But this also seemed to be a very good time to install grease fittings in the
rear axle housings to prevent wheel bearing problems later on. I had purchased a
brand new 1965 Corsa coupe in December 1964, and one of its rear wheel bearings
had worn out at slightly under 50,000 miles. It was replaced by the local Chevy
Dealer, under warranty. I also knew that the famous Corvette mechanic, Dick
Gulstrand, was selling rebuilt Corvette axle housings that had grease fittings
installed, and I figured that it should work on Corvairs too, although the 1963
Sting Rays had disc brakes on the rear.
Drilling and tapping the rear axle housings on the 1965 Corvair was very easy to
do and I wrote about how to do it in my book, "How to Keep Your Corvair Alive."
the book was first published in June of 1975, in time to sell copies at the 1975
CORSA National Convention in Seattle, WA. (See pages 75-80 in the 8th edition of
HTKYCA.) The book is now available from Clark's Corvair Parts. A picture of the
grease fitting in my 1965 Corvair is on page 78.
During the past 35 years since the book was first published, I have talked to a
few Corvair owners who have had problems because they pumped too much grease in
the fittings and into the rear axle housing. This will result in grease getting
on the rear brake shoes and ruining the brakes on the side where the grease came
out. One fellow once said "Don't put fittings in the rear axle housings, because
you might put either too much grease or too little grease in." That is kind of
like saying that you should never change your engine oil because you might
either over-fill the crankcase or not put enough in!
As of today, my 1965 Corvair 4 door has slightly over 500,000 miles on the
odometer and the rear axle bearings are still original and have never been
replaced. The secret has been to grease them once every 2 years and to use wheel
bearing grease in the grease gun.
My 1969 Corvair powered Ultra Van now has over 160,000 miles on it and its rear
wheel bearings have never been replaced, only greased by the grease fitting
method. On the other hand, one well-known Ultra Van owner has been reported to
have installed 3 sets of rear axle housings in just one year of driving, because
he was determined to NOT put grease fittings in. And, finally, as one newer
Ultra Van member once said, "At least if you do have a noisy rear wheel bearing,
you can simply just remove the rear brake drum and shoot some grease in and limp
home."
(Coming next month, installing Velvetouch brakes on a Corvair.)
"How I have Kept my Corvairs alive for over 50 Years"
by Richard Finch, SAE
Photos:
Page 10, top: Richard drives his 1965 Corvair up Organ Pass near Las Cruces, NM,
towing his SAAB powered D-Sports race car on the way to Phoenix, 1967.
Page 10, bottom: Richard's Stinger race car in California, October 1969.
This Page (top): Jim Cannon of Alamogordo, New Mexico in his Austin-Healey 100-6
and Richard Finch driving his SAAB-powered D-Sports race car, at an SCCA race at
Fort Sumner, New Mexico, probably in the summer of 1967.
This Page (right): Richard & Gayle's Ultra Van on a Colorado vacation in June,
2005.
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CANON CITY TRI-STATE
Jim & Heula
THU 20 MAY --- Leaving the 1965 Monza at home, we are on the road in our Brand-X
by 7 AM or so. Drive up north 14 via Madrid. Take the bypass loop to the west of
Santa Fe. Have a lot of traffic and some road construction near Espanola.
Somewhere south of Tres Piedras we have our first glimpses of snow-clad
mountains in Colorado. Take the Colorado 17 short-cut near the Great Sand Dunes
National Monument. Reach Salida about 1 PM and head east on US 50. Beautiful
road, river alongside, railroad next to the river. We start seeing hundreds of
gondola coal cars parked on the railroad right-of-way. Can not figure that out.
In storage? Abandoned? Waiting to be joined up in the world's longest coal
train? No explanation was found.
Arrive Canon City, find Quality Inn, check in. In our room by 2:15 PM. Our first
sighting of a Corvair: nice early maroon coupe parks next to our car. First of
many to come. Spend rest of day visiting with friends.
FRI 21 MAY --- Nice breakfast at the hotel. We think we'll drive around town a
little, scout the location of our banquet, go see the Royal Gorge bridge. Wow,
Canon City is bigger than we thought! Ten miles west on US 50, then turn south.
No problem finding Buckskin Joe's. Continue on curvy, hilly little road through
the woods to the Royal Gorge bridge. It looks like an expensive bridge that
doesn't go anywhere. We don't find out when or why it was built.
Back at the hotel we find that many more Corvairs have arrived. Talk to our
friends at registration. Walk the parking lot taking photos of nice Corvairs.
The early model "trailer" was a big hit! We also get a thrill to see a yellow
4.2 Jaguar XK-E. Drive east 100 yards to a steak house for dinner.
SAT 22 MAY --- All the car show folks prepare their cars for an 8:30 departure.
There are many cars in town for another car show so the streets are filled with
seldom-seen, bright shiny vehicles. Drive out to Florence (how many people noted
the mile-long cemetery?) and walk along the street admiring the Corvairs. How
could anyone pick a "best" from this group? Take time off for lunch, then more
walking, more photos. Drive around Florence a bit, then head back to the hotel.
The wind is picking up.We get ready to go to dinner. The wind is worse, but we
get to Buckskin Joe's, no problem. Find what almost looks like a working old
west movie set -- just take down the "touristy" signs, add John Wayne and Slim
Pickins, and you'd have most of what you'd need to shoot a movie. Speaking of
shooting: the Buckskin staff stage a couple of "ole west" shootouts for our
pleasure. We can easily see that 1880s gunfighters would have a problem keeping
their pants pressed and their boots polished. Not to mention keeping those pesky
bullet holes out of their vests.
Corvairs appear on Buckskin Joe's main street. Line up and park for photos. The
wind continues. Time for a few more photos and then it's time for dinner.
Everyone finds a seat some- where and the dinner arrives. Steve Goodman is
master of ceremonies and gives his take on the history of Tri-State events. He
introduces the Saint Francis of Corvair Award and presents this year's plaque to
PPCC's Garrie Fox. Speech time. Heula announces next year's Tri-State: to be
sponsored by CNM in Red River, New Mexico.
Time for awards for the car show. (Details will probably be available in Pikes
Peak's next newsletter.) Fifty-fifty prize, door prizes and raffle for Ruth's
afghan. After the ceremonies, all thank the staff for their hard work and people
start driving out.
SUN 23 MAY --- We pack everything and load up the car. We go back for one more
breakfast with early-rising friends. Drive west on US 50 into the sunrise. How
to go back? Take the safe, dull & boring I-25 freeway, or go west to Questa? We
turn off on US 160 to go to Ft Garland but either the road signs are bad or I
miss them, so we end up back on I-25. Okay, we could go west on US 64 to get to
Questa. There's a very very long straight stretch until Cimmaron (we saw many
pronghorn) then some very very curvy, hilly stretches to Eagle Nest, Angle Fire,
Taos. By now we are really tired and just want to get on home.
Forget about the scenery, just drive! All that traffic and congestion in
Espanola again. It seems eons later (actually it is only about 2:15 PM) when we
roll up to our door.
We are safely back home after attending another great Tri-State!
Here's our count of CNMers at the Tri-State:
1. Ruth Boydston
2. Rita Gongora
3. Steve Gongora
4. Pat Hall (brought 1964 Spyder coupe)
5. Vickie Hall
6. Heula Pittman
7. Jim Pittman
8. Emma Rogers
9. LeRoy Rogers
10. Bill Reider
11. Lee Reider
12. Ollie Scheflow
13. Wendell Walker (brought 1964 Monza convertible)
14. Amanda: Ruth's granddaughter
15. Bernadette: Steve & Rita's daughter
16. Kim Patten: Former member
17. Sherry: Ruth's daughter
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SEVEN YEARS AGO
Jim Pittman
Seven Years Ago - June 2003 - Volume 29 - Number 6 - Issue 333
Cover: relaxing at the May 18 Albuquerque Museum/Car Council car show. Our
meeting was held at Galles. Wendell reported $5687.81 in the treasury. A guest,
Dwight Simmons, owner of a Corvair rail, was introduced. Mark Martinek reported
on the Car Council's meeting. We learned that Dave Patten was to be interred at
the National Cemetery in Santa Fe and we planned a wake. Bob Philips asked for
help finding the gold 1966 turbo coupe he worked on years ago. Fred Edeskuty
received a large inventory of Corvair-specialized tools from Robin Devore.
Hurley Wilvert thanked all who attended his motorcycle race.
Our board meeting was chaired by VP Joel Nash. We hoped to have Tim McCole, who
survived an exploding battery, to speak on air conditioning. Sylvan told us that
Ray Trujillo had bought a four-door and planned to join us. President Robert
Gold's "From the Driver's (Hot) Seat" told about being an Elvis fan as well as a
baseball fan. He mentioned Geoff Johnson's world- famous yellow Corvair. Just
google "Page of the Yellow Corvair" to see what he meant. Hmmmm.... in April
2010 nothing comes up. Del Patten provided a report on the Museum/Car Council
car show at which his purple Corvair was a star performer. Wendell Walker
provided an article on his 1963 Cadillac convertible. It was made from a genuine
(but rusted-out) convertible and a 1963 Sedan de Ville four-door. If you want a
good story on the thousands of details it took to finish up the project with one
good car, find this article and read it.
Finally, Richard Finch told us all we needed to know about keeping those
original AC mechanical Corvair fuel pumps working -- no electric fuel pumps for
him. The secret is, get good repair kits and rebuild 'em.
Fourteen Years Ago - June 1996 - Volume 22 - Number 6 - Issue 249
The "Vairs in the Air" logo of our convention enriched our cover. At the May
meeting the treasurer reported $713 in the bank and 54 paid-up members. The
Montrose, CO Tri- State was May 10th, The Albuquerque Museum car show was May
19th and the convention was June 18-22. A busy few weeks ahead! Bill Reider
reported that the convention bank account stood at $13,717 and current bills
were paid. Ollie Scheflow was coordinating the two miles of Old Route 66 for the
club's public service clean-up. We talked about setting up a CNM internet web
site, but no one had time to do it just now. Debbie Pleau reviewed convention
planning.
Mark Domzalski said the Montrose Tri-State was great and announced a "wind down"
party in the mountains in July after the convention. Heula wrote about our trip
to Montrose via Farmington, the Four Corners, Mesa Verde, Durango, Silverton,
Ouray. It was a great Tri-State and a great break before the big push to the
convention! Tech tips this month included how to get your air conditioned tuned
up for the summer (here's my tip: be sure to run the air conditioner at least a
couple of minutes every week all year round) and outfitting your FC with good
shocks. Yes, rear shocks are important too!
Twenty-one Years Ago - June 1989 - Volume 15 - Number 6 - Issue 165
The cover mapped our way to Red River rendezvous and back. A new member was Tom
Roback. Tom Martin told some tales from his days as an FBI agent, including a
story about a 1964 Monza that was to be used as the getaway car. The Monza would
have worked fine had the driver not forgotten to reset his watch upon crossing a
time zone, thus ruining the crooks' schedule. BILLIKEN illustrated our traveling
correspondent, Mark Morgan, leaving L.A. for Texas. Bill Reider tipped us to get
a sintered bronze pilot bushing, not an iron one.
Twenty-eight Years Ago - June 1982 - Volume 8 - Number 6 - Issue 81
The cover showed a Corvair-powered Ultravan much like the one Francis Boydston
had just bought. Francis made a lot of improvements to his "whale" and drove it
all around the country. Carl Johnson told us how to replace a 3-speed with a
4-speed. Jim Pittman's essay WHY I OWN A CORVAIR concluded this month. The 1966
Corsa no longer sits in our back yard but is still alive and well. Finally, a
reminder of how fortunate we were in 1982 to have so many competent,
knowledgeable, helpful members in our club. Hey, it's still true in 2010.
Thirty-five Years Ago - June 1975 - Volume 1 - Number 6 - Issue 6
The cover reprinted a letter to the editor of ROAD & TRACK by Mark Morgan
commenting on their road tests of a Monza 2+2 and an Mustang II and thanked them
for including information on the original Corvair Monza. We had 37 members in
our roster. Andy Ciupryk showed us a proposed front license plate and we planned
to order some. Editor Mark was about to go spend the summer with the Navy and
Steve Gongora said he'd produce the newsletter.
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