Updated 30-Jan-2007 - Copyright (c) 2007 Corvairs of New Mexico.
EDITOR
Jim Pittman
NEXT MEETING: Wednesday September 4th, 7:30 PM
Galles Chevrolet, Lomas & University
THIS MONTH:
New Members Sylvan Zuercher
Dues Due Sylvan Zuercher
August Meeting Notes Chuck Vertrees
August Board Notes Jim Pittman
The Driver's Seat Robert Gold
October ELECTIONS Sylvan Zuercher
October Talk Preview Sylvan Zuercher
Calendar: Coming Events Everybody
CNM Ladies Anne Mae Gold
Christmas Party Plans Rita Gongora
Seven Years Ago Jim Pittman
Cool Vair Affair Report Mark Domzalski
The English Language Stolen from the Internet
For Sale, Trade, Wanted Everybody
COVER: The P-F Flyer in a former life - Jim Pittman
Hall's Laws of Politics:
(1) The voters want fewer taxes and more spending.
(2) Citizens want honest politicians until they want something fixed.
(3) Constituency drives out consistency (i.e., liberals defend military
spending, and conservatives social spending in their own districts).
Dues Expired or Due or Approaching Due:
Tarmo Sutt 2002-May
Gordon Johnson 2002-Jun
Mark Morgan 2002-Jun
Joe Ashton 2002-Jul
Anthony Couture 2002-Jul
Rick Covington 2002-Jul
John Mattern 2002-Jul
Roger Chavez 2002-Aug
Robert Harvey 2002-Aug
Steve Johnson 2002-Aug
Debbie Deck 2002-Sep
Robert McBreen 2002-Sep
Lee Olsen 2002-Sep
Jon Anderson 2002-Oct
John Topp 2002-Oct
Wendell Walker 2002-Oct
H. C. "Lube" Lubert 2002-Nov
If your membership is due or has expired, please send your dues to:
Wendell Walker, CNM Treasurer, 301 Utah Meadow, Rio Rancho, NM 87124
Note: the Club will mail in your National dues when you renew,
but only if you send us the renewal form from CORSA Communique!
New Members -by- Sylvan Zuercher
Larry and Susanne Hickerson
1608 Isle Royale SE
Albuquerque NM 87123
296-1636 (H)
Larry is a management consultant for the US Air Force and owns several
Rampsides with one in the process of getting a paint job and final assembly,
hopefully before the State Fair show.
Jacob Schlessinger
115 Richmond NE
Albuquerque NM 87106
256-0551 (W) 237-2141 (H) 453-3738 Cell
Jake owns a 1965 Burgundy color convertible with a terrific custom interior and
with a set of 15" Camaro wheels.
Let's have a big CNM welcome for Larry, Susanne and Jacob! - Sylvan
AUGUST MEETING NOTE
Chuck Vertrees
The meeting was called to order at Galles Chevrolet at 19:30. All officers were
present except the Vice-President. The minutes of the last meeting were
approved as printed in the newsletter. Treasurer, Wendell Walker, reported that
CNM had $345.14 in the checking account and $4,798.65 in the GMAC Demand
account for a total of $5,143.79.
Sylvan Zuercher introduced two new members. First was Jake Schlessinger who has
a 1965 convertible with 15" wheels. Jake is a nephew of Steve Gongora. Next he
introduced Larry Hickerson. Larry has both a 1963 and a 1964 Rampside. The '63
is almost finished. Larry got his first Corvair in 1969. He works for the Air
Force and has to travel quite a lot.
There is no Car Council report since Mark missed the meeting. However, he
understands that a letter is being sent to the Mayor about the reasons that the
annual car show was moved to Los Lunas.
Mark Domzalski mentioned that Corsa is proposing to put out a new bid for
management and publishing of Corsa. He suggested that anyone really into
self-flagellation, submit a bid.
OLD BUSINESS:
It was reported that the Gold family participated in the July 27th Central
Avenue cruise. Robert reported that one car stalled and backed up a few cars,
but things went OK after he got it restarted. There were quite a few people
lined up on Central to watch all the cars go by, and it was a lot of fun to
exchange waves. He said that an Early Model Corvette was leading the parade,
but that it was a new one in an imitation body. Mark Domzalski said that you
can get them done in Ohio. All it takes is a new Corvette and about 35K.
Sunday the 4th was the Car Council Annual Picnic, and CNM had a good
representation. (This is the first one that your secretary has missed in a few
years, but I had a Grandson that got married on Saturday and Julia and I had
all five of our kids here with their respective spouses, Grandkids and theirs,
etc. Total of 18.) It was a good idea to make the picnic a regular CNM event
for August. Steve Gongora announced that pictures of the picnic were on the CNM
website.
Members were reminded that September 22nd is the day that CNM will be at the
State Fair. There are enough awards so that everyone should get at least one
ribbon. Meeting time and location will be elsewhere in this newsletter.
The Great Western Fan Belt Toss and Swap Meet will be in Palm Springs in early
November. Mark Domzalski said if you haven't been there, you should really go.
There will be 2 or 3 National vendors there and acres of swapping. If you can't
find what you want there, it just isn't available on earth. Registration forms
are available.
According to Ollie Scheflow there was good support on the last Old Route 66
cleanup. With a god turnout and seemingly less trash than usual, it went a lot
quicker than some other times.
NEW BUSINESS:
It was announced that there would be a Vintage Car Show in Santa Fe on Saturday
the 10th. Also Sonic has cruise nights in Santa Fe, and a circular was passed
around. There would also be a show at Eubank and Candelaria NE on the 18th for
the "Make A Wish Foundation." All entry fees and money collected would go to
the foundation. See the CNM Internet for entry information.
Joel Nash said that there is a red 1963 with no engine abandoned outside his
lot. The city is after him because of zoning violations. Get what you need
before it goes to the crusher.
Anna Mae Gold said that she thought that our newsletter should have been a
winner at the Convention, and that some unknown and anonymous members had come
up with a couple of awards. Jim was given a dash cover and a steering wheel
cover for his brand-X. Jim thanked the donors and said that we read all the
newsletters that we get in exchange and that most of them are lacking in news
of what the club is doing. It was agreed that the CNM newsletter is consistent
in supplying CNM activities. It was suggested that Mark Domzalski do some
checking to find out what criteria is being used and that CNM might do some
lobbying.
Mark Martinek said that he had his car running again after the towing incident
mentioned in a previous newsletter. Jerry Goffe said that it had probably
melted, but Mark said that it only went through the grinder.
The Tri-State committee will meet on the 12th and go back up to Raton in
September or October. They have the hotel and dinner lined up. There will be a
contest for a patch with all entries due by the first of the year.
The Car Council Swap Meet will be September 29th in Los Lunas. Volunteers are
needed. CNM has always been dependable if this endeavor.
The meeting was adjourned at 20:08. Ollie had some pictures circulating about
his and Mary Alice's trip around Cape Horn, and videotape was shown after the
meeting.
-- Chuck Vertrees
BOARD MEETING AUGUST
Jim Pittman
Wednesday, August 21: the meeting was called to order at HOUSE OF COVERS at
5:10 PM by President Gold. Present were Robert Gold, Steve Gongora, Sylvan
Zuercher, Wendell Walker, LeRoy Rogers, Bill Reider, Jim Pittman. Faithful
scribe Chuck had to miss the meeting so these notes had to be typed into Jim's
Microsoft-free Macintosh PowerBook G4.
Steve reported to the Club that Ed Black had passed away. CNM ordered flowers
through Fair Plaza Florists; we don't know if any members went to the funeral.
CNM met at Ed Black's Chevrolet for many years and we appreciate Mr Black's
generous sponsorship of our Club. Several years ago we were honored to be able
to invite him to some of our dinner parties.
Treasury report: Wendell Walker said that we have $767.84 in the Wells Fargo
account and $4798.65 in the GMAC account for a total of $5566.49.
Sylvan passed around a memo with suggested changes to the Club. We will discuss
them at a later time. Examples: Have election at a different time of the year?
Have new officers invested at the Christmas party or at some other event? An
annual Club birthday party? Changes to our awards? If you have ideas, let the
officers know or come to a board meeting.
Is it time for us to have a weekend Auction meeting? We agreed that Saturday
November 2nd would be a good time. This is a week before the GWFBTASM and we
could have it at the House of Covers. We'd probably start at 6:00 PM and
everyone could bring a pot luck dish. Members can dig out and dust off their
junk or treasures in preparation for the auction. Proceeds from all items
auctioned will go to the Club treasury.
We had a report on preparations for the 2003 Tri-State in Raton. The committee
members are LeRoy Rogers, Bill Reider and Hurley Wilvert. LeRoy said the
committee will go to Raton the 19th of September. The date for the Tri-State
has not been set but will probably be toward the end of May. We will have to
work around any Denver and Colorado Springs events and possibly around the
Albuquerque Museum Car Show. The location will probably be the Holiday Classic
in Raton. LeRoy asks that anyone who has items (or ideas) for door prizes and
goody bag stuffers to let him know (294-0632) and to start collecting items.
Door prizes do not have to be Corvair or automobile related.
Bill Reider proposed that we take $200 from the treasury to buy hor d'oeuvres,
so people won't have to spend more money at the Tri-State. The $200 can come
out of our income from the CARE & FEEDING books. (I wonder if "hor d'oeuvres"
can be found in Bill's spelling checker. It took me half an hour to find it in
my dictionary!)
We need a logo for the Tri-State that can be used on patches, T-shirts and
publicity. Again, we will have a competition for the design with a prize for
the winning design. The prize will probably be one free night's lodging at the
Tri-State. Sketch your design on a piece of paper and get it to Bill Reider by
the end of the year.
Back to the here and now, Robert expressed his concern with our relationship
with Galles Chevrolet. He's afraid we all tend to just go to meetings and take
our sponsor for granted. We need to find ways we can do something to help out
our sponsor! Will there be any kind of Galles "Chevy Show" or other activity we
can participate in or help to organize? People are not going to see our nice
Corvairs and then go to Galles to buy a new Corvair because there are no new
Corvairs. Can we promote our cars and our Club to reflect well on Chevrolets in
general and Galles in particular? We need to talk up the "Chevrolet" in
"Corvair" and the "Galles" in Corvairs of New Mexico's Sponsor.
Future conventions: Mark Domzalski mentioned earlier that CORSA is trying to
get a convention in the Northwest - are we going to formally support it, or
not? What are the issues? What does it take to put on a successful convention?
If CORSA proceeds with this, what role can CNM play?
Someone asked, What was the best convention? LeRoy immediately said, The Denver
convention in 1981 was the best he had been to.
Steve Gongora mentioned recently being involved with a work of art - a donated
car: a 1974 Triumph TR-6. It was auctioned at the Sweeney Center in Santa Fe,
SWAIA Indian Market Silent Auction. It had Pendleton blanket upholstery. It was
auctioned for $90,000. Steve did the upholstery. He happened to sit next to the
man who painted the car. Steve showed magazine articles featuring the car.
The meeting was adjourned at 6:08 PM and odds and ends of discussion continued
for some time.
FROM THE DRIVER'S SEAT
Robert Gold
Well it seems that fun events are coming fast and furious. My family and I were
the lone Corvair representatives on the July 27 Neon Drive down old Route 66.
Though the Corvair wasn't represented in quantity I'd like to think we made it
up in quality. We took my '64 and '65 convertibles. We made quite an impression
on the group when the '64 stalled and 2/3 of the parade was stopped behind us.
We got it started and there were no problems after that. I was most impressed
by a retro new Corvette that led the procession. It had the front and back of a
'53 mated to it. Oh to have 100 K to do that!
The Route 66 cruise was followed in close order by the Car Council picnic on
August 4. I'm happy to report that the Corvair was the best represented vehicle
in the group. Mark and Mary Lou Martinek led the procession from the Smith's
parking lot down Route 66 in a highly modified Corvair. In fact it was so
modified that it looked exactly like a '55 Ford Crown Victoria. The Martineks
are forgiven for not driving their Corvair convertible since its engine was
being put back together by Dave Langlois. This was needed since Mark had tried
to set the rpm world's record with the engine, but that's another story.
The picnic was a lot of fun. The big old storm cloud that threatened to dump on
us kept a respectable distance away. We were treated to a wonderful variety of
cars. I would suggest to the members who didn't attend that they put this event
on their calendars for next year.
With the two outside events completed we had an enjoyable CNM meeting on the
7th. Things that we covered of note included a report by Mark Domzalski that
the CORSA newsletter contract was up for renewal. I could dust my mimeograph
machine from my cat club days.... I don't think so!
Ollie Scheflow reported on the Route 66 cleanup in July. The turnout was good
and the amount of trash was down. I apologized for not making the cleanup since
I was picking up the latest addition to my car collection- a '93 Caprice
Classic police car. The car was available for inspection after the meeting. I
was quite impressed by Joel Nash's knowledge concerning these cars. He seems to
be the one to contact if you want to know what car auctions are coming up in
the area. I wish I had talked to Joel sooner- it might have saved me a trip to
Kansas City.
Mark Martinek reported that he was so focused on the Car Council Picnic that he
completely forgot about attending their last meeting. We'll forgive Mark if he
gives us twice as good a report at the next meeting. Bill Reider reported that
the Tri-State Committee was working to firm up plans for the 2002 meet. We'll
all look forward to hearing their plans.
There was an event of note at the meeting. Anne Mae Gold (that's Javier and
Sara's Mom) presented some custom dash mats to Jim Pittman in honor of his
superior work on the CNM newsletter. It was generally agreed that if the CORSA
folks didn't recognize Jim's good works we could. Mark Domzalski agreed to ask
CORSA what their criteria was for judging the newsletters. Some of the
membership thought that maybe the judges were putting the look of the
newsletters over the content. We'll see what Mark finds out.
The meeting was ended by Ollie Scheflow's talk on his cruise around the south
end of South America. He had some nice pictures of the event as well as some
informative video that he shot. In one shot the membership was quite surprised
when they thought they saw Steve and Rita Gongora dancing on stage. Though we
all agree that the Gongoras are quite accomplished on the dance floor, it
turned out the couple was not them. Again I would like to thank Ollie for his
talk.
I feel a need to recognize the CNM ladies who had their meeting on August 10 at
the Domzalski mansion. In addition to their normal good works, their
encouragement has helped to keep my wonderful wife working on a quilt that is
dear to my heart. Keep up the good work ladies!
Turning our attention to future goings on.... I want to remind everyone that
coming up on Sunday, September 22 is an event so important that people from all
over the State come to Albuquerque to see it. By that I mean the annual State
Fair Car Show. The reviews of past car shows have been very positive and there
is no reason to think that this year's show won't be just as much fun. The only
thing that could put a damper on the show, besides the usual Fair thunderstorm,
would be if the CNM members didn't show up. So please make an effort to attend
so I can have someone to give all those ribbons to! The particulars of the show
are described later in this newsletter.
Well, I guess I've said all I have to say for this month, with one exception.
As in other years, the CNM election of new officers is almost upon us. I've had
a wonderful time being the President, but I want to encourage anyone who might
be interested in that office or any of our official positions to step forward
and run. The only way this club can continue to be as good as it has been is
for members to step up and take the reins of leadership. That's enough
preaching for this month.
I guess that's it for now.
See you at the next meeting on Wednesday, September 4.
-- Robert Gold
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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
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| 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 |
| 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 |
| 29 30 : : : : : | 27 28 29 30 31 : : | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 |
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Wed 4th Sep 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE
Sat 14th Sep 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - Stickler cabin in the Jemez
Wed 18th Sep 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers
Fri 20th Sep 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Sun 22nd Sep 7:00 AM State Fair - meet at Furr's - San Pedro & Central NE
Sun 29th Sep ....... Swap Meet - Los Lunas - more at the September meeting
Wed 2nd Oct 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE
Sat 12th Oct 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies - Balloon Fiesta at the Golds' residence
Wed 16th Oct 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers
Fri 25th Oct 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
Wed 6th Nov 7:30 PM Regular Meeting - GALLES CHEVROLET 1601 Lomas NE
Fri 8th Nov ....... Great Western Fan Belt Toss and Swap Meet - California
Sat 9th Nov 1:00-4:00 CNM Ladies -- TBA
Wed 20th Nov 5:00 PM Board Meeting - House of Covers
Fri 22nd Nov 9:00 PM Newsletter Deadline - Jim Pittman
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Election in October -by- Sylvan Zuercher
Nominees for office will be announced in the October newsletter. The election
will be held during the October 2nd meeting.
Anyone who wants to run for office should contact the Nominations Committee
(that's Sylvan) at 299-7577 in order to be listed as a candidate. Nominations
from the floor before the election will also be accepted, with the caveat that
the Club allows no railroading.
Program Note -by- Sylvan Zuercher
Our October speaker will be Sy Feldman who will have an approximately 45 minute
slide and talk presentation relating his experience as an American pilot flying
for the RAF during WWII. This presentation is NOT TO BE MISSED.
CNM Ladies -by- Anne Mae Gold
Greetings to one and all! In August we met at Elizabeth and Mark's home in
Placitas. We had a great time, the food was wonderful and the company was
fantastic, Sylvia Goff made it and we enjoyed her company! We were all regaled
by Mark's new b-b-big screen TV... and I do mean B-B-Big! I thought we were
hearing thunder, but it was Mark in the next room watching his new toy! Enjoy!
On September 14th the CNM Ladies will gather at the Stickler cabin. We usually
meet earlier so that we can make the trip in a timely manner. It is a beautiful
drive and one best if shared. Please call me at 268-6878 so we can coordinate
the carpool up there. Traditionally we have met at the Phillips 66 at the
intersection of Highway 44 and the road that comes out of Rio Rancho. Please
RSVP for this one so we can let Brenda know how many of us are going so she can
plan the amount of food.
On October 12, which is during the Balloon Fiesta, why don't we meet at the
Gold home and make it an Open Invitation for a Pampered Chef Party. If you are
in town and are so inclined, come over, bring friends and let's cook!
That's it for now. Hope you are all keeping cool for the beginning of school!
Hasta la Pasta! Anne Mae
State Fair Car Show
-by- Robert Gold
Corvairs of New Mexico will be holding our fifth annual State Fair Car Show on
Sunday, September 22. This is the last day of the Fair.
We'll meet at the Furr's Cafeteria parking lot on the southwest corner of
Central and San Pedro at 7:00 AM and enter the Fairgrounds through gate 3 at
7:30. This is the furthest gate to the south on San Pedro. Admission will be
payable when we enter the fairgrounds.
Show times are from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Ribbons will be awarded for three "best
of" classes and seventeen novelty classes. This should assure that you'll be
taking at least one ribbon home! You'll get to display your awards for all to
see as soon as the judging is completed.
If you have any questions call Robert or Anne Mae Gold in the evenings at
268-6878 or send email to: beisbol30 AT aol DOT com.
Let's make this the best CNM turnout so far!!!!
Christmas Corvair Brunch -by- Rita Gongora
We are getting ready early this year: the Christmas Corvair Brunch is on track!
It will be on Sunday December 1, 2002 at 11:00 AM at the Kirtland AFB Officers'
Club, the same location as last year. It will be okay if you need to arrive
after 12:00 noon. When you go to the Wyoming gate to KAFB be sure to have your
driver's license, proof of vehicle insurance and the vehicle registration. For
more information, call Rita at 292-5570 or 256-0551.
Seven Years Ago
September 1995
Volume 21 - Number 9
Cover: a Beechcraft automobile? Mark Morgan explained. Sylvan welcomed new
member Erik Myhren who had a "new" 1964 convertible. A guest was Don Smith and
grandson Chris. Sylvan reminded us of next month's election and the need for
volunteers. We had $940 to spend, $328 of which was ear-marked for convention
expenses. The convention planning group was meeting monthly, the Monday after
the club meeting. Bill Reider was working on a revision to the Care & Feeding
booklet which has been selling well. The State Fair and the NMCCC Swap Meet
were on the same weekend and we weren't sure what we'd do about that. Sylvan
said our annual report to CORSA had 55 CNM members and 8 did not belong to
CORSA; we needed to improve.
Karen Souza reported on the third annual campout at Villanueva State Park.
Names mentioned included Souza, Pleau, Vertrees, Scheflow, Reider, Domzalski
and Jackson. There were also children and relatives and friends. Only one
Corvair made the trip: a Rampside. Climbing to the top of the ridge, floating
down the rust-colored Pecos, sitting around a campfire, eating good food, and
much Corvair talk were some of the relaxing events. Everybody agreed to let's
do it again next year!
Larry said we'd be having a talk on carburetors and one on tuning up your gas
heater. Tech tips included dealing with early model door rust, pros and cons of
silicone brake fluid, watching out for flood-damaged cars, how your hot-air
heater works and some notes on what is liable to happen to stolen cars.
Fourteen Years Ago
September 1988
Volume 14 - Number 9
The cover picture of a pueblo reminded us of our tour to Salinas National
Monument organized by Dale Housley last month. We had five Corvairs and one
Brand-X and all brought picnic lunches to Quarai and Gran Quivera. We had $675
to spend. Sylvan organized a group to go to Moriarty to escort the Dare Vair
into Albuquerque for part of its around-the-country tour. Bill Reider told of
using 50 quarts of oil to get back from the CORSA convention in North Carolina.
Tom Martin, in PTOM's PTEK PTIPS told some of the do's and dont's based on his
years of adventures with Corvairs. We planned an econo-run to Las Vegas.
Twenty-one Years Ago
September 1981
Volume 7 Number 9
The friendly CNM dragon hitched a ride to Denver for the convention. (Some say
this was the best CORSA convention ever.) We sold CNM license plates for $2.75.
Bill Reider proposed that CNM should be incorporated. We saw films comparing
the '65 Mustang and the '66 Corvette to the Corvair. LeRoy Rogers and Sylvan
Zuercher contributed articles on the Denver convention. Our recent econo-run to
the Very Large Array near Magdalena was a big success; Richard Twilley's 1963
Monza got 39.8 MPG and Jim Pittman's 1966 Corsa got 33.7 MPG.
Twenty-eight Years Ago
September 1974
Events at CNM's seventh meeting have long ago faded into legend.
Cool Vair Affair Report
Mark Domzalski
The Rampside was down for engine repairs so it was either take the "rice wagon"
or the P-F Flyer. Being a CORSA official, I thought it would be in keeping with
protocol and tradition to load up the P-F Flyer and "make haste" for Flagstaff.
So, the morning of June 24 I set off alone (Elizabeth being away on a business
trip to Ft. Lauderdale) in a westerly direction.
The trip was largely uneventful except that the Flyer developed its own cruise
control about 100 miles from Flagstaff. Coincident with the new cruise control
was a terrible noise something like running your Skil saw through boards with
hidden nails. Slow down a little and the noise goes away. Okay, go slower But
the Flyer doesn't want to go slower. More on this later.
Anyway, arrival in Flagstaff occurred safely and under 5 hours from departure
even with "noise abatement" stops. Okay, how about an early check-in since I
drove through 200 miles of Arizona forest fire smoke. Oops. Arizona doesn't
observe daylight savings time and I'm an extra hour early.
Well, I noodled around and took a stroll around Little America and visited
(albeit at a respectable, odor safe distance) with other early arrivals. It is
interesting to note that the first time I stayed at Little America was in 1974.
The grounds are much more mature, and the management has done an excellent job
keeping the property in show condition.
After checking in and cleaning up, I was off to my first CORSA obligation. A
social for incoming and outgoing officials was held in the hospitality room. I
can honestly say that it was a great feeling being a "has-been" at the social.
Standing around and passing out advice without concern of political and
organizational repercussions is really quite fun.
Tuesday morning, Frank Dotson and I presented a bid to the Board of Directors
for a 2005 CORSA International Convention in Portland, Oregon. The bid was well
received, but there is a point of order regarding the CORSA By-Laws that
require a Chapter to submit a bid. The BoD is looking into a change to the
By-Laws that will allow CORSA as an organization to put on a convention, but
that is not going to be ready for at least a few months. The potential host
hotel in Portland would like an agreement with CORSA to lock the dates in 2005
sometime in mid August. Frank and I and others are working to see if we can
resolve this. In the mean time, a chapter in Los Angeles has indicated that
they will also make a bid for 2005. More will be reported as new information is
received.
Tuesday afternoon, it was time to tear into the P-F Flyer to fix the new cruise
control mechanism. Some of you have had this problem in the past, some have
not. The axle for the engine fan bearing is a press/interference fit into the
engine top cover. Sometime in the life of these components after heat cycles
and vibration, that axle decides it's time to move. And move it does. The only
direction for the axle to move is up. The only limit in travel is the cross
tube on a Turbo and the throttle cross-shaft on a normally carbureted engine.
On a Turbo, a small block of wood wedged between the cross-tube and the bearing
axle can solve your problem for a long time. On a 140, a hammer and drift to
move the bearing down is about the only reasonable option prior to repair.
Anyway, the bearing worked its way up to provide me a 65 mph cruise control
between stops to tap it back down. It's not all that bad on the highway, but
the open throttle rise in RPM when pushing the clutch pedal is disconcerting,
and shutting off the engine using the brake is probably not optimum.
It is interesting to note that the sound the magnesium fan makes against the
underside of the "turkey roaster" is really annoying. And, magnesium does not
stand up to steel at all. Disassembly revealed a beautifully contoured cut
conforming to the profile under the "roaster". A few light taps from the inside
of the engine top cover and the blower bearing was in my hand. Clean up
revealed no cracks in the top cover, so off I went to the Corvair vendors for a
new bearing with shaft (aluminum hub), gaskets, fan, road tube (Yep, a 140 with
a road tube), a new set of sparkplug wires, new distributor cap and rotor, new
carb gaskets.
Reassembly would require getting the new bearing installed into the top cover.
Fortunately, while I was disassembling, our good friend and Boydston Award
recipient, Steve Goodman walked by and partook in the supervision/problem
solving session. With him was Harlan Colburn Sr. It turned out that Harlan Sr.
was towing Jr.'s race trailer behind his RV. In the trailer was an essentially
full shop. I turned the clean top cover and new bearing over to Steve who
volunteered to make the repair in Harlan's trailer/shop. Jerry Goffe, who had
also partaken in the supervisory conference, ran an errand later in the day and
two key components for the solution to my problem. Since there was no rush,
Thursday evening, Steve handed me my top cover with bearing installed (housing
was torch heated and the axle pressed to eliminate galling) with the addition
of two nicely installed set screws (provided by Goffe) to ensure that the axle
shaft would stay in position for another 34 years
Temporarily back to Wednesday. Over the past few years, I have announced
Concours at the request of co-chairs Bob Norwalk and Ray Fallot. We had 33 cars
in Concours competition and another 90 or so in the People's Choice Car Show.
With about 1/3 of last year's Concours entrants, we finished at Noon after
starting at 9:00am. So the rest of the afternoon was open to examine the cars
on display and make notes about cool stuff for implementation on my Corvairs.
Back to Thursday and reassembly. With all of the parts, clean and ready, I
started reassembly about 4:45 pm. With a 5:30 commitment, I figured I would
work as long as I could and go to my meeting and probably start again in the
morning. I got started and who should appear, but Tarmo, Jerry, Steve Goodman
and a host of others. With all of the supervision, I was in good shape again.
When it was time for me to go to my meeting, the tools magically migrated to
the supervisory crew and work continued in my absence. When I got back an hour
or so later, very little remained to finish the job. Subsequent starting of the
engine revealed a somewhat erratic idle and what seemed like a vacuum problem.
Removal of the connector hoses between the balance tube and the carb mounts on
the heads identified the problem. The 34-year-old hoses were in really sad
shape. Running into the vendor area before they shut down for the evening
revealed that no one had brought those nice little viton balance tube hoses
Well, shut down for the evening and enjoy the company of other Corvair
enthusiasts.
Friday morning, Jerry Goffe gave me a ride to the closest parts store where I
bought one foot of the appropriate size hose to make the two balance tube
hoses. Once back at the P-F Flyer, hoses were made and installed. Startup
showed a much more responsive vacuum gauge in the instrument panel and the idle
improved greatly. A test drive was fine so the repair was successful.
Once driveable I was off to observe the Autocross. The site was a large parking
lot on the Northern Arizona University campus adjacent to the Walkup Skydome.
It was also easy walking distance to the housing I lived in on campus 25 years
ago. Anyway, the paddock area was full of common and exotic Corvairs and
Corvair powered racers. While there I watched the fastest run of the day along
with several other really fast cars. The participants and observers were
enjoying the fine weather, area and competition. After a couple of hours, I met
up with an old college friend and escaped to a local brewpub for some
reminiscing. Back at Little America later, it was time for meetings.
Corvanatics, Air Vairs and others filled the evening.
Saturday was an easy day since I didn't participate in the EconoRun. Several of
our CNM folks departed rather than put themselves through the annual banquet
ordeal. The banquet was held in the Rolle Activity Center on the south academic
campus of NAU. Just down the street from the Autocross, back in my "old
neighborhood." Through my local contacts in Flagstaff, I had learned, prior to
the convention, that the Rolle Activity Center had been shut down for some time
prior to us arriving in town. It turned out that they had a bat problem. Not
just a little bat problem. A renowned bat expert had, over a three or four week
period, trapped out and relocated over 11,000 bats from the building in which
we had dinner. Not to worry, the building had received a clean bill of health
and not one bat, or evidence of a bat, was observed during our repast.
Of course the highlights of the banquet were the "big three" awards. The
Mitchell Award, for the highest scoring Concours Corvair, went to a car which
was trailered to the convention. So realizing that there is a one-point penalty
for not driving, the 98.93 out of 100.00 is impressive. Considering that a
large team of judges worked over the car, it would be interesting to find out
where the 0.07-point deduction was assessed. Check out your next Communique for
pictures and details. The Yenko Award was won, once again, by Warren LeVeque in
his spiffy little Corvair powered racecar. And, finally, the Cole Award was won
by an individual for the second time. The first time was 23 or 24 years ago in
THE SAME CAR. Past CORSA Pres and fellow Soutwesterner Herb Berkman took home
the trophy and the punch set. Wow!!!!
So, Sunday morning, I was up early for the solo cruise home. I was packed,
gassed and was on the road at 7:30 Albuquerque time. With one gas stop in
Gallup, I was unpacking the P-F Flyer at 12:30.
So what, you may ask, is this P-F Flyer. Well, some or most of you know that
Elizabeth and I have adopted Jim Pittman's 1966 Corsa Coupe. Being the second
owners of this historically significant car is a privilege for me. The engine
in the car was built for long life and performance by a couple of desert racers
in 1968 and documented. Pittman and Finch, yes, our own Richard Finch, did an
admirable job that has withstood the test of time and miles on the yellow Corsa
Coupe that seems (to me anyway) to fly. Yup, christened at the Domzalski Ranch
for Corvairs, the P-F Flyer.
This is not the end. As I start to refresh the P-F Flyer, I'm sure that I will
be obliged to report the progress to our editor who in turn will likely make it
available for your review as well. So, until the next installment, see you at
the next meeting!
Why the English language is so hard to learn:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was
time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a ! row among the oarsmen about how to
row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to
sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There's no egg in eggplant, nor
ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't
invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while
sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.
We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that
quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither
from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't
fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One
goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem
crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds
and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers
taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what
does a humanitarian eat?
Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for
the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a
recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet
that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise
man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can
burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in
which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity
of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when
the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are
invisible.
(Source - where else? - the Internet)
* * * * * * * * * * * * FOR SALE, TRADE OR WANTED * * * * * * * * * * * * *
FOR SALE: 1995 Caravan Voyager. 70,000 miles. Mechanic's special (it has a bad
transmission).
Asking $800.00
Call Steve at 256-0551
FOR SALE: Two tire chains for 13" wheels. Best offer.
Larry Blair 821-1386
FOR SALE: 1960 Monza coupe. Needs ground up restoration. Automatic, Radio, gas
heater. Powder coated engine shrouding. Full set of '60 Monza wheel
covers. Extra front & rear suspension, with less than 27000 miles on
them. Assembly & Shop Manuals for the 60 Corvair. Extra gas heater
parts.
$550
Call Bill Reider at 299-4597
FOR SALE: RB block with freshly ground crank .010, .010 with distributor gear,
eccentric for fuel pump, spacer, and slinger. Clevite 77 bearings
rod & main .010, .010, has 891 cam. Will install bell housing with
new seal for either automatic or standard. Block ready to install
pistons and jugs.
$400
For Sale: Six cylinder jugs bored to .030, one new TRW forged piston and five
used TRW forged piston mounded on rods. Jugs need to be honed. All
pistons are .030 oversize, includes one set of .030 chrome rings.
$300
For Sale: Used Clarks aluminum oil pan five quart. In good shape and will
include new oil pan gasket.
$50
For Sale: Two 110 heads with valve job. Heads have been cc'ed. Comes with
copper head gaskets.
$400
For Sale: One Dale rebuilt Harmonic Balancer: $100
Call Bill Reider at 299-4597
Parts For Sale:
Black Clark's carpet for late coupe: $90
Padded dash Clarks 65-66 installed on metal support, black: $140
Black headliner Clarks late model coupe: $60
Late model 3.55 automatic differential: $75
One complete set of Corvair Underground late model fuzzies: $50
One NOS late model front bumper: $175
One rebuilt idler pulley w/new bearing: $40
One new blower bearing 65-69 installed in hub: $45
Call Bill Reider 299-4597
* * * * * CNM ADS ARE FREE TO CNM MEMBERS, $5.00 TO NON-CNM MEMBERS * * * * *
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