The January 2016 newsletter - Text Version Updated 24-Sep-2016 ==== Copyright (c) 2016 Corvairs of New Mexico ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ JANUARY 2016 / VOLUME 42 / NUMBER 1 / ISSUE #484 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2005 Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, Third Place, 2010 Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2012 EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 at 7:00 PM North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE THIS MONTH: Mechanically Un-inclined ........................... Ray Trujillo Dues Due ................................... Membership Committee December Meeting Minutes (No Board Meeting) ....... Anne Mae Gold Celebracion Navidena .............................. Anne Mae Gold Christmas Party ..................................... Jim Pittman Door Prize: Ollie Scheflow ........... Christmas Dinner Committee Which Clip is the Right Clip? .............. Bob Helt VEGAS VAIRS A January Poem ....................... Contributed by Vickie Hall Interesting Facts From a Century Ago (1902) ........ Dick Charest Loose Light Sockets II .............................. Mark Dierks Do Not Use RTV as Gasket for Oil Pan .............. David Huntoon A Tale of Two Lakewoods ............................. Robert Gold Treasury Report ..................................... Robert Gold A "Saintly" Ride .................................... Robert Gold My Detroit Connection (1966 Corvair Corsa turbo) .... Jim Pittman Calendar of Coming Events .................... Board of Directors Birthdays & Anniversaries .................... Sunshine Committee Roster of Club Members December 2015 ....... Membership Committee January Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ...... Club Historian COVER: No, this is not THE red Lakewood but maybe one just as nice. Photographer Rita and President Ray at our 2016 Christmas Party. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS President: Ray Trujillo 505-814-8373 ray bpsabq.com Vice President: John Wiker 505-899-3076 wikerj63 yahoo.com Secretary: Anne Mae Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com Car Council: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 msn.com Merchandise: Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall q.com Membership: Larry Yoffee 505-321-5909 corsa180 gmail.com Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp unm.edu Old Route 66: Lube Lubert 505-256-9331 williamlubert gmail.com Past President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall q.com Past President: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com Past Vice-Pres: Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo juno.com MEETINGS: First Wednesday of each Month at 7:00 PM North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE INTERNET: CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 Larry Yoffee's home page: http://www.corsaturbo180usa.com/ New Mexico Council of Car Clubs: http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 DUES DUE DATES JANUARY 2016 EXPIRED ============================== INACTIVE DATE 2015.01 Darlene & William Darcy 25-Feb-2015 2015.02 Frank Stadler 25-Mar-2105 2015.08 Linda & Anthony Berbig 25-SEP-2015 2015.09 Leslie & Kevin Sullivan 25-OCT-2015 2015.09 Lisa & Dan Thompson 25-OCT-2015 DUE LAST MONTH ======================= INACTIVE DATE 2015.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2016 2015.12 Mark L Morgan 25-JAN-2016 DUE THIS MONTH ======================= INACTIVE DATE 2016.01 Anne Mae & Robert Gold 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Sarah & Terry Price 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Nancy & Russ McDuffie 25-FEB-2016 DUE NEXT MONTH ======================= INACTIVE DATE 2016.02 (NONE) 25-MAR-2016 DUE MARCH 2016 ======================= INACTIVE DATE 2016.03 Mary Ellen & David Feasel 25-APR-2016 2016.03 Carl Johnson 25-APR-2016 Send your Dues to: CNM Treasurer c/o Robert Gold 1301 Valencia NE Albuquerque, NM 87110 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. On 19-Dec-2015 we had 42 active family memberships. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mechanically Un-inclined Ray Trujillo Happy New Year everyone! On December 5th CNM held its annual Christmas party at the Quarters Restaurant and we had a nice turnout and as usual everyone had a good time. A big thank you to John Wiker for being the master of ceremonies and keeping the party moving along with some joyous Christmas carols to sing. The barbecue food was great and the staff at the Quarters was very attentive. Thank you to Heula and Jim Pittman for making a delicious and beautifully decorated red velvet cake for our after-dinner dessert. Also thank you to all CNM members for their school supply donations. CNM will be donating these items to a couple of needy South Valley elementary schools. CNM also extends its gratitude to John and Anne Wiker for coordinating this donation drive on our club's behalf. In last month's article I mentioned that I was having double knee surgery and wasn't sure if Sylvia and I were going to make it to the Christmas party. I was really looking forward to being there and I'm happy I was able to attend even if it was for a short while. It was really good medicine for me as many of you came and wished me well. Anyway, I'm doing good and my recovery is coming along smoothly. If everything keeps improving at this pace I'll be at the next membership meeting. I hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season and now that we've completed another year it's time to get into 2016. Our first club activity for this year will be a club breakfast at Sergio's on Saturday January 9th at 9:30am. Sergio's is located at 2740 Wyoming NE and comes highly recommended by Steve and Rita Gongora. If you'd like to attend please sign up at our next meeting. For our February club activity we're hoping to get a tour set up the Unser Museum. We have no date or time set yet but as soon as we do you'll be updated. In March, CNM will hold its anniversary dinner and if anyone has in mind any restaurants that would accommodate our group then please let us know. That's about all the club news I have for now. As always if you have any activity suggestions that you'd like to propose please don't hesitate to let us know. Well, since our club news is a little light at this time of year it gives me an opportunity to tell you about a very recent happening involving my Corvair. As most of you know, when you're out and about driving your Corvair there's always someone who stops and tells you about having a Corvair back in the day. Well it was a beautiful fall Saturday afternoon and I'm driving my 1965 Corsa convertible with the top down. I'm stopped at the intersection of Central and Rio Grande when this older couple visiting Old Town are crossing the street when they happened to see my Corvair . The two are so excited about seeing my Corvair that they ask if I could pull over so they can really look at the car up close. I agree since there's really no place that I have to get to, I'm just basically out cruising the afternoon away anyway. So I pull into the Walgreens parking lot and we introduce ourselves and they tell me they are vacationing here for their 45th wedding anniversary. The reason they are so excited to see my Corvair is, it's exactly the kind of car they had when they first started dating. The lady tells me she couldn't believe seeing my Corvair was just a lucky coincidence and asks her husband if he had something to do with it. He assures her that he is just as surprised as she is to see the Corvair. Anyway, I then ask them if they'd like to go for a ride and they both say they don't want to take up any more my of time. I tell them it's no bother and besides, what are the chances this could ever happen again. They both then agree to the ride offer and before you know it we're off cruising north on Rio Grande boulevard to the absolutely beautiful north valley. As many of you know, this drive is always gorgeous no matter what time of year but in the fall it's truly spectacular. I took them on a about a half hour drive and when I dropped them off back in Old Town they couldn't tell me enough how nice it was to go back in time in their "old favorite classic" as they called it. The bonus was that we drove on such a wonderfully scenic road. The couple was so happy about the experience that they offered to pay me but I declined as that would just ruin the good feeling it gave me to just do it. I know many of you have had this kind of experience with your Corvair and I believe it's one of the many reasons it's so awesome to be a Corvair enthusiast. Well I guess that's enough said for now so I'll see you at the next club meeting, so be safe and have a Happy New Year! -- Ray ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ December Meeting Minutes - 2015.12.02 Anne Mae Gold Called to order at 7:04 Minutes were approved but there was one correction: Bill Reider served in Korea... not Vietnam as mentioned in Robert Gold's article. Officer Reports President: Ray is recuperating from knee surgery. He has started physical therapy. VP: John recognized visitors: Victor & Belinda Sanchez of Rio Rancho who have a 1962 Corvair sedan with automatic. "It runs!" We hope Victor and Belinda will be joining our club. John said for tonight's tech talk we will be using our cell phones to call members who are MIA from the Christmas sign-up list. John received a $100 check from the Kiwanis Club to go toward school supplies. Secretary: Anne Mae had nothing new. Treasurer: Robert reported $5,124.48 in the bank. Committee Chair Reports Membership: Larry had nothing new to report. He has submitted the application for us to continue meeting at Domingo Baca for 2016 and we have been approved. Curiously, David said someone from Domingo Baca called him to ask if we wanted to continue our schedule and he assured them that yes we did. Editor: Jim said the newsletter deadline is a week early, Friday, December 18. Jim brought up the question about including members' names and contact information in the newsletter and on the web page. A vote was taken and the membership decided to keep the membership names and information as they have been. Brian Blackwell, who runs the CORSA computer system, sent an email to chapter contacts. He listed 44 CORSA chapters that had not sent in their $35 annual membership fee. CNM is paid up. Only 78 Chapters nationwide have paid up. Car Council: Robert reported that at long last the Car Council email domain has been set up. If you want to, you can now send Robert information at website@nmcarcouncil.com Merchandise: Vickie said she is taking orders for T-shirts. She informed Victor and Belinda of the club merchandise she has for sale. Larry also talked about the T-shirt orders. Tri-State: Terry is still pursuing information for the 2017 Tri-State. Taos is still the most likely choice but Terry has not completely given up on Pagosa Springs or Las Vegas. Dave Huntoon has a pamphlet from Pagosa Springs that has good information that he will pass along. Upcoming Events December 5th - Christmas Party at Quarters Restaurant at 3:00 p.m. Please bring your school supplies donations for elementary schools. Heula will be providing a cake for the Christmas dinner. January - a Club breakfast needs to be organized. February - John Wiker will arrange a club garage tour to the Unser Museum. March - Our 42nd Anniversary Dinner needs to be organized. We also need nominations for the 2016 Ike Meissner Award. Larry suggested that everyone submit interesting or funny or any other kind of Corvair stories under the "Corvairiations" category. The 50/50 raffle was won by Lube. The pot was $14.00. Adjourned at 8:11 p.m. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOTE: Board meeting Cancelled This Month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celebracion Navidena Anne Mae Gold Todos los anos al principio de diciembre nuestro club celebra con una comida especial. Este ano nos reunimos el sabado, 5 de diciembre en el restaurante Quarters. Casi treinta miembros se juntaron para celebrar, cantar villancicos, hablar, y comer. Nos alocaron un cuarto separado muy comodo donde pudimos cantar y hablar con gusto. La comida fue abundante y deliciosa. Nadie volvio a casa con hambre, y mucho se llevaron cajitas con comida para otro dia. Aunque San Nicolas no llego, los miembros del club trajeron utiles escolares que John Wiker va a donar a APS para los ninos que necesiten materiales nuevos. Ya saben como somos los maestros... damos mucho trabajo! Nuestro presidente, Ray Trujillo, llego a la celebracion estrenando sus dos rodillas nuevas! Felices Pascuas Navidenas a todos! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHRISTMAS PARTY Jim Pittman Several Corvairs were on display at or before 3:00 PM at the Quarters Restaurant on Wyoming. The weather was a little breezy but really pleasant. John Wiker's yellow 1966 Monza coupe had the trunk lid up for the collections for elementary schools that members brought. Inside, a cosy room isolated us from the sounds of other diners in other parts of the restaurant. We had cheerful visits with each set of arrivals as we wondered who would show up next. When the food arrived we found ourselves in barbecue heaven so to speak. As we have done for a few years now, we drew tickets to win a year's dues to the club and the winner was none other than --- Ollie Scheflow! Thanks to John Wiker for putting this Christmas party together and thanks to John and Anne for collecting the donated school supplies. Some of us left the restaurant in bright sunlight and arrived home before dark! Later I asked Anne Mae to write her report in her native Spanish and she did! What a great end to a great day with our Corvair Family and Special Friends! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As we have done before, we had a door prize drawing for a year's dues. After a couple of false starts, the winning ticket belonged to Ollie Scheflow, a long-time member who was able to attend the Christmas Dinner along with Mary Alice and daughter Tibi. The three of them will be welcome at all future club events! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Which Clip Is The Right Clip? Bob Helt After fifty years of working on Corvairs, I thought that I had seen it all. But a friend showed me a new problem. He brought over a LM Corvair with a rough idle. Checking the idle speed and mixture gave somewhat mixed results and showed nothing conclusive. Then I noticed that even though the engine was fully warmed up the two chokes were still slightly closed and causing the fast idle cam to engage the idle speed. There was the problem. But why? A closer inspection found that the wrong clip holding the choke rod into the choke lever arm was installed -- on both carburetors. This photo shows how the wrong clip contacts the choke lever arm preventing it from opening completely. The photo was taken with the choke mostly closed. Notice that the top part of the clip is contacting the choke arm. Now when the choke rod is pulled down as the engine warms up, the choke arm will rotate clockwise in this view and the top of the clip will hit the arm and prevent full movement of the choke arm keeping the choke partially closed. These photos show the two types of clips. The upper clip is the wrong one. The lower clip is the correct one. This photo shows the correct installation of the clip. Reprinted from: October 2015 Vegas Vairs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A January Poem T'was the month after Christmas, When all through the house, Nothing would fit me, Not even a blouse! The cookies I'd nibble, The eggnog I'd taste... At the holiday parties, Had gone to my waist! I remember the marvelous Meals we'd prepare, The gravies and sauces, The beef "nicely rare." The wine and the rum balls, The bread and the cheese, And the way that I NEVER said, "No, thank you, please." As I dressed myself up In my husband's old shirt, And prepared once again To do battle with dirt, I said to myself (as only I can), "You can't spend this winter Disguised as a MAN!" So -- away with the last Of the sour cream dip, Get rid of the fruit cake, Each cracker and chip! Every last bit of food That I like must be banished, Til all the additional Ounces have vanished! I won't have a cookie, Not even a lick! I only will chew, On a celery stick! I won't have hot biscuits, Or corn bread or pie, I'll munch on a carrot, And quietly cry. I'm hungry, I'm lonesome And life is a bore! But isn't that what January is for? Unable to giggle, No longer a riot, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DIET! Contributed by Vickie Hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Interesting Facts From a Century Ago (1902) Sent in by Dick Charest The average life expectancy in the U.S. was 47 years. Only 14 Percent of the homes in the U.S. had a bathtub. Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. A three-minute call from Denver to New York City cost $11. There were only 8,000 cars in the U.S., and only 144 miles of paved roads, and no Corvairs. The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. The average wage in the U.S. was 22 cents an hour. The average U.S. worker made between $200 and $400 per year. More than 95 percent of all births in the U.S. took place at home. The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30. Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented. One in ten U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school. Now, just imagine what our great, great, great grandkids will be saying about us in 2102. Contributed by Vickie Hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Loose Light Sockets II by Mark Dierks Have you read the Tech Tip concerning loose light sockets published in the December Vair Heels? I've been there, done that, and it worked, for a while. I still had problems on occasion and wasn't satisfied with the results. Upon further investigation, I discovered that although the bayonet sleeve stayed in the plastic housing better, often times one bulb filament "button" didn't make reliable connection to the leaf spring contacts in the socket base. After fooling around with the spring contacts for a while I discovered that inserting the bulb flattened the springs to the point where they failed to contact the bulb base when it was seated. Oh yes, I tried re-arching the springs and that didn't work. The solution turned out to be so simple. I removed the bayonet sleeve and filed down the bayonet "hump" the bulb tangs go over to seat in the socket. The purpose of these humps is to prevent the bulb from turning and from coming out of the socket. I removed about 70% of the height of the humps and found the bulb easier to insert or remove and it is still securely held in the socket. Further more, I have had no more tail light trouble in over two years! This coupled with the twisting of the barbed pins and re-arching the contact springs should solve your light troubles forever. The process takes about 10 minutes per socket. I used a pointed jeweler's file to remove material from the humps. You can get one from most flea markets, Sears, or a hardware supply. You'll sleep better! Forwarded by Vickie Hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEXT PAGE: * Please don't use RTV as a gasket for your oil pan. If you do, you'll get something like this, with little globs of RTV circulating through your oil. Middle photo: it cleaned up nicely. -- David Huntoon * Some of the parts at the 2016 Great Fan Belt Toss in California. * A one-of-a-kind amphibious Corvair pickup? * Ducted cooling fan, oil-bath air filter. * Mark Morgan drives his TR-8 in a Missouri autocross. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A Tale of Two Lakewoods Robert Gold In the beginning there were two 1961 Corvair Lakewoods. One was a white family hauler outfitted with a 1964 suspension. It was conceived and built by the legendary CNM member George Morin -- who unfortunately deserted Corvairs for Corvettes. In celebration of the Lakewood my wife later named it "Eyore" and Eyore made the whole family smile. The other was a hot red one, conceived and built by a collector in Dallas, TEXAS. He made it a show stopper with pinstripping, a custom luggage rack, a 1964 suspension and a specially built 110 engine. He dubbed it "Radio Flyer" and campaigned it in car shows and won lots of trophies. Enter yours truly. Like many Corvair guys I wanted every nice Corvair ever built. With that in mind, I tracked down and grabbed that lovely white Lakewood and made it a daily driver that my lovely wife used to drive our elementary school-aged kids wherever they needed to go. This white car was loyal, durable and dependable. Life at my place was grand. Then there was the red Lakewood. It wasn't built for family hauling, going to the store, or much of anything on a daily basis. But I WANTED it. Whenever I saw it my eyes widened and I was transported to that mythical place where it didn't matter if I didn't drive it much. It defined happiness to me. Cold-hearted, I tore poor Eyore away from my family and banished it from our home in a trade for that red beauty. I dubbed my new love "Radio" and put it away in our garage. I secretly visited Radio to marvel on her beauty. But I was living a lie. My lovely wife, unbenownst to me, harbored evil thoughts about the trade. Our relationship changed. She became distant and my kids stopped looking me in the eye. I was living in a fool's paradise. I did wonder why my daughter was now drawn to reality TV and its trashy talk and trashy people. My son began to have trouble in college. He even talked about becoming a Cubs fan! In short, the family was drifting apart, but whenever I felt bad I sat in Radio and the world was ok again. Like any story of pain and woe, there came the moment of truth. Eyore, who had gone on to a life of hard labor and fading paint, called me and said she could come home if I would simply offer up my white 1964 Monza convertible in trade. It was then the curtain was drawn away from my eyes. I realized the error of my ways. Like Robert Redford in "The Natural" I had been lured to the dark side. This was my chance to make up for my folly. All I had to do was trade my 1964 Monza convertible and Eyore would again be ours. I made the trade. My daughter started watching only the National Geographic channel. My son's grades started to improve. We were a real family again. Unfortunately, I'm still drawn to the dark side. On quiet nights I steal away to the garage and visit Radio. Maybe I need to find a new home for her? Anyone interested in an extremely attractive red Lakewood? -- Robert Gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TREASURY REPORT ............. 11-19-2015 to 12-16-2015 ............. ROBERT GOLD DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $5,135.73 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= 2015.11.20 2218 -$ 11.25 NM Corporations Commission Nonprofit Fee -$ 11.25 2015.12.03 2220 -$ 28.19 H.Pittman DEC 2015 Newsletter_Printing -$ 28.19 2015.12.04 2221 -$ 100.00 J.Wiker Christmas Kiwanis -$ 100.00 2015.12.07 2223 -$ 671.84 The Quarters Christmas Dinner -$ 671.84 2015.12.16 +$ 614.00 Deposit Christmas Dinner $ 494.00 2015.12.16 +$ Dues M.Domzalski 26 m CNM $ 50.00 2015.12.16 +$ Dues L.Yoffee 12 m CNM & CORSA $ 70.00 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= 2015.12.16 ********************** ENDING BALANCE ********************* $4,938.45 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I am proposing a feature for our newsletter called "CorVairiations from the Norm" and I am encouraging our members to contribute. Tell us your adventures while owning and driving a Corvair. They don't have to be horror stories, just fit with the title of the by-line. Please contribute so we'll have a story every month. -- Larry Yoffee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A "Saintly" Ride Robert Gold My Corvair-related story happened a number of years ago. I was in my first decade of Corvair ownership. I would visit "Saint Francis of Corvair" to buy parts and hear Francis' stories. Those of you who didn't know Francis Boyston have missed quite a treat. As it happened, I was at a Circle K near Francis' place filling my 1965 vert with cheap gas. As I began to leave I heard a loud pop and the clutch pedal hit the floor. Darn! The clutch cable had broken. What to do? It then occurred to me that I was near Francis' place. Not only that, I was UPHILL from him. In a stroke of brilliance I opened the door and started pushing the car with my leg. The car began rolling and after a couple of turns I coasted into Francis' driveway. As luck would have it Francis was there to watch the end of my ride. He had a big smile on his face. I'd like to end this story by telling you that Francis fixed my problem and I went on my way. Alas, he didn't have a cable in stock, but he kindly drove me home. He had my car ready to drive the next week. Francis may be gone, but my wild ride still makes me smile. -- Robert Gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To: Ken Pepke, Editor, THE AIRCOOLER From: Jim Pittman, Editor, CORVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter Hi Ken, You asked for articles on our cars. I'm not a member of your chapter, but I read your newsletter. Here's the story of my Detroit connection when I got my first Corvair -- the only Corvair that was brand new when I bought it. I was in the Air Force stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio in 1965. I owned a 1965 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk III purchased on a visit to Europe. I was active in the "sports car" scene in southwestern Ohio, mostly participating in sports car rallies. I had the opportunity for a tour of duty at Fort Wainwright, Fairbanks, Alaska. I did not think the Healey would be a good car to take to Alaska for four years. I looked for a different car. I looked at cars that I thought would work in Alaska. At first I focused on a new 122 Volvo or a used P-1800-S Volvo. As for American cars, I thought a 1966 Valant with V-8 and 4-speed would be good. For some reason I never considered a Mustang. I had seen quite a few Corvairs in Ohio sports car rallies and I knew at least four people who owned 1964 Spyders. They all loved them. My first trip to northern Michigan was with a friend who had a new 1964 Spyder coupe. I thought the Corvair would be more of a "sports car" with its rear air-cooled engine (no antifreeze) and it was a Chevrolet -- should be able to get it worked on anywhere in the country including Alaska. I found an auto broker who specialized in providing new cars to servicemen returning from overseas tours and ordered a 1966 Corsa coupe with 4-speed, special suspension, tinted glass, special steering, positraction, heavy duty battery, 180 HP turbocharged engine. On Friday May 20, 1966 I got a phone call from Detroit -- my new car was ready for delivery. My friend Carl offered to drive me to Detroit to pick up the car. I asked my boss for the rest of the day off. Carl was from Chicago and was a true Chevrolet enthusiast and a natural mechanic. He had just traded a beautiful black 1965 Impala SS for a 1966 Corvette. He was nearly as excited to see a new turbo Corvair as I was. We drove his Corvette to Detroit to Paul McGlone Chevrolet. I signed all the paperwork and we headed back to Dayton, taking turns driving the Corvette and the new Corvair. My very first impression of the Corvair was that it was a far superior car to the temperamental, noisy, hard-riding two-seater Austin-Healey. I guess my first impression was pretty accurate because I owned the Healey for only a year but kept that Corvair for 36 years, and between 1966 and 1995 bought six other Corvairs -- used. In 2015 I am down to owning only one Corvair. I am the third owner of a 1965 Monza that I bought in 1988. The Corvair made the trip up the Alaska Highway okay and survived the winter after a few "winterization" mods. It survived the 5,000-mile drive to New Mexico when I was assigned to Holloman AFB, and it taught me how to "slalom" or autocross. In 1968, tired of the quirks of the turbo engine, I was able to conduct a complete engine rebuild with Richard Finch. The new slightly modified and "blueprinted" 140-HP engine took me and the car up to about 150,000 miles before I finally felt the need to retire it. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ============================================================================ | January 2016 | February 2016 | March 2016 | | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | | 1 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | 1 2 3 4 5 | | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 28 29 | 27 28 29 30 31 | | 31 | | | ============================================================================ WED 06 JAN 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER, at Wyoming & Carmel, north of Wyoming & Paseo del Norte NE. After the meeting, we may go to "JASON'S DELI" at 5920 Holly Ave. NE. SAT 09 JAN 9:30 AM Club Breakfast: SERGIO'S at 2740 Wyoming NE WED 20 JAN 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE FRI 22 JAN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for February 2016 newsletter WED 27 JAN 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE ============================================================================ WED 03 FEB 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER XXX xx FEB ....... Garage Tour to UNSER MUSEUM 1776 Montano Rd NW 505-341-1776 WED 17 FEB 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE FRI 19 FEB 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2016 newsletter WED 24 FEB 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE ============================================================================ WED 02 MAR 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER XXX xx MAR ....... Our 42nd Anniversary Celebration -- Volunteers Needed! WED 16 MAR 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE WED 23 MAR 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE ============================================================================ 2016-JUN-03 Tri-State == Montrose, Colorado - Sponsor Pikes Peak Corvair Club 2016-JUN-04 Tri-State == the Holiday Inn Express has been confirmed 2016-JUN-05 Tri-State == Stay tuned for phone numbers, T-shirts, other details More information == http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter809/ ============================================================================ 2017-JUN-02 Tri-State == Sponsored by Corvairs of New Mexico. Location not final 2017-JUN-03 Tri-State == Taos, Las Vegas and Pagosa Springs have been contacted 2017-JUN-04 Tri-State == Stay tuned for phone numbers, T-shirts, other details ============================================================================ See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities ======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ====================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ January Birthdays: Javier Gold Steve Gongora Carolyn Palmer LeRoy Rogers January Wedding anniversaries Nancy & Russ McDuffie Vickie & Pat Hall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ================== CORVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO === MEMBER LIST === 21 DECEMBER 2015 ========================= =================================================================================================================== CNM_DUE_DATE NAME EMAIL PHONE CITY STATE =================================================================================================================== 2018.01 Connie & Floyde ADAMS floydeadams gmail.com 575-536-3131 MIMBRES NM 2016.10 Debra & Jon ANDERSON jbanderson65 hotmail.com 719-572-6747 COLORADO SPRINGS CO 2017.06 Kathy & Larry BLAIR blairylar hotmail.com 505-821-1386 505-249-1035 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2099.12 Ruth BOYDSTON sg730 comcast.net 505-401-7970=cell ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.11 Linda & Dick COCHRAN email unknown 505-287-8403 GRANTS NM 2016.04 Deborah & John DINSDALE john_dinsdale adp.com 303-341-2327 AURORA CO 2016.11 Elizabeth & Mark DOMZALSKI mdomzalski aol.com 505-867-0030 PLACITAS NM 2016.09 Fred & Brenda EDESKUTY fred totavimotors.com 575-829-3889 JEMEZ SPRINGS NM 2016.03 Mary Ellen David FEASEL d2corvair yahoo.com 719-494-1456 PEYTON CO 2017.08 Kathryn, Douglas GADOMSKI gadomski unm.edu 505-265-8345 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.01 Anne Mae, Robert GOLD beisbol30 msn.com 505-268-6878 505-450-3098 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.04 Art GOLD rollerart gmail.com 505-620-7434 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.08 Alan GOLD alanmgold sbcglobal.net 505-268-6878 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2017.09 Rita & Steve GONGORA stevegongora houseofcovers.com 505-292-5570 256-0551 220-7401 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2017.08 Vickie & Pat HALL patandvickiehall q.com 505-865-5574 505-620-5574=P 505-917-3745=V LOS LUNAS NM 2016.11 Cheryl & Edward HALPIN halpinem comcast.net 303-619-0080 CASTLE ROCK CO 2017.07 Carol & Larry HAYNES lhaynes99 gmail.com 505-670-3949 SANTA FE NM 2015.12 David HUNTOON corvair66 aol.com 505-281-9616 CEDAR CREST NM 2016.03 Carl B JOHNSON email unknown 505-344-3178 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.12 Janet & Steve JOHNSON steven.johnson flybode.com 505-864-6278 BELEN NM 2017.02 Barbara & Gordon JOHNSON gjohnson unm.edu 505-898-7688 CORRALES NM 2017.01 H. C. "Lube" LUBERT email unknown 505-256-9331 505-400-3680=cell ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.10 Mary Lou & Mark MARTINEK mjmartinek juno.com 360-896-3807 VANCOUVER WA 2015.12 Kelli & Mark MORGAN rangermk sbcglobal.net 636-227-2662 MANCHESTER MO 2016.09 Connie & Robert McBREEN email unknown 505-265-2808 505-229-5880_pager ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.01 Nancy & Russ McDUFFIEE russ.mcd msn.com 505-400-5526=cell ALBUQUERQUE NM 2017.09 Tracey & John McMAHAN jmcmahan49 gmail.com 828-606-1101 HENDERSONVILLE NC 2016.01 Carolyn & Dan PALMER danpal q.com 505-281-7275 TIJERAS NM 2016.10 Heula & Jim PITTMAN jimp unm.edu 505-275-2195 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.01 Sarah & Terry PRICE nmfloorinspections yahoo.com 505-328-8827 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.08 Lee & Bill REIDER br236425 gmail.com 505-299-4597 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2017.12 Fred RIGGS II email unknown 575-425-3126 LAS VEGAS NM 2016.03 Emma & LeRoy ROGERS 004873 q.com 505-294-0623 505-238-7302=cell ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.12 Mary Alice, Oliver SCHEFLOW mascheflow gmail.com 505-897-2611 CORRALES NM 2017.08 Curtis L SHIMP clshimp q.com 575-534-9576 SILVER CITY NM 2017.04 Brenda STICKLER tounce66 msn.com 505-856-6993 CORRALES NM 2018.01 Kay & Tarmo SUTT tarmo juno.com 505-471-1153 505-690-2046=cell SANTA FE NM 2016.10 Sylvia & Ray TRUJILLO ray bpsabq.com 505-814-8373 505-266-4011=work ALBUQUERQUE NM 2016.07 Anne & John WIKER wikerj63 yahoo.com 505-899-3076 505-239-3311=cell ALBUQUERQUE NM 2017.01 Brenda & Hurley WILVERT wilverth q.com 505-281-1732 SANDIA PARK NM 2017.07 Valerie Nye Joel YELICH joelyelich gmail.com 505-474-6680 SANTA FE NM 2016.12 Elisa & Larry YOFFEE corsa180 gmail.com 505-321-5909 ALBUQUERQUE NM =================================================================================================================== RECENTLY INACTIVE: 2015.08 Linda & Anthony BERBIG studeboy frontiernet.net 952-955-2848 MAYER MN 2015.01 Darlene & Bill DARCY Bfuryous1 q.com 505-864-6423 BELEN NM 2015.02 Frank STADLER email unknown 505-255-7326 ALBUQUERQUE NM 2015.09 Leslie & Kevin SULLIVAN tildekevins yahoo.com 505-417-2481 CORRALES NM 2015.09 Lisa & Dan THOMPSON dannyboy58.dt gmail.com 505-269-2306 EDGEWOOD NM =================================================================================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SEVEN YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 2015 [ This month is Vol 41 Nr 12 Issue 483 ] Jim Pittman 2009 Vol 35 Nr 1 #400 On the cover: the instrument panel of Larry Blair's 1964 Spyder. President Mike Stickler said no board meeting in December. Treasurer Robert Gold reported $3,458.51 in the bank. Clark's Corvair Parts ordered another fifty "Care and Feeding" Books. New members were Charles Mann and James O'Connell. Russ McDuffie's father, Phil, visited. We needed a volunteer to set up the Anniversary Dinner in March. Brenda Stickler reported the current plans for Tri-State Taos in May. Heula Pittman announced a new newsletter feature: Name This Member. She asked everyone to provide photos of themselves as a child and every month a photo would be published as a contest to Name This Member. Jim Pittman told of the history of the Ike Meissner Award and called for nominations for the 2010 award. A tech article by Bob Helt (Vegas Vairs Vision, October 2008) told all we needed to know about center-mounted 4-barrel carbs on Corvairs. Dan Palmer forwarded a tech article on the importance of zinc-phosphorus additive to your Corvair's oil. Eric Schakel told about using your car's cigar lighter to hold an adapter to power your cell phone. Finally, we listed all fifty-five CNM members. 2002 Vol 28 Nr 1 #316 Our cover featured a flag-festooned Ultra Van and a smiling mechanic named Steve replacing a harmonic balancer. We met at Galles, Robert Gold presiding. We had $5,522. Reports on the pot luck and auction and the Christmas party were uniformly positive. Jerry Goffe planned a tour of Bosque del Apache for us. John Wiker suggested a tech session at Del Norte High School. Mark Domzalski gave us the latest news on the CORSA Convention in Flagstaff. Larry Blair gave a talk on efforts by the city to protect and guarantee our water supply. This year's Tri-State was planned for Grand Junction, Colorado, hosted by Rocky Mountain. Anne Mae Gold reported on activities of the CNM Ladies Group. LeRoy Rogers previewed the February Garage Tour to Dave's Auto Repair and to the fascinating Doll Museum. At our Christmas dinner Rita Gongora presented the 2001 Meissner Award to Oliver Scheflow. For those who want a table of all the gear ratios for all Corvair transmissions, look on page 9 of this issue. But wait, the Powerglide ratios were not included. And for those who have never had a harmonic balancer slowly come apart and chew up the oil filter, Jim had his story to tell. A lot of photos were scattered through this issue, and it finished up with a list of all 55 CNM members. 1995 Vol 21 Nr 1 #232 Our cover featured a nice drawing of a Rampside. President Larry ran our meeting. We had $1520 to spend, $125 of which was reserved for convention expenses. We made $275 at last month's pot-luck and auction. A Wurlitzer organ and some snow tires were offered in the FOR SALE section. Larry's "Noxious Fumes" column reported on a great Christmas dinner at the Sirloin Stockade. He reported on seeing a video tour of the Holy Land by Bill and Lee Reider and hearing Chuck and Del sing with the Enchanted Mesa Chorus. Larry also authored a tech tip on how to keep early turn signal mechanisms properly aligned. An advertisement for "Classic Auto Radio Specialist" in Waxahatchie, Texas said your original radio could be cleaned and tuned up, or it could be equipped with an FM tuner while retaining original appearance. Your editor was not successful in contacting the company. Sylvan previewed our Red River Rendezvous II Tri-State Event. We reprinted two articles from previous newsletters: Ike Meissner's "I Can Fix Anything (Almost)" and "An Open Letter to Anton H." by Bill Reider. Debbie Pleau listed the convention committees and their chairs; nearly 30! Ten workshop tech tips were reprinted from the Central Virginia Corvair Club. All 65 members were listed. 1988 Vol 14 Nr 1 #148 Our cover was a picture of a Rampside: last month's puzzle drawing correctly put together. New members were Hal Schaefer and Will Davis. Francis reported on the Fan Belt Toss at Palm Springs. He was awarded the Hard Luck trophy for having a bad rod in a 600-mile rebuilt engine. The Phoenix club planned a mini-convention in April. Our March meeting was to feature Samuel Clemens. Sylvan brought in a couple of flywheels. He "told" us if we "tolled" them with a hammer we could tell if they were good. Sure enough, one emitted a bell-like peal and the other a dull thunk. A terrific story by Tom Martin told of the adventure that led to his getting to drive the very first Corvair delivered to Galles-Groesbeck Chevrolet on September 24, 1959. An article by Bill and Sylvan told us what we'd need to know if we planned to do a clutch job. Our 1987 list of 63 members completed this issue. 1981 Vol 7 Nr 1 #64 Our cover had our first view of a friendly CNM dragon who came back to inhabit our cover for several months. This time he was happily riding in a convertible, keeping his passengers warm with his fiery breath, no doubt. Robin DeVore gave an excellent demonstration on Powerglide transmissions. Jim penned an article, loosely founded on newsletter reports, that would have done better in the April Fool issue. Tech tips told us there were two kinds of fuel pumps, warned about a bad batch of lifters on the market, told about bucket seats for FCs, and suggested that we NOT use Armorall on our glass or tires. We published no member list this month. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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. I still print mailing labels with a 1989 Apple IIgs on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIIp. The newsletter is composed using Apple computers. Software includes OSX, AppleWorks, Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for more details. Transportation: 1965 Corvair Monza, 1990 Honda Civic, 1996 Mazda Miata and 2013 Honda Civic. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =END=