Updated 26-Feb-2021 = Copyright (c) 2021 Corvairs of New Mexico ================================== PREVIEW OF NEXT MONTH'S NEWSLETTER ================================== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== FEBRUARY 2020 / VOLUME 46 / NUMBER 2 / ISSUE # 533 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== First Place, Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, 2005 & 2012 Third Place, Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, 2010 EDITOR Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING Regular Meeting: Saturday February 1st, 10:00 AM Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe NE Albuquerque NM 87108 THIS MONTH President's Message ................................. Dave Allin February Dues Due Dates ................... Membership Committee January Regular Meeting Minutes ....................... Kay Sutt January Board Meeting Minutes .................... Steve Gongora Birthdays & Anniversaries ................. Membership Committee Photos from the January Meeting .................... Jim Pittman Tri-State Tasks ..................................... Dave Allin Getting Started with Corvairs ......................... Pat Hall Dark Intrigue (September 25, 1959) .................. Tom Martin Rampside at Baird-Jackson Auction ................... Tarmo Sutt Treasury Report .................................. Steve Gongora Calendar of Coming Events ................... Board of Directors February Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago .... Club Historian Ike Meissner Award Nomination Form .. Deadline: February Meeting COVER: Pat Hall and his 1965 Corsa Coupe at January Meeting OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS President Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin comcast.net Vice President David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com Co-secretary Linda Soukup 763-226-0707 studeboytony gmail.com Co-secretary Kay Sutt 505-471-1153 tarmo juno.com Treasurer Steve Gongora 505-220-7401 stevegongora msn.com Car Council Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin comcast.net Membership David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com Merchandise Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall q.com Sunshine Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 heula q.com Newsletter Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp unm.edu Old Route 66 David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 aol.com Past President Ray Trujillo 505-814-8373 rtrujilloabq505 gmail.com Past President Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall q.com Past Vice-Pres Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo juno.com MEETINGS: First Saturday of each Month at 10:00 AM Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 INTERNET CORSA's home page www.corvair.org/ CNM's newsletters www.unm.edu/~jimp/ New Mexico Council of Car Clubs www.nmcarcouncil.com/ SCHEDULE CNM: 12 months = $25.00 or 26 months = $ 50.00 OF CORSA: 12 months = $45.00 or 26 months = $ 90.00 DUES CNM & CORSA: 12 months = $70.00 or 26 months = $140.00 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== NEW MEMBERS: Josie & Leroy Alderete Own a 1965 Coupe Lupe & Jim Arellanes Own a 1964 Convertible Diane & Tony Lawler Own a 1964 Spyder, a 1967 Convt and a 1963 Rampside WELCOME TO THE CLUB! ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== DUES DUE DATES FEBRUARY 2020 DUE LAST MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.01 Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski 25-FEB-2020 DUE THIS MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.02 Barbara & Gordon Johnson 25-MAR-2020 2020.02 Fred Riggs II 25-MAR-2020 2020.02 Larry Yoffee 25-MAR-2020 DUE NEXT MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.03 Kelli & Mark Morgan 25-APR-2020 2020.03 Natalie Robison 25-APR-2020 2020.03 Emma & LeRoy Rogers 25-APR-2020 DUE APRIL 2020 ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.04 Terry Hall 25-MAY-2020 2020.04 Conner Siddell 25-MAY-2020 2020.04 William Darcy 25-MAY-2020 2020.04 Deborah & John Dinsdale 25-MAY-2020 INACTIVE =========================== INACTIVE DATE 2019.01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer 25-FEB-2019 2019.02 Mike Butler 25-MAR-2019 2019.03 Brenda Wilvert 25-APR-2019 2019.10 Alan Gold 25-NOV-2019 Send your Dues to: CNM Treasurer -- Steve Gongora House of Covers 115 Richmond NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Past due memberships become inactive after a one-month grace period. The Club will mail in your National Dues if you send us the renewal form from your Communique. As of 23-Jan-2020 we have 41 active family memberships. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== PRESIDENT'S LETTER Dave Allin The first year for the Corvair was 1960, which was sixty years ago. When it was introduced, it was totally unlike anything else produced in the US. While other manufacturers produced "compact cars" that were just smaller, cheaper versions of their regular cars, Chevy brought to market a totally different car with European influence. While the Corvair was only built for ten years, it is still one of the most popular collector cars in the country, as is evidenced by this club. Do you know anyone in the Ford Falcon Club, or the Plymouth Valiant Club? I'd guess not. There is just something about a Corvair that makes it special. That is why the upcoming Tri-State is such an important and appealing event. Your Board of Directors and Tri-State committee have been working tirelessly to make this the best Tri-State in years. If you have never been to the Marriott Pyramid, stop by, or go online, and see the beautiful accommodations, the giant atrium, and the tree-shaded parking lot where we will have our car show. We recently met with the staff and arranged a wonderful banquet, and our guest speaker will be astronaut Harrison Schmitt. We have some terrific raffle prizes lined up, and a tour to Sandia Crest, along with hot-air balloons. I am also pleased to see that attendance at our regular meetings is increasing, a sure sign of an enthusiastic and growing membership. Be sure to come to our meeting February 1, where we will discuss our club birthday party and collect your ballots for the Ike Meissner Award. Dave Allin ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== GENERAL MEETING MINUTES OF 01/04/2020 Kay Sutt The meeting was called to order by President Dave Allin at 10:15 at the Highland Senior Center located at 131 Monroe Street, NE. Twenty members were present at the meeting. No guests were present. Vice President's Report: Dave Huntoon had no items to report. Secretary's Report: The minutes, as published in the last newsletter, were approved without being read in the meeting. Kay Sutt had no other items to report. Treasurer's Report: Steve Gongora reported the club had received no money since the last meeting, and the only bills paid were to Jim Pittman for the January newsletter and to Terry Price for the postcards. The balance in the account at meeting time was $6,997.12. Sunshine Committee Report: Vickie Hall presented her year-end report indicating she has $70 in merchandise and $146.69 left in the committee's control. Her full report was submitted to the club for review. Old Business: Lupe Arellanes presented the nearly completed logo for the upcoming 2020 Tri-State Rally. It is scheduled to be complete within a very short time for inclusion in the registration forms and the website. It looks very good, and thanks, Lupe (and your daughter), for your work)! Lupe will prepare a preliminary proposed registration form for the Tri-State within a few days, after obtaining instruction and information about events, general timing, etc. The Tri-State website is under construction, awaiting information from various sources as it becomes available. The website, in its preliminary form, can be accessed at tristatecorvairs.com. Dave Allin has requested a meeting with the host hotel to finalize plans for the banquet, but they have not responded yet with a meeting time. General discussion among members indicated the lower priced sit-down meal is the preference of the group. Larry Blair indicated he would ask Harrison Schmitt if he has a favorite charity where we could submit an honorarium in his name, since he will not charge for his presentation. The need to get advertising started immediately was emphasized. Dave Allin will send the notice to CORSA for inclusion in the next publication. Hemmings News, CABQ and the NM Council of Car Clubs publication will also be contacted. Vickie indicated the Albuquerque Journal needs four weeks advance notice for publication of public notices. Dave Huntoon will put a notice on his Facebook site, CorvairsNM, regarding the Meet and registration/hotel details. Rita Gongora volunteered to lead a Saturday afternoon tour to Tinkertown and Sandia Crest during the Tri-State, and Brenda Stickler agreed to coordinate the hospitality food offerings. She indicated Brenda Wilvert, who, along with her husband Hurley, ramrodded this at the Taos Tri-State and indicated she is willing to help with Tri-State, so Brenda Stickler will ask her if she will help this year too. Anne Wiker has also indicated she will help with Tri-State, and maybe we will find a third person to help with this. Steve Gongora asked Mark Domzalski to MC the banquet, and Mark generously agreed. Thanks, Mark. It will be good to see you! New Business: Jim Pittman said the newsletter deadline is Friday January 24th at 9:00 PM. He handed out nomination forms with criteria for a nomination for the Meissner Award at the meeting, and the form is to be published in the newsletter too. Send completed nominations to Dave Huntoon at corvair66@aol.com, or call him at 505-363-0773. Past recipients Pat & Vickie Hall and Terry Price will make the final selection from among those nominations, and the award will be presented at the March Anniversary Party. Members are reminded everyone is open for nomination/election, even if they have won the award before. The Anniversary party will be a potluck this year, acknowledging John Wiker's service. It will be held after the March General Meeting on March 7, 2020. Rita Gongora will check to make sure we can hold the event at the Highland Senior Center and let Jim Pittman know prior to publication of the newsletter. Larry Blair needs 75-100 small traffic cones for a Funkhana he is planning for later this year. This will be a fun event, with a driving course set up in a large, open parking lot and a blindfolded driver taking directions from a navigator to complete the course. It was suggested spouses were not ideal partners for this event, to general and knowing laughter. If you have suggestions where he may borrow these, contact Larry at blairylar@hotmail.com, or 505-821-1386. The meeting was adjourned at 11:15. Attending: Leroy Alderete, Dave Allin, Lupe Arellanes, Tony Berbig, Larry Blair, Robert Gold, Rita Gongora, Steve Gongora, Pat Hall, Vickie Hall, David Huntoon, Geoff Johnson, Gordon Johnson, Steve Johnson, Bob Kitts, Jim Pittman, Terry Price, Linda Soukup, Brenda Stickler, Kay Sutt ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== BOARD MEETING MINUTES OF 01/15/2020 Steve Gongora Banquet has been confirmed and reserved at the Highland Senior Center for the CNM Anniversary on March 7th from 10 AM to 2 PM. It was discussed to either have a Pot Luck or the main dish from Rudy's BBQ. Paper goods provided by members. It will be voted on at the next meeting. The rest of the board meeting was focused on the Tri-State event for 2020. Curtis Shimp, our member from Silver City, NM tried to get a room and they wanted to charge a $8.00 fee for parking and said the rate didn't apply to come in early. Dave Allin was going to contact the Marriott to confirm our agreements. They told us the $99.00 applies to three days prior and three days after the event. We never discussed any parking fees. The registration paperwork was discussed and thought is was best to spell out the $40.00 included tax and gratuity. It was also thought it best to include the Vegan plate and the special price for children under 10 years at $15.95. The Hospitality/Registration room will be available on Friday. We will have a table in the lobby for people wanting to register on Thursday night. Our meet and greet will be at El Pinto. We would like to find out how many people are interested in attending. It is time for CNM members to get involved in the preparations for the Tri-State. Please contact Dave Allin and other board members to put your valuable talents for the club. We need help in all areas. Hospitality, Snacks, Beverages, Coffee, Paper Goods. Banquet help for seating and general guides and assistance. Car Show and Special Trips during the day were some of the areas discussed. Robert Gold and Geoff Johnson are the main people for the car show. We will be creating a sign-up sheet to be at the meetings. Mark Domzalski will be our Master of Ceremonies for the event. The gifts and prizes were given thought as to how to announce the winners. Silent auctions as opposed to tickets for each major gift was tossed around. Tickets would provide the easiest way to keep track and sell. Drawings could be held at specific times on Saturday and the winning numbers could be posted on a white board. Gifts would be kept in the Hospitality/Registration room. We will recognize all veterans and have our flag on display. Advertisements for the event will be in CORSA, Corvair Center, Facebook, CNM website, etc. David Allin talked about the Balloon tethered site. The balloon will be anchored to the chase vehicle and a donation is encouraged to help costs with the fuel. Nearby is a Cars & Coffee at Hello Deli which is walking distance from the hotel. Rita and Steve Gongora have offered their home for future meetings to plan for the Tri-State. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== TRI-STATE 2020 FEATURED SPEAKER, HARRISON "JACK" SCHMITT Harrison "Jack" Schmitt is a native New Mexican born in the small village of Santa Rita in southwestern New Mexico. He is best known as one of the small group of men who have walked on the moon as a NASA astronaut. He was the first NASA scientist-astronaut to enter space and walk on the moon in December, 1972, as a member of Apollo 17. He was the second-to-last personn to step off the moon, having completed his mission as a geologist for that mission. Jack Schmitt also served in NASA as a scientist trainer for other Apollo astronauts chosen to visit the moon, and he played an active role documenting the geologic finds from the Apollo program and organizing NASA's Energy Program Office. In 1975, Jack Schmitt resigned from NASA to run for the U.S. Senate, and he served New Mexico in that capacity until 1982. Among his other duties during his Senate tenure, he was chariman of the Science, Technology & Space Subcommittee. Since leeaving the Senate Jack Schmitt has consulted on business, geology, space and public policy, he was an adjunct professor of engineering physics at University of Wisconsin-Madison and he has served on the NASA Advisory Council. Jack Schmitt currently splits his time between Silver City, Albuquerque and Minnesota. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== TRI-STATE TASKS Dave Allin Making the upcoming Tri-State event a success is a major goal of the club, and it depends on everyone helping out. Last year people volunteered for various tasks, but you may have forgotten what you volunteered for, or things may have changed. Here's a list of activities and events and who we think is going to help. If you see your name and can no longer help with that, let someone in the committee know. Likewise, if you can help out for something that you aren't currently down for, speak up. Prior to the event: Lupe Arellanes has developed a logo, a T-shirt design, and the registration form. She has created an email address for more information. I have placed ads in the Corsa Communique and in Hemmings Motor News. As the registration forms come in, Lupe will use them to create name tags and car show window signs. The checks will come to me. Lupe and I will develop a database to keep track of the registrations so we can notify the hotel of the banquet numbers. We will be creating gift baskets and banquet center-pieces. Rita is in charge of the baskets, with help from Lesha. We need someone to volunteer to make the centerpieces. Vickie and Heula have been working for months preparing registration bags. The bags have been purchased and many items have been hand made and/or purchased for these bags. A few more items are needed. Please contact Vickie for a list. They will be filling the bags prior to the distribution time on Thursday. Thursday, May 14 We will set up a table in the lobby for early arrivals to check in and get additional information. We will need a couple people to set up the table and man it from perhaps noon until 6:00 pm. We will have a meet and greet at the El Pinto restaurant for dinner that evening. We will need someone to coordinate with the restaurant and perhaps lead a convoy over to it. Friday, May 15 We have a suite on the first floor, not far from the hotel registration desk, where we will set up our registration and reception area. This will also be the location for our raffle prize display. We will have snacks and soft drinks. It will be open from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm. We will need people prior to 3:00 to set things up and arrange the raffle prizes, and bring in the snacks and drinks. Once the room is open, we will need people to take registration, hand out gift bags, sell raffle tickets, and answer questions. Currently I have the following people down for the hospitality room: Anne Wiker, Brenda Stickler, Linda Soukup, Rita Gongora, Lesha Kitts, Curtis Shimp, and myself. This will be a very busy room, so if you can help out, please let us know. Saturday, May 16 The hospitality room will open at 7:00 am. and remain open until noon. We will need people to do the same tasks as on Friday. Let us know if you can do either or both days. I will coordinate the balloon rides and produce walking maps. We may need someone to guide people to the location. The Car Show will run from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. People should have their window signs and ballots in their registration bags. The hotel will block off part of the parking lot for our show. I currently have Tony and Linda down as arranging the cars. We need someone to set up and run games, if we plan to have any. We will also need someone to hand out minor prizes, both for the games and for drawings. I have Linda and Lesha down, but I'm sure we will need others. Bob Kitts has volunteered to take photos. Anne Wiker volunteered to count the ballots. We will also need someone to pick the raffle winners and log them for the presentation later. We will need people to clean up after the show. Bob Kitts has volunteered to take photos. At 1:00 Rita will lead a tour to Tinkertown and Sandia Crest. We will provide brochures and maps for other ABQ attractions such as the Tram, various museums, and Old Town. If there is sufficient interest, we may add a second tour to one of those locations. We will not have access to the banquet room until 5:00 pm., so we will need several people to go in and set things up quickly. The hotel is providing the A/V equipment and someone to set it up. They will also need to seat the guests as they arrive. I believe Larry Blair will be coordinating with Harrison Schmitt and escorting him to the banquet room. Schmitt will give his presentation at 6:00, and dinner will be served at the tables after he is done. Mark Domzalski has volunteered to be our MC. After dinner he will present the car show awards and the raffle winners. We will need someone to help hand out the awards and prizes. Sunday, May 17 We are inviting our guests to view or even participate in the Museum Car Show at the Albuquerque Museum. Is there someone who would like to help people find the show, and perhaps even lead a group over to participate? At the February 1 club meeting, or by email to me, let us know if you are not available for any task we have you down for, or add your name to help out in one of the areas. We need all the help we can get, and "Many hands make light work." Thank you. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Getting Started With Corvairs Pat Hall I did not know Jim was going to put my picture in the newsletter with my yellow 1965 Corsa coupe. Then he asked me to tell how I got started with Corvairs. Well, I'm going to try to answer that. Now I am retired from the business of recycling but back in about 2005 when I was doing a lot of recycling a friend set me up with a job. There was a building with things to get rid of and inside there were two cars, both Corvairs. One was a 1966 Corsa with a turbo and the other was a van. I got the stuff in the building and I got the Corvairs. The van was pretty much gone but it was full of parts. After saving the parts, I scrapped it. But the car was not in bad shape and I decided to try to get it running. I did get it to run pretty well but I never drove it. Someone came along who wanted to buy it so I sold it. That was the first time I had paid much attention to Corvairs. Jim told me he thought I was a "natural" mechanic and I said yes, that's what I am. I got started learning about mechanical work when I was eight years old. My dad never worked with machinery and when I was a kid he bought the other kids bicycles. But he never bought me one. So I looked for bicycle parts to build my own. I found some parts another boy was willing to sell me for two dollars. With enough parts I put together a working bicycle. I rode that bicycle for a long time. I even stripped off the old paint and repainted it. So I really started learning about mechanical things with that bicycle. So after that I just kept working with mechanical things all my life. Then when I was in high school my dad had an old 1954 Chevy. Along the way it developed a bad engine so he gave it to me. I tore the engine down and rebuilt it. I did all the work myself, but I got a friend to help me set the timing. The engine ran fine and that was my start working on cars. I worked on vehicles in the Army too. Which cars did I most like to work on, and which did I most dislike? I'd say the old flathead Fords were the ones I liked the best. I never cared for foreign cars. They just seemed too complicated and the way they were put together just did not make sense to me. I really liked the 1940s and 1950s Fords and Chevys. I mostly learned how to work on cars just by working on them. I never looked at a manual or book, I just figured out how things worked by looking at them. Ever since starting out on bicycles I just could tell how mechanical things were built and how they were supposed to work, and how to fix whatever went wrong with them. I did get a lot of tips from other mechanics, but basically I just learned by doing. After that Corsa turbo that I got to run I started keeping an eye out for Corvairs to buy and take home. I'd salvage parts and junk the bad parts, and I'd fix cars that were good enough to fix. Some I'd sell and some that I liked I would drive for a while. I picked up a 1963 convertible Spyder in Chicago that I heard about. I got a trailer to take to Chicago to bring it back. It turned out to be in really good shape and I enjoyed driving it. I still have that car and the only real work I ever had to do on it was get a new top. I found out about the Corvair Club. Vickie and I took that car on a trip the Club made to Bosque del Apache. That was in January 2006. We joined the club and we have enjoyed being in the club and being around all the Corvair people ever since. I met Bill Reider through the club and I bought a lot of Corvair parts from him. I also learned a lot about Corvair engines from Bill. There was a time when he was coming down to my place in Los Lunas to fix up a 1968 Corvair for his grandson. We did a lot of work on that car and it was a good-running car. Bill was an expert on engines and especially tune-ups. That 1965 yellow Corsa on the cover of this newsletter, I got that car from a person who was never in the club. It was in good shape and it is a good Corvair to drive. We have taken this car on several trips including Tri-States and other out-of-state trips. Now, I have a lot of Corvairs, some in better shape than others, and I need to sell some of them. We actually drove this car to the January meeting to show it to someone who was interested in buying it. But the person was not able to attend the meeting. So the car was there and Terry wanted pictures of it. So, that's how come I am on the cover with a yellow 1965 Corsa coupe. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== It Was Twenty Years Ago Today -- February 2000 Dark Intrigue Tom Martin It was a quiet, moonless night in Albuquerque and our formless garb would make us hard to spot. My watch showed 10:55. Gil, George, Jack and I had been briefed in late afternoon and we met in the shadow of the building where the boss was waiting. Frank was his name, I recall, but we knew him as "Pancho". The windows were covered in brown paper when earlier in the day they revealed the venerable interior of this old structure. As this recollection forms in 1987, I feel a strange sensation. The Julian period is a cycle of 7,980 years and this is based on a solar cycle of 28 years. Therefore the days of the week repeat on the same dates only every 28 years! What takes me back 28 years to Julian day number 2,436,836 -- September 24, 1959? It was a Thursday night just like this year. George was usually very talkative, but not tonight. Gil had a hat pulled low over his eyes. There was little conversation as we five got into Pancho's car and drove the short distance. Pancho stopped in the middle of the block near First and Iron Streets and we got out. Four pairs of eyes followed him down the deserted street as he drove away. Jack produced a set of keys and began trying them in the lock on the fence gate. A second, a third, and finally the fourth key opened the large, formidable padlock. The log chain fell to one side and we entered. I sensed the others had done this before but this was my first time. I had only recently graduated from college and joined this group. The eerie glow of light to the north was from the Santa Fe train station and to the south I could see a solitary green light in the train yard. Suddenly, I noticed a group of men approach from our rear and follow our footsteps through the gate and into the fenced enclosure. Gil nudged me and laconically whispered, "They're Hickam's boys. They'll take care of the big ones". A few more paces and Jack stopped and handed me a key and said, "This one's yours. We'll see you back there". I tried the key in the lock and it opened. I opened the door to a new 1960 Corvair 500 and slid behind the wheel. Shift lever to "N", pump the accelerator pedal a couple times and with a turn of the key the new engine started with a sound I'd never heard before -- a strong, but muffled purr. My left hand found the knob for the headlights and just below that, the black ratchet handle of the emergency brake. I shifted to "R" and backed up and then to "D". I rolled out onto First and headed for the service entrance of Galles-Groesbeeck Cheverolet on Copper Avenue, between Fifth and Sixth. I could smell the newness of the black rubber floor mat and the fabric of the seats. Yep, the radio worked and the steering felt nimble compared to the big Impala I was used to driving. Pancho was waiting with the service door open and in I went. The others were quick to follow and the door closed behind us. One more shuttle of four from the train yard and our night's work was done. Congratulations were in order as we each acknowledged no one had seen us. The "make-ready" guys were at work and mine was already washed. The dawn crew would ferry the full-sized cars and everything would be ready for the debut of the 1960 model cars. At 10:00 AM the following morning, Friday September 25, 1959, Julian day number 2,436,837, the four of us in dark blue suits tore the paper off the showroom windows. To my surprise, I was looking into the eyes of about three dozen people who eagerly awaited the unlocking of the doors. The Corvairs had been allotted half of the showroom space and were easily the top attraction that day. No one noticed that a heart beat a little faster inside one of those dark blue suits -- I had been the first to drive the All- New Chevrolet Corvair on the streets of Albuquerque! Editor's note: Back in January 2000 Ruth Boydston asked me to find the article Tom Martin wrote about bringing the first Corvair to Galles-Groesbeeck Chevrolet. This is it. We published it in the January 1988 issue of Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter and in the February 2000 issue. Here it is again! ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Happy February Birthday Wishes to: Bob Kitts Happy February Anniversary Wishes to: Rita & Steve Gongora Diane & Tony Lawyer ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== TREASURY REPORT FOR 12-19-2019 to 01-21-2020 DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,997.12 $6,997.12 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ========= 2020.01.04 2363 -$ 72.51 J.Pittman Newsletter Printing JAN 2020 -$ 44.10 $6,953.02 2020.01.04 2363 -$ J.Pittman Newsletter Postage 33 x $0.70 -$ 23.10 $6,929.92 2020.01.04 2363 -$ J.Pittman Newsletter Envelopes (33) -$ 5.31 $6,924.61 2020.01.21 +$ 50.00 Dues J.Yelich 26 m CNM $ 50.00 $6,974.61 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ========= 2020.02.01 FEB NEWSLETTER ========================================== $6,974.61 $6,974.61 ============================================================================ ============================================================================ | February 2020 | March 2020 | April 2020 | | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | | 1 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 | 1 2 3 4 | | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | | 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | | 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 | 29 30 31 | 26 27 28 29 30 | ============================================================================ SAT 01 FEB 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 19 FEB 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 26 FEB 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE FRI 28 FEB 9:00 PM Deadline for items for March 2020 newsletter MON 02 MAR >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING MARCH NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 07 MAR 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE SAT 07 MAR 10:00 - 2:00 PM -- Reserved for our Anniversary Party at Highland SUN 08 MAR 2:00 AM Set your clocks ahead an hour because the government is stealing an hour out of your life. No worries, we will get the hour back after tolerating a one-hour jet lag experience in November. WED 18 MAR 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 25 MAR 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE FRI 27 MAR 9:00 PM Deadline for items for April 2020 newsletter MON 30 MAR >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING APRIL NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 04 APR 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 15 APR 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 22 APR 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE FRI 24 APR 9:00 PM Deadline for items for May 2020 newsletter MON 27 APR >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING MAY NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 02 MAY 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE MAY 15-16-17 ::: 36TH ANNUAL TRI-STATE CORVAIR MEET ::: CORVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO Marriott Pyramid North : 5151 San Francisco Rd NE : Albuquerque : 505-821-3333 WED 20 MAY 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 27 MAY 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE FRI 29 MAY 9:00 PM Deadline for items for June 2020 newsletter ============================================================================ See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities ======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ====================== SUGGESTION: A visit to the Telephone Museum on Fourth Street SUGGESTION: A visit to the new WEATHER LAB at the Balloon Museum SUGGESTION: A visit to the Soaring Museum in Moriarty SUGGESTION: Activities with other clubs such as VMCCA. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== SEVEN YEARS AGO [ FEBRUARY 2020 VOL 46 Nr 2 ISSUE 533 ] Jim Pittman 2013 V.39 Nr 2 #449 The cover showed a full-color photo of a 1960 engine. President Wiker predicted a good year ahead and we had suggestions for Saturday activities, sometimes more than one, for every month. David Huntoon reported on an engine rebuild for the Library Van, complete with detailed photos. Van Pershing of the Tucson club described features of the original Corvair engine. It was revolutionary! Jim's v.3 Newsletter CD was still available at only $15 each. Robert Gold recommended Datsun 240-Z wheels for early Corvairs. John Dawson (Rocky Mountain) told how to drive in snow. Harry Ransom (Vegas Vairs) told how to repair cracked plastic choke pull-off units. 2006 V.32 Nr 2 #365 Cover: the only Corvair to show up for the Bosque del Apache tour belonged to new members Pat & Vickie Hall. We were glad of Jerry Goffe's warm school bus. There were many photos. A new member was Dan Palmer - Ultra Van and a guest was Cary Hubbard - Greenbrier. Ollie said we would clean our mile of Old Route 66 four times a year. Jim said we could our newsletters in envelopes to avoid mangling by the post office. President Ray Trujillo's column, "Mechanically Un-Inclined", described the Bosque del Apache tour. Heula told about our club breakfast at The Kettle, and told more about the Bosque trip. LeRoy Rogers brought us up-to-date on preparations for the Tri-State coming up in Montrose, Colorado. Sylvan reminded us of the value of close reading of the Care & Feeding booklet that Bill Reider was continually updating. Sylvan Zuercher provided a history of the Tri-State meets. Tech tips included removing a pilot bushing and the pros and cons of synthetic oil. 1999 V.25 Nr 2 #281 The cover asked if you could love two Corvairs more than one. Obviously, yes. President Pleau ran our meeting at Casa Chevrolet. LeRoy had taken over from Bill McClellan the job of bringing the newsletter to Casa for mailing. Mark Domzalski suggested that the club should get a better print of the January cover photo and frame it for the archives. Guests included Lloyd Piatt, an old friend of Tarmo's. Bill Nelson of Pennzoil/Quaker State gave us a good talk on the current state of automobile lubricants. Wendell reported $6,909.89 in our treasury. Our "Nike" investment was up for renewal and there was brisk discussion about what to do with our money. We decided that $5,000 should go into another investment fund, for better financial flexibility. LeRoy contacted Vic's Daily Cafe to schedule a dinner party to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We talked about a special Anniversary issue of the newsletter. Remember the VMCCA's "Unfair Car Show" organized to spite the State Fair? Well, it was to be no more - the turnout had gotten too low. We planned a garage tour to Kim & Del Patten's place, with breakfast at Kokopelli's in Cedar Crest. Tech tips included the pros and cons of solid valve lifters vs hydraulic lifters, the value of an original Corvair A/C unit, and how to prevent your muffler rusting out. Trivia questions from Virtual Vairs: Is there a 12-step program to help Corvair nuts recover? Is there a Corvair Road or Corvair Lane or Corvair Street anywhere? 1992 V.18 Nr 2 #197 Our cover featured a gaggle of late coupe silhouettes. Chuck Vertrees took notes; Steve Gongora presided; Wendell Walker reported $958 in the bank. Wayne Christgau was leaving Albuquerque, but not CNM, to live in Iowa. Plans for CNM's Tri-State meet in Las Vegas, NM not NV, were discussed. We planned a garage tour to see Bobby Unser's garage. Actually, we planned this several times and it never happened. President Steve told us he had secured guided tours of Montezuma Castle and Fort Union at the Las Vegas Tri-State. He asked members to sponsor events for the Club this year. Sylvan told us of a new publication "The Lone Racer" put out by Rossie Morris and Sundance Automotive. It discussed Rossie's participation in the Great American Race with his Model T race car, and Rossie thanked CNM for our help with the 1992 race. In a technical vein, Francis Boydston told how to really fix those pesky Powerglide cable leaks, and we lifted a short article from another publication telling how to convert engine sizes from cubic inches to liters. (Examples: a 1960 Corvair is 140 CI = 2.29 liters, a 1961 is 145 CI = 2.38 liters, and a 1964 is 164 CI = 2.69 liters. Modify your 1966 engine by boring it to the maximum 3-9/16" while keeping the stroke stock at 2-15/16" and you'd have 175.7 CI = 2.88 liters.) 1985 V.11 Nr 2 #113 The cover depicted three late coupes. Francis Boydston was president and Sylvan said we has $385 in the bank. For our garage tour we were told we would see Jerry Goffe's Aston-Martin. Did we? Francis suggested that we organize more events with the White Sands Corvair Club in Alamogordo. Tech tips were off to a good start with Part 1 of a series on welding by Bill McClellan. Jim Pittman reported on installing Holley carbs (which Clark's called the ultimate Corvair carburetor setup) on his 1966 Monza 110-HP 4-speed, with quite a few negative comments to go with a few positive features. Finally, we listed all 54 CNM members. 1978 V.4 Nr 1 #29 This was Jim's first issue as Editor of our Corvair club newsletter. Joel Nash was our president and Steve Gongora took meeting notes. We appointed LeRoy Rogers to represent CNM at the Car Council. An editorial outlined a short history of the Corvair and our Club and suggested future developments in the Corvair hobby and how we might influence them. Francis Boydston told how to grind valves with an electric drill. And we thanked Ed Black's Chevrolet for providing us with a comfortable and convenient meeting room every month. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter is published monthly by Corvairs of New Mexico, chartered Chapter 871 of CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Copyright (c) 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. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== =END=