The July 2020 newsletter - Text Version Updated 29-Jun-2020 ==== Copyright (c) 2020 Corvairs of New Mexico ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== July 2020 / VOLUME 46 / NUMBER 7 / ISSUE 538 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== 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: July 4th at 9:00 AM Mariposa Basin Park - Taylor Ranch Rd. at Kachina St. THIS MONTH President's Message ................................ Dave Allin Dues Due Dates ........................... Membership Committee June Regular Meeting at Mariposa Basin Park .......... Kay Sutt Old Route 66 Cleanup, June 8th .................. David Huntoon Fathers' Day Car Show, Edgewood ................. David Huntoon Birthdays & Anniversaries ................ Membership Committee What to do during a Pandemic Stay-at-Home? ......... Tarmo Sutt A new/used 2006 Rousch Mustang .................. David Huntoon Coronavirus / Covic-19 Pandemic Timeline ....... New York Times (Fifty years ago) I'm Glad I've Got Positraction .. Jim Pittman Coins (Not Much Corvair Content) .................. Jim Pittman Treasury Report ................................. Steve Gongora Calendar of Coming Events .................. Board of Directors July Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 Years Ago ... Club Historian COVER: April 1968: From San Antonio, NM to Carrizozo on U.S. 380 May 1967: From Anchorage to Fairbanks via Alaska Hwy One 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 DUES DUE DATES JULY 2020 DUE LAST MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.06 Lloyd Piatt 25-JUL-2020 2020.06 Art Gold 25-JUL-2020 DUE THIS MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.07 Maggie & Bob Kitts 25-AUG-2020 2020.07 Sarah & Terry Price 25-AUG-2020 DUE NEXT MONTH ====================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.08 NONE 25-JUN-2020 DUE SEP 2020 ======================== INACTIVE DATE 2020.09 Anne Wiker 25-JUL-2020 INACTIVE ============================ INACTIVE DATE 2020.02 Larry Yoffee 25-MAR-2020 2020.03 Natalie Robison 25-APR-2020 2020.04 Conner Siddell 25-MAY-2020 2020.04 William Darcy 25-MAY-2020 Send your Dues to: CNM Treasurer -- Steve Gongora c/o House of Covers -- 115 Richmond NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Past due memberships become inactive after a one-month grace period. The Club will mail in your National Dues if you send us the renewal form from your Communique. As of 27-Jun-2020 we have 38 active family memberships. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== PRESIDENT'S LETTER Dave Allin I am truly sorry, but this is probably my last letter as President of Corvairs of New Mexico. My wife and I are moving back to Oklahoma this summer, as soon as we can find a house there. We have enjoyed our stay here in New Mexico, but the environment has not been good for Jan's health. I have thoroughly enjoyed being in this club, and was honored when I was elected President. I have tried to do my best to lead the club from one success to the next, and I am very disappointed that we were not able to have our Tri-State event this year as planned. It is all set up for next year, however, although I will not be directly involved with it. If possible I will return for the event as a participant. In the short term, we will still have our monthly meeting on July 4. As with the June meeting, we will meet at Mariposa Basin Park, but the meeting will begin an hour earlier, at 9:00 am, to ensure we can lay claim to a nice shady spot on what will probably be a day with lots of park visitors. Bring a lawn chair and a mask, and anything you would like to eat. I will bring sodas and donuts. At that meeting we can discuss the transition to a new president. Again, thank you all for your support. I will miss you. -- Dave Allin ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== General Meeting, 06/06/2020 Kay Sutt The meeting was called to order by President Dave Allin at 10:10 at the Mariposa Basin Park, located on the corner of Taylor Ranch Road and Kachina Street NW. Twenty-two members were present at the meeting. The group was good at practicing social distancing with their lawn chairs and masks. No guests were present at the meeting. Vice President's Report: David Huntoon reported the next highway cleanup is scheduled for Monday June 8 at 9:00 A.M. He needs 4 or 5 people for about an hour to complete the task. David also anticipated having similar events in July or August, September or October. He also indicated he and David Neale, the gentleman from England who bought Bill Reider's car, are developing a good, if long-distance, relationship via email. Secretary's Report: Kay Sutt had nothing to report. Treasurer's Report: Steve Gongora reported the balance in the club's account at meeting time was $6,762.93. One refund from the postponed Tri-State meet remains to be deducted. Sunshine Committee Report: Vickie Hall had nothing to report. Newsletter Committee: Jim Pittman was not present, but the deadline for the next newsletter is 9 P.M. on Friday, June 26. Old Business: The postponed Tri-state Meet has been rescheduled for May 15-17, 2021 in the same location, and the contract for the facility has been signed. Most details will remain the same. Harrison Schmitt is still scheduled to speak, and events are anticipated to remain the same. Larry Blair and several club members met to acknowledge placement of the memorial plaque honoring Bill Reider and John Wiker on Memorial Day weekend. New Business: Steve has updated the webpage that is accessible through the CORSA website. It is a simple, one-page site with a link to Jim Pittman's extensive CNM website. Thanks, Steve and Jim, for keeping us all up to date! The next meeting will be held on the regular date, July 4, but at 9:00 A.M. in the Mariposa Basin Park. It's being held earlier in the morning because it will likely be a busy day in the park, and we want to ensure we can secure our place in the shade. This meeting will be primarily social. Bring your own lawn chair, mask, breakfast and drinks in order to meet the sanitation needs of the pandemic. Announcements: Dave Allin got a call from a woman with two Corvairs for sale, a 1963 turbo Spyder coupe and a 1964 Monza convertible. Both cars are rough and have been sitting for some 15 years. Dave asked a couple of questions, and the woman said she would get back with him, but he hasn't heard back yet. If you are interested, contact Dave for updates. Dave also reported there will be a sale and a silent auction at Misty Thompson's in Mimbres, New Mexico. If you need details, contact Dave Alllin. It was reported that an article appeared in Haggerty's regarding a Corvair which needed engine work. After extensive trials and errors, the coil condenser was replaced and the car finally ran great. Check out the article if you get the chance. Tarmo reported he happened on Al Schroeder's old car. It now belongs to a fellow in Truchas who has replaced the wheels with large 5-lug wheels. Good to see Al's car still living on. Lupe brought some masks she has been sewing and several members took one or two home with them. The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 A.M. After that folks spent quite a bit of time catching up with one another and kicking tires in the parking lot. We all agreed we are looking forward to seeing one another again and starting to get back to some semblance of normal. So, see you all on Saturday July 4 at 9:00 A.M. at Mariposa Basin Park! ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Old Route 66 Cleanup -- David Huntoon The Monday June 8th Old Route 66 cleanup was accomplished by seven people and 14 bags of trash plus assorted lumber, lawn chairs, etc. were collected. Tony Berbig & Linda Soukup, Robert Gold, Dave Allin, Leroy & Josie Alderete and David Huntoon. Went well. We will try again next month. Monday, July 6. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Father's Day Car Show -- David Huntoon Edgewood. Tony and Linda won Best Muscle Car. Hundreds of cars. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Happy July Birthday Wishes to: Debra Anderson - Larry Blair - Mark Domzalski - Terry Hall Kelli Pogue Morgan -- Kay Sutt - Tarmo Sutt -- Valerie Nye Happy July Anniversary Wishes to: Linda & Dick Cochran -- Maggie & Bob Kitts Kelli Pogue & Mark Morgan ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== What do you do during a Covid-19 stay-at-home period? If you are Tarmo Sutt you find a Corvair to get running again. 1964 Monza had fuel problems. Ed installed an electric fuel pump after having installed several mechanical pumps. They would not work. The thinking was that the eccentric on the crankcase had flattened out. Both carbs were plugged. Turns out there were no gas filters in them, just one inline fuel filter. That filter was plugged and was letting crap through into the carbs. I have never seen such blockage at the needle and seat area. With two new carbs kits plus good filters and some tweaking around, I soon had this 1964 Monza 110 auto convertible running good again. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== David Huntoon says: My new/used car as of two weeks ago. A 2006 Roush Mustang. Maybe we'll see it soon? ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== PANDEMIC TIMELINE: https://www.nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html 0 DEC 31 Wuhan, China: Treating dozens of cases of a new virus disease 11 JAN 11 China: First known death from an illness caused by the virus 20 JAN 20 Japan, South Korea, Thailand: First cases outside China 21 JAN 21 Washington State: First confirmed case in the United States 23 JAN 23 Wuhan, China: City is cut off from all travel 30 JAN 30 World Health Organization: Declares a global health emergency 31 JAN 31 USA: Restrictions on travel from China 33 FEB 02 Philippines: First Coronavirus death outside China 36 FEB 05 Japan: Thousands are quarantined on cruise ship 38 FEB 07 China: Doctor who tried to raise the alarm died of coronavirus 42 FEB 11 World Health Organization: The disease is named "Covid-19" 45 FEB 14 France: First death in Europe 50 FEB 19 Japan: Hundreds leave the quarantined cruise ship 52 FEB 21 South Korea: Shincheonji Church is linked to surge of infections 54 FEB 23 Italy: Major surge in number of cases 55 FEB 24 Iran: A second major focus of cases 57 FEB 26 Brazil: First Latin American case reported 59 FEB 28 Nigeria: First African sub-saharan case reported 60 FEB 29 Seattle: First U.S. death reported 63 MAR 03 USA: All federal restrictions on testing are lifted 67 MAR 07 CNM: At anniversary party many are worried about the coronavirus 71 MAR 11 New Mexico: Four cases of Covid-19 are confirmed 71 MAR 11 New Mexico: Governor evokes the Public Health Emergency Act 71 MAR 11 USA: Blocks most travel from Europe 73 MAR 13 USA: Declaration of a national emergency 75 MAR 15 USA: The C.D.C. recommends no gatherings of 50 or more people 77 MAR 17 France: The government imposes a national lockdown 83 MAR 23 New Mexico: Governor issues a statewide stay-at-home order 83 MAR 23 Britain: The government announces a national lockdown 84 MAR 24 Japan: The Tokyo Olympics are postponed until 2021 84 MAR 24 India: The government imposes a 24-day lockdown 86 MAR 26 USA: Now leads the world with 81,321 confirmed cases 87 MAR 27 USA: A stimulus bill of $2 trillion is signed 88 MAR 28 USA: The C.D.C. imposes a travel advisory for New York 93 APR 02 World: Cases are now over a million with at least 51,000 dead 95 APR 04 CNM: We cancel regular meeting due to the Covid-19 pandemic 99 APR 08 World: At least 24 companies announce vaccine programs 101 APR 10 Russia: Reports 12,000 cases, two-thirds in Moscow 105 APR 14 International Monetary Fund predicts another Great Depression 108 APR 17 USA: President encourages protests against state restrictions 115 APR 24 European Union: Tones down criticism against China 115 APR 24 Makers of Lysol and Clorox warn against ingesting their products 123 MAY 02 CNM: We cancel our regular meeting due to the Covid-19 pandemic 136 MAY 15 New Mexico: Easing of restrictions, some openings at 25% capacity 138 MAY 17 Japan and Germany officially declare economic recessions 140 MAY 19 Britain: Cambridge University moves all student lectures online 148 MAY 27 USA: Covid-19 deaths now over 100,000 in the United States 150 MAY 29 USA: President says USA will leave the World Health Organization 152 MAY 31 USA: Protests in 75 cities drive concerns about new infections 156 JUN 04 World: Number of known cases increasing by 100,000 new cases per day 158 JUN 06 CNM: First meeting since March, at a park, with "social distancing" 168 JUN 16 Britain: Scientists say dexamethasone reduces Covid-19 deaths by 30% 186 JUL 04 CNM: We plan second "social distancing" meeting at a park ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== An Adventure from July, 1970 -- Originally Published by CNM in January 2004 I'm Glad I've Got Positraction Jim Pittman It was 1970 and I was a not-quite-starving graduate student. My 1966 Corsa coupe and I were a one-car family. My rebuilt 1968 140-HP engine was running great and I'd think nothing of jumping in the car and driving hundreds of miles whenever I felt like it. It was a rare weekend when I wasn't out somewhere touring another part of New Mexico or Colorado. One day my medical student friend Gaither asked if I'd like to go on a week-end trip to Taos. As part of his medical school training he was scheduled to visit a clinic in Taos run by the UNM School of Medicine. He wanted me to provide transportation for a couple of other medical students. I hadn't spent much time in that part of New Mexico and expected to see a lot of nice mountain scenery as well as the historic and exotic town. Visiting "hippie" communes with the clinic's student staff promised to be a unique experience. When Gaither told me that one of the medical students was Renee, a beautiful Californian, I was even more pleased. My other student passenger was Randy, a tall, easy-going Oklahoman. Gaither had three other students who'd be going up with him in his Datsun 510 sedan after classes on Friday. Randy, Renee and I were able to take Friday off, so we left Albuquerque early and had a pleasant and uneventful trip up the Rio Grande valley: Santa Fe, Espanola and Pilar to Ranchos de Taos where we stopped to see the famous church. Arriving in Taos, we found the clinic and met the students there and learned where we'd be able to sleep for two nights. We had sleeping bags and we were all welcome to crash in the students' apartment. Our visits to the local communes with the clinic staff were set for Saturday, so we were free for the rest of the day to be tourists and take in the sights. We were driving through town looking at the adobe buildings and art shops when Randy, who had been here before, suggested that since the weather was perfect and we had plenty of time, we should go out to a place he knew where we could hike down into the Rio Grande gorge. The plan was satisfactory to Renee and me, so we headed north on the highway to Questa. We stopped for gasoline and then drove to the area looking for the right spot. Randy peered uncertainly at the dirt side roads on the west side of the highway. Eventually he pointed out a road that looked like the one he'd taken before. We turned onto the road. It soon degenerated into nothing but a couple of deep ruts winding through the dirt and rocks. No problem, I just drove slowly and kept the wheels up on top of the middle ridge and the right shoulder of the trail. We wound along the meandering dirt track for what seemed like miles, getting closer and closer to the big crack in the desert that was the Rio Grande gorge. Eventually the ruts began to fade away until we were just driving on flat dirt and rocks. We parked some distance from where the ground started to slope down into the gorge, grabbed our canteens, locked the car, and headed for the lip of the gorge. The Rio Grande gorge at this location is a magnificent sight. The desert extends flatly in every direction. Snow-covered Colorado mountains loom to the north and Wheeler Peak towers to the east. We saw the gorge as a narrow and deep gouge in the earth. The sides were rocky and precipitous. The little river winding along hundreds of feet below looked like a far-away creek. There did not seem to be any way to get to the bottom without risking life and limb. No problem, Randy said, we'll just walk along the rim until we find the trail. So we turned south and, sure enough, before long there was a nice, well-defined trail heading into the gorge. Down we went. Pretty soon we were surrounded by cliffs and the sky seemed to be receding to a narrow band above us. No signs of civilization were to be seen. As we approached the river (it was looking wide and deep and fast now) we came to some ancient ruins made of stone blocks or perhaps broken concrete. That looks like a building down by the river, said Renee. Yes, said Randy, I think this used to be a resort of some kind, you know, like a warm spring. Sure enough, down at the river's edge near the ruins there was a pool of nice warm water. (You can see this place for yourself easily enough without driving to Taos and finding that dirt road. Just rent a DVD or stream the 1969 movie "Easy Rider" and watch the New Mexico part of the road trip. It's one of the places where the motorcycle trio Hopper, Fonda and Nicholson stopped to contemplate the wilderness and philosophize on the meaning of life.) We were in no hurry. We played in the warm water awhile, then wandered along the river bank to see what else we could find. Other than the river and the rocks, there wasn't really much. The remains of the stone building were pretty much the only sign of civilization we encountered. We eventually grew bored and started back up the trail toward the upper world. Now and then we'd find a particular spectacular vantage point and sit down to rest and admire the view. Eventually at one of these stops we were high enough to see more of the sky and we could see a big blue-gray cloud over the desert toward the west. A few minutes later and a few hundred feet higher, we could see that the cloud was a lot bigger and blacker than we thought and it was exhibiting all the appearances of a true desert thunderstorm. By now we could see lightning and the wind was picking up. We'd better get out of here and get back to the car before it rains on us, we said. We hurried. But the trail didn't go right up the side of the gorge, it went up at a shallow angle, and there was a long way to go before reaching the top where we could get to the car. Meanwhile the clouds were building, getting blacker, starting to cross the gorge north of us! Could we get to the top before it arrived? We couldn't. Just about the time we got to where we were able to see the car, it started to rain on us. The word "rain" is too puny a word to describe this desert thunderstorm. The wind howled and big hard drops pounded our backs and we were quickly soaked. Lightning threatened to fry us in our tracks. We could hardly see where we were trying to walk! Randy yelled, Give me the keys and I'll run ahead and unlock the car! I tossed him the keys and he took off. Renee and I were more cautious. The desert was now wet and slippery and within two seconds Randy slipped and fell. No damage, he said, but now he was muddy from head to toe. The rain quickly washed a lot of the mud off. We carefully made our way to the car and jumped in. Now we were relatively safe from the rain and lightning, but the inside of the car instantly fogged up. I started the engine and put the defroster on high. We had some towels so I could dry my glasses and have a fair chance to see the road through the slapping wipers. We headed for the highway. Soon we were at the ruts of the primitive road. I tried driving on top of the ruts as I had done when we drove in. No way! The wheels slid down into the ruts and the belly pan scraped over the rocks in the middle. The ruts guided the wheels and steered the car! I could not do anything but go or stop! And I did not dare stop. As the grinding sounds under the car continued, Randy gave me an alarmed look and I said, I'm sure glad I have positraction! Maybe we won't get stuck! Yeah, right! said Randy. Slowly we scraped along, the wheels spinning and sliding as the ruts twisted this way and that, the rain pounding on the roof. Randy kept swiping the damp towel over the windshield to get rid of some of the fog. Finally we could see the highway ahead and we gratefully pulled out onto the pavement. The storm, having lost us from its clutches, went tearing across the desert toward the east as if it wanted to get to the mountains before it ran out of water. The car slung mud from its wheels and seemed to run fine after its ordeal. The fog gradually faded from the inside glass. We began to feel as if we might get dry someday soon. Boy, that road sure turned into mud in a hurry! Randy said. Yes, and it's a good thing I've got positraction, I said. Otherwise we might have hung up on the ruts and got stuck. Yeah, right, Randy said. A few minutes later we are driving along the highway thinking about our adventure. Uh, Jim, Randy says, just what is positraction, anyway?! The rest of the weekend was much less exciting although it proved to be an educational experience. We joined the medical students for a night on the town in exotic restaurants and bars and the next morning set out on visits to four or five communes. Some were within the town of Taos and some were far out in the desert. One required driving though a creek. Another required driving past signs warning us to Keep Out, but no problem, the clinic staff students were welcome. At one commune we met a person in a white robe who had an air of Christ-like serenity and who patiently answered our questions. A small adobe building served the community for meditation and he invited us to try it. At his suggestion we all sat in a circle holding hands so as to "concentrate our life force" and thereby communicate silently. We closed our eyes and tried to concentrate on having no thoughts whatever and seeing and hearing nothing. As the minutes went by I found that was very hard to have no thoughts whatever! Finally the figure in white suggested we try the "oom" mantra before we opened our eyes and came back to earth. We were quiet and thoughtful as we drove away from that place. Finally one of the students asked how we felt about the meditation. Several spoke up, telling what they thought. We all seemed to have quite different reactions to the experience. In the afternoon several of us went to see the Taos "hot springs" where the water was rather muddy and uninviting. We went to visit Taos Pueblo and saw the herd of buffalo belonging to the pueblo. On Sunday we drove back to Albuquerque. I didn't see any of the clinic students again and never again visited a "hippie commune" but I never forgot that weekend. A historic note: in July 1970 my 1966 Corsa coupe had just over 85,500 miles. Its "new" 140 engine was well broken in at about 34,300 miles. The trip to Taos and back was 426 miles, gasoline cost 37 cents per gallon and I got about 21 miles per gallon. The scraping of rocks against the bottom of the car left no serious damage that I could detect, other than a series of scratches along the belly pan. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== TREASURY REPORT FOR 05-31-2020 to 06-27-2020 DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $6,762.93 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ========= = ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ========= 2020.07.01 JUL NEWSLETTER ===================================================== $6,762.93 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== COINS (NO CORVAIR CONTENT) Jim Pittman In grade school we kids collected and traded things and I remember colorful pieces of petrified wood, arrowheads, marbles and old coins as favorite trade items. In the late 1940s in rural Louisiana there were plenty of Buffalo nickels and Mercury dimes in circulation and occasionally you'd see Liberty "V-nickels" or Indian head pennies or Barber quarters. We used coins a lot in those days. Coffee was a nickel and that was the cost of a coke from a vending machine. You could actually buy things with one or a few penny coins in those days. The first time I went to a foreign country I was primed to pay attention to coins, and before I went I recorded in my notebook the US equivalents of pounds, francs, shillings, lira and marks for quick reference. When I crossed a border to a new country I exchanged currency from the previous one or cashed traveler's checks. As I recall, Holland, France and Germany had serious, businesslike coins. Five silver franc coins made a dollar as did five guilders or four deutschmarks. I don't remember Belgian or Swiss francs because I spent little time in those countries. Pretty soon I found that, instead of doing the arithmetic to translate the local currency to dollar equivalents, I developed a feel for what things cost by judging the weight and size of the coins it would take to buy them. A handful of francs or marks would be worth about "that much" and sure enough, if I bought a common item, that was about how many coins of that size it would take. This system worked fine for some countries but not so well for others. A few countries had modern-looking coins made of aluminum. I could never get a feel for the value of those lightweight, odd-sized coins. In England I found it was much harder to get a "feel" for coin values. In 1964 British coinage was still the very complex system of pounds-shillings-pence which made little sense to me, and there were many different coins in circulation so it was that much harder to keep track. All the coins I saw had a serious, businesslike and British Empire "imperial" feel and appearance. But there was one coin that just did not fit my expectations. That was the penny. At that time British pennies were huge thick discs of copper that seemed (to me) to weigh as much as an American half dollar coin. I found this out when I prepared to make telephone calls from a phone booth. As I recall, a local phone call only cost about four pennies, but if you made two or three calls, it felt like you were feeding your week's budget into the telephone slot! Another thing that demanded coins was the gas (or was it electric?) heater in your hotel room. Yes, the heaters in hotel rooms had some kind of timer mechanism and to get heat you had to feed in a fortune in shilling coins -- I no longer remember how many, or how much time they bought. I never developed a very good "feel" for British money, paper or metal, and I'd usually just proffer a handful of cash and let the shopkeeper take what they needed. How the British managed to transition over to a decimal money system after hundreds of years of pounds-shilling-pence-florins-ha'pennies-farthings I have no idea. I suppose it was as hard for them as it would be for them to change their driving to staying on the "right" side of the road. But they made the change in February 1971, making all those museum-quality imperial coins obsolete overnight. I remember in 1985 when the U.S. Mint changed our silver coins to the "sandwich" or "clad" coins made with two layers of nickel with copper in between. At first coins made of nickel with no silver seemed a radical change but over time we all got used to them. It does seem apparent that the nickel-clad coins wear much better than silver coins. The copper-clad zinc one-cent pennies, though, have a distinctly cheap feel, especially since the mint got rid of the Lincoln Memorial and made the back side of the penny look like a bus token. I still haven't forgiven the U. S. Mint for that. As a person interested in American coins as historical objects that represent our country, I have deplored the "cheapening" of our coinage in recent decades. It seems to me that the artistic quality of modern coins is distinctly inferior to that of the early twentieth century. The fad for putting the fifty states on the backs of quarters was interesting, but now quarters seem to have every park, scenic landmark and battlefield in the country on the reverse side. Some are, sorry to say, just gaudy and of only local interest. But, maybe that's just me..... Say, maybe someday the mint will make a quarter with a Corvair or two, early model and late model, on the back? ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ============================================================================ | July 2020 | August 2020 | September 2020 | | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | | 1 2 3 4 | 1 | 1 2 3 4 5 | | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | | 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 | 27 28 29 30 | | | 30 31 | | ============================================================================ SAT 04 JUL 9:00 AM MEETING AT MARIPOSA PARK, TAYLOR RANCH == EARLY === Mariposa Park, Taylor Ranch, 4900 Kachina Street NW MON 06 JUL 9:00 AM Old Route 66 Cleanup -- The I-40 / NM 333 Triangle. SAT 11 JUL 5:30 PM -- Collector Car Appreciation Day Cruise -- All Cool Cars to 8:30 PM -- LOS RANCHOS DE ALBUQUERQUE ------ PART OF OLD ROUTE 66 -- Between Osuna and EL Pueblo NW - SPEED LIMIT IS 25 MPH >>> INTERNATIONAL CORSA CONVENTION CANCELLED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS <<< >>> RESCHEDULE TO JULY 27-31, 2021 IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA <<< WED 15 JUL 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED FRI 24 JUL 9:00 PM Deadline for items for August 2020 newsletter MON 27 JUL >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING AUGUST NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 01 AUG 10:00 AM Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED WED 19 AUG 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED WED 26 AUG 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED FRI 28 AUG 9:00 PM Deadline for items for September 2020 newsletter MON 31 AUG >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 05 SEP 10:00 AM Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED WED 16 SEP 5:00 PM Board Meeting: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED WED 23 SEP 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING: >>>>>>>> TO BE DETERMINED FRI 25 SEP 9:00 PM Deadline for items for October 2020 newsletter MON 28 SEP >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING OCTOBER NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 03 OCT 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 21 OCT 5:00 PM Board Meeting: Highland Senior Center at 131 Monroe NE WED 28 OCT 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE FRI 30 OCT 9:00 PM Deadline for items for November 2020 newsletter MON 02 NOV >> TARGET FOR PRINTING AND MAILING NOVEMBER 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 [ JULY 2020 VOL 46 Nr 7 ISSUE 538 ] Jim Pittman 2013 V.39 Nr 7 #454 On the cover, Corvairs at the Cripple Creek, Colorado Tri-State, hosted by the Pikes Peak club. John Wiker reported on the Los Lunas Summerfest. Heula congratulated Jon Anderson on his winning the Boydston Award. Curt Shimp, Vickie Hall and a "fly-on-the-wall reported on the Cripple Creek Tri-State, another fabulous one. Many photos by Steve Gongora and others adorned this issue. Jim provided a map showing all Tri-State locations, 1976-2014, and a table of attendance at most of these events. 2006 V.32 Nr 7 #370 On the cover, the Motel at Montrose, Colorado for the Tri-State Event which was a resounding success. Most of the preparation work was done by LeRoy Rogers and Bill Reider. Heula said we cleared $30 on the Jelly Bean count, we sold one cookbook and the silent auction cleared $19. Ray Trujillo reported in detail on his experiences on the way to, and at, Montrose. An unscheduled stop along the way due to a bad fuel pump (or was it just vapor-lock?) was a highlight. Mary Jo Jeans of Baton Rouge (Heula's daughter) reported on attending the Tri-State including a side trip to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Wendell reported $3,870.72 in our accounts. Robert got tickets to the Isotopes ball game for 25 club members. We planned to visit the Unser Racing Museum in August. We had 12 club vehicles in the Museum car show. After our June meeting Hurley gave a presentation on his motorcycle racing days. A CNM group attended the world premier of the movie "Cars" at the Kimo Theater. Many color photos decorated this issue. 1999 V.25 Nr 7 #286 Cover: winning vehicles and owners at the Salida, Colorado Tri-State meet. Billiken recalled that the Corvair was still going strong, 30 years after it went out of production. Dennis ran our meeting at Casa Chevrolet. We welcomed new member Bruce Carlin. Our bank held $6,215.37. Bill said the Museum car show was a big success with 488 vehicles. An "All Clubs" picnic was planned for the Elk's Club campground on South 14. Some of us planned to watch as the Great American Race passed through town. Robert was working on the State Fair car show. Hurley agreed to serve as vice-president since Paul Campbell had left us for Oklahoma. Dennis reported that at Salida the officers of CNM, Pikes Peak and Rocky Mountain agreed that CNM should go out of turn to host the 2000 Tri-State in Albuquerque in conjunction with the Albuquerque Museum's recognition of the Corvair's 40th anniversary. An article from the Denver club's newsletter reported on the Salida Tri-State, with several nice photos. A tech-non-tip by Sylvan asked what kind of block he had, given its peculiar characteristics. An article by CORSA officer Bryan Blackwell told us what a typical day working for CORSA was like. And lastly, we remembered former member and owner of many nice Corvairs, Doug Morgan, who recently passed away. 1992 V.18 Nr 7 #202 Full coverage of our Tri-State in Las Vegas, New Mexico started with a cover photo of the hotel headquarters, "Montezuma's Castle" and a passel of Corvairs. President Steve ran the meeting. Guests were Oliver Scheflow and Brian Major. Wendell reported $941 in the bank. Del was prepared to sell patches, name tags and front license plates. LeRoy previewed the Great American Race, soon to pass through our city. This was our last meeting at Ed Black's Chevrolet. Milton told us about the sale of Ed Black's to Casa Chevrolet. We had a successful Museum car show with 430 cars. Tarmo briefed us on the Fourth of July Santa Fe breakfast, car show and general fiesta on the plaza. LeRoy went over the upcoming State Fair car show. Larry previewed a trip to Tinkertown, Madrid and Bella Vista. Mark Martinek previewed our trip to Ojo Caliente. We were having a busy summer! Dennis provided a detailed report on the Las Vegas Tri-State and LeRoy provided many photos. Wayne traveled the farthest to get to the Tri-State: 1,200 miles from Iowa. We had participants from San Diego, Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. I remember Sylvan's great econo-run and a visit to Fort Union, away out on the treeless plains. 1985 V.11 Nr 7 #118 The cover was a sharp drawing of a 1966 Corsa stolen, err, borrowed from another newsletter. Francis ran our meeting and Bill Hector reported on it. Sylvan counted pennies up to $507. We planned to meet in July in Santa Fe. A new member was Jerry Kendall. Topics: a raffle, an econo-run to Elephant Butte, the Great American Road Race, a picnic and a swap meet. We toured the Ed Black showroom. There were no new Corvairs, but lots of Corvettes, Chevettes, Caprices, Eurosports, Impalas, Camaros and a Cavalier. (Who remembers Cavaliers, Chevettes and Eurosports these days?) Sylvan reported the results of the econo-run: Norm Brand in a Powerglide convertible swept the field at 36.3 MPG. The average for all nine vehicles was 30.7, not bad. A clipping from the Albuquerque Tribune told how Howard Bryan, a long-time Albuquerque newspaper columnist, contributed to a 1960 Chevrolet commercial with his Corvair station wagon in the New Mexico ghost town of Cabezon. Bill McClellan continued his series on gas welding. Tech tips told about adjusting wheel bearings, replacing throttle linkage bushings, and watching out for bad gas that caused symptoms of fuel pump failure. 1978 V.4 Nr 6 #34 The July 1978 cover had a photo of a 1960 Corvair owned by a dear lady who bought it new and never drove it over forty. Meeting minutes said that we needed more participants and volunteers. Jim wrote about influential cars, concluding that the Mustang had far more effect on American car design than the Corvair, but reminding us that the Mustang was inspired by the Monza convertible! Tech tips: Getting good quality brake shoes. Modifying your glove box latch to work smoother. Getting a high-performance oil filter. A quick repair for a broken clutch cable. The purpose of the uneven spacing of fan blades on the cooling fan and the alternator fan. A fine article by Ike Meissner told about diagnosing and fixing problems with your fuel gauge. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== 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. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== =END=