The March 2023 newsletter - Text Version Updated 27-Feb-2023 = Copyright (c) 2023 Corvairs of New Mexico ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== March 2023 / VOLUME 49 / NUMBER 3 / ISSUE 570 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== 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 March 4th 10:00AM Highland Senior Center 131 Monroe St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 THIS MONTH: President's Letter ......................... Gregory Nelson Dues Due Dates ....................... Membership Committee Marching Into Spring ................ V. P. Brenda Stickler Treasury Report ............................. Steve Gongora Birthdays & Anniversaries ................... Heula Pittman Turn Signal Fix .................................. Tech Tip Why Can't We Just Ban Ethanol ..... Jay Leno, Paul Seyforth Rallies & Slaloms ............................. Jim Pittman Calendar of Coming Events .............. Board of Directors March Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago .. Club Historian COVER: Jim's 1966 Corsa, Las Cruces Slalom, Summer 1968 OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS President Greg Nelson 505-400-8670 fesedu @ comcast.net Vice-President Brenda Stickler 505-856-6993 tounce66 @ msn.com Secretary Lupe Arellanes 505-515-9897 ispeakmedicare505 @ gmail.com Treasurer Steve Gongora 505-220-7401 stevegongora @ msn.com Newsletter Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu Birthdays Heula Pittman 505-275-2195 heula @ q.com Past President Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com Past President Dave Allin 505-410-9668 dnjallin @ gmail.com Past President David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com MEETING: Regular Meeting - Saturday March 4th, 2023 at 10:00 AM Highland Senior Center, 131 Monroe St 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 MARCH 2023 DUE LAST MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE 2023.02 ========= NONE ======== 25-MAR-2023 DUE THIS MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE 2023.03 Fred & Brenda Edeskuty 25-APR-2023 2023.03 Barbara & Gordon Johnson 25-APR-2023 2023.03 Connie & Robert McBreen 25-APR-2023 2023.03 Kelli & Mark Morgan 25-APR-2023 DUE NEXT MONTH ================== INACTIVE DATE 2023.04 Deborah & John Dinsdale 25-MAY-2023 2023.04 Terry Hall 25-MAY-2023 2023.04 Heula & Jim Pittman 25-MAY-2023 DUE MAY ========================= INACTIVE DATE 2023.05 Emma & LeRoy Rogers 25-JUN-2023 2023.05 Kay & Tarmo Sutt 25-JUN-2023 INACTIVE ======================== INACTIVE DATE 2022.02 Linda Soukup & Tony Berbig 25-MAR-2022 2022.07 Mike R Hughes 25-AUG-2022 Send your Dues to: CNM Treasurer Steve Gongora 8419 Palo Duro NE Albuquerque, NM 87111 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 25-Feb-2023 we have 41 active family memberships. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== FROM THE PRESIDENT Greg Nelson Tri-State Activity 1. The website and registration for this year's event in Salida, Colorado is up and running. If you plan on attending, please visit the Pikes Peak club's website, and sign up. You have until April 19th to register. 2. The CNM Board has begun planning for the CNM sponsored Tri-State meet in 2024. Several of us had planned to visit Las Vegas, NM (current city choice) to scout out hotels and banquet sites on Feb 17th. However, last week's three-day weather event prompted Lupe and Jim Arellanes to suggest we postpone the trip. Good idea. We are now planning on visiting on March 10th. We'll have a chance to discuss the itinerary at the March meeting. Lupe will be asking for volunteers for various jobs for the 2024 event. These include T-shirt design and procurement, keeping an eye on registration and the car wash area, just to name a few. 3. Well drat. I missed last year's Tri-State because my brother's oldest daughter graduated from high school. Fortunately, I'm able to attend this year's meet in Salida, Colorado. Can you hear the 'BUT' coming? My brother has another daughter. In the same school district. And she graduates next year. I checked the Frisco Independent School District's website, but it does not show graduation dates for 2024. So, I emailed them. They won't make final plans until Spring Break, but it looks like it will be May 16-19, 2024. Which means I have a 25% chance of making it to the 2024 convention if she graduates on the 16th. If ceremonies are on the 17th, I can still fly back early next morning and make the banquet. Silver lining: no more nephews or nieces ... until my cousin's daughter graduates in 2027 from a different school district. Fingers crossed. Mecum Auction The next Mecum Auction is March 28 - April 1 in Glendale, Arizona. Presently there is only one Corvair on the block: a very nice red 1964 Monza Convertible with manual transmission with a black interior. Looks very nice. I'll pop it up for you on the television monitor at the March meeting. Oops. Article Correction I mentioned in a previous newsletter how much I have spent so far on my 1964 Monza. Stop the presses and add another $1,020 to the total. The '64 really needs dual exhaust, so I picked up the Ultimate Kit from Clarks. And I'm STILL putting together the big engine order. Like Larry said: It's a hobby, not an investment. Care and Feeding Booklet Many thanks go to Jim for updating CNM's Care and Feeding Booklet. Clark's Corvair Parts has placed an order for 50 booklets. I'll get them shipped out this week. More Lonely Corvairs My friend and colleague, Steve (his non-Corvair cars have appeared in past newsletters) mentioned seeing Corvairs in the Skrappit junkyard lot in Jarales, NM, near his home. I paid him a visit on President's Day and to my amazement, there were five Corvairs waiting for the crusher or to be used as parts-cars. There were three early models, one late and one Greenbrier, and all in bad shape. However, the 'Rust' colored 4-door early model still had tires and wheel covers. But as you can see from the photo, the engine is almost totally obscured with animal droppings. I hope we didn't contract Hantavirus. There was one additional car that caught my attention - a 1972 Fiat 128. My first car was a 1978 128 Rally Sport Sedan. If the 1972 was in better shape (everything was missing) I would have to seriously consider buying it. March Old Route 66 Cleanup It's that time of year: March 11th will be our first cleanup of 2023. We'll start out easy at the eastern end at Mile Marker 5. Look for my Mazda or Dave's truck. We'll pluck around for an hour and then head to Roots Farm Cafe for munchies afterwards. New Mexico Council of Car Clubs I managed to remember to attend the NMCCC monthly meeting. The topics discussed were the four big shows the Council sponsors every year: ** 21 MAY -- Museum Car Show Same weekend as Tri-State. ** 08 JULY -- Collector Car Appreciation Day. ** 13 AUGUST -- Car Council Picnic. Location to be decided. ** 24 SEPTEMBER -- The traditional Car Council Swap Meet will be replaced with a low-key car show & cruise with food and music to be held on the 24th. Stay tuned. Another important topic discussed, especially relevant to CNM, was the City of Albuquerque requirement that we have liability insurance for the Museum show since it is held on city property. When we visit Las Vegas, NM on March 10th we'll have to ask the car show organizer what Las Vegas requires since it looks like our cars will spill out onto the city streets and not fully contained within the hotel's parking lot (e.g. CNM's Tri-State at Marriott Pyramid Hotel). This Month's Raffle A friend of mine has twin daughters in Girl Scouts. Guess what the raffle prize is this month? Yup. Cookies. There should be enough for everyone. I got two extra boxes of Thin Mints. March Program Nothing formal this month. We'll take a quick peek at the Corvair up for sale at the Mecum Auction and maybe spend a few extra minutes talking about the Tri-State Conventions. Anyone recall when it stopped officially being a "Tri-State" and became more of a "Tri-Club" event? Cheers Y'all ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Marching Into Spring Brenda Stickler Yes, marching into Spring we look forward to ditching our coats, because we have lots to look forward to this Spring. If you missed going to the Wheels Museum, it was a visit enjoyed by all. It would be worth your effort to invite someone to experience that Albuquerque Gem with you. It only has a few collector cars now, but when the city starts working on a larger place for future expansions, more cars will be needed. They would love to have a Corvair. It does not need to be drivable. I drove the riding train three times. No matter where I was, someone always made sure I got on the train, and that was fun. They have an impressive, complex miniature railroad set up with lots on New Mexico scenes. The collection of travel history items is unique.The walls are covered with historical pictures, paintings and articles. Many of them are about Albuquerque's historic Old Town area. Our club's 49th Anniversary is the occasion for our next social gathering. It will be on Saturday March 18th at the Tomato Cafe on San Pedro. They offer a fine banquet of pizza (two non-gluten crusts are available) and a variety of soups. There's a huge selection of self-serve salad combos. The last time we were at the Tomato Cafe it was North and West of where it is located now. It is on the south side of Paseo del Norte, on San Pedro with both a Walgreens and an Office Depot across the street. You will want to get there between 11:20 AM and 11:30 because the special price for our banquet is $12.95 per person. At 12:00 noon the price will be $13.95 each. The address is 7900 San Pedro Dr NE Albuquerque 87113. I am thrilled that Anne has found a unique restaurant for for us to meet on Saturday April 8th. It is called the Ironwood Kitchen at 5740 Night Whisper Road NW which is in the Unser and McMahon area. We'll plan to meet there at 11:00 AM and enjoy a great meal together. We are starting to work hard on our plans for Tri-State 2024 and there will be a trip to Las Vegas, NM at the beginning of March. Thanks for all who have contacted Lupe to let her know how you plan to help. We know there are many of you with talents and skills for this major event and she would love to hear from you. So, give me your input of other places you would like to explore with our members. Of course we all love a meal out as well. Look forward to our times as a club. Thanks for your support and your suggestions. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== TREASURY REPORT FOR 01-28-2023 to 02-24-2023 =============================================== DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $ 4,768.80 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================== ========== 2023.02.01 2579 -$ 85.49 J.Pittman Print 35 Newsletters FEB 2023 -$ 56.46 $ 4,712.34 2023.02.01 J.Pittman 29 Stamps @.84 each -$ 24.36 $ 4,687.98 2023.02.01 J.Pittman 29 Envelopes @ .161 each -$ 4.67 $ 4,683.31 2023.02.08 2580 -$ 332.95 J.Pittman Print 100 CARE & FEEDING 11th -$ 332.95 $ 4,350.36 2023.02.20 8146 $ 50.00 Dues A.Wiker 26 m CORSA +$ 50.00 $ 4,400.36 2023.02.22 9454 +$ 180.00 Clark's Order 50 CARE & FEEDING books +$ 180.00 $ 4,580.36 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================== ========== 2023.03 MAR NEWSLETTER ============================================ BALANCE = $ 4,580.36 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Happy Birthday Wishes to March CNM'ers: David Allin Jim Arellanes Linda Cochran Art Gold Barbara Johnson John McMahan Lloyd Piatt Brenda Stickler Evan Trujillo Joel Yelich Happy Anniversary Wishes to March CNM'ers: Anne Mae & Robert Gold ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Thanks to Steve Gongora for Wheels Museum Photos. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Sorry, I lost the original reference to these articles. They may have come from a 2016 issue of the Tucson Corvair Club newsletter. TURN SIGNAL SWITCH FIX 1965 - 1966 turn signal switches sometimes develop a problem where, when activated, the rear lamp will blink and the front lamp (including the dash indicator) will not. If a little pressure is added to the lever, the front lamp and dash indicator will function as it should. This is a common problem even with new switches. The photo at the right, provided by azdave (Corvair Forum) of Phoenix, shows the switch contacts and their associated circuits. The tabs become misshapen and need a little tender tweaking to get them to make proper contact with the tabs. Study the photo and the solution to the problem can be easily remedied. Dave saves the metal parts from old switches so he has spares on hand. The old parts sometimes work better in the new switches. He always checks new units over before installing them just to be sure everything is working properly. Much easier than installing twice! VP Turn signal switch inside steering column hub. A right turn signal command pushes in direction of black arrow and results in disconnecting right rear lamp from the brake circuit and activating a right turn signal. B+ = +12V from brake pedal TS+ = +12V from TS blinker module LF = feed to left front turn signal RF = feed to right front turn signal LR = feed to left rear brake / turn RR = feed to right rear brake/ turn xxxxxxxx 2011 ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== Sorry, I lost the original reference to these articles. They may have come from a 2016 issue of the Tucson Corvair Club newsletter. WHY CAN'T WE JUST BAN ETHANOL? Jay Leno -- edited by Paul Seyforth, Rocky Mountain Corsa At one of our RMC meetings this last fall an article by Jay Leno was passed around. It seems that Jay was made aware of several car fires of his friends' collector cars. He blames it on the ethanol that is added to the gasoline. The ethanol is so corrosive that it eats thru the rubber fuel lines and fuel pump diaphragms causing gasoline leaks into areas that are hot enough to start fires. Modern cars (the last thirty years or so) have been adapted to handle the 10% ethanol that is in the gasoline we buy at the pumps. Things like sealed gasoline delivery systems, fuel injection, electronic ignition make the average car driver oblivious to the problems of ethanol laced gasoline. However, ethanol causes many problems with older (like collector) vehicles, off road equipment, boats, chain saws and any other motor driven machinery that has to sit unused for a period of time. It will pick up water from the air at a higher rate causing problems with condensation. It can loosen sludge and dirt as well as varnish anywhere in the fuel system causing blocked fuel lines and jets. This is in addition to eating away at older fuel lines with its accompany fire hazard. One problem we in the Corvair community experience is difficulty starting our cars after they have sat for some time, or when the air temperature is high. That problem is caused by the ethanol's high evaporation. But why was ethanol added in the first place? It does not seem to add more power to the motor nor does it contribute to lower exhaust emissions. It's sort of used as a filler. When Congress passed the Renewable Fuel standard in 2005 it was part of Energy policy of that year. Our consumption of gasoline was increasing to the point where we were importing most our fuel. Adding 10% ethanol to the gas made it seem like we were using 10% less fuel. But not really, because ethanol's thermal efficiency is lower than gasoline. Nope, the real reason for adding ethanol to the gas was to help the agriculture industry upping the demand for corn which is processed into alcohol (ethanol). It has done that increasing the price of corn and also the price of food in general. A lot of money has been made by our food growing community. So what can we as a collector car community do about this problem? I'm not sure what the Collector Car Council of Colorado is doing for us (RMC does not belong). However that is how we are going to change the minds of our representatives in Congress. Jay recommends that we write our representatives requesting that they eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard entirely. In the meantime the recommendation is to drain and clean the car's fuel tank (this should only take a weekend or two), replace the fuel filters, and add a can of Stabilizer to the tank whenever it is stored for a period of time. Driving the car from time to time would help but the tank of gas would need to be turned over at least every 3 months to be safe. And then there is "real" gas. That is gasoline that does not contain ethanol. Yes, there are gas stations in Colorado that sell gasoline free of ethanol. If you want to be sure your car will not suffer the ravages of ethanol while being stored or by low use then maybe that the way to go. Check the website www.pure-gas.org. for locations. Oh yeah, they recommend calling before driving out to pick it up. Happy motoring. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== RALLIES AND SLALOMS JIM PITTMAN When Ford introduced the Mustang in April 1964 my reliable Ford Fairlane immediately became dull and boring and I wanted a new Mustang. I started making plans to buy one. But a chance test drive in a used TR-4 changed my mind. I decided I should buy a "real" sports car and the best one for me seemed to be an Austin-Healey 3000. This purchase instantly made me a "sports car person" and now I had to live up to that status. As I met other sports car owners I found that some assumed the look of an English gentleman driving around in his MG or Jaguar with tweeds, vest and Sherlock cap, smoking a pipe. Others lived to show off their driving skills with fancy gear shifts and "drifting" through corners. I was not into the country squire image but I did want to master the skills of driving a high-performance machine: how to make quick smooth gear shifts and how to handle curves on twisty country roads. I wanted to drive fast safely in the spirit of the MG motto of the time, "Safety Fast." This was near Dayton in southwestern Ohio where there were many miles of curvy, well-paved country roads, just perfect for sports car drivers. And there were plenty of young sports car owners, many looking for weekend events where they could show off their British or German cars. There were at least four major sports car clubs in the area, and a major interest was going on rallies. If there was racing going on nearby, I never found out about it. The local sports car club I joined was a branch of the SCCA, Sports Car Club of America. I soon had friends who owned MG-As, MG-Bs, Alpines, Sprites, Midgets, TR-4s and Spitfires. There were challenging rallies nearby on most weekends. On my very first rally (I recruited another lieutenant to be my navigator) I had my very first failed clutch hydraulic cylinder. Fortunately I had learned enough about "double-clutching" by this time to be able to limp home. Now I had a real problem: where to get the clutch fixed? My friends said, "Don't go to the dealer, go to Big Larry's." Everyone who owned an English sports car longer than a month back in the sixties surely knows about the Big Larrys of the sports car world. When I went to his shop I found Big Larry tinkering with the Weber carburetors from a somewhat mistreated Lotus Elan. He knew instantly what to do about my clutch: "Dust in the slave cylinder caused a leak, have it ready for you by Wednesday," he said. This was not my last visit to Big Larry. I'd imagine the engine wasn't pulling well in the middle of a rally and my friends would argue about whether it was the Lucas electrics or the SU's fuel mix needles or the level of the damper oil. Back to Big Larry's I go for another lesson on what British sports cars needed to keep running. One day I complained about the performance of the car just as an older black Healey pulled in to the lot. Big Larry called to the driver, told him I was bitching about my new Austin-Healey and suggested he take me for a ride to show me what a real Austin-Healey could do. The driver was willing and I buckled up in the passenger seat. I now had a demonstration of acceleration, handling and braking such as I was only to experience once more on my entire sports car career. When we returned safely to Big Larry's shop I not only had a new respect for the capabilities of the Healey, I had a determination to learn how to do that kind of driving myself. I learned some of the techniques of high-performance driving from other owners of sports cars and from reading. There were books on competition driving in the library. There were magazine articles. I subscribed to Road & Track and Car and Driver. And what I learned, I went out on the roads to practice. I imagined that curvy southwestern Ohio country roads were less dangerous late at night: there was less traffic and you could see oncoming cars by their headlights. So at night I'd find handy curves to practice "drifting" and "double-declutching" and "heel-and-toe" downshifts. Often I'd find myself on the wrong side of the road when I went into a right-hand turn a little too fast, but I never slid into the ditch. Gradually I gained skill at getting more speed out of the Healey and I was able to avoid doing anything stupid enough to wreck the car. I went on a lot of rallies. One club had members who were only interested in motoring around the countryside in their English cars and retiring to a pub for tea and crumpets. Another club had members who wanted to put on complex rallies with fiendishly tricky but precise instructions that had to be followed to the letter for success. Another club was made up of speed demons who just wanted an excuse to drive around the country roads as fast as their exotic cars would take them. I usually went with the second group, but occasionally I got into the third kind of rally. I always wanted to drive, but if I couldn't get a navigator I was willing to navigate for another driver. One weekend I had no navigator and agreed to navigate for Herzlich, a pipe-smoking MG-B owner. The weather was drizzly and somewhere along the way we took a wrong turn, had to double back and had to make up lost time. With my head in my calculations I said, "We should be further along here." Herzlich said, "Well, I don't want to go much faster in this rain." Ready to protest that we really needed more speed, I looked up at the wet road and looked over at the speedometer -- 95 miles per hour. I shut up and let the driver do the driving. At another rally I got a ride in a Fiat 850. The owner wanted to try his hand at navigating. I was happy to drive. Now I discovered the charms of an Italian sports car that would just "go where you think" rather than having to be forced into turns. It felt like, once I got the little car up to 60 miles an hour, I'd be able to go around any curve on any Ohio road without having to slow down! When I got a chance to be assigned to a four-year tour of duty in Alaska I decided to trade the Austin-Healey for a 1966 Corsa coupe with turbocharged engine. The Corvair turned out to be a remarkably satisfactory sports car for me. There were no rallies for me in Alaska but after a year the Air Force closed the lab and I was able to get assigned to Holloman AFB near Alamogordo in southern New Mexico. Possibly due to a lack of curvy country roads, the Otero Sports Car Association people didn't do rallies. Some were racers and the rest were enthused for slaloms. Okay, no rallies, I'm willing to try this. My Corsa already had heavy-duty suspension, fast steering and a turbo engine so all it needed was metallic brakes, Koni shocks and better tires. I started by entering a slalom in El Paso and the officials put my car in the "modified" class because of the turbo engine. I protested that it came from the factory like that. Maybe they had never seen a turbo before, but they wouldn't budge. I did not press the point as I just wanted to see how this slalom thing worked and was competing against myself. It was fun to learn this new thing, and I quickly found racing around a pylon-bedecked course was very different from driving on actual highways. The thing was, you could go as fast as you dared and you only risked being embarrassed if you plowed over a few rubber pylons. And there were lots of curves! The turbo Corsa had no torque at low speeds. It needed to be hot and you needed lots of revs to get any boost out of the turbo. I found that the courses were usually laid out for cornering, not for high speeds, and once I shifted from first to second I could run the rest of the course without shifting to third. The idea was to slow for a curve as little and as late as you dared, then use power to "drift" the rear end out and then power out of the curve. I read about a modification to help turbo Corvairs keep the exhaust heated up for more boost: wrapping the exhaust pipes with insulation held in place by heavy-gauge aluminum foil. I bought a kit and installed it. I am not sure that it made any difference in slaloms, and eventually the insulation resulted in the exhaust pipes rusting out! Another lesson I learned at these slaloms was, don't let your friends drive your car. I saw not a few people who lent their cars to friends for a slalom and their friends turned in much better times. Maybe the friends were more willing to abuse the car than the owner! Certainly I did not want to abuse my car. Go fast, yes; damage the transmission or brakes, no. This was my transportation, not my race car. I did not care to have anyone else drive it. Once I asked Dr Farr, whose mid-life-crisis toy was a race-prepared Austin-Healey 100, how to do better at slaloming. "Have you ever spun out in your Corvair?" he asked. I said, "No, I never have." "If you don't spin out you don't know how fast your car can corner. Next run, deliberately spin out so you'll know what it feels like." I tried, but I never was able to spin the Corvair on a paved surface. My MG-B, yes, I was able to spin it. Keeping it just this side of an actual spin took practice but that was the way to go fast. I thought my Corvair and my MG were pretty evenly matched for slalom speed. I could beat an average driver of an MG-B, but a good driver in an MG-B could beat me. Metallic brakes made quite a difference in stopping power and I can't recall ever having brake fade once I installed them. In later years when I bought Corvairs, I always installed metallic brakes. Tires were another matter. I bought Michelin tires before I went to Alaska and they were excellent for highway driving, but not good at all for slaloming. I read about wider wheels and "stickier" tires and tried two or three kinds of tires. At Holloman AFB I drove about seven miles to work at our remote lab every day and I really enjoyed taking the deserted road around the west side of the runways. It had a few curves and a long straight and no one was ever around to complain about speeding. I'd put on a new set of tires and see how they felt on the way to work. It amazed me how different the car felt with different tires as I went around the curves. One kind of tire made the car feel like it was "riding on rails" while another felt like the rear suspension would rise a couple of inches as the car went around a curve. I could mention another advantage of going to work "the long way" because from the back side of the base there was an incredible view of the Sacramento mountains and over toward the north was Sierra Blanca, always snow-covered during the winter months. After installing the "blueprinted" 140-HP 4-carb engine my slaloming days were pretty much over. I did a few tweaks to the carburetors to prevent fuel starvation while cornering, but the charm of slaloming gradually went away. I eventually got wider wheels to put on the rear of the Corvair: they were 6-inch wide Camaro wheels. I put Michelin 185-13 tires on the front and 195-14 tires on the rear and this seemed to be an ideal combination for highway driving. Back when I was an avid performance driving enthusiast I imagined that getting a lot of practice with slaloms would improve my speed and safety when driving on the highway, but I could never fully believe it. Driving a Corvair in a slalom required you to be in "oversteer" mode essentially the whole time, but ordinary highway driving was almost always in "understeer" mode. I thought that driving on the highway was so different from slaloming that in case of an emergency I would not be able to make the transition quickly enough. Fortunately I never had any highway accidents that proved or disproved this theory. Sylvan used to say that his dad taught him to always look ahead when driving to visualize an escape plan, just in case a sudden dangerous situation developed. Good advice! I have tried to follow it but it is not easy to do. It has been a long time since I drove in a slalom. I remember in 1981 taking my Corsa convertible to Los Alamos to a slalom but I didn't drive. The convertible was not a good car for slaloming. Did my slaloming experiences make me a better driver? Maybe, and it was a lot of fun trying. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ============================================================================ | March 2023 | April 2023 | May 2023 | | 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 6 | | 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | | 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 | 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | | 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 | 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | | 26 27 28 29 30 31 | 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 | 28 29 30 31 | | | 30 | | ============================================================================ SAT 04 MAR 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center 131 Monroe St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 Phone: (505) 767-5210 FRI 10 MAR early? Tri-State Planning Committee -- visit to Las Vegas, NM SAT 11 MAR 9:00 AM First Old Route 66 Cleanup of the year. Mile Marker 5 WED 15 MAR 7:00 PM Board Meeting via Zoom SAT 18 MAR 11:30 AM THE TOMATO CAFE - Our 49th Anniversary Party - $12.95 LOCATION: 7900 San Pedro NE in Palomas Plaza. That is South of Paseo Del Norte, on the East side of the street. WED 22 MAR 7:00 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING - FOURTH WEDNESDAYS Manzano Mesa Senior center - 501 Elizabeth St SE FRI 24 MAR 9:00 PM Deadline for items for the April newsletter MON 27 MAR ******* TARGET FOR PRINTING, MAILING APRIL NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 01 APR 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center 131 Monroe St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 Phone: (505) 767-5210 SAT 08 APR 11:00 AM Breakfast at Ironwood Kitchen, 5740 Night Whisper Road NW WED 19 APR 7:00 PM Board Meeting via Zoom WED 26 APR 7:00 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING - FOURTH WEDNESDAYS Manzano Mesa Senior center - 501 Elizabeth St SE FRI 28 APR 9:00 PM Deadline for items for the May newsletter MON 01 MAY ******* TARGET FOR PRINTING, MAILING MAY NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 06 MAY 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center 131 Monroe St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87108 Phone: (505) 767-5210 WED 17 MAY 7:00 PM Board Meeting via Zoom SUN 21 MAY xxxx AM Albuquerque Museum / NMCCC Car Show FRI-SAT-SUN 19-20-21 38th TRI-STATE - SALIDA, CO - PIKES PEAK CORVAIRS Register on the Pikes Peak web site: https://pikespeakcorvairclub.wixsite.com/ppcc Click: "2023 TRI-STATE" Click: "Tri-State Hotel Registration" for accomodations Click: "On-line Registration" register for events, car show, banquet SUN xx MAY xx:xx AM NMCCC / ALBUQUERQUE MUSEUM Car Show -- Albuquerque Old Town WED 24 MAY 7:00 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING - FOURTH WEDNESDAYS Manzano Mesa Senior center - 501 Elizabeth St SE FRI 26 MAY 9:00 PM Deadline for items for the June newsletter MON 29 MAY ******* TARGET FOR PRINTING, MAILING JUNE NEWSLETTER << ============================================================================ SAT 03 JUN 10:00 AM Meeting: Highland Senior Center WED 21 JUN 7:00 PM Board Meeting via Zoom FRI 23 JUN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for the July newsletter MON 26 JUN ******* TARGET FOR PRINTING, MAILING JULY NEWSLETTER << WED 28 JUN 7:00 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING - FOURTH WEDNESDAYS ============================================================================ See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities ======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ====================== 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 [ MARCH 2023 VOL 49 Nr 3 ISSUE 570 ] Jim Pittman 2016 Vol 42 Nr 3 #486 The cover: A Loadside joins other Corvairs at the Unser Racing Museum. President Ray Trujillo praised March Madness and told us to take advantage of the "Spring Thaw" tune-up session at Old Car Garage. Larry Yoffe was setting up a couple of Corvair-only car shows. Terry Price and committee picked Taos over Pagosa Springs for our 2017 Tri-State. Kevin Sullivan reported on the outstanding visit to the Unser Racing Museum, an Albuquerque treasure for car racing fans. Ike Meissner's 1978 article on fixing a "hexed" Corvair with a Hex wrench was reprinted. Steve Goodman provided several "Do's and Don't's" tech tips. 2009 Vol 35 Nr 3 #402 The cover: early Corvairs on a road trip. Ruth Boydston shows off the Sunshine Committee quilt, destined for the Taos Tri-State. Visitor Rich Youmans spoke on fuel pumps. Robert said we had $3,464.35 to spend. Art reported that the legislature wanted the tax on buying a used car to be based on the blue book value. New member James O'Connell sent us a photo of his Cord 8/10, yes, power by Corvair. President Mike told how his son Kyle was mobbed by admiring classmates when he drove to high school in Mike's "way cool" Greenbrier. Kim Patten previewed our anniversary dinner at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Heula's "Can You Identify This Member" contest continued with a photo of Ruth Boydston. Dan Palmer reported on the fuel pump talk, giving both history and technical details. Finally, two pages of tech tips were printed, thanks to Ollie Scheflow. 2002 Vol 28 Nr 3 #318 The cover: We toured the Doll Museum. Geoff Johnson was a new member. Sylvan had a new pacemaker to tune up his heart. We considered putting part of our $5,701 bank account into a GMAC account. Mark Domzalski reported on preparations for the 2002 CORSA Convention in Flagstaff. We planned a carburetor workshop. "Care and Feeding" by Bill Reider was intended for new members. Any income from sales was a by-product. Bill was working on a revision. Part numbers needed to be re-checked and details of the club Awards should be added. Did we need to revise our Constitution? Anne Mae told us about plans by the Corvair Ladies group, including a progressive dinner and a visit to the Boydston cabin in the Pecos. An article by Elvis King (Arkansas Corvair Club) told how to set up to do powder coating in your shop. Not easy, but definitely worthwhile if you want a great-looking, durable coating on metal parts. 1995 Vol 21 Nr 3 #234 The cover: a cutaway drawing of a 1960 Corvair engine from THE AUTOCAR, October 1959. Sylvan ran the meeting: both president and V.P. were absent. Later both V.P. Beasley and president Blair arrived. A guest was Steve Schultheis. Our bank balance of $1,259 included $125 earmarked for the convention. Bill Reider reported on the Car Council meeting. We received $50 for our work at the last swap meet. We made plans for the Tri-State at Red River. Sylvan reported on a group purchase of harmonic balancers at $45.16 plus shipping and core. The club purchase would result in a cost of $52 each. Bill Reider gave a talk on rebuilding differentials. President Larry praised the talk on differentials. Larry said working on Corvairs was very therapeutic and worked wonders for relieving stress buildup from his day job. Billiken was about to leave for Tucson, Arizona where he planned to look for a Corvair to buy. But did he? Sylvan outlined plans for Red River Rendezvous II coming up in May. Debbie told about convention committee activities. A tech tip told what to do for a car that would be in storage for the winter. An article described the interesting Cord 8/10 replicar. It featured the styling of a 1936 810 Cord at eight/tenths scale, front-wheel-drive with Corvair drive train, and a body made of rust-proof Royalex plastic. 1988 Vol 14 Nr 3 #150 The cover: the Club's 14th birthday! We learned of the death of Marlee Meissner; her husband Ike Meissner died eight years earlier. We had $456 in the bank. We planned a "see and be seen" safety session to check out lights and turn signals on our cars. We raised our dues to $12 per year or $25 for 26 months. We had another "LeRoy Auction." Tech tips included a quick emergency fix for a broken clutch cable, and a quick way to tell which fuse had blown out. 1981 Vol 7 Nr 3 # 66 The cover: our happy CNM dragon munched on a birthday cake: we were seven years old. We were about to buy $14 jackets and $1 name tags. Robin DeVore gave a talk on generators and alternators and advised installing an alternator in an early model. Sylvan told about diagnosing clutch problems caused by a loose clutch cable pulley anchor. Bill wrote that you could have clutch release problems if you put a thick insulating pad under the carpet! Our Ladies' Day found a small but enthusiastic crowd who came to learn about basic tools and car care. CORSA asked for help with judging at the Denver convention. Tech tips addressed squeaks and rattles. Forty-nine years ago: Sunday 17 March 1974. Invited by Pete Colburn, Corvair owners gathered at Carl Johnson's house on Griegos Road. We showed off our Corvairs and decided we should meet again soon to start a CORVAIR CLUB. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== 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. The newsletter is composed using Apple computers. Software includes Mac OS-X, AppleWorks, Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for more details. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== ======~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~=====~====== =END=