Prairie Capital Corvair Association

Transcription

1 Prairie Capital Corvair Association P.O. Box 954 Springfield, Illinois The Flat Six March Officers President -Lyle Rigdon (217) Vice-President Garry Biggs (217) Secretary-TimMahler (217) Treasurer-Rhona Hall (217) Membership-Thelma McKenzie (309) Historian/Inventory Garry Biggs (217) FlatSix Editor Tim Mahler (217) Board of Directors Jerry McKenzie (2016) (217) Jim Allen (2015) (309) Bud Laubach (2015) (309) Jim Collier (2015) (217) From the President Greetings Everyone! A few warm days here and there and it s beginning to feel like spring again! Let s hope the snow is finally behind us at least the monumental accumulation type. Jerry and Thelma McKenzie, Mike and Rhona Hall, and Tim Mahler were the intrepid Dedicated Drivers of cars for this month. It was great to see three shiny Corvair s in the parking lot and to have a nice round of applause for the owners!! Rhona Hall gave us an updated financial statement and we continue to be in excellent financial shape. Thelma McKenzie gave us a report on the membership and Shelby Berta reported that our meeting/car display is being posted in the local newspaper as required. Also, don t forget that we are working on an update for everyone s contact information to make sure we have proper addresses and s for everyone. Repeating from last month: please take the time to fill out a fresh renewal form when you pay this year s membership fee. Don t assume we have the correct information for you. Our goal is to have the newsletter be 100% via at some point, simply because of the cost of printing and mailing paper copies. Thelma will track down those of you who don t get updated information to us!! As you will see from the minutes, the business portion of the March meeting continued to refine the calendar of events for the year. Mike Hall gave us a follow up on the road rally planned by the St. Louis group for April 11 th. It looks to be a very interesting event and is open to orphan cars. They are planning a two-hour drive starting in High Ridge Mo. See Mike for additional information pretty quickly as the date will be on us before you know it. Note that we have a change in location for the April meeting. We had planned to meet on the 18 th at Elite cars in Glenarm, IL for our meeting and a swap meet. Unfortunate circumstances resulted in a cancelation of that event. The group decided that the alternate activity planned for the day (touring the Abe Lincoln Museum or the antique shops on Route 104 south of Glenarm) still sounded like an interesting afternoon. Since we needed a place to hold the meeting, we decided the Golden Corral just off of south 6 th street in Springfield would work nicely as it is in-between either activities location. Yours truly is supposed to confirm with the Golden Corral that we can get a room or at least a reserved space. If not, our back up location is the China Buffet on MacArthur. We will get an confirmation out to everyone as soon as we know which one can provide us with some space. Since we are also due for a quarterly board meeting in April, members of the board will meet at 1:00 - with the regular membership meeting at 2:00 as always. I promise to be brief for both meetings!!! Do know that the Lincoln Museum

2 does charge admission. You may want to check that online. Thelma McKenzie reported that the senior discount is less at the door than in advance. Essentially, the only thing you need to bring to the meeting this month is an appetite!! Bill Berta gave us additional updates on the Route 66 tour proposal that is scheduled for June 12 th and 13th. Bill handed out a list of dates/times/locations for the various stops planned over the two day tour. After some discussion, the group determined the southern route on Sunday would probably work best for us this year. If things work as well as it looks, we may make this an annual event with our group alternating directions each year. This tour promises to be very interesting and is open to all types of vehicles. I plan to attend the next meeting of the tour planning group in April. We should have more information at that time. The Carlinville area tour Bill was working on for July has been delayed to next season. There were just too many conflicting dates with the places we wanted to visit. It is certainly an interesting tour so I am hopeful we can put something together next spring. The same is true for the tour of the Arthur Amish area we have discussed. Bob Gwynn is putting together the details for us to plug into our calendar for Finally, we are working on a proposed tour of the Wheels of Time Museum in Pekin for this July to replace the Carlinville tour and meeting. Allen Monts was at the meeting this month and he is to check and see if we can get into the Wheels of Time museum on that date. I hope to have information for the board to review and approve at the April meeting. Mike Hall is handling arrangements for the State Fair so that we can have a picnic table at the site. I am working on a sign-up sheet and a description of the day s activity for the board to review in April as well. Garry Biggs and Bob Gwyn updated and printed our club flyers for us so that we can have handouts available. We also had a discussion regarding the May meeting in Pekin. While there was some discussion regarding adding one additional tour stop either on the way there or on the way home, the general feeling was an addition would make for too long of a day. For now the meeting remains a carry-in picnic and the annual plant swap! I reported on the Knights Action Park car show (August 1 st this year) regarding having a Corvair class - if we can give them some indication that we will attend in numbers. A show of hands revealed a lukewarm availability of members who might be able to attend. Perhaps an alternative air-cooled class might be a good alternative. I will suggest that to the people who are managing that show and leave it up to them. If we get a response I will pass it along to the group. In the meantime, I have added that event to our calendar - just as a placeholder. Following the discussion items on the agenda, Mike Hall gave us an update for the 2016 event. Mike did have a sample of a very nice magnetic parade door sign that the St. Louis group is using. We should consider something like that for our club as well. We did have a show of hands of those who plan to attend the national convention this summer. From the show of hands it appears PCCA will be well represented!!! Finally, we did have a motion to send a card and a donation for the passing of Elinor Tshauder, former long time PCCA member.. Following WONDERFUL pies and desserts, provided by Gloria Jahn and Kay Laubach, our program for the month was Mr. Dick Moon s interesting slide presentation of car tail lights. It was cool to see how tail lights have evolved over the years from a simple safety device to a design statement. Respectfully, Lyle and Lonny Rigdon PS. One last thing. It is with mixed emotions that I report that Lonny and I will be moving to the Chicago western suburbs sometime in June. We had planned to move in the next year or two to be closer to our son and daughter-in-law who live in Roselle (next to Schaumburg). However, Lonny s retirement this year and the announcement that our first grandchild is on the way put things in an understandably fast motion. At this point, I plan to continue maintaining a membership and remain your President for the balance of the year, unless going back and forth or my missing meetings becomes a burden on the club. Do know that we have truly enjoyed this club and have told many, many people what a great group this is. Auction News Silver Auctions, Fort McDowell, AZ, Jan 15, 2015 as reported in OCW March 12, Chevrolet Corvair Monza 2 door coupe, 4sp, 110hp,A/C condition 3 $ 8, Chevrolet Corvair Corsa 2 door coupe condition 3 $11,500

3 Calendar of Events Meeting Location Is the Rochester Community Building located off Il Route 29 in Rochester Illinois. The community building is on the east end of Rochester at #1 Community Drive. PCCA Home Page may be found at April 11 Show-Me-Corvairs Rally. 10 am. Drivers meeting 9am registration. Pegg s on the Boulevard, 3025 High Ridge Blvd, High Ridge, MO Rally drive is expected to be about 2 hours in length. Lunch and awards at the finish. April 18 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, Springfield 1:00 pm CHANGE -- Program: Tour Lincoln Presidential Museum. Meet for lunch and meeting at Golden Corral, South 6 th street, Springfield IL at 1:pm. Museum at the door prices - $15, seniors(62+) $12, Military (ID required) $10. Children 5-15 $6, under 5 - free Pre-purchase prices appear to be $3 off for all adults, including seniors. April 24 & 25, 2015 Springfest Helen Georgia - Always a good time in very scenic country. May 9 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, Mineral Springs Park, Pekin. Program: Picnic, plant exchange - Dick Moon to arrange. May 14, 2015 (Thursday) from 1PM to 4PM Event: "Meet the Makers of the Waterless Wonder From Willow Run Chevrolet Corvair ( ) Location: Ypsilanti Automotive Museum 100 East Cross St., Ypsilanti, MI June 14 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting CHANGE now on Sunday Program: Route 66 Tour South of Springfield roughly following Blue Corridor path Meeting location is expected to be Chatham Illinois on Route 4. Blue Carpet Corridor has a web site at bluecarpetcorridor.org June CORSA International Convention, Knoxville, TN. The host hotel, Knoxville Marriott, has been booked full. Harry Jensen has negotiated with the nearby Crowne Plaza Knoxville. It has a shuttle that runs throughout the day. Call and reserve your room ASAP before this block sells out. Phone Mon - Fri, 830a-1230p and 130p-530p. (Eastern) Mention the Corvair convention - Rate is $110 night plus $10 parking. July 11 August 17 Sept 12 Sept October 10 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, Tour To Wheels of Time in Peoria Program: Wheels of Time museum Tour. Details will be forthcoming. PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, State Fairgrounds, Springfield Mike Hall to arrange space, Sue Biggs and Bill Berta to coordinate display. PCCA Chapter Meeting, Secretary of State Auto Show, Springfielḍ Great Plains Round-Up. North Little Rock, Arkansas Host hotel Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 2 Riverfront Place. Hosted by Arkansas Corvair Club. PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, TBA. Program: Tour sponsored by Show-Me Corvair Club. November 14 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, Rochester Program: TBA. December 12 PCCA Car Display and Luncheon, location: Bonanza Steakhouse, Lincoln. 1:00pm For more Corvair Events Check the calendar on the CORSA Web site: Upcoming events are now on the home page, left side. Click on Events to see other future events. 3

4 Tell Tail Turn Lights Presentation by Dick Moon I want to describe meeting day as a wonderful Spring day. And I can. Weather wise it was a nice day to get out of the house and visit with friends. Temperature were in the mid sixties with a light breeze and plenty of sun. A far cry from the cold blustery temperatures we experienced a short 10 days before. By the way, the only problem with my description is Spring did officially arrive unti early evening a week later (March 20 at 5:45 centrral time). A technicality I think I ll ignore. Surprisingly, considering the warm day, only 3 Corvairs were driven and displayed at the Rochester Communitty building. Mike and Rhona Hall arrived in their 65 red Corsa coupee. The coupe was sounding good as Mike parked it. Jerry and Thelma McKenzie arrived in the ever trustful gray four door sedan, a 65 with factory AC and aftermarket comfy seats. A very nice travel Corvair that garners plenty of attention where ever it is on exhibit. Tim Mahler rounded out the trio of Corvair driving another red Corsa coupe. This edition has a Fitch Sprint ventop to set it apart from the factory versions. The coupe was running very well and strong. Tim had fun driving home with a slightly heavy foot but well within speed limits - just a tad jack rabbitty when it was time to GO like on the on-ramps. Fun. It should be noted another Corvair did arrive well the engine did. Bud Laubach brought a engine in the back of his pickup and helped transfer it to the rear of the Buck s pickup. If I recollect correctly, the engine will be transplanted into a forward control to replace a tired power plant and speed another Corvair getting back on the open road. During the parking lot visitations, part of the great fun of attending meetings, I overhead a discussion of program presentations between frequent presenters Dick Moon and Jim Allen. Jim had an interesting program to offer the group but it was till in his truck which ironically was at Dick Moon s place. Dick Did have a program ready for the group. An update to a past presentation but an enjoyable program. Some really are good a second, third and even fourth time around. Over the years Dick has visited automobile graveyards, aka scrap yards, salvage yards, junk yards taking photos of the assembled cars tail lights. The photos provide very few other clues as to what make, model and year they belong...the Tail Lights Tell all. Before getting started with the 50 or so slides in this year s rendition, Dick mention that anyone may guess the vehicle, model and year as soon as they recognized the car except Jim Allen. This is an 4

5 acknowledgment of Jim s vast automobile knowledge gained over the years - and I presume Jim s past exposure to the slides. Some were quite obviously that even a youngster such as myself recognized the tail lights a 59 Chevrolet Impala taillights are quite distinctive. However others are quite baffling especially if you are trying to pin down the year 56 or 55? One was recognized by only 2 in the audience something to do with it being a foreign car from Canada. I really do enjoy these pop quizes. I learn something each time I participate <watch in the back, actually>. My dad used to identify many vehicles on the road the same way by the taillights. This was true until the 90s when it seemed every car had the same taillight assembly <not true but it did seem that way>. I have noted that recent era cars Volvo for instance, do have distinct taillights and my dad is beginning to again identify cars by the taillights. Makes road trips fun. Now, although March 14, 2015 was not the first day of Spring, many in the country were celebrating the day as PI day. The mathematical pi, the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, commonly approximated as or in calendar terms March 14, (20) may be closer when rounding is considered, yet some pi devotees did marry on this date at 9:26 (the next 3 digits of pi). To celebrate the occasion and because she loves to cook, Gloria Jahn brought pecan and apple pie to the meeting for refreshments. Aaahh, delish. There where also sugar cookes decorated in green (for St Pat s day, I presume) and texas cake with green mint and chocolate icing. Oooh, another very good item, a bit rich - which was probably a good thing. I could only eat a one small corner knowing a second one would send my stomach into a tizzy I am not use to rich desserts. Kay Laubach was the other nice lady bringing refreshments. Thank you Gloria. Thank you Kay. The table arrangement was also very nice. 5

6 Have You Forgotten to Pay Your Dues? The PCCA membership year began on March 1. Fourteen memberships have not been renewed. If you are among those who haven t as yet renewed your membership for , please do so as soon as possible. You can mail a check for dues to Treasurer Rhona Hall or pay them at the April meeting. When paying your dues, please use the new Membership Form on page 9. The form can also be downloaded from the PCCA Website at Please indicate whether you are paying for an individual or family membership - and if you prefer to save $3.00 by receiving the electronic version of The Flat Six. Do not assume your current information is on file. CORSA IDs were changed several years ago. If you receive the Communique by mail, find your ID between #s (before VAL) on the label, You can ignore the beginning 0" and the digit after the spaces. For example, if " is between the #s, your ID would be If you receive only the digital Communique, you need to ask Harry Jensen (corsa@corvair.org) for your ID. The roster booklet will be distributed at the May meeting. The information will be based upon renewal forms returned by the April meeting. Don t be left out: Renew your membership now. Prairie Capital Corvair Association General Membership Meeting March 14, 2015 Minutes The meeting was called to order by President Lyle Rigdon in the Rochester Community Building s meeting room. He then led members in the Pledge of Allegiance. Lyle recognized the three Corvair dirvers and their Corvairs Mike and Rhona Hall - red Corsa coupe, Jerry and Thelma McKenzie - gray Monza 4 door sedan and Tim Mahler - red Corsa coupe with Fitch ventop. Standard Reports: Secretary s report as published in the newsletter required one correction. Gloria Jahn was mis-identified as the person making the motion for an alternative activity for the April 18 meeting. The Treasurers Report was given by Treasurer Rhona Hall. The chapter had a begging balance of $3, with dues revenue of $279, then ending balance in all accounts was $4, Membership report was given by Thelma McKenzie. 30 members have paid renewals to date. The April meeting will be the basis for the new 2015 PCCA membership list. Please renew before or at that meeting. Shelby Berta repoerted that the Springfield paper did list the PCCA meeting this month. 6

7 A motion to accept the standard reports by Dick Moon, seconded by Jerry McKenzie. The motion passed unanimously. Old Business: Update to tour events. Mike Hall reminded everyone that SMCC will conduct a Road Rally April 11 starting at Pegg s in Missouri, limited to 30 cars, all makes and models accepted. 2 hour drive ending at a locale where lunch may be purchased. Proceeds to go to the local Food Pantry. Mike Informed the group that the all make swap meet at Elite Classic Cars has been cancelled. The building owner has decided to sell the property making the swap meet questionable. Mike also mentioned he had 4 Tacoma display awards left available for purchase (one was sold at the meeting, making it 3 left) Mike then moved to a brief report on the 2016 Convention. An autocross site has been found and secured - the Illinois State fairgrounds, ample parking, Voss Food stand will be available. Will be run mostly on the streets of the fairgrounds near the Grandstand. Hotel contract is almost signed and the logo is nearing completion. Will be a table in the vending room for publicity at the 2015 convention, some volunteers to answer questions are being sought. The next agenda item was the April meeting Q should it be moved back to the 11 th or remain the 18 th? Should we do the alternative activity as a group with the absence of the swap meet? Just do the SMCC Rally? Is the Rochester community room available? These were some of the questions asked doing the discussion led by Lyle. A motion to meet at the Golden Corral on 6 th Street April 18 at 1:00PM for lunch and a PCCA meeting then proceed to tour the Lincoln Presidential Museum was made by Bob Gwin and seconded by Bev Buck. Motion was approved. Thelma McKenzie noted that Seniors would get the biggest discount by purchasing their museum ticket at the door, while non-seniors would save more by pre-purchasing tickets on-line. Bill Berta presented an update on the Route 66 tour. Note: the agenda handout contained several pages about the tour which Bill referenced during the update. Bill and Thelma noted that the northern part of the tour would start in the Chicago area and not arrive in Lincoln until later in the day (early evening?) Saturday. The southern half starts on Sunday and follows the Blue Corridor Tour route to Chain of Rocks Bridge. This included a stop by the RailRoad museum in Chatham. After much discussion, Touring Sunday along the southern route seemed to have more interesting things to do, at least appeared to be better arranged for activities and stops. Bev Buck is part of the Chatham Railroad museum group which may provide a good meeting place to start the tour. A motion was thus made by Bob Gwin and seconded by Chris Hall to have the Rt66 Tour Sunday, June 14, meeting at the Railroad museum at 9:30 am. The motion carried. Additional details and stopping points will be determined in greater details once information is finalized by the various tour groups (RT66 and Blue Corridor) Blue Carpet Corridor has a web site at bluecarpetcorridor.org Next topic was the Pekin Picnic and possible museum tour before or after the picnic. The discussion evolved around when to have the meeting and how long a tour of the Wheels of Time may take. Travel time to and from the museum became an additional With July open, it was suggested to keep the Pekin Picnic as is with a separate tour to the museum. This became a motion by Thelma MeKenzie, seconded by Bill Berta to Tour the Wheel of Time Museum July 11. the motion was approved. There was no update on the SOS Show nor the State fair Corvair Display. Bob Gwin did bring in a few new updated Tri-fold brochures. Also noted was the Christmas Get-together will be at the Bonanza in Lincoln Illinois at 1:00 pm. New Business: August 1 is a large car show at Springfields Knights Action park. Lyle talked to the show organizers to see if it would be possible for a Corvair (or maybe air cooled) class. With enough entries, the organizers were amiable to the idea. A possible 6 members indicated interest in attending the show. An update of the 2016 convention was previously given by Mike Hall. For the 2015 convention in Knoxville at least a dozen members indicated they would be attending this year. Lyle started a signup sheet for future PCCA meeting programs and refreshments. Lyle also noted that the group should consider enthusiasts points for those members who provide refreshments or give a presentation. Call for comments from the floor was made with no additional comments being made. Motion to adjoin was made by Jerry McKenzie and seconded by Jim Collier. Motion approved. Program: Presentation by Dick Moon. Tell Tail Turn Lights slide show and who can identify the car ahead of those taillights (year, make, model) Respectfully submitted, Tim Mahler After the meeting: Bud Laubach won the 50/50 drawing. Refreshments: Gloria Jahn and Kay Laubach brought refreshments which included apple and pecan pie, texas cake topped with mint and chocolate <delish> and cookies dressed in St Pat green. 7

8 Show-Me Corvair Club Spring Rally 2015 April 11, 2015 Pegg s High Ridge MO. You are cordially invited to the Show-me Corvair Club Spring Rally Intended For Orphan American Cars but all are welcome. Saturday, April 11 9 AM at Peggs on the Boulevard 1001 Crossroads Plaza, High Ridge, MO (636) Rain or shine. Driver s 10 AM. First car 11 AM. Dash plaques to all participants Time and closest mileage trophies, plus a gift certificate to the winner of the dice roll. Lunch and awards ceremony afterwards. $20 per car. Proceeds benefit Hillsboro Food Pantry & the Peace Pantry (High Ridge) Note: 30-car event limit, get your registration in now! Please detach and send in with your $20 registration/entry fee Please print Driver Navigator Driver s address Home/Cell Phone Work phone Vehicle Year Make Model Color Mail To: Kate Brown, Show Me Corvair Club 1851 Glatt Drive Arnold, Missouri Sinclair Gas Pump gets re-purposed From Jim Allen This is not Corvair content. But involves two PCCA members. A few years ago, I got a Sinclair gas pump from Floyd Wood. I just finished it this past week. I will attach before, and after pictures. It came out really nice. Now I need to find out where the Concours event is for gas pumps, Ha-Ha. 8

9 Please Use Membership Form When paying your dues, please use the new Membership Form. Do not assume your current information is on file. CORSA IDs were changed several years ago. If you receive the Communique by mail, find your ID between #s (before VAL) on the label, You can ignore the beginning 0" and the digit after the spaces. For example, if " is between the #s, your ID would be If you receive only the digital Communique, ask Harry Jensen for your ID. Don t be left out: Renew your membership in February. Additional forms available at the meeting. Prairie Capital Corvair Association (PCCA) Membership Form March 1, 2015 thru February 29, 2016 Type of Membership Individual $15 Family $18 (2 adults at one address plus children under 18) Apply a $3 discount for receiving the electronic version of the newsletter and other correspondence. If joining after August 31, dues are: Individual $7.50, Family $9.00. If applicable, the discount is $1.50. Name Spouse/ 2nd Adult Street Address City, ST ZIP Home Phone CORSA Membership ID Cell Phone(s) Spouse/ 2nd Adult Address(es) Spouse/ 2nd Adult The above information is needed for chapter records. The chapter roster is NOT published online. CORSA Membership IDs will not be included in the roster. Additionally, please do NOT include the following information in the roster: The following information is optional and will not be printed in the chapter roster. Work Phone Cars, Corvair and other Other interests PCCA strongly encourages membership in CORSA. Do you want/need information about CORSA? Y / N Return this completed form and dues to: Rhona Hall, PCCA Treasurer PCCA Treasurer 23 Ramblewood Drive OR P.O. Box 954 Chatham, IL Springfield, IL

10 Prairie Capital Corvair Association P.O. Box 954 Springfield, IL 62705