Prairie Capital Corvair Association

Transcription

1 Prairie Capital Corvair Association P.O. Box 954 Springfield, Illinois The Flat Six August 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 PCCA Members! This months report will be a bit short as yours truly and the Mrs are heading to Danville, IL for a slightly delayed Fourth of July cookout with Lonny's family. Why the delay you ask? Our first grandchild, Cole Rigdon, decided the Fourth of July would be a great day to join us in the world! Smart kid! Now Everyone will help him celebrate his birthday! Fireworks and all!!! Lonny and I did manage to make it to the national convention in Knoxville for a couple of days. It was an interesting and very enjoyable time...except for my tripping and falling UP the stairs over at the swap meet in the parking garage across the street! Needless to say I was a bit slow moving around the next day. We did put in an order for a new convertible boot cover and matching arm rest/drink holder from Clarks while we're were there. I was able to attend the most recent Chicago Corvair Enthusiast (CCE) meeting. Jerry Berger, their president, gave me a nice introduction to the group. Their secretary Dawn Castro and newsletter editor Chuck Biddle, took good care of me during the meeting and made sure I ended up with a nice new member information package. I'll share what they give new members at our next meeting. I didn't get an official count, but I'm estimating that they must have had more than forty people in attendance and perhaps ten or twelve cars in the parking lot. Their meetings are pretty much like ours. They did have a lengthy digital slide show from the convention. Apparently Dick Moon was out and about when they were taking conference pics as he was in at least ten of the slides presented... Funky blue denim campaign hat and all!!! Jerry did discuss the the SOS show during the CCE meeting and there were a number of folks who indicated they were coming to Springfield and would join us for the evening meal. I mentioned that we were considering the China Buffet (on S. McArthur) and they felt that would be just fine. I will take care of getting a side room reserved for us. Finally, many thanks to Allen Monts for getting the group in to the Wheels O' Time museum in Dunlap and for the use of his garage for the meeting afterward. We all appreciated the treats and ice cream!! I'm still drooling over the huge steam train that was just inside the entrance. I can visualize it running around our backyard now...! One last final note. On Monday (7/27) I will begin taking grad exams. I have one month to answer three questions involving public policy and statistical analysis. We are then required to orally defend our answers to a review committee. Frankly I'm pretty nervous about it as we cannot start the dissertation without passing the exams. Worse yet, we only get one shot at it. I could certainly use your prayers for wisdom and perseverance. I've been working on this degree for five years and it all comes down to the exams. Talk about pressure... Have a great month everyone. See you at the next meeting! Lyle & Lonny Rigdon

2 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 August 1 August 15 August 16. August 17 Sept 12 Sept October 10 Knights Action Park Car Show, Springfield IL : Air Cooled category for Corvairs and Vws. Cruise-in the night before at 5:00pm (July 31) Car show registration 8 a.m. to noon. Entry fee $15. Judging noon- 3 p.m. Trophies at 4 p.m. Loco-Motion Cruise-in. Noon-3:00pm. Registration opens at 11:00am. Chatham Railroad Museum. 100 N State St. Chatham IL. All Proceeds benefit Museum. $5 donation. Goody bags, Dash Plaques, Door Prizes. Peoples Choice Trophies. 25th anniversary Orphan Auto Picnic (OAP). Final year hosted by Chicago Corvair Enthusiasts. Kendall County Fairgrounds, Yorkville Ill. Corvairs featured. PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, State Fairgrounds, Springfield Mike Hall to arrange space, Sue Biggs and Bill Berta to coordinate display. Please let Mike Hall know if you plan to exhibit a Corvair. MRHVair@comcast.net Meet at Steak and Shake on North Dirksen Parkway, use the Sangamon ave exit off I-55. Will leave the resturant at 8:30am. Please be there before that time, or let us know you are running later. If you want breakfast there, please arrive earlier to allow ample time to eat. PCCA meeting will be at 1:00 pm near the Corvair Exhibit, next to the Ethnic Village and one end of the Sky Glide the aerial tram. PCCA Chapter Meeting, Secretary of State Auto Show, Springfield. Host Hotel is the State House Inn, 101 E. Adams St. Springfield - about 2 blocks from the show field. (217) PCCA is expecting to join CCE for dinner somewhere in the Springfield area on September 11. 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, Tour To Hannibal. Breakfast before 8am in Troy, Post tour meak at 3:00 pm in Hannibal. Trolley and other tours 9am to 3:00. Program: Tour sponsored by Show-Me Corvair Club. See details in newsletter. November 14 PCCA Car Display and Chapter Meeting, Rochester Program: TBA. December 12 PCCA Car Display and Luncheon, location: Bonanza Steakhouse, Lincoln. 1:00pm July CORSA International Convention, Springfield, IL hosted by PCCA Host Hotel: Crowne Plaza. Concours, Rally, Econo-run, Auto-cross. Plus More. 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. 2

3 Wheels of Time Museum A gem of a museum in our own backyard. Tractors, cars, trains, clocks, and a whole lot more. Wonderful. Thank you Allen Monts for guiding us through the museum. OK thanks for getting everyone started through the museum. I noticed that the PCCA members are independent sorts and they quickly fanned out to the areas that interested them the most. And there was plenty to keep everyone busy. The various collections and exhibits were all very interesting and included several rare and unusual pieces. Allen was seemed to be nearby to answer any questions and to point out some of the interesting items in the museum. The pre-tour PCCA meeting was deferred until after the tour because of the torrential downpour that hurried everyone inside. I pulled in right at 1:00pm and very large and deep puddle greeted me. The rain repeated the heavy downpour several times later in the day including on the drive home. The greater Peoria area got over 2 inches of rain Saturday, and I think mostly in 15 minute chunks. Back to the Museum, which was far more interesting than the rain. The Best Tractor was the first item Allen pointed out to the group a tractor brand that Caterpillar later acquired is very rare and this one was in very good condition. Allen also identified several other unusual and rare car makes in the main exhibit including but not limited to a pair of Glide automobiles, one restored and one still in barn find condition. I took poor notes, and of course can not read the name plates on some of the other unique vehicles in the collection. But there were plenty of interesting Fords, Packards, Bruicks and Willys- Knight to keep the automobile enthusiast occupied. The first dedicated room Allen showed the group was the Clock room. Or if you prefer, you could call it the timing room. Anniversary clocks, Grandmother and Grandfather clocks and even a Owl clock filled the room. Just outside that room was Lyle s next addition to his train collection. A large scale steam engine that was hand crafted by an expert so many years ago. It made a O scale train look small. Among the Packard, Fords and other wonderful automobiles were a couple of other new innovations from the 1910s and 1920s. A three wheel automobile/cycle open and an electric car. The latter would have been especially popular amongst the ladies of the day because it didn t require hand cranking the engine, adjusting the timing and other nuances of a gasoline or steam engine car. Another plus for the ladies was that it was quiet and clean - no messy gasoline (or oil) to fuss about on a regular basis. Alas, the same problem then as now caused the electric car to be passed over in favor of gasoline lack of range and places, and time, to recharge. Also on this side of the building were dedicated exhibits for a machine and repair shops, a barbershop quartet and numerous trinkets such as a mechanical bull and street organ complete with a dancing monkey. Hanging from the ceiling were several scale airplanes - mostly bi-planes - these were on roughly the same scale as the train mentioned earlier. The next building was the muscle car building with slightly newer automobiles from the 50s and 60s including Studebakers, Buicks and a couple Ford half ton trucks. Forgive me for missing many of the automobiles and other 3

4 interesting displays in this building, but my note taking and picture taking quickly became, wow, look at that, does this work that is a typical tourist person. This was a very interesting museum with just lots to see. Allen was then encouraged to take us over to the Ford building which is also doubles as the workshop for the museum. Most of the great looking Fords were elsewhere on this particular day. However, the front room was still full of various Ford Tractors, some of which I had never seen before. At least two of these tractors I do not recall seeing at the various Tractor shows and museums I have visited in the past. For instance, at the front of the building was a tractor made specifically for mowing large lawns think golf courses - the Arnold Palmer tractor. In the back room the main feature was the in progress restoration of a fire engine that was used in the vicinity. The chassis is mostly completed but the body is elsewhere being re-done. The engine with massive pistons was started in the last month, but Allen reported that it was not running quite right yet. Nothing a good tuning should resolve. Pictures of the Firetruck in use, back in the day, were displayed on the wall. The final building I entered was the farm building. I ll refer to it as such because most of the items were related directly or indirectly to farming and life on the farm. This included hand cranked corn shellers, hand operated washing machines. I have seen some washing machines that were the next generation in operation machine powered but looking much the same as these. Also among these items were a few steam powered tractors and assorted equipment that may have been used on the farm or for lumber. One loud, hands on exhibit allowed the visitor to pick his/her favorite Steam whistle. Such fun. After the tour, we all gathered to caravan to Allen Monts house for the club meeting and then an extended update of the 2016 Convention planning. Allen had agreed to provide the meeting place, initially only for the planning meeting, a week or so before. Allen also graciously offered snacks to the club which included vegetables, dip, some sweets (cake) and coffee. Near the end of the meeting, Allen brought out the hidden treats Ice Cream in nice single serving containers. Again Thank you Mr. Monts for the tour arrangements, the use of the garage and the snacks. Thanks to Mrs Monts too. By the way, during the meeting the rain fell hard again prompting one comment that the group did not mind Tim talking so much as they were not going anywhere anyway. True. The rain did abate in time for everyone to get to their cars in relative dryness. However, shortly thereafter, the deluge continued. And continued. And continued. Garry and Sue Biggs followed Dick and Neta Moon as the 63 Corvair sedan drove nicely, from what I could see from my car, down I- 474 passing one or two modern cars along the way. Ms Juliet is a wonderful little Corvair. Also driving a Corvair home in the heavy rain were Jim and Bernie Allen in the 61 Lakewood wagon. The report I received Sunday was that Corvair defrosters leave a little to be desired when the humidity is high, the rain heavy and temps cool. While it was raining, my modern car external thermometer register 70 degrees and I was chilled - happy to have heat. By the time I reached Lincoln, the rain had stopped and I had the A/C on as the temps exceed 80 degrees outside. Least I forget, the one late model Corvair was driven to and from the meeting and museum by Mike and Billie Kelley. The pretty green 66 coupe was a real trooper to run so well in the rain. This is the same pretty coupe that Mike and Billie won bronze in Concours in Knoxville - narrowly missing a silver award. It is a nice Corvair. 4

5 In Loving Memory Ann Jameson, wife of long time PCCA member Art Jameson, passed away Sunday morning July 12, Ann was 84, Art s a couple years older, I m told. They were married March 14, Ann was a registered nurse at the Pekin Hospital for 30 years. From the obituary page, Ann enjoyed reading and spent many years hunting antiques. Her most cherished time was spent with her family. Our prayers and symphony to the entire Jameson Family. And although not a PCCA member, condolences to the family of JR Read. JR was a frequent poster to VV and a long time member of Chicago Corvair Enthusiast. Later, JR More Pictures from the Museum Tour Two Memberships Added Mark and Linda Marie Allen have renewed their PCCA membership. The original dues check was mailed but somehow was never delivered. Glad to report the replacement check arrived safely. Also added to the PCCA membership list is Ed Thompson. The contact information for these two memberships will be available at the August meeting. Anyone who wants to become a PCCA member should mail a check for dues and the Membership Form to Treasurer Rhona Hall or give them to her at any meeting. The form can be found on the PCCA Website at or obtained from Thelma McKenzie or Rhona. Their telephone numbers are on page Membership Lists Are Available The PCCA Membership List booklets are available at meetings. If you cannot attend meetings or want to have a full-sheet version of the list, contact Thelma McKenzie for a PDF file that you can print as needed. Members without Internet access can request a printed copy be mailed. Corrections should be given/sent/ ed to Thelma McKenzie. Corrections and additions to the Membership List will be available at meetings; per the chapter s privacy concerns, they will NOT be printed in The Flat Six. Those who wish to be informed of such changes between meetings may request to be included on s sent by Thelma. 5

6 State Fair PCCA Corvair Exhibit What has become the annual PCCA Corvair Exhibit at the Illinois State fair continues on August 17, This is a Monday, and it is also Seniors day, those over 60 get free admission to the fair. The rest of us, If we exhibit a Corvair and arrive with the group in the morning, also get free admission. PCCA will depart the North Dirksen Parkway Steak and Shake at 8:30 am. If you want to eat breakfast at the resturant, PLEASE arrive early enough to eat without giving yourself heartburn. The construction on the Railroad overpass should be completed by the time of the fair. If not, we will take a leisurely tour to the fairgrounds. PCCA generally enters at Gate 4 on Peoria Rd. Traffic is one way, counter clockwise around the fair. Please let Mike Hall know if you will be participating in the Corvair Exhibit so we make sure we have plenty of passes to enter. MRHVair@comcast.net The Steak and Shake on North Dirksen Parkway is easily reached from the Sangamon ave exit off I-55. Turn right onto Dirksen and the resturant will be on the left. The PCCA meeting will be at 1:00 pm near the Corvair Exhibit which will be near the Ethnic Village on the far side of the fair s Main street (near the AFL-CIO pavilion and the Sky Glide). Someone from PCCA will be near the Exhibit from 9:00 until after 3:00. Vintage Station Wagon Show Ruth Boxdorfer While some of you were gone to Knoxville, TN. for the CORSA Nat'l Convention, vintage station wagons were being seen all around Springfield. Saturday June 27th. from noon to 4 pm, the Vintage Wagon Show was being held in Springfield's Lincoln Park. Members of the International Station Wagon Club from around the nation, gathered in Springfield for this show. It turned out to be a very nice day, no rain in sight.. And look who showed up to represent our Corvairs, Mike & Marsha Meyers. They were so interested in the Corvairs that they even let Richard join in beside Mike. Ruth Convention Pics 6

7 2015 Great Plains Corvair Roundup North Little Rock AR The Arkansas Corvair Club, CORSA Chapter 722, is proud to host the 2015 Great Plains Corvair Roundup in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The dates for this year s Roundup are September 25-27, at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock. Phone the hotel toll-free at or locally at Make your hotel reservation early. Rooms are offered at the convention rate of $ When booking your room, ask for the Arkansas Corvair Club rate. or use this Direct link to the host hotel for Round Up Reservations at the discounted rate. For more information about the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, go to If you're interested in extending your stay in the greater Little Rock area, the discounted room rate can be extended both before and after the official dates of the Roundup event. Download and/or print Roundup registration form using this link to the Roundup Home Page Roundup schedule: Friday-Saturday: Registration, Hospitality Room, Door Prizes Friday evening: Valve Cover Races Saturday morning: People s Choice Display Saturday afternoon: Combination Dice Run-Funkana Saturday evening: Banquet, Awards, Door Prizes Sunday morning: Get-away day (no activities scheduled) For more information, contact Keith LaCrosse, Arkansas Corvair Club president, , or via at kl617@yahoo.com. Prairie Capital Corvair Association (PCCA) Membership Form larger Form on PCCA web Site) 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 Cell Phone(s) CORSA Membership ID Spouse/ 2nd Adult Address(es) Spouse/ 2nd Adult Cars, Corvair and other Other interests PCCA strongly encourages membership in CORSA. Do you want/need information about CORSA? Y / N Return completed form and dues to: Rhona Hall, PCCA Treasurer 23 Ramblewood Drive Chatham IL OR PCCA Treasurer P.O. Box 954 Springfield, IL

8 2015 National Convention Knoxville, TN Joan Cavagna What an exciting week for all Corvair owners. Per Larry Claypool, this was one of the largest conventions ever. The Marriott proved to be a great place to hold a convention. The covered parking garage was a perfect place to hold the outside vending, under cover and out of the sun and rain. The car display held on Saturday was also held in the garage as it had rained on Friday night and the ground was to wet to park cars on and it also rained during the display so all those beautiful cars stayed nice and dry and everyone could enjoy seeing them. Needless to day, SMCC and PCCA were well represented. In attendance was Mike & Rhona Hall, Jim and Bernie Allen, Bill & Thelma Pierson, Kent & Kris Goddard, Dave & Doti Wilson, John and Joan Cavagna, Glen & Rita Rittenhouse, Dick & Nita Moon, Tim Mahler, Larry & Gloria Jahn, Bud & Kay Laubach, Brett Starostki & his friend Kevin, Jerry & Thelma McKenzie, Mike & Anita Kost, Phillip & Megan Kost, Robert Landers and his 2 children (Noah and Hannah), Carl Briggs., Mike and Billie Kelley, Lyle & Lonnie Rigdon. I hope I haven t missed anyone. Not only did we have great representation, a lot of trophies and awards made their way back to St. Louis and Springfield. Here is a recap of the awards: Hopefully I didn t miss anyone. In the road rally, Mike & Phillip took 1st place in the SOB class (they drove the Silverado). In The Auto Cross Phillip Kost took 4th place in the street stock 3 class with and Dad Mike took 2nd place in Improved Stock 5 with a time of , Robert Landers took 4th place in the same class with a score of 44 something. Mike and Robert drove Robert s 67 Yenko while Phillip drove his Corvair. Master Judge awards for Concours Elegance Judges were received by Tim Mahler, Mike Hall and Jim Allen. Out of the 48 cars that were judged in the Concours the following were winners: Mike Kelley. PCCA, a Bronz award with a score of Monza Coupe Dave Wilson, SMCC, Silver award with a score of Monza Convertible Kent Goddard, SMCC, Silver award with a score of Corsa Convertible Bill Pierson, SMCC&PCCA Gold award with a score of Spyder Coupe Kent Goddard also won a people s choice award in the LM open class. Congrats to all our winners. Glen, John and Brett were successful in selling their new and used parts as well. Tim also noted at the CPF meeting that the Decatur Chevrolet Hall of Fame museum will be hosting a second CPF Museum including the " coupe and Pete Koehler s " Convertible - the last known coupe and convertible to come off the assembly line. Also will be various other exhibits from the CPF collection that have been in storage for years. 8

9 Prairie Capital Corvair Association General Membership Meeting July 11, 2015 Minutes The meeting was called to order by President Lyle Rigdon at the home of Allen (and Susan) Monts. A quorum for a board meeting was not met. Lyle recognized the PCCA dedicated drivers Jim and Bernie Allen, Dick and Neta Moon and Mike and Billie Kelley. The secretary report was printed in the newslette. Thelma McKenzie gave the Membership report with 48 members with a 49 th member having renewed since the report was prepared. The treasurer s report was given by secretary time from the type report supplied to him. The beginning balance was $4, with dues income of $54 and expenses of $60 for the meeting room, $84.35 for the newsletter, and $8.45 form membership rosters. From the Credit line for the convention, an expense was recorded. The ending balance was then $4, A motion by Sue Biggs, seconded by Jim Allen was made to approve the consent agenda. Carried. Old Business: Lyle listed the State fair assignments for the August Corvair exhibit and meeting at the state fair. The target was to leave the North side steak and shake at 8:30am. Please let Mike Hall know if you plan to exhibit a Corvair. Sue Biggs noted that the path to the fairgrounds along Sangmon avenue was detoured for RR construction. Several alternative meeting locations were suggested, each with a potential snag. A location will be published in the August Newsletter and on the website. SOS show is September 12. The Chicago Corvair Enthuiasts are expecting to make the show their fall tour, numbers pending. Lyle listed several possible locations to meet CCE the night before for dinner. Two locations are on the list pending confirmation, Top Cats on Sangamon Ave and Chiense Buffet on MacArthur. Lyle proceeded to list the remaining items on the PCCA schedule including the Hannible Tour with SMCC The Oct 10 tour is the replacement activity for the joint picnic that had been held in Litchfield. It was noted that Hannibel is roughly 1 hour 45 minutes from Springfield. The Loco_motion cruise-in in Chatham and the August 1 car show at Knights Action Park in Springfield were also mentioned. The latter will have a air-cooled class and it was suggested to bring an umbrella because there is limited (no) shade. Allen and Susan Monts provided great snacks after the meeting, and before the 2016 convention meeting. The snacks included vegetables, cheese, dip, and some interesting cakes. Later, ice cream was provided. Thanks. Motion to adjoin was made by Bob Gwin and seconded by Jerry McKenzies. Carried convention update. After the meeting and snacks, a 2016 organization meeting was conducted by Tim Mahler. Tim distributed a planning document to all members present and discussed the meeting with the Hotel Staff. The hotel has experience with Car shows and conventions which is a positive. The hospitality room is great. Tim field a few questions and suggestions as well, taking note of both. The Welcome party was discussed noting suggestions from past conventions and working on allowing non-food participants the ability to mingle with other convention attendees especially for the valve cover races and other general admission activities. Program: Wheels of Time Museum Tour Respectfully submitted, Tim Mahler Tim Mahler, Secretary After the meeting: Swimming lessons. Actually during and after the meeting. Torrential downpours made driving home slow. Bravo to the Corvair enthusiasts who drove their Corvairs home from the meeting. The Biggs and I both followed the Moons who navigated the rains as well or better than the water pumpers. Way to go Ms Juliet. Auction News Vanderbrink Egelseer Collection Sale, Hustisford WI, May 2, 2015 as reported in OCW June 4, Chevrolet Corvair Monza Convertible condition 6 (parts car) $450 9

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