ACTIVITY NOTICES. April 18, Tour of Filoli Mansion, Woodside CA. Call J. Wagner ASAP for reservations. (See p. 3)

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1 April 2009 Volume 27 Number 4 Our Tour Group is shown here about to board the USS Hornet CV12, a historical WW-II ship with an impressive record of destroying enemy aircraft, ships and enemy merchant vessels. ACTIVITY NOTICES April 18, Tour of Filoli Mansion, Woodside CA. Call J. Wagner ASAP for reservations. (See p. 3) April 25-26, AHA 30th Annual Show, Knottʼs Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA May 9, Coming Out Party, E. Contra Costa County Historical Museum, Knightsen/Brentwood

2 NCKCC News Page 2 April 2009 FROM THE PREZ I have just returned from our latest Club outing and I would have to say the tour of the USS Hornet was one of the best events of recent years. Although attendance was a little sparse, with only 8 in attendance, the tour was really great and the weather a little cool but not bad. I m sure Vern or Tom will have a full writeup of the Hornet tour in this issue. The Hornet experience has definitely improved since our last visit several years ago. Speaking of experiences, our members and their guests have special opportunity to experience one of the most spectacular historical mansions in the Bay Area as our April Club event is a visit to the Filoli Mansion and Gardens in Woodside, CA. April is traditionally a great time to visit the Mansion and Gardens as their many spring flowers are in full bloom. The Mansion is, of course, amazing in its own right. An impressive aerial video of the Mansion was used as the lead-in footage of the Dynasty TV series Carrington mansion several years ago. Please check the upcoming event write-up elsewhere in this newsletter. With our 2009 show location now set for the Hilton Hotel in Concord, the Show Committee was busy this past month at a planning meeting held at the home of Vern & Carol Hance. Just prior to the meeting, the Hances were kind enough to provide the committee members who attended with a wonderful St Patrick s luncheon of corned beef and cabbage. Thanks, Vern & Carol! With our appetites sated, the committee accomplished quite a number of show related tasks including a making a decision on the classes and numbers of trophies to be awarded at the show. I ll rely on newsletter editor, Vern, to provide such show information as it develops in this and future newsletters. Take care and hope see you at the April outing, the Filoli Mansion & Gardens! Jim Wagner, NCKCC Prez AHA KNOTT S BERRY FARM SHOW April 25-26, 2009 are the dates for the Fun Under the Sun show at Knott s this year. Lets see if we can get a group of our members to attend this year and show that we are supportive KIT CAR people for the AHA s 30th Anniversary show. Registration forms, Saturday night dinner registration and motel info are available at Just click on 30th Fun Under the Sun - Knott s Above: Planners at work.

3 NCKCC News Page 3 April 2009 FILOLI MANSION & GARDENS - APRIL 18TH Our April NCKCC activity is a visit to the Filoli Mansion & Gardens in Woodside, CA. Recognized as one of the finest remaining country estates of the early 20th century, Filoli welcomes the public to this remarkable 654-acre property, including the 36,000 square foot Georgian country house and spectacular 16-acre English Renaissance garden. Front of Filoli Mansion. Filoli is a private property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is dedicated to the preservation, interpretation and stewardship of the cultural traditions and natural history of this country estate for public education and enjoyment. Filoli is located about 30 miles south of San Francisco in Woodside, California, just south of the junction of Highways 92 and 280. Their address is: 86 Cañada Road, Woodside, California On April 18 th, our members and their guests have a special opportunity to experience one of the most spectacular historical mansions in the Bay Area. However, Filoli requires an accurate visitor count as well as a pre-payment approximately two weeks prior to any scheduled tour. So if you plan to attend, please contact Jim Wagner NO LATER THAN APRIL 4th. him at jamesuu@comcast.net or phone (650) We will have lunch on site at the Filoli Garden Café. We will order from their menu. Directions: (Map page 4) From North of Filoli: Drive south on Highway 280 Take the Edgewood Road exit Turn right on Edgewood Road until it ends at Cañada Road Turn right on Cañada Road, go 1.25 miles Turn left into Filoli entrance, proceed to guardhouse. From South of Filoli: Drive north on Highway 280. Take the Edgewood Road exit. Turn left on Edgewood Road until it ends at Cañada Road. Turn right on Cañada Road, go 1.25 miles. Turn left into Filoli entrance, proceed to guardhouse. From the East Bay: Drive west on Highway 92 (San Mateo / Hayward Bridge) Take Highway 280 south. Take the Edgewood Road exit. Turn right on Edgewood Road until it ends at Cañada Road. Turn right on Cañada Road, go 1.25 miles. Turn left into Filoli entrance, proceed to guardhouse.

4 NCKCC News Page 4 April 2009 Parking is located near the Visitor & Education Center and there is no charge for parking. If you have any questions about the Filoli Mansion & Garden Tour, please call or e- mail Jim Wagner. Note: NCKCC members will meet at 0945 AM in the Guest Parking Area and proceed as a group into the Visitor & Education Center for admission and a tour scheduled for 10:00 AM. The group rate for the tour will be $10 per person if we have 12 or more and $12 per person if we have less than 12.

5 NCKCC News Page 5 April 2009 USS HORNET TOUR By Tom Wallters 8 of us did the tour - it was most enjoyable. After the tour we lunched at the Mexican Restaurant, Otaez. We began the tour with an orientation by one of the docents. After that, we checked out a few planes on Hanger Deck and then headed up to Flight Deck to check out more planes. We then caught the "Island" tour with a knowledgeable docent who showed us and talked about the Navigation bridge and Primary Flight Control room. In addition to learning aspects of navigation and flight control, we learned about the number and types of guns the ship once bore (most are no longer in place). The docent, of course, also had a repertoire of interesting "sea stories" about the Hornet. Our next tour was the engine room - here we learned about steam generation, turbines, reduction gearing and prop shafts driving the 4-5 foot ships props. We also learned about communication signals between the navigation room and the engine room, and of course, listened to more "sea stories". Our docent also took us through some of the restricted areas such as the crew's, quarters, mess hall, kitchen and bakery. We then wondered on our own through several of the open rooms on the Second Deck. Most of the areas and rooms are open to the public and are in good condition. James Wagner mentioned that there are many rooms and areas now open to the public that were closed just a few years back. We left for the restaurant shortly after 1:00, having spent about 3 hours on board. We did not see everything and could easily have extended our stay a couple of more hours. There is a concession on Hanger Deck which sells sandwiches and drinks - while the lunch at Otaez was enjoyable, we could just as easily have scarfed a hot dog and stayed aboard for a couple of more hours. I've toured the USS Midway in San Diego and the USS Intrepid in New York, and while these ships are bigger and more modern (as I recall), the USS Hornet tour ranks right up there - especially regarding the percentage of areas and rooms that area open to the public. Attendees were: Allen Koch, Vern Hance, Vern's friend, Harry Byrne, Chuck and Susan Maddux, James Wagner, Robert Wagner, Tom Wallters Here is some Hornet history that Vern dug up. The Hornet (CV-12) was launched 30 August 1943 in Newport News, VA but departed Norfolk February 1944 to join the Fast Carrier Task Force at Majuro Atoll in the Marshalls. The Battle of the Philippine Sea opened in June 1944 when Hornet launched strikes to destroy as many land-based Japanese planes as possible. The Hornet, based from Eniwetok in the Marshalls, raided enemy installations ranging from Guam to the Bonins. Her aircraft gave direct support to the troops invading Leyte in October The Hornet attacked enemy shipping and airfields in the Philippines including a raid that destroyed an entire Japanese convoy in Ormoc Bay. On 1 April 1945 Hornet gave direct support to the amphibious assault landings on Okinawa. Her aircraft joined in attacks which sank the mighty Japanese battleship Yamato and her entire task force as it closed on Okinawa. She returned to San Francisco and was decommissioned there in January 1947, and joined the Pacific Reserve Fleet. She was recommissioned 20 March 1951, for conversion to an attack aircraft carrier (CVA-12). She went back in service January 1957 to bolster the strength of the 7th fleet in the troubled Far East. She was later converted to an Antisubmarine Warfare Support Carrier (CVS-12) in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. In April 1959 and she joined the 7th fleet in antisubmarine warfare tactics ranging from Japan to Okinawa and the Philippines. In August 1966 she was on recovery station for the unmanned Apollo moonship. In March 1967 she operated in Vietnamese waters throughout war in Southeast Asia. The Hornet was the recovery carrier for the Apollo 11 moon mission during which astronauts Neil Armstrong, and Edwin Aldrin Jr. walked on the moon in July Hornet was decommissioned 26 June 1970 and spent nearly two decades in mothballs. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register 25 July 1989, and sold for breaking up in April However, the old carrier was saved from the scrap heap by the efforts of historically-minded citizens and was donated to The Aircraft Carrier Hornet Foundation for use as a museum at Alameda, Calif., on 26 May We thank Tom Wallters for being the organizing champion for this event. (pictures elsewhere in newsletter)

6 NCKCC News Page 6 April 2009 SHOW NEWS By Vern Hance The show committee met on March 15 to firm up more details of the Annual Car Show on September 12 & 13, This represents what I recall as our main decisions. We have signed a contract with the Concord Hilton, so we are locked into the new location. As the committee discussed last years Saturday show plus a driving event on Sunday, the consensus developed that we had better participation with a 2-day car show than two different events. Following the meeting we contacted the Hotel and found that they were enthusiastic about the Saturday/ Sunday show and would not charge us for the extra day of parking lot use. So - - we are back to our old show format but with a new location. As I mentioned last month, there are a lot of other interesting activities, near the Hilton, that show exhibitors (and their families) can do. So, this should lessen our concern about the isolation of the San Leandro Marina from other activities. We also discussed a budget for things like advertising, trophies, dash plaques, show prizes, banquet prizes, water & sodas and equipment rentals. If we can stay within a reasonable budget, we agreed that we could make it a free show for spectators. Many exhibitors feel that lots of spectators are a measure of the showʼs value. So, we are planning fees of $25 for car exhibitors, $20 for dinner and free admission for spectators. We also discussed how effectively we will be able to promote the show. We need to improve our techniques, in order to increase both spectator and exhibitor participation. Two things that we will be asking all our members to help with will be: 1) Print and post Car Show Posters on company and community bulletin boards and at auto-related and other businesses that will permit posting in their windows or front doors. We will be posting such printable posters on our website well before the show; and 2) You will be asked to provide and/or solicit some suitable prizes for the show and for the banquet. To help you solicit prizes from merchants, we will post, on our website, a downloadable letter that tells about our club, gives our non-profit corporation numbers and describes how the prizes will be used. We discussed trophies and are planing to award 3 places for each major class (as in past years) but delete a few others to keep the total to about 20. We may even go to a ribbon for 3rd place awards, depending on costs. I thought we had a productive meeting and, I think, the 13 people that attended agreed. My thanks to Carol, who cooked up a nice corned beef & cabbage lunch which seemed to be enjoyed by all. Those attending included: James & Wendy Wagner, Robert Wagner, Chuck Maddux, Bill Landers, Dave & Joyce Decato, Paul & Ruth King, Vern & Carol Hance and Shane & Carolina Williams Family. Thanks to all who attended.

7 NCKCC News Page 7 April 2009 HELLO - OR PHONE IN YOUR PREFERENCE By Vern Hance We still would like to hear your opinion on the questions below, so that ANNUAL BRUNCH FOR 2009 I only got a few replies on the annual brunch location. The few responders indicated that Humphreyʼs was OK and preferred a Brunch with a wide variety of foods rather than a narrower type of menu. Again the choice is Humphreyʼs (in Antioch ) or something more centrally located. If you have a strong feeling about it, please send in your vote - by Phone or message (925) or <nckcc@astound.net> DIGITAL NEWSLETTER 1. Donʼt have so keep sending it by U.S. Mail. 2. I prefer a printed copy, but would reluctantly settle for an copy that I could print or read on my computer. 3. I would be happy to receive an newsletter to reduce the clubʼs ex[enses.. Again, if you have a preference, please send in your vote - by Phone or message (925) or <nckcc@astound.net Below: Getting some energy for a long planing session. Regarding the acceptability of a digital newsletter by to those members with e- mail service, the response rate was very small. (4 responses) 50% gave answer #3 and the other 50% gave answer #2.

8 NCKCC News Page 8 April 2009 DUES FOR 2009 We now have 55 nice people that have paid their dues for 2009, so here are their names. Looks like we will lose about 18 or so that haven t responded to my nagging. Bohaboy* Bohr* Clark* Foote* Hunsberger* Knebel* Maddux* Navratil* Penalosa* Bales* DeCato* Hance* Koontz* Landers* Merritt* Rubenstein* Thomson* King* Amsberry* Bello* Barrilleaux* Calderon* Clavelli* Cooley* Craycroft * Elster* Evora* Fewell* Heinke* Hooven* Jacobs* Jermanis* Kinzy* Kluber* Koch* Kuendt* LaCasse* Latty* Rosenthal* Rowland* Shambora* J.Wagner* R.Wagner* Wallters* Bradley* McAlaster* Faithfull* Fernandez* Honodel* Ketchel* Somerhalder* Leavitt* Chappell* Boscacci R. Johnson * Indicates those that were previously listed in the December - February newsletters. I have tried to list all paid-up members (not in alphabetical order). if you think have paid and are not listed you should e- mail Vern at <nckcc@astound.net> - or call (925) LEGISLATION TO WATCH The following bills were summarized in the ACCC newsletter and are of interest to members of our hobby. To get details about these bills please go to < and review the material to prepare to express your feelings about the bill. AB 859 (Jones) Smog check: Annual Inspection: repair assistance program. Summary: Would require annual inspection of motor vehicles 15 years old or greater by January 1, 2010 and would require funds to be deposited into the High Polluter Repair or Removal Account. SB 232 (Benoit) Vehicles: specially constructed vehicles. Summary: Would delete the first 500 vehicle limitation and instead require the department to provide registration to any specially constructed vehicle that meets the specified criteria. Provides for the owner of a correctly or incorrectly registered vehicle to change the vehicle s registration by complying with those specified criteria. SB 811 (DeSaulnier) Vehicles: specially constructed vehicles. Summary: Would require specially constructed vehicles previously registered outside CA to be subject to emission control requirements applicable to the same calendar tear that the vehicle was originally constructed. SB 385 (Wright) Historic Motor Vehicles Summary: Would exempt vehicles with Historic Vehicle plates (i.e. 25 yrs old) from smog testing if used only for display and owner has 2 other vehicles not registered as Historic vehicles.

9 NCKCC News Page 9 April 2009 COMING OUT PARTY MAY 9th 10 A.M. TO 2 P.M. KNIGHTSEN FALL CAR SHOW Mark your calendar for our annual Coming Out party, which is intended to honor those with newly built or acquired cars during the past year and new members that have joined in that period. Al Bello called recently to report that Knightsen will be having a car show on Saturday September 26, 2009 in downtown Knightsen. The party will be at the East Contra Costa County Historical Museum, 3890 Sellers Avenue, Brentwood, CA The Museum will provide Hot Dogs and soft drinks, but suggest that members bring a side dish or salad to broaden the selections on our food table. If you wish to bring beer or wine, feel free to do so, because the museum is not licensed to serve such beverages, but they can be consumed legally. If you haven t been to the Museum before, there is a lot to see and learn about the early history of this area. If you have visited before, there are new displays and an opportunity to refresh your knowledge. We are fortunate to receive this invitation to have our party at the Museum, through Dave & Joyce DeCato. They are active members of our club, avid car collectors and key staff members of the Museum. The newsletter editor will review the membership records to determine who the honored members are, but he needs your help to determine the new cars to recognize. Let Vern hear from you. Our club has attended a couple of shows in the past few years. It is a low-key, casual show that includes every automotive device from Caterpillar tractors to beautifully restored classic cars to the newest sports cars. (Had a Panoz roadster a year ago.) There is no entry fee and the show has been covered by local TV and several newspapers in past years. Put it on your calendar and we will keep you posted. Below - L to R: Lunch with Allen Koch, Chuck & Sue Maddux and USS Hornet Tour organizer, Tom Wallters.

10 NCKCC News Page 10 FOR SALE COBRA Ford power, Jag rear-end. Silver w/ black interior. $21,500 Call Bob Elster (1/02) FERRARI - TESTAROSSA Spyder. Based on 1989 Corvette with 350 V-8 engine and automatic tranny. Reduced to $12,000. Contact Anthony Ramsinh (408) or aramsinh@aol.com (11/05) April 2009 PANTERA Factory built, only one known to exist. Red w/ beige interior, Chev engine $35,000 Call Bob Elster (1/02) Cars for Sale ads in the NCKCC News are for members only. Rate is $10 for 12 issues. MANX SR cc VW engine with 4speed stick. New interior in Built in 1977 by present owner who has all receipts, etc. Includes a spare 1600 VW engine and extra parts. $5,500. Call Don Wicks (707) or at dkwicks@mchsi.com (11/05) MERCEDES SSK (Gazelle) Parts: 4 fenders (brown), windshield, radiator shell, bumpers, interior leather and top (tan), tail lights, supercharger pipes, doors (yellow), latches, hinges, etc. Tim (04/05) Below: Chuck grabs the plane s nose while Sue watches.

11 NCKCC News Page 11 April 2009 CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2009 April 18, Tour of Filoli Mansion. Jim Wagner, Champion April 25-26, AHA 30th Annual Fun Under the Sun car show at Knott s May, 9, Coming Out Party. East Contra Costa Historical Museum, Brentwood June, Walnut Creek Art & Wine with NCKCC Mini Show, Paul King, Champion July 3, Benicia Independence Day Parade & Dinner. C. Maddux Champion. August 8, Proposed Riverboat Tour/dinner and/or Towe Museum,Sacramento August 15, Hot August Niles Car Show, Fremont 9am to 3 pm September 12-13, NCKCC Annual Car Show, October 17, Proposed Wine Tour. Chuck Maddux, Champion November, Christmas Parade, Knightsen, CA December 6, Annual Brunch 2009 OFFICERS AND APPOINTEES: James Wagner, President jamesuu@comcast.net Chuck Maddux, Vice President camnsam@att.net Vern Hance, Treasurer, Editor Ellesmere Court, Walnut Creek, CA nckcc@astound.net Tom Wallters, Secretary twallters@gmail.com Pat Cooley, Membership Chair myoozik@comcast.net Unfilled position, Activities Chairman Carolina Williams. Show Chair The Kit Car Sun is published monthly by the Northern California Kit Car Club. Opinions expressed by authors should not be be considered the position of the club. We are a non-profit educational organization and do not intend to influence legislation.-