Miata Magic May 2018 Volume 29 Number 5 http://www.spacecoastmiataclub.org Eckler s Corvette Roundup Car Show & Lunch May 12 Saturday, 9:45 On Saturday, May 12 at 9:45 am meet your hosts, Don and Nada Strunk at the Central Brevard Library parking lot, at 308 Forrest St. Cocoa for a 10 am departure to view the Corvette Roundup Car Show. This will be held at Eckler's, 7980 Grissom Parkway, Titusville After a couple of hours of viewing we will leave at 1230 for a short trip to Dixie Crossroads, 1475 Garden St Titusville, for a delicious lunch.. Drive to Deal s Gap (aka Tail of the Dragon) and Other Scenic Roads May 13 Sunday thru May 19 Saturday If you love to rev 2nd and 3rd gears and enjoy other Miata lovers, the 18th Annual Drive in the Deal s Gap area is the trip for you. This event is, as always, led by Bill and Rancie Titley, members of Space Coast and North Coast (Cleveland, OH area) Miata Clubs. Drivers can do their own thing each, or any, day or join in the pack and go on planned drives around the area. Hotel check in is the afternoon of Sunday, May 13 and check out is the morning of Saturday, May 19 for a total of 6 nights. You can stay as many or as few days as you want. We will be staying at the Highland Manor Inn in Townsend, Tennessee, near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge. Call them at 865-448-2211 for reservations. The rate is $74.50 per night for the entire 6 nights, $84.50 for 3-4 nights, and $99.50 for 1-2 nights. Tell them you are with the Ohio Miata group and confirm the rate. We have a free continental breakfast (toast/bagel, Danish, cereal, coffee, tea, juice) at 8am and take off soon after. Check their amenities at: www.highlandmanor.com. The following members have attended previous events, and are going this year, and can provide more information if needed: Ed and Vicki Hill at: 321.298.1964 or Mike McClain at: 321.652.1253. 1 The Hills are in the mountains
PRESIDENT The Official Newsletter of the Space Coast Miata Club VICE-PRESIDENT Nada Strunk (513) 304-5283 Merritt Island Michael Edwards (321) 704-3720 West Melbourne Please Note: Due to the club s liability insurance, it has been decided by the Board, that non-members are allowed to attend a maximum of two events in a calendar year. Otherwise, visitors/guests need to become members. See below for membership details. TREASURER Glenda Walton (321) 636-4084 Cocoa How to enjoy your Miata more! SECRETARY MEMBERSHIP ACTIVITIES WEBMASTER NEWSLETTER Peggy Bretz (321) 254-8101 Melbourne Bob Walton (321) 636-4084 Cocoa Bunnie Dow (321) 508-0559 Palm Bay Art Caira (603) 799-5969 Melbourne Mike McClain (321) 652-1253 Melbourne IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Brian Turner (321) 474-5150 Rockledge CLUB FOUNDER Chet Young (321) 446-0472 N. Ft. Myers, FL WEBSITE ADDRESS: www.spacecoastmiataclub.org. The Space Coast Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein; or injury or damage resulting from the use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modification tips expressed are to be used at the reader s discretion. Individual contributors and/or editors express no approval, authentication, or endorsement. All events are uninsured, informal gatherings for which the Space Coast Miata Club assumes no liability. Join the Space Coast Miata Club. Just reading this newsletter tells you how much fun all of us are having. Why not be part of the action? Once each month we have a meeting in Cocoa plus a planned event to somewhere that gets us out on the road in our Miatas. Your membership entitles you to a 20% discount on parts and 10% on service labor at Boniface-Hiers Mazda. You also get an official membership card, which can be picked up at the monthly meetings, a club logo window sticker, this great newsletter, and lots of Miata-loving friends to help you enjoy your Miata more. Annual dues are $20.00 per person, not per family. All past members, no matter when you renew dues are $20.00. New members initial costs: Feb-Apr $20. May-July $15 Aug-Oct $10, Nov-Jan $5. Make check payable to: Space Coast Miata Club and mail to: Glenda Walton 2080 Otterbein Ave. Cocoa, FL 32926 Thanks to our benefactor Boniface-Hiers Mazda in Melbourne has generously supported the Space Coast Miata Club since it was founded in 1989 with discounts (see above) to members and door prizes that are awarded at every monthly meeting. They also help to promote our club by displaying and distributing our brochures to those interested. Next SCMC Monthly Meeting May 15, 2018 Regular meetings (Feb. through November) are held every third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. Location: Central Brevard Library, 308 Forrest Ave, Cocoa, FL. Next Issue Submission Deadline May 22, 2018 Send to: Mike McClain mlmcclain@hotmail.com 2
Ever After Farms U-Pick Blueberry Farm Drive Out May 18 Friday, 9:45; RSVP Peggy & Matt Bretz have planned a drive out event to the Ever After Blueberry Farm in Mims on Friday May 18. We will meet at the Cracker Barrel in Titusville at 4745 Helen Hauser Blvd. at 9:45 a.m. and leave at 10:00 a.m. The website for Ever After Blueberry Farm is: everafterfarms.com They will do a slide show and a presentation on processing the blueberries for us. We will then be able to pick our own blueberries. After you pick them, they are weighed and you pay by the amount picked. They do accept credit cards. You can wear sandals / flip flops, but it is recommended to wear shoes. Bring water and sunscreen and hat, though they do sell water at the farm. We will have lunch at Portofino Italian Grill at 3350 S. Washington, Titusville. The website of Portofino is: portofinoitaliangrill.com. They have lunch specials and a regular menu. We need at least 8 participants to qualify for the reservations. So if you are interested please notify Peggy at: mbretz@cfl.rr.com or give her a call at 321-536-2888 In Honor of Don Yoho Don Yoho, our dear friend and long standing member of the Space Coast Miata Club, passed away on Sunday, April 15, 2018. Don joined the club in its infancy and held numerous offices along the way. He worked primarily in communications at the Kennedy Space Center until his retirement, then drove a school bus for 10 years. Aside from Miatas and the Miata Club, some of his interests included square dancing, antique cars, stained glass and, his commitment to deliver Meals on Wheels for 17 years. Don was a patriot in the truest sense of the word. He served in the Air Force and enjoyed sharing his experiences about his military career and would speak about them as if he had just retired yesterday. A few years ago, Don applied and was accepted to participate in the Honor Flight program. As a veteran, he was eligible to go to Washington DC, with his son, Ed. Along with other veterans Don enjoyed a full day of touring the memorials. Memories of the event would bring tears to his eyes when he talked about it. He would say, "we were treated like rock stars"! Don always thought and acted younger than his years. He was a true friend and a gentleman. He will be missed by all who knew him, but forgotten by none! He s cruising on the sea of gold. Our deepest condolences go to his wife Bonnie and family. 3
Annual Linda Young Picnic Recap On Sunday, April 15th 38 club members descended on Fort Christmas for the annual club picnic. There were several new faces and some that were missed. The noisy fan from last year had been replaced and the mother hen was absent, so we had to entertain ourselves, in that regard. The food was plentiful and delicious as usual. Bunnie Dow who led the effort to have the picnic wanted to thank the following for their timely assistance... Carolyn and Ray for helping put the gift bags together at the last minute. (Mazda USA provided the gifts and they arrived Friday night after 6 weeks of Bill Grieco chasing them to ground). Charlie Sizer, our chef, with Bob and Glenda Walton assisting. Mary Ruth Sizer our food organizer and correspondence. Kay Sanders for purchasing with husband, Bob's assistance. Don and Nada Strunk for general support. Anything I asked they did. Bill and Linda Grieco for answering all my questions. Brian and Gina Turner who chaired the setup and cleanup committee. And my long suffering husband, Ray, who put up with me for the last 2 months. 4
Guess Who? This little fashionista looks so happy in her winter coat. I think we all had clothes we had to grow into, back in the day or was it just so cold her hands were pulled up into the sleeves? I know my mom would reminded me when I d gripe, of what she didn t have etc etc. But it was so, so true. Also note the bare legs. True ladies didn t wear pants. How things have changed. Answer on the bottom of page 6. Send your pix to mlmcclain@hotmail.com LOOKING FOR A DRIVE? Still no drives planned after May. July 14 Saturday, Linhares/LaCroix Pool & Games Party Contact Bunnie Dow at: bunster82@hotmail.com for any assistance or ideas. May Birthdays The club wishes a happy day (and many more) for the following members: Lynn Achenbach, Norm Goyette, Dick Landis, Joshua Lee, Judy Mason, Ray McDermott, and Steve Saretsky 5
Did You Know? Submitted by: Mike McClain This applies to the NB and NC models. Not sure about NA. Does your manual transmission get notchy when you shift gears? Especially going into or from second gear or when the weather is cold? If so, you may want to check the transmission fluid level in the shifter turret. Where is that? you ask. It s at the bottom of your shifter, under the center console. It s a pretty simple process as you sit in the seat and remove the shifter knob, e-brake boot and the five screws holding the center console in place. Then the fun begins in trying to remove the wire bundles for the window switches. I finally just cut the tie wrap holding them down. By doing that you don t have to disconnect the window switches. There are a few nuts and bolts to remove so you will need a 10mm socket. Remove the shift assembly. You ll see the hole (turret) where the ball at the bottom of the shifter is (see Figure 2). You can remove any old fluid and then add by pouring into the turret. I performed this task a month ago and noticed an immediate improvement in shifting performance. It took about 1 hour. A good discussion on this topic is found at miata.net. https://forum.miata.net/vb/showthread.php?t=322476 There is also a good video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8lggruvglm which shows the removal of screws and bolts etc. Figures 1 and 2 below were taken from the MX-5 NC Service Manual for guidance. Figure 1 Turret Figure 2 Answers to the child photo: Peggy Bretz 6