3rd_qtr_2011_newsletter - Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club

Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts Club
Quarterly Newsletter
300mclub.org
July 2011
Vol. 1
Dear Fellow Member,
The hot “dog days of summer” are upon us. Hope the warm summer months are
finding all in good spirits and health.
Memorial Day officially opened the summer season, a time to reflect on
those that have given their all for our country and freedom. For the fifth year
in a row, there has been a club meet in Indianapolis the week prior to the 500
and as usual Beespecial and Bigmike60 did a great job hosting the event.
I truly hope the meet will continue into the future. Anyone with a pulse and
even the slightest interest in cars knows what the Indianapolis 500 is. Practice
and qualifications are special events that really make the meet worth the trip.
Some of us were fortunate to stay or return for the race and it was great
to witness the 100th year celebration. It was quite a spectacle to witness
from opening ceremonies to the waving of the checkered flag. Gathering with
fellow members and enthusiasts is always a good time.
Fourth of July is upon us as we celebrate the birthday of our country’s
independence. I guess this also marks the middle of the summer but also
sets us up for the Carlisle All Chrysler Nationals meet the following weekend.
I’m sure all are looking forward to the event including many members that
will be attending this year. If I recall correctly a few members started the
annual tradition of this meet in 2001. Since then it has grown and matured
into quite a weekend. Tim Steward and family work hard at preparing for the
event. Seeing old friends, meeting new members, and having a good time are
guaranteed at Carlisle. It is not too late to sign up for the event or just come
and join us for the day. Show off your ride, participate in the show judging, or
just hang out. A new category for awards this year is “Sight & Sound” and it’s
looking like it will be an unforgettable event.
Other items noteworthy this summer are the efforts of our VP Keith Jarvis
as he keeps the “Ride of the Month’ competition rolling along. It takes time and
dedication to set up and administrate the program. Keith makes it look easy.
Cory Grimm and family have opened up their home once again and offered
to hold another “fixin’ meet.” If you are in the area, and have any maintenance
needs, strongly consider taking Cory up on his generous offer.
Take Care, Stay Cool and Stay Safe!
Respectfully,
Bob Day
Club President
FEATURED Ride
Cory Grimm (grayslater)
Member #0929
As our reigning “Ride of the Year” for 2010, owners
Cory and his wife Jennifer Grimm show us their 2002
Chrysler 300M Special in Black with contrasting
Neutral Gray Metallic sill moldings. Modded out with
dual 9” silver sparkle racing stripes, 20” SRT Designs
wheels, and wrapped in 245/35/20 Toyo Proxes 4s;
this one of a kind Special (SRT Design) is sure to
captivate any 300M enthusiasts.
No stranger to the Club/forums, Cory has been
a proud member for nearly seven years while
showcasing the ownership of his now third 300M and
his first Special. After driving his 2000 year model
for 4.5 years, he knew it was then time to look for a
Special.
2002
Under hood Mods:
K&N FIPK2
Northstar Elbow
Mobil 1 Oil Cap
Sight Shield
Transmission Drain Plug
Metallic Silver Painted Strut Brace
Custom Painted Hood Insulator
(300MSpecial logo)
Metallic Silver Strut Support Bar
BatterMINDer Port Connector
In a search for a Sapphire Blue model, his heart was
taken back when he found this showcased two-toned
interior, low mileage beauty just north of Pittsburgh,
PA. Before he knew it, he was flying across three
states and taking a shuttle van an additional hour
to Butler County Ford of western Pennsylvania. “It
was love at first sight,” said Cory. “Call me crazy, but
I knew I had to have it the moment I discovered her
with only 46,000 miles.”
On the surface, the modifications shown may not
appear to be subtle to some. But Cory’s other
mods are surely those of a refined taste. Taking
his time and with a distinguishing taste, he’s
certainly found himself in select company. Other
Honors to include: 2010 April “Big Wheels” Ride
of the Month, 2010 Indianapolis “Best in Show”, 2011
Indianapolis “Best in Show” and 2011 May Ride of
the Month.
Exterior Mods:
RainX Latitude Wipers
OEM Embroidered Hood Bra
“SPECIAL” vinyl 3rd brake overlay
NAPA Ultra-Premium Rotors
Adaptive One Brake Pads
Modified DRLs - Parking Lights
Black Powder-Coated Calipers
20” SRT Design Wheels wrapped in
245/35/20 Toyo Proxes 4s
Silver “Sparkle” Dual 9” Racing Stripes
Interior Mods:
LED Courtesy Lighting
Infinity Sail Speakers
Lighted Key Ring
Smoker’s Package
Molded Cup Holder
AC Power Amplifier
Mopar Trunk Mat
Articulating “SRT Design” Headrests
Stainless Steel Shifter Overlay
Johnson/Greystone Tint (50/30/30)
300mclub.org
FEATURED Member
Keith Jarvis (silverspecial)
Member #0569
1. Where are you from originally and where do you
currently live? I was born in Burlington, VT and lived
in the area until 8th grade. I moved to Massachusetts
and have been in the area ever since. I currently live
in Natick which is about a half hour west of Boston.
2. How did you originally become interested in
300Ms? I test drove a 2002 Special when it was
brand new and liked all the features it had to offer.
I put a deposit down and waited for the dealership
to find the color combination that I wanted. It
was the first and only new car I had ever bought.
3. What is the favorite mod you have done to
your 300M? My favorite mod was the working
fridge with custom LED lighting that was installed
in the trunk. I removed the spare tire and cut
a hole in the cover that angled the fridge so it
faced out. It came in handy at many of the meets.
of my classes. I recently opened my own web design
company and hope to build it into full time career. In
addition to work and school, I enjoy serving on the
Board of Directors and as the club Vice President.
I live with my girlfriend Lindsey and our dog Joey.
Together we enjoy traveling, eating good food,
attending car shows, and relaxing when we can.
5. What is your favorite memory of meeting fellow
club members? My favorite memory of meeting fellow
club members would be at Carlisle in 2003 at my first
meet with the club. I was a young kid who didn’t know
what to expect. I decided to make the 6 hour drive to
attend the show and make a run at a trophy. What I
ended up getting out of it outweighed and continues to
outweigh every trophy I’ve ever earned. I have made
friends that continue to be a part of my life and this
is what drives me to give back to the members of this
club. Club meets are one of the many things that make
this club great and I urge all members to attend a meet
in the future. The experience is well worth the drive!
6. Where do you see the 300M and the Club in
10 years? Hopefully the club continues to gain new
members as the cars continue to change hands.
These new members will mesh with the existing diehard members and allow the club to remain successful
and fun. While ownership will change, the commitment
of the club members continues to represent a
passion for the car and commitment to friends.
4. Tell us a little bit about your personal life. I’m
35 years old and work as a retail manager while
going to school full time. I plan on graduating with a
Computer and Information Systems BS degree with
a concentration in Web Development in 2013. It is my
hopes to maintain my 4.0 average for the remainder
7. What is your favorite sports team and why?
I’m a Boston fan!! I’m lucky to live in a city that has
exceptional professional sports and try to get to
games as often as I can. I am a member of the Red
Sox Nation, own a Tom Brady autographed football,
and attended a Celtics playoff game the year they
won the championship. I’ve enjoyed the playoff run
that the Bruins have made this season after a long
drought.
300mclub.org
Member Recipe
Paulette Parong-Waters,
Member #0004
Featured Modification
Braided Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
 1 Foil Package (8 oz.) cream cheese
softened (Do not use soft cream cheese
in tubs)
 ⅓ cup sugar
 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
 ½ Foil package (4 oz.) cream cheese
 ¼ cup (half stick firm butter or margarine)
 2 ½ cups Bisquick Original baking mix
 ½ cup milk
Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease large
cookie sheet. Mix 8 oz. package cream
cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth
and put aside. Cut 4 oz. package of
cream cheese and margarine into baking
mix in large bowl with pastry blender until
particles are size of small peas. Stir in
milk. Turn dough onto surface well dusted
with baking mix; gently roll in mix to coat.
Knead lightly 10 times. Roll into rectangle
15 X 9 inches. Carefully place on cookie
sheet. Spread reserved cheese mixture
down center of rectangle. Make cuts 2 ½
inches long at 1 inch intervals on each
of 15 inch side of rectangle. Fold strips
over filling, overlapping and crossing in
center gives coffee cake braided look.
Bake about 20 minutes or until golden
brown. Remove from cookie sheet; place
on wire rack. Drizzle glaze over warm
coffee cake. Cut into 1 inch slices. Serve
warm or let stand till cool. Refrigerate any
remaining coffee cake.
CIGAR LIGHTER/
POWER OUTLET preference
With every issue we’ll highlight a great mod you can do to your car.
Remember, there are many more mods on the forums and in the
knowledgebase at 300mclub.org/forums.
So you want to charge your phone with the car off? Or you want to
leave the GPS turned on while you go in the store without draining the
GPS battery or worry about having to wait for it to boot back up? Want
to light a cigarette without turning the key?
A quick mod and a freebie that most owners do not know exists, is
the ability to have “always on” accessory power at the main cigarette
lighter.
Here’s how to do it:
 Remove the driver’s side instrument panel end cap from the left end
of the instrument panel.
 Remove fuse #6 in the upper right of the junction block from its “IGN”
position (left position).
 Move the fuse slightly right (as shown below) and insert it in the fuse
#6 “BAT” location in the junction block.
 Reinstall the driver’s side instrument panel end cap and that’s that.
You now have “always on” accessory power!
Glaze:
¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp Warm water
¼ tsp vanilla
Mix all ingredients till smooth
300mclub.org
FEATURED How-To
Removing The Door Panel
The 300M Enthusiasts Club maintains a knowledgebase of hundreds of detailed HOWTOs on everything from how to change your battery to how to replace your evaporator. Each issue we will highlight one of these members-only articles to showcase the wealth of knowledge available on the site.
You can find this specific article at:
http://www.300mclub.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=15271
1. Remove the sail speaker (as
shown in #4)
2. Remove the door speaker grille
3. Remove screws from (#1, #2, #3)
4. Proceed to removing the screws
from (#5 thru #9)
5. On older models like the 2000,
remove screw from (#10.) A 2004
does not have this screw.
6. With the help of a door panel removal tool, remove the plastic
clips behind areas (#11 & #12).
Don't be surprised if either of
NOTE: Removal is very similar for
the rear door panels with the exception of the speaker areas.
To see every article in
the knowledgebase,
go to:
KB.300mclub.org
300mclub.org
Indy Meet Wrapup
Article Contributed By: BigMike60
Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four
Horsemen rode again. Uhh…? Wait that was a different Saturday, and a different time warp. This "ride"
was on May 21, 2011, and there were five riders, more
fearsome than Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and
Death. These were the fearsome riders of the Chrysler
300M Enthusiasts Club making their annual assault on
the Brickyard.
And like the original Four Horseman, each rider rode a
different steed. First came FIREM in his Inferno Red
300M beast, followed by Beespecial in his gray 300M
Special, then Stan in his new 300C, Rick in his "Knight
Rider like" Charger, and BigMike in his TorRed Challenger R/T. The murmur from the crowd as these
beasts prowled around the oval almost drowned out
the roar of the engines as the pack approached 229.7
m.p.h (in their minds) on the momentous lap. (A quick
check of driver pant bottoms after the run conclusively
established that the true track lap speed had not approached the virtual speed in each driver's mind.)
Flash bulbs were popping as the riders hit the Yard of
Bricks, and each rider's steed was captured in
megapixels for posterity to bear witness to their coming and going. After stabling the steeds the riders enjoyed a sumptuous repast with several Indy Princesses who were enthralled by their tales of driving
daring-do, while the old riders were just enthralled by
the Princesses. Rutherford, Mears and Mario provided breakfast banter prior to crowning of a Queen.
quailfying and he ran very well in the Race until fuel
issues forced him and Danica down the ranks to a mediocre finish.
On Saturday night the five horseman were joined by
Cory, Josh, and Travis and the group hit a local eatery
and had a great dinner, and a quarter hour of parking
lot commentary about the various cars of Travis and
Josh. Cory brought the M of the Year to the meet and
had pulled parts at a salvage yard stop on his way in
from Illinois, and some swaps were made among attendees. Travis had installed an incredible light system on his M. Lights glowed in various hues around,
under, and within his beast. It was an awesome mod.
On Sunday morning at the Show and Shine the usual
cast of characters were up at 0-dark-30 and did an
outstanding job of cleaning and polishing their steeds.
Awards were made, 1/64 diecast Indy cars were
drawn in rotation with each person getting 4 or 5 and
then the non-locals began galloping their steeds for
home. A real good time was had by all.
Following breakfast, qualifications dominated the afternoon as Indy car drivers jockeyed for the Pole position
for the race. Alex Tagliani won the Pole, but crashed
his car in the race and did not finish. Showers in the
late afternoon made Bump Day a hectic event on Sunday. Marco aced out a teammate in the final minute of
300mclub.org
Membership Has Its Privileges!!!
Camaraderie. Founded by fellow 300M
owners, the Chrysler 300M Enthusiasts
Club is truly a one of a kind club that combines a unique car with a group of people
that are welcoming, knowledgeable, and
always willing to help. The club is much
more than an online forum; it is a tool that
enables people to meet and share their
passion for the 300M. There is a wealth of
information that is shared by club members
and events that happen all over the world.
When joining, each paying member receives a personalized membership packet
in the mail with a membership card, certificate of membership, and window-cling for
your car.
Knowledgebase. The knowledge that is
available to members of the 300M club is a
service that very few other forums come
close to. The club has many experts with
years of dedicated experience with the LH
platform. There are how-to write-ups for
just about any routine service that is
needed. Even the most intensive repairs
are outlined and available for members to
look at. The club also has a lot of members
with modified cars so you can get ideas for
your own M and discuss your modifications.
Additionally, our website also contains links
to many resources for parts and service.
Events. The events that the members of
the 300M Club put together are a special
part of the club. At them, you are able to
meet the people you talk to online and
swap stories about your Ms. Some of the
events feature awards that help to highlight
the fine work that our members have put
into their cars and you are eligible for these
awards as a paying member of the club.
The awards cater to just about every M
owner out there and are a thrill to win.
Other events are specifically to execute
maintenance and work on the cars. The
club has previously had meets in Europe,
California, Pennsylvania, Ocean City MD,
Las Vegas, Florida, and even has a meet
around the Indy 500 each year. By attending a meet you will meet fellow members
that will become lifelong friends.
Parts and Service Discounts. The club
has a parts and service discount program
that helps you save money on any costly
repairs. There are many dealers across the
country that offer the discount and you gain
access to the list when you become a
member. The club also posts additional
information about discounts that can be
used on the Internet for M parts.
Member Directory. As a member you
have access to the membership directory
for the club. You can interact with fellow
members that live near you, meet up with
them at a local show, and even get together
to work on your cars as a group. These
benefits go way beyond the money that is
saved during the repairs. Being listed in
the member directory is optional but does
allow other members to reach out to you.
The member directory also has links to
websites that are set up by members to
highlight their vehicles. These websites are
optional but give the other members the
opportunity to learn more about their favorite Ms on the site.
Chat Room. While the chat room is always
open for members and can be used at any
time, the club has set aside two designated
weekly times for members to come together
and chat (Wednesday and Sunday nights).
You can swap stories, ask questions or just
visit with fellow members. It only takes two
members to start a chat and people usually
stop by when they see others in the room.
We hope the all members take the opportunity to chat while maintaining mutual respect and maturity.
Club Merchandise. The 300M Enthusiasts
Club has partnered with Café Press to offer
many different items with the club’s logo on
them. You can pick up a shirt, coffee mug,
phone case and many other items that allow you to show off your pride in the club.
These items can only be purchased by paying members of the club and are of a nice
quality.
featured in the club calendar for the following year. The owner of the winning car also
gets a free year of membership. At the end
of the year all twelve winners are entered
into the Ride of the Year contest and the
winner is featured on the calendar cover
and receives a special club prize.
Free Online Photo Storage. Each paying
member of the club is given their very own
folder to store pictures of their car online.
The club uses Fotki for the photo storage
and the members can upload their own
photos whenever they want.
Free Classified Ads. Each paying member of the club can post items for sale in the
classified section of our forum. There is no
better place to sell a part for a 300M than
on a site that is dedicated to the LH platform. We offer this incentive to paying
members only for the security of the people
who purchase the parts.
Charity. The club is a non-profit and also
donates money to charity each year. As a
member you are able to suggest what
charities the donations should be made to.
Each year the club sets aside a portion of
the money it makes from the memberships
and renewals to help those that are in need
in our country and all over the world.
Ride of the Month (ROM). The Ride of the
Month contest is open to any paying member of the club and aims at showcasing
some of the finest cars in the club. Each
month four member’s cars are posted in a
poll allowing other members to cast their
vote. At the end of the voting period the
winner is announced and they get to be
For an online application to join the 300M Enthusiasts Club, go to:
http://www.300mclub.org/application.html
300mclub.org
FEATURED CHARITY
2011 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
One of the great things our club does is donate funds to various
charities. We can all be proud to know we are helping others.
Bob Day, President
[email protected]
Recently we made a $250 donation to World Vision to assist with
disaster relief in the aftermath of the tsunami in Japan.
Keith Jarvis, Vice President
[email protected]
Alan Wittstein, Secretary
[email protected]
Paulette Parong-Waters, Treasurer
[email protected]
Chris Dietz, Board Member
Josh Flinchum, Board Member
Robert Knapp, Board Member
For more information on our donations please see:
http://www.300mclub.org/v3charitableactivities.html
CLUB MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE
We have an incredible amount of club branded merchandise available for
sale to our members. Everything from shirts and glassware to baby
clothes and iPhone covers all at very reasonable prices.
Roger Waters, Board Member
Tim Steward, Board Member
Willard Hoppe, Board Member
William Burke, Board Member
Do you have a question about
the Ride Of The Month Program?
Contact: [email protected]
Do you have a question about
Club Merchandise?
Contact: [email protected]
Do you have a question about
your membership?
Contact: [email protected]
Do you have questions or comments
about this newsletter?
Contact: [email protected]
This newsletter is published quarterly in
July, October, January, and April.
Check it out at:
http://store.300mclub.org
BUY/SELL/TRADE
Our forum has an extensive buy/sell/trade section. Many great deals
are available for just about anything to do with your 300M.
(And many other items as well).
Check it out at:
http://BST.300mclub.org
DETAILED CLUB INFORMATION
Minutes from previous Board of Directors meetings as well as many other
documents pertaining to the club are available to members.
Check it out at:
http://docs.300mclub.org