July - Antique Automobile Club of America www.aaca.org

Vol. 21, No. 7
The Official Newsletter of the Staten Island Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America
Ragtops &
Rumbleseats
Jul 2014
• SIRAACA Community Day - July 12
Vintage Advertising
School’s out for summer! Hopefully the students were paying
attention in history class when
they learned that Dodge is celebrating 100 years in 2014.
The company was founded by
John & Horace Dodge in 1914
following stints producing transmissions for Olds and drivetrains
for Ford. Their new car was an
instant success, with Dodge
Brothers Company remaining an
independent firm until acquired
by Chrysler in 1928.
This 1932 ad touts the simplicity
of pedal free gear shifting and
automatic clutch, targeting the
ever increasing amount of women drivers who wanted comfort
and ease of use. Does anyone
know how this set up worked?
In This Issue
July 12 is our show at the Commons Cafe.
A 1920’s time-traveler finds his
long-lost Model T.
1958 Corvette wins top honors at
local show.
Ha p py I n d e pe n d ence Day!
A summer rerun in the SIRAACA Garage.
Trivi a Qu e s t i o n : Of t h e 1 4 6 n e w makes of auto that debuted in 1914, how many survive t o t h i s d ay ?
Answer: Only one - Dodge.
RAGTOPS & RUMBLESEATS
July 2014
Volume 21, Number 07
SIRAACA Who’s Who
EDITOR Paul Arena, Jr.
[email protected]
PRESIDENT Paul Arena, Jr.
[email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT Mike Signorile
[email protected]
SECRETARY Tony DiAngelo
TREASURER Phil Boffa
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY Jonathan Schulman
[email protected]
SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Jeff Tucker
WEBMASTER - [email protected]
Frank Nathanson
http://local.aaca.org/siraaca
Minutes of the 470th Meeting
June 3, 2014
1. The 470th meeting of the Staten Island Region AACA was called to
order by President Paul Jr. at 7:35 pm. Following a recital of the Pledge
of Allegiance and a moment of silence, the minutes of the 469th meeting were accepted as read by Tony DiAngelo.
2. A recap of events since the last meeting was presented by various
participants. Four cars adorned the entrance to the Theater at Snug
Harbor for a Mother ’s Day matinee performance of Driving Miss Daisy,
and were featured on NY1. Five members attended the Memorial Day
Parade and had the honor of driving veterans along the route. The
inaugural New Dorp H.S. car show drew more cars than it could hold.
The raffle car took in $288, and the club is donating $100 back to their
football program.
3. Our Community Day at the Commons Cafe will be on Saturday,
July 12 from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. Members have been promoting this
celebration of National Collector Car Appreciation Day and we expect
a good turnout. Final preparations will be discussed at the July meeting.
4. Jeff Tucker and Frank Nathanson are planning a run to the Whiskey
Cafe in Lyndhurst, NJ this coming Saturday. Anyone interested in joining in should coordinate with Jeff.
5. The show at St. Joseph-St. Thomas is set for June 14. Members are
asked to help out with judging and selling raffle tickets on our Corvette, which will be on display.
6. Phil Boffa’s company continues to work with the AACA and Steve
Moskowitz on app development. Steve mentioned that the AACA is
also working on a new show for Velocity Channel.
7. Phil Boffa’s treasury report shows all in order.
8. The meeting was adjourned at 8:50 pm. The 50/50 collected $23,
with Bob Columbia winning $12. Respectfully submitted,
Tony DiAngelo, Secretary, SIRAACA
c lub happe n i n g s
FE A T U R E
Communit y D a y i s J u l y 1 2
S t . J o s e p h - S t . T h o mas Show
To celebrate National Collector Car Appreciation Day, which is officially recognized as July
11, 2014, our club is holding its first ever Community Day at the Commons Cafe on Saturday,
July 12. The free event, a car show and cruisein for charity, will run from 11:00 AM to 2:00
PM. The main goal is to drive as much traffic through the Cafe to buy lunch, as all profits
turned at the register are donated to our organization. We will hold a 50/50 drawing, sell tickets and the raffle car, and give away some special awards to a select number of vehicles. The
event also gives the majority of us a glimpse of
the facility, where we are considering relocating
our shows in 2015.
For the fourth consecutive year, our club has pitched
in to help judge at the car show held at St. Joseph-St.
Thomas parish school. The show drew just under 100
entrants, with a heavy helping of new Mustangs and
Corvettes mixed in with a little of everything else.
The 1958 Corvette roadster seen above was awarded
Best in Show. An equally impressive 1930 Ford Model
A coupe was selected as the Pastor ’s Choice.
C r u i s e s t o t h e Mainland
This season, the weekly cruise nite action on Staten Island has given way to a morning cruise, as the Sunday
gatherings at Great Kills Beach have taken over the local scene in a big way. For those of you who prefer
their cruises to be in the evening, and you don’t mind
crossing a bridge into New Jersey, here are a few upcoming events, courtesy of Kroozin Productions.
The Olive Garden in Woodbridge hosts a big turnout
each Tuesday, with July 8 as the next possible target date for our raffle car. A little further south, the
Shoppes at Old Bridge, located on Route 9 near Texas
Members have been passing out these flyers at Road, is hosting their next event on Friday, July 11. It’s
all the local cruises and car shows, and the buzz delayed one week because of Independence Day. Here
has been getting louder each week. We are ex- too we’d like to attend with our raffle car. Each event
pecting a great turnout and hope to “wow” the can afford one final push for our Community Day on
folks at the Nicotra Group, who are trying to July 12. Who’s in?
promote the Cafe to the rest of Staten Island.
ELIQUAT
SIR
AC A
AEUGUER
Cover : The A l l - A m e r i ca n 1 9 5 7 C h e v y g o e s w i t h b a s e b all, hot do gs and apple pie this 4th of July. (photo by Paul Jr.)
From the P r e s i d e n t
It gives me great pleasure to congratulate Kevin Keenan on the
birth of his first grandchild, a 9
pound, 1 ounce boy named Tyler
Kevin Keenan. The baby and parents (Kevin and Paige) are doing
well. Kevin reports the baby has
plenty of hair, so he must not look
much like him.
I hear we are doing a great job
promoting our upcoming event
on July 12. Let’s hope we can
dazzle our new hosts, raise some
money for charity and attract new
members to our club. - Paul Jr.
- NEXT MEETING - July 1
Our July meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, July 1 at 7:00
pm, and will be held at the Staff House at Seaview Home
& Hospital, located at 460 Brielle Avenue. Each member is
asked to contribute $3.00 towards coffee and doughnuts.
Roarin’ to Go
We Hear T h a t . . .
Former member Victor Coiro
joined 50 or so other Checker Cab
owners for a national meet in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn in late June.
His photo appeared in the weekend edition of The Wall Street
Journal and he was interviewed
for a New York Times article...
...
. and that the famous 1935 Duesenberg Mormon Meteor attended the Elegance at Hershey and
won both the Governor ’s Cup
and the Most Elegant Open PreWar award...
... and that at the upcoming RM
Auction at Motor City, there is no
car estimated to hit $1,000,000...
Fellow member Tony Ventrice texted us this photo of a time-traveling
... and that Victor Coiro (yup, gentleman from the Roaring Twenties holding Tony’s very first trohim again) was spotted chugging phy, awarded to his Model T. Apparently, Tony knows how to sumalong Hylan Boulevard in a barn- mon this guy out of the Prohibition Era and into the 21st Century, so
fresh Model A woodie wagon af- keep an eye out for him and his flapper gal at upcoming shows and
ter an appearance at Great Kills events. If you meet him, be forewarned - we also hear he’s associated with some local bootleggers known to be quick on the draw with
Beach one Sunday morning.
those newfangled tommy guns.
What have you heard?
SIR AAC A
LOREM IPSUM
Inside the SIRAACA Garage
Hey haven’t we seen this truck already? Yes, but not with those awesome red wheels with chrome beauty
rings.
Phil Boffa sent in this photo to show
his progress, which this time reveals
a simple yet effective treatment of the
wheels on his Chevrolet pick-up. The
SIRAACA Garage approves.
Are you tired of reruns in the summertime? Then send in photos and
stories of your current rides, your former rides, your parents’ rides, your
great-great-uncles’s
horse-drawn
rides, whatever.
I can’t do it all by myself...
S l ow a nd steady wins the race as Phil takes his time bringing his truck back to life. He’s
a l s o re done the do or panels. The big question is will he keep the patinated finish, have it
p a i n te d, or go somewhere in b et ween with black “suede”? (photo by Phil B offa)
Upcoming Events
Grab your friends and family, hop into your car, and check out these events:
Do you have (or had) a car that
you’d like featured in the SIRAACA
Garage? If so, please send pictures
and details to Paul Jr. via parena2@
verizon.net, or see him at one of our
monthly meetings.
•
•
•
•
•
Travis 4th of July Parade - July 4
SIRAACA Community Day at Commons Cafe, Teleport - July 12
Carlisle Chrysler Nationals, Carlisle, PA - July 11-13
51st Annual Das Awkscht Fescht, Macungie, PA - August 1-3
Bikers for Bini, Staten Island Mall - August 24
SIR AAC A
LOREM IPSUM
Drive- I n F u n R e t u r n s t o H i s t o r i c R i c h m o n d Town
The All American Drive-In returns this year to Historic Richmond Town with not one night, but six
straight nights of 1970’s blockbusters. Running from August 11-16, three feature films will each get two
nights on the big screen. Kicking off the week on Monday is “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”, followed by “Rocky” on Tuesday and the return of “Jaws” on Wednesday, They then repeat the showings for
the next three days. We supplied three cars for a recent promotional shoot - Jeff Tucker ’s 1967 Galaxie,
Mike Signorile’s 1962 Impala and Paul Arena’s 1964 Riviera. Last year, we displayed cars along Center
Street as a featured display, and will coordinate with Richmond Town to determine the displays for this
year. For more information on tickets, visit http://www.historicrichmondtown.org.
SIRAAC
AACA
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SIR