May - MG Car Club CNY

The
2
Seater
May, 2009
President’s Message
Spring is finally here! Or should I say Summer???
A gaggle of assorted MGs and other sports cars
departed Camillus after a hearty breakfast on
Saturday, April 25 for the Spring Dustoff Run.
Topless was the order of the day, as temps
exceeded 87 degrees. A leisurely ride via Route 5
to Auburn, down Route 34 to Ithaca, and then Route
to the Southern Tier was enjoyed by all, as we
approached Corning and finally Addison, our destination for lunch. We arrived at the beautiful home
of Sharon and Jim DeRusha, who had been in their
new home for just less than a year. It sat high on
top of a tall hill and overlooked the entire world.
Nice breezes moderated the heat and a large
welcoming committee greeted us as we parked the
cars on the front lawn. After we met everyone and
exchanged greetings, we toured the house and
garage, complete with a running Franklin, courtesy
of Jim and his friend Dewey. Sharon and helpers
set a lovely buffet table and Jim manned the grill,
as MG Clubbers enjoyed a nutritious and delicious
luncheon fare on the deck.
We then followed Jim to Dewey’s garage where we
saw the likes of a ’29 Model A Roadster, ’31 Model
A Roadster, ’15 Ford Phaeton, ’26 Ford Roadster,
’67 Corvette, and a ’61 Pontiac Star Chief. What a
collection! At 87 years young, Dewey set a fine example for all of us wannabe car restorers!
Then it was off to the Corning Museum of Glass,
where we took the tour and marveled over some of
the most beautiful objects made by mankind (next
to MG’s, that is). Sharon, Dan, and James were our
gracious hosts for the afternoon, and we appreciate their warm hospitality. Between the tour and
shopping, it was definitely a day to remember!
Finally, we were off to Syracuse on a beautiful ride
up Route 414 thru Watkins Glen and up the lake to
Seneca Falls and then home. And yes, John, we did
find an ice cream parlor on the way home! (Way to
Go! - Ed) We are grateful for the opportunity to
get friends together and enjoy a beautiful weekend.
Please do yourself a favor and take advantage of all
the wonderful activities we have planned for the
year. Check your activity calendars and the website
for current information on your next trip.
Just a reminder. Eurocar is only a month away.
Please plan on helping out this year to make it
the best show ever.
Safety Fast,
Dave
MG—Enjoy The Ride!
The 2 Seater
Upcoming
Published Monthly by:
The MG Car Club of Central NY
P.O. Box 1666
Cicero, NY 13039
Newsletter Editor: Terri LaVergne
299-4351
Advertising rates/info: Contact
Dave Winne - 622-1230
Events
May –
5/5 - Monthly Meeting at 7:00pm, 6:00pm Dinner Barbagallo’s
5/9 - Wine Tour, details, call Joe Cali 315-345-5693
Club Officers
President:
V. Pres.:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Dave Winne
622-1230
Tom Lynch
697-5456
Sue Beck
695-4596
Dan Burke
622-4365
Committee Chairs
Activities:
Sharon Hartman
572-0995
Regalia:
Loie Mechetti
598-9187
Eurocar 2009: Rick Kunz 663-6452
Sharon Hartman
572-0995
Membership: Patty Golas
687-3849
Webmaster: Jimmy Hearne
788-9998
2
5/13 - Eurocar Meeting, 7:00pm, The Piano & Organ
Center
5/15-17 - Carlisle Import Car Show (Howie Lapides)
5/24 - Norwich Car Show (Paul Andrews)
5/26 - Board Meeting, 6:30 pm, Dinner 6:00 pm,
Lock 24, Baldwinsville
5/30 - Kick off to British Car Week,
Meet’N’Eat
Euclid Hotel - Mike Mastracco, host
Any suggestions for activities, please contact:
Sharon Hartman
at 457-6267, or email
[email protected]
Disclaimer –
The Club, its officers, the editors, and
the author of any piece disclaim any
responsibility for damage, injury, or
loss connected with use of any technical information provided in the newsletter.
Repairs/maintenance/technical tricks/
procedures described herein should
not be attempted without the proper
tools and equipment and should
never be attempted by anyone not
experienced in the techniques
involved.
UPSTATE NEW YORK AGENT
JOE CALI
315 345 5693
3
Part II
Submitted by Mike Mastracco
Last month I listed 32 car related songs that many of us grew up with. Related by title, lyrics
and such. These tunes were from the 50’s through the 60’s. We hear many of them today as they
turned into classics as well as the bands that performed them. Here are an additional 36 songs that
peppered our airwaves through the 70’s and 80’s. Listed here are a couple of remakes that were
pretty popular, however not all remakes made it to this list as sometimes enough is enough.
There’s a few obscure titles listed and I’m sure I missed a few so let your mind wander.
Wander back to the ‘70’s when you were behind the wheel, gassing up for $2.00 total, Carroll’s
home of the “Club Burger” or McDonalds “golden arches” while burgers were 20 cents and fries 15
cents. Or for the folks living around Rome, Utica, Oneida stopping in at “Daddy’s Hamburgers” for a
7-cent burger and a 5-cent fry!
Title
Hitchin’ a Ride
Roadhouse Blues
Truckin’
Goin Up Around The Bend
Country Roads (Take Me Home)
American Pie
LA Woman
Mercedes Benz
Sweet Hitchhiker
Crocodile Rock
Take It Easy
Ventura Highway
Radar Love
Hot Rod Lincoln
Ramblin’ Man
Keep on Truckin’
Big Yellow Taxi
Carefree Highway
Low Rider
Born To Run
Convoy
Car Wash
Paradise by the Dashboard Lights
Life in the Fast Lane
Barracuda
East Bound and Down
Back In the U.S.A.
Greased Lightening
Cars
Highway to Hell
Drivin’ My Life Away
On the Road Again
Little Red Corvette
Drive
I Can’t Drive 55
Pink Cadillac
Rusty Chevrolet
Coupe de Ville
Artist
Year
Vanity Fair
1970
Doors
1970
Grateful Dead
1970
Creedence Clearwater Revival
1970
John Denver
1970
Don McLean
1971
The Doors
1971
Janis Joplin
1971
Creedence Clearwater Revival
1971
Elton John
1972
The Eagles
1972
America
1972
Golden Earring
1973
Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen
1973
Allman Brothers
1973
Eddie Kendricks
1973
Joni Mitchell
1974
Gordon Lightfoot
1974
War
1975
Bruce Springsteen
1975
C.W. McCall
1976
Rose Royce
1976
Meatloaf
1977
The Eagles
1977
Heart
1977
Jerry Reed
1977
Linda Ronstadt
1978
John Travolta
1978
Gary Numan
1979
AC/DC
1979
Eddie Rabbit
1980
Willy Nelson
1980
Prince
1983
Cars
1984
Sammy Hagar
1984
Bruce Springsteen
1984
Da Yoopers
1987
Neil Young
1988
Just a sampling of forgotten favorites as well as hits we hear regularly!
(What about Sausalito Summer Night by Diesel from 1981? - Ed)
4
CLAY
3567 Rt. 31
315.622.2372
5
By Rick Kunz
I was approached by Dave Winne and Carbone about
chairing Eurocar 2009. Of course the first words out
of my mouth was are you guys NUTS!
After several conversations and some negations I
relented under one condition, I as co-chair, would
have Sharon Hartman. I knew she has done it before
and was sure she would not be crazy enough to
accept the responsibility again, especially with a Nut
Job like me! Well thanks Sharon, I thought you were
smarter than that.
It has been an interesting couple of months working
on Eurocar. We have been out looking for sponsors,
door prizes and watching the whole thing unfold and
taking on a life of its own.
It’s interesting, last spring a tree fell on Terri’s car in
the front yard. Her insurance company decided to
drop her after 30 some years of having all her insurance, car, homeowners and motorcycles. While
shopping for classic Car insurance we met Vinny
Hollopeter of Hagerty Insurance and the long and
short of it, we got a good deal, he is a pretty good
guy and he brought Hagerty Insurance to the table as
a Major Sponsor!
Quite a few things came together nicely. First, the
Jaguar Club came on board to help make it a two day
event and combine there show with ours. The experienced and seasoned veterans of Eurocar’s past
stepped up to reprise their rolls from years gone by.
We put forth new ideas and welcomed others into the
process and set a course that took direction from the
show itself. We got some great major sponsors,
starting with that insurance guy Vinny, that gave
Terri a great deal on her MG and Toyota insurance,
and by attending the IAS as a club at the fairgrounds
earlier this year we not only picked up a great participant for the show, Michael Gould’s Jaguar GTP
Race Car, we picked up his employer Drivers Village
as major sponsor. Pete Sanborn got us a new Gold
level sponsor with his relationship with SAVES.
And we can’t forget people like Paul Andrews and
the other sponsor’s who have supported us for years.
Deb Larkin recreated the larger entry forms not only
as mail out, but to be simply delivered on line.
Thanks to all in advance for all your help in which
will be I know will be a great “Eurocar 2009”
6
Picture this: Summer is over, fall has begun
and now it is time to head for the hills.
The White Lake Adventure is scheduled
for September 25th to September 27th.
For just a mere $140 (unless the prices
have been raised – still trying to get an
answer on that) you can spend a weekend
with your MG friends at the White Lake
Lodge just outside of Old Forge. If you
have gone on this weekend adventure
before you know what a great time it is.
If this will be your first time, it will be
the time of your life, filled with laughter,
friends, and good times. You can do as little or as much as you want this particular
weekend. The lodge comes with a canoe, a
paddleboat, and kayaks for a leisure ride
on the lake. Or you can sit on one of the
porches and watch the sun rise or set while
sipping a cup of tea or coffee if you prefer. If you’re up for a little shopping,
there is always Old Forge with its quaint
little shops and that very unique hardware
store. Or maybe you just want to take a
leisurely ride through the mountain roads.
This weekend can be restful or full of adventure or just a little bit of both depending on what you need or want. Friday night
we will be having hot dogs and hamburgers
and Saturday night we will be grilling
chicken breasts and steaks. Your $70
deposit is due by the May 5th meeting.
Please make the checks out to me – Liz
Mastracco. If you wish, you can mail your
check to my home at 133 Hosmer Drive,
Syracuse, New York, 13209. If you have
any questions regarding the White Lake
Adventure please give me a call at 315-6359335. I can promise a weekend you will
PROLOGUE
Submitted by: Bob Bunch
My cross country trip across the country was a long time
being realized. It was not something that just happened on a
whim. In 1966, a popular television series, “Route 66” got
me thinking, I wanted to make a cross country trip. My first
sports car was a 1956 Austin Healy 100 which I purchased
in 1963 for $600. At the time I was living in Oceanside,
California. My friend Paul, had a brother, Lee, with a
Healy 3000. After having my Healy 100 painted and refitted
with new seats and door panels in Mexico, it looked sharp.
I loved my Healy and it was great. That was until my son
was born. Now, my Healy was too small. One day . . .
while drinking beer and washing the Healy, I said (in a
weak moment), Paul I’ll sell you the Healy for the $600 that
I paid for it, if you are interested. I loved my Healy, but
also, I liked Paul’s brother Lee’s Healy 3000 because it had
rear seats. To make this short, the next weekend, Paul came
over and plunked six one hundred dollar bills down on the
coffee table. It was now put up or shut up! I choked . . . but
honored the agreement. I went and found a 1960 Healy
3000, which became my new love. But, due to a job change,
I was forced to trade my Healy 3000 for a pickup truck,
which I needed at the time to move my mobile home from
California to Idaho. During the next few years I focused my
energy on boating, dirt bike riding and snowmobiling.
In 1976, now living in New York, my sports car fever
returned. I started reading car magazines and began looking
at sports cars. At the time I was working on a nuclear power
plant in Long Island. I was reading about kit cars in magazines. I was transferred to work in Houston, Texas, in 1979.
I was now ready to make the move to buy another sports
car….but, none of the new cars being offered excited me. I
yearned to have another Healy, but didn’t want the problems
that came with owning one. While attending a local car
show at one of the parks in Houston one weekend, what appeared but a bright yellow Blakely Bearcat Kit Car. Like an
omen, it was the same kit that I had been coveting in a
magazine. It was beautiful . . . and I was again in love with
a car.
After pondering the situation. . . . and drinking much scotch
one night, I made out the required $2000 check (down payment) to order one kit car. I wandered down to the mail box
at 3am and posted my order.
On the way to my new assignment in New York ( at the end
of the Texas assignment), in 1980, Marie and I traveled to
Fulton, Wisconsin, to visit Blakely Auto Works. I selected
the color of my car-to-be-built, then we headed for Oswego,
wanting delivery of the kit in September. In August they
were writing me that they wanted their money. I had told
them that I did not want to pick it up until September. I sent
them another $2000. In September, I borrowed a snowmobile trailer and Marie and I made the trip to Wisconsin to
pick up the kit.
After having a garage built (1980) and looking around for a
Pinto with the 2300cc engine, I settled on a 1974 Pinto with
the 2000cc engine. My “donor” car had 29000 miles and I
decided that I would upgrade the engine later if I didn’t like
its performance. I built the Blakely and had it ready for
licensing in July, 1984.
Moving along with my story, the Blakely was driven 19000
miles from the time it was built in 1984 until 2008, the time
of my “Bucket Trip”. It was the movie that had just came
out that made me realize that this was . . . going to be my
“before I kick the bucket trip”!
The Beginning!
My “BUCKET TRIP”, 2008
06/10/08
With 19331 miles on the speedometer, I started out, alone, by
myself on the trip of my lifetime, at 5:00 am, leaving Oswego
for Idaho. I have to thank my wife Marie for understanding
my need to make this trip. The Blakely coughed leaving the
driveway like maybe it didn’t want to make the trip. At
144miles into the trip at Weedsport, she coughed again. I
thought it might be a sticky float valve in the carburetor. I
was determined that this was going to be my adventure, and I
was going, whatever! I had left home resolving that I would
make the trip with the side curtains off. I compromised having
the top up, because traveling long distance with the top down
would make my scalp sore with the wind blowing my hair and
all.
Rain clouds rolled over, and it rained in Buffalo. Yes, the
windshield does not leak now Marie. I fixed it, but the coolant
is dripping on the pavement now. I guess changing the hoses
didn’t work. The Blakely gave me 28years, and is now working on letting me down when I need her the most, on my trip
to Idaho. I am maintaining 210 degrees F. So good so far.
Wow! The time is 10am in NE Pennsylvania, and I have
traveled 236mi and have been averaging 26.9mi per gal. (gas
is $4.49 per). At 12:30 I stopped for lunch west of Cleveland
OH. (at Taco Bell).
Traveling on, just out of Toledo, Ohio. At 3:30pm I stopped
for gas, having traveled 234mi. She took 9.2 gal. @ $4.09 per.
Traveling west through Indiana until I found a highway which
would take me north up through Michigan, I picked up Hwy
127 which would take me to Hwy 75 and over the mighty
Mackinaw Bridge. But, first, at 243 miles from Oswego, I
stopped at Heb’s End Motel, near Mason, Michigan. I was
loaned a bucket to wash the Blakely. I had gone through two
thunderstorms and wanted to remove the water marks. I had
dinner at China One Buffet, food good but not hot (enough)!!!
Later I had diarrhea.
06/11/08
I continued traveling north up through central Michigan with
the weather cloudy and getting colder and colder. I stopped
BUCKET TRIP Con’t on Page 8
7
BUCKET TRIP con’t from Page7
I stopped for gas having traveled 704mi from Oswego. I put
on long pants. Gas was still at $4.09 per gal.
After going over the Mackinaw Bridge and picking up Hwy
2 heading west, I stopped near Guliver, Michigan, for lunch.
I was so cold that I turned into a “weeney boy” and put in
the side curtains.
Am I glad, it started raining….and raining….and raining
until 6:30pm. I stopped for the night in Watersmeet, Minnesota. My motel was $53.00. I was still reasonably dry.
06/12/08
Up and on the road by 6am, I continued west on Hwy 2 in
Minnesota heading for Bemidji, where I would stop for the
night and visit with a friend whom I had worked with in
Idaho. I had not seen Bill for 33yrs. I was looking forward
to the visit.
We visited while making a sight seeing trip around Bill‘s
property, coming back by my beloved Blakely. We noticed
the driver’s side rear tire was low. I pulled the tire and we
took it to the local Goodyear dealer. Yep, there was a leak,
it appeared that the Goodyear Store in Oswego, which
mounted 4 new tires and tubes before I left failed to make
sure the casing was free of anything which could puncture
the tube. It appeared a small pin hole in the tube from
perhaps a wire brush caused the leak???
Anyway, this flat happened at 1157mi from Oswego.
To Be Continued in Next Month’s Issue….
8
Grandpa’s Steering Wheel
By Richard D. Jeffers
In 2008, my cousin Jimmy gave me an old steering wheel
that he had retrieved from the granary at my grandfather’s
farm in the 1960s. He didn’t know what it came from but
thought it was an interesting artifact and so kept it for forty
some years. The wheel has four steel spokes, which had
become very rusty, and a thick wooden rim that inadvertently
had been splashed with red paint during some long-ago
project. Bill Noroski restored the wheel to better than new
condition. It looked so good that I was inspired to discover
its origin.
The wheel could have come from a farm tractor except
that grandpa never had one. He operated under the logic that,
“If God had wanted men to use tractors, He would have
created them instead of horses in the beginning.” For the
twenty-seven years that I knew him, grandpa never drove a
car, hitching a ride or walking from the farm in Clay to catch
a bus in Cicero when he had to go someplace. However, I
remember visiting the farm as a lad in the mid-1940s and
seeing an old car, kind of square with wooden-spoke wheels,
sitting in a shed attached to the granary. Both the car and the
shed disappeared during the ‘50s.
Fortunately, grandpa kept a diary where he recorded daily
agricultural information; like the weather, plantings, harvests
& etc.; important events like births and deaths; and a monthly
account of expenses and receipts. I began to search back
through these books, which go from 1911 up to grandpa’s last
day in 1969, looking for information on the old car. I struck
pay dirt in 1937, where he reported that, “The car wouldn’t
start and I had to pull it with the horses.” From that date backwards in the diaries, I mined much information related to the
car. For example, he paid $1.60 for ten gallons of gasoline,
$22.60 for two 5.25 X 18 tires and tubes and a $3 fine for
running a stop sign in Syracuse. In November 1931, he was
run into by another car at Shepard’s Corners in Cicero sustaining a dented fender and running board while his lady passenger
suffered a cut over her eye. He settled up with the young
fellow who hit him for $2 (this was in the days before aggressive trial lawyers). I hit the mother load on July 11, 1931,
where grandpa recorded that he bought a 1924 Hupmobile
sedan, with 24,504 miles on it, from a man in Cicero for $100.
Howard Baker, proprietor of the local garage, checked out the
car and taught grandpa how to drive it.
Armed with this information, I went to the Internet and
found a photo of a 1924 Hupmobile. It had the remembered
wooden-spoke wheels and, under increased magnification, was
seen to have a wood-rimmed steering wheel with four spokes.
I measured the diameter of the steering and road wheels from
the photo and, using the information that the car had 18-inch
tires, calculated that the steering wheel was about 15 inches
across. The wheel that I have is exactly 15 inches in diameter,
which pretty much ends my story.
An interesting aside is the fact that I once had business
dealings with the Hupp Company, in Cleveland, Ohio. I
worked with their engineers on a commercial air conditioning
product that they made for Carrier but never realized that plant
was part of the same company that had made the automobile.
DO YOU KNOW ???
Submitted by: Bob Seager
We watch a TV program on Sunday
mornings called “Mohawk Valley Living”,
that is all about interesting sites and history
of the area we live in.
The Sunday, February 8th edition
televised had Canastota, NY (Think anything invented was invented in Canastota).
The first tyre (tire) chains were made
by Weed Tyre (tire) Chain Company in
Canastota.
The first round the world auto race
went through Canastota and had to stop
there to pick up their tyre (tire) chains.
The race was won by a United States car –
a ‘Thomas Flyer’ made in New York State.
(Rick saw a Thomas Flyer at the Harrah’s Car
Collection in Reno, Nevada, years ago. - Ed)
9
AUTO
AUTOFINISHERS
FINISHERS
637 West Genesee Street
Syracuse, NY 13204
315-471-5155
SUPPLY CO.
125 Oneida Street
Oneida, NY 13421
315-361-4190
Dedicated to serving the car enthusiasts
as well as the professional body shop
637 WEST GENESEE STREET
125 ONEIDA STREET
with all your automotive
Syracuse, NY 13204
&
Oneida, NY 13421
refinishing needs.
315-471-5155
315-361-4190
Dedicated to serving the car enthusiasts as well as the professional body shops with
all of your automotive refinishing needs.
Specializing in products including:
Proud To Be Your Local PPG Distributor Since 1937.
(WE INSURE CLASSIC BOATS, TOO)
10
EUROCAR 2009
May Birthdays
We need of items for prizes and
goodie bags and it’s up to YOU, our valued
5/1
5/2
club members, to ask for contributions at
places you normally do business, or you can
contribute something of your own!
Let’s make this the best Eurocar ever !!!
And with your help, we will succeed!!!
5/5
5/8
5/9
5/11
5/12
5/19
5/20
5/21
5/23
5/25
5/26
5/29
5/30
Irwin Koss
Kevin DeForest
Loie Mechetti
Rick Hoogkamp
Jane Gaylo
Debbie Curtis
Mary Ellen Pease
Marty Winne
Cindy Stevenson
Michelle Shea
John Barone
Matt Tucker
Pat Santy
Randall Brown
Earl Stewart
Rose Mary Burke
Richard Major
Carol Burch
Carl Glennister
Michelle Dellilo
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL
HOPE IT'S A GREAT ONE!
PLEASE !
SUBMIT YOUR
APPLICATION
RENEWAL WITH
$25 check payable
to
the “MG CAR CLUB”
c/o Patty Golas
or mail to:
MG CAR CLUB,
PO BOX 1666,
CICERO, NY 13039
11
www.mgcarclub.com/cny
MGCCCNY
P.O. Box 1666
Cicero, NY 13039
Eurocar 09 Sponsored by the
MG Car Club of CNY