March, 2008 - CanAm Chevelle Club

CanAm Cruising News
Volume 7, Issue 1
www.CanAmChevelles.com
March, 2008
Note from the Prez – Chevelle State of the Union
Well, like it or not, a mild
recession is upon us. I
know my dining out
budget recedes every
time I fill up the Tahoe!
And I’ve already suffered
the shellshock of diesel at
$4.25 a gallon. Am I in
Europe? I’d like to be
positive and declare it
won’t change our summer
plans, but that’s not
realistic. Although it may
seem impossible, there is
a chance fuel prices
might be lower this summer. They seem artificially high right now.
Nevertheless, we have to make our plans and budgets assuming fuel
prices are what they are today. I hope you make the 2008 Northern
Chevelle Gathering part of your summer schedule. We are centrally
located and offer a ton of stuff to do. Our show dovetails with one of the
largest local Super Cruises in the area for a truly Detroit Iron filled
weekend.
I’m pretending to be a Chevelle proctologist and am performing rear-end
surgery on Old Red. We met some fellow Chevellers at the Fall Nostalgics
at Lebanon Valley Dragway, www.dragway.com. It’s a great event, as are
the Hemmings sponsored MusclePallooza’s held at Lebanon. Long story
short, Old Red didn’t like to keep power to two wheels with slicks on. He
didn’t much like to shift into 2nd either, and that’s the next doctor’s exam.
Can you break a solid motor mount? Seems like Old Red done cracked his
somehow!
When you play…….! And I hope you all get to play a lot this summer! And
don’t have to pay for broken parts! I do wish to run Old Red a few times this
year with two simple goals: respectable runs and NO DRAMA! I know an
automatic transmission would solve the problem, but I just can’t do it to an
old original stick car. So we’ll keep on trashin’ and crashin’ them gears!
Soon I’m sure the talk will be about better fuel
economy, and I predict many more of us will relive
the 70’s and detune our muscle cars to eek the
most out of every gallon of fuel. 3.73s become
3.31’s and 4.10 become 2.73s! Don’t throw those
old 2-something gear sets away! Anyone got a
2.56:1 !? I ran across an ad for a brand new
Cummins 5.9L turbo diesel in the local swap
sheet. Biodiesel Chevelle anyone!? For now, I
have a OEM 3.08 gear set, as that is what was
original to the car.
But until then, we tighten our belts and DRIVE ON, making adjustments in
our budgets. Longer run, we’ll see more turbo small blocks and modern
engines in these old cars. Can you bolt a Cummins diesel to a Richmond 5
speed? Or an old Iron Duke!? 21st century hot rodding at its best!
After the Can Am show in July, you’ll have a choice of heading east to the
Northeast New England Chevelle Show in Sturbridge MA or west to the
ACES Northern Regional in Cleveland OH. Before the Can Am show in
July, we have the Maryland Chevelle Club’s North East ACES Regional
and Chevelleabration. Oh, did I mention Woodward? Or the 2nd annual Can
Am Stratford Ontario cruise?? It’s really hard to choose from all the great
shows and cruises available to us.
Part of our newsletter is our show flyer. It is the last page. We would love
it if each of you could print a few out and hand them to some fellow
Chevelle owners at the early season events. Of course, after sending in
your own! You can get a bunch of them by contacting Glenn at
[email protected]
Have a great start to your cruisin’ season! We’ll be seeing you all that Falls,
or at one of the other events in the Chevelle show circuit.
Happy motoring!
Gene Chaas
President
CanAm Chevelle Club Ltd.
Feature Vehicle
Ed Reno – Hilton, New York
Member #244
1967 Malibu Convertible
I have a 1967 Chevelle Malibu
Convertible. It is equipped with a
283
cubic
inch
engine,
PowerGlide transmission, Power
brakes, and Power Steering. The
color is Deepwater Blue with
black interior. I found the car
while visiting my son in Georgia.
It was setting in a yard under
Georgia pines a couple of miles
from my son’s home. I made an
offer and the seller accepted it.
He said he would deliver the car to New York for me because he always
wanted to see the Falls. We set a price and he delivered it. I supplied him
with a map of the Falls and directions. I have always wanted to own a
Chevelle or El Camino since they were first made in the 60’s. The more car
shows I went to the more I wanted one.
Since I purchased the car I have
removed the bench seat and
installed bucket seats. After
looking for a year, I was lucky to
find seats for the correct year, on
eBay, only hour from my house.
I purchased an upholstery book
and decided to try it myself. I got
the covers and seat springs from
OPG in California. I purchased
the seat foam at a fabric store
nearby. The tools I needed were
a hog ring pliers and side cutters. Hog rings are what hold the upholstery
on the frame and springs. It took my wife and I two weeks to strip down the
seats and paint and sandblast the frames.
My wife has more patience than I do. It was hard to do the upholstery, but
we finally got it done. It may not be perfect, but it looks pretty good. I then
replaced the column shift,
installed a floor shifter and
console
with
an
original
PowerGlide floor shifter. For $20
or $30 from NPD, you can buy a
pair of brackets that are installed
on the floor pan. Then you bolt
the bucket seats to the brackets.
Using the front holes from the
bench seat as alignment holes,
drill the back holes two holes on
each side of the buckets making
sure seats are even and straight. I purchased the console from OPG. It
was not too hard to assemble the floor shifter and linkage. A ‘64 or ‘65 floor
shifter will work, but need modification. It is best use a ‘66 or ‘67. The
detent can be changed to work on a PowerGlide or 350 tranny. There is a
company called Shiftworks in Rochester, NY that has a lot of floor shift
conversion parts for Chevelles. www.shiftworks.com
Under the hood, I have removed the plastic
inner fenders wells and replaced them with
new steel ones. As always when buying
aftermarket parts, be careful. I sent back
two pair
before I
got
a
good pair
and still
some of the bolt holes did not match up.
To me this was the hardest part of the
restoration. PATIENCE. A small air cutter
will help removing stubborn clips. You will
also need a bolt and clip kit for the inner
fenders. I got mine from NPD. I have also
removed the original two-barrel carburetor and
intake and replaced them with a stock fourbarrel Rochester carburetor and intake
manifold. It is not quite dialed in yet and I am
having some minor cold weather starting
problems but feel confident that by the Sixth
Annual Northern Chevelle gathering I will have
it all sorted out.
I have replaced all the exterior trim parts with NOS GM Trim including the
grill. All trim parts were purchased from NPD and Hinshaw’s. Watch the
aftermarket parts for quality and correct fit. I did return some because the
finish was very poor quality. The trim parts are easy to put on. All you need
is a small socket and a screw driver. The body was very solid and it still has
its original sheet metal and floor pans.
I go to all the local cruise-ins and
car shows. I put about 5,000
miles a year on the car. I drove
the car to the last two CanAm
shows and had a great time.
I want to thank Dave LeFebre,
Steve Walczak, and of course
my wife Mary Ann. Dave
LeFebre helped me with some
minor vacuum leaks and steering
column work. Steve Walczk
helped with the floor shift conversion. Glenn gave me advice and e-mailed
me some great tech articles.
I am now looking for a 1966 or 1967 El Camino for my next project.
I believe that I am the third owner for this car.
Ed Reno
For additional pictures see
http://www.leverfamilysite.com/Ed_Reno_Root.htm
Gee I Wish I Had Known That
Sway bar hole spacing rear lower control arms
Some of you may know that the bushings in the rear differential in the 1964 GM
A-Body cars were a one-year design. They had a smaller outside diameter (1.375")
than the bushings installed in the 1965 through 1972 (1.860").
I was talking with a gentleman from Texas. He provided me with this information
and I thought I would pass it on.
"The 1964 bushings are a one-year-only part. Rare Parts, Inc., is reproducing
them but they are pricey. The bushing is part number 9773067, which is the same
as the original GM part number. Some of the Pontiac guys I talk with also say that
NAPA carries the Rare Parts bushing under the part number RPC 15612
(http://www.napaonline.com/MasterPages/NOLMaster.aspx?PageId=470&LineCode=RPC&PartNumber=15612&Description=Control
+Arm+Bushing+-+Upper+-+Rear+Suspension)
.
I've looked at the pic of the bushing on the NAPAAUTOPARTS website and it
looks correct, but I have not tried it.”
I put this information out on my web site at this link.
http://www.leverfamilysite.com/1964_Rear_Upper_Diff_Bushings.htm
Grand Island Update
Requests to vendors have been
sent out requesting their support
for GI. Some door prizes and
goodie bag stuffers have started
to arrive. I think the economic
pinch has hit them as well as
everyone else as the offerings
are smaller then last year. Year
One actually wants to charge for
their show package. On the
other hand we have NPD
donating a new car cover for a
GM A-body car. That just means we have to work harder. By the end of
this month, I want to get another mailing out to additional vendors. Your
help in attracting sponsors for awards would be greatly appreciated. Preregistrations are coming in and we are ahead of where we were last year. I
will be updating the spreadsheet shortly and sending out the updated copy.
Don’t forget to send your registration in!
If anyone needs fliers to distribute at car shows or events be sure to get in
touch with me and I will send you a package of them in the mail.
We currently have four on-site vendors signed up for the show. Hinshaw’s
will be back. LT Classic Auto parts from two years ago will be back.
Chevelle Specialties will be back again, and a new vendor to us will be
Legendary Auto Interiors will be making their début this year.
Returning sponsors:
Bill Wertheim
Paddock Chevrolet
3232 Delaware Ave
Kenmore, NY
(800 716 0619 extension 114)
Carmon Russo
Tread City Tire
89 Thompson St
North Tonawanda, NY 14120 (716 693
4800)
If you need a new car or some
tires be sure to give them a
call.
Hinshaw’s will be at our
show as a parts vendor.
Please stop by
to see him during the show. We would like to have him
back again next year. One way to have that happen is to
send him home with an empty trailer!
Their address is 1248 N. Hwy NC 87 Elon, NC 27244
Their Phone number is 336.586.0802
The web site address is http://www.hinshawschevelle.com/
NOW READY
Shaun Warwick and I have been working together to come up with a jacket
style and design. He has used his contacts to come up with something.
Shaun made enquiries with several suppliers.
We have done a Black jacket and the particulars are noted below:
- 100% nylon Shell with 100% Cotton
Kasha lining.
- Drawstring waste with elastic cuffs.
- Snap front closure.
- Sizes S, M, L, XL, 2XL & 3XL.
They have our Club Logo on the back. On
the front chest you can have your name
and car information (EG - 65 Malibu, 67
Beaumont SD, 70 Chevelle SS, etc.).
The Club will pay for all the setup fees to
get the program on the supplier's
computer. This will cost us approximately
$250.
The jackets themselves are about $40 or
less depending on how many are ordered.
The expensive part of this process is the
embroidering. For example, there are over 60,000 stitches required for the
Club Logo.
The final cost, including all taxes and shipping to you, will be $105 (CDN or
U.S.).
A lot of members have been asking for this so let's hope we get plenty of
orders to make it worthwhile. Go to our Club Website and click on the
“CanAm Store” page for ordering information.
Thanks.
Don Lightfoot
Upcoming Events
MARCH 14-16, 2008
PERFORMANCE WORLD CUSTOM CAR SHOW
International Centre, Toronto, Ontario
877-950-1500 or 416-229-9919
[email protected]
http://www.performanceworldcarshow.com/
MARCH 28-30, 2008
AUTO FAIR
Western Fairgrounds, London, ON
800-619-4629 or 519-438-7203
http://www.westernfair.com/shows/london-auto-expo.html
APRIL 4-6, 2008
INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOWCASE
Verizon Center of Progress
New York State Fairgrounds
Bob Hoffman 315-487-8310
[email protected]
http://www.internationalasc.com/
JUNE 5-7, 2008
CHEVELL-A-BRATION
Goodlettsville, TN
Presented by American Chevelle Enthusiasts Society
http://www.chevelles.com/aces/
JUNE 8, 2008
1000 ISLANDS CRUISE-IN
Gananoque, ON
Brian Jones 613-382-3723
[email protected]
http://www.1000islandscruisein.com/
JUNE 28-29, 2008
21st ANNUAL MID-ATLANTIC CHEVELLE SHOW
Town of North East, Maryland
Presented by Maryland Chevelle Club
[email protected]
http://www.chevelles.net/mcc/
JULY 11-13, 2008
6th ANNUAL NORTHERN CHEVELLE GATHERING
Niagara Falls, NY
Presented by CanAm Chevelle Club
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/canam/
JULY 18-20, 2008
SYRACUSE NATIONALS
State Fairgrounds, Syracuse, NY
800-753-3978 or 315-668-9703
[email protected]
http://www.rightcoastcars.com/shows/syn/
AUGUST 8, 2008
ST. CATHARINES, ON
GM Powertrain Plant
Open to all GM powered vehicles
Contact Tom Laing
[email protected]
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/canam/
AUGUST 15-16, 2008
3rd ANNUAL NORTHEAST CHEVELLE SHOW
Host Hotel & Conference Center
Sturbridge, Massachusetts
Presented by New England Chevelle & El Camino Association
Information contact Jim Goodwin [email protected]
http://chev-el.com/index.html
AUGUST 15-16, 2008
ACES NORTHERN REGIONAL
Westlake, OH
Presented by Northern Ohio Chevelles
For information go to their Website
http://chevelles.figure-8.com/
AUGUST 22-24, 2008
OSHAWA AUTOFEST
Lakeview Park, Oshawa, ON
905-666-2307
http://www.autofestoshawa.com/
SEPTEMBER 5 - 6, 2008
2nd ANNUAL CANADIAN CHEVELLE CRUISE-IN
Stratford, Ontario
Presented by CanAm Chevelle Club
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/canam/
WESTERN NEW YORK EVENTS
Here is a link to events by other Car Clubs in that specific area
http://www.rodandpiston.com/
CENTRAL NEW YORK EVENTS
Here is a link to events by other Car Clubs in that specific area
http://www.cnycca.org/
Here's another Website for a lot of New York events
http://www.hubcapcafe.com/calendar/new-york.htm
For a listing of OHIO area events
http://www.bigalslist.com/
Important Note
EMAIL ADDRESSES
If you received this Newsletter by regular mail, that means we do not have a current
email address for you. If you have an email address, or have changed your email
address, please let us know. Thanks.
CanAm Chevelle Club
C/O Gene Chaas
3699 Southill Rd.,
Hamburg, NY, 14075
716-649-6038
[email protected]
Keep On Cruising!
PRESIDENT - Gene Chaas, 716-649-6038, NY [email protected]
VICE PRESIDENT - Dave Krespan, 814-489-3942, PA [email protected]
TREASURER - Rod Barker, 519-433-1628, ON [email protected]
SECRETARY - Rod Barker, 519-433-1628, ON [email protected]
MANAGER - Matt Gregerson, 814-728-8705, PA [email protected]
WEBMASTER - Don Lightfoot, 613-376-6141, ON [email protected]
CanAm Chevelle Club
<www.canamchevelles.com>
Membership Application
Name:_____________________________________________
Date:_________________
Address:_______________________________
Home Phone:______ - ______________
City:___________________ State/Prov:______
Work Phone:______ - ______________
Zip/Postal Code:________________
Email address:_______________________________________________________________
Vehicle Website address:______________________________________________________
(if you have one)
Vehicle(s) particulars: 1) ________ _________________ _______________________
Year
Make
Model
__________________________ _________________________
Exterior Color
Interior Color
_______CI _______HP ____________
______________
Tranny
Rear-end
Special Features:______________________________________
_____________________________________________________
2) ________ _________________ _______________________
Year
Make
Model
__________________________ ________________________
Exterior Color
Interior Color
________CI _______HP ____________ ______________
Tranny
Rear-end
Special Features:_______________________________________
______________________________________________________
We will need a picture of your car(s). You can send one in with this application (we will return it)
OR give us a URL link (_________________________________) to a picture on the Internet OR
send one in via email to <[email protected]> and include your name.
Dues are $12 (CDN or U.S.) for one year membership.
Cheques/checks to be payable to CanAm Chevelle Club.
SEND TO EITHER - Rod Barker, 15 Lavender Way, London, ON, N5X 3J2
- George Mitchell, 5744 Fifth Rd., North Rose, NY, 14516
Make sure you “bookmark” our website to check for news and updates
Thanks for your membership -
Keep On Cruising