keynotes - VW Association of Western NY

April 2013
K EY N OTES
Executive Comments by Fran Haefner
Inside This Issue
Executive Comments
Spring has sprung – or at least it has per the calendar! But as
those of us in Western New York can see, looking outside tells a
completely different story! Hopefully by the time you read this, we will no
longer be looking at white-covered yards.
1
Coming Events
2
Classified Ads
3
Cruise Info
4
The VWAWNY Advantage Page 5
At this time of year, we look forward to taking our beloved
Volkswagens out of winter storage, preparing them for the season ahead,
and driving them. Some may have plans on performing a new plateau of
restoration. If you didn’t have access to a heated space to enable working
on your car during the winter, now is the time to get moving!
For several years prior to Pam and me purchasing our Beetle, we
enjoyed going to car shows and cruise nights. It was wonderful seeing the
variety of cars and conversing with their respective owners. Attending
shows and cruises with our convertible is many times more satisfying than
being an “outsider looking in”. We find that there are many people in
attendance that really enjoy seeing VW’s!
As the season approaches, we anxiously await the resumption of
the show schedule. We plan on taking the Beetle out – weather permitting
Confessions
6
Two Place FV
8
Parking Committee
8
Next Meeting will be on
April 17h at The Ship N
Shore restaurant at
7:00PM.
– to many of the area cruise nights. I will mention some of the venues that we have attended and enjoyed on a
regular basis during the past two summer seasons. The majority are free, some provide music, virtually all have either
street vendors for food and drink or there are close-by eateries. Some highlight either a particular type or make of
vehicle for each night of their schedule. Regardless of what particular type car is featured on the schedule, we are not
afraid to bring our VW to the show!
Monday evenings you will often see us in Lockport at the cruise held in Ida Fritz Park, located just North of
the canal and West of Transit Road/Route 78. Free car registration, and several door prizes are given out each night
to lucky registrants. Fifty-fifty is available for those that desire a chance to win some cash. Try to show up before six
for the best parking spots.
Tuesdays are Pautlers nights, which is located on the East side of Transit Road/Route 78 in Clarence, South of
County Road. This venue will often see well over one-hundred fifty cars on a nice summer evening. Pautlers
restaurant has many very good food items for dine in or take out, and a great ice cream selection, too. No
registration, a DJ providing sound, and an outside play area for the little ones.
Wednesday sometimes found us going to Gratwick Park along the Niagara River in North Tonawanda for the
Shredd and Ragan Cruise. Bill and Maureen Ellis helped get some of us together for some of these last year. For
those club members that were able to, we met up outside of the park and we then entered the park as a group.
Thursday nights: Polish Falcons in Depew, Quaker Steak and Lube on Transit Road in Lancaster, and Akron on
Main Street in the village. No – we didn’t do all three in one evening! The Falcons cruise is very nice, has a DJ, and
excellent hot dogs available for only a buck and a half. This cruise used to get well over a hundred cars, some nice
evenings saw 200, but I believe that Quaker Steak took away some of their thunder. Quaker Steak draws a huge
number of cars and bikes, and features live (loud) music. The restaurant has food and beverage available inside and
out.
Page 2
KeyNotes
April 2013
President
Bill Ellis
570 Meadowbrook Drive
N. Tonawanda, NY 14120
716-694-9038
[email protected]
Vice President
Al Schuessler
1180 Coyle Road
Cowlesville, NY 14037
716-652-8406
[email protected]
Secretary
KeyNotes
Coming Events
This information has been gathered from many sources. Before making any
plans to attend any of these events, please confirm that the
information is accurate, and that the event has not been changed or
cancelled by contacting the website or phone number listed.
March 20: Regular Club Meeting at the Ship N Shore restaurant, 7PM. Chris
Vanderberg from Haggerty Classic Car Insurance will visit us for the March
meeting. He will talk for 10-20 minutes and maybe be a sponsor for our Bug
Show.
April 17: Regular Club Meeting at the Ship N Shore restaurant, 7PM
May 11: Swap meet for car parts at the Moose Lodge in Henrietta NY
Kelly Zubler/Maureen Ellis
23 Chestnut Hill Lane
Williamsville NY
716-639-7621
[email protected]
(see Maureen’s contact info
above)
May 19: Tour of the Carousel Museum. Mark your calendar now. More
information on page 5..
Treasurer
September 20-21-22, (Fri-Sun) Westies at Watkins XII
Checkout the website for more info: www.westies-at-watkins.org
The Thunder Road track events will be on Sunday Sept. 22, 2013 at 12 noon
Track tickets must be purchased at The Glen Store in downtown Watkins
Glen
Dick MEinhold
5864 Tonawanda Creek Rd. N.
Lockport, NY 14094
716-625-9555
[email protected]
May 30 : The Bug and British car cruise at Akron, NY.
Membership
Fran Haefner
4201 Cameron Drive
Williamsville, NY 14221
716-632-6952
[email protected]
Newsletter
Mike Lannan
96 Woodcrest Blvd.
Buffalo NY 14223
716-875-5147
[email protected]
Board of Directors
Bob LaPorte- Pres. 716-795-3569
Allen Schuessler 716-652-8406
Agnes LaPorte
716-795-3569
Mike Lannan
716-875-5147
Gene Melnyk
716-636-0887
Bill Ellis
716-694-9038
KeyNotes is published by the
Volkswagen Association of Western
New York, Inc.
Meetings are held on the third
Wednesday of each month unless
otherwise announced.
Executive Comments continued from page 1
The Akron Thursday night cruise makes for a pleasant, relaxing evening.
This year, thanks to member Joe Hendry, there is a Bugs and Brits night scheduled
for May 30th. Originally just Brits were on the schedule; however Joe was able to
get Bugs on the list, too. Don’t let the name limit you – all VW’s are welcome; as a
matter of fact – encouraged. Please try to attend on May 30th in particular with your
VW! Joe’s desire is to fill Main Street in Akron with as many VW’s as possible! Some
food is available along the street, and there are excellent indoor choices also.
Friday saw us driving out to Medina. Located in the village in the canal
basin, no registration, but they assign a number to your car upon arrival, and award
door prizes to lucky number holders. We always enjoy the drive out there and back
as well as the show. They have some food vendor’s available as well as close
restaurants for food in or out.
The VWAWNY and its membership are not
responsible for a readers inability to use, or
the misuse of any material contained herein.
On several nice Saturday evenings, we drove out to Olcott along Lake
Ontario for their cruise. Take Route 78 North out of Lockport – go to the end. No
registration, they do provide a DJ for music. Local restaurants are available for food
and beverage.
members and non-members are
encouraged.
These are only a few of numerous cruise nights that are held in WNY.
Perhaps there are some that you like to attend that I haven’t mentioned. If so,
please let us know where and when they are. We would certainly enjoy having
fellow members join us at as many cruises as possible!
CAR-RELATED CLASSIFIED ADS: free
to members and nonnon-members
Deadline for all material is the
third Wednesday of the month
prior to publication of this
newsletter. Contributions from
If time allows, please consider showing your car with us!
Page 3
KeyNotes
Classified Ads
For Sale: Seatcovers, aftermarket patterns-usually plaid vinyl in the center, and solid vinyl around the edges.
$99 per car includes hogrings. Available for ’65 Beatle (blue), ’70 Beatle ( black or red), Karmann-Ghia (orange),
American cars with bench seats (1949-1980). Contact Ken Weinstein 716-689-6888 (nights) or e-mail
[email protected].
Service Offered: Line boring service for all Type 1 style engine cases from 40HP up. Also available air cooled
and water cooled engine and transmission re-building. Consult services also available on site or internet. Vince
Harrington 716-693-5510. No calls after 9:30pm
For more local classifieds check flrvwc.com, vwccny.com, and Johnsbugshop.com
Won’t They Ever Grow Up? Fran and Bill get ready for some hot laps at the
February Toy and Lierature meeting. How long do you think it took Bill to get up from
that position?
Page 4
KeyNotes
Cruise to Herschell Carrousel Factory Museum
We are planning a tour of the Herschell Carrousel
Museum this May 19. The tentative schedule is for
the tour to start at 12noon. It will be a guided tour
of the facility and a ride on the 1906 Carrousel.
The tour will cost $5 per person with children at
$2.50.
We need 10 people to sign up in order to have a tour
guide. To date we have four people signed up.
So we would appreciate having you take the time to
contact:
Monica Haun at [email protected] or
call /text @716-864-9969
OR
Bill Ellis at [email protected] or 716-694-9038
Let us know if you would like to take the tour and if there is a schedule conflict and a different time
would work , let us know
Thank you for your attention.
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Approved Service on all front engine models
and tremendous parts selection. Less than 90
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0685 Waterloo-Geneva Rd Rts 5 & 20 Waterloo
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Page 5
KeyNotes
The VWAWNY Advantage Page
Tools for loan from the VWAWNY Tool crib. Special tools that are normally too expensive
for the average VW owner to purchase for one time use. We will loan you the tool for one week
free of charge, but there is a refundable deposit required. Contact Bob LaPorte 716-795-3569 or
email [email protected]
1) Door hinge pin press for air cooled Beetles and Buses
2) Steering wheel puller for air cooled Beetles and Buses
3) Fixture to weld control arm pivots to the torsion housing on a Beetle chassis to change
from swing axle to IRS. Donated by Ed Goldblat!
VWAWNY Memorabilia – Items are always sold to members at COST. Usually available at
regular club meetings or we will ship if you want to pay postage.
1) Hot off the press for a limited time; 25th anniversary die cast key fobs. 1 1/2” x 2 ½”
antique silver finish. $4.00 each.
2) Car Flags – 11” x 14”, printed both sides on a plastic pole that can be clipped to your roll
up window, or fastened elsewhere with tie wraps. $10.00 each.
3) Car Badges – 3” diameter die cast with gold or silver background, mounted with adhesive
back or screws. $10.00 each
4) License plate frames, stainless steel marked “VW Assn of WNY”. $25.00 each
5) Embroidered club patch, 3 ½” diameter sew on or iron on. $5.00 each
6) Window decals, 3” diameter, adhere to the inside of your windows. $.50 each
Confessions of a Restoration Novice
Page 6
KeyNotes
Confessions of a Restoration Novice (And Why You Need the VWAWNY Club)
By John Elie
Thirteen years ago, I had the itch to buy a 1968 VW Beetle, just like the kind I drove in college back in
1978. I happened to spot a green ’68 Beetle at a VW shop in Orchard Park (which has since gone out of
business). This was a purely emotional purchase. I had “SUCKER” written across my forehead when I
bought it. I knew nothing about what to look for. All I knew is that it ran, it stopped, the lights worked, and
the paint had a bit of a shine to it. Just like back in ’78.
After about a month, I had to take it to a VW dealer to have a new Master Cylinder and new rubber brake
hoses installed. It seemed to run OK for a few years, except I didn’t remember it being quite so loud on the
inside back in ’78. Since the outside looked OK, I went ahead and restored the interior, new headliner,
seats, door panels and carpeting. It looked great, for about a year.
The paint kept fading, and I noticed about three different shades of green as I used rubbing compound to
bring back a shine. I also noticed a variety of different colors underneath the fenders and the rear engine
lid. After literally getting wet on the inside while driving in rain, I decided to lift up the carpeting and remove
the rear seat. No wonder I got wet, there were gaping holes in the floor pans, the fire wall panels, and the
rear wheel wells. Oops.
I was living in Virginia at the time, around 2004, and found an older gentleman who had spent years fixing
Bugs. He put new floor pans in and supposedly rebuilt the engine. He also put some foam filling into the
wheel well holes. Once again I thought I was all set. (Note, don’t settle for foam filling in wheel well holes).
I moved back to the Buffalo area in 2009 and luckily found the WNY VW Club. Bill Ellis, the Club President,
explained what he had gone through to restore his Yellow beetle. He also lent me the ‘Bug Me’ restoration
videos. Armed with the videos, I did an interior tear-down and had the wheel well holes repaired by a
welding shop that Bill recommended. I then attempted something I never imagined I would do. After
watching the video, I removed the engine with a floor jack. By myself. It didn’t go quite as smoothly as the
video, but by golly I got the thing out. Well, now I had a transmission and rear axle staring at me. So I
watched the video on removing the transmission and did that next. I proudly showed my kids the engine
and the transmission, and they all had the same reaction – Do you know how to put them back in?? I told
them I’ll watch that part of the video when the time comes.
Both the engine and the transmission were very old and worn looking. Bill Ellis referred me to a mechanic
who is associated with the VW Club – Vince Harrington. I met Vince at his workplace in East Aurora, and
decided to have the transmission rebuilt. I loaded the tranny into my pickup and took it to his home
workshop in North Tonawanda. Vince was a VW mechanic for over 20 years, and I think he’s been working
on or racing cars for over 40. Vince showed me his work shop, and he has some pretty impressive
specialty tools designed for VW repair work. Vince informed me that I have a 1964 transmission in my ’68
Beetle. The axle arms were shorter in 64, so the vehicle has some kind of extension device on the rear
brake drums. The device attaches to the 5 lug drum and fits the 4 lug wheel. (Did I say I had ‘Sucker’
written on my forehead when I bought the car?).
I really appreciated how Vince sent progress photos of the restoration project, and explained every step
along the way. So the transmission was rebuilt in late January, and it sure looks a lot better than before the
restoration. I decided I’m going to replace the short axles with the proper size. I’ll also have to replace the
drums, backing plate, emergency brake cable and brake hoses. All that stuff is currently in process. One
of the nice things about working with Vince is that he offered to visit my home in Orchard Park from his work
place in East Aurora to help install the longer axles.
I then decided to have Vince rebuild my engine. I took
the engine to his home workshop, and Vince sent me
photos of the engine block after he tore down all the
attachments. As you can see, the engine block looked
quite rough, like it was rusting away. The photo from
Page 7
KeyNotes
Confessions continued from page 6
th
February 10 shows the same engine block in the process of being rebuilt. That’s me in Vince’s
workshop attempting to take full credit for what Vince did. (Even my kids knew better than to believe
that one). One of the more interesting experiences of my life was having the opportunity to work with
Vince on the assembly of my engine in his workshop. He patiently showed me all the various parts and
how they fit together to form the completed engine block. Prior to that experience, the only thing I had
ever done with an engine was to change the oil. I’m no expert, but at least I now know the various
engine parts and how they fit together.
I am writing this article on March
th
17 , the day I brought the rebuilt
engine home from Vince’s shop.
Before I brought it home, Vince
fired up the engine at his
workshop and showed me how to
adjust the fuel and air mixture.
My next steps will be to reinstall
the transmission, upgrade the
brake components, and get the
wheels back on. Once I finish the
door teardown, I will take it to a
paint shop for painting. Following
that, Vince will once again be
called upon to help install a new
wiring harness, and to help
reinstall the engine. The new headliner will go in, and the interior will be reinstalled. I hope to have my
‘new’ 68 VW bug on the road this summer. I am looking forward to participating in those VW Club cruises
with a vehicle that actually runs.
So thank you, VW Club, for helping me get this far. There is still much to do, but I can see the light at the
end of the tunnel. After being taken many times over the years, it has been refreshing to work with a
professional like Vince who I can trust. I know that the work is being done properly, and I am learning quite
a bit along with way as a bonus. It really helps to be able to attend VW meetings and compare notes with
knowledgeable people like Bill Ellis, Bob LaPorte and others.
And once I get the bug project completed, did I mention that I saw this cool looking VW bus that could use
some TLC?
Page 8
KeyNotes
Two-Place Formula V contributed by Mike Hausner
I spotted this unique VW on the street at the St Petersburg Indy car race. The first picture shows my friend
from the UK, John Kirkup, looking bewildered at
this strange American contrivance.
The second picture shows the Spartan interior.
Note the handbrake is moved ahead of the
shifter because the seats are so close together.
We are forming a Parking Committee
This June we will be holding our annual show at the Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village and this year it has
been suggested that the show entrance be moved the back of the grounds. As a result of the change we
will have to develop a new traffic and parking plan. Every year we get to the day of the show and
people arrive to help. This year I would like to have a group prepared with a plan and roles assigned.
Please contact me at [email protected] or call me at 694-9038, come to the April meeting on the
17th There will be a parking committee meeting after the April club meeting. Howard Brubaker has
volunteered to head up this committee. We are expecting this show to be better and bigger than last
year and we need your help.
Page 9
KeyNotes
Next Meeting is April 17th
at 7PM at Ship N Shore
restaurant.
It is time to come out of
hibernation. See you at
the meeting!
We’re on the Web!
Visit us at:
Vwawny.org
John Elie’s ’68 VW engine ready to be installed after
restoration. See his article “Confessions of a Restoration
Novice” on page 6.
Volkswagen Association of Western New York
Fran Haefner, Membership Director
4201 Cameron Drive
Williamsville, NY 14221