October 2012 - Alamo Area Chapter of the Pontiac
Transcription
October 2012 - Alamo Area Chapter of the Pontiac
PONTI-YAKKIN Volume 12, Issue 68 October 2012 Official Newsletter of the Alamo Area Chapter of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International CLUB OFFICERS President: Alfred Flores (210) 435-6333 Vice President: Thomas Rauschuber Treasurer: Mike Prescher Secretary: Penny San Marco Newsletter Editor: Penny Bryant Website Editor: Thomas Rauschuber The purpose of the Alamo Area Chapter (AAC) of the Pontiac-Oakland Club International (POCI) is assisting Pontiac and Oakland Car owners with the restoration and enjoyment of these great cars through sharing of knowledge, and promotion of social activities. Membership in the international body is a prerequisite of chapter membership. Local chapter dues are $20.00 per year. Membership entitles you to receive our monthly newsletter “PontiYakkin”, free personal car/parts for sale/wanted ads, inclusion in club-sponsored events, and voting rights on chapter issues. Members are encouraged to submit articles for use in the newsletter. All materials are subject to approval, editing, and space limitations. Articles used are the opinions of their author and not ACC or POCI. To submit ads, articles, or request information, please call one of the above listed club members or contact us at: AAC Pontiac-Oakland Club PO Box 34654 San Antonio TX 78265-4654 www.classicpontiac.org October 9, 2012 Meeting @ Grady's No. 7 327 E. Nakoma 210 343 8070 A Note From the President Submitted by: Alfred Flores The cooler months are upon us and I hope we can plan for some club participation to some cruise nights and car shows. The Mopar club has a great events coordinator and they have a very comprehensive list of events listed for almost two months. I would like to highlight a popular event that Penny San Marco mentioned in a recent e-mail. The 2012 AACOG cruise will have some wonderful stops to the north western areas surrounding San Antonio. If you would like more information and the planned stops you can contact Penny San Marco at 830-386-0338. Dave Pelzel and the Oldsmobile club are preparing for a fall drag race event at San Antonio Raceway. The date has been set for Friday October 26. The event is open to all muscle cars and a cash payout to winners in each designated class. Questions and details about this event can be addressed by Dave Pelzel at 210-413-3334. Please be aware that Dave travels and will get back to you as soon as possible. I recently received an e-mail message about a new or renewed cruise night spot that will happen every Saturday night. The Texaco Travel Center and fueling station Named BIG’s on the corner of HWY 151 and Potranco is under new management. They indicated they will once invite cars to come by every Saturday evening. This is not very far from me so I will try to make this often. This was a very popular cruise spot a couple of years back and hope it picks up again as it once was. At our September meeting I tried to prepare everyone to start thinking about member of the year nominees. Our club tries to reward a special member that deserves recognition (Continued on page 2) PONTI-YAKKIN 1 (Continued from page 1) for hard work and or club participation of events or even helping members with their projects and the like. Please give this some thought and get with me on any member you think is deserving of our club member of the year. I will be printing ballots for a formal vote and winner announced at the Christmas party. We will discuss this and many more topics at our club meeting this Tuesday October 9 at Grady’s BBQ. Hope to see you there! Alamo Area Chapter of POCI Minutes of September 11, 2012 Prix since that was the only year for a GP convertible and only 5,800 were made. It was stored in a barn, but it wasn’t hidden under hay. The barn is a new steel bldg. with a good concrete floor. But a barn nevertheless. The really strange thing is the fact that it has been in Seguin where we live for many years. While he was aware of it, no thought was ever given to owning it as the owner had a sentimental attachment to it. But the time came that the owner realized he would not ever have the time or talent to restore it and that was his desire for the car. When he contacted Frank to ask about the best way to get it into the hands of someone who would really take care of it and restore it----Frank had a really good suggestion. We have driven it some to get the feel of riding in a convertible and now it’s in the shop and the restoration has begun. Ralph had to ask “Penny, what’s it like to go topless??’. The answer is: really fantastic. RECENT EVENTS Alfred called the meeting to order shortly after 7PM. There were fourteen members present as well as Matt & Ginger Taggert who drove their newly acquired 68 GTO to the meeting. The secretary’s minutes were approved as printed in the newsletter. Mike gave the treasurer’s report that was approved as given. Alfred took the opportunity to welcome Wayne Crist as an official member of our chapter. Thanks to the recently passed motion by the Board of POCI it is no longer obligatory for all members of a chapter be members of POCI. Welcome to the Chapter Wayne!! OLD BUSINESS If the chapter intends to have a car show in 2013 it is time for someone to step up and take over the Chairman position. No volunteers at the meeting. The date for the Fall Drag Race Shoot-out is Friday October 26. It’s a GM shootout for cars 25 yrs old and older. Gates open at 6PM. $25 registration and $10 for cash pot. More news on the Jack Keller Firebird project. He reported having much trouble getting his ’68 Firebird to run properly. He was soliciting any help anyone might feel would be helpful. Good luck on that situation. NEW BUSINESS Alfred thought it not too early to bring up election of officers for next year. Holding out opportunity for any nominations from the members. Seems like all agreed that the current slate was perfectly acceptable and no nominations could be solicited. Wonderland Mall monthly cruise night was Sept 8. It is held on the 2nd Sat of the month and the location is not by Hobby Lobby in the back. Mecum Auto auction in Dallas was televised on Speed channel. A 69 TA Ram Air IV went for $185,000. UPCOMING EVENTS Castroville Cruise Night Sept 14 Womack Chevrolet 38th annual Hill Country Classic Kruse Auction Sat Sept 15 Austin, TX Hot Rod night at Soda Pops Sat Sept 15, Boerne, TX Gear Grinders 60 yr reunion The Rim Cruise night Sept 15 Bass Pro Shop Coffee & Rides cruise last Sat month @ Panerea Bread Co 1203 N. Loop 1604 NEW CAR/PARTS NEEDED/ WANTED 70 Tempest/LeMans chrome front bumper & mounting brackets $100 pair of grilles $50 69 Firebird HT for sale. Great interior. Older re-paing. Reasonable price. Mike O’leary 210-291-9230 66 GTO Project $3500 Frank San Marco 69 Firebird parts 2nd gen parts Wayne Crist The 50/50 drawing was won by Penny San Marco. She donated her half back to the club. Submitted by Penny San Marco It is not too early to discuss the annual Christmas Party held each year and very much enjoyed by all that attend. Alfred promises to bring back the Pontiac game show that has been such a big hit the last few years. Mike Prescher suggested the party could be held at the shooting club meeting room where we had such a great time last year. The rent is $150 and we could have a meal catered there. The date chosen is Dec 9th. Frank told his remarkable story of a “barn find” that just dropped in his lap. It is a 67 Grand Prix convertible. Highly desirable Grand Join the Alamo Area Pontiac Chapter - POCI on FACEBOOK! PONTI-YAKKIN 2 Penny and Frank San Marco had the opportunity to meet Here's the Bonne in you know where. Pontiac enthusiasts, Bruce and Helen and Ken & Coral visiting from Australia to attend the POCI Nationals. Per Penny San Marco, “Bruce had called me about a week before the convention. He introduced himself, explained he and his wife and another couple from Australia were driving across the country from Los Angles. He had purchased a 77 Bonneville on eBay and they picked it up in LA and proceeded to drive across America to St. Charles for the POCI convention. He wanted to know if they could still register for the Road Warrior Show. That story took my breath away! Can you imagine???!!! Of course he could register when he got to the convention but I asked if they wanted to meet up with us and some other Grand Prix Chapter members and Jim Boring in Pontiac, Il. We would tour the Pontiac Museum and cruise to St. Charles together. I wasn't a bit surprised when they showed up. We had a great time visiting with them. They have several Pontiacs and the couple with them purchased a Pontiac in New York and after the convention they went and They met up with the Grand Prix chapter of POCI in picked it up.” Pontiac, for the trip to the Nationals. Coral and Helen are in the centre of this view, with Bruce on the right. Behind Penny added, “They really know how to have a "holiday". them is the Pontiac-Oakland Museum, which we featured Below is the first article the Australian couple wrote for their earlier this year. local newsletter about their trip to the USA and the POCI Nationals. Cairns members Kel & Coral and Bruce & Helen recently made the trip over to the US for the POCI Nationals in Chicago. They didn't just limit the trip to the event, having an interesting adventure during their stay. First step was to get some wheels - Pontiac wheels. Bruce purchased a 1977 Bonneville Brougham Landau Coupe in California through eBay, and it was waiting for them when they arrived in early July. From here, it was road trip time, travelling via Arizona, Colorado, Kansas and other states through to Illinois. And where else in Illinois but Pontiac, home of the Pontiac-Oakland Museum and Route 66 attractions. Cruisin with the GP's. Chicago, here we come! (Continued on page 4) PONTI-YAKKIN 3 Then the convention. This is the view from their motel room, with acres of Pontiacs below. The Bonneville was Just before the convention, there was time to visit the entered into the 'Road Warriors' section. Rob Lozins collection. This is only a fraction. (Continued form page 3) Meanwhile, Kel was bitten by the 'Bonneville bug' and purchased a 1960 model in Long Island, New York. Just down the road, isn't it? Our group then caught a flight over to NY to pick up the new acquisition, with the 77 Bonneville to be picked up on the way back. This was where the fun began. Stay tuned for Part 2! Chris Malone, President Pontiac Car Club Australia-Queensland Chapter History of Pontiac in Australia (Reprinted from PCCA-Q Website) When General Motors first established the Pontiac brand in 1926, it already had in place an agreement, with Holden's Motor Body Builders Limited, that Holden's would be the sole body supplier for the GM range in Australia. Holden's had been producing bodies for imported chassis of various brands since 1914. GMs chassis and engines would be imported, and the body designed and built by Holden's along U.S. styling lines. Tyres, battery, hardware and paint were also purchased in Australia. The 1927 Model Pontiac 4-door sedans, Coaches and Tourers were available from October 1926. There were 1455 Tourers built, priced at £ 245. Standard and Sports Roadsters were released towards the end of 1927. The Sports Roadsters were fully imported. Coupes and a utility version were also available in 1929. Holden's ran into financial difficulties during the depression on the early 1930's, and was acquired by General Motors which formed General Motors-Holden's Ltd. Holden's still continued the production of some non-GM models. Pontiac production virtually ceased in 1932 and 1933. Pontiacs were re-released in 1934 with 6 or straight 8 cylinder Sedan, Coupe, Roadster and 6 cylinder Tourer models. Pontiac, Buick and Oldsmobiles all shared common bodies at this time. In 1935 "All Enclosed Coupes" or Slopers were introduced across the Chevrolet, Pontiac Buick and Oldsmobile range. These were quite different to the US coupes in that the rear seat was included inside the main cabin, as opposed to a "Dickie" seat. In 1936 total GMH registrations were 19136, or 43% of passenger car sales and 45% of commercial sales. Pontiacs accounted for 4.5% of passenger registrations or about 860. Chevrolet Standard were 15%, Chevrolet Master 6%, Vauxhaul 7.5%, Oldsmobile 6%, and Buick 4%. All Steel "turret top" bodies were released by GMH in 1937. These required huge presses to stamp a roof panel in one piece. Because of Australia's relatively low volume production runs, die and tool costs were major considerations. To cut these costs, tooling was planned to last a minimum of two years and common panels were needed across several models. GMH required advanced information from the US divisions and then designed the bodies so (Continued on page 5) PONTI-YAKKIN 4 that sales picked up a little and these were sold along with Canadian Chevrolets until the 1968 model when that the Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac, and Oldsmobiles Holden introduced its own luxury version, the Holden could share many common components, and only the Brougham. Chassis, engine and front sheetmetal would be imported. This was balanced against model individuality. The 1937 The Canadian Pontiacs, from 1958, were built on the Pontiac Silver Streaks were available as sedans and slightly shorter Chevrolet chassis, and had different coupes. The straight 8 engine was dropped after 1938. specifications and front end parts to the US models. 1939 Pontiacs were released as a Silver Arrow Sedan or Glass, except for the windscreen, tyres, leather uphosCoupe and a Chieftain Sedan or Coupe. The Coupes were tery, hoses, headlights and paint were supplied in Ausdropped in 1941 and civilian production stopped in 1942 tralia. Once again the Pontiacs sold by GM here, difdue to the war, although there were some military se- fered from the US models. This time they shared the same chassis (and from 1960 engines) as the Chevrolets dans and 1941 model open cab Utes made. but had different bodies, whereas in the 30s and 40s they shared the same body with Chevys, but had different Chassis and engines. Although sold by GMH as the top of the range luxury cars, they were poorly equipped compared to what was available in the US, and were only available in 4-door Sedan or Pillarless Hardtop versions. A few fully imported Canadian built right hand drive Pontiacs were sold by GMH as special orders, and many Pontiacs were imported by independent Pontiac production resumed in 1946 at the rate of 192 dealers who converted them to Right hand Drive. Dozper month. GMH retained the tooling from the 1942 ens of GTOs and other models, were imported indeChevrolet, Pontiac and Oldsmobiles, so these models pendently during the 1960s. were significantly different to the U.S. Fisher bodied equivalents, the most obvious being the retention of the By the 1970s, only Trans Ams were imported in any rear hinged back doors. Buicks were now assembled significant numbers. Australian design rules made it increasingly difficult to import and convert US vehicles, from imported bodies. which were built for their own US rules, and sales of In 1948 GMH started producing its own Holden car and new Pontiacs dwindled out during the early 70s. Many with it the last of the bodies produced for the U.S. private enthusiasts have imported and converted their makes. Pontiacs, Chevrolets and Oldsmobiles were then own second hand Pontiacs in recent years and recent imported in Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) condition changes to state laws have made left hand drive cars and assembled here in Right Hand Drive. Assembly of over 30 years old registrable. However, high duties and the Oldsmobiles ceased in 1950, but Pontiac and Chevthe difficulties and costs of importing and registering rolet 4 door sedans continued to be assembled here. have meant that importing and maintaining a Pontiac, or 300 to 400 Pontiacs were assembled here each year any US car, is a task for dedicated enthusiasts only during the early 50s. and few Pontiacs are seen on the roads now. 1955 saw the return of the 8 cylinder Pontiacs. The The tables were somewhat turned in 2004 when GM1955 Pontiac had a 287ci Strato Streak V8. The engine Holden exported its commodore based Monaro coupe to size grew to 316 ci in 1956 and then to 347ci in 1957. the US, rebadged as a new generation Pontiac GTO. The 1957 Super Chiefs were the last of the US based After production of the 2 door version ceased, Holden Pontiacs. exported well appointed 6.0 l V8 four Door Commodores In 1958 Canadian Strato Chiefs were assembled here badged as Pontiac G8s. This continued until the GM anwith 261 ci 6 cylinder engines. With Import restrictions nouncement that the Pontiac brand would be discontinon American cars, only 192 Pontiacs were sold in 1958. ued, in April 2009. The Strato Chiefs were replaced with 6 cylinder Laurentians sedans in 1959, with 245 sold that year. This compared to 1723 Chevs. In 1960, V8s returned, with 283 Chev engined Laurentians. In 1964, 4-door Pillarless 327 Chev powered Parisiennes became available. An easing of import restrictions in 1960 meant (Continued from page 4) PONTI-YAKKIN 5 Reprinted from Eric's Autos: Goodbye, V-8s - This Time, Maybe For Good Eric Peters V-8s are on the way out - again. The first mass extinction occurred circa late 1970s/early '80s - as a result of the first round of the government fuel economy edicts known by the acronym, CAFE - or Corporate Average Fuel Economy. CAFE mandated that cars (but not trucks) achieve an average of at least 22.5 MPG or else the automakers who continued to build such wastrels would be hit with "gas guzzler" fines, which they in turn would pass on to the consumer. This made the formerly commonplace full-frame, rear-drive (and V-8 powered) family car economically impossible - at least, given the technology of the late '70s era. So, they - mostly - disappeared. V-8s (and mass-market large cars) made a comeback in the '90s and through to the present day as technology - especially fuel injection and overdrive transmissions - made it possible to make the 22.5 MPG CAFE cut. Or at least, come close enough so that any "gas guzzler" fines were economically manageable. Even something as stunningly, obstreperously powerful as a 2012 Cadillac CTS-V - packing a 6.2 liter, 556 hp V-8 - can manage 19 MPG on the highway, thanks to the efficiency improvements of the past 20-something years. But no technology in existence today - or on the horizon - will get the CTS-V or anything else with a V-8 under its hood close to the new CAFE mandatory minimum of 35.5 MPG, which goes into effect come 2016. That means - in all likelihood - that V-8 powered cars are about to go away again, this time probably for good. by putting big engines into bigger vehicles that could be categorized as light trucks - and which they called SUVs. Hence, Ford is discretely - but very clearly - moving away from V-8s in its big trucks, such as the full-size F-series pickup. There's still one available - for the moment. But the rest of the engine lineup - the mass market engine lineup - is all V-6. Ford calls these engines - tellingly - Ecoboost. They're smaller displacement engines with a turbo (or two) bolted on to provide on-demand power but the better fuel efficiency of a smaller engine the rest of the time. Turbos - and superchargers - are seen as the only technically feasible way to match (or at least, come close to) the power/performance of V-8s while still making the CAFE cut. Well, is all this actually bad? That depends on your perspective. From the perspective of the automakers, it's good. Because it gets Uncle off their backs - at least, temporarily - and increases their profit margin, since they simply pass on the costs of the more expensive powertrains (including maintenance costs) to customers. From our perspective, as consumers, it's not such a good deal. We pay more up front - and while that will be somewhat mitigated by reduced fuel consumption, those savings may - and probably will be - swept away by down-the-road maintenance and repair costs. Smaller, higher-stressed engines tend not to last as long as larger, less stressed engines. A force-fed (turbocharged or supercharged) engine is not likely to be a trouble-free 150,000 mile engine. Maybe these new-generation turbo'd and supercharged engines are built tougher - and will last longer. Or at least, as long as a similarly powerful, but less stressed, V-8. We'll see. If they don't, look out. Replacing a turbo on a late model car is typically a $2,000-plus job. Many of these CAFE-engineered new cars have two of them. In fact, the die-off is already happening. The 2013 Jaguar XF - which since its That's that. Another thing is that the fuel economy gains are often not very introduction in 2009 has always come with nothing less than a five liter V-8 impressive - on an individual vehicle basis. For instance, the current Ford Fwill come standard with a 2.0 liter four next year. The optional engine will be a truck's available 5 liter V-8 rates 15 city, 21 highway. Not great. But the Ecosix of about 3 liters' displacement. Boost 3.5 liter V-6 (which makes about the same power as the V-8) comes in just slightly better, with a 16 city, 22 highway rating. Lexus has dropped the V-8 as an available upgrade in the 2013 GS series sport sedan, which is now V-6 (and hybrid) powered only. Audi has retired the You'd think that extra 1-2 MPG would be irrelevant, but it's crucial . . .CAFEA8's 4.2 liter V-8, replacing it with a V-6. wise. Ford sells on the order of half a million F-trucks each year. If each one costs Ford (and thus, customers) even as little as $300 more in gas guzzler Mercedes is going to introduce a new hybrid version of the E-Class for 2013. taxes per vehicle, when multiplied by half a million, that becomes real money, The V-8 version of the E will still be offered, but with a starting price of almost real quickly. $60,000 it will not be a mass-market car. V-8s are becoming engines for the rich-only. More on this in a minute. Even sixes are in peril. BMW has shunted the formerly standard inline six in both the 3 and 5 Series, in favor of a new (twin-turbocharged) four. It's a clear trend - and the fact that we can see it developing on the luxuryperformance end of the automotive spectrum is the proverbial canary in the coal mine as regards more modestly priced, large-engined cars such as the Chrysler 300 and - probably - much-anticipated but likely to be very short-lived models like the 2014 Chevy SS sedan. So, here's what to expect: V-8s are going to get scarce. And I mean exoticscarce. Last go'round, CAFE made it a lot harder for a working class person to own a V-8 powered new car. But if you were comfortably middle class, it was still feasible. There were Crown Vics and Town Cars. Upper middle class, no problem. $50k would do the trick - doable for a professional couple. This time, V-8s will become the exclusive playthings of the very affluent only people who can afford to spend $70k-plus for a low-volume (and so, CAFE irrelevant) car. Jaguar, for example, will probably continue to offer a V-8 in the If Jaguar, BMW, Audi and Lexus can no longer afford to build V-8 cars (at ultra-performance (and ultra-expensive) XF-R version of the XF luxury-sport least, in large numbers, as mass-market models) then it's a dead certainty GM sedan. Mercedes will still offer V-8s in the E and S Class... for those few who and Ford and Chrysler won't be able to, either. That includes trucks, incidencan handle the freight. tally. The new CAFE standard - 35.5 MPG, average - doesn't apply just to passenger cars, as the original 22.5 MPG CAFE standard did. Everything short of commercial vehicles is now lumped together in the same category. There is no more "light truck loophole" - the loophole that made it possible, back in the '90s, for the car companies to do an end-run around CAFE for passenger cars What there won't be anymore are cars like the currently available Chrysler 300 C Hemi and the bet-you-it-gets-cancelled-soon Chevy SS; that is, cars - and trucks - for regular people and intended to be sold in volume. Of course, Obama - and the next Dear Leader - will still get to drive around in cars powered by big V-8s that get far less than 35.5 MPG; with the gas bill paid by taxpayers. And that's just the way they want it. PONTI-YAKKIN 6 Upcoming events 10/15/12 38th Annual Hill Country Classic Kruse Auction Austin, TX 10/13/2012 Wing Family Day Classic Auto & Bike Show 433rd Wash Rack, Lackland AFB, San Antonio , TX 10/12-13-14/2012 Wagon Wheel Swap Meet and Car Corral Hwy 304 and Hwy 535, Rosanky , Tx (Southwest of Bastrop and Smithville, Bastrop County ) Saturday 10/20/2012 Vettes & The Classics at The Forum at Olympia Parkway Open Car Show Michaels and Old Navy Parking Lot, IH-35 & Loop 1604, San Antonio , TX 10/21/2012 31st Annual San Antonio Mustang Club Annual Charity Open Car Show Bass Pro Shop, 17907 IH-10 West, San Antonio , TX GM Drag Night at San Antonio Raceway tentatively scheduled for Oct 26. 11/03/2012 4th Annual MS LUV Squad Car Show Market Place at Oldtown, Helotes , TX Open Car Show, all makes, models, and years. Friday Night Cruisin’ Biff Buzby’s at IH 35 & Toepperwein Rd. every Friday night. Castroville Cruise Night 2nd Friday of every month at Wommack Chevrolet. (Sept 14th) The Rim Cruise Night @ Bass Pro Shops every 3rd Sat of the month. 1604 & I-10 (Sept 15) Pig Stand Swap Meet on the last Sunday of each month. TJ Burgers in New Braunfels on Saturdays. Cruise night in Boerne, TX every Sat. night 6-11pm Carson’s Car Corral, 1604 & Blanco - last Sat of month. 8 am to 10 am. Vineyards at Blanco & 1604 Breakfast at 8:00 am every 4th Saturday Coffee & Rides cruise last Sat month @ Panerea Bread Co 1203 N. Loop 1604 Soda Pop’s in Boerne “Hot Rod Night” Sat. Sept 15 Gear Grinders 60 yr reunion. Changes to various Saturday of the month , (check their web site) monthly during the summer. 103 N. Main St. For sale 70 Tempest/LeMans chrome front bumper & mounting brackets $100 pair of grilles $50 (Check w/ Penny San Marcos for seller name) For sale 69 Firebird HT for sale. Great interior. Reasonable price. Mike O’leary 210-291-9230 For sale 69 Firebird parts 2nd gen parts Wayne Crist For Sale 66 GTO project car $3500.00 Frank San Marco 830-386-0338 or 830-305-1955 Midnight Rodeo Cruise The Midnight Rodeo Cruise In has ended. It will not occur any more. The club has decided to end this event after a new manager was hired. Wonderland of the Americas Mall (formerly Crossroads Mall) Cruise In (2nd Saturday each month) 4522 Fredericksburg Rd New Cars/Parts wanted/for sale Recurring Events: AAC Pontiac-Oakland Club P.O. Box 34654 PLACE POSTAGE HERE San Antonio, Texas 78265-4654 ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED PONTI-YAKKIN 7
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