June 2010 - Fallbrook Vintage Car Club

The
Talepipe
June 2010
Fallbrook Vintage Car Club Region of the AACA
The Talepipe
Materials for the
Talepipe can be sent to:
[email protected]
or call
760-723-1181.
Thanks,
Roy Moosa,
The TALEPIPE is the newsletter of the
FALLBROOK VINTAGE CAR CLUB REGION
of the AACA
Incorporated as a California Nonprofit
Mutual Benefit Corporation
P.O. Box 714
Fallbrook, CA 92088 www.fallbrookvintagecarclub.com
Top 10 COP CARS of All Time
Ever get the feeling the cops are driving a much
cooler car than you? For decades drivers have seen
police officers cruise past in supremely cool cars from
supercharged Mustangs to upgraded AMC Javelins
and beyond, while modern police units often consist
of high-powered Dodge Hemis and, in one incredible
instance, a Lamborghini. And cops or detectives portrayed on TV and in the movies are no different, often
driving fatter rides than the drug-dealers they pursue.
But which are the coolest cop rides of all time, real or
fictional? We take a look.
Dodge
Charger Hemi
One of the original muscle cars
favored by Blue
M o u n t a i n
moonshine and marijuana smugglers to outrun the
boys in blue in the 1970s got a swift turnaround a
couple years ago with Dodge's earth-shattering introduction of the new Charger, its Hemi engine and its
use by police forces across the nation. Officers generally compare it favorably with standard Crown Victoria
vehicles and laud its performance and versatility
(which I can vouch for having tested the stock R/T last
year); upgrades for police use one include steering,
brakes and idle-time chip. Almost all are 5.7-liter Hemi
variants, which put out a whopping 368hp and top out
at 170 mph.
Knight Rider's
Ford Mustang
GT500KR
Forget
David
Hasselhof's
Speak-n-Spellvoiced TransAm,
Page 2
we're talking serious muscle with Ford's monstrous
Ford Mustang GT500KR that featured in last year's illfated reworking of Knight Rider, a model I also ragged
around Los Angeles port about this time last year (and
was very careful not to attract the attention of harbor
authorities). The most powerful stock car Ford has
built, the Shelby variant seethes and stomps its way to
a mile a minute in about the same time as a Corvette
but shades it for fun thanks to its astonishing 480lb-ft
of torque at 4500rpm and solid-axle rear suspension
that allows the back end to fly out on fantastic cop-car
action sequences. Trivia: K.I.T.T., the 1980s original
smartcar, stands for Knight Industries Two-Thousand.
Italian Police Lamborghini Gallardo
W ant
to
make the 424
miles from Turin
to Rome in under three hours?
Italian
police
long ago caught
on to the race-driver fanaticism of its citizenry thanks
in large part to Ferrari -- and perhaps less so to Fiat -and its polizia made sure they could keep up earlier
this year by springing for a Lambo, perhaps the most
incredible police vehicle on the planet. Alongside undeniable performance, this specially equipped supercar offers real-time wireless image-and-voice transmitting equipment and a natty cooler for storing crime
scene evidence. Initial reports suggest the Gallardo's
reliability stands up to punishing police driving habits
on Italian autostradas
surprisingly well.
Steve
McQueen
Bullit Ford
Mustang GT
Long before
the Cooler King
was the main
man to seek out
at tailgate parties, Steve McQueen took the nickname and turned on
a whole generation to the muscle of the Mustang in
his 1968 GT 390 Fastback that bounced and careened around the streets of San Francisco in perhaps the era's coolest film, and one which regularly
tops the charts of best car chase captured on celluloid.
The film pioneered cutaway shots of McQueen, an
avid rally driver, as he put the big-block pony through
its paces in the 10-minute scene but, unusually for the
King of Cool, the main star here was his car.
Ford released a limited-edition Bullitt commemorative model in 2008.
Green Hornet
Chrysler
Crown Imperial
With some suggesting a movie
remake of the
1960s cult series
is in the works,
attention
now
focuses on what
will take the place of the Green Hornet's 1966 Chrysler
Crown Imperial, famously driven by Bruce Lee (in his role of
Kato). While the angular and rectangular Black Beauty pioneered gizmos like infrared lights, rocket launchers and flipper license plate more associated with Bond's Aston Martin,
it was always Lee and not Van Williams, the Hornet, who
got the pleasure of tilting the car onto two wheels to get
through narrow alleyways and other criminal hang-outs.
Keep your eyes out for the latest movie developments,
which may or may not -- but should -- include the famous
line: "Let's roll, Kato!"
AMC Javelin
Police Car
1970s Pony
Cars
Judging by the
huge rims and
lowered suspensions on the Chevy Tahoe's currently patrolling Santa
Monica beachfront, police departments often like to drop a
hint of style and attitude in their rides, too. In the 1970s,
decade of Aviator sunglasses and massive sideburns, it was
no different. Officers to this day talk about the series of highperformance police vehicles that includes Chevrolet Camaros, Ford Mustangs and the legendary AMC Javelin, all
stock V8 power with upgraded brakes and steering that
packed more muscles than Bubba in Cell Block D. Most of
these specially built units topped out near 150 mph and
were especially prized for their straight-line capabilities while
an officer in pursuit bumped and nudged his target vehicle in
a bid to force them off the road.
Miami Vice
Ferrari
Testarossa
The ultimate in
machismo cool in
its day, though
now considered slightly cheese ball, Crockett and Tubbs
defined 1980s New Wave slick with their boss combo of
boats, 'Bans and Miami Beach swagger. Though the Daytona Spyder 365 driven by the dynamic detectives in the first
two series was a kit car replica of various Ferrari panels and
equipment bolted onto a Corvette chassis, the twin Testarossas that feature in the later series were donated by Enzo
Ferrari, a fan of the show (with an obvious gift for marketing). The Testarossa would go on to define the Ferrari brand
in United States in the 1980s, while a strange breed of setose men in linen suits with no socks can still be spotted in
corners of Ford Lauderdale to this day. In director Michael
Mann's 2006 movie, the Testarossa morphs into a suitably
stylish F430.
Magnum PI
308GTS
As if Don Johnson
wasn't
enough
1980s for one list,
we add Tom Selleck to the mix in
his role as Magnum P.I. without forgetting how much Selleck's silky mustache and coif did for sales of his trademark
targa Ferrari 308GTS in the States. Mid-engined and with
the smaller wheelbase common to Ferrari's of the period,
308s sold in record numbers for Ferraris and can still be
seen on roads today, indicating that Scaglietti build quality
can withstand some serious highway pounding that belies its
lightweight fiberglass frame. Selleck steered his on the mean
streets of Hawaii, tracking criminals in his role as a private
investigator. Not a police vehicle, you say? Selleck's mustache qualifies him as an honorary police officer in my book
any day.
Columbo's
Peugeot 403
"And one more
thing ..." wraps up
our list with Peter
Falk's Lieutenant Columbo reveling in a dilapidated Peugeot
banger to match his famously disheveled detective persona.
France's finest prancing lion, a 1.5 liter four-cylinder that put
out a mere 68hp, was a perfect fit with Falk's seemingly slow
-witted persona that ultimately always got his man in the
end. Similarly, the 403, which Columbo delighted in driving
the drop-top variant, was a vital cog in Peugeot's dominance
of its domestic and European market with a series of idiosyncratic cars beloved by their followers but which remained a
Columbo-esque mystery to their detractors. I had the pleasure of driving an excellent Peugeot 307 cabriolet next to a
vintage 403 at a motor show in Europe a couple years back,
and felt a slight pang that I wasn't wearing a shabby raincoat
to match.
Blues Brothers
Interceptor
Mash up
Everyone knows
the Blues Mobile - Jake and Elwood's
1974
Dodge Monaco in
The Blues Brothers movie -- but few know where all the cop
cars famously smashed to pieces in the film came from. Paul
Anderson, a journalist in Los Angeles, tells AOL it was his
dad, also Paul, a Chicago Police radio engineer who was
tasked with fixing up the Dodge Polaras and Monaco's
wrecked in the film (with the Chicago city council spurred
into action by the possibility of Steven Spielberg and John
Landis coming to their city to make a big-budget movie). He
once recounted to Paul: "I just remember one day my boss,
the lieutenant who always gave me a hard time, came to me
and pointed to the auto graveyard where all the out-ofservice squad cars were and said, 'See all those cars? Your
job is to get them started.' I said, 'Are you kidding?'" Paul
adds: "[My Dad] had a savant-like ability to rescue beaters
from near-death experiences. When the movie came
out, 3he
Page
went to see it like everyone else and he could remember
each and every one of those cars."
The 45th
Annual Car
Show
The 4The 5th
(Photos by Ed Vivanco)
Page 4
Car Club
Adds
Pizzazz to
Garden
Tour
Nine Vintage
Cars from the
Fallbrook
Vintage Car Club participated in this year’s annual
Garden Tour sponsored by our local Garden Club and
held on Saturday, May 22nd.
Members’
cars were prominently displayed
near the garden
at each of the
seven homes
featured in the
Tour, as well as
at the historical
society where tour-goers buying their tickets were
greeted by Marv and Joyce Van Voorst’s 1948 Jeepster
Convertible and the
1947 Cadillac Limo
owned by Monty and
Joan Voigt.
Other participating members and
their cars included
John and Connie
Waugh (1965 Mercury Comet Caliente
Convertible), Don and Carol Kratzker (1963 Ford Thunderbird Convertible), Bob and Lois Newkirk (1962 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible), Glen and Louise Patterson
(1967 Plymouth Barracuda), Hank and Joan Hainey
(1940 Chevy Coupe), Doug and Sharon Allen (1959 Ford
Pick Up), and Joe and Jeanne Cusimano (1964 Mercury
Comet Caliente Coupe).
Many cars displayed this year’s wonderful Car Show
poster—giving the Club’s 54th annual Car Show just a bit
of extra publicity!
437
Actual
Miles!
1950 Chevrolet
Club
Coupe
purchased
new by Mr.
and
Mrs.
Jessie Trueblood of Modesto . Shortly after purchasing this car,
Mr. Trueblood took a day off to go fishing. While waiting for the
"big one" to bite he witnessed a woman fall out of her boat. Mr.
Trueblood jumped in to help only to fall victim of a fatal heart attack. Mrs. Trueblood returned the car home and placed it in the
garage for the next 12 years. The odometer reading at that time
(1962) was 413 miles
Mrs. Trueblood lived next door to a used car lot owned by Mr.
William E. Wilson (now 81 years old). Mr. Wilson spoke with her
frequently and often told her he would like to buy the car for himself to keep. In 1962 the time had come. Mrs. Trueblood told Mr.
Wilson she needed a car for her bookkeeper who didn't really care
for the ol' Chevy and would prefer a Rambler. No problem. Mr.
Wilson went down to the local Rambler dealer and bought a brand
new one for $1,650.00 ($100.00 over cost) and made the swap.
He then took the car home and parked it with 433 actual
miles. And there it sat for the next 45 years, occasionally being
started and moved in and out of the garage. This ol' Chevy now
has 437 original miles and is most likely the world's lowest mileage 1950 Chevy.
Major Market Receipts
Don’t’ forget to save and bring in your Major Market
receipts at the club meetings. Jeanne Cusimano is
collecting and turning them in. The club receives
cash for each receipt turned in.
UPCOMING NON CLUB EVENTS
Sat/Sun 6/26-27 Costa Mesa: 1st Barrett-Jackson
Collector Car Auction.
INFO: barrett-jackson.com
Sun 6/27 Dana Point: Concours d 'Elegance
St. Regis Hotel, Monarch Beach.
INFO: danapointconcours.org
Sun 6/27 Palo Alto: Concours d 'Elegance,
Stanford U. INFO: paconcours.com
Sun 7/11 Long Beach: Swap Meet/Car Show,
Veterans Stadium,
INFO: toppingevents.com
Sun 7/11 San Bernardino: 4th Annual Car Show,
299 W. Orange Show Rd,
INFO: 909/889-0355
Sat 7/17 Carlsbad: All- American Car Show xII,
Westfield Plaza,
INFO: moparclubsandiego.org
Sun 7/18 San Francisco: Presidio of
S.F Concours,
INFO: sfconcours.com
Sun 7/18 San Diego: Jaguar Concours,
Spanish Landing
INFO: sdjag.com/concours
Sun 7/25 Oxnard: Central Coast British Car
Club
INFO: centralcoastbritishcarclub.com
Page 5
A FAMOUS MOVIE STAR . .
.
Well yes, Sean Connery is very famous, but the car
is the star here - an Aston Martin B5! Called the
Bond car, Connery starred as agent 007, James
Bond.
This car starred in both Goldfinger (1964) and
Thunderball with James Bond at the wheel.
The DB5 was new at the time, beautiful lines
and lots of power from an in line 6 ( 282 hp from
triple carbs ), manual 5 speed and topped out at
145 mph.
But the real fun part of this particular DB5 was
all the gadgets stuffed into the first prototype
which was used in the movie Goldfinger.
The car actually had mechanical/hydraulic devices that when actuated from a control panel
along side the driver's seat, could fire 2 machine
guns, move out spinning knives from the wheels,
raise a bullet proof shield, spew out nails onto the
road, lay down oil on the roadway in the rear, and
had front and rear bumper parts that moved out to
be battering
rams - and all this stuff really
worked. And, oh yes, there was a working ejection
device through a roof panel for the passenger's
seat.
Now the rest of the story. All the weaponry and
gadgetry was removed by Aston Martin after movie
use and then the DB5 was sold.
Page 6
It was purchased
from Aston
Martin by U.S. radio
personality Jerry Lee
in
1969
for
$12,000. The car has
stored in his
basement,
and
never
driven.
Now, however, it is
coming out of storage, to be
auctioned by RM in London in October. The DB5 is currently
undergoing a complete restoration in RM's
facilities in Canada. It has been reported that it will
probably bring $5 million dollars - how's that for an
investment return. There were actually two DB5's
used in the movie, and the other mysteriously vanished from storage in Florida in the mid-1990's and
not seen since. The insurance under-writer paid off
the claim, investigated along with the police, but the
crime has never been solved.
——Don
——Don McCormick—
McCormick—
Paul Stiles:
Car Club Founding Member
Both the Fallbrook Vintage Car Club and the
community of Fallbrook lost a good friend when Paul
Stiles passed away last month at his home. To his
fellow members in the club Paul was known as our founding father and
the club’s first president. The club only had a few hard-core members in
those days so the title of president went to whoever could best set aside
enough time steer the ship. The club’s first meeting place was at the
home of Paul and Kathleen and later moved to the Stiles’ Fallbrook
Tractor office on East Mission. He was an honorary member of the club
until the day he died.
Paul was born in McFarland, Calif in 1916 and developed a love of
flying at an early age. He bought his first airplane before he was 16.
After two years at a Jr. College he joined the Navy at the age of 23 and
took his pilot’s training at Corpus Christi, Texas. He was assigned to be
a flight instructor after Pearl Harbor and eventually retired from the Navy
with the rank of Lt. Commander – USNR.
Paul met his wife Kathleen while in Texas and they were married in
1943 in Dallas. Following the end of the war Paul and Kathleen moved
to southern California where he flew as a pilot for Fairchild Aerial Survey
from 1945 to 1955 doing high aerial mapping in North and South
America in a customized P-38 Lightning.
In 1953 the family moved to Fallbrook where they operated an
avocado and citrus grove. Paul purchased Fallbrook Tractor in 1965 and
eventually moved it to its present location. He sold the business in 1979.
He was very active in the community. In addition to his commitment to
our car club he was a charter member of the Kiwanis, the Historical
Society and the Fallbrook Garden Club. He and Kathleen, were also
active members of the Fallbrook United Methodist Church
2009-2010
Board of Directors
Car Show Committees
President... Roy Moosa 760-723-1181
Vice President... Mike McGuire 760-728-6430
Secretary…Bob Newkirk 760-728-2780
Treasurer…Lee Johnson 760-723-8286
Past President…David Bergeson 760-731-3300
Car Show Chair…
David Bergeson 760-731-3300
Car Show Poster…
Mike Johnson...760-723-8286
Car Show Program…
Ed Vivanco...451-0850
Car Show Major Sponsors…
John Waugh 760-723-0705,
Marvin Van Vroost 760-728-6671
Car Show Registration…
Glen Patterson 760-723-2818
Don McCormick 760-723-3235
Car Show Field Layout…
Mike McGuire 760-728-6430
Marvin Van Vroost 760-728-6671
Car Show Swap Meet…
Frank Hainey 760-451-3041
Car Show Site Preparation…
Car Show Parking…
Car Show Judging…
Jim Mroz 760-728-9600
Car Show Raffle…
Lynn Burch 760-728-1496,
Louise Patterson 760-723-2818
Car Show Sale Items…
Lee Johnson 760-723-8286
Committee Chairs
Membership…
Louise Patterson 760-723-2818
Programs…
Roy Moosa 760-723-1181
Newsletter Editor…
Roy Moosa 760-723-1181
Public Relations…
Tom Conley 760-723-8596
Outside Activities…
Joe/Jeanne Cusimano
760-723-4085
Donations…
Dave Herting 760-451-9144
Tom Conley 760-723-8596
Sale Items…
Lee Johnson 760-723-8286
Sunshine…
Lynn Burch 760-728-1496
Communications…
Connie Waugh 760-723-0705
Avocado Festival…
Fred Ragland 760-723-5324
Christmas Parade…
Fred Ragland 760-723-5324
Christmas Party…
Louise Patterson 760-723-2818
Breakfast Chair…
Fred Ragland 760-723-5324
General Meetings
Monthly membership meetings are held at the Fallbrook Woman's
Club, 238 West Mission Road in Fallbrook on the 4th Tuesday of each
month unless otherwise scheduled in advance. Meetings begin at 7:00
PM.
Pre-meeting Informal Dinner
An informal gathering of members is usually held at a selected Fallbrook area restaurant prior to the general meeting. Plan on arriving for
dinner by 5:00 PM to insure that you have time to eat and socialize.
Board Meetings
Board Meetings are normally held at a member's home the 2nd
Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM, unless otherwise scheduled.
All FVCC Board Meetings are open to all members. There is more
to the Fallbrook Vintage Car Club than just a Car Show. Come and join us
at the Board Meetings to get more involved with your club or just to socialize.
If you need more information please contact one of the club officers
or committee chairs.
Membership Information
Membership information may be obtained by mail or from any FVCC
officer or chairperson. Membership Applications are also available on our
website at Fallbrookvintagecarclub.com.
June 27: Car Club Barbeque: 2pm
Ron and Bev Mintle’s Home
3573 Diego Estates Drive
Fallbrook, Ca. 92028
760-728-2947
July 13: Board of Directors
Meeting: 7pm
Hosts: Robert and Lois Newkirk,
959 Rod Street, Fallbrook, Ca . 92028,
760-728-2780
July 27:
General Meeting: 7pm
Women’s Club:
238 W. Mission Rd. Fallbrook, CA. 92028
#760-728-9971
Hospitality: Alan and Kate Cutsinger
Pre-meeting: Brothers Bistro:
835 Main St. Ste A. Fallbrook, CA.
92028 #760-731-9761
The power of love is amazing. When Diane Vivanco forgot to set her
hand brakes and her Citroen Wedding Car rolled down the hill, the
bride was able to stop it with her bare hands.
(The groom was pre-occupied and never noticed).
Page 7
I have to admit, I
was a little nervous
when you said we
were going topless!
Fallbrook Vintage Car Club
Region of AACA
P.O. Box 714
Fallbrook, Ca. 92088