August 2006

VETTE CHATTER
The Monthly Newsletter of the Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
Touch Of Glass In the Ozark’s
If you love to drive your Corvette and test your driving
ability you needed to be on this trip, it was a blast.
There were twenty-one Corvettes that made the so popular Mena mountain cruise. The weather looked like rain
but that didn’t matter we were looking forward to the
trip. The Longview group met at 7:30 Saturday morning
at Ellis Pottery. Once everyone arrived we headed to
David Beards on Hwy 155 to meet with the Tyler group.
From there we departed with seventeen Corvette’s and
one Trail Blazer. Dennis Dick was our leader as we
headed up Hwy 259 to the always exciting Talimena National Scenic Byway. I could see everyone getting ready
as they cinched up their seatbelts and I could see specific instructions being discussed in the rear view mirror
as they were in my own car. Herman wanted to know if I
checked the tire pressure before we left. I asked if she
remembered her Velcro pants, that wasn’t good! The
ride up the mountain was awesome as down was even
better. Our activity Included a stay in Mena at the
Volume 5- Issue 8
AUGUST 2006
Sun valley Inn. We arrived and met the rest of our
group that arrived shortly before us. Next on the
agenda was a tour of Street Performance the aftermarket company. Even though some of us had been
there before it was still interesting to see all the custom parts and thousands of dollars you could spend
if you wanted to dress out your engine. The owner
Mark gave us a thorough tour explaining the process
for each department. After the tour we listened to
stories of shows and business deals he is presented
with form the likes of Boyd Codington and Chip Foose
premier hot rod builders. We took a short break and
gathered back up for dinner at the Queen Wilhelmina
Lodge. You know what that means another ride up
and down the mountain. You’ll have to catch up to
the members that were there to get all the stories.
We had a great gathering at the hotel that night , I
can’t tell you those stories either. Sunday we packed
up and headed up the mountain one last time then
back to East Texas.
Page 2
From the Prez
The Monthly Newsletter of the
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
As we go through the summer months and the Texas weather has lived up to expectations exceeding 100
degrees. The TOGCC group has had great turnouts at club activities. There have been double digit attendance on our cruises and I have been getting wonderful comments about the places we have been going
to. Our members are enjoying the driving experience of their Corvettes. There is always excitement in the
stories they tell. Make sure you talk to Amy Miller about her first mountain ride. Then talk to the folks that
went to Bowling Green, The Back Porch, Jerry Balls Car Collection, Colorado, or Mena Arkansas to name a
few. That is what we are all about, plenty of diversity in both local and weekend trips. There is lots more
to come, keep your Corvette ready to go and watch the postings for future activities. “LET’S ROLL”
There has been great activity on the TOGCC website. It is a another good way to keep up with what is going on with the club. There are new postings in the photo gallery after each months events for your viewing. The calendar is printable for keeping up with the activity schedule and the news letters are also available. Then we have the message board where all the facts form the activities get posted. Well lets just
say some of the facts get stretched a little, but there is a lot of fun included. It is a great way to stay in
contact with other club members, get tech information, post your ideas or just bench race. Take some
time and check it out at togcc.org.
I have been contacted several times on one of our favorite activities in Eureka Springs Oct. 5-6-7-8. I
know there have been several members that have booked rooms in the last couple of weeks. The rooms
are going fast so if you are interested in going I suggest you book very soon. There were still a few rooms
available at the 1876 Inn, call 800-643-3030 and see if there are any rooms left under our reserved block
with the Steven Lott of the Touch of Glass Corvette Club. Good Luck and I hope you can go. It looks like
we will have twenty plus cars going.
”
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SPONSORED
by
McKAIG
CHEVROLET
GLADEWATER TEXAS
www.mckaig.net
The Monthly Newsletter of the
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
Page 3
BREAK CALIPER PAINTING
Several members have taken advantage of the Corvette mod in painting their break calipers. It is a
researched and proven process. How it all came about was when they brought out the first Z06, they
came with red calipers. Well that looked great but to change them out would cost around $800.00. I
thought that was a little more that I wanted to spend so I started checking the heat ranges of the caliper and rotor. After several long and short runs I determined that the heat was acceptable for paint. So I contacted Dupont
with the heat data I had gathered and discussed the parameters of the paint products holding up. The specialist from Dupont
stated there would be no problem as long as the bare aluminum calipers and steel mounting brackets were primed with an
etching primer prior to the top coat. So off we went and painted the first set. Well it sounds easier then it appears. I had a big
problem with the factory finish so there is some extra preparation required. The process goes like this, first you remove all the
calipers and mounting brackets from the car and wash them in a degreaser. Then you metal finish the parts to a 64rms finish,
this process takes around six to seven hours. Now you are ready for the etching primer. The painting is the fun part, once all
the parts are primed you are ready for the top coat. The nice thing about paint is you have your choice of any color you want.
Red is popular but we have done Nassau Blue, Magnetic Red and Yellow. The paint in most cases is an acrylic enamel with a
catalyst hardener. If you want to match them to the color of you car it may require a tri-coat for most metallic colors. The
drives the cost up a little but it is a real nice look for some colors, yet red is a good contrast for almost all color cars. The question I get the most is how do you paint around the Corvette. The process I use is to block sand the paint off after it has cured.
It is important to tape off the finish paint so you do not have any chance of messing up the finish product. Check out the pic’s
and see what you think. There are about six members in line to add this mod to their cars and I am happy to help them out.
TOGCC Advertising
Terrell’s Barber Shop
Bud’s Discount Tire
J&A Builders
1307 Alpine Rd.
Highway 80 East
Custom Homes & Masonry Work
Longview, TX 75601
903-753-2517
Terrell Mayhall Owner
Gladewater TX. 75647
903-845-5186
Bud Mahaffey Owner - Operator
Brick - Stone - Tile
Avinger
James Bales
903-562-1540
White Oak
Allen Bales
903-759-8966
Page 4
The Monthly Newsletter of the
TOGCC INVITED
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
TO VIEW JERRY
We would all like to thank Jerry and Jaynan for hosting TOGCC to view their private car collection. The cars were truly
amazing. They covered a wide range of
generations from the early thirty’s to the
latest in technology. Jerry was extremely
proud of the 1933 Dodge he won the
Race Across America in, he has participated in the event several times. He also
has a very extensive collection of the rare
Studebaker Avanti. It just kept on going
from Porsche to Ford GT 40 to Prowler, to
Corvette C6 Z06 to 56 - 57 Chevy’s, Nomad, you get the picture. When you had
looked at all the cars there was the neon
lighting the memorabilia and more. I am
sure I could not begin to mention everything, you just had to be there. It was nice
to see a collector like Jerry and Jaynan in
east Texas willing to share their memories and enthusiasm and love for automobiles. Twenty-six TOGCC Corvettes made
the cruise.
Co-Sponsored by CINDY’S TRAVEL EMPORIUM,INC
Allen’s Corvette Trivia
PO BOX 5026
The first five corvettes that come off the assembly line had something
missing. What was it?
LONGVIEW TEXAS 75608
903 725 7555
[email protected]
Volume 5- Issue 8
The Monthly Newsletter of the
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
Page 5
Cylinder Head Wizardry
From a performance standpoint, cylinder heads are the most significant feature of LS1. An airflow genius at GM Powertrain, named
Ron Sperry, oversaw the design. To hardcores seriously into Chevrolet heads, Sperry is a folk hero. Fifteen years ago, working for the
legendary Vince Piggins in the Chevrolet Special products group, he contributed to the original Chevy "Bow-Tie" heads. Evidence that
success in motorsports transfers to production is that the L98 aluminum head, introduced on Corvettes a decade ago, was derived
from philosophies used in those late-’70s/early-’80s race heads. Later, Ron Sperry perfected his craft working for Herb Fishel at the
Chevrolet Raceshop. He was responsible for two of Raceshop's landmark designs of the mid-’80s: the raised-runner, NASCAR SmallBlock head and the symmetrical-port, big-block, Pro Stock head.
Ron Sperry joined the V8 Group at GM Powertrain as the Cylinder Head Release Engineer in the fall of 1987. Need more proof that
racing improves the breed? His first task was developing the production, Gen II head that debuted on the 1992 LT1. A source close to
the Raceshop told us simply, "He (Sperry) showed them (GM Powertrain) how to make power with it." Sperry's early work on Gen III
resulted in the LT4 head. He was able to tweak just a bit more out of a mature design such that LT4 is the high-water mark for production, Small-Block V8 cylinder heads. Ron saw the LS1 project as a great challenge and a wonderful opportunity in that he was able to
develop a cylinder head for an all-new, production high-performance V8 engine with few of the performance constraints he had worked
under in the past.
All previous, production Chevrolet V8 heads have two distinct intake and exhaust port designs. A unique feature of the LS1 head is
what GM calls "replicated" ports. Each intake port is exactly same and each exhaust port is exactly the same. This eliminates combustion inconsistencies between cylinders due to variance in port flow quality and quantity. The heads are sand cast of 356 aluminum,
heat-treated to the T6 specification. Engineers use the term "valve angle" to describe the angle between cylinder bore centerline and
the valve stem centerlines. It is probably the key geometrical relationship in a V8 head because it influences combustion chamber
shape and size, spark plug placement, valve diameters and port design. With V-type engines, the less valve angle; the better. The LS1
angle is 15,° three less than the best of the Races hop's Winston Cup heads and significantly below the production Small-Block’s 23°.
The LS1 intake port volume is 200 cc. which is a bit of a misnomer because of some of that volume is used for injector spray space;
nevertheless, intake volume is generous. The exhaust port volume is 70 cc. The valve seat angles are 30°, 45° and 60°. The chamber
roof around the valves blends smoothly with the seat’s top angle. The valves are stainless steel. The intake valve size is 2.00 in. and
the exhausts are 1.55-in. with both having smaller, 8mm. valve stems. The valve face angles are 30°, 4 6° and 60°. The valve guides
are pressed-in, sintered-iron units impregnated with material that enhances lubrication. Chamber displacement is 67.3 cc which makes
for a compression ratio of 10.2:1.
The most important aspect of this head from a performance standpoint is an intake port that offers the charge air a straight shot down
to the intake valve. In that respect, the difference between the intake port in the best of the old (LT4) and the first of the new (LS1) is
nothing short of dramatic. We were very lucky to get to talk with the cylinder head ace himself, Ron Sperry and he said, about the design philosophy he and his team of engineers used for the intake ports, "We worked hard to make sure we had all eight cylinders as
close to being identical, from a geometry standpoint, as we could. Each port is a continuous, runner-to-valve configuration. We don’t
have the air turning right or left to any significant degree. There is a relatively large runner opening and it tapers down so that as (the
charge air) gains speed, it’s also gaining directional stability such that the air is moving towards the valve in a very directed manner.
We get the air and fuel into the cylinder with the same level of energy from bank-to-bank and port-to-port. "
Sperry added that a big enabler for the port design was packaging. By using four head bolts around each cylinder rather than the
Small-Block's five, there was more room for the ports. Additionally pushrod holes, head bolt bosses and rocker arm mounting bosses
were placed such that they impacted the intake ports as little as possible.
Another important feature of the LS1 intake port is it has better "injector targeting" than any Small-Block head. Injector targeting is important to idle quality and exhaust emissions. Ideally, port-injected engines should have injectors squirting a stream of fuel straight
down the port, directly on the back of the hot intake valve. The temperature helps vaporize the fuel and the turbulence of the charge
blowing down the port and around the valve does the rest. With the Small-Block, a straight shot at the valve was not as effective because the line running from the injector to the valve was nowhere near parallel to the port centerline. Ron Sperry: "Each port's fuel
injector is targeted on the valve. We established a (port) centerline in space. The port runs back from the valve to the injector in a
manner that is more linear with the injector target line."
A good cylinder head design gets the exhaust out as freely as it lets the charge in. Ron explained LS1 exhaust port philosophy, "The
15-degree angle goes a long way to fixing most of the problems we had (with the Small-Block exhaust port). The chamber is a very
open design. Chamber volume is bigger than its predecessor, 54cc in the LT4 and 67cc with this engine. The 15-degree angle removes many of the short turn radius (where the port floor transitions to the valve seat) problems.
"All the surfaces are friendly in approaching the valve seat area. The valve is shrouded a bit on the bore side, but that’s about the only
area there’s any restriction to getting exhaust out of the engine. We did employ the venturi-type seat that we put in the LT4 but it doesn’t have to be as drastic. The exhaust ports have some really good (flow) numbers right out of the box. They are as good as some of
the exhausts we’ve seen with modified, Bow-Tie stuff."
If you retain only one part of this discussion of the LS1 head, remember that most of this cylinder head technology goes towards one
goal: increasing volumetric efficiency. If you pack more air into the cylinders, the engine makes more power. The LS1’s much better
intake and exhaust port designs allow better volumetric efficiency at all engine speeds. The payoff is higher performance.
Continued page 7
Page 6
The Monthly Newsletter of the
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
ROCKY MOUNTIAN HIGH……. COLORADO
My side of the story: On Saturday morning July 1, 2005, 4 male members of the Touch Of Glass Corvette Club (Dennis Dick,
Larry Horn, John Eaves and myself) and 1 other male relative (Tommy Eaves) set out, in two Corvette convertibles and 1
Corvette Z06, on a week long adventurous search of the famed "Broke Back Mountain". At the end of the first day of high
speed driving thru Northeast Texas, all the way through Oklahoma via "Indian Nation Turnpike" and finally arriving at the
first overnight stay in Hays, Kansas, we were pleasantly surprised at our accommodations provided for entirely by Dennis
Dick thru his "Best Western Gold Crown" points. After putting in the next day's driving route into Larry's GPS we were ready
for Day 2. The second day, Sunday 2nd., we sprinted across the rest of Kansas on I-70 and crossed into Colorado. Around
noon we were arriving in the Denver area and thanks to Larry's GPS we were able to maneuver thru Denver onto I-25 and
then thru our first scenic canyon on Hwy 36 into Estes Park, Co. After checking into our 2 luxurious 2-bedroom, 2 bath condos complete with 2 Jacuzzis, etc. we set out on our first sight seeing tour thru MacGregor Ranch, Devils Gulch canyon and
Big Thompson Canyon into Loveland, CO. We stocked up on beer, supplies, beer, gas, & beer and headed back thru the
canyon (at a high rate of speed) back to Estes Park and our quarters for the next three days. The next morning (Monday)
we managed to come up with some breakfast (what happens in the Rocky Mountains...stays in the Rocky Mountains) and
headed up, and up, and up, and up into the Rocky Mountain National Park to the summit (12,183 ft) observing snow, elk,
and fantastic vistas along the way. After making our way back down Trail Ridge Rd to our condos, we enjoyed a leisurely
afternoon by the river. We also made one more brisk run back thru Devils Gulch Road at speeds that had to be recorded on
video to believe. Tuesday (July 4th) we talked Larry Horn into entering his car in the annual Estes Park car show so we all
could enjoy the festivities downtown. The other guys also took a ride up to the top of a local downtown mountain in a gondola; but I decided to keep my feet on the ground. Wednesday we packed up the Vettes (I loaded up a couple half-gallons
of cherry & peach cider from the area and another anonymous accomplice procured a real live sample of the Colorado
Rocky Mtn. plant life to transport across a couple of state lines back to Texas) and we began the next leg of the great Colorado road trip thru such landmarks as Central City, Georgetown, Eisenhower Tunnel, Leadville, Independence Pass, and
Aspen arriving in Basalt (between Aspen & Glenwood Springs). After maxing out Dennis's credit card in the parking meter in
downtown Aspen we tried; but lost count of the number of twin engine private jets at the Aspen airport, and culminated the
evening at a Basalt local Bar & Restaurant and rested for the night. Next morning (Thursday) we headed out for Blue Mesa
Reservoir and Black Canyon of the Gunnison Natl. park, on thru Montrose, past Telluride thru Ouray, Silverton, Red Mountain Pass, and Durango to downtown Pagosa Springs. That night we took in some local flavor at the Boss Hog's restaurant
where some of the guys tried the favorite local appetizers ( what happens in the Rocky Mtns...stays in the Rocky Mtns.); but
once again I declined. Friday morning began with one of our many surprises...a visit from Tommy Eaves ex-in laws and off
we took up into the backwoods mountains to visit their summer log cabin. For awhile I thought we were going to end up on
Broke Back Mtn for sure; but as close as we got was "Nipple" mountain (what happens in the Rock Mtns....stays in the
Rocky Mtns). What a great experience that side trip turned out to be. After reluctantly having to leave their beautiful retreat
in the mountains (saw bunches of deer along the dirt road) we packed up again for our final destination of the great Colorado road trip...Amarillo, TX passing thru Chama, Taos, Las Vegas, and Santa Rosa, NM. Our last night on the road was
once again full of great surprises...first of all Dennis once again took care of our motel room bills with his Best Western
points (Thanks again Dennis) and finally after riding a limousine to the Big Texan Steak House and enjoying a few rounds of
drinks and a great steak...Tommy Eaves picked up our dinner tab (Thanks again to Tommy). Saturday morning we left Amarillo for our last leg back across Texas to Longview. What a great trip we had and that's my story...and I'm sticking to it! I
have only one question...WHO ALL WANTS TOGO NEXT YEAR ???
Chuck McGregor
CLUB ACTIVITIES
The Monthly Newsletter of the
VETTE CHATTER
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
Page 7
Aug 5 - Sacred Spur Restaurant in Gilmer - Meet at Ellis Pottery, leave at 4:00 pm
Aug 12 - Wagon Wheel Steakhouse in Athens - Longview meet at Brookshire's in White Oak at
3:00 Cruise and meet the Tyler group at Whataburger on Hwy 271 at 4:00 and cruise to Athens
Aug 19 - Tech Day at the Busted Knuckle Shop - After breakfast, Take care of your Corvette
Aug 26 - Hooters in Shreveport at the Louisiana Boardwalk - Meet at Exxon at !-20 and 281
Loop 2:00 and cruise to the Boardwalk for lunch and shopping.
Aug 26 - Dyno Tune Day at 21st Century Motorsports in Carrollton - Leave 6:00 am from
McKaig Chevrolet to travel to 21st Century by 8:30 am
Cylinder Head Wizardry ...continued
LS1's head gasket sealing is better than that of the Small-Block. The long head bolts go 88mm down into the block and have very
long threads of a unique size and pitch designed for high load. They screw into threads in the case’s main web areas. The idea is to
pull the sleeves and the immediate surrounding area of the decks tight against the head by exerting force at the bottom of the
sleeves. An additional feature is the bolts’ length. A fastener exerts the most force when its stretched slightly and the long bolts allow
a lot of material for stretching.
One final, interesting aspect of the LS1 head and deck design is that it has a negative deck-height figure. One of GMPD’s goals in
combustion control was to decrease "crevice volume" which is, loosely speaking, the "squish" volume between the flat, nonchambered, part of the head exposed to the bore, plus the volume between the piston and bore above the top ring. At top deadcenter, an LS1 piston top is actually 0.2mm (.008-in.) higher than the block deck and protrudes into the space surrounded by the
head gasket. A typical rebuild procedure is to machine or "deck" the block to correct misalignment or lack of flatness. Once the first
LS1’s need overhauls, engine rebuilder will have a learning curve with figuring out how to deck an LS1 case and preserve piston-tohead clearance.
Neal McCoy Autographed Corvette Jacket
Get your tickets for this great looking Corvette jacket.
All donations will go to the Angle Network
This is a wonderful contribution to help families in East
Texas.
$5.00 per ticket
FRIENDILY REMINDER
Monthly Club Meeting
Tuesday August 2, 2006
Location: David Beards Catfish Village
Gilmer Rd
Time: 6:30 p.m.
SEE YOU THERE!!!!!!!
$25.00 for six tickets
VETTE CHATTER
The Monthly Newsletter of the Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
2005 TOGCC
Website: TOGCC.org
Officers / Other Positions
Russ Shepard
President
903-663-5362
Roy Arnold
Vice President
903-663-1850
Nell Horn
Secretary
903-759-7615
Linda Spicer
Treasurer
903-297-0166
The deadline for all newsletter articles will
Be the 20th. Of each month. Call ALLEN
BALES @903 759 8966 THANKS
All Contributions Welcome
Membership/Administrator
Allen Bales
Newsletter Editor
903-759-8966
Clinton Hearn
Activities Director
903-593-1869
Nelda Arnold
Courtesy Card Coordinator903-663-1850
Jim Spearman
Website Administrator
903-759-4896
Wayne White
Public Relations
903-663-2916
Larry Horn
Club Shirts
903-759-7615
Allen's Corvette Trivia Answer
903-297-2707
1 OUTSIDE REAR VIEW MIRROR
Chuck McGregor NCM Ambassador
Touch Of Glass Corvette Club
P.O. Box 4581
Longview, Texas 75606-4581
SPONSORED
by
McKAIG
Chevrolet
Pontiac
Buick
GLADEWATER Texas