The Inside Track
Transcription
The Inside Track
May 2012 The Inside Track Scott van Tamelen, WMFC President Our summer weather pattern has returned, and with that comes some well needed seat time in our Firebirds again. We’ve got some upcoming events planned, and I hope many of you can make it to one of them. The first event is going to be the May WMFC monthly meeting combined with our Memorial Day Parade…….Yes, yes I know it’s kind of late notice for a Memorial Day event, but remember it’s only a couple hours in the morning and it’s a great opportunity to reunite with your Firebird friends. past the parade has started at 10: am, and Dave Kuyers has confirmed that remains the same for this year. The plan right now is to meet between 9:00-9:15am at the Burger King in Hudsonville and then head over to the starting point as a group. Hope you can join us on this special day of recognition. I’m also working on something for the 2012 Fall Color Tour more details will follow as I confirm a few more items & ideas. While we’re waiting for the parade to start we’ll discuss a couple other events I‘d like to get on the calendar. One such event would be to arrange a weekend cruise, something where we hit some back roads and cruise together as a group. So if you can make it Monday May 28th that’d be great, the more input we can have the better something like that will be. As for Memorial Day, we’re planning to attend the parade in Jamestown, Mi. We’ll be meeting at the Burger King in Hudsonville and then traveling to the parade route as a group. In the Newsletter 1 WMFC Membership Renewal You’ve probably been wondering what’s up with our membership renewal for 2012?? Here’s where I’m at with that: Because of the large membership growth we had last season about this time I figured it best to make the annual membership coincide with that influx of new members. I’m hoping to have a business PayPal account set-up by the end of the week for WMFC. If I’m successful in that you’ll see on option on the website to pay by credit or debit card. The annual dues are again only $20. I also have the membership lanyards ready to distribute. So as you attend your next WMFC event make sure to ask me for yours. Moving forward WMFC Membership renewals will be June1st of every year. New members who join mid-year (after Nov 1) will benefit from an extended 6month membership, as their membership renewal won’t be required until the following year. Here’s an example of what I mean: Make all checks payable to the West Michigan Firebird Club. WMFC Website ????? If you’ve visited the website recently you’ve probably noticed there hasn’t been much changed lately, and you’d be right!! (I think the Christmas theme gives that away.) Somehow our password got jeopardized? Due to that neither Derek, nor I can get logged in. I have contacted GoDaddy.com and they are correcting the situation. We should be back in operation again in the next day or two. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused some of you that frequent the site for up-to-date information. Jim Rockford joins WMFC on Nov 14, 2012 pays his initial membership at that time. I don’t feel its right to charge him again already in June 2013. So we’ll extend his renewal to the following June 1st (June 1, 2014 in this example). Hope that makes sense to everybody if not shoot me an email or give me call and I’ll try to explain my reasoning behind the madness. As for all current members: I’ll email everybody again to let you know when the PayPal acct has been set-up. If you prefer not to pay via PayPal you can forward payment to our Membership Coordinator: WMFC Membership C/o David Kuyers 2487 24th Ave Hudsonville, Mi 49426 Newsletter 2 Firebird History What’s a Comp T/A Trans Am?? The Comp T/A Trans Am was built to help GM showcase the upcoming Ram Air WS6 option, and ended up commemorating the 25th anniversary of BFGoodrich’s premium performance tire in the process, the Comp T/A. Here’s brief write-up on how that came to be: day version of the "Pontiac Tirebird", so with the help of Jim Mattison (and some others) they came up with a show vehicle. They first displayed it at the Detroit AutoRama where the lack luster reception had people stating that "Pontiac couldn't even spell the name of their own vehicle correctly." SLP (of Firehawk fame) produced these ultimate Trans Ams for the '95, '96, '97 model years. Combined production amounted to 164 units, making the Comp T/A one of the rarest Birds made in recent years. A goal to produce only 200 Comp T/A's was set in 1995, but due to outside circumstances only 72 vehicles made it across the assembly line. GM claimed due to "request from its dealers and consumers, the limited edition Comp T/A was again available for 1996". 1996 production was slated for only 128 (combine that to 1995's production run of 72 and you find that magic 200 number again.) Again that projection was not met, which could explain the reason it was offered again in 1997. You're probably wondering "What's the big deal about the Comp T/A tire?" In order to better understand why the Comp T/A Trans Am came to be, you first have to step back in Pontiac history a little. In the early 70's the BFGoodrich Tire Company bought a few Trans Am's and built a "Pontiac Tirebird" that originally debuted their radial T/A tire (see side-bar for more on the BFGoodrich Tirebird) Fast forward 25yrs, Pontiac is looking for a way to spur interest in the upcoming Ram Air WS6 package (still a year or so away at the time). It was suggested they make a modern Newsletter 3 It was eventually decided to use a Trans Am and call it the "Comp T/A". The project was handed over to SLP, who made some revisions to the original design giving it a charcoal center stripe (similar to that used on the 25th Anniversary TA) over a silver paint scheme. It would be available as Hard-top or T-top versions only. The Comp T/A was more than just cosmetic beautification; essentially it was a Firehawk in Trans Am clothing. There were enhancements to the suspension, exhaust, and of course the unmistakable Ram Air hood. You could also select from a host of available performance options like Hurst Shifters, Level II Bilstein Sport Suspension, Torsen Limited Slip Differential, and the 'R1' package which included an extra set of BFGoodrich Comp T/A 'R1' series tires mounted on another set of the Comp T/A's silver wheels. On the inside the Comp T/A was standard Trans Am fare as normal, with the exception of a numbered center console badge which stated the production number of the vehicle. Also optional Comp T/A embroidered floor mats were available too. To make sure others knew this car was different from your average TA they affixed 3D Comp T/A decals on the exterior door panels, a decal on drivers side headlight door, and silver painted Speedline wheels with decals on each center cap. It should be noted there has been some discrepancies regarding what came in the interior package. There has been talk that it also included custom Comp T/embroidery on the headrest, and a plaque on the passenger's side dash pad. It may be possible that some early production models included these. (Although any that I have seen personally; did not.) To make things more confusing the later year models did not have the production # included on their console badges and simply stated "Comp T/A limited edition". Newsletter 4 All this came at a price……..in '95 the Comp T/A carried an additional $7000 price tag over the standard Trans Am (making it nearly $35k). In '96-'97 that cost would drop to roughly $4000 over the standard Trans Am. COMP T/A Production Specs 1995- 48- 6spd and 24- auto….72 total 1996- 16- 6spd and 29- auto….45 total 1997- 30- 6spd and 17- auto….47 total -----------------------------------Total = 164 Comp T/A's produced 1995 - 30 coupe (13 Auto, 17 6-spd) 42 t-top (11 Auto, 31 6-spd) 6 w/sport suspension package 28 w/R1 tire option 1996 - 10 coupe ( 6 Auto, 4 6-spd) 35 t-top (23 Auto, 12 6-spd) 25 w/Torsen 34 w/Lubes 15 w/Hurst 26 w/Suspension 28 w/Engine Cooler 44 w/Floormats 33 w/Car Cover 1997 - 7 coupe ( 2 Auto, 5 6-spd) 40 t-top (15 Auto, 25 6-spd) 31 w/Torsen 8 w/Lubes 29 w/Hurst 25 w/Suspension 33 w/Engine Cooler 43 w/Floormats 33 w/Car Cover 3 w/R1 Tire Option Newsletter 5 Jamestown Memorial Day Parade Date: Monday May 28th Time: 10: am Location: Jamestown, Mi Attendance: Free Although the parade starts at 10: am will be meeting at the Burger King in Hudsonville between 9:00 and 9:15am. From there we’ll travel as a group a short distance to Jamestown where we’ll join the parade line-up. We’ll hold a brief, informal WMFC meeting then and discuss a few of the items mentioned earlier. Newsletter 6 Upcoming Events WMFC Monthly Meetings: WMFC meeting- Monday May 28th @ 9am Burger King in Hudsonville, MI 49426 WMFC Official Events: Jamestown Memorial Day Parade-May 28th Jamestown, Mi Bandit Run ’12- May 12 thru May 19th- Registration is open! You can register at thebanditrun.com. Join The Bandit Run on Facebook and Twitter for updates! 28th Annual Trans Am Nationals-August 24-26, 2012- Dayton, Ohio Other Automotive Events: May 26th- 24th Annual Lane Automotive Car Show (Free!!!!), Watervliet, MI May 27th- Spring Fling Car Show- 1880 S Greenville Rd Greenville, MI June 2nd - Veteran Car Show- 2500 Tuner Ave NW Grand Rapids, MI June 2nd - Ionia Classic Car & Truck Show- Downtown Ionia Ionia, MI June 2nd- Festival of Cars- Downtown South Haven South Haven, MI June 2nd- Classic Car Show - Rockford American Legion Post 102 Rockford, MI June 9th- Plainfield Motor Mile Car Show- Plainfield Ave, Grand Rapids, MI June 9th- All-Pontiac GMC Car Show- 12451 Andersonville Rd Davisburg, MI June 9th- MiFody Meet-n-Greet- Baker’s Restaurant Milford, MI June 16th- 10th Annual Three Rivers Car Show- Downtown Three Rivers, MI June 16th- Sparta Moose Lodge Car Show- 11510 N. Division St Sparta, MI June 17th- Eyes on Design Car Show- 1100 Lakeshore Rd Grosse Pointe, MI June 22nd –24th – 2012 Carlisle GM Nationals- Carlisle, PA June 23rd - Alamo’s 2012 Classic in the Park- 8326 West DE Ave, Kalamazoo, MI June 23rd- 9th Annual Covered Bridge Car Show, Downtown Centreville, MI June 24th- 2nd Annual Summer Classic Car Show- Light & Life Wesleyan Church Three Rivers, MI Newsletter 7 Other Automotive Events Cont’d: June 28-30th- 37th Annual St. Ignace Car Show- Downtown St. Ignace, MI July 7th- 5th Annual Adam Shafer Memorial Car Show - Lawton High School, Lawton, MI July 17th-21st Pontiac-Oakland Club International's 40th Annual Convention-St. Charles, Ill July 21st- 16th Annual Car Show Downtown Paw Paw, MI Aug 3rd – 5th Ames Performance Tri Power Pontiac Nationals – Summit Motorsports Park-Norwalk, OH Aug 11th- Del Shannon Car Show- 25 Conran Dr Coopersville, MI Aug 12th-12th Annual Deanos Pizza Car Show, 1640 m-40 North Allegan, MI Aug 24-25th- 28th Street Metro Cruise - Grand Rapids, MI Sept 1st- Classic Car Show- Veterans Memorial Park Boyne City, MI Sept 2-3rd- Cars for Cancer Car & Bike Show- Mercy Health Partners Lakes Campus Muskegon, MI Sep 7th- 11th Annual Trendway Benefit Cruise-IN, 13467 Quincy St, Holland, MI 6-9 PM Sept 8th- Paw Paw Wine & Harvest Festival Classic Car Show- Downtown Paw Paw, MI Sept 8th- Cars for Kids- AmericInn Greenville, MI Sept 9th- 18th Annual Musclecars Plus Car Show - Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI Newsletter 8 The Western Michigan Firebird Club is dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of the classic Pontiac Firebird through a passionate interest in keeping the Dream Alive. Meetings: The WMFC holds monthly meetings throughout the year. The times and locations may vary, so please see the upcoming events page or check out our website for specific times and locations. http://www.wmfirebird.com/Recent___Upcoming_Events.html WMFC Officers: President: Scott vanTamelen [email protected] Vice President: Kyle Denboer [email protected] Treasure: Mike Keen [email protected] Membership: Dave Kuyers [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Cat Browne [email protected] Webmaster: Derek Dyke [email protected] Check out our latest events and activities on our website www.wmfirebird.com. Newsletter 9 WMFC Sponsors Please join us in thanking our generous sponsors by using their services whenever possible. Sponsorship with the WMFC has many great benefits. Newsletter 10 WMFC “For Sale” Section Let me know if you have something to list here. So far our track record is pretty good most everything that has been listed has sold. Shoot me an email with what it is you have for sale, an asking price, and a couple photos; I’ll get it listed here for you. Newsletter 11
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