February 2010.pub - Inland Empire Corvair Club

The Inland Empire’s
Corvair Authority
Inland Empire Corvair Club
INSIDE
VALLEY VAIRS
February 2010
At The Wheel
Another month down in the year 2010. There are lots of great car events coming
up.
♦
IECC visit to March Field
Museum
♦
Common Sense, how common is it?
♦
Activity Calendar is filling
up fast… Check it out!
♦
Classified ads with information for everyone.
♦
Recipe from some well
known TV chefs giving
away what was once their
biggest secret.
♦
Car show observation explained.
♦
Wish someone a Happy
Birthday!
Club Technical
Advisor Needed!
Between rainfalls I manage to get my show car out and drive it! I just love the car.
There is a last minute car cruise in Fontana that we will attend. This will take place
in downtown Fontana on Friday Feb.5TH in the evening. You will find more information on this event in this issue of VALLEY VAIRS. (pg. 2)
Has anyone checked out FACEBOOK.COM? What a great way to find old friends
you've lost touch with over the years. What does this have to do with Corvairs? When
you type in CORVAIR in the facebook search box..... There's a Corvair Group! How
cool is that? Lots of great cars to see and lots of local people who may want to join
our club.
Also our very own Scott Howey has created CORVAIRFORUM.COM. When you
have some time, take a peak at this forum. You can go on and introduce yourself,
post lots of pictures all over the site, ask technical questions, and share your knowledge with other Corvair enthusiasts. There are lots of very interesting videos to
watch and a monthly photo car contest you can participate in and vote for your favorite car. There are prizes to win sponsored by our popular Corvair vendors.
We'll see you all at this Thursdays general meeting. Corvairs in the parking lot and
good friends gathered together.
Your President, Michael Moreno
Look
Perhaps you’ve noticed or maybe
not…
Our club needs a Technical Advisor.
Back
There has been no “Tech Talk”
page appearing regularly in “Valley
Vairs” for quite some time.
Any member can handle this. All
that you need to do is a bit of research each month. Hunt down a
good tech column and submit to the
newsletter editors by the 20th of
each month.
Plus your name runs on page two!
To
1961
2009-10 Board
President
Michael Moreno
[email protected]
760-713-3773
ViceVice-President
David Baxter
[email protected]
760-220-0212
Secretary
Beverly Roby
[email protected]
909-337-5424
Treasurer
Tom Lugar
[email protected]
951-741-0643
Activities
Bob Booth
[email protected]
909-886-0215
Newsletter Editors
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
February 4th, 2010 - IECC Monthly General Meeting - Singh Chevrolet
7 PM to 9 PM
February 5TH, 2010 - Cruise Night in Downtown Fontana - 5:00 to 9:00 PM
Sierra Ave and Spring St across from Lewis Library
Live Music, Shop with local vendors, food for the family
For more info: (909) 349-6900
February 15th, 2010 - IECC Monthly Board Meeting - 7 PM - Casa Abney
March ?, 2010 - Victorville Route 66 Museum - Info in upcoming issues
April 10th, 2010 - 3rd annual Ed Corson Tech Day - Info in upcoming issues
April 30th, 2010 - Capitol City Spring Fling & Mini Convention in Sacramento
Info in upcoming issues
May, 2010 - Riverside Show and Go - info and registration in upcoming issues
June 20th, 2010 - Murrieta Father’s Day Car Show - Best show all year
info to follow
August , 2010 - Visit to the USS Midway in San Diego - Info to follow.
Sept, 2010 - Route 66 Rendezvous in San Bernardino. Always the third weekend in
September
Oct - Great Western Fan Belt Toss and Swap Meet - Sunrise Park in Palm Springs
Host: San Diego Corvair Club. Info in future issues.
GET THOSE CORVAIRS DUSTED OFF AND READY TO
RUMBLE. OUR CALENDAR IS FILLING UP WITH LOTS OF FUN
EVENTS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ENJOY.
RECOMMENDED CRUISES
Diane and Tim Abney
[email protected]
909-886-2244
Webmaster
2nd Saturday of each month - 4 to 7 PM
Farmer Boys - Kendall and University Ave
San Bernardino
Rick Garza
[email protected]
Technical Advisor
Position Open
Sgt. At Arms
Bob Booth
[email protected]
909-886-0215
Lady of Unlimited Sunshine
Diane Abney
[email protected]
909-886-2244
Valley Vairs
OUR
!
WEBSITE
http://www.iecorvairclub.com
The monthly newsletter of the
INLAND EMPIRE CORVAIR CLUB
Submission Deadline the 20th of
each month electronic submissions prefered
[email protected]
or
PO Box 30316
San Bernardino, CA 92404
This thought provoking article was printed in the “Heart of America Corvair Owners Assoc. newsletter in November of 2008….
Here we are almost a year and a half later and it still rings true.
Common Sense
by Bob Vukas
The Volkswagen Beetle, the Nash Rambler and the Studebaker Lark have large interior space and are
compact on the outside. The Corvair, Chevy II, Falcon and Valiant were too. The Chevelle, Fairlane and
Coronet were midsized cars with roomy interiors. Gas was cheap and the longer, lower and wider philosophy trend continued. President Kennedy even talked about the excesses of the tail fins on American
cars in one of his early speeches. It was clear that we had gone too far and that common sense called for
us to reign in these tendencies.
The Mobil Economy Run ceased to exist after 1968 due to the change in attitude of our American car
makers. Fuel economy was replaced with ever bigger, heavier, higher horsepower vehicles in all parts of
their lines. VW’s; Toyotas, Subaru's and Datsun’s were sold as a counter trend to the oversized American
offerings. The handwriting was on the wall, hence, the Vega and Pinto appeared in the fall of 1970. Consumer Reports wondered why the Chevelle handling, size and economy could not be combined with the
interior room of the AMC Rebel.
The oil crisis of 1973 hammered the issue home and all of a sudden that little Honda was a Civic, not a
motorcycle. Monza's, Sunbird’s and Starfire’s appeared on the scene with the Chevette and Pontiac
T1000. The Chevrolet Nova was adapted for all of the GM divisions, even Cadillac. The Omni Horizon
twins arrived based on the VW Rabbit. Accords, Dashers and Jettas came along too. Downsizing became
the buzz word and cars became smaller and in fashion. Big was out.
We saw the next wave of this philosophy in 1979 with the Iran Hostage Crisis and the gas shortages of
that summer. Citation, Phoenix, Omega and Skylark appeared with compact bodies and large interior
space. The Ford Tempo/Topaz was Ford’s answer to the call for more room and less bulk. Finally the
Ford Taurus arrived, which by design, used a clean slate to make a roomy American car without the
weight of past vehicles. It sold well for years. Station wagons were out and Mini Vans lead the parade
starting with the K cars from Chrysler.
We reduced the speed limit to 55 in the fall of ’73 and it did not go back up till ’87. Unfortunately, gas became cheap again and we bought vans and then Explorers, the new mid size SUV, like crazy as we could
not find vehicles that combined room and economy. Suburbans, Tahoes, Expeditions and Excursions
cropped up like dinosaurs recreated from ancient DNA like those in Jurassic Park. We had trucks and
SUV’s from Cadillac and Lincoln too.
Now we are again faced with rising gas prices due to the international markets influenced by Iran, Russia
and Venezuela. The Chinese are buying more cars, American cars, and driving more which raises the demand for gas. While were once again not paying attention, we have missed 35 years of opportunities to
work towards energy independence. Our car companies are not as well prepared to switch gears to
smaller, more fuel efficient cars, SUV’s, trucks and buses as we would all like but there is hope. GM Hybrid buses have been saving fuel and reducing pollution for several years now in big cities. The fuel cell
vehicle plug in combo is arriving via the Chevrolet Equinox and Honda Clarity, on a small basis. The
Chevrolet Volt plug in is nearing reality for the fall of 2009. Six speed transmissions, combined with
smaller, more powerful, more economical engines are ever closer. My question to ponder is why we did
not see this coming to be better prepared. It takes a crisis to bring people to work together, but we all
hope to carry the lessons learned in the process. The Free Market and the wave of ecological Green can
work together, if we forget about the Hatfields and McCoys, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. This energy crisis is not just a fad nor will the economical vehicles it inspires.
On January 9th the parking lot at the March Field Air Museum looked a bit different than usual. The reason was a
visit by IECC and the Corvairs they brought along.
They also had moment to reflect on the memory of one of our members who passed on a few years ago when they
visited the very F-101 Ed Corson piloted out of Suffolk County AFB in New York. He once told us that it followed him
to Riverside.
After the visit to the Museum the IECC crew decided to invade a popular monthly car cruise in San Bernardino. Imagine how the heads turned when five Corvairs rolled in together. Unfortunately, due the popularity of the show, they
weren’t able to park together.
When the IECC bunch finally retreated they took along a couple of nice awards. Eddy Corson received a plaque for
“Best Under Construction” for his Fitch Sprint and Michael Moreno received “Best Special Interest” for his Gold
1960 Sedan.
All in all it was very special day for all who attended.
The picture to right shows the
very same F-101 “VooDoo” that
Ed Corson flew out of Sufolk
County AFB, New York during
the “Cold War.”
He claimed it followed him to
Riverside.
It’s been on display at the
March Field Air Museum for
several years.
At Michael’s Burgers in San Bernardino five
IECC members rolled in to surprised cruisers
who aren’t used to seeing that many Corvairs in
one place.
Why are these people smiling?
Because they won awards at Michael’s Burgers!
Best Under Construction
Best Special Interest
MONTH
SNACKS
DRINKS
FEBRUARY 2010
Rick Shorter
Roger Pfeiffer
MARCH 2010
Ted Osborne
Sam & Diana Oporto
APRIL 2010
Diane Abney
Roger Pfeiffer
MAY 2010
Robys
Bob Booth
JUNE 2010
Ken Andrews
Jeff Milot
JULY 2010
TBA
TBA
JANUARY 2010
Editor’s Ramblings
Have you ever noticed that when you take your Corvair to a car show or cruise..?
People are walking all around the area looking at the cool cars and they walk down the aisle admiring all the ‘57 Chevys, Mustangs, Chevelles, Roadsters and Camaros. They walk past them nodding in awe and then they get to your Corvair and suddenly
they stop crane their neck a bit and start walking around your car. The car next to you might be a $50,000 custom loaded with
chrome but your Corvair is the one that has, suddenly, grabbed their attention.
Why is that? Could it be that we are driving the most interesting car at just about any car show? We think so. After showing our
‘65 Monza at Rt 66 Rendezvous for 11 straight years now we’re convinced that the Corvair is the most interesting, massed produced, car of the past 70 or 80 years. There are a few others but they weren’t built in the numbers the Corvair was.
We know everyone is waiting to see how our fireplace mantle
came out it being Tim’s first item on his retirement Honey-Do
list.
Retirement hasn’t come along yet but check out the mantle!
Diane and Tim
Before
NEELY’S BBQ SAUCE
INGREDIENTS
2 Cups ketchup
1 Cup water
1/2 Cup apple cider vinegar
5 TBS light brown sugar
5 TBS sugar
1/2 TBS ground black pepper
1/2 TBS onion powder
1/2 TBS ground mustard
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS Worcestershiire sauce
DIRECTIONS
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil,
then reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently for one
Hour and fifteen minutes.
This is the same sauce served at the Neely’s famous BBQ restaurant in
Memphis, TN.
After
Classified Ads
These Vendors Are All Corvair Friendly
For Sale / Trade
THIS SPACE AVAILABLE
NEED PARTS?
Project Car?
Call “Hot” Rod
951951-683683-1731
951951-313313-8774
Best Deals Around
1962 Monza Spyder Convertible For Sale
Very nice metallic blue paint (not
factory color but nice)
New black interior and top
150HP Turbo Engine and 4 speed
Asking $5000
Located in San Bernardino
Call Dale at (909) 844-5180 (cell)
6
Birthday Wishes This Month
Don Clark
Contessa Reed
Denny Myers
2/14
2/18
2/24
Put Another Candle on your
Birthday Cake!
Visitors are ALWAYS welcome to attend our meetings
General Meetings
7-9 PM—The first Thursday of each month
Except December
Singh Chevrolet
8200 Auto Center Drive
Riverside, CA
Board Meetings
7 PM—The third Monday of each month
Board Meetings are held At various members
homes
Inland Empire Corvair Club
PO Box 30316
San Bernardino, CA 92404
IECC dues are $20 per year always due in June
And may be paid at meetings or by mail to:
Inland Empire Corvair Club, PO Box 30316,
San Bernardino, CA 92404
CORSA dues are $45 per year or $90 for 26 months
Dues include the monthly CORSA Communiqué
All NEW CORSA members receive a free CORSA T-Shirt
Both may paid through the IECC Treasurer
Membership forms are available at the meetings
Or by mail or email from Board Members