Lakes Template - Lakes Corvette Club

OCTOBER
Lakes Corvette Club Newsletter
2016
President’s Message
Hi Lakes Members
and Friends,
It seems like this year’s summer has just flown by and the fall is quickly doing the very
same thing. Here we are just a few days from the start of October. We have maybe a
month or six weeks of Showtime left and then we really slow down. Of course, Sissie will
do her best to keep us busy. Take every opportunity to enjoy your club and Corvette.
Lakes took a convoy of Corvettes to the Ocean City NJ Board walk. There is something
very special about driving your Vette up the ramp and onto the boardwalk, with a crowd of
people on each side, cheering and waving. The weather turned out to be great, lots and
lots of beautiful Corvettes and a very large crowd. One of the fun parts of the show is that
we get to talk about our Corvettes; we get lots and lots of questions. We have the
opportunity to talk about our corvettes and a lot of people we talk to either have a Corvette,
always wanted a Corvette or a friend of theirs had a Corvette. My hats off to the Boardwalk
Corvettes of Atlantic City for providing a wonderful show for the community, the Corvette
family and the show visitors.
We have a lot of fun in our club, and lots of friends to be with, but one of the best things
that we get to do is to donate some of the money we make at our shows to local charities.
We had two guests with us at our last meeting and they represented two of the fine charities
that we will donate to this year. We had Marcy DiBlasio from the Samaritan hospice and
Retired Colonel Tim Williams, the executive director of the Veteran’s Multi-service center in
Philadelphia. We presented a check to each, and we were privileged to hear the
tremendous work that these organizations do in our community. We are proud of these
organizations and the work that they do with the very sick and with our veterans. I am so
pleased that our club donates to these fine organizations.
Just remember, keep the wheels of your Vette rolling and enjoy the moment!
Ron
9/6/16
Meeting #619
7:30 PM
President’s Report: President Ron Henry started the meeting with a welcome and a joke.
Ron announced the birthdays and anniversaries for September. Dick Schuetz is out with eye
surgery.
Secretary’s Report: Karen Horbund no report.
Treasurer’s Report: Don Autio – Don gave an updated Treasurers report. A motion was
made by Ed Weaver to accept the report, seconded by Bill DiSimone. A vote was taken and
the “ayes” have it.
Activities Report: Sis Flynn – Please remember to look for emails from Sis for future events.
There were 350 cars at the last outing at Johnson’s Corner Farm.
A discussion took place regarding Corvettes at Carlisle.
Sis has sign up sheets for the following upcoming events:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
9/10 – Bradley Beach Classic
9/11 – Johnson’s Corner Apple of My Eye Show
9/17 – Warminster PA Show
9/18 – Ocean City, NJ
9/24 – Masonic Home Show
9/25 – Holy Cross
10/8 – Battleship NJ
10/14-15 – Ocean City, MD Corvette Weekend
Ice Cream at the Meadow’s after the meeting.
Membership Report: John DiBlasio – Same ole faces, nothing to report.
Vice President Report: Terry Monroe – mentioned that a representative from Samaritan
Hospice will be at the next meeting to be presented with a check.
Historian Report: Steve Horbund – No report.
Newsletter: Attilio Gentile – Deadline is the 27th of each month.
Website: Sharon Grossman – Newsletter is out.
Sargent-at-Arms: Eric Botterbrodt- No report.
Sunshine: Barbara Botterbrodt – please let Barbara or Ron know if you hear of a member
who is ill or having surgery.
Old Business: No report.
New Business: No report.
Car Talk: A discussion ensued regarding C5’s going through batteries often. NJ Historic
Museum would like C4-C5-C7 for display the month of October. There will be a Corvette
Racing 2-day weekend at the Simeone Museum.
Dates to remember:
* 9/20/16 – Next business meeting
* 12/9/16 – Christmas Party
* 1/1/17 – New Years Brunch
Ron closed the meeting with a joke.
A Motion was made by Susan Monroe to end the meeting; Sis Flynn made a second. A vote
was taken and the “ayes” have it.
Meeting Adjourned
Dina DiBlasio
10-01
Norm Tagland
10-17
Kris DiCoio
10-05
Janet Haegly
10-20
John DiBlasio
10-07
Terry Monroe
10-20
Bill Evan
10-07
Karen Horbund
10-24
Joe DiCara
10-12
Ed Weaver
10-24
Binnece J. Green
10-25
Peggy & Leonard Kirkuff 10-04
Kathy & Tony Saggiomo
Kathy & Joe Zavatsky
10-13
10-25
9/20/16
Meeting #620
7:31 PM
President’s Report: President Ron Henry started the meeting with a welcome and a joke
Health: Steve Horbund was in the hospital with a problem with his foot.
There are 2 charity representatives here this evening:
Marcy DiBlasio from Samaritan Healthcare Hospice. The donation from our club will be utilized for patient
needs that are not otherwise funded. Marcy was proud to say that they are in the process of building a
freestanding in-patient care facility, the first in South Jersey.
Tim Williams from the Veterans Multi-Service Center. Tim said that 95% of our donation will go directly to
services for homeless and veterans in need of assistance. Tim, a former Veteran himself has dedicated his
time to ensuring that many needed services are available for homeless Veterans as well as those who need
a helping hand. For more information about this valued organization you can go to www.vmcenter.org.
Secretary Report: Karen Horbund reported that the sign up sheet is being passed around.
Treasurers Report: Don Autio – Don gave an updated Treasurers report. A motion was made by Ted
Urbanski to accept the report, seconded by Carl Grossman. A vote was taken and the “ayes” have it.
Activities Report: Skip Flynn for Sis– Please remember to look for emails from Sis for future events.
Sis has sign up sheets for the following upcoming events:
*
*
*
*
9/24 – Masonic Home Show
9/25 – Holy Cross
10/8 – Battleship NJ
10/14-15 – Ocean City MD Corvette Weekend
Ice Cream at the Meadow’s after the meeting
Membership Report: John DiBlasio – Same ole faces, nothing to report
Vice President Report: Terry Monroe – Ron thanked Terry and Don for getting the two representatives here
and having large checks to present (along with the actual checks).
Historian Report: Steve Horbund – No report
Newsletter: Attilio Gentile – Deadline is the 27th of each month.
Website: Sharon Grossman – A link will be set up on the website to connect with the above Veteran’s
website.
Sargent-at-Arms: Eric Botterbrodt- No report
Sunshine: Barbara Botterbrodt – please let Barbara or Ron know if you hear of a member who is ill or
having surgery.
Old Business: No report
New Business: No report
Car Talk: Joe DiCara replaced the light for the directions in his C5 with LED”s.
Ted and Cheryl Urbanski watched Eric Botterbrodt time trials at ATCO. That car moves!
Bill Evans attended the Boy Scouts show in Lindenwold and won a trophy! Congratulations!
John DiBlasio’s son has a problem….he wants a C5. But it must be black on black convertible. Happy
hunting!
The NJ Museum is looking for a C6 to display for the month of October.
Dates to remember:
* 10/5/16 – Next business meeting
* 12/9/16 – Christmas Party
* 1/1/17 – New Year’s Brunch
Ron closed the meeting with a joke.
A Motion was made by Dina DiBlasio to end the meeting, a second was made by Bill DiSimone. A vote was
taken and the “ayes” have it.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:12 pm
Happy Halloween!
Corvette Grand Sport Behind the Scene Meeting
Corvette Team Meeting: We explore the history of the
original Grand Sport with the Corvette Team
Originally published by SUPER CHEVY September 2016
submitted by Terry Monroe.
Recently, a phone call came to our office that caught us by surprise. It was Tadge Juechter, Chief Engineer
for Corvette. He had just finished reading our Grand Sport lifestyle story featured in the November 2016
issue. He wanted Vette to provide his Corvette Team with a historical perspective about the five original
Grand Sports featured in our story. He invited us to speak at his Corvette Team Meeting at the GM
Warren Technical Center. They are held quarterly and anyone who is involved in the development of the
Corvette is invited. They meet inside the Vehicle Engineering Center, at the Technical Center campus in
Warren, Michigan. The 2-hour event took place on September 12, 2016. We prepared our presentation,
booked our flights and headed to Warren.
The Technical Center is an imposing complex and the gate guard directed us to the Vehicle Engineering
Center. Shuttle busses take you from the parking lots to the front door. You enter a large lobby where you
sign in and wait while the receptionist covers your cell phone camera and registers your laptop. Next, they
call your contact (Tadge Juechter) to escort you to the meeting. Juechter was very prompt and we
followed him through an electronic rotary door and a hallway that led us to our meeting auditorium. The
large, wide hallway has no windows on either side, just doors to various engineering areas. When we
arrived we were greeted by Barbara Armbruster (Planning & Program Manager-Corvette). Armbruster
added our presentation to the agenda and soon the room was filled with almost 300 Corvette Team
members. While Juechter gave the group a program update, we waited outside.
Juechter then introduced us to the group and we began our 30-minute presentation. Our goal was to give
an overview of the non-racing GM corporate environment in the late-’50s and ’60s. Zora Arkus-Duntov
was a passionate racing advocate who never stopped looking for ways to keep Corvette competitive
without violating the AMA (American Manufacturers Association) non-racing agreement GM had signed.
The Grand Sport was a secret project approved by Bunkie Knudsen, General Manager of Chevrolet. Zora
planned to build 125 “lightweight” (2,000-pound) Grand Sports and sell them to customers to race. They
took the first completed Grand Sport (#001) to Sebring for a secret brake test in December 1962. Word of
the test got back to GM Chairman Fredrick Donner and he quickly ordered Zora to cancel the program.
Zora had enough parts to build five Grand Sports, which he did. We then discussed the racing history of
these five cars and where they are now. Juechter asked for questions and it was obvious that the group
was very interested in the history of these significant Corvettes. We experienced firsthand how dedicated
and enthusiastic these team members are about our beloved Corvette. We are looking forward to seeing
what other nice surprises they have in store for us in the near future.
Our presentation was followed by Ron Kiino who is responsible for Corvette and Camaro Media
activities. Kiino gave an update on the positive reaction the 2017 Grand Sport option is receiving from
the press. Juechter then updated the group on Corvette Racing’s 102nd race win, which drew a big
applause. The final speaker was Mike Simcoe, the new VP of GM Global Design. Simcoe gave an
overview of his background with his vision for the direction of GM design. He complimented the
Corvette Team for their effective design, engineering and customer awareness. The meeting ended and
the team dispersed to continue work on our favorite sports car: the Corvette.
Tadge Juechter, Corvette Chief Engineer (right) invited us to attend his quarterly Corvette Team
Meeting. Our opening presentation photo is in the background.Almost 300 Corvette Team members
attended the meeting. We spent 30 minutes of the 2-hour agenda discussing the 1962-’63 Grand Sport
history and answering questions.
We discussed Zora Arkus-Duntov’s passion for
improving Corvette performance through racing,
including the development of this 1957 Sebring
Corvette SS prototype. Three months after this car
appeared at the 1957 Sebring race, GM signed the
AMA agreement to halt racing.
Zora (left) submitted paperwork
to the FIA in 1962 to build 125
“lightweight” Corvettes to sell
as production cars to avoid the
AMA racing ban. Chevrolet
General Manager Bunkie
Knudsen approved the project
in hopes of beating the Ford
Cobras.
Chassis #001 was completed in November 1962. It is fitted with a stock 327ci/360hp fuelinjected engine.
The first “lightweight” body was added to chassis #001 and shipped to Sebring for brake testing in
December 1962. In January, GM Chairman Fredrick Donner learned about the test and cancelled the
program. Zora had enough parts to build five Grand Sports, which he did.
In late summer 1963, Zora and his team did a major rebuild on Grand Sports #003, #004 and #005.
The work included fender flares, larger wheels and tires and an all-aluminum 377ci/485hp engine. The
cars were sold to 21-year-old Texas millionaire John Mecum’s race team and shipped to Nassau
Bahamas for the November Trophy Race.
Zora converted Grand Sports #001 and #002 into roadsters to race at Daytona. They never raced
there, but Penske Racing entered #001 in the 1966 12 Hours of Sebring. It had a prototype 600hp L88
engine and qualified 21st, but retired after 65 laps.
Collector Harry Yeaggy purchased #001 in 2002 and had it completely restored. It is still part of his
collection in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Bill Tower purchased #005 in 1978 and still owns the car that was driven by Roger Penske and
Jim Hall. Bill lives in Plant City, Florida.
Please remember to patronize our
generous sponsors should you have a
need for one of the services they
provide.
East Coast Supercharging Pete’s Mobile Detailing
Conrad’s Towing
White House Restaurant
A Rose In December
Remax Tri-County—Len Kirkuff
Robert F. Rupinski Esq.
Discount Pools & Supplies
Stan Gregory Esq.
Harriett’s Energy Solutions
The Cobbler Shop
Rick’s Auto Body
Richard Osler DMD
Silhouette Hair Design