Royal Newsletter Sept 2016.pub - Royal Pontiac Club of America

Transcription

www.royalpontiac.org
Volume 23 Issue 2
Sept 2016
RIP Art Fitzpatrick
PCPS Fall Color Tour
Volume 23 Issue 2
Sept 2016
Inside this issue:
Romping on Woodward
By Dr. Eric Schiffer
Romping on Woodward
2– 4
Blackbird Back Story
5
Vintage Article
A Busy Michigan Summer…What a HOT summer this one has been. In spite Route 66 Part 5:
of the blistering heat we had some outstanding events. Kicking off the season Keeping the spirit
were two great Father’s Day Events; Eyes On design and Greenfield Village’s Mo- alive
tor Muster. Every night was cruise-ins throughout the metro Detroit area.
Street Rod Life…Magazine and in their on-line www.Streetlife.com., featured
the Royal Pontiac Club of America. We are in their latest issue Vol. 2, No.3 and
on-line. A big thank you has to be extended to Barry Kluczyk, contributing editor, for doing this article on Ace Wilson’s Royal Pontiac and our club’s tribute to
the dealership and Jim Wangers and all of those unsung heroes that made it happen in the “Club Spotlight” section of Street Rod Life. There are great photos of
Royal Pontiac’s history and our club on Page 61. They sent me several copies to
hand out to members.
Points and Condenser Fall Color Tour… Was another hit. Starting in Ann
Arbor with a great buffet breakfast and ending at RM Motor Sports. The 75 mile
route took us through some of Michigan’s beautiful back roads and small towns.
At the end we were treated to many historic racecars being restored. One was
Jimmy Clark’s Indy winning race car. It was being freshened up to go to Indy for
the Memorial Day 100th running.
Debbie Stabenow was a guest of the host. During the passing out of door prizes
Debbie felt she needed to give us an update of….are you ready for
this....Autonomous cars. No kidding. There were 200 shocked participants at the
event that had just finished DRIVING our cars 75 miles. And she is talking autonomous cars. Not one person applauded. But over 200 People were appalled by
such shameless comments from Debbie Stabenow. Remember who supports
your hobby at the next election. It sure is NOT Debbie Stabenow.
Concours de Elegance of America…At St. John’s can be an enjoyable and
FREE event. Well part of it. I attended the Saturday Cars and Coffee and Collector car seminar. Both events are free. It gives you an opportunity to also see the
Grand Am Project
Update
7-9
10-12
13-15
Membership application
16
Club Calendar
17
Upcoming Events:
Sept 24-25 Nostalgia
Drags Millan Drag way
Oct 2nd Trans Am Series
Celebration Waterford
Hills Raceway
Oct 30 Royal Pontiac Club
cider mill cruise, Franklin
Cider Mill Meet in front of
the old Franklin Church at
11am
Page 3
Royal Pontiac Club of America Fall 2016 Newsletter
Romping on Woodward (cont’d)
Dr. Eric Schiffer
cars going through the auction. If you attend the Cars and Coffee they give you a free coffee mug, coffee
and Danish.
Woodward Dream Cruise Week… A few of the week days were interrupted by rain. Early Thursday
morning Duggan’s Irish Pub hosted WWJ Radio’s business breakfast. It was titled “Designed for Speed.”
Both Jeff Gilbert and John McElroy questioned the automotive panel made up of; Craig Metros, Design Director Ford Motor Company, Thomas Peters, Director Exterior Design GM Performance Car Studio and
Mark Trostle, Head of Dodge and SRT Design FCA. Very informative and the panel fielded questions from
the attendees.
At the end of the breakfast I headed to Pastiener’s to take a few pictures of the classics, Hot Rod, Muscle
cars and “whatevers” went by. Over 1,000 pictures later, I headed to the club meeting at Little Daddy’s.
After a very brief meeting the group headed to the lawns for more viewing up till dark.
Dream Cruise Friday saw some “LEGAL” drag racing on Woodward Ave. A temporary 1/8 mile track was
set up along the fence line of the new M1 Concourse Car Condominium and track. It was limited to 250
Mopars and 100 others. All cars were pre-registered, The Mopars raced for a $19,000 purse divided by
the top spots. A 2,700 HP 1969 Dodge Charger built and driven by Mike Moran took the top Mopar slot.
A high powered 1969 Camaro took the “Others” class.
Dream Cruise day the Royal Pontiac Club parked… in downtown Birmingham on Old Woodward. I
would like to thank all of those members who participated in the Dream Cruise. .One of the Birmingham
volunteers who parked our group came over to me as I parked my GTO on the end spot near Merrill
Street. He talked to me about his days at PMD. He was a Tool and Die guy that worked in the Pontiac
foundry who began in there
late 50’s. He told me that
they used to run high performance parts on the
weekend and then changed
the tooling back for the
regular part runs on Monday. Now this was interesting. You just never know
who you bump into. There
was another volunteer that
was working along side of
him in Birmingham who
had also worked at PMD
back in the golden years
who could NOT believe
the B.S. surrounding the
Glass encased gold 1967
Camaro with
Page 4
Romping on Woodward (cont’d)
Dr. Eric Schiffer
VIN 0001 6 Cly Power glide being called a Pilot – Prototype Camaro up the street from us at the Chevy
display. Talk about P.T. Barnum!
The Dream Cruise participation in general seemed to be less then in past years. Out of state plates also
seemed a lot less.
M1 Concourse… Brad Oleshanski has really making headway with his car condos and racetrack in Pontiac. As I stated, M1 sponsored the Woodward Drag Racing along with Dodge Division of FCA and Hot Rod
Magazine’s Road Kill group. June 18 was an open house Saturday morning cars and Coffee. Subsequent Saturday cars and coffee have been sponsored by Car and Driver and Road and Track magazines.
SEMA ALERT… The EPA Update Let me reminded you what is occurring. The Obama EPA is pressing
to put the automotive aftermarket out of business through their latest 1,000 page regulations. Several Sates
filed lawsuits along with several US industries including the coal industry and aftermarket auto industry. The
Supreme Court remanded it immediately to a lower Federal Court to put a stay on any implementation of
these rules. The US House and Senate took up hearing immediately, but the White House is still trying to
do an “end around,” (possibly through “executive order). The US House passed a bill to remove the reference of “Race Car” modification of a normal street car. The EPA was considering a simple after market
K&N filter or a Borla type exhaust a “Race Car” modification to be illegal.
The bill has been passed onto the Senate where Michigan Senator Gary Peters is supporting the bill. As recent as August 30th, I received a phone call from the SEMA offices in D.C. regarding Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow who refuses to support this bill. We are talking a large automotive market and 10’s of thousands of jobs lost if not passed.
Auto Zone gatherings… Speaking of Pastiener’s, the gatherings continue through the winter months
from 8:00 – 10:00a.m. in Birmingham. People like Jay Wenzel, retired PMD Chief Engineer and then Saturn
Chief Engineer. Lots to talk about here.
Well, time to burn rubber
Eric
Page 5
Blackbird Back Story
Dr. Eric Schiffer
This is a picture of Tony Kneiper's
brothers Pat (on left) and Mike (on
right) at the Dream Cruise. Tony
worked for Stan Long Pontiac and
was the Pontiac racer who was leading the National Points for his class in
1968 with a 1967 Firebird 400. In
June 1968 Tony and another brother,
Frank, died in an auto accident while
trailer the 'Bird after winning an event
in Wisconsin. A third brother survived
the crash. (there were 9 Knieper
brothers)
Mike ordered MY Black 1968 Firebird in October/November 1967 after getting out of the service
from Stan Long Pontiac. The car was modified immediately after being delivery. Mike sold the
"Black Bird" to Jim Wangers in 1970 thinking he was selling it to John Politzer. John merely set
up the deal.
Pat had also ordered a 1968 Firebird 400. But his was ordered in April/ May and received the
new round port 400 Ram Air II. Pat's car was to replace Tony’s race car.
Page 6
RoyalSeries
Pontiac Club Celebration
of America Fall 2016 Newsletter
Trans Am
Sunday Oct 2nd, 2016 during the SAAC-MCR Harvest Happening
at Waterford Hills Raceway, Clarkston MI
Open to all Pony Cars from 1964-1978
Have you ever wanted to take your pony car out to the track? Come participate in the excitement that defined the Trans-Am series in
a controlled safe environment. The Shelby American Automobile Club—Motor City Region (SAAC-MCR) offers an opportunity at The
Waterford Hills Road Racing course, on Sunday, Oct 2nd 2016. We offer two chances to enjoy your classic on the track.
We will line up at noon for a Le Mans style start, then take to the track for two parade and then some touring laps. Parade laps run
slow and the cars will be close together for some great photo ops (see above!). Touring laps run a little faster and more spread out
than parade laps. This lets you enjoy your car’s handling and gives you a feel for the track. The parade and touring laps are free!
Then you have the opportunity to do some hot laps in your vintage car. Remember, you don’t need to participate in the hot laps unless you want to.
Immediately following the touring laps we will run a 15 minute hot session for the Trans Am cars only, if you would like to run your car
at a quicker pace. This session is run in the typical open track format (controlled passing). Tech inspection, helmet, etc is required to
take part in the hot laps. More info at:
http://www.motorsportreg.com/events/otd-saac-mcr-harvest-happening-waterford-hills-motor-city-797034#.V89UcTVWeBZ
If you are already participating in the open track day this session is free. If you would like to participate in the Trans Am “Hot” laps
without participating in the regular track event, the cost is $50.
So bring out your Mustang, Firebird, Camaro, Javelin, Cuda or Challenger for a great time! Sunday October 2nd at Waterford Hills
Raceway 4770 Waterford Rd Clarkston, MI 48346
For questions about the event, contact: Mike Nyberg at [email protected] OR Mike Kidd at [email protected]
Page 7
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Day 5 & 6: Keeping the Route 66 Spirit Alive
By Linda Kidd
We wake up in Springfield, Illinois and check weather and road conditions in St. Louis, MO. Storms
left behind a lot of water and temperatures in the 80s. We decide to return to Pontiac, Illinois for a behind
the scenes and garage tour of the Pontiac Oakland Museum.
On the way we see some of the Route 66 road attractions. A giant Conestoga wagon stands in a
parking lot. Abe Lincoln is in the driver’s seat reading a huge law book. The attraction honors his memory
as a rail splitter and traveling circuit court lawyer. In another town we find Paul Bunyan eating a huge hot
dog. While taking pictures here we run into four motorcyclists stopping to do the same thing. These tourists rented motorcycles in New York to travel for three weeks through the United States. The visitors are
from France and are impressed by the friendliness of Americans and our wonderful country. It is refreshing
to hear about our country from the perspectives of others. We all leave with bright smiles and warm
hearts.
Page 11
Day 5 & 6: Keeping the Route 66 Spirit Alive (cont’d)
By Linda Kidd
While trying to find Deadman’s Curve on
Route 66 we find a detour that leads us to a Maple Syrup stop. It appeared to be closed perhaps
because they were out of syrup or because of
the detour confusing traffic. By this time Mike
needs more gas. We end up in the same gas station we found during our travel through heavy
rains. Remember we became separated by sev-
eral roads and highway exits when Mike took shelter under a building awning. Aleta and I did not see him turn
off to get the Grand Am out of the rain, causing a bit of
confusion and navigating to get back together.
Back in Pontiac we get our tour of the museum’s
upstairs and downstairs rooms filled with amazing collections of models, advertising, books, oil cans and all things
automotive. The best part was yet to come as we visited
off site garages with cars in different stages of restoration. There was a room with theme painted cars and
hoods. The painter also designs art and clothing visible
with special lights. Michael finds a NOS hood to fit his
Page 12
Day 5 & 6: Keeping the Route 66 Spirit Alive (cont’d)
By Linda Kidd
Grand Am and makes arrangements to pick it
up in Michigan. Talk about a special souvenir.
The next day we visit South Bend, Indiana where we meet Mike Sr. and Helen our
17 year old granddaughter. We visit the Studebaker Museum together. Everyone enjoys
the cars on all three levels. Several of the
cars are on loan from private owners like Jay
Leno. There was a special Abraham Lincoln
exhibit. We were able to travel back into
Michigan stopping in Saugatuck for
sodas, shopping, and the Saugatuck
Brewery. There was something for
everyone every step of the way. I am
happy to say that I enjoyed seeing at
least part of Route 66 from the front
seat this time.
All of us managed to fly out to
Los Angeles at different times to see
the end of Route 66. In a couple years we plan to travel another section of the Mother
Road. Maybe we will see you
along the way.
End
Page 13
1973 Grand Am Project Update
Mike Kidd
Well its been awhile since my last update on the Grand Am project, so I thought (since I needed an article) I would
update you on my progress. I have continued to modify things to my liking, and am close to getting what I consider
my ideal Grand Am. So see below for about a years worth of projects.
Nasa hood (NACA ducts):
I always liked the Pontiac NASA hood, and wished my GA had this option. During our route 66 trip, I was
lucky enough to run across an NOS hood. Tim Dye from the Pontiac Oakland Museum mentioned he had
the hood, and we agreed a price. He was even nice enough to deliver it to last years motor city roundup
(POCI) at Baker’s in Milford. Now that the hood was home, I had to get it fitted/painted. A trip to auto collision solutions in Oxford got the ball rolling. The paint match ended up being a lot more involved than
planned. They ended up needing to call in their local BASF rep to trial a couple spray outs, checking the color in and out of sunlight. The match looks spot on, so I think well worth the effort. As with most projects,
the scope seems to grow some from the original. I was able to locate some used scoops on eBay, and painted them in flat black. Not satisfied with the durability of the finish I had the shop spray a higher gloss on
the scoops as well as the underside of the hood. I was really happy with the result, and the hood even
made it in time for the dream cruise. For a future project I plan to make the scoops functional.
Page 14
1973 Grand Am Project Update (cont’d)
Mike Kidd
Rear Bumper:
While the bumper on my GA was in acceptable condition, I really disliked the bumper guards. I thought they
took away from the smooth flowing line from the quarters, with an awkward vertical line. While I discovered you can just pull the bumper guards off, (the bumpers seem to be common) the rubber strip has a large
hole where the guards attach. Finding a nice rubber strip for this bumper seemed impossible. After a lot of
searching Craig's list I found a nice bumper in CA, that said local pick up only. After exchanging several
emails with a loyal Pontiac fan, he agreed to fed ex the bumper to me. My mom and dad came to visit on
New Year’s Eve and I enlisted their help to get the new/old bumper on.
Exhaust Tips:
While the exhaust sounded fine through the
dual tips, they were just plain steel turndowns. I always thought the factory exhaust
tips on these cars looked great and complimented the cars lines, with their slash cut
and exit out the rear of the car. Well inline
tube makes polished stainless reproduction
tips, they even offer an oversized version to
fit more modern exhaust systems. A local
muffler man did a nice job welding the tips
on.
Page 15
1973 Grand Am Project Update (cont’d)
Mike Kidd
Holley Carb(s):
While I did considerable work to the factory Quadrajet, I was having trouble keeping the fuel bowl filled at
the end of the 1/4 mile. This was resulting in fair ET’s but low mph, i.e. 14.08 @ 96 mph. I was actually very
satisfied with the full throttle and transition of the carb (after some advice and parts from Cliff Ruggles), the
car would just lay down at the end of the track. Going to WOT in a highway situation was far different, the
large secondary's would open and the car would leap forward. So I decided to trial a Holley on the GA. I
found an 870 avenger on EBay and did another test and tune a Lapeer drag way. The result was immediate,
13.8’s @ 100 mph, and 13.6’s with drag radials on.
Now I was very pleased with the drag strip performance, but the highway performance wasn’t as nice as with
the Quadrajet. Once the secondary’s were open it would really move, but the delay was noticeable. Even
with the lightest spring the engine still seemed to want more. It seemed by the time the secondary’s were
fully open, I would need to shift (~5200 RPM) Feeling mechanical secondary’s would solve this issue I found a
nice used 800 double pumper with an electric choke (again on EBay). After some accelerator pump tuning,
the car now feels VERY responsive around town. Another trip to Lapeer drag way showed a surprising result. My best on drag radials dropped to 13.30 at 103.3 mph! More than I had hoped for, as I expected to
gain some, but was quite surprised by the 3 MPH gain. Pretty decent for a porky 70’s A-body with 3.08 gears.
The best part was I was able to sell the Vac secondary Holley for nearly the same price I paid for the double
pumper, so almost
free horsepower!
OK, that ignores
shipping, fuel line,
incidentals, the valve
covers I bought
while perusing EBay,
but that’s what I told
Aleta.
End
Page 16
Sept 2016
Primary Business
Royal Pontiac
Club of America
Address
P.O. Box 252402
West
Bloomfield,Line
MI 48325
Address
2
Address Line 3
8 Royal Pontiac Club meeting, Leo's Coney Island on Grand River
west of Beck Rd Dinner at 6, meeting at 7
24-25 Nostalgia Drags Milan Drag way
Oct 2016
2 Trans Am Series Celebration Waterford Hills
http://www.royalpontiac.org/pdffiles/2016%20Fantasy%20Trans-Am%20Flyer.pdf
30 Royal Pontiac Club Cider Mill cruise, Franklin Cider Mill meet at
11am in front of the old Franklin Chruch
Nov 2016
9 DTS Test & Tune Milan Drag way last event of season
Pasteiners (Auto Zone) Book store,
Woodward Ave north of 14 Mile Rd
Every Saturday morning from 8AM – 10AM
Weekly gathering year round
Link to pics from previous events:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/108906868@N03/sets/
Looking for Articles!!!
Have you done any cool car events lately? Maybe a great tech tip? Why not share them with other club members?
Would you like to share your pride and joy with other club members? Write a short “meet the member” article introducing you and your car. Be sure to include some pictures. We can also add pics of your ride to our “members”
tab on the website.
Please email Mike Kidd with ideas or anything you’d like to share in the newsletter. [email protected]

Royal Newsletter Sept 2016.pub - Royal Pontiac Club of America

Transcription

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