Hail From the Chief

By Brian Novak

Hello all, I see signs of spring out there (still a little snow falling though) and it is getting time to dust those 'Vettes off!  Connie Lamprecht has already activated the calling tree and they are all ready to start notifying us of those great drives!  Be sure to pass on to Ron Bone and the events committee any ideas you have for fun adventures.

The Sweetheart Brunch was held at The Cellar in Idaho Falls this year and we had a great turnout.  The Cellar opened up for us special and we had the whole place to ourselves!  Omelet bar, pork loin, very nice buffet...wow it was really good (at least the little bit I could eat :).  We had over 30 people present and it seemed they all enjoyed the get-together.  One thing that did come up was the City of West Yellowstone is putting on a weekend event to attract Corvettes (the same weekend as when the Wild West Vette Fest would be) and is looking for some help.  Please see me if you are interested.

Next month, we will meet at the Five and Diner at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 22.  Have fun in the meantime and happy 'Vetting!

Minutes of the February Meeting

by Egon Lamprecht

This was the annual valentine meeting held every year for club members. Thirtythree members and guests attended this year’s meeting. The meeting was held at The Cellar in Ammon.

Wow what a brunch. There were biscuits and gravy, fresh fruit, pork loin, all kinds of omelets, and everything else to suite your taste. After everyone had a full tummy and were in a good mood, President Brian Novak called the meeting to order.

 He introduced a potential new member Bill Steinke. He has a blue ‘74.

 Brian asked for volunteers to run the calling tree. This is most valuable tool for the club to get the word out between meetings. Peggy Bone, Dana Madsen and Trish Bargman volunteered.

 Next order of business mentioned by Brian was that he had been informed that the City of West Yellowstone is interested in sponsoring a simpler Corvette show in late August. It would consist of a few tours through Yellowstone Park, and other areas. Possibly a show and shine in the city park. However, neither poker runs nor Auto Cross would be in the plan.

Jim Hobbs, Tim Hobley, and Bill Madsen.will drive up to West Yellowstone to talk to the Chamber of Commerce and report back at the next meeting.

 An idea was discussed of having weekend meetings instead of mid-week meetings. Dennis Peterson suggested having weekend meetings earlier in the day, like say 5 p.m. A show of hands indicated some liked the idea, some not.

 Mike Pincock took the floor with the following information: Brian’s Tire Factory in Pocatello would be willing to put club members Corvettes on its chassis dyno machine if enough drivers sign up.

 That being all the business, Brian said the next meeting would be announced in the March newsletter -- probably late March at the Five and Diner.

Did You Know

By Egon Lamprecht

This time we will discuss a subject that all members have an opinion on -- motor oils. One type is just good ol’ standard HD motor oil and the other is synthetic, like Mobil One.

We all know the general likes us to use Mobil One in our Corvettes. He has set up the computer in your Vette to get the most out of Mobil One.  Mobil Oil Company now has added an extra long lifeline of oils. While this maybe is ok, it is not programmed into your car computer, so, checking with GM, they do not recommend those. GM says stay with Mobile One.

The computer somehow knows your driving habits (Richard Moore might know about the computer thing) and adjusts the change time recommendation. Using Mobil One, I would say for the average driver once a year oil change will be ok.

If you don’t have a shop and do your own work, I have checked with two places that do oil changes, and here is what I learned.

Wright Oil & Tire on north Holms in Idaho Falls said they would charge for $56.95 with a fill of Mobil One and a Mobil filter. I then checked at Wal-Mart in Ammon and they quoted $36.97 that included five quarts (you need six I think), oil filter (they did not say the brand), and a chassis lubrication, whatever that includes.

Also at Wal-Mart, Mobil One is $5.52 a quart. You can to save a buck by buying a five-quart jug of Mobil One for $20.87 -- a better buy. Buy the way, 5-30 is the recommend weight.

 For your daily driver, in my opinion, a good grade of standard 10-30 and a good filter should be fine. If you want to use Mobil One in all your vehicles, that is just great also.

Simple Fix

This seems like something everyone should know about!

 Locked your keys in your car?  Did you know if you lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, you can call someone on your (or someone else's) cell phone, hold the cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the other person at home press the unlock button of your spare key fob (clicker) holding it near the phone on their end.

Your car doors will magically unlock! Distance is no object -- you could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has another "Remote" for your car, you can unlock the car doors (or the trunk!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

March

Mary Kay Bennett 5

Mike Pincock 9

Peggy Bone 12

Ken Olsen 14

Dick Bargman, Ken Bishop 16

Beth Campbell 25

Judy Hobbs 26

Dennis Fikstad 28

Pat Staffon 29

CORVETTE C6.R ENGINE: STATE-OF-THE-ART SMALL-BLOCK V-8

The roots of the GM family tree of V-8 engines reach to the fabled small-block V-8 that was introduced in 1955. The current small-block V-8 shares virtually no components with the original design, yet it retains the longstanding virtues of compact size, simplicity, reliability, and high specific output that have made the small-block V-8 the world’s most successful production-based racing engine. When the production LS1, the first of GM’s new-generation small-block V-8s, debuted in the fifth-generation Corvette in 1997, it provided a foundation for the Corvette Racing engine program.