Hail from the Chief
By Lynn McKinlay
Dinner at the Texas Roadhouse was good, and the
company was great.
The meeting was short, but to the point.
Since the last newsletter, and an e-mail I sent to each club member, I have
had two members let me know they would like to go to Mountain
River Ranch this December. It must be an indication of the
season, economic uncertainty, and busy schedules. Betty and I have had our
schedules altered and will not be able to attend either. So under the
circumstances I have canceled the reservation at Mountain River
Ranch in my name for the Corvettes of Southeast Idaho. If someone
would like to pick this ball up and run with it let me know.
Brian Novak will be our nominating committee with the help of one other.
His helper has not been contacted or consented to help, so I cannot release
the name yet.
"The proper study of mankind is man."
Alexander Pope
Essay on Man, 1734
That is all from the Bald Eagle at this time. Happy motoring or should I
say skiing?
Minutes from the October
Meeting
By Lynn McKinlay
For Betty McKinlay
Lynn called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. There were 40 members present.
Randy was going to read a letter from D.A.R.E. It was not very quiet so the
letter was passed around. It was a letter from Officer Kevin Pettingill thanking
the Corvettes of Southeast Idaho for the support given to the
Dress for Success Program.
The Nominating committee will meet at the Armstrong's October 25, 2001.
In appreciation to our Trail Boss, Brian Novak made a T-shirt presentation
to Ferrell Davidson.
| Tim Walsh | 11 |
| Adam Taylor | 19 |
Did You Know
By Egon
Egon is on his soapbox again! Nothing much new to tell you, except to warn
you about what I ran into this past month. First. I took Connie's Vette in
to a tire shop for wheel rotation (makes tires last longer). I got "super
wrench" aside and told him, "now torque the wheel nuts to 85 ft lbs, no more.
Ok?" Off he goes to do the tire work, thinking, "Why doesn't that senior
go to an AARP meeting and leave me alone." Thirty minutes later the car is
ready to go. I come home and think, I better check the workmanship out. I
get out the torque wrench and loosen the lug nuts to reset at 85 lbs. Some
took over 160 lbs to break loose. Now it's important to note that the GM
lug wrench supplied with the Vette would never have loosened the nuts out
on the road some place. So the warning is, stand over Mr. Super Wrench when
he works on your car, or re-check his work yourself.
Second point: Again it was time for Connie's Vette to have its annual engine
physical. The computer printout the garage gave me indicated five items were
not correct. The note on sheet said, "After repairs, expect improved idle
condition, drivability, and performance". Wow, I didn't know Connie's favorite
car was so bad off. Checking back at the tune-up shop for answers, I got
this, "Oh our machine was out of calibration". A later check showed nothing
wrong. So warning #2, be sure you get the correct results on repairs -- and
reports.
Ok I now step off the soapbox FOR NOW.
Well cool days and colder nights means the fun Vette season will soon come to an end. Most do not drive the "toys" during winter, but store them until the first sign of spring. I have a few thoughts about the storage thing. Remember these ideas are mine and you may or may not agree with them.
We will use Connie's Vette for an example.
1. Park it with a full tank of fuel. Since we got rid of the leaded fuel,
fuel seems to last much longer without going bad. You use your own judgment
as to adding a fuel preserver to the tank. I also change the oil to get rid
of the used contaminated oil.
2. Check the tire pressure. Some people like to jack the car up to take weight
off the tires. I must be lazy because I don't do that, but I have never had
a problem.
3. Wash the car to get the road "stuff" off the paint. Don't forget to wash
under the fenders. (I know the body won't rust but do it anyway.)
4. Now comes the biggy. As a former fireman, I believe in fire safety.
I disconnect the negative cable from the battery. If you think the vehicle
computer will be damaged, I have checked with an auto expert, and he says
no damage is done. It will mess up the radio preset stations and the clock,
but that's about it. If left connected, it will drain the battery during
the winter unless you re-charge it a couple times while in storage.
5. Here's an item that is controversial: do you run the engine, say monthly,
or just let it set. Marvin Bennett runs his monthly; Egon does not. The plus
is that the seals get re-lubed, and battery gets recharged. The negative
is, if not run long enough, the mufflers fill with water, and the oil get
moisture in it. Do what you want.
6. Leave the windows down just a little, and the doors open to the first
click. This gives the rubber door seal gaskets some wiggle room.
Ok I'm off my soapbox AGAIN. Have a fun winter doing other things besides
Corvetting.
Letters to the Club
Thanks for all the support the past two years all Vette owners for you business
and interest in the chassis dyno. I have moved the dyno to a new facility
in Meridian:
Meridian Motorsports
521 East King Street
Meridian Business Park
208-887-2058
Come and Check it out; it's looking awesome. Thanks and see you there.
Dyno Doug
Dear Friend,
My name is Steve Wallack. My wife and I started a new business a couple of
months ago called Creations On Wood. I am sending
you this email for two reasons. The first is to offer you an opportunity
to look at our product that I am sure you will find very unique. As far as
I know, we are the only ones to have a product like it. Below you will find
an example of our work. What we do is actually take a picture of a car and
print it on wood. Please take a look at our website at:
www.creationsonwood.com We do more than
just cars but have found through doing car shows that people really like
our product. My goal through this promotion is to show car clubs our product
by offering you a 50% discount on a plaque of your
car. This discount is only good toward the purchase of one plaque for
the person receiving this email. We believe that you will share
our product with others in your club, which will make up for the discount
we are giving you. This product is like none that you have seen before. Usually
when you go to a car show they will stick an actual photograph of your car
on a wood plaque, but we actually print your car on the wood plaque. The
second reason for my sending you this email is to ask you, if your car club
has a website, would you be interested in exchanging links. I will put your
site on my links page if you will do the same. Another benefit for adding
our link to your website and sharing our product with your other club
members is that for every order we receive we will donate 5% to
your car club or favorite charity. If this would interest you please
respond to this email. Thank you very much for looking at our product. If
you are interested in the plaque at 50% off, please email or call us at
304-760-1111.
Sincerely,
Steve & Kim Wallack
Creations On Wood
Calendar of Events for 2001
November
Scotty's
8 Johnny Carinos -- Business Mtg. - 7:00 p.m.
Scotty's
December
See "Hail from the Chief" above
January Elections --Business Mtg.
A Labor of Love
In July of 1999 Steve and Karen Hansen rolled an ugly hulk of a '57 Corvette
they had just purchased off a trailer onto their driveway and wondered, "What
have we done!" The car had no chrome or hinges. The doors, hood, and trunk
were duct taped to the body! The front-end running gear, engine, and transmission
were worthless. It was obvious the car had been used as a donor for restoration
of another '57.
Two year later Steve and Karen entered that same car in four shows and took
five awards. "It wasn't easy," says Steve. "There were too many eight-hour
efforts (after work) for too many days in a row. The day before the Brigham
City show we worked until 4 in the morning finishing up!"
"I chased parts for months, buying through the mail and at swap meets in
seven or eight states," Steve painfully remembers. "Parts for a '57 are scarce,
and not cheap! The grill alone cost $1300. I worked for months to get a grill,
and then received two in the mail the same day!"
The car came with a couple boxes of parts, most of which Steve couldn't figure
out what they were or where they went. "We had to buy an assembly manual
to help us through the puzzle," says Steve. "We did find the original convertible
top frame, which we were happy about because top frames are very expensive."
"It would probably have been easier and cheaper to buy a kit car, but we
wanted the real thing and this car came with a clean title. We bought the
car sight-unseen. It was advertised on a poster no pictures
at the Logan Cruise-In. I had a friend in Salt Lake City, where the car was
located, look at it for me. I negotiated as part of the deal that it would
be delivered to my home in Idaho Falls." Steve says his friend Jim did most
of the mechanical work and his brother Dave did most of the bodywork.
The car has a Mustang II rack and pinion, a four-link rear suspension, and
disc brakes all around. The wheelbase was extended two inches to improve
the ride. A new four-bolt- main 350 engine and TH 350 automatic transmission
were added.
Steve says the restoration accounted for about 75% of the total cost. "It
was a long two years of effort, but it's been worth it. It was fun and it
gives us a real feeling of accomplishment. We bought the car for each other
as a 30th wedding anniversary present. So it's been a labor of
love."