CCRuisin’ Official Newsletter of the Corvette Club of Richmond January 2020 inside this issue: President’s Letter 2 Calendar of Events 3 2020 Officers 3 Meeting Place 4 NCM Ambassador 5,6 New Members 7 Winners! 8 Birthdays 9 Event Recaps 10 Upcoming Events 11 What's in Your Garage 12 Tech Tips 13,14 The CCR Store 15-18 Corvette Comics 19 Corvette Club of Richmond Celebrating 60 Years of fun, food and Fellowship Raise a toast to the best Corvette Club in the World
Transcript
CCRuisin’ Official Newsletter of the Corvette Club of Richmond
January 2020
inside this issue:
President’s Letter 2
Calendar of Events 3
2020 Officers 3
Meeting Place 4
NCM Ambassador 5,6
New Members 7
Winners! 8
Birthdays 9
Event Recaps 10
Upcoming Events 11
What's in Your Garage 12
Tech Tips 13,14
The CCR Store 15-18
Corvette Comics 19
Corvette Club of Richmond
Celebrating 60 Years of fun, food and Fellowship
Raise a toast to the best Corvette Club in the
World
A Message from the President
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Dear Fellow CCR Members,
I am honored and excited for returning another year as your Club
President. We have another great elected board for 2020 and a great
support team. I am proud to serve with the following officers:
Vice President Walter Johnson
Treasurer Paul Murman
Recording Secretary Noël Woodward
Corresponding Secretary Peggy Malory
Historian David Dolan
Sergeant-At-Arms Bob Darling
Webmaster Penny Johnson
Newsletter Editor Mike Todd
These people need to be thanked and given your support for their help and time.
This is going to be a tough year, but it will be great. Last year we did more events than in many years.
Hope we can keep it up with a lot of food, fun and fellowship.
Our Round-up is slated for June 6, 2020. With this being our 60th Anniversary, I hope it will be great
and will again be held at Colonial Chevrolet. We will need a lot of help.
Our First General Membership Meeting will be January 10, 2020, 7:30 pm at Grace Lutheran Church,
13028 Harrowgate Road, Chester, Virginia 23831. Hope to see you there! Our after-meeting social will
be at Antonio's in Chester. Eight dollars each or fifteen dollars a couple. Where can you eat that cheap,
Pizza and salad and soft drinks.
Call me, 804-356-8731, or email me, [email protected] if you need me or have any questions
or concerns.
Best Wishes, Happy New Year and Remember to Save the Wave. Life is a highway of many roads. It is
the road you choose to follow, and I am looking forward to driving my Corvettes with my best friends.
Your CCR President,
Bubba Carr
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20
Eve
nts
Cal
end
ar:
Jan. 10, 2020 Membership Meeting (Southside)
After Meeting Social: Antonio's
Feb. 14, 2020 Membership Meeting (Southside)
After Meeting Social: TBD
*For event details, please see the website, www.corvetteclubofrichmond.com
Officers for 2020 PRESIDENT Bubba Carr (804) 356-8731 VICE PRESIDENT Walter Johnson (804) 737-5685
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY Peggy Maloy (804) 794-4002 SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Bob Darling (804) 389-1380 HISTORIAN David Dolan (804) 346-5266 WEBMASTER Penny Johnson (804) 737-5685 EVENTS COORDINATOR Belinda Darling (804) 389-4865
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January Meeting
Friday, January 10, 2020 at our Southside Location
Our next General Membership meeting will take place at 7:30 PM at
the Grace Lutheran Church, 13028 Harrowgate Rd, Chester, VA 23831.
There is plenty of available parking. Come early to visit in the parking
lot with fellow members and guest.
Directions:
From Rt. 288, take the VA-145/Chester Road exit toward Chester
Turn right onto VA-145 W/Chester Road (signs for VA 145 W)
Turn right onto West Hundred Road
Turn left onto Harrogate Road
Destination will be down the road about 2 miles on the right
After Meeting Social: The after meeting social will be at Antonio's. Directions will be pro-
vided at the meeting.
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Revs & Rumbles @ the NCM by Barry Roper, NCM Ambassador / Lifetime Member #2415
Happy New Year, CCR! As we greet 2020, we need also to congratulate ourselves as we initi-ate twelve celebratory months in recognition of the Corvette Club of Richmond's 60th Anniver-sary Year! We are thankful to all of our mem-bers, past and current, who have sustained this organization for an enviable six decades. Our iconic Corvette has been a symbol of style, per-formance, and lust since its inauguration in 1953. However, only by the inter-est, commitment, and enthusiasm generated by the Corvette Faithful (who populate clubs such as ours) has the brand enjoyed such longevity. Eight gen-erations of the vehicle now hold testimony to its popularity as America's Sports Car. Undeniable also is that the eighth iteration will remain a recurring and dominant topic during this first year of the new decade.
Incidental to this surge of interest in the 8th generation's first mid-engine Corvette, the National Corvette Museum held its third annual Ambassadors Convention at the NCM November 5th-6th. While there has traditionally been a breakfast with information updates provided to the Club Ambassadors dur-ing each August NCM Anniversary Celebration, beginning with 2017, a two day Convention has been created for Ambassa-
dors in early November. Though Karen and I attended the breakfast update during the 25th NCM Anniversary this year, we were also present for the Con-vention in Bowling Green two months ago. These events are intended to bol-ster enthusiasm for current and upcoming programs and events while pro-moting camaraderie and information exchange among the Ambassadors.
There were forty attendees representing at least thirty Corvette clubs from across the country. We were treated to breakfasts and lunches on site both to keep costs down and also to minimize lost presentation time. Multiple NCM staff members provided insights into their areas of Museum operation.
Details of both problems and solutions were discussed by department heads to include the Corvette Store, the Corvette Cafe, the R8C program providing Mu-seum delivery of new Corvettes, the maintenance and preservation of Cor-vettes owned and on loan, the MotoSports Park located across I-65, the Cor-vette raffles, and accommodation of group, Club, and special event tours. Oth-er topics were financial with regard to the challenges specific to 501c3 organi-zations and fund raising. We were fortunate to hear from departing Director Wendell Strode detailing the NCM's early years and we were fascinated by re-marks from the deputy director of the Corvette Assembly Plant, Nora Roper (middle of the photo dressed in black and gray). Sadly we don't seem to be di-rectly related but we can't wait until plant tours resume!
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Welcome new Members !!!
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Becoming a Member of the CCR In 1960, a small group of Corvette enthusiasts began to gather on a regular basis for fun and fellowship. The first official meeting took place in July 1961. CCR is the oldest Corvette club in Virginia with a membership approaching 400. To be eligible for regular membership, you must be a person of good character and own a Corvette. You must attend at least one meeting or event. If you don’t own a Corvette, an “associate membership” is available. Associates can participate in all events and functions but have no voting rights. You’ll make good friends, have fun and learn more about Corvettes. Club meetings are at 7:30 p.m. on the second Friday of each month. After the meetings, there is a social where you can enjoy socializing with other club members. Annual dues are $25 for pilots or $35 for both the pilot and co-pilot (includes spouse or significant other). A membership applica-tion can be found on the CCR website: www.corvetteclubofrichmond.com.
Happy Birthday to those members celebrating birthdays. May there be a shiny,
new surprise in your driveway.
December Birthday's
Gary Butler 12/01
Joseph Childress 12/02
Connie Walker 12/02
Paul Dugent 12/03
Penny Johnson 12/03
Bernard “BJ” Sprouse 12/03
Heidi Hrobuchak 12/06
Bonnie Elinskas 12/07
Angie Dowdy 12/08
Joe Morris 12/10
Judy Anderson 12/14
Warren Farrar 12/14
Priscilla Kaufmann 12/20
Albert Vincent 12/20
Noel Woodward 12/20
Bubba Carr 12/21
Vincent Charity, Sr. 12/24
Alisanne Clifton 12/24
Lorna King 12/24
Erin Glenn 12/25
Shirley Bridgewater 12/26
Susan Morris 12/26
John Callis 12/27
Connie Pollard 12/27
Alice Rice 12/29
Januarys’ Birthday’s
Jim Chesser 1/03
Stacy Harper 1/03
Sue Ann Bickert 1/05
Jack Marshall 1/07
Mike Douberly 1/08
Kathy Phelps 1/08
Jim Cheek 1/11
Cindy Ann Beeson 1/24
David Glazier 1/26
Margaret Wilson 1/28
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Event Re-Cap Christmas Dance
The annual Corvette Club of Richmond Christmas Dance was held on December 7th at the Meadowbrook Country Club with music provided by the River City Party Band.
By all accounts the event was a great success.
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Visit CCR on Facebook for many more Pictures
UPCOMING EVENT
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No Events, other than the regular Monthly Meeting,
have been scheduled at this time. But this will be a
busy year. We are just beginning. Stay tuned there
are GREAT events coming.
What’s in Your Garage Story's from our Member’s
Sorry. Nothing to share this month!!!
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Super Chevy Tech Tips
Working on and maintaining your Corvette is supposed to be fun, but there are times when you run into a mechanical brick wall that seems almost insurmountable. Sure, you can throw $100 bills at the Corvette mechanic to overcome the obstacle, but that isn't always necessary. While there is no question that money and preparation are precariously linked on the path to improved Corvette per-formance, in many cases cubic dollars can be supplanted by ingenuity. That's where we step in. We've poked, we've prodded, and we've generally nosed around until we found 101 (First 10 in-cluded this Month) ways to make your Corvette faster, easier to work on, and make the details shine. Some of the ideas we discovered are safety-oriented while others are simply good, old-fashioned "time savers"; but nonetheless, they all make life in the Corvette fast lane a bunch easier. Pick and choose the tips that suit your Corvette. We're positive that you too can work on your pride and joy without breaking the bank! 1. THE BIG SQUEEZE When considering the compression ratio for a new Corvette normally aspirated engine and factor-ing in today's gasoline octane, there are some variables you should consider. Here's the rundown: A higher compression ratio requires higher-octane fuel More spark advance requires higher-octane fuel Lower humidity requires higher- octane fuel Higher altitude allows the use of lower octane Leaning of the air/fuel ratio requires the use of higher octane 2. GETTING TORQUED The folks at NGK point out that torque is one of the most critical aspects of spark-plug installation. Torque directly affects the sparkplug's ability to transfer heat out of the combustion chamber. A sparkplug that's under-torqued will not be fully seated on the cylinder head; hence heat transfer will be slowed. This will tend to elevate combustion-chamber temperatures to unsafe levels, and pre-ignition and detonation will usually follow. Serious engine damage is not far behind. An over-torqued spark plug can suffer from severe stress to the metal shell which in turn can distort the spark plug's inner gas seals or even cause a hairline fracture to the spark plug's insulator. In either case, heat transfer can again be slowed and the above-mentioned conditions can occur. NGK also states that the spark-plug holes must always be cleaned prior to installation; otherwise you may be torqueing against dirt or debris and the spark plug may actually end up under-torqued, even though your torque wrench says otherwise. Of course, you should only install spark plugs in a cool engine, because metal expands when it's hot and installation may prove difficult. 3. DULL DRUMS Plenty of vintage Corvettes are equipped with drum brakes (actually, everything prior to '65, and even a few '65 models), and for the most part, servicing these components is pretty much a no-brainer. One thing to remember, however, is that when you replace the shoes, use a bit of Scotch-Brite to clean the contact points on the wheel backing plates. Next, lube these contact points lightly with white grease. This allows for smooth shoe action. Just be careful not to drop any grease on the shoes. If you do, use some spray-on brake cleaner to clean it. Otherwise, the friction material won't be too happy!
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4. TURKEY TIME If you're encountering a tough brake bleeding operation on one or more of your Corvette calipers, try this: A turkey baster can be used to pump brake fluid into the bleed screw to force the bubbles out of their hiding places. 5. BATTERY BASICS If you're going to store your Corvette for months at a time, disconnect the battery. This will reduce the discharge. On the other hand, you can also charge the battery once every two to four weeks and leave it hooked up. If you have the battery stored and disconnected, a charge every month or two will help keep the self-discharge from draining the battery. Also look for regulated trickle chargers that are designed for this type of application. 6. BROWN OUT If you find brown, foamy residue in the coolant of your Corvette you may have also located a cracked cylinder head, which can cause overheating. Have your radiator pressure checked at your local radiator shop. Pressure loss can cause overheating. Before you start peeling apart the en-gine, give this some consideration: Many times a failed radiator cap is the culprit. A cap that has failed to hold system pressure can cause coolant loss and overheating conditions. 7. TIRE HIEROGLYPHICS The air pressure listed on the sidewall of a tire is not the correct air pressure for your Corvette. The number listed on the sidewall is the maximum air pressure for the tire. Follow Chevrolet's published recommendations. You and your Corvette will be much happier. 8. ROOFER'S FIX Many vintage Corvettes came factory-equipped with Holley carbs (and more than a few other Cor-vettes were retrofitted with Holley's). If the bowl screw on the carb leaks (normally due to a torn gasket), find a common roofing nail. Use the rubber washer from the nail to fix the leak. Problem solved. 9. CYLINDER CONFLAGRATION Is your Corvette misfiring? Are you scratching your head trying to figure out which cylinder is the culprit? If the car is equipped with headers, here's a quick test. With the engine running, squirt a small amount of water on each header tube (close to the exhaust port). On cylinders that are func-tioning properly, you'll see the water evaporate instantly. Not so on the dead cylinder(s). 10. PLUGGED ARTERIES Most cam break-in lubricants are moly-disulfide concoctions. We recommend you use them when installing a new cam in your Corvette. But remember: They can easily plug an oil filter within 20 minutes of operation. When the filter is plugged, it will typically bypass and the result will be copi-ous quantities of dirt inside the engine. After breaking in the camshaft (or a new engine), replace the filter after 20 minutes of running time. It's cheap insurance.
(Additional Tech Tips next Month)
Super Chevy Tech Tips (Cont.)
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The CCR Store
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CORVETTE COMICS
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“Thank You” to our Corporate Sponsors
Zip Liaison:
Ray Wells
(804) 814-0905
Note from the Editor :
Please be mindful of the deadlines we must meet in order to keep the distribution of the newsletter
running smoothly. Please make sure all articles, event recaps, and any other information is sent to
the Newsletter Editor by the 25th of each month to [email protected]
