INSIDE THIS ISSUE MARCH 23, 2014 HELP SHOW OUR PRIDE Page 6 SERIES XXXI • MODEL III MARCH 2014 OUT OF THE GARAGE...INTO THE STREETS! IT’S A WEST, WEST, WEST, WEST... see Page 11 WHAT A “DAY” IT WAS! Page 4 GARAGE TOUR IS COMING Page 9 If your car has any or all of these, then Heaps O’ Fun! is for you. So remove that blanket and show us your best duct-tape job on that frayed mess you call a front seat. Share with us how many ways you can rebadge your car into an ICK-mobile, CateraCTS or even a YOTA. Even if your Mercury Marquis isn’t that Grand or your New Yorker not so new, we want to see it. Heaps has been a club favorite for many years and is a relaxing yet fun-filled low-key event that is all about meeting up with old friends, making some new ones and sharing your vehicle no matter what it is. All cars are welcome! Just don’t forget to pack some sunscreen, for we just might poke a hole in the ozone layer Fun! Rat droppings, blue smoke and rust. Oh My! Heaps By Mark Taylor Continued on page 7
Transcript
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E M A R C H 2 3 , 2 0 1 4
HELP SHOW OUR PRIDE Page 6
S E R I E S X X X I • M O D E L I I I M A R C H 2 0 1 4
O U T O F T H E G A R A G E . . . I N T O T H E S T R E E T S !
IT’S A WEST, WEST, WEST, WEST... see Page 11
WHAT A “DAY” IT WAS! Page 4
GARAGE TOUR IS COMING Page 9 If your car has any or all of these, then Heaps O’ Fun! is for you. So remove that blanket and show us your best duct-tape job on that frayed mess you call a front seat. Share with us how many ways you can rebadge your car into an ICK-mobile, CateraCTS or even a YOTA. Even if your Mercury Marquis isn’t that Grand or your New Yorker not so new, we want to see it.
Heaps has been a club favorite for many years and is a relaxing yet fun-filled low-key event that is all about meeting up with old friends, making some new ones and sharing your vehicle no matter what it is. All cars are welcome! Just don’t forget to pack some sunscreen, for we just might poke a hole in the ozone layer
Club Founders in memoriamTed Davidson andHerb Rothman
W E L C O M E , N E W M E M B E R S !
to join Great autos of yesteryear, please request a membership application from Glenn Gordon, (213) 447-7081, or [email protected]. you can now also apply and pay for your membership online at greatautos.org. dues are $45/year (for both single and couples). When paying by mail, make checks payable in u.s. funds and send to Great autos of yesteryear, p.o. box 70407, pasadena,Ca 91117
THE SOlEnOiD is published monthly by Great autos of yesteryear Car Club, inc. material suitable for publication may be submitted to the editor by the 15th day of the month prior to printing. send to p.o. box 70407, pasadena, Ca 91117. material usage is at the discretion of the editor. please include sase for materials to be returned.
editor ........................................................................................ Chris Green
Contributing Writers ....................................................steven Cidlik, Jay d’angelo, Glenn Gordon, larry salvador, richard st. amant, mark taylor
’14
3031 Seth Ferreira & Chris Blanchard14736 broadway, Whittier, Ca [email protected]
3032 Paul Brieske & Milt Mcmillen2380 verna Ct. palm springs, Ca [email protected] Dodge LaFemme D500 1957 Dodge Custom Royal Convt. 1958 Packard Wagon
3033 Bill Hall7565 hanson dr, oakland, Ca [email protected] Oldsmobile Delmont 88
3034 Jim Greenfield27599 n. Woodland rd. pepper pike, oh [email protected] Audi A5 Cab. 2013 Audi Q5 3.0
3035 Richard Cook & Chris Macaluso3 primrose, aliso viejo, Ca [email protected] Mini Cooper Conv.
3036 Kenneth Bordewick1801 Century park east, suite 1200 los angeles, Ca [email protected] Rolls Royce Phantom 1961 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 1923 Rolls Royce Ghost
mar 2 (sun) — pomona swap meet
Mar 5 (Wed) — Palm Springs cruise night at Sonic Burger (pg. 10)
Mar 9 (Sun) — l.A. West Breakfast Cruise at Mels Diner (pg. 10)
Mar 12 (Wed) — San Diego Dinner Cruise at O’s American Kitchen (pg. 10)
Mar 12 (Wed) — S.F. Valley Dinner Cruise at The Magnolia Grill (pg. 10)
Mar 15 (Sun) — O.C. Breakfast Cruise at Katella Grille (pg. 10)
Mar 23 (Sun) — Heaps of Fun (pg. 1)
Mar 29 (Wed) — Palm Springs Coffee at Koffi (pg. 10)
Apr 2 (Wed) — long Beach Cruise night at City Mex Grill (pg. 10)
Apr 12 (Sat) — Palm Springs Garage Tour (pg. 11)
Apr 16 (Wed) — long Beach Cruise night at City Mex Grill (pg. 10)
Apr 30 (Wed) — long Beach Cruise night at City Mex Grill (pg. 10)
May 17 (Sat) — Test Ride V (pg. 6)
Jul 10-13 — West Coast Meet in San luis Obispo (pg. 9)
Monthly Board Meetings: Meetings are usually on the first Thursday of the month. The next meeting is on Thursday, March 6, at 7:00 PM. This meeting is a virtual meeting and all club members are welcome. Please call Steven Cidlik for more information on how to join the meeting.
Official Great Autos events are represented in bold type. Calendar of Events items are Board approved and may be subject to change without notice.
T ragedy struck this month that had car collectors all over the world gasping for air. On February
12, eight Corvettes found themselves traveling on a journey that no one would ever expect as the floor opened at the National Corvette Museum and swallowed them into an enormous sinkhole. I was so shocked that when I heard the news, I immediately ran to the garage and gave my Corvette a big hug, realizing that you will never know when you may lose a loved one. While beautiful Corvettes were lost that day, we can all be thankful that this incident occurred after hours and none of our fellow car enthusiasts were injured.
Speaking of Corvettes, what a sight it was as the club enjoyed the private auto collection at the Day Family Car Mu-seum on Sunday, February 23. Not only was this a great event, but also all pro-ceeds went to the Loma Linda Children’s Hospital. Special thanks to Michael Dossett for arranging the club’s private showing and to all volunteers for helping with the event.
In addition to the club event, on Sunday, February 9, the Palm Springs
Meet new boardmember Richard St. Amant
I have been a member of Great Autos since 2005. Since that time I have been to some elegant and
wild Christmas parties. My little pony and I have been to car shows from San Luis Obispo to Hermosa Beach to Palm Springs. I’ve been on poker runs, cruzes, drive-in movies and visited private car collections. One memorable Sunday I was driving my convertible with a local dignitary riding in the back, and my partner Donny Valenzula carrying the G.A.Y banner and escorting the Disco Pinto down Santa Monica Boulevard at Pride. I have been to fellow members’ homes, visited their garages, and experienced their passion for the auto hobby. Of course my favorite event is the West Coast Meet. What a dynamic weekend that is. This is why I joined Great Autos. I am honored that the Board
elected me to fill the vacant position. I look forward to working with Steve and
all Board Members to make 2014 another fantastic event filled fun year.
members were treated to an extra day of fun joining AACA to tour the Deer Park Winery in Escondido. Not only were members able to share spirits, they were also able to see three buildings full of cars, old Coke machines, bicycles, old televisions, radios, toys, etc. Thanks to Jay D’Angelo for arranging this extra activity.
March is finally here and we all know what that means: warmer weather, lon-ger days, and our all-time favorite event, Heaps O’ Fun. On Sunday, March 23, members can once again drive their heaps to Woodley Park and not have to worry about detailing them. Then on April 12 come see what our Palm Springs members have in store for you in their garage. Join us as we tour three club members’ private garages and hear the stories behind their classics. See this issue of the Solenoid for additional details for both of these events.
Save the date: Saturday, May 17, the club members will once again enjoy riding in classic cars and being able to drive new cars at the Test Ride event.
Be sure to mark your calendars because this is an event you won’t want to miss. See the April Solenoid for event details and registration.
A special thanks to all who submitted their West Coast Meet 2015 proposals at the February 6 board meeting. There were so many wonderful proposals that it was difficult for the board to select just one. We are very excited about the theme and know that you will be too. Be sure to attend WCM this year so you can be the first to hear all about it. If you are in-terested in being part of the WCM 2015 committee, please contact me ASAP as planning meetings will begin this month.
See you at Heaps!
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FROM STEVEN CIDLIK
the solenoid4
by Mik e DoSSet t
Over 95 members gathered in Corona, California for The Day Family Classic Car Museum tour on Sunday, February 23—and
with all the members’ classic cars lined up outside it looked like an extensi on of the museum. This was a first time visit to this museum for our club, with many members arriving from Palm Springs, San Diego, Long Beach, Orange County, and Los Angeles.
The day began with doughnuts, coffee, and camaraderie before the Director
of the Museum gave a brief history of the Day Family and how this collection began. Immediately upon stepping into the building we were treated with eye candy galore (we’re talking automotive here) including Mustangs in a corral, the Vet’s Vettes corner, customized cars as well as those restored back to their original condition, with some in their own time-related vignettes.
We heard nothing but positive comments from our members about this tour, and in return, how impressed
Ed Janowski, the Museum director, was about our club and its members and cars. Way to go, kids....you all behaved appropriately! One of the most heart-felt generosities about this event is the event fee is a donation that goes directly to the Loma Linda Children’s Hospital. A big thank you goes out to everyone who attended and donated along with a special thanks to Steve Cidlik and Jose Salinas, without whom I could not have made it through the morning.
D A Y F A M I LY C L A S S I C C A R M U S E U M T O U R
So many cars...so little time
march 2014 5
Jeff Weller’s Mercury....in the lead by a nose!
Mellow Yellow
Hank Doyle and Doug Dawson
Sanford Doi and Mason Nakamura
Class of 2014
The obligatory tailfin at any car show
Club members at their finest: planning a carjack!
I love you.....Peggy Sue!
the solenoid6
By Steven Cidlik
Would you like to see Great Autos’ cars in the Long Beach and Christopher
Street West Pride Parade this year? Do you feel that it is important for our club to have a booth at the festivals to attract new members and keep the hobby of car collecting alive? If you have answered “yes” to either of these questions, then the club needs your help in organizing these events. In the past few years, we have had poor club participation for both of these events, which have resulted in the club not participating in the parade.
HELP GREAT AUTOS SHOW ITS
So that we can once again show our pride at these festivals, we need someone from the local areas to take charge. This involves working with the Pride committee, the Great Autos board and the club members to organize volunteers for the booth and cars for the parade.
The public loves to see our cars in the parade and the dignitaries love to ride in them. Help make this possible by lending a helping hand. If you are interested in chairing one or both of these events, please contact Steven Cidlik at [email protected] or call 562-546-2438.
with all those rich exhaust fumes emanating from the tailpipes.
The gate opens at 9 am, and the $10 per person cost of admission includes a day of fun, not-so-fabulous cars, and a freshly-grilled BBQ lunch, including ice cold beverages, hamburgers, hot dogs and vegetarian selections. If that wasn’t enough to get you to attend, you’ll even get to meet the 2014 Board of Directors. Now that’s worth the price of admission!
After your hunger cravings have been satiated, we’ll be handing out prizes for the worst GM, FoMoCo, Mopar Orphan and Foreign jobs. But for those of you bringing British motor cars, please note that oil seepage does not necessarily make your car a heap. They were delivered that way new.
As with any event, we need volunteers that day assisting at the admission gate, getting cars parked and helping out with lunch. Volunteering is a rewarding way to meet other members and provide service to the club. Have questions or want to volunteer? Please contact Glenn Gordon at [email protected].
And lastly I want to give my apologies to those of you who have already started work depolishing your trophy cars to make them heap-ready for March 23rd. In last month’s issue I mentioned using steel wool. Well we’ve found that this method simply doesn’t do a good enough job on your paint job. Rather, we prefer you use 80-grit sandpaper instead. And it works wonders on chrome and glass as well. If your car needs a little retouch the morning of the event there is an Orchard Supply Hardware store nearby. See you at Heaps!
When: Sunday, March 23, 2014
Where: Woodley Park, Van Nuys, CA 91406
Time: Plan to arrive between 9 and 10 am rain or shine
Cost: $10 per person, including lunch. This is a pay-at-the-door event. No preregistration available.
Directions: Woodley Park is located near the inter-section of the 101 and 405 Freeways in Van Nuys. Take the Burbank Blvd. exit off the 405 (just north of the 101), and go West. Proceed approximately half a mile to Woodley Avenue and turn right. The park entrance will be on the right. Look for the Great Autos signs in the parking lot. For those using a GPS, entering 6300 Woodley Avenue, Van Nuys 91406 will get you close to the site. Then look for the signs in the parking lot.
Continued from page 1
Heaps
by glenn gordon
A s we announced last month, our honored and beloved monthly newsletter, the Solenoid, is now available to all members by mail and digital copy, sent directly into your INBOX on or before the
1st of each month. This digital color copy is available to each and every member who has provided us with his or her email address. Great Autos is providing this to our members at no additional cost to your annual membership. These digital copies are sent from Great Autos of Yesteryear and will arrive to your INBOX with this title as the sender. Please do not delete it. It’s yours, it’s in living color, and it’s at no additional cost to you. There will be no additional attachments or advertisements sent with this digital copy. So open and enjoy our new color digital Solenoid. It’s easy reading and like a good friend will always be there.
digital dashboards, maybe. digital car radios, oK.
Where your 2013 membership dollars were spent to keep Great Autos rolling
Solenoid -‐ print, postage & produc4on
69%
Membership -‐ postage, supplies & IT support
11%
Insurance -‐ annual premium 4%
Events 3%
Administra4ve -‐ supplies 2%
Income 11%
Membership Dollars
SOLENOID
11%
69%
4%
3%2%
11%
INCOME
INSURANCE
EVENTS
MEMBERSHIP
E x P E N S E SSolenoid – print, postage, & production $0.69
Membership – postage, supplies & IT support $0.11
Insurance – annual premium $0.04
Events $0.03
Administrative – supplies $0.02
Income $0.11
Membership Dollars $1.00
For each dollar you spent:
ADMINISTRATIVE/SUPPLIES
march 2014 9
of all. But, you’ll just have to read next month’s Solenoid for more details.
We’ve updated the original story a bit. We won’t be heading south to Santa Rosita; we are returning to the Embassy Suites Hotel in San Luis Obispo. Instead of “350 G’s” we are aiming for “350 gays.” The first 100 to register will be the Smiler Grogan Group … and why not: They’ll be the first to go. They’ll also be the first admitted for dinners and the award ceremony and receive a special registration packet. There won’t be any buried treasure, and the Embassy Suites has asked that we not attempt to dig up their lawn. If you’re still drawn to hardware store basements, OSHA requirements now dictate that fireworks, yellow paint and
dynamite not be stored in the same facility.
The 1962 vehicles that were so haphazardly driven into the ground in
I t started in 1947. Who would have thought a tuna
factory would have $350,000 lying around (in cash, no less). Apparently, Smiler Grogan knew and participated in a robbery that landed him in jail for 15 years. In 1962, in a daring and dramatic escape, Smiler sailed right out there into Santa Rosita history before tragically kicking the bucket. All this was told in painstaking detail in the Ultra Panavision Stanley Kramer documentary, “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.”
In 1986, we honored the memory of Smiler Grogan at the second North-South Meet (later renamed the West Coast Meet). In the tradition of so many fine Hollywood movies, it’s time for a remake with better special effects. Let’s Redo 1962!
As the Saul Bass opening credits promise, there will be “a few surprises.” The Friday drive tour will be a leisurely drive while looking for W’s. A dictionary would be most helpful since dictionary.com will not. Some of you will remember dictionaries but may not have used one since 1962. The car show on Saturday will be the biggest surprise
By l ARRy SAlVADOR Freewheelers Chairman
lET’S REDO 1962!
the movie are today treasured classics. While there will be a special area for 1962 vehicles, any vehicle you are passionate about will be displayed at the Saturday car show. That should guarantee people won’t be running each other off the road to get to San Luis Obispo. What Mrs. Marcus says is
most definitely not true: “We’re the ones in the Imperial and we’re running last?” Emeline’s observation is the only possible explanation: “He’s not that good a driver.”
If you have trouble with your car along the way, cell phones and AAA have replaced the need for purloining Beech-crafts or hijacking Ford convertibles. There’s simply no excuse for not attend-ing. Registration forms will be available in the April Solenoid and online through thefreewheelers.net website. Mark your calendars for July 10-13 for a West, West, West, West Coast Meet.
Wednesday, March 12th at O’s American Kitchen8590 rio san diego dr., san diego, Ca 92108meet at 6:30 pm for tire kicking, dinner @ 7 pmCENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST
lincoln Continental parts: 17 cars (two convertibles) parted, 1961 – 1971 lincolns and mark iii: Good running 430, 460 engines; transmission/engine parts, doors, hoods, trunk lids, fenders/quarter panels, windshields, gas tanks, convertible top frames, interior, window motors, glass, peaks and clips, bumpers, chrome, grills, fan shrouds, radiators, floors, hubcaps; hood ornaments, scripts, other miscellaneous. all parts on-site in san bernardino, Ca. thomas/hank (909)883-4235; [email protected]. nights, weekends oK.
DON’T FORGET TO LIST
YOUR AD ON greatautos.org!
Your ad runs only once unless you renew! Email [email protected] to renew your ad by the 15th of the month.
(See more detailed instructions above.)
nOTiCE TO ADVERTiSERS!
to include a photo with your auto-related classified ad, send a black & white or color photo no larger than 4x6 to Classifieds, P. O. Box 70407, Pasadena, CA 91117. there is a onetime fee of $5 (check or m.o. payable to Great autos of yesteryear) for every photo used. no charge for digital photos received via email. deadline is the 15th day of the month before issue date. photos will be used at the editor’s discretion and become the property of Great autos unless otherwise specified. to have your photo returned, include sase. ads appear for one month only unless specified otherwise. Contact the editor (see page 2) to place or renew your ad. Copy must arrive by the 15th day of the month prior to publication date.
include some very special foreign and domestic nameplates. This is one garage tour you will not want to pass up.
Hold on to your hats, (if you have the top down that day) because you’ll be zoomin’ over to this last collection in Palm Springs. We have been granted the opportunity to view several collections of vehicles all in one fabulous location. (No, they are not parked in front of Hunters, or Eddies Frozen Yogurt. Really. Is sex and food all you boys think about!) Sandy edelstein, Scott king, Chris Menrad, bill Stewart and bill Scheffler, all Great Autos
members, are swinging open their garage doors in a private storage location in Palm Springs from 11:30 am – 1 pm. Here you will have the opportunity to view over 40, yes I said 40, classic and special interest cars.
As your Mom used to say when she put dinner on the table, Get It While It’s Hot! You may not be able to view this many cars again, all in one day, for a very long time, if ever. So now is your chance! If you have wanted a reason to go to the desert (like we really ever need a reason) but have been putting it off, April 12th is your day. Put it on the
calendar, cancel that trip to France, tell your relatives NOT THIS WEEKEND, and get on down or up to Palm Springs.
To top off this event we have arranged with Three Sixty North in Palm Springs to be our host restaurant for lunch beginning at 12:30 pm. The owners are graciously providing a fixed priced menu for Great Autos members at $16.00 per person, including main, soft drink and dessert. Registration for lunch is required.
Complete details, including garage locations, directions and viewing times will follow in next month’s Solenoid. This garage tour will not require pre-registration. If you are planning on joining us for lunch at Three Sixty North restaurant, please complete the mail-in registration or sign up online at greatautos.org.
by Glenn GoRDon
Please join us on Saturday, April 12th, for our Palm Springs Area Garage Tour! Several Great Autos Members have graciously agreed
to open their private garages and allow our members to view their collections.
Some of the cars included in these collections are very rare and date from the 1940s through the 1970s. And how lucky are we to be able to view all of these vehicles in just one day? To make this event even more spectacular than it already is, Great Autos of Yesteryear, in coordination with the garage owners, is making this a totally no fee event. That’s right ladies and gentlemen; you can’t get better than FREE. This event is open to all club members and their guests to tour some of the most special and unique collections anywhere West of the Mississippi.
Our day will begin at the home of John Willows in Palm Desert from 10 am to 11 am. John has eight beautiful cars and a very special garage to show us. He has also promised a few additional surprise vehicles that fellow Great Autos members will also make available for viewing at his house.
Our next stop will be at the home of Richard klann and Ronald Romans in Rancho Mirage from 11 am – Noon. Richard and Ronald have a great collection of cars that
RegistRation FoRm Lunch at Three Sixty North Restaurant
SATURDAy, APRil 12, 2014$16.00 per person, including main, soft drink and dessert.
DO nOT SEnD PAyMEnT. pay for food and beverages in person at the restaurant. mail registration to: Great autos of
yesteryear, po box 70407, pasadena, Ca 91117
or, register online at www.greatautos.org
all lunch registrations must be received by April 10, 2014
save th e date ! satu r day, apr i l 12 , 2014
*Actual garage may vary!
The Great 2014 Palm Springs Area Garage Tour is coming!
name _________________________________________
address ________________________________________
City, state, Zip ___________________________________
phone ( ______ ) ________________________________
email _________________________________________
total number in your party including yourself _____________
went to his first Great Autos event in 1989, he was still months away from finding his first classic car — a 1967 Imperial. So he showed up at the Long Beach event in his daily driver, a two-year-old Honda CRX Si that happened to be his first new car. Twenty-five years later, he not only still has the Imperial, but now he displays the pristine, all-original CRX at vintage car events as well.
At last fall’s Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach — not far from the location of that first Great Autos event — a videographer from Petrolicious saw Chris’s car and decided he wanted to make its
“original car, original owner” story the subject of one of their short films.
After two days of shooting, the film debuted on February 4th, and within two weeks was already approaching 100,000 views on YouTube. It was also featured on Autoblog, Jalopnik, Road & Track, and numerous other sites and fan forums worldwide.
“All for an inexpensive little car I fell in love with 27 years ago,” says Chris.
Great Autos members drive all sorts of cars, old and new, but most of us remember the magic of our
first one. We might even think back to the one we should have never let go. Here’s one that didn’t get away. Check out “the origi-nal Honda fanboy” and his car at petrolicious.com/videos.
The one that (never) got away Watch video now at petrolicious.com/videos
