Event Calendar
Corvette Club Corvette Club
Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara
Inside this issue:
President’s Message 2
Club Runs 2
Club Runs 3
Classifieds 3
Bondurant School 4
NCM Ambassador 5
Activities Report 6
Membership 7
April Minutes 8
May 2011 Volume 5, Issue 5
Meetings are 1st Tues-day of each month at 6:30PM . The meeting
is held at Woody’s Roundup Bar & Grill 3400 Calle Real, (Earl
Warren Showgrounds)Santa Barbara
May
3rd General Meeting Santa Barbara 14-15th Bakersfield 28th Kustoms Show Santa Maria
June
5th Installation Picnic Goleta 7th General Meeting Santa Barbara 25th Barrett Jackson Orange County
Spring Wine Run Tony & Paula Megowan
On a clear beautiful April day, a group of us headed north for some wine tasting. The group was led by Tony & Paula Megowan and in-cluded Thore Edgren & Shirley, Sandy Halverson, Dennis & Lynne Merenbach, Frank & Barbara Lo-Monoco, Steve & Linda Petersen (&Teddy), Jim & Judy Purcell, Steve & Bonnie Sidwell and Bob &
Inge Stallings. The drive up 101 was smooth and easy going until the lead car (that would be Tony & Paula) had a bird strike the windshield. Feathers went flying. Unfortunately, the bird did not survive, but the windshield did. The investigation is still ongoing. It has not been decided if this is a homicide case or a suicide. Moving on, Ed Clerkin joined our group just south of Pismo Beach and led us to Sextant winery located in the Old Edna section of San Luis Obispo. Sextant (named after the old world navigation instrument) offered a good variety of both red and white wines. They were obviously enjoyed by most of us, as 2 cases plus mul-tiple bottles were purchased. Our next stop was Hansen Winery in Paso Robles. Owner and wine-maker Bruce Hansen is a character to say the least, but he does make some superb Cabernet Sauvignon. He grilled sausages for us that he purchased ―from the back of the gambling hall downtown‖ and we also ate potato salad & turtle brownies while we relaxed and were entertained by Bruce’s stories. You can ask Steve Sidwell what Bruce thought about the wine Steve had purchased at Sextant and brought into his winery. Once we were all full and relaxed, we headed off to Caliza Winery (Caliza is Spanish for the word ―limestone‖) which is a very new winery but they also make some wonderful wines – their specialty being Syrah’s. We sat outside under the umbrellas and trees and talked to owner and winemaker Matt Bowker. We then headed to the hotel to relax a bit be-fore walking to Big Bubbas Bad BBQ for dinner. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Jim Purcell), the mechanical bull was out of or-der, but dinner and drinks were all good, as was the company. Continued on page 5
Editor and Publisher
Fred Smith Publicity
May is the last month in our club year and elections for the officers to lead us in the 2011-2012 year will take place at this month’s meeting. Thanks to the current board for their contributions to CCSB this year. Our incoming board nominees in-clude returning board members along with new co-vice president nominees, Jim and Judy Purcell. We have some old favorites and some new events on the calendar for the remain-
der of 2011. Although our Activities Director, Ray Seider, needs to take a short sabbatical, we do have a full calendar of events that he planned on the agenda. Never fear! The activities will be coordinated, and you will be receiving emails and the newsletters advising you on what you need to do to participate. First thing that you need to do to take part in all the fun starting the new club year June 1 is to pay your dues, sign the waiver of liability form, and provide proof of insurance. Pat Bloom’s membership article tells you all the details on where and when you can accomplish this. Looking forward to seeing you all at the installation picnic on June 5th. The club will provide all the food in-cluding dessert. You do need to bring your own beverage. As we close out this club year, I want to thank all club members for your participation in our general meetings, club events, and continued support of Corvette Club Santa Barbara. Remember, without “u” there is no club.
Bakersfield Run, May 14 and 15 Sharon Smith
Ray needs to have your final choice from the three entrees (see his article) ASAP so he can get that informa-tion to the Crystal Palace. Fred and I will be the leaders of the run over to Bakersfield. Those who are signed up will be meeting at the Carpinteria Carl’s Jr. parking lot for our drivers’ meeting at 8:45 AM, Saturday, May 14. We will depart via Carpinteria Ave. at 9:00 AM. We will travel the back roads to Bakersfield on Hwy 33 through Ojai and Taft. From Taft we will pick up Hwy 119 (Taft Hwy) across to Panama Ln. for lunch at In-N-Out Burgers. After lunch we will drive to the Kern County Museum to explore some of the 16 acres of exhib-its. Admission is $10 for Adults and $9 for Seniors 60+. The Kern County Museum features a pioneer village with historic buildings and railroad equipment; Black Gold: The Oil Experience, a technology and history exhi-bition of the oil industry; The Bakersfield Sound with costumes, instruments, and memorabilia related to coun-try music; Historic Neon Signs, and more. After our visit to the museum we will all be ready for a visit to De-war’s Candy Shop and Soda Fountain. You can indulge the kid in you at this venue with ice cream and candy. After checking in at the hotel you will relax until it is time to go to the dinner show at the Buck Owens Crystal Palace. Cost is $45. We need to be there by 6 PM for dinner and the show starts at 7:30 PM. Sun-day will be a free day and your return home. Route book will be distributed at drivers’ meeting. If for any rea-son you need to cancel, please let me know by phone (805) 701-9686 or email [email protected].
West Coast Kustoms Car Show, Santa Maria Saturday, May 28 Sharon Smith
This is the West Coast Kustoms 30th Annual Cruisin’ Nationals event, held at the Santa Maria Fairpark. Cost is Adults $12, Seniors 60+ $6.00. The day will include a show-n-shine, swap meet, tons of vendors, model car show, live music, etc. We will be there as spectators, but if anyone wants to show their car, go to www.westcoastkustoms.com for the application to participate in the car show. We will be meeting at The Tim-bers Parking Lot, 10 Winchester Canyon, Goleta at 8:45 AM for the drivers’ meeting and departing at 9:00 AM. Sign up at the May general meeting or call me at 805-701-9686 or email [email protected].
Page 2 Volume 5, Issue 5
President’s Message Sharon Smith
Page 3 Volume 5, Issue 5Corvette Club Santa Barbara
2009 Forged Polished Aluminum Wheels. Fits P245/40ZR18 tires on the front, P285/35ZR19 tires on the aft. One is slightly scuffed, other three in excellent condition. $500 OBO. Contact Fred Lopez 805 964-9546 [email protected]
Factory Reproduction C4 Chrome ZR-1 wheels—2 wheels 8.5 x 17, 2 wheels 9.5 x 17 +56 Offset - On '94 Vette for 4 months, always garaged. Never driven in the rain! Like new condition. Includes short chrome stems, center caps and chrome lug nuts with 4 locking nuts. $375 Contact Bob Szalay at [email protected]
CLASSIFIEDS
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction – Orange County, Saturday, June 25 Sharon Smith
This close to home and at an admission price of Adults $15 and Seniors (55+) $12, the Barrett-Jackson Auc-tion at the Orange County Fairgrounds is a real bargain. The venue has great parking, plenty of room for dis-play of auction cars, vendor booths, a car show area, food booths, and an indoor auction arena. Fred, Mike and Linda Wolfe and myself went last year for the inaugural event in OC and knew we would return again this year. Unlike some automotive events where all you can buy are car parts and automotive accessories, Barrett-Jackson gets it that the women who attend these events have money to spend and they provide the opportunity to do so. There are vendor booths to attract both male and female buyers. Also appealing is the fact that the cars being auctioned actually are in a price range that I could afford to bid if I fell in love, and I came real close last year. So if you are not attending the May meeting and want to sign up for this event and join us for a great day trip, then call me at 805-701-9686 or email [email protected]. Final details will be in the June newsletter.
Ventura Motorsports Gathering – Ventura, Sunday, July 10 Sharon Smith Corvette will be the featured marquee along with General Motors powered sports and race cars at the 4th An-nual Ventura Motorsports Gathering at Marina Park, Ventura the weekend of July 9 and 10th. CCSB will be making a day run on Sunday, July 10 to view the display of classic American and other countries sports and race cars, a special tribute to Woodie Automobiles and a Classic Wooden Boat display. They will be having a Corvette Corral and I will be receiving fee information later. Sign up for this at the May meeting or call me at 805-701-9686 or email [email protected].
2 Goodyear Corvette Tires. P255/50ZR16 tires in good condition. (Early C4) $100 each. Contact Bryce Lovett 805 448-0039
PHOTO
NOT
AVAILABLE
Volume 5, Issue 5 Page 4
WE ARE ON THE WEB
www.corvetteclubsantabarbara.com
Fun In The Sun At Bondurant High Performance Driving School. Last August on the Bloomington Gold Run to the Grand Canyon, Anne and I won the grand prize drawing of the 1-Day Intro To Racing Course at the Bob Bondurant High Performance Driving facility in Chandler, Arizona. I had the opportunity to attend the school last week; what an amazing ex-perience it was! There were 5 students in the class, with 2 instructors. The goal was to get the real feel and some important knowledge of safety and strategy in rac-
ing. We had the opportunity to practice and experience steering weight transfer and braking techniques, skid control and accident avoidance, trail braking, throttle steer and heel & toe downshifting. Then we got to prac-tice our newly discovered abilities on the oval, slalom and 1.6 mile Bondurant track. The cars we used were stock 2010 C6 Z51 coupes. For skid control we used a specially configured Cadillac CTS where the instructor could dial in the car an under steer or an over steer skid and we had to recover. This was humbling a few times. The school started sharply at 0830 and we finished 1630 .. I had a big smile on my face the whole time! There were 2-30 minute ground schools, 10 minute breaks between transitions, and a 1.5 hour lunch break … all the rest of the time we were putting our cars through the paces. The curriculum consisted of 6 events; each one was preceded by the instructor taking us through the course event in his CTS or running leader-follower and trying to keep up. The exception was the accident avoidance course, which I think was the most chal-lenging and adrenaline pumping. Essentially we had 80 feet at 45 mph to decide and react to come to a full stop, or swerve to the left or right lane, based on a series of red and green lights in each lane. Next came the ―Maricopa Oval‖ which consisted of 2-180 degree turns, one was a constant radius turn and the other was a decreasing radius turn. This is where we first practiced the drive line, trail braking into the turns and accelerating at the apex. We did this all in third gear; I got the car up to 70 mph on the straight-away, however ABS had to intervene twice on the 12 laps! In the afternoon after the skid control exercise, we ran the slalom course. There were 4 -180 degree turns of different radii with 2 short straight-aways. This was a timed event, 2 laps per run. We each got to run it 6 times. We never came out of 2nd gear. I was the slowest on the first run, about 4 seconds behind the leader, but I improved by about 1 second on each run and at run 6 I had the fastest time for the run and 2nd fastest time overall .. the leader beat me by 7/100th of a second! Each run took an average of about 1 minute, 2 sec-onds. The last event of the day was the 1.6 mile Bondurant track. This was serious racing .. we had to don crash helmets for this one! We ran leader-follower for about 10-12 laps. Lots of turns, 2 great straight-aways. I dared to glance down at the speedometer only twice, the fastest I saw was 85 mph as we passed the pits. Sure missed not having a HUD! We stayed in 3rd gear the whole time. We got a great debrief, received a very nice plaque, our course grade and a very rare Bondurant Graduate sticker for our car. I splurged and got the Bondurant USB Drive with our racing photos on it. Overall, I loved it! Learned a lot about my driving abilities, the amazing capabilities of our Vettes and a safety lesson I will not soon for-get. We got to hammer the cars harder than we would do with our cars and they performed flawlessly. I highly and enthusiastically recommend the course if you want a heart-pumping, born-to-be-wild, tire squealing ex-perience. Even though we didn’t have any women in our class, I think the ladies would really enjoy this also. Would like to go back in a few years!
Bondurant Driving School Fred Lopez
NCM Ambassador Frank LoMonaco
Page 5 Volume 5, Issue 5Corvette Club Santa Barbara
2012 Corvette Changes Announced
Chevrolet announced that the 2012 Corvette will have a number of im-provements and updates including:
· New Z06 and ZR1 optional performance packages featuring Michelin PS Cup tires
· New personalization options including Carlisle Blue Metallic exterior color and available painted brake calipers in Dark Gray; Red; Silver and Yellow
· New steering wheel and front seats with im-proved appearance and larger bolsters on the seat back and cushion areas, which provide better driver support
· Reconfigured 2LT package for Corvette and Grand Sport (both coupe and convertibles)
Sunday morning we headed to Changala Winery. Changala likes to pair some of their wines with chocolate. We tasted basil chocolate with their Granache, lavender chocolate with their Syrah and garlic chocolate (yes garlic!) with their Zinfindel. We had a great time with owners Heidi & Jean Changala and their staff of one, Heather. Changala offered a good deal on a case of wine and several members decided to go together and purchase a case. We took our garlic breath and headed to our next winery- August Ridge. We didn’t have a chance to visit this winery beforehand so didn’t really know what to expect. However, August Ridge turned out to be the favorite winery on the trip. We met own-ers John & Jill Baker and their daughter Isabella. August Ridge specializes in Italian varietals and John poured us a total of 12 wines! But we tasted in pairs so the Cor-vettes and their occupants were still safe to be on the road. August Ridge ended up with 7 new wine club members. We do want to offer our congratulations to Jim and
Judy Purcell for joining their very first wine club! The last winery on this trip was Still Waters Winery which is a small family owned winery located on beautiful grounds. We had our picnic lunch under the trees while we sampled their wines and relaxed before heading home. A few of our group took the relaxing bit a little too far. It seems the Adirondack chairs were just too tempting. We hope everybody enjoyed themselves and will enjoy the wines that they purchased. We know we will. Thank you to everyone for joining us. The next Wine Run will be in November, the next Wino’s Gone Wild will be in August (we will be tasting Chardonnays) and we are also looking at another wine based event later this year. Details to follow.
Spring Wine Run continued from page 1 Tony & Paula Megowan
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ALL MAJOR FINANCIAL EXCHANGES
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www.corvetteclubsantabarbara.com
Page 6 Volume 5, Issue 5Corvette Club Santa Barbara
Hello fellow Corvette Owners: By now you all know that we've sold our home and have purchased another, smaller one, here in Carpinteria. We will be only 3 blocks from downtown which makes walking to town a breeze and we are really looking forward to it. Most of you probably don't know but Fred and Sharon have done a daily walk together for some years now and tell me that they really enjoy it, get a chance to talk away from
the phone and computer and get at least a little exercise. Anyway….see Bakersfield Run article written by Sharon but I can tell you that the top 3 meal choices were (1) Salmon (2) Steak (3) Pork Chop so those are going to be your dinner choices. Let me know your entrée choice. I'm sorry we won't be joining you but we move two days later and after 36 years here there's lots of work to do. Sharon will lead the Santa Maria Vintage Car show on Memorial week-end, Saturday May 28th. Believe me you will enjoy the show and shop-ping and it's CHEAP. June 25th. is Barrett-Jackson in Orange County and Sharon will be talking to you about that. Now, some new news and a new run. My new BF (best friend) Judy Pur-cell has come up with a run. October 29-30. Cambria & Hearst Castle. Judy will tell us more about the trip at the May meeting but from what she's told me we will definitely be going. Well, that's all for now and we hope to see you on the flip flop (that's old slang for the other end of our move)
INSTALLATION PICNIC Wayne Reddoch
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for one of our biggest events of the year. Sign up at the May meeting or contact Wayne. The Club Installation Picnic on Sunday June 5th, 2011. We will again be meeting at Stow Grove Park in Goleta at: 580 La Patera Lane, just below Cathedral Oaks Road. Festivities will begin about 11:00 with food being served at about 12:00. Tri-tip and chicken will be served along with salad, chili beans, potato salad and dessert. Bring your own beverages and a good appetite for this event. This will also be a good time to bring your check-book if you haven’t paid your 2011—2012 dues. Total is $72.00 with a check made to CCSB. Pay by the picnic date and have a chance to win some great raffle prizes. Hope to see you all at this fun event.
Activities Column Ray Seider
Privacy Reminder
Old Club Rosters should be shredded not just thrown in
the trash when replaced.
Membership Column Pat Bloom
Page 7 Volume 5, Issue 5Corvette Club Santa Barbara
We have another past member who rejoined in April, Peter Mackins, and owns a 2007 Black Z06 Welcome back Peter! That brings our totals to 95 members with 78 vehicles. Dues for the 2011/2012 year are up for renewal in June. We must have proof of insurance verifica-tion, along with your check and signed Release and Waiver of Liability form to keep your member-ship in good standing. No event after June 5TH can be attended unless renewal is completed. This can be handled at the May meeting or at our Picnic in June. If you are not planning to attend either the meeting or picnic, please mail these papers and check to me at my home. The Release and
Waiver form can be downloaded from our website. I will confirm by email that they were received. HIGHLIGHTS: Continuing with our Spring theme here are a couple of romantic stories from our family: Fred Smith I proposed to Sharon (and she accepted) on the Corvette Club Santa Barbara Cambria Valentine's Day weekend in Feb-ruary 1991. We were a bit late to dinner at the Moonstone Gardens with the rest of the club as a result. A few members knew why but by the time we arrived at dinner it was well known by everyone attending. Our wedding was held a week before a club run to Canada so everyone could attend. It was held at the Carpinteria Beach Park in the amphitheater. Instead of Sharon walking down the aisle we drove in from the side in our White 1990 Corvette with the top off. Her mother and my father opened the car doors to let us out symbolizing the father of the bride passing on his daughter’s hand. While the service was being conducted "Just Married" was added to the rear window of the Corvette in white vinyl. The honeymoon was a month long trip on the coasts of California and Oregon staying in a different cottage or cabin every night. Most of the trip was with the top off and of course with "just married" on the rear window. The only time we stayed in a regular hotel was in Lincoln City, OR where we met the club on their way back to Santa Barbara. That's kinda romantic, huh? But wait, here's another story that'll have you going aah! Roger Dunham On the night I met Keiko (while I was still a sailor in the Navy) I asked her to dance (and we did for hours at the beautiful "Garden Bar" within Waikiki's Hawaiian Hilton Village) It wasn't until about 12:30 AM that I finally got up enough nerve to pop the big question: "Would you like to see my submarine?" She stepped back a step and looked momentarily confused before fully realizing I was talking about my home, a nuclear submarine at Pearl Harbor. "Yes, I would!" she said, asking if her girlfriend (who had also just met a sailor at the Garden Bar) could come with us.
At 1 AM, the four of us toured the USS Halibut SS(N)587 at the Submarine Base, at 3 AM, the four of us watched the moon rise over the glistening sands of Makaha, and at 6:30 AM, I deliv-ered Keiko back to Kamehameha High School where she worked as a teacher. Three months later, her girlfriend married the guy she had met, and the next year (after Keiko finished her Mas-ter's Degree work at USC), we got married. That was 43 years ago.
Page 8 Volume 5, Issue 5Corvette Club Santa Barbara
Minutes of April 5, 2011 General Meeting
1. Meeting called to order by Sharon Smith tonight at 6:34 pm. 2. Introduction of Officers. 3. Secretary’s Report distributed and approved. (Correction - Ray Seider won last month’s drawing)
4. Treasurer’s Report distributed and approved. 5. Membership Report: Pat not here. Fred reports 95 members with 77 cars. Have interest cards with
new meeting place available. New member Peter Mackins. Not at meeting but previous member. He has a 2007.
6. Bragging Corner: Email Pat for anything interesting happening to you for the newsletter. 7. NCM Ambassadors Report: Frank LoMonaco talked about some colors not available because of
Tsunami. Raffles (Super Sonic Blue cpe $300, build your own ZR1 $500.00. Still have some club flags for sale $15.00.
8. ACTIVITIES: Ray Seider in Florida. Sharon reports Fashion Institute to do maybe next year. 4/16 - 4/17/11 – Wine run. 5/14 - 5/15/11 – Bakersfield run. 24 people signed up. Staying at DoubleTree Hotel. 5/28/11 – Good Guys car show at Santa Maria Fairgrounds.
9. Old Business: Sign- up sheet passed around for new name badges. $10.00. 10. New Business: Happy Birthday to Marylyn Bruce, Richard Steel, Ed Clerkin and Paula Megowan.
Elections next month for 2011-2012 officers. Nominations closed. Sharon Smith - President Jim and Judy Purcell – Co Vice Presidents Secretary – Sandy Rubel Halverson Treasurer – Tony Megowan Membership – Pat Bloom Activities – Ray Seider Roger Hoyt – Historian Frank LoMonaco – Ambassador Fred Smith – Publicity/Web Master Thor Edgren presented a new logo for our clubs 25th anniversary that he designed. Thor has paid for set up fees. It has CCSB in a car design. This will be in addition to our original logo. Frank LoMonaco has catalog to order from Chase Sports Wear. Thank you Thor.
Welcome back Jerry Livers. Doing great after heart surgery.
11. Tech Talk: Fred Markley talked out new ZL1 Camaro. Bill Barrison discussed steering column issue. 12. Trivia question: Which company produced air conditioning systems for Corvette? Frank Lo-Monaco won ticket. 13. 50/50 Raffle – Bob Stallings won pot. $19.00. 14. Next meeting May 3, at Woody’s Roundup Bar and Grill. 15. Correspondence from Corvettes West Big Bear Bash July 8-10 and Kelsey Tire Brochure. 16. Meeting adjourned at 7:32. Respectfully submitted,
Sandy Rubel Halverson, Secretary
Woody’s Roundup Bar & Grill - 3400 Calle Real - Earl Warren Showgrounds, Santa Barbara, CA
Members of the NCM receive 10% to 15% discount on purchases from the museum store. Check the store before buying Corvette related items from other vendors—you might be surprised at the current inven-tory as well as prices. Be sure to check the items on sale while you are there.
http://store.corvettemuseum.com/
Page 9
Alan E. Emslie, P.E. Principal
5290 Overpass Rd., 805-683-1233 Suite 217 Goleta, CA 93111 Cell 805-340-4921
[email protected] www.padreinc.com
For clothing embroidered with the Corvette Club Santa Bar-bara logo contact Frank or Bar-bara LoMonaco. For clothing that is silk screen printed with the Corvette Club Santa Barbara logo contact Bob Szalay.
WE ARE ON THE WEB
www.corvetteclubsantabarbara.com
Corvette Club Flags We still have a few CCSB Club Flags left...
They are 12"w x 8"h and are $15 each. Please contact Frank LoMonaco to purchase one or more.
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Call Fred Smith
301 S. Hope Avenue Santa Barbara, CA 93105 Phone: (805) 617-3438 Email: Contact Us Fax: (805) 898-2244 Service/Parts: (805) 617-3436
National Corvette Museum May 2011 Calendar Wallpaper
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