MONTHLY CRUISIN’ with the Mass Cruisers Auto Club
We’re on the Web www.masscruisers.com And Facebook
“CRUISIN’ AT THE SPEED OF FUN” December 2015
George Barris, The King of The Kustomizers. A true original who made a difference. George was larger than life and will be missed dearly by his family, friends and fans.
Volume 25 Issue 12
MONTHLY CRUISIN
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Contact us by snail mail: P.O. Box 217, Wrentham, MA 02093 Or by email: HO350@comcast.net
We’re on the Web! www.masscruisers.com
Our clubhouse is located at 124 Main Street, Norfolk, behind the Dunkin Donuts shop and across the street from the police station. For more information please call: 781 551-0520. Visitors, guests and those interested in joining the
Mass Cruisers Auto Club are welcome to attend one of our monthly meetings held on the third Tuesday of each month in Norfolk. Directory
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Presidential Emissions
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Club Officers President– John Buchanan
Urgent Legislative Report
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Junk Yard Junkets by John Buchanan
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Secretary—Patrick Touhey
Junk Yard Junkets (continued)
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Treasurer—Wayne Lestan
December Area Auto Shows and Events
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Webmaster—Steve Vining
November 17th Members Mtg: Greg Pope Talks Insurance
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Wrench’n & Coffee at Robert’s Automotive
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Wright’s Chicken Farm Cruise
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-----------------Wright’s chicken Farm Cruise (continued)
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Advertising Rates Business card space…….$25.00/yr
To advertise in the Monthly Cruiser, please send a business card and a check for $25.00 to
Mass Cruisers Newsletter P.O. Box 217, Wrentham, MA. 02093
Vice President—Diane Thornton
Newsletter Editor—Paul Saulnier Facebook Admin. – Patrick Touhey New Member Liaison—Don Cole Sgts. at Arms—Rick Lawlor & John Sturniolo Charity Coordination – Frank Bryant By-Laws – Roy Rossman MAAC Representative— John Buchanan
Special Events Cruise Night—Steve Huntington Car Show—Rich Armando Club Events Calendar – (open)
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Presidental Emissions
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ith the cruise and car show season over and our rides all snuggled under their California Car Covers for a long winter’s nap, those lucky enough to be practicing snowbirds continue on without losing a beat in the warmer climes of our great country. It is a stressful time as well as this is the traditional time of year that car clubs elect new officers for the coming year and attempt to figure out who hadn’t paid their 2016 dues.
I like to think this is the time of year, after Christmas is over, that we can sit down and plan out another season for cruising and car shows. We are fortunate to have creative members that come up with new and different things to try each winter so we can maintain those social contacts that include our spouses or special friends. In one case, 2016 is the 25th year since the Mass Cruisers were started and we still have a couple of original surviving active club members from that time, Don Cole and Lou Valentine. Lou has taken on the task of coming up with a special 25 th anniversary celebration sometime in the spring. Although Lou won’t disclose what it is, he has pulled together some great fun celebrations in the past for us each January. If members are also interested in hosting a monthly social at a restaurant during the winter months or have another fun event that you’d like to try out with your fellow club members let Diane Thornton or myself know and we see if it will get the interest from members and get it posted on our clubhouse events board.
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Urgent Legislative Report (funding needed)
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Massachusetts 25 Year or Older Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Bill; Bill H.3782 SECTION 1. Section 4 of chapter 64I of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in the second paragraph, the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:The commissioner: (1) shall establish rules and regulations for accepting values below these values for motor vehicles over 25 years old, which may otherwise be considered classic cars or antique motor cars, that shall be based on the condition of the vehicle at the time of sale instead of the clean trade-in-value; and (2) may establish other rules and regulations for accepting values below these values for other motor vehicles based on the condition of the vehicle at the time of sale or other factors as may be appropriate. SECTION 2. The commissioner shall establish within 6 months of the effective date of this act the rules and regulations required under section 1 of this act for vehicles over 25 years old
Massachusetts Association of Auto Clubs (MAAC) has voted to engage our lobbyist to participate in the passage of this bill. MAAC believes that this bill will have a very positive impact on the car hobby, especially for older cars. At this time, please DO NOT contact your representative, as we believe this bill is currently being fast tracked. MAAC will let you know if something changes in the status. Today if you register a vehicle, the fair market value is based on the average market values from sources like the Black Book collectible vehicle guides for 1946 through current year, Haggerty classic car value guides and Classic Car Auction results, regardless of the actual condition of the vehicle or price paid. A private bill of sale is only used for valuation when it is higher than the average market value guide used by the State. This results in paying tax several times the actual value of the vehicle purchased and discourages residents from registering their purchases here in the commonwealth. If the value is incorrect, your only recourse is to petition for a hearing to make your case, and the odds are against you getting a change. The current law is designed to insure the commonwealth is receiving the fair revenue for modern car sales outside of licensed auto dealer sales, while private used vehicle sales for older cars are penalized due to valuation guides the Commonwealth has been using since 2009 and the vast differences of actual condition of vehicles 25 years and older. Please consider a donation of $25, $50, $100, or more, but any donation will be accepted to MAAC “Special Projects Account�. We are using this account to fund this effort. Please send your donation to: MAAC Special Projects Account, c/o Dean Zwicker, 9 Clapp Street, Norton, MA. 02766
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Junk Yard Junkets by John Buchanan ovember, after the fall foliage season, is prime junkyard junkets to yards where the old iron is normally hiding under leaf cover of summer. This November has been a bonanza with the unseasonably warm weather. Tick warning; although regular ticks, as well as mosquitoes & yellow jacket hornets, are pretty much done after the first frost, deer ticks hide under the leaf cover during freezing cold and climb back up on knee high foliage where most of the old timers are hiding when the temperature climbs above freezing, so be careful.
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Our first junket in five years was set for Saturday Nov. 5 to see Ray Helger’s car automobilia collection in Little Compton, R.I.; no ticks to worry about here. Because this was a spur of the moment club event catching many members off guard with other previously scheduled activities, Wally Hayes and his Old Coots Car Club were invited to join us. In addition to Ray’s 20 car collection and huge collection of automobilia, advertising and outboard motors, Ray’s son Ray of Helger Brother’s Racing also opened the door to see his car collection too.
Ray Helger’s 1938 Ford Phaeton restoration project.
Ray’s barn has his car and automobilia collection
Ford Delivery with collectibles inside and out.
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Junk Yard Junkets (continued) nother quickly planned junket to Blanchard Auto Salvage in Wilton, N.H. the follow Saturday was cancelled when there was little response, but I went there Friday afternoon to scope it out because it had been 9 years since I was last there. I met the owner Wendy Blanchard who was very open to letting our club roam through the back end of this 30 acre yard to look over the remaining old iron that dates back to the 1940�s. I took over 80 pictures and there will be another slide show video link to give everyone an idea of what has survived the rush to crush that took place when the scrap prices went through the roof a few years ago.
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Blanchard Auto Parts sign is a Ford F 800 Cab
Ken Gilchrist shows Diane Thorton the 6 cyl engine in this 1946 Chevy pickup that also came with a truck load of replacement sheet metal.
The planned Nov. 14 Saturday morning junket was replaced to investigate a relatively new salvage yard operation in Norton that was formerly the Goosebrook Garage on Dean Street, now being resurrected in a former non-descript yard hidden in the woods about a mile further down the road. Diane Thornton knew the new owner Kenny Gilchrist and he had a couple of 1966 Mustang Hoods that she wanted to look at. This was Diane’s first junkyard junket and she really took to picking like a pro. Not only did she leave with a Mustang hood, she found a set of Mustang hubcaps better than the dented ones she currently has and a set of new Mustang floor mats. Ken has been cleaning up and reconfiguring the yard for the past four years and will be setting a machine shop and body shop to do restorations in addition to the salvage operations that he and his son do. One yard we also looked into doing during this unusual string of warn November weather was revisiting Winkel Auto in Milford, NH.. Unfortunately Owner Gary LaPlante was on his annual Arizona trip on the hunt for more of his favorite Mopar bodied muscle cars to haul back to N.H. If the weather holds up, plan on Saturday Dec. 5 for one final junket before the Santa season shuts us down.
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Wright’s Chicken Farm Cruise
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October 20th Members Meeting Greg Pope Speaks
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Our November Guest Speaker was fellow club member Greg Pope of Pope Insurance. Greg went over the latest information on Agreed Value Insurance, which is now called Guaranteed Value Insurance in Massachusetts, available for collector car owners.
Greg answered specific questions that members had regarding their own coverages. Greg’s Pope Insurance, located in Plainville on Rte. 152 and Sacchetti Insurance out of Warwick, R.I. on the Old Post Road are two major sponsors for our car show and cruise nights along with Barrows Insurance in Mansfield, Jay Barrows is also a club member; Stonewall Insurance Group in Wilbraham; Jeff DeMarey, also a club member and (Doug) Reinbold Insurance in North Attleboro, all of which are independent insurance agents who are auto enthusiasts, collectors and hobbyists that understand the subtleties of providing the right guaranteed insurance coverage for our collector cars in Massachusetts as well as for those fortunate few that may also have a snow bird collector car in Florida. Specialty insurer names like Grundy, Haggerty, J.C. Taylor and American Modern are well known in the hobby that provide these specialty Guarantee Policies for Massachusetts car owners. And each has subtle differences in what types of cars can be covered. As an example of recent entries in this market, like Liberty Mutual’s Safeco Classic Car Insurance, does not cover kit or restored cars rebuilt to less than 50 % original content or cars less than 10 years old or cars that were designed for racing or built with jet or nitrous oxide performance engines. On the other hand, Grundy will cover almost everything including late model specialty collector editions cars while J.C. Taylor breaks down coverage categories; Antiques & Classics, 19 years and older or Modified & Customs that include other specialty, non-stock vehicles including kit & replicas, exotics, hot rods and rest-mods. The good news today is they do not typically require an appraisal. Photos and the stated value is usually all that is needed if it falls within their accepted value range for that year & make or type of vehicle to get the Guaranteed Value coverage. The big benefit is much lower premiums, usually 50% or more, than one would get through your daily driver insurer for stated value which is not guaranteed and typically includes a deductible as well. Additional, or multiple car coverages will also continue to enjoy further premium reductions. If you have a question about your own situation and you can’t find the answer on the Insurance carrier’s website, don’t hesitate to contact Greg one of our sponsoring insurance
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Wrench’n
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Coffee
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Robert’s Automotive
ob Hines hosted the 2nd fall season Wrenchin’ n Coffee session at his Robert’s Automotive in Attleboro that enjoyed great weather with many club members getting down and dirty on their cars and trucks. Here’s some of the project work that took place:
Rick Lawlor had wife Paula’s 1956 T-Bird back in the shop to finish up installing the passenger side wing vent window. Don Cole drove his 1973 Volvo 1800 ES in to track down a loose speedo cable connection. Patrick Touhey had his 1969 Plymouth Valiant in to replace the Pitman arm bushing and do another front end alignment. John Sturniolo got a set of used radials from John Guarvage and remounted them on his wheels that was sporting ancient poly ply tires. John Bloom mounted a new set of tires & inner tubes for his Model A wheels with the help of Bob Wood and Diane Thornton’s nimble hands. Diane also replaced her 1966 Mustang’s summer wheels with winter treads. John Nunez performed a chassis lube and oil change on his Chevy Suburban. Greg Pope brought in his 1969 GTO convertible for a potential buyer to inspect underneath on the lift and also test drive her, top down. Rich Armando installed disc brakes and replaced a plugged gas tank evaporator on his GMC Sierra 4 x 4 pickup. Mike Rabbitt dismantled his 1971 Imperial K-Frame front end down to pieces-parts in preparation to install a new disc brake setup. And to top off the coffee & donuts, Bob also arranged for Advanced Auto Parts’ Commercial Account Manager, Jeff Carpenter and his wife Donna, to drive all the way from Fall River with a bucket filled with donated auto cleaning products to be raffled off to one lucky morning wrencher; and a happy John Sturniolo won the drawing. We’re hoping to get another Wrenchin’ session in for December, but with the 2nd Saturday also being the 12th, the same date as Mark Crichton’s hosted annual club holiday social in Foxborough, we were thinkin’ possibly the following Saturday, the 19th of December. Waddaya’ think? And, Thanks Bob for a really great morning work session in your garage.
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Wright’s Chicken Farm Cruise
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he 1st Sunday in November is when car clubs from all over Southern New England make their final annual cruise to Wright’s Chicken Farm in Harrisville, R.I. for a noon sit down at their famous family style all you can eat chicken dinner. Diane Thorton wanted to do something different to make it more fun and interesting. What she came up with was to set the starting point at the Wrentham American Legion at Wampum Corner on Rte. 1A instead of our car club in Norfolk and cruise for a 1 pm wine tasting in Johnston, RI at the Verde Winery and a 2 pm shopping stopover in historic Chepachet before heading up to Wright’s Chicken Farm for our 3 pm seating.
This Wrentham American Legion was where the Mass Cruisers held their first car show 24 years ago and it saved negotiating the center rotaries in Norfolk and traffic lights in Wrentham centers. We had 18 cars with 40 members and guests for this cruise, so keeping everyone together and not getting lost required maps which Diane provided, gps settings for those that had them, and cell phone numbers and patience for the stragglers and late starters.
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Wright’s Chicken Farm Cruise (continued)
While waiting, we also saw one of the Model A clubs and another car club go past heading out to Wright’s Chicken Farm before starting our own cruise. It all worked. Driving over the back roads of Rhode Island in late autumn foliage was a first for many members and it was beautiful. The wine tasting at Verde Winery worked out perfect. The hour and half of shopping at the Chepachet antique shops and just enjoying the historic architecture of the buildings and oldest general store in America, Brown & Hopkins, provided the Lady Cruisers something extra. Of course, the chicken sit down dinner, family style, was delicious as always and inexpensive. It was also Mark Crichton’s birthday which was celebrated with a Wright’s Ice Cream candle. This could become an annual tradition that we can look forward doing each November, rain, snow or shine. Great job Diane.
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December 2015
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Member meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Norfolk MA clubhouse.
No we can’t stop for a latte.
P.O. Box 217 Wrentham, MA 02093