MONTHLY CRUISIN’
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with the Mass Cruisers Auto Club
www.masscruisers.com And Facebook
“CRUISIN’ AT THE SPEED OF FUN” Volume 23 Issue 2
February 2013
Fred Hire, Push Rods Hot Rod Club, said of 9th Annual Mid-Winter Hot Rod Drag Racing Nostalgia Fest: “The 9th FEST was the best so far with over 250 in attendance, lots of venders and seven drag vehicles on display. I was honored to have special guests; Larry Fisher, Director of the NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, Calif. and long time NHRA officials Steve Gibbs and Greg Sharp also from Calif. In addition, many thanks to Deb Rifchin McDowell, Marv Rifchin's daughter, Mr. M &H Tire, for displaying many of her dad's photos.” See Lou Modestino’s report on pages 4 and 5
Cruiser Steve Huntington decries the loss of yet another bone yard full of vintage parts and project cars for those of us young enough to take on another project. Page 7.
Don Doucette, Executive Director of the U. S. Route 6 Tourist Association, Massachusetts Division, guest speaker at the November, 2012, Cruiser’s members meeting, spoke about his Providence to Provinetown Cruise and Route 6. Don’s presentation was captured by Cruiser John Buchanan’s report on page 9.
Page 2 Cruising Monthly Contact us by snail mail: P.O. Box 217 Wrentham, MA 02093
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MASS CRUISERS AUTO CLUB CRUISIN’ AT THE SPEED OF FUN
We’re on the Web! www.masscruisers.com
Or by email:
Phone: 781 551-0520 for more information Our clubhouse is located at 124 Main St. behind the Dunkin Donut and across from the Police Station in the center of Norfolk MA
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.
Club Officers
Directory
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Classifieds
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Hot Rod/Nostalgia Drag Racing Reunion
4
President– Larry Nyborn
Hot Rod/Nostalgia (cont.)
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Vice President—Fred Tierney
Monthly Calendar
6
Orange County Wrecking
7
Paris Cabaret Anniversary Party
8
Treasurer—Wayne Lestan
Nov 20 Guest Speaker Don Doucette
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Webmaster—Steve Vining
Shows & Events
10
New Member Liason—Dole Cole
-More stuff for sale
11
Secretary—Rose Sawayer
Sgt. at Arms—Rick Lawlor Special Contributor—John Buchanan
Advertising Rates Business card space…….$25.00 per year
To advertise in the Monthly Cruiser, please send a business card and a check for $25.00 to
Editor—Paul Saulnier
Special Events Cruise Night—Steve Huntington Car Show—Rich Armando
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Classified
Monthly Cruising
For sale 2 Vintage gas pumps for sale Giilbarco Trimline Moden, ear in the 70's no. 10411101 MX 24683 Excellent Condition - complete with hoses and nozzle. Asking $525.00. Tokheim gas pump - year in the 30'-40-s. Visible Register- Excellent Condition- complete with hoses & nozzle- Asking $650.00 1956 Ford Pick up parts - Complete rolling chassis, Also have lots of construction small equipment and lots of nails, threaded rod, screws, etc Call Bob @ 774-254-5989 for any additional info.
1953 Ford Power Steering Unit—52 & 53 STOCK Ford Front Ends, rare. $1100.00 or BO, Jack Lane 508-397-9741 For Sale: One 2 gallon pail of Lizard Skin Ceramic Insulation. Unopened and sealed that was purchased last April. Retail price is $159.00. ……….$125.00 or BO…………………….Wayne Lestan 508-668-6544
For Sale: New Electric Space Heaters, 500W, $20.00 per unit.
Jack Lane 58-397-9741 Aftermarket Mustang II Steering Rack, $75.00 · New Bob Drake wiring harness for 1940-47 car or light truck, $30.00 · New Stainless Steel Coburn dress up kit, $35.00 · New Framing River S.S. steering universal, $35.00 · Used 1932-36 tail lights and number plate bracket, $5.00 Call John @ 508-376-8712
Monthly Cruising
Written by Lou Modestino.
Hot Rod/Nostalgia Drag Racing
Page 4
Photos by Fred Hire, Push Rods Hot Rod Club
A race pal and myself headed for the Elk's Club in Hudson, MA on Sat. for the subject item. When we got there around 1 p.m. there were 10-11 drag racing machines outside the building. A great turnout. According to those in the know, it was the biggest crowd ever for the event as it was wall-to-wall with people during the entire time I was there. Inside organizer Gil Coraine was the on the mic and kept things going with raffles and the like. Lots of vintage movies (now on DVD) depicted what racing was like in the 50's and 60's. Mostly of the ones I saw down in the front row in front of the screen was action from Sanford, ME, Charlestown RI and Orange, MA. I didn't see any from Connecticut Dragway but I left at 3 p.m. and some of that could have been on the screen after that because the show ran until 6 p.m. I saw a lot of the different club jackets there and displays. One included the Push Rods out of Waltham, MA which had a picture of Pete Hamilton who was one of their members and went onto to win the Daytona 500 and Talladega 500 in the 60's among other things. I saw some familiar faces from the MA Cruisers the club out of Norfolk, MA who organize and staff the bi-monthly Bass Pro Cruise night which is the biggest thing around southeastern MA and everywhere else for that matter.
Monthly Cruising
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Reunion, January 5, 2013
(cont.)
Lew Boyd for Coastal 181 the motorsports publishing house based in Newburyport, MA showed up and eyeballed the activity. Also, Joe Lombardo of New England Dragway was there talking up his inaugural NHRA National in mid-June. There was just too much to mention here. If you missed it you'll have to wait until next year. I was also there to promote the 9th Annual Norwood Arena and New England Dragway South Reunion on Sunday, June 2, 2013 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m at Bezema Motors on the Auto Mile in Norwood, MA.
Lou manages a motorsports blog in The Enterprise and Patriot Ledger at www.enterprisenews.com/tracktalk and anyone who wants to receive the blog links directly can send their e-mail to lmodestino@hotmail.com
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Monthly Cruising
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15—17th, Worcester, Mass. Advanced Auto Parts Monster Jam at DCU Center, 50 Forest Street (508 755-6800_
16th, Waltham, Mass. NE Model Eng’g Society, Charles River Museum of Industry, 154 Moody Street.
19th Members Meeting @ Clubhouse.
24th, Norwood VFW, Mass. Indoor swap meet—parts and memorabilia only. Dave Vasquesz: 781 828-4141
24th, Norfolk, 5:30 PM. Club social at Eagle Brook Saloon. Desert at the Milik’s in Needham
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2-3, West Springfield, MA. Annual Frank Marrata Auto & Race-A-Rarma combine 2 shows in 1. Better Living Center at The Big E, 1305 Memorial Drive.
12th, Business Meeting @ Clubhouse
17th, MASSCAR’s 25th Annual Model Car Exhibition, Holiday Inn, Taunton, exit 9 off Route 495.
19th Members Meeting @ Clubhouse.
22-24, Boston, Town Fair Tire 39th ISCA Annual World of Wheels, Boston Seaport World Trade Center. Rick Finamore: 508 660-1542
31 Contact Mary or Bob Lepore for available months to schedule hosting the monthly winter dinner socials at your favorite restaurant with coffee and pot luck desserts at your home.
Orange County Wrecking Yard Liquidation Steve Huntington found this article while cruising through Craig’s List.
America’s salvage yards are disappearing because of stiff regulations and a lack of DIYers. It may be best for the environment, but for those of us with memories of trips to the local wrecking yard with Dad, it is a sad reality. I cherished those hours of walking up and down the isles looking for parts. I would always be on the look out for anything special and can still remember some of those junk yard finds. Well, reader P. Trout just sent in a link to yard in Orange County that is selling off around 40 classics. Take a look at the craigslist ad here. The seller does not mention the reason for the sale, but they do have quite a mixture of interesting stuff on offer. The name of the business is Goldenwest Auto Wrecking and they are located in Westminster. They state that the cars will available for inspection on June 22nd and 23rd, but that they will not discuss conditions or prices over the phone. We assume that there are just too many cars to hassle with that. If you are in the area, you may want to stop by and take a look. Usually salvage yard cars are too far gone to bother with, but many of these do look fairly complete. The yards I used to frequent with my father are long gone, so I wouldn’t mind strolling this one just to rekindle some of those old memories. In that spirit, lets see how many mention-worthy treasures we can spot and name in the photos provided. Special thanks goes to P. Trout for sending this in.
Monthly Cruising
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Paris Cabaret Anniversary Party January 12, 2013 The Mass Cruisers anniversary party on the Paris Cabaret in Stoughton was a great night as usual. Marie Armando did another great job putting it all together. The crowd was a little lighter this year with only the half the members and the significant others joining. A trilogy from the musicals of THE PRODUCERS, JEKYLL & HYDE and MAMA MIA was the theme of the night’s show. Our singing and dancing wait staff performing flawlessly throughout the one night. Outgoing President Larry Nyborn had a few words for the members before he passed the Presidential torch to incoming President Fred Tierney. Fred presented Larry with a token of the Club’s appreciation for the past years service. Larry won’t be far way either, because Larry is the new VP. Fred also passed a card around for Bob Eisenhauer for all to sign. The Cruiser of the year was announced, but this year’s winners were victims’ of the flu and couldn’t attend. The winners were selected for their dedication to the club this past year. They organized and ran the valve cover racing events. From building and designing a lot of the valve covers to bringing them to the cruise nights for display and then running the races at the car show and a few cruise nights. They attended almost all of the cruise nights together. Lorna has become a staple at the cruiser table and we look forward to Mike’s Halloween outfit every year. They are a pleasure to be around when working the cruise nights. They truly enjoy doing it too, that’s what make them this year’s winners. Congratulations Lorna and Mike Rabbitt.
Welcome new members Jim and Sara Kirby
Pat Rossman and Jeane Waite share a laugh
Monthly Cruising
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2012 Nov. 20 Meeting Guest Speaker Don Doucette The November 12 monthly meeting kicked off our late fall and winter monthly meetings of guest speakers and food for the hungry among us. Jack Lane took care of supplying the food with a variety of Subway subs, potato salad & cole slaw and Rose Sawayer with homemade brownies, cookies & a Bundt cake ahead of the 7 pm meeting start. A voluntary $5 donation was asked to help defray the purchased food costs. The guest speaker was Don Doucette, Executive Director of the U. S. Route 6 Tourist Association, Massachusetts Division, a 501 C3 public charity whose mission is to preserve our American Heritage by helping with the restoration of historic structures with a focus on economic development by helping people along the depressed areas of U.S. Route 6. Don, like many of us, took U.S. Route 6 for granted having been exposed to it from early childhood familiarity with the many tourist attractions and activities that were part of our lives while growing up. Don’s presentation followed the history of the U.S. Interstate highway system earliest days following WW I when General “Black Jack” Pershing was chartered by the war department to lead a military convoy along the Lincoln Highway from Washington, DC to San Francisco, some 3,000 miles, to assess the viability for transcontinental road transport of men, weapons and material. A 28 year old lieutenant colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower was assigned as an officer observer with the Army’s new Tank Corps and this trek would help shape his ideas for the future limited access highway system that he is credited with bringing to reality with the Federal Highway Act of 1956 during his Presidency. The roads of 1919, half of which were dirt and in deplorable condition, limited travel to an average of 58 miles a day. As a side note, the convoy stretched for 3 miles and it destroyed or damaged some 88 bridges during the two month long expedition. But, this expedition laid the groundwork for what would ultimately result in passage of the Federal Highway Act of 1925. Two years ago Don had asked John Buchanan over coffee one morning if it would be feasible to have a historic U.S. Route 6 car event that could help promote the highway. That idea was shopped around to a number of car clubs that held car show and cruise night events along the Route 6 corridor and several in the Fall River and New Bedford area, led by the Bob Bramwell President of the Cuz’s Car Club, pulled together a meeting this past spring with representatives from six different clubs and Don to organize and set a date for the 1st annual Providence to Provincetown cruise weekend in October. That cruise turned out to be an overwhelming success with over 200 cars signing in at the Province Lands Visitor Center cruise destination on October 6 & 7. The model for this cruise was based on one held in 2011 called the “River to River; Iowa’s Forgotten Route 6” Classic Car Cruise from the Mississippi to the Missouri River by the Iowa Division. They held their 2nd annual River to River cruise in early September this year and there will be 2nd annual Provincetown cruise on the 1st weekend in October of 2013 for those that want to be sure they have it marked on their calendar. Although U.S. Route 66 gets all the press with their “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” slogan, you will definitely “Get Twice the Kicks on Route 6”. Thanks to Don and Nancy Doucette for sharing their enthusiasm for the sights and history of U.S. Route 6 and for starting another annual adventure that we can enjoy with our favorite cars and life partners.
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For Sale * 1968 Chev1lelle Malibu (flat hood) hood. Excellent original condition $125. * 1965 Buick Skylark 6 cylinder fan shroud very good original condition for $20. * 1968-72 Chevelle radiator like new. Fits 68-72. 28 3/8'' core. 2-row automatic transmission. $75 * 1965 Buick Skylark Center Link - may fit chevelle - very good condition $25 * Front Sway Bar fully restored with new bushings believe to fit 65 Chevelle or other similar GM applications $75 * 4 Series GM 12 bolt Richmond Ring and Pinion Set with 4.88 gears in new condition $100. * Original & in mint condition is a 1968 Chevelle Powerglide automatic dial assembly for center console $45. I also have a 4 speed automatic piece if you have overdrive. * Accelerator Cable fits GM 1968-1972 Small Block 4 barrell carb $20. * Brake pedals. For automatics from a 65 buick skylark and a 68 chevelle. may fit other cars. these are original and in excellent condition. $25 each. * Original 1968 Chevelle cross member. Sand blasted and painted to look new. Used originally on powerglide trans and than on a 700R4 overdrive. Nice piece for $100. * GM big block flex plate. Heavy duty made in the USA. Gold. Was used on an LS-6 454ci for about 3 months. Like new condition. $50. * 1968 Chevelle drive shaft. Sanded, primed, painted and professionally balanced. Includes yoke. Measures 53 1/4 in length. Was used on Chevelle with 700R4 automatic transmission. Measures 53 1/4 in lebgth. $150. * 1965 BUICK SKYLARK SPECIAL CUSTOM CONVERTIBLE. Frame off restoration, NO MOTOR but comes with rebuilt Muncie M-20 & Hurst Shifter gate and shifter, rebuilt 12 bolt posi rear w/ 3.42 rear gears, nostalgic Stewart Werner Green Line gauges, new interior carpet and seats, too much to list. Call for more info & pictures. $15,900. Set (4) of Chevelle / Camero Rally trim rings. 14 inch. Two are like new the other two have scratches. $25 * GM / Chevelle / Camero paper advertisements for sale. All are in very good condition. $20 each. · 1970 Automotive preview. 8 page article on GM featuring the 1970 Chevelle. Article dated 10-7-69. · Life magazine advertisement includes an advertisement for the 1970 Chevelle. Add dated May 29,1970. · 1 970 Chevelle advertisement on poster board · Camero SS Convertible with Rally Sport equipment and a new air intake hood. I have 2of these. · Camero Command Performance advertisement on white poster board. · 1970 Chevelle advertisement. Call Jim 508 954-0624 with questions or e-mail me at jimss396@comcast.net. Thank you.
January 2013
Red Green on Buying a New Car I’m looking into buying a new car and its turning into a real life moment for me. I’ve started to realize that since they are starting to make cars that will last for 10 years, I won’t need a whole lot more of them. That changes everything. I’d better make sure I get a car that I feel good about. I don’t want to end my days in a Yugo. No I think I’d better buy that sports car I’ve always wanted. The clock is ticking here. So I went looking at Corvettes and Vipers, that kind of car. I noticed the salesman trying to look away as I struggled for a full five minutes to get into the car. But that was like an eye blink compared to the time it took me to get out. And while I was in there, about three inches off the ground in the prone position, I didn’t look like a macho racer at the Indy 500. I looked like an old guy on a stretcher. People would think I was driving my grandson’s car. And on the self-preservation level, bad things happen when reflexes like mine are going 150 miles per hour. I’m calling the salesman today and ordering a small gutless sedan with plastic doors and airbags. Please don’t say, “You are what you drive”. Member meetings are held the 3rd Tuesday of each month at the Norfolk MA clubhouse.
P.O. Box 217 Wrentham, MA 02093