into an auto parts store and you

are presented with an entire wall

of motor oils to choose from. Con-

ventional or synthetic, API and

SAE ratings, single or multi-

viscosity, formulations for high

mileage engines and don’t forget

about the multiple additives for

specific driving or operating condi-

tions. Choosing an engine oil

seems to be harder than finding a

solution for peace in the Middle

East. There was a time when a big

bottle of castor oil could be used

to prepare your food, cure bodily

ailments or to lubricate your

horseless carriage. Oh, for the

simpler times!

Fortunately, the commercial of-

fered perfect clarity. I should use

the oil being advertised because

“science” says so.

I’ll take a case!

I really hope that this company

was going for the chuckle, realiz-

ing that getting a bunch of car

people to laugh would bring them

into their stores. After all, car

folks are a humorous bunch of

people.

For proof of that just watch me do

an oil change on one of my vehi-

cles. I’ll also show you some cool

“science” with how cat litter ab-

sorbs any type of oil!

Tommmmm

Because, You Know...Science

News from the Northwest Vintage Thunderbird Club

August 2020

Volume 37, Issue 8

Thunderbird Flyer

Ford’s Studiosonic Sound

System

2

FOMOCO Fetches a Pair of Four

Legged Robots

4

Old Portland

Vortex I

6

Hyundai’s Mobility Vision

mmmmmmmmmmm

7

A commercial for one of

the large auto part chain

stores played on the radio

recently. Like most of

these spots it was telling me the

benefits of doing an oil change

myself. As a hobbyist mechanic, I

will say an oil change is probably

one of the easier tasks an auto

owner can perform. That is until

you try to twist off an oil filter that

was installed by King Kong! Any-

way the ad finished by saying that I

should use the synthetic oil they

just told me about “because, you

know...science”.

Now, granted, I will be the first to

say that I do not know everything

about motor oil these days. Walk

Courtesy of SEMA

Page 2 Thunderbird Flyer

Prior to the introduction of the 8-track tape player in 1965 and FM stereo in ’66, Ford brought automotive entertainment into cars

with the Studiosonic Sound System, a miniaturized reverberation unit that created “music hall” sound for the American driver.

Laurens Hammond was granted a patent for a device that created a reverb or echo effect by running a signal through series of

springs creating a delayed sound. Early Hammond organ reverb units were housed in a large speaker cabinet, but eventually they

were miniaturized to fit into organs of the same name and the Fender Twin Reverb electric guitar amplifier. The Studiosonic used a

Club member Eric

Johansson has sever-

al of these reverb

units available. Con-

tact him for details

about condition and

pricing.

Page 3 Volume 37, Issue 8

compact but specially dampened spring reverb. Adding a delay or echo between the front and rear speakers created a more spa-

cious sound. The Studiosonic delivered what Ford said was another dimension to listening enjoyment with the simple flip of a switch

and twist of a knob.

The pages above are reproduced from June 1964 Shop Tips from Ford, a publication sent from Ford to company and independent

centers servicing Ford vehicles.

Page 4 Thunderbird Flyer

Thunderbird Trivia answer on back page

What year would the Ford Thunderbird first receive an “Opera

Window”, the small glass opening in the C pillar of the vehicle?

FOMOCO Fetches a Pair of Four Legged Robots

T hese four-legged dog-like robots can sit, shake

hands and roll over. They also can perform 360-

degree camera scans, handle 30-degree grades

and climb stairs for hours at a time.

That’s because they are actually 70-pound quadruped ro-

bots with distinctly dog-like mobility. They’re part of a Ford

manufacturing pilot program designed to save time, reduce

cost and increase efficiency.

Fluffy, the name given by the robot’s handler Paula Wiebel-

haus, is one of the two models Ford is leasing from Boston

Dynamics, known for creating sophisticated mobile robots.

(The other Ford robot is named Spot after the product’s

actual name.)

The robots, which Ford is piloting at its Van Dyke Transmis-

sion Plant, are bright yellow and easily recognizable.

Equipped with five cameras, the robots can travel up to 3

mph on a battery lasting nearly two hours and will be used

to scan the plant floor and assist

engineers in updating the original

Computer Aided Design which is

utilized when we’re getting ready

to retool our plants.

“We design and build the plant.

After that, over the years, chang-

es are made that rarely get docu-

mented,” says Mark Goderis,

Ford’s digital engineering manag-

er. “By having the robots scan

our facility, we can see what it

actually looks like now and build a new engineering model.

That digital model is then used when we need to retool the

plant for new products.”

Without Fluffy, the update would be far more tedious.

“We used to use a tripod, and we would walk around the

facility stopping at different locations, each time standing

around for five minutes waiting for the laser to scan,” Gode-

ris recalls. “Scanning one plant could take two weeks. With

Fluffy’s help, we are able to do it in half the time.”

The old way also was expensive – it cost nearly $300,000

to scan one facility. If this pilot works, Ford’s manufacturing

team could scan all its plants for a fraction of the cost.

These cutting-edge technologies help save the company mon-

ey and retool facilities faster, ultimately helping bring new

vehicles to market sooner.

In time, Goderis says, the intent is to be able to operate the

robots remotely, programming them for plant missions and

receiving reports immediately from anywhere in the country.

For now, the robots can be programmed to follow a specific

path and can be operated from up to 50 meters away with the

out-of-the-box tablet application.

The key to Fluffy and Spot’s success is their agility, says

Wiebelhaus, who controls her robot through a gaming-like

device that allows her to remotely see the camera view.

Should an issue occur, Wiebelhaus’ control device features a

safe stop that stops it from colliding with anything.

The robots have three operational gaits – a walk for stable

ground, an amble for uneven terrain and a special speed for

stairs. They can change positions from a crouch to a stretch,

which allows them to be deployed to difficult-to-reach areas

within the plant. They can handle tough terrain, from grates to

steps to 30-degree inclines. If they fall, they can right them-

selves. They maintain a safe, set distance from objects to

prevent collisions.

At times, Fluffy sits on its robotic haunches and rides on the

back of a small, round Autonomous Mobile Robot, known in-

formally as Scouter. Scouter glides smoothly up and down the

aisles of the plant, allowing Fluffy to conserve battery power

until it’s time to get to work. Scouter can autonomously navi-

gate facilities while scanning and capturing 3-D point clouds

to generate a CAD of the facility. If an area is too tight for

Scouter, Fluffy comes to the rescue.

“There are areas in the plant that you might not want to walk

into because they might be tough to maneuver,” says Wiebel-

haus. “It’s easier and safer to send Fluffy back there.”

Although Fluffy is perfectly capable of rolling over, Wiebelhaus

doesn’t see dog shows in his future.

“Fluffy is an amazing manufacturing tool,” said Weibelhaus.

“Yes, it’s interesting and new, but Fluffy should really be val-

ued for his work and tenacity. He can do so much more than

dance and roll over. We want to push him to the limits in the

manufacturing plant and see what value he has for the com-

pany.” Courtesy Ford Media Center

Paula Weibelhaus directs Fluffy

through Ford’s Van Dyke plant

Page 5 Volume 37, Issue 8

T-Bird Talk

Meeting Minutes and

Club Information

The club has not met since February in response to State of Oregon orders to minimize group gatherings.

Small get togethers and/or cruises that respect these new norms may occur and will be posted in this newslet-

ter and through email to members.

One such event occurred recently and club member Eric Johansson provided the story below.

When everything you want to take on

the road trip won’t fit into the trunk of

your Thunderbird...bring along a Thun-

derbird trunk!

No information was available about

how this ‘55 T-trailer was made or its

owner but it sure looks cool!

13 members from Northwest Vintage Thunderbird Club and the Edsel Club gathered at club

member Jason Peters Mid Century Motors shop. Mike (Hinsch) and I were the only ones from

our club, all others were familiar faces from the Edsel club.

One couple was picking up the Falcon station wagon in the pics. Jason had completed work on

the headliner, replaced vent window seal and cat whiskers for windows (keeps the windows

from rattling and cuts down the wind noise), as well as some other details.

His two main topics that he covered were:

1) Vinyl restoration, prep, and dye of new dash pad. Covering techniques, products.

2) Door welt seals, these ones were for Edsels; restoring to original using material from SMS;

and then using his sewing machine to add additional narrow diameter welt to match original.

He is able to reproduce original materials as many low demand items are not reproduced or

not finished completely that were original.

Jason’s restoration talents are numerous. His work experience with SMS allows him to seek

out the most original material items to meet his customers needs.

He is experienced in all phases of vinyl and leather dying, as well as paint touch up, paint and

interior detailing. Jason is a distributor of Griott’s car care products, and distributor for the na-

tional wiring harness company over in Bend, OR, I cannot remember the name of it. He is very

good at finding the original source for restoration products and will pass on the savings to his

customers.

I thought he did a fantastic job on my exterior and interior detailing of Big Red the week before.

He will plan to do the engine bay next year prior to our convention. Jason has also been in-

volved with prepping and selling cars for collectors and estates.

I think he is a great addition to our club. Hopefully he can assist some of our COVID confined

members!

Cheers, Eric

"So that what you have in effect is a Charlie Manson-Jerry Rubin-Angela

Davis-Jonathan Jackson-Bernadette Dohrn-Huey Newton-Timothy Leary-

Rolling Stone-monster heading directly for downtown Portland where the

American Legion is planning this year's Victory in Vietnam Parade."

Some radical wrote that in a San Francisco underground newspaper. It was

a few months after Kent State and the police riot at Portland State Universi-

ty, and to keep the peace in the Rose City that summer, Oregon Gov. Tom

McCall and a group of hippies collaborated to stage the first and only state-

sponsored rock festival in American history Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, 1970.

In late August 1970, President Richard Nixon was scheduled to speak at

the American Legion national convention in Portland. The Portland-based

People's Army Jamboree announced it would hold a concurrent event to

protest the Vietnam War. The FBI told McCall he should expect 25,000

Legionnaires and 50,000 anti-war demonstrators to clash in Portland and

top the mayhem of the 1968 Democratic Party convention in Chicago. Fear-

ing that radicals might foment violence against the Legionnaires, a few

Portland hippies proposed a free rock festival outside Portland as an alter-

native. The hippies asked McCall for a place to hold it. He gave them a

state park and told local and state law enforcement officials to lay off.

The festival was called Vortex I: A Biodegradable Festival of Life, and for the

100,000 people who attended this

event at Milo McIver State Park

outside Estacada, it was a short

strange Oregon trip indeed. While

the festival raged, peace prevailed

in Portland, and the only act of vio-

lence reported was a broken win-

dow at the downtown Meier & Frank

(now Macy's) building.

Naturally it happened in Oregon, in an era when the state made national

news on a regular basis with a series of unprecedented political measures.

We once solved problems in this state.

After interviewing close to 400 people, examining hundreds of photo-

graphs, and reading about a thousand pages of primary source documents

related to Vortex, I've compiled my list of favorite stories:

McCall, a Republican, was facing a tough a re-election vote later that fall.

When he approved the festival, he said, "I've just committed political sui-

cide." He won a second term in a landslide.

The Portland chapter of the American Red Cross, headed by a U.S. Bank

vice president named Jack Mills, purchased illegal drugs and hired people

to give them away inside McIver park, hoping to keep revelers there.

The doctor supervising Vortex I's medical center, Cameron Bangs, kept a

25,000-word in-the-moment diary of his experiences. It's probably the best

in-the-moment observation of the '60s-'70s-era counterculture in American

history. According to Dr. Bangs, the Oregon Air National Guard's first emer-

gency helicopter airlift was a young man suffering from an LSD overdose at

the festival.

The Oregon Air National Guard was instructed to drop

rose petals on potential rioters as a signal to disperse or

tear gas would follow.

Oregon State Parks' employees and the festival's hippie

administrators worked in perfect concord despite, or

because, the latter were under the influence of peyote.

Someone brought a pet cougar on a leash. Someone

brought a pet anaconda.

A band played naked on stage.

Nude hippies canoed in the Clackamas River.

Not one permit was issued to hold the event or was any

liability insurance taken out.

One of the state's most powerful corporate executive of

that era, the Cascade Corp.'s Robert Warren, drove a

pickup truck full of licorice out to the park.

At least 20 people reported seeing a naked vendor

cruising the park wearing nothing but a string of hot

dogs around his neck

and a red balloon.

Vortex I's cast of char-

acters, in the flesh and

the edges of the story,

included Spiro Agnew,

Red Skelton, the Rain-

bow Family, Matt

Groening, John Kerry, Donald Rumsfeld, and current

New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, who was

then a cub reporter at The Oregonian.

At the festival's end, McCall visited the park, hugged

some hippies, then joined them holding hands in a cir-

cle. They chanted "oms" for a few minutes and then

recited the Lord's Prayer and a few lines from William

Blake.

Top that, Woodstock!

Happy 40th birthday, Vortex. There's a lot more to you

and your far-out spirit than just a bunch of stoned, na-

ked hippies dancing on a field and fishing for salmon. To

me, you represent the quintessential model of solving a

problem, through bipartisanship, through risk-taking,

and by bucking all conventional political wisdom.

Sounds like Oregon's next governor and Legislature

should read all about you.

-- Matt Love is the author of "The Far Out Story of Vortex

I". Reach him at lovematt100@yahoo.com.

Portland has experienced almost two months of continuous protests by the time this newsletter reaches you. A protest that

happened 50 years ago in Portland describes a much different time. Matt Love originally wrote this on the 40th anniversary of

Vortex I in 2010. Events to celebrate the 50th anniversary have been postponed due to state restrictions for large gatherings. Editor

Page 6 Thunderbird Flyer

Old Portland Vortex I

Point B in style, comfort and

while remaining digitally con-

nected. Then when reaching

Point B,

which in this

case is

home, the

vehicle joins

When the

vehicle door

slides open

the vehicle

seat gently

moves you

into your

home and

becomes

another piece of furniture. The

vehicle will be able to transfer

environmental, information and

entertainment settings to the

W hat would you

think if some-

one told you

that the house

of tomorrow would not have a

garage? With all the talk about

self-driving and autonomous

vehicles it probably would not

sound so farfetched, right? Well

automaker Hyundai Motor ima-

gines that not only will tomor-

rows vehicle not require a gar-

age but that your vehicle would

become part of the house that

you live in!

Hyundai introduced “Mobility

Vision” a few years ago at the

Consumer Electronics Show in

Las Vegas by demonstrating

how their vehicle would provide

transportation from Point A to

house so there is no interrup-

tion to your life!

This sounds

much more

practical than

some of the

other ideas for

future trans-

portation. Ra-

ther than

swarms of cor-

porately owned

transportation

pods roaming

around waiting

to be beckoned

by a tap on

your cell phone, you would still

have your own vehicle. But it

could also be used to cool/heat

your residence, control enter-

Hyundai’s Mobility Vision

Page 7 Volume 37, Issue 8

Taking Wing

Things to do and places

to go with your T-bird

Club Activities No August events are planned at this time

VTCI Regionals and International

August 3rd-8th 2021 VTCI International, Portland, OR

Local Activities

August 1st (Sat) Alternative Hot Rod Event, Mike’s Drive-In, Milwaukie, OR

Further information at (503) 654-0131

August 7th (Fri) Silverton Flywheels First Friday Cruise-In, Silverton, OR

Further information at (503) 302-3471

August 30th (Sun) Taste of Motorsports, Portland International Raceway, Portland, OR

Further information at www.tasteofmotorsports.com/tickets

tainment and be used as a back-

up source of power for the

home. This also means that only

you or your family are the only

ones using the vehicle which is

something that has become

important considering what the

world is going through today.

Hyundai has maintained their

“Mobility Vision” by introducing

new ideas at succeeding CES’ so

they are serious about their idea

of the future. Hopefully, an old

Thunderbird will still have some

place to drive around in that

future. It will be tough trying to

compete with this Hyundai vehi-

cle though since the only tech

the T-bird has is roll down win-

dows and AM radio.

Hyundai

Hyundai’s vehicle integrates into

the home of the future providing

one source for environmental and

entertainment control.

Words by Tom Przedwojewski

Email: administrator@nwtbirds.org

Find us on the web at

www.nwtbirds.org

The VTCI 2020 International committee met recently to discuss

the cancellation AND the prospects of holding an International in

2021. The VTCI directors approved our request to host the Inter-

national in 2021. The committee renegotiated with Red Lion for

a similar time in August 2021 with most venues willing to accept

our current contracts for August of 2021.

So we will continue our planning and hopefully things will be bet-

ter in another year and we can show our fellow T-birders some

Northwest hospitality!

Northwest Vintage

Thunderbird Club

Officers

Passing Lane Fun stuff from along the

road

Tom Przedwojewski 360-513-6923 cl

President 64skibird@gmail.com

Bob Peters bob@cafent.com

Vice President

Mark Haworth madhaworth@comcast.net

Secretary

Vicky Wimsatt wvwimsatt@gmail.com

Treasurer

Club Gear

We have contracted with Stitch ’n Embroi-

dery in Oregon City for

club members to have

most anything they

could use to have the

club logo embroidered

on it; shirts, sweats,

hoodies and jackets or backpacks. Check

out their site and then call to see if it can

be produced!

1956.

You could not be faulted if you said 1973 since this is when the “Opera Win-

dow” was introduced as an $80 option only to be made standard later in the

model year.

But the 1956 Thunderbird’s “Port Window” in the Glass-Fibre Top fits the

definition for an opera window. Everyone just calls it a porthole window be-

cause the round shape resembles the portholes on a boat.

Thunderbird Trivia Answer

Maybe

you

should

have

bought a

smaller

tv