JJJANUARYANUARYANUARY 202020202020 VVVOLOLOL. 40 N. 40 N. 40 NOOO. 12. 12. 12 http://clubs.hemmings.com/chvasunflowerhttp://clubs.hemmings.com/chvasunflowerhttp://clubs.hemmings.com/chvasunflower

Monthly Meeting Monthly Meeting -- Friday Friday -- January 10th January 10th -- 7:30 PM7:30 PM Women's Club of Topeka Women's Club of Topeka -- 5221 SW West Drive 5221 SW West Drive -- Topeka, KSTopeka, KS

Enter at the South DoorEnter at the South Door

This Month’s FeaturesThis Month’s Features “75 Years ago Along the Action Era Highways”

by Kelly Flory

“Car Buzz” by Bob Vukas

“GM Throttle Body ”Submitted by Dale Schneider

“No Frills But Nice” by Danny & Becky Downs

“Remember When…” by Helen Hutchings

Check the Calendar on Page 1 for Complete Listing of Upcoming Events

January 10 — CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting — Topeka, KS

January 18 — CHVA Sunflower Region Planning 1:00 PM at Vukas’ resi-

dence - 3806 SW Mission Ave, Topeka

February TBA – CHVA Drive ‘N Eat Tour

February 14 – CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting – Merriam KS –

March 13 – CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting – Topeka KS

March TBA — CHVA Drive ‘N Eat Tour

LLOCALOCAL ANDAND NNATIONALATIONAL MEMBERSHIPSMEMBERSHIPS AREARE DUEDUE FORFOR PAYMENTPAYMENT JJANUARYANUARY 1, 20201, 2020

Steve Hartwich’s 1965 Buick Electra 225 4dr HardtopSteve Hartwich’s 1965 Buick Electra 225 4dr HardtopSteve Hartwich’s 1965 Buick Electra 225 4dr Hardtop

Rich Gibbs photo

N

“The Starterator”

1150 NW Sunset Ln Topeka, KS 66618-1148

(785) 286-2846 E-mail us at: sr-chva@cox.net

Information: must be received by the 25th of the month to be put in the next month's newsletter. Newsletters are mailed one week prior to each month's meeting. We are always looking for material for the newsletter, articles, jokes, club gossip, for sales and feature stories. Material will be returned if requested. Dues: Dues are payable yearly and come due on January 1st of each year. National dues are $36.00 and Regional dues are $15.00. National membership is a prerequisite to being a regional member. Meetings: Meetings are held once a month on the second Friday of each month at 7:30 PM. Meeting locations alternate each month between Kansas City and Topeka. See the calendar section of the newsletter for the location of each month's meeting. For Sale Ads: Members may place free For Sale ads in the newsletter. We will run an ad for several months unless notified otherwise. Please send the ad information the way you want it to read in the newsletter. The ad will appear in the printed version only. Hospitalization or Death of members or members families: If you hear of a club member or member's family who has been hospitalized or passed away please notify the contact listed below in your area: Topeka —–open—– Lawrence —–open—– Kansas City Steve Hartwich 816-661-9582

Evenings please

CHVA National Website: http://www.chvanational.org

Check out this website for a very good selec-tion of Etowah-Bartow Region photos and events: http://www.chvaga.com/

Founding members of the Sunflower Region, CHVA. February 25, 1979. Steve Jewett, Rod Waggoner, Bruce Baker, Danny Downs, Ray Taylor, Edna Willits/Jewett, Licia Willits, John Kitos, Steve Hartwich

Editor's Stuff

Rich Gibbs– Editor Calendar page editor—Steve Hartwich

New articles are always needed for “The Starterator”

Region Officers

Director Assistant Director

Malcolm McIntyre Tom Plemons

6915 N Cosby Ave 713 SE Baldwin Rd

Kansas City, MO 64151 Topeka, KS 6607

(816) 509-3016 (785) 213-2445

Secretary Treasurer Sue Anderson Don Beck

20240 W 113th Terr. PO Box 8787 Olathe, KS 66061 Topeka, KS 66608

(913) 219-7943 (785) 640-1808

Back-up Secretary Board Member Kathy Griffith Bob Vukas

601 Dakota 3806 SW Mission Av

Holton, KS 66436-1257 Topeka, KS 66610

(785) 215-1135 (785) 267-1367

“The Starterator” Editors Historian

Rich Gibbs Johnnie Williams

1150 NW Sunset Ln 2916 SE Aries

Topeka, KS 66618-1148 Topeka, KS 66605

(785) 230-6794 (785) 267-3436

Calendar Page Design/Editor CHVA National Office Manager

Steve Hartwich CHVA, Inc

chvacalendar@gmail.com PO Box 341

Newark, CA 94560-0341

Sunflower Region C O N T E M P O R A R Y H I S T O R I C A L V E H I C L E A S S O C I A T I O N

(Recognizing all old cars over 20 years and older) Website: http://clubs.hemmings.com/chvasunflower Printable PDF file of “The Starterator” are in COLOR on the website

Director's Drivel by Malcolm McIntyre

Welcome to 2020, the start of a new decade and that time of year when you realize you just paid bills with checks dated January 2019. The start of a new year also means it's time for the annual planning meeting. Bob and Rachel Vukas have again gra-ciously volunteered to host us on Saturday January 18th 1:00 at their home 3806 SW Mission Ave, Topeka. Last year was a full year of great tours and your ideas and participation at these meetings is what helps make this club so successful, not to mention fun. So bring your suggestions, or email them in if you can't attend in person. If you haven't paid your 2020 dues yet, please bring a check to either the January club meeting on the 10th, the planning meeting, or you can mail it to treasurer Don Beck. Just remember, its 2020.

Happy Motoring! – Malcolm

This is from rockauto.com — submitted by Dale Schneider

I am reminded of a story from years ago when GM throttle body fuel in-

jection was a new thing on cars. A customer had his two-week-old Cadil-

lac towed into the dealership with a "no-start" problem. For two weeks,

every technician at the dealership worked on it trying to start it but to no

avail. We checked for spark, compression, timing; pulled codes; set

codes; checked fuel pressure; checked to see if the bumpers fell off.

Every conceivable thing was done to this vehicle we could think of and

still no start. Finally, one of the techs decided to check the fuel spray/

pattern from the throttle body. He got a bit of the spray on a piece of pa-

per, tried to light it with a cigarette lighter, and it did not ignite. The tank

and fuel system were drained, filled with fresh fuel, and the car fired right

up.

After contacting the owner, who then spoke to his younger children, it

was discovered that the kids were playing "gas station" with the new Ca-

dillac and garden hose.

Bruce in Oregon

Ed Note: No minutes for December due to Christmas-Holiday Dinner

January 2020January 2020

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2 3 4

5 6 7

8 9 10 11 112 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30 31

Please verify all events in case of changes, errors, or cancellations. Accuracy of this calen-dar is only as good as what has been provided.

• CHVA sponsored event − Other events

• January 10 — CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting — Topeka, KS — Friday, 7:30 pm, Woman’s Club, 5221 West Drive, west side of Fairlawn between 8th and 9th Streets.

• Sunflower Region Annual Planning meeting— Saturday January 18th 1:00 PM at Vukas’ residence - 3806 SW Mission Ave, Topeka

− January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Holiday

− February 2 – Santa Fe Trail Vintage Motorcycle club show, 1000AM-300PM, Lawrence Fairgrounds, 2110 Harper. $5 admission. (Best vintage Motorcy-cle show in this area!)

• February TBA – CHVA Drive ‘N Eat Tour

• February 14 – CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting –

Merriam KS – Friday, 730-900PM, Merriam Park School, 6100 Mastin St, Merriam, KS. Meeting is in the library

− February 17 – President’s Day Holiday

− February 21-23 – World Of Wheels Auto Show, Bartle Hall, Kansas City MO https://autorama.com/attend/kansas-city/

− March 4-8 – New car Show, Bartle Hall, Kansas City MO. http://kcautoshow.com/ Note: This show also has a section with collector cars every year.

− March 13-14 -- 45th Annual KS Swap Meet for Charity—Wichita, KS, Centu-ry II, 225 W Douglas Ave. $5 admission. http://www.kssunflowerswapmeet.com

• March TBA – CHVA Drive ‘N Eat Tour

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1

Calendar of Events – Send notice of your events to: chvacalendar@gmail.com, Steve Hartwich.

Calendar event items, if published, should include a 2-3 sentence description including the name of the event, i.e., First Annual White Wall Tire Car Show, Address, City-State, start-end times, admission and/or entry fees, website and/or flyer address link. Other car clubs are invited to submit their car show or car event-related information that would appeal to the car

club public.

Some CHVA Calendar items are from the Associated Car Clubs of Kansas City website. http://clubs.hemmings.com/acckc/eventfinder.htm

Sunflower Region CHVA Events Calendar 2020

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Sunflower Region CHVA Events Calendar 2020—continued

• March 13 – CHVA Sunflower Region Monthly Meeting – Topeka KS -- 730PM, Woman’s Club, 5221 West Dr., just off of Fairlawn St, west side of street between 8th and 9th Streets.

Regularly scheduled 2019 cruise nights – More will be added as dates are confirmed.

1st Saturday

Harrisonville, MO — Car Cruise Nights at Gaslight Plaza, 1921 N. Commercial Street, 5pm, May to October.

2nd Saturday

Topeka, KS – Fairlawn Plaza, 21st and Fairlawn, 5pm to 10pm. April to October.

3rd Friday

Lenexa, KS — Pegah’s Summer Cruise, 12122 W. 87th Parkway, 5:00pm to 9:00pm, Cruiser’s receive 30% discount on food. May to October. Hosted by Dick and Judy Rule.

3rd Saturday

Topeka, KS – The Dug Out, 17th & Fairlawn, April to October.

4th Saturday

Topeka, KS – The Pad, 1730 NW Topeka Blvd., 5pm to 10pm. April to October.

Belton, MO — Cruzin' Main Street in historic downtown Belton hosted by the South 71 Cruisers. 4pm-8pm(?) Info: Mike 816-898-3698 Russ 816-392-0728 or Paul 816-392-1470 Dave 816-898-5174 or Esther 816-322-7005. April through October.

To Rotate or Not to Rotate

Goodyear says to rotate your tires every 5 to six thousand miles. For cars that are not driven that far they say to rotate the tires once a year. This prevents unbalanced wear. I do not like the paint scratched off my wheels during this pro-cess. Does anyone know of a tire dealer that us-es coated tools to avoid the scratches? I also ask for the wheel weights to be put on the backs of the wheels. Please let me and all the other members know too.

The Iconic Chevy Bel Air Is Actual-ly A Dud

Here’s a controversial opinion; the iconic Chevy Bel Air is actually one of the worst cars ever made. We’re not talking about every Bel Air made, however, just the 1955-57 model. That’s three years’ worth of cars Chevy probably wish-es didn’t exist!

The problem is there’s nothing original about the Bel Air. Chevrolet took the most generic 1950s

car design they could and mass-produced it. Maybe because it had the Chevy logo people thought more highly about it then they should have? On the bright side, the car itself drove fi-ne. (From MSN Money Pop, October 2019). What do you think?

Resto-Mod

Electronic ignitions are available for most older cars today. They make it possible to use plati-num spark plugs. Fuel injection is now available too, for $1000. The system requires the addition of an oxygen sensor attached to the exhaust system. Who knows what will appear next?

Silicone WD-40

There is a new product on the market, WD-40 that contains silicone. The original formula, which means water displacement, 40th attempt, contains fish oil. It attracts dirt and some water, which is bad for your locks, latches and hinges. Use silicone on your car and spray the tracks of your garage too for year-round protection.

..........Car Buzz.......... by Bob Vukas

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For years the little 1955 Mini Divco was the

only thing that Becky and I took to car

shows. Becky is a late comer to the idea of

car shows and cruise nights, but hanging

out with me she’s gotten to know some of

the car club people and see the fun in run-

ning interesting old cars just because we

can. She had asked several times if I was

interested in getting a full size vintage car

or truck that I could drive, since she was

the only one that could currently drive Div-

vy except for one of our grandchildren. We

had talked about what might be fun to own

and were thinking maybe an unusual old truck, but hadn’t made

any serious effort to acquire anything.

Then a couple of years ago some friends of ours inherited a

white,1961 Mercury Meteor when her aunt and uncle died. The car

was bought new in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and had only

66,000 miles on it when they brought it to Topeka. It had always

been garaged, and as the owners hadn’t driven much anymore

when they purchased it, it had been used very little. The family in

Colorado Springs told them that their son, who rode home with

them when they picked it up, was the first person to have ever rid-

den in the back seat.

This car appealed to my affinity for the unusual partly because

1961 was the only year that Mercury built a full size Meteor in the

US, even though they had built them for a couple of years prior to

that in Canada. The Meteor was then downsized in the next two

production years before the line was dropped.

Neither of our friends liked the car in its original Plain Jane condi-

tion, so they intended either to do a quick sale on it, or drop it to the

ground , put full moons on it and put in a bigger engine to street rod

it. I saw the car and called Becky to ask how serious she was

about adding a full size vintage vehicle to our garage. She thought

it sounded good and told me to go for it if I thought that it was one

we would both like to drive so we could go to the shows together in

one car.

Some of us love and respect the no frill survivors! Because it was-

n’t one of the highly popular cars back in the day there aren’t many

of those that were produced still around, but there were enough of

them that almost every show, someone comes up to us and says, ‘I

remember when my family member or friend had one just like this.

It's sure nice to see one of them again.’

This car is bone stock original with both body and paint in great

condition except for the hood. The story on the hood was that the

original dealership had had it repainted when it was first sold to the

family because of damage before delivery. In the intervening years

the repainted hood had turned chalky and needed to be redone.

The engine was running roughly, but still strong, and we couldn’t

see it being cut up and turned into another street rod, so the

Downs family acquired a full size vehicle to drive to car shows!

Thanks to a good friend, Mark Pierson, that I worked with a long

time ago, we were quickly able to discover that the rough engine

was due to #2 valve being burnt. We had the heads redone with

hardened seats to accommodate the modern lead-free gas, then

new lifters and a rebuilt carburetor were added to make it a sweet

running engine. Normal, many years delayed maintenance includ-

ed installing new shocks and doing a brake check, then I got to

demonstrate my skills with automotive paint by redoing the hood.

Our final challenge in running this car is getting its temperature to

stay down. It does tend to run HOT when the weather is even

moderately warm. If car shows were more prevalent in the winter it

wouldn’t be an issue, but summertime brings out its hot temper! A

new water pump, new radiator and carefully selected coolants have

reduced the problem, but not entirely solved it. Next spring’s pro-

ject will be to find or modify a shroud to fit and see if that will get

more air to flow through and cool it better. We hope to see you at

cruise nights and car shows next year. We still won’t be driving the

most popular car at the show, but like us, it is a survivor that is fun

to drive but doesn’t have a lot of frills. (Check out next page)

No Frills But Nice by Danny & Becky Downs

R emember when there was a club officer whose title was Sunshine and was responsible for sharing news (mostly up-beat) about members of the club? I’m guessing some clubs still have someone performing that people-oriented func-

tion. To my way of thinking it is an all-important one that helps bind a group—especially one that is “scattered” geographically speaking. Currently Sunflower Chapter of CHVA does not have such a position. And although I am no longer a CHVA nation-al member (which I very much was during the 1980s and ‘90s and active in Verdugo Vintage Vehicles chapter too) of late I seem to be sharing news that is the antithesis of “sunshine” regarding folks who have—or were—longtime CHVAers. Last issue it was news regarding Ed Tuller. Within the two-week timeframe following that Starterator’s publication, editor Rich Gibbs received an unannounced visit at his home from Ed and Marilyn. Ed is coping with the limitations imposed by his stroke—meaning Marilyn is his chauffeurse! Rich said conversation was lively and it was a wonderful visit. Now it’s necessary to convey news about other once-upon-a-time CHVA/Sunflower members, the Sandbergs—Dick and Bar-bara. Richard/Dick has had mobility issues that, coupled with his other symptoms and complaints finally-diagnosed (thus ena-bling forms of treatment/help) as Parkinson’s, has resulted in on-off hospital visits with most followed by time in rehab. One of the more recent of these also precipitated some changes for Barb and she now is residing (temporarily but hoping to perhaps make it permanent) at Benton House in Olathe. As of this writing, Dick is still in rehab. Once released, he will need, and do best in, an environment offering both memory care and skilled nursing. Here’s Barb’s current contact info (you are encouraged to reach out to her directly): Barbara Sandberg Benton House Suite 104 15700 West 151st Street Olathe, Kansas 66062 Somehow it seems important to me to be able to conclude this on an upbeat note. And there is a wonderful and certainly “most upbeat” bit of news to share. Kelly Flory’s truck book is at last, with a 2020 publication date, a reality!! Printed – bound – and don’t drop it on your toes ‘cause it is a 1,472 behemoth. (prior books were 1047 and 938 and 949 respectively) Congrats Kelly !! Helen V Hutchings

ED Note: The Same...but Different. by Rich Gibbs

A recent conversation about the ‘61 Mercury Meteor (see prior page) and a peek in one of my old-er photo albums turned up this photo taken at the AACA Lawrence Car Show sometime in the late 1980s or early 1990s. After close ex-amination the two cars are definitely 1961 Mercury 4-dr Sedans both in white, but slightly different models. Check out the horizontal trim along the front fenders. Danny and Becky’s has a short trim piece that ends be-fore the wheel opening and three hori-zontal hash marks (called “blips” in “The Cars of Lincoln Mercury” pub-lished by Crestline Publishing) behind the headlight and this one has the trim piece extending all the way to just be-hind the headlight. Turns out this one is a Monterey (Model 54B) and Danny and Becky’s is a Meteor 800 (Model 54A).

Rich Gibbs photo

Photo taken at Lawrence Car Show 2003 (rg photo)

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75 years ago Along the Action Era Highways

Tommorrow’s

New World

It had been predicted 15 years earlier, so it is not much of a

surprise that with the wartime

developments in aviation, au-

tomotive writers were again speculating that owning an

airplane would become as

common place as owning a

car. And in some articles

there were discussions of how auto dealerships would ac-

commodate selling airplanes.

After all Ford and General Mo-

tors both owned aviation units, so it was not an impossibility.

This particular article discuss-

es the infrastructure changes

for connecting highways, rail-

ways and the skyways in a

modern post-war, de-Urbanized city with expanding

suburbs. New highways would

be needed, which arrived in

1956 as part of the Interstate Highway Act.

Predictions of thousands of

aircraft to carry man and mate-

rials came true as larger air-

ports and runways were built

and nearly replaced railways as a long distance mean of

transportation.

So check out page 2 of 75

year ago with Cessna’s mes-

sage to the public on the bene-fits of owning personal aircraft.

This article is from the December

1944 issue of “MoTor Magazine”, a

monthly Hearst publication for auto-

motive dealerships, service centers,

marketers,etc.

Submitted by Kelly Flory.

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75 years ago Along the Action Era Highways

CESSNA AIRCRAFT COMPANY

The ad to the left is for the

Cessna “Family car of the

Air”. The top portion is an

actual story of a United Air Lines officer and talking of

doctors flying planes.

At the lower left is the sales

pitch, along with information

for car dealers to get in on a postwar Cessna franchise.

And of course the final box is

where Twins are born every

day, in Wichita, KS. That is where the twin-engined Cess-

na Bobcats and Cranes roll

out 24 hours a day. And they

are flying over 16 million miles a month in the service

of the U.S. Army Air Corps

and the British Empire Joint

Training Program.

Alas, the “Family Car of the Air” never came about,

though the popularity of own-

ing small aircraft as a hobby

did grow considerably after World War Two with Cessna

Aircraft paving the way to pri-

vate aircraft ownership. Below

are keep ‘em flying wings from EBay.

This ad at left is from the Novem-

ber 1944 issue of “MoTor Maga-

zine”, a monthly Hearst publication

for automotive dealerships, service

centers, marketers,etc. Sub-

mitted by Kelly Flory.