June 2013

41st Annual Salem Swap Meet Chemeketa Community College

Sunday, June 16th, 2013 - 7am to 3pm

Vintage Auto and Related Collectibles Food and Beverage Stand No space Reservations All Spaces Outside on Hard Surfaces Free overnight Parking for Vendors Free Admission and Free Parking No Auxiliary Generators Permitted No Firearms Sales Dogs Must be Kept on a Leash

Spaces 9’x20’ $20 Each

Display Your Vintage Auto While Attending the Meet – Special Area for Car Sales

Food and Beverage Sales Limited to the Food Booth Only

For More Information – Dale Stites 503-363-8017 or Lew Garrison 503-378-1354

willamettevalleymodel-a.org

Next General Meeting: Mission Mill, Thomas Kay Woolen Mill Bldg, 1313 Mill Street SE, Dye Room, Thursday, June 6, 2013 7:00 pm Willamettevaleymodel-a.org

President Ray Ramsay Historian Tom Morrison Gene Byrnes Vice President Sue Brennan Sunshine Dolores Byrnes Secretary Beauford Averette N.W.R.G. Tom Morrison Treasurer Gary LeMaster Newsletter Gary LeMaster

Past President Lee Hardy

Board Members Jeff Norwood 13 Raffle Chair Peggy Ramsay Fred Lissner 13

Jim Brennan 14 Tour Chair Charlie Schmidt Blair Wasson 14

Programs President & Group Swap Meet Committee Charlie Schmidt, Dale Stites

Lew Garrison, Gary LeMaster, Ron Whitworth Road Cleanup Langley Jones ____________________________________________________________________________ Newsletter Editors of the Month Board Meeting Hosts

January Hardy January 17 Giesbrecht February Hardy February 21 Kraus March Garrison March 21 Wasson

April Averette April 18 Brennan May Wasson May 17 Ramsay

June Averette June 20 Pizza Feed July LeMaster July 18 Averette August Brennan August 15 Garrison (potluck) September September 19 Norwood October Schmidt October 17 Schmidt November Stites November 21 LeMaster December Brennan December 14? President’s Breakfast

President’s Comments: It’s almost June and the Swap Meet no longer creeping, it’s galloping up on us. The old adage “Many Hands Makes Light Work” is never truer than at Swap Meet time. The administrative responsibilities for the event are divided among approximately a dozen people, all of whom have things ready to go for this year. Now comes the part where we need “All Hands On Deck.” Set-up will be on June 15th. We won’t have a concession trailer this year (the old one just wore out) so we will be using tables and tents and combining the concessions with the pie booth. It may be a learning process, but we are confident that it will work well. Then there is the Swap Meet itself. The “Kitchen Crew” starts around 5:00 am to get the coffee started (electricity permitting) with sales starting at 6:00 am when the gates officially open. There will be one or more sign-up sheets circulating at the next General Meeting for the numerous jobs to be done. Please give generously of your time where you are able. Finally, there is the Tear-Down and Clean-Up. This starts somewhere between 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm the day of the Meet. Because we won’t have a trailer to store stuff in this year, we will need as many hands as possible to not only tear down but to cart the tents and other stuff back to its temporary home – the Stites pole barn (thank you again and again – Dale and Diane). It’s a long day and we need as much help as possible because everyone will be tired. Plus, participating in the TD&CU gives you bragging rights and possibly seconds at the pizza feed! So, Thank You, in advance, for your help. Take care and see you at the General Meeting. Ray Ramsay Some material printed in this newsletter may have been borrowed from other publications. We wish to thank other clubs for sharing their newsletters with us. We are happy to share our articles and other information publication in their newsletters. For information about the club, please contact Charlie Schmidt at (503) 263-6535

Willamette Valley Chapter Model A Ford Club of America

Board of Director's Meeting May 16, 2013

The Board of Directors Meeting was called to order at 7:32 pm, by President, Ray Ramsay. Others in attendance were: Beauford and Marie Averette, Gary LeMaster, Jim and Susan Brennan, Dale Stites, Charlie Schmidt, Blair Wasson, Jodi Jones, Peggy Ramsay (Hostess). The Board waived notice of time, place and purpose of the meeting. The minutes of the May General meeting were approved as read. The Treasurer reported that the books were up to date and in proper order. Gary reported that some members dropped this year and some new ones were added. Model A Ford Problems Discussed: None. Committee Reports: TOURS: June 15 is the day we set up for the swap meet which is June 16. June 23 is the McMinnville Lions Club Fly-in Drive-in Pancake breakfast. For more details, see the Northwest Car Events Calendar. The General Meeting will be held Thursday July 4th at the picnic with the Model T Club and the Horseless Carriage Club. The picnic is held in the park behind Fire Station #1 on Cordon Road SE. The Silver Falls Days are July 13 and 14. They would like cars to be displayed from 10 – 4 pm. The tour with the Model T club to the Molalla Small Scale Train facility in scheduled for Sunday, August 11. It is only open on Sunday. Charlie Schmidt is starting to gather names of members interested in a tour of the LeMay Museum in Tacoma, WA. again this summer. Sunshine: No report. Program: The program for June will be a discussion of the Swap meet. Socials: No report. N.W.R.G.: The 2013 meet will be in Bend September 3-8, 2013. Newsletter: Beauford Averette is the editor for the June issue of the Connecting Rod. We still need an editor for the September issue. Historian: No Report. Swap Meet: Dale Stites has been authorized to purchase the tent wall kit from Bi-Mart, other electrical parts and another tarp for the swap meet. The insurance has been taken care of for the Swap Meet. Disposal of the concession trailer and excess equipment is being overseen by Dale Stites. Old Business: Beauford Averette and Susan Brennan will meet with David Simpson soon to get training on how to keep our web site updated with our latest newsletters and any other changes we may want to make. The web site is currently up to date. New Business: Expenses incurred by Lee Hardy for the Hood River tour were approved. Blair Wasson said that the speedster being built by the high school students at the Northwest Vintage Car and Motorcycle Museum will be on display at the LeMay Museum next year The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm. Respectfully Submitted, Beauford Averette, Secretary

THE JOYS OF THE COMPUTER AGE

Gary LeMaster has been assembling the Connecting Rod for some time. He, like the rest of us, is finding it hard to communicate with other computers. Some use Windows XP, Windows 7, the new Windows 8 or are Mac's. For this reason he is considering ending his involvement in this endeavor at the end of the year. That means someone with a newer computer and more up-to-date computer skills needs to step up and take over this task!!! Ask yourself, “Am I the One?”

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Hood River Tour Sat-Sun April 28-27

Meeting at Safeway on Lancaster were our tour leader Lee Hardy, Jim Rowen. Jim and Susan Brennan with grandson Jack, Tom Morrison, and Gary and Diane LeMaster. The four Model A's and one modern iron proceeded up 99E to Canby where we were joined by Charlie Schmidt. Lee then led us to Oregon City and onto Clackamas River Road, a beautiful winding route along the Clackamas River. The plan was to stop at Vista House at Crown Point, but on arriving at the access point, it was blocked for construction. So down we went on a steep brake tester to the Historic Columbia Highway. Heading east we passed the renowned waterfalls and arrived at Cascade Locks for lunch. We crossed the Columbia River on the Bridge of the Gods and drove east to the Hood River bridge. Model A's do not like the steel mesh surface of those bridges! Going through town we arrived at the Western Auto and Air Museum, where we were joined by club members Russ and Lois Smith. They previously lived in Salem but now Hood River is home. Russ and Lois were our tour guides in the museum, and were very helpful in describing the exhibits. This is a marvelous museum, about equally devoted to airplanes and cars. There were many Model A's there, but also beautifully restored others, such as Packard, Cord, Locomobile, Graham-Paige, early Hudsons and Studebakers, Dodge Brothers, Maxwell, Franklin, Pierce-Arrow, Hupmobile, Chevrolet, Brush, Auburn and other rare makes too numerous to mention. The airplanes featured mostly those of the 20's and 30's eras—Waco, Spartan, Curtiss Wright, a 1917 Jenny, Aeronca, Piper, Ryan, Stearman, and a Pietenpol with a Model A engine. The gem of the collection is a Boeing 40C. This is the

only one in existence. It was salvaged with 18,000 hours of work after crashing in Oregon in 1928. It is single engine, open cockpit, and carries four passengers inside! The fascination thing about this museum is that almost all the cars are drivable, and the planes are flyable, which they do! For more detailed information go to the website: waaamuseum.org. The LeMaster’s headed for home and the rest of us checked into our motels. Charlie

introduced Tom to a New Zealand whisky, plus his favorite, Macallan scotch! The

restaurant for dinner was right next door and after a hearty meal we all retired to our rooms.

On Sunday morning Lee took us to Panorama Point, a high vantage site overlooking the gorgeous Hood River Valley. It is incredibly lush and green, and we had an awesome view of Mt. Hood. Down the road Lee introduced us to his friends Mic and Sharon Sawyers, pear farmers. Mic spent an hour describing all of the various aspects of raising pears. It is a very complex and challenging occupation, and we all left with a much greater appreciation of the pear that we buy in the market! Lee took us on a

leisurely tour around the Hood River Valley, with the fruit trees in bloom—stunning! Lunch was at the Apple Valley BBQ in Parkdale. Then it was on the road to home, up Highway 35 to Government Camp, (Tom almost froze in his open car!) down the mountain to Sandy, Estacada, Molalla, Silverton, and Salem. The five Model A’s performed perfectly—no roadside overhauls needed! Many thanks to Lee for planning and conducting an excellent tour that was enjoyed by all. We especially liked having Jack, age 7, with us. He had a good time and we see a Model A in his future! Tom M.

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Concession Trailer Work Party

By 9:15 am on May 4th, Lee Hardy, Beauford Averette, Jim Brennan, Gary LeMaster, Jim Rowen, Dale Stites and Ray and Peggy Ramsay had arrived at the West Salem Safeway parking lot ready to travel to Bob and Gail Burton's home in Dallas to remove items from the trailer that would be needed for the Swap Meet in June. For health and safety reasons, we will no longer use the trailer for the Food Booth-Snack Bar, but combine the concession area with the Pie Booth in an enlarged tent. The biggest concern was locating the Burton’s home since they were not there and their address was a P. O. Box. Gathering together our recollections and a Google map, we proceeded somewhat confidently through Dallas. However, the address given was a nursery at the end of their dead-end street and they didn’t know the Burtons and there were several houses on the small drive up to their house. With phone calls and the help of their neighborhood-watch neighbor, we found the driveway and by putting our trucks into 4-wheel drive we were able to reach the trailer located in a knee-high pasture back behind the house and far from their driveway. The men removed all the tent poles etc. from the trailer, a couple sinks, the refrigerator, freezer, shelves, electrical transformer and a couple water heaters. Peggy went in and removed the all- important Food Handler license, first-aid kit, paper supplies, utensils and crock pot needed for the Food Booth. Fred Lissner arrived in time to help with the removal and loading of the heavy appliances to either Dale’s or Lee’s trucks. The kitchen items were loaded into Ray’s Explorer. Around noon, we were loaded and ready to drive back to Salem.. Ray and Peggy suggested going to the Fairview Farm Goat Dairy in Dallas for ice cream. Our president treated us to ice cream, most of us had yummy Marion Berry. Ray and Peggy hope to plan a Model A trip sometime after the Swap Meet. Refreshed from our ice cream cones, we traveled back to Salem where all was unloaded into Dale’s pole barn. Diane brought us cold drinks to enjoy and by 1:30 we were on our way home. We all felt good about what we had accomplished in preparation for the Swap Meet. Peggy Ramsay

Sheep to Shawl with Model A’s

Saturday, May 11th was the first of two exhibitions of the Club’s cars as required by our contact with the Willamette Heritage Center where we hold our monthly general meetings. The event was Sheep to Shawl which, as the name implies, had everything from live sheep (and llamas and alpacas) to the shearing, carding, and spinning of the wool. There was live music and a general fun atmosphere. We had nine cars to display of all colors and models. Participants who brought cars were Jim Brennan, Lee Hardy, Dale Stites, Langley Jones, Dick Kraus, Tom Morrison, Jim Rosen and Ray and Peggy Ramsay. Gary LeMaster came by for moral support and to display his vintage Ford Bronco! The weather was perfect for the event – low 80’s. We were instructed to set up at the West end of the main parking lot near the railroad tracks and this came with a nice grassy area and shade by the numerous trees. Many people came by to see our cars and Ray let a number of youngsters sit in the front seat and pretend to drive. Who knows, we may get a future Club member or two out of it. We all took breathers to see the animals, sample the food which included a dutch oven demonstration with a simply wonderful stew, listen to the music and watch the lady black smith – something for everybody. By 3:30 pm most of us that had arrived at 9:30 am were ready for home so, with a final “AHOOGA” we called it a day. All in all, we had a great time and I’d recommend it next year for those that missed out this year. Ray & Peggy Ramsay

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A-TIPS ADDITIVES

By Les Andrews

Question: I want to drain and clean out my radiator – just because it looks so “messy”. After filling the radiator with distilled water, do you recommend any additives to the water? I live in the coastal area of Southern, California and we are not exposed to any freeing weather.

Answer: I have been using a solution that I believe is called “Water Wetter”. Check with your local auto parts store. It is usually pink in color and it causes the water to dissipate more heat. It will help prevent over heating. Antifreeze4 or coolant will lower the freezing level and also raises the boiling level. The car actually runs hotter with coolant, but boils at a higher temperature. Water Wetter allows the engine to run cooler because it breaks the water down so it will dissipate more of the heat.

ORIGINAL MODEL “A” HEADLIGHTS

Author Unknown

If the headlights are correctly wired and the reflectors are originals, the low beam position on the light switch should light the UPPER filament only and the High beam position should light the LOWER filament only. Remember from your high school physics that a parabolic reflector inverts the image and with the “Twolight” headlamp design the center line of the light socket is 1/16” above the center line of the reflector. (see the July 1929 Service Bulletins) So when the upper filament is on, it is reflected slightly downward. The high filament is located on the central axis of the reflector and is reflected straight forward. That is why ORIGINAL single bulb reflectors were stamped “TOP” in the gasket area. They also used a single notch for the socket assembly index tab. The index tab reflectors are incorrectly shaped and in addition do not have the socket sleeve property indexed to the two side notches. Restore original reflectors and original socket assemblies and you won't have those types of problems. Good Luck.

MILESTONES

Taken from VIA, Jan/Feb 2009

What a gas: The service station evolves

1885 Sylvanus Bowser invents a kerosene pump to replace buckets and ladles. It becomes known as “Filling station” for lamp and stove fuel.

1910 In Pittsburgh, Pa., Gulf Refining opens the first drive-in gas station.

1933 Wayne Oil Tank & Pump Company rolls out gas pumps that calculate cost as well as showing fuel volume.

1940 Automatic nozzles make self-serve possible. Women catch on faster than men, says historian Tim Russell.

2007 Israel prepares to build a country-wide power grid for electric cars. Charger outlets will appear in homes, offices and even gas stations. --Adrienne So

Need a replacement radiator? We have a deal for you!

The Brassworks, located in Paso Robles, CA has offered our club members one month of free shipping.

We have select August as our month. Several have already indicated they would like to take advantage of this offer. If you need a radiator replaced, now is the time to let Charlie Schmidt know and he can give you details on how to get the free shipping. They are known for high quality, and correct, radiators for vintage and custom automobiles. If you know that you will need a radiator soon, let Charlie Schmidt know. He will notify them after we decide upon the month that we want to place our orders.

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Determining Tire Age

Step 1 By law, every tire is supposed to have a 10 to 12 digit DOT serial number. If you know how to read this code, you'll know how old your tires are. Let's say the serial number is DOTMK87FOWR4201. The code may be on the inside of the tire so you may have to crawl underneath. Step 2 DOT – means the tire has passed the Department of Transportation's safety test. Step 3 MK – this is DOT's tire plant code. Step 4 87 – this number represents the tire size. Step 5 FOWR – manufacturer's tire brand Step 6 4201 – the week of the year when the tire was made and the year when it was made. In this example, the tire was made on the 42nd week in 2001. If a tire has a number code that is only three digits long, the tire was made in the 1990s. All tires made after 2000 have a 4 digits. If your tires don't have a serial number, take them back to the dealership where you bought them and ask for free legal tires. If the dealer won't comply, report them to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The dealer could face some pretty stiff fines. ABC News

PROPER WAY TO RUN A COMPRESSION TEST by Larry Brumfield from the High Desert A's

First, make sure that you have a quality accurate gauge with good fittings that do not leak, not some old gauge that you can lightly thump and change the reading by 20 pounds or more or one of those cheap, rubber stopper type gauges. Start the engine and let it run until it is at normal operating temperature. Stop the engine and remove all four spark plugs. This will enable you to run the test on each cylinder without fighting the compression on the other cylinders. Install the gauge screwed in tight enough to where it won't leak. Next, make sure that the throttle plate and choke plate are wide open and see that they stay wide open throughout the entire test. Very important, turn the engine over with the starter motor. Watch the needle on the gauge and allow the engine to spin continually until the reading goes as high as it is going to go on the gauge. Even after the needle reaches as high as it is going to go, allow the engine to continue spinning for another evolution or so. This test requires a “hot” battery because the starter has to turn the engine over with enough force to get a good reading on the gauge. This should not be a problem with the other three spark plugs removed. The engine should spin fairly fast. Write down the reading. Repeat the procedure on the other cylinders until you are finished.

CLASSIFIED FOR SALE: Late 1931 Model A Wide Bed Pickup Needs complete restoration. Has 4-speed transmission, indented firewall. Missing ignition switch and shock absorbers, otherwise complete. Has brand X sealed beam headlamps. Last driven in 1971; garaged ever since. Currently located in Klamath Falls, will be brought to Canby in June. $5,000. Contact Charlie Schmidt at (503) 936-2166. mrschmidt31@gmail.com. FOR SALE – 1956 Four Door Chevrolet BelAir 265 (162 hp) V8 Engine, Power Steering, Automatic, Back-up Lights, Heater, turn signals. Drive it anywhere. New: wiring; gas tank; spark plugs etc.; fuel pump; muffler and tail pipe; fuel filter; overhauled carburetor; good glass. 67,300 miles. $7,950. --Beauford Averette, (503) 856-9675. FOR SALE – 1990 Jaguar XJS V12 Convertible. Beautiful car, red with black top and tan leather. Excellent condition. $11,000 or best offer. Gene Byrnes (503) 364-6646 WANTED: Original electric windshield wiper for 1929 Model A. One original hydraulic shock and shock arms for both front and back Also looking for four tubular shock links. Trying to get the A on the road. Beauford Averette (503) 856-9675 WANTED: Landau Brackets that the lower landau iron stud screws into for 29 Sport Coupe. Dale Stites, (503) 363-8017.

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Down the Road

Jun 6 Thur General Meeting 7:00 PM Mission Mill, Card room 3rd Floor

Jun 15 Sat Swap Meet setup Jun 16 Sun Swap Meet Jun 20 Thur Pizza Feed/Board Meeting Walery’s Pizza, West Salem, 6:30 pm Jun 23 Sun Drive-in Fly-in Pancake Breakfast McMinnville Airport, 7-12, Adults $8 Jun 21-23 Fri/Sat Brooks Swap Meet Antique Powerland Jul 4 Thur Picnic/General Meeting 10 am, Park behind Fire Station #1, Cordon Road Jul 21 Thur Board Meeting Averette, 2840 Round

Tree Ave NW, 7:30 PM

Sept 3-8, Tue/Sun Northwest Region Group Meet, River House Resort & Convention Center 3075 N. Highway 97, Bend, OR 97701 Phone 541-389-31