a quarterly newsletter dedicated to the members of the

Chapter Highlights

Chairman's Message Upcoming Events

NCRS National Website http://www.ncrs.org/ NCRS Florida website

http://www.ncrsfl.org/ Chapter Contacts: NCRS Florida Chapter Chairman Ed Augustine: [email protected]

NCRS Florida Chapter Judging Chairman John P. Bucheister Jr.: [email protected]

NCRS Florida Chapter Vice Chairman Marco Hartner: midyearfactoryicloud.com

NCRS Florida Chapter Event Coordinator Tyler Townsley: [email protected]

NCRS Florida Chapter Membership Co-Chairs Steve & Ann Torp [email protected]

NCRS Florida Chapter Editor (The Fuel Line) Ed Nieves: [email protected]

Issue Number 15 * January - March 2017

A Quarterly Newsletter Dedicated to the Members of the NCRS Florida Chapter

ChapterChapter Members

See Chairman's Message

http://www.ncrs.org/

http://www.ncrsfl.org/

mailto:[email protected]

[email protected]

midyearfactoryicloud.com


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It’s that wonderful time of the year when you can look in the rear view mirror and another successful Regional has taken place and as you look forward, the chapter events are lining up for what should be another good year in 2017.

It’s amazing how much weather plays in the success of any event and this year we were blessed with excellent weather after 2 really bad weather years. Peoples’ attitudes seemed to be so much better and fewer complaints were vocalized to the management and staff. Another factor that seemed to help was the additional inside space, the change of the footprint helped a little to bring the event in a tighter circle and better food.

I wanted to thank everyone who stepped up to help in the judging arena when Coach Bucheister was stricken with Pneumonia just before the event and the other members stepped up and assisted to make the event almost seamless. A special thanks to Paul Schwack, Jim Moran, Joel Stieglitz, Bill Herron and Ed Nieves who hovered over the duties to make things happen even though our chief judge was ill. Glad “Coach” is back to good health.

Some interesting events from the judging field above the normal activities was the inaugural review of 6 cars that were the preliminary start of a potential class of judging that NCRS is considering launching. This will be a work in progress until it is either accepted or it could be canceled completely. I would like to thank those car owners who were invited to participate and for making their cars available for inspection by NCRS and hopefully we will see more of this in the future. I would appreciate any opinions anyone would have about this and feel free to share those opinions with senior NCRS officials, as membership opinions will drive the success or failure of the program. I would like to thank Dave Brigham for letting us be the location for this prelimi-

As usual there are always certain items that always get me “fizzed up” and the one that always comes to the forefront is the awards banquet. Every year we go to great pains to have an awards banquet at the end of the meet and we have to make sure we have provisions made for everyone, only to have a lot of participants not show up to receive their awards. This comes at considerable expense to the chapter for unused meals paid for each year to make sure everyone had a seat and these very same people who do not show up have not paid to have their awards mailed out or purchased a banquet ticket. This causes a lot of after the event activity sending awards to self-interested individuals who need to take responsibility for their own actions. I am strongly considering a different approach next year that will not only get the awards properly disseminated and handed personally to each participant but will also increase the participation of the members in attendance to participate in the process and quit wasting chapter resources.

There was a positive side to the banquet and that was all who did attend were properly recognized for their achievements and we had in attendance for the first time three past Presidents, Keith Kibbe, Bill Clupper and Vinnie Peters that I can’t thank enough for their participation. Also in attendance we had our past director John Ballard and our new director Mike Sams with their wives to support the function and we thank them for their past and present interest in the chapter.

We have an upcoming May 3nd new event that will be held in Homosassa Springs and it will be the 1st time offered in this area. This will be a judged event and will be a limited number of cars with preference given first to Chapter members and then to other NCRS members. John Bucheister is the meet chairman and volunteered to do this event to create another judging opportunity for chapter members that we felt could be supported with qualified judges.

I would like to also take time to remember a good friend




I would like to also take time to remember a good friend and chapter member who lost his fight with ALS in January after 3 very long years. Bobby Stallings is to be




I would like to also take time to remember a good friend and chapter member who lost his fight with ALS in January after 3 very long years. Bobby Stallings is to be

nary program and I hope his foresight will be accepted well by the membership. Future events so far will be the Crystal River event in May and the Howey meet in

November and you will see more on these in the additional pages and future publications. It is these events that future judged cars need to jump in and start the refinement process in preparation for future Regional judged events. It is through this process that the objective overview by someone other than yourself pays handsome dividends to the restorer and to the end quality of your car. I would not skip the chapter judged events and go straight to the Regional judged events unless you are well familiar with the judging process. These events have excellent quality judging by master Judges who supervise the process and the judges are more than willing to share their knowledge with the car owners to help refine the cars. In closing, I would like to thank all of the volunteers for their dedication to the Florida Chapter and for their help in staging another good Regional event. Our event will continue into the future for our 40th year and as it is planned now, it will occur at Lakeland. As we reach 40 years old, hopefully our newer members and other chapter members will step up to carry this event into future years. Thank you to all, it’s been a great ride. Dream, Drive, Live………. Ed Augustine

https://www.ncrs.org/forums/register/chapter-membership.php


NCRS Concours Class Judging Launched at Florida Regional Meet

Our chapter was given the honor of hosting some of the test judging on the new NCRS Concours Class. The purpose of this class was to give owners with their modified Corvettes an opportunity to display their beautiful cars and compete against the established standard and hopefully win an award. Below are some of the exquisite examples that participated in our chapter event. Concour's ribbon award winners: Danny Morgan, Guy Collier, Mike Coletta, Fred Karavas, Ken Fisher.


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Editor’s Notes Hello everyone, first and foremost, it's great to get another issue of our newsletter out. I want to thank all of you who helped with our Winter Regional Meet. Especially Paul Schwack for filling in for John Buchheister as acting judging chairman. The chapter is gearing up for our May spring meet. The entries are coming in slowly but surely. This event is one of my favorite, because the venue is very relaxing and I always enjoy staying at the Plantation Inn. We will take many pictures and I'll make sure they get in the newsletter. I try to place as many pictures as possible from every event our chapter puts on. Anyone can contribute photos of our events, just e-mail them to me at [email protected]. During the month of March, Paul Schwack and I engaged in another road trip adventure. We trailered my 95 to the Corvette Chevy Expo Meet in Galveston, Texas. Thank God we had a great trip and the event was first class. Bob Wolf puts on a very organized and wonderful event, full of quality vendors and world class cars. I was fortunate to be awarded the Tri-Power Award, 1st Place in the C4 Class and the President's Award. If any of you have an opportunity to attend this event, I encourage you to do so. Galveston was nice, but we had lots of fog during our stay (see page 13 for a few pictures). In closing, continue to support our chapter and please keep sending in those articles.

Ed Nieves Fuel Line Editor

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The Sun & Fun Regional at Lakeland was the best meet there so far, according to the feedback I have received. Thanks to Paul Schwack, the Florida Chapter Judging Administrator and my longtime good friend Jim Moran, for their efforts on my behalf.

On January 3rd, I turned 70 and on January 10, I was admitted to Seven Rivers Medical Center with pneumonia! Getting old sucks! I got out Friday the 13th, but my wife Sue, wouldn't let me drive to the event. So I missed the whole thing and the many friends attending. Thank you all for the card signed by everyone.

Moving on, the Crystal River Chapter Meet and judging school will take place again this year on May 12 and 13. I know it's Mother's Day on the 14th, so treat her to a wonderful weekend on the Crystal River!!

We need judges as always, so please sign up. No Charge, free points. Sign up online and we will see you in May.

"Only you can make these events happen!" See you at Crystal River.

Yours Truly,

John “coach” Buchheister


Photos from the 2017 Winter Regional


Ed Augustine awards Brian Fox a Top Flight for his 1962.

The Florida Chapter of NCRS would like to compile a list of members who would be interested in providing

judging assistance for possible Corvette discussions, events, etc. Interested members should list their judging

level in points, proficiency, judging team year (i.e.’65) and judging preference (i.e. operations, interior,

exterior, mechanical, chassis). Also, please include where you are located in Florida, an e-mail address and

telephone number. We would like to create a list for the chapter chief judge as a tool in the near future for the

database of possible events throughout Florida.

If you are interested in being included please e-mail your information to: Jack Buchheister at

[email protected] or Steve Torp at [email protected]


Florida Winter Regional Results

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NCRS FLORIDA CHAPTER SPRING JUDGING MEET

Please join us at the Plantation on Crystal River for our 4th Spring Chapter judging meet in Crystal River, Florida. This is an excellent opportunity to have your car flight judged for the first time and also expand your judging skills. Judging is open to all current members of the National organization with preference given to the Florida Chapter members. The field will be limited to the first 10 pre-registered vehicles by May 1, 2017, so that quality judging teams can be assembled. The Plantation on Crystal River has a block of rooms reserved for all participants and may be reserved by contacting the Plantation at 1-800-632-6262. Please Register at the Plantation Inn and Golf Resort before May 5, 2017 and ask for the special NCRS rate.

https://www.ncrs.org/forums/register/event-subscription.php


Steve & Ann Torp

Ann and I want to thank all of you who have renewed and/or joined the Florida Region in the last few months. We are striving to build a data base where all members are kept up-to-date with upcoming events and shared articles in the Florida Fuel Line e-zine. We have seen many past members and quite a few new members join the Florida Region. We encourage all of you to share in the wealth of the knowledge available through our collective membership and joint events such as our upcoming Crystal River Spring Meet. It takes a lot of effort and energy to plan and schedule events. Everyone is invited to join in and help in whatever way you may be able to share. With upcoming events in consideration, we hope to meet you at our next event. With Warm Regards, Steve and Ann Torp Co-Chair Membership NCRS, Florida Chapter

Membership Report

Recognizing some of the vendors that support our regional event.

Thank you for your support!


Today’s Corvettes have arguably the best factory finishes ever. Much of the reason they’re so good has to do with the absence of human error and the advancements made in the coatings used. We’ve all attended the NCRS paint seminars presented by Tom Ames which show the two St. Louis paint line workers spraying new mid years. Two guys applying paint, one on each side of the car and one smoking a cigarette and both too tall to bend down enough to get color on the bottom of the front and rear valances. So it was over a half century ago.

When Corvette production was relocated to Bowling Green in the early eighties, many refinements were made in both the application and the actual chemical composition of the coatings used. Base coat clear coat systems were the new buzz word then and they were not without their share of maladies in the early applications. The term orange peel was never more evident on early factory clear coat finishes. As clear coat systems were refined, however, the finishes became of consistently higher quality in just a few short years. The introduction of the first C4 in 1984 contained a high quality base/clear finish befitting an all new vehicles, one that Chevrolet delayed a whole model year before going into actual production just so they could get everything right. Besides improvements in the chemical structure of the finish coatings, much credit goes to the introduction of robotics to the coating process. Multiple “spray arms” apply a consistent measure of coating and each “stroke” is perfectly even and exactly overlapped. Programming provides movement so that all the body panels are treated to exactly the same amount of coating and none is wasted. Spray pressure and speed of the spray arm throughout all ranges of movement are consistent eliminating blotching, metallic sag and runs that diminish the end result.

The robotic coating process continued to improve throughout C4 production but was not without occasional production issues.

Those of us who have been judging for a long time have certainly encountered all sorts of issues when engaged in the process. The vast majority of C4’s that come to be judged are un-restored examples. For that reason we are more likely to spot something that looks like it doesn’t belong. The observation of paint overspray becomes one of those items that raises a red flag for most judges. We tend to look with a jaundiced eye at the presence of body color on a molding or an under-hood component as

it demonstrates some form of paint intervention after the vehicle was assembled. Bear in mind also that when judging areas like the engine bay, there is a distinct difference between overspray and the lack of blackout. Remember that the C4’s were painted body color first and then the blackout applied afterward as illustrated in the photo below. The blackout was manually applied and there are many instances where the blackout didn’t get sprayed on all the intended areas. This is especially so in the engine bay, under hood and hinge areas. So be careful not to confuse the lack of blackout with body color overspray. That said, there are certainly plenty of examples of actual overspray that have been noted on various parts of C4’s.

By Pat Fullam and Bob Zimmerman Reprinted with Permission

Note the body color on the frame rails and front cross member prior to blacking out.

Multiple arms at work as staff members supervise the process.


One such example was present during flight judging at the Florida Winter Regional in January. Presented was a low mileage torch red ‘94 with several noticeable areas of red overspray under the hood. The vehicle owner stated that he was the original owner and swore that the car had never been to a body shop since he took delivery of it from the original selling dealer. A number of judges made independent observations and all concluded that it was indeed red overspray that should warrant a deduction for originality. As the discussion unfolded among the judges, it was overheard by a very knowledgeable gentleman very willing to offer comment. Known as the father of the C4, Dave McLellan holds the honor of having been the Chief Engineer of the Corvette having replaced Zora Duntov upon Zora’s retirement. Dave opened his comments by mentioning that at times, as many as 50% of C4 paint operations required some measure of correction after assembly. The corrective measures undertaken were carried out by workers in a special area of the plant. Minor damage encountered in the assembly process or other defects found in the finish would be repaired using conventional body shop methods. Often the degree of mask out of the affected areas was less than sufficient causing the unintended presence of body color on areas that shouldn’t have it.

The bottom line for those of us encountering overspray on C4’s is to look very carefully and take all the circumstances into account when deciding to take a deduction. In the two examples shown, both of these Corvettes were original owner, low mileage cars whose owners attested to them never having been re-sprayed or repaired during their ownership.

Given the high percentage of factory post paint repairs as indicated by Dave McLellan, there is certainly an excellent chance that both of these cars left Bowling Green with factory applied overspray.

Dave McLellan noting the presence of factory overspray on a 94 ZR-1.

Copper overspray observed on hood hinge anchor on this 94 convertible.

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One of the more common problems that come with C4

ownership is a steering wheel that feels loose. In most

cases, the wheel will tug freely down and to the left, and

perhaps even vibrate disconcertingly on rough roads. If

that describes your Corvette, you’ve come to the right

place.

The problem is related to the tilt-steering system and the

knuckle behind the ball-socket pivot point for the steering

wheel. Actually, there can be two problems, and on a

theoretical 1-10 pain-in-the-rear scale of diagnosis and

repair, one registers a 9.0 and the other a solid 9.5—and

you can’t really fix one of them without tackling the

other.

Here’s the deal: The aluminum steering knuckle is

attached to the steering column with four screws and a

couple of side pins. Stress on the steering column caused

by drivers using the steering wheel for leverage when

pulling themselves out of the car causes either the screws

or the pins to loosen, and sometimes both. If it’s just

loose screws, they can be easily tightened, but getting to

them requires an involved procedure of removing the

steering wheel and disassembling many of the steering-

column components. This includes dropping or removing

the column on ’90-and-later models.

But finding only loose screws isn’t quite the victory it

seems, because by the time you’ve dug into the column

far enough to reach them, you’re only a couple steps

away from the removal and replacement of the knuckle,

so you might as well swap it out. Of course, that requires

you to purchase a new knuckle and pins for about $140,

and you want to have the new knuckle on hand when you

start the project, because if you bet on the loose screws

and you’re wrong, you’ll be, well, screwed.

The other thing to keep in mind about this project is the

comparatively high difficulty level for the do-it-yourselfer.

There are many small, intricate, and delicate components

behind the steering wheel, and each must be carefully

removed and replaced in exactly the correct position

during the reassembly process. If you’re investing the

time to tear down the steering column to fix the loose

wheel, buy the new part and do the full repair. It’s

comparatively cheap insurance, and more likely than not,

stress on the knuckle has tugged the side-pin bosses out of

round anyway, which is why the pins are loose in our ’90

project car, the pins basically fell out, when they should

have required some force to drive out with a hammer.

Since we weren’t comfortable attempting this highly

complex job on our own, we turned to Cauley

Performance, a former Chevrolet dealership. We let them

do the hard work while we photographed the repair

process.

The experienced technician, who had a full shop at his disposal, took nearly four hours to perform the repair and get our Corvette steering straight. If you’re planning to attempt the project yourself, plan on taking the better part of a full day, because you’ll want to photograph just about every step to ensure the column’s components are reassembled in the correct position and order. With the knuckle replaced, there’s a greater feeling of confidence over the road. The steering wheel doesn’t shake as badly over bumps, and that nerve-wracking looseness is gone. Owning and driving a C4 is an involving experience, and few projects are more involving than this one.

Knuckle Sandwich: Eliminate Loose-Steering-Wheel By: Barry Kluczyk

A shaky, loose-feeling steering wheel is a common C4 malady. It’s typically caused by a worn tilt- steering knuckle. Source: Cauley Performance (866) 353-8629 www.cauley.net


When: May 12 – 13, 2017

Where: The Plantation Inn & Golf Resort: 9301 W. Fort Island Trl, Crystal River, Florida 34429 - http://www.plantationoncrystalriver.com/

Time: Judges meeting starts at 8 a.m., on Saturday, May 13, 2017, Judging school is scheduled for 7 – 9 p.m., on Friday, May 12, 2017

Contact Person: Judging Chairman John Buchheister (410) 456-4246

https://www.ncrs.org/forums/register/event-subscription.php

http://www.plantationoncrystalriver.com/

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