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Bird Bits Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club

Established 1966 Classic Thunderbird Club International

CTCI Chapter 14 March 2016

Message from the President It’s March, and tax-time again, ugh. Did you attend our Sweetheart’s Brunch on Valentines Day? We had a great turn-out of 19 for a fabulous breakfast. It’s always a great all-you-can-eat breakfast. Did you know that the Elks have these weekly breakfasts every Sunday year-round, from 7:30am to 11am? It’s a good start to any weekend, or tour. Our next tour activity is A Day At the Races at Golden Gate Fields on March 19. That's a fun trip with horse-racing, betting and a buffet lunch. Betting is optional. It’s a nice day out with other T-Bird clubs. These next few months are a good time to prepare your Thunderbirds for the coming summer trips. Get your oil changed, check your tranny, brakes, tires and other fluids. Summer is coming quickly, as well as our trip to San Diego for the CTCI convention. There, we will have a competition with the Corvettes, so drive your T-Bird. We are now looking at matching club-shirts, so save a few bucks and order one. Samples will be available soon. Our club's 50th Anniversary party is next month. It’s going to be a good one. Thanks to Chuck and his team for planning. Be sure to RSVP to Pat by April 1st. Last weekend, Bonnie and I, with Jerre and Barbara, did a 'trial run' for our up-coming wine-tour in the foothills. It will be a wonderful tops-off drive thru the hills. We've chosen a couple of good wineries for lunch stops, and tasting if you please. We have more fun activities coming in the next months. Get your cars running! See you at our next meeting, wear your name-tags, and remember to keep an eye on our Facebook account. (“Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club”). See you down the road! Jim

Presidents Message Page 1 Activity Reports Page 5

Meeting Minutes Page 2 New Activity Info Page 6-7

Birthdays Page 3 Restoration and Tech Articles Page 8-9

Calendar Page 4 Bulletin Board Page 10-11

In this issue of the Bird Bits...

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February Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Jim Marquardt. The Minutes were approved as printed in the Bird Bits. Treasurer’s report for January and February was given by Bonnie Marquardt. The CD is now in the club savings ac-count. The Albuquerque club returned our check of $500 seed money for their convention with a nice thank -you note. Committee Reports- Membership- Janie Felkins introduced John Daniels. He has a yellow ’56 and a blue ’60 convertible. Thank you to Janie Felkins for keeping the roster updated, and for including a cell phone roster. Janie reminded

everyone to make copies and keep it in your glove box. The club is beginning the year with 63 active members. SCTC members must be members of CTCI and those dues

are due now. Patches are available for purchase. See Chuck Korenko. They cost $2.50 apiece. One patch is included in the new

member packet. Let Lani Korenko know if you need a new name badge. Gerry Johnson broke her shoulder. Lydia will send a get well card from the club. Larry Roth thanked the club for sending a get well card to him when he was in the hospital. Activities- Sunday, February 14th- Sweetheart Brunch at Elks Lodge #6. Meet at 9:00 a.m. Breakfast is $9.00. March 19th - A Day at the Races April 17- 50th Anniversary party at the California Auto Museum- see invitation in the Bird Bits. April 30th - Lodi garage tour September 13th – 18th - International Convention in San Diego Historian- Send Stephanie Kowerduck pictures of activities you may have taken during the year. Old Business- 50th Anniversary Party- The celebration is scheduled for Sunday, April 17th, from 4:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. at the Cali-

fornia Auto Museum. The invitation will be in the Bird Bits. Past members will be sent invitations as well. For planning purposes, reservations and payment must be made in advance. There will be no tickets sold the day of the event. RSVP to Pat Steinhauer by April 1st, and send in your check by April 12th or bring it to the meeting on April 12th.

1,000 mile award- Keep track of the miles driven in your T-Bird. Chuck and Lani Korenko were the proud drivers who logged more than 1,000 this year.

Refreshments have been discontinued, but bottled water will be available. New Business- Motion to support the 2016 CTCI Convention was passed. A check for $500 will be sent to the San Diego club. An

ad for our club will be submitted when we have the cost information. ACCC- Hal Smith reported that car clubs are being asked to write a letter to vote no on AB 1591 . This bill increas-

es vehicle licenses and gas tax. The motion was approved, and Jim Marquardt will write a letter from our club. Report from CTCI Board meeting- Chuck and Lani Korenko attended the meeting. Chuck reported on discussions

including consideration of retro birds joining CTCI (voted no), convention guidelines, E-Bird registry and certifica-tion, and Ford Performance (formerly Ford Racing).

Car-related Discussion- Stan Pierce reported that his new brakes work great. He thanked Roger and everyone who helped with the brake conversion. Tech Talk- Roger Fuller and Ross Woodman talked about brakes and showed samples of brake shoes in various stages of wear. Questions about power steering conversion and power brakes were brought up and discussed. The raffle was won by Lani Korenko. Meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. Minutes submitted by Lydia Hastings, Secretary

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March Birthdays

3/1 Jim Fenelon

3/7 Deisy Hawck

3/11 Patty Fuller

3/12 Bill Des Voignes

3/24 Jim Thomson

3/26 Deb Ternus

3/26 Henry Serrano

Mar 6 Stockton Swap 7am $5. 209-466-9999 Mar 13 Lodi Swap and Show 6am –3pm $5 209-948-5307 Mar 19-20 Good Guys Pleasanton, Show and Swap 8am-4 925-838-9876 Apr 16 Sacramento Swap Meet, Sleep Train 6am –4 916-955-8777 Apr 16 Folsom Cap City Crusers Sprig Fling 350 Palladio Parkway 916-595-5038 Apr 23 Carmichael Classic Car Show and Swap Elks Lodge 8am-3 916-214-4952 Apr 30 Grass Valley DT Car Show. 530-272-8315 May 1 Turlock Spring Swap 6am 209-201-8491 May 1 Elk Grove Western Festival Show 9am-3 $15 916-879-5579

May 7 Woodland Back to the Streets Show and Cruise. Show 1-4pm Cruise 6-8pm 530-908-2071 May 7 Oroville Gold Rush show. 7am-3 530-282-4667 May 13 Auburn Friday Night Cruise. 5-9pm Free May 22 Stockton Swap 6am $8 209-948-5307 May 22 Roseville Cruisin for K-9’s 10am-3 $20 916-988-6376 May 28 Lodi Muscle Car Madness 800-900-3318

Club Anniversary

1998 Jim & Kathy Thomson

2009 San & Ester Pierce

2013 Don & Gloria Hanson

2014 Robert & Deisy Hawck

2015 Matt & Erin McGoldrick

Shows and Swaps

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Activities for 2016

Mar 8 19

General Meeting at Future Ford A Day at the Races at Golden Gate Fields

Apr 12 17 30

General Meeting at Future Ford SCTC 50th Anniversary Party Garage tour in Lodi (Tentative)

RSVP to Pat S Ross Woodman

May

10 14 21 28

General Meeting at Future Ford Gil’s Garage Tech Session in Fairfield Wine Tour of Lincoln and Auburn Sacramento Music Festival Parade

J & B Haynes M Wichmann

Jun

14 16 18 25

General Meeting at Future Ford Drive-in Dinner and Movie Great Race Kick-off (Tentative) Birthday Bash and BBQ at Pat Steinhauer

J & D Fields Ross Woodman Pat S

Jul 12 19-21 29-31

General Meeting at Future Ford Santa Rosa Drive & Overnight Bear Valley Concert and Overnight

J & L Strizek Tentative

Aug 9 TBD

General Meeting at Future Ford Picnic in the Park

Sep

11 13 13-18 24

Stocking Decorating at Pat Steinhauer's General Meeting at Future Ford Canceled due to the Conv CTCI International Convention in San Diego Birds on the Wharf

Pat S Chuck Korenko TBD

Oct 11 14-16 22

General Meeting at Future Ford International Car Show at Cal Expo River Road Tour

Ross Woodman J & L Strizek

Nov 8 12 27

General Meeting at Future Ford Roseville Museum Tour Tree Decorating at CAM

Chuck Korenko Lydia Strizek

Dec 3

Christmas Party TBD

What’s in your Garage? Any extra parts for sale? Roger Fuller is selling a ‘56 non porthole top, fresh restora-tion, $3200

Dave Tulowitzky now has 18,225 Thunderbirds in his registry and it grows daily. Some of these are Thunderbirds that the previous owner is looking for. Have you ever sent him your car’s information? tulobird@aol.com

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2016 Sweetheart Brunch By Lydia Hastings

It was a cool and sunny Valentine’s Day for our annual Sweetheart Brunch! Joining me (John had to stay home

and dog-sit) at the Elks Lodge #6 were Harold and Kathleen Ross, Dick Roberts, Janie Felkins, Pat Steinhauer, Jerre

and Barbara Haynes, Chuck and Lani Korenko, Phyllis Siebert, Jacky Rhea, Stephanie Kowerduck, Mark and Sharon

Wichmann, Don and Madeleine Wulbers, and Jim and Bonnie Marquardt. Some of us had their famous (and

cheap) Bloody Marys to go with our custom-made breakfasts of omelets-to-order, Eggs Benedict, waffles, biscuits

and gravy, hash, sausage, bacon, and hash browns. (I may

have left something out…) We also enjoyed, by popular de-

mand, chocolate truffle boxes.

The Elks Lodge had set up tables for us with valentine deco-

rations, and it was very festive. We had a lot of fun talking

and visiting with fellow club members. As is usual, there was

a lot of discussion in anticipation of the coming activities for

2016, especially the 50th anniversary party in April and the

trip to San Diego in September. (Sneak pre-

view of the new club shirt for this year’s

convention- a departure from the polo

shirts to a Hawaiian shirt with, wait for it…

Bird of Paradise!)

The Elks Lodge supports “the unmet needs of

children with disabilities.” Through donations to

their Purple Pig the Elks organization is able to

provide therapy so kids can walk, talk, see, and

play. The piggy banks were passed around and

everyone donated to this worthy cause. When

we were stuffed and couldn’t think of anything

else to talk about at the table, we departed for

the parking lot, where the visiting continued for a

while longer. There was a lot of variety in T-Birds,

as Janie drove her ’56, I drove our ’57- top down,

Chuck and Lani drove their big ‘72 brown bird,

and Dick drove his retro bird.

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A Day at the Races, March 19

We'll meet at the track parking lot entrance at around 11:00 am. Special parking will be reserved for those bringing their T-Birds. Cost for this outing is $40.00 per person ($20.00 for kids under 18).

Please sign-up before March 5, 2016

Please respond to:

Mike Press, 516 Bonnie Dr., El Cerrito, CA 94530 (510) 558-4037, mjprgp@infionline.net Please make checks payable to Norcal-VTCA. Driving and meet instructions will be mailed or e-mailed to those attending.

Gil’s Garage

Gil’s Garage Gil Baumgartner

CTCI Authenticity Chairman

2016 Tech Session 1955/56/57 Thunderbirds Date: Saturday, May 14th,

Bring a picnic lunch and chairs 10:00 AM – Noon, park & look at cars

12:00- 1:00 PM, lunch 1:00 PM – 4 PM Technical item and on the spot minor repairs.

Place: Gil’s Garage, 5200 Gordon Valley Rd , Fairfield, Ca 94534

(Leaving Eppies in West Sacramento by 9:00AM) If anyone, or club, has a Thunderbird subject they would like covered, let him know in

advance.

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A Thunderbird Station Wagon??? Some think this red example is not real! They suspect it is photo shopped. I believe it is real.

It appears to have a ‘55 or ‘56 Parklane or RanchWagon roof and pillars molded onto it. How-ever, most modifications of this kind present their own design problems. Notice the ’B’ pillar at the back of the Thunderbird door. A window of this shape would take excessive modifications to the T-Bird door. But, modifications to Thunderbirds have been done before.

Notice the ’62 below. It is a real car. Plenty of time in the glass and wood shop made great accents to the station wagon conversion. The chopped top ‘57 wagon

below was photo-graphed at the same corner and same show as the red example above. Obviously, you need to like ’hotrods’ to appreciate the non-stock work that you typically see at car shows like the Autorama. The February issue of Big D, Bird Thunder newsletter pictured a ‘57 Thun-

derbird Station Wagon on which Scott McGilvray had just fin-ished the body work. I noticed he used a donor top from a ‘57 RanchWagon and kept the original window in the side doors of the Thunderbird. I agree that it would be much easier to modify the ‘B’ pillar of the ranch wagon. In any case, excellent job, Scott. I hope I see it at the San Diego Convention in September.

2 dr. RanchWagon

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Paper or Plastic? The answer is both. The winter project on my ‘55 red T-Bird was installing A/C. I looked at plenty of A/C installations at the Albuquerque Regional convention. I settled on the ‘Perfect Fit’ model from Classic Auto Air. I liked the trim line grilles and the ability to use the existing heater con-trols to work the A/C. However, my 289 motor was not com-patible with the package system. I wanted to keep the compressor on the passenger side as per the y-block de-sign. I did not find an off the shelf com-pressor mount that would work. John Strizek advised me to make one from wood before I made a real one from

metal. I took my inspiration from a bracket designed to work on the driver side. After taking measurements, I made a mockup from plastic. Good advice, John! My first at-tempt failed. The second de-sign worked fine. The alter-nator and A/C brackets, re-wire and belt selection took about a month.

I completed the engine work before I even opened the box with the A/C waiting inside. It took about 40-60 hours of following directions and under dash work. Time will if the cooling capacity of this system will keep the Thunderbird cool in the Sacramento Valley heat. But, I am hopeful. Other owners I in-terviewed suggested it would work best with the hard top on. After completing the install, I worked through a safety checklist that Ross has been working on. We recommend you prepare for the summer cruising season well in ad-vance.

Failed.

A/C bracket

Alternator bracket

FUN FUN FUN IN THE CALIFORNIA SUN 2016 CTCI Convention Registration

Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego September 13-18, 2016

Last Name ________________________________ First _________________ Spouse ______________ Your CTCI #_____________ Address __________________________________ Apt # ____ City ______________State ________Country ______ Zip _________ Other/Guest: First Name(s)__________________________ Last _________________________ Guest of: ______________________ Children attending (Under 18): Name(s) _____________________ 1st Convention? _____Your local chapter ___________________ Home Phone _________________ Cell _______________ Email _________________ Would you be interested in a car detailer? ___ # Judging _____ May your car be used for Judging? _____ Bringing a hauler/trailer? Size/length for parking purposes_____________ ************************************************************************************************************************

People

Vehicles

and

Vendors

Tours

and

Events

Apparel

Let’s Have Some Fun! Couple/Family (Children under 18 included)

Individual, Guest or Adult Children (per person)

Late Registration (if postmarked after 8/15/16 add)

Registration Deadline for Cars is 8/15/16 – NO EXCEPTIONS

Concours I (Trailered or driven with undercarriage judged)

Concours II (Driven with undercarriage not judged)

Touring Class (Must be driven to/from the event)

Display Class (’55-’57 T-Birds on display; not judged)

Secured Parking (Other year T-Birds & collector cars; not judged)

Trailer(s)/RV – secured lot (less than 50’ total rig length)

Trailer(s)/RV – secured lot (over 50’ total rig length = 2 vehicles)

Vendor Table(s) - 6’ x 30”, with tablecloth

Swap Meet (Sat. 9/17 6a.m.)

Please input # people attending (or cars where indicated-incl. no cost events)

Board Meeting Wednesday 9/14, 1p.m.

Membership Meeting (Wednesday, 9/14, 2p.m..)

Ask the Experts Tech Session (Wednesday, 3p.m.)

Welcome Party (Wed., no host bar 6p.m.) Pool side 7-10p.m. sign up

U.S.S. Midway Museum with lunch on board at the bow (Thurs. 9/15) Rd. trip Bus Transp. for Midway (1st bus leaves at 9:30a.m. - signup sheet) Sightseeing Trolley (Fri, 9/16, 10a.m.-5p.m.) Pay when you get to Old Town

Casino Tour 9a.m.(35 people min. for Casino provided shuttle 5 hr. min. stay)

Driving to Corvette Diner (Fri, 9/16 6p.m.) (Dinner on your own) per car

Driving Tour of Scenic Coast to Botanic Gardens (Touring Class 10 extra pts)-Sat.9/17, 8:30a.m. (fee includes Garden Tour for 2) Admission per car

Please indicate how many people will be going on the Garden tour Awards Banquet (Saturday – no host cocktails at 6p.m. dinner at 7p.m.) Roast Pork Loin _____ Chicken Tuscany _____ Mushroom Ravioli _____

Apparel order deadline is 8/15/16 Convention T-Shirt S______M______L______XL_____2 XL____ 3XL____

Men’s Conv. Polo S______M______L______XL_____2 XL____3XL_____ Ladies Conv. Polo S____ M_____ L______ XL_____2XL_____3XL____ (Ladies Polo Shirts tend to run small) Please mail this form, with a $U.S. check payable to EBSC 2016 Thunderbird Convention to: Carole Owens, 1051 Burlinghall Dr, Long Beach, CA 90807

NO REFUNDS FOR CANCELLATION AFTER 8/15/16 For the Crowne Plaza Hotel Reservations call: (619) 297-1101, (800)-227-6963 or cp-sandiego.com. Mention “2016 Thunderbird Convention” for the $124 rate. Cancellation policy is 48 hours before.

$/Each

$65.00

$35.00 $20.00

$50.00

$50.00

$40.00

$30.00

$30.00

$20.00

$35.00

$20.00

$55.00

$18.00

$6.00

$7.00

$14.00

$45.00 ea

$20.00

$30.00

$30.00

#

TOTAL

Total $

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Bulletin Board

Please notify Janie Felkins when your phone number, address

or e-mail information changes.

Current SCTC Board & Committee Members: President Jim Marquardt jmarquardt2001@yahoo.com Vice President Ross Woodman rosslw@juno.com Treasurer Bonnie Glantz bglantz49@surewest.net Secretary Lydia Hastings lyonstrings@yahoo.com CTCI Rep Roger Fuller fullerr5683@sbcglobal.net Newsletter Editor Roger Fuller fullerr5683@sbcglobal.net Membership Janie Felkins jfelkins@surewest.net Historian Stephanie Kowerduck 56birdette@gmail.com Activities vacant Sunshine Committee Dianna Rhoads stardancer1966@yahoo.com

SCTC patches are in stock and available for sale. $2.50 each.

Thunderbird patches are also available from the CTCI store.

CTCI.org for $5.00

SCTC Club Jackets (or any other garment) Bring your jacket to:

American Logowear 1603 Douglas Blvd. Roseville

(916) 791-5550 (located on the corner of Doug-las and Sunrise.) Tell them you are with Sacramento Classic Thunderbirds and would like the official club logo embroidered on the back of your jacket. You can use a denim jacket or a golf style jacket. They will also sew on patches