The Distributor

Director’s Chair April 2014

The third coldest and the snowiest in the Chicago area weather history appears to be slowly coming to anend. I still managed to get a few miles on my tudor with the new engine between snowfalls. MikeKochevar’s Pizza Party helped to keep our club “together” in March.

The Membership Meeting in St. Louis will begin the week of our April Illinois Region Business meeting.Several Illinois Region members are attending. I have registered, however, my 14 year old granddaughter,the goalie on an AAA Girls’ Hockey Team, is close to making it to the National tournament in Boston thatsame week. If they fall short in the Regionals, I will be in St. Louis, but admittedly I now hope to be inBoston!

Roger and Paulette Halvorsen have put together a great Spring Tour to East Troy Wisconsin for Sunday,May 3. Included in this rolling museum is a ride in a period trolley into the countryside. Sounds like a lotof fun, and I hope we see a big Illinois Region turnout.

We have a garage seminar scheduled for April 12 at Ken Ehrenhofer’s “barn”. At our tech talk we willdiscuss and examine the overdrive units available and the advantages and disadvantages associated withthem. Over the past 25 years many of our members have installed various overdrive units. Pros and consregarding the various units have always kept me from installing one. However, the advantage of reducingthe engine’s RPM, increasing gas mileage and a little more top end convinced me to finally check out thevarious units being used by fellow club members. One of the constant complaints I heard about wasregarding the breakdown of the overdrives if the driver forgets to disengage it before going into reverse.We plan to discuss, examine and install an overdrive unit that I have just purchased from MitchellCompany in California. We plan to have another type of overdrive there as well. The large audienceduring the February business meeting tech talk given by Dan Manola shows that our members really wantto know more about their As and their mechanical workings. See you at the garage seminar on April 12.

Dan

2014 Officers and Staff

Director: Dan Pritchett (847) 980-5076 Web Site Manager: Mark Maron (847) 302-7900danbpritchett@yahoo.com Photographer: Mike Gaimari (773) 631-3902

Assistant Director: Mike Kochevar (847) 827-1555 Property Chairman: Ken Ehrenhofer (815) 337-4656Treasurer: Don Mormon (847) 827-5046 Raffle Coordinator: Jim Patterson (847) 934-6582Secretary: Melinda Borck (630) 842-7065 Technical Coordinator: Dan Manola (630) 935-8070Editors: Colin James (773)936-3981 Winter Swap Committee: Mike Sargis (773) 507-5144

cijames80@yahoo.com Val Maron (847) 951-5858Carl Hagland (224) 595-6587 Mike Kochevar (847) 827-1555hags333@comcast.net Refreshment Staff: John & Christine Rozny (847) 823-7919

Regional Correspondent: Melinda Borck (630) 842-7065 Awards Committee Mike Kochevar (847) 827-1555Activities Director: Andy Stockinger Ladies’ A’s Staff: Val Maron (847) 951-5858

Jim Stockinger Youth Coordinator Amy RoznyClub Sales: Pat Maroney (847) 490-3543Distributor Staff: Jim Dodaro (847) 398-1957 Resident Experts

Carl Kalbhen (847) 635-5083 Judging Standards: Ken Ehrenhofer (815) 337-4656Membership Staff: Mike Kochevar (847) 827-1555 Ron Ehrenhofer (847) 255-6758Announcements: Susan Szymanski (847) 455-8815 Era Accessories: Vince Scalabrino (847) 934-8167Mini Swap Chairperson: Carl Kalbhen (847) 635-5083 Interiors & Upholstery: Jim Antoni (847) 698-2637PayCarShow Chairperson: John Drengenberg (847) 272-7192 Dave Jahn (847) 488-0486New Member Coordinator: Ron Ehrenhofer (847) 255-6758 Electrical: Marty Brown (847) 673-1157Marketing & Advertising: Sheryl Stier (847) 669-3948 License Plates & Tags: Frank Smith (847) 942-0905MAFFI Liason: Mark Maron (847) 302-7900 Fashion: Marilyn Krenger (815) 338-4008

www.illinoisregion.com

Illinois Region – Business Meeting March 4, 2014

Meeting called to order at 7:32 PM by Dan Pritchett.

Motion made and seconded to approve the February

Business Meeting Minutes as printed in the Distributor.

Dan welcomed everyone to the meeting and commented on

the nice turnout.

Old Business

Swap Meet – There are still outstanding invoices from

head tax and one more newspaper ad. It is estimated that

we made around $1200 net profit. Dan commented that

this is an important event. The contract has been signed

for Valentine’s Day next year. Dan commented that this is

an important event but questioned the financial risk that

was involved. He suggested that next year we make the

vendors more accountable and offer a discount if they pay

in advance. Maybe it should be expanded beyond a Model A

swap.

Youth Advisor - Amy Rozny has volunteered to be the

Youth Advisor.

Activity Chairmen(Andy and Jim Stockinger) – We are still

looking for someone to run a Garage Tour but this will

probably be canceled.

Pizza Party – It will be held at the same place. One

free beer is included. There will be pizza and

pasta. Mike Kochevar needs money by March 15

for those attending.

Membership Meet in St. Louis – Several groups are

going down there. Ron Ehrenhofer indicated that

he is going down so anyone interested can contact

Ron.

Garage Seminar - April 12 (tentative date) – Dan

had suggested the club hold a garage seminar at

Ken Ehrenhofer’s barn. Dan has purchased a

Mitchell Overdrive and thought this topic might be

interesting to people.

Safety Check - April 26 –Similar to what has

happened in prior years. More details will be

coming out.

Spring Tour – May 4 – Destination is the Trolley

Museum/East Troy Electric Railroad Association.

We are actually going to board and ride. The club

has guaranteed 30 people will attend and we are

hoping for a good turnout. Flyer is on the table.

Sharon Wisconsin – There is a question about the

date and that will be confirmed.

Andy and Jim Stockinger reported on upcoming swap

meets.

National Meet – Ken Ehrenhofer provided information on

French Lick where the National MARC Meet is going to be

held. There is also more information in the Model A News

magazine.

New Business

Treasurer’s Report - Don Mormon gave the Treasurer’s

report.

Membership Report – Mike Kochevar reported that last

month was the last time you will receive a Distributor if

you have not paid dues. There are two new members, Rob

Deer and Andy Schwartz. Andy Schwartz introduced

himself and his wife, Nancy.

Committee Reports

Editor (Colin James) – Baby and mom are doing very

well. He has moved into a 1930 Sears home.

Regional Correspondent – Melinda Borck will be the

regional correspondent.

Club Sales – Pat Maroney has “driving and maintenance

logs” if anyone needs them.

Announcements – Sue announced that Jack Thomas had

surgery. Dan Pritchett and Melinda Borck are engaged

to be married. Happy Gardner broke her wrist when

she was bowling. Sandy (Sue’s daughter) is recovering

from her stroke. She is getting intense outpatient

rehab.

Pay Car Show – John Drengenberg has a parade

contract from Skokie and Northbrook has asked us to

come back. We have made about $1600 in past years.

He asked for volunteers to sign up. There are sign-up

sheets on the table for members who would be willing

to bring their cars out.

New Member Coordinator – Ron Ehrenhofer was not

aware of any guests.

Tech Coordinator - Dan Manola has brought in some

equipment to go through the things that should be

checked on a car. He will be going over this after the

coffee is served

Greeter – 50 signed in members (but there are more

people in attendance that have not signed in).

Dan asked if there were any questions or comments.

Happy Birthday to Blanche and Harvey Eilken who both had

birthdays this past week. Blanche is 84.

Raffle – Blanche told her joke prior to the raffle.

Motion made and seconded for adjournment at 8:12 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Melinda Borck

Illinois Region Upcoming Events:

U.S. Patent Number 1,840,881

Cost was always a factor for Henry Ford throughout theproduction of the Model A. Many processes, forexample, we make simpler, more efficient and cheaper.

While there is hearsay that Ford instructed his suppliersto provide pallets in the dimensions of floor boards (sohe could reuse them in cars), there are other, moreconcrete and factual examples of his drive to reducecosts.

One such example is illustrated in U.S. Patent Number1,840,881, Ford and his engineers decided that acomplete stainless steel radiator shell (as used in the1930 cars) was expensive. As a result, they came upwith the idea of the painted insert, shown to theillustration to the right and text below.

As a side note, this patent can be found onwww.USPTO.gov as a pdf. I downloaded a copy andprinted it on nice resume style paper and framed it,ultiametly ending up with a nice piece of garage art!

Cover– Andy (left) and Jim (right) Stockinger’s 1931 Coupe

In late 2005, my brother and I decided we wanted a 30-31Coupe. We spent a few months looking but could not find onein our price range. By March of 2006, Grandpa came up with alead. A friend of a friend knew a guy selling a 31 coupe. Wehitched up the trailer and went to look at what was supposed tobe a pretty nice car for $8000. When we got there, we were alittle disappointed. It was an older, amateur restoration withfour bent wheels, a hideous wide, red, tape pinstripe and anengine that had not run in years. The owner needed to sell thecar due to health reasons, he had just purchased it. We lookedover the car and without making an offer; thanked him for histime. He asked why we had not made an offer, I answered, “Idon’t want to insult you.” He asked what was wrong with thecar and insisted I make an offer. I proceeded to point out everyflaw and issue. By time I was done, he was devastated. Hehad just purchased the car for $7000 and had no idea what itwould take to get it on the road. I offered him $4000. He saidthat he could not go that low and we parted.

Fifteen minutes later, we were headed home on the Toll-waywhen my brother’s cell phone rang; it was the owner of theCoupe. He made a counter offer, $4500. A fair price, but I amstubborn. We declined his offer and continued on our way.After a brief discussion, we decided to call him back and offerhim $4250. He accepted our offer and we turned around at thenext exit.

We purchased the car and took it Grandpa’s house. The firstthing we did was remove the pinstripe and touch up the paint.After that, we rebuilt the brakes, rear end, and front suspension.We replaced the steering box and transmission with niceoriginals and went through the engine quick. We restored a setof wheels and my brother painted them Apple Green. We thenhad Ricky Bendinelli add a matching pinstripe.

We began driving the Coupe a lot but the original engine had itsdays numbered. We blew the babbitt out of it driving home froma cruise night on Route 53. We may have been exceeding thespeed limit. We called Grandpa and asked what to do. Heasked,” is it still running?” we said yes. He said, “Drive ithome.” It made an awful racket, but got us home.

The next engine was much better. I began adding somevintage speed parts. It now has a Weiand aluminum cylinderhead, a Cragar dual updraft intake manifold, and two Model Bcarburetors. It runs well and turns a lot of heads at the carshows.

Last month, we showed the Coupe at the World of WheelsMotorama show at the Donald E Stephen’s Convention Centerin Rosemont. We drove it there and back, but it is an old carand has seen snow before. The heater left a little to be desiredat four degrees below zero but works ok at stop lights. I’m gladwe bought this little Coupe; we have a lot of fun with it.

Jim Stockinger

2014 Pizza Party

TECH TALK by Colin James

Last month, Dan Manola gave a fantastic technical seminar on measurements. He explained how crucialhaving accurate measurements are when restoring various parts of your Model A. Following hisdemonstration, I personally learned how valuable his suggestions were regarding measurements.

In restoring my rear-end, I decided to remove and replace the shackle bushings with reproductionspurchased from Brattons. Unfortunately, I did not measure before trying to put them into place. Afterdriving one in about ¼ of the way, I saw it was not going to fit. I should have measured the bushing andthe hole prior to driving the bushing in; had I done so, I would not have had to spend time removing thebushing or risked breaking the housing. After removing the oversized bushing, we ended up measuringanother new bushing, sanding it, remeasuring it, and sanding it again before putting it into place. Beloware some photos of Dan from our last meeting as well as some of the tools he uses for takingmeasurements. Thanks Dan for a great session!

Ken Ehrenhofer asked me to post the list of tools available for club use.

They are as follows:

1. Head removal tool2. Steering wheel removal tool3. Rear spring spreader4. Distributor removal tool (to be used when the distributor body is rustedinto the head)

Please contact Ken at the following:kehrenhofer@msn.comHome: 815-337-4656 Mobile: 630-697-3906

Fashion In The Model A Era (1928-1931) – The General Style in the 1930’s

Even though people were broke in the 1930s they still didn’t dress like it! Men still dressed up nice,sporting fedoras and double-breasted overcoats. The boys wore short shorts and tall socks.

The women wore dresses and kept their hair close to their head. Fur was in and so were floral patterns.Makeup was chic and shoulder pads were very important until the late 1930s.

Although hats were still popular for women, they were gradually becoming less popular.

One way to tell if something is from the 30s is if it has initials engraved or stitched. This was a commonfree service that stores offered.

The following is from Amy Rozny, our new Youth Advisor:

Hi,

My name is Amy Rozny, new Illinois Region Youth Advisor. I was born on December 3rd 1998, and my first ridein a Model A was December 4th 1998. I have grown up around Model A's and in the Illinois Region club my wholelife. The people in the club are the most genuine people I have ever met, and have impacted my life so much. I amso lucky to experience the Ford Model A history, and I wish more kids would appreciate these beautiful cars andthe experiences that come with them. All the events in the club are a new adventure, whether they are a nationalmeet, swap meet, or a day’s event in the car, there is always something more to learn.

I'm very happy to be the new Illinois Region Youth Advisor and hopefully I can get some youth to join the club.Let’s make this a great year! If you have any suggestions or ideas you can contact me at 224-217-4400 orarozny963@maine207south.org

Have 'A' great day!

-Amy Rozny

With our new baby and recent purchase of a 1930 Sears Home (the Oak Park) inOriole Park, we have been extremely busy. I have continued to work on my carwith the hope of finishing the rear end in the next month or so, therefore turningour attention to the brakes.

Financial Report (2/21/2014 - 3/20/2014)

Intake $397.00 Exhaust $734.35Local Dues (2@$25 & 11@$30) $380.00 Refund for Rock & Roll Party $66.00Mileage Logs (2) $38.00 Meeting Refreshments $60.9350/50 Raffle $26.00 Dash Plaques & Award Plaques $517.42

Distributor Printing $90.00

Total In Account 2/21/2014 $7,533.40Total In Account 3/20/2014 $7,196.05

ClassifiedsFor Sale

1. For Sale – 1928 Ford Model A Special CoupeOlder restoration, well cared for. Everything has been rebuilt. Hi compression head on rebuilt engine.Car is very road worthy. 6 volt alternator, turn signals and fog lights. 5 straight wheels, newer tires,sealed beam headlights, Borg Warner overdrive, oil pressure and temperature gauges, tachometer.Asking $14,000. I also have extra parts. Jack Scrambler (847) 392-7096

2. For Sale - 1929 Ford Model A Fordor1929 Ford Model A Fordor – no title – Jim Blakley (Huntley) (847) 456-5124

3. For Sale – 1929 Ford Model A TudorVery Nice Restored 1929 Tudor. Patrick Maroney (847) 490-3543

Wanted

1. Wanted –(a) 1928-1929 Radiator(b) 1928-1929 Decklid for a CoupePlease contact Bob Logan (847) 544-8912

Editor’s NotesColin James

If and when your name will be used in articles and pictures on our club website, you fill name (first and last name) will appear unlessyou explicitly notify Mark Maron that you do not wish to have your full name on the website. You can call Mark at (847) 302-7900, orEMAIL him at mark@maron.com. The MARC National requires that all members of MARC Regions must also be members of thenational club, however the Illinois Region By laws supersede this, please see your bylaws or a member of the current board for moreinformation.

2014 Official Illinois Region Events CalendarJanuary

General Meeting 7

Awards Banquet 19(Buca di Beppo)

Swap Committee Mtg. 24

February30th Annual Swap 2

General Meeting 4

50’s Rock n Roll Party 15

Milwaukee Swap 23

Buick, Caddy Swap Kane 23County

MarchGeneral Meeting 4

Garage Tour 9

Pizza Party 22

AprilGeneral Meeting 1

National Membership 3-6Meet (St. Louis, MO)

Overdrive Seminar 12

Safety Check 26

MaySpring Tour to Trolley 4Museum

General Meeting 6

Rosehill Cemetery 18(Model T Club)

JuneAnnual Sharon Model 1A Day (Sharon WI)

General Meeting 3

National Meet & 22-28Tour (French Lick IN)

Barnstorming at Galt 28-29Airport

JulyGeneral Meeting 1

Parades 4

Summer Tour to 18-21Clear Lake, IA

Annual Picnic 27

AugustIL Railroad Museum 3

General Meeting 5

Sycamore SteamEngine Show

Jelly Belly Tour 10

SeptemberGeneral Meeting 2

QUAD Meet by Ill Region 7

International Model 20-21A Day at Gilmore - Swap

OctoberGeneral Meeting 7

Newport Hill Climb 4-5

Hersey PA Swap 9-11

Fall Tour 17-19

Autumn Drive 19

NovemberTurkey Dinner 2Fox Valley Region

General Meeting 5

DecemberGeneral Meeting 2

Ladies Night 6

The Illinois Region MARC holds its monthly business meetings at 7:30 PM the 1st Tuesday of every month (exceptions

made for holidays) at the American Legion Hall, 9757 Pacific Avenue, Franklin Park Illinois.

(Corner of Ruby and Pacific ) The meeting is open to all members and visitors.

Model A Restorers Club Membership:http://modelarestorers.3dcartstores.com/Membership_p_39.html

Model A Ford Club of America:https://mafca.com/cart/index.php?mafca_new_member=yes

PlaceStamp

To:

The Distributor

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS:

Advertise in the Distributorand Support the Ill. Region

Email Colin James for details.