Keystone Garage Club - Monthly Newsletter

August ’10 KeystoneGarageClub.com Newsletter

Upcoming Club Meetings:

Our next KGC meeting will be held on the first Thursday of the month, August 5th at Mike Potts’ garage in Pine Grove. This is a new meeting location and Mike said he will have his tubbed ’70 Cuda there as well. As usual, meeting time will be 7:00. Call 570-345-3715 for directions.

Our Club Newsletter Sponsors

Thank you for sponsoring the Keystone Garage Club “KGC MONTHLY” Newsletter. We really appreciate the help in getting a quality mailing to our members. Please check their web sites out if you need something related to their business. Just click on the business card to go to their sites.

If your business wants to advertise, send a business card to Denny at w31@comcast.net or 570-345-3715 and he'll get your ad scanned and installed on the site. Talk to Mike Potts to pay for any ads at 570-345-2617.

Details of the last meeting:

July's Garage Club meeting was held on Thursday, July 1st, at Kevin Hoffman’s garage in Herndon. This was a “new” location for a meeting and Kevin’s place was definitely off the beaten path. This did not hurt the attendance at all as Kevin Jr. made up signs to direct us to his shop from the main drag through Pillow without getting lost. As usual a big “Thank you” went out to our hosts for setting up quite a spread of eats and drinks.

The final words:

Wow! There is so much going on. I have a few more events that I haven’t even processed yet for the web site OR newsletter. Watch next month for the Williams Valley Car Show, Buddies Cruise, the “Go Joe” party in Pine Grove, More Circuit Saturdays, and lots, lots more. This club isn’t boring, that’s for sure. From tried and true cruise routes over the years, to attending obscure and relatively unknown events (to the normal car show buff), to building new, cutting edge events each year, this club brings something to the table for all tastes.

Got any news you would like to share with the club? Just give me a call at 570-345-3715 or send me an email at garage_club@comcast.net to get your news printed!

See you next update! Denny Aungst (GC member #83)

Keep these fire extinguishers in a visible and easy to reach location and always have one at each entrance to your shop. (You don’t want to run into a fire just to GET an extinguisher.) Reflective high visibility signs are nice when hung high in a shop to help find them quicker. Check the pressure gauge often to be sure it is in the green area. If the gauge is low, have it serviced and inspected. It is much cheaper than buying a new one and having them inspected every couple years will extend it’s service life.

Fire extinguishers WITH hoses are a bit easier to use, especially for under dash fires. This allows you to keep the fire extinguisher upright much easier. If you tilt an extinguisher to get under something, the chemical may not come out with the propellant and fail to extinguish the fire. Remember to NOT squeeze the handle when you are pulling the pin. If you do it may pinch the pin and you will not get it out.

After he went over questions and answers, we all were asked to head out behind Kevin’s barn for a hands-on demonstration where members were able to practice using fire extinguishers. There was an entire truckload of fire extinguishers that were available for everyone. Peifer’s set up a container filled with diesel that he lit for a controlled burn. He then demonstrated the right and wrong way to use an extinguisher.

First, he stated that we should first test the extinguisher with a very short burst into the ground at your feet. This would assure you that it IS functional before approaching the fire. The he showed us to be approximately 8 feet from the base of the flames and spray the fire extinguisher in a sweeping motion to cover the entire fire. Make sure to pull the valves completely open and keep spraying side to side till the fire is out or the extinguisher is spent. This allows the entire amount of fuel to be covered at once and snuff the fire. If you stopped too soon, the fire would roar back to life.

The wrong way? Picture above is what happens when you get too close. The fire is sprayed out as the propellant is too powerful and can spread the fire, possibly curling back to burn even the person spraying the fire extinguisher.

Everyone was asked to participate. We had more than enough for everyone to get comfortable using the extinguisher. This was an important exercise as most people got too close and had trouble getting the fire out. Now keep in mind, an extinguisher will not put out every fire. You only have approximately eight seconds worth of spray to do it. An extinguisher is your first line of defense to keep a small fire from becoming something so large that you have no chance to put it out.

Peifer’s even went over the newest fire systems that are automatic on equipment like race cars, state police cars, and transit busses. These automatically detect a fire on a vehicle and set off it’s chemical through permanently mounted nozzles on a vehicle to buy a driver more time to get out and get his passengers out. These are quite expensive, but can be built as manual systems for those who may wish to install one on a vehicle.

I wish I had more space to post more photographs in the newsletter, but I will post ALL of the photos on the website under the “Event Pics” link. All in all, this was the first time we did a fire prevention class and it was a great idea! The members who attended are much more comfortable using extinguishers and it may save a life down the road. Thank Kevin for arranging it. Thanks to Peifer fire prevention for holding the class. Want to buy some for your shop or ride? Contact Kevin Hoffman for prices and extinguisher types, bottle finishes, and sizes at 570-809-3055.

Notes from the club meeting in March:

Treasurer’s Report

Mike reviewed the Treasurer’s report. A detailed copy of the Treasurer’s report can be reviewed by any member at any time upon request.

The club’s own “Gum Ball Rally”

There was a meeting for a new club event similar to the Gum Ball Rally at Nino’s in Tower City on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 6:30 p.m.

The gum ball rally will be held on August 21, 2010, rain or shine. The gum ball rally is like a poker run but is a timed event for teams which consist of at least 2 people (a driver and a navigator). You can drive any kind of vehicle you like, but Hot Rods are encouraged. The entry fee is $25.00 per team.

The start/finish line will be at the Lykens Valley Plaza. There will be five different stations you will have to visit in any order you like. We are keeping these a secret for the event. There are no set routes to the different stations. That is what your navigator is for. You set your own route but you have to visit each station. At each station you will received a card.

You will be timed when you leave and will have a certain amount of time to find the stations and return. If you’re back too early or too late you will be penalized points. Points are also awarded for your poker hand (cards collected at each stop) and for collecting flags posted along the routes. GPS devices are allowed.

Kevin also arranged a local fire safety specialist from Peifer’s Fire Prevention in Pillow. Peifer’s gave us a presentation on the five different types/classes of fires and the different types of fire extinguishers to use for each these fires. He also went over the proper type of fire extinguishers to have in your shop or car, the proper way to handle an extinguisher, and the maintenance procedures to follow so they don’t fail when you need them most.

Basically, an ABC fire extinguisher is the one to handle most of our needs. These cover paper (ash leaving), electrical, and liquid (gas) fires. A Halon extinguisher, though more expensive, is also nice for a car as it leaves no mess to clean after it is used.

Circuit Saturday Cruises

At a prior meeting it was brought up and discussed about the Small Block Cruise that is the 4th Saturday of the month be moved to the 3rd Saturday of the month with a rain date to be the 4th Saturday. This was suggested because this is our most popular cruise. It was decided that the Small Block Cruise will continue to be on the 4th Saturday of the month because moving it with a rain date will cause too much confusion.

The cruises have been going strong with the exception of the 4 speed route. The attendance on the 4 speed route has been a bit poor due to other events that have been happening on the second Saturday evening. Enjoy some pics from last month’s Big Block and Small Block routes and see them all by checking the “Circuit Saturday” web pages. These are doing well.

This event will be open to all Garage Club members as well as the general public. The committee members will not be allowed to race as they know the stops and may very likely will be working at them.

Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. Driver’s meeting will be at 11:00 a.m., after which, you will receive the map with all the stops. Cars will be sent out at one minute intervals after the 12:00 start time in the order they draw at the registration table. All persons will need to sign a waiver to participate. Keep in mind, you are responsible for highway safety when on the road! If you get any fines for speeding or any other irresponsible behavior, you will be disqualified.

There is a guaranteed pay out for first, second and third with first place being at least $150.00, second $75.00 and third $50.00. If there is a big turn out the payout prizes could increase. Any money remaining after payouts will go to the Children’s Miracle Network (which will be included with our car show proceeds).

We are still in need of volunteers to help out especially at the end when all the teams are coming back.

Knoebels Grove Club Picnic

The Club Picnic at Knoebels Grove will be on September 19th, 2010. This event is open to all paid club members. (Even if you didn’t pay dues, you can come, but the club pays the meals of a dues paid member.) We will have the same meal as last year and we will need to have a final count to Knoebels by two weeks prior to September 19th. The September Garage Club meeting, September 2nd, will be the deadline to sign up.

An issue was brought up that needed to be voted upon. Last year we were stuck paying about $500.00 (extra) for meals where people that said they were coming and didn’t show up. A suggestion was made that this year when you sign up to come you will need to pay $10.00 up front. It was also discussed that you will be refunded the $10.00 when you sign in at Knoebels. (An option was discussed where you would get your refund in tickets.) $10.00 is the price of the meal per person the Club needs to pay. That way if you sign up and don’t show up the Club doesn’t get stuck paying for your meal.

A vote was held and passed that when you sign up for the picnic you will need to pay $10.00 per person attending the picnic and you will be refunded this amount in cash when you sign in. If you sign up and do not show up you will not be refunded. Call Chas Pinkerton at 717-647-7468 to sign up. More details in the next newsletter! Till then you can see our pics from last years’s event.

Goodyear Racing gives new street slicks to raffle at the KGC Car Show in 2010

The Garage Club’s 2nd annual car show will be Saturday, September 11, 2010. Meetings have begun for the planning of the car show. These meetings are usually held the third or fourth Thursday of each month at the R&K Diner in Elizabethville. Anyone interested in helping out with the car show please feel free to attend these meetings, just call Mike and April Klinger for details at 717-443-0036. All members are welcome and it’s never too late to start!

Jim Ryals, our Goodyear representative at Jeck’s service Center, has landed something special for our show. Goodyear Racing has finally broke into the market of DOT drag radials. They have allotted us two tires to give away at our car show valued at approximately 200 dollars EACH. Jim is pictured above presenting us with the certificate that we will give to the winner as a voucher for two tires in a selection of 9 available sizes. Tickets will be 5 dollars each and are available to EVERYONE! Sizes available will be P235/60R15, P275/50R15, P275/60R15, P295/65R15, P315/60R15, P325/50R15, P255/50R16, P275/40R17, and P315/35R17. The winner of these tires will be one of the first out there to get a set on the street locally. View more about these tires on the web at: http://www.racegoodyear.com/tires/dragspecial.html

To date, all of the trophies are technically paid for. There are still some classes however that need sponsors which will allow us to present more club awards, honor the special guests, and boost the final total presented to the Children’s Miracle Network. Keep in mind, the club gives everything to charity through the car show proceeds.

We also still need help in getting items for the Chinese auction, items for door prizes, and things for the goody bags. That means we need more volunteers to help out, especially the day of the show. Will have a sign up sheet at the next club meeting for help at the show. There will be a show flyer printed with this newsletter as well. Get one sent in or give it to a friend! Let’s get the word out for an even bigger show this year.

Club Merchandise

We have t-shirts, hats, stickers and now have sweatshirts in stock. Matt can’t fit all of this in his car, so if you want something he doesn’t have with him at that time, please let him know ahead of time so he can bring it with to the next event.

Other Car events and shows were discussed:

July 4, 2010: Lebanon Country Cruisers were at the Palmyra Dairy Queen. Denny and Melissa Aungst were there to pass out show flyers. Marty Beck was also checking it out.

July 8-10, 2010: York US30 Nostalgia Reunion was at the York Fairgrounds.

July 11, 2010: A lot of cars from the York US Nostalgia will then be going to Beaver Springs for a day of racing. Pics next month

July 17, 2010: Williams Valley Car Show, Buddy’s Log Cabin cruise, and Super Chevy at Maple Grove. Pics next month!

July 18, 2010: Dan Snyder’s cruise in from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

July 25th, 2010: Children’s Aid Car show at the North End Fire Company in Pine Grove. Reg. 9-12. awards at 3 p.m.

August 8th, 2010: The Great Pottsville Cruise. Staging at 8 am to 4 p.m. and the cruise is from 4-6 p.m..

August 14th, 2010: The 2nd annual Pocono Drag Lodge Reunion. See more below.

August 15th, 2010: We will be donating $50.00 to the Tremont Fire Company for 3 trophies for their car show.

With that, we were finished with the official club business and could get back to bench racing and trying to finish off the tasty buffet tables that the Hoffman’s had set up for the meeting.

Numidia Dragway held a $20 Test and Tune Club day

Some Club members went racing at Numidia on June 26, 2010. This was a car club promotional day. Anyone who was a member of a car club could race for just $20. Spectators were free! All that attended had a good day. There was everything from rail dragsters to diesel trucks to street cars to a snowmobile and a three wheeler.

Chas Pinkerton said that of all the clubs there the Garage Club was not the largest in participation, but Numidia made a big deal of the Garage Club when each member went up to the line. Matt Doyle stated at the meeting that he especially had a good day. Several of our quicker street cars were in attendance and it made for a good impromptu club function.

Thanks to Mike and April Klinger for getting us the photos. Not everyone is pictured below, but you can see full size versions of these and the rest at a page in the “Event Pics” section of the web site.

Carlisle Events News!

On Saturday, June 26 and Sunday, June 27, Garage Club members,Matt Murphy, Jas Deihl, Kirsten Murray, and John Murray, attended the GM Nationals, held in Carlisle. John received the 2nd place trophy with his 2001 Monte Carlo SS in the 95-present Stock Monte Carlo Class. Kirsten (Center) was crowned "Miss Carlisle All-GM Nationals 2010." Matt Murphy won a 1st place & also a celebrity pic award from Frank Butler with his ’67 Camaro SS396. Member Terry Brouse had the “Wild Thing” Camaro in the burnout pit. Thanks to Jas Deihl for the pics. They can be seen on the Garage Club’s Facebook page.

Congrats to all GC members at Carlisle!

Bob “Bolt” Zubrickie sent us some photographs from the Chryslers at Carlisle event from July 9th to the 11th. I know there were several members in attendance though I do not have a list. Some of the news I received included the full details of Matt Doyle haggling then scoring on some very reasonably priced sheet metal for his Challenger. Mike Potts also brought home a 528 Hemi short block for the tubbed ’70 Cuda. Looks like the 426 Hemi he already has could make it into the Belvedere. Wouldn’t that be cool!

Check out all of Bob’s photos at his ”imageevent” page at:

http://imageevent.com/bolt/vcacarlisle2010

Mike and April Klinger told us about how bad Ford Carlisle was hit by the weather. Ford Carlisle was held at the beginning of June, starting the day of our annual “Membership drive” at Beaver Springs. No one got pics to us from any of the club members, but you can see some event pics by going to the official Ford Carlisle album at: www.carlisleevents.com

Finally, we discussed the Spring Carlisle event. The treasurer, Mike Potts went over what came in to a point, but we don’t have a final tally on what the Club made on Spring Carlisle spaces since money is still being collected. To date it is estimated that the Club broke even and will be continued as there were many members who took advantage of the passes, spaces, and, of course, the job johnny!

BLOCKER Enterprises “Snakes Alive” Car Show & Cruise, Saturday, June 12th at 10AM. Food, music, Vipers, Cobras, Shelby’s, Mustangs, and MORE!!

by Bob “Bolt” Zubrickie

The 15th annual snakes alive car show was held at Blocker’s Harley Davidson, http://www.blockers.com in Parryville, Pa.. Last year the Viper club found out that Mr. Blocker had a Viper and the Local Viper club of America decided to attend this event to fill up the parking lot. This year 31 local Vipers attended. There was almost as many Cobras there also. (Well, maybe ½ as many.) Many other custom cars showed up as well. Bob Zubrickie from the garage club has his blown ‘98 GTS Viper there. It was the only Viper with so many extreme mods and is always a major attention getter.

The show lasted till 2:00 pm, then a 30 mile cruise was held. The cars weaved thru the Poconos and landed at Penn’s Peak for a break. At the end of the cruise a bunch of people went out to dinner at a local Pub in Lehighton. The night rapped up about 7:00 when the skies opened up and poured raining. It was a great day. It was nice of mother nature to cooperate with us.

Quotes of the day From some of the Viper owners:

"It's a bad sign when I'm exceeding the speed limit... in first."
From Rick: "I don't want to follow Victor - he's too loud". Good choice to follow Bolt instead!
From Carmen: "When the police showed up...."
About Bolt: "We'll have to start calling him 'Firecracker' now..."
"Did they park the Cobras out back?"

http://imageevent.com/bolt/snakesalive6122010

2nd annual Pocono Drag Lodge Reunion coming up on August 14th!

Well, it is that time of year. Last year was a blow out bash for the nostalgia drag racing crowd. This year is shaping up to be even bigger. Don’t worry about the congestion on the strip like last year.

Charlie Hulsizer has been busy planning AND executing improvements. He got more equipment to clear more area and has opened the original parking areas and pit areas and I heard even the return road. There will be separate parking for spectators and trailers. He has had more shirts printed and will have venders and a swap meet. Parking should be more organized on the track to make room for even more cars.

This is a cool event and several members are planning the trip. Want to go in a group? Lets us know.

The York US30 Nostalgia Drags descend on Beaver Springs Dragway.

It’s 2010. Where do you go if you want to see 44 Super Stock race cars from the 60’s, about two dozen Gassers, and even some funny cars. Beaver Springs is the place and the Nostalgia Nationals was the event. Once again, Beaver Bob shows that he really knows what he is doing when he puts on an event.

Mike Potts and I decided to tag along with Bill Schoffstall in his Hot Rod F100 Truck and see the show at Beaver Springs on July 11th, 2010. Bill entered his truck in the pre-’75 vintage car show held at the bottom of the race track. The pits were FULL of nostalgia rides and the “bean field” was packed with spectator cars. We knew right from the start that this would be a good day. We ran into quite a few club members and everyone offered drinks and shade, if they had a pop up anyway. “Thanks!” by the way.

Bob was definitely hopping. There was an early engine failure that left connecting rods and wrist pins on the track as well as lots of fluid. I am sure it was a bittersweet feeling for the guy who broke. He cut a perfect light on the tree only to hear it explode and coast off the track at the 300 foot mark. The crew was on the ball and there was only a short delay and they had the place up and running again. We enjoyed the heads up time shots all morning and just before the event got into eliminations, Bob called up all the event celebrities for an introduction and there was quite a collection of the greats in attendance.

As you can see, the introductions took a bit of time. To see the entire list please visit Beaver Springs web site at (www.beaversprings.com) Bob then had all of them tour the track for the fans in consecutive year 1965, ’66, ’67, etc Pontiac GTO convertibles. It was a very cool display. What tickled our fancy was when Bruce Larson hopped in the back of one with Linda Vaughn. How many people can say they were in the back seat with her!

We even got to see Bruce Larson’s newest restoration, “Mr. Clean”, one of his first drag cars powered by an Olds J-2 with fuel injection. Bruce even got to make a pass down the track for us all. Heck, Bob even lined up the FIRST (#1) real production z-11 Impala Super Stock car that made a pass as well. How often do you see that and then you could go back to the pits and hang over the fender to check it out. (very carefully of course). On hand was Joe Pirrone with a fleet of Willys in tow. I grabbed a shot of the Boss Hydro and it’s cool El Camino tow rig. Come catch a glimpse at the KGC car show.

I guess the main thing is to mention that there was just so much going on, I can’t write about it all. Check out the pics on the web site in the “Event Pics” section to see more. Remember, there are more Nostalgia events coming up at Beaver. Check out the schedule at his web site and I will see you there!

The Great Pottsville Cruise is just around the corner.

Sunday, August 8th is the date of the main cruise. They have events happening almost the entire week prior to the main event. Check out their flyer to the right or visit the official cruise web site at www.thegreatpottsvillecruise.com for more info on these events.

Want to get together for the main cruise event? Come on in. Wear your GC T-shirt or just look for me taking pictures. I’ll be roaming around there all day. Even if you just want to see it, but not be in it, we have the solution. Most of the GC members who attend will eventually meet at the parking lot of the Waymart which is across from Hadesty’s and next to Burger King.

Dave Lehr is building a new project for Classicjunkyard.com

Check out this ride. Dave found himself a ’57 Willys Delivery and is building a traditional budget hot rod, or “rat rod” if you wish. The paint is rather perfect for the period hot rod and will stay pretty much as is. The interior will get new floors and a set of ’64 Thunderbird buckets.

The power train is a 454 with a turbo 400 that came out of a motor home that Dave picked up cheap. The rear is a Nova rear and the rear tires are on slots while the front straight axel and wheels remain from the ’57 Willys. The Original steering column will remain and the 3 speed shifter is modified slightly to operate the shift linkage for the automatic. Can’t wait to see it hit the cruise route!