Permian Basin Corvette Club Newsletter
JULY - DECEMBER 2009
EVENTS
The newsletter has been a long time coming but not because there hasn’t been anything to report. GREENTREE COUNTRY CLUB CAR SHOW – What a better way to enjoy the 4^th of July than a car show. Over 100 cars were displayed at the Greentree Country Club. The PBCC had several Vettes there. The weather was great, a bunch of people came to look, and good music to enjoy. The following were class award winners: George & Paula Tavary Bob & Kathy Young John & Cindy Barkley Harold & Linda Gregory FORT DAVIS “SEE THE STARS” CRUISE – Nineteen couples headed to Fort Davis, Texas on Saturday July 25 to go to the McDonald Observatory. After arriving at Fort Davis, several of us drove the scenic loop to enjoy some open road with a few “twisties” in for some good fun. After a nice dinner at the Hotel Limpia dining room, we headed up the mountain to the observatory. The weather was great for star gazing – no clouds, not much moon, and pleasant temperatures. If you went on the last See the Stars cruise you know what I’m talking about. First we sat in an outdoor amphitheater while an astronomer pointed out several stars and constellations. We saw the International Space Station and one of the Space Shuttles streak across the horizon. We also saw several satellites and “shooting stars”. After that, we looked through several telescopes set up on the grounds to see different far away planets and the moon. It truly makes you stand back in awe when you look at the universe. Sunday morning most headed back home early. A small group of us met for lunch at the local diner and enjoyed some fellowshipping and good food. That is the best part of PBCC cruises – sitting and visiting with friends. 2009 CARAVAN & NCM 15^TH ANNIVERSARY - This is the event we have been planning all year – the 2009 Corvette Caravan to Bowling Green, KY for the National Corvette Museum’s 15^th Anniversary. This was the 4^th official Corvette caravan. Corvettes from all over the country (and some from out of the US) made up of 25 “major” caravans from different parts of the country. Each “major” caravan was made up of 2-3 smaller caravans. We were part of the Oklahoma / Texas Panhandle Caravan. Our group met up with our caravan in Amarillo, TX on August 30. The next morning we drove to Adrian, TX (the halfway point on Route 66) to meet up with the Southern California / Arizona / New Mexico caravans. From there we drove to Oklahoma City to meet the rest of the OK caravan. A group of us got up early the next morning and drove parts of Route 66 on our way to Little Rock. We broke away from the main caravan groups and stopped to see some of the Route 66 sites. It was great. In Little Rock we joined the Arkansas caravan and those caravans coming from other parts of Texas. As you can see we started adding to the caravans the further East we drove. From Little Rock we drove in to the National Corvette Museum for our “official” arrival. The next day we toured the Corvette Assembly Plant. I always enjoy seeing how they build America’s Sports Car. Then we made our way over to the NCM to view the new expansion and vendors. During our stay in Tennessee and Kentucky we saw many sights and did many things. We rode a river boat on the Mississippi. We toured the Jack Daniel’s Distillery in Lynchburg, TN. We drove the beautiful Kentucky countryside. According to the NCM, over 4,500 Corvettes attended the 15^th Anniversary Event. 5,290 people were registered for the event but overall attendance topped 24,000. 1,875 people became new members of the NCM at the event. All I can say is WOW. Who knows when they will have another national caravan? Stephanie and I have been on 2 now – the 2003 50^th Anniversary Caravan and this on in 2009. Whenever they do, you need to go on at least 1. Seeing that many Vettes going down the highway or gathering together is awesome. And you need to go with the PBCC. We have a great time chatting with each other on our radios. We picked up a few stragglers along the way and they all said they enjoyed our camaraderie and banter on the radios (even without Rick Heckler). Seems other groups don’t have as witty a group as we do. Submitted by: Scott “Lil’ Tuna” Sparkman CHRISTMAS PARTY The club Christmas party was held at Johnny Ainsworth’s diner again this year. Dinner was provided by Rocking Q BBQ. After dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange. “The Horn” did not appear this year – but there were lots of chants for it. It was a great way to wind down the year and enjoy each other’s company.
RACING CORNER
It’s been a busy racing season. The Halfords, Phil Parker, and Scott Sparkman have been burning up the tracks around Texas and Oklahoma. Well, fortunately there hasn’t been much “burning” this year – right Bob. Scott has continued competing in time trials. October was the final race of the year at Eagles Canyon. Despite rain, Scott was able to complete laps on both days to qualify for the 2009 season. Troy Messer brought “The Beast” out on Saturday when rain threatened Texas World Speedway in College Station. Troy says he will compete in time trials in 2010. After all the points were totaled up, Scott won 2^nd Place in the TTS division in Time Trials. After one full year under his belt, he’s getting ready for next year and hopes to take the first place trophy. It has been an interesting year with several track days hampered by rain. We have been lucky these past few years to have good weather at every event. But this year proved a challenge with wet tracks or totally raining out the events. But that is part of racing.
NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM
This was a big time for the National Corvette Museum. As reported in the Events section, the NCM celebrated it 15^th anniversary with a big blowout. Besides being in existence 15 years, the NCM showed off its newly expanded 115,000 sq ft facility. The museum was great before – now it is even better. Please help the NCM with your membership. You can become a member for as little as $25 per person per year. If you have any questions, visit the NCM website at www.corvettemuseum.com and/or talk to our NCM Ambassador, Scott Sparkman.
TECH TIPS:
Dear Tom and Ray: My son, who transports cars for a living, says that we should not put a car battery on the garage floor for more than a few moments while we're moving it from one place to another. In other words, we should never store it on the garage floor. Why? He claims that it will discharge. He says it happens to them all the time. Now, I'm an electrical engineer. Nothing in my knowledge, training or experience tells me anything about cement garage floors being in any way, shape or form conductive, or in any way a cause of battery discharge. Which one of us is nuts? -- Tom RAY: Your son is. We've always been told not to leave car batteries on garage floors, too. But that's so other mechanics won't trip over them and crack their heads. TOM: Cement is not conductive. You're right about that. But any rechargeable battery -- that's left anywhere -- eventually will lose its charge. Rechargeable batteries are particularly quick to discharge. Just like your cell phone's battery runs down when it's sitting on the kitchen counter overnight. RAY: There are some people who have told us that this old myth comes from the days when battery casings were made out of wood. If the battery acid spilled out, it could make the wood wet, and create a conductive path to a moist cement floor. I wasn't around when batteries were made out of wood, so I don't know. My brother was around, but nowadays, he can't remember anything before the Teapot Dome Scandal. TOM: Another theory is that garage floors are simply colder than, say, workbenches. And, as every electrical engineer knows, chemical reactions slow down in lower temperatures. So, while the battery might not be discharging on the cement floor, it might be cooling off, and be less able to pump out its power temporarily. RAY: That's why we store all of our unsold batteries on our living-room sofas, Tom. Tell your son that's what he needs to do, too.
Reprinted from www.cartalk.com
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR SOME HOT NEW C5 OR C6 CORVETTE PARTS OR ACCESSORIES, DON’T FORGET WEST COAST CORVETTES. www.westcoastcorvette.com PBCC members receive a 10% discount. Give them a call and tell them you are with the Permian Basin Corvette Club.
TENTATIVE CALENDAR OF PBCC EVENTS
JANUARY Officer elections Be thinking of events you would like to do in 2010. We will hold a meeting to talk about ideas and lay out a tentative calendar. We are always looking for volunteers to put together an event. It doesn’t have to be a big elaborate event. If you are interested contact Scott Sparkman. For more information on these and other events – make sure you visit the calendar page on our website. Also check the calendar for racing events and other Corvette events happening this year.
MEMBER UPDATES
We want to welcome our latest PBCC members: Kie & Cathy Echols – 1969 Corvette coupe Jim & Nita Evans – 2007 Indy Pace Car Rodney & Wendy Bailey – 1976 Corvette
BUSINESS MEETING
Next business meeting is January 14, 2010 at Eattiques
If you are new to the Club and would like to order a PBCC name badge, please contact Harold Gregory at (432) 889-0580 for information.
PBCC CLASSIFIEDS
OFFICER CONTACTS
President: Vice-President: NCM Ambassador: Secretary: Treasurer: Asst. Treasurer Event Coordinator: Racing Events: Club Merchandise Raffle / Fundraising Name Tags Newsletter: Web Master:		Bob Young Harold Gregory Scott Sparkman Joe Lynch George Nesrsta Scott Sparkman Rick Heckler Malcolm Davis Bob Halford Harold Gregory Kathy Young Harold Gregory Scott Sparkman Scott Sparkman	Email Email Email Email Email Email Email Email Email Email Email
Dues are $25.00 per year for members joining January 1 – September 30 of any year, which includes two memberships. Members joining October 1^st or later will not pay dues until January of the following year. Annual dues are due the first meeting of the Calendar Year. Please mail application with check payable to PBCC to: PBCC PO Box 60394 Midland, TX 79711-0394 For additional Club information please visit www.permianbasinvettes.com