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Bird Bits Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club

Established 1966 Classic Thunderbird Club International

CTCI Chapter 14 June 2016

Message from the President Welcome to June. We've had a very busy month of May, and still more happening in June. So, join in! Last month, we had 4 T-birds, 7 cars, and about 13 members attend Gil's garage event. The weather was cooler than expected with a few clouds. There were about 50 Thunderbirds in his front yard, and we all enjoyed a great catered BBQ lunch followed by Gil’s tech-session. How much does that guy know? I guess we'll have to keep attending his annual event. We are very, very lucky to have Gil living so close to us.

That same day, we also had 4 Thunderbirds at a Senior picnic at LDS church in Granite Bay. The students were full of questions, and our members were happy to share stories and answer their questions. They also received a superb BBQ lunch. Continued on next page

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May 10th General Meeting Minutes...

Meeting called to order at 7:00 p.m. by President Jim Marquardt. He thanked the 50

th Anniversary Committee for all their hard work for a spectacular event. He re-

minded everyone that the link to pictures taken at the party are in the Bird Bits. The April minutes were approved as printed in the Bird Bits. The Treasurer’s report was given by Bonnie Glantz. It was noted that the 50

th Anniversary party

came in under budget by $1600. There are some bottles of wine that will be available for sale at Pat Steinhauer’s birthday party in June. Bottles will be sold for $5 each. Committee Reports-Membership- Roger Fuller stepped in for Janie Felkins who was unable to attend the meeting. He introduced new members, the Cokers, who have a white ’56, guests Gary Parlier who has a yellow ’55, and Christian Butler, who has inherited his grandfather’s ’66 Q code (428 big block). Expressions of sympathy to Stephanie Kowerduck whose mother passed away and Ross Wood-man on the loss of his sister. Our thoughts and prayers are with these two members for their loss. Any members who need a new nametag should contact Lani Korenko. The fancy-schmancy new ones have the magnetic backing and are $11.00 each. Historian- Stephanie Kowerduck- Stephanie would like to remind everyone who takes pictures at events to give them to her and Roger. You could also send them to Jim Fields who will post them on Facebook. Continued next page

Our inaugural Wine Tasting Tour through the back roads from Lincoln to Au-burn was a great success. Yet, we had many no-shows due to threats of rain. We still had 16 adventurous members (just ONE little bird) join us for breakfast, a great day touring the hills following those twisty and windy roads, and stop-ping only at four carefully selected wineries. At each winery, some bottles of wine were purchased. We shared driving stories, and always kept an eye on those pesky cloudy skies. One winery also entertained us with a guitar soloist. We ended the day at Original Mel's in Auburn with a surprise appearance of Rog-er and Patty, and Janie and friend Jack. Please thank Jerre and Barbara Haynes for their planning, maps, and goodie bags. I hope we can do this again! The Sacramento Music Festival is next on the calendar, and Mark Wichmann al-ways does a superb job planning and preparing the cars for this parade. This is a fun event. Come and watch the parade and hang-out with us even if you're not driving. Also in June are the Ladies' Luncheon at High Hand Nursery, the Thun-der Valley Casino and Lincoln car shows, and Whitney Oaks. You should contact a friend and attend, they're fun. Following our June meeting will be our Drive-In movie night and a birthday party at Pat Steinhauer's home. Both these are fun and good times to get to know each other. There is lots more to come in July (Cal State Fair, Bear Valley Music Festival), so update your calendars and make reservations. So much to do, and so little time. Make sure your cars are running and come join us. (as always your Brand-X is OK). Its also time for you, as a member, to think about helping our club! We nominate club-officers annually. Please offer your services. Volunteer for an officer position, and you'll always get lots of help. I'll see you at our next meeting! Please wear your name-tags! And remem-ber to check-out our Facebook page. (“Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club”). See you down the road! Jim

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Activities- Saturday, May 14- Gil’s Garage. Meet at the new Eppie’s on the south side of I-80 and West Capi-tol. Leave time is 9:30 a.m. Sign up for luncheon. BYOB and bring your chairs. Contact Chuck Ko-renko. Saturday, May 21- Foothills Wine Tour. New meeting place is Brookfield’s Restaurant at Eureka Road and I-80. Meet at 8:00 a.m. for breakfast, then leave at 9:30 a.m. Maps and directions will be available that morning. Saturday, May 28- Music Festival Parade in Old Sacramento. Mark Wichmann needs 8 cars and a back-up. He only has 8 cars at this meeting. Meet in Old Sacramento at 9:00 a.m. This event re-quires the tops off of the cars. Bring a mat or blanket for the back deck and something to protect the seat. Contact Mark Wichmann to volunteer to drive your car and for information. Thursday, June 2- Ladies’ Luncheon at High Hand Nursery in Loomis. Meet for lunch at 11:30 a.m. RSVP to Sharon Wichmann. Thursday, June 16- Thunderbirds at the Drive-Inn. Meet at the Village Drive-In for dinner and then caravan to the movie at Highway 50 and Bradshaw Road. Bring your FM radio, chairs and snacks. Contact Jim Fields. Saturday, June 25- Pat Steinhauer’s 3

rd Annual 75th Birthday Party and Tech Session. Note that

the phone number is incorrect in the Bird Bits- use the number in the roster and phone list. (corrected on page 12) RSVP to Pat Steinhauer and let her know if you will be bringing an appetiz-er, salad, or side dish. Tech session will run from 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. with dinner following. Wednesday, July 20- CalExpo car show. Park your car and enjoy the fair! Contact Jim Marquardt. Weekend of July 23-24- Bear Valley Music Festival. Get your 70’s-80’s on with Evolution, Jour-ney’s tribute band. Gerry Johnson is reserving a group of tickets so we can all sit together. Send your check for $40.00/person to her. Bear Valley Lodge isn’t taking reservations yet- don’t stop be-lieving- as soon as Gerry has the information she will let us know. September 13-18- CTCI Convention in San Diego. Make your hotel and convention reservations now. Contact Strizeks or Korenkos if interested in driving back along the coast. (Due to the CalExpo car show, the Santa Rosa overnighter will be rescheduled.) Old Business- No new information about the club’s involvement in the Great Race on June 18th. Contact Jim Mar-quardt if interested in getting together and checking out the cars.

New Business- No new business at this meeting. Car-related Discussion- Jacky Rhea described problems with her engine stalling. Roger Fuller has finished installing air conditioning. Larry Storlie brought a container of rubber gunk that mysteriously appeared in his radiator. Lots of discussion and theories as to the origins of the unwelcome matter. Jim Marquardt needs suggestions for securing floppy mirrors. Harold Ross has a new headliner that needs to be installed. Guest Christian Butler asked about frozen wheels and locked brakes. Tech Talk- Weatherstripping was the subject of this meeting’s tech talk. Ross Woodman described the pro-cess of making his own clear vinyl gasket to protect the car and paint from moisture that accumu-lates under the top and may deteriorate the seal. Ross has the pattern, and you can get the vinyl from OSH, Home Depot or Lowe’s. If you are interested in a T-Bird poster of 3 classic birds and a T-Bird Jr., contact Bobby Rodriguez. The raffle was won by Barbara Haynes. The meeting was concluded at 8:40 p.m. Minutes submitted by Lydia Hastings, Secretary

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Birthday

6/2 Susan Taylor

6/3 Robert Hawck

6/16 Carole Scibienski

6/16 Dianna Rhoads

6/17 Andrew Weast

6/18 Robin Pleshner

6/18 Jim Johnson

6/20 Barbara Webber

6/21 Mary Jane Nichols

6/24 Sharon Wichmann

6/24 Debra Field

6/27 Pat Steinhauer

Club Anniversary

1997 Charles Whitney, Mark Janssen

2009 George & Karen Aboud

2011 Bob & Alice Buck

Presidents Message Page 1—2 Activity Report Page 6-8

Meeting Minutes Page 2—3 New Activity Info Page 9-16

Birthdays & Club Anniversary Page 4 Restorations and Tech Page 17-18

Calendar Page 5 Bulletin Board Page 20

In this issue of the Bird Bits...

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Activities for 2016 Local Interest Show/Swap Club Calendar Activities

June

3-4 4 4 4-5 4-5 4-5 10 11 11 12 14 16 18 18 25 26

Lincoln, (free at Thunder Valley) and $25 for Downtown. 916-343-6648 Springfield at Whitney Oaks Hot Summer Nights 4:30-6pm free Migration with Vintage Birds Goodguys at Pleasanton. Auburn, Mother Lode Swap. 5am Fairgrounds Modesto Graffiti Classic 9a-3p, $30 209-521-6607 Auburn Friday Night Cruise 5-9 Free Woodland Reiff’s Street Bash 4-11:30 530-666-1758 Elk Grove Park, Pre-Father’s Day Show $30 916-744-1228 Chev Swap, Sac State, 5am 919-635-8790 General Meeting at Future Ford Drive-in Dinner and Movie Orangevale Music and Brews (show) 1-4 free 530-313-0639 Roseville show at Denio’s 8a-2p free 916-774-9600 Birthday Bash and BBQ at Pat Steinhauer Lodi Show and Swap, Festival Grounds 6a-2p 209-948-5307

Pg 10 Roger Fuller, pg 10 Pg 9 Pg 10 J & D Fields Pg 11 Pat Steinhauer Pg 12,13

July

4 8 12 17 20 19-21 23 29-31 30

Parade at Arden Arcade Auburn Friday Night Cruise 5-9 Free General Meeting at Future Ford Roseville Car Show, 8a-2p 916-803-1788 California State Fair Santa Rosa Drive & Overnight (postponed) Folsom Cruise of Dreams $25 916-988-6376 Bear Valley Concert and Overnight Sacramento Swap at Sleep Train 6a-4p

Neil Schild Pg 10 Pg 10 Jim Marquardt P14 Gerry Johnson P16

Aug 9 TBD

General Meeting at Future Ford Picnic in the Park

Sep 13 13-18 24

General Meeting at Future Ford Canceled due to Conv CTCI International Convention in San Diego Birds on the Wharf

Chuck Korenko TBD

Oct

2 11 14-16 22

Stocking Decorating at Pat Steinhauer's (new date) General Meeting at Future Ford International Car Show at Cal Expo River Road Tour

Pat S 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

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Gil’s Garage and Tech Session What do you get when you bring 45 little birds and their owners together? A lot of bird song and chat-ter! For the first 2-3 hours cars were coming, hoods were opened and many people got valuable advice on the spot. There was an ‘F’ and an ‘E’ Bird in attend-ance. The main event was when Gil talked about a particu-lar car that had come in. He called it a mechanic’s malpractice. So many things were dangerously wrong with it, that it was a wonder it even got to his garage. Gil mentioned the throttle stuck wide open more than once.

Pete continued the lesson with a few electrical tips that included using the proper size wire for you bat-tery cables (and jumper wires). He also demonstrat-ed a nifty crimper for large cables.

Lastly, Don gave a PowerPoint presenta-tion on the electronics onboard the retro-birds (2002-2005). He showed a 47 year gap between the Model T and the 1955 T-Bird was the same 47 year gap between the 1955 T-Bird and the 2002 edition. It gave you pause to consider the tech-nological changes that go into new cars. Thanks, Gil and company, for the les-sons. By Roger Fuller

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The Wine Tour

Those who attended the Placer County wine tour, coordinated by Barbara and Jerre, had an exceptionally good time. The day started out with breakfast at Brookfield's fol-lowed by a leisurely day of tasting at 4 wineries, carefully selected by Barbara and Jerre. The Club expects a note of thanks from Placer County for our boost of the local economy through our wine purchases. We wrapped up the day with dinner at Mel's Drive-In in Auburn where Roger's red '55 was placed on display. Only 2 members drove their classics due to the threat of rain.

For those of you who missed it, don't despair as this event is very likely to be repeated.

Photos and Story by Jim Fields as seen on Facebook.

Photo from a past tour

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A road closed for reconstruction at the back en-trance to Old Sacramento might seem like a small thing to you and me. But, to Mark Wich-mann it was a very big thing! After a dozen or so last minute calls, Mark had us redirected to a different point of entry. This year’s drivers were veterans at rolling with the last minute changes. Even Chuck and Lani had to deal with replacing the heads of his 55. But, they made it with stories to tell. It was a warm day, but because the parade was over by about 11am, most of our cars were able to bare the 1 mile per hour pace. Overheating in a Thunderbird is al-most as common as the drips we leave on the garage floor. Jim Field is still sorting out the probable causes of his overheating and hopes to nail down a solution soon. Following the parade duties, we made our way over to Denny’s for lunch. Some us returned to the festival for a toe-tapping good time. Thanks, Mark. I hope more of our new members may be able to join in next year.

By Roger Fuller with photos from Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club Facebook page

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Hot Summer Nights

AT WHITNEY OAKS

Event Chair Cindy Rogers is inviting us to show our cars at an event they are planning on:

June 4th 5-6pm.

This event is for the enjoy-ment and benefit of folks that live at Springfield which in-clude Stan & Ester Pierce. The showing will be during the Happy Hour for the eve-nings social. Maybe there will be the opportunity to sam-ple their beer and wine (lemonade for the designated driv-

ers). I know it is early, but please reply to Roger Fuller if you are interested in attending. p.s. Show up at 4:30 to set up the cars. Questions may be ad-dressed to:

Cindy Rogers,

cindyannie18@gmail.com

Auburn Cruise Nite started 32 years ago in the Foster Freeze parking lot. Auburn Cruise Nite is a FREE event that draws 300+ classic cars 1972 or older to Lincoln Way in Auburn from 4 to 9 p.m. on the second Fri-day of each month between May and Septem-ber. Free family friendly event that features music and food vendors! Get there early to get a spot if you plan on showing your car. No motorcycles. No pets. For more information, or if you’d like to be-come a Volunteer, please contact Bob Kenne-dy at 530-878-7936 or bob.kennedy@hotcold.com

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Sacramento Classic Thunderbird Club

Goes to the Drive-In

Thursday Night, June 16th, 6:00 PM

Dinner:

Meet at 6 PM, at Village Drive-In Burger stand

(60th Street and 13th Avenue in Sacramento) for dinner beforehand.

Movie:

We’ll then Caravan to the Bradshaw Drive-In Theaters.

The movie cannot be selected until about 2 weeks prior to the date.

Spaces will be set aside for the Club.

A FM radio is required, but a portable will do nicely.

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Another chance to celebrate Pat Steinhauer’s 75th. June 25th

This year, Chuck Korenko is planning a Tech Session in conjunction with the BBQ. Come by 4pm to get in on the Tech Session in the barn! Dinner will start at 5pm. RSVP to Pat at patnart@att.net or (530) 878-2055 Sign up for the pot luck and bring your T-Bird. She has a

large front yard to spread out as many cars as we can muster. Bring some drinks and have a good time!

Let Pat know: How many are coming and what you will bring: Salad/side dish Desert

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At the "T" turn right on Campbell. First house on right at the foot of the hill.

(530)

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July 20 is our day for the State Fair display at

Cal Expo. Contact President Jim Marquardt if

you can join in the fun!

September 25-26- Birds on the Wharf, Santa Cruz. Rooms have not yet been arranged for our club at the Comfort Inn ($ ?) for the 25

th

314 Riverside Ave, Santa Cruz, 831-471-9999. Neither have arraignments for Saturday night in Half Moon Bay. It is suggested you make your own reservations now and cancel later if it be-comes if necessary.

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The Bear Valley Music Festival starts July 22. The Journey Tribute group, Evolution,

plays on Saturday, the 23rd. Tickets

are $40.00 each.

We will drive to Bear Valley on Sat-

urday morning. Once arriving, our

cars will be displayed for all to see

while we have a picnic of fried

chicken. This lunch has been re-

quested by all who have gone on

other trips. We will stay the night in the

lodge right by the festival tent.

Sunday morning, we will drive down to

Arnold to eat at Bristols. They specialize

in biscuits, gravy and such. Then it’s off

to home. I am waiting for a call back on

the price of the rooms. Each time we

have made this trip, everyone has al-

ways enjoyed it.

Let Gerry know if you would like to go.

707-374-2347 ASAP!

jimd73@icloud.com

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Stan Pierce’s car

Someone has to offer their car so that we can work on it (trial and hopefully no error). Stan has been plagued with failing brake switches. I replaced one about 2 months ago with his last good one in stock. A few weeks later, he once again was driving without brake lights. I advised him to purchase a mechanical switch. These are available from our Thunderbird supply houses and are specially manufactured to fit our cars. The mounting brackets take advantage of some existing holes in the brake pedal and under-dash supports. They are made to form to the shape of the brake pedal arm, and they are equipped with electricals that do not require any cutting, soldering or crimping. These switches are meant to supplement the existing pressure switch. And in case that switch fails, the brake lights would be engaged by the new under-dash mechanical. So again, you don’t need to mess

with the pressure switch or brake fluid. All in all, it’s a well thought out device. The most technical thing I needed to do was to connect a power lead to the accessory terminal on the back of the ignition switch (per instructions). For this, I needed to release the ignition switch from the dash and swing it down so I could see what I was doing. Stan asked,” What do I do with these?” He was holding at least 4 failed pressure switches.

By Roger Fuller

p.s. The seat was out during this install.

Wire from the switch to power the stop lights. This is connected between the existing

brake light circuit.

New switch arm and contact

New add to the brake arm with a pad to trip the switch.

Ignition accessory terminal. (ignition re-moved and spun backwards for access)

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Why was Stan’s car seat out of his car? A few weeks ago, Stan sent me an email asking how he could get is torn seat repaired. His message said that a seam had split. After I saw a photo of the split, I advised him of his options.

Take it to an upholster and take 2 pain pills and have a seat when he tells you the price to repair. Order a new set of covers, and I could help install them. New ‘57 seat covers sell for around $250 plus tax and shipping from our Thunderbird restoration vendors. Send the photo to a local upholster and ask him what the cost to re-pair the seam would be if he only had to re-sew the seam. We could re-move and reinstall the cover after it was repaired. The 3rd option was the least expensive and least time consuming. The upholster would only charge $50 to re-sew the seam. I estimated 4 hours to remove and 4 hours to replace the cover. A week later, on a Monday, I helped Stan remove the seat. I took a vid-eo of how the existing attachments were made with stapes and hog rings. After cutting the rings and pulling the staples, I was able to slip the seat cover off. Stan drove it to the shop and picked it up on

Wednesday. Thursday, I returned to replace the cover back on the frame. It took about 3 hours to remove but about 5 hours to install it all back in the car. I panicked a bit, because the seat did not move when I was about to replace it. After about an hour, I remembered the igni-tion had to be on before the seat would move. Dah! I was told that a torn seam is a common problem for these cars. Some may press their hand down to help themselves spin into their car. That extra weight can split a seam. I think it is more likely that it’s normal wear and TEAR from the driver from his/her weight right next to this seam as they drive the car. By Roger Fuller This was also the day we installed the me-chanical brake switch. It was a much easier job with the seat out.

After

Before

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Bulletin Board

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

Flag Day, June 14th, is a day for all Americans to cel-ebrate and show respect for our flag. It is representa-tive of our independence and our unity as a na-tion.....one nation, under God, indivisible. Our flag has a proud and glorious history. It was at the lead of every battle fought by Americans. Many people have died protecting it. It even stands proudly on the surface of the moon.

As Americans, we have every right to be proud of our culture, our nation, and our flag. So raise the flag today and every day with pride!

Happy Father’s Day,

June 19th

If your lucky enough to be a father, send a note to your kids.