Hello Members & Friends,
Summer is just around the corner or is it here? The "Love Bugs" are gone, so let the fun begin! There are some great events in the month of June, car shows and cruise-ins. Please check the Web-site: June 2- Waterford Lakes, June 3- Russell Home, June 9- New Smyrna Beach, June 16- St. Augustine car show.
A reminder to our members, June 21st meeting is at Michael's Restaurant on East 50. Hope our Titusville friends can make the meeting. It will be good to see them again.
I want to thank Roger, Eric, Shelly, and Tammy for all the work they put into the Anniversary Party. There was plenty of food and drinks. The weather was great. Big thank you to Joan and Gary for the fifty-dollar donation to the Russell Home, from their part of the 50/50. I would like to thank everyone who donated door prizes especially Ecklers and Rogers Corvette Center.
Lisa talked to Mrs. Russell about our work detail. She would appreciate anything we can do to help her: sweep, clean windows, etc.
I'm planning to have a meeting with our board members in July to plan out the remainder of the year. If there is something you would like to do please let us know. Our club can only be successful with the help of the members. This club was formed to have fun with our Corvettes and raise money for our charity, the Russell Home. So let's have some fellowship and work together to make our club "The Greatest".
We have 167 members to date. Our newest members are Kim Hearn, the lovely wife of Derick Hearn, Robert & Marilyn McAllister, and Randy Dorris. Make sure you introduce yourself when you see them.
It seems that the long sleeve T-shirts were a success. I have handed out most of those shirts that were ordered and I must say they are a good quality shirt and I really like the aqua color. For all of those who did purchase one, I thank you for supporting the club and Mrs. Russell. And if you have not received yours yet, please come out to the next meeting. I know we will be real warm come winter!
Speaking of Mrs. Russell, by the time you read this our visit to the Russell home will be in the history books. If you do get this before June 3rd (which would be due to our newsletter editors undying devotion) then here's the scoop, we are meeting at World Chevy at 9:30am and it will be a work party. Come dressed for cleaning windows and floors (or anything else that needs it!). And afterwards we are headed to Road House Grill on Orange Ave. for lunch. Hope to see you there.
If you have attended the last several meetings you would have observed the activity at the membership side of the table. I have been extremely busy and quite frankly I have to look at the web site to see what's going on!! I want to thank all of you for bringing in new members and keeping our club alive . If there is anything you may need, please don't hesitate to let me know. I will do my best to solve any issues.
Just a note: if you see a guest come into a meeting, please encourage them to sign in and take some time to try and make them feel comfortable. We can be a bit scary to people who don't know us!
I still have some shirts for sale and some of the older stock are now on sale for $12.00. I only have size small. So if your interested just see me at the meeting.
Well that's all for me. Hope to see all of you out at our events in the next couple of months.
Save The Wave!
Lisa
OK campers it's time for me to put my Governor's hat on again and put forth some official words for all of our newest members. You know, just to let them know what we are all about and to spread a lot of acronyms just for a little spice.
Your Central Florida Corvette Association (CFCA - it's on your shirt) was established in 1973. While we are not the oldest club in the state, we are far and away the largest. No other is even close. We also belong to the National Council of Corvette Clubs Inc. (NCCC). This NCCC ties the CFCA and you to approximately 280 clubs nationwide.
The purpose of the NCCC and CFCA is to promote interest in, and operation of the Corvette. To that end, the NCCC and CFCA collects, distributes information and promotes an organized program to encourage others to participate in the joys of owning and operating the Corvette.
The NCCC was founded as an all-volunteer, non-profit organization in 1959 by a small group of Corvette owners/enthusiasts. In the early days, the number of clubs was rather small with all of them being located east of the Mississippi. Today, there are approximately 280 clubs in 15 regions both east and west of the Mississippi. The membership in NCCC comprises more than 15,000 members, the largest non-profit, all volunteer, Corvette organization in the United States.
Your CFCA and the NCCC sponsor many Corvette events for you to enjoy. Most of these events are local, but as a member of NCCC, you can participate in Regional or National events too. These events can include Car Shows, Caravans, Road Trips (a lot like a caravan), Fun Rallies, Drag Racing, both Low and High Speed Autocrosses, National Conventions, Social events, Cruising, and on and on.
Very importantly, with the NCCC, our club and members are provided with spectator and participant liability coverage at Corvette events. Maybe more importantly, the NCCC and your CFCA puts you in touch with Corvette members nationwide and you have the opportunity to travel all over and enjoy your Corvette, and the camaraderie of all your new friends.
On another level, we're about more than Corvettes. NCCC is a 'Bronze' sponsor of the National Transplant Games and supports the National Kidney Foundation through a yearly raffle of a new Corvette. Many other charities are supported by regional clubs such as Spina Bifida, local hospitals and children's charities.
As many of you may have heard during our meetings, your CFCA does much to support just such a charity. We work hard each year to support the Russell Home for Atypical Children here in Orlando. This home for challenged and disadvantaged children each year tugs at our heart strings and even brings a few tears of joy as we extend a helping hand to this most worthy charity.
See you at the meetings ---
Jon
(By Gary Wollenhaupt, filling in for Hutch this month. Thanks, Gary!)
SPRING HAS SPRUNG
THE GRASS IS RIZ
I WONDER WHERE ALL THE CORVETTES IS?
(OK, OK, no need to comment)
Just a reminder for some upcoming events.....
-Hutch-
THURSDAY, JUNE 21ST: CFCA Quarterly Dinner Meeting at Michael's Restaurant on east SR50, 7:30 P.M.
SATURDAY, JULY 14TH: ECKLER'S Sterling Casino Cruise. 6PM-1AM Port Canaveral. FREE! Register by July 6th. Call 321-385-1113 for details.
MAJOR SHOW EVENTS
(registration required)
It's time to plan ahead and get registered for some of the biggest events of the year!
SATURDAY, JUNE 16TH: VETTES AT THE VILLAGE 3 Now in it's third year, there's less than one month to go for this specatcular annual event, held at the beautiful World Golf Village in St. Augustine.
Flyer: http://www.nfca.net/WGV_Flyer/wgv_flyer.html
Entry form:
http://www.nfca.net/WGV_Flyer/Entry_form/entry_form.html.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY, OCTOBER 12-14: OCTOBERVETTES at Old Town in Kissimmee. This show has drawn upwards of 400 Corvettes in prior years. Info for the 2001 show should be available soon.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD: THE 8TH ANNUAL CORVETTES IN PARADISE IN THE FLORIDA KEYS! This is a "must" for CFCA members! Flyers and registration information have just been posted on the FKCC website. Take a look at http://hometown.aol.com/racinvet/fkccshow.html
Following the show, many CFCA members take some additional time and travel to Key West for some "R&R"!
Need more info? Contact CFCA's event coordinators, Hutch & Patti - email webmaster@cfca.net.
CFCA MEMBERSHIP NOW STANDS AT 167
CFCA is the largest club in the NCCC Florida Region
The success of any club is directly attributable to the participation by it's members.
If you have any suggestions for club events or outings
please contact any of our board members
We're all looking forward to seeing YOU
driving that Corvette in 2001!
Don't forget you may check your CFCA points status at any time in the Members Only section of the CFCA web site (email webmaster@cfca.net if you have forgotten the password). An easy way to earn points is to sponsor a new member into CFCA, write an article for the newsletter, or sponsor an event.
And we still have a LOT of members who do not have a photo of their Corvette(s) on our web site. Why not take the opportunity to show off your pride and joy to the world? Just email a digital photo to webmaster@cfca.net or loan me a snapshot for scanning and I'll post it for you. Thanks!
Have a great month and remember… keep the shiny side up!
- John Hutchinson
Competition Director
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
CFCA Celebrates it's 28th Anniversary - What's Next?
As the Corvette roared out of the cake, CFCA members gathered to celebrate the 28th Anniversary of CFCA on May 12th at Chisholm Park. I'm still not sure exactly where this park is located, but it must be pretty close to the edge of the world.
Although turnout by our membership was less than expected, as the Corvettes lined up outside the picnic pavilion, we were presented with an absolutely perfect day. The weather was great, the food was outstanding, warm day, light breeze, jet skis running rampant on East Lake Toho, and Ben the DJ was "rockin".
In two years, in 2003, CFCA will gather to celebrate a significant milestone - it's 30th Anniversary. Though I'm sure it wasn't originally planned this way by our founding fathers (and mothers?), our 30th will coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Corvette (and for our members that are "scooter" enthusiasts, the 100th Anniversary of Harley Davidson).
What a year THAT will be! Your Board has already begun to plant the seeds for a memorable CFCA celebration and have announced producing commemorative Anniversary pins. If you're not aware, all our members are invited to submit your design ideas for a "30/50" pin! Just contact any Board member.
So, what else? How about this month? Any racing fans out there? Following up on it's overall win at the Rolex24 at Daytona in February, on June 16th & 17th Corvette will return to the 24 Hours of LeMans to face some formidable competition in it's quest for a win! SpeedVision plans 24-hour coverage of the race. Let's all wish the Corvette Racing team the best. As they said all over France last year: "Vive la Corvette!"
As the year progresses, many Nation-wide Corvette events are in the process of being planned, such as the Monterrey Del Oro event to be held in conjunction with the Monterrey Historic Races next year. Check it out at: http://www.montereydeloro.com/deloro/main.htm.
There's even a website already up and running called "countdownto50.com" that will evolve during the next year as the point-source for information on all the planned events.
To celebrate Corvette's 50th, the National Corvette Museum will present a historic Motorama of Corvettes. According to NCM Events Coordinator, Larry Hayes, "this will be a thousand-mile odyssey of 50 Corvettes, one each from production years 1953 to 2002, from Corvette's birthplace in Flint, Michigan, to its current home in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Scheduled stops include the GM Design Center in Detroit, where Harley Earl and his design staff sculpted the concept car that became the Corvette, as well as St. Louis, where the car was produced from the end of 1953 to 1981."
Beginning June 24th, 2002, the Motorama plans to make its final stop at the Bowling Green Corvette Assembly Plant on June 28th, where it will be joined by the 50th Anniversary Corvette for the last mile of the Motorama's journey and its ultimate destination, the NCM, which will then signal the start of the Museum's three-day celebration.
The next two years will be unique in the history of the Corvette hobby. NOW, more than ever before is the opportunity to get more involved with your Corvette. If you haven't driven it for a while - hit the road! Later this month, on June 29th, is the start - it's "Drive Your Corvette To Work Day". If you've never participated in a car show or concours - shine it up! If you've never tried an autocross - give it a shot and hit the track!
There are quite a number of significant events on CFCA's calendar between now and the end of the year. Check out our website for the schedule. Wonder what some of these events are like? Check out our scrapbook for photos of the many events held during the past few years. Questions on "how to" for any of the NCCC-sanctioned events? Ask our Competition Director, a Board member, or any fellow member - either they've "done it" or know who has.
Did I hear anyone say "ROAD TRIP" ??
Save the Wave!
Gary
Gary Wollenhaupt
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
Ready to Race At Desoto Park
A group from CFCA met at World Chevrolet on Saturday, March 24th to make the trek over to Bradenton's Desoto Park Raceway and Drag Strip. We had five cars from the club, Hutch and Patti in Hutch's Grand Sport, Tom in his white C-5, Mike in his green C-4, Joe in his white C-4 and me in my sebring silver C-5.
Hutch had made plans with some of the Tampa Bay Club to meet for a fun day of running the cars. We left from World Chevrolet at 6am. and got to Bradenton, where we met the other club member's at the Cracker Barrel Restaurant. After a quick bite to eat, we all headed to the race track. They opened the gates at 9 am. We checked in and found the track to be in great shape and the facilities clean.
There were a few ZR-1's with nitrous boost as well as some C-5's that came down from Tampa. We all ran and put the car's thru their paces on the track. What a rush, to blast down the track at over 100 mph in 13.6 sec. In the quarter mile. You'd be amazed at the adrenalin rush your Corvette will give you. Oh well, boys will be boys.
Everyone had a great time and we headed back to Orlando shortly after the noon hour. I recommend to anyone wanting to stretch the legs, so to speak on your Corvette to join in on our next visit to the track. These cars were built to run. When the urge occurs, run them safely, and the best and safest way to do that is at the track.
Til next time...........Ready/ Set/ Go.........See Ya
Bill
Bill Manes
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
Desoto Park
Well, approximately 3 weeks after finishing my motor (by my mechanic), I finally got to see what she was made of. I had just moved to the Orlando area and joined the Central Florida Corvette Association (CFCA) upon arriving here. John "Hutch" Hutchinson is the Competition Director in the club and mentioned that he was going to meet some ZR1 buds of his from Tampa, for a day of Drag Racing at Desoto Raceway just outside Bradenton.
It all started at 4:45 AM for me as we were to meet at the 7/11 just around the corner from Hutch's house at 5:30 AM. Jeez...I only get up this early to play golf. There were 5 CFCA members that met up, including Hutch's wife, Patti, who has a GS convertible of her own. We then hoofed it over to the other side of town where we had to meet up with another club member by 6:00 AM.
We promptly got back on the road and put in some good times (with Hutch in the lead) making our way over to Bradenton, where we met up with Hutch's friends and a friend of mine from my old club up north at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Unfortunately, they were packed, so...an Egg McMuffin later, we were on our way to the track to get there for the opening at 9:00 AM.
Unbelievably, we were like the 3rd person in line as we waited for the gate to open. As we waited, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was. They were calling for approximately 80 degrees with not a cloud in the sky.
Upon opening, we all lined up along the fence in a nice shaded area and laid out our belongings and went to work. Adjusting tire pressures and such, just getting ready for the task at hand. At 10:00, they had the track ready to run.
Hutch and I decided to line up against one another since our cars are so similar. He has the LT4 GS and I have the LT1, but we both have the MORE Performance top-end, same ported CNC heads, same Cam, same roller rockers, etc. He has 4.10 gears, shorty headers, Power Effects exhaust and was running Drag Radials. I have the stock 3.45's, TPIS long tubes, 3" Tri-Flow exhaust, no cats, 3" X-Pipe in place of my resonator and was on my Dunlop SP8000's.
Suffice it to say, I was pretty nervous. I had only done this one time previous ... back in the days when it was relatively stock, where I ran a bunch of 13.6's at 103 mph. I also didn't think the car felt that fast for all the [expletive deleted] money I had dropped in her but I was about to find out.
We line up and I stage first, since Hutch was dusting off the tires from going through the water. My heart was absolutely pounding! The first light on the tree goes yellow, then the second, I'm right at about 2300 rpm, the third light goes yellow and I feather her out of the hole with a little bit of slippage. As soon as I feel traction, I drop the hammer.
I see to the right of me that Hutch took me out of the hole but by the time I was winding 3rd gear, we were side by side. My tach only goes to 6000 but has a 6500 redline. I'm pretty sure it stops making power right around 6000, so when it was pointing 180 north, I would hammer it into the next gear (granny shifting). Both of us shifted into 4th and I could see me getting him by a nose at the finish line. I couldn't believe it!
We both looked at each other with big [expletive deleted] eating grins and said "lets do it again!" Unbelievably, there was nobody there and we could just line them up again. We could have run 10 times easy in the 2.5 hours we were there but decided to run 5 times each. On the 2nd run it was the same thing all over again. My reaction time was a little better and I beat him to the finish line but his ET was better than mine.
Hutch had his best time of the day on his next run (the only time we didn't line up against one another) with a 12.777 @ 109.60. I had my best time right after dusting off a Mustang, with a 12.763 @ 110.81.
The one thing I noticed with my runs was the correlation between 60' time and 1/4 mile time. My best 60' times gave me my best 1/4 times. The 2.000 60' time was when I launched at 2000 rpm. All others were above that figure (right around 2500 rpm). I'm sure some good Drag Radials should allow for a higher rpm launch and would like to try that in the future.
All in all, it was a great day! I live right around the corner from Bithlo, but you're lucky to get 2 runs in during the evening (from what I've seen).
Desoto might be worth the trip if it's like this all the time. I would like to thank Hutch for inviting me and hope to do it again some time soon.
Mike
- Mike Lindsey
NATIONAL CORVETTE MUSEUM UPDATE
FLORIDA IS #1 !
The National Corvette Museum was built by and continues to grow thanks to its members; members who believe in its mission of preserving the past, present and future of the Corvette.
In the May, 2001 issue of "America's Sports Car" magazine, a map of NCM membership by state was published. Looking closely, I find that internationally, FLORIDA has more NCM members than any other locale - worldwide!
If each NCM Member would set a goal to recruit just one more, it will help the NCM reach their goals. Every gift will have it's own drawing. Each recruiting member and new member will be automatically entered in each drawing according to the level of membership recruited. If you've been thinking about joining the NCM - NOW is the time! To be eligible, forms must be received by the NCM by July 30, 2001.
Please join your fellow Floridians in their outstanding level of support of the NCM - preserve the legacy - become a member!
Here's a breakdown of the top 20 states:
1 Florida 649
2 Kentucky 633
3 Texas 577
4 Ohio 572
5 California 566
6 Illinois 500
7 Indiana 471
8 Michigan 450
9 Pennsylvania 401
10 Georgia 342
11 New York 290
12 Tennessee 288
13 New Jersey 235
14 North Carolina 214
15 Virginia 186
16 Wisconsin 168
17 Massachusetts 166
18 Missouri 158
19 Alabama 148
20 Maryland 138
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