August 2018 Newsletter

Director’s Thoughts, AUGUST, 2018

The “Dog Days of Summer” are now upon us all! All I can say to you, is to “STAY COOL”! If you have been a car buff for forever, you know about the Macungie show, Das Awkscht Fescht (The August Festival). Many of you attend this yearly event in some way shape or form. Whether you are a volunteer, a participant in showing your BUICK(s), or just attending as a spectator, you must admit, it is a very nice & well attended show! The only drawback is the weather. John Moore & I, along w/ Clarence’s’ spirit, will, again, be vending w/ many many car parts. We are located at the entrance of the field on your way to the car corral. I am inviting everyone to come & stop by to say “Hello” & to rest your weary feet a bit. Its’ always nice to see other “FREE SPIRIT” members during this time.

Besides stopping our vendor spot, hopefully you will be attending on Sunday for Club Day for the cars on display. As many of you know, the gorgeous & most shadiest spot on the show field is where the Buicks are parked! Off to the right of the main entrance from Rt. 100!

“Thank you” to those gentlemen who volunteered to be there by 0700 to help park Buicks on Sunday. For if there would be no one to park early, we would lose our spot!! This comes from the Ontelaunee Region AACA chairman. I will be there w/ the chapter ways n mean items.

If, for some reason member(s) need to reach me during that week of DAF, Macungie, Pa, I can be reached @ 484-464-3418, for I do not go home every night. I stay on the grounds of the show.

To totally change the topic, how many of you are left-handed? You might find the following article a bit interesting:

International Left-Handers Day History

International Left-Handers Day is a day to bring attention to the struggles which lefties face daily in a right-handed society. August 13th is observed as International Left-Handers Day.

International Left-Handers Day Facts

10% of people are left-handed according to a report by Scientific American.
Geniuses are more likely to be left-handed – 20% of the top scoring SAT takers are left-handed.
In 2013, 31% of Major League Baseball pitchers are left-handed.
Of the last 5 Presidents, 3 were lefties – Obama, Clinton and Bush Sr.
All lefties: Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Barak Obama, Bill Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Leonardo da Vinci
International Left-Handers Day Top Events and Things to Do
Eat with your left hand today.
Attempt to use only your left hand while writing today. If typing or navigating on a computer, use the mouse with your left hand.
Look around you and notice how many people you know are left-handed.
Attempt to cook using your left-hand as the primary one.
Create a Lefty Zone where everyone who enters must only use their left hand for the day.
Hope you got a chuckle from the previous article. I am left-handed as was my father and Clarence. Our 2 children, Laura & Brent turned out to be right-handed, figure that one out, huh?

Your elected Director, Sally Getz

“Free Spirit” Chapter Meeting Minutes, July, 2018

No meeting held during July due to summer vacation! Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

Northeast PA All Buick Regional, September 20-22, 2018, Lehighton, Pa

WOW! The time is going by quickly, don’t you agree? This means it is now, only 1, yes, only 1 month away from the 2018 NE PA ALL BUICK REGIONAL!! Can you believe it? I am so excited of being a part of this Buick chapter in hosting such an event. For you, the members, is what makes this chapter the GREATEST!!

We will be looking for volunteers to help with this show. The following is what will be needed:

Setting up the field with class signs Friday afternoon
Manning the registration table as participants come through Thursday-Saturday
Parking of cars on show field (classes) for display on Saturday
Women members to man the hospitality area Thursday-Saturday.
Women to bake & bring finger foods for hospitality area Thursday-Saturday
Tallying up the peer judging slips to get results of those participants who is to receive an award

I am sure as the time even becomes closer, there will be other jobs that will need volunteers to perform. I can be reached @ 610-377-6130 or 484-464-3418 if there are questions/concerns. Feel free to contact me, I do not bite!

Again, some of you may have heard me say, or you may have already read this comment in previously newsletters, but I am very proud to be a member of this BUICK chapter, & very excited to be a part of this upcoming, grand event!! I have helped a little in past regionals the chapter held, but, for some reason, this time around is so different.
Those members of who I am involved with in organizing & planning this event, have been exceptionally wonderful. I couldn’t ask for any better! Some of you have yet to register with your BUICKS. Only a hand full of you, our chapters’ members, have registered. You only have till August 15th to get your registrations in. Let us not only attend to enjoy the camaraderie with others & to share the hobby we all enjoy, BUICKS, but also to portray that the spirit of the “Free Spirit” Chapter is alive & well!! We may be a small chapter, but we are STRONG in the spirit to the hobby, BUICKS!!

Sally Getz

How To Interpret Antique Car Ads

If it says: It Really Means:
Rare model: Nobody liked them when new either
Older restoration: Can’t tell it’s been restored
Needs engine work: It’s been frozen for 30 years
Uses no oil: Just throws it out
No rust: Body & fenders missing
Rough: It’s too bad to lie about
One owner: Never been able to sell
No time to complete: Can’t find parts anywhere
Needs interior: Seats are gone
Rebuilt engine: Has new spark plugs
May rub: But it never has
Low mileage: Third time around
Many new: Keeps breaking down parts
29 coats hand-rubbed paint: Needed that much to cover rust
Clean: It sat out in the rain yesterday
Best offer: About what I expect to get
Always driven slowly: Won’t go any faster
Prize winner: Hard luck trophy 3 times in a row
Stored 25: years Under a tree
Real show stopper: Orange with purple fenders
Easy restoration: Parts will come off in your hand
Ready to show: Just washed it
Top good: Only leaks when it rains
Good investment: Can’t depreciate anymore

STORING THOSE PARTS (from newsletter archives)
After purchasing all those spare parts @ carious swap meets, flea markets, etc., they must be stored somewhere until they are put to use. Many parts made of metal, rubber & plastic can become worthless if not stored properly, especially in a climate such as we have in this part of the country. Just a few minutes of preparation when storing parts will pay handsomely when you finally get around to using them.

The biggest problem seems to be rust on all ferrous metal parts. To avoid rust we must provide a barrier between the metal surface & the humid atmosphere. No matter how dry a place you think you have in this climate, unprotected metal will rust or corrode. The best way to protect them is to clean them thoroughly with solvent & dry them off. Then give them a coating of oil, kerosene or one of the many rust inhibitors on the market. Then wrap them in plastic or plastic bags to keep the oil in & moisture out. DO NOT use rags or paper unless it is waxed paper or paper treated with special corrosion inhibitors. Plain rags or paper will absorb all the oil from the parts & will allow them to rust worse than if they had no covering @ all. It is not a good idea to use plastic bags on parts not coated w/ oil because they will trap moisture in w/ them & cause rusting. For large parts such as fenders, wheels, etc., which it is impractical to wrap in bags or plastic, there is commercial rust inhibiting oil which can be sprayed on & it will not run off.

For chrome plated & plastic parts, clean thoroughly & coat w/ auto body wax & then store in plastic bags. Avoid extreme temperature changes with plastic parts.

Rubber parts, tires & inner tubes should be stored in as cool & dry place as possible. Most rubber parts can be coated with rubber lube & stored in plastic bags. Inner tubes should be dusted with talc, deflated, folded & stored in plastic bags. Tires if new & wrapped in paper may be stored that way. If they are not new then it is a good idea to put an old inner tube in them & inflate just enough to keep the tires in shape. Then when you do mount the tires, it will be much easier. Here’s hoping that all of your valuable spare parts will be in excellent condition when you are ready to put them to use.

Guess who wrote this article?

SPOTLIGHT: BUICK SUPER EIGHT

The Buick Super Eight was a full-sized automobile produced from the 1940s through to 1958, excluding the WWII period. The Super Eights mechanics were just as impressive as its design and it received 150 bhp from a dynflash inline eight-cylinder engine with DynaFlow automatic transmission, independent front suspension with coil springs and live rear axel with coil springs and four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes.

Following the end of World War II, Buick offered the widest selection of models in its history to date, and the sleek, luxurious Super Eight Cabriolet continued to occupy the peak of the entire product range. These very desirable cars received enthusiastic reviews from motoring enthusiasts and increased showroom traffic at Buick dealerships.

On offer today is a gorgeous open-air example of one of the most beautiful Buick designs. The wonderful Honolulu Blue coachwork suits the cars design and proportions admirably and makes an effective and attractive contrast with the luxurious elegance of the interior. The upholstery is trimmed with matching Vibrant Blue cloth, to a standard that one would imagine would be suitable for royalty.

This Super Eight Cabriolet has spent a lot of its life in a museum collection, and the odometer displays a remarkably low 6,200 miles! Having undergone an impressive cosmetic restoration and presented in delightful condition, with both provenance and rarity; this must be an almost unique opportunity for connoisseurs of post-war Americana.

2 Greatest Buick GrillsWith the grille’s unique six-vent styling and one-year-only quad headlights, the 1971 Cuda demanded attention, even when the engine wasn’t running. It’s particularly stunning in Sassy Grass Green.

1958 Buick Limited

I have great appreciation for the slightly pointed, two-sided symmetry of the grilles on late-1960s Pontiacs (my first car was a ’67 Catalina), but my favorite Pontiac front end belongs to the ’66 GTO. The two-piece, square-patterned eggcrate grille, stacked headlights, and integrated parking/fog lamps are simply classic.

1963 Buick Riviera

Battery Life

An upset motorist went back to a garage where he had purchased an expensive battery for his car just 6 months earlier. “Listen”, the motorist grumbled to the owner of the garage, “when I bought this battery you said it would be the last battery my car would ever need. It died after only 6 months!” “Sorry,” apologized the garage owner, “I didn’t think your car would last that long.”

Night Work

A husband & wife were driving down a country lane in their way to visit some friends. They came to a muddy hole in the road & the car became stuck. After a few minutes of trying to get the car out by themselves, they saw a young farmer coming down the lane, driving some oxen in front of him. The farmer stopped when he saw the couple in trouble & offered to pull the car out of the mud for $50.00. The husband accepted, & minutes later, the car was free. The farmer turned to the husband & said, “You know, you’re the 10th car I’ve helped out of the mud today.” The husband incredulously looked around @ the fields & asked the farmer, “When do you have time to plow your land? At night?” “No,” the young farmer replied seriously, “Night is when I put water in the hole in the road!”

History of Seat Belts in the U.S.

The use of seat belts in automobiles did not begin in earnest until the mid to late 1950’s. Even then, seat belts were considered optional equipment. In 1955, famous actor James Dean died in a spectacular two-vehicle crash in the Southern California desert, which he likely would have survived had he been wearing a seat belt. History was made. The seat belt industry bloomed. Probably more so than any other incident, the Dean crash launched a new period of public awareness about seat belt utilization in automobiles and their possible advantages.

In 1955, Swedish automaker Volvo was the first manufacturer to offer seat belt systems as standard equipment in its automobiles on a safety first theme. Volvo backed up its claims with a substantial amount of crash testing it independently performed during the 1950’s which provided inescapable proof that use of a seat belt during an automobile accident would reduce both fatalities and serious injuries. Although history shows a heightened public awareness about seat belt safety, in the United States some American automakers wanted to offer seat belts as optional equipment in their vehicle lines, few customers ordered seat belts and they were never made standard equipment in American cars until the mid 1960’s.

Seat Belt Buckle Evolution

The object of a seat belt buckle is to bring two ends of the seat belt together in a junction which will keep the two ends of the belt securely fastened to one another, particularly during the sudden and severe loads imposed during an accident – yet be easy for the occupant to fasten and unfasten in entering and existing the vehicle. The first seat belt to be mass-produced for this purpose in American vehicles in the 1950’s and early 1960’s closely resembled the type of widely-recognized seat belt buckle still in use on Airliners today, called a “lift-cover” buckle. The restraint system would have a male tongue at one end with a hole or aperture in it, and would be inserted into the female buckle where a spring-loaded latch pin (called a pawl) would pass into the pawl and hold the tongue firmly into the buckle. The pin would be extracted when the user lifted up the hinged, spring-loaded buckle cover, releasing the pawl from the aperture in the tongue, allowing the tongue and buckle once again to separate. Early after installation of these buckles, concern arose that the lift-cover could be accidentally dislodged by the occupant’s motions inside the vehicle, leaving the user unrestrained in an accident.

In 1965, General Motors Corporation employee, Robert C. Fisher designed a buckle which operated similarly as the lift-cover buckle, but substituted a protected button on the side of the buckle for the lift-cover. This was the first major “side-release” or “top-release” style buckle used on American vehicles. The spring-loaded button would cause the pawl to span into the aperture when the tongue was fully inserted all of the way into the buckle. When the occupant wanted to disengage the tongue and buckle, (s)he would press the button and the pawl with be pushed out of the tongue’s aperture, permitting separation of the tongue and buckle. The first of Fisher’s designs was patented in 1965, and was called the RCF-65 (“RCF” standing for Robert C. Fisher) or “Maxi-Buckle.”

In 1967, Fisher patented a smaller side-release buckle which operated identically to the RCF-65, which differed from the “Maxi-Buckle” only in respect to its miniaturization. This buckle became known as the “RCF-67” side-release buckle (also known as the Type I buckle in General Motors Vehicles). It remains the most numerous buckle installed in American vehicles to date. At the time of its initial conception, the RCF-67 was lightweight, simple in design, easy to manufacture, had few moving parts, was fairly durable, and therefore was relatively inexpensive to manufacture. It therefore became immediately popular with American automakers whom the government involuntarily compelled to make seat belts mandatory equipment in U.S. cars beginning in 1968.

In the early 1980’s the American automakers and their buckle suppliers began a campaign to develop a set belt buckle with a tongue eject feature and a release push button on the end of the buckle, rather than on the side or top.
The initial generation of these tongue-eject feature buckles were side-release buckles. The first of these tongue-eject buckles used in production was manufactured by Hamill, a Division of Firestone (now TRW Vehicle Safety Systems) and was used as early as 1973 and 1974 Ford vehicles. Called a “diecast” buckle, the buckle looked remarkably similar to the RCF-67, but was made by Hamill pursuant to a Swiss patent which announced as its sole purpose, prevention of the danger of “false latching.” This is discussed in further detail below. After two years, Ford went back to the RCF-67 solely to save money on the production costs of the buckle.

However, in the early 1980’s both Ford and General Motors once again directed their buckle suppliers to develop a new end-release buckle with a tongue eject feature. In the late 1980’s the Ford Taurus and Lincoln Sable utilized side-release buckles with tongue eject features, as did the Ford Probe. At the same time, TRW VSSI (which had purchased Hammill from Firestone several years earlier) developed a buckle with a German Company called REPA, which was the first of the major “end-release” tongue-eject feature buckles ultimately to be developed for use in the United States. The REPA end-release buckle had the release button placed on the end of the buckle (next to the insertion point of the tongue), instead of on the top or side of the buckle. The tongue-eject feature prevented false latching, while locating he release button on the end of the buckle prevented a side-load from inadvertently causing the release button to be activated, thus also preventing inertial unlatching, as discussed below.

TRW VSSI and Allied Signal both developed end-release buckles for use in Ford and GM vehicles in the late 1980s. Today, the end-release buckles is the predominant buckle sold in the United States, and the number of new vehicles being equipped with RCF-67 buckles continues to diminish.

Calendar of Events

AUGUST 2018 “HAPPY SUMMER”
3-5 – DAF, Macungie, Pa
4 – Annual Pennypacker Mills British Car Show, Schwenksville, Pa
5 – 9th Annual 4UDrew show, Doylestown, Pa
11 – Vintage Road Rally for the New Hope Auto Show, New Hope, Pa

SEPTEMBER “HAPPY LABOR DAY!”
1 – Duryea Days Car Show, Boyertown Community Park, Boyertown, Pa
2 – Slatington Car Show, Slatington, Pa
4 – Monthy Chapter dinner meeting, Starlite Diner & Lounge, Allentown, Pa. Dinner @ 6 pm, meeting @ 7:30 pm.
9 – Strausstown Lions Club Car Show, Strausstown, Pa
15 – Wish Upon a Star Food Truck Festival, AACA Museum, Hershey, Pa
16 – Star BOP Show, Easton, Pa
16 – 22nd Moore Township Lions Club Car Show, Bath, Pa

OCTOBER 2018 HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
2 – Monthly Chapter dinner meeting, Starlite Diner & Lounge, Allentown, Pa. Dinner @ 6 pm, business meeting @ 7:30 pm.
4-6 – Fall Carlisle Meet, Carlisle, Pa
7 – Becky’s Drive-In car Show, Berlinsville, Pa
11-13 – Hershey AACA Fall meet, Hershey, Pa
28 – KEMPTON CAR SHOW! ALL MEMBERS ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND. KEMPTON NEEDS YOU!

CARS/PARTS “FOR SALE”

1962 Buick Skylark Conv. Overall GOOD condition. Various NOS chrome installed. Runs/drives nice! Transmission, rear, top & rear window good. Dave’s Int. restorations, 525 Chestnut St., Emmaus, Pa 18049

1965 Buick Electra 225 4 dr, hardtop, Black. 62,634 original miles. 425 engine. Aluminum valve covers, chromed air cleaner. NO AIR! Vacuum trunk release, PS, PW, PB, power seat & antenna. AM/FM radio. Chrome wheels, remote mirror. UNRESTORED, ALL ORIGINAL CAR! Trim code 642. Garage kept! $8,000.00. 610-377-6130.

1967 Buick Special Deluxe Sport Coupe 2 dr, 300 2-barrel. Spruce Green exterior w/ vinyl top, black interior. 68,305 original miles. Power steering, manual brakes. RH mirror, AM/FM radio. Spinner wire wheel covers. UNRESTORED, ALL ORIGINAL car!! Garage kept! Runs good! $8,500.00. 610-377-6130

1972 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Convertible 2 dr 350 V-8. Bronze exterior w/ Saddle Brown leather interior. Garage kept! $25,000.00. 610-377-6130

1974 Buick LeSabre Deluxe Maroon/maroon Convertible, 61,000 miles, garage kept, $14,500.00, Nick Meritus @ 610-692-7777

1976 Chevrolet Impala 2 dr. Green w/ tan Landau top w/ tan leather interior. 92,092 original miles. UNRESTORED, ALL ORIGINAL CAR!! Runs GREAT! Garage kept. $4,000.00. 610-377-6130

1991 Chevy Suburban, 2500, Big block, 454 engine, 111.530 original miles. Turbo 400 transmission. Black w/ gray interior, 3rd seat, AC (front/rear), AM/FM radio, tow package, cassette player, power door locks/windows, vent shades, tailgate window, in GREAT condition. Garage kept! Very powerful! $10,000.00, 610-377-6130