Director’s Thoughts, FEBRUARY, 2020

As I am sitting in front of the computer organizing this newsletter, I look up beyond the computer only to see my beautiful lighted-up Christmas tree!  It is just so gorgeous, I hate to think I will be taking it down tomorrow. Then I look at the windows, seeing the single candles & red bows that must come down too.  I guess the Christmas season is over & now is time to decorate for Valentine’s Day! I put the old fashion popcorn decorated Hearts & Cupid’s in each window. I keep my 4 white deer up in the front yard w/ the spot light on them.  They each are wearing red bows. I hang out my Valentine flag, &, guess what; I am then ready for Valentine’s Day! I guess one could say that I change holidays with a blink of the eye!

10 Perfect Valentines Day Gifts for Car Lovers

Looking for a last minute Valentines Day gift for that special car lover in your life? Spare yourself the effort of putting together the most “romantic gift” & use this list to give your partner something they truly want. More car stuff! You can tell when someone loves their car that much that you have resulted in getting them car related gifts. 

1.  Headlight Restoration  Not only are cloudy headlights dangerous, but they’re also incredibly annoying. Surprise your sweetheart w/ headlight restoration this Valentines Day for a gift that keeps giving.

2. Car Detailing  Give your lover a certificate to get their other baby pampered. Akin to a spay day, they’ll love their car looking refreshed, rejuvenated, & 5 years younger. 

3. Car Wash Kit  Give your partner everything they need to make their car sparkle. Make it an even better gift by offering to take care of the first wash.

4. Car Cover  With all the energy your lover spends on their car, shouldn’t you help them protect it from the harsh elements with a new car cover? What’s more romantic than looking out for your partners prized possession?

5. Mechanics Tool Kit  Nothing tops a new good set of tools. If your partner is still using the tools they’ve had for over 20 years then maybe it’s time to get em’ a new set they can be proud of. 

6. Jump Starter  Having jumper cables is one thing, but equipping your partner with their own jump starter ensures self-reliance & means you’ll be able to get home quicker if problems ever arise. 

7. Driving Gloves  It may sound old-fashioned but driving gloves can make a fantastic gift for your partner. Have your lover feeling like Steve Mcqueen in a new pair of driving gloves. Major plus if they have a classic car. 

8. Car Safety Kit  Show how much you care about your partner w/ an emergency safety kit that they can store in their trunk or glove box. You never know where the road may lead or what may happen, so don’t let your partner be caught unprepared. Featuring both first-aid & automotive emergency items, these practical all-in-one kits can help protect you in the event of an automobile breakdown or personal injury. 

9. Steering Wheel Cover  Keep your partners hands warm in the winter & cool in the summer w/ a steering wheel cover that provides extra grip.

10. Phone Mount  Perfect for the person who is perpetually navigating w/ their phone in one hand & the steering wheel in the other. A phone mount will allow your lover to drive undistracted & focus more on getting you to your destination safely.

HAPPY VALENTINE’s DAY TO ALL!             Your elected Director, Sally  

“Free Spirit” Chapter Meeting Minutes, January 7, 2020

Meeting called to order @ 7:31 pm, 17 members & 3 guests in attendance.  

E. Programs –  This month’s presentation was about the “Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Spy Plane” of the 1960’s, a Plane ahead of its’ time, presented by Mr. Joe Irvino.

During the 1960’s, a “SUPER SECRET SPY PLANE, reconnaissance aircraft, Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird,” was manufactured in California to the tune of approximately $34 million/plane.  It was known for its’ speed and altitude. There were 32, two pilot manned planes, built. This plane was of a dark blue color, not black as you see it in pictures. Its’ material is from Titanium, imported from Russia.  Why Titanium? With how fast this plane flew, and how high it flew, it needed to be resistant to heat and light in weight. It flew 2200-2500 miles per hour and produced up to 900-1200 degrees of heat! Its’ empty weight = 60,000-70,000 pounds w/ the maximum weight = 170,000 pounds.  It carried up to 12,000 gallons of JP7 fuel developed by Shell & Lockheed companies. This plane was 107 feet in length.

The tires were manufactured by special rubber filled with 400 psi of aluminum and nitrogen so they would not melt in the very high degrees of temperature.   

The engines were, now get this, his is the high light of this presentation, “2 BUICK 340 horsepower V8, unmuffled, using a crank, engines!”  Can you believe that!? There were 2 sonic booms on each plane. The camera resolutions were so highly specific from such a high distance, it was truly an unexpected technology during the 1960’s!  This plane carried 6 cameras on board, weighing approximately 3,000-5,000 pounds.

This plane could fly faster and higher than a missile.  It flew even 40% faster than the Concord plane! It flew for 3 decades, 1964-1998.  Of the 32 plans manufactured, only 1 plane w/ 1 pilot was shot down in the 1960’s. It was said that if you were a pilot flying this plane, if you were shot down and captured, you wore NO dog tags, and to go on further, inside your suit was a small kit for you to take your own life.  This was for the enemy not to get your information, or any information to use during war times. For the pilot of the plane, a space suit was worn w/ a helmet, like the astronauts where. In fact, the astronaut suits and helmets were designed from a pilot wearing the suit and helmet to operate this plane.  

This type of plane served over 10 presidents of the United States of America.  It contributed to the end of “The Cold War”, US vs. USSR.  

During the late 1990’s when the [planes were retired, some went to different areas for preservation.  These planes are on display in multiple states in museums in the United States, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, California, Washington State and Texas.  Locally, here in our area, you can see one on display on the “Intrepid” ship in NY, and in the “National Museum”, Washington D.C.

This was an excellent presentation.  If you ever hear of Mr. Irvino giving this presentation to another group sometime, you be sure to attend!  

Motion to adjourn, Dolores Kennedy, seconded by Debbie Brady, so carried @ 8:54 pm.                               

Respectfully submitted, Lisa Senishen 

“WELCOME” NEW MEMBER(s)

Please “WELCOME” new members, Todd/Andrea Kriner from Lehighton, Pa.  They join this chapter w/ their 1983 Buick Riviera. The following is their information; please add this to your membership roster:

“Welcome” them with open arms when you meet them!

Buick 1956X Century

After nearly a quarter of a century and the restorations of the bus-size General Motors Futurliner No. 10 and a 1929 Buick phaeton, Don Mayton can finally call the restoration of his one-of-a-kind 1956 Buick Century convertible “done.”

Mayton discovered the unique Century in the Buick Club of America’s Buick Bugle publication back in 1991. The seller said the car had unique trim and had originally belonged to Bill Mitchell, GM director of styling during 1956. Since the car was only 12 miles from Mayton’s Zeeland, Michigan, home, he couldn’t help but check it out. When Mayton arrived, he found the car largely disassembled with the advertised trim pieces scattered throughout the seller’s garage. From his years of working at GM Fisher Body, Mayton recognized the car’s trim was cast of brass — a form of construction that GM reserved for trim on unique cars, never production cars.  The seller also had a 1964 letter from Buick Motor Division stating the car was, indeed, built for Bill Mitchell, but it contained no other details.

Mayton didn’t purchase the Buick until four years later, when he came upon the ad again in his wallet. He called the seller and asked if he still had the car. He did.  Mayton bought the car and added it to his fleet of “to do” projects. In the meantime, he began to research the car to figure out exactly what he had. By contacting folks at the General Motors Tech Center and going to the GM styling center, Mayton was able to get much more documentation on the car, including original color photos taken immediately after it was built and a list of the 225 custom changes that Bill Mitchell ordered for his unique 1956 Century convertible. All of these changes earned the car its own name: 1956X Century, which Mitchell had embossed in the custom grille ornament.

Restoration on the 1956X Century began in earnest once the GM Futurliner was completed in 2005 and the Futurliner volunteer restoration crew that restored it went looking for another project. Mayton first offered up his 1929 Buick and when that was finished, the 14-person volunteer crew tore into the 1956X Century. That was around 2010.

Fortunately, most of the 225 unique features remained intact even if they were hidden within the car. Bill Mitchell’s signature chrome pedals, tachometer, red chassis and even remnants of his preferred custom-mixed blue hues were present. However, the few special features that were missing were among the car’s most notable changes: four power swiveling bucket seats with power periscoping headrests, front and rear consoles and the unique fuel delivery system.

Wire wheels were standard on 1953 and ’54 Buick Skylarks and were rarely seen on new Buicks thereafter. Mitchell had unique knock-off centers built for his car’s wire wheels with “Buick” emblazoned on the center.

In talking to Larry Faloon of GM styling, Mayton determined that the car very likely was built with four side-draft carburetors, a favorite setup of Mitchell. The intake had to be recreated for the 1956X Century, as did the custom bucket seats which were remade using original photos of the 1956X Century and other GM styling exercises and concepts of the period.  The volunteers worked every Tuesday through 2018 until restoration of the 1956X Century was completed. 

February 7:  A Day of History            

February 7 1938-Harvey Samuel Firestone, founder of the tire company that bears his name, passes away at the age of 69 in Miami Beach, Florida. Born on an Ohio farm in 1868, Firestone was initially a buggy salesman. In 1895, Harvey Firestone sold a set of rubber carriage tires to a young Henry Ford, who was working on one of his prototypes at the time. That encounter led to a long and profitable business relationship. In 1900, the Firestone Tire & Rubber Company was incorporated in Akron, Ohio. Soon afterwards, Firestone became the official supplier for Henry Ford’s Model T factories.  By 1910, the Firestone corporation was enjoying profits of over $1 million a year. Harvey Firestone retired as CEO in 1932, and in 1988 Firestone was bought out by the Japanese company Bridgestone Tire.

The History of Brakes

The brake is what makes it possible for humans to control a motor vehicle for a safer riding condition. For over a century, braking systems have evolved into a more complex device to adapt to different road conditions. They are a key part of the amazing technology that makes up the automobile.  Many forms of brakes have been developed over time as the technology of cars has advanced.  Here we will break (pun intended) down the history & different types of brake technology.  And thus, it is very easy to detect the car brake problem with an obd2 scanner.

1.  Wooden block brakes       The earliest brake system consisted of nothing more than a simple lever that moved a block of wood against the wheels. This method was effective on steel-rimmed wheels, which was used in horse-drawn & steam-powered vehicles. This brake could put to a stop a vehicle that was running on speeds of 10-20 mph in sparse traffic. But when the Michelin brothers introduced rubber tires by the late 1890s, the steel-rimmed wheels became obsolete, as well as the wooden block brakes. It became useless because the wood grounded the rubber down.

2. Mechanical drum brakes       Considered as the foundation of the modern braking system, the mechanical drum brake was developed in 1902 by Louis Renault, a French manufacturer & a pioneer in the automobile industry. However, the first, or among the first, to think that a cable-wrapped drum anchored to the vehicles’ chassis could be used to stop momentum was Gottlieb Daimler. He created this first concept of the drum brake in 1899.

In 1901, Wilhelm Maybach designed the first Mercedes with a simple mechanical drum brake, wherein steel cables were wrapped around the drums of the rear wheels & is operated by a hand lever. But it was Louis Renault who was credited with inventing the drum brake that has become the standard for cars. 

Drum brakes work as brake shoes generate friction by rubbing against the inner surface of a brake drum attached to a wheel. There are brakes contracting externally, in which the brake band surrounds the drum; & there are also brakes expanding internally, in which the shoes are forced outward against the drum.

 3. Expanding internal shoe brakes       Prior to the invention of the expanding internal shoe brake, all braking systems were installed outside of the vehicle. This placed the shoes inside the drum brake so that dust, water, & other elements would be kept out, making the braking process remain effective. This is a very important innovation in the history of braking systems.

4. Hydraulic brakes      In 1918, Malcolm Loughead (who later changed his name to Lockheed in 1926) proposed a concept of a four-wheel brake system using hydraulics. Using cylinders & tubes, Lockheed used fluids to transfer force to the brake shoe when a pedal was pressed. It required much less effort for the driver to apply brakes.

The hydraulic brake system was first fitted into all four wheels of a Model A Duesenberg car in 1921. However, it was beset with fluid leakage problems, but engineers from the Maxwell Motor Corporation produced rubber cup seals to help solve it. In 1923, the improved Lougheed brakes were offered as an optional upgrade on the Maxwell-Chalmers car for $75. This new brake design was also used in Chrysler cars from 1924 to 1962.

But Ford & GM still used mechanical brakes. GM, by the mid-1930s, went to Bendix hydraulic brakes & got offered 4-wheel drive mechanical braking system. Later on, as more manufacturers chose hydraulic over mechanical brakes, Bendix eventually purchased Lockheed’s hydraulic brake company, & so, GM switched to using hydraulic brakes to all of their cars. Meanwhile, Ford was the last manufacturer to adopt hydraulics. They had mechanical brakes applied to a drum inside the transmission & used these until 1938.

5. Disc brakes      The disc brake was invented decades before it became popular. In 1898, Elmer Ambrose Sperry designed an electric car with front-wheel disc brakes built by the Cleveland Machine Screw Co. Disc brakes work like bicycle brakes, wherein a caliper with brake pads pinches a disc or rotor. However, it was William Lanchester, an English engineer, who patented the idea in 1902. The biggest downside to his invention though was the horrible screeching noise it produced, which were caused by copper brake linings moving against a metal disc. After 5 years, another British named Herbert Frood solved the noise problem by lining the pads with long-lasting asbestos, which continued to be used in car brakes until the 1980s.      

In the US, Crosley Motors became the first American manufacturer to fit disc brakes. In 1949, it was fitted to Crosley’s Hotshot model but discontinued in 1950. These brakes, built by Auto Specialists Manufacturing Company (Ausco), used twin discs that spread apart & rub against the interior of a cast-iron drum. Less pedal pressure than caliper discs was required, & more friction surface than the drum brakes were provided.

6. Anti-lock brakes       The anti-lock (anti-skid) brake system, or the ABS, was created to help previous braking systems to prevent the brakes from locking up while in use. It’s a safety feature that uses speed sensors that detect when a lock is about to occur. It then ignites a system of hydraulic valves to reduce the pressure of a brake on a single wheel, preventing the car from going into a spin. This system changed the way brakes function and is useful in providing more control for the driver.

Anti-lock brakes were first introduced by French engineer and aeronautical pioneer Gabriel Voisin in 1929 for use in airplanes. It was improved by Bosch and Mercedes-Benz in 1936 by making it an electronic brake system for the Mercedes.

7. Four-wheel brakes      As speeds of vehicles increase, manufacturers began to look for improvements in brakes. In 1915 when Duesenberg created cars that applied internal brakes to both front & rear wheels. The cars, which could reach 80 mph on a straightaway, entered in the Elgin Road race. In 1919, a Spanish automobile company Hispano-Suiza used a single foot pedal to operate 4-wheel brakes in its H6B model. Before that, it was a common requirement to operate a separate hand & foot brake simultaneously.

At the New York Auto Show in 1923, only Duesenberg & Rickenbacker had cars with 4-wheel brakes. The following year, the number of manufacturers participating in the event, who offered 4-wheel brakes had increased to 26. By the 1980s, most cars were equipped with 4-wheel drive disc brakes.

8. Power-assisted brakes       The power brake is a standard feature of most cars nowadays that we don’t even think of its origins. It was actually one of the earliest innovations with brakes – Chicago-based automobile maker Tincher first made brake assist available in 1903. It used a small pump to compress the air & stop the car, you may also use the same pump to inflate the tires or signal the whistle.

The Hydrovac system started to be available in the 1940s. As the driver applied pressure to the brake pedal, the fluid pressure was increased to a slave cylinder & the wheel cylinders.

9. Self-adjusting brakes       In 1925, Cole Motor had the earliest (or probably one of the earliest) self-adjusting brakes. They fitted it on the Series 890 Cole, during their last year of production. Around those years, Jowett Cars also installed their self-adjusting brakes to all 4 wheels of their Sedan, Brougham, & Touring models at extra cost.

The self-adjusting brakes did not appear again until 1946 when Studebaker used a Wagner Electric mechanism. In its self-adjusting feature, the linings wore down & the pin & lever moved against a tension spring, which engaged the adjusting wedge which moved the linings slightly & kept them at the same distance from the drums. This type of brakes was included in the 1957 Mercury in the 1958 Edsel & in the mid-1960s AMC cars. It was recommended to buyers who wanted to avoid frequent & expensive brake adjustments.

10. Automatic Brakes       In 2006, Mercedes released a further update with the Brake Distronic Plus system, which used long- & short-range radar that can bring a car to a stop even if the driver does not touch the brake pedal to prevent collisions. This technology is rapidly advancing & can be found as standard on higher-end models & options on lower end models.  As the push continues towards self-driving intelligent automatic braking will have to become a common Automobile technology.

Calendar of Events

FEBRUARY 2020              “HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!”

• 4 – Monthly chapter dinner (6 pm) & business meeting (7:30 pm), Starlite Diner & Lounge, Allentown, Pa
• 15-17 – Motorama Show, Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, Pa
  

MARCH 2020                 “HAPPY ST. PATRICKS DAY!”

• 1 – Hamburg Swap Meet, Sports Fieldhouse, Hamburg, Pa
• 3 – Monthly chapter dinner meeting (6 pm), business meeting (7:30 pm), Starlite Diner & Lounge, Allentown, Pa 
  

APRIL 2020                      “HAPPY EASTER”

• 4 – “Diner Day”  Boyertown Museum of Historic Vehicles
• 7 – Monthly chapter dinner meeting (6pm), business meeting (7:30 pm), Starlite Diner & Lounge, Allentown, Pa.
• 19 – In/Outdoor Car Swap Meet, Classic Auto Mall, Morgantown, Pa.  610-430-8432
• 22-24 – Spring Carlisle, Carlisle, Pa.
  

CARS/PARTS “FOR SALE”

1967 Buick Skylark 4 Dr Sedan 340 2-barrel, ST 300 Switch Pitch, PS, manual brakes, cassette player, no air.  70,100 original miles. Maroon color Exterior, cloth maroon interior.  $10,00.00.  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.  Garage kept! $8,500. 610-377-6130

1991 Chevy Suburban, 2500,  Big block, 454 engine, 111,530 original miles.  2×2. Turbo 400 transmission. Black w/ gray interior, 3^rd 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! $7,000. 610-377-6130 

Heater Core, NORS made in USA, fits 1982-87  Buick Regal/Olds Cutlass
Supreme $25.00
Heater Core NORS made in USA , fits large Buick 1978-1988 $25.00
Heater Core Good Used  Circular under seat fits 1954-57 Buick  Century $20.00.    Contact H. Kriebel..Sauenohr1@gmail.com