Suncoast Mustang Club

                                                                                                                                            Volume 28  Issue 3

                                                                                                                                                                                                      March 2008

A Word From Wayne

 

Hello again,

I’d like to begin by thanking Al and Sue Clarke for arranging the trip SMC Members recently took to the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum.  There is an article about this in this month’s newsletter, but the more important point I want to make is how their efforts are what this club is all about.  They discovered something very interesting right here in our neighborhood.  They talked about it at a club meeting and when others were interested they took their time to arrange a trip to this place so we, as club members could enjoy this place together.  How Neat Is That!!!  Again, Thanks Al and Sue.

This month’s meeting at AutoWay is going to be really interesting.  We have three fascinating guest speakers.  The first one is a new friend from Kentucky.  She just happens to be the owner of a family business that is a Mustang Parts Supplier.  She’ll be sharing information on the Mustang Parts business and can answer our questions about the parts we might need or are currently using. 

Our next speaker is a visitor from the west we’ve met before and she’ll be sharing some of the things that are happening in the Mustang World in the state of Arizona and beyond. 

Finally, our main speaker will be one of SMC’s most knowledgeable people, at least when it comes to cool subjects.  Our own Tom O’Connor will be sharing information about home air conditioning and be giving us tips on how we can make these units last longer and maybe even lower our electric bills. 

If you’ve never been to RestoMod Plus, it’s just west of 49^th Street and Ulmerton Road.  Go west on Ulmerton past 49^th Street and turn right on 50^th Way where the NAPA parts store is located.  Continue going north until you see the sign for RestoMod Plus and turn left into the parking lot.

The clinic begins at 9:00 AM.  We’ll be talking about different aspects of performance in several small sessions with breaks in between.  Everything will be explained in “plain English” and I’ll have lots of items on display so you can actually see what’s being talked about.  We’ll finish about noon and then there will be sandwiches and pizza.  Everything is free.  It would be nice if you brought your Mustang or other special vehicle so the parking lot will look like a mini car show.  The only other things I’m asking is that you bring a chair and that you RSVP if you plan on coming so I’ll know how many people to prepare for.  RSVP can be done by e-mailing me; wayne@restomodplus.com or leave a message at 727 573-9696.  At the last clinic almost 50 people came and hopefully this time we’ll have even more. 

One last thing – DON’T forget our club’s upcoming “Spring Fling” car show.  It will be on April 12^th.  There is a flyer in this newsletter.  Make sure you enter your car and please let Steve Hansen know what you’d like to do to help at the show.  The next meeting is the last meeting before the show and if you cannot attend, be sure to call or e-mail Steve.  Also, Connie O’Connor is organizing the goody bags, door prizes, and raffle items for the show.  See the article in this newsletter to find out how you can help.

 

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Up to the Minutes         

 

 

Suncoast Mustang Club

Meeting Minutes- February 11, 2008

Golden Corral Restaurant

 

Club members met at the Golden Corral Restaurant in Largo at 7 p.m.  This is a place where you never go away hungry, and like everyone else, I always eat too much. 

 

Dinner meetings like this are more about filling our plates and visiting with each other.  We did however, discuss a few upcoming events that club members will be participating in.  The first one was the upcoming car clinic at Wayne’s shop on Saturday, March 15^th at 9:00 AM.  He’ll cover a variety of topics about a car’s “performance”, have things for display, and host a question and answer session.  About noon there will be pizza and sandwiches.  At the last clinic about 50 people attended and the parking lot looked like a small car show.  Hopefully, this one will be even better attended.

 

The most important event of the year for our club is our Spring Fling Show which will be on  Saturday, April 12^th at Town Square Plaza Park in beautiful downtown Pinellas Park.  We will need plenty of volunteers to help put on the show.  If you haven’t already signed up to help, please do so at the next meeting or contact me either by e-mail hansenskmb@yahoo.com or call me at 727 397-0100.  Also, it would also be greatly appreciated if members could bring a small donation or a raffle or door prize “gift” to the meeting and give it to Connie O’Conner who has graciously volunteered to be our goody bag/raffle chairwoman.

 

We’re getting a late start on the show and  we really need everyone in the club to enter their cars.  We will have entry forms in this newsletter and at the March meeting at AutoWay so members can enter their cars right at the meeting.  The cost for the show is $20.00.  Encourge everyone you know who has a Mustang or Ford to enter our show.  This year we will have a special class for cars that are “Works in Progress”.  We hope a lot of people will bring out the cars that they are working on to let people see what they’ve done and to talk about what plans they still have for these special projects.

 

See you at the meeting at AutoWay Ford, March 10, 7:30 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Steve Hansen

 

 

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Jim and Lucy Carroll

March 11

Larry and Peg Garuti

March 20

 

Happy Birthday

Jeanette Gaul     March 5

Connie O’Connor   March 13

Mona Edwards     March  19

Betsy Tewksbury    March 23

Gail Oakley       March 31

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUNCOAST MUSTANG CLUB OFFICERS:

 

President                                Wayne Farnham                                 727-573-9696      wayne@restomodplus.com

Vice President                       John Stockowski                                  727-321-6341      jstockowski@tampabay.rr.com

Secretary                               Steve Hansen                                       727 397-0100      hansenskmb@yahoo.com

Treasurer                               Bill Dellert                                             727-343-4187      bdellert3@hotmail.com

Newsletter Editor                 Judy  Dellert                                          727-343-4187      jdellert121@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mid-Florida Mustang Club’s 21^st Annual Mustang and Ford Round-Up

By Jim Carroll

 

It was a dark and stormy night, and with the dawn it didn't get much better.   We headed to the Mustang Show at the Waterford Lake Mall in Orlando, hosted by the Mid-Florida Mustang Club.   This show has historically been a real blowout.   It is one of the finest shows in the state.   This Saturday was no exception, with about 230 cars in the show field, ranging from classics to 2008 and everything in between. 

 

We arrived and since we were pre-registered, drove right in.   We took our Mach I and were parked with 2 other 69's.   We had to dry off the car, several times, and buff it a little to get it ready.  Then we headed out to check out the cars.   It sprinkled throughout the morning, but that didn't stop us from putting out show flyers for SMC’s Spring Fling Show.  This was a great way for us to check out the many different cars there.  When was the last time you saw 12 green “Bullitts” all parked in a row?   Around lunch time, the sky opened up, and the rain really came down hard.   Fortunately we were in Crispers having lunch with friends from the Pony Drive.

 

The rain let up around 1:30 and awards were given out at 2:30, so that was perfect timing.   We won a Gold award for Daily Driver.  Several of our Pony Drive friends won awards as well.  While the show was great, the attendance was down because of the weather.   We look forward to next year's show.

 

 

Door Prize Donations Needed for SMC’s Spring Fling Show

 

Our club’s show is scheduled for April 12, 2008, and as in years past, we depend on members to help with door prizes for the show.  Therefore, please donate some unwanted Christmas, Hanukah, birthday, anniversary, door prize, etc. gift that you cannot use or would like someone else to have.  Talk to your boss, your local store, business associate, or even your friends to donate a gift or even some money.  Have them include their business card and we will attach it to the donated gift.   If you are able, you can  donate $10 (or more) to the club to buy door prizes.  You may bring money or a gift to the upcoming meeting or you can mail your check to Steve Hansen (Show Chair) at 14340 84th Terrace N., Seminole, FL 33776 or Connie O'Connor at 10434 112th Way N., Largo, FL 33778.  If you would like to arrange to drop off a gift at some other time, please call Connie (727 397-7891) or Steve (727 397-0100).  As always, we’d like to thank you for all of your generous support in the past and your anticipated support for this year's event. 

 

Connie O’Connor

 

Pony Tales is the Club’s newsletter.  The newsletter’s function is to help keep members in touch with what is going on in the club and with other Mustang-related subjects.  The newsletter is put together by the Editor, but by definition an editor is supposed to prepare other persons’ writings for publication.  We are grateful to the members who have provided articles in the past, but we continue to ask for help  with articles from YOU.  “Autobiographies”, technical informaiton or anything else that you’d like to share with the club members is greatly appreciated.  Please mail, e-mail or give your articles to Bill Dellert at meetings or events.  THANKS!!!
 

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SMC Pony Tales                                                                                                                                     Page 4

For Your Information

by Jim Robison

 

*  In the St. Petersburg Times, February 28, 2008 I read an article concerning a recall by Ford Motor Company of about 470,000 Mustangs from model years 2005 to 2008.  The recall is for make a software update to prevent the passenger side aribag from deploying too rapidly.  If this occurred it could cause injury to smaller occupants.  If you haven’t already been contacted by Ford, you shoud check this out with a Ford Dealer.

 

*  Another interesting article I read in the Times, February 11, 2008 was about the Top Ten T.V. Cars voted by a readers poll.  Here is what they were:

 

#10   The Clampett Family truck  (1921 Oldsmobile Roadster) from The Beverly Hillbillies 1962 – 1971

#9      Nash Bridges Barracuda  (1971 Plymouth Barracuda)  from Nash Bridges Detective Show 1996 - 2001

#8      Starsky’s Torino  (1975 Ford Grand Torino) from Starsky and Hutch 1975 - 1979

#7      Munster Koach  (George Barris customized Model T) from The Munsters 1964 – 1966  note:  There was no mention of the Munsters Coffin bodied rail dragster that had wire front wheels, large 5 spoke rear wheels with M & H Slicks that was powered by a souped up Ford 289.  This was Granpa Munsters car!!!

#6      Crokett’s Ferrari  (1972 Daytona Spyder 365) from Miami Vice  1984 - 1989

#5      Corvette Roadster  (1960 Chevrolet Corvette) from Route 66 1960 - 1964

#4      K.I.T.T.  (1982 Black Pontiac Trans-Am Coupe) from Knight Rider 1982 - 1986

#3      Magnum’s Ferrari  (1979 Ferrari 308 GTS) from Magnum P.I. 1980 - 1988

#2      The General Lee  (1969 Dodge Charger) from The Dukes of Hazzard 1979 - 1985

and the #1 favorite television show car is The Batmobile (1955 Lincoln Futura Concept Car) from Batman 1966 - 1968

 

*  Watch and see if there isn’t a new favorite T.V. Show car that’s a Mustang as Knight Rider is returning to NBC Television.  The new version of this show will feature a 2008 Shelby Mustang that plays K.I.T.T. (Knight Industries Three Thousand).  This talking car’s voice is provided by actor Val Kilmir.  By the way, the original K.I.T.T. stood for Knight Industries Two-Thousand.  If you get a chance check this show out, if only to see a really cool Shelby Mustang do things you’d never want anyone to do with your car. 

 

*  Finally, NMRA 7^th Annual Nitto Tires Spring Ford Nationals presented by Steeda Autosports will be from March 6^th through 9^th at Bradenton Motorsports Park.  This event will include many activities including a 2 day car show.  For more information check out the website at www.NMRAdigital.com or call 714 444-2426

 

SMC Members Visit Tampa Bay Auto Museum

by Sue Clarke

 

On Saturday, February 16th, 13 of us enjoyed a trip to the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum.  It was a short ride from the Wal-Mart (in Pinellas Park) parking lot to the museum, but those with convertibles were able to enjoy the beautiful weather.

 

We were lucky to have Olivier Cerf, the son of the museum’s owner, talk to us and explain some of the history and information about the very different types of cars in this museum.   We were able to take our time and everyone seemed to find at least one car that really caught their eye. A highlight for some (especially Wayne) was a private tour by Mr. Cerf to the restoration garage on the property.  It was a surprise to us that the garage looked so small, but then we saw a garage next door with lights on, but apparently that was off limits.

 

In addition, we were treated to a factory tour of the Poly Pack manufacturing plant.  This company makes machines that will put plastic “shrink wrap” on products for shipping purposes.  Olivier explained how the machines were made and operated, and some of the problems that need to be solved before a particular machine can go into “service”. 

 

After thanking him for sharing his time with us we caravanned from the museum to the Sonic in Pinellas Park for some food and friendship.  All in all it turned out to be a good day spent with friends and a good excuse for getting those Mustangs out on the road.  Hopefully, you will plan to attend the next time we have an outing like this.  We need to get together more often.