President s Message. Inside this issue:

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1 North Texas Vintage Thunderbirds, Inc. T Bird News October 30, 2013 President s Message Rainy skies opened up and left a beautiful fall day to have a meeting on John & Cece Congleton s deck overlooking Cedar Creek Lake. We ended up with around 33 members enjoying the hamburger cookout. However, it was almost like our meeting at the Borton s some of us enjoyed ourselves so much, we nearly refused to leave! Make yourself a note: If you volunteer to host, we come, we eat, we talk and sometimes you just can t make us go away! Kidding aside, this group gets along fabulously having only the love of the Thunderbird in common. Thank you to John & Cece. I am still shocked by the passing of Virginia Hutto. For those of you not on e- mail notification, Virginia was killed in a multi-car pileup on I-20 on October 14, at the very young age of 24. She first contacted the NTVT in March, and joined our club after visiting with us at the May meeting at the Borton s in Cleburne. She and her father were restoring a 63 M code Thunderbird. Virginia and her fiancé Mason joined us for the Civil War Museum Tour and the Texas Dream Cruise in June. She was passionate about life, and passionate about classic cars. She wrote a personal article for the June NTVT Newsletter (find it at that showed the depth of her character. I spoke with her father, Danny Hutto, and he is focused on making the circumstances that caused her death to not be ignored. He and several of Virginia s friends have created an on-line petition to change the road grade and speed limit at Ranger Hill on I-20. You read about wrecks at that location regularly when it is raining or icy. In fact another person was killed in the same area the very next day! We hear that it is tough to get the younger generation interested in the classic cars that we grew up with; the concern was brought up at the VTCI Board meeting in Houston. Virginia was a fine example of that new generation. Please show your support in her memory. Each of you know other classic car enthusiasts: Spread the word and please sign the petition. Ask either Bonnie or me to send you the link. Thank you. Changing the subject November is hard upon us and the Leake Auction is getting closer. I ve asked Bonnie to include information about our work schedule. Please look at page 2! If you have already signed up to work, thank you. If you haven t, check over the schedule and see if there is a spot you can fill. By the way, the next NTVT meeting will be our Christmas Party on Saturday afternoon, December 7 th. The Club pays for you and your significant other s meal! Details to follow in the November . Inside this issue: President s Message 1 Leake Auction: 2 October Mtg Recap 3 October Pics 4 Member Highlight 5 Bird Facts & Figures Club Calendar 6 Jan. Planning Mtg 6 VTCI Events in Auto Trivia 7 Dash Pic Answers 7 Who Do I Belong To? 7 Advertising 8 Contact # s 8 B The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others Mahatma Gandhi

2 2 Leake Auction: Wednesday, Nov 20 thru Saturday, Nov 24 By Betsy All I can say is WOW! You guys are really coming through this year. We are set for Wednesday. We can still use a minimum of four more on Thursday. Friday is set for the original 20 Leake asked for, but now they would like 10 more if we can do it. Saturday is awesome at 25, but we can bring 5 more. Sunday is set, but a backup or two would be nice. The club will be paid per person, so let s not short change ourselves! Please look for your name in the sign-up sheet below. If you see it there and it is not supposed to be, let me know ASAP. I am human and I do make mistakes. If you want to participate, shoot me an . If your name is in a gray square, don t worry about it. That means we went over the minimum, not that we cannot use you! If your name is in green, you will be on light duty, i.e. running turntable, manning the key boxes, slapping stickers on cars, or possibly driving a golf cart. There will be Eastland College students there to do the heavy pushing, diving under the cars to hook-up, etc. As a reminder, we will bring in coffee, snacks, and something at lunch. I kind of put myself in charge since I live & work close to Market Hall. But I am ready to take suggestions and and really need assistance if you can stop by there around lunchtime each day. Many thanks for volunteering!

3 3 October Meeting Recap & Pics In the business portion of the October meeting, Betsy passed out NTVT cling decals to those members who hadn t gotten theirs; and she asked Grant to thank his brother for producing these replacement clings. She also reported that we currently have 61 members as of October 17th, and Tom reported that the club is on strong financial footing. Betsy reminded members that the Leake Auction will take place Nov th at Market Hall in Dallas. We will be one of only two car clubs working the auction this year, so it is important for as many members to participate as can. The monetary reward for the club is considerable and will help us as we look toward hosting another regional VTCI convention in the future. The officers reminded the club that the annual Christmas party would be December 7th from 4-6 p.m. at Humperdinks in Arlington. This dinner event is funded by the 50/50 drawings held at most of our meetings. The winner of that drawing this month was Bill Strickland, who took home $110.00! Other lucky members were Judy Strickland, Jim Schorr, and Jan Schorr who all won doorprizes. Betsy announced that there would be a Charity Car Show put on by Classic Family Insurance (a local agent for Hagerty Insurance) and D&D Rockin Rods held at the corner of NE Green Oaks and N. Collins in Arlington on Saturday, Nov. 16, There will be a $10 registration fee and a charity raffle for prizes from local merchants. All raffle proceeds will go to the Arlington Life Shelter to help homeless families in need. Betsy also announced that Grant Payne will have Do Not Touch magnets for sale that display the NTVT logo, at the cost of $5 per pair. See Grant to order yours. She also reminded everyone that the newsletter needs technical articles and member highlights. There was also an announcement of the VTCI International Convention that will be held in New Orleans, May 28-31, She also asked members to be thinking of places and activities for NTVT s calendar; the club will have its annual planning meeting in January. Details on that meeting will be ed to members.

4 October Meeting Recap & Pics 4

5 5 Member Highlight: Larry & Linda Goodpasture By Linda Goodpasture As with most boys from Larry s era, cars were important. Larry actually got his first car at the age of 14 before he was able to drive. This was a 1950 Ford Club Coupe and this became his basic training on cars since he spent his time disassembling and reassembling. Through his teen years other cars came in rapid succession where he learned to re-chrome, repaint and work on engine performance. This activity was nothing unusual since that was what all his peers were into. When he was in the Air Force, he got his hands on a 1951 Morris Minor where to out-perform his friends Morris Minor he installed dual Stromberg carburetors. It was a runner for a Morris Minor!! For about twenty years Larry did not entertain his hobby as we lived out of the country working in Australia, Kuwait, and New Guinea. When we returned, Larry acquired a couple of Jeep Commandos, a 53 M38A1, and a 1950 and 1948 Willys Overland pickups. These were off-road vehicles that, as anyone knows, demand a lot of attention. Larry s interest turned to getting a vehicle to take on the road. By the time discussions failed on a 1955 Thunderbird, the interest in birds was quite high. Shortly after he acquired the 1965 Thunderbird Special 10 th Anniversary edition. Larry googled Texas Thunderbird clubs and found the NTVT and we are happy to be a part of this outgoing friendly group. Editor s note: Larry and Linda joined NTVT this past summer. If you haven t had the opportunity to meet them yet, look around at the next meeting and introduce yourself! Bird Facts & Figures The history of the Ford Thunderbird is an interesting one that covers fifty years of decision making from the icon of American automotive manufacturing. What drove the evolution of this wonderful automobile? Public demand, a response to other companies products, and changes in fuel prices all played a part in the progression of birds from 1955 to the last one off the line in You can find out more on various websites, including ry.html Editor s note: Thanks to Grant Payne for the data in this table. Generation Year Range Name # Produced Little Birds 53, Square Birds 198, Bullet Birds 214, Flair Birds 236, Glamour Birds 278, Big Birds 299, Torino Birds 955, Fairmont Birds 288, Aero Birds 885, Super Birds 961, Retro Birds 67,518

6 6 NTVT Remaining 2013 Event Calendar November 16 Classic Family Insurance (a Hagerty agency) will host a car show in Arlington at NE Green Oaks and North Collins November 20-24: Leake Auction See Betsy s article on page 3 for details. Dec 7: 4:00 6:00 Christmas Party at Humperdinks in Arlington. Reminder: Bring your 2014 dues to the Christmas party.! $30.00 for NTVT; you can do one check for both VTCI and NTVT if you like ($65.00). Treasurer Tom Ossorio will be collecting dues there. Note: Dates in Bold indicate regular monthly meetings; Put On Your Thinking Caps And plan to be at our annual planning meeting in January. Exact details of date, location, and time will be ed in December; but if history holds true, it is very likely we will hold our annual planning meeting at Tachito s Restaurant in Dallas. This meeting is an important one, as this is when we come up with all the great plans for the year. If you have an activity or a favorite location, come to this meeting so we can include your ideas in our suggestions for next year s calendar. Mark Your Calendars Upcoming VTCI Events Our parent organization, The Vintage Thunderbird Club International, has some exciting events on the docket for Make sure you plan to include a VTCI event or two as you plan your calendar for this coming year! These events are fun ways to make new friends in the Thunderbird world and they provide a great opportunity to learn more about our hobby and how our parent club operates. Next year, the VTCI International Convention will be in New Orleans, May 28th through the 31st. This will be a fun time you won t want to miss! The Acadian Thunderbirds will host the convention, and that alone means it will be spectacular. The event will be held in the Holiday Inn New Orleans, Downtown, where the cars will be displayed inside their covered parking garage. The hotel itself has recently been remodeled. There will be many entertainment options, including tours of Mardi Gras World, where the floats for the various parades are made and stored. There will also be a trip to the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, a tour of the Champagne Antique Commercial Vehicle Museum, or a Swamp tour. Of course, New Orleans offers many fine restaurants in Crescent City, a tour of the French Quarter or Garden District, or fun at Harrah s Casino that we can pursue on our own Thursday or Friday evening. The main event for many at International conventions is the judging, which will take place on Saturday. For those who don t care about that aspect, there will be a New Orleans Cooking School Class offered at that time. So plan now to come on down to The Big Eazy where the good times roll! Another great VTCI event will happen at the North Central Region s Convention to be held near the Mall of America at the Old Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota, June 26th through June 28th, In addition to the lure of the Mall and nearby IKEA, conventioneers will have the chance to tour the Wabasha Cave in St. Paul and take a gangster tour of St. Paul. The local club will be working overtime to make sure that all the attendees have a terrific Thunderbird Time.

7 7 Automotive Trivia Questions 1. What autos were the first to use a standardized production key-start system? 2. What was the lowest priced mass produced American car? 3. Who wrote to Henry Ford: "I have drove Fords exclusively when I could get away with one. It has got every other car skinned, and even if my business hasn't been strictly legal it don't hurt anything to tell you what a fine car you got in the V-8"? 4. When were seat belts first fitted to a motor vehicle? 5. In what model year did Cadillac introduce the first electric sunroof? Look for the answers in December s newsletter! What Does This Picture Tell You? This picture was published in the last newsletter and the answers were promised to be revealed at the October meeting. However, the editor forgot and left the answers at home, so here they are now! The following are assumptions one might make about the car from looking at the picture. 1. This car has mile on it. False. It has much more now. You can only tell how many miles were on it at the time the picture was taken. 2. This car still runs. True It shows 700 rpms 3. This car cannot pass inspection. False. It did. The inspector turned off the check light and said to drive 20 min at less than 50 mph and come back. The light was still off and passed. It came back on when leaving with a new inspection good for a year. 4. This car has stopped. True It is in park 5. This car is an automatic. True 6. The car was just started. False. It is normal temp for running. Editor s note: Thanks to Ben King for sending in the picture and the answers as to what it reveals! Who Do I Belong To? Could you recognize your own Thunderbird from just a snippet of a picture? These pictures were taken at NTVT or VTCI meetings or events this year. All belong to members of NTVT. Can you identify the car or its owner? A B C

8 8 Officers President: Betsy McMahon st Vice President: Bill Stepina The companies below are know by NTVT to provide excellent service and products and have been loyal supporters of the club. We encourage all T-Birders and classic car enthusiasts to support these companies.. We encourage all TBirders and classic car enthusiasts to support these companies 2nd Vice President: Dominic Zanella Secretary: Grant Payne Treasurer: Tom Ossorio Newsletter Editor: Bonnie Kershaw Visit our website: Or check us out on Facebook: NTVT Thunderbirds WELCOME TO SAM PACK'S Five Star Ford North Richland Hills Sales (877) Service (877) Parts (877) Sam Pack s 5 Star Ford supports NTVT And be sure to visit VTCI, our Parent Club