COWTOWN LOW DOWN VOL. 30, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2003

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1 COWTOWN LOW DOWN VOL. 30, NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2003 Club Activities Calendar October 3, :30 9:00 P.M. *Monthly Membership Meeting ~ in the Hospitality Room at the Coors facility, Meacham Blvd. (NOTE: No beer or alcoholic beverages are allowed to be brought in.) After Meeting Social will be held at Bennigan s on Loop Beach St. October 24, :00 P.M. Monthly Board Meeting ~ at the Coors facility, Meacham Blvd. In the Board Room on the 2nd floor. (NOTE: No beer or alcoholic beverages are allowed to be brought in.) EVERYONE IS WELCOME. October 25, :00 P.M.?? *Spooktacular Halloween Party ~ at the home of KARYN & DON FOWLER, 2036 Greenwood Lane in Keller. Margaritas, music, dancing, games,...1st, 2nd & 3rd prizes for the Best Costume. More details to follow in the next Low-Down. November 15, :00 P.M.?? *Progressive Dinner ~ Details are forthcoming. December 13, :30 11:30 P.M. Annual Christmas Party and Awards Banquet ~ ETG Waterfalls, 2801 West Loops 820 South, Fort Worth. (See Vice President s Report and flyer shown elsewhere in this newsletter for more details.) * Denotes required attendance for 100%er Award. Details will be in the newsletter each month. Hi, Everyone, ATTENTION Cowtown Vettes Members The Board has approved a monetary donation of $ dollars for Cook Children s Hospital. This check will be presented along with our collection of "T" shirts, caps, etc. as soon as I can make arrangements with the Hospital Coordinator. Next week we will make a cash presentation of $ dollars to the Tarrant Area Food Bank along with several bags of canned goods collected over the last few months. This will complete our Charity Activities for this year. However, please continue to participate in the raffle at the monthly meetings to provide funding for the 1st quarter charity next year. This year we made monetary contributions totaling approximately $ dollars. Each of you deserves a round of applause for your continued support of this year s Charity Campaign. Sincerely,

2 2003 Car Shows, Swap Meets, etc. Oct 3 5 Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend, Eureka 2 Springs, AR eurekaspringscorvette.org Oct 9 12 Oct Swap Canton Oct Region, OK Oct Ranch s Belton NHRA Fall Nationals, Texas Motorplex Bob s Annual Trade Day Antique Auto Meet at First Monday Tradegrounds, Chickasha Spring Swap Meet Okie Grady County Fairgrounds, Chickasha, Texas Swap Meet, Little Valley Auto Fiftysville Tradegrounds on Hwy 190, Oct 29 Nov 1 TX NCRS Regional Meet, Corvette Judging and Show in Waco, TX Texas Motor Speedway Racing Ft. Worth www. texasmotorspeedway.com (Qualifying is the day preceding each race) Oct Track Oct 10 Oct 11 Oct Oct 10 Pennzoil World of Outlaws at the Dirt World of Outlaws Sprint Cars World of Outlaws Sprint Cars The Dallas Morning News Pole Day Indy Racing League/NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Oct 11 Silverado 350k NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Oct 12 Chevy 500k Indy Racing League Texas Raceway Kennedale / Sep 14 Fall Muscle Car Challenge, Gates 9 A.M. Texas Motorplex Racing Ennis Oct 9-12 O Reilly NHRA Fall Nationals Oct 26 Texas Muscle Car Challenge, Gates 8 A.M., Entry $25 Editor s Note: Thank you s go to Paul Wolters for providing the information on pgs 4-5 and to Walt Zschirnt for forwarding it to me. Nov 1 3 Grounds, Prewar Swap Meet at Sheriff s Posse Decatur Weekly & Monthly Events Nov 8-9 Arlington Nov Hall, Dallas 2004: May Corner, Jun 5 11 July Ontario, Dallas Swap Meet at the Ballpark in Kruse Classic Vehicle Auction, Market Carls Corner Swap Meet, Exit 374, Carls TX NCCC Convention, Las Vegas, NV NCRS National Convention, Windsor, Canada Oct Texas NCRS Regional Meet, Corvette Judging and Show in Ft. Worth Note: Prior to attending any of the following events, please ensure that event is being held at location given on date provided. Sponsor has option to reschedule event date and location. Weekend cruises at Restaurants are typically hosted during the summer months only. Every Wednesday Test-N-Tune, April - October, Texas Raceway, Kennedale Every Thursday Street Night Drags, April - October, Texas Raceway, Kennedale Every Thursday Cruise at Sammy Walker s Bar-B-Que on Dalrock Rd, one block South of Hwy 66, 7 P.M., Hosted by the Rowlett Cruise Knights and Rods & Relics, Rockwall Every Friday Buz Post Fun-N-Grudge, Texas Raceway, Kennedale Every Saturday ET Points Racing, Texas Raceway, Kennedale st Saturday Show & Shine Hosted by Vought Car Club, April 7 - Oct 6 is 5 9 P.M., $10 Auto Entry Fee,

3 Sonic Drive In, I-20 & Greater Southwest Hwy, Grand Prairie st Saturday Pals & Gals Classic Cruisers & Saginaw s Sonic Drive In Car Show, March thru October 5:30 8:30 P.M., $5 Registration, st Saturday North Texas Mustang Club Cracker Barrel, Fox Avenue Exit, 889 South Stemmons Freeway, West Side Frontage Rd, 5:00 8:30 P.M., Lewisville 2 nd Saturday The Camaro and Firebird Car Club and Chuck s Lewisville location, 2267 I-35, north of Vista Ridge Mall, registration 5-7 P.M., awards 8:30PM, $10 entry fee 2 nd Saturday Late Great Chevy s of Dallas 13 th Annual Cruise Night 2003 in Old Downtown Carrollton on Broadway, 6 9 P.M., Open to All Models, $5 entry fee, April 12 h October 11 th, 3 rd Saturday Christian Classic Cruisers and North Hills Mall, Loop 820 & Hwy 29, April and October shows 5 8 P.M., May through September shows 6 9 P.M Prez Sez What a great year we have had! Great socials, an ever-expanding group of members, now 162, and some really great events! Speaking of great events, it is almost time for our annual event, 7 days and counting... As usual, our event chairpersons have everything under control. We have plenty of help, but we could always use more. Speaking of help, if you are coming out to watch, feel free to see Nelda or me and we will be happy to find you something to do while you re there. You do not necessarily need to have signed up previously. Also, make sure you sign the insurance waiver, even if you are just watching. That is a requirement by TMS and NCCC. To our event chairpersons and Nelda Mitchell: I'd like to take a minute to thank all of you for your help! Without the time and dedication from all of you, we would be just another club. You are the greatest! THANK YOU!!!!!!!! My Newsletter Editor has informed me that this month's Low Down is being distributed to all of our visitors of our annual event. To our weekend guests, I say: Welcome to our annual event! I am confident that your experience will be one not forgotten. We have racers who 3 come here all over the country! Not too many clubs can say that. After all, we feel we race on one of the best tracks in the USA! And, the weather should be absolutely perfect. We will just see how that goes. Have a great time and enjoy our hospitality! If you are a visitor reading this article, I would love feedback from you. My address is: Rick_Garabedian@CompUSA. com Please feel free to tell me how you liked the event, good or bad. Thank you again for giving us an opportunity to provide you with a fun and safe weekend! Well, I was also told to keep my article short and sweet. So, with that said, I will see you Friday! Sincerely, Rick Membership November 7 December 5 CTV Meeting Dates Board November 21 December? * * Date is determined by incoming President.

4 Vice President s Report Well, September has come and gone and Christmas is just around the corner. The Christmas Party Committee went to The Waterfalls to make 4 the final arrangements last week. I feel that those of you attending will be pleased and have an enjoyable evening. At the October Membership meeting, please check out the DJ songbook list and highlight music you wish to have played at the Annual Christmas Party & Awards Banquet. I must have your check no later than December 5 (the December Membership meeting) or you cannot attend the Annual Christmas Party & Awards Banquet. Also please me ASAP that you will attend so that I can start working on table nametags. October 100%er event October 25..."Spooktacular Halloween Party"... hosted by KARYN & DON FOWLER. Location: 2036 Greenwood Lane, Keller, TX (817) Time: 7:00 p.m. till? There will be Margaritas, Music, Dancing and Games. BYOB if you don't drink Margaritas. Don't forget to dress up; 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place prize for the best costumes. RSVP by October 21. karynfowler@hotmail.com November 100%er event November 23..."Cowtown Vettes Annual Progressive Dinner More details in next month s Low-Down. December event December 13..."Annual Christmas Party & Awards Banquet." Location: ETG Waterfalls, 2801 West Loop 820 South, Fort Worth, TX. The party will start with Cocktails at 6:30 p.m., Dinner Buffet at 7:00 p.m., Awards at 8:00 p.m. and DJ from 9:00-11:30 p.m. The cost of the evening will be $20.00 for members and $40.00 for guests (must be 19 yrs or older). Ice tea and coffee will be offered. BYOB NOTE: Please respond to my s that are sent out asking if you will be attending a social or meeting. This will help me with amount of food or supplies needed to make the event a success. Don F. Wells DFW73VETTE@comcast.net NCCC Governor s Report I appreciate your vote of confidence for 2004 by electing me your Governor -- again. Or is it that NO ONE else wants to do this???? Well, better wake up, because this will be my last year for sure. I will be glad to help anyone else who would like to be our liaison with regional and national NCCC, but three years is plenty. Make your plans!!! Cowtown is still #2 in the Region! Keep up the good work! We also have members who are in the Top 10 in the Region and they need your encouragement. Let them know you are proud of them. Convention 2003 in Hagerstown, MD, was great as usual. Unfortunately, it was not cooler as we had hoped. It was HOT! Corvettes at Carlisle was pretty awesome. As the President of NCCC, Roger had to make a "Celebrity Choice" from only 2,400 cars! That means we looked at most of those 2,400 that were in the fun display. Of course, there were hundreds more to be ogled as well. What a week! Our NCCC event is over by now and at last count we were almost at our maximum registration of 125 entrants. We tried to make it easier for everyone and maintain our high standards for our event, but we can only do that if all our members help. I will have details in my next article, but I know it was great! I attended a couple of National meetings and there are a few items that you should be aware of: 1 Rulebook changes for will be on the website within a couple of weeks. 2 Group 1 and 1S A-arm bushings can be polyurethane in the new rulebook. 3 The E-Board is working on the budget however a shortfall is predicted. A motion for a $10 increase for primaries ($40 new/ $30 renew) was made and tabled until next meeting. We will be discussing this possible dues increase. 4 Tours at the GM plant in Bowling Green are cancelled December 3, 2003 to April 22, There are 8 bylaw changes, which we will discuss at the next meeting. Ballots must be

5 returned by October Blue Bars Editor asked for write-ups from clubs consisting of 1 page with pictures. December 1 is next deadline. 7 9 scholarships were given at Convention of $750 each. Deadline for 2004 is MARCH 1. Send it well before then. 8 Convention 2004 (LAS VEGAS) registration opens February 1. Rooms: $55 during week / $85 Friday/Saturday - spa suite is $ Travelrewards.com is one of our sponsors-- use them. 10 Info out on FCOA raffle car. Don't forget to get your renewals in to me as quickly as possible. I have a renewal form so that we can keep our records up to date and I would appreciate if you would send me your renewal check and the form so that I can get our paperwork in for If you prefer, you can bring the check and form to the October meeting. If I don't have a check from you by the October meeting, I will be calling you to remind you AGAIN. Help me out here, okay? If you have questions or comments, please call or me. Nelda Mitchell Governor TMS Report The last major race at TMS for 2003 is the October 11 Craftsman Truck Series and October 12 Indy Racing League events. Please contact me if you wish to work and have not worked in the past or do not receive a call directly from Shirley at TMS. I thank each of you who work at TMS. You do a great service for our Club. When you read this, our event at Texas Motor Speedway will be history. We have put a lot of work into the weekend and have had lots of help from many of you and we know it went well. There will be details in my next article. I am requesting the same weekend in 2004 for our NCCC event and, hopefully, it will be even better. If you need further information or have suggestions or ideas, please contact me. Nelda Mitchell 5 The car show season will be essentially wrapped-up in another month or so. This can be the best time of the year for pleasant weather and moderate temperatures so consider getting out there and going to a car show. For some suggestions see the list of monthly events elsewhere in the newsletter or see the notices in the Star Telegram Classified Section - Antique & Classic Autos. David Arthur Special Activities Car Show Points System Show Entry - 1 point Show Awards: 1st - 3 points (also Class Winner) 2nd - 2 points (also Class Award) 3rd - 1 point Best of Show - 4 points Best Paint/Engine/Interior/etc. - 2 points Mileage traveled to show: 100 to point 300 to points 600 & over - 3 points Some simple rules of conduct: Corvettes only. Participant is a representative of Cowtown Vettes. Points will be given to the car, not the participant. Rules are subject to change if someone has a better idea. COWTOWN VETTES has 162 members! As of September 5, 2003

6 Muscle Car Club Challenge Here's some info on the Muscle Car Club Challenge. Things to remember: 6 Bring helmet, regular shoes or tennies (no sandals, etc) and long pants. Helmet should be 95 Snell or newer. (Some tracks require only for faster classes; others always require it. It's your head!) When registering at the track and getting your number, they should ask for your "club identifier." Ours is "CV." Put that after your number on the window. Bring shoe polish for putting numbers and dials on car. No alcohol during races. Bring food and drinks, although the concession stand is usually open. Go to the website for more info and classes. Search for "TMCCC." You will be at the right site if the background is all black. It also says "MUSCLE CAR CLUB CHALLENGE' in big letters. You can run any car - old or new - as long as you have "CV" after the number! Let me know if you are going, and we'll try to park together. I'll probably make the 2 races at Kennedale and Ennis. If you've never drag raced, Kennedale has test and tune nights starting in February - Wed. is for all cars and Thursday is Street cars only. That's when to learn about it. Let me know if you are going and want some help and I'll come out. This is a FUN event!! walt z. Texas Raceway Report All Cowtown members, including JANE & MIKE BRASWELL, DON FOWLER, DAN HILL, and WALT ZSCHIRNT, are in the top 50 and will be representing Texas Raceway at the Bracket Finals in Ennis, September 26, 27 and 28. DAN HILL was a September 13 money winner in No Electronics. MIKE BRASWELL was a September 20 money winner in Superpro. DOUG SHILEN competed September 20 in No Electronics in his Z-28 Camaro and went three rounds - no small feat at Texas Raceway. Jane Braswell Items of Interest Flint, MI - A little corner of Corvette history is coming down. An 85,000-square-foot blond brick facility, just south of the Flint Truck Assembly Plant on Van Slyke Road near Atherton Road, is slated to be demolished starting in mid-october, said Ben Ippolito, a General Motors spokesman. The building has a unique claim to fame: It was where Chevrolet workers hand-built the first 300 Corvettes. It also was where GM customers once could pick up their vehicles directly from the factory. The demolition work is expected to be done by December, Ippolito said. Now known as the Quality and Productivity Center, or QPC, the building has been used for storage and offices. "The decision to remove the QPC is part of a routine business-case evaluation of all GM facilities," Ippolito said. "It was no longer an efficient and profitable facility." That surprised Joe Bentoski, 77, of Flint, who worked on the Corvette line, painting parts and cars, when the first 300 two-seat sports cars were built. He worked in that building - and so, recently, did his son. "I couldn't believe it," he said of the demolition news. "Hell, there's nothing wrong with that building." Bentoski's father worked for Buick for 48 years, and Bentoski himself retired from GM with 30 years seniority in Three of his four children work for GM; one has retired to Florida. And he has a grandson who is a GM engineer in Pontiac. His son most recently had an office in the QPC building, Bentoski said. Bentoski and other retirees who worked on the first Corvettes got the chance to go through the factory again June 30, when the Solid Axle Corvette Club went there as part of a club gathering to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Corvette. One of the retirees at the gathering was Carl Jarema of Grand Blanc, who was the liaison engineer for Corvette at the Flint plant and in St. Louis, where the work was moved in "A landmark will go - that's too bad," said Jarema, who retired in "But if it helps GM, it's going to help my pension check." Mike Ferich of Owosso organized the gathering of local retirees who worked on the Corvette and went to the club's meet in Flint. He was not surprised this week to hear that

7 the building would be torn down because union members had told him that in June. "I'm going to take photos of all sides of the building so we'll have that record," he said. Ferich worked at the truck plant from 1947 to 1983, when it was a Chevrolet assembly plant, and was among the workers who were picked for the Corvette project. Asked if he should have bought one of those Corvettes he built, Bentoski sighed deeply. "Oh, man," he said. "I could have got one for $3,000; they went for about $3,200. At the time, I bought a stupid Studebaker, but I had to have four doors." The Studebaker cost $2,800, he said; he needed the extra doors for his family. There are no plans to sell the plant property, nor are there plans to re-use the site after the building is razed, Ippolito said. *** Todd Seibt covers automotive and business issues. He can be reached at (810) or at tseibt@flintjournal. com. James M. Miller is a Journal business writer. He can be reached at (810) , or at jmiller@flintjournal. com Plant history General Motors' Quality and Productivity Center, next to the Flint Truck Assembly Plant, has had a long history. Highlights include: 1947: Building as a customer drive-away building where buyers could pick up their vehicles right at the plant. 1953: Chevrolet Corvette pilot line installed; first 300 Corvettes built. 1966: More shop floor and administrative office space added as plant became a research center, home of engineering and pilot production validation for various Chevrolet and GMC vehicles. Present: Used mainly for storage and some office space. Source: GM Article was submitted by Roger Mitchell. SHANE HARWELL and CHRIS SOUTH, CTV s Webmasters, need your help. If you have photos of events involving the club or if you come across something that would be of interest to other Corvetters, please send to SHANE or CHRIS at: Southwest Region NCCC Clubs CCO CCOC CCT COAST COCOH CTCC CTV LCC MCCC MTCA OCCC SC SCCC SJCC THT TOCC TV TVS COMPETITION CORVETTES of OKLAHOMA Tulsa, OK CORVETTE CLUB of OKLAHOMA 7 CITY Oklahoma City, OK CORVETTE CLUB of TEXAS Dallas, TX CORVETTE OWNERS ASSN. of SOUTH TX San Antonio, TX CORVETTE OWNERS CLUB OF HOUSTON Houston, TX CEN-TEX CORVETTE CLUB Waco, TX COWTOWN VETTES Fort Worth, TX LONGHORN CORVETTE CLUB Austin, TX MID-COAST CORVETTE CLUB Lake Jackson, TX MID-TEXAS CORVETTE ASSN Killeen, TX OKLAHOMA CITY CORVETTE CLUB Oklahoma City, OK SOONER CORVETTES McAlester, OK SUN CITIES CORVETTE CLUB Albuquerque, NM SAN JACINTO CORVETTE CLUB Houston, TX TIN HALL TOYS CORVETTE CLUB Santa Fe, TX TEXAS OUTLAWS CORVETTE CLUB Graham, TX TEJAS VETTES Plano, TX TULSA VETTE SET Tulsa, OK asharwell@mac.com chris.south3@verizon.net