MOPAR OR NO CAR It s Time To Vote! Official Newsletter Of THE STARTING LINE March 2004 Inside this issue: Page President s Desk 2 And The VP Says 2 Meeting Minutes 3 Web Site Info 3 New Members 3 Classifieds 4 Events 4 Elections 4 Huffines 5 Members Business Cards 5 Application 6 Race Team Info 7 Funnies 8 Autorama 9 Car Show Flyers 10 Mopar of the Month 12 2002 & 2003 TMCCC Series Club Champions Club Information The COWTOWN MOPARS PERFORMANCE TEAM is a Mopar enthusiast organization with it s own elected officers and operating treasury. Membership is open to ALL Mopar enthusiasts and owners. You do not need to own a Mopar to join or participate. Our club address is: Cowtown Mopars Performance Team P.O. Box 162413 Fort Worth, Texas 76161-2413 Our Web Page is: http://www.cowtownmopars.org or http://clubs.hemmings.com/cowtownmopars/ Our Club Meetings: The Cowtown Mopars Performance Team holds it s monthly club meeting on the 3rd Sunday of each month at 4 pm. Meetings are held at: Spring Creek BBQ 1509 Airport Freeway Bedford, Texas (817) 545-0184 (corner of Forest Ridge & 183 Airport Freeway) Cruise Night at Scotty s (820 & Beach) 2nd Saturday of each month at 7 pm GUESTS are always welcome to join us. Cowtown Mopars Is Sponsored By: Dodge Cars & Trucks Metro 214-434-1276 Cowtown Mopar Officers President: Mark Buchanan (972) 617-2068 bbuchanan8@juno.com Vice President: Mike Miller (817) 656-3218 greybeard360@yahoo.com Secretary: Ken Angyal (817) 465-4344 KVJA54@aol.com Treasurer: Rick Brownell (972) 263-0307 stumpy383@hotmail.com Membership Director: Bernie Powell (817) 246-1600 coyote-dust@sbcglobal.net Activities Director: Kelly Hilla (972) 434-2288 kelly.hilla@huffines.net Newsletter Editor: Dan Robinson (817) 428-8858 derob@charter.net Webmaster: Mike Miller (817) 656-3218 greybeard360@yahoo.com
March 2004 Page 2 From The President s Desk Hey Cowtown Members, IT'S TIME TO VOTE! I hope to see a BIG group of Cowtown Members at the March meeting. If you have not paid your dues for this year, be sure to come early and pay, so you can vote. IT'S TIME TO RACE! I hope we have a BIG group of racers all year long as we defend our CHAMPIONSHIP AGAIN! Let's start the season off right and keep on rolling to our 3rd championship in a row. Racers come to the meeting and get your free shirt. We will be cooking at most of the races, if not all this year. Sorry Gene I hope I didn't steal your thunder. By the way, THANKS Gene for the great deal on the slicks! We had a GREAT showing at the Dallas Autorama. We had 7 club members in the show this year and they received 8 awards, Alan Spry got 2 awards. Thanks to: Jimmy Box, Randy Buntyn, Bob Graham, Danny Henslee, Tommy Martin, CJ Roy and Alan Spry for showing their cars. And The VP Says Hello Club Members Congratulations to the club for the great showing at the Dallas AutoRama! It looks like it is going to be another award winning year for the club. By the time you receive your newsletter the Fort Worth Rod and Custom show will be over and I am sure our entries will once again bring even more awards home. It time to go RACIN'! The first TMCCC race is March 13 and we are gearing up to press on in our winning ways. Gene Quick is our race team coordinator this year and he and Grady Hentz will both represent the club on the TMCCC council. Do not miss this months meeting!!!!! It is time The Ft. Worth Rod & Custom Show is going on as I type my portion of the newsletter and hopefully I will be finished before it is over. The 2 finger hunt and peck takes a while sometimes, I wish I would have taken typing in school. THANKS to: Bob Graham, Danny Henslee, Tommy Martin and Alan Spry for entering their cars. Ron Russ has his in this year, hopefully he will have another Mopar next year. Just kidding Ron. This will be our last meeting before this year's car show. Please get some car show flyers at the meeting and go to your local parts house. You will be surprised as to how generous they can be with door prize donations. We are planning for the biggest show in club history and we will need everyone's help. If you would like to help with registration, judging, parking, set up, teardown, clean up, door prizes, goody bags...let a board member know. We now have 9 car show shirt sponsors and hope to have number 10 soon. We will have a goody bag stuffing party soon, so keep an eye on the message board. See ya soon Beep Beep! Mark Buchanan to vote!!!!! There will still be time to nominate people for the board positions before the ballots are handed out. Make sure that your membership is current so you can vote. We will have a copy of the current roster at the meeting so if you are in doubt...just ask! You can contact any of the board members before the meeting and we can let you know by phone or email. The club is working with the Dallas Mopar Club this year for a joint spring picnic. We are looking at a date in early May. This will be a great way to meet some of the members from the Dallas Club. More information will be available as soon as details are worked out. Mike Miller
March 2004 Club Minutes The February monthly meeting was held on the 15th at Spring Creek BBQ in Bedford, TX. President Mark Buchanan called the meeting to order at 4:25 pm, where guests and new members were recognized. The Ft. Worth and Dallas car shows were briefly discussed. Our annual car show was then discussed, with sponsors still be canvassed. Also a members name can be placed on the show shirt for $25. All info must be completed by the next monthly meeting. Watch the website for updates. President Buchanan announced the two Texas muscle car club challenge dates for the month of March, that being the 14th and 28th at Kennedale and Ennis. Longtime club member Grady Hentz was recognized as a TMCCC board member, and Gene Quick was introduced as the club's race coordinator. Ken and Leesa Key were introduced as the club's new show team coordinators. February additions to the officer elections are as follows: VP Gene Quick, Treasurer Dan Robinson. Additional and final nominations will be taken at the March meeting, when the final tally is taken. The 50/50 pot was won by Mark Buchanan after the regular routine of cars/trucks for sale and wanted took place. The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 pm. Keep America Beautiful, Drive A Mopar!! Respectfully submitted by: Ken Angyal, Secretary Cowtown Mopar's Page 3 Cowtown Mopars Web Site Info Hello Mopar fanatics, freaks, geeks or admirers... There are a lot of activities on the events page and more posted every week. If anyone knows of an event that is not there just send me the info. We have upped the ante on the caption photo contest. The winning caption will earn the sender a free Cowtown Mopars tee shirt! We will even pay the postage to mail it to you!!! VISIT THE WEB SITE! YOU LL NEVER KNOW WHAT YOUR MISSING OUT ON!!!!!! Mike Miller AKA MasterBlaster Welcome New & Renewing Members New Members & Membership Dues We would like to welcome the following new and returning members to Cowtown Mopars. Alan Coto, Barron Booth, Don Lewis, & Craig McClister. New members may feel free to contact any of the club officers at the phone number or email address on the first page of the newsletter. much time to renew without paying the $10.00 initiation fee again. A single membership (only one vote) is still $15.00 and a family membership (where both husband and wife can vote) is $25.00. You won't want to miss out on any of the club activities or getting your newsletter. If you are unable to come to the Feb or Mar meeting you can send membership dues to the PO Box in this issue. **NOTICE** "It is time to renew your club membership if you haven't yet. According to our bylaws you don't have Bernie Powell Membership Director
March 2004 For Sale Classifieds Page 4 Team Dodge 866-832-6363 Join for FREE and get a gift package. Dodge Chargers & Parts 1966-78 FW/DAL area. Morris Counts 817-545-7783 or 817-980-9411 Two Mickey Thompson front runner racing tires for Drag Racing. The size is 4.5x26x15. They are brand new and have never been mounted on wheels. I paid $138 for each one of them and I am asking $225 for the pair. E-Mail: k.castleman@verizon.net or call Ken at (972)-570-9194 home or (214)-684-5589 cell. Wanted Wanted 71 road runner, 4 speed car; 69 Plymouth b-body left rear wheel lip molding,69 or 70 383 HP block contact Mark 972-617-2068, email bbuchanan8@juno.com Looking for the LEFT REAR wheel moulding for a 1966 Plymouth Satellite. Email me at coyote-dust@sbcglobal.net or call 817-246-1600. Dodge Charger Owners for the Charger Registry (FREE) Join for $25 and get a newsletter, parts list, car list, event list. Morris Counts 817-545-7783 or 817-980-9411 See you at the next Charger Event. Events, Shows, & Club Activities Drive In Movies Open every Fri & Sat night. www.thebrazos.com located in Granbury, TX 24 hour hotline 817-573-1311 Cowtown Mopars Performance Team Cruise in at Scotty s is on the 2nd Saturday of the month. N. Beach street 1/4 mile south of N Loop 820, 7-9 pm Cowtown Mopars Monthly Meeting March 21 At Spring Creek BBQ Mopar Speed Shop Car Show (Dallas Mopar Club) Mar. 28 Dallas Dodge 11550 LBJFwy. Dallas, Texas 18th Annual Cowtown Mopars Roundup April 10 Hosted by Huffines Dodge Hwy 121 @ I35E Lewisville, Tx. Car Show, Car Corral, Model Car Contest, Swap Meet Registration 9:00 am-1:00 pm Scheduled rain date April 17 Dallas Swap Meet April 16-17-18 Dallas Naval Air Station 2000 East Jefferson Dallas, Texas Capt. Scott Monier Memorial Scholarship Car Show April 24 White Settlement, TX. Pate Swap Meet April 29 May 2 Texas Motor Speedway Nostalgia Super Stocks/Muscle Cars May 29 & 30 Thunder Valley Raceway Noble, Ok. Check the website for additional events. Do you know of an event you think other club members would be interested in?please submit them to the newsletter editor or webmaster. Club Officer Elections If you ve ever thought you would like to hold an elected office in your club then now is the time to act. Starting last month and continuing until elections at the March monthly meeting the club will be accepting nominations for all officer positions. Not sure of the duties accompanying the office? All positions are spelled out in the club By-laws. So you don t want to be an elected officer but still want to help out? Ask the president or other officer and I m sure you ll find out there is lots of things to do to help out the club. Get involved in your club s activities. Don t like the way things are done? Become involved and help with the planning. It s YOUR club. Help make it the BEST Mopar Club in the USA.
March 2004 Page 5 (972) 434-1276 Club Members Business Cards
March 2004 Page 6 Membership Renewal Application With the new year coming up it s time to renew your membership. All memberships expire at the end of December. All members are asked to submit a NEW application with your renewal so we can update the club roster. Thank you for your time in filling these out.
March 2004 Page 7 Cowtown Mopars Performance Racing Team Hey Cowtown Racers, It s RACE TIME!! Lets RACE! March 14th Kenndale Raceway Texas Muscle Car Club Challenge Gates open at 8 am. Eliminations start at 2:00 pm. Cowtown Mopar members and friends, fun racing against Chevs, Ford, and other cars we all love. Race, help, watch, good food included. Questions, call Gene Quick 817-838-6933 Days 9:00 to 11:30 am 1:00 to 6:00 pm For all of the team that raced with us last year or are going to race this year, each team member (driver) will receive a tee shirt! Questions, ideas, VOLUNTEERS... Call Gene after 1:00pm M-F at 817-838-6933 or from 7-10pm at 817-838-8138. Thanks for your support and see you at the races!!! Gene Quick Race Team Coordinator Mickey Thompson ET Street and ET Drag slicks for sale at COST for club members. 2004 Race Schedule: March 14 Sunday CHALLENGE WEST SPRING Texas Raceway Kennedale, Texas Ph. 817-483-0356 Gates open at 9am Entry $20.00 March 28 Sunday TEXAS MUSCLECAR CLUB CHALLENGE XXVII Texas Motorplex Ennis, Texas Ph. 972-878-2641 Gates open at 8am Entry $30.00 April 18 Sunday CHALLENGE DENTON Denton Raceway Denton, Texas Gates open at 8am Entry $25.00 May 2 Sunday CHALLENGE REDLINE SUMMER Redline Raceway June 6 Sunday Gates open at 8am Entry $25.00 CHALLENGE NORTH Thunder Valley Raceway Noble, Oklahoma Ph. 405-872-3429 Gates open at 9am Entry $20.00 Sept. 12 Sunday CHALLENGE RUSK FALL Cherokee County Motor Sports Park Rusk, TX Ph. 817-483-0356 Gates open at 9am Sept. 19 Sunday CHALLENGE WEST FALL Texas Raceway Kennedale, Texas Ph. 817-483-0356 Gates open at 9am Oct. 24 Sunday TEXAS MUSCLECAR CLUB CHALLENGE XXVIII Texas Motorplex Ennis, Texas Ph. 972-878-2641 Gates open at 8am Entry $30.00 Oct. 31 Sunday CHALLENGE REDLINE FALL Redline Raceway Gates open at 8am Entry $25.00 WANTED Newsletter Submissions Articles, Events & Mopar Items Contact Dan Nov. 13 AWARDS BANQUET Location TBA 6:30 pm Race Report from Ken Castleman On February 21, Ken Castleman and Hank Hentz went to the Texas Motorplex for their Saturday points program which was their first points race of the year. Hank made it to the quarter-finals before loosing to another Mopar which won the event. The challenger ran it's best time ever on that run. The times are as follows: 60 ft. 1.63 660 ft. 7.49 1320 ft. 11.85 mph. 113
March 2004 Page 8 And Now For The Funnies Welfare Dream Job A guy walks into the local welfare office, marches straight up to the counter and says "Hi. I want you to know that I hate drawing welfare and I'd really rather have a job." The man behind the welfare desk says, "Well, your timing is excellent. We just got a job opening from a very wealthy old man who wants a chauffeur/bodyguard for his nymphomaniac daughter. You'll have to drive around in his Mercedes, but he'll supply all of your clothes. Because of the long hours, meals will be provided. You'll also be expected to escort her on her overseas holiday trips. The starting salary is $200,000 a year." The guy says "You're BS ing Me!" Dear Tech Support: Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed that the new program began unexpected child processing that took up a lot of space and valuable resources. In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all other system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 no longer run, crashing the system whenever selected. I can't seem to keep Wife 1.0 in the background while attempting to run my favorite applications. I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but the uninstall doesn't work on Wife 1.0. Please help! Thanks, A Troubled User. The welfare clerk says, "Yeah, well, you started it." Rooster A farmer goes out one day and buys a brand new rooster for his chicken coop. The new rooster struts over to the old rooster and says, "OK old fart, time for you to retire." The old rooster replies, "Come on, surely you cannot handle ALL of these chickens. Look what it has done to me. Can't you just let me have the two old hens over in the corner?" The young rooster says, "Beat it: You are washed up and I am taking over." The old rooster says, "I tell you what, young stud. I will race you around the farmhouse. Whoever wins gets the exclusive domain over the entire chicken coop." The young rooster laughs. "You know you don't stand a chance old man. So, just to be fair I will give you a head start." The old rooster takes off running. About 15 seconds later the young rooster takes off running after him. They round the front porch of the farmhouse and the young rooster has closed the gap. He is already about 5 inches behind the old rooster and gaining fast. The farmer, meanwhile, is sitting in his usual spot on the front porch when he sees the roosters running by. He grabs his shotgun and - BOOM - He blows the young rooster to bits. The farmer sadly shakes his head and says, "Dangnabit... third gay rooster I bought this month." Moral of this story... REPLY: Dear Troubled User: This is a very common problem that men complain about. Many people upgrade from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities and Entertainment program. Wife 1.0 is an OPERATING SYSTEM and is designed by its Creator to run EVERYTHING!!! It is also impossible to delete Wife 1.0 and to return to Girlfriend 7.0. It is impossible to uninstall, or purge the program files from the system once installed. You cannot go back to Girlfriend 7.0 because Wife 1.0 is designed to not allow this. Look in your Wife 1.0 manual under Warnings-Alimony/Child Support." I recommend that you keep Wife 1.0 and work on improving the situation. I suggest installing the background application "Yes Dear" to alleviate software augmentation. The best course of action is to enter the command C: \ APOLOGIZE. Because ultimately you will have to give the APOLOGIZE command before the system will return to normal anyway. Wife 1.0 is a great program, but it tends to be very high maintenance. Wife 1.0 comes with several support programs, such as Clean and Sweep 3.0, Cook It 1.5 and Do Bills 4.2. However, be very careful how you use these programs. Improper use will cause the system to launch the program Nag Nag 9.5. Once this happens, the only way to improve the performance of Wife 1.0 is to purchase additional software. I recommend Flowers 2.1 and Diamonds 5.0! WARNING!!! DO NOT, under any circumstances, install Secretary With Short Skirt 3.3. This application is not supported by Wife 1.0 and will cause irreversible damage to the operating system. Best of luck, Tech Support Don't mess with the OLD FARTS - age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill!
March 2004 Page 9 Dallas We had a GOOD year this year! 7 cars & 8 awards, Alan Spry got 2 awards. Everyone did well. Autorama Thanks To: Alan Spry C.J. Roy Danny Hensley Tommy Martin Jimmy Box Bob Graham Randy Buntyn
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March 2004 Page 12 COWTOWN MOPAR OF THE MONTH Rick Mariano s F-Body Race Cars Well, I got into F-bodys because I really didn t know any better. What started out as a search for a clean restorable A-body to make into a bracket racer, became a education on some popular automotive terms like good restoration project, complete, but disassembled"," just needs finishing, and great potential. Most of them looked like the aftermath of an A-10 attack. The last straw was a Demon complete roller that was sitting on its frame rails in some clowns back yard with the rest of its supposed parts scattered at three other buddies abodes. On the way home I grabbed a Greensheet at a local burger joint and there in bold print 79 Dodge 2-dr V-8, auto, runs and drives, needs tune-up $250 The next day with the help of my son we nursed a chugging silver Dodge Aspen from Arlington to North Richland Hills for $150 and a clear title. It dieseled when I shut it off and pitched the timing chain right there. The next day we started do strip the car at 8 am and by 8 pm you could look through the radiator support right out through the back of the trunk. Well I knew a B-body 8 ¾ would fit in what I now had learned was Mopar s much maligned F-body series not an A-body, huh?. But with careful reading and research I found that the rear suspension could be swapped with tougher B-body components, the cage kits for A-bodys fit like a glove, and the front ends, well if it was easy everybody would ve had one. I stripped out every bit of weight I could, had an 8-point Comp Engineering cage installed ( Bill Moody ), had the body fixed, repaired, smoothed and painted Viper red ( Eddie Stephens ) and learned how to rebuild a small block Mopar ( Thanks Kim! ) It had 9:1 flat tops, stock 360 heads, a Comp Cam.501, a Holley Strip Dominator, and a 750 Holley on pump gas. It went through a low gear 904 T-flite with a 3500 GER ( never again ) into a 742 case with a Strange spool with Richmond 4.57 s and stock axles out to 28 X 10 X15 Goodyears. It s best was a 12.02 at 112. In its first race at one of the muscle car challenges I got down to three cars only to lose to a dead battery in the staging lanes. But I did runner-up at the NSCA muscle car race in Baton Rouge, my day ending with a self-inflicted wound at the starting line ( I fouled! ). I nailed the motor at the Houston Mopar Show and I am now in the process of putting together a slightly fancier bullet that I hope will put the car into the low 11 s. (Continued on page 13)
March 2004 Page 13 COWTOWN MOPAR OF THE MONTH (Continued from page 12) The wagon was purchased as a drivers training vehicle when I had a trio of teenagers all come up on driving age one right after the other. I saw the car parked out in front of the old Western Auto store on Rufe Snow with a for sale sign in it. It was a V-8 auto car with a straight body. It had current tags and inspection, and leaked from anything that held liquid. The owner was asking $2200. I told him I d give him 500 bucks and went home. Three weeks later there was a message on my machine that said well, you were the only one to even make an offer so I ll take $500. We ( mostly me ) drove it for two years while I endured constant insults from my teenagers about owning the most butt ugly, smelly, ghetto rig in all of north Texas. I thought it was beautiful. One day one son asked me if we were ever gonna get rid of that eyesore. I told him I liked that old granny car. whatcha gonna do dad, make a race car out of it. After staring at it for an hour it suddenly seemed like a heckuva idea. The idea was to build it on a strict budget after watching car magazines spend a fortune on cars that were real sleds. I wanted a somewhat faster sled. I spent that summer buying swap meet parts and wheeling and dealing for unloved Mopar parts. I found a complete 360 shortblock when I purchased another car and it had a receipt for a complete shortblock, balanced and assembled with paid stamped on it. I called the place and was berated with are you EVER gonna pick that thing up!!! I was there in twenty minutes. I installed a set of J-heads a.484 Purpleshaft, an Offy dual plane 360 intake and a Holley 4 barrel. It was a dish piston motor with low compression so it runs on just about anything. Bill Moody did the 8-point cage again, Eddie Stephens and his shop handled the paint and body work again too. The motor runs thru a low gear 999 T-flite out to another 742 case 8 ¾ with an Auburn mini spool Richmond 4.57 s stock axles to 9 inch Hoosiers with classic Cragar Super Tricks all around. While it will never be the fastest car at the track, it s deadly consistent and will hook on marginal tracks. The favorite thing I ll say about my wagon is that it proves two important things: It does not take a lot of money to go drag racing and you can build a competitive Mopar for the same price or even cheaper than a Chevy. Its best pass has been a 13.75 at 102. In addition to the above mention craftsmen, I want to thank Kim Humphrey, Big Brian Carpenter, Doctor Jimmy Carney, the Ragin Cajin Butch Burbank, the late, great Tommy Craig, the Hentz s, the Casteel racing tribe, Marc Foster at Mike Smith Machine, Larry Mac, Big Rich Smith, the Brothers Bradshaw, and the host of great friends in the club who always seem to be close when help or advice is needed. RICK
MOPAR OR NO CAR We re on the Web! www.cowtownmopars.org It Takes a Mopar To Catch A Mopar Address Correction Requested Please Return Undelivered Items To: Cowtown Mopars Performance Team P.O. Box 162413 Fort Worth, Texas 76161-2413 Place Postage Here Rush To: Next Meeting Sunday March 21 @ 4 PM At Spring Creek BBQ