The next club meeting:
7:00 p.m., Tuesday, April 7, 2009 at the Golden Corral, Dothan. We dine
at 6:00 p.m.
April, 2009
Click on Car of the Month to see the rest of John's (Barb's ! ) car.!
March proved to be a busy month for the club with 2 significant club events. On the 7th we had 14 cars make the cruise to the Seacrest Wolf Preserve which included entering the animal enclosures and coming into contact with some of the wolves. This was followed by a terrific lunch in Chipley. Many thanks to Charley and Jim Robertson for setting up this cruise. Then on the 21st, we had 16 cars participate in the Car Care Day at Solomon Chevy. Most took advantage of the opportunity to get their car up on a lift and discuss service considerations with one of the Solomon mechanics. During the event we enjoyed a great lunch of burgers and dogs also provided by the Solomon folks. Russ Lewis deserves a big pat on the back for putting this event together. Then on the 29th, the club provided seven cars for the annual Azalea Dogwood Trail parade in Dothan. The previous days exceptionally heavy rainstorm diminished the flowers, but not our spirit!
April is scheduled to be almost as busy with a Mystery Cruise on the 4th, the Tallahassee Corvette show on the 11th, the Pensacola Corvette show on the 18th, and drag racing at Montgomery laid on for the 19th. Hey, with this nice Spring time weather there’s lots of outdoor activities available, so lets enjoy it while we can!
Bruce
Click for the Museum Homepage: National Corvette Museum - opens in its own window.
Click here for Charley's NCM Newsletter
Courtesy of your NCM Ambassador -
Charley Robertson
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It is starting to warm up here in South Alabama. Time to be concerned with your car’s cooling system. Here are a Few Important Things to Remember
Cooling System consists of:
Pumping -- Your cooling system's pumping function is handled by its water pump, which keeps the coolant mixture moving. The main water pump is gear- or belt-driven but, in many cars, a secondary electric water pump is used for improved flow and cooling. Critical to the pump's operation is the drive belt or gear that turns it. On most newer cars this is the engine's timing belt. On older cars, the pump and belt are external and run off the main crankshaft pulley with a "V" or flat belt. Maintenance of cooling system pumping is limited to scheduled coolant replacement and drive-belt replacement and tension adjustment (external type). Timing-belt-driven pumps should always be replaced at the same time as the timing belt and tensioner.
Piping -- Your cooling system's piping consists of all hoses, any control valves, the heater core, the radiator and the expansion tank. Because of the materials used and the constant contact with coolant, all parts in this system deteriorate more from time than use. Maintenance of cooling system piping consists of scheduled coolant replacement, replacement of all hoses on a regular basis and replacement of any plugged or leaking parts. All hoses should be checked at least twice a year for abrasions, cracks, flexibility and evidence of leakage. Whenever the coolant is drained for replacement or during engine repairs, any suspect hoses should be replaced. All hoses should be replaced at least every few years. Radiators, expansion tanks, heater cores and control valves are normally only replaced due to leakage or plugging. The condition of these parts should be assessed by a professional since proper functioning is critical to many other systems within your car.
Temperature Control -- Your cooling system's temperature controls include all coolant temperature sensors, thermostat, radiator or expansion tank cap, cooling fan(s) and fan clutch (if equipped). These cooling system parts function primarily independent of the engine but control the engine either through cooling or by sending control signals to your car's electronic systems. The thermostat is a spring-loaded valve that opens and closes based on the temperature of the coolant flowing through it. A high temperature reading followed by a drop to normal temperature (or a continuously low temperature) is a common first sign of a sticking thermostat. However, many other conditions may cause these symptoms, so you need to know how to eliminate each possibility. The radiator or expansion tank cap is also a spring-loaded valve reacting to system pressure. It serves to maintain proper system coolant level at predetermined pressures. It must always be replaced with an exact replacement cap with the same pressure setting. Never use other caps except for short-term emergencies! A belt-driven fan blade for pulling air through the radiator is usually on the water pump pulley and should have a fan clutch to control it. The fan clutch allows the fan to turn with the belt at low engine speed and "free-wheel" at higher speeds. A bad fan clutch either doesn't allow the fan to spin at low speed (overheating in traffic) or doesn't allow it to free-wheel at high speed (potential overheating on highway or reduced gas mileage). An electric fan can be either by itself (usually front-wheel drive) or auxiliary (used with a mechanical fan). Both types are controlled via a temperature sensor - in the radiator or upper radiator hose or on the thermostat or water pump housing. This sensor is usually an on/off type switch with a fixed temperature setting. (Some vehicles may have 2-3 settings for multi-speed fans.) This sensor is commonly called an "auxilliary fan switch" Other common temperature sensors are: 1) gauge sender (variable output); 2) warning light sender (on/off type); 3) lambda and/or fuel injection sensor(s) (variable to control fuel injection settings); 4) thermo-time switch (cold start valve control). Your car may have other sensors as well. Temperature control is critical to both performance and emission control. Unfortunately, this system is the most difficult to troubleshoot without proper equipment and diagrams. It's even more difficult with computers that adjust timing, idle speed, vacuum and fuel delivery automatically to make up for potentially faulty temperature sensor signals. Maintenance of your cooling system sensors is virtually impossible since there's nothing really to "maintain". Keeping them clean both internally (coolant replacement) and externally (engine cleaning) is the best way to ensure trouble-free driving. Checking and replacing all parts at the factory-recommended time or mileage limits helps as well.
Tips
Tip #1: Keep your engine and engine compartment, as well as your radiator fins and grill, as clean as possible. A clean engine runs much cooler - and it's much easier to work on.
Tip #2: Replace coolant at or before factory recommended intervals with the proper type, mixture and volume of coolant. Always allow the coolant system to rid itself of air before installing the radiator cap.
Tip #3: Replace all cooling system hoses - upper and lower radiator hoses, bypass hoses, heater hoses, manifold coolant hoses and any other hoses on your vehicle - whenever you even suspect there may be a problem. All hoses should be replaced at least every two years.
Tip #4: Replace the thermostat with the original temperature setting equivalent. The electronics in your vehicle may use that setting for other controls. Do not substitute under any circumstances.
Tip #5: Replace the radiator/expansion tank cap with the original pressure setting and OE-type equivalent. Some aftermarket substitutions do not seal and hold pressure properly on foreign-manufactured cars. Again, don't substitute.
Tip #6: Adjust or replace the water pump drive belt (external) at recommended intervals or more frequently, if required. Check belts whenever you're working on any coolant system components.
Tip #7: Replace your water pump with an OEM/OES pump at the first signs of trouble or when your timing belt and tensioner are replaced. Watch for signs of overheating - you don't want to break down in the hot sun when your water pump fails.
Tip #8: Replace the fan clutch and/or fan blade as needed (if applicable). Your car's temperature gauge is often your best guide as to when your fan clutch needs attention.
Tip #9: Replace temperature sensors as required by diagnosis. Leave troubleshooting of your sensors to experts who have the proper equipment and diagrams.
Tip #10: Keep your entire vehicle properly maintained because of the effect timing, idle speed, exhaust and other systems have on your engine's temperature. Your car's cooling system is designed to function with all other systems operating properly. It cannot make up for a poorly operating or overheating engine condition.
Terry
March
29 Enterprise Alabama Piney Woods Festival includes the Weevil City Cruisers car and truck show. Click here for the Weevil City Cruisers Car Show
29 Azalea-Dogwood Trail Lineup 1 pm Bank parking lot corner of
West Main and Woodland in Dothan.
We need eight cars to participate and carry the Azalea Court. Trail begins
at 2 p.m., show time 1:30 p.m. Lunch at McAllister's Deli afterwards.
April
4 Mystery Cruise Meet at the service station on the corner of
Highways 84 and 123 at 2:00.
We're going some distance west to a restaurant.
11 Corvette Show sponsored by the Cruisin Corvettes in Tallahassee
18 Vettes and Jets car show in Pensacola with the
Miracle Strip Corvette Club.
Click here for event flyer in Word format.
19 Drag racing at Montgomery Motorsports Park
23 thru 26 C5/C6 Birthday Bash at the NCM. Click here for NCM Bash info
May
2 Mid Alabama Corvette Club's Vettes and Vibrations Car Show in Pelham, AL. Here's the flyer.
9 Classic Glass Corvette Show. Click for info and registration.
14 Panama City Beach Caravan. See our beach page !
A busy month in March, click for details:
Corvette Day at Solomon Chevrolet
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Seacrest Wolf Preserve on March 7th. - to see all the pics, visit:
38 lower resolution pictures:
53 higher resolution pictures:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8IZsmbFs0bMsy
here's a few of them.
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| Corvette Day at Solomon Chevrolet --
Saturday, March 21, with technicians and burgers. This first pic - a montage by our editor, Terry Weldon. Other pics below by Bill James. |
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 Did
somebody say: "Food?" |
Class in session.
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What's that thing ? |
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------------- Dothan's 2009 Azalea Trail
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When members travel, sometimes we receive a photo report. Hint, hint.
The Hickman's Corvettes
| Barbara and I have been members of Circle City Corvettes since 1982. We were riding around in Dothan one night and spotted a white 1980 with red interior on a used car lot. Since it was late, the salesman told us to come back the next day and we could drive it. We had never discussed owning a Corvette and were currently happy with our 1977 Camaro that had white interior. The next day being a Saturday we went back and drove the Corvette. |  blue and bug-less
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 the car reflects
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It was gorgeous and only had a few thousand miles on it. After some discussion as to if we could afford a Corvette, we bought it. Even though we had never really talked about even wanting a Corvette, Barb did have a connection to them. Her Father had bought a new 1954 Corvette when they lived in Maryland. He would race it on weekends. He had to sell it when Barb was born as their was no where for her to sit. One of his favorite stories about the 1954 is that they went on a picnic one weekend and he had set the picnic basket on the trunk. The sun was hot that day and the weight of the picnic basket made an indentation in the trunk. He was sick. But after he took the picnic basket off and the trunk cooled, it popped right back into place. |
| We drove the 1980 until 1984. On the way to a High School Football game Barb saw a new Gold Corvette at Capital Chevrolet in Montgomery. Needless to say, the next week I brought it home for her. As pretty as the car was, it was nothing but trouble. Time after time it was in the shop for repair. The electronic dash was what I called a Christmas tree with flashing lights as it never did work right.
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 Barb and her car
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 even the blue shines
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The biggest mistake I have made in my life was one day, I was driving the car home from Tuscaloosa and it started it's light show. I pulled into the dealership in Montgomery with a Gold Corvette and left with a red one. To avoid being divorced the next day, the red one was taken back. However the Gold one had already been sold to someone else. We were Vettless and barely speaking to each other for a few months. Over the next few years we had another 84, an 81, 91, 93, 94, 95 and a 1999 Nassau Blue Coupe. With the kids being teenagers now, and constantly needing clothes, dance lessons, etc. I sold the 99 and we were Vettless again. |
| In 2001 we bought a 1982, had it painted blue of course and I restored the interior. Eventually my back got to the point that I could not drive it because of the rough ride and we bought a Dark Red 1995. On the caravan that year we were on our way to the banquet following a tourist who was sight seeing. Being in a hurry, I turned on my signal and started to pass him. About the time I got to the drivers door he decided to turn left. He went from the front fender to the rear bumper. I had to send Barb to her parents house before she killed the poor guy. As with any wrecked car the paint never matched and I couldn't stand it. I found another 1999 Nassau Blue Coupe that we drove until 2004. |  do they all dream in red ?
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 blue - but the red shows thru
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We kept waiting for GM to come out with another pretty blue similar to the nassau blue that we had, or the quazar blue that our 1993' were. Each year they stuck with Lemans Blue. So in January of 2005 we drove to Triangle. VA and bought the car that Barb is now driving. Her 2000 convertible is one of only 205 made that year in nassau blue and one of only 25 that came with the white top. She loves her Vette and drives it daily. It now has 80,000 miles on it and we do not plan on getting rid of it no time soon. |
John Hickman
We welcome our new members to the club!!!
March:
Randy Berkeley - 2008 silver coupe
Seaby & Floy Bess - 2007 white convertible
Bill & Diane Jehle - 1994 white coupe
Mike & Sue Simmons - 1970 red convertible
February:
John Taylor - 2006 Red Coupe
January:
Gary Singley - 2006 Silver Coupe
| HAPPY April BIRTHDAYS 8 William Sessions 19 Terry Weldon 20 Penny Rotolo 22 Michael Griffin 25 Shannon Williams 28 Jeffery Young 29 Jim Robertson
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April ANNIVERSARIES:
18 Len & Sharon Simpson 25 Johnny & Jhen Hickman
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Nostalgia videos at http://www.oldbluewebdesigns.com/
LS2 Engine Assembly at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2ZQQRDmlJc&feature=related
President:
Bruce Carter
Vice
President: Russell Lewis
Secretary: Barbara Pattberg
NCM
Ambassador: Charley
Robertson
Treasurer: Jim Robertson
Caravan Coordinator: John
Hickman
Local Event Coordinator: Bruce
Carter
Newsletter
Editor: Terry Weldon
Member at
Large: Greg Prettyman
Member at Large:
Kelly Walker
Webmaster: Brent Gourley
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