Convention Tour Schedule Update

Among the off-site tours being offered during the Sturbridge convention are a bus tour to historic Boston and a bus tour to the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island.

But – whoops! – until recently, the departure times for each of these tours has been listed erroneously in the CORSA Communique and on the convention web site.  Happily, tour coordinator Kevin Gaudette noticed the error, and now the web site has been corrected and the July/August issue of the Communique will reflect the correct times. (The June issue of the CORSA Communique has already been printed and so it will show the incorrect times.)

If you have signed up for either the Boston tour or the Newport tour, or are planning to sign up for either of these tours, please be advised that the Boston tour departs the hotel at 8:45 AM, and the Newport tour departs the hotel at 8:00 AM.

The reason for these departure times is straightforward. The Boston tour is leaving at a time that will allow it to miss the morning rush-hour traffic into the city, and the Newport tour is leaving at a time that will allow for the extra travel time necessary to reach Newport.

You can see the complete convention schedule on the convention web site here.

Boston Skyline

The Breakers, Newport

Lifemobile

Among the events taking place alongside the big Saturday car show at Sturbridge will be a book-signing for a wonderful new book, Lifemobile.

Lifemobile is a novel written by CORSA member Jonathan Rintels. Mr Rintels has been a writer for film and television, and this is his first novel. We’ve been able to read an excerpt and it is nothing less than funny, moving, and inspirational.

Lifemobile is based on Mr Rintels’ experiences with his special-needs son, and how he became fascinated – obsessed, really – with his father’s Corvair, and its features, history, and controversy. In many ways, the Corvair experience changed his life.

Readers don’t need to be Corvair enthusiasts to become engaged with this book, but it seems obvious that the Corvair community will respond to it enthusiastically. The book is to be published in June by Prospecta Press, and at Sturbridge in July we’ll have a traditional book-signing event where Mr Rintels will read from the book, answer questions, and sign copies that will be available on-site.

Support our Supporters!

Cotrofeld Automotive, of East Arlington, Vermont, has joined the 2012 convention as an event sponsor, sponsoring the autocross at Stafford Speedway that is to take place on Wednesday, July, 25.

Many CORSA members know Bill Cotrofeld who, in addition to operating what is billed as "America’s Oldest Corvair Shop," has been a CORSA member and convention attendee for decades. Bill was the force behind the 1997 convention in Lake Placid, New York.

Through the years Bill’s personal and professional partner has been his wife, Kathy, and today their son, Tim, is the manager of the Corvair shop. It’s truly a family business!

Cotrofeld Automotive is located at 3630 Route 7A, East Arlington, Vermont, and is on the web here.

Memo from Iowa

In early March, after an absence of two and a half years, my car came home from the body shop. It was well worth the wait. You can’t really tell from the picture, but this is a 42,000 mile 1966 Monza convertible.

It was purchased new here in my home town of Cresco in April of 1966. The car has spent it’s whole life here in Cresco. I am the forth owner and have the enviable pleasure of knowing all the previous owners, so I possess a lot of the car’s history.

It was purchased by the owner of the local bank, who bought it for his wife. They sold the car to a bank employee in 1969, and she drove the car back and forth to work every day until 1985, a trip of four miles a day. The car was then sold to the wife of a local mortician. I happened to be working at the local GM dealership when that transaction took place and had the opportunity to work on the car. After the work was finished the car virtually disappeared.

I had been secretly eyeballing it in prior years as I drove by the bank in my ‘65 Monza 140/4 on my way to high school . I had made inquiries as to the possibility of purchasing the car and got a "We will add your name to the list" type response. So I was pretty devastated when the car showed up at the dealership with a new owner. I decided not to give up on the car and started a years long campaign to convince the owners to sell the car to me.

Every time I had an occasion to talk with the owner’s husband I would ask if they were considering putting the car up for sale. The answer was always, "It’s my wifes car and she isn’t ready to sell it." This process went on and on for years until April of 2002 when I finally heard the response I was waiting for, "You may have asked at the right time, my wife is ready to sell."

Within a month the car was in my garage and that is where my story with the car truly begins. There are some interesting twists to the story and a mystery that no one can answer. I will tell you more later, but you can see the car and talk with me about it because I am driving it from Iowa to Massachusetts for the convention in Sturbridge this summer. See you there.

Jamie Reinhart
CORSA President

Pahk Yah Cah

At every CORSA Convention, volunteers are needed not only from the host clubs but from among the attendees.  Fortunately, the Corvair hobby is populated by generous and willing people who step up and help out.  Sturbridge will be no exception – volunteers are needed and attendees are among those who can help.

We have already been recruiting for Concours judges and other tasks, but today we are seeking volunteers to fill assignments as parking assistants. Parking assistants? Yes – with the hotel already sold out and neighboring hotels nearing capacity, we’re expecting a lot of vehicles. Fortunately, the Sturbridge Host Hotel has a generous number of parking spaces, but even so, traffic needs to flow smoothly and arriving guests need to be able to find their way.

Trailer parking will be at a remote site (see this page for trailer parking information), plus there will be the swap meet, vendor room set-up and more to coordinate. Throughout all this, we anticipate needing two people at Old Sturbridge Village to coordinate trailer parking there, two or three people on the main driveway at the host hotel to direct traffic, and several additional folks directing the display area set-up and related activities.

Tom Russ, the convention’s parking coordinator, is anticipating two-to-four-hour shifts beginning Tuesday, July 24 and extending through Saturday, July 28. Obviously, the more volunteers we have the easier each person’s job will be. Not every location will require constant attention and we’ll be flexible as to when and where help is needed.

Parking personnel will be issued identifiable safety vests plus radios for use while on duty. It is too early to determine specific assignments however Tom will appreciate knowing who is interested and when they can be available, so please contact him here.

A smoothly-operating parking plan with everyone’s help and cooperation will make a great convention even better.

Private Party?

Earlier this year, the CORSA Board of Directors re-affirmed a long-standing policy that limits convention participation to CORSA members (and family) only. The NECC had proposed an alternative that would have permitted non-members to register as guests, but the Board did not approve that idea.

Does this mean, if you are not a member, that you are not welcome? Not at all!

Unlike the sign in the photo that says "Keep Out," this convention will still say, "Come In!"

It has always been true that if you were not a CORSA member, you could join CORSA as part of the convention registration process, thereby gaining access not only to all convention events and activities but to a full year’s worth of CORSA membership benefits.

But this year, as a special incentive for new members, the CORSA Board and the Northeast Corvair Council have agreed to waive the basic registration fee for persons who join CORSA with their convention registration. That’s a savings of anywhere from $35 for an individual registering before June 29 to $50 for a family registering after June 29. That’s a real savings for new members!

At the request of CORSA, certain restrictions apply. For example, you can’t let your membership lapse in January and then re-join in July for the discount. This promotion is for new members and for former members who have been away for at least a year.

But this plan is a great way for all persons to attend the convention and discover the benefits of CORSA membership.

Junior Nation

As part of the convention’s "Corvair Fun Day" on Friday, July 27, convention committee member John Ryall is offering a "Junior Gymkhana" between the hours of 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM.

The Junior Gymkhana is a fun day event for Monza Jr and Chevy Jr go-karts, like the one in the photo. It is not a speed event. Drivers will navigate a series of markers and place tennis balls into buckets along the way.

All Monza Jr and Chevy Jr owners are invited to bring their karts. There will be at least one kart available for public use. It will be fun for all ages. And we do mean all ages – even though the Monza Jr and Chevy Jr go-karts were originally intended for kids, check out this photo:

　
And speaking of kids, here’s a neat photo of a Chevy Jr taken in 1967:

Minimum height for participants is about 50 inches (to reach the pedals). Parents should be prepared to walk along with younger children in order to supervise their driving. A driving certificate will be given to all participants.

The convention’s "Corvair Fun Day" will indeed be fun!

Cruisin' Bruce!

In the photo is our convention's Saturday car show event emcee, Bruce Palmer.

Bruce Palmer isn't your typical DJ.  He's a dyed-in-the-wool car guy and an asset to any car show in southeastern New England. Besides being the morning DJ voice of 100.1 FM, "The Pike", Worcester's #1 morning show, he hosts a different cruise night five nights a week, including the largest cruise night in the northeast (some nights over 2500 cars) held every other Thursday at Patriot Place, next to Gillette Stadium.

Not just that, he's booked up to host and DJ at various car shows and events every weekend through the whole car show season. He takes photos at all his shows and posts them on his website, cruisinbruce.com, each night after each gig. Then he's up before dawn each morning heading from his home in Coventry, Rhode Island, to Worcester for his morning radio show.

Convention deputy chairman Ray Bombardier says, "I honestly don't know when this guy sleeps but he's always on top of his game!"

He’s got a garage full of collector cars, including this uncommon 1959 Plymouth wagon.

Bruce Palmer has been a great friend to all the car clubs in the region through the years, including the Bay State Corvair Club. He's always quick to play Paul Revere & the Raiders' tune, "Corvair Baby" at any show where Corvairs are gathered.

Around New England, if you see that Cruisin' Bruce is hosting an event you know it's going to be first rate. In Sturbridge you'll agree after the first few minutes you hear him.

Support our Supporters!

If you have been to a CORSA convention previously you know that you receive a "goodie bag" at check-in, a package of information and souvenirs.

At Sturbridge, the goodie bags themselves have been donated by Hagerty Insurance, specialists in coverage for classic and collector cars.

Hagerty, however, does more than simply write policies, collect premiums, and settle claims. Hagerty also supports the hobby with programs such as Operation Ignite, the Collectors Foundation, and the Historic Vehicle Association.

Check out all that Hagerty has to offer here.

Support our Supporters!

Best Blast of New Jersey, located in Dover, NJ, was one of the first to get on board with support for the 2012 CORSA Convention.

Members of the New Jersey Association of Corvair Enthusiasts have been utilizing the services of Best Blast for some time now, for media blasting and powder coating.

Note, Best Blast does not do sandblasting. Best Blast is a Media Blasting facility using various types of materials including composite, glass beads, crushed glass, aluminum oxide, granite, sodium bicarb and the newest technique in blasting, dry ice blasting!

Check out Best Blast here.

Tallying the Concours Scores

A message from 2012 convention Concours Coordinator Ken Schifftner:

Interested in working in the Concours scoring room?

You need to able to use a PC and enter numbers within EXCEL. Pay and benefits are identical (i.e., none). But you’ll be in an air-conditioned workplace, with carpeted floors, lake view, restroom, and plenty of cold water to drink.

This is, of course, during the Concours itself, on Friday, July 27. We already have some veterans from prior conventions and need only a few more volunteers to complete the team.

Contact Ken Schifftner here.