Yes, it’s over, it’s a wrap, the end, close the cover, it’s done, there ain’t no mo’.

The 2012 CORSA convention at Sturbridge germinated in a conversation between two individuals, was planted in a wintertime meeting, and sprouted forth when the member clubs of the Northeast Corvair Council united behind the idea.

The convention then came to full flower through the efforts of a core group of volunteers from those clubs and with the support and participation of Corvair enthusiasts from literally around the world.

The convention’s tagline, An American Revolution, was meant to acknowledge not only the historic New England setting and not only the innovative Corvair, but also the desire to do it differently.

From the beginning, the NECC's convention organizers sought to "re-invent" what a CORSA convention might be, from a schedule that was a day shorter (to save everyone money) to new activities (such as the Slow Drag Races) to awards presentations during the week (to make room at the closing banquet for a guest speaker).

We maintained an informative web site and we created this blog, to disseminate convention information beyond the printed pages of the CORSA Communique.

The intent was not only to try to be fresh and innovative, but also to convey a message that not all conventions need to be cookie-cutter copies of those that have gone before. Naturally, not everything was perfect, but by all the important measures – attendance, finances, and member feedback – the 2012 Sturbridge convention was a success.

While we are planning no additional posts to this blog, the blog itself is not going away. The blog will remain online as a digital souvenir of the 2012 convention for quite some time to come. If a need to post news and updates arises, we will add them to the bottom of this post.
But we ask that you take a few moments to look once again at the list of convention sponsors shown in the right-hand column of this blog page. We won’t say that the convention would not have been possible without them, but without them the convention would have been far less successful. Each of these businesses and organizations deserves your thanks and your support.

For those of you who attended the 2012 convention in Sturbridge, we sincerely hope that you had a good time. For those of you not able to attend, we hope that you have enjoyed experiencing the convention vicariously through this blog. For everyone, on behalf of the Northeast Corvair Council, its member clubs, its convention committee, and the Corvair Society of America, we thank you.

We Get Letters

Convention Chairman Brian O’Neill received the following note recently:

I was at the [Sturbridge Host Hotel] last week and everyone was talking about what a great event you guys put on! I'm really good friends with the chef and he couldn't stop talking about your show. I'm glad everything went well. Sorry I couldn't be there to see it come together. Take care. I hope our paths cross again one of these days.

Best Wishes, Bill Trzpit

Bill Trzpit was the manager at the Sturbridge Hotel Hotel before taking a position at the University of Massachusetts earlier this year.
　
And Convention Deputy Chairman Ray Bombardier received this note:

I enjoyed talking at the dinner and speaking with all the Hemmings' readers – I had a blast. And the car show was spectacular. You guys put on a great convention.  Please extend my gratitude to the other members of your club.

Regards, Richard Lentinello

Richard Lentinello is the Editor-in Chief at Hemmings Motor News and was our guest speaker at the convention banquet. His talk was riotously funny and highly entertaining.

How Many?

One of the goals of the Northeast Corvair Council when planning the 2012 CORSA Convention was to amass one of the largest gatherings of Corvairs, if not the largest, in one place since the cars left the factory all those years ago.

We believe that we have succeeded. The numbers have been crunched, by both CORSA Executive Secretary Harry Jensen and NECC data guru Al Lacki, and they agree: The total number of individual Corvairs officially registered for the convention was 200 on the nose!

We are aware that there were additional Corvairs on site at times, typically driven to the convention by owners who visited for a short time but who did not register. So we are comfortable saying that the total number of Corvairs that gathered at Sturbridge was more than 200, but 200 is the official count.

One can’t just look at the event registration numbers, which were 154 for the Car Display, 72 for the Road Rally, 56 for the Autocross, and 54 for the Concours, and add them up. Because an individual Corvair could be entered in any one, two, or more of these events, the registration database was mined to identify each distinct vehicle. Further, the Road Rally allows conventioneers to participate in a non-Corvair if they choose, so those cars have been excluded from the tally.

Similarly, the total number of people in attendance is not simply the sum of individual and family registrations. The official number of attendees is equal to the number of name badges issued, which at Sturbridge was 794.

Just as there were Corvairs on site whose owners did not register, there were additional Corvair owners who visited without their Corvair and without registering. So we know that the total attendance during the convention was substantially greater than 800. But the 794 name badges issued is the official attendance figure.

These numbers for cars and people is an outstanding result when the focus is an automobile that last rolled off the assembly line more than 43 years ago. Enthusiasm for the Corvair remains healthy!

Car Display Awards

At the Sturbridge convention, the peoples' choice awards for the Saturday "Car Display," the big Corvair car show seen in the photo at the top of this blog, were framed color certificates intended to be different from the traditional-style trophies presented to the participants in the formally-judged Concours held the day before.

We freely admit, these awards were inpired by similar awards we had seen at another group's big annual car show.  But when a sudden heavy rainstorm caused the awards presentation to be moved hastily from the front of the hotel to a hallway inside, not everyone got to see what these awards looked like.  Here are representative samples:

Concours RESULTS

The results of the Sturbridge Concours d'Elegance are now posted on the convention web site, here.  Just scroll down the page slightly to get to the links for the results for not only the concours but for the other events, too!

The photo above shows just a portion of the concours field, which was the lawn alongside Cedar Pond on the north and west sides of the Sturbridge Host Hotel.  The photo below was taken from one of the guest rooms on the second floor of the hotel.

As you can see the weather was overcast but the sun popped out from time to time and only a light drizzle fell for just a few minutes near the end of the judging.

2012 Convention T-Shirts Available

UPDATE:  The deadline has now passed for ordering a T-shirt -- sorrrry!

Didn't get a convention T-shirt? Due to popular demand, 2012 CORSA Convention T-shirts sold out during the convention itself. But there's good news: More are now available. Each shirt is made-to-order, so this is a limited-time offer. Order before September 1st to ensure that you don't miss out.

The shirts are gray, not white, with the convention logo on the front. Despite how lovely Angelina Jolie looks in the sample shown above, the real shirts (and the real people who wear them) look like this:

How to Order:  Convention Chairman Brian O’Neill is handling T-shirt order fulfillment. To order yours, e-mail Brian here with your size and quantity. Price is $25 each which includes standard shipping. Payment can be made by check or money order and Brian will confirm your order and provide the address to which your payment should be sent.

By the way, if you paid for a shirt at the convention but have not yet received it, please confirm your order. Brian has a list and he wants to be sure we don't miss anyone.

Also available is the convention dash plaque, for just $2.50 each postpaid.  Just tell Brian how many to add to your T-shirt order.

And – thanks to everyone for your support!

Road Rally RESULTS

The results of the Road Rally have been posted on the convention web site, here.  On that page just scroll down slightly to find the link to the results of the Rally and other events.

In this photo, taken near the Quabbin Reservoir along the Road Rally route,

we see (left to right) new CORSA President Jason Cesana, and

Sharon & Chuck Leonard.  That's Chuck's 1964 Monza convertible.

24-Door

Here is a unique photo taken at the convention, a view straight through three "8-door" Corvair 95 models, a Greenbrier, a Corvan, and waay back there, another Greenbrier.  (Click the photo for an enlarged view.)

Corvair vans were "6-door" vans, two front doors, two right-hand cargo doors, and two rear cargo doors.  That is, unless the buyer selected the optional left-side cargo doors to create what we know as the "8-door" models.

If you open every door on an 8-door van there is hardly any van left!

Model Car Concours RESULTS

The results of the Model Car Concours have been posted on the convention web site, here.  Scroll down slightly to find this and other results.

Phabulous Photo Slideshow

Dave Silvia, from Bay State Corvairs has posted an outstanding set of convention photographs on his Flickr page.  Check 'em out here, and be prepared to have the time slip away as you are drawn in to the convention experience.

Bruce and the Corvairs

Cruisin Bruce, the daily morning show host DJ on "The Pike," 100.1 FM in New England, was our guest DJ for the Saturday car show and he did a great job.

He also took photos, such as the one above, and posted them on his web site, CruisinBruce.com.  Want to see 'em?  Just click this link and scroll down to the "International Corvair Convention" photo group.  Bruce Palmer does more than 100 car shows each year and adds new events to the web site regularly, so you may have to scroll down through a few more recent shows to find the Corvairs.

Bruce is a die-hard "car guy," owning several collector cars, participating in as many car shows as his schedule will allow, and driving to his gigs in vintage cars, such as the Mercury Comet station wagon he used to come to Sturbridge.

200 Corvairs

For Saturday’s big car show, by mid-morning the number of Corvairs in the Sturbridge Host Hotel parking lot was 184, with more still on the lawn alongside the lake and some in the general parking area -- and more were coming in!  Eventually, audits will be done, the census bureau will send canvassers into the field, and we’ll have a final number. But for now, the official tally is Wow Look At All The Corvairs!

Here’s what it looked like at one point:

New England DJ Cruisin' Bruce did a great job with the tunes, the vintage commercials, the announcements and the awards, and the Sturbridge Host Hotel nicely put a refreshment stand alongside the show. Mother Nature did her part by holding back the rain until all was over except the awards presentation, which was moved indoors when the skies opened at 3 PM.

How Slow Can You Go?

One of the games during Friday’s "Corvair Fun Day" at Sturbridge was the Slow Drag Races. The Slow Drags joined the Back Seat Driver and the Junior Gymkhana as entertaining participatory diversions during Concours judging.

And "entertaining" certainly described the Slow Drags! Just like any drag race, two cars lined up side-by-side and at the drop of the flag the object was to GO! Except that, in this event, the object was to go as slowly as possible! Each car had to begin moving, no shopping allowed, no use of the brakes, no riding the clutch.  Just how slowly will the car idle along?  Which car will cover the least distance in 30 seconds?

Generally speaking, the manual-transmission vehicles "lost" to the Powerglide cars, although this was not an absolute. Bill Garrison’s air-conditioned Powerglide-equipped convertible was a rocket, while John Nickel kept retarding the timing in his stick-shift Greenbrier until it was a snail.

Brian O’Neill suffered a DQ when his car stalled as he tried to ease it off the line, and for one run Larry Schmul had the "handicap" – it was really a benefit – of full load of people in the back of his Rampside.

There were matchups such as US vs Canada, Young vs Old, Early Model vs Late Model, and more. Doug McIntosh deployed an umbrella to try to slow the car in which he was riding. Two members put their mobility scooters to the test on the course. Doors were opened and shoes were dragged on the ground. Absolutely no prizes were awarded and the decisions of the judges were capricious, arbitrary, and final.

Still, distances were measured and the results are in:

For the slowest Corvair, the car covering the least distance in 30 seconds, Third Place went to Jefferson Alcott of Dayton, Ohio, driving a 1962 Monza sedan. Jefferson went 158 feet 2 inches.

Second place was taken by John Nickel from the North Carolina Mountain Corvairs club, in his 1964 Greenbrier. John crept 157 feet six inches.

But the winner, covering a mere 148 feet 1 inch, was Howard Horne of the New Jersey Association of Corvair Enthusiasts, who borrowed Tim Schwartz’s 1963 Powerglide-equipped Greenbrier camper to claim the minimalist victory.

At the other end of the spectrum, driving the Corvair that blasted to the greatest distance in 30 seconds, was Wisconsin’s Linda Dahl. Linda held on as her car went some 337 feet!

Our thanks to the Pensylvania husband-and-wife team of Joe and Helen Maurella for putting together the Slow Drag Races for us.

The Need For Speed

On the FastVairs Yahoo group, Seth Emerson provided a summary of the convention autocross which we present here:

Dave Clemens did, indeed, take the FTD. There were three other cars in his class, Norm Latullippe was a second+ back, driving Bob Peplow's car, Bob was third, John Egerton fourth. Dave really wowed the field, a very impressive win.

The fastest V8 car, in Street Mod-2, was Dave Button, in a nice street Crown car. Kevin Wilson’s Corvair powered Street Mod-3 car bracketed the V8 car, with Michael Leveque a tenth of a second ahead, and Kevin slightly behind.

Michael's third run of the day included the most impressive "slide" of the day, in turns three & four on the oval. It never did come completely around, but it didn't back into the outside wall either! All four tires were smoking, though! The video is already on YouTube! That is Michael at the wheel, not Kevin. Kevin was shooting the video, heart rate climbing!

In the Stock classes, Mark Aksamit, from Arizona, was the class of the field. He has past racing experience and knows which car to borrow! He was two seconds ahead of any other stock class car, running in SS-3 and in a 110 PG car! None of the 140 4-speeds came close! Larry Tustison took SS-1, Roger Ringerstetter had to beat two Seversons to take SS-2. Philip Levering took SS-4 in his convertible, Phil Raker won SS-5 in his Greenbrier.

Improved Stock was all over the map. IS-3, usually the largest class at the convention, didn't disappoint with eleven entries. Mark Edmonds won the class with a 39 second run with his 140, but Brett Aston with his 110 turned a 38 second run in IS-2! Just behind him was his brother Bryce in the same car. Notably in the IS3 class, Ryan MacLeod beat his father Stewart, a changing of the guard! Allison Stewart took the ladies class IS-3L. Larry Claypool thrashed the family Truckster (Greenbrier) to an IS-4 title. Barb Mee has the IS-4L title.

The fastest Improved Stock car belongs to Terry Stafford and it is an early model! Terry's ‘64 Turbo is a longtime Lime Rock competitor, and is tightly tied down. He lent it to me to drive, however, and I took a couple of seconds off his time in IS-5. Terry's early model was easy to drive, a good thing since I hadn't competed in an early model since 1982! His turbo motor was really dialed in and was fun and rewarding to drive!

For reference, however, removable steering wheels should always be checked for full installation tightness before getting out on course. Please just take my word for it!! And don't ask!

Except for the humidity and a "warmish" outside temps, weather was not a factor at the convention. And the weather gods actually smiled deeply on the Autocross competitors. The Autocross day was absolutely perfect. Sunny, warm and rain free! The Stafford Speedway was a challenge for both power and handling, and you could envision yourself driving the oval track in a fast car with the safety needed for the Corvair Convention competitor, some of whom are novices at this racing thing.

Next year, at Western Michigan/Kalamazoo, look for even more racing as the Convention moves to a hotbed of racing. If you didn't make it to Sturbridge, you should have!

Thanks, Seth, and whose car are you planning to borrow in Michigan?

All Business

On Tuesday, July 24, the day before the official opening of the convention, CORSA’s board of directors held its annual meeting in Sturbridge. Jamie Reinhart, the CORSA president, provided the following report:

The meeting started with an update from Brian O’Neill, the 2012 Convention Chairman. He reported that there were 669 convention pre-registrations, the social events were sold out, there had been more than 18,000 hits on the convention blog and that the Fitch Phoenix will be at the convention later in the week.

The talk then turned to future conventions. The 2013 convention in Kalamazoo Michigan, was discussed, and the board has received and reviewed two proposals for the 2014 convention, both of which are in the Central Division. There was also one bid received for an Eastern Division convention in 2015.

Since there are at present nor proposals for a Western Division convention, the Western Division directors will actively seek out a host chapter or chapters for a Western Division convention in 2016.

Website updates were next on the agenda. The new CORSA store is working well and people are buying merchandise. There are upgrades and changes in the works for the website that will be added in the future and work continues on the program for paying applicable fees and updating chapter contacts and chapter membership databases.

There are some new items at the CORSA merchandise table including a new ladies V-neck and Rampside T-shirts.

Officer elections were next and the new CORSA officers are:

President: Jason Cesana
Vice-President: Mike Hall
Secretary: David Dykwell
Treasurer: Frank Regal

The mid year profit and loss statement was reviewed and it was noted that CORSA is in the black, membership has stabilized and it looks good for the rest of the year.

Final discussions concerned the need to find a new membership chairman and to fill a Western Division director vacancy.

Thanks, Jamie, not only for this report but also for your service as CORSA president for the past three years.

Thursday Update

A little late with this update, a convention keeps one busy!

After Wednesday's perfect weather, the forecast for Thursday was for more humidity and spot showers, with a big storm in the evening.  Happily, no rain came during the day and the road rally and other activities took place without disruption.

But the evening forecast necessitated moving the Lakeside Picnic indoors.  Nonetheless, the indoor picnic was a success, and the music provided by Janet & Darrell continued in the hospitality area deep into the evening.

The biig storms bypassed Sturbridge, and now, Friday morning, rain remains in the forecast but the Concours d'Elegance is about to get under way.

That's all for now, but if you'd like to see some photos from the convention, check the Corvair Center Forum and the CORSA Facebook page.

Blog on the Move

In fewer than 24 hours, your blog editor will be on the road to Sturbridge, where we will join more than 650 people who pre-registered for the convention, plus countless more who will register on-site.

But just because we are leaving our desk, the blog will not be going silent. We plan to post updates and photos each day while we are in Sturbridge. So if you can’t be there, check here daily to see what’s going on!

More than 180 individual Corvairs are shown on the pre-registration lists, so it is a cinch that some 200 Corvairs will be there at some point during the week.

Yesterday, Corvair enthusiasts began arriving in Sturbridge. The convention gets a "soft launch" today with CORSA’s annual Board of Directors’ meeting, and on-site registration opens at 3 PM this afternoon. But no formal convention activities are scheduled until tomorrow morning when the Autocross takes place at Stafford Motor Speedway. In fact, since the speedway is right on the way, we plan to make the Autocross our first stop en route to Sturbridge.

See you there!

Take the Phoenix Home

Today we secured the Fitch Phoenix to the trailer for delivery to Sturbridge. (Click the photo for an enlarged view.)

While at the convention, you can not only see this beautiful one-off car in person, you could win one of the Automodello scale models, as detailed in our earlier post here.

(Sorry, you can’t have the real car, we’ll be returning it to John Fitch following the convention!)

And They're Off! ...sort of...

One of the items on the convention schedule is "Slow Drag Races," on Friday between 1:00 and 2:00 PM. It’s part of the convention’s "Corvair Fun Day," but one hour may not be enough time!

If you are not familiar with the concept of slow drag races, it is a two-car straight-line point-to-point race in which the last car to the finish line wins. When the ‘go’ signal is given, each car must begin to move, each car cannot stop, and the driver cannot use the brakes.

What you wind up with is a remarkably fun event in which almost nothing happens! You’ll find family and friends cheering for a car that is making imperceptible progress. You’ll see the "agony of defeat" on the faces of those whose cars idled across the finish line just a little too quickly.

It’s an event that we have stolen shamelessly from other clubs and we’re looking forward to it! Why not enter your car?  If you're not in a hurry...

Time's UP!

Not really. But the time for advance convention registration is now past, so if you have not sent in your registration, don’t do it – just show up!

Registration can be accomplished on-site, beginning at 3 PM on Tuesday and continuing right through 1 PM on Saturday. (The complete schedule of registration hours is on the convention web site, here.)

In only a few days CORSA’s 2012 convention – the 42nd annual convention – will begin. Come be a part of it!