2017 Members of the Month


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January 2017 Member of the Month

Tim DeAtley

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Tim DeAtley is the North Central NCRS Member of the Month for January 2017.

Tim is married to Lynda Stewart and they have three children-Justin (32), Nathan (19), and Andrea (16).  They live in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

They joined the chapter about five years ago after relocating to Menomonie.  They had been in clubs for many years and after relocating they wanted to find a club to join.   After talking to Chris Enstrom, they decided this club was a good fit for them as they like to show and learn about these awesome cars.

Tim and Lynda are proud owners for six Corvettes and they love them all like they were their kids.   They have a 1978 Pace Car, 1981 and ‘82 Coupe, 2002 Convertible, 2004 Limited Edition ZO6 and a 2014 Z51 coupe.

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The car Tim would like to highlight is the 1978 Pace car. They are the fourth owners and have been able to talk with every one of the past owners documenting the history with conversations and pictures.  Knowing the history of the ‘78 has added a lot of fun to owning this car. Tim found the ‘78 on eBay as he had found several other cars over the years.  As far as buying a car on eBay, Tim states, “You have to be careful and be willing to walk away.  However, we have had some real good finds there, too.”  The ‘78 pace car has 5,600 documented miles on it.  It is the 12th pace car built serial number 00012. Tim and Laura have been able to achieve top flight with it along with Bloomington Gold Survivor Gold, Gold Certification, Benchmark and Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, Concourse Gold and the Triple Diamond Award.

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For their next project, Tim and Lynda have been considering (being urged by others) to pursue the Bowtie certifications on their 78 pace car.

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February 2017 Member of the Month

Gary and Cindy Detjen

Gary and Cindy Detjen are the North Central NCRS Members of the Month for February 2017.

Gary and Cindy joined NCRS on June 1, 1994, and have really enjoyed their membership experience.  They joined as a result of friends who were also involved in NCRS.

Gary and Cindy live in Prior Lake Minnesota and have two daughters, Molly and Amber.  They also have four grandchildren, Emma, Ben, Jack and Matthew.

They own a beautiful 1978 Silver Anniversary Coupe.  The ‘78 has the L-82 350 engine, B2Z silver anniversary paint, black interior, A31 power windows, AR7 leather bucket seats, C49 rear defogger, C60 air conditioning, FE7 gymkhana suspension, K30 cruise control, M38 automatic transmission, K37 tilt-telescopic steering, UM2 AM/FM stereo 8-track, YJ8 aluminum wheels, and U75 power antenna.

Gary found the car listed in the Sunday Star Tribune want ads.  He test drove the car and purchased it in August 1994 from the second owner, who lived in St. Paul.  The car had only 3,500 miles on it when it was sold to the second owner. When Gary and Cindy purchased the car on August 18, 1994, it had only 18,000 miles on it. Currently, the car just broke 40,000 miles. They have owned the Corvette for 22 years and have averaged 1,000 miles per year.

Gary and Cindy have had the car judged at both chapter and national meets.  NCRS judging activities include:

  • Top Flight Chapter 8/16/14    Grand Total Score 97.9
  • Performance Verification Award Regional 6/15/97
  • Top Flight National 8/8/96     Grand Total Score 97.3
  • Top Flight Chapter 5/4/96      Grand Total Score 98.4

Next Corvette Project:

The car is currently stored for the winter and in the spring Gary will have routine maintenance performed. After that, the car should be ready for Top Flight and Performance Verification Judging.  Gary commented:  “We have had many hours of enjoyment and learned a lot about car restoration and judging.”

Please take a look for their favorite car pictures:

The first picture is of their ‘78 at the Mystic Lake Casino car show.  Dana Forrester, a well-known watercolor artist of cars, used their car as a subject for his “Saturday Morning Wash” painting. Dana’s work can be seen at www.danaforresterart.com, select “gallery” to view images.  The painting is displayed in front of the car.

The second is the Detjen’s favorite picture; which was taken by Russ Field of Vintage Reflections. It was taken at the Woodland Hill Winery in Delano. Russ’s work can be seen at www.photovintagereflections.com.

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March 2017 Member of the Month

Tom Howey

Tom Howey is the North Central NCRS Member of the Month for March 2017. Tom and, his wife of 32 years, Diane, live in Brandon, South Dakota.  They have two grown children, Brian and Nicole.  Brian is 29 years old and lives in Oakland, California and Nicole is 25 years old and is a veterinarian.

Tom is a 200-point-plus level judge. He likes to restore his own cars and even does his own paint. The Howey’s are building a new house and shop in Prescott, Arizona and will be moving there as soon as their house is complete.

They currently own eight Corvettes. They have two 1959’s of which one has been awarded a Duntov.  Tom and Diane also own two 1963’s (a split window fuelie and one roadster), a 1964 air coupe, a 1979 that was awarded a Bowtie, a 1968 convertible, and a 2009 ZR1.

Tom purchased his 1959 Duntov from an insurance company. It was a top flight car that caught fire after restoration from a fuel line leak. He had to replace much of the body with original panels as they were just strands of fiberglass. This was his first attempt at top flight; which eventually lead to the Duntov award. During the process, Tom and his friend, Bob Baird, wrote the ‘58-‘60 restoration handbook. This book is sold through the NCRS website.

Tom’s 1963 split window fuelie was previously owned by one of his friends and Tom tried to buy the car for years.  Then one day out of the blue, his friend called and offered to sell him the car.  Tom purchased the car and restored it.  After completion last summer, the car was awarded Top Flight.

Tom is looking forward to getting into his new shop in Prescott so he can host some tech sessions while he works on his 1968 convertible and 1963 roadster.

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April 2017 Member of the Month

Mike Koffler

Mike Koffler is our March 2017 Member of the Month for NCRS.  Here is what Mike shared…….

My name is Mike Koffler and I live with my wife, Jean, in Bismarck, ND.  I worked in the electrical field for the past 42 years; with the last 27 years being self-employed.  Jean is a retired accountant and loves to golf, run and take care of the yard.

My desire to own a Corvette started back in the 70’s by sitting in a 1962 Honduras Maroon with black interior.  Life was good!  My first Corvette purchase was a Riverside Red 300 HP 64 coupe; which I still have today.  After that came four solid axles, a ‘59, ‘61 and two 62’s, a few sharks, a ‘71, ‘78 and ‘79 and a 2002 C-5.  They all have their own story as to how I ended up purchasing them.

I joined the NCRS years ago due to my hobby of restoring Corvettes.  In 2013, a good friend of mine, Paul Klemetson, took his ‘69 to the NW Chapter meet and I decided to drive down and see what this judging thing was all about.  I was introduced to Chris and Jerome and it was like sitting in the maroon ‘62 all over again.  Life was good!  I knew by their friendly hospitality that this was a chapter I would like to join.

I am currently restoring a ‘59 and look forward to someday bringing it to a chapter meet.  I have met some really good and fun people in the chapter and look forward to meeting more.

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May 2017 Member of the Month

Mike Meirovitz

Mike Meirovitz is the North Central NCRS Member of the Month for May 2017.

Mike is married to Toby and they have two children, Joel (27) and Sandy (22).  They live in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.

Mike is the proud owner of a 1980 Corvette with a Classic White Exterior (10L) with a Claret Cloth and Vinyl Interior (79C). It has an L48 engine. The car has achieved three NCRS Top Flight Awards, Founder’s Ops Check, and earned one Star for the Interior. Currently, the Corvette sits at 40,000 miles; having 31,000 when purchased in 2011. This Corvette was born on Friday, June 20, 1980 in St. Louis, Missouri, the same day the Blues Brothers movie was released in theaters.

Mike has always been a car guy and previously owned an old Firebird, two Porsche’s, five MG’s and one Jaguar.  Owning all of these different cars forced Mike to create a nice workshop with SAE, Metric and British Whitworth spec tools. Mike does nearly all of his own mechanical work and has learned to keep the car in spec for 1980, yet still able to enjoy driving it. The last major projects completed after judging included a monospring, new shocks, new exhaust, rebuild and restore steering components, air conditioning, and this past winter a new dash board, console and restored radio and gauges were installed.

Asked why he joined the North Central Chapter of the NCRS Mike responded, “I love the club members and I have learned so much about my car. The wealth of knowledge I have gained is priceless. I’ve always been into the heritage of my collector cars and the NCRS continues to provide that knowledge.”

When asked to describe how he found and purchased his 1980 Corvette Mike included a very interesting article that he submitted to the NCRS Driveline Article as part of the Founders Award.  The article has been accepted and will be published in about three years.   The article was so well-written that we have attached it to help explain how Mike purchased his car.

Below is Mike’s article….Enjoy!

I bet we have all asked ourselves “if only we could ask the original owner”. The great fun of the NCRS is the detective work and research done by so many brilliant members. They provide us the answers to what and how on our Corvette’s. Once in a while, the puzzle pieces are still with the original owner.

In 2011, my soon-to-be-Corvette was said to have been in storage a very long time, having been bought at a Mecum Auction by a St. Paul Minnesota car dealership owner. The dealership owner planned to keep the car himself as it had only 30,000 miles and was (mostly) original. I heard about the car from a family member, approached the owner of the dealer and a deal was done.

Getting the car home and starting to explore, I found a number of surprises. Lifting the tray out of the jack compartment, I found a very old plastic bag with a stack of paperwork inches thick, all neatly organized. To my surprise, original purchase documents and receipts were there, every insurance card from new to 1999, the PDI forms all filled out and signed, the original water stained sticker, warranty brochures and more. I was so excited finding this treasure trove that I decided to try and contact the original owner with some questions.

According to the sticker, my Corvette was sold by S & R Chevrolet of Mason City Iowa.  Some confusing aspects were the original buyer’s agreement read “Bob Schukei Ford”, the PDI, and receipts were for “Schukei Chevrolet. More on this later…

According to the paperwork, the original owner, David Goetzinger of Mason City Iowa, traded in a 1979 Camaro on August 30, 1980 for the Corvette. An address was listed for David as being in Mason City. The insurance cards from 1980 to 1999 show the car registered in Iowa and later in Minnesota. Thanks to the internet, I began my search for David.

It didn’t take long, I located David and by luck a published company (in Mason City) email address. I sent the “you don’t know me, but I bought the 1980 Corvette you owned for two decades…” email….and by a great surprise, a response!

David was elated to hear from me.  We emailed and chatted back and forth and decided to get together while I was trailering the Corvette to the Kansas City NCRS National. David arranged a meeting place; which was the original dealership, Schukei Chevrolet in Mason City, Iowa.

As I pulled into Mason City, I called David to let him know I’d be at the store shortly. When I pulled up to the dealership, a number of dealership employees were milling about and saw the car on the trailer and came over. Not a minute later, the thundering sound of Harley pulling in and by the ear-to-ear smile of the rider, I knew this was David. It was like meeting a long lost brother!

After meeting David, I met his gracious and excited family who came to the reunion. The dealership employees were so excited and friendly, each coming over to meet us and take pictures. The wonderful, welcoming owner of the dealership, Steven Schukei greeted all of us and took the time to talk and fill in some blanks.

In 1980, Steven’s father, Robert, owned the local Mason City Ford franchise and had just purchased a Chevrolet franchise. Steven became the GM of the new dealer, Schukei Chevrolet. The dealer’s printed paperwork was still in transition when David bought his new Corvette, so some documents have the “Ford” letterhead. S & R Chevrolet listed on the Monroney Sticker is Steven and Robert. Robert Schukei gave the Ford dealership to his long time business partner in 1980 according the Schukei Chevrolet website.

The fun really started when David went through the Corvette answering some questions:

  • When the Corvette was new, someone tried to break into the car via the T-Tops, breaking the glass. The only replacements tops in Mason City were for a 1981 Corvette. This answered the T-Top question on why the glass tops are not correct in color and date for a 1980!
  • David wanted a better sounding exhaust, so when the car was still fairly new, he proceeded to the local muffler shop and replaced everything from the Cat back with 1980 “Turbo” Mufflers and a “test tube” in place of the converter. Later, he added an aftermarket Cat.
  • During the time he owned the Corvette, David had a very high end Panasonic Cassette Deck professionally installed. He noticed right away that I had carefully replaced the Panasonic Deck with a period correct Delco AM/FM Stereo, per the original specifications.
  • There were a number of receipts from Chevrolet Dealers for carburetor work. David said there were some choke issues and rough running over the years that were eventually sorted out. This solves some of the differences in stampings and actual parts on the carb noted by my late friend and the greatly missed Ken Sleeper.
  • David said a right rear tire blowout damaged some of the body work so this would account for inconsistent paint color that Ken noticed.
  • Ken Sleeper had noted the front and rear bumper paint inconsistencies early in my ownership. David confirmed what Ken knew exactly, the front nose and rear bumper were taken off and repainted frequently under Chevrolet warranty and then out of warranty. David mentioned the paint would fade quickly on the urethane panels!

In many ways, a 1980 Corvette is still fairly new only a few decades old. The 1980 was part of the well know “malaise” era, with the EPA and auto manufacturers playing tag. Consumers still wanted a Corvette and that Corvette became part of their lives — just the same as a now more collectable Corvette from the 1950’s, 1960’s or 1970’s. If all our original owners knew then what we know now. To GM they were cars, meant to be driven and enjoyed, then sold and a new one bought to repeat the cycle.

I am lucky that the first owner made this car his own for nearly two decades, enjoyed his time with it, and now it is in my charge to enjoy.

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June 2017 Member of the Month

Dale Anderson

Dale Anderson is the North Central NCRS Member of the Month for June 2017.

Dale is married to Denise and they live in Ham Lake, Minnesota and have three grown children, Julie, Kristie and Jason.  They also have three grandchildren, Avery, Alex and Cole.

Corvette(s):
Dale’s current Corvette is a 2008 C6 Convertible Jetstream Blue exterior with Black interior. It has a LS3 motor with 430 hp with only 8,000 miles on the odometer.

History of Your Corvette:
Dale had been looking for a low mileage, C6 Jetstream Blue convertible for two yrs. At one point, a dealer told Dale that he would be looking a long time for a low miles C6 Jetstream Blue convertible and strongly recommended that he buy the 2008 Silver convertible that he had in stock. Dale told him that he was going to keep looking for a Jetstream Blue convertible for as long as it takes!  In June of 2016, while recovering from open heart quadruple by-pass surgery, a dealer called Dale with a tip that his dealer friend in St. Cloud had just acquired a 2008 Jetstream Blue, low miles, convertible. The dealership had just taken it in on trade for a new Camaro. He called the dealer right away and the dealer said that they had only had the car for three hours. Dale’s surgeon had just cleared him to drive so, he told the dealer that he would be there in an hour. When he saw the car, he knew it was exactly what he was searching for and bought it immediately.

Next Corvette Project:
Dale recently sold his NCRS Top Flight, Bloomington Gold Certified, Gold Spinner Award, Triple Crown 1960 Red convertible Corvette. He is currently looking for a ‘58 to ‘67 Corvette for his next restoration project.

North Central Chapter:
Dale has been a member of the North Central Chapter since 1998.  He really enjoys the Tech Sessions.

Dale at World of Wheels

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July 2017 Member of the Month

Pete Jungenberg 

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Corvette(s):

Pete owns a 1954 Corvette Roadster #3848 Sportsmen Red with soft top and after-market hardtop. The car is unrestored with 67,000 miles, original engine, Blue Flame 6-cylinder with three Carter side draft carbs and a two speed Powerglide automatic transmission.  He also has a 1987 Corvette convertible.  This car has somewhat high-mileage and is used as a daily driver for 7-8 months of the year.

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Here is Pete’s letter:

History of Your Corvette:

In 1964, my brother-in-law, David Smith, purchased this 1954 Corvette from a dealer in Milwaukee. I was 14 years old at the time and thought he was the coolest brother-in-law ever — never imagining that I would someday own it.  In 1970, he parked it in front of his house in White Bear Lake with a sign taped to it “$2,000,” but no one would give him that much for it.  In 1971 he offered it to me for $1700, but being a senior in college at the time I said “I don’t have $1,700.”  He said, “How about you give me $100 a month when you get a job?” Ok, sold! It will be a fun car around campus for my final year at UW-Stevens Point: and it was.

In 1971, I got a job with the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad in the Twin Cities.  I drove the old Corvette to work-sometimes leaving it in railroad yards all night even though you couldn’t lock it.  In the late ’70s, I began to realize this old Corvette was increasing in value.  With traffic getting busier, auto theft and crime rates increasing, I began to drive it a lot less.  After having some minor mechanical problems in 1980, I parked it in my garage in Burnsville, covered it up and planned on getting back to it “later.”   Working long hours and having a boat on the St. Croix River at Hudson, “later” turned into over 30 years.

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I am now retired and live in the hills and woods just outside of Menomonie, WI with Kendall and our three cats.  A neighbor in Menomonie helped and encouraged me to get this car back on the road.  So in 2014, we took a trailer and went to Burnsville and brought it back.  It was kind of like a “barn find” at this point. I was the only one who had the garage door opener for the townhouse where it was stored. The most major problems after the many years of not running or moving was with the fuel system, getting the gas tank clean, carbs rebuilt and a little brake attention.  Other gremlins would surface from time to time, but we have it running fairly well now.  Many thanks to my neighbor, Fred Till, Without all of his help it would not be on the road now.  New original tires from Coker make it feel safer to drive. The 44-year-old tires, although good tread and not weather-checked, just had to go.

I’ve taken it to some local car shows over the last couple of years.  It does draw a lot of attention and often gets awarded a trophy.  On May 20, 2017, it was judged at the North Central Chapter judging meet in River Falls. I learned a lot about the car-what is original and what is not.  It received 76.9 % of the points for a Third Flight award.  I was pleased that my brother-in-law, David Smith (who bought the car in 1964 and sold it to me in 1971) was able to attend the judging, meet some of the members and see the car again.  The boys standing next to the Corvette (in the picture next to the brick house) are his sons (my nephews).  This picture was taken in 1972. The Corvette is virtually unchanged today, although the boys are now ages 50 and 54.

I plan on just keeping the car original as is, maintaining it for safe operation, driving and enjoying the old Vette.  Of course, I’ll try to make improvements to the originality and acquire the items that are missing.  However, as far as getting it judged again, it may be too costly to gain the number of points necessary for the next flight level, but I’m keeping my options open.  Since it has been a part of the family for over 53 years, logically my desire is for future generations to keep in our family.  I have no plans to sell it.

I joined the North Central Chapter in 2015 after getting my ’54 Corvette out of 30+ years of storage knowing that I would need some advice, opinions, and help, etc.  I enjoy meeting like-minded people with similar interests.  So far, everyone in the North Central Chapter has been just great.

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August 2017 Member of the Month

Larry Stauffacher  

Larry is single and lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  He has one son named Chad; who lives in Land O’ Lakes Florida and works as a Mechanical Engineer.

Corvette(s):

Larry has owned his 1962 Roman Red Corvette since July 1984. It has a 327/340 HP motor, 4-speed transmission with 3:70 posi-traction rear end and is a hard top only car.

Here is Larry’s letter:

I was looking for a 1957 Chevy Belair to purchase. I had found one, but when I called the guy, it was already sold. I also happen to tell Rich, at the gas station, that I was looking for a Belair.  Rich had two mid-year Vettes and told me about the ’62 and that the guy would not sell it.  Turns out, I knew the owner, Roger; who lived here in Sioux Falls. I went to see him and the car the next day.  We talked and then his wife said they should keep it for their daughter. Well, I offered him $4,000 cash, but he turned it down.  I called him the next day and offered him $5,000 and he said, “come and get it.”  When I bought the car it was painted gold, had four different size tires on it, a Hurst shifter that barely moved, mag wheels and was jacked up.  Roger’s dad stopped by and said to be careful because “the faster you go the more it goes toward the ditch!”  The motor had been changed to one from a ’65 Chevelle and he removed the 2-1/2″ exhaust manifolds and put them on the company truck after he cut off the overflow tank and generator mounts. He also had the irons and material for a convertible top.

After I got it home, the first thing I did was check the right front suspension. I found that the upper shaft was wore half way through because of no grease. Then I removed the passenger seat and found the car was originally painted Fawn and was a hard top only car. Back then, you could check on previous owners and I found that the car was originally owned by a guy from Riverside, California.  It also turned out the ‘62 had six previous owners.

Shortly after that, in November 1984, I took the car apart. I did the complete chassis first. Then, in November of 1993, I painted the car with five coats of Roman Red and then five coats of clear. This was my first paint job!

I have owned several other Covettes thoughout the years, a new 1991, used 2001, used 1966 air coupe, a used 2004 ZO6 Commemorative Edition and a new 2009 ZO6. I plan on keeping the ’62 and have no plans for another Vette. I can drive my ‘62 anywhere.

I joined the national NCRS first, member #7706, and joined the North Central Chapter later on when I met Tom Howey.  I don’t recall when that was.

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September 2017 Member of the Month

Harvey Burski

Family:

Harvey is married to Judy and lives in Duluth, Minnesota.  He has two grown children, Suzanne and Paul, and also has three grandchildren.

Corvette(s): 

Harv has owned nine Corvettes in this lifetime, including six C1’s, one C2, one C3 and one C4.   Many of Harv’s friends owned Corvettes in their college years and Harv caught to Vette bug.  His first Corvette was a ‘62 Red on Red Roadster; which he purchased in 1965 for $2,500.  Harv purchased this car as a work car and even took it deer hunting.  He drove the Vette for three years and was able get this $2,500 back when he sold it in 1968.

Harv’s current Corvettes are both Roadsters — one is a Black with Red 1962 and a Red on Red 61 Fuel injected Roadster.  His wife, Judy, owns a 1990 White with Red Coupe.

History of your Corvette:

Harv purchased his ‘61 Corvette at a Police Auction about 10 years ago.  The car was painted 1958 Charcoal Gray with a Silver side cove.  The car had a painted dash instead of the traditional dash pad. When he purchased the car, the Fuel Injection was missing and original 283 has been replaced by a 327. He contacted previous owner and found the car had been stolen while he was serving in the military in the late sixties.  When the car was recovered, the engine and many other parts were missing.  The owner’s father sold the car shortly after it was recovered.  The owner wasn’t even aware the car was an originally Fuel Injected car as it had been removed before he owned it.  Harv found the correct 283 engine block and heads and also purchased a 61 Fuel Injection unit; which he restored himself.  He spent five years working on the car and had it painted Roman Red with a White side cove.

Your next project on your Corvette:

Harv has no plans for any further projects with his Corvettes other than keeping them driving.  He plans on just driving and enjoying the cars.  Harv and Judy attend weekly car shows in the Northland and really enjoy driving their Corvettes.

Harv joined NCRS in the early 1980’s and was fairly active in the club. He has been attending tech session of C1 cars since he sold one of this cars to his son 10 years ago.  He really enjoys learning about Corvettes and tries to do all the work on his cars.  He needs his garage time in the winter and the tech sessions are great way to share information on “how to restore many parts on our Corvettes.”

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October 2017 Member of the Month

Jay Kleinjan

Family:

Jay is married to Delores and lives near Fargo, North Dakota.  They had been married for 35 years and have two sons: who are in there 20’s.

Corvette(s):

Jay’s Corvette is a Daytona Blue 1963 Split Window Fuelie Coupe.  The car has a four-speed transmission, knock-off wheels and is all numbers matching.

History of your Corvette:

Jay’s ‘63 was purchased by the original owner in Fresno California in 1963.  He acquired his Corvette in 2012.  He is the third owner and he purchased the car from a very close friend of his father.  The 2nd owner purchased the car from Harrah’s auction in Las Vegas.  He put only 200 miles on the car in 1973 and it sat in his shop unused until they pulled it out of storage when Jay bought it in 2012 – which was 39 years!

Your next project on your Corvette:

Jay had the fuel injection unit rebuilt by Jerry Bramlett and the car now “Runs like the wind.”  Jay has no plans for any further projects other than driving it on very special occasions.

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November 2017 Member of the Month

Jim Keck 

Jim Keck is the North Central Member of the Month for November 2017. Jim is married to Janet and they have five children. Eric Berg, Leif Berg, Jenny Bryant, Peter Berg, and Jamie Keck.

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Jim owns a 1970 Malboro Marooon with black interior Corvette.  The car has T-Tops, LS5(454/390 Hp),Air Conditioning, Tilt/Telescoping steering column, Power Steering,Power Brakes,Power Windows,  AM/FM Stereo, and Turbo Hydra-matic Transmission.

Here is Jim’s letter:

HISTORY

In the summer of 1970, I had been looking for a “Big Block” Corvette with little luck through a local dealer.  Traveling back from a wedding in Illinois, I decided to checkout some larger dealerships.  On the 3rd or 4th stop, I found two candidates at Rapids Chevrolet in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Th first car was a Yellow convertible and the second car was a Maroon T-Top.  Neither had a 4-speed, but I had the bug and $7,000 later… part of which was a ’68 Barracuda with a 383 stick, we drove home in the T-Top.

The next couple of summers, I traveled to Oklahoma and Montana for some wrestling camps.  Since most state speed limits had been reduced to 55 mph soon after I purchased the car, I was anxious (and pleased) to test the validity of the 160 mph speedometer on the open stretches of the plains and mountain state interstates; which had no restrictions and no traffic for miles.  Yes, 160 was easily obtained and there was even an additional performance beyond 160.  But, I was uncomfortable about anything more-so a quick punch of the accelerator to see what was left and a quick descent back to sane, safe, and down to a reasonable speed.  Other than these two thrilling tests, I’ve used discretion about my proximity to speed limits and safe driving and was never again over the century mark.

Autocross events offered exciting alternatives in the early 2000’s.  After a few trophies and many great thrills, I realized that would be hard on the car and be susceptible to accidents.  Since I had kept the car in extremely good condition and had driven more sensibly (avoiding any accidents), I decided not to tempt fate any longer.  The originality and one ownership status of the car was increasing it’s value, so the Autocross events had to stop.

With 115,000 mi of pure pleasure under the belt, a new adventure was pursued.  I choose to “Evaluate” how original the car was, and being the only owner, I was sure little had been done to it to not be able to meet NCRS expectations.  So your NCRS North Central Chapter event in May of 2015 was our first try.  We drove the car up to be judged without changing a thing and got a 2nd Flight @ 92.3%.  Next, we switched the Mag wheels with radial tires back to the original wheels with new Wide Ovals, the JC Penny battery traded in for an AC Delco, numerous nuts & bolts were exchanged for original equipment types, and we bored the block 0.030″ (because a pan gasket replacement exposed some unwanted filings.)  With that done, we drove to Galena, IL. in August 2017 for their Chapter “Shut Down” event.  Two of the judges were in the process of producing the new ’68-’72 C3 manual.  One of them discovered two unknown things about C3’s; which our car could confirm for him.  This judge was like a little kid in a candy shop excited about the find, taking photos for the manual, and telling all the other judges of his discovery.  In the end (including the drive to Galena,) we received enough points to earn a Top Flight @ 99.3%.

In May 2017 we drove the car to Newton, Iowa for the NCRS Heartland Regional.  This time exchanging the carbon fiber rear spring with a factory purchased spring (bought in the 70’s by a Colorado NCRS judge, but never used) and a few minor consumables, we earned another Top Flight @94.3%.  The real fun of this event (beyond the judging) was track time on the NASCAR sanctioned facility.  The Radials would have been nice (instead of the Bias Plys), but we managed to keep it off the wall in spite of some drifting.  A very valuable C2 did not do so well, putting both ends of his highly modified race version (which was Duntov endorsed) into the wall.

The other unique (and rather significant) thing the judges of both Galena and Newton found interesting was a mall parking lot incident that happened the 2nd year we had the car.  I had parked the car as far from other cars as possible, oftentimes on the perimeter.  Checking the lot traffic occasionally, it appeared to be getting too busy to stick around.  On my way to the car, from a second floor vantage point, I noticed a car backing very close to ours.  It stopped, a lady got out, walked to the back, returned to her car and left.  Assuming this to not be good, I ran to our car to discover a minor bump to the left front bumper.  I could see that the lady was stuck in some traffic, so I attempted to catch her.  The pursuit became too much of a risk and I gave up on it.

What the judges liked best about this incident was that I was young and could hardly afford insurance (especially “Corvette” insurance with an accident claim), so I have never repaired the minor damage.  The good part about that was that, except for the consumables, the ORIGINALITY of the car has been PRESERVED!

NORTH CENTRAL CHAPTER

I want to thank the “North Central Club” for starting me on the NCRS judging path.  At that first event, I was treated extremely well.  Arriving early, I was able to wash the car and store it before the next day’s event.  Because of the overwhelming reception, I was encouraged to continue with further evaluation of the car.  It is only because it is 200 miles to a meeting (and the miles have become more important) that I have not made many of the events.  However, seeing a familiar North Central face or two at the Newton and Galena events was great.  I also enjoy the newsletter and reading about what’s happening in the Chapter.

NEXT PROJECT

Lastly, due to lack of funds and facilities to pursue further judging and more prestigious awards that apparently this car has a potential for, I’m looking for a Collector/Restorer to carry this Big Block Original down that path you started us on.  I advertised the car a few years ago, but was immediately interrupted to make the car right with respect to the engine and rear spring and then, of course, the numerous consumable items that turn up in the examination during repairs and in the judging process.

That old advertisement can still be viewed on line at:  lxxvet.blogspot.com  or  lxxvette.weebly.com

Thanks to all you NCRS members for what you do,

Jim Keck

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December 2017 Member of the Month

Bill Kohl

Bill Kohl is the North Central NCRS Member of the Month for December 2017.

Bill is married to Stephanie and they live in Plymouth, Minnesota, and have two grown children, Bill and Heather.

Corvette(s):

Bill’s Corvette is a Black 1978 L 48 Coupe with Oyster interior. The car has an automatic transmission, power locks, power windows, power steering, rear defrost, air conditioning, cruise control and sport mirrors.

History of Your Corvette:

Before realizing it was not in his budget, Bill wanted a C2 Corvette. Bill stated “Once the hard hand of reality smacked me, I focused on C3’s.” He really didn’t know much about Corvettes and did a lot of research online. Bill looked at many C3’s and narrowed it down to what he could afford. This ended up being 1978-1982.  Bill looked at many over the years and never really felt he was seeing “the one.” However, in 2006, he found a 1978 Coupe and purchased it.  Bill thought the car was in pretty good condition. After buying the car, he realized he talked himself into this car, rather than seeing the big picture. Since “taking the plunge”, Bill has been maintaining the Corvette for years. Now that his children are out on their own, Bill and Stephanie have had more time to work on the car and make it the way they want it.  They enjoy driving it around town and taking trips with it.

Next Corvette Project:

Bill just picked up the car from having the windshield rust repaired and the windshield replaced. The interior was gutted to accomplish this. They are looking hard at having the car repainted. Of course, that would not happen until the spring of 2018. This winter, Bill plans to drop the differential to exchange the stub shaft as there is a lot of movement. He also plans to maintain and upgrade the Corvette when possible.

North Central Chapter:

Bill joined the North Central NCRS chapter in 2007. Since Bill never worked on cars, he knew he would need a lot of help. That is where the NCRS came in. If it had not been for the North Central Chapter, he doubts he would still have a Corvette today. Bill and Stephanie’s long-term plan for their Vette is to drive it through the lower 48 states and as many provinces as they can.

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