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The Newsletter of the Metro-Long Island Chapter November 2011

Volume 19 Number 4

1994 NASCAR BRICKYARD 400 PARADE & FESTIVAL CAR

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CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

November 2011

By Bill Hermanek

Chairman’s End of the Year Message

What a great year the chapter has had. We have received the Top-Flight award for our chapter for the 7th year in a row. This is a major accomplishment for our chapter and you all should be applauded for the chapter getting this prestigious award. As Chairman I had a great time in office serving all of you, so I am officially submitting my name for re-election in 2012. Also the other board members will be running for re-election. Elections will be De-cember 17th at our Holiday Party at the Larkfield Manor in East Northport. You must attend to vote, so please

send in your reservations for the party as soon as you can. Details about the party are in the newsletter.

We are always looking for donations for the Holiday Party Chinese Auction. As in previous years Allan Blay, Bob Spinnichia, Eileen Zappia and many other chapter members was gracious enough to donate many Corvette re-lated items; hopefully they will come thru again this year. If you have any Vette related items such as die-cast Corvettes signs, posters etc., anything to do with Corvettes will be greatly appreciated. All I ask is that you con-tact me ahead of time so we can make arrangements to pickup the items or if you will bring them the day of the party. This will help out the club’s treasury immensely in the following year. Again we will have a DJ so make sure you bring your dancing shoes and a date for one heck of a good time. Ask the members who went last year

about the great time they had. The Larkfield Manor puts out a first class party for us.

We had 2 fantastic meets this year. The first one was at Exotic Classics in Syosset and the fall meet was again at Wehrmann Engineering in Hauppauge. Both venues will be used next year and the spring meet has been

confirmed for Exotic classics on April 29th, so put that meet on you’re calendar now.

All Chapter events, our photo gallery, and other important information are easily accessible anytime at www.metroli.org. In the past, you were able to reach our website at either www.metroli.com or www.metroli.org. In order to avoid confusion, we recently discontinued the “.com” address so please use www.metroli.org going

forward. Remember to update your “Bookmarks” list too!

I would like to personally thank all of the board members and appointed positions on a job well done this year.

And a special thanks to all the woman tabulators who helped out tirelessly through out the year.

Happy holidays and hope to see all of you at the Holiday party,

Bill Hermanek

ON THE WEB: www.metroli.org

Membership Applications, Upcoming Events, Contact Info

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JUDGING CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

BY CO-CHAIRS: WILLIAM ARMSTRONG—THOMAS COMMONS

JUDGING CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE – October 16, 2011

Co-Chairs: William Armstrong – Thomas Commons

I would like to thank all those individuals that participated in both our recent Judging School on Saturday, September 18th and followed by our Chapter Meet on Sunday, September 19th for their dedication to our hobby. Without Judges, Tabulators and other Volunteers giving their time it would be impossible to have a successful meet. I would also like to thank those car owners who brought out their cars for our members to judge and to appreciate the level of preservation or restoration. And finally I would like to thank Quentin Nieman for providing his home for our Judging School and Mark Wehrmann, owner of Wehrmann Engineering for providing his facility for our Chapter Meet.

The meet held on September 19th provided our Chapter with the opportunity to judge twelve cars. All cars judged received a Top Flight Award. This is the first time in many years that I can recall that all cars entered reached the highest goal. Congratulations go out to the car owners. A list of the judged cars is listed elsewhere in this News-letter.

In recent months I have received numerous inquiries concerning the new NCRS procedure for recording certain additions or modifications with respect to the word “counterfeit” in the NCRS Database. Certain items are recorded such as a car with a reproduction Trim Tag. In addition cars that are judged to have added side exhaust are also entered to alert future judges. A reproduction Trim Tag bars a Corvette from any future judging unless it can be determined that the original tag has been re-installed. Somewhat different is a car with added side exhaust. This car can be judged again however new judges are not to re-judge the side exhaust but automatically deduct all points associated with the non dealer installed exhaust system. New Judges can only judge the exhaust portion again if the under car exhaust system has been reinstalled.

Some of the confusion that has surfaced is misinformation that items related to the engine are being entered into the NCRS Database such as a call against the Pad Surface, VIN Derivative or Assembly Stamping. This information is not entered into the NCRS Database and is only recorded on the Judging Sheets that are returned to the owner. Any future judging of such a car called in these areas is performed new without regard to past judging which typically is unknown to the Judge (unless the new Judge may have judged the car previously at a prior meet). As such many times what fails at one meet may pass at another meet, this is just a fact of our subjective judging procedure in our chosen hobby.

To conclude I hope to see many of you at our upcoming Wine Cruise in November and the Christmas Party in December.

So long for now, Bill Armstrong

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Many Thanks to the following individuals for their

generous contribution to the Wounded Warrior

Project

Stacy Kostis donated $100 from her winnings of the 50/50

James Marino donated a $100 D

Treasurer’s Report: By Frank Erbio

Since my last report back in 2010, our total revenue collected for 2011 so far through 9/30/11 was $7,976.00. On the expense side, we spent a total of $5,758.90. The breakdown of revenue and expenses is listed below. We managed to increase our cash reserves this year mainly because of the Boards com-mitment to offsetting expenses related to both our meets with sponsors donations as much as possible. This was the first year I had one of my cars judged and the experience from “the other side” was quite unique. I have always been a judge, but I must say, I never anticipated the amount of work involved to get my car ready to be judged. It all was worth it when I received a Top Flight award for my 1996 Grand

Sport coupe. I have been your Treasurer for 2 years and would like to continue next year as well. Voting will be at the Christmas Party. Thank you to my fellow Board members who are committed to making our Chapter one of the best. I would also like to thank all the members who partici-pate in our chapter events. It takes a lot of effort to schedule, and coordinate all the events we have so it’s great to see my fellow mem-bers participate and enjoy the passion. Beginning Balance 1/1/11: $6,153.40 REVENUE: Membership Dues $2,835.00 Event Fees 3,215.00 50/50, Auction, Advert. 1,086.00 Merchandise Sales 650.00 Christmas Party 190.00 Total Revenue $7,976.00 EXPENSES: Newsletter Expense $1,099.21 Operations & Planning 781.44 Event Expense 1,898.25 Charitable Contribution 1,000.00 Merchandise Expense 480.00 Christmas Party Expense 500.00 Total Expense $5,758.90 Closing Balance 9/30/11 $8,370.50 ************************************************** **************************************************

Visit: www.metroli.org

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Metro Long Island, Wehrmann Engineering Chapter Meet

Top Flight 1960 Philip Schwartz

Top Flight 1962 Philip Schwartz

Top Flight 1963 William Mehrkens

Top Flight 1964 James Marino

Top Flight 1966 Michael DiFate

Top Flight 1967 Ted Freund

Top Flight 1967 Stanley Grodski

Top Flight 1967 Ronald Hohmann

Top Flight 1967 John Irwin

Top Flight 1967 Lawrence Sachs

Top Flight 1993 Gregg Berry

Top Flight 1996 Frank Erbio

Sportsman 1971 Robert Spinicchia

Sportsman 1967 John Waluk

12 Top Flight and 2 Sportsman

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CO-CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE

November 2011

By Mark Tulley

METRO LONG DUES

METRO membership dues for 2012 are $30 for one year and $50 for two years. A membership form can be found on

the web at MetroLI.org. Send new/renewal membership form w/check to Greg Picconi 59 Union Dr. Merrick, NY 11566.

Greetings -

The end of August brought us Hurricane Irene and Corvettes at Carlisle. The Metro-LI Chapter had the same great booth location, just opposite the stage and grandstand. On Thursday August 25th our Chair-

man Bill Hermanek and I led the caravan to the Carlisle Fairgrounds.

It was one of the best turnouts the Chapter has had at Carlisle. The caravan to Carlisle was uneventful except for the driving rain. Everyone had high expectations for the weekend but Hurricane Irene had different plans for us. With the weather prediction on the Island getting worse, most everyone from the Chapter left for home by Friday night. Many came home only to have to evacuate. We did get to see the 2012 Model Corvette. I personally liked the new Carlisle Blue Color. The Chapter also picked up a new

member. Welcome Corvette Nanny, Lynn Erhardt.

This year is winding down but the Metro Chapter still has some great events planned. The wine cruise is scheduled for November 6th 2011 at the Laurel Lake Vineyard, to raise funds for the Wounded Warrior Project which is one of my favorites. On November 10th we have a Tech Session planned at Benchmark Restorations and on December 17th we have our Annual Holiday Party at the Larkfield Manor. The food is great along with the DJ and the Auction we hold makes the party a very enjoyable night. Remember

come out and support your club.

Hope to see you all there.

Mark Tulley

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For sale: NHRA and NASCAR die-cast cars for sale and some Corvettes. $20.00 each, less if you buy in

quantity.

They cost me $50-$60.00 each.

631-360-1216

bhermanek@arkwin.com

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Special thanks to our Chapter Event Hosts and Sponsors for their continuing support:

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MANY THANKS TO

QUENTIN NIEMAN FOR

HOLDING THE JUDGING

SCHOOL AT HIS RESIDENCE

BEFORE OUR MEET

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Replacing the Battery Trap and Support on a 1962 Corvette.

By Greg Picconi & Richie Larsen

After 49 years the battery tray finally gave out on an unrestored 1962 Corvette. Not bad considering the

car sat outside for a third of its life and then in a garage with a dirt floor for another third of its life. After

the original frame paint deteriorated and wore off Mother Nature and gravity took over.

As you can see in the picture the metal tray for the battery finally

gave way and collapsed onto the supports. After years of corrosion

from battery acid the tray could no longer hold the weight of the

battery. The owner of the car never realized the battery was sitting

on edge until he went to check the oil level before using the car.

The actual process of replacing the tray and support is pretty

straight forward. Once the battery is removed from the car the

remainder of the tray and supports has

to be removed. This can be

accomplished by using a die grinder

with a three or four inch metal cut off wheel. Take some measurements

from the old support so you know where to position the

new support. Slice through the support as close to the

frame as possible (per white arrows) and remove the piece

from the vehicle. Once the tray is removed you have to

clean up the area where you will be welding the new tray

onto the frame. Using the die grinder remove any existing metal from the original battery tray and

supports. Then clean up the metal on the frame where you will be welding

the new support. This is where you will need an extra pair of hands during

the placement of the new piece. Have someone hold the piece in place while

you tack weld it to the frame. If no one is available you can cut a piece of

wood and wedge it between the battery holder and motor to keep it in place.

After tack welding the four mounting points you can follow up and complete

the welds.

I would paint the tray after it is in installed on the car because of the amount of heat generated during

the welding. Just wipe down the metal with a good cleaner and you will be ready to paint the piece. I

would recommend POR 15 as it is much more resistant to chemicals than regular paint. It can also be

applied with a brush which will give you a heavier coat of paint and you don’t have to mask off the

engine compartment if you were going to use spray cans. It is a slow drying coating so the brush marks

will level out and the finish will be very durable. After the coating has dried for a day or two you can

install the battery and you are ready to go for another 49 years.

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# 6

# 2

# 1

Wehrmann September Chapter Meet

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# 7 # 3

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NCRS registered marks used in Metro Lines are NCRS Founders ©,NCRS Master Judge Award ©,NCRS Performance Verification Award©, NCRS Flight Award, ©,and NCRS Sportsman Award ©, are registered with the United States Department of Commerce and Trademark Office. The NCRS American Heritage Award SM application is pending.

Membership in the NCRS is open to persons interested in the restoration, preservation and history of the Corvette produced by Chev-rolet Motor Division of General Motors Corporation. NCRS is not affiliated with Chevrolet or General Motors.

Membership in the Metro Long Island Chapter of the NCRS is open to all members of the NCRS National Organization. Dues are $30 for one-year membership or $50 for two years.

Advertising in the Metro Long Island Newsletter is free to all active members of the Chapter for all Corvette-related items or Corvettes for sale. Commercial advertising rates are $150 per year for an ad up to a full page. Copyright 2001 - 2011 - Metro Long Island Chap-ter, NCRS Inc.

NCRS Metro - Long Island Chapter - Officers 2007

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Chairman 31 Wildwood Lane Home 631-360-1216

Bill Hermanek Smithtown, NY 11787 E-Mail BHermanek@aol.com

Vice Chairman 2 Clearland Ave. Home 516-997-4842

Mark Tulley Carle Place, NY 11514 Work 516-248-1277

Fax 516-877-9528

E-Mail autqipsale@aol.com

Treasurer 12 Tusa Ct. Cell 631-512-3934

Frank Erbio St. James, NY 11780 E-Mail Frankerbio@yahoo.com

Secretary 2 Clearland Ave. Home 516-997-4842

Mary Tulley Carle Place, NY 11514 E-Mail MandMcarleplace@aol.com

Judging Chairman 1 Columbine Ave. Home 631-728-9227

Bill Armstrong Hampton Bays, NY 1194 E-Mail BigTank61@optonline.net

Judging Co-Chairman 431 Port Washington Blvd. Home 516-944-9237

Tom Commons Port Washington, NY 11050 Fax 516-944-308 E-Mail TGCommons@verizon.net

Membership / Merchandise 59 Union Drive Cell 516-528-6005

Greg Picconi Merrick, NY 11566 E-Mail GP133@optonline.net

Newsletter Editor 31 Squirrel La. Cell 516-313-7835

John Waluk Levittown, NY 11756 E-Mail bb701@optonline.net

Web Master Two Doti C. Cell 631-241-6262

Hank DeMartino Huntington, NY 11743 Office 631-368-9657

E-Mail Hank.demartino@verizon.net

ADVERTISING IN THE NCRS METRO-LINES CHAPTER NEWSLETTER

* * * Note: Our rates have not gone up in six years! * * *

Advertising in the SELL-SWAP-WANTED section of the Metro-Long Island Newsletter is free to all active Chapter members. Note: Advertising in this section

is limited to Corvettes and Corvette-related items.

Commercial advertising rates are for a full year, January - December.

These ads do not have to be Corvette-related. They will run in every issue.

Full page - $150 Half page - $100 Business card - $35

Do not send cash; make checks payable to Metro-Long Island NCRS.

E-mail ad (preferred),bb701@optonline.net and mail payment to:

John Waluk

Newsletter Advertising

31 Squirrel La.

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1994 NASCAR BRICKYARD 400 PARADE AND FESTIVAL CAR Article by Tom Commons Pictures By Richard Prince

ON AUGUST 6, 1994, THE INAUGURAL BRICKYARD 400 RACE WAS HELD AT THE WORLD-FAMOUS INDIANAPOLIS MOTOROR SPEEDWAY. THIS WAS THE FIRST NASCAR EVENT HELD AT THE INDIANAPOLIS AND IT DREW A RECORD CROWD OF OVER 300,000 RACE FANS. IN PRIOR YEARS, INDY WAS THE HOST OF ONLY ONE ANNUAL RACE, THE INDIANAPOLIS 500. THE ADDITION OF A SECOND MAJOR RACE AT INDY WAS AN HISTORIC EVENT AND DREW HUGE INTEREST. THE HYPE SURROUNDING THE INAUGURAL 400 WAS EVEN ENOUGH TO LURE FOUR-TIME INDY 500 WINNER AJ FOYT OUT OF RETIREMENT FOR A CHANCE TO MAKE EVEN MORE HISTORY. CHEVROLET SUPPLIED 137 SUPPORT VEHICLES FOR THE RACE, INCLUDING THE NEW-FOR-1994 MONTE CARLO THAT WOULD SERVE AS THE PACE CAR. TWENTY-FIVE 1994 CORVETTE CONVERTIBLES (13 RED, 12 BLACK) WERE USED AS PARADE OR FESTIVAL CARS. THE CORVETTES WERE MAINLY USED TO INTRODUCE THE 43 NASCAR DRIVERS IN A PARADE LAP AROUND THE TRACK. MOST OF THEM CARRIED TWO DRIVERS, WHO SAT ON THE DECK-LIDS AND WAVED TO FANS IN THE GRANDSTANDS DURING THE PARADE LAP. IN ANOTHER PART OF THE PRERACE FESTIVITIES, THE CORVETTES WOULD PARADE VIPS INCLUDING RICHARD PETTY, BOBBY ALLISON AND THE INDIANAPOLIS MAYOR PLUS MAJOR SPONSORS AROUND THE TRACK. THE CORVETTES WERE SHIPPED DIRECTLY FROM THE BOWLING GREEN ASSEMBLEY PLANT TO THE GM TECH CENTER IN WAREN MICHIGAN. TWO OF THE CORVETTES HAD THEIR BRICKYARD DECALS APPLIED AT THE TECH CENTER AND WERE EVALUATED BY CHEVROLETS EXECUTIVES, THEN TRANSPORTED TO INDIANAPOLIS. THE REMAIN-ING 23 HAD DECALS APPLIED AT CHEVROLET DEALERSHIPS IN THE INDIANAPOLIS AREA. ONCE THE CARS WERE AT THE TRACK, THEY WERE ASSIGNED INDIANAPLOIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY NUMBERS IN SOMEWHAT RANDOM FASHION. MOST OF THE NUMBERS RANGED IN THE 70’S AND 80’S. A DECAL INDICATING THE NUMBER OF EACH CAR WAS APPLIED TO THE LOWER WINDSHIELD ON THE DRIVERS SIDE. TWENTY-TWO CORVETTES PARADED THE DRIVERS ACCORDING TO STARTING POSTIONS. TWENTY-ONE OF THE CARS WERE GIVEN TWO NASCAR DRIVERS EACH, AND DECALS OF THEIR NAMES WERE APPLIED ON THE HOODS OF THAT PARTICULAR CAR. SINCE NASCAR STARTS AN ODD NUMBER OF CARS AT EACH RACE, ONE CAR WAS ASSIGNED A SINGLE NASCAR DRIVER. THE REMAINING THREE {TWO RED, ONE BLACK} HAD NO NAMES ON THE HOOD BUT WERE USED IN THE VIP PARADE. AFTER THE RACE, THE CARS WERE SENT BACK TO THE GM TECH CENTER FOR EVALUATION AND THEN DISTRIBUTED TO DEALERSHIPS FOR SALE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. SOME DEALERSSHIPS TO FACILITATE EASIER SALES, REMOVED THEIR BRICKYARD DECALS AND WERE SOLD AS ORDINARY 1994 CORVETTE MODELS. IT MAY WELL BE THAT SOME OWNERS OF THESE CORVETTES HAVE NO IDEA OF THEIR UNIQUE HISTORY. THERE ARE SEVERAL CLUES TO IDENTIFY A 1994 BRICKYARD 400 CORVETTE. ALL WERE CONVERTIBLES, EITHER RED WITH RED INTERIOR OR BLACK WITH BLACK INTERIOR WITH A BUILD DATE ON JUNE OF 1994. BUILD SHEETS OF MOST KNOW CARS HAVE A “CHARGE-TO” CODE OF 00-502 {NAO CVO-TECH. CENTER} AND A” SHIP-TO” CODE OF 70-847 {C-P-C GROUP C/O QUAL-EFFIC INC.}. THE CARS ARE ALSO IDENTIFIABLE BY VIN THROUGH MYSELF, AND THE INDY MUSEUM HISTORIAN AS WELL AS BY THE COMPANY THAT SUPPLIED THE ORGINAL BRICKYARD GRAPHICS FOR THE CARS. I PURCHASED THIS CAR IN 2007 WITH PLANS OF ONE DAY GIVING IT TO MY DAUGHTER CHRISTINA. SHE WAS MY CONSTANT COMPANION AT CAR SHOWS SINCE SHE WAS 4 YEARS OLD. ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO SHE ACCOMPANIED ME TO BLOOMINGTON GOLD, WE DROVE MY C5, 14 HOURS EACH WAY. I CAN STILL REMEMBER HER SLEEPING QUITE COMFORTABLY IN THE CARGO AREA OF THE CORVETTE ON THE WAY THERE. WHILE AT BLOOMINGTON SHE INSTISTED THAT WE FIND EVERY 1994 (HER BIRTH YEAR) CORVETTE. IT WAS THEN THAT I GOT THE IDEA TO ONE DAY PURCHASE A 94 CORVETTE FOR HER. WHEN I BEGAN THE SEARCH FOR A 94 CORVETTE, I LEARNED ABOUT THE BRICKYARD 400 CORVETTES. I WAS INTRIGUED BY THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ONLY 25 BRICKYARD 400 1994 COR-VETTES AND DECIDED TO PURCHASE ONE. FINDING ONE FOR SALE TOOK SEVERAL MONTHS BUT WHEN THIS ONE SHOWED UP ON EBAY AT A CHEVROLET DEALER IN PITTSBURGH PA. I HIT “BUY IT NOW”. THE CAR NOW HAS ABOUT 5000 MILES ON IT AND WAS FEATURED IN CORVETTE MAGAZINE, THE NCRS RESTORER MAGAZINE, THE NCRS GALLERY AT CARLISLE AND RECEIVED A TOP FLIGHT AWARD LAST SPRING AT THE METRO LONG ISLAND MEET.

Car #80 Drivers assigned to ride in car, Jeff Burton and Ted Musgrave

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1994 CORVETTE

Number 80

JEFF BURTON TED MUSGRAVE

Drivers assigned to # 80

PARADE CAR

FESTIVAL CAR

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31 Squirrel Lane

Levittown, NY 11756

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Editor’s Note Visit: Metroli.org for updates and info about the chapter and

BY John Waluk upcoming events

IN THIS EDITION Wehrmann Meet Results & Judging School Pictures, Tech Article

NOTE: The chapter is now offering a choice of how you would like to receive the

newsletter. The original paper copy by mail or receive a copy electronically in color.

If you want to receive it electronically just e-mail me with your request.

*************The front cover will now feature a Chapter Members car and a short history. The pictures should be in (JPEG) and submitted by the owner to my e-

mail address along with the history. If I receive multiple entries from owners a lottery will decide which picture or pictures will be used. If an owner does not have a digital camera and want to submit pictures I will take the pictures at a judging school or a Chapter meet. Always looking for interesting stories and arti-cles for the Newsletter. If you are working on a car we can use it as a Tech article. Do a little write up with

some pictures and I will put it in the newsletter.

VISIT: METROLI.ORG YOUR CHAPTERS WEB SITE