Michael Heads South

Barb and I needed to go to Phoenix for a few days so we decided to take the newly acquired red '01 Z and figured we’d also hit a few Route 66 spots along the way.

Needles Chevron

We pushed hard the 1^st day and hit the sack in Woodland, Cali, just north of Sacramento but we did stop for a  “In and Out” burger and fries in Redding.  Day 2 saw us make it through to Kingman, AZ using US40 with stops in Barstow, Needles, and Baker city.

Take note: don’t buy fuel in Needles 'cause a few miles later in Arizona it’s a dollar a gallon cheaper!  However do drive the main street in Needles ‘cause there are a lot of the original buildings and signs beings maintained. We also went to Joshua Tree forest en-route.

When you cross to Arizona, the speed limit jumps to 75 and everyone including the police go 80, so not too boring in the middle of the desert. Weather was warm - around 90 day and 50 at night. We stayed at a BW in Kingman, which is a great hotel except the trains ran about 20 feet from the rear of the building and each had 100 cars. Better than the 25-cent vibrating bed!

We hit the Route 66 museum and other spots in Kingman and then headed east and down the 93 through the great town of Wickenburg, arriving in Phoenix in the late evening.  More Canadians are setting up to live in Wickenburg - very cheap. 

After family time in Phoenix we came home with a stop in Palm Springs, saying hello to Gerry Swan, but missing the Drewitts . Next day we went through LA, enjoying the beautiful weather and after an overnight in Medford, we hit the most intense rain/sleet storm from Olympia, Washington to home. A little scary in a low slung car but the Z served us great, chocking up 3406 miles round trip, using a ½ litre of oil, and destroying a set of wiper blades.   

- Michael Moore

Banquet Left People Happy, Right?

The 2012 edition of the BCCC Awards Banquet had us back at Redwood's Golf Club, as organizers Brenda and John sought to build upon the success of last year's banquet.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!  And that was fine by me, as I had a great time in 2011 and an even better time in 2012.

When I arrived, I found that Blair and Marj had saved my wife and I a spot right next to the bar - they know us so well!  And so did the bartender, Tim, who practically had a bottle of wine ready for us before we even sat down.

Our hosts left us to mingle for a bit, enjoy our drinks, and catch up, but soon enough the buffet opened and a line-up promptly formed right past the bar.  Not that I was at the bar, mind you, having managed to be one of the first tables to get called.  It's funny how Ginette can be totally oblivious to the subtle differences between a '58 and a '59, until there's a trivia contest to determine who gets to partake in the buffet first; then all those car facts come flooding right out!

Bartender Tim Serving It Right - and getting me a bottle of wine!

The food was delish, especially the roast beast which was cooked just right.  I may have had a second helping, and I left not a morsel.  Unfortunately that meant I missed out on some of the desserts, as I found that my fellow BCCC-ers left me only a few sweets, by the time I got around to visiting that particular table.  But that was all right - I simply ordered another bottle of wine!

Of course, awards were handed out to the many people in the club who volunteer on different committees, and who help organize all the events which the members enjoy.  And then our Membership chairperson, Leslie, did something that I thought was just right.  She had ordered anniversary pins, and gave them out to club members who have been with the club for a significant number of years.  I don't recall everyone who received pins, but people like Nigel and Al and Marie and Bev Tyrell received 10 year pins, and I know that Dan Ward got a 25 year pin.  And then there's Dan Maxwell, who's been with the club for over 40 years!  I know I left the vast majority of people out - sorry - but I had to mention Leslie's idea, as I thought it was a great one.

The evening wrapped up with door prizes (including a left / right prize, which is the theme of this post; you'll understand if you were at the banquet) and dancing.  At the end, only a few of us were left - crowding around the bar, of course - and, oddly enough, taking a lot of photos and video.  Jenny seems addicted to her camera!  Eventually, when the music died, we, too, left, feeling that the night went just right.

Test Drive @ Preston's

So, who went to the Test Drive fundraiser at Preston's?  In case you didn't hear about it (first, shame on you - don't you read the Upcoming Events at the BCCC website? ;) ), Preston GM sponsored a fundraiser for the BCCC, to help support our charities.  To help with this fundraiser, all you had to do was show up at Preston's and drive one of the 7 or so cars that they had lined up for us.  For each person that showed up, Preston's donated $25!

Thank-you, Preston GM!

Anyway, we had 75 people signed up to go, last I heard, but it was quite the soggy day on Sunday, so I wonder if everyone did show up.  I hope so!  Ginette and I, accompanied by our daughter, test drove 3 different vehicles:  the GMC Terrain Denali, the GMC Acadia, and our daughter's favourite, the Caddy SRX (it had TVs in the back).  I gotta say, I liked all three as potential replacements for my aged F*rd Explorer; I need another SUV/CUV that'll carry my hockey bag, that will handle well in bad weather, and that could negotiate snow-covered, unpaved roads leading to backcountry ski trailheads.

I liked the 3.6L engine that was in all of them - very smooth, with good performance.  I liked the roominess of the Acadia - although it might be too big.  I loved the interior of the Caddy - but Ginette drove that one.  And I liked the all-around usefulness of the Terrain.  Plus, after years of enduring 15mpg in the Explorer, I shivered at the thought of 23mpg that all 3 offered!

So, which would I get?  No idea!  That wasn't the point of the event, and I wasn't subjected to a hard sales-pitch.  But, now I know that GM offers at least some vehicles that fit my needs, and when I do get serious about getting replacing my F*rd, I'll be heading out to Preston's.

2012 Year End Banquet

Hi all!

I just wanted to give a quick plug to our annual awards banquet.  Once again, it will be held at the picturesque Redwood Golf & Country Club (22011 88th Ave, Langley).  Tickets are an amazing $20 for BCCC members, and $45 for non-members.  Hard to beat that!

If you are interested, contact Brenda (johnandbrenda@shaw.ca) for tickets.

To get you in the mood, here are few more pics from last year's banquet...

Smooth and Fast

On Saturday, September 22, there were a lot of smiles.  Our autocross event ran flawlessly for 28 drivers, who enjoyed 8 runs each, thanks to some great volunteers.  The timing crew smoothed the process to allow so many runs.  The crew included Rosalie Sinden, Cindy Vodermayer, Leslie Shelby, and Angie Langston.  Pregrid was led by Jeanie Robb and Eva Staley.  The timing board handled by Jack Langston and Ted Taylor.  The stop box and all round workers were Barry Cook and Stewart Heyes, whose help was key to the event setup.  Claude Larabie handled spotting duties, coordinating the course workers, and was assisted in the starter job by Doug Mitten (David’s father).  They certainly made my job easy and enjoyable.

We used the Justice Institute Course at Pitt Meadows, and modified it to allow the use of some Corvette horsepower at the start of each run.  The sea of cones made a unique environment for drivers, and added to the skill challenge of the event.  Autocross requires you to hone your concentration skills and work on improvements through the event.  Our participants were up to the challenge and everyone’s times improved throughout the day, with most fast times being set on the 7^th and 8^th run.  Very few cones were hurt in the process.

For the drivers, I saw lots of smiles.  While we enjoyed the usual mix of Fiero’s, Subaru’s, Acura’s, there was even a Chrysler Sebring and an 85 Oldsmobile Delta 88.  But, of course, the fast time of the day was won by a Corvette.  A total of 14 Corvette drivers enjoyed their ride.  Gifford Robb blazed his slick shod C6 to a 56.370 second fast time, other C6 drivers were Lorne and David Staley, Peter Resch, Brian Kulyk, and myself, Vic Nightscales.    Marj Bowen was the fast lady in her C4, or should I say she was the quickest lady.  C4 drivers included Ken Butcher, Blair Degenstein and David Mitten, with David being the fastest.  C5 drivers included Brad Shelby and Walter Vodermayer, with Walter taking the honors.  Nigel Wheway was the fast C5 Z06.

-Vic

Corvette Heat

It’s so much fun to spin your tires and feel that kick of power propel you down the Slalom course.  We had 31 drivers enjoy their cars, 18 Corvette drivers and 13 miscellaneous makes, including a brand new 2013 Scion FRS.  The Corvettes ranged from a 1969 C3 to 2008 Black Z06.  We used a slightly modified reverse Justice Institute setup just to vary the pace.

Fastest of the Corvettes was Paul McAlduff who set a sizzling 64.000 second time.  Other BC Corvette Club notables were Blair Degenstein, fastest C4, Marg Bowen, ladies C4, and David Staley, fastest C6.  Walter Vodermayer was fastest of the C5 contingent, Pat Watson was fast lady on race tires, and Brian Salisbury was fastest in the non-Corvette group, in a Miata on race tires.

The key volunteers that made this event possible were Garry Clarke, Walter Gfeller, Stewart Heyes, Rosalie Sinden and Cindy Vodermayer.  Great thanks to Paul and Terry McAlduff for providing some fun prizes, and thanks to all for coming out and making it a great event.

- Vic

I Bike For Pie

On the strength of last summer's wildly popular, I Fly For Pie cruise, I convinced my wife to bike (as in bicycle) out to the airport, tempting her with the famously good pie.  We biked for 35km, the last 10 minutes with drool flying from our mouths in anticipation.  When we arrived at the Abbotsford Airport, guess what we found?

Wrong airport!

Yes, we biked to Abbotsford, which, it turns out, is not Chilliwack.  And worse (for us) Chilliwack was another 60km away!

We had a smoothie and turned around for home...

Of course, the BCCC cruised out to Chilliwack for pie just weeks later, but I missed that due to, well, not have a working 'vette... and being on vacation.  But you can check out the photos!

Corvettes on the Water

In World War Two the Corvette was a fast machine on the water.  On June 16^th there were 14 drivers proving that their Corvettes were also fast on water.  Despite the challenging monsoon like conditions 23 drivers arrived at our Pitt Meadows auto slalom event.  We utilized the Justice Institute course which is designed to train and test Police on their ability to handle pursuit and emergency situations.  Fortunately our Corvette drivers were up to the challenge and all exceeded the benchmark times.  Fastest run of the day was achieved by Lorne Staley with a convertible C6 Corvette, but only a fraction of a second back was Nigel Wheway in his C5 Z06.   A Subaru WRX was a close third.  We had nine drivers in strange foreign machines, but Corvettes proved their worth in the wet, so don’t put away the Vette when the drops start to fall.

No event can be run without selfless volunteers, and these conditions certainly made stepping out of a warm home challenging.  Of particular note, were Don and Sue Williams bringing their motorhome to shelter the volunteers at lunch.  Also Terry McAlduff and Blair Degenstein brought extra tents to shelter the volunteers and drivers, without which it would have been virtually impossible to continue the event.  Non-driving volunteers also included Stewart Heyes, Leslie Shelby, Peter Resch, Walter Gfeller, Jack Langston, Sue Williams and Rosalie Sinden.  Of course all the drivers pitched in to assist, including club members Brad Shelby, Nigel Wheway, Paul and Terry McAlduff, Marj Bowen, Blair Degenstein, Chris Ckarogianais and myself, Vic Nightscales.

Despite the conditions, we were able to give all drivers nine runs on this challenging course.  Few cones were hit during all these runs, and every driver had big smiles and were surprising themselves with finding so much traction in the wet.  All went home happy for the experience.  We were still drying out tents, safety vests, equipment, etc. the next day.

We hope to encourage more members out for our July 14^th auto slalom event at Pitt Meadows.  Rain or shine it will be an experience that will allow you to more fully enjoy your Corvette, and be impressed by its capabilities, whether on land or water. 

- Vic

BCCC Returns to TRADEX

The club decided to participate in the B.C. Classic and Custom Car Show for the second consecutive year and I got volunteered to arrange the exhibit again (??)   This year’s theme was  “Drive-In Theater”.   The exhibit needed 4 cars (the maximum allowed by the car show) and drive-in props.  The cars chosen were of 4 Corvette classes:  Greg Ballantyne’s C2 1963 red roadster, Lenny Merriott’s C3 1980 white T-top, Roy Drewitt’s C5 2003 Anniversary red coupe and Peter Resch’s C6  2007 orange Pace car roadster.  The “props” used were Greg’s 2 1960’s “Ballantyne” drive-in speakers plus another pair arranged through Jack and Angie Langston ‘s friend, Joe.  Also a back up pair were located at the Twilight Drive-In and the owner, Jay, was willing to lend us his last pair if needed in an emergency (a nice guy).    

Nigel arranged a 59 “ TV and DVD player through Visions Electronics (Ray Miller helped set these up) and I supplied DVD’s of the original Route 66 TV Show to view at the “Drive-In”.  Al Frost brought the Club stanchions, the Club banner, the rope and pennants and……. for dispensing the Club and Event literature we had tables supplied by Gail and Lew Berry, Ted and Joan Taylor and Blair Degenstein.     

The actual car show went from Friday at 5 p.m. to Sunday 5 p.m. and the Club booth was manned by the Club members already mentioned as well as Brad and Leslie Shelby, Al Mandleman, Bryan Kulyk, Don Williams, Melinda Smith, and John Jensen (a minimum of 2 people at the display at all times).  Special note: Lenny Merriott was at the entire car show - wow!    

Anyway, the display was a success.  The Club talked to many past and many possible future members and distributed an array of Club literature and Thunder in the Sun materials.  An added bonus was Greg's ’63 took 2^nd in the Classic sports car category.  We also got a chance to see Don Garlits, the super hero of Drag racing, Chuck Barris, the Guru of Hollywood Specialty car designs and some very nice “tin cars”.   

Thanks to all who participated and helped out in this club event…. I’m pretty sure that I’ll “volunteer” to do it again next year, eh?   

Dan

P.S.   Oh!…we were well under budget this year, too.

Variety Children's Charity Presented with BCCC Donations

Our Annual Variety show taping was at the Global TV studios Saturday Jan 28.  A dozen club members braved the rain to arrive at 9am for coffee and some Timbits as the crew got the cameras ready.  With just one 'take' we had handed over our $1500 cheque with smiles all around.  Bob Leong and Dan Ward captured it all on video for posterity.  The group then proceeded to the ABC restaurant on Boundary Road for brunch where Eggs Benedict was a popular choice! 

Look for our 30 seconds of fame when the Telethon is broadcast on Global on Feb 11th and 12th!

Robin Nordman