FEBRUARY 2024 TUMBLEWEED CLUB OF NEW MEXICO
RG #79, EARLY FORD V-8 CLUB OF AMERICA, PO BOX 21538, ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87154-1538
MEETS FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH, 7:00 P.M., LOCATION TBA
V8 TIMES
PLEASE NOTE: All meetings include Show & Tell. Members are encouraged to bring items to share.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 7 pm at North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, 7600 Carmel NE, one-half block North and West of Paseo Del Norte and Wyoming. Program by Jay Melin, NM License Plates.
NEXT BOARD MEETING:
BREAKFAST GROUP: Saturday, February 10, 2024 at 8:30am at Golden Corral, 5207 San Mateo Blvd. NE
CLUB WEBSITE: Be sure to check out our website at www.abqfordflatheadv8.com Updated “current Information and calendar” is on the current information page. More club pictures are on the website.
FORD V8 FOUNDATION WEBSITE: Another interesting website to check out is www.fordv8foundation.org
EARLY FORD V8 CLUB OF AMERICA WEBSITE: www.earlyfordv8.org
February 6th Meeting
Meeting is at 7pm, Tuesday, February 6th, at North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, 7600 Carmel NE.
Jay Melin will be our speaker. He is a local license plate collector with emphasis on collecting and restoring older New Mexico License plates. He will present a brief history of NM License plates and also have some excellent restored plates and high-quality NOS plates for sale. Most of the plates for sale are dated 1925 to 1958. Over the past 20 years the State of New Mexico has offered the opportunity for people who have older cars/trucks to register their vehicles with original “date of manufacture” plates. This is a unique opportunity to acquire plates of high quality directly from Jay’s collection. Most of the plates (which are matched pairs) have not been offered for sale, by Jay, in the past 30 years. Example shown below:
2024 February President’s Message – Joe Abbin
Hello fellow V-8 fans! We have a great February meeting speaker at our current meeting place, the North Domingo Baca Multi-generational Center. See announcement elsewhere in this newsletter.
Our speaker, Jay Melin is a long term trader and expert on NM license plates and he will share his knowledge and examples with us at the meeting. I will also bring some interesting show and tell unofficial license plates, including a fake 1951 NM motorcycle plate that I made for my 1951 Cushman Eagle. Real ones are rare and very expensive. See below. The fake was inspired by movie props I had seen. Some of my other specials are funny, risqué, etc. but all are interesting. I’m sure that you all have some “specials” to bring also. Come to the meeting and get smart!
February Breakfast
Club members and friends will meet at 8:30am, Saturday, February 10th at Golden Corral, 5207 San Mateo Blvd. NE for breakfast and conversation. In March we will drive to Sopa’s in Bosque Farms for breakfast and will then tour Frank Brown’s car collection.
Minutes from the January 2nd Meeting
The meeting was called to order by President Joe. There were twenty-five members present and no guests. Treasurer Amy reported we are in good shape. She also reported that in 2023 we had $171 more in income than expenses, which was good. She reported that for 2024 the expected dues will be less because of several members reaching lifetime member status. She then reminded people to pay their dues and renew their national membership. Joe suggested looking over the budget at the next board meeting.
Joe offered individual birthday and anniversary greetings. Thanks to Chris & Amy and Joe A for our delicious refreshments. Joe brought several calendars and planners which were available to anyone who needed one. Joyce gave a car council report. She said there is not a whole lot happening right now. She mentioned the auctions in Arizona start later in January and one can find more information on the car council website.
Jeff announced something he has done in the past and would like to continue it this year. A few years ago, he would call members and ask them some questions. He would then write up an article about them to be included in the newsletter. Since we have several new members since then, he will begin calling people. Beth will also pull the articles from the past newsletters and put them together on the website.
Joe spoke about his car being photographed in Scottsdale. It will be on the cover of a magazine. At the board meeting in December, the board produced a three-month plan, which includes breakfast locations and meeting presentations. Joe brought printouts of the lists of presentation topics along with tours. Members were asked to pick their top ten and then return to Joe so he can tally the results. The club breakfast in January will be Saturday, January 13 at Dave’s High Desert Grill at 8:30am.
For show and tell, Joe showed the service manuals that he brought for his presentation. He mentioned that Ford did not make service manuals early on. They were called service bulletins, and they were only made “as needed.” Then Joyce showed her Martha Washington doll she purchased when she was a child for $1. She also showed one exactly like it that she found at an antique store. It showed up under her Christmas tree after she discovered it was at that store. Refreshments and the Raffle were enjoyed.
The program consisted of Joe Abbin talking about Ford service books/bulletins. He talked about how information was organized in them. The ones he brought covered the 1940s. Some other publishers made more organized books than Ford. Some were more complete than others. In 1949, factory service manuals started being published, organized by topics. He mentioned that the club has the complete collections of V8 Times. The collection lives at Joe’s shop. Betty Leupold donated it. He also let everyone know that there is now a USB available with 60 years’ worth of V8 Times on it, and it is searchable.
February Birthdays and Anniversaries
Bob Quirici (5) Joe & Amanda Baird (5)
Pat Bost (9)
Debbie Van de Velde (9)
Chris Joiner (12)
Neva Coffee (19)
Anita Warren (24)
Joe Warren (25)
Richard Polk (28)
2024 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
President: Joe Abbin (roadrunnerengr@msn.com) 505-263-1946
Vice-President: Chris Joiner (amy2001tweety@hotmailcom) 505-382-8723
Secretary: Jackie Abernathy (docszoo22@gmail.com) 505-269-4010
Treasurer: Amy Joiner (amy2001tweety@hotmail.com) 505-382-8724
Director: George Abernathy (docszoo22@gmail.com) 505-771-2113
Director: Joe Baird (clanbaird@gmail.com) 505-263-5329
Director: Larry Bost (LBost111@gmail.com) 505-379-7891
Director: Jeff Jackson (jbjaxun@gmail.com) 505-908-7565
Director: Liz Johnson (diesel_buster@yahoo.com) 505-281-5747
Director: Bill Joiner (joinerenterprise@cs.com) 505-238-1794
Director: Roger Wilbur 505-603-5031
Newsletter Note
Members are encouraged to submit articles, ads, and photographs for inclusion in the newsletter. Please understand we have a volunteer Newsletter Editor so try and submit typed and proofed articles, comments, and new want ads. The deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month. Beth Jackson, 505-908-7564, or email: JBJaxun@gmail.com
THE MOVING ASSEMBLY LINE AND THE FIVEDOLLAR WORKDAY
THE MOVING ASSEMBLY LINE CHANGED THE WAY AUTOMOBILES ARE MADE. THE $5 DAY BROUGHT WORKERS TO THIS NEW METHOD OF BUILDING CARS.
A common myth is that Henry Ford invented the automobile. This is not true. While he may not have invented the automobile, he did offer a new way of manufacturing a large number of vehicles. This method of production was the moving assembly line. The most common feature of this assembly line was the conveyer belt. The belts were in use within other industries, including slaughterhouses. Moving the product to the worker seemed like a better use of time and resources. The Ford Motor Company team decided to try to implement the moving assembly line in the automobile manufacturing process. After much trial and error, in 1913 Henry Ford and his employees successfully began using this innovation at our Highland Park assembly plant. What made this assembly line unique was the movement element. Henry Ford famously remarked that the use of the moving assembly line allowed for the work to be taken to workers rather than the worker moving to and around the vehicle. The vehicle began to be pulled down the line and built step-by-step. At first it was pulled by a rope, and later it became a simple moving chain mechanism. The new process made it so that the Model T was now built in only ninety minutes. Yet while the work of assembling an automobile was now simplified, workers began to leave Ford Motor Company to work for their competitors. The reason was workers found the assembly line work boring as they were now doing only one or two task(s) instead of working to build an entire vehicle. Additionally, workers did not like the strict timing that the moving assembly line required. It was difficult to make sure you completed all of your work before the car moved down the line to its next station. Cars would end up missing parts, or workers could end up falling over each other while putting the car together. In order to persuade workers to stay with Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford introduced the $5 workday. The $5 workday involved profit sharing payments that would more than double the worker’s daily wage, raising it to $5. It was widely believed that this move would quickly bankrupt the company. The opposite occurred. Mechanics around the country headed to Detroit in pursuit of the high wages. Henry Ford stated: “We believe in making 25,000 men prosperous and contented rather than follow the plan of making a few slave drivers in our establishment multi-millionaires.” Not only did Henry Ford increase the wages of his employees, but he also decreased the number of hours they were responsible for working. Henry Ford decreased the shifts by one hour and gave employees higher wages. The shift length decrease allowed Ford to create a third shift and hire more workers. The assembly allowed Ford Motor Company to become a twenty-four hour operation. “Fordism” also grew out of the moving assembly line. Fordism refers to large-scale production combined with higher wages, and it spread to other industries following the $5 day started by Ford Motor Company. This move by Ford was followed by other companies, and changed the business and manufacturing world across the nation as workers began to seek out jobs that came with higher wages and shorter hours. An important outcome of the moving assembly line was the drop in price for the Model T. In 1908, the car sold for $825 and by 1925 it only sold for only $260, making the car more affordable to individuals everywhere. Most especially, it allowed employees of Ford Motor Company to be able to have a better life and to be able to afford the product that they built.
Taken from December 2023 The Valve Chatter, Regional Group 148, Temecula, CA
Jokes of the Month
FEBRUARY 2024 CLASSIFIED ADS
For Sale: Radiator for 1953 Ford P.U. - very good $150. Gary McGlasson 505-250-1586
For Sale: 1936 Ford Cabriolet, $30,000. Tan exterior, LeBaron-Bonney interior and top. Working radio in box with correct controls is included. Extra parts go with the convertible. Bob Quirici 505-821-1646 or 505-350-2454
Storage: Outdoor $25/month, secure yard. Joe Abbin 505-296-7678
For Sale: 1926 Model T, Roadster Project. Jim Clements 505-884-7912
For Sale: 1953 Ford flathead V-8. Partially dis-assembled but complete. Many new and used parts including two transmissions, new water pumps, etc. To be sold as one lot.
Gary Bachman, gbach2736@gmail.com, 505-850-9026
Wanted: 1939 Ford ½ ton rear fenders, floorboard and rear bumper assembly. Contact Daniel at dperea@q.com.
Services Offered: Vintage engine rebuilding, any make, any model. Stock or modified. Dynamometer testing available. Results guaranteed. References available. Gary McGlasson, 505-250-1586.
Tumbleweed Early Ford V8 Club Calendar for 2024
January
Tuesday 2nd Club Meeting 7pm North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center - Program Ford Service Manuals & Info by Joe Abbin, Refreshments Amy & Chris Joiner and Joe Abbin.
Saturday 13th Breakfast 8:30am Dave’s High Desert Grill.
February
Tuesday 6th Club Meeting 7pm North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center – Program by Joe Melin who will present a brief history of NM License plates. Refreshments by the Clements.
Saturday 10th Breakfast 8:30am at Golden Corral
March
Tuesday 5th Club Meeting 7pm N Domingo Baca Center - Program – John Taylor on USS NM Battleship. Refreshments Jeff & Beth Jackson
Saturday 8th Breakfast at Sopa’s with a Tour of Frank Brown’s Collection following.
April
Tuesday 2nd Club Meeting 7pm – N Domingo Baca Center - Program – Joe Baird on Ford Specials. Refreshments Joe Warren
Saturday 13th Breakfast 8:30am
May
Tuesday 7th Club Meeting 7pm Program – Bob Agnew on Rust Repair and Prevention. Refreshments Liz Johnson
Sunday xx Museum Car Show, breakfast following set-up
Monday 27th 11 – 2 , Club Birthday Party
June
Tuesday 4th Club Meeting 7pm – Program – , Refreshments Gus and Debbie Van de Velde
Saturday 8th Breakfast 8:30am
July
Tuesday 2nd Club Meeting 7pm –, Refreshments open
Thursday 4th Parade in Corrales and Picnic at Azevedo’s
August
Tuesday 6th Club Meeting 7pm – Program –, Refreshments Gary & Laurel McGlasson
??? All Clubs Picnic
September
Tuesday 3rd Club Meeting 7pm – Program, Refreshments open
Sunday (?) State Fair Car Show
?????? Annual NMCCC Auto Swap Meet
October
Tuesday 1st Club Meeting 7pm – Program –, Refreshments open
Friday – Sunday 11th – 13th - Trip to Durango to ride the train. (Tentative)
November
Tuesday 5th Club Meeting 7pm Officer Election – Program –, Refreshments open
Saturday 9th Breakfast 8:30am K & I Diner
December
Saturday 7th Club Christmas Party 1pm Potluck at George’s Warehouse
Tuesday 3rd (tentative Board meeting with new and old officers and directors plan for 2025)
Businesses Used by Members
(Send us names of businesses you have used)
1. Starters and Alternators of New Mexico, 3711 Franciscan St NE, Albuquerque NM 87107, 505-344-5025, Eldon.
2. Skinners Carburetor & Distributor Service, 3100 Pan American Fwy NE, Unit 6, Albuquerque, NM 87107, 505-344-3704, Albert & Nic.
3. McBride’s Springs & Welding, 1010 2nd St NW, Albuquerque NM 87102, 505-242-2174.
4. Old Car Garage/World Wide Automotive, 3232 Girard Blvd NE, Albuquerque NM 505-881-2722, Bob.
5. The Santa Fe Detail, 7512 Avenger Way, Unit 2, Santa Fe NM 87507, 505-204-5120, Luis.
6. Horizon Auto Glass & Tint, 8201 Menaul Blvd NE, Albuquerque NM 87110, 505-897-9000, Rod Williams. Also at 1560 Deborah Rd SE, Rio Rancho NM 87124, 505-822-1717.
7. Wild Heart Ranch Texas, 3120 FM 1995, Van TX 75790, 505-908-7565