NOVEMBER PROGRAM – LADIES’ NIGHT WITH LORNA AZEVEDO
Ladies, it is your night to shine! You are invited to bring in a sample of your hobby, a collection you have,
a craft that you do, a favorite thing, or even just a story you cherish. You should plan on a presentation
of 5 minutes or less to tell us something about your interests. Please plan to participate. Thank you.
PLEASE NOTE: All meetings include Show & Tell. Members are encouraged to bring items to share.
NEXT MEETING: Tuesday, November 5, 7:30 p.m., Old Car Garage.
REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED BY: Larry & Meg Williams and Jim & Joyce Clements.
BREAKFAST/LUNCH GROUP: Saturday, November 16, 8:30 a.m., meet at the Pit and caravan to
Bosque Farms for breakfast at Sopa’s Restaurant, 1700 Bosque Farms Blvd. Saturday, December 21,
11:30 a.m., lunch at Route 66 Malt Shop, 3800 Central Ave SE.
CLUB WEBSITE: Be sure to check out our website at http://abqfordflatheadv8.com/.
NEXT BOARD MEETING: Tuesday, January 14, 7:30 p.m. Location to be announced.
MEETING REFRESHMENT VOLUNTEERS 2013
November Larry & Meg Williams / Jim & Joyce Clements December Holiday Party
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FOR NOVEMBER 2013
Jay Hertz, President
Hello, All. I am so proud of the Tumbleweed Regional Group! It put on a truly great national tour in
October, only the second one ever sanctioned by the Early Ford V8 Club of America. As you will read
in the article below, or as you may have already read on our website, the tour was very well received by
all of the tourers. We had five days of fun, lovely scenery, great weather (yes, even the snow in Chama
added to the enjoyment of our fall climate in northern New Mexico), and met a group of fine Ford-loving
friends from other regional groups.
The really nice thing, for me, was how well the Tumbleweed members worked so hard and so closely to
make the tour run well. Thanks to Jeff and Beth for handling the welcoming event and being the over-all
leaders of the tour. They instantly hit it off with all of the registrants, and they will continue to do so as
they collect and distribute a CD of tour photos and as they work with Joyce Clements to prepare an article
for publication in the V8 Times. Thanks also to Joyce and Jim Clements for organizing the
Chama-to-Taos leg of the tour and for many, many other contributions including creating the daily printed
program and gathering brochures for the tour bags. Thanks to Joe Abbin for handling the Taos-to-Santa
Fe leg, and for his excellent way of making out-of-state tourers feel instantly welcome. His friend, Johnny
Meiers, made a big hit with his museum, where we wanted to linger forever. Thanks to Larry Azevedo
who planned the Santa Fe-Bandelier-Los Alamos leg, and somehow got Congress to re-open Bandelier
National Monument just in time for our tourers. Let’s elect Larry to Congress! Thanks to Marvin and
Neva Coffee, to Dee and Tom Patterson, and to Frank Corey for his creative ideas and planning
assistance, not to mention his steadfast support for the touring concept. And thanks to Larry Williams
for keeping track of the entry fees and keeping us from losing our collective shirts. We couldn’t have it
without all of you and the Tumbleweed Group as a whole.
This was a truly memorable event. If you missed it, don’t despair, as the national club is likely to want
us to put on another one in southern New Mexico within the next few years. Events like this build a
strong club, and I feel ours is stronger and closer as a result. I’m really glad we did it.
OCTOBER 1, 2013 MEETING MINUTES
by Beth Jackson, Acting Secretary
The meeting was called to order by President Jay Hertz. Guests present were Larry Jones, speaker for
the program, Jim Miller and Randy McEntire.
Thanks to Jeff Jackson for chairing last month’s meeting and Beth Jackson for sitting in as secretary.
Neva Coffee plans to resume her secretarial duties next month. Thanks to Joe Abbin for getting the
speaker for tonight’s meeting. Thanks to Bob Payne for providing refreshments. Get Well cards were
passed around to be signed and sent to Sue Mathes and Jo Seery, who are both ailing. Birthdays and
Anniversaries were acknowledged.
Minutes from last month’s meeting were approved as published in the newsletter.
There was no treasurer’s report as Treasurer Larry Williams was not present.
The Car Council report was given by Joyce Clements. She reported that the Los Lunas swap meet the
past weekend was the largest ever with 450 plus spaces sold and people attending from several other
states. Our club netted $35 from parts sold by Jim Clements and donated by Max Glover and John
Shelton.
Old Business
There was a good turnout for the drive to Bernalillo and breakfast at the Range Café in September. The
next breakfast will be at Furr’s on Wyoming on October 26th at 8:30am.
There was a general discussion about the decision to cancel the club’s participation at the State Fair.
Jay read an email from Ron and Marilyn Gigger concerning that topic. The consensus seemed to be that
cancellation for the weather should only be made at the time of the event and that if something is
planned, the club should follow through.
New Business
A Western National Meet is being planned for September 2014 in southern California. Jay Hertz was
contacted by a Michigan club that will be driving to that meet and wants to set up a show in Albuquerque
at a Ford dealership the end of August. They asked for our participation and also wanted to be able to
sell raffle tickets for a 1951 Sedan. Jay responded to them that we would participate. Details will follow
as plans are developed.
Jeff Jackson reported that there are 27 cars presently registered for the October driving tour after two
registrants have cancelled. The last committee meeting was held Monday September 30 and plans are
being finalized. A Colorado participant has arranged a tour of the railyard in Chama for Monday, October
14 at 2pm for anyone who wishes to attend. The Welcome table will be open from 3 to 6pm on Monday
at the Elkhorn Lodge and we will host a wine, crackers and cheese gathering from 5 to 6 with people
asked to bring wine. We will provide cheese and crackers. Club members who wish to sign up for the
tour are still welcome to do so.
The Holiday Party will be held on December 3 at 6pm at the Cooperage at 7220 Lomas Blvd. NE. Mary
Gorenz is making the arrangements. There will be a gift exchange with stealing allowed. We are also
gathering donations of food or money for the Roadrunner Food Bank.
Election of officers will be held at the November meeting. Jeff Jackson is the head of the nominating
committee. He reported that a slate has not been put together yet as there have not been enough
volunteers for the offices needing to be filled. Joe Abbin, Larry Azevedo and John Shelton have
volunteered to be directors and Lou Gorenz will consider treasurer. Joe Abbin nominated Jeff Jackson
for President and John Shelton for Vice-President. Hopefully by next month enough members will step
forward to fill out the slate.
Jay Hertz passed around a booklet on the Early Ford Foundation and Museum and urged members to
join the foundation if they are not already members. He will be on the board of the foundation this coming
year.
November 16th the club will be traveling to Bosque Farms for breakfast at Sopa’s Restaurant, 1700
Bosque Farms Blvd. We will meet in the Pit Parking Lot at 8:30 am to caravan to Bosque Farms.
December 21st the club will meet for lunch at Route 66 Malt Shop at 3800 Central Ave SE at 11:30 am.
There is a big parking lot where we can display our V-8s.
Marvin Coffee shared a “what is it” item and Max Glover shared some Ford facts. Mistee Thompson
raffled off several useful items. Larry Jones gave a fascinating talk about his 1919 Stanley Steamer
automobile that he is restoring.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS
November 5, 2013 Meeting
Election of officers and directors for 2014 will occur at the November 5 meeting. Jeff Jackson is heading
the election committee and will be soliciting people for the various offices. If you would like to run for
office, or if you have a person to nominate, please contact Jeff by October 10 with your input. If any
positions are contested, we will have balloting at the November meeting. But, more likely, the slate
proposed by the election committee will be unopposed, in which case the slate will be submitted for a
vote (or by acclimation, if appropriate) at the November meeting.
EARLY FORD V8 NATIONAL TOUR NOTES
By Jeff and Beth Jackson
For most of the Tumbleweed Regional Early Ford V8 club members who joined the 2013 National Tour
the tour started at 9:00am on Monday October 14 at the McDonald’s on San Mateo and Academy in
Albuquerque. Jay Hertz and Helen (2002 Thunderbird), Bob Payne and Vi (1953 Ford Convertible),
Bob’s brother Keith and wife from Vermont in their modern car, Frank Corey (1953 four door sedan), Joe
Abbin (1949 Mercury), Marvin and Neva Coffee (1935 coupe), and Jeff and Beth Jackson (1940 coupe)
were joined by Richard and Mary Jo Kellogg (1953 Convertible) from Colorado for the drive to Chama.
Jim, Joyce and Will Clements (1949 ford 2 door sedan) had gone up on Sunday to check everything out.
The drive to Chama was relatively uneventful. Jeff and Beth’s coupe had about 20 miles on the engine.
That car kept seeking its own radiator fill level on the way up to Chama but once it was comfortable no
more burps the rest of the trip. We stopped after going about 30 miles just to check that everything was
ok and to remind Bob to stop for gas in Española. Our leader, Bob Payne, evoked interesting comments
when he passed all but the very last gas station in Española. We made the gas stop and launched again
as a happy group.
Our goal was to reach Chama in time to join the Colorado contingent for a 2:00pm tour of the Chama rail
yard. Speed varied as we traversed the hills and back roads to Chama but we all pulled into the Elkhorn
Lodge in Chama at 1:30pm, in time to grab some food and join the rail yard tour.
At 3:00pm we had our welcome tables set up in the pavilion area of the Elkhorn Lodge. This was an
outside pavilion and it was a “brisk” Monday afternoon in Chama. It seems as though everyone who
came to register stayed until our planned 6:00pm shut down time. This was undoubtedly due to the
excellent stories and friendship shared, but was also influenced by the plentiful wine and cheese and
crackers available! By 6:00 pm all but one couple had been to the welcome party and we were all ready
for supper.
The one couple that did not make the welcome party called about 8pm Monday evening to collect their
tour bag and to let us know they had switched to a modern car. Unfortunately their '52 truck was hobbled
outside of Santa Fe on their way to Chama. Like real troupers they left the truck and joined the tour in
a rented car. Later, after having some difficulty finding a suitable pickup spindle they called a relative to
bring up a trailer to pick up ‘Blue’ and trailer him home.
Not unexpectedly many car hoods were popped on Monday afternoon. One1949 two door had
experienced drive train vibrations and ended up jacked up with several members giving opinions and
staring at universal joints until nearly dark. The car was back together and running shortly thereafter.
Tuesday morning arrived too soon as we gathered for discussion of our first tour day. Jeff Jackson
welcomed everyone and introduced Jay Hertz who overviewed the day. Jay's knowledge of the Cumbres
and Toltec railroad allowed him to provide a complete and very interesting description of the train trip we
were preparing to make. Most of the tour group took the train from Chama, New Mexico to Osier,
Colorado and back. Some of the tourers took an alternative route and rode a bus one way and took the
longer train trip from Antonito, Colorado back to Chama. Either route delivered excellent scenery and
ample time for discussions with fellow tourers on the train. Both routes had a lunch stop in Osier,
Colorado with fine food at the Osier train station.
Cars at the Cumbres Toltec Parking Lot on Tuesday Morning
The fall colors were wonderful! Many of the tourers took advantage of the open cars at some point during
the trip to get the real smell and sound of the train and the open beauty of Northern New Mexico. It was
cool in the open car, well actually cold in the open car if you were outside when we crossed the Cumbres
Pass with light snow on the ground. Those with a sharp eye saw deer on the train ride and some of us
saw deer across the street from the motel Tuesday evening.
View from the train in route to Osier, Colorado
Arrived back at the hotel around 5pm and another round of examining each other’s cars ensued. A power
steering belt was scraping the lower radiator hose on one of the many 1953 cars at the event. The simple
fix was removing the fan belt, the radiator hose damage was minor. Most folks gassed up and checked
fluid levels Tuesday afternoon before dark.
Gail Bangiola and others instigated a second wine and cheese party on Tuesday evening. Frank Corey
and Joe Abbin had one of the largest rooms so that’s where the wine and cheese and story telling
progressed on Tuesday. The weather had us a little concerned because there was a forecast for snow
in Chama on Wednesday.
Lo and behold on Wednesday we awoke to find 3" of snow on our cars. Luckily this is New Mexico and
the snow was already melted on the road at this elevation of about 7300'. Many of the cars had their first
taste of snow in many, many years. Richard Fell had the foresight to cover his convertible with a tarp
while many others went a naturale. It was a chilly drivers’ meeting on Wednesday as Joyce Clements
discussed the day's plans. Everyone opted to take the higher elevation road, which was also the shorter
route, to Taos. Little did we know what was up ahead.
Lining up at the Elkhorn Lodge in Chama
You know many of these older cars do not have heaters and many with vacuum wipers admit the wipers
are more for show than function. Within 20 miles of leaving Chama we had snow covered ground but
only moist roads. Another twenty miles and we had climbed above 9000' elevation and the snow and
slush was on the road. Another few miles and we were crossing the peak at over 10,000 feet elevation
and the road had a light but solid snow cover. Every driver on this trip admitted sliding at least one time
during this crossing. And, every driver said it was a great experience to drive over snow covered roads.
But in their next breath said that driving a snow covered road was now crossed off their ‘bucket list’ and
they probably did not need to do it again.
Crossing the Mountain on Hyway 64 between Chama and Taos
On the downhill side of this mountain crossing we all stopped at an abandoned
gas station to rest and swap stories before driving on to the Rio Grande
Gorge Bridge crossing and view of the Rio Grande then on into Taos.
The Rio Grande Gorge crossing is a bridge across the Rio Grande at a point where the river flows
through a canyon 565 feet below the bridge. It is like a mini Grand Canyon. This bridge is the seventh
highest bridge in the United States. We stopped here and took pictures and admired the scenery. The
scenery included a small herd of big horn sheep on the side of the road at the Gorge. These sheep were
not inhibited at all by our old cars crossing the bridge. Mary Harcourt took pictures of many cars crossing
the bridge.
Joe Abbin in his supercharged flathead 1950 Mercury crossing the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge
It was only a short drive into Taos from the Gorge. Everyone went their own way in Taos to pick a
favorite eating place for lunch, or to begin shopping, or to visit museums or do sight seeing. Many of the
drivers, but not all, found car washes and cleaned their babies. A small group regathered at about 2pm
and made the drive around the ‘Enchanted Circle’ through Angel Fire back to Taos. That drive was
uneventful with no snow covered grounds but the scenery was wonderful.
One 1935 Coupe needed some distributor work, seems one set of points had closed.
Out popped the tools and more hands than could fit in the engine bay.
The car was back running great in a short time.
The hotel where most people stayed in Taos had a free soup buffet in the evening and many tourers
found the soup sufficient after a hearty lunch. The soup dining area served as a gathering point all
Wednesday evening. There was talk of purchases made and not made. It was widely agreed that
jewelry in Taos was expensive but very high quality and gorgeous. At many tables people were still
discussing their snow driving experience. It was agreed this was the first tour in memory that had three
seasons in three days. There was also considerable talk comparing bias ply tires to radial ply, and
reviewing the pro’s and con’s of 12 volt vs. 6 volt electric systems, and pontificating on the benefits or
failings of the Columbia and Mitchell overdrive systems. Each of these mighty important topics had
ample support on each side. Being a good natured group the consensus decision was to do what you
as a driver liked because it is your car. Good thing we all avoided politics and religion because there was
no shortage of opinions!
Thursday we awoke to a beautiful New Mexico fall morning. It was brisk in the shade while a step into
the sun warmed one quickly. The morning briefing was given by Joe Abbin. He said the trip through
Chimayo to Santa Fe was less than 100 miles but packed full of interesting stopping places, beautiful
scenery, and good food.
Typical Morning Briefing
After the morning briefing and before hitting the road the cars were all lined up for a group picture. Len
and Mary Harcourt arranged the cars and took the pictures. There should be some outstanding pictures
of Ford flathead powered cars (and some fine pictures of flatheads standing beside their cars).
The first suggested stop was ‘The Classical Gas Museum’ operated by Johnny Meiers. Most of the
touring cars stopped and spent nearly an hour snooping around. Johnny has an eclectic collection of
memorabilia surrounded by junk. Most of the memorabilia and junk was not for sale. There were several
signs that pointed out ‘this is damned fine junk’. The inside museum was stuffed with old garage
business stuff. He had many old gas pumps and some he had restored for sale. Prices reflected the
scarcity of this type memorabilia.
9
After ‘The Classical Gas Museum’ it was on to Chimayo for weaving, jewelry, sculptures, the santuario
and a big lunch at the world famous Rancho de Chimayo. Great lunch at Rancho de Chimayo and we
were looking forward to another Mexican dinner at the Blue Corn Café in Santa Fe that night. With so
many things to do in Chimayo there was no attempt to keep everyone together for the short drive to
Santa Fe.
Getting from Chimayo to Santa Fe was not difficult, but Santa Fe is a very old city with crooked roads that
change name every other intersection. It took some effort to get to our hotels in downtown Santa Fe.
Others stayed a little further from the city center. Nearly everyone on the tour made it to the Blue Corn
Café for dinner and appeared to enjoy the food and drink judging by the lively conversations and overall
noise level in our part of the restaurant.
The conversations continued later in the hotel common areas.
Friday morning promised another beautiful New Mexico sun filled day. The morning briefing included
introducing Larry Azevedo as host for the trip to Los Alamos via Bandelier.
After a brief drivers meeting at 8 AM we left the hotel at 8:30. Fortunately, because of the government
shutdown, Bandolier National Monument was open for us to drive in until 10 AM. It is usually closed at
9 AM and then access is through bus service. After the usual tortuous route to get out of Santa Fe we
traveled north through Pojoque Pueblo and then turned west towards White Rock. We entered Bandolier
at about 9:35 after some beautiful scenic views. Everyone took their time walking through the ancient
ruins and then drove back up the hill and entered Los Alamos through the west access road. We parked
in the middle of town near the Bradbury Science Museum, Fuller Lodge and Historical Museum.
Everyone spent the early afternoon having lunch and visiting the sites. The total mileage for the day was
90 miles.
Note to TumbleweedV8 Regional Members: This is the start of an article that we plan to prepare for the
Early Ford V8 Times Newsletter.
For more photos and videos, check out the club website at http://abqfordflatheadv8.com/.
Please also see Joe Abbin’s article, “Reflections on Tumbleweed Tour 2013,” which is included in this
e-mail.
CHRISTMAS PARTY
December 3, 2013
by Mary Gorenz
Another reminder of our Christmas Party, December 3rd at the Cooperage, 6 P.M. I hope some of you
have already sent your checks to the club treasurer. The price is $31.30 per person which includes the
tax and tip. There will be a no host bar available.
You will decide on your food that night. You will have a choice of Prime rib, Fresh British Columbian
Salmon, Grilled Hawaiian Chicken, or Steak and Shrimp. All entrees include choice of french fries, rice
pilaf or baked potato. Salad bar comes with all entrees as well as iced tea, coffee and sodas. Each
person attending is asked to bring a $10.00 gift for the “fun” gift exchange, this should be something that
you would like to have yourself. Mark your gift man, woman or either. After drawing numbers the gifts
are chosen by # 1 and then #2 can take a new gift or take the gift chosen by # 1 and so on. A gift can
only be stolen twice, after the second time it stay with that owner. This can be a lot of fun so hope all of
you will elect to participate. We have also been asked to bring a donation of food or cash for the
Roadrunner Food Bank. Hope we have a really good turn out, so get your reservations in as soon as
possible so we have a count for the Cooperage by November 25th.
Thanks.
2013 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS
President: Jay Hertz (jdhhag@comcast.net)
Vice-President: R. Jeff Jackson (jbjaxun@gmail.com)
Secretary: Neva Coffee (marvin.coffee@comcast.net)
Treasurer: Larry Williams (l-m-williams@comcast.net)
Directors: Joe Abbin (roadrunnerengr@msn.com)
Dee Patterson (patdcar@aol.com)
Max Glover (mfgjlg1995@aol.com)
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES
Happy Birthday to:
5 Jay Hertz
9 Betty Shelton
30 Ray Calderon
Happy Anniversary to:
21 Marvin & Neva Coffee
NEWSLETTER NOTE
Members are encouraged to submit articles and ads for inclusion in the newsletter, but please remember
we have space limitations. Article submissions may be reformatted for newsletter purposes, but they will
not be edited without the author’s approval. The deadline for submissions is the 20th of the month. Micki
Hughes, newsletter publisher, 505.359.3227, or email: tumbleweednewsletter@gmail.com.
SEPTEMBER SWAP MEET
by Joyce Clements
We had the biggest swap meet ever this year in Los Lunas. Thank you to Bud Hennessey, Frank Corey,
Ray Calderon, Mistee Thomson, and Jim Clements for your help at the meet. Thank you John Shelton
and Max Glover for contributing parts to sell for the Club. I saw several members out shopping for
goodies. 450 spaces were sold. The swap meet is now the biggest one that we know of in New Mexico,
Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Montana and most of Texas. We personally found a
number of flathead Ford parts and a few other useful items at various locations in the meet. There were
vendors from Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Indiana, Wisconsin, and 52 New Mexico
communities. Shoppers were here from many more places. All in all, it was a very successful event.
If you missed it, try again next year; the dates will be September 26-28. Watch for it!
FORD NEWS
By Joyce Clements
From the FORD NEWS of March, 1939
DIED ON ITS TRACKS
The disastrous snow and ice storm which swept across the Midwest late in January failed to freeze out
an elaborate Bus Day celebration in Ashtabula, Ohio. With fanfare and ceremony that mocked the
blizzard, 3,000 Ashtabulans gathered at the city garage to watch cremation of a “Toonerville” trolley car
and christening of the municipally-owned fleet of five new Ford transit buses.
The blizzard, which arrived together with the new buses, resulted in a two-day premature opening of the
bus system. City Manager Tom R. Bailey had planned to hold the celebration on January 31, and until
then, to display the buses in the downtown district.
Soon after the storm had blanketed streets with three inches of snow and coated trolley wires with heavy
ice, the traction superintendent phoned Mr. Bailey to report that all five trolleys were marooned in valleys
throughout the city. “Send out the snowplow to rescue them,” the manager advised.
“We’ve already done that and the snowplow’s stuck!” the worried superintendent replied.
Canceling his downtown “preview” of the buses, Mr. Bailey immediately put the buses at work. Two days
before their scheduled inauguration, the Ford fleet was hauling passengers and towing stranded trolleys
through Ashtabula streets.
At the dedication program, Mayor Carl Carper and Mr. Bailey spoke from a black-draped “funeral” trolley
car, which was saturated with oil and then touched off. As flames consumed the ancient “jitterbug,” fiveyear-
old Donna Mae Bailey broke a bottle of “pure Lake Erie water” over the bumper of the first bus.
In speeches at the ceremony and in talks over the local radio station, city officials stated that the
streamlined bus system will operate at less than half the cost-per-mile of the trolley system it replaces.
Of greatest interest to the citizens of Ashtabula was the fact that routes have been greatly extended, at
no increase in the fare.
An epitaph was written in the local newspaper that read:
AT REST CITY OF ASHTABULA RAIL WAYS DIED ON ITS TRACKS JAN 31-39
They rattled along for the last 10 years
Now they are gone, we shed no tears.
We’ll miss all the noise, confusion and fuss
And spend all our money on the nice new bus.
ASHTABULA REJOICES TODAY
EARLY FORD V-8 FOUNDATION & MUSEUM
by Joyce Clements
The Foundation has purchased 8.73 acres of additional land adjacent to the Museum site. The Board
wanted more space to host large events, have space to display more cars, and have plenty of space to
build the Rotunda. The purchase was made with donations, a Grant-in-Aid and $3500 from the
Foundation; no money was borrowed to buy the land. It brings the amount of land now owned to 11.23
acres, plenty of room to park lots of Ford products.
Our Tumbleweed President, Jay Hertz, is now a nominee for a Director of the Foundation. He will offer
a legal perspective to the projects of the Foundation. Please encourage Jay in his new role to help to
the Early Ford V8 Foundation. Consider becoming a Foundation member. It’s our history.
Go to the web site, and check out the “Ford Store” to see all the neat “stuff” and books for sale. You can
find books that will help you with your projects, or just provide you with some entertaining reading.
Find out more about the Foundation at www.fordv8foundation.org. There is a donation page now on the
web site where you can make a donation or buy a brick in memory of a fellow enthusiast. Support your
local V8 Ford Foundation.
POST MORTEM ON THE CLEMENTS’ 1949 FORD
The Saga of a Valve Job Gone Wrong
By Joyce Clements
As many of you know, the old reliable 1949 Ford went to Chama and participated in the National Driving
Tour, but it came home from Taos on a flatbed. One cylinder had completely quit working, and a second
was on the way out. Working in the Taos motel parking lot, with plenty of help and free advice, it was
diagnosed as a blown head gasket. That explained the coolant dripping out of the tailpipe, and the
bubbles in the radiator. Taking the most cautious way out, we elected to have AAA haul it to
Albuquerque, where we could work on it indoors and give ourselves more time. We finished the tour in
a modern car.
As it turned out, towing the Ford home was a very good idea. When we pulled the heads, we discovered
that the gaskets had been thoroughly glued to the heads and to the block. The glue had failed and
allowed antifreeze to seep under the gaskets, but we saw no obvious coolant in the oil. A few years back,
we had a valve job done on the car, including 16 new valves. Looking inside the engine, we found that
there were 12 new replacement valves, and the back 4 were original Ford script. Maybe they were too
hard to reach. Before the heads were glued on, the bolts had not been cleaned properly, and this meant
the torque readings when they were tightened (and retightened) were inaccurate. The car would probably
not have made it home under its own power, as the problem was getting worse. We had planned to drive
the car to Lake Tahoe this summer, but are very glad we did not; we might still be stuck out somewhere
in the canyonlands of Utah.
At this point, the bolts are now clean, a thread chaser has been run into all the bolt holes, the heads and
block are scraped clean of glue residue, the valves have been reset, and new gaskets have been
purchased. The oil will now be drained and the cylinders cleaned of glue and antifreeze. The old adage,
that a little extra time doing a job right the first time saves the time of doing it over, really holds true here.
OTHER NEARBY ACTIVITIES
November 2 – 4th Fly-In, Open House & Car Show – 2 mi W of I-25 on Camino del Llano, Belen –
Antique & Experimental airplanes – Airplane rides, sky-diving, pancake breakfast, food – 8am-1pm
November 5-8 – 46th Annual SEMA Show – Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV – 866.229.3687
November 9 – Los Lunas Food Drive Cruz – Wells Fargo Bank, Bosque Farms – 1:00pm – David Silva
550.8415, or vintagegasser@aim.com
November 9 – 17th Veterans' Day Car Show & Swap Meet – Veterans' Hospital, T or C – Entry $30
Show, $25 Swap – Benefits NM State Veterans' Home Resident Fund – Sam Shannon 575.894.4222 or
sam.shannon@state.nm.us
November 15-17 – 16th Southwest Nationals – Westworld, Scottsdale, AZ – Pre-'73 – Goodguys
925.838.9876 or www.good-guys.com
November 16 – Toys for Tots Run – Las Cruces – Jenn Silva 575.680.0830
November 16 – Just for the Hell of It Car Show – Body Works, 124 Westgate, Las Cruces – Mike Garcia
575.541.5772
November 16 – Benefit Car Show for Danny Lovato, seriously injured in a balloon accident – Balloon
Fiesta Park – bcougar67@msn.com
November 17 – ASR Drags-Arroyo Seco Raceway, Roger 575.494.4794, www.arroyosecoraceway.com
November 22-24 – 3rd Del Mar Nationals – Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA – Pre '73 Goodguys –
925.838.9876 or www.good-guys.com
November 23 – Toys for Tots Run – Las Cruces – Jenn Silva 575.680.0830
November 23-24 – Phoenix Swap Meet, Show & Shine – Arizona State Fairgrounds, Phoenix – Spaces
20x20 and up $40-$100 – For more information contact 480.288.7927, kim@phoenixcarswapmeet.com
or www.phoenixcarswapmeet.com
For information/flyers about area events: http://nmcarcouncil.net/events-2/
2013 CLUB EVENTS
11/5 Elections & Women’s Night Presentation: Lorna Azevedo
12/3 Holiday Party
If you can help with any of the activities, please don’t hesitate to volunteer
Reflections on Tumbleweed Tour 2013
By Joe Abbin
Well it’s over but not soon forgotten. The tour was our local Tumbleweed Early Ford V-8 club’s first and the national club’s second formal tour. For me, the tour took place from 10/14/13 through 10/18/13. We had 25-30 (they came and went) vehicles from NM, CO, TX, AZ, CA and even IN. I took my 1950 Mercury and covered 522 miles door to door and averaged 15.2 mpg. I had no auto service problems and no oil consumption. This was the Mercury’s first foray in the snow and it performed like a champ. Hooray! I took over 166 photos and had a great time with both old and new friends. Everything went relatively smoothly and all of us involved should take great pride in a safe, happy and very successful event! Special thanks to Jay Hertz for initiating and coordinating the tour and to Jeff & Beth Jackson for handling the registration and publicity. I’m sure the club will produce some type of scrapbook with more detailed documentation of the event, but the following are some of my favorite photos. These and many additional photos of the cars and people are available from me and others.
On Monday 10/15/13, we had an early arrival tour of the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad yards in Chama, NM. These yards and the railroad have been designated a national historic site and operating museum. Here a docent, Bob Ross, points out some of the high points. Our Tumbleweed president, Jay Hertz in the red cap, was distracted by a shiny thing in the sky.
The Chama station of the Cumbres & Toltec railroad. The complex dates from the 1880’s.
One of four functional narrow gauge locomotives at the site. I rode Number 489 from Antonito, CO to Chama, NM. The bus trip from Chama to Antonito was also very nice and had different scenery from that visible from the train.
Engine 489 chugging up grades of 4% in some places. Sand was often applied for traction.
One of the many scenic views on the train ride.
Deer feeding in the yard of the Elkhorn Lodge in Chama, NM. We spent two nights here. We had a chilly outdoor reception with wine and cheese there on Monday night, 10/15. The reception generated enough leftovers for another warmer reception the following night after the train ride in the room I shared with Frank Corey.
Another view of the Elkhorn Lodge with JC Bole’s, Ken Ballew’s and John Carother’s V-8s. We woke up to snow on the cars Wednesday morning, but no jump starts were required.
Several V-8s at the closed service station in Tres Piedras, NM on Wednesday, 10/16. We had just driven thought a snowstorm (first for the Mercury). Elevation went over 10,500 feet on this leg of the trip. Luckily, the road didn’t freeze and we proceeded safely on our way to Taos.
The view through the Mercury windshield after the snowstorm on the way to the Rio Grande Gorge and Taos. A parade of V-8’s (and others) are seen moving in front along Highway 64.
“Earth Ship” homes under construction. These are part of an “off-the grid” development just before the Rio Grande Gorge. Someday I’ll go back and take more pictures of these homes.
The fabulous Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The river is about 650 feet below. There was a 50% off sale on bungee jumping tours for V-8ers.
Part of the collection of V-8 touring cars next to the Quality Inn in Taos on Thursday, 10/17/13.
Two of my favorite Mercurys on the road across from Johnny Meier’s Classical Gas Museum in Embudo, NM. My 1950 is on the left and the 1953 on the right belongs to Clyde and Gail Bangiola.
Johnny Meier’s Classical Gas Museum. He has amassed an impressive collection of automobilia and petroliana that even includes a roadside diner. Talk about having “stuff”. Check out the famous “Flamingo Grove” below. They never moved while I was there.
Another sample of the beautiful views available on the trip. This view of the river was across from the museum. There is a barely visible grave or memorial marker in the lower right.
Marv Coffee contemplating the next move in the generator war at the Chimayo Mercantile parking lot in Chimayo, NM. Overseeing was John Abrums, the owner of the business. John had several of his own vehicles on display for our group including a 1908 Sears and a 1917 Detroit Electric. Marv and wife Neva prevailed and finished the tour on battery power.
The last day of the tour, Friday, 10/18/13, featured the Los Alamos, NM area including Bandeleir National Monument, and in town attractions such as the Bradbury Museum of Nuclear History which featured the cruise missile above and many other historic items such as replicas of the first atomic bombs, “Fat Man” and “Little Boy”. Great place and it was free admission!
The Old Santa Fe Inn, a refurbished 1940’s style motor inn, was voted the favorite of our places to stay on the tour. Only blocks from the Santa Fe Plaza, it is an excellent base for exploring the attractions in downtown Santa Fe which many chose to do on Friday, 10/18/13.