Dixie Classic Chevy Club's Newsletter
IMPORTANT CLUB DATES:
October 7: Meeting @ Piccadilly @ 6:30pm
Piccadilly’s is on Hwy 41 a few blocks south of the Big Chicken.
Deadline for submitting material for next Newsletter: October 27
Christmas Party
This year the Christmas party will be held on Saturday December 4 at
the Cheatham Hill Community Club. Don't forget to place your bid for
this "one-of-a-kind" painting by our very own Harold Mordt. Bids may
be submitted to Bill Brown or Bob Bryant in writing or by e-mail at
any time through the November meeting. The picture will be presented
to the highest bidder at the Christmas party.
Volunteers
George Blackshaw -- October meeting raffle gift.
Steve Raines -- October cruise night.
Nashville Trip.......................by Alice Bell
We just completed our annual trek to Nashville, actually Hendersonville,
TN, for participation in the Mid-Tennessee Classic Chevy Club's 25th
anniversary car show. Even though there were only 53 cars in
attendance, which is average for this car show, this club is very
persistent in holding the show. And they do a great job at it.
I normally tell you about how we started our day at the Cracker Barrel
for breakfast, which we did, and how we stop on the way up at the
rest stops and everyone comes over to admire the cars, which they did.
That we went to the BBQ supper on Friday night and looked at the huge
car collection of the owner of the hotel - the Yenko camaros and all
the other cars, which is a sight to see. I tell you who all took
awards, which the three cars that went did - Jon Hanson took 1st place
in his category, Wally Bell, 1st place in his and Glen Barnett 2nd
place in his. I tell you how they have a good cruise night with a
live band and give away awards for top 10, which Wally won a top 10
plaque. I tell you about the wonderful weather we had, which this
weekend was no exception, in fact, it was almost perfect. And I tell
you about us stopping at the bottom of Signal Mountain at the lake
for another break, which is such a pretty stop. That is all old news
and not very exciting or worth repeating.
So this year, I want to tell you the exciting thing that Kathy, Dee and
I did. We went to the Parade of Homes in Brentwood, TN, where the
rich and famous live. This is similar to our Street of Dreams. We
toured six fully furnished homes that ranged from 5,300 square feet
to 9,600 square feet. The prices ranged from $1.125 million to $2.3
million. I bet the decorations cost another million bucks, easily,
as they were decorated exquisitely. These homes were spectacular.
Each house had three levels, five to six bedrooms, five to nine
bathrooms, yes folks, that is 9 bathrooms all in one house. They all
had media rooms, with large projector screens at least 12 feet wide
and rows of comfortable chairs. This would be a guy's dream to sit
and watch football or the car races. One house even had virtual golf,
also with a wide projector screen. It took us about three hours to
tour the six homes. We three girls were exhausted when we returned
to the hotel. Of course, the guys did not understand why we were so
tired, since all they did was sit around cars all day and talk to
other car enthusiasts. I must say the Parade of Homes was the
highlight of the trip, even though the guys might object.
Seems like I forgot to mention something about the cars…hummmm,
let's see, I told about cruise night, the three awards - oh yea,
that's it…. Wally's 1956 took People's Choice award. The trophy is 4
˝ feet tall and memorializes all the club members that passed away
since the club's inception. This was such an honor and a big surprise.
OK, that probably was the highlight of the trip for Wally.
I tell you each year that you missed a good time. This club is so nice
and very accommodating. One of the ladies even loaned us girls her
car so we could ride down to Brentwood for the Parade of Homes. Did
I tell you one house had 9 bathrooms…!!! Remember, we will be going
to Pigeon Forge in May, so mark your calendars and jump on the wagon.
You will be glad you did.
Old Blue Hits the Road Again-by Bill Brown
As you all know, it's been a long time since my '55 has been out of
the garage. But in the last few weeks, it's received an injection of
new life. If you've heard me talk about it in the last few months,
then you'll recall that the most recent problem was that it didn't
seem to be getting enough gas. I could pour a little gas in the
carburetor and get it started, but it would die as soon as that gas
was used up. We replaced the sending unit which requires dropping
the gas tank, since it goes inside. So while I was at it, I replaced
the gas tank. That didn't help at all.
The next step was to replace the fuel pump. Fuel pumps are relatively
inexpensive … unless you have a chromed Holley fuel pump. The new
one worked just as well as the old one. So now I have two perfectly
good chromed Holley fuel pumps; one on the car, and one that's
available to you. In other words, that wasn't the problem either.
Obviously, it couldn't be the carburetor because the car would run
as long as it had gas. We'd already checked the gas line by
disconnecting it from the tank and the fuel pump, and blowing
compressed air through it. The line was clear. However, it was the
only thing that had not been replaced. So we took it off the car to
inspect it. It wasn't clogged up, but it did have a problem. It had
a hole in it in the bend above the rear axle. Obviously, the fuel
pump had been pulling air instead of gas. I ordered new line, and
while I was at it, increased the size from the standard 5/16ths to
3/8ths inch to better serve the 350 V-8. Nothing's simple! That meant
I had to replace the sending unit with one that had a 3/8ths
connector. Now problem! Just buy it, drop the gas tank again,
remove the brand new 5/16ths sending unit, and put in the one with
the 3/8ths connector. Anyone need a brand new standard sending unit?
Installing the gas line was no problem. I could tell by looking at
the Assembly Manual. It showed the frame, the routing of the gas
line, and the location of the clips. The gas line was neatly routed
from the gas tank over the frame, along the outside of the frame
to a point near the front, and back over the frame to a point near
the fuel pump. There was no car body shown in the drawing. Guess
what! Having the body on the car makes a big difference! How do you
get that long, bent-up gas line to go between the frame and body,
from the gas tank to the outside of the frame, through a body mount,
over the frame again, along the inside of the frame and end against
the frame near the fuel pump??? Magic!!! By the way, the "we" is
made up of Bill Elder, my Mopar, friend and me. Bill is an excellent
mechanic and restoration enthusiast. I could never have done this
without his help. He worked the magic to get the new gas line in
place. It took a lot of pushing and pulling, bending and rebending,
but we finally got it.
With the new gas tank, sending unit, fuel pump and gas line installed,
the old '55 Chevy fired up and purred like a very happy kitten. We
drove very gently around the block, and then a longer route until we
had 26 miles on the car. It runs like a top. Now all that's left
to do is install the new gas pedal, put in the padding and carpet,
install the seats, maybe put in a 700 R4 transmission, finish the
windshield wiper installation, etc. But at least it's drivable.
Maybe you'll see it soon. Need a Holley fuel pump? Gas sending unit?
Give me a call.
WORKER BEES
TITLE:
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MEMBER:
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President
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Bill Brown
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Vice President
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Bob Bryant
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Secretary
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Carol Lelack
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Treasurer
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George Blackshaw
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Newsletter Editor
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David Homoki
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Webmaster
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Ed Brown
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Dixie Classic Chevy Club
P.O. Box 1121
Marietta, GA 30061-1121
