COB VETTE NEWS - Corvettes of Buffalo€¦ · Bob February, 2019 It’s 1959; DDE is still POTUS and the cold war is still hot. Alaska and Hawaii become states; Lee Petty wins the

CORVETTES of BUFFALO 1

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF

www.corvettesofbuffalo.com

COB VETTE NEWS Since 1981

Volume 39, Issue 2

Note from the editor

Notes from the President

Well February is here, and we are all waiting in

anticipation for the verdict from Punxsutawney Phil.

Unfortunately, we all know how that goes so I guess we

leave the trickle chargers and covers on for another 6 weeks.

Be patient Cruzan season will be here before we know it.

Remember that after the February meeting is our annual

pizza party organized by Skip and Maureen Polowy, if you

plan on attending be sure to let them know so they can plan

accordingly. Also, I would like to thank Mel & Norma for

hosting refreshments for the club meetings going forward.

Now is the time to organize events and trips that you

think the membership would enjoy. Get them to Linda

Graham and get them on the COB event calendar that we

will be compiling in March.

Frank Pastore is organizing a trip to the Woodward Dream

Cruise in August and Norma Joseph is putting together a trip

to Put-n-Bay Ohio. Corvettes at Carlisle and the 25th NCM

Corvette Caravan are also on the agenda of some of our

members in August. Planning is underway for our All

Corvette Show on May 29th the COB Picnic August 11th and

the 15th Anniversary Caravan is again being planned for

September. Several events are already planned but let’s

come up with more. Keep the wheels turning this summer!

Registration opens 2/2/2019 9am EST for the NCCC

convention in Denver, CO. For more information see the

NCCC website. Consider it, this would be a great trip to enjoy

the scenery of our country and have a great time with other

Corvette enthusiasts not to mention serious seat time.

Living the Dream

Bob

February, 2019

It’s 1959; DDE is still POTUS and the cold war

is still hot. Alaska and Hawaii become

states; Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.

Meanwhile we were watching Rod Serling’s

“The Twilight Zone” on TV and “North by

Northwest” with Cary Gant was the number

one movie for the year. Johnny Horton’s

“Battle of New Orleans” battled Bobby

Darin’s “Mack the knife” for the top tune.

The 1959 Corvette is better than ever.

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CORVETTES of BUFFALO

Officers President-------Bob Joseph-------------716-440-6091 Vice President-Mike Buccilli—--------716-648-2037 Treasurer-------Maryanne Pastore---716-694-9024 Secretary-------Karen Rothenberger-716-675-9467

Board of Directors Frank Pastore-------------------- 716-693-4654 Debbie Schafer ------------------716-551-6999 Bruce Graham -------------------716-741-3350 Lynda Graham -------------------716-741-3350 Skip Polowy ----------------------716-201-1889 George Sparks--------------------716-432-8799 Jim Decker ------------------------716-652-2169

Committees Membership Barbara Lipome 716-691-8845 Newsletter Larry Dudeck 716-634-7391 Phone Comm. Lynda Graham 716-741-3350 Sunshine Comm. Karen Rothenberger 716-675-9467 Diane Skeide 876-1197 Webmaster Ken Bushley 716-826-8812 [email protected] Activities Dir. Lynda Graham 716-741-3350 Club Photographer Dan Krakowski 675-5880 Dave Spencer 492-4541 Face Book page Manager Dan Wroblewski 716-542-2041 Liaison for Out of Town Corvette Clubs Mike & Lee Buccilli 716-648-2037 *********************************************

Meeting every second Saturday of the month at First Presbyterian Church

9675 Main St. Clarence, NY, 14031 Meeting starts 7:00 p.m.

***********************************************

Visit us at: http://www.corvettesofbuffalo.com/

Send Newsletter Articles To: Larry Dudeck

E-Mail: [email protected]

Submissions must be in by the 27th

Late submissions will be published the following month.

February Anniversaries

14th Louis & Roseanne Merzacco

17th Bob & Norma Joseph

18th John & Tracy Kowalske21st Peter &

Rose Ricigliano

February Birthdays

2nd John Biggie

2nd Donna Harrer

2nd Diane Miller

6th Dennis Buckley

7th Carole Rotando

9th Paul Brozyna

20th Skip Polowy

22nd Janet Craft

22nd Debbie Schafer

24th Maureen Polowy

http://www.corvettesofbuffalo.com/

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Mark your calendars for this

Terry and I will be in charge of the CoB’s 2019 summer picnic that will be held on Sunday, August 11, 2019 at Gratwick Fire Hose in North Tonawanda (same place as last year). Thanks. Jim Decker

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February Pizza and Wings Party

After our February monthly meeting at the Clarence Presbyterian Church, the club will be hosting our annual

Pizza & Wings Party.

It’s a great opportunity to congratulate the new 2019 Officers and Board Members, socialize with your fellow

members or get acquainted with newer members while enjoying some great Buffalo pizza & wings.

All members and perspective members are welcome.

There was a signup sheet at the January meeting so we know the headcount and order enough pizza and

wings for all! If you did not sign up and will be joining us in February, please contact:

Skip or Maureen Polowy (716) 201-1889 or by email: [email protected]

The cost for the pizza, wings, coffee and bottled water is $2.50 pp and you can pay at the February meeting if

you have not already done so.

We look forward to seeing you at the February meeting!

Skip and Maureen Polowy

mailto:[email protected]

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New member

I was not familiar with Corvettes but when I learned Ken had a couple of them and

was getting ready to restore them, I offered my assistance. The journey took us to

many Corvette shows and National Conventions, from Monterey California, down

to San Antonio Texas and Norfolk Virginia. People were passionate about showing

and judging Corvettes and Ken liked to judge and inspect the cars. I helped

tabulate judging scores at some of these shows and seen the joy on owners faces

when they received their awards. The classic Corvettes are great but Joining

Corvettes of Buffalo and experiencing their host of activities and meeting new

friends will be fun.

Sue Reville

Corvettes of Buffalo Winter Dinner

Do you have cabin fever? How about joining us for dinner, at Max’s American Grill in the

Holiday Inn Airport, 4600 Genesee St. When? Wednesday, February 20th at 6pm. I will have a

signup sheet at the February meeting, if you are unable to attend, contact me if you would like

to join us for dinner. I need a head count for Max’s by February, 11th. Hope to see you there!

Norma Joseph, 440-1040

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Max%27s_Restaurant_logo.svg

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History of the Corvette, part 7

The 1959 Corvette had a production run of 9670 units. The not-so-obvious difference

between this year and the 1958 was the deletion of some chrome on the trunk lid and the

removal of the fake louvres on the hood.

During the development of the 1959 edition, Zora Duntov had a plan to change the engine

block, heads and transmission case to aluminum. In addition, he would employ a dry sump for

the engine which would allow the car’s overall height to be a mere 46”. As the number of

Corvettes approached the 10,000/year mark, Duntov also tried to sell management on

building the bodies from steel. The final car would be lighter, stronger and stiffer. The same

tooling could be used with sheet aluminum in case Chevy wanted to offer a light weight GT

version. Duntov figured the weight of the steel bodied Corvette with a dry sump engine built

largely of aluminum would weigh in at 2500 lbs.

The changeover to steel body tooling would cost a great deal of money so the idea was nixed.

The RFG tooling would suffice; especially since minor changes, such as hood scoops and

louvers could be added or removed at little cost.

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Performance for the 1959 Corvette was not much different than its predecessor.

The 1959 Corvette performance with the 290 HP engine with a 4.11:1 rear end.

0 – 30 mph, 3.1 sec ¼ quarter mile 14.0 sec @ 90 mph curb weight 3204 lbs.

0 – 60 mph, 6.8 sec Top speed 128 lbs. /HP 11.04

0 – 100 mph, 15.5 sec Braking 60 -0 mph 169 ft. MPG 14.0

Other refinements to the 1959 edition included repositioned arm rests and a T-handle lockout

on the shift lever to prevent accidental engagement of reverse. The instrument cluster

underwent a change from flat lenses to concave, which eliminated distracting reflections. Also

for 1959, the addition of rear trailing radius rods would prevent the rear springs from

”wrapping” under hard acceleration as well as improving the ride and general handling on

rough roads. The most noticeable change was in the comfort of the newly designed seats and

for the first time, sun visors were available. The new tachometer was redlined at 7000 rpm.

The least desirable change was the addition of a small package tray under the passenger’s

hand-hold. Not large enough to be useful but low enough to do some serious knee damage in

the event of a collision. As in all earlier Corvettes, the lack of seat belts would be sorely

missed when the owner did any high speed driving through curves.

Note the package tray under the grab rail.

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Sometimes, less is more.

1959 Corvette’s cleaned up trunk lid as compared to the 1958 version.

The 1958 Corvette.

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A list of options available to a Corvette buyer. The base price was $3875 for the 220 HP

version with the 3-speed manual gear box.

Option Production Price

Heater 8,909 $102.25

AM Radio, signal seeking 7,001 149.80

Parking Brake Alarm 3,601 5.40

Courtesy Lights 3,601 6.50

Windshield Washer 7,909 16.15

Radiator Fan Clutch 67 21.55

Sunshades 3,722 10.80

Wheels, 15 x 5.5 214 0.00

Whitewall Tires, 6.70 x 15 8,173 31.55

Powerglide Automatic Transmission 1,878 199.10

Auxiliary Hardtop 5,481 236.75

Power Windows 587 59.20

Two-Tone Paint 2,931 16.15

245 hp Engine 1,417 150.65

270 hp Engine 1,846 182.95

Power Operated Folding Top 661 139.90

250 hp Engine Fl 175 484.20

290 hp Engine Fl 745 484.20

Positraction Rear Axle 4,170 48.45

Heavy Duty Brakes and Suspension 142 425.05

4-speed Manual Transmission 4,175 188.30

Metallic Brakes 333 26.90

Black wall Tires, 6.70 x 15 nylon NA NA

24 Gallon Fuel Tank NA NA

Color Choices and Production

Color Choice Production Color Choice Production

Tuxedo Black 1,594 Classic Cream 223

Frost Blue 1,024 Crown Sapphire 888

Roman Red 1,542 Snowcrest White 3,354

Inca Silver 957

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFwfSZDvUCw

For you fans of the new 2019 ZR1 Corvette, check out the video at “Jay Leno’s Garage”.

The video starts out with Jay driving the new ‘vette at just a hair over 200 mph. This is on

pump gas with the factory tires.

The 6.2 L V8 delivers 755 HP and 715 ft.lbs. of torque, driving your choice of a 7-speed manual

gear box or 8 speed automatic.

Purchase price includes a two day training course at the Spring Mountain facility near Las Vegas. The base model ZR1 starts at $119,995 and the convertible at $123,995.

The 2019 Corvette ZR1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFwfSZDvUCw

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Welcome and congratulations to George Sparks as our final Board Member for 2019. George’s appointment completes our 2019 Board and he was sworn in at the January meeting. Thank you, George!

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For those of you who are thinking of spring…

WATKINS GLEN OPENING WEEKEND APRIL 6 AND 7 2019 RAIN OR SHINE

Addo the WGI R.A.C.E. (Racing and Community Enrichment) Foundation! More information coming soon.

Three Paced Laps $25

• No pre-purchase available; buy upon arrival to Gate 2

• Proceeds benefit the R.A.C.E. Foundation

• Drivers must have valid Driver’s License

• Gates open at 9:00 a.m., Laps begin at 10:00 a.m.

• Last ticket sales at 3:00 p.m., Final laps at 4:00 p.m.

• No Motorcycles or box trucks

• Seat belts must be worn by all occupants

The RCC participation and schedule will be worked out with the Watkin Glen staff and will be published in March. For sign-up for this event contact Steve Popple via email ([email protected]) or call 585-394-3428 to get on the list by 03/31/2019, leave a message if no one answers. Save the date if you are thinking of attending. Again, the specifics will come later. Tentative for now is Saturday the 6th with arrival at the Glen by 10:45 or 11:00 AM. Visit the Watkins Glen website for addition info and a view of this year’s season at the Glen.

Steve Popple

2019 President Rochester Corvette Club

https://www.theglen.com/EventICAL.ashx?path=%2fsitecore%2fcontent%2fWGI%2fTickets+Events%2fEvents%2f2019%2fOpening+Weekend&track=Watkins+Glen+International


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MAJOR SPONSOR for CORVETTES of BUFFALO

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Ctrl + Click on these links to review our current NEW CAR and PREOWNED inventories. NEW ------------- http://www.paddockchevrolet.com/VehicleSearchResults?search=new&bodyType=CAR

PREOWNED ------------------- http://www.paddockchevrolet.com/VehicleSearchResults?search=preowned

https://www.treadcitytire.com/index.htm

89 Thompson Street

North Tonawanda, NY 14120

(716) 693-4800

3440 Genesee Street

Cheektowaga, NY 14225

(716) 204-8413

6563 S. Transit Road

Lockport, NY 14094

(716) 589-5024

Corvettes of Buffalo Advertisers Pages

http://www.paddockchevrolet.com/VehicleSearchResults?search=new&bodyType=CAR

http://www.paddockchevrolet.com/VehicleSearchResults?search=preowned

https://www.treadcitytire.com/index.htm

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BUFFALO

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NOTICE TO MEMBERS

On the next page is a copy of the new C.O.B. Ad Form. The Board of Directors is asking members to consider approaching businesses they know that might be interested in placing an ad in the C.O.B. Newsletter and on the web site.

Members should only consider this if they are comfortable in doing so. The Ad Form can be downloaded and printed. All information the business needs to know is on the form. If you have any questions or comments, contact Jim Decker at [email protected]. Thank you.


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NEWSLETTER AND WEBSITE AD FORM Corvettes of Buffalo offer ad space in its monthly newsletter, on its website and on our Facebook page. Please review existing ads and newsletters at www.corvettesofbuffalo.com. Our ad rates for one year, beginning with receipt of payment, are: BUSINESS CARD 1/8 page $40.00 ¼ page $75.00 ½ page $135.00 Full page $250.00

Any questions. Please contact: Jim Decker – 716 912 4217 Email: [email protected]

Thank you in advance for your support of CORVETTES of BUFFALO. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Please complete: BUSINESS NAME________________________________ CONTACT PERSON_____________________________ PHONE # ________________________________ Please make checks payable to: Corvettes of Buffalo

Mail to: Corvettes of Buffalo P.O. Box 161 West Seneca, New York 14224

INCLUDE: 1) Business card and/or art work 2) Completed form 3) Payment

Office Use: Date Received__________1 yr. notification date_______

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COB VETTE NEWS - Corvettes of Buffalo€¦ · Bob February, 2019 It’s 1959; DDE is still POTUS and the cold war is still hot. Alaska and Hawaii become states; Lee Petty wins the

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