Digital Newsletter winter 2013

www.royalpontiac.org Volume 20 Issue 6 Dec 2013

Inside this issue:

Romping on Woodward

Romping on Woodward

By Dr. Eric Schiffer

50th Anniversary of the GTO

Random Pontiac Pics

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GTO vs. GTO The Iconic Car and Driver comparison test

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Franklin Cider Mill

I have been very busy following up on many events with the upcoming 50th Cruise anniversary of the GTO. I have received information from the St. John's Concours d' Elegance. That they will have a car class to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Pontiac GTO. The car selection committee is asking for nominations of quality GTO's to fill the class. You can nominate your own car. Send in nomination info via this online form: http://concoursusa.org/vehicle-nomination

Points and Condenser Preservation Society Fall Color Tour SVRA Vintage racing championship

A big part of the GTOs legend and influence can be traced to Jim Wangers’ marketing and understanding of the enthusiast market. Please see the Vintage Pontiac Ad linked article which Jim inspired Esquire magazine to write “Gaining Respect on Woodward”. http://www.royalpontiac.org/records/esquirearticle.pdf This article is one of many ways Jim drew attention to the Street Racing scene on Woodward Ave. Jim had the magazine interview many people from the Big Three and the Little One. The article details how the manufacturers tested each other on Woodward. Jim also inspired the Brock Yates article for Car & Driver in September 1967. Yates’ article was called "Street Racing" and featured John "Cheater" Politzer cruising Woodward in a '67 Royal Bobcat GTO. These articles let everyone know that Woodward was the Street Racing Capital of the world. You can see the importance Jim Wangers has had to Woodward’s popular cruising and drag racing heritage.

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Membership Application

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Club Calendar

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Upcoming Events:

December: 12 Royal Pontiac Meeting (club elections and calendar)

January: 1 Membership Dues are DUE! 9 Royal Pontiac meeting 11– 12 41st annual Detroit We need help in getting Jim Wangers recognized for this at the 20th Annu- swap meet Gibraltar trade al Woodward Dream Cruise. Club members and friends can help by concenter Mt. Clemens 13-26 North American Intertacting the City of Pontiac, City of Berkley, Birmingham, radio stations (WOMC), TV (WXYZ channel 7) and/or local businesses that could sponsor national Auto Show Cobo Center Jim Wangers having some presentations at the 2014 event.

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Romping on Woodward By Dr. Eric Schiffer

50th Anniversary of the GTO (Cont’d) I have contacted the City of Berkley to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Pontiac GTO in conjunction with the 20th Anniversary of the Woodward Dream Cruise. I had suggested to the City Manager to sponsor some presentations by Jim Wangers and have him and Sally Delorean (John Delorean’s widow) as Grand Marshals of their Woodward parade. The City will take this up after January. I will also be making a pitch to the Eye's On Design committee to have Jim Wangers, Sally Delorean, Russ Gee and Bill Collins at their event. Jim is willing to do as many presentations at these events as they wish. Jim would also bring the '66 GeeTo Tiger to the events. I have already had a meeting with Brad Oleshansky who is building the M1 Concourse at the corner of Woodward Ave and South Blvd. about having Jim as a guest and do a presentation. If you know of a sponsor that is willing to contribute to the travel costs for Jim Wangers please contact both the events and myself. St. John's Concours d' Elegance: http://concoursusa.org/contact-us City Of Berkley City Manger: Jane Bais-DiSessa 248.658.3350

As a reminder all membership dues are due Jan 2014. Thank you in advance, Eric

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Random Pontiac Pics

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GTO vs. GTO Foreword by Mike Kidd In celebration of the GTO’s 50th birthday, I wanted to run a reprint of the infamous article that put Pontiac’s GTO on the map. In fact, this article has been credited with making Car & Driver relevant, establishing the then new GTO’s reputation as a world beater, and has even been referenced as inspiring the SCCA’s Trans Am series. The article was Jim Wangers brainchild. He contacted Car and Driver with the idea of testing Pontiac’s new GTO against it’s namesake, the Ferrari GTO. Of course Jim had Royal Pontiac work some magic on the two GTOs they provided to make sure the cars had a good showing. Years later Jim revealed the test cars actually had Pontiac’s big 421 installed in place of the factory 389. This, in combination with Royal Pontiac’s potent royal bobcat kit, resulted in some serious performance.

The need for the GTO can be attributed to GM’s racing ban in 1963. The Pontiac brand was nearly killed off by GM in the 50’s. Pontiacs’ comeback to 3rd place in sales by the early 60’s can be traced directly to Bunkie Knudsen’s push for a performance image for Pontiac. He was credited with saying “you can sell a young man’s car to an old man, but you can’t sell an old man’s car to a young man”. He also set in motion Pontiac’s super duty racing program. With their super duty program Pontiac was dominant in NASCAR and NHRA in the late 50’s and early 60’s. After the racing ban, Pontiac needed to rethink their marketing approach and come up with new products to keep their sales momentum, hard won by success on the track, alive. They needed a way to take the racetrack to the street. John DeLorean’s idea of putting the big car 389 engine in the lightweight Tempest did this, and it evolved into the GTO. This was great news for enthusiasts. The GTO promised performance on par with factory racers (such as the Super Duty Catalina) with an affordable price tag and a warranty. This car sent a ripple through the industry and soon after every automaker had their own “GTO” on the market. Read the following article and witness the birth of a legend.

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Royal Pontiac Event: Franklin Cider Mill Cruise 13-Oct-13 Text by Mike Kidd & Photos by Eric Schiffer A perfect fall day was on tap for those that attended the clubs annual cider mill cruise. Bright clear skies and temps in the low 70’s made for a great gathering. Cider and donuts were provided by the club, and members enjoyed some bench racing and discussion of winter projects. Unfortunately, transmission problems prevented my 70 Firebird from attending, so we brought my 97 WS6 Firebird instead. The event was the day after the Points and condenser fall color tour, so it made for a great car weekend. What a great way to get the car out for a drive. We parked in front of the old Franklin Church . The historic cider mill is a great Michigan tradition. I just love clear fall days, the clear skies and lower temps make for great driving weather. The cool high pressure air is also great for horsepower. I always like to get out to the drag strip to get some fast passes in before winter sets in. Hopefully I get my trans straightened out in time!

New member Kevin Horn brought his family in his 67 GTO.

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Lance Warner and his Wife with their 66 GTO

Eric & Janis Schiffer with their 68 GTO Convertible

Jim Boschan with his 71 442 Convertible

Mike & Aleta Kidd with their 97 WS6

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Fall Color Tour with Points and Condenser Preservation Society Text by Linda Kidd & photos by Eric Schiffer & Mike Kidd Foreword by Mike Kidd Click Link for More Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/97003396@N08/sets/72157636481578723/

Every Spring and Fall, the Points and condenser preservation society sponsors a tour. The tour generally includes a visit to a car themed location, and scenic drive through some great winding country roads, along with a fantastic catered lunch. This fall I invited my mom to come along, as she is also a car enthusiast, owning two Camaros, a 93 and a 2011 Camaro SS. Below is her account of the color tour.—Mike Kidd “Mom, would you like to visit the Car and Driver offices?” Mike told me it was being sponsored by PCPS. I was thrilled that my son invited me to attend a visit to the offices of one of the iconic car magazines. What an opportunity to see where the techs and writers put together the facts and experiences of cars I might want to drive, own, or just enjoy looking for on the road. I was so excited about visiting the location I really didn’t ask about any details. That just opened the door for several surprises during the morning.

A Sampling of the variety of cars participating in the color tour. All makes are welcome.

On the way to Car and Driver headquarters we passed the offices of Road and Track. With two magazines so close together I was looking for a hidden track nearby. I guess I was hoping for a glimpse of some cars running around a track. We checked in at a conference room filled with automobile pictures of cars featured by Car and Driver magazine. Automotive history in full color was enough to keep me busy for awhile. We visited cubicles and the garage. I started thinking about how to redecorate my basement using car inspired furniture! Cont’d next page

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Fall Color Tour with Points and Condenser Preservation Society Text by Linda Kidd & photos by Eric Schiffer & Mike Kidd Foreword by Mike Kidd Click Link for More Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/97003396@N08/sets/72157636481578723/

While enjoying coffee and donuts a drivers’ meeting was called. Oh boy, maybe they were planning to take us to a track! We walked outside the garage and I forgot about the meeting and started to enjoy the variety of cars driving in. It was like a mini Dream Cruise in Ann Arbor. Just look at the sampling of pictures by Eric Schiffer and you will know what I mean. I started to listen to the speaker as a piece of paper was handed to me. It looked more like the line-up for a scavenger hunt. We were going to drive a course of 77 miles to get from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti. And we were going to arrive in time for lunch at the Yankee Air Museum.

Top: Me in the Car & Driver Office in front of their magazine covers Left: Our ride for the day my son’s Firebird

Drivers and navigators headed for their cars to start out on a color tour. Well, that sounded picturesque and relaxing. Mike, my son, handed me the directions and his camera to take pictures. We would be headed down back roads through farms and fields dotted with small lakes and towns. It was the 77 miles that had me wondering. What if we missed one of the many turns? What if we don’t make it to lunch on time? What if…”Oops! We almost missed the first turn. “ Within a couple miles I was really getting into the role of navigator. The colors on the trees were beautiful. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The scenery was beautiful. Taking pictures was a challenge. This was my first color tour with a car club. I didn’t realize how fast we would travel on the curvy country roads. Cars paced together in groups at speeds that guaranteed they would arrive in plenty of time for lunch. Cont’d next page

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Fall Color Tour with Points and Condenser Preservation Society Text by Linda Kidd & photos by Eric Schiffer & Mike Kidd Click Link for More Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/97003396@N08/sets/72157636481578723/

The Yankee Air Museum has moved into a new location after their fire a few years ago. The museum is fresh with new and upgraded displays. Their docents are dressed as Rosie the Riveters from World War II. They were very knowledgeable about their aircraft history, but they were also excited to see the great cars pulling into their parking lot. They seemed to ask as many questions about the cars as we were asking about the planes. After a leisurely tour of the museum we went to lunch catered by Zingerman’s Roadhouse. A delicious way to wrap up the morning drive. I can’t wait for next year. Thanks, Mike.

Top 1: Eric by the B-17 with two “Rosie’s” Top 2: B-17 Bomber Left: Club member John Banach in front of the B-25

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Fall Color Tour with Points and Condenser Preservation Society Text by Linda Kidd & photos by Eric Schiffer & Mike Kidd Click Link for More Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/97003396@N08/sets/72157636481578723/

Top Left: Janis Schiffer tries out the belly turret Top Right: Mike Kidd in Car & Driver garage Middle left: Participants could get pics with the planes Middle Right: F-4 Phantom under restoration Bottom Left: Sign at Car and Driver offices

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SVRA Sportscar Vintage Racing Association championship at Circuit of the America’s Austin,TX By Paul Lombardo After getting an email from Hagerty Classic Insurance about the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association event in Austin, TX, I decided to take them up on the discounted tickets and check it out. I now live in Houston, and I headed out for the three hour drive on a cool 60F Friday morning for the event. Since my ’71 Buick Skylark convertible is being painted, it meant taking my regular convertible on a great trip. About 45 minutes outside of Austin I pulled in for fuel, and there are 3 Pantera’s just leaving. I had an idea where they might be headed and I expected to see them again. Access to the Circuit of the America’s is just off Texas’s new state toll road 130, which offers 80 mph speed limits. You can guess what that means. After meeting up with my friend, Steve, we arrived at the Circuit of the America’s to find the 3 Pantera’s parked up front in a group of Ferrari’s, including a 512TR. Besides these cars, the first thing that struck me is the size of this venue. I was completely amazed at the size and scope of the facility, including paved and assigned parking spaces, and I did a quick bit of research on the track. It was completed in November, 2012 at a cost of $400 million. It covers more than 1500 acres and can seat 200,000. It includes a centrally located amphitheatre for concerts and presentations and a 251 foot observation tower. Circuit of the Americas is the only certified Grade 1 track in the US and will host Formula 1 US Grand Prix through 2021 and all V8 Supercars through 2018. The track itself is 3.4 miles long with five straights that allow 175 - 200 mph runs, and three additional shorter runs that allow 120 – 155 mph. It has two Paddock areas and 32 garages with access to pit row. It also has about 100 on site RV pads for racers. The track is also configurable for shorter track lengths. More Info at http://circuitoftheamericas.com/ Cont’d next page

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SVRA Championship (cont’d) By Paul Lombardo

I am definitely a novice when it comes to the Vintage Racing. Basically there are 11 car groups, which you can check out in detail at www.SVRA.com Group 1 – Small Displacement Production Cars

Group 2 – Pre 1973 Formula

Group 3 – Recognized Production Sports Cars

Group 4 – Prior to 1960 Limited Production Race Editions

Group 5 – World Sports Car and Mfg Championship GT, prototypes and Can Am ’60-‘72 Group 7 – World Championship Cars Raced after 1972

Group 6 – Big Bore Production Cars through 1972 Group 8 – Pre 1979 Production Sports Cars

Group 9 – Post 1973 Formula Cars

Group 10 – ’73 – ’99 Can Am, GT & A Sports Racers

Group 11 – ’81 – ’99 GTP/Group C +

Pre World War II

In most cases, these cars were recognized race vehicles in their Group and the appropriate time period. Now they are mostly privately owned by race enthusiasts from around the world. “The SVRA philosophy is to encourage the restoration, preservation and racing of historically significant race cars, configured as close as possible to their original design and construction, with allowances for safety modifications.” cont’d next page

More photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/kidd1014/sets/72157637103411034/

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SVRA Championship (cont’d) By Paul Lombardo One great thing about the day was that the entire off track and paddock areas, except for the actual pit garages, were completely open to roam through. And since it was a relatively small attendance on Friday, you easily got up close to the cars. There are lots of photos here, including the only Pontiac I found! The Vintage Racing utilized the entire 3.4 mile track which was great for all the races except the PreWar race class. Since some of these cars had a top speed of 40 mph, and the fastest topped out at about 80 mph, there were some long breaks between each lap depending on where you were. Luckily, I was over at the chicane area of the track during the Pre-War practice, and saw them for an extended period on the track. Video from event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViMg05VHmhc

After a lot of walking my colleague and I sat for about two hours taking in the qualifying laps for Groups 5, 10 & 11. And at Mikes request I was luckily able to get a photo of the one Pontiac on the track. I was pretty worried when they pitted after the first lap and sat for a lap or two. Once back out on the track I pulled my act together and got the pic on the next lap! Cont’d next page

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SVRA Championship (cont’d) By Paul Lombardo

It was a full day of racing from 8:00 am until about 4:00 pm, with a short break for lunch. By mid day it was plenty warm and sunny, and while the sunscreen did its job, we were worn out by the end of the day. After a five star day, bottled water in hand, I hit the road for my trip back to Houston.

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Royal Pontiac Club of America

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Royal Pontiac Club of America

December 2013 12 Royal Pontiac Meeting —Club elections and Calendar

Primary Business Address 2014 Royal Pontiac Club January 9 Royal Pontiac meeting Denny’s in Novi 7pm Address Line 2 P.O. Box 252402 11– 12 41st annual Detroit swap meet Gibraltar trade West Bloomfield, MI 48322 Address Line 3 center Mt. Clemens 13– 26 North American International Auto Show Cobo Hall Detroit MI http://www.naias.com/ www.royalpontiac.org

February 2014

8 Royal Pontiac Club Date Night Library Pub West Bloomfield 7pm RSVP to : [email protected]

13 Royal Pontiac Meeting

March 2014 7-9 Autorama Cobo Hall Detroit MI http://www.autorama.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Detroit-MHRA.pdf

13 Royal Pontiac Meeting

Looking for Articles!!! Have you done any cool car events lately? Maybe a great tech tip? Why not share them with other club members? Would you like to share your pride and joy with other club members? Write a short “meet the member” article introducing you and your car. Be sure to include some pictures. We can also add pics of your ride to our “members” tab on the website. Please email Mike Kidd with ideas or anything you’d like to share in the newsletter. [email protected]