June Bug

Country singer Jerry Reed had a line in one of his lyrics that went “...When you’re hot, you’re hot…” TVAACA has been on fire for the past six months with little expectation that it will cool off in the near future. As we head into the warm months of Summer you’ll want to make sure you car is up to the challenge. We have an article this issue on just that subject and what you need to do to “Keep Your Cool”. The information on page three ought to take some of the scary out of this summer’s driving. In this issue you’ll also read about a trip through time in “The Diary of a Time Traveler” and the proof of ones ability to travel back in time. The double spread on pages four and five give credence

to the theory of “relativity of time.” On pages 6 and 7 Dennis Krueger tells all about his first car and what it meant to him and his family at the time and what it means to him today. On page 8 you’ll find a calendar of up coming events that will help you to make time in your busy schedules for TVAACA. Speaking of time you’ll not want to miss how times have changed for the better. A little known discovery uncovered whilst looking for something else in my research this month. Check out page 9. Additionally this issue highlights TVAACA’s very first exclusive cruisein held at Lake Sumter Landing on May 13th. A show emphasizing the originality concept that is AACA. Keeping the cars as

produced. These are truly “Time Machines”. The pictures speak for themselves on pages ten and eleven. The past seven months have been great for the antique cars here in the Villages, they are getting used more and we are meeting new friends every single month at our meetings. This is what the club is all about. Let’s keep it going in the months and years ahead of us. None of us knows how much time we have left in this ol’ world so let’s dance like no one is watching, especially the kids. Just messin’ about in old cars is GREAT FUN don’t you think so?

President Harry Miller [email protected] 259-9417

Vice President Alan Stone [email protected] 750-1169

Membership Harry Herfurth herf0717 @embarqmail.com 352-391-5016

Treasurer

Helen Krowlek [email protected] 259-8850

Publicity John Peters [email protected] 561-4604

Editor

Jim Rentz [email protected] 638-0502 Secretary Dennis Krueger [email protected] 259-0198

take up a lot of space. You could take your antique car to a cruise-in virtually every evening of the week, all within 50 miles of home…..if you had enough time. How much time does it take to put that extra coat of wax on the old car, or to detail the engine bay? How about taking a few hours to take that same old car to a nursing This issue is all about “time”. That can mean many home so the residents could things, such as time manage- enjoy seeing a car that came from their “time?” ment, what time of day is it, Time flies as we can all do I have enough time to do a attest, especially when we’re task. When most of us reach having fun. Does it seem like eight months have slipped by our current stage of life, we start asking “how much time since we founded this region last November? We have do we have,” and we’re not talking about current events, taken time to make this region grow. Time to be friends in but the reality of life itself, and do we have a lot of “time” Florida’s friendliest homeleft to accomplish the things town. As the song says, “If we we hope to do. I’m not sure how I was ever able to work, could only put time in a bottle”, then we’d have it when as I don’t seem to have we think we really needed it. enough time in a day at the present to do all of the things Give me a six-pack of those that need doing. My desk cal- time bottles, please, as I’m endar had to be “super sized” running short of time! as the old one didn’t have Harry Miller enough room to write down all of the things to do in a day. The tee-times (there’s that word again) alone

As we head into the warm months of Summer here in central Florida the prudent antique auto owner needs to pay particular attention to keeping his or her “cool” when driving. The older the car the more sensitive they are to the heat. Check the cooling system of your baby and attend to it’s needs. Make certain that you have fresh coolant in there. No, plain water is not sufficient. It just does not have the capacity to dissipate all that heat that accumulates under the hood. All too often the radiators were just not big enough to get the job done properly. The new fuels burn hotter adding to the problem as well. In addition to over heating we also encounter vapor lock in the older cars where the fuel vaporizes before entering the carburetor. To counteract these problems it is best to anticipate them in advance. your cooling system flushed by an authorized facility. If your car has been sitting for an extended period of time perhaps having the radiator

rodded or even recored is the answer. Newer cores with more tubes or better materials may solve the problem. The old copper and brass cores just held on to too much heat. As old as some of these cars are they may have been improperly restored at some point with inferior cores such as heater core material designed to hold the heat. If authenticity is a concern, and it should be, have an expert make suggestions as how to duplicate the original into today’s material. The proper coolant is vital. Today’s newer solutions are far superior to water alone. They raise the boiling point and have wetting agents in them that aid in extracting the heat from the block and expel it through the radiator. You’ll want to check those old hoses as well. Time takes its toll on these vital links in the system. Even a small leak here can spell trouble out on the road Sunday night while trying to make it back

home. If you’ve ever had this happen after an otherwise delightful weekend with your old car you know that can be the longest three hours, with your wife in the car starting to overheat on her own. Another area of concern is the battery. The heat is harder on batteries than the cold is up north. Check your battery and the date on it if you can. Old batteries can sulfate and leave you dead in the middle of nowhere at a moments notice. Cycling batteries up and down is hard on them, use of a good tender is essential for optimum service. Check the fluid. Do not over fill and fill after charging. Charging draws fluid out of the cells so an overflow can occur if done improperly. While were on the electrical system check the cables too, make them clean and tight. Did you know that if you do not have instrument lights often times you don’t have tail lights either? It’s a warning system thing.

Diary Of a Time Traveler!

J.C. Rentz

Date: April 27th, 2011, Time: 9:00 A.M. Weather: Hot, Sticky, a good day for Time Travel This was not to be a solo trip through time, this was to be an experiment where many travelers would hurtle through time and space in their own time machines to see if we could possibly coalesce at the same point and date in history. We began our little experiment on the grounds of world famous Seabreeze center for physical metamorphosis. At precisely 0900 hours we engaged the drive mechanisms of our various time vessels and were soon being rushed back, back in time. It was as though we were experiencing life once again. A moment of De Ja Vu. But it was much more than just a moment for our journey was not instantaneous but seemed to linger as though in real time only in reverse. We traveled through a less hectic era when there were only two lane roads in Florida around the chain of lakes designed by the citrus industry to carry their fruit to market before the days of super highways. Our path through time led us along long forgotten rail lines and lake shores with their “cracker houses” crouching under the mighty live oak trees to shield them from the sun’s scorching heat. Our adventure in time had us coalesce in the village of Mount Dora at a point in time in the early years of the twentieth century. The point of rere-entry was at Classic Dreamcars, a wonderful Art Deco edifice on the outskirts of this quaint oasis on the shores of Lake Dora. We were greeted at the door by the proprietors Kerry and Cynthia Bogard. The chairman of the board was present this day as well. Wally Bogard greeted everyone as we entered this emporium of speed. Our travel not yet finished, we were escorted into yet another time chamber.

Only need to enter their Time machines and engage the drive mechanism to flee into days that once were reality but only a memory today.

s p re veler a r t nd ze. ines a ab r e e e h c S a t m ey a Time t o! j ou r n r o F s p ho g i n h i t r pa r in e c ol o h t e t No

Wally Bogard , Chairman

Note this black and white photo from the twentieth century of Ted Goodman & Harry Miller. How odd that this image from that era is colorless!

This chamber was stocked with yet more time machines similar to ones in which we had arrived, most were available for purchase. There was also a unique concept from the twentieth centurycentury-a “service station”. My how times have changed. Our host for the day was Kerry Bogard, a most congenial chap that certainly knew his way around time machines and time travel. Nearly an hour had elapsed since our arrival at this time portal and it was time to leap back to the twenty first century once again as we engaged our little time machines and journeyed back to “reality” in the Villages. Most all travelers participated in the noon time ritual of lunch at the Monkey and the Frog eatery in Mount Dora before the final phase of our rere-entry. Big Boy

ha t s us t w o h s T ed ya s t r ul a w s t hi nd sy la fanta

As if we needed any more proof.

Time travel is possible with a little imagination!

Novel idea, service station and time machine.

as Arnold’s from Happy Days). A few short weeks later one of my friends let slip that a few of the guy’s were calling me “the old man” because of my “old man car”. I told myself it didn’t mean anything, but in fact it started to work on me and I began to check out other cars when I was out for a ride, driving past and even stopping at used car lots. I decided I wanted a convertible, not just any old convertible; I wanted a 1956 or 1957 Chevy V8 convertible. I had two major obstacles a head of me that I needed to get past before I could get the car I now wanted first. How was I going to convince my Mom that I really loved her gift but I wanted a different car, a young man’s car. Second I might need some money to get the car I wanted and I didn’t have any money other than what I made cutting grass and doing odd jobs for neighbors who I think felt sorry for my loss and knew I needed money for gas and insurance. I stewed over these 2 points for what seemed like forever but finally got up courage to talk to my Mom about the chance to trade the Buick for a different car. Surprisingly she said alright if I didn’t need to ask her for money to do it. No money for anything because things were still tight. She told me also she wasn’t hurt by my request, she felt relieved because every time she saw the car come in the driveway it reminded her of my Getting my first car was bitter sweet at Dad and that was painful. So I set about finding best. My Dad passed away in September of my “ideal” car but I got nowhere fast. The 1958 a couple of weeks before my 17th birthday. Buick was a good car, but more costly than most His car was a 1957 Buick Century 4 door hard- dealers wanted to buy. Finding a good Chevy top and after his death the only time we used it also proved to be a problem, even though I was was Sunday when I took my Mom to church. looking for a car that was only two or three Our other car was a 1956 Chevy with a power years old it seemed all the models I found on pac 265, duals, Olds spinner hubcaps (my con- used car lots looked like they had been in seritribution) and a beautiful shine (also my contri- ous accidents and repaired just to unload them. bution). In March or April of 1959 my Mom One afternoon while I was running some ertook me aside and said she had decided to let rands I drove past a Buick dealer that I drove me have Dad’s car so I could drive myself to col- past at least three or four times a week and lege in the fall. My older sister was already there in the front row was a 1957 Ford convertiaway at college and Mom could only afford to ble, really shiny, parked with the top down. I send me to the local (commuter) college. I was swung in and jumped in the front seat. The stunned but gladly accepted the car. I had alFord only had 16,000 miles and was formerly ways washed and polished the car for my Dad owned by the wife of a local doctor and traded so it only took a little elbow grease to get it to in on a new 1959 Buick Electra convertible. The really shine. I called up my buddy’s and we all salesman said the wife wanted a convertible went for a ride stopping at a local drive in with air-conditioning but not a Cadillac. He for food and sodas (you all know this place and I talked back and forth for the whole af-

ternoon and finally we came to an agreement, an even trade, no money would change hands and they would pay all the fees for title transfer and tags. The used car manager had to approve the deal so the salesman went to find him and bring him back. Also, since I was a minor my Mom who technically owned the Buick had to sign the title and I would need to bring her in to finalize everything. The salesman returned without the used car manager and said his boss wasn’t too happy about the deal but ok’d it. The next evening my Mom and I returned to the dealer with all the papers and I have to admit I was a little anxious because of the used car manager’s attitude. Well what happened next was totally unexpected for all parties involved. As soon as the used car manager entered the room his attitude changed to pleasant and as happy as anyone you ever met. This change happened because he and my parents were good friends but he didn’t recognize my name when the salesman spoke to him. He immediately told the salesman to have someone check the tires, brakes, exhaust, change the oil and filter and give the car a new car prep. He sat down and began talking to my Mom about my Dad and how he missed him and hoped she was doing alright. About 15 minutes into their conversation a service attendant came into the room and told him the front end was out of alignment and the car need new front tires but nothing else. The used car sales manager told him to replace all 4 tires and align the front end so we could complete

the deal. After another couple of hours where my Mom and the used car manager talked the car was finally ready. Needless to say I was more than happy to leave and I couldn’t wait to put the top down and drive away. But, my Mom said no to the top down and we drove home with it up and the radio off. For the next several years I drove, customized and loved that car and probably beat it more than I should have, but I was only a young man. Looking back I would take the 1957 Buick or the Ford convertible in a heartbeat. My thoughts and memories of both cars are fixed to my inner core as deeply as anything in my life.

From the 1957 Buick sales brochure, the elegance of the Buick Century is evident as this fur draped model can attest. Quite a car for such a young man as Dennis.

Specifications for 1957 Century Production……………...59,739 Weight…………………………….4,012 lbs. Base Cost……………………….$2,660 Engine…………………………….364c.i.-300h.p. Wheelbase……………………….122in. L.O.A……………………………...208.5in. When better cars are built, Buick will build them

The Villages, Florida Jim JUNE 13th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1913 Model T Ford, Charley Dolan 18th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs 28th … tour to Fantasy of Flight in Polk City.

JULY 11th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1963 Austin Healey, Ted Goodman 16th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs TBA … ice cream run

AUGUST 8th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1953 Jaguar MK7, Ron Nordwall 20th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs

SPETEMBER 12th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1932 Buick phaeton, Jim Rentz 17th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs TBA … Ocala horse farm tour

OCTOBER 10th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1968 Mercedes, Rick Newton 15th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs TBA … polo tailgate party TBA … dinner train outing

NOVEMBER 14th … monthly meeting Odell … 1939 Ford Conv., Gerry Dornfeld 19th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs

DECEMBER 12th … monthly meeting, Odell … 1973 AMX, Fred Cerny 17th … cruise-in, Spanish Springs

New club Logo Sportswear Provider Your board of directors has pursued a new supplier for our sportswear needs at TVAACA. The club is picking up the set up charges for our logo so that all you need pay for is the actual embroidery costs which are $15.00, that includes the logo, The Villages, Florida and your name. You may select any of the fine garments they have in stock or you may bring in your own item for embroidery. How convenient is that? We will be using Custom Apparel &Gifts in La Plaza Grande South. Soon they will be moving to Southern Trace Plaza. You’ll want to see Shawn Carr for all the facts.

In the cosmic scope of time 100 years is but a nano second but in the realm of the auto industry it is a lifetime as can be seen in this ad from the earliest days of the twentieth century. A definite hold over from the horse and buggy era. This was definitely not an owner driven vehicle. What was the modern person of means to do with their groom and footman? Note where they get to ride in this new fangled contraption. At least they didn’t have to clean up after the horse any more. Think about what else had to change to adopt to these “horseless carriages”. There were no paved roads, no service stations and no rules of the road to accommodate these goliaths of the “garage”. In fact there weren't even any garages at the time, only carriage houses or barns or stables for the horses. The origin of the word garage dates back to this era, 1900-1905. Where would we be today in the Villages without our garages? All our “valuable stuff” would be homeless while our $40,000 cars sit out in the weather season after season. Go Figure

Twas Friday the thirteenth that the square at Lake Sumter Landing shown like never before. For it was on this date that our fledgling region of the AACA held it’s very first car show, a cruise-in of members beautiful cars along with some very special invited guests to make our “field of dreams” complete. Here we’ll allow the pictures to tell the stories of days long gone by. A time when you could identify a car just by its silhouAll our little babies lined up and shined up ready for their debut TVAACA Show.

Above Bobb Partridge beats the heat in his canopy chair. Above right new member Pauline Newton proudly shows her Mercedes 280SL. To the right is the TVAACA tent ready for visitors and to the far right is Jim Rentz’s 1932 Buick model 65 sport phaeton.

ette and it’s grill. When cars had a personality all their own and their owners took great pride in their ride. There was a time, it is said, that whenever two drivers are sitting side by side in their cars, one of them is showing! We had lots of them sitting side by side and they were all showing off.

Invited guest John Kuhlman’s 1949 Chrysler gleams in the warm afternoon sun while waiting to show at Sumter Landing. Bruce Hubbard chats up his 1951 MGTD roadster with one of the many visitors. Model T Ford getting the star treatment in front of the TV camera!

Chevies and a Packard all ready to show for the spectators at the first TVAACA show at Sumter Landing.

Nothing new in getting the “boot” Here is one on Bobb Partridge’s 1922 model T Ford.

With summer on the horizon the ranks of members here in the Villages tends to thin out but we still had a respectable turnout with over thirty members in attendance along with six new conscripts. Region President Harry Miller presided over the meeting. Region Vice President Alan Stone filled us in on the new and exciting prospects for the first annual Pumpkin Run to be held in Ocala this coming October. He explained the opportunities for us as a region to benefit our meager coffers. It is a great deal of work for us but the pay-off is going to be worth the effort. Our entertainment for the evening was in honor of the recently held Kentucky Derby. We had a rousing rendition of “My Old Kentucky Home” followed by a hat contest for the ladies. Helena Stone won “Best of Show” with her ‘53 Desoto chapeau. The main event for the

evening was the running of the buffalo. How appropriate since the official mascot of The Villages is the buffalo. The buffalo races were run by the entertaining “Buffalo Bob” and “Calamity Jane” four races were run that evening with Terry Powell being the big winner with over $1500 in funny money being won.

The car of the month was Alan Stone’s 1953 Desoto proudly displayed for all to see at the entrance to Odell recreation center. Alan went on to explain how he came across this “barn find” on Long Island, NY. His trip home on the expressway with a bucket of gas for the fuel tank and being stopped and questioned by the highway patrol and then released to continue on his way home. A great story!

Alan Stone’s 1953 Desoto sedan sits proudly in front of Odell Rec Center for all to enjoy as they enter for the monthly meeting.

Helena Stone models her award winning chapeau for the paparazzi.

The betting windows are open. Does this remind you of “The Sting”?