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February 2008, Volume 10, Issue 1

Message from the President What would you like your car club, the Old Salem Chapter, to accomplish in 2008?

What activities do you want to do, where would you like to go, what would you like to see

and participate in? Now is the time to think about these questions and start developing

plans to make them become a reality. We had a really good year for 2007 so let’s see what

we can do in 2008 to make it Great!

It’s still early in the year which means members can enjoy the benefits of belonging to

AACA for all of 2008! We have a lot to cover in this issue of Spinning Wheels so I’ll

keep this part short. See ya Tuesday at Fire Mountain! David

Special Interest Articles:

Feb. Meeting at Fire Mtn.

Message from the President

AACA Member Benefits

Car Events Schedule

The Ultimate Barn Finds

Personal Notes and Rumors

NC Region Annual Meeting

Ruth Ann Ronchetti –

Reporting for Duty

Change in NC Registration

Christmas in January Party

The first AACA Old Salem Chapter monthly meeting will be Tuesday, February 19th

at Fire Mountain Restaurant, S. Main St. (Hwy 150) just off Business I-40 next to Wal-Mart, in Kernersville. Dinner will start at 6:30 PM and the business meeting will begin at 7:30 PM. Make sure you tell the Fire Mountain folks that you’re with the Old Salem Chapter of AACA when you arrive to get the special dinner price. Don’t forget to invite/bring your antique vehicle friend(s) with you!

On the Web:

National: www.AACA.org

NC Region:

www.aaca.org/northcarolina

Old Salem Chapter:

www.http://local.aaca.org/ northcarolina/oldsalem/

February Meeting – Fire Mountain – Kernersville Editors:

David & Jo Ann Hawks 4792 Leinbach Dr.

Winston Salem, NC 27106

Phone: (336) 924-4737

Fax: (336) 924-5757

E-Mail: dth4792@aol.com

Spinning Wheels

AACA Member Benefits By Steve Moskowitz - AACA Executive Director

AACA was thrilled this year to announce a ground breaking new membership program giving our members unprecedented new benefits. It is what your club is all about, trying to give back to its members. Everyone is fully cognizant that we exist to support you. Tom Cox, our VP of Membership; the board, and I are fully committed to making the AACA experience the best it can be.

I have been asked to clarify the benefits a bit better as there is some confusion about the offers. Naturally, the first tangible item was the $5.00 discount coupon offered by Advance Auto Parts. We enclose a coupon with each 2008 membership card. We are aware that Advance is not in all states but we were happy to accept it on behalf of our members.

All of the magazine discounts are available by calling the publications directly. The one exception is Old Cars Weekly. You must contact AACA national headquarters first so we can advise OCW that you are paid for the 2008 year. We contact them with your member number and authorization.

The pedal cars and Franklin Mint models are available only by calling our headquarters as well. In the case of the Mint and Warehouse 36 pedal cars, we are not allowed to advertise the discounted prices. We have entered into an agreement with a new pedal car company called Feenix. You can Google these companies and go to their websites to see if there are products you would be interested in. Call us and we will give the pricing to you.

For those of you able to visit the AACA Museum, all you have to do is show your 2008 membership card and admission is FREE! You can go as many times as you would like and there is absolutely no charge. Make sure you visit the remodeled gift shop as there are many new items.

Members never really understood that we could not legally offer free research from our AACA Library & Research Center. This was prohibited by IRS regulations, but since the January 1, 2008 legal merger with the club, we now can offer limited free research. Please contact the library through our website or by calling them to discuss your needs more fully but each member is allowed 1 ½ hours of free research.

Naturally there are other benefits of belonging to our club. We will continue to pursue other ideas and work towards improving upon the already long list of reasons to become and remain a member of this great car club. If you have any ideas or thoughts on how we can improve upon your membership experience or other offers you would like us to work on, please contact us. Thanks and have a great 2008!

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AACA

Old Salem

Chapter

Car Events Schedule – Mark your Calendar!

Feb 19th

: Old Salem Chapter meeting – 6:30 PM, Fire Mountain, Kernersville.

Feb/March ?th

: First Old Salem Monthly Outing to ?????

March 14th

-15th

: AACA Grand National Meet & South Eastern Division Winter National Meet (dual Meet), Melbourne, FL.

March 18th

: Old Salem Chapter meeting – 6:30 PM, Fire Mountain, Kernersville.

April 3rd

-6th

: AACA South Eastern Division Spring Meet, sponsored by Hornets Nest Region, at Lowes Motor Speedway, Charlotte, NC.

Thought for the Month

"No one will enter the

New World Order unless

he or she will make a

pledge to worship Lucifer.

No one will enter the New

Age unless he will take a

Luciferian Initiation."

David Spangler, Director

of Planetary Initiative,

United Nations

Editors Note: The following article was printed in the Saturday 22

December issue of the Schenectady NY Daily Gazette.

The Ultimate Barn Finds Everyone has a great story about their “Ultimate Barn Find” of a car hidden away for years. So, we held a contest for the best “Barn Find Story” out there by hosting The Saratoga Automobile Museum’s Ultimate Barn Find Story Contest. The Saratoga Automobile Museum, along with Tom Cotter, are saluting these hidden gems with the new exhibit “Barn Finds,” inspired by Tom’s book The Cobra in the Barn and his new book, The Hemi in the Barn. Because we are so excited about this project (and hope you are, too), we’ll be publishing all of the Ultimate Barn Finds Stories in “The Winners’ Circle” exclusively in The Daily Gazette through January 19. Collect them all – we hope you will be inspired the next time you pass a barn.

Woodie Barn Find By Robert M. Hardy

In late summer 1991, I saw a 1939 Pontiac Woodie drive into a car show in Schenectady, NY. I instantly decided I wanted one.

The car’s owner advised me to join the National Woodie Club and get a heavy post-war car for cruises. I immediately thought “1948 Buick” and spread the word that I was looking for one, at the same time making plans to go to the big car show in Hershey, PA, in October.

There was a 1948 Packard Woodie in the Antique Auto Museum at the Altamont, NY, Fairgrounds, perhaps the only one I had ever seen. Everyone knew it was there. The Mohawk Antique Auto Club had washed it, inflated the tires and pushed it among the club members’ cars for fair week. No one knew that it could be bought. Then a fair board member told my wife that it was privately owned and had been loaned to the fair for two years, way back in 1971. Considering the car a liability to the fair, the manager helped us track down the owner.

I looked at the Woodie and totally forgot the Buick and going to Hershey. I had to have the Packard! Except for rotted rubber, dirt and stuck valves, the car was perfect with a mileage reading of just 26,000.

The owner was an eighty-one year old, nearly blind, gentleman who lived in Schenectady. The car had belonged to his late wife, a teacher in Duanesburg, NY, who had driven on mostly unpaved roads. I met with the owner on several evenings and it seemed he enjoyed talking with me – about everything except the Packard. He was testing me to see if he liked me enough to trust me with the car and I feared the deal would fail.

In late December, he decided. We got the car after the snow had thawed in April 1992 and spent weeks cleaning, varnishing wood, replacing pipes, bearings and rubber parts and pouring oil onto the stuck valves. Finally, it ran.

My wife and I started running errands for the old man and became dear friends, like family, over the succeeding years. In 2003, he passed away at age 93, leaving each of us in his will the amount we had paid for the Woodie.

Now, after fifteen years, the car has 34,000 miles. Always drawing attention, it has participated in car shows in five states. The Packard’s greatest moment, and ours as well, came when it was featured as a “Drivable Dream” in the September 2005 edition of Hemmings Classic Car magazine.

Photos Courtesy of the Saratoga Automobile Museum

B Bob and Pat’s Packard Woodie was also invited to participate at the 1994 “Eyes on the Classic”, a prestigious “by invitation only” event held annually at the Edsel Ford Estate in Gross Point, Michigan. Eyes on the Classic is a show based on the “design” of the vehicle, as well as its condition. The photos above and below show the Woodie in front of and at the entrance to Edsel’s estate.

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Personal Notes and Rumors Our sympathy goes to Bob and Pat Hardy on the unexpected loss of their daughter, Laurie, who we enjoyed

meeting and having with us only two weeks before at our Christmas in January dinner/party. Please keep their family in your prayers through this difficult time.

Please add Ann Bauguess to your prayer list as she is again facing a serious threat to her health.

Please keep Bill Giles (and Elaine) on your prayer list he continues the fight to improve his health. Thanks to Bill for making the arrangements for our next five monthly meetings at Fire Mountain in Kernersville.

Please keep Bob McNeely on your prayer list as he continues to recover at Brookridge Retirement Community.

Please keep Leo Baker (and Pat) on your prayer list as he continues his medical treatments and still seems to be tolerating them fairly well and is getting favorable results.

Please keep Bill Hutchins (and Lee) on your prayer list as he rebuilds his strength and stamina. We were all glad that you had improved so you could be with us at our Christmas in January dinner/party!

Alma Alley is back in the hospital Tuesday (2/12) for evaluation and some tests. Please add her to your prayer list.

The Old Salem Chapter welcomes our newest members and our first new members for 2008, Charlie and Darlene Crutchfield. Charles and Darlene joined just in time to get wished Happy Belated Birthdays, but we’ll save the good (funny) stuff until everyone has a chance to know them better! Charles’ birthday was January 19

th and

Darlene’s was Feb 1st. We hope you both had a great birthday and look forward to wishing you many more.

Happy Belated Birthday to Allen Martin (Jan 16th). Allen says that if you must choose between two evils, pick the

one you've never tried before! (Does that apply to the elections this year?) We hope you had a great birthday and lots more to come.

Happy Belated Birthday to Mary Taylor (Jan 18th

). Mary tells us that Jim was asking her what sort of books she might be interested in for her birthday, she told him that the one she’d like most were checkbooks. Mary also says that you’re stuck with your debt if you can't “budge it”. We hope you have a lot more happy birthdays!

Happy Belated Birthday to Gene Reid (Feb 11th

). Gene says that he, being an accountant, has noticed that when you put the words “THE” and “IRS” together you find out that it spells “THEIRS”. We hope you had a wonderful birthday and will have many more!

Happy Birthday to Gurney Yokeley (March 1st

). Gurney has some words of wisdom: he says it's hard to believe America was founded to avoid high taxation. He also says doing your own income tax return is a lot like a do-it-yourself mugging! We wish you the happiest birthday ever and many more to come!

Happy Birthday to John Ronchetti (March 15th

). John says, he agrees with Gurney, and adds that the reason the IRS calls their Form “1040” is for every $50 dollars you earn, you keep $10 and the IRS gets $40! We hope you get to keep enough to celebrate a lot more birthdays.

Happy Anniversary to Bob and Pat Hardy (March 16th

). Pat was telling Bob the other day about the fact that in many languages, such as English, a double negative forms a positive, while in other languages, such as Russian, a double negative is still a negative. However, in no language can a double positive form a negative. Bob responded, "Yeah, yeah....". We hope you have a wonderful anniversary anyway!

If anyone has been left out or if you have any “news” or stories you would like to share, please let David or Jo Ann know!

NC Region Annual Membership Meeting by David Hawks

The NC Region held its first two-day event the 18th and 19

th of January this year at the Ramada Inn in Burlington.

Randy Stone (General Green Chapter) and the committee did a great job planning the event with activities and classes for everyone. I attended a seminar on Antique Automobile Tires, NC License Plates and Restoration, and Stainless Steel polishing and restoration. The presenters did a great job and there was much to learn. It was also a good opportunity to get to know some of our Region members during the breaks and at lunch.

The Membership Meeting also included the NC Region Board meeting. All Chapter presidents are automatically NC Region Board members. The agenda included a treasurer’s report, committee reports, an updated calendar of events for 2008 and 2009, an update on the Sentimental Tour (this June), and others items. Herb Oakes, Chief Judge, announced that vehicle owners would be able to consult with judges regarding their vehicle, prior to it being judged. This assistance would be available before each Spring and Fall Regional Meet, and would provide the owner with some valuable information that could save some point deductions prior to being judged. Another important item of interest is that the AACA Southeastern Divisional Meet will, starting this April, become a standard and customary event at the Spring Autofair at Lowes Motor Speedway. Another item that was decided upon was that the Region would make a donation toward a new trophy case for AACA awards at the NC Transportation Museum. The Board members decided that the Region would not issue membership cards but would continue to mail hard copies of the Region News to all its members. I had requested prior to the meeting that a discussion regarding the new change in NC “antique” vehicle be added to the agenda. This item was briefly discussed but any action by the Region was tabled until more information was available (see “Change in NC Vehicle Registration” in this issue). The Triangle Chapter has invited the supervisor of the new “Fraud and Theft” division to attend their February 21

st monthly meeting. A new NC Region

slate of officers were elected with Mary Mashburn becoming our new NC Region President.

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Ruth Ann Ronchetti, Reporting for Duty …

Winter greetings (hurry up Spring!) to all our Old Salem friends! At our last meeting in November, a new position

was created during our election of officers, a reporter/photographer for our chapter, for which I volunteered. (Thought

it was the only logical thing to do since John and I have been attending most of our functions and taking pictures

anyway.)

We have been members for less than a year now, but feel like we have never been strangers … you’ve all made us

feel so welcome and we thank you for that. And, of course, we have been enjoying our new found hobby and all that

goes with it … seeing new places, new experiences, and making new friends.

Since we bought our car in January 2007, we have participated in numerous events: Myrtle Beach Run for the Sun,

Kernersville Folly Car Show, Kernersville Spring Folly, cruise-ins, & parades, Yadkinville cruise-ins & parades, and

other cruise-ins at Richard Childress’ Shop in Lexington, Mocksville, Sparta, Spencer, Bethania, Rural Hall, Pilot

Mountain, Mt. Airy, Hillsville, South Stokes High School, Greensboro, High Point, Thomasville, Oldtown. We also

entered our car in the Concourse de Graylyn in September and as part of those activities, we also visited Virginia

International Raceway and participated in a road rally for the first time from Old Salem to Hanging Rock Park and

back … what fun that was, want to do it again!

We also went to most of our outings: Priddy’s Nursing Home, the Transportation Museum in Spencer, summertime

at The Depot at Cody Creek, our August outing starting at Sonic in Kernersville, then on to Pilot Mountain to see the

sunset and finishing our evening at Bright Leaf Drive-In Movie Theater in Mt Airy (a blast from the past). Our next

outing took us to Lewis Jenkins’ Restoration Shop (awesome) and then an evening at Independence Village Retirement

Community in Winston-Salem.

Halloween day we went to a retirement center in High Point that sponsored a “Fifties” theme “Rydell High School

Reunion.” It was a takeoff from the movie “Grease,” nicely done with a lot of memorabilia displayed and good food; it

was fun dressing up in our 50’s attire. Then to wrap up the year we drove in Kernersville’s and Walnut Cove’s

Christmas parades (always fun to do).

Another event we participated in was a Charity Ride for the Veterans in December, sponsored by the American

Legion Post #55 in Winston-Salem, riding behind the American Legion Riders (Harleys and other motorcycles) with a

police escort all the way down Hwy. 52 (awesome sight) to the Veterans' Home in Salisbury. We gave the Veterans

handmade afghans/blankets that had been donated throughout the year. What a heartfelt and touching experience.

(This might be something nice for our club to participate in next Christmas.)

Well, now that I’ve bored you with all of our experiences, these will give you some idea of the events that

are available to you owning one of these fine old cars and as members of our GREAT organization. We look

forward to seeing all of you again out on the road. Let’s have fun in 2008!

Change in NC Vehicle Registration By David Hawks

From the NC DOT Official Web Site:

Effective January 2, 2008, the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is changing the procedure for registering an antique or custom-built motor vehicle. Customers who are bringing an antique or custom-built vehicle into North Carolina for first time registration, or who have custom assembled a motor vehicle will be referred to a DMV License and Theft Bureau Inspector. For details on contacting an

Inspector in your area click here. Your local Inspector is

equipped and ready to assist you with the procedures to properly register your antique or custom-built vehicle. Antique Vehicle-defined as a motor vehicle that is at least thirty-five (35) years old measured from the date of manufacture (currently 1973 and older). Custom-Built Vehicle- defined as a motor vehicle completely reconstructed or assembled from new or used parts. The vehicle will be registered showing the make as "custom-built" and the year the vehicle was built will be the model year. All custom-built vehicles will be branded as "Reconstructed Vehicle."

Forms needed for registration

MVR-1 Title Application MVR-55 Builder's affidavit (custom built) MVR-181 Damage Disclosure Statement Certificate of title or manufacturer's certificate of origin

In addition to the forms listed above, ALL vehicles 35 years old

or more, must be photographed and inspected by the State before a title is issued. A DMV license and theft inspector will issue a report, collect fees and documentation and send the information to the special titles unit in Raleigh. The registration process could take 60 to 90 days or more, would complicate the purchase and/or sale of all vehicles 35 years old or more, and increase the cost of the transaction.

According to DMV’s definition, ALL restored vehicles meet the criteria to be classified as “Custom-Built and would be “Branded” as “Reconstructed”, causing the vehicle to be registered as the year that the vehicle was “custom built”, and requiring the “branded” vehicle to meet and pass the same year’s inspection and emission requirements. It is my opinion, that this change in registration places an undue hardship on all antique vehicle owners and is unacceptable.

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