SAN ANTONIO MUSTANG CLUB PROVIDING OWNERS AND ENTHUSIASTS INTERESTED IN PAST AND PRESENT MUSTANGS A PLACE TO GATHER. July 2010 Volume21 www.samustang.com INSIDE THIS ISSUE 1 President’s Commentary 2 New Meeting Location 3 Southern Corridor Cruise 6 Older Mustang Batteries 7 Donald N. Frey 9 MustangFest Update 9 Mustang Club Of America 10 Featured Members Car 12 Kirby Hobo Festival 10 Alamo Classic Ponies 13 Up Coming Events President’s Commentary By Ron Putz Hello Fellow Club Members; Well half the year has passed and the club has been busy. We have had a cruise, a few shows, a parade or two and cruise night at the Rim is up and running. Peggy and I just got back from our vacation to Louisville (square dancing) and Graceland (checking out Elvis). We had a good time and now are ready for some new adventures as soon as I get this cast off my hand! It should come off and the pins removed very soon. Then I will be back to normal, or as close to normal as I can get! Maybe Peggy will let me cut wood again with my table saw someday…. soon….maybe….. The second half of the year looks like there will be some adventures in store for all of us. The heat of the summer will slow down some activities, but there are a few shows and we have our cruise nights to keep us going until the fall. Our Car Show is building momentum and coming together, we still need people to bring in sponsors, door prizes, and goody bag stuffers. The Car Show is something we all have to work on together for and there is plenty of work to be done. This year looks to continue the tradition of growth and I wouldn’t be surprised if this year we even attract some significant media attention. Keep those cars shiny for the cameras! The hunt for a new meeting place has hit pay dirt! Thanks to Paul’s diligent efforts, a new location has been found that should prove to be an excellent meeting location. “Buffalo’s Southwest Café”, located at 11812 Bandera Rd 210-695-1810. Look for more information in this issue of the newsletter. Jordan Ford has truly gone above and beyond in their support of the club, allowing us the use of their meeting room for the past year. I hope we all do our part to return the favor! Remember a good word from you is the best advertizing a dealership can get, be generous with them as they have been with us! Potential new members are all around us, you see them driving their Mustangs and in better parking lots all over town. Remember to keep some club cards in your wallet to pass out, you never know, you might make a new friend and help to enrich the club! The wealth of the San Antonio Mustang club is in the quality and quantity of the people…not in the bank account! Spread the word and help the club grow, today’s new member is our future. Until the next meeting, keep it between the lines and all four wheels on the asphalt. Page 2 HOOF PRINTS New Meeting Location Starting with the August 4th meeting After an exhausting search, a new meeting location has been selected. Buffalo’s Southwest Café located at 11812 Bandera Rd Helotes, TX 78023 (210) 695-1810. Buffalo’s has offered the San Antonio Mustang Club use of their spacious and wonderfully decorated meeting room at no cost! The room can comfortably seat 50 people and has all the amenities to make our meeting comfortable and private. Visit their web site www.buffaloscafe.com for full details. They boast a menu full of delicious items from nachos to steaks, hamburgers, ribs, wings, salads, wraps and sandwiches, they have a full service bar and the prices are reasonable! I think members will join the club just to share in the hospitality they offer! Another benefit is we can return to our former meeting time, 7:30PM. This will allow those “working” club members a better chance to relax a little after work before attending the meeting. Plus we will no longer be holding up Jordan Ford’s employees from getting to their home and diner waiting for us to exit their facility. Their generosity over the past year in allowing us the use of their facility and services has really been a blessing and a favor which shows their support of the club! Now, if we want to hang out together until Buffalos closing time Midnight, we are more than welcome! Just remember Mustangs and drinking doesn’t mix! Keep it safe, we want you around for many years to com South Corridor Cruise Once again the San Antonio Mustang Club in conjunction with AACOG, the Alamo Area Council of Governments, had the pleasure of going on the “South Corridor Cruise”. I am so sorry to say that due to work requirements, I could not attend this year but Roy Putz was kind enough to provide many pictures and relay a few details about the events. It was a fun filled day, the pictures tell the story of what they got to see and do, what the pictures cannot convey is the fun, memories and fellowship these types of activates provide! Pictures just do not do justice; there is no substitute for personal involvement! When you participate and experience these events you will understand. I am pressing this point because only a small handful of the membership participated! I can’t think of a better way to spend a day! Learning about our community, meeting new people, seeing new places, eating great food and spending time with your special someone and all this for almost no cost! The San Antonio Mustang Club and AACOG do not charge for these events, it is totally free, all you have to do is pay for a little gas and lunch, Next time a cruise comes along make sure to be a part of it, take the wife, the girlfriend or gals take your husband or boyfriend, take the kids, take the dog take the mustang just be there be a part of it and you will see how it can add so much to your life! It’s what owning a Mustang and being a member of the San Antonio Mustang Club is all about! HOOF PRINTS Page 3 21st Annual Classic Cruise Along the Corridor May 1, 2010 The refreshments were provided by church members. There was an exhibit by the Friends of the SP 794 Steam Engine. Floresville our next stop had the Market Day and the Historical Jail open for visitors. After viewing the jail cellblocks a statement was made by one visitor “if these kind of cells were used today may be so many people would not be trying to get in jail”. Page 4 HOOF PRINTS Southerland Springs Museum our next stop. This small town is full of history and even has a real ghost town that sounds like a good place for a return trip. At one time they had a resort hotel with a large pool with mineral waters, and people from all over the country would visit for its healing power. They also served homemade cookies, cinnamon rolls and drinks for everyone. Stockdale Museum the office of the first female doctor in Texas. HOOF PRINTS Page 5 Stockdale Museum the office of the first female doctor in Texas. The road to Luling was lined with lots of yellow wild flowers. In Luling we had lunch a Luling Bar-B-Q. The State Troopers were only there for lunch, they didn’t chase us there. We saw the Oil Patch Museum which is dedicated to the drilling and production of oil in that area. HOOF PRINTS Page 6 BATTERIES FOR OLDER MUSTANGS Submitted by Jack Klug If you have a 1964 ½-1966 Mustang, then you have probably had trouble finding the correct battery for your car. The problem is, many or most battery manufacturers do not make the 22F or 24F battery with the flared ends and positive terminal on the left (when you are facing the car) so that it will fit the early Mustang. Even Motocraft quit. This does not make a difference on the 1967 and up since the battery tray was redesigned to use a hold down on the top of the battery with two long bolts. What is the solution if you need a battery for your 1964 1/2 -1966 Mustang? 1. A number of companies make a battery with the flared ends that will fit, but the terminals are reversed, so you have troubles with the cables reaching and looking decent. 2. Interstate Battery at the Forum told me that they do not make the battery anymore, but the Interstate Battery at 902 Chulie, behind the WalMart off Jones Maltsburger, ordered me one from their Chicago plant. As of last week, they also have three extra 6-year 22F batteries in stock that fit the car perfectly. 3. Dynacom.com makes a conversion battery tray and top hold down for around $24.00, which you can get Mark at Alamo Classic Ponies to order for you. It looks like the 1967 battery tray and hold down. 4. Some Mustang vendors are also selling a battery tray conversion bracket that goes under the original tray for about $12, but then you have to buy a battery hold down clamp for $6.00 and two battery clamp bolts for $5.00. Total: $23.00. I don’t think it would look very good, but you would not have to change the original battery tray. 5. Most Mustang Vendors sell an Autolite 24F reproduction battery for around $135.00 those, and it lasted a year. You also need the smaller hold down. plus shipping. I tried one of Tray conversion bracket Battery with the flared ends Page 7 HOOF PRINTS Donald N. Frey, Designer of the Mustang, Dies at 86 Original story from NY Times published 3/28/2010 DOUGLAS MARTIN with revisions by Richard Birnbach Donald N. Frey, the engineer who spearheaded the design and development of the Mustang, passed away March 5 in Evanston, Ill., where he lived. He was 86. The cause of death was a stroke. Donald Frey with Lee Iacocca Though much of the Mustang was borrowed from other Ford vehicles, including a Falcon chassis, the car developed an identity all it’s own for a younger generation in search of new looks and experiences. It was designed to appeal to both men and women, had a dash of elegance copied from European sports cars, and featured a galloping steed in the middle of its grille that buyers thought was, well, really cool. Donald Frey and his team created the car — from approval by top management to the showroom — in just 18 months, and expectations were modest when it was introduced on April 17, 1964, at the New York World’s Fair. Ford figured it would sell 80,000 Mustangs in its first year. It sold more than a million in its first two years. Donald Frey would go on to other achievements. He was chairman and chief executive of the Bell & Howell Company, recipient of the National Medal of Technology and a member of the executive board of the World Bank. He was proudest, he said, of helping to introduce safety improvements like disc brakes and radial tires to Ford cars. But to automotive aficionados and just plain car lovers, the Mustang was his defining accomplishment. At gatherings of Mustang enthusiasts, Mr. Frey was often besieged by autograph hunters in the manner of a rock star. Page 8 HOOF PRINTS As Ford’s assistant general manager and chief engineer, Mr. Frey worked closely on the Mustang project with Lee Iacocca, then general manager of the Ford division. Donald Frey is credited with coming up with the initial Mustang prototype, a mid-engine two-seater roadster unveiled in 1962. He later led all design and engineering work. (Other designers, led by Joe Oros, later added back seats and other features.) Mr. Frey pursued the project even though Henry Ford II the president of the company, had turned it down four times, partly because Ford’s new Edsel had just failed so spectacularly. Lacking an official go-ahead, Mr. Frey met with Mr. Iacocca and other engineers and designers in a motel at night and in a storage room by day. “The whole project was bootlegged. There was no official approval of this thing. We had to do it on a shoestring”. Donald Frey was proud of announcing. In the book “Mustang: An American Classic” (2009), Mike Mueller quotes Mr. Frey as saying the inspiration for the Mustang came from watching Chevrolet’s successful strategy for improving sales of the compact car Corvair. “I guess in desperation they put bucket seats in the thing, called it the Monza, and it started to sell,” Mr. Frey said. But he told Northwestern that the spark had come from his children. “Dad, your cars stink,” he remembered them saying at the dinner table. “There’s no pizzazz.” In addition to his son Christopher, Mr. Frey is survived by his fourth wife, Kay Everly, from whom he was separated; another son, Donald Jr.; three daughters, Margaret Walton, Catherine McNair and Elizabeth Sullivan; a brother, Stuart, who was also a top executive at Ford; nine grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren. Donald Nelson Frey was born on March 13, 1923, in St. Louis and grew up in Waterloo, Iowa, where his father was chief metallurgist for a John Deere plant. He attended Michigan State University for two years, then left to serve in the Army in World War II. After his discharge, he earned bachelors, masters and doctoral degrees in metallurgy from the University of Michigan. He stayed to teach at Michigan but later left to manage Ford’s metallurgy department in its laboratory, hoping to acquire real-world engineering experience, as he told The New York Times in 1965. Mr. Frey left Ford in 1968 to become president of the General Cable Corporation. In the 1970s and ’80s he was chairman of Bell & Howell. He divested it of less profitable operations like mail-handling equipment and nurtured its profitable videotape division. Meanwhile, the Mustang gained weight and horsepower before being downsized just in time for the 1970s spike in gas prices. In 1979 it got bigger again and then went through yet more redesigns. Its popularity oscillated, too, but the original boom was never equaled. At his death Mr. Frey owned an original Mustang, his son Christopher said, adding that he liked to drive it fast. HOOF PRINTS Page 9 MustangFest Update October 1st is coming up fast but not fast enough! I can’t wait for the start of the 2nd annual MustangFest! Island Tom has been working hard making arrangements getting some new surprises ready for us. He has been working on improved and expanded dining including an elegant indoor buffet to be followed by the “Mustang Elvis” diner show. The Port Aransas Brewing Company will again be a participating sponsor and have everything ready for us from Mustang Beer to Boss 302 Pizza! Some Hollywood celebrities are also being scheduled to add some high caliber professional entertainment and attract a much larger audience. I can’t wait to see which well known famous person rides up in their Mustang! Check out the MustangFest site on face book and you just might see some people you know, I was surprised to see Betty White there as a supporter and you never know who else might be showing up, did someone mention Morgan Freeman? This year the car show and auction will be completely operated by the San Antonio Mustang Club and promises to become the premier show in the area! More cars, more vendors, more entertainers and just lots more fun, along with a shuttle to take club members back and forth to the beach while the car show is running. I don’t know about you but I think a little beach time might be the perfect activity while our cars are being admired by the local and tourist population. I know my wife will appreciate that and so will I! How about a “Live Mustang” auction conducted by the Dept of the Interior! Would you like to haul a trailer back loaded with a 4 legged Mustang! This year the Dept of the Interior is scheduling their annual auction to coincide with MustangFest. What a combination, 4 legs or 4 wheels you can always ride your Mustang! 11 car clubs are now onboard and some more are in the wings. People from many different states are signing up and as the date approaches, the registrations are starting to come in quicker. The cost of $55.00 is a super bargain for what is being offered however as a member of the San Antonio Mustang Club, you get the “Host Club” special of $35.00. This includes your car registration, goodie bag and hotel discount plus some additional surprise goodies Island Tom hasn’t revealed yet! The lower your registration number the bigger and better you’re goodie bag! Make your reservations early; rooms are starting to fill up. See the web sites for more information, www.mustangfest.org, www.mustangfest.info, and www.mileofmustangs.com. MUSTANG CLUB OF AMERICA (MCA) Submitted by Jack Klug I was looking on the MCA web site recently to get the addresses of the Texas MCA regional clubs so that I could send them car show fliers, when I discovered that MCA now lists the number of MCA members in each club. Here is the list: 1. Mustang Club of Houston—145 members 2. North Texas Mustang Club—105 3. Mustang Owners Club of Austin—49 4. Mustangs of East Texas—17 5. San Antonio Mustang Club—16 6. Southeast Texas Mustang Club—12 7. South Texas Mustang Club—10 8. Lubbock Mustang Club—8 9. Texas Panhandle Mustang Club—6 10. Coastal Bend Mustang and Ford Club—0. Page 10 HOOF PRINTS I found this information to be very interesting. What a range—145 to 0. And our club is number 5 out of 10. What that means is that out of the currently 143 members, we have 18 that belong to MCA. That is a very small percentage. MCA has a world-wide membership of only 12,000. It should have over 100,000. Why exactly should more club members join MCA? I won’t go into all of the reasons because they are different for everyone, but I would like to touch on the most obvious to me. 1. MCA is an international organization mostly made up of volunteers who try to do for the Mustang what we try to do in our club on the local level. They spend numerous hours and lots of their own money for our benefit. 2. It has an outstanding magazine, Mustang Times. I have been an MCA member since the monthly magazine was a few stapled sheets. Now it is a quality publication with all kinds of important information about Mustangs and Fords. It provides a place to advertise our car show free, to sell cars or parts free, and to find a Mustang show anywhere. It is the official “newsletter” for things Mustang. 3. MCA provides a $2,000,000 insurance policy for our car show, something that would probably cost over $1000 if we could even find such a policy anymore. 4. SAMC being a regional club allows the club to buy a comprehensive insurance policy with Hancock Classic Insurance to cover all of our other activities for just $300 a year. 5. Here is the big one, which I saved for last. According to the May issue of Mustang Times, Ford has agreed to let any MCA member in good standing be eligible for Ford’s special-pricing X-Plan. This means a substantial discount on a new Mustang, Flex, Taurus, F-Series, or almost any Ford vehicle. All the details will be posted on the MCA web site shortly. If you are purchasing immediately, contact President Steven McCarley by email: [email protected] for details. I hope that if you are not a member of MCA, you will strongly consider joining and supporting the hobby. Start by seeing our MCA club representative JEAN COOPER for an application. Also, check out the MCA web site: www.mustang.org. As for me, I am waiting on the details for that X-Plan pricing. Featured Car of the Month… The Year… My Life Submitted by Richard Birnbach 1974 was a time of great change. The world experienced the first Arab oil embargo resulting in long gas lines and giant jumps in the price of gas. Like many Americans, I downsized my choice of driving vehicles to what was supposed to be a gas sipping well made, inexpensive car, a 1974 AMC Gremlin. HOOF PRINTS Page 11 Gees what a joke! I kept that car for 4 months during which time I almost lived in the dealership’s service department getting the car to almost stay running. Finally in frustration, I visited the local Ford dealership not really knowing what I wanted or what I could afford. The Ford used car manager thought the Gremlin was a great car for the times and actually offered me more in trade then I still owed. As I walked around his lot looking for my next car, I saw her, big brown and sparkling in the sun light, it was love at first sight! A 1971 Mustang Grande, Medium Metallic Brown with black vinyl roof, a big and beefy 351 Cleveland M code with C6 transmission, not exactly a car for the times but I had to have her! A deal was made and off I drove. I kept that car for just under 4 years, I ran up over 100,000 miles and every time I got into her, that smile came over my face! I loved that car, but time and excessive use was taking its toll, then it happened, a momentary lapse and bam, I rear ended some guy while driving in Philadelphia PA. Fixing my baby was not really a good alternative for me financially at the time so I sold her. I got almost what I paid for her so even in her passing she took great care of me. As soon as the deal was made, regret swept over me, it was a sad day I will never forget. Many years passed and many cars have come and gone but none ever had that same effect on me. With the advance of the internet, the world is now at our finger tips, it’s like having the largest shopping mall in creation at our beck and call. Every once in a while, I would look around and see what was out there in the world of Mustangs from the past. Occasionally there would be one that was close to my Mustang but none ever made me jump out of my seat the way my former car did. Then one day it happened, there on eBay, sitting in Shawnee Mission Kansas, a 1971 Medium Metallic Brown Mustang with a dark brown vinyl roof, a big beefy 351 Cleveland M code with C6 transmission! I looked and looked again; it was almost an exact copy of my baby! I had to have her! The bidding was done and she was mine. The payment was transferred and the transport company arranged, my heart was pounding like a teenager on his first date! She couldn’t get here fast enough. Finally after a 2 week wait, the driver called and said he was almost here, my residential street is too small for the transport truck so a commercial strip mall was picked as the drop off point and there I meet them. She didn’t look quite as good in real life as she did in her eBay pictures but I could see the beauty lying just under the surface waiting to come out! After the transport driver left, I got in my new baby and she fired right up! The roar of the engine accentuated by the rusted out almost no longer in existence exhaust system was music to my ears. Off we went on our first drive together, a short hop to her new home. As I approached the entrance of my subdivision, I had to punch it just once before getting home to see what would happen, she roared with fury and so much torque we entered the subdivision sideways and fast! This car stole my heart right then and there! Page 12 HOOF PRINTS Several years have past now, the repair bills are high, the maintenance is continuous but the joy of ownership is amazing! The garage is full of parts and I am on first name basis with half the mechanics in town. But something else has happened along the way, something much unexpected. I found out about the San Antonio Mustang Club and decided to join. I remember my first meeting, taking my wife I didn’t know what to expect. What I found was a group of men and women sharing their common joy of Mustangs! People of various backgrounds with only 1 thing in common to bring them together. I have met some great people there and continue to meet new people as the membership expands. Together we share in cruises, exploring, and charitable events. My wife didn’t and still doesn’t understand the excitement I feel every time I get into my Mustang. She attributes it to something like a mid life crisis or male menopause! And maybe it is but whatever it is I love it! She has seen how people will walk across the street just to rub her fenders and check her out close up. Wherever we go, someone always asks, “What year is she” or is she for sale. We both love the Club cruises and the special events such as “MustangFest”. Neither one of us ever expected what Mustang ownership and club membership has brought into our lives! To me, it is another one of God’s gifts and blessing, it’s not just the car, it’s the people that come with it! Kirby HOBO Festival For the past 2 years, the city of Kirby Texas has put on a “HOBO” Festival. This year was a much improved version and we expect it to continue growing to become one of the areas most looked forward to events! It is a 4 day party, this year from 4/29-5/2. It is filled with family oriented happenings every one can enjoy. Carnival style attractions, music both from DJ’s and live bands, a parade, fireman’s diner, a talent show, lots of food from different vendors and or course a car show to round out the events! This year a couple of club members participated in the car show. One of our newer members Jeff took first place with his Mustang SVO! Way to go Jeff! Next year we hope to see many more of our club members participate; it’s a fun time for all and reasonably priced. Take your kids, your grandkids, the wife and don’t forget…your MUSTANG! Message from Our Friends at “Alamo Classic Ponies” Formerly Alamo Classic Mustang Hello Fellow Mustanger’s We are proud to announce to you that there have been a few changes made at Alamo Classic Mustang. First of all, we changed our ownership, Mark and Dawn Cumberland, longtime members of SAMC, are now sole owners. While the legalities were being worked out on this change, we decided to change the name of the business, so as to avoid any legal troubles with FOMOCO in the future. Our new name, as most of you probably already know from calling us for your parts and service needs, is now Alamo Classic Ponies. HOOF PRINTS Page 13 On April 20, 2010, we opened for business at our new, more centrally located and easier to get to location at 1403 Fredericksburg Rd. at W. Agarita Ave. We are across the street from the famous San Antonio Landmark Cool Crest Miniature Golf, right before you get to IH 10 going toward downtown. We have also recently expanded our parts and services to include 64 ½ to 2010 Mustangs, specializing in the vintage mustangs and Fox body Stangs. Speaking of fox bodies, we now have an inventory of these super popular cars for sale on our lot! We are in the planning stages of our Grand Re-opening Show-N-Shine and will coordinate with the Club on the date for this. We want to remind all SAMC Members that we offer a 10% discount on new parts. Our phone number is the same one we’ve had for 23 years! (210) 647-8264, which is easy to remember as 64-STANG. Up Coming Events July 17 Gonzales 1st Annual Show your Wheels Car Show at J.B. Wells Pavillion Hwy. 183 South. Free entertainment 14:30 . Info: 830-203-1035 July 17 San Antonio SAMC Cruise-in at The RIM July 17 Spring Branch Early Bird Cruise-in-at Mc Donalds, 8-11 am July 23-25 Fredericksburg 33rd Hill Country Swap Meet at Lady Bird Johnson Park. July 26 Spring Branch Early Bird Cruise-in-at Mc Donalds July 31 Austin Annual Round Up by Mustang Owner's Club of Austin at Great Hills Baptist Church 10-2. Registration 8:30-10:30 Info: Email [email protected] 512-801-5313 or www.mocatx.com. We usually have a club caravan up to the show. Aug. 4 San Antonio Club Meeting Aug. 7-8 Ft. Worth 21th Annual Yellow Rose Classic Car Show by North Texas Mustang Club at Will Rogers Memorial Center. Info: 214-502-5810 or www.yellowrosecarshow.com Aug.13 Castroville Cruise Night Aug. 14 Junction 12th Annual Martin Memorial Open Car Show. Main Street at Courthouse. Info 830-634-2698 Aug. 21 San Antonio San Antonio Mustang Club Cruise Night at the Rim Sept 1 San Antonio Club meeting at New Meeting Place. See August entry for details Sept 11 Seguin 11th Annual Pontiac Car Club open Classic Car Show. Rain date Semtember 12 8:00-4:00 with 2 Mustang Classes. Free T-shirts for the first 100. Cars parked by arrival. Sept 18 San Antonio SAMC Cruise Night at the Rim Sept 25 Seguin AACOG multi-club picnic at Nolte Island. Leave from Rolling Oaks Mall at ? Oct. 1-3 Port Aransas Mustang Fest 2010 Info: www.MustangFest.org Oct. 6 San Antonio Club meeting New Meeting Place. See August entry for details Page 14 HOOF PRINTS Oct. 9 San Antonio SAMC car display at Northern Tool, 410 and Vance Jackson. 10am-2pm Lunch provided. Oct. 16 San Antonio San Antonio Mustang Club Hill Country Cruise Oct. 24 San Antonio SAMC Annual Charity Car Show at the Rim. We need your help. Nov. 13 San Antonio 1st Annual Open Charity Car Show by Camaro Club at Providance College Prep School with 30 classes 5 Mustang Classes. Info: [email protected]. Parking is like our show so have to go as a group to park together. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the writers' exclusively and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the San Antonio Mustang Club. Information contained in any article has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable; however, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness.
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