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2002 Officers: President: Ken Rowe (210) 656-6458; Vice-President George Kiolbassa (210) 648-3881; Secretary: Carole Buss
(210) 545-1237; Treasurer: Lillian Kiolbassa (210) 648-3881; Car Clinics: Andy Hoekstra (210) 690-8514; Newsletter Editor: Neal Johnston (210) 824-1257; C.T.C.I. Advisor: Ken Rowe
MEMBERSHIP MEETING:Saturday,September 14th, 9 A.M. at JIM’S COFFEE SHOP, 16101 San Pedro (Between Bitters and Thousand Oaks on West Feeder Road).
WEEKLY TECH MEETINGS:6 P.M. the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Wednesday at the I.H. 10 CHESTER’S.
BIRDER’S NIGHT OUT: 6 P.M. the4thWednesday, September 25th, at TASTE OF CHINA SUPER BUFFET, 3711 Colony Drive, Tel: 561-8188.
Presidents Message
We had a really nice meeting on Saturday August 10th. There were 30 members in attendance as well as Mr. Paul Crossman who enlightened us on appraising antique and classic cars. He is a specialist in that field having been doing it for 15 years. If anyone is interested in getting their car appraised his phone number is 210-599-7774. The other two guests were my grandson Zee and his friend Mike.
I want to congratulate and thank John Cook for an outstanding job of chairing the uniform committee. We have talked about getting shirts for the club for several years and this is the closest we have ever gotten. It is a nice looking white shirt with a black trim. Our small logo will go on the front. They will run about $25.00 each. Vice President George Kiolbassa got the sizes of those who were at the meeting so if you were not there and are interested in getting a shirt give George a call. We will have the club pay for them and you will reimburse the club.
We had a good turn out for our Wednesday night out at the Jailhouse Café on southwest military drive. We had 16 T-Birders. Only John Kennedy, Jimmy and Gladys Scruggs, and Lou and Cora Maulden drove their Birds. I was going to drive the baby Bronze, but Troy said if I did she was not coming. “If it breaks down JUST ONCE and….”.,,,,,which reminds me - Troy is always telling ME to have her car checked because service writers take advantage of women, but she sort of changed her mind when SHE took her car in to be inspected and was only charged extra for BLINKER fluid.
As some of you probably know I have been looking for a 1965 or 66 Mustang air conditioning evaporator. Well, I finally found one. It had some pits, but I could have lived with it as it was. If I had known that Lou was going to make a major project of me sanding it down to get it ready to be re-chromed I might have been satisfied with the evaporator that I already have in the car. However Lou is right, so I’m sanding.
August 2002 Minutes
The meeting of 10 August was called to order at 9:10 am at Jim’s Coffee Shop. Jack Carter moved that the minutes as printed be accepted. Betty Schwartz seconded. Motion carried. Lillian Kiolbassa gave the treasurers report. Members birthdays and anniversaries for August were recognized.
There were 30 people present at the meeting. Special guest Paul Crossman was introduced as our speaker, Zachary Knox (Troy & Ken’s grandson) and friend Mike were introduced as guests. Members Jack and JoAnn Carter, Sal & Olly Rojas, and Stan & Karen Steiger were welcomed back.
Jack Carter was presented a plaque from Vintage Thunderbird Club International. Congratulations from the
San Antonio Club, Jack.
Ken Rowe picked up a Federal Government letter from Ted Lee August 9, 2002 regarding acquiring a tax-free status with the State. Jack Carter has volunteered to look into it.
Reminder of Birder’s Night Out: 6 pm August 28th at the Jailhouse Café on S. W. Military.
John Cook reported on shirts for the Club. It was decided it would be a white shirt with black trim, emblem on front left side, approx. $25.00. George Kiolbassa took names and sizes of those who wanted to purchase a shirt. If you were not present and wish to purchase a shirt call George.
Shirts will be paid for by the Club with reimbursement from individuals.
Paul Crossman, a Vehicle Appraisal Specialist, with an impressive background gave an interesting, informative talk with questions and answers.
As there was no further business, C. E. Boyd moved that the meeting be adjourned. Rusty Pinkerton seconded and the meeting was adjourned.
Respectfully submitted,
Troy Rowe
September Birthdays: 18.Mary Lou Hoekstra 22. C. L. Hood 23. Marc Weiss
Anniversaries: 17. Stan & Karen Steiger
DON’T FORGET FREDERICKSBURG IN OCTOBER
by Sandra Hood
Our Club is once again hosting a weekend in Fredericksburg October 25-26-27. Thirty rooms have been blocked for Friday night the 25th and Saturday the 26th at the Sunday House in downtown Fredericksburg. The rate is $89.95 per room because of the Wine Festival Weekend event. The CUT OFF DATE TO RESERVE A ROOM IS SEPTEMBER 26TH. If you would like to attend, please call Sunday House at 1-800-274-3762. Our Club will be hosting a hospitality room with good food which will be open Friday afternoon, all day Saturday and Sunday morning. We always have a good time and there is, of course, great shopping!!
Y-block I.D.
Block casting numbers used for identification are generally on the side of the Y-block just above the oil filter for blocks cast at Cleveland. Dearborn I.D. numbers are near the distributor and above the generator. Most Dearborn Y-blocks were used in trucks, and there were none from Dearborn after 1957, nor were there any special truck blocks. Heavy-duty trucks (1961 and later) with steel cranks used blocks bearing casting numbers such as C1AE or C2AE, etc. Starting in the 1950’s, prefixes used in the Ford coding system denote the decade – B for 1950’s, C for 1960’s, etc. – with the second digit (a figure) to single out the exact year, i.e. C1AE would decode as 1961. AE are letters assigned by engineering. However, don’t be confused to think that a C1AE block would be correct for a 1961 vehicle only. It simply indicates when the block itself was released for production in 1961. In some cases, C1AE could have been used for several years after 1961 but never before.
Closely inspect your block around the oil filter area for casting numbers. There are usually several combinations which record everything from date to the work shift in which the casting took place as well as the block casting number. Due to an accumulation of rust and grime build-up, it might be necessary to clean this area for proper identification of these numbers. Sometimes they are faint, broken and tough to read even under the best of conditions. The actual block casting number might include coding such as “6015”, which is Ford’s universal part number for an engine block. Ford developed a part numbering system back in the 1930’s that begins with a prefix, such as the aforementioned C1AE, followed by a part number, such as 6015. That basic structure is still in use today. Confusingly, the number sometimes appears in the casting number and sometimes it doesn’t. That’s true with other castings as well, such as intake manifolds, etc.
If your block is a 312, built from1955 (for 1956 model year) to 1960, casting numbers could be ECZ-A, ECZ-C, EDB or B7ME-A. Should your block be a 272 or a 292 (or even a 239 or 256 from 1954) made from 1954 to 1964, casting numbers could include one of the following: EBY, ECG (256-272, truck); CITE (292 and 272 truck); B5A-EO, EBY-F, ECG-B (272, truck); B7AE (292-312, truck); Eck (292, truck); B9AE, B9AE-F, C1AE, C2AE, C2AE-A, C2AE-C, ECK-B, EDB, EDV, COTE, COTE-8, CIAE-R (292); ECG-A, ECG-C, KBY (272); ECZ (292-312).
Incidentally, there’s a lot of interchangeability of parts throughout the Y-block generations, i.e. carbs, intakes and exhaust manifolds are examples. So – don’t be led astray by what you read on an exhaust manifold, etc. Go for the block casting number only. Then, should further narrowing down be called for to locate the exact date, you’ll have to look for the date code.
The bore sizes increased as the cid grew form 239 to 312. After you have narrowed it down by the casting numbers, an engine rebuilding shop can verify the bore size. One of these codes should put you on the right track.
Radio Speaker Restoration
By Bill Abate
Installing an updated radio in your T-Bird can be very worthwhile but without good speakers you are doomed from the start. I convert the stock T-Bird AM radios to AM/FM and have been doing it for years. The finished product is a 44 watt stereo unit that sounds as good as the factory unit in my modern full size Crown Victoria. But you have to be careful on speaker selection. I advise my customers not to go stereo because the cockpit of the little Bird is so small. It is almost impossible to get decent stereo separation. I advise against using the 6X9 two speaker setup that is offered by some parts houses. You will have zero stereo separation with two speakers side by side so it defeats the purpose of stereo. Most people would not install their speakers right next to each other in their home stereo so why do it in the car? Second problem is that the bass response of a speaker is proportional to its size. That is why woofers are large and tweeters are small. If you use two small speakers you are throwing away most of the low frequency response of the music. Low frequencies make the sound richer.
The recommendation I make is to go with 22 watts of monaural and forget the stereo. Install one quality 6X9 two way speaker (not two speakers) in the dash. I can drive the highways at 70 mph with no top on and hear the radio fine. Now you still hear all the road noise but you know what song you are listening to. Note that you should not use just one channel of a stereo radio as you would be throwing away half of the music information. That is not the same as monaural.
Lastly select a speaker with an adequate magnet. You don't have much choice on speaker size if you use the stock dash installation but you can get one with a large magnet. The size of the magnet determines the power that the speaker can handle. My speaker has a 20 ounce magnet that jumped over and stuck to the frame when I first installed it! Good thing my fingers were not in the way. The stock speaker magnet was only a few ounces but was adequate for the original radio, which only ran a few watts.
If you insist on using two speakers, the only place I found to be a good location is the cardboard on the rear of the seat. I used surface mount speakers with triangular shaped enclosures right below the top of the seat. Don't scold me as this was done thirty years ago in the non original days of my youth!
FIRE HAZARD ALERT WHEN PUMPING GASOLINE
From Big “D” Little Bird’s Bird Thunder newsletter
The Petroleum Equipment Institute is working on a campaign to try and make people aware of tires as a result of
“static” (that is, static electricity) at gas pumps. They have researched 150 cases of these fires. The results were
very surprising:
1)Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women.
2)Almost all cases involved the person getting back in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping gas, when finished and they went back to pull the nozzle out the fire started, as a result of static.
3)Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
4)Most men never get back in their vehicle until completely finished. This is why they are seldom involved in these types of fires.
5)Don’t ever use cell phones when pumping gas.
6)It is the vapors that come out of the gas that cause the fire, when connected with static charges.
7)There were 29 fires where the vehicle was reentered and the nozzle was touched during refueling from a variety of makes and modes. Some resulting in extensive damage to the vehicle, to the station, and to the customer.
8)Seventeen fires that occurred before, during or immediately after the gas cap was removed and before fueling began.
NEVER get back into your vehicle while filling it with gas. If you absolutely HAVE to get in your vehicle while the gas is pumping, make sure you get out and close the door. TOUCH THE METAL, before you ever pull the nozzle out which will discharge the static from your body before you ever remove the nozzle.
As mentioned earlier, The Petroleum Equipment Institute, along with several other companies now, are really trying to make the public aware of this danger. You can find out more information by going to . Once there,click in the center of the screen where it says “Stop Static”.
Please send this information to your family and friends, especially those who have kids in the car with them while pumping gas. If this were to happen to them, they may not be able to get the children out in time.
TTTThat’s All Folks!!!