May 2003, Volume 6, Issue 4

General Meeting - May 6 th, 2003
The meeting was called to order by President, Ted Bechtel at 7:10pm.

Wally Jeffery needed to leave early and had some news for us. Wally is not only a member of our Club but he is also a member of the P.O.C.I. Club. (Pontiac, Oakland Club International). A couple of years ago, he and Ted Klein participated in the West Coast Pontiac Nationals. Recently they had a meeting and invited our president and the president of the G.T.O. Club to join them. There is interest in these clubs to put on a car show in late summer, maybe late August or early September of 2004. This would be an all Pontiac Car Show here in Sacramento. Hopefully this would draw participation from the Bay Area, Reno and Northern California. The last time they held this show, there were about 150 cars entered.

Wally is asking for our support in putting on this event. The question was asked if our Club would be interested in joining with the other clubs to put this show on. It would be known as the "Trans Am, Pontiac, GTO Club Show". The answer: "Of course we would". J.O. said he would gladly support this venture and nominated Ted Klein to be the contact person for our Club. Ted said that would be fine with him. Wally also said he would like to see this region have a B.O.P. show sometime in the future. That's Buick, Olds, and Pontiac show. He said Buick has a very good local club and he is sure that an Olds club must be around somewhere.

J.O. moved to accept the minutes as printed in the News Letter, seconded by Leo Brown, motion carried.



Old Business:

Towe Ford Museum:
Keith reported that he was still short about $40 for our Club to join the Towe Ford Museum. If anyone else would like to donate, he would appreciate it. This will allow all Club Members to visit the museum as often as they like without paying the entry fee.

Ted said he had filled out the application for the Association of California Car Clubs. This is the club that was Established to keep car enthusiasts up to date on what is happening in the legislature and what laws are being passed that affect our cars.

Past Events:
Kragen Car Show:
Keith reported that we had seven of our Club members present with their cars. Gary & Gayle Vollstedt, Dennis and Terry Trimble brought both cars, Dave Gershon and his red GTA, Keith had his convertible and J.O. was there for a while with the '79 T/A.

They arrived at 2:30pm just before the show started. Our cars were parked right along the walkway to the Antique Trove where they were in full view of anyone shopping in that area. Fifties style music was playing during the event. When you registered, they gave a free raffle ticket and Dave won speakers. Keith spoke to Smitty after the show and thanked him for letting us join in. He said he would like for the Club to make a sign that says "Trans Am Alley" to set up along with our cars. Smitty said for the next show on May 24th, he was going to find a group of people to pick out the best car in our Club. Departure was around 7:30pm".

Cool April Nights - 4/12:
What's that you say? Well, I don't know, seems how we didn't go... And you thought "One" was a lonely number. Try "Two". Two as in Leo and Terry. Two as in a Red Convertible and a Sunset Orange Bird. Well, due to the poor weather and limited amount of cars, Terry and I decided to cancel the run. Instead, we caravanned a whole 200 feet to Carrows for breakfast. Submitted by Leo.

Teddy Bear Factory, Alcatraz - 4/19:
And what a day it was! The weather was extremely good to us. The sun was shining and temperature was perfect. It's 8am and we are the only ones here. It is now 8:30am and still, we are the only ones. Where is Leo? Where are the pretty birds. Are we alone? These were the thoughts of Julie and Allen as they waited patiently in their clean (well, maybe not so clean), shiny, yellow 2002 Limited Edition WS6 Trans Am. Julie pulls out her cell phone and calls "Oh Leo, Oh Leo, where for art thou Oh Leo"? I reply, "At the car wash, working at the car wash, yea, yea". It seems to me that someone got confused with the time of 9am. Well, anyway, Allen started seeing light at the end of the tunnel when he spotted a bright red 2002 WS6 Ram Air Convertible pull up. Yes, you guessed it. It was Terry and her grand Daughter Sara. Then a few minutes later comes a bright shiny, well polished sunset orange WS6 2002 Ram Air Bird. As they held their breaths in anticipation, out steps none other than his majesty "Leo Brown" followed by his wife Susan. As we continued to look around we saw a billow of black smoke rising up and heading towards us. At first it seemed as though we were in Baghdad, but all of a sudden out of the thick black smoke, came a black 1984 Convertible Trans Am. You guessed this as well, It was Keith along with his co-pilot Steven.

Well, it's 9:30am and time to go. We take off and head toward the Bay Area. First stop, "The Basic Brown Bear Factory" in San Francisco. The traffic was moderate, but we managed to stay together and in formation. Everyone did an excellent job in lane changes and keeping bogies (other than T/A's) from finding it's way in between us. Even Terry was able to keep up with her new WS6. We found the factory with no problem although we did go around a traffic circle a couple of times (say "cheese"). When we entered the bear factory we were greeted with a kiss. Then all of a sudden one of the workers recognized us from last year and hollered out "Battle Stations. It's the Trans Am Club". Well maybe it didn't happen quite that way, but you should have been there. We did leave an impression from last time and this time was no different. Some of us made bears. Some of us played with bears (Keith). Some of us went looking for Smokey Bear but settled for a smoke instead (Allen). We were given a tour of the factory and the history of how it all started. After it was all said and done, we parted with such sweet sorrow.

Next stop: Alcatraz and away we went. The traffic, as you know, is pretty heavy but we managed to keep together. No M.I.A.! Anyway, we ended up at this parking lot by Fisherman's Wharf and prepared to pay for parking. It was one of those electronic parking boxes that you drop your money in the slot of the stall you parked. To make a long story short, the machine was broken so we didn't pay, but we left notes on our vehicles stating the fact. Keith wanted to make a little extra money and suggested that we stand by the pay station and just collect $10.00 from all the suckers willing to give us the money, but I, being the respectable honest person I am, shot down the idea. We went to the booth to get our tickets for Alcatraz but found out they were sold out. They had been sold out since early Friday. We took a stroll through a museum and then had lunch on the Wharf. After lunch we went on a tour of the USS Pampanito which, by the way, was very educational besides interesting. You talk about tight quarters and moving space, this was no exception. The tour lasted about 25 minutes and was narrated via a portable listening device. Allen, Julie, Sue, Keith, Steven and I braved the tight crawl spaces, but in the end, we survived. After the tour, everyone went separate ways and we were to meet up at Pier 39 where all the shops are. Prior to splitting up, Sue was initiated to San Francisco with a S.F. welcome. For those of you who don't understand, a seagull left his calling card on her arm.

Towards the end of the day, we all met up and started heading back to our vehicles when all of a sudden Julie asked Sarah (Terry's grand daughter) how her friend Natalie was doing. Natalie is the name of the bear Sarah made at the Teddy Bear Factory earlier. The next thing I know, we were putting out an APB on a missing bear. Terry inadvertently laid the bear down somewhere and forgot it. Keith, being the knight in shining armor, assisted in back tracking with Terry in search of Natalie. Poor Sarah, poor poor Sarah with no more Natalie. Allen, Julie, Sue and I patiently and in sorrow waited for their return. Okay, I was cracking jokes about the situation. Seems how I suggested the bear be left in the car in the first place.

Good News! Natalie was found and all is well. We headed back to the cars and noticed some guy approaching everyone in the parking lot. Allen and I didn't stick around to find out what he wanted and Terry was right behind us. Now Keith, on the other hand, took his time and was cornered by this guy. The guy told him he had to pay for parking or leave and Keith sat there and pondered "Should I pay or leave? Should I pay or leave"? I got on the radio and asked Keith what was going on. His co-pilot, Steven, got on the radio and told me that Keith couldn't make up his mind as to whether or not to pay or leave. "Hello", I said. That's a no brainer. Tell Keith to leave, seems how we were leaving anyway. What a great day and a day to remember. Only one thing was left in San Francisco. Instead of leaving his heart in San Francisco, Allen left his Marlboro's. (Gotcha). Submitted by Leo.


Upcoming Events:
Drag Night at the Sacramento raceway - 5/7:
This is the first of the three race nights we will have this year. Please arrive by 5pm as it gets very crowded.

Poker Run - 5/11:
Has been cancelled. Leo will try and get this run put together for early fall. His time is very limited and Gary Vollstedt will assist him.

Hell Gate - 5/24-25:
This is at Grants Pass, Oregon. A trip on air boats down the rushing river and on the way back, you stop and have a great dinner and then continue back to the hotel. Meet at Levitz parking lot at 7am on the 24th. It is about a 5 1/2 hour trip and there will be a breakfast stop. You can pay for your room and river trip at the hotel when you arrive.

Memorial Day Parade:
This is tentative. Ted Klein called the person in charge and has not received a call back. Ted will try again to get in touch with them. Ted said we could probably show up and crash the parade because he was given the time and meeting place where the parade is to begin. It has been going on for several years and growing but they would like some car clubs to join in. The route is around the State Capitol. Meet atÊLevitz parking lot at 7am and leave at 7:30am and arrive around 8am, the parade is at 9am. We'd like to have a couple of kids to carry our Club banner. This has been going on for several years and has been growing. This year they would like to have some car clubs join in. You may dress your cars up with flags or anything patriotic if you so choose. After the parade, we can have lunch.

Roaring Camp - 6/28:
Gayle doesn't have all the money as yet but it's coming in. We will meet at K-Mart at 3pm and leave by 3:30 pm.

Christmas Party - 12/12:
At the Rusty Duck. More info at a later date.

The Crawdad Festival - 6/14:
More info at June meeting.

The Jelly Belly / Budweiser / Factory Outlet:
Date has been changed. We will also get more info on this at the June meeting.

J.O. let it be known that the FIRST 2003 Trans A Rama Registration has been received from Rick Newman, a TACA GSC member in Stockton. We also received a membership application from Brenda Montgomery in Roseburg, Oregon.

There will be a Trans A Rama meeting on May 18th at 4pm at Jerry's Paint Shop on Fulton Ave. just south of Edison. Leo would like all committee members to be there and if anyone else is interested, you are more than welcome. This project takes many people and lots of work.

With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:32pm.

Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary.

Jim Boy's Tacos Nite with/trophies - 10/4:
There was a total of 14 cars. Out of the 14, six of them were from TACA. Out of the six cars no one received a trophy. (Must be a 1st). The Egg Plant Festival was also going on.

Sunrise Car Show - 10/:
Cancelled. The Mall required a $2,000,000 insurance policy for this event and the cost to the Club would have been over $3,000 . In the past the coverage was always $1,000,000 with no additional cost to the Club because of the coverage we already carry.

Cops and Rodders - 10/18:
This is held at the CHP Academy, 3500 Reed Ave., in West Sac. It is the sixth annual fund raiser for the CHP museum. They are expecting 700 cars. Entry is $20 for registration and T-shirts are available for $15. Entries must be in by October 10th.

Great America - 10/19:
Meet at Levitz on Watt Avenue at 8am, leave at 8:30am. Thanks to Carmen and her employer for the opportunity to attend this event for the cost of $10. It is closed to the public and is for the use of other companies and guests.

Kragen Toys For Tots - 10/25:
Meet at McDonald's and caravan to the Treasurer Trove which is just a short way down Harding. That way we can all be parked together. Entry fee is just an unwrapped toy for kids. There will be a 50/50 raffle along with other raffle good prizes. Toys will be distributed to under privileged children in the area.

Halloween Party - 10/25:
Jaime spoke on this event. It will be at Leo and Susan's home. This is a great place to have fun provided you can get past all the creepy crawlers and goblins leading up to the front door. There will be a costume contest, a scavenger hunt, door prizes, and plenty to eat and drink. This is a family event and it's a fun evening.

Veteran's Day Parade - 11/8:
We received a flyer regarding this event. It will be at 11am downtown Sacramento. It will be pretty much the same as the parade we participated in last year when we made the trip around the Capitol building. It was decided that we would like to do this and the paperwork will be submitted.

Dave spoke about the P.O.C.I.'s, (Pontiac Oakland Club International) Western Regionals that will be held next year in Reno. Dates are September 17th, 18th and 19th. It will be held at the Atlantis Casino on South Virginia Street, just a couple of blocks down from the Peppermill. It will be supported by the Reno Club. The Atlantis if offering rooms at $79 for this event and those who would like to attend should get their reservations in as soon as possible. Although it is a year away, the rooms will fill up fast. Dave said they are expecting around 350 cars, all Pontiacs. At this point, we don't know if they will need help from our Club but they have supported us in the past with Trans A Rama and it would be fun to support them with this event.

It seems we have lost our message board on the net. The guy who owned it got a real good deal and sold it. The exchange only took a couple of hours and the board was shut down. Jim is working on finding a new site and hopefully our message board will be back up and running in the near future.

Dennis reported on next year's Autorama. We should have spaces for 14 cars. It will be held February 6th, 7th and 8th of 2004. Entry fee will be $35 and they would like photos of the cars.

Gordon talked about the I-Hop car show on Hiway 99 in Yuba City. It is every Saturday night from 6pm to 9pm and they run about 60 cars showing. There is no charge for the event but they just do it for fun, no trophies, etc. They usually have raffles but not always. It's just a 'get together' and a fun time.

Nominations for 2004 Officers went as follows: President: Theo Bechtel and Keith Thorson. Vice President: Keith Thorson, Terry Trimble and Leo Brown. Secretary: Irene Raff. Activities Director: Leo Brown, Jaime Perez and Terry Trimble. Ballots will be in the mail to all members no later than one week from this meeting. All ballots must be mailed to the T.A.C.A. post office box and received no later than the November meeting. Ballots will not be available at the meeting Ñ They must be mailed in accordance with the Club By Laws.

Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm.

Respectfully submitted - Irene Raff, Secretary.



Pick 'n Pullin for Treasure!
Last month, while dodging rain storms, yours truly and club member Dennis Trimble sought our fortunes at one of Northern California's richest goldmines! Uh, for gear heads that is! Yup, we hit the Pick 'n Pull in South Sacramento.

On a previous reconnaissance mission, we had found not one, but two of the incredibly rare 400 Pontiac V8's! Of course, I immediately yanked the first one out of a l972 Grand Prix. Rain foiled my chance to claim the second. The next weekend, Dennis and I returned to claim the second engine! It was salvaged from a bright red 1975 Trans Am, oddly enough, with a 1977 nose on it. Wrenches flew, knuckles were busted, and a few choice cuss words were uttered, but forty-five or so minutes later, the tired 400 was dangling from the cherry picker!

After a quick stripping of all it's unnecessary components, the long block was ready for purchase. Upon lightening Dennis' wallet at the checkout stand, we loaded up and headed for the Trimble residence. We were giddy with excitement as we pulled out from our "shopping mall", as our wives call it, with our cast iron treasurer in hand! On the way to Dennis' house, we discussed the future of our "prize". Will it become a mild street 400? Perhaps a 467 cubic stroker bracket engine for Dennis' '68 bird, rippling with raw horsepower and brutal torque, for wheels up launches at the drag strip!!??

Anyways, when Terry saw it, as we unloaded it into her garage, next to her recently acquired 2002 WS6 convertible Trans Am, she just wrinkled her nose as if it smelled bad or something. Then she warned us not to store it to close to her "baby". Dennis looked at me, smiled, and said "yes dear!" Heh! Heh! And so yet another old Pontiac 400 is snatched from the crusher, destined to live another day.

Ted Klein.