JANUARY 2001, Volume 4, Issue 1

General Meeting - January 15, 2001
The meeting was called to order by President, Ted Klein at 7:30pm. This was the first meeting of the new year, held at Reliable Pontiac in the Roseville Auto Mall. We would like to extend our thanks to Bruce Westrup for allowing us to use the upper room this year. November meeting minutes were not available. Irene gave a run down as to what is in the minutes for December. There was no actual business meeting in December. We had our Christmas dinner at Robbers Roost in Foresthill. The weather was good - no ice or snow and just a little touch of fog. Dinner was very good and plenty to eat. There was the game of getting the gifts out to people. Always a fun time. The most wanted was a remote model Trans Am car. Afterwards some went off to go dancing and the rest of us said good by and went home. Because of no TransScript in November or December the minutes will be published in the January issue.
Activities:
Activities Director:
Gary and Gayle have set some tentative activities and dates for this coming year. As it comes closer to each event there will be more discussion and information.
January 28th: Super Bowl party at Gary's and Gayle's. Gayle sent around a sign up sheet to let her know what you can bring to munch on.
February 18th: Valentines Day Brunch will be at The Point in Rio Vista. We've been there before and it is very nice.
March 17th: Progressive Dinner - four stops.
April 21st: Bush League Racing, (simulators) in Roseville.
May ??: Sunrise Mall Show.
June 17th: Great America
July : Trans A Rama
August??: Iron Stone Winery for the Civil War re-enactment.
Sept. 22/23rd: Mt Shasta Dinner Train (over night).
Oct. 13/14 :Hi Way 36, Eureka, etc. (over night).
Nov. ??: Cash Creek or Jackson Ranchorio.
Dec. ?? :Christmas dinner party at Beerman's in Lincoln.
There will also be some additional fun times - Drags - Auburn Show & Shine nights, etc. I'm still hoping for the Hershey Factory one of these years. Dave Gershon said he was talking to the guy at Grand Auto in Roseville. He is going to have car shows all summer. He said that if we wanted to go in as a Club he would give us a roped off area for parking. Will probably start in May. He also said he would be willing to give us raffle items for Trans A Rama.
Historian:
J.J. has photos of the November meeting with awards, Christmas Parade and Christmas party. Ted said he also had some pictures of the get together after the Christmas Parade if J.J. would like to add them to his picture albums.
Major Events:
Dave said we had most of the details pretty well nailed down for Trans A Rama. It is going to be July 13th, 14th and 15th. Starting with a cruise up to Auburn on Friday night. No charge. Saturday will be a car show and Awards Banquet with guest speaker. Only registered participants will be allowed to vote for People's Choice. The auto cross will be Sunday. SCCA will run the program. Last year Trans A Rama registration was $110. We're trying something different this year. For instance - those who choose not to auto cross will save the $25.00. Pricing right now is: $ 25.00 Trans A Rama registration, car show and goodie bag. $ 40.00 Awards banquet and speaker $ 25.00 Auto Cross (per person) $ 15.00 Insurance for auto cross $105.00
Trans Script Editor:
Ted Bechtel, our vice president, has also taken on the position of the Trans Script Editor. At the moment he does not have a computer but arrangements are being made through Kiel Embry to get him one. It seems Kiel is up to his knees in computers. Let's all get behind Ted in this endeavor. He has taken on quite a job and needs articles, on anything you might think is interesting. It doesn't have to be just about cars or parts there of. I understand he has some good ideas for the paper. His E-Mail address is - ThorendorII@webtv.net.
Membership Director:
C. C. said the trip to the Children's Receiving Home will be on May 5th at 10am. We'll be meeting at Del Paso Park at 9:30am which is just about ½ mile east of the receiving home. Tina will get back to C.C. for those things that are needed for the kids.
Web Site Director:
Jim Prinzivalli is also putting time in streamlining our web site. He said he has a listing of our events for the year, however, he needs the departure times and places. Also list of current officers. Jim is also working on art work for the Trans A Rama T-shirts.
The Club sent flowers for the funeral of Jerry Durrett. Jerry was a member of our Club for several years some time back. We had a call from John Durrett, Jerry's brother, who was also a member of our Club for a long time, thanking us for them.
Officers Reports: President:
Ted noticed that a couple of our sponsors have been left off of our web site listing and all our flyers. That's a big No No. They need to be put on that list no matter how small the contribution. One of these is Brookfield's Restaurant in Roseville and another is Denny's Restaurant in Cameron Park. Denny's is interested in us doing car shows at their place
Officer Reports:
Vice President: Ted Bechtel
- No report.
Secretary: Irene Raff
- No report.
Treasurer: J.O. Raff
- Listed in another section of this news letter. On the last road trip we had there was a discussion on the type of radios we were using. It seems the days of the old CB is out the window. The little hand held family type radio seems to be the thing now days. They have 14 channels and about a two mile range. They run from about $30 to $100, depending on the brand name and features you want on them. We all need to be on the same type of equipment Ted said that Gary, Dave and J.J. submitted pictures and sent an application to the Auto Rama. We have been accepted as a participant. With each entry comes two passes for the entire show. We can use those for the ones that want to work the show. We need to set up a table with all the information we have on our Club along with applications for membership. This is a very good audience for us. This is February 8th to 11th. Ted said he would like to see a new member's page in our TransScrpt. There will be a Trans A Rama meeting at Dave Gershon's house on January 27th at 3pm. Meeting adjourned at 8:42pm
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff Irene Raff, Secretary

President's Message
I would like to welcome all the new members that have recently joined us, as well as the existing "old timers". I hope that your holidays were filled with much happiness and merryment! The new year will be bringing several exciting events our way! Activity Director(s) Gary (and Gayle!) Vollstedt have already completed this year's schedule of events. We will be kicking off 2001 starting with the Superbowl party in January (at Gary & Gayle's house). Then, in February, the Sacramento Autorama comes rolling into town. Only this year, a little twist has been added! Instead of just attending the show, we will have a club display with three T/A's in the show! Throw in an overnight trip to the coast, a visit to Great America, a train ride, a progressive dinner, and…..well, you get the picture!
The racing season has also begun, at least for the hard core members (see article elsewhere in this issue!) Even the car show season will be upon us beginning in April, for all the "wax on, wax off" members in the club. And don't forget the "mac daddy" of them all, Transarama! Yep, mark your calendars now. The date is July13-15. This years event will be held in Sacramento, in order to make it a little more accessible and affordable for all Firebird owners!
Take a quick glance at the Officers/Directors page and you will notice a few changes as well. You have elected Ted Bechtel as your Vice President this year, Gary Vollstedt as Activities Director, and incumbants J.O. and Irene Raff as Treasurer and Secretary respectively. As for the Directors, only three changes have been made. The Trans Script Editor duties will be handled by Ted "The Man" Bechtel. Frank and Connie Brown have accepted the "Members at large" positons, and Jim Prinzivalli has generously accepted to be the Web Site Director. This is an exceptional group of people, and I would like to personally thank them all for stepping up and offering their talents to the club!
In the "old days" if you wanted to lead, all you had to do was stand up on a soapbox in public and speak. Some people would follow you….. and some would throw rotten vegetables at you. I don't remember any one ever saying anything about how great the view was. From where I'm standing, with all my fellow Firebird enthusiasts around me, the view couldn't look any better!
Ted Klein

The Starting Line
I would like to start off by welcoming all of our returning members, and to wish all of those leaving us good luck! I personally had a good time last year getting to know all of you, and speaking for myself you all will be missed! I grew to think of all of you as friends, and I wish you all the best in your new endevaour!
Over the last few months I have been beating myself up with guilt over my part in what transpired with the secession of the Capital City Firebirds. I hope you all will bear with me while I make a few apologies. To begin with I would like to say I'm sorry to Troy Craythorn. Not so much for what I did, but in the way I went about it! Troy, I should have never given you my word that I would not say anything about your groups' break-off. Having been nominated for the office of Vice-President of the Trans-am Club it put me in a conflict of interest, and you were right, you found out where my loyalties lie…with the Trans-am Club! Just as they always will. I should have given you the chance to resolve the problem of no club meeting place before I went to our new President-elect!
To Ron and Dawn Ponders I owe the biggest apology! The two of you were the closest people to me in the club, and it is you that I will miss most! You always seemed to have faith in me, even when I doubted myself! I sincerely hope that you do not feel betrayed by my actions!
And finally to all the people that got caught in the middle, Frank and Pandy, John and Judy Campbell, John Gibson and Christy Corral, Dante and Rebbecca Higgins, and Shane Elting, I am very sorry for everything you have had to endure! I wish you all the best, and if you ever change your minds I would gladly welcome you back!
Now that I have finished with the negative, let's get to the positive! I would like to send out a big thank-you to all of the people that are trying very hard to make this club better than it was before! Better, Stronger, Faster, we can do it, we have the technology! Wait wrong show! I hope everyone will join me in thanking, Ted Klein, Dave Gershon, J.J. Apilado, C.C. Coppage, Gary and Gayle Vollstedt, and J.O. and Irene Raff. These wonderful people are giving up a lot of their time to make sure this club is fun for everyone! Please let them know that you appreciate their efforts! And finally I would like to thank Miren Klein, Paula Gershon, and the other spouses of our clubs officers, without whose patience and understanding would have made this time of transition much more difficult!
Finally I would like to ask everyone to come out and participate in our clubs events! Without you there is no Club!
Your Editor and V.P. Ted Bechtel

Superbowl Party
The day started off like always, I cleaned the house, polished the car and both trucks then remembered that it was Superbowl Sunday. So I woke my lovely wife Gayle, and I helped her get ready for all the yahoo's coming over. C.C. was the first to show up, she was early so I had her scrub the floors. Frank Brown came reluctantly since the Raiders were not in the big game, and Pat was taking Connies place as the big game winner, but I had different plans. Some new old members came over, Arlyn and Cindy brought cookies and veggies, Ray brought some great ribs, and Kiel brought the Colonel. Ted and Miren, and Dave and Paula all brought the entertainment. I had the kids running around outside chasing coyotes with rib bones in their hands, yelling you can't get me, well I thought it was entertaining. We also had the Riff-Raff show up with the Warden. And last or was it lost, Dante and Rebbecca were guided in on a wing and the cell phone. The game was on, but the betting was on the commercial, the running of the squirrels had my money. We did have a couple of different winners on the pools, that was because Connie and Lourdes were not here. So lets have the winners please! In the first quarter Ray and Frank, in the second quarter Cindy and Gayle, in the third quarter Dave and C.C., in the fourth quarter, again, Dave and C.C. I don't want to give the amounts in case the IRS gets a hold of this letter. It was a fun day having everyone over for the first event of the new year. Gayle and I have planned some good events this year, and hope everyone can attend them, and have a good time!
Respectfully, G.R.V. Commander

Can't We All Get Along?
The key to healing our Trans Am Club, and having it work, is each and everyone of you!! How you interact with the other person determines how that person will interact with you. How you act toward one another determines whether your relationship will be supportive or painful! Once you discover your role in the conflict, you can do something about it. Unfortunately, we seldom notice that we have anything to do with what is happening. All we can see is how the other person treats us. We then treat the other person accordingly. If we receive friendship and appreciation, we will give friendship and appreciation. If we receive criticism and resentment, we will give criticism and resentment. We treat the other person according to how that person treated us. The problem with this is that the other person is doing the same exact thing. That person treats you according to how you treat him or her! Can't we all get along? When you treat each other on how you get treated, there is no telling what will happen. It's like sailing with no one at the helm. When no one is in charge of the ship, you are likely to end up on the rocks. Usually it's just a matter of time until someone gets upset. That person then puts up his or her walls of protection and either resists, attacks or withdraws. Then the other person gets upset and does the same thing. Then the first person gets more upset and reacts more forcefully toward the other. Without knowing, you create a cycle of resisting, attacking and withdrawing from each other. This cycle of conflict then continues on and on without either person ever noticing his or her role in the problem. Sides get drawn and issues become something to fight over rather than something to resolve. Walls of protection get fortified and distance grows. The experience of friendship quickly fades away. We hurt each other over and over again, feeling fully justified for everything we do. Serious damage is done, and none of it is necessary. Can't we all just get along?
Two people are required in order to create and maintain this cycle of conflict, Only one is needed to end it! If you want to heal your friendship and be free of the suffering, you need to end this cycle. To do this, you need to interact in a way that puts water on the fire instead of more fuel. You need to put the focus on healing your relationship, not necessarily as Trans Am Club members, but as one human being to another! To the extent you are able to do this, you gain cooperation instead of resentment. Issues get resolved, and you become free inside and able to get on with your life. What you do today determines what will happen in your relationship tomorrow. Whether your relationship is painful or supportive is up to you! The choice is yours! Can't we all get along?
I would like to be the first to say Good Luck to the Capital City Firebirds Club! I hope your club survives as long as the Trans Am Club - Golden State Chapter has and will!
J.J Apilado

Team TACA at the Races
January 1st found Team TACA (Kiel and myself) at Sacramento Raceway for the first race of the New Year. I had planned for weeks to prepare for this race, but as usual, all I managed to do was push all the boxes off the Firebird, pour some gas in it and leave for the track. When I arrived, I was surprised to see such a huge turnout! There were over fifty entries in Pro ET (Kiel's class), about a thousand in Sportsman class, and over ninety cars in the Street class (my class). Fortunately, I drove the 'bird to the track instead of trailering it. This allowed me to pull directly into my staging lane for tech inspection, instead of getting into the mile long, hour wait trailered tech line! Within 20 minutes of arriving, I made my first qualifying pass, a 12.48 @ 108.1mph. On my second pass, I launched harder since the track was well prepared and ran a 12.41 @ 109mph. Hey Dave, does this count for Top Gun? Heh Heh! Kiel, running on the throttle stop, ran a pair of 10.77's at 127mph! Wow! After a two-hour break, it was time for the first round of eliminations.
Kiel was up first; he ran a 10.82 @ 126mph, on a 10.79 dial in. He only lost by .07 hundredths of a second, and thus ended his day. My first round turned into a buy (automatic win) when the Pinto I was going to race was disqualified for running slicks which are not allowed in street class. My second round paired me with a late model Mustang. I dialed a 12.41 to the Mustang's 14.7. The Mustang left first; I drove past him at ¾ track and never looked back. The third round found me up against an 86 T-bird with a 16.85-second dial in. I stayed with a 12.41 dial in. My reaction time was much better on the start, and I caught the T-bird at half-track, lifted off the gas, and coasted to the win! It was now after 7pm. The fog began to settle in on the track, bringing with it an end to the night's racing. The $500 Street class purse was split among the remaining twelve of us. I walked away with $40 cash and a free tech card ($30 value) for the next race. This puts me into a five-way tie for second place in the points standings. Not bad for a three round wonder. See you at the races!
Ted Klein

February 2001, Volume 4, Issue 2

General Meeting - February 12, 2001 The meeting was called to order by President, Ted Klein at 7:40 pm., at Reliable Pontiac Cadillac.
Nineteen members and four guests were in attendance.
The guests introduced themselves. Chris Jones has a 1970 blue TA, Mark Boyle has a 1970 TA, Troy Cardoso has a 1988 Black TA, and Rod Leach has a 1989 pace car. Although they are not guests, it has been quite some time since we have seen Christy and Mike Smith who have a 10th Anniversary TA and John Henry has a 1986 TA. Welcome to all of our guests.
The minutes were approved as printed in the TransScript.
Director’s Reports:
Activities:
Gary and Gayle Vollstedt announced the run for the Valentine’s Day brunch. Because of our participation in the Auto Rama at Cal Expo the brunch will be the week after Valentine’s Day. It will be at the Point Restaurant, over looking the delta in Rio Vista. Meet at the K-Mart on Sunrise by 8:15 am, we will leave at 8:30 am. After brunch there will be a return run through the delta to Sacramento.
Gary also went over the Progressive Dinner for St. Patrick’s Day. Hors d’oeuvre will be at Dave and Paula’s house in Roseville. Main course will be at the Raff’s, and desserts will be at Ted and Miren’s house in Elk Grove. Should be a fun day
.Historian:
J.J. Apilado already had the pictures of Auto Rama developed and into photo albums. Fast work J.J. He passed them around for viewing.
Major Events:
Dave Gershon gave us a run down on what will be happening at Trans A Rama this year. The dates are July 13^th - 15^th. The Holiday Inn, at Highway 80 and Madison , will be the hosting hotel. The car "show and shine" will be held at Reliable Pontiac Cadillac in the Roseville Automall. Auto crossing will be held at McClellan AFB.
Dave also gave us the dates for the drags at Sacramento Race Way. They are 3/14, 5/23, 7/4, and the Pontiac/Mopars will be 8/22. Drivers need to be there around 5:00 pm. If you just want to be a spectator 5:30 or 6 pm would be great.
TransScript Editor:
Theo Bechtel said he finally got his computer. It must be a very good one because the last TransScript was absolutely excellent. He has some good ideas for the future and will need some input from our membership.
Membership Director:
C. C. Coppage said she had not tagged too many cars this past month. She is working with the Childrens Receiving Home to find out what will be needed for the kids. The date for our visit there will be May 5, 2001.
Web Site Director:
Jim Prinzivalli said he has done quite a bit of updating and rearranging our web site but still has quite a bit to do. Be sure and visit our web site it really looks nice.
Because our meetings are running right up against the 9pm time that we are to be out of the meeting room at Reliable, a motion was made and seconded that we meet at 7pm instead of 7/30pm. This will give us time to put chairs away and straighten up anything we may have disturbed. Motioned carried. So don’t forget to be at Reliable no later than 7pm on March 12^th and park toward the back of the car lot.
Note: If I have left anything out of the minutes please let me know at the next meeting. The batteries in the recorder must have been going bad because everyone seemed to be talking rrreeeaalll sssllloooww with a very low voice and I couldn’t understand a word of it.
The Treasurer’s report will be printed in another section of this TransScript. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary.

President's Message
As luck would have it, February has traditionally been a very good month for our club. This year has been no exception!
The month started with our club display at the Sacramento Autorama. Several members turned out to help with the setup, manning the display during the car show, and even to help with the take down afterwards. Gayle Vollstedt gets all the credit for the cool design of our display. The black carpets (roads) and the "Dangerous Curves Ahead" sign added just the right look! Despite a few minor problems (gate and parking pass transfers) the Autorama was a rousing success! Our members talked with dozens of Autorama attendees that were interested in our club!
Next up was our monthly membership meeting at Reliable Pontiac/Cadillac. The turnout was simply incredible! It was great to see a few familiar faces of past members, as well as so many new ones! The room was buzzing with excitement. Everyone wanted to contribute to the meeting, it was great! A discussion was started when Shane Elting introduced himself as the defending "TOP GUN" of 2000. An explanation ensued, and judging by the conversation that followed, the "TOP GUN" challenge will be hotly contested this year. This brings us to the first Firebird drag night at Sacramento Raceway. It will be on March 14^th (see calendar of events). Even if you don’t want to race, at least come out and cheer for your fellow club members!
As if all this wasn’t enough, the club finished out the month with its annual Valentines brunch run (see Gary’s article in this issue). Other than the tailpipe incident and losing one club member (temporarily) due to an unscheduled potty stop, the run was as always, a blast! There was an excellent turnout, and I learned that Pat Brown isn’t an only child. Her brother Leo (a past member) came on the run with his charming wife and two sons. Rumor has it that Frank and Connie Brown have seven to nine children depending on whose story you believe. Wow!
I’ll wrap up this month with a little gossip I heard through the grapevine. It seems that a certain member of our club has sold his beloved Trans Am. Yes, the very Trans Am he swore that he would be buried in when he grew old and died! And no, the T/A wasn’t sold because he lost his job, or because his wife made him sell it. Oh no, it was allegedly sold so that a certain black 1999 Firehawk with Ram Air and very low mileage could be purchased. Perhaps the person or persons whom perpetrated this act will step forward and reveal themselves at the March meeting! Better yet, maybe they will let me take it for a spin around the Automall!
All in all, February was an exciting month. But, it’s early in the year. Wait until you see what events are planned for March! Heh, heh. We’re just getting started!
Ted Klein,

The Starting Line
By the time this newsletter comes out we will be well into March. As you all have seen I have been making changes to the appearance and content. I sincerely hope you all like the facelift I have given the Trans Script, with the help of Ted Klein and Kiel Embery. I was looking for something that would catch people’s attention, and I thought the flaming eagle would be perfect for that. On the back page you will notice I have updated the clubs logo and changed the drawing to a picture of a 1970 Trans Am, as this is my favorite body style! I am thinking about changing this picture from time to time, or we can leave it up to the club! I am open to suggestions! This is everyone’s newsletter!
In the future I would like to have a "get to know your Officers" section, and a place for Birthdays and Anniversaries (the year is optional). I personally feel these are necessary, not only to improve communication and make the club more enjoyable, but also because I have been in the club for a year and a half and know very little about anyone! This is mostly my fault as I am not very good at making conversation and I know there are others with the same problem.
One thing I would like to make clear right now is, although this newsletter gives me the means to respond to remarks made about me I will no longer use it for this purpose! It’s time to let go and get on with our lives! However I would like to make an appeal to the Capital City Firebirds Club’s newsletter editors please refrain from using my name in any future publications (good or bad)!
With that said, I would like to close by wishing everybody good luck, and I look forward to giving you the best newsletter I can! We have a great club with good people, and the newsletter should represent them that way!
Your VP and Trans Script Editor,Ted "Theo" Bechtel

Valentines Brunch
Well it really wasn’t Valentines Day, but it would do. Sunday the 18^th, it was raining lightly. We all met at K-Mart on Sunrise Avenue. When Gayle and I got there, the Brown clan, (Frank, Connie, Pat and the newest, Leo, Susan, and their two boys met us. Theo and CC, were waiting. Then came J.O. and Irene, and J.J. and Lourdes. While we waited to leave and sign everyone in, Dante and Rebecca showed up, then Ray and Terry, and last, Dave and Paula with their kids. Frank and Leo made sure we left on time, well almost on time. Everyone was on the radio, so we left.
We ran down highway 50 to I-5. Ted and Miren breezed in at Elk Grove Blvd. We had a pleasurable drive down I-5 to the Rio Vista turn off (Just below Fresno). On Highway 12 Frank decided to customize his car and dropped off one of his tailpipes, so everyone pulled over, popped our hoods, kicked our tires, talked to a tree, and when Frank and Dante were finished welding the pipe back on, we continued on our way! Four or five bridges later we found Rio Vista (a little below Fresno). We made the right turn, cruised through town, windows and tops down were applicable. Upon arriving at The Point we were met by Jim and Kathy, and Charlene and her friend.
After a relaxing breakfast at The Point, right on the Delta, we went for a cruise with the yacht club that were dining in the same room. Brunch took about an hour, then the real drive started. The rain had stopped and everyone wanted to stretch his or her legs. We drove at a slow 60mph along the river road. Theo. had his new cop tires, cop shocks, and cop steering wheel and he used them well. Leo (Salsa) Brown and Dante just couldn’t stand being in the back, so they passed a few cars and me. That was the high point of the drive. Then it was just a normal highway drive the rest of the way home. A good time was had by all.CommanderGRV

MARCH 2001, Volume 4, Issue 3

General Meeting - March 12
The meeting was called to order by the President, Ted Klein, at 7:13 p.m.
For those new attendees, everyone introduced themselves with a little information about what their position in the Club is and how long they have been a member.
We had several new faces for this meeting. Guests were Grant Brummenmeyer and his girl friend Rachel. Now the really good part. New Members: (1) Tim Singleton. He owns a black l988 Formula V-8. (2) Christian Jones has a blue Trans Am, he failed to put down the year on his application but will find out at the next meeting. (3) Allen Gordon Tackitt has a 1976 white Trans Am. (4) Dave Karnes and wife Carol have a 1997 black Trans Am. Welcome to our guests and we hope you come back again. A big welcome to our new members.
J.O. said there was a correction in the February issue on the Treasurers report. The figures for the General Fund and the Trans A Rama fund were not for December but for the January report. He just forgot to change the month on his template. Also for the Progressive dinner - First stop will be at Dave and Paula's home not Gary's and Gayles. With the changes to the minutes and Treasurer's report the minutes were approved.
Old Business:
Dave Gershon had some good things to say about our participation in Auto Rama at Cal Expo this past month. We took the runner up for outstanding Club Group display. Along with that was a check for $100. We had a very nice display with Gary and Gayle's 1994 Bright Aqua Trans Am, J.J.'s 1972 white with blue stripes Trans Am, and Dave's 1989 Flame Red/GTA. Thanks goes out to all that participated in manning the booth. We received several pages of names, address and phone numbers from our visitors This gives us a good base for invitations to Trans A Rama this July. Ted sent in information, with pictures, to the Auto Rama committee and there was information in the program on our Club. A big THANKS goes to Ted Klein for putting an application in for a spot in Auto Rama. Although it was pushing the dead line we squeaked in and the results were great. A letter will be sent to Dan Cyr Enterprises, Inc., thanking him for allowing us the opportunity to show our Club and the $100.
Ted reminded the members that dues are now due and payable. Anyone not paying their dues by the 1st of April is dropped from our roster and will no longer receive the transcript. Those who joined the Club in October of 2000, or after, are automatically paid through the current year of 2001. There were some who joined our Club during a promotional at Trans A Rama in Reno last year. Those members are also paid through 2001.
Directors Reports:
Activities:
Gary and Gayle reported on the Progressive Dinner to be held on St. Patrick's Day. Meet in Levitz parking lot on Watt Avenue at 4:30pm. Leave at 5pm. He will have maps to each of the eating places. Hors d'oeuvres and salad will be at Dave and Paula's new home in Roseville. Main course will be at J.O. and Irene's (freshly painted and carpeted) home in Citrus Heights, and desert will be at Ted Klein and Miren's new home in Elk Grove. Good distance to Ted's place. Sounds like a fun run. J.J., our historian, will be out of town and asked someone to take pictures of this event.
Gary said he has some information on "Kool April Nights" in Redding and wanted to know if anyone would be interested in that run. This is a two-day event; however, we could make it a one-day run. He will send for information on this event.
Gayle was in contact with Doug Brauner at Channel 31. He wants us to send a list of our activities for the year. He definitely wants to cover our Trans A Rama this year. He may do some other things to plug Trans A Rama for us.
Gary asked if we wanted to do the Christmas Parade in Roseville again this year. There is also a Harvest Festival Parade in Elk Grove in May or June. These will be discussed in the next meeting.
Mopar drag night is coming up August 22nd. Our Club pays 1/ 2 the cost of the trophies and it's our time to buy them this year.
Historian:
J.J. thanked Mike and Christy Smith for taking pictures at the Hurst Castle Run.(In that area gasoline was $3.10 a gallon.) He also thanked C.C. for more photos from Trans A Rama last year and this years Auto Rama, also Ted for pictures of the Super Bowl party and of Auto Rama. He had the pictures from the Valentine's Brunch Run being passed around. He also has extra pictures of the Brunch. If you would like some see J.J.
Major Events:
Dave sent out 300 flyers for Trans A Rama. So far only six have been returned with bad addresses. Regarding the Auto Cross-to be held at McClellan. Because McClellan has been pretty much shut down the event has been moved. SCCA will still be doing the event for us but it will be at Mather Field. There will be a Trans A Rama meeting at Dave's house on March the 18th at 3pm. He needs volunteers to handle some things. Such as helping to get the cars at the car show in the proper areas, etc. Reg Harris of SLP is definitely going to be our guest speaker at the banquet.
TransScript Editor:
Theo asked if everyone received the last copy of the TransScript. He received a big round of applause for this one, it is really pretty. For those of you who have seen it you know what I mean. He would like to have everyone submit to him a ¾ view picture of their cars. He wants to have a Club Member's car picture to use on the Trans Script in place of the one that now appears there. He also wants a list of Club member's birthdays and anniversaries.
Membership:
C.C. said the Children's Receiving home would be on May the 5th. Things that are requested this year are bubbles, goggles and UA (theater) tickets.
C.C. also mentioned the three membership offers that we have. If a person just wants to be on our TransScript list only, the cost is $20. A regular membership is $40 dollars for one person and $50 for a couple.
If you want to get the specs on your car you can, years 1960 to current, this information is available. The name of the company is Pontiac Historical Society. Jim Matson has been a Pontiac employee practically forever. He has created this department because he is a real history buff. He has taken all the Pontiac files that would normally be discarded after 20 years and put them in order. If you send him your vin number from your car he can pull the original bill sheet for you and tell you what original equipment your car had, the day your car was built, which dealership it was shipped to and the day it was shipped to that dealer. Much much more.
Web Site:
Jim Prinzivalli was not in attendance this evening. Standing in for Jim was Dave Gershon. Jim lives in Antioch and he can't always make our meetings. Jim needs information on our individual cars, with pictures to scan, so they can be put on our Web Site. (You will get the pictures back). This will be on the new Web Site that Jim as constructed. Not the one you are seeing now. The new one should be out in about a month.
Officers Reports:
Vice President: Theo had raffle tickets. Prizes - three miniature Trans Ams. Sgt. At Arms: Dante' said he knew someone who is filling nitrous tanks for $2.67 a pound. You have to show your Club card. Secretary: There was correspondence from P.O.C.I. regarding car show Saturday, May 12th in Micke Grove. Hangtown is having a car show September 2nd.
President: Ted Klein.
We have discussed giving a free full year membership in our Club to anyone buying a Trans Am from Reliable. At the end of the year it would be up to the member to decide if he would like to continue his membership. At that time he would pay the regular fees. Reliable has done much for us and this would be a way of giving back something to them. As it is now, we give anyone paying dues after October 1st the membership through the next year. We only have a few months before we get to that point so we really won't be giving up anything. The cost of the newsletter would be minimal. If we can pick up even one new member for 2002 we will cover that cost. When a car is purchased we should mail them a current TransScript at that time. Frank Brown made the motion that we give a one year free membership to anyone buying a Trans Am, Firebird, Formula or Fire Hawk from Reliable. It was seconded buy J.J. Apilado and passed by the membership. Membership packets will be made up and left at Reliable.
The Treasurer's report will appear elsewhere in this TransScript.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:50pm.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff Secretary

President's Message
Well, yet another month has passed; the rainy days appear to be all gone, and spring is upon us! As most of you begin the washing and waxing ritual that always begins this time of year, I find myself frantically trying to clear space in my garage, so that I can begin the stripping and refinishing of my somewhat gold '69 'bird. After all, Trans A Rama XIII is just around the corner (July 13 - 15)! I have been told that faded primer, peeling paint, rust, and ratty interiors were not offered from the factory and therefore should be removed before the show! Let's see now..... how's that 'old saying" go? "The barber is always in need of a haircut, the plumber's pipes are always leaking, and all six of the automotive paint store guy's cars need to be painted!" If you've always wanted to learn how to paint your own car, come to my house, you can practice on a few of mine......
We had a couple of exciting club events take place in March. After a three year hiatus, a progressive dinner was held, as well as the first of three Firebird club racing nights at Sacramento Raceway (see articles in this issue). The turnout for these events was nothing short of awesome! The look on my wife's face as the thirty eight plus club members stampeded into her new house was...uh, interesting to say the least! If an award were given to the club with the most participants at the drag night, we would have won that too!
Dave Gershon, our trans A Rama Event director has scheduled a meeting for Sunday, April 8th, at 3:00 p.m., at Dave's house. I would like to hold a Board of Directors meeting on the same day, at 2:00p.m., also at Dave's house. Anyone interested in attending, director or not, is welcome! Please try to at least make the Trans A Rama committee meeting, as we are rapodly approaching the event date and several details have yet to be worked out!
Last month I threw out a little peice of gossip in this column. It involved a 1999 black Firehawk and a "certain" club member. Little did I know how muchanticipation this stirred up! The club member reluctantly identified himself at the March meeting. it was none other than Dante. however, he informed us all that the "deal" had fallen through, and that he still had his "sleeper" 1994 T/A. So, since you seem to like hearing the latest...
This month's gossip is about a club member that has "allegedly" purchased a 1971 Formula 455. Rumor has it that the bird may indeed contain one of the legendary 455 HO engines under its fiberglass hood. It will reportedly squeal the right rear tire until you care to lift off the accelerator, due to the "peg leg" rear end (no posi. If you are this person, give me a call. While cleaning out my garage, I unearthed a complete 1971 date correct, 3.42 posi-traction rear end. It's in good shape and it's never been raced....honest.
By Ted Klein.

Progressive Dinner
This was a good event. If you weren't there then you missed out. I started at Levitz with some new faces. Dave and Carol, Ken and his son and Troy Cardoso. Ted Bechtel lead the group and Gayle and I brought up the rear. As we got on I-80 to Dave's house C.C. was trying to keep up with Ted's group, as we broke up right at the start. Leo, Dante and Rebecca and Gayle and myself were all trying to catch Ted. Well Ted fooled us, instead of turning on I-80, he went to Auburn Blvd. Instead and was watching us run alongI-80. I thought we were going fast, Ted's group must be flying. When we arrived at Dave's house, half of us were missing. This really surprised me, because I had given everyone this really neat map! But as C.C. pointed out, she could not drive and read the map at the same time. 10 minutes later Ted showed up with his group and two more, Chris and Tim showed up. Gordon was impressed how it all came together. Arlyn and Cindy were already at Dave's, and then finally Ted and Miren Klein arrived just as the food ran out.
Paula had a nice spread of hors dourves and salads, stuffed mushrooms, and baby crab legs. After a delicious light snack, we all headed for the Raff's. At the first left two cars made a right, so I sent Leo after them (Gordon and Ken). So now we are all together again having a slow cruise to J.O. and Irene's for the main course. Corned beef and cabbage with rolls (but only 1 ½ per person). After an hour or so, we were on the road to Ted and Miren's for a whole bunch of goodies. It was dark and when we got on the highway and all in a row we had a clean ride. We even drove the speed limit. And I thought I lived in the boonies, Ted and Miren live days away! However it was all worth the drive for the chocolate covered strawberries, cheesecake, ice cream and some other round trouffley things. That stay was another hour or so. Then Dante suggested we all go to In N out Burger off of Sunrise. So off went four or five, then after a few minutes the rest went. Just like High School, we were all parked in a row, away from the Mustangs and Honda's, taking in the sights. it was late when the old man Arlyn, and his wife Cindy left. It was the latest Gayle and I have been up for a long time, since In Cahoots closed down. It was a real fun evening and the In N Out Burger stop was the Icing on the cake. I hope the new members who were there enjoyed the evening as much as I. For the month of April we have two fun events planned. A cruise to Redding for Kool April Nites on Saturday April 21st., and a day at the race track simulators on the 22nd. So come to the April meeting for departure times.
Respectfully, Commander Gary

APRIL 2001, Volume 4, Issue4

General Meeting - April 9, 2001
The meeting was called to order by President Ted Klein at 7:20pm.
Guests:
David Karnesson of member Dave Karnes. Sue Murphywho also became a the Club this evening. Welcome guest and new member. Minutes were approved as printed in Trans Script.
Old Business:
Last month we discussed how to get information on your car. have two. Options. The first is Pontiac Historical Services for cars 1989and older. $35 you will receive copies of original invoiceall equipment car came with a press release picture thatmodel(Trans Am, Firebird or Formula) copy dealer order sheet. There are about 20 pages history breaks down by yearmaketransmissionengine other information. club such as ours well worth expense. This based on your car by its vin number. Ted has the cover letters and form for anyone who might want to check out the history of their car. This information can be obtained on all Pontiac’s. You need to send a cashier’s check or money order in with your request. If you send a personal check they will not run it through for a month. You can fax the request in with a credit card number and they will get right on it for you.
For cars 1990 or newer you can get the same basic information from Pontiac through their Customer Service Assistance Program. Phone number = 1-800-762-2737. Ted understands that this is free!! Dont hear very often.
Gary gave us a run down on the St. Patricks Day Progressive Dinner. group left Levitz parking lot their way to Dave &Paula house for salad stuffed mushrooms and munchies then off J.O. Irene corn beef cabbagered potatoescarrots rolls Elk Grove Ted Miren dessert. Lots of good stuff. Especially bunt cake with kahlua she hadsome great big strawberries dipped in chocolate. After this get together night owls went overOut Burger joint. (What? Not enough atIrenes?
Firebird Drag Night at Sacramento Race Way.
There were 15 Firebirds and Ams on line. Our Club best turn out with six members present. was one young man from P.O.C.I. Club. (Pontiac Oakland International). He is a member of local chapter. KleinPresidentwon event. I understand it because two up against jumped light. next May 23 rd. We need more Club members there with their cars. You don’t have to race but Ted said when they look down from the tower and see all the Trans Ams, Firebirds, Formulas, and Fire Hawks they take notice. The more we have showing up during the current year determines how many race nights we can have the following year.
Dave Gershon hands out a "Top Gun" award each year for the drags. If you want to compete for this award, be sure to get to the track. This is for the quickest E.T. at any Club night. Be sure to turn your times in to Dave. There are four regular nights this year. Three Firebird nights and one night Mopar vs. Pontiac night. We won this event the first year and they have won the last two years so our drivers are very determined to win this year.
Last month we discussed the possibility of giving buyers of a Trans Am, Firebird, Formula or Fire Hawk from Reliable Pontiac a free membership to our Club. We felt this would be a good tool to bring new members. Bruce Westrup has given us permission to do so. We also discussed this at our board meeting and felt it would be worth the try. Dave and C.C. are going to put together packets for new buyers. There will be a current TransScript, application to the Club, Trans A Rama flyer and any other pertinent information regarding the Club There will be a cover letter to let them know they have a free one year membership. We don’t know exactly how we will deliver them as yet. Ideas were to put them in the glove compartment, have, or maybe handing it to them with their documents in the finance department. Dave will get together with Bruce to see exactly how he wants it handled.
Directors Reports:
Activities:
Gary had a sign up sheet for Cool April Days up in Redding. However there has been rumor that Cool April Days has been canceled. Gary will check into it. This one of our runs for the month of April.
April 22:
Busch League Racing in Roseville. Gary needs a sign up sheet because he has to make reservations. It’s $20 per adult for three races. It’s $22 if you want hotdogs etc., to go along with the race. These are stationary auto like machines that you set it and from what I’ve seen it’s just like being on a track. Rocks and rolls, bumps, skids, crashes. Need to meet there at 1:30 PM. Address – 1021 Junction Blvd., by the Roseville Fair Grounds
May 5 th:
Children’s Receiving Home. Meet at Del Paso Park and caravan to the home. C.C. is asking for donations of bubbles, goggles for the pool, U.A. theater tickets or money so that he can purchase items.
May 18th:
Car shows at Kragen in Roseville at Harding and Douglas Blvd. Time is 6pm to 9pm every Friday of each month. Gary said he would call and let them know that we do want to show some cars. More at the next Club Meeting.
December 8th:
Christmas Party will be at Dinges McGee’s in Colfax. Food options, Chicken, fish or prime rib. Deposit has been put in. They have agreed that if there is snow on the ground the party is cancelled and we receive our deposit back. Be there at 6:30pm and dinner at 7pm. We may caravan up but we can decide that at a later date.
Trans A Rama XIII:
July 13, 14, & 15. Dave said he has five registrations and has had several out of town calls asking about the event. Jim Prinzivalli has been working on the design for the T-shirts. Looks nice. Shirts will have a 1968 Firebird convertible head on shot and 2000 WS6 above that. There will be smoke from burning rubber’ behind the ’68. The next meeting for Trans A Rama will be at Dave’s house at 3pm on May 6. If you are not involved as yet you are more than welcome to come and get involved. Main thing right now is sponsors. Everyone has been asked to see if they can find at least one sponsor. Raffle items or cash donation. They will have a spot in the TransScript, on our web site as a sponsor and recognized at the event. Dante Higgins is in charge of the sponsor list so if you come up with one please call him and let him know, who and what you have. You need to pick up a business card so we can keep track of the sponsors. Dinner at the Holiday in for Trans A Rama will be $35 and kids at $17.50.
WebSite:
Jim has put together a new web site for the Club. It is up and running!! He has cleaned it up and added a new members section. He is finished with phase one and is beginning work on phase two. Any member that wants pictures of his car on the web site turn them into Ted or Dave. Jim has taken a new job and it will be hard for him to make all of our meetings. He lives in Antioch and that’s quite a drive to make a 7pm meeting. Gonna be the best.
Ted and Dave will be on a radio talk show on April 28th. It will be at 7:30am 950 on the dial. It is out of Auburn and reaches as far as Elk Grove. The host’s name is Butch Carter and it’s all about cars. Ted and Dave will be talking about our Club and Trans A Rama. The GTO Club was on his show and they suggested that he call our Club. Be sure to listen in to the
"Ted & Dave" Show:
Ted received some mail from Krause Publications. They are coming out with a new book titled "75 Years of Pontiac Official History". It will be a history of Pontiac’s growth from 1926 to 2001. It normally sells for $29.95. If the Club sends in an order for 12 or more books we can get a 20% discount.
Dante’ said every Friday and Saturday night there is a get together at the In & Out Burger at Coloma and Sunrise. It is across the street from Mac Donald’s, beside the service station. You make a turn as though you are going into that trailer park and swing around behind the station and there you are. He said quite a few Trans Ams show up there every night. Last week there were six of them. Sounds like a nice place for recruiting. They usually get together around 8 to 9pm.
Dante’ said that all the Clubs want to get together and have a big Bar B-Q some time this summer, either at Land Park or Miller Park. Also - Les Schwab has a new location on Bradshaw and for their grand opening, they would like to have a car show. If our Club is interested Dante’ will work on it.
J.O. gave the treasurer’s report. It can be found in another section of the TransScript.
With no further business Dante’ Higgins made the motion to close the meeting and Frank Brown seconded. Meeting closed at 8:37.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary

Presidents Message
This month I’ve added a new achievement to my list of accomplishments as a member of TACA-GSC. I’ve recently done a live radio talk show. Actually, fellow member Dave Gershon and I drove up to the fine town of Auburn, California, where we were interviewed by Butch Gardner on KHII radio 950 AM. The name of the show is Cruisin News Talk Radio. The program is on 7:30am to 9am every Saturday. Butch is a big supporter of all car clubs. He has interviewed members of many northern California car clubs on his show. It was an honor to be asked to speak on behalf of our club! Dave of course handled himself quite well. I, on the other hand, struggled a bit. The studio that the three of us were in was about the size of a closet. It was quite cozy! Butch told us to forget about the microphone and just talk. Yeah, right! I can’t believe that I forgot the dates for the three Firebird nights at Sacramento Raceway! After all, I had them right in front of me, on a club event sheet! Dave even went so far as to kindly point them out for me. They say "dead" air on the radio is a producer’s worst nightmare. I gave Jerry (the producer) at least twenty seconds worth! Butch took it all in stride, and the interview continued. We talked about the history of our club, participating in Autorama, the drag nights at Sacramento Raceway, including the Pontiacs vs. Mopars night, our upcoming Trans a Rama event, and all things Trans Am related. Dave and I talked about taping the show so those that missed it could hear it at a later time. We forgot to ask until after the show, when it was too late. Butch did invite us (our club) back to talk again, and to give an update on the Pontiacs vs. Mopars outcome. Any club members want to take a shot at their own fifteen minutes of fame? Just remember to bring a cassette tape to put in the recorder before the show!
The next Trans Am/ Firebird night is just around the corner. It’s on Wednesday, May 23rd, at 5:30pm to 10pm at Sacramento Raceway. Yeah, I know it’s on a week night, and I know that not everyone in the club is as big a "gear head" as I am, but it would be nice to see a big turnout from our club.
Trans a Rama is just around the corner as well. You have all sent in your registration forms haven’t you? Hmmm? If not, please do so soon. If you would like to help out, the next Trans a Rama committee meeting is Saturday, June 9th, at 4pm, at Dave Gershon’s house. It is the desire of the committee that every club member finds one sponsor for the event. The sponsorship can be in the form of a raffle prize or even a monetary donation. Size is not important! Every little bit helps! I know… It doesn’t have to be like when you were a kid, having to go door to door, selling cookies or candy bars. Most of us are adults now. Hit on people you know! Like your buddy that has his own business, or the mechanics shop or parts house that you frequent. Reminding them how much you spend with them each year usually helps.
I’ll wrap up this month, with congratulations to Dante and Rebecca Higgins, who have welcomed a new Trans Am into their garage. It’s a 1996 WS6 Harley Davidson Edition T/A, in black. It is reportedly #3 of ten such T/A’s built for a special giveaway contest by Harley and Pontiac. When asked if it had any modifications yet, Dante, as usual, just smiled.
By Ted Klein

The Long Drive
The morning started off at 8 am. There was a bright-eyed group waiting for Gayle and I when we arrived at the Levitz parking lot. Ken and his two kids were the first there at 7:00 am, which was way to early for me, then Sue Murphy, JJ and Lourdes, Dante and Rebecca. That made up a nice round number for a long fast drive. So off we started, up I-5 with the flow of traffic, which was anywhere from 75 to 85. Our first stop was the big town of Williams for gas and Food. The drive was pretty uneventful, just driving and looking at the pretty scenery.
When we arrived in Redding the road we wanted to turn on was blocked off, so on to plan 2 (HELP!!!). Follow the other cars and see where it leads us. Well to the next exit of course. So we all pull into a parking lot and do the natural male thing- ask directions, (this works). After getting directions, we started walking with the other hundreds of people going to the show, so it wasn’t hard to find our way. We decided the first place to stop after paying to get in was the Les Schwab free prize wheel, where we all struck it rich(cups, T-shirts, bags, pins, and tons of other things). There were so many cars that the plan to find as many Firebirds as possible and meet back at the starting point at 3:00pm. So we all started off and it didn’t take long for all of us to get split up.
There was supposed to be 500 cars, but it seemed more like a thousand. We looked at the old cars, then the trucks, then some more old cars on our way to the newer old cars. We then stumbled on the Camaro’s and Firebirds. There was about a dozen or so Firebirds, out of all the cars, and Dante made sure to give a flyer to each one of them.
Our plan was a good one, but Sue had gone back to the cars early, however, she did manage to get her car to the main gate and try to take us back one by one, to the cars. We decided to wait as planned, then the cars in the show began to leave, so we decided to change our plans. Off we went to our cars, Dante tagging cars along the way. When we got back to our cars, there was Sue waiting for us, and telling us of her plan to pick us up. Dante and Rebecca, Ken and his kids, wanted to cruise the main drag with the other car show participants, and then get home. Ken had been up most of the night before so a little while longer wasn’t going to make a difference. The rest of us had to get back to Sacramento, so off we went. All in all the entire show was very impressive, just a ton of cars (all different types).
The drive up was about three hours with stops, four hours at the car show, and two and a half hours to get home, a good days drive!
Respectfully Commander GRV

Firebird Night at Sacramento Raceway
Fifteen Firebirds, Formulas, Firehawks, and Trans Ams came out to Sacramento Raceway March 14^th, for the first of three Firebird nights this year. Ralph Gobel, owner of Hot Rod Heaven, and President of the Nor-Cal LS-1 club, brought out five members’ cars. Only two came out from The Capital City Firebirds Club, two from the Sacramento POCI club, a stray 1973 T/A, and six from our club! JJ Apilado, along with Dante and Rebecca Higgins, came to take pictures and provide support. I think Dante just wanted to check out the competition!
The quickest elapsed time of the night went to Ralph’s son in a killer 2000 silver T/A running an 11.82 second @ 117 mph. nothing but motor and slicks, no nitrous! For those of you keeping track of the Top Gun competition, bring your time slips to the next meeting for verification by Dave Gershon.
During qualifying (practice), Ted Bechtel ran a 16.1 a new personal best, in his ’79 T/A! Mark Boyle struggled with fuel delivery problems all night, and only managed a 15.45 ET. in his ’70 T/A look-alike. Once this 455-powered beast is sorted out, it should easily run in the 12’s. Troy Cardoso and Grant Brendamere both ran 15.60’s with their ’88 T/A’s. Ray Howe, in his 25^th Anniversary T/A clicked off a 14.50 second ET. My ’69 bird ran slower than usual…. Then it was time to dial in and begin the racing!
I was all set to race Tim in his ’73 T/A, but my; car wouldn’t start! I waved everyone around me, jumped out and popped the hood. Ah ha! The coil wire had come loose! A few moments later, I pulled to the front of the staging lane just as they were closing it. Pulling up to the starting line, I looked over to see that I was now running against Mark Boyle. He had a better reaction time on the start, but couldn’t run his number (dial-in). Ted Bechtel and Grant also lost their races. The good news was that three club members survived to run in the second round.
Troy Cardoso raced and beat a 4th Gen. T/A from the LS-1 club, and Ray raced me. I caught Ray sleeping at the starting line: his reaction time I believe, was a new club record. A perfect reaction time is .500 seconds…Ray’s was more than double that, at 1.22 seconds! Mine wasn’t much better, but it was good enough for me to win. Only 2 T/A’s and one Firebird remained going into the semi-final round.
Tim, in his red ’73 T/A won the coin toss and received the buy, automatically advancing him into the final round. I was forced to race yet another club member. But at least one club member would make it to the final! Troy got a little anxious on the start, earning him a new nickname, along with his "red-light" disqualification.
In the final round, it was over before it had begun. Tim, trying to cut a perfect light, also left a little early, lighting up the big "red eye" on the Christmas Tree. We both ran hard anyway. When we came around Tim was understandingly "bummed" at losing. He said he "red-lighted" against club member Kiel last year in the final round, and now, the same thing this year against me. It was pointed out to him that he had just won two trophies this night, "Best Appearing Firebird" and second place. This brought a smile to his face, then we asked him when he was going to join our club…heh, heh!
By Ted Klein

Busch League Racing
Trans Am Club turns out big for Nascar Series. The racing started at aproximately 1:45 pm. We broke into two racing groups, the big boys in one group and the little kids in another. Oh, and Gayle and Cindy got stuck with the little kids. On the first race Cindy, Gayle, Brooke, and Vince were running neck and neck. They were about lap some other cars, and those driven by Mathew, Natalie, and Taylor who were wild and crazy and all over the track. This made the faster cars spin wildly out of control. However they were able to regain control of their cars, and make good times.
The next race was run with Lourdes, Gary, Dave, Theo, Arlyn, and Ted. What a wild race this was! Arlyn was out in frontuntil the last lap when he lost it in turn three. With the tires fading, the cars got harder to control and more easily drifted into the wall, which Gary hit several times, and so did Dave. Ted Klein came up from behind and won the first race.
The second race was on an oval track, and was just as traumatic for Gayle, Cindy, and the kids. Gayle thought she had it until those darn spoiler kids got in her way again! Vince was the winner of that race. The second race for the big kids was as eventful as the first race was with all the bumping and grinding (of metal!!!) and all of the complaints of the cars not being fast enough. At the close of the race Arlyn had taken it. Dante and Rebecca strolled in, claiming they could not find it due to Gary’s bad directions. Dante started off with some outsiders, and then joined up in the third race, with the big kids. This race was a road course, instead of an oval, what a comedy that was to see. None of the big boys could keep their cars on the track. We all had a blast, and it was great being able to get the kids involved. Now we where we will be doing birthday parties!
Respectfully, Commander GRV

MAY 2001, Volume 4, Issue5

General Meeting - May 9th
    The President was introduced by Sgt. At Arms, Dante' hihhins and the meeting was called to order by President Ted lkein at 7:10 PM.
    Guests included Shalimar Anderson who owns a 1991 white TA. Brian Mains attented the meeting with Shalimar. Eric Johnson drives a 1979 black Firebird, special edition. With Eric was Troy Johnson. Steve Serio has a blue and silver 1989 TA. Wayne and Jared Montoya were also visiting. Jared has a red 1989 TA. Welcome to all of you, we're glad to have you.
    Ted, our TransScript editor had some problems with getting the news letter out this mont. Although it was late it did arrive in the mail today. The April minutes were high lighted by Irene with all the pertinent information regarding priior events and up coming events, such as drag night at Sacramento Raceway. Jim Prinzivalli discussed our new web site, and Ted abd Dave will be on a radio talk show from Auburn. Ted also received a new book entitled "75 Years of Pontiac Official History" that can be ordered for $29.95.Dante' said every Friday and Satarday there is a get together at the In and Out Burger on Sunrise Bvld., in Rancho Cordova, across from MacDonald's at Zinfandel and Sunrise. Dante' also let us know that Les Schwab is opening a new location on Bradshaw and for their grand opening they would like to have a car show. If we are interested he will get all the info for us for the next meeting. Gary made the motion to except the minutes, Frank seconded the motion - motuion carried.
Past Events:
Cool April nights in Redding: Gary gave a report on the run to Redding. Seems everyone had dressed for cool weather and it was preetty warm. "Hot" was the word Gary used. Most left about 4PM but Dante' and Rebecca stayed and cruised around for three hours before starting home.
Bush League racing in Roseville had a very good turn out and it sounds as though it went over very well. The kids had a great time. The fastest speed for the kids was: Kris with 172, Taylor 162, mathew 158, Natalie 133, and Brook with a 173. Gayle with the fastest speed for the women, had 180, Gary 170, Cindy 173, Ted K. 178, Lourdes 157, Arlyn 176, Jay 161, Ted B. 162, and Dante' with 166.
Sacramento receiving Home: C.C. said the kids enjoyed having our cars back again. ten cars met at Del Paso Park and drove to the Receiving home. Pictures were taken of the kids in the cars and given to the individuals.
Trans A Rama: dave brougght us up to speed on how things are going. Jim Prinzivalli had the T-shirt designs for the event and they are very striking. Jim also had the artwork for the last event.
Reg Harris who works for SLP, ( Street Legal Performance,) is definitely on for our speaker. Reg has arranged for his company to give us a set of Firestone Firehawk tires for our raffle.
Dave asked, "How many of you remember Trans Am Territory?" Many years ago Pontiac sponsored this event for us at Sears Point race Way just above the forst turn. Big tents, tables and chairs. Our club was heavily involved in that venture. We organized the parking of cars and feeding the crowd with drinks, beans, chips, hamburgers and hot dogs. Dave was in contact with a gentlemanin Pleasanton who was involved with Pontiac at the time. he is going to search around and see if he can find the original sign that read "Trans Am Territory". If it can be found we can use it for the car show at Trans A Rama.
Dave also gave an overview of the Trans A Rama for those new members and guests. Friday night will be a run to Auburn for the Auburn Cruise Night. Satarday will be a car show at Reliable Pontiac at the Auto Mall in Roseville. Bruce Westrup, owner, will have all the car inventory moved to the back of the lot so we can have the front area to show off our cars.
Satarday night will be dinner and presentation of trophies. Raffle tickets will be available through out the day and the raffle will be held after dinner. Sunday will be auto cross day at Mather Field in Rancho Cordova.
The next meeting for the Trans A Rama committee will be June 9th at Dave's house at 4:00 PM.
Radio Time:
"The Ted & Dave Show", on KAHI, 950 on your radio dial, out of Auburn. The host of this show is Bruce Carter and the show is geared toward cars. Bruce talked to Ted and Dave for almost 45 minutes. Bruce was very interested in the 1st and 2nd generation of our cars. Also about the Pontiac / Mopar race nights at the Drags. They talked about Trans A Rama. (Smart pair). Dave said he felt he was doing all the talking and at one point a question came up about the 1st generation cars and Dave turned to Ted and says "How about that Ted?" Duh! Caught Ted off guard and it took him a few seconds to pull himself together.
New Business:
J.J. and Lourdes have a new addition to their family and are now first time Grand Parents. Deborah Marie was born on April 13th, Good Friday. Five pounds, 14 ounces, 18 inches long. Tiny and petite.
In April last year Dave Gershon contacted J.J. and told him that Tom Montgomery was looking for a 1972 Trans Am. Erth Muscle Cars wanted to make 1/18th scale model of that particular model of a Trans Am. J. J. contacted Tom Montgomery. Tom is a photographer and had been looking for a '72 in good condition for about four months. He finally found our Club on the internet and J.J. was put in touch with Dale Peacock. Dale was Ertl Muscle Cars project manager for this project. In May 2000 J.J. had an appointment with Tom. The car was put on a lift and pictures were taken of the under carriage and then inside and out. When the project was completed the first two cars were sent to J.J. along with all photos and negatives. UPS delivered the package to the wrong address about two streets over from J.J.'s The package was insured but left on the porch with out getting a signature. The residence of the house say they never saw the package. J.J. did finally receive a car numbered 77 of 7,499. We tried to use it as one of the raffle prizes but J.J. said "NO". Kill joy.
J.J. was also stopped by the CHP for having plastic over his rear license plate. That's a no no. He took it off and was still charged $10.
Gary reminded us of the Great America run on June 16, and he passed around a sign-up sheet. It has been years since we made a run there.
With no further business Frank Brown made a motion to close the meeting. Seconded and passed. Meeting was closed at 8:35pm.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary

The Starting Line
Wow! It's hard to believe six months have gone by already! I hope you all have been enjoying the newsletter and the changes I have made to it! I have really come to learn a lot in the time that I have been doing this! I would like to send a special thanks out to Ted Klein and Kiel for the help they gave me in getting started with this. I would also like to thank Gary and Gayle Vollstedt for always getting the events articles to me, and to J.J. our historian for supplying the pictures that help dress the newsletter up! You guys are great; I don't know what I would do without you! I also want to thank our President (Ted Klein), and our Secretary and Treasurer (Irene and J.O. Raff), for the articles they contribute each month! You all make my job much easier! I don't have any more changes planned for the newsletter other than trying to get a list of Birthdays and Anniversaries, and I would like to apologize to anyone who's special day I have missed! I would like to remind everyone that the Trans-A-Rama is just over a month away. This will be my second year of attending this event, and let me tell you, it is a lot of fun! Dave Gershon and several of the club members go to a lot of trouble to ensure that everyone has a good time! If you have never been to this event I believe you will have a great time! Please everyone start to get your registrations in. Gary and Gayle need to get an Idea of how many people will be attending the awards banquet. In my opinion this is the highlight of the weekend, especially since we have Reg Harris lined up as a guest speaker! I am looking forward to seeing all of you there, and please feel free to give me any input you might have for the newsletter! Before the Trans-A-Rama though, we have a Kragens car show this Friday, June 15th and then Saturday June 16th is the trip to Paramount's Great America. I am really looking forward to this run, as I have not been to Great America since I was in eighth grade, almost 25 years ago! It really looks like it has changed a lot since the Days of the Turn of the Century ride and the Tidal Wave! Please think about coming along on this run. My understanding is that although this is a club function most people will not be driving their Firebirds as they are to small to transport the entire family in. Don't feel you can't come along on this run because you wouldn't be able to bring your family! Okay, I've babbled on long enough! Thanks for reading and I look forward to seeing all of you at Trans-A-Rama.
Written by Theo Bechtel

Kragen Auto Show
The car show was held at Kragen Auto on Harding Blvd. In Roseville on May 18th , 2001. We arrived at 5:00pm to find Arlyn & Taylor waiting for us. David Michael was there just before Gary & Vince, and Gayle and Brooke. Jim Prinzivalli rolled in with his son Giovanni. Theo parked outside the car show and we made him bring his car into the show after a quick trip to the car wash. Then came J.J., and then C.C. After a bit Dave Gershon came with his 20th anniversary T.A., with another 20th anniversary owner hot on his tail. Dante finally showed up with his Special Edition Harley Davidson (Trans Am that is). Lorne Sachs was right behind him. The final count of 12 cars in a row was pretty impressive. As far as car shows go, I give it an "8". They had a 50/50 raffle, a free raffle ticket with each registered car and music. J.J. won a 2-ton jack, Gary won an oil drop cloth, and the kids that helped in the drawing, got prizes too. The car show was over at 9:00, we all gathered for a moment to gawk at the very impressive drawing that Jim P. had done for the Trans-A-Rama T-shirt design and to discuss the T-shirts. We all had fun, hope more of you can make it to the next one on June 15th. The next one after that will be July 20th.
TTFN, Commander GRV

The Making of The Bird
by Jeff Denison
The 1970 Pontiac Trans Am was one of the most aggressive looking cars ever to roll out of Detroit. It was also virtually an all-new car carrying over only the drive train from the previous year. There was a very important new Trans Am design cue conceived for the 1970 Trans Am; the famous hood bird graphic. Recently, I sat down with Bill Porter, the Chief Designer of the 1970 Firebird (he's now a Chief Designer at Buick), and Ted Schroeder, the designer who put the Trans Am package together for 1970, (now a Chief designer for Chevrolet). We discussed how the design for the giant hood bird, often referred to today as the "Screaming Chicken," came about. Bill Porter talked about two 1970 Trans Am show cars that were being built: a bright white one at Design Staff, and a racing blue one at Pontiac's prototype facility at Pontiac Engineering. Both of these cars were to receive the hood bird graphic -- a white one on the blue car and a blue one on the white car -- traditional racing colors without the traditional racing stripes. No one is sure who came up with the idea for the huge bird decal, but Ted remembers drawing it up and sending it to Design Staff's graphic department, where a graphic designer named Norm Inouye (pronounced In-o-way) laid out the actual artwork before sending it to 3M Corp. to produce the prototype decals. Bill Mitchell, GM Vice President and head of Design Staff, always kept up-to-date with current projects. While walking through the paint department one day, he noticed the finished Trans Am with the hood bird. He "hated" it and immediately called Porter on the phone, yelling that the car had "an Indian blanket on the hood," that it looked "like a Macy's truck" (a rolling billboard), and to "get the damned thing off immediately!" Bill Mitchell had a way with words and the authority to back them up, so there was no turning back. The hood bird graphic was a dead issue for the time being; a bold single blue or white stripe would run the length of the 1970 Trans Am, with a small bird at the edge of the bumper. In 1971, Bill Porter moved on to another studio, and John Schinella became Chief Designer responsible for the Firebird. The racing colors of blue and white would run through the 1972 model year on the Trans Am. The new colors for 1973 were Buccaneer Red and Brewster Green -- Cameo White would remain in the color selection, and Lucerne Blue was dropped. John took one of the prototype decals 3M had made, changed the color, and put it on a red prototype 1973 Trans Am. He literally took it to the streets, driving it up and down Woodward Avenue, talking to the "car guys" at each stop. Everyone overwhelmingly liked the hood bird. Now came the tough part. Schinella knew the hood bird graphic was a winner but he had to sell it to management. At first, Pontiac General Manager James McDonald wasn't impressed with the hood bird presentation, but he agreed to go along with the Design Staff proposal if Mitchell was behind it. John knew that Bill Mitchell liked the black-and-gold John Player Special paint scheme, so he had a black prototype 1973 Trans Am made up with a gold foil hood bird graphic and gold pinstripes. No one can remember if this particular Trans Am had a Super Duty 455 or not, but if Bill Mitchell used it as his regular car, it probably did. Bill already had some of his motorcycles painted in a similar fashion. By pitching the hood bird to Mitchell in a color combination he already liked, Schinella sold him on the idea and the hood bird was finally born. The hood bird would go on to become an icon, one that would identify the Trans Am for the rest of the second generation's production run. When the 1982 Trans Ams arrived at the dealerships in late 1981, the legendary hood bird and shaker scoop went into the history books -- gone but certainly not forgotten. The author wishes to thank Bill Porter, Tom Peloguin, Ted Schroeder and John Schinella of GM Design Center.

Children's Receiving Home Run
May 5th 2001 was a sunny Saturday morning. At 9:30am a group of different and colorful Firebirds (all types) gathered at Del Paso Park on Auburn Blvd. In Sacramento, Just off of Interstate 80. My friends that participated in this event were Pat Brown ('86 Burgundy T.A.), J.J. Apilado ('72 White 455 H/0 T.A.), Theo Bechtel ('79 Blue T.A.), Lorne Sachs ('00 Black T.A.), myself (C.C.) in the Green Machine ('92 Firebird), and 2 guests, Bill and Mary (25th Anniversary White Convertible). After photos were taken by our club historian (J.J.) of all the cars, it was time to head off to the Children's Receiving Home which was about a mile down the road on Auburn Blvd. After parking our fine machines, the Assistant to the Activities Director met with us to pick up our donations for the children. I was ready to take pictures of the children next to their favorite car in the parking lot. Dave Gershon ('89 White 20th Anniversary), Dante Higgins ('94 Black T.A.), Ted Klien ('69 Gold Firebird) and another guest, David Amick (Dark Green T.A.), showed up late but were a welcome addition to our event. We all had a good time and the children were delighted to see such a wide representation of the Firebird. I talked to Tina (Activities Director of the Children's Receiving Home) and she really appreciates us taking the time to come out and show our cars to the children on top of donating the gifts. I want to thank my Firebird friends on taking time to show their fine cars and donating gifts, it really means a lot to me and also the children at the Receiving Home.
Written by C.C. Coppage, Membership Director of TACA

JUNE 2001, Volume 4, Issue 6

General Meeting - June 11, 2001
Sgt. At Arms, Dante' Higgins, introduced the President, Ted Klein, who called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. Lindsy Duffy was our guest for the evening. Tim O'Neill was with us for the first time and became a new member. Tim has a 20th Anniversary turbo TA. Welcome to our guest and to our new member. Corrections to last months minutes. The host on the radio show on KHAI from Auburn was not Bruce Carter. The correct name is Butch Gardner. Frank motioned the minutes be approved as amended and Gary seconded.
Old Business:
Past Events Kragen Car Show:
Gary gave us a good run down on this. They will be having a show on the 3rd Friday of each month. The June date will be on the 15th. For those who plan on attending please have your cars there by 5pm. When you sign in you receive one free ticket and can purchase additional tickets. Gary said he won some Jack Cheese and $50 dollars off on a tattoo. He traded them for an oil pan for his tractor and a window screen. J.J. won a 2 ½ ton jack with the free ticket. There was also a 50/50 raffle, four pots of $50 each. Dante' washing and waxing his new TA was quite a draw.
The Fulton Avenue - Car Fest:
We had 12 cars entered in this event. Entrants had very nice 5 X 7 participation plaques on their dash at the close of the day. J.J. won the people's choice. It was never said which car J.J. had but it was probably his white with a blue stripe 1972 Trans Am. Hamburgers, hot dogs, sodas and water were available:
Drags at the Sacramento Race Way:
Sixteen Trans Ams and Firebirds turned out. Some of our cars managed to get to the quarter finals but none in the finals. Hey! What's with you guys? Our new member had the best time of our bunch at 13.9. July the 11th will be the next drag night. That is just before Trans A Rama. The last night for the Mopar races will be August 23rd.
Treasurer's Report:
Monies on hand in both the General and Trans A Rama fund is $2,913.78. Agrees with the bank statement.
New Business:
Upcoming Events Kragen Car Show:
Friday, June 15th is the car show at Kragen's on Harding at Douglas Blvd. Please be there by 5pm.
Great America:
Saturday, June 16th. Cost is $27 for adults. Meet at Levitz parking lot on Watt Avenue. We will leave at 7:30am. THE GREAT EVENT OF THE YEAR!! You know the old saying, "Be there or be square!" Don't miss this one.
Trans A Rama:
It's just around the corner. The T-Shirts are coming along very well. Reliable is picking up the tab for all the trophies for Saturday and Sunday. We give a big thanks to Bruce for doing that for us. Bruce has been a big supporter of our Club from day one and he is greatly appreciated. A fact from the past - It was Reliable's leasing agent, in 1979, who started working on Trans Am buyers to form a club. He was our first president elected on a Yosemite run in October 1979. We still have four of the original members in our Club. We are doing pretty well with sponsorships. Most of the big things are covered. We have tires coming from S. L. Hughes and BF Goodrich. Goodie Bags have been provided. What we need is raffle items. If anyone can come up with anything for the raffle let Dante' or Dave know. We will be having the raffle every hour or so at the car show at Reliable on Saturday. We will finish up at dinner at the Holiday Inn Saturday evening. Along with tires will be an autographed picture of Dale Ernhart. There will be some really nice stuff. Dave stated that all of our Club members have not signed up as yet for this event. For those who have not, but plan to attend Trans A Rama, please get signed up and let us know about your T-Shirt order. How many and what sizes. Shirts are $15 and as Dave says, "They are going to be dynamite". If you do not choose to attend the banquet, have a nice dinner and hear Reg Harris speak, the doors will be open around 9pm for the trophy presentation and raffle. Auto crossing at Mather Field on Sunday will be $25. There will be a safety check before you can race. After this event there will be a trip to a pizza parlor. There you can try to figure out just what you did to lose by a bumper length. The next meeting for the Trans A Rama committee will be on June 21st at Dave's house at 7pm. The next meeting will be held on July 8th, at 3pm. This will be the last meeting before the event. We will stuff the goodie bags. If you have any raffle items please bring them to this meeting. With no further business it was moved and seconded that we adjourn.
Respectfully submitted Irene Raff, Secretary

President's Message
Trans A Rama! Trans A Rama! Yes, it's that time of year again for three days of car shows, cruises, and autocross racing! What is it that makes Trans A Rama so exciting? Is it the all preparation required to put on an event of this magnitude? Uhh, no. Is it for the small amount of money we hope to make? OK, maybe a little. Actually, I think it's the experience of getting together with other Firebird owners and having a great time! Did I mention there is going to be racing? As most of you know, my 69 Firebird is primarily set up for drag racing. However, being the "gearhead" that I am, don't be to surprised if I bolt on a set of wide front tires and re-attach the sway bar and show up to do battle on the autocross course! 450 straight-line horsepower and all! I know I've got a set of 16" GTA wheels out in the shed somewhere! Hey Dave! How much you want for those slightly used Kuomo road race tires again? Heh, Heh! If you missed our club run over to Paramount's Great America June 16th, too bad, because it was a blast! (see article in this issue) It was hot. The log ride and the roaring rapids rides were wet. The water was really cold! J.O. Raff even showed us young bucks how to properly scalp the extra ticket we seemed to have acquired! The new FRS (Family Radio Service) radios we've been using on our runs this year worked double duty on this trip. They not only provided us with a means of communication on the road; they also worked great for keeping in touch inside the amusement park! I'm sad to say that we've lost a member of our club this month. I'm speaking of Kiel Embrey. No, he's not dead, although if he were, I would get first "dibs" on his 1970 Trans Am racecar! He left Sacramento and moved up to Kaslo, British Columbia, Canada to live with his parents. He plans to help build their new home. He thinks that he will eventually end up in the Vancouver, BC area. Kiel edited our club newsletter for two years (not an easy feat!) and was my partner in all of our bench racing sessions. He was like a member of my family, being a regular at my dinner table virtually every Saturday night. I learned a lot about how to build a drag racing Firebird, practicing on Kiel's car. Now I know which mistakes to avoid when working on my own bird! I only hope he can find a set of studded drag slicks for racing on the snow up there in the "Great White North", and will come and visit often! Finally, mark your calendars on July 11th, as it will be our third and last Firebird drag night at Sacramento Raceway. As always, it's six bucks to watch, twelve to race. Practice is from 5pm til 7pm; racing is from 7pm until 10pm. Through the grapevine, I've heard that Troy "boom boom" Cardoso had a little incident with the engine in his 88 T/A. Without Troy, it's going to be tough pulling off another club victory! So come out and join us! I know it's only two days before Trans A Rama, but having a little rubber on your quarter panels at the car show ranks right up there with the original assembly line paint markings and the numbers matching drivetrain!
By Ted Klein

The Starting Line
Welcome my friends to the show that never ends. Come inside, Come inside…Oh wait you are inside. Well it's July now and since you have already read Ted's article, let me just say I look forward to seeing all of you at Trans-A-Rama, It should be a blast! This first week of July, has been an extremely annoying time for me. Besides continuing to be out of work due to a lay off at NEC Electronics, my computer decided it no longer wanted to work, and it took me three days to figure out what had gone wrong. I now have to agree with Dexter, from the Cartoon Networks "Dexter's Laboratory" when he says (in a heavy German accent) "Stuuupid Compuuuter"! So I must apologize if this months newsletter isn't up to standards. Just remember... blame the computer. I now understand how frustrating this job must have been for Frank and Pandy Wegener. On top of dealing with trying to run their own business, to have to deal with the idiosyncrasies of computers is truly annoying! So I would just like to say Thank You to them for all the effort they put into the club last year. I would also like to take a moment to express my gratitude to Kiel. Without Kiel's help I would never have been able to make the newsletter what it is today. Ted is right, Kiel will be sorely missed! This month's newsletter contains a "For Sale" section, if you have something to sell, let me know and I will see about fitting it into the newsletter. Also of interest is an Article on Assembly Bill 834 contributed by Dave Gershon. Please be sure to read this as it may apply to some of you! And finally I would like to commend our President Ted Klein, for the outstanding job he has done this year! Ted has gone out of his way to make himself available to everyone in the club, and has been a devoted leader! I would also like to go on record as saying that I am in agreement with Ted, in that until the end of the year, the meeting place needs to remain at Reliable Pontiac, to show our support to Bruce and his company! However, there is no reason members could not meet before or after the meeting for dinner. Just as a suggestion Mel's Diner is close, and has a parking lot that could easily support our club!
Thanks for Reading, Theo

For Sale
Just in time for Trans-A-Rama, four 245/45R16 Kuhmo Victor 700 Autocross Tires. They have ¾ to 2/3 tread left. New cost is about $140.00 each. Your price $350.00 for all four tires. Contact Dave Gershon 782-1258

Kragen Auto Show
Another Kragen show, our same location, and same time. Again we had twelve cars, but different people. Oh, there was this big, different looking Trans Am, it had some numbers on its side, I think they were 442, whatever that means! The different people this time were Ted Klein, Christian Jones, Troy Cardoso, and Michael Smith. The regulars, Gary, Gayle, Theo, J.J., Dante, Rebecca, Arlyn, Cindy, Dave, and all the kids. We got there at 5pm sharp to save our spot under the shade tree. Everyone else got there shortly after we did. The last to arrive were the wax on, wax off group, you know who you are. The show was pretty uneventful, in that we didn't win anything, that I know of. The show was over right at 9pm, and we all went to the In and Out Burger. This seems to be becoming a natural occurrence after our events. I would like to thank everyone who showed up, especially Michael Smith, who came all the way from Dixon, through 2 hours of traffic, to make the show.
Respectfully, Commander Gary

Paramount Great America
These one, two events are too much, the car show on Friday, followed by Great America on Saturday. Or it might have been the rides on Saturday, or maybe it was Leo saying are you there yet. The morning started almost on time, we waited for Ray and family, but we ended up leaving without them. We had two Trans Ams and a whole lot of trucks and SUV's the reasons were not enough room in the cars or all that were in them. There would have been three cars but Ray ended up going to the wrong park. When he realized he was at the wrong place, he raced over to where we had been. The funny thing about that was that he still beat us all to Great America! The people that went on this run were, Leo (are you there yet) and family, Theo, Ted and his family plus two, Gary and family plus two, J.O. and Irene, Ray and his family, and Troy and friends. After we all got through the gates, I only saw a few people the rest of the day, and after a few rides I was lucky to see that much! We went on the Thriller, the Killer, the Stretcher, the Screamer, and the Double Killer. Those weren't the real names but I think you get my drift. The last time the club was there was some fifteen years ago. I must say that they have greatly improved their rides, these took my breath away. The "Top Gun" ride was a killer, it's hard to describe because I had my eyes closed. The "Stealth" was probably the best, my eyes were open on that ride, especially when the ground came right up to your face and licked it. We left around 7:30pm along with (are you there yet) Leo, and then did not get home until 10:00pm. I can't speak for everyone that went that day, but the wife, kids and I had a great time, and we all enjoyed the rides.
Respectfully, Commander Gary

Trans Am Club of America
The Trans Am Club of America was originally conceived by Pontiac back in the 1970s. As Pontiac lost interest, many of the local Chapters adopted the name with their local Chapter designation. There are currently four known original chapters still in existence. All these Chapters of the Trans Am Club of America are independent clubs today, spread across the United States of America. The Golden State Chapter of TACA sponsor's the Trans-A-Rama in Reno, Nevada each July. The Dayton, Ohio Chapter of TACA sponsor's the Trans Am Nationals in August at the Dayton International Airport. While in the Philadelphia area, we just kept the name Trans Am Club of America as Pontiac originated it and sponsor's the Trans Am Firebird Memorial Run over the Memorial Day Weekend in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Our club, the Trans Am Club of America, although originated in Philadelphia never adopted a chapter name and has been going strong since Pontiac stopped their involvement promoting it on a corporate level. Thus we have no Chapter designation. We welcome all Firebirds, Formulas, Firehawks, Trans Ams, and GTA's from 1967 to present into our clubs bird nest. Our club holds Quarterly Club Meetings and publishes a bimonthly newsletter called "Phoenix Rising".
The article above is from the Trans Am Club of America's web site.

JULY 2001, Volume 4, Issue 7

General Meeting - July 9m 2001
The meeting was called to order by Sgt. At Arms, Dante' Higgins. Ted Klein, President, presiding.
Visitors:
Lin Barenchi. He has a 1978 Montego Blue Trans Am. Also Mike and Sue Massey who drive a 2001 Sunset Orange Formula and Ron and Cindy Bramlett who have a 1989 white turbo Firehawk. They came in as visitors but I'm happy to say they left as new members. Welcome to our Club, I hope you enjoy it as much as we do and have fun at the 13th Trans A Rama this coming weekend.
Frank Brown motioned to accept the minutes as printed. Leo Brown seconded, carried. The Treasurer's report can be found elsewhere in the Trans Script.
Old Business:
Kragen car show:
Gary reported we had 12 cars again at the show and afterwards it was off to In 'N Out Burger. The next show at this location will be on July 20th. They usually have a 50/50 raffle and you can buy more tickets So far our Club hasn't won any green stuff as yet.
Great America:
was a good run. We had 24 people but ended up with 25 tickets. J.O. took the extra ticket and sold it to a young lady with a little boy for $20 which made her happy considering it would have cost her $43 at the gate. Lots of rides but some of them were very rough. If anyone reading this goes to Great America stay off the "7th Portal". It is a 3-D ride. You get strapped in something like a lounge chair with two iron handles to hang on to and you'd better hang on. It goes every which direction except upside down. Fast and furious.
There are quite a few carnival games there now. You know, pitch pennies, toss ping pong balls, and, oh yes - guessing people's weight and age. This is where J.O. made his day. He asked the guy to guess his age. He looked him up and down and guessed 56. He was only off by 16 years. It's a good thing J.O. didn't take off his hat.
Meeting Place:
Ted brought up the proposal, discussed at last months meeting, to change our meeting place again. Our Club is growing and the room at Reliable is getting pretty full. There are a couple of places we would like to check into. However, we have pretty much decided to stay at Reliable for the rest of this year. Bruce has been so supportive of our Club it only seems fair to do so. Woodie's was mentioned. It is located on Watt Ave. off Arden Way. They rope off parking for Club meetings. We discussed just getting together some evening and make a night of it. It would give us a view of what the place is like and give the Club some exposure.
New Business:
'Car Shows':
Friday, July 20th again at Kragen's, at Harding Blvd., and Douglas in Roseville. Last big one of the season. Kragen has asked us to sponsor an award which we have done. Kragen has given us several things for our raffles at Trans A Rama so please get out and support their car show.
Saturday July 21st, Vacaville is having a show. Trophies for '72 and earlier cars. If you want to attend and just display your car there is no charge. There are many cars in this show. Roll out our banner and get some more exposure. This exposure stuff really seems to be working.
Sunday August 19th, there will be a big POCI show in Lynwood, Washington. It is being held by the Washington Firebird Club. Last year they had 20 or 25 Firebirds and Trans Ams and they would like to build on that number for this year. The other 200 or so were just all kinds of older Pontiacs. Anyone want to go? Let Ted know.
July 13th, 14th and 15th , TRANS A RAMA XIII: Dave gave us the last report on Trans A Rama before the event. Time Schedule - Friday, 7/13, Registration at the Holdiday Inn on Date Avenue starts at 3pm. Auburn Run - leaves the hotel at 4pm. Saturday - Car show at Reliable Pontiac. Staging from 7:30am to 11am, Judging 11am to 3pm. Trophies and awards will be presented after the evening dinner at the hotel. Dave still needs help at the car show. Lunch will be provided by "Uncle Roy's" mobile café. Lunch will be Bar-B-Q chicken sandwich on a roll, corn on the cob, and a drink for $5. Additional drinks will be available.
The Auto cross at Mather field will be on Sunday. Be there between 7:30am and 8am for tech inspection. If you do not have a helmet they do have a few loaners. After the auto cross it's off to the pizza place for eats.
At present it looks like we will have about 60 cars to show. Dave will check with Bruce to have more cars moved if need be. Dave said he was able to get in touch with KAHI radio in Auburn. This is the station that Dave and Ted Klein were on in May. He put another word in for Trans A Rama. They were quite surprised that Bruce would move his sale's stock to the back of the lot so we could use part of the front lot for the show.
Dave told us we had about 30 to 40 cars for the Auburn run on Friday night. Everyone needs to be at the meeting places on time. The cars must go into Auburn as a Club. This way the cars can all park together. The streets will be closed at 5pm. If you are not with the Club you will have to park elsewhere and walk in. Either be at the Holiday by 4pm or at the New Castle turn off no later than 4:15pm. Cars will leave there at 4:30pm.
Dave asked that anyone who has raffle items please get them to him as soon as possible or be sure they will be available at the car show on Saturday as there will be raffles during the afternoon. There will be a set of BF Goodrich tires for the Saturday afternoon car show and a set of SLP Firehawk tires to be given away on Saturday night.
Wednesday night, July 18th is "Drag Night. Be there about 5pm if you want to run. If not come along any time and watch the fun. On August the 22 the Mopar vs Pontiacs go at it again. This is always a fun night.
In the past Reliable has given us a 15% discount on parts. Other dealers in the area are giving us 25% for showing our cars. Bruce has agreed to give our Club members the same 25% off parts bought over the counter. You must show your current TACA membership card in order to receive this discount.
With no further business Frank Brown motioned to adjourn the meeting, Gary Vollstedt seconded and meeting was adjourned at 8:17pm
Respectfully submitted Irene Raff, Secretary

The Mystery Car: My 1985 Trans Am.
Recently, our President Ted Klien got a call from a production company that was trying to locate a red 1992 Trans Am to use for a few scenes in a made for TV movie. While looking through our Trans Am Club web site, he came across my red 1985 Trans Am. Ted called me up and asked if I still owned the car. He had not seen it in a while and assumed I would no longer own the 85. I informed Ted I still owned the car and that I would loan it to the production company if they needed to use it, if the search for a 1992 TA failed. In the end, a different red Trans Am was located for the movie and so my red baby missed it's chance at brief stardom. The upshot of this whole deal was a suggestion by Ted for me to write a small article about the 85 for our club's "Trans Script".
The 1985 came about as a result of watching the movie Smokey and the Bandit. The movie sparked my interest in Pontiac Trans Ams and in 1979 I spotted a black 1977 bandit TA. After looking at it, my father decided it was too much motor for a pimply faced 16 year old kid, even thought I would be making the car payments and pay for my own insurance. I settled for a used 1976 metallic lime green Camaro with a 2 barrel 305 motor. I enjoyed my Camaro but was unhappy because it was not a Trans Am. When 1985 arrived I was able to buy my first Trans Am and so I placed my order with Mazzie Pontiac in Antioch for a 1985 Blaze Red, 5 speed, 305 4 barrel Trans Am with t-tops. Several months later, a call came in informing me the car was ready to be picked up. One small problem; I still had not learned to use a manual tranny and afraid to crash a new car, my brother had the lucky duty of driving the new car home. The car remained parked for a few weeks until I learned how to drive a manual using dad's truck.
Soon thereafter, the stock stereo was pulled out and replaced with an Alpine cassette player with a remote mounted Sony 6 disk CD changer, Kenwood speakers up front and Pioneer speakers in the rear. I was more interested in keeping a stock appearance so the stereo is not one of those "booming" stereo systems. Sheepskin seat covers were installed to protect the cloth seats. A bra was added to the front end to save it from bugs and other road debris. In addition, I purchased some OEM 16" Hi Tech rims from Dave Gershon and replaced the 15" rims ( yes I still have them tucked away) and upgraded to 50/245 series Goodyear GSC. The muffler was upgraded to a Flowmaster cat back system that gives the car a nice loud throaty sound.
The car currently has about 68.000 miles on the odometer. However, some things need repairing such as replacing the battery cable, the center console that has buckled some from the heat, and finally the headliner which recently startled separating in some sections. I intend to keep the car in stock condition, so, no performance parts will be added. The car continues to draw stares and comments from the public and some non enthusiasts ask me if it is a new car. When I tell them it is an '85 with original paint, etc, they are surprised. She is not a speed demon compared to my '93 TA, but I still get a huge grin on my face when I put her on the road. She is a keeper.
Submitted by James Prinzivalli, TACA Webmaster.

Trans A Rama XIII, 2001
Trans-A-Rama 13, a three-day event that took place July 13th -15th 2001, was in this writer's opinion a huge success! It was a chance for all of us to get together with friends we haven't seen in a while, and to make new friends! It was a chance to admire some very beautiful firebirds, and learn about cars we might not have ever seen.
Friday started off with registration at the Holiday Inn in Sacramento, followed by a cruise-in at Auburn, Ca. We tried to caravan to the cruise in, but trying to keep 30 firebirds together in a line during rush hour traffic proved an almost impossible task. We met up with the rest of the people in Newcastle, and then proceeded to finish the journey to Auburn. Once we arrived and got parked, it was time to check out the mile and a half of cars lined up on one of Auburn's streets, and to venture our way through the crowds. The Cross Roads Pontiac Sponsored trophy went to Gregg Laythrop and his beautiful 1968 Green convertible Firebird from Washington. Gregg also won the longest distance trophy.
Saturday began with the car show at Reliable Pontiac. The day's weather turned out to be pretty mild compared to what it could have been. We had pretty close to 70 cars for this event. Our club president Ted Klein had arranged a very nice lunch. Reliable Pontiac's choice for best of show went to Rick Stephani, for his 1968 red convertible firebird. A club participation trophy went to the Capital City Firebirds. I would like to send huge thanks out to the Capital City Mopar club for providing the judges for Saturdays car show.
A wonderful dinner was provided at the Holiday Inn, and we also had a special guest speaker, Reg Harris from SLP, who gave us a very interesting overview of SLP and had a very fun quiz about the firebird, SLP, and Pontiac. The dinner consisted of a Creole buffet, and there was a no-host bar.
I can't give a first hand report of the autocross on Sunday, as an overheated alternator, and a bad battery left me trying to get my car running again. Although the fastest men's time goes to Bob Benson and his blue 1970 Trans Am with a time of 48.978, and the fastest women's time was achieved by Julie Bergman and her black 1997 Trans Am with a time of 55.376.
Thank you to all of you that came out and participated, and a special thank you to everyone in the Trans Am Club whose hard work made this event possible. I look forward to seeing you all again!
Ted Bechtel

For Sale
Carbon Fiber Dash Kit $150.00
Bra and Mirror Bras $65.00
Hypertech Computer Reprogrammer $100.00
16" tires and rims original (not chrome) $350.00
Dual stripes with eagles hood, roof, and Decklid $150.00
Contact Mario at H(408) 745-0600 daytime (510) 796-8322 evenings

All parts are for a 1999 T/A

Announcement
ATTENTION ALL CLUB MEMBERS; During club meetings at Reliable Pontiac Cadillac, all children must have an adult escort at all times!

AUGUST 2001, Volume 4, Issue 8

General Meeting - August 13m 2001
The meeting was called to order by President Ted Klein at 7:12pm.
Guests for the evening were: Dennis & Teri Trimble. They have a Metallic Blue 2001 Trans Am, 6 speed. (Note: Teri found out about our Club through the Web Site.) Gregg Crandell has a Blue 1971 Trans Am, a red 1974 Super Duty Trans Am and a White 20001 Trans Am. (Sounds like a couple of guys that are already in the Club, doesn't it?) Well we have another one. Our newest members are Dennis & Teri and Gregg. All three joined this evening.
Frank Brown made a motion to accept the minutes as printed in the Trans Script, seconded by Tim Singleton and approved.
Treasurer's report will be found elsewhere in this Trans Script.
Correspondence:
We received a very nice letter from Sue Murphy, she joined the Club in April. She sent an article on the "Extinction ahead for Camaro, Firebird?" She said it was an old article but thought we might be interested. She sent us a couple of pictures of her car - one with a light dusting of snow and one that was completely covered.
Old Business:
Dave Gershon passed around some literature on the 2002 Firehawk: "It doesn't get any better". (So it says.)
Dave then gave us the latest on Trans A Rama. We had 71 entries submitted.
Auburn Run:
On Friday night there was a caravan of 35 cars leaving the Holiday Inn for Auburn with a stop at New Castle to pick up 10 more. We have a Club member by the name of Mark Boyle who is a CHP officer . When the caravan left the hotel Mark happened on a motorcycle officer giving a ticket to someone. Mark told the officer he would hold the "ticket recipient" if he would escort our cars onto the freeway. The police officer did what was asked of him, and held up traffic so that our cars could get on the freeway in a group. Nice guy huh? He needs a thank you card.
Dave had arrived in Auburn at 4:30pm and the place was already very busy. He was trying to figure out a way to set his car to save 44 other spots. The room was found and all of the Trans A Rama people were able to park together. The general manager of the Pontiac dealership in Auburn picked a 1968 green firebird convertible from Washington as best of show.
Saturday Car Show:
Sixty-Five cars were entered in the car show at Reliable. Uncle Roy's grilled chicken sandwiches and hot dogs went over quite well. We had a bunch of neat raffle prizes that were given away. Our sponsors and some the Club had purchased had donated most of them. The biggie for the day was a set of BF Goodrich tires. This was the big moment of the day. Ray Howe, one of our Club members won the tires.
Saturday Evening Dinner:
We had a very nice sit-down dinner and very delicious deserts. After dinner we gave away a few more raffle prizes.
Reg Harris of S.L.P. had a video for us to watch. Reg gave us a very informal talk about his job and his background with the Firebirds and Trans Ams. We had a question and answer time and a lot of information came forth. Reg also had questions for the audience to see how much we knew regarding our cars. The rest of the raffle prizes were given away. Then the big one, the SLP tires!! The tires were won by Rick Stafani from Reno. Rick says his club members who wins anything when participating in an event, must pay 'X' amount of money into their kitty. We all wondered how much those tires was going to cost him.
Sunday Auto Cross:
Nineteen drivers attended the auto cross on Sunday. There were several different types of cars driven. There was a '69 Firebird driven by both husband and wife all the way up to a 2001. Everyone seemed to have a good time, even those that went sideways. No spin offs this year.
Afterwards the group went over to the Metro pizza place. They weren't quite ready for them but it all worked out okay. Seems we had made reservations for 30 and it turned out to be 40. Pizza was going down faster than it was being baked.
Dave took the event shirt design and had prints made and framed. He presented them to those who were in on the planning of the event and put in the extra time and effort to see that it all went well. He gave one to J.J. Apilado for arranging for the trophies and seeing to it that they were in there proper places at the dinner Saturday night. C.C. Copage attended every meeting. Every chance that came her way she was passing out flyers for Trans A Rama and Club membership information. Ted Bechtel for keeping Trans A Rama up front in the Trans Script. Dante and Leo for all their time spent on arranging the car show. There will be four sponsor trophies handed out. Reliable Pontiac for purchasing the trophies and letting us use their site for the car show. BF Goodrich for the set of tires. They have supported us for a good many years. Reg Harris, of SLP, also for a set of tires and a very interesting and fun filled talk at the dinner.
Dave also had one for our President, Ted Klein for all the support and help in putting the car show together. Mostly for not putting his bondoed car in the show. He gave one to J.O. and Irene Raff for taking care of purchasing and doing the raffles at both the car show and dinner. Especially to J.O. for tracking all the money transactions. Jim Prinzivalli also received a picture of his beautiful shirt design. Jim worked hard and long on this task. It was all done by hand, design over design. Gary & Gayle also received an award, Gary for taking care of the hotel accommodations and Gayle for doing such an outstanding job with registration. Arlyn Steenburgen did a great job arranging the car show. He was in charge of making sure the cars were all checked and he really had to do some running around. The cars were displayed very nicely.
These awards were presented by Dave Gershon at his own expense. Thank you so very much Dave!!
In the absence of Gary Vollstedt, Ted Bechtel filled us in on the last Kragen car show. Gary and Gayle are out of town. Last month Kragen asked our Club to sponsor an award for this event. It was for the club participation trophy. Guess what?? We sponsored and we won!!. It was sitting on the table this evening and it was very nice. Ted said Gary would like to get a name plate done with all the names of our participants that attended the show and have it mounted on the trophy. While Ted was on the subject of Kragen - there will be another car show this Friday, August 17th, same time same place.
The final 'drag nite' for the summer has come and gone. We had about 16 cars turn out for the last chance. Gregg Crandell was the big winner.
New Business:
Frank Brown recommended we change our meeting night back to the first Monday of the month. There were two reasons why we switched to the second Monday. One was so we wouldn't interfere with the new club that was being formed. We had members that really wanted to belong to both clubs. The other club is focused mostly on rally's and such, while ours tends to be more related to family activities and runs that our kids can sometimes go on and have fun too. The other reason for meeting on the second Monday of the month is the Monday holidays. We don't have to worry about President's Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day. If we were to go back to the first Monday we would still have to move to the second Monday during those months.
The run for this month was suppose to be to Ironstone Winery. However, they are not doing the Civil War production this year and all it would have been is just to the winery and we've all been there. A run to Columbia was discussed also an all model year car show in Murphy's. Nothing was decided so Ted said he would get on the phone and see if there was something that the Club might want to do.
Rick Stefani let us know that the POCI will be having a car show in Sparks, Nevada. It will be held in the Victorian Square on October 5th. This is a very nice area along the front of the Nugget Hotel and Casino. This is supposed to be pre '75 cars. But it would be a very nice run and Club participation is encouraged. The Reno Club has supported Trans A Rama over the years and invited us to come up.
Thunder Hill was mentioned for a run in conjunction with another club. By the time you pay for the track and all the needed options such as an ambulance standing by in case of an accident, the cost would run from $1,500 to $1,800 a day.
Beverley's, a craft store, at Marconi and Fair Oaks Blvd. in Carmichael, will be having a car display on Saturday, August 25th. There are several clubs that participate in this show. There are many raffle items, discounts and a sidewalk sale.
The 4th annual Pontiac versus Mopar Night at the drags will be on August 22.
Ted will be contacting the officers for a board meeting sometime this month. Anyone that is interested can attend this meeting.
Woodie's restaurant was mentioned for a meeting place for next year but they do not have a meeting room. Ted would like us to have a 'night out' there soon just for some exposure. Have a family get together and pass out information about our Club and how to join if interested. Someone needs to go and make arrangements for a night that we can use. Ted suggested Friday, August 31st. Ted will check with Woodie's and see if that is feasibly and will call everyone.
Raffle brought in $34.00.
With no further business meeting was closed at 8:48pm.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary

The Starting Line
As we approach the end of the year, and near elections for next years officers, I would just like to remind everyone, that this club is only as good as what the club members are willing to put into it. Although the year started off very rough, and we weren't certain what the future held in store, I think our club officers did a wonderful job keeping the club going and trying to make it fun for everyone! We are now stronger in membership, than I can remember the club being!
JJ Apilado has already started approaching people about being leaders for next year, but if you know someone who you think would do a good job as a club officer please feel free to nominate them when the time comes! Also if you feel you can do the job, you don't need someone to nominate you, just speak up and say that you would like to try!
During the month of May the company I had been working for, decided that due to economic circumstances they could no longer afford to keep all the employees, so I along with six hundred other people got layed-off. The last four months have not been very pleasant for me, and I had seriously considered making this, my last year in the club. I have enjoyed doing the newsletter this year, and hope all of you have liked the changes I have made to it! I therefore have decided that I will stay in the club next year and continue to offer my services as newsletter editor. Depending on what kind of work I find in the next couple of months, and what my schedule is, will determine what else I volunteer for.
I would like to thank Ted Klein, and the rest of the Trans Am Club Officers, and their families for all the hard work they put into this year, to make it fun for everyone! We have had some great events this year, The Valentines Brunch at "The Point", The Progressive Dinner, the trip to Great America, and the Trans-a-rama just to name a few! The rest of the year looks to be just as enjoyable, with the Halloween Party, the Hwy 36/Eureka Run, the Jackson Casino run, and of course the Christmas dinner.
The more people that participate in these events, the more fun they will be! The last few events we have had have been disappointing, as we have only had a handful of club members show up! We need your participation, to make these events work! Well, that's enough complaining for this newsletter, let me just close by saying I have enjoyed getting to know all of you this year, and am now looking forward to next year!
Have fun everyone, Ted Bechtel

Beverly's Craft Car Show
Beverly's Craft Car Show was scheduled for Saturday, August 25th. When I arrived at the parking lot, at the corner of Fair Oaks and Marconi, Dave Gershon was already there unloading his 20th Anniversary T/A. I parked next to Dave, and found out that Ted Klein had dropped off his car earlier that morning, in a different part of the parking lot.
We had a prime location, right behind the Papa Murphy's Pizza stand, and the Merlino's Frozen Treat stand. This proved to be beneficial as it was a rather warm day, and everyone seemed to migrate towards our direction.
Shortly after 11:00 Dave left to go get Ted's keys to move his car to where we were. While he was gone, and I was minding the store, a beautiful red 1978 pulled into the car show, drove by me and pulled out of the parking lot and roared off down Fair Oaks. After about 15 minutes he returned and parked next to me, and introduced himself as Dale from the Grass Valley area. He had seen our web-site and decided to come and check us out. He is really into racing, and was upset when he found out he had just missed Pontiac versus Mopar night. We talked about the club for a little while and he is interested in joining. About this time Dave is pulling around in Ted's racecar, and annoying the little old ladies going into Beverly's Craft Store. Dave and Dale talked for a while about their cars and the club. Dale left after a short time as he had a long drive back to his home.
When Ted Klein arrived, around 2:00 the show was starting to wind down. We continued to hang around, and were amazed when a couple of Mormon Kids took an interest in Ted's racecar. It seems that the father of one of the boys used to race a Camaro, and the boys really got a kick out of Ted's car. After taking a couple of pictures they were on their way.
By 3:30 I decided it was time for me to head home. The next day I found out that Ted had stayed until 4:30 and Dave closed the show out.
This was a fun show, and although it was small, it was well organized. Jan, the woman who put the show together really did a wonderful job! She took time to entertain children, and made sure there were plenty of raffle prizes to go around. My hat goes off to this wonderful woman and all the hard work she did!
Ted Bechtel

Kragens Car Show
The turn-out for the August 17th Kragens Car show was very weak. We only had three cars and four club members show up. Frank Brown was the first to arrive with his 1986 convertible T/A. Frank had been there about an hour when I showed up at 5:00. While Frank and I were talking I saw my friend Wendy drive into the parking lot. Wendy and I went and had dinner at the fish and chips place down the street. When we got back,. CC Coppage, had arrived and was talking to Frank.
It wasn't long before Tim Singleton showed up for the show. Tim proved invaluable, as he kept chasing down other Firebird owners, to give them fliers for our club. We all stayed until the end of the show, but left soon after.
We have two Kragens Car Shows left for this year. The first is September 21st, and the second will be October 19th. It would be very nice if we could have a big turn out for these last two shows, to show Smitty and the Kragens employees how much we appreciate the chance to show our cars! I hope to see all of you there!
Ted Bechtel

Pontiac VS. Mopar Wednesday Night Drags - August 22, 2001
by Dave Gershon
This year's "run what ya brung" contest was the 4th annual Pontiac VS. Mopar. This years contest was the largest yet with over 40 total cars. In the past only the Trans Am Club of America, Golden State Chapter was involved with the Capital City Mopar club and a few independents. But the Sacramento GTO club as well as the Capital City Firebirds provided this year with additional representation.
Our club had 18 members in attendance including 6 who did not race. The usual numbers were thrown up, Ted Bechtel ran a 16.1, Tim O'neill ran a 13.5 in his turbo V6 20th Trans Am, Dave Karnes ran a 14.2, Arlyn ran a 13.7, Mark Boyle ran 13's, J.J. ran a personal best with his '72 T/A at 13.8 and I ran 13.0 in my "vintage" 20th Trans Am.
The first round of racing featured Ted Klein in his 1969 Gold Bird racing Bill Pharr of the Capital City Mopars in his Bright Green 70 Barracuda. Some of you might know Bill, he and his wife were at Trans-a-rama this year with their 1994 25th Anniversary Trans Am (Display Only). He was also one of the guest Judges for the Saturday car show at Reliable Pontiac. This race was one Club President against another. The loser would have to join the other's Club. Ted came through and we now have a new member joining our club. I, of course, wasted no time and proceeded to welcome Bill to the club and had a entry form available for him to fill out.
The rest of the night was very uneventful; all of us "once in a while" drag racers were eliminated in the first two rounds. Ted ran a 12.18 and broke out. He claims it is his new exhaust system gave him more horsepower, I believe it was driver error... Once again he has cemented his "Top Gun" award for 2001.
The final race came down to two independent racers, Bill Benjamin in his 1969 full race Cuda and Duane Cleveland in his 2001 WS6 Trans Am. Both guys had great reaction times and ran just about there dial-ins. After the dust settled, Bill Benjamin won and the Mopars took the first place trophy for the third straight year. The good news is we could see more of Duane Cleveland. He may join our club in the near future.

Columbia Run
Sunday, August 26th was scheduled to be the Columbia Run. I arrived first at the K-mart parking lot, after having stopped off at Krispy Kreme, and picking up two dozen donuts. Tim Oneill came roaring into the parking lot next, followed by Dave Gershon, and then came Ted Klein. We waited in the parking lot until 9:00 to see if anyone else would show up. No one else showed up so it was decided that the run would be canceled, as we also had other things we could be doing that day!
Ted Klein, Tim and Dave headed off, to look at Ted's car collection, and I headed home to start what would be a two week endevour in finding out what was causing the miss in my car that had developed during a run at Sacramento Raceway!

For Sale
Carbon Fiber Dash Kit $150.00
Bra and Mirror Bras $65.00
Hypertech Computer $100.00 Reprogrammer
16" tires and rims $350.00 original (not chrome)
Hood, roof, and Decklid, Dual stripes with eagles $150.00
Contact Mario at (408) 745-0600 daytime or (510) 796-8322 evenings
All parts are off of a 1999 T/A

SEPTEMBER 2001, Volume 4, Issue 9

General Meeting - September 10th
The meeting was called to order by President Ted Klein at 7:11pm at Reliable Pontiac.
Duane Cleveland arrived as a guest and left as a new member. Duane lives in Diamond Springs and has a 2001 white Trans Am. Welcome to our Club Duane. New members from last month, Dennis and Terry Trimble, were also in attendance.
The minutes were approved as corrected and printed in the News Letter.
Old Business:
Mopar night at the race way:
Our new member Duane took 2nd place. He lost on the last few feet.
Beverley's Crafts car show:
Only three cars were present. This was held on the same weekend of the Good Guy's show in Pleasanton and they pull thousands of cars.
Kragen Car Show:
Here again it was a very small considering what we have had in the past. Only three cars again. There are still two Kragan shows left for us to redeem ourselves. One is September 21st and October 19th. Let's make these great ones for our Club's participation.
A Halloween party has been discussed in past meetings. Arlyn and Cindy Steenbergen have offered to host this fun event for us. It will be held on Saturday, October 27th. Ted will give Arlyn a call and see if it is still okay with them. It is a family night - bring the kids - come in costume.
We still haven't received a final word on our bill from the Holiday Inn. Per J.O. it seems the hotel billed our Club for the rooms that were used by the participants to Trans A Rama. They have said this was an error on their part and it will be straightened out and we would be advised. This has been going on for over a month. J.O. has asked for a written statement.
Dave Gershon asked if anyone in the room had won anything from SLP. It seems that the prizes, including the tires, have been hard to come by. Dave did not have a list of the winners and is trying to find out names so he can work on getting the prizes issued.
New Business:
A Board meeting was held on August 27th at Dave Gershon's home. One of the things discussed and acted upon was a new banner for our Club. The old one has lasted close to twenty years and is pretty well worn. It will be 3'x 10', light in color with our Club logo on it. It will also have the name Reliable Pontiac on it as our major sponsor. Bruce Westrup, owner of Reliable Pontiac, has offered to buy it for us. Another great big "THANK YOU" TO Bruce.
Activities:
Gary gave us information on Jimboy's Tacos who is having an oldies night in Loomis. This is for cars '72 and older. The gentleman that puts it on is a member of the Mopar Club and Ted will call him to see if we come as a Club can we participate. Most of the time they say yes. We'll see.
Scheduled for September is the Kragen Car Show, Douglas and Harding in Roseville on September 21st at 5pm. Be there early and get a good parking spot.
Gary has found out that the cost for the Shasta Dinner Train is $100 each plus room, board, gas, etc. Soooooo -- In itÕs place - On September 23rd we will be going up to Jamestown on highway 49 north of Coloma, and ride their train. The cost to ride is $6 for adults and $3 for kids 3 to 12, under 3 is free. We can also have the round house tour for $2 for adults and $1 for kids. They have a big park in town and places to eat. Meet at K-Mart on Sunrise and Coloma at 8am and leave at 8:30am. (Somebody bring the Crispy Creams).
Christmas Party:
Gayle will need a head count for the party at our October meeting. It will be held at Dingus McGee's in Colfax on December the 8th. If it should snow we can cancel with no penalty.
Gary is still pushing "Highway 36". He loves to get us on that road that curves all the way to the coast. It is an over nighter.
We are still discussing a time and place for next year's meetings. We would like to find a place with a private room where we can eat. The other option is to keep meeting at Reliable and go eat after the meeting. One place to meet would be Denny's on Sunrise and Douglas. They have a very large room completely separate from the dinning area. This is a Club decision so if anyone has other suggestions please let us know. Moving our meeting back to the first Monday of the month was mentioned along with the first or second Tuesday of the month.
Dave brought up the Christmas Parade in Roseville. Do we or don't we want to participate? It's quite a long parade and cars and brakes really heat up because it moves so slowly. Another thing that Gayle mentioned was doing something with a charity. Dave would like to talk to Dave Boyle, our CHP Club member, and see if he has some charity we can help out with. We do the Receiving Home but would like to do something for Christmas.
REMEMBER:
October is the month for nominations of officers for the year 2002. So be thinking about who you would like to see as your officers. If you would like to run for an office don't be shy about nominating yourself. After the October meeting the secretary will make up the ballots and mail them to each member of the Club. They must be mailed within seven days. The ballot will contain a self addressed and stamped envelope to be returned to the Club Completed ballots must be mailed to the Club post office box. They must arrive there by meeting day which is November 12th. The ballots are picked up and delivered to the President at the meeting unopened. The President will appoint a committee of three to open and count the ballots. When the count is completed the results will be given to the President, who in turn, will announce the results. Ballots must be mailed. No ballots will be accepted at the meeting.
With no further business, Frank Brown motioned to close and J.J. Apilado seconded. Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm
Respectfully submitted - Irene Raff, Secretary

The Starting Line
September was a month that I don't think any of us will forget for the rest of our lives! If December 7th was a day that will live in infamy, I am curious to see how history will remember September 11th. Although the attack on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, in my opinion was unforgivable, and I look forward to the day when the people responsible are brought to justice, I prefer to think of this day as the day that reunited America!
From a very young age I was raised to believe that our country was something special, and should be protected at all costs! But as I grew older and began to understand how corrupt individuals in our government were becoming, and how apothetic the people were, because of the feeling that one person couldn't make a difference, it had began to dishearten me.
Please don't get me wrong, I believe that the vast majority of our country are kind and decent people, It is just that it takes money to get elected, and when a person runs for office, he ends up owing the special interest group that aided him. So no longer is that person looking out for the best interests of the people! I was beginning to believe, that the fourth of July was just an excuse for people to take a day off from work. I think now The United States' Birthday will hold a more personal meaning for all of us, and it makes me especially proud to see everyone wanting to fly the flag!
The people I am most impressed by and always have been, are the firefighters and peace officers of this wonderful country! These brave people rush into dangerous situations, giving no thought to themselves, to save others! In my opinion these are the true heroes of this world, deserving of much more than they receive now! These are God's special people! And to those that question how can God let this happen? God can't stop us from killing one another, but he can perform miracles such as a squad of firefighters and an elderly woman that were saved because they happened to stop in the one place that they were protected, when the woman couldn't go any further.
If the terrorists goals were to make us shrink away in fear, I am glad that the opposite is happening! No longer is it a concern which political party is right, or people are only looking out only for themselves! Seeing people lined up to give blood, children out doing car washes to raise money, celebrities staging concerts to raise money and boost peoples spirits, makes me proud to say, yes, I am an American!
Until next month, Ted "Theo" Bechtel

Kragen Auto Show
September 21st , the second to the last Kragens car show, and the turn out was much better. Even though this event was being held in the shadow of the September 11th tragedy, and the mood was rather somber, it was good to get around friends again. I don't know how many of you spent the two weeks prior to the Kragens car show, but if you were like me, you were glued to your television set!
I was the first to arrive, and set up in our usual spot. Gary Vollstedt, came in right behind me. We talked a little while about the tragedy, and some other things. I would like to apologize to the members of the Capital City Firebirds, who took offense to the comments made in the minutes of the August newsletter. In the future I will read the articles more closely.
I must also apologize for having the wrong street as the location of Kragens Car Show. It would seem I sent one of our club members on a wild goose chase trying to find the right Kragens. Although there is only one show left this year, the street is now correct in the newsletter.
One of the special events that took place at this show was a candle light vigil, to remember those people that lost their lives in the tragedy of September 11th. Thank you Smitty, for this tribute to real American heroes!
At this show we had our usual members, plus a few unexpected bonuses. Dennis and Terry Trimble showed up, along with Dave Karnes. Then towards the end of the night we had a surprise visit from Troy Cardosa. Thanks to all who came out!
Our final Kragens show for the year is October 19th. I personally would like to see as many of our club members show up for this, as a way to say thank you to Smitty and his co-workers at Kragens who have made these events so enjoyable for us! Please everyone try to attend. The time is 5:00pm-9:00pm but please come even if you are late!
Ted Bechtel

Chevy Vesus Ford
I borrowed my wife's Geo Metro last night. One liter of raw power, 3 cylinders of asphalt-tearing terror on 13 inch rims. It's stock all right, nothing done to it, but it pushes barely 2000 pounds of Metro around with authority. I'm always catching mopeds and 18-wheelers by surprise!
I was headed back from Baskin Robbins with my manly triple-latte cappuccino blast ("No cinnamon, ma' am I take mine BLACK"), when I stopped at a streetlight. As the Metro throbbed its throaty idle around me, I sipped my bold beverage and wiped the white froth from my stiff upper lip. I was minding my own business, but then I heard a rev from the next lane. I turned, made eye contact, then let my eyes trace over to the competition...Ford Festiva - A late model. This could be trouble!
Low profile tires, curb feelers, and school bus-yellow paint. Yep, a hot rod for sure. The howl of his motor snapped my reverie, and I looked back into the driver's eyes, nodded, then blipped my own throttle. As I tugged on my driving gloves and slipped on my sunglasses (gotta look cool to be fast, and I am damn cool, hence...), the night was split with the sound of seven screaming cylinders!
Then the light turned.... I almost had him out of the hole, my three pounding cylinders thrusting me at least a millimeter back in my seat, as smoke poured from my right front tire....my unlimited slip differential was letting me down! I saw in the corner of my eyes, a yellow snout gaining, and I heard the roar of his four cylinders. He slung by me, right front wheel shuddering against the pavement, and he flashed me a smile as his .7 extra liters of motor stretched its legs. I kept my foot gamely in it, though, waiting for the CHECK ENGINE light to blink on in the one-gauge (no tachometer here) instrument panel. I saw a glimpse of chrome under his bumper, and knew the ugly truth... He was running a custom exhaust. Probably a 2-into-1 dual exhaust...maybe even cutouts! DAMN his hot rod soul! The old lady passing us on the crosswalk cast a dirty look in our boy-racer direction!
Yet still I persisted, with my three pumping pistons singing a heady high-pitched song wound fully out. Though only a few handful of seconds had passed, we were nearing the cross walk at the other side of the intersection, and I heard the note of his engine change as he made his shift into second, and I saw his grin in his rearview mirror fade as he missed the shift! I rocketed by him, shifting, and nursed the clutch gently in to keep from bogging, keeping my motor spinning hot and pulling me ahead, now trailing a cloud of stinking clutch smoke. Not ready to give up so easily, he left his foot in it, revving, and I heard one wheel almost chirp as he finally found second and dropped the clutch. We careened over the crosswalk, now going at least 15 miles per hour! A bicyclist passed us, but intent on the race we were, neither of us batted an eye.
He pulled slowly abreast of me, and neck and neck, we made the shift to third, the scream of motors deafening all pedestrians within a five-foot radius. He nosed ahead as we passed 30 miles per hour, then eased in front of me, taunting, as we shifted into fourth. I was staring at the dual 6" chrome tips of his exhaust, snarling, my cappuccino forgotten, as he lifted a little to take the next corner.
I saw my opportunity, and counting on the innate agility of my trusty steed, I pulled wide into the number two lane, and kept my foot buried in carpet. Slowly, I inched around him, feeling my Metro roll slowly to the left as I came abreast in the midst of this gradual sweeping turn. I felt the Geo ease onto its suspension stops, and felt the right rear wheel slowly leave the ground- no matter, though, because my drive wheels, up front, were pulling me through the corner, and around the Festiva.
The Ford driver beat his wheel in rage as my wife's car eased past him on the outside, my P165/54R13's screaming in protest, as we raced to the next light. We coasted down, neck and neck, to the red light. I tightened my driving gloves, ready for another round, when this WIMP in the next car meekly flipped his turn signal and made a right. Chevy (Suzuki) superiority reigns!!!
I drove off sipping my masculine drink, awash in my sheer virility, looking for other unwitting targets.... Perhaps a Yugo, or maybe even a Volkswagen Van!
Contributed by, Dave Gershon

How Important Is One Vote
In 1645, One vote gave Oliver Cromwell control of England.
In 1649, One vote caused Charles I of England to be executed.
In 1776, One vote gave America the English Language instead of German.
In 1845, One vote brought Texas into the Union.
In 1868, One vote saved President Andrew Johnson from Impeachment.
In 1875, One vote changed France from a monarchy to a republic.
In 1876, One vote gave Rutherford B. Hayes the Presidency.
In 1923, One vote gave Adolph Hitler leadership of the Nazi Party.
In 1941, One vote saved Selective Service-just weeks before Pearl harbor was attacked.

Jamestown
This trip started off with me picking up CC at her house and then meeting the other club members at the K-mart parking lot at Sunrise Avenue and Highway 50. CC and I were the first to arrive followed closely by Gary Gayle and their kids. The rest of the group was rounded out by Ted Klein, his wife Miren, and their two boys (Alex and Matthew), Dave Gershon, Paula his wife, and their two children (Natalie and Paul).
The drive up was pretty uneventful. There were a couple of unplanned bathroom breaks, but that is pretty much expected when traveling with children. We arrived at the Jamestown train station just a few minutes before 11:00. It was just enough time for the club members to buy their train tickets, and get on board. Okay, well they did hold the train a few minutes so that we could all ride together.
The train ride was shorter than I had expected, but it was still quite relaxing! After arriving back at the train station, the next item on the agenda was the roundhouse tour. While the younger children got bored on this part of the trip, as they were not allowed to touch anything, it was quite informative for the adults. The shear size of these massive machines is just incredible.
Now it was time for lunch, and a quick drive down the street brought us to Jimtown Frosty. I think we were all thankful that this drive-in had a dining room, as it seemed the flies wanted the food as much as we did! Gary made the suggestion that since Georgetown was only a short drive away, we could make up last months trip. But by this time both the children and the adults were starting to get tired, so we decided to just head home.
On the way home, I got a lesson why Gary's handle is the invisible man, and probably made CC never want to ride with me again! I was following Gary into a hair pin turn, holding an ice-tea in one hand and steering with the other, when the back end of the car decided it was tired of always following and decided to try and lead. Luckily, there was no-one that close to me and no-one coming in the other direction. Sorry CC!
We stopped at a service station in Jackson for a bathroom break, and there was some discussion on what October's event will be. If enough people aren't interested in the overnight highway 36 trip, then the decision will be made at the October meeting on what to do. Apple Hill was one of the suggestions. The rest of the drive home went off without any problems, or cars trying to drive backwards!
See you all next month, Ted Bechtel

Woodys' Cruise-In
Our first trip to Woodys' Restaurant on Watt Avenue in Sacramento, in my opinion was a big success! By the end of the night, around 15 of our club members had stopped by! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to this event. We really impressed the management of Woody's with our turn out!
By the time I arrived at 6:00 several of our club members had already been there. Ted Klein was outside greeting our club members as they pulled up. Due to a miscommunication with the management of Woody's the area we were supposed to have reserved was not ready for us, but it was only a short wait while a group finished up their dinner.
I think everyone had a pretty good time getting a chance to visit with the other club members, and checking out the food at Woody's! That is except for Frank Brown, who apparently wanted more food for his money, and went to Home Town Buffet. (Just kidding Frank!)
I hope everyone had as good a time as I did, and if you would like more of these type of events, let the club officers know!
Ted Bechtel

OCTOBER 2001, Volume 4, Issue 10

General Meeting - October 8th, 2001
The meeting was called to order by President Ted Klein at 7:13pm.
Our guests for the evening were: Mario Rosebud, a long time member of our Trans Am Club who has been gone for awhile. Mario drives an orange1981 Trans Am. We would like to see Mario back in the Club; we miss him and Barbara. Wayne Stevens and wife Cindy. They have 1988 black Trans Am limited edition. Also in attendance was Jason Savage. He drives a black 1973 Formula that seemed to belong to Colleen Moore who was also present. Greg Edmondson says he built a model of a Trans Am once. It’s never to late to buy one Greg.
Motion was made to accept the minutes as printed in the Trans Script - Approved.
The Treasurer’s report will be found elsewhere in this Trans Script.
J.O. did receive a letter from the Holiday Inn regarding our bill from Trans A Rama. According to them the rooms people stayed in were to be billed to the Club. "Not so," says the Treasurer. The letter received says our bill is paid in full and they will take care of the other charges. However, while up in Sparks at a function, attended by the Reno Club, Ted talked to three couples who stayed at the hotel and they all said they had paid for their own rooms.
Old Business:
The Kragen Car Show was held on September 21. We had seven cars – a few less than normal but there is one more show. Terry and Dennis Trimble wound up in the wrong car club but finally learned of the error and moved to the very best Trans Am Club in town. Terry said they just moved in with the other TA’s and it happened to be with the wrong group.
The Jamestown Train run, that took the place of the very expensive Shasta run was held on Sunday September the 23rd. They had a movie showing about the old west. The "Old Number 3" engine that is there was used in several western movies. It was also used in the movie "Back to the Future III". However it was pretty much torn down for refurbishing. Gary said he didn’t know how many cars were behind him but there was a long line. (J.O. said he didn’t know because they couldn’t catch up.) It turned out there was two Trans AM’s and two many vans. Ted said he could have kept up with Gary on the turns but his wife wouldn’t let him. Everyone agreed that the train was much fun and also the roundhouse.
The trip to Woodies was a pretty good turn out. Fifteen cars turned up and were there from 6pm to 9pm. There was some confusion with the parking at first but that was taken care of. Ted had forgotten to leave his phone number with the manager when he made the reservations and there was no way to get in touch with him. But as cars left the area our cars were moved in to position and in about an hour they were all in line. The food was good and it was a fun time to just sit and visit. At 7pm they came out and handed out $5 off coupons for food but most everyone had eaten by then. Next Time! The night manager was very impressed with our cars.
The Club also attended the P.O.C.I. car show in Sparks, Nevada. This was held in the Victorian Square in front of the Nugget Casino. It was open to cars 1975 and earlier but the Reno club made us a part of their club for the day so it worked out okay. Ted took his 1969 up just to prove that it really ran. Dave took his 20^th Anniversary, and Theo took his 1979. Terry also made the run with her 2001. With these cars the four generations of Trans Ams were on display
It was nice to attend an event in Reno with their club. They have been supporting our Trans A Rama for quite some time. This gave our Club a chance to give back some support for them.
New Business:
There was a question about the drag races. On the Pontiac / Mopar night, is there anyway we can make reservations for the upcoming one? Some of our cars were locked out of the races because of all of the import cars. Ted said for those who want to race they really need to be at the race way early. They limit the amount of cars to around 250 to 300 and then they close the gate because of the curfew at 10pm. It is difficult to get that many cars down the track and through elimination’s in time. Ted said he would check with other clubs, such as Mopar, GTO and POCI, and see if they would be interested in renting the track for a Saturday afternoon if nothing is scheduled for the track. Cost of course will be a factor. It’s something to look into.
Dave Gershon spoke on the 2001 Trans A Rama and gave a run down on the events for our members who have joined since then. Although it is early it is still time to start thinking about Trans A Rama 2002, which will be number, fourteen. It will be in July again next year and here in Sacramento. This event takes a bunch of work from a lot of people. Dave would like to get some new faces involved this year.
Next year is suppose to be the last year for the Firebird so we would really like to make a big splash. Dave is trying to work out something with Pontiac. He has the name of the man who is the media director for the Firebird line and see if he can get some support. Bruce Westrup, owner of Reliable, wants us to come back with our car show next year. He was very happy to see the turn out. He even sold a car to one of our participants. Bruce has said he would be happy to do some advertising for us, which will be a big plus. Much more than we have been able to do on our own. This year we had 71 entries for the car show and Dave would like to see many more next year. He said when he starts talking larger numbers Bruce gets a little nervous. Bruce moves his inventory to the back of the lot and it’s quite a chore. Dave says he is looking to give up this position next year so wants someone who will work closely with him and take it over for 2003. Gary told him this was sorta like the Mafia – once you’re in you never get out. Dave knows what he is doing and does an excellent job. He may want to step down but I know he will never step out.
Activities:
Gary let us know that the final Kragen Car Show will be the 19^th of this month. Be there between 4:30 and 5pm for a good parking spot. We would like to have about 20 cars out there because it will be the last one for the summer. There is one free raffle ticket when you enter and you can buy other raffle tickets for the money portion that is given away. Bring chairs and a jacket because it will probably be cool.
The trip to Eureka on Highway 36 has been canceled. It was to be October 21^st, which is the day after the Kragen Show, and it would be a very early ‘leave time’ on Saturday morning. So – we are looking for a Sun Rise Mall show on October 21st. Also Apple Hill on Sunday October 28.
Apple Hill - Meet at the K-Mart on Sunrise Blvd. and Coloma just north of highway 50. Meet at 8am and leave at 8:30. We are going to try some different places this year.
The Kragen Car Show has been moved from the 19th to the 20th and seems to be an all day event. Be at Kragen’s at 7:30am for good parking. The Sunrise Mall show has been confirmed for October 21st. You will be advised by phone with information on the time, place and procedures for entering the Mall.
The Folsom Roadsters is having a "Christmas at the Lake Show" and entry fee is an unwrapped toy. This will be at Lake Natoma by Nimbus Dam on December 2nd, 10am to 2pm. We can look into this at our next meeting.
The Christmas party is set for December 8th. Gayle asked for head a count and what we would like to have for dinner. The choices were Sirloin Steak, Prime Rib or Chicken. Let her know at the next meeting.
There will be a Dyno Day in early February and reservations need to be made in early December. More on this at the next meeting.
Ted presented the Club with our new Club Banner. It was a gift from Bruce Westrup to replace our old worn out one. It is very nice. It is printed both front and back with the same lettering. Again, Thank You Bruce.
We received an invitation to participate in the Auto Rama at Cal Expo again this year. We got in at the very last moment last year with three cars and came out with a runner up prize of $100 for Club Entries. We have spaces guaranteed for six entries.

Nominations for 2002 officers are as follows:

President:.......................Ted Klein
                 .......................Gary Vollstedt (declined)
Vice President:..............Theo (Ted) Bechtel
                  ......................Troy Cardoso
                  ......................Mike Smith
Secretary:...................... Irene Raff
Treasurer:...................... J.O. Raff
Activities:...................... Tim Singleton
                  ...................... Arlyn Steenbergen

Ballots will be in the mail by October 15th, 2001.

The Club had some distressing news this week. Frank Brown’s wife Connie passed away on October 4th, 2001. Frank and Connie joined our Club in March of 1987 and have been very active. We’ve missed Connie the last year or so and are so sorry to hear the news. Connie’s funeral was on October 10^th. Please keep this family in your prayers. It is a very large family as Connie and Frank had eleven children. Frank and Connie’s daughter, Pat,is a club member, and their son, Leo was a member of our Club several years ago and rejoined us in February of this year.
With no further business the meeting was adjourned at 8:58pm.
Respectfully submitted, Irene Raff, Secretary.

Starting Line
October was a very busy month for the Trans Am Club. We began the month with officer nominations at the General Membership Meeting, then came the Kragens Car Show. The following day the club was at the Sunrise Mall. On the 27th of the month Leo Brown was kind enough to host the Halloween Party, and the day after that was the annual run to Apple Hill.
The Kragens Car Show turned out to be a great event. Although there was some confusion on what day it was supposed to be. The show got changed from a Friday night show, to an all day Saturday show. The entry fee was one new unwrapped toy, for Toys for Tots. We started arriving in the Kragens parking lot about 7:30 am and it ended around 5:00 pm. During the show we had 20 cars lined up in our usual spot and with a late showing by Tim Singleton we finished out the day with 21. Not to shabby.
The Sunrise Mall Car Show was another early event, with our people getting there around 6:30am to get there cars in before the mall opened. JJ Apilado was in charge of this event, and did a terrific job in getting everything arranged. We were allowed to set up a display table, to show different things our club has done. One of the participants in this show was a man named Mark Iriarte, who had come to the Kragens show and decided to join the club.
The next week were back to back events again. The first was an awesome Halloween Party at Leo Brown’s house. Leo really went all out to make this a lot of fun for everyone. He had movies and games for the kids, and food and drinks for the adults. He had also turned his garage into a dance floor, complete with disco ball.
The annual Apple Hill run was the next day, and we had I believe 15 people go on this run. As usual though, this was the "Other Car Run". Tim Singleton agreed to lead this run. I found out that Tim knew a back way in when I tried to go the usual way. Sorry everyone. Ted Klein and I got to practice trying to break into cars, when one of our club members locked their keys in the car. After a couple of stops in Apple Hill, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant called "Tortilla Flats" in Placerville. From there we all went our separate ways home.
As we go into the winter months, the events, are going to get less frequent, as we transition to next years officers, and start planning next years events. Please keep in mind the February Autorama, if you would like to have your car on display, talk to Dave Gershon.
Finally, I would just like to ask everyone to try and thank your officers and their families for the hard work they put into making this club fun for everyone! I personally think they all did a great job! Thank you!
Ted Bechtel.

You Will Be Missed
Connie Brown- Wife of Frank Brown, Mother to Leo, Pat, and nine other children, passed away on October 4, 2001. The Browns have 25 grandchildren and 1 great grandchild. Connie will be greatly missed as a member of our club, and our thoughts and prayers go out to the Browns in this time of great Sorrow!
The final Kragens Car Show on October 20th, proved just what a great club we have. By the end of the show, we had a total of twenty-one cars there. It was a very impressive display to see that many of our club members turn out, and I would like to personally thank everyone that helped us win the club participation trophy! You all are awesome!
The day started off early, 7:30 am. Our club ended up getting its usual spot, down by Harding Blvd. It was a good thing to as we took up the entire line and then some. I think everyone in attendance was very impressed by our clubs turnout.
When Ted Klein arrived, it looked as if he had added rocket launchers on to his ’69 Firebird, but it turned out to be the poles for our new club banner. For those of you who have not seen it yet, it is ten feet by three feet and bears our clubs logo. It is very impressive and looks great with our car displays. Although the wind gusts that we were experiencing that day had some people worried that it might fall over on their cars!
In addition to the club participation trophy, Charlene Thompson, won the long distance award, and Laura and Lonnie Kerley, with their, 1999 red convertible Firehawk,won best Firebird. The 50-50 drawing turned out to be a huge success, with over eleven hundred dollars being collected and twelve, fifty dollar prizes going out to participants.
Again, I would just like to say thank you to all of you that attended. It was a great day, and you all made it very enjoyable.
Ted Bechtel.

Kragegen Auto Car Show
The final Kragens Car Show on October 20th, proved just what a great club we have. By the end of the show we had a total of twenty-one cars there. It was a very impressive display to see that many of our club members turn out, and I would like to thank everyone that helped sin the club participation trophy! You all are awesome!
The day started off early, 7:30 a.m. Our club ended up getting its usual spot, down by Harding Blvd. It was a good thing to as we took the entire line and then some. I think everyone in attetndance was very impresrsed by our clubs turnout.
When Ted Klien arrived, it looked as if he had added rocket launchers unto his '69 Firebird, but it turned out to be the poles for our new club banner. For those of you who have not seen it yet, it is ten feet by three feet and bears our club's logo. It is very impressive and looks great with our car displays. Althought the wind gusts that we were experiencing that day had some people worried that it might fall over on their cars!
In addition to the club participation trophy, Charlene Thompson won the long distance award; Laura and Lonnie Kerley with their 1999 red Firehawk convertible, won best Firebird. The 50 - 50 drawing turned out to be a huge success, with over eleven hundred dollars being collected, and twelve, fifty dollar prrizes goiong out to participants.
Again I would like to say thank you to all of you that attended. It was a great day and you all made it very enjoyable.
Ted Bechtel.

Leo's Halloween Party
October 27th, the 2001 Halloween party at Leo Brown’s house, was a very fun time for everyone that attended. Leo really went all out on the decorations for his house. Between the dual foggers on his staircase, and the bride and groom skeleton figures at his door it presented a very entertaining entrance into his home. Most of us were astounded by his in wall television sets in the downstairs and upstairs rooms, and the television above the spa in the backyard.
Unfortunately Leo was still busy trying to set up for the party when people began to arrive, so he had not had a chance to get into costume. And speaking of costumes, there were definitely some unusual ones. Jim and Kathy Prinzivalli came as Gomez and Morticia Adams. Their children,(Geo and Gabby) came as Belle, and a shaman, C.C. came as a Joker, and Leo looked great as Death. Paula Gershon had a great witches costume, while Dave came dressed as a clown. Their children, Paul as a pirate and Natalie as a witch looked great. Ted Klein came as, now this is a stretch, a mechanic. His wife Miren, was very captivating as an enchantress, while their two boys, Alex and Matthew, were both very convincing Spidermans. Terry and Dennis Trimble also attended, and Dennis made a very convincing mailman. With them was their Granddaughter Sarah, who made a beautiful Snowwhite. Frank and Pat Brown came as doctors and Pat even went so far as to get a page. (Now that is getting into costume.) And then there was the sailor and the island girl, played by Gayle and Gary Vollstedt. Let me just say Gayle looked great in Gary’s old uniform, and Gary would have been very popular in Folsom Prison.
Leo had got enough food and drinks to feed a small army. It really was quite good. Hot dogs, chicken wings, corn on the cob, salad, lasagna, and chocolate cake, all I can say is Leo really knows how to feed his guests. My only question would be, did anyone take something from Leo’s extensive Coke collection by mistake? He even had a door painted like a coke can.
I would like to finish by saying thanks to Leo, for an excellent Halloween party. He put all of this together even though his mother had just recently passed away! I hope everyone makes an effort to thank him for an outstanding party.
Ted Bechtel.

November 2001, Volume 4, Issue 11

General Meeting - November 12 th, 2001
The meeting was called to order by Sgt. At Arms, Dante' Higgins. Presiding Officer, Ted Klein, President. (He had with him a very long white box with lots of writing on it. You will find out what it was later in these minutes).
Guests: Gregory Edmenson.
Motion was made by Gary Vollstedt, 2nd by J.J. Apilado to accept the minutes as printed in the Trans Script. Motion carried. Treasurer's report can be found in another section of this news letter.
Old Business:
Dyno Day - Dave had his Turbo TA, Tim his '88, Ted his '69, Terry her new 2001 TA, Greg also had his 2001 TA and Ray had his 25th Anniversary TA. Some way or another we also had an Olds and a Nova in the bunch.
Elections:
All ballots were picked up at the Club post office and given to the President, unopened, at the beginning of the meeting. Ted appointed Dave Gershon, C.C. Copage and Gordon Tackett to count the ballots. They took them to another room for counting.
Activities:
Kragen Car Show. The Club had 20 cars on display. We had the whole front of the lot lined up side by side and they were beautiful. We also had our new Club Banner for all the world to see. It really looked sharp and let everyone know we were there! Charlene Thompson took the long distance award. We picked up one new member and the prospects of another. With our great turnout we also received the "Participation Award".
With 'no rest for the weary', Sunday, the next day, we had the Sunrise Mall Car Show. It was a 6:30 show time in order to get in and get the cars set before the mall opened. It was decided to keep them all in the same area rather than scatter them out through the mall. It didn't take as many standards to protect the cars and was much easier to keep an eye on them. Those showing their cars were, Gary, J.J. Mark, Tim, Terry, C.C., Michael, Dante' and the Raffs. A big thanks goes to C.C. who sat at the table almost all day.
The next weekend was the trip to Apple Hill. We had a little excitement on this trip. It seems Mr. Singleton locked his keys in his TA. After an hour or so of trying everything they could find to get the door unlocked, (there are pictures to prove that,) Triple A was called. Because of the way the door locks are made on the third generation Trans Am a special device is needed to open one. Triple A just happened to have one and they door was finally unlocked. And that is what was in that long white box that was mentioned earlier in these minutes. The one Ted brought in belongs to him, however it was in his truck and he was driving his van that day. He says from now on he will carry the 'third generation spare key' in his trunk, just to be on the safe side.
Then there was that Halloween Party! We haven't had one in many years and this one certainly made up for the lost ones. It was held at Leo Brown's home and it was decorated to the hilt. More food than anyone could eat and great costumes. Everyone had a delightful time. Leo has taken on the nick name of "Hi Tech Red Neck" with all the animation he had around his house. He had a big Tarantula that started waking toward you when you approached. He had skulls that blew smoke on you as you walked by. He also had the bride and groom skeletons, all sorts of things. Gary said cars were driving buy just to take a look. Thanks Leo for your hospitality. You were very brave taking this event on.
New Business:
Our Christmas dinner will be held at Dingus McGee's in Colfax on the 8th of December. Gayle needs the names of those who will be attending and the money this evening if at all possible. Cocktails and no host bar will be at 6:30 and dinner at 7pm. There will be a gift exchange with a limit of $15. This is one of those "steal an item" exchanges that is loads of fun. Especially if you get that high number and are last to choose.
On the menu: Chicken, $21; Steak, $21.50; and Poached Salmon $25. Meals include bread, salad, tax and gratuity. We had a short officers meeting before the Club officially began this evening. In the past we have paid $10 toward the meal of each Club member. If you bring someone with you who is not a Club member the full price of the meal will apply. Mike Smith made the motion that we do so this year. J.J. Apilado seconded and it carried. (Monies to come from the Trans A Rama fund). Gayle needs all reservations before the end of the month. Dingus McGee's needs to have a final count.
The 2002 Trans A Rama will be held here in Sacramento again. We had a great turn out last year and we are hoping to have another. It may seem early but now is the time to get started on this big event. Dave says Reg Harris really wants to come back again next year. He was very impressed with what we put on and said he really had a good time. Dave is hoping he can get Jim Madison as our speaker. He is in charge of the Pontiac Historical Services. This may be a stretch but Dave is working on it.
Bruce Westrop wants us to have our car show at Reliable again. He will help us with advertising along with that of Reliable. This is a major boost for Trans A Rama.
Mike Smith has offered to give Dave a hand in running the show this year. Jim Prinzivalli will no doubt do the T-Shirts again. He did such a beautiful job last year. This event takes a bunch of work but when it is over with we get a chance to breath again and look back on a job well done.
Dave wants to have a meeting in December sometime after the Christmas dinner. We need to get people lined up for the different activities. Trans A Rama is tentatively set for July 13, 14, and 15th, 2002.
Auto Rama:
We have been invited back to Auto Rama for 2002. We can have six to ten cars. Dave would like to see a car from each generation of TAs. So far entering cars are: Tim O'Neil's 20th Anniversary, Dante' Higgins' '94 Harley TA, Terry Trimble's 2001 TA, and Duane Cleveland's 2001 TA. Additional cars could possibly be, Dave Crandall, Mario Curci, J.J. Apilado and a couple of others. There will be a meeting at Dave's home on December 3rd, at 3pm for those wanting to show their cars and also anyone that would like to work.
Election Results:

President - Ted Klein;
Vice President - Theo (Ted) Bechtel;
Secretary - Irene Raff;
Treasurer - J.O. Raff;
Activities Director - Tim Singleton
I know Tim would like to thank everyone who turned in suggestions for activities for 2002. There were quite a few and some very good ones.
With no further business Mike Smith made the motion to adjourn, seconded by Dave Gershon. Adjourned at 8:13pm
Respectfully Submitted Irene Raff Secretary

Starting Line
I would like to start by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! For myself this is one of the best holiday seasons of my life! I have the house decorated for Christmas, and the Monday after thanksgiving I received a great Christmas present. I started a new job. That's right after six months of being unemployed I'm finally going back to work! I found a job with AT and T wireless as a customer care representative, and it looks like I am really going to enjoy working there. I would however like to apologize to all of you on how late this edition of the newsletter is. It's taking me a while to get back into the groove of trying to get everything accomplished, that needs to be done. A weekend just doesn't seem to have enough hours in it to take care of personal business. With my old job I worked a compressed workweek, so I had three days off in which to get things done. So just bear with me as I try to get back in the groove of doing this.

Attention Club Members!!! The Club meeting night has been changed to the first Tuesday of the month, However the January meeting will be held on the second Tuesday due to the New Years Holiday! We have six spots currently available for 2002 Autorama in February at Cal-Expo. If you are interested in having your car be part of the club display, Contact Dave Gershon for more information!

Club Dyno Day
Ralph Gobel, owner of Hot Rod Heaven, and President of the Nor-Cal LS1 club was gracious enough to invite our club members over for a little dyno session on Sunday November 4th. Six club members showed up, eager to see just how much horsepower their cars really made. After a quick drivers meeting by Ralph, it was decided that we needed someone to lay down some serious power in order to warm up the DynoJet Chassis dyno. So, first up was Tim Singleton with his 305 TPI powered '88 Formula. The four retaining straps rated at 10,000 lbs each barely held as Tim nailed the throttle. After the smoke cleared, a respectable 147 hp was recorded. Remember now, this is at the rear wheels, not at the flywheel as the factory rates them. Add approximately 15% for manual trans cars and 20% auto trans cars to calculate flywheel ratings. Next up was Ted Klein with his 455 powered '69 Firebird. Three very LOUD pulls later, a best of 360 hp and 469 ft lbs of torque raised the bar a little higher. While a couple of non club members were on the dyno, Ted broke out his barbecue and prepared hamburgers, hot-dogs, and chicken along with chips and sodas for lunch. The 2001 WS6 T/A of Greg Crandell was next, and stunned everyone with an impressive 301hp and 311 ft lbs of torque from his stock LS1! The 2001 LS1 engines are rated 10hp more, despite a slightly smaller camshaft profile than earlier models. The addition of the LS6 intake manifold is what gives it the overall increase in power. Undaunted, Terri Trimble slipped her 2001 Trans Am into first gear and eased up onto the dyno. She calmly spun the car up to 3000 rpm in fourth gear as Ralph instructed and then punched it. The dyno computer registered 291 hp and over 300 ft lbs of torque! Terri wanted to break the magical 300 hp barrier and probably would have according to Ralph, but a small amount of detonation was costing her a few horsepower. A quick look up at the shop wall to examine club member Duane Cleveland's series of dyno charts convinced Terri that a new air intake box lid and a K&N air filter should put her well over 310 hp! The thought of making as much or more power than the "Ram Air" guys put a BIG smile on her face! Next up was Ray Howe with his mildly modified LT1 powered '94 25th Anniversary T/A. Ray wasted no time laying down a healthy 279 hp and way over 300 ft lbs of torque! The new SLP clutch definitely helped get more horsepower to the ground! When asked what was next on the list of modifications to his T/A, Ray would only smile. The final car of the day, to be placed on the dyno, was the '89 20th Anniversary TTA belonging to Dave Gershon. Throughout the day there had been much discussion about the little turbocharged 231 cubic inch V6 nestled under the hood of the TTA. Just how many horsepower was this engine capable of? The factory rated them at 250 hp, but everyone suspected considerably more. A hush fell as Dave tromped the gas pedal for the first pull. The engine revved quickly. The car was alarmingly quiet! Then the exhaust sputtered brown puffs of smoke, indicating a severe lean condition, resulting in detonation. Dave lifted off the gas and we all ran over to the computer screen to see the results. 299.5 hp and over 430 ft lbs of tire shredding torque! Wow! Ralph wisely suggested that Dave not make any more pulls until the cause of the lean condition could be found. A later inspection revealed a split vacuum line going to the wastegate diaphragm on the turbo. Dave has since fixed the problem and is itching to have another go at the dyno! Perhaps we can schedule another dyno day next Spring?

December 2001, Volume 4, Issue 12

General Meeting - 8 th, 2001
The Christmas party for the Club was called to order by Sgt. At. Arms, Dante' Higgins at 8:25pm, presiding officer, Ted Klein, President.
This year the party was held at Dingus McGee's road house in Colfax. It is an old establishment but very nice. Everyone brought a gift for exchange after dinner.
Ted asked Dave Gershon to give us a run down on the past years events. For a starter Dave had a joke from his daughter: Why didn't the skeleton cross the road? He didn't have the guts to do it.
Dave said he has seen some great changes in the Club this past year. After a split with some of our Club members last year it was rough for a short while. Then we had some changes in attitudes and pulled together to put on a great Trans A Rama, Auto Rama at Cal Expo, Children's Receiving Home and the Sunrise Mall Show to name some big events. Our Club has grown due to our efforts and is larger now then last year.
Ted Bechtel has done an outstanding job with our Trans Script. His efforts with our "colored" editions have drawn a lot of attention. Ted has some new ideas for the upcoming year.
Jim Prinzivalli has done a tremendous job with our Web Site. It has been enhanced with pictures of members and their cars, copies of our Trans Script, a listing of our activities, and how to join our Club.
We have had our heart aches also. We lost Connie Brown, wife of Frank Brown, to cancer this year. Then the destruction of the Trade Center buildings in New York was a great tragedy for our country.
Ted thanked all his officers for the past year. He gave Dave Gershon the President's Award for all the help and assistance he gave him in getting the Club back on it's feet. Also the Exceptional Service Award for putting Trans A Rama and the Auto Rama together last year. Those two events take a lot of time and effort to set up and Dave has not only done a good job this last year but a couple of years prior.
Ted then announced the new/old members of his board for 2002. Ted will again be President, (Miren says two years is the limit), Vice President - Theo Bechtel, Secretary - Irene Raff, Treasurer - J.O. Raff, Sgt at Arms - Dante' Higgins, Major Events Director - Dave Gershon, Membership Director - C.C. Coppage, Web Site Director - Jim Prinzivalli, Activities Director - Tim Singleton, Competition Director - Duane Cleveland, Members At Large - Ray Howe and Frank Brown .
Upcoming Events:
Ted announced there would be a board meeting on January 5th, 2002, at 1pm. Location is Jerry's Paint Shop at Fulton and I-80. (Ted just happens to work there).
The Super Bowl Party will be at Arlyn and Cindy's home on February 3, 2002. More information at the next meeting.
Dave Gershon has eight cars lined up for Auto Rama. Those currently expected to show their cars are, Dave and Carol Karnes' 1997 TA, Frank Brown's 1986 TA Convertible, Dante' and Rebecca Higgins' 1994 Harley TA, Duane Cleveland's 2001 TA, Tim O'Neil's 1989 20th Anniversary TA, J.J. and Lourdes Apilado's 1972 TA, Mike and Christy's 1979 10th Anniversary, and Terry and Dennis Trimble's 2001 TA. Sounds like a very good showing. We could possibly have two more cars. Dave will let us know.
Dave also announced that Trans A Rama will be set up one week. New dates are July 19th, 20th, and 21st. Jim Madison from Pontiac and Pete McCarthy, editor of the Pontiac Enthusiast Magazine will not be able to attend the weekend we had planned. These two gentlemen will really give this event a boost. The schedule will be pretty much the same as last year. The Friday cruise will be to "Jasper's" in Rocklin . The Saturday car show will again be at Reliable and the dinner is yet to be decided. Sunday will be auto cross, probably at Mather Field again. Registration will be cut off one week before the event.
Dave gave out the Top Gun award. This is for the best time at the drags. Ted Klein, with a 12.18 time, received the Top Gun hat. However, in order to keep it next year he will have to do the same because it will be a traveling hat. Soooo...It's not to be worn, just looked at.
Note:
With much discussion our Club meeting day has been changed to the first Tuesday of the month. The meeting place will remain Reliable Pontiac. With the first Tuesday we won't be bothered by Monday night football or the Monday holidays.
Motion was made by Frank Brown to adjourn, seconded by Dennis Trimble, the general meeting was adjourned at 9:07.
Then came the Present Exchange. Everyone had a number and #1 had to choose and open a package. #2 could open a new one or steal the first one. Also #3, #4, etc. Gifts were moving around as though they were in a whirl wind. Leo got a present he really wanted to keep and kept encouraging people to steal from another table. I think he finally lost out though.
Here's to a bigger and better 2002.
Submitted by Irene Raff, Secretary


Starting Line
I will start off this column by wishing everyone a happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season! The Christmas Party turned out to be a big success, and everyone seemed to have a great time! It was definitely a good job by Gary and Gayle Vollstedt.
The past year saw a lot of changes for our club. After what started off as what could only be described as a rocky start, our Officers put in a lot of hard work, and we had a great year! We picked up around twenty new members, so that our current roster is now at forty-three. We had excellent showings at the Kragens Car Shows, and the impromptu night at Woody's! The Trans-A-Rama had one of the largest showings ever, and it is all due to you, the members of our wonderful club!
It was definitely a pleasure for me to get to work with the people that served as officers for the 2001 year, and I am equally looking forward to my second year as vice-president and Newsletter Editor. As you look through this episode you will notice that I have finally added the birthday section, and I am trying to expand the for sale section. If anyone has something that they would like to try to sell in the newsletter please let me know! I am hoping that this year sees more club members wanting to contribute articles for the newsletter. You people have to be getting tired of my endless rambling after a year, do you really want to read another year of it! The more people we have submitting articles, the more entertaining the newsletter will be.
With the date of our meetings being changed to the first Tuesday of the month, I am going to ask that any contribution to the newsletter, be turned in to me no later that the 18th of the month. This will assure that I have plenty of time to create the newsletter.
This year we have a couple of new officers, Duane Cleveland and Tim Singleton. Both of these people are outstanding young men and I believe will do an excellent job. Please be supportive of what they have to offer, and let them know when you feel they are doing a good job. There is nothing like positive feedback to keep making you want to do a job! That is why I agreed to a second term, people let me know that they liked what I had created.
If there is something that you would like to see added to the newsletter please feel free to let me know, I am always open to suggestions!
Talk ta ya next month, Ted (Theo) Bechtel


Christmas Party 2001
This year the Christmas Party was held on December the 8th at Dingus McGee's restaurant, in Colfax. Gary and Gayle did an outstanding job of putting this event together for us!
The Christmas Dinner serves as a meeting, a chance to say thank you to the outgoing officers, and welcome to the incoming officers, (although in this case, with the exception of Duane Cleveland, our new Competition Director, and Tim Singleton, the new Activities Director, it was the same thing)! It's also a chance just to get together with friends, and have a good time!
After a very nice steak or chicken dinner, there was a short meeting held to present the Top Gun Award, and the President's Award for outstanding club member. The Outstanding Club Member this year was Dave Gershon. Ted presented Dave this award for the excellent job he did in organizing our major events, such as the Autorama, and Trans-A-Rama, helping to rebuild the club membership, after a rough start to the year, and being there when Ted had a question about procedure. Thanks Dave! The Top Gun Award is presented to the club member who posts the quickest E.T. in the quarter mile, at one of our clubs Firebird night at Sacramento Raceway. This years winner was Ted Klein, with his 1969 Firebird, and it's 455 station wagon engine. This year there was an addition to the Top Gun Award, a Top Gun Hat, that will be passed down to future winners!
Ted then announced his appointments for his Directors for 2002. JJ Apilado will continue in his duties as Historian. CC Coppage will serve another term as Membership Director. Dave Gershon said that this will be his last term as Major Activities Director. Dante' Higgins will continue as Sergeant at Arms, Ray Howe and Frank Brown have graciously agreed to another term as Members at Large. Jim Prinzivalli, who has done an incredible job as our Web-Site Director, and club artist, accepted another term! Ted has appointed Duane Cleveland as Competition Director, and I agreed to another term doing the newsletter (although Irene told me that I will be doing it for as long as I am in the club)! Thanks Irene I appreciate the vote of confidence!
Miren Klein, at the end of the meeting, stood and said, that Ted officially declines the nomination of President for 2003! I would like to say Thank you to Miren, for her patience with us and that we all appreciate the sacrifices their family has made!
The final event of the night was the gift exchange. The highlights of this were Dante' trying to start a new car collection, most of the presents being a "guy present", and Leo Brown showing some criminal tendencies, running around trying to convince everyone to steal in the gift exchange. Personally I think he just wanted to be able to get the best gift without someone stealing it away!
After everyone said their good byes, and wishing each other a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, we all went our separate ways home.
Thanks everyone for a GREAT YEAR and I look forward to 2002!
Submitted by Ted (Theo) Bechtel