News from Antique Automobile Club of America!

January 2010

Volume 16

Welcome to SPEEDSTER!

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Cheers to ringing in the New Year!

This year is a very special year for the club as it is a our Diamond Jubilee 75th Anniversary. Many exciting things are in store for the year, including our 75th Anniversary Meet June 30-July 3 in Louisville, Kentucky!

If you haven't made your reservation yet, check out our 75th Anniversary Website where you can find several lodging options in the area and much more!

This just in... NEW 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Collectors Basket! Order forms available here.

Have a Heart

URGENT AND IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

At this year's Philadelphia Annual Meeting we will have a special class Friday, February 12th for people to be certified in Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). It will begin at 9:00 AM and last for roughly 3 hours. The class size is limited to 24 participants! The club is splitting the cost of the program as we feel it important to have more people who attend AACA events with this special skill. Your cost is $25. Please contact Adriana Bruno at 717-534-1910 or abruno@aaca.org to sign up.

This CPR course we will offer a credentialed American Heart Association(AHA) course. Those completing the course will have a completion card mailed to them from the AHA training center two to four weeks after the program.

The course is video driven with AHA certified instructors facilitating the hands-on CPR skills practice for each participant, using mannequins.

Remember this could be a real life saver and maybe one of your friends or family too.

Please contact Adriana Bruno at 717-534-1910 or email abruno@aaca.org to sign up.

Our Apologies

Recently, a server that is used to house our internet store along with several other businesses was the victim of hackers. They were able to gather some email addresses but limited to those that have paid for services online. No other data was compromised as we do not save financial information. We are terribly sorry for all the inconvenience and embarrassment this spam has caused.

The ONLY email AACA currently sends out in mass is for our Speedster monthly publication. Most of our private emails to you will have the first letter of our staffs' first name and their last name. My email address is aaca1@aaca.org. We had already begun to move our internet store to a new server when this happened.

As most of you know, it is hard keeping ahead of unscrupulous spammers especially if they outside the US. We have and will invest in the best technology but it is never failsafe.

Thanks for your understanding.

-Steve Moskowitz

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Judges' Newsletter Correction!

Please note that on the Central Spring Meet registration form in the December Judges' Newsletter the Judges' Breakfast is scheduled for SATURDAY, May 1, 2010 at 7:30am (not on Friday April 30, as it was printed).

Apologies for the inconvenience. You can also view the corrected Judges' Newsletter HERE.

Attention Members!

We want to hear from you! ... really!

Impress us! We want to hear your unique short stories, articles on fun, interesting, educational events, or stories about young or new hobbyists. Send them to SPEEDSTER !

Email us at speedster@aaca.org

Member Contribution

My 1936 Ford Coupe
By Member William P. Brown

One of his personal true stories from his book titled "But, That's Another Story."

In 1951 I was working for Western Electric Company, the equipment installation division of the old now non-existent Bell Telephone System. I had hired on t with them in 1950 when I was only seventeen years old - but that's another story. I was working in Provo, Utah at the time and had become "friends" with two of the other young workers. We decided to purchase a car together as neither of us could afford one by ourselves. We looked through all the local used car lots and finally came across a black 1936 Ford Coupe on "Snow's Used Cars" lot. It ran good and had a rumble seat in the back, so even though it was a one-seat coupe, we were able to carry six when we went on dates. After all, at age 18 dating was a top priority. After taking the little couple for a short test ride, we bought it. The tires weren't very good but looked like they would carry us for a while.

Shortly after buying the little Ford Coupe we were all three transferred as a team to a little town in southern Utah named Loa. Now Loa was a real small town. It had one combination gas station, restaurant and grocery store, a little six-room motel, two churches and not much else. We rented one of the rooms at the motel for three of us and began our work.

As I lay in bed that night I tried to think of some way to meet some of the local girls except to stand out in the street and flag them down, Suddenly, I had an idea.

Early the next morning I got dressed and told my two roommates I was going to drive over to the hardware store in the little town of Bicknell. It was about 25 miles away. They decided to not to go but to sleep in a little later and didn't ask why I was going. I supposed they thought I was going to get something for the telephone job. When I arrived at the hardware store. I bought a small can of every color paint in the store.

When I got back to Loa the other two guys had gotten up and ate breakfast at the restaurant across the street. I told them "we're going to get dates for tonight." They looked at me kind of puzzled and asked "how?: I said, "we're going to park our coupe out by the street and paint polka-dots on it.: They thought I was crazy and weren't very anxious to help me.

Then, guess what? After a while we noticed the same cars were driving by. Pretty soon they were stopping. They'd ask, 'what are you doing?" We'd reply, "we're paint polka dots on our car." That would open up the conversation and we gave all sorts of reasons. But, by early afternoon, we all had dates!

Read the FULL story here!

Library & Research By Chris Ritter

Last month, a reader sent the library a copy of an interesting article that appeared in a recent magazine. The article talked about the development of a modern vehicle that ran on compressed air. In a future issue of Antique Automobile, the library will highlight the literature we hold on compressed air driven vehicles, but reading the article got us thinking about some of the other alternate -power vehicles from the past. One form of "alternate-power" is spring power.

According to the Standard Catalog of American Cars: 1805-1942, there were four manufacturers of spring-powered cars who did "business" around the turn of the 20^th century. These manufacturers included Andrews (1895), Burdick (1895), Cope (1900), and Lybe (1895). The principle behind these vehicles was simple; use a coiled spring to propel the vehicle & rewind the spring by hand, battery, or when the vehicle goes downhill. Unfortunately the laws of science worked against the inventors and these concepts never made it to production.

The library has some clippings and articles on Burdick and Lybe. The Burdick concept was discussed in the first issue of The Horseless Age (November 1895), and we own a small clipping on the Lybe spring motor that comes from an unknown source. According to the latter clipping, Mr. Lybe "thinks his machine will afford a mild and pleasing form of exercise, in addition to its speed advantages." What a shame he couldn't overcome the laws of physics!

As you know, the resources at the library are diverse. Even if you think the topic or question you have is obscure, give us a try! Take advantage of your 1.5 hours of free research now!

Visit AACA Library & Research Center

Friends of the AACA Library & Research Center

WHAT is a Friend of the AACA Library?

A friend of the AACA Library is someone who serves as an ambassador and volunteer for the library. Some of the tasks a Friend might take part in include:

� Manning the Fall Meet & Annual Meeting information booth.

� Staff informational booths at car shows and events throughout the year.

� Help raise funds by selling raffle tickets, encourage Endowment Fund support, and various sales throughout the year.

� Spreads the word about the benefits members can receive from the library and how the library can help them.

WHY do we need a Friends group?

As the library continues to grow and expand its mission an ever expanding list of duties and tasks are created. The library committee and staff can not do everything on their own. The Friends group allows club members the opportunity to take an active part in the growth and future of the library.

HOW can you become a Friend?

Simply contact any member of the Library Committee or staff. They will be happy to get you the appropriate application form and guide you through the process. There is a fifteen dollar a year donation fee ($15.00) which gives you a Friends of the Library pin and special communication during the year.