“THE TORQUEFLITE TIMES” May 2012 Mid South Mopars- since 1986 VOL. 26 No. 5 The Official Publication of Mid South Mopars, A Car Club Dedicated To Promoting, Preserving, And Enhancing The Chrysler Name On the web at http://www.midsouthmopars.com or http://msmopars.ning.com Newsletter submissions at [email protected] You Don't Need A Old Car, Just A MOPAR Next Meeting May 1st Perkins Restaurant 1340 S. Germantown Parkway Germantown,TN 38138 Dave Shepard’s 64 Dodge Dart GT & Mike McKenna’s 57 Chrysler Saratoga At Briarcrest School Grandparents Day – April 20, 2012 1 Officers for 2012/2013 President- Mike Snodgrass 901-826-8885 [email protected] Vice President- David Shepard 901-758-8154 [email protected] Treasurer- Mike McKenna 901-854-8156 [email protected] Secretary- James Marshall 901-377-8871 [email protected] Newsletter- Jerry Morris 901-385-0643 [email protected] Membership Director & Club Asset Manager - Ray Dietrich 662-429-3845 SGT at Arms- Jim Willis 901-291-4125 Events Staff- Mike Davis 901-229-2220 Bobby Buffaloe 901-388-0105 Photographer- Hall Prewitt Webmaster- Rick Sorak 901-399-0245 [email protected] Welcome New Members: Lee Swets 1796 Tutwiler Ave Memphis, TN 38107 Brandon Bell 2244 Harbert Ave. Memphis, TN 38104 CLUB MERCHANDISE FOR SALE License Plates $5.00 Hats- two styles $5.00 Blue Polo Shirts (new style) $10.00 2 Blue T-Shirts (new style) $7.50 20th Year Anniversary T-Shirts $5.00 Pencils and Key Fobs $.25 each or 5 for $1.00 MEETING MINUTES James Marshall Minutes of April 3, 2012 meeting. Meeting was called to order at 7:15 P. M. Minutes of March and April meetings will appear in May newsletter. Members reminded to supply photographs of members and their Mopars for the club directory. Members reminded of The Germantown Kiwanis Charity Car Show on April 21, 2012. Located at 3180 Village Shops Dr., Germantown TN 38138. Call (901) 484-2706 for more information. Three cruise nights were discussed. Every Tuesday at Cosco on N. Germantown Pky. New location for Thursday night cruise. Highway 64 close to N Germantown Pky. behind Danvers at Hobby Lobby. 3 Friday night cruise on highway 51 in Millington. Tom Sheehan was our guest speaker. Tom gave a really nice talk on the Williston Old Timers Festival. Held every October in Williston Tenn., it is an opportunity for interested people to gather and enjoy the weekend. There are tractors, cars, vendors, food, antiques, and working demonstrations of various equipment from bygone days. Mid South Mopars in considering holding a car show in conjunction with The Williston Old Timers Festival. The Prez Sez Mike Snodgrass Hello Everyone! Hope all are doing fine! We are having some wonderful weather lately… and I hope everyone is getting their cars out for cruising, and to shine them up for the season. It is also a good time to start a new project, or do some spring cleaning before the weather gets too hot. All I have been doing lately is some minor work on the Charger… I need to get my body guy back over to do some larger work… but our schedules have been conflicting. I have been working on a few jukeboxes, and finally restored one that I have been wanting to restore for awhile. I wrote a story about it on face book… some of you read it and commented on it… but I thought I would put it in here so everyone could get a chance to read it. Take care, and I’ll see you all at the meeting. First Jukebox I Ever Played I have restored hundreds of jukeboxes over the years… However… I finally restored the FIRST jukebox that I ever dropped a quarter into. It was 1978, at Pizza Hut on Austin Peay Hwy across from the Raleigh Springs Mall. Our Family was there for a C.B. club meeting. (For many of you out there that are younger, or have forgotten… C.B. is short for Citizens Band Radio) C.B. was so big back then that there were local clubs that would adopt a channel where everyone would network socially, talking back and forth. Most people had a C.B. base station in their living room, and mobile units in their cars. It was an era before cell phones were ever imagined, and many times C.B. was used like we would use cell phones today. I recall my mom talking to my sister from the base station, each night as she got off the late shift at McDonalds, to make sure she was safe. But… Back to the jukebox… At the club meeting, I bugged dad for a quarter until he finally gave in, you know… kids always want to mess with anything coin operated… and Pac-Man hadn’t even been invented 4 yet! I walked up to the brand new 1978 Seeburg Model 100-M “Disco Jr.” and admired its gleaming glory. Being only 8 years old… my knowledge of music was limited, so I selected something off the popular top ten list… I picked Wings- “Silly Love Songs”. As the song played, I was mesmerized by the lights and sound. It was a moment never forgotten, and probably was what got me so interested in Jukeboxes. The machine I restored came from Goshen, Indiana… one of over 60 machines that I purchased in a buyout of a jukebox company that went out of business. It was 2000… (I think)… and Retro Rock-It was in full swing. My brother and I took two Penske box trucks from Memphis to Indiana, on the most memorable road trip of my life… (That is another long and interesting story!!)… but it was one of the greatest times ever with my brother. As soon as I saw the dusty old juke, in the dimly lit warehouse… I knew exactly what it was. I have had that machine for 12 years… even throughout the consolidation of Retro Rock-It, and the move from the Commercial location to my house… I have always taken special interest in that jukebox. It has been sitting in my garage… covered up in the corner, and I finally pulled it out and completely restored it. The 34 yr old machine looks like it did the day it rolled off the Seeburg assembly line!! The small design of the machine allowed me to put it in my office where I work at AHA Mechanical Contractors. I will post pictures of it ASAP. Hope you all enjoyed my little story! Mike The VP’s Soapbox Dave Shepard Hello fellow Mopar Enthusiasts!!! After discontinuing its “bad-ass” sports car in 2010 Chrysler is bringing back the Viper! The made in the USA 2013 SRT Viper will have a new all aluminum 8.4 liter V-10 engine producing 640 HP and 600 ft-lb of torque. It will look a lot like the old Vipers but it has been upgraded with tons of technological, electronic, mechanical and esthetic improvements, including a plush looking full featured interior. Even though it looks and runs a lot like the old model, the new Viper is really an all-new car. The new SRT Viper is scheduled to go into production at the end of 2012 as a 2013 model. I’ll probably never be able to afford one but maybe someone will let me take a “test drive” – Oh Yea! Chrysler is also bringing back the Dodge Dart moniker. It is based on a Fiat front wheel 5 drive chassis and is available only as a sedan. While it’s nice to see the old “Dart” name back, I think I’d rather drive my old 64 Dart GT V-8. The new 2013 Dart should be available sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2012. I thought Mike Snodgrass made a good point at our April meeting when he suggested that we try to park our Mopars together when attending our monthly club meetings. Since our May meeting will be back at Perkins, why don’t we all park in the back parking lot where there is usually a lot of open space. Let’s show people we are a Mopar Club! It will also make it easier for us to socialize at our post-meeting parking lot show-and-tell and gab session. The Bartlett Cruise-In held every Thursday evening is still active but the location has changed. The new location is on Stage Rd. behind Wendy’s and Danvers just west of the intersection of N. Germantown Rd. and Stage Rd. In addition there is a new cruise-in, called Tom’s Cruise, every Tuesday evening from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM. The location is the Countrywood Crossing Shopping Center at 2257-2393 N. Germantown Pkwy., Memphis, TN 38016. I believe that location is just south of Costco on Germantown Pkwy. Tom’s Cruise is advertised as having music and being family friendly. I believe we should try to attend one or both of these cruise-ins as a club at least once a month. Let’s show the world what the Mid-South Mopars are about! Several club members attended the Germantown Kiwanis Charity Car Show on Saturday, April 21st. Members attending included Fritz Crombie, Mike McKenna, Hall Prewitt, Dave Shepard, Jim & Dot Marshall and Gary Fortner. Some entered their Mopars in the show, others were spectators. Even though the day was cold and cloudy, it was still a nice show and a great time to socialize with others who enjoy our great hobby.