COB VETTE NEWS Since 1981 Volume, 36 Issue 6 June 2017 Notes from the President First off, a big thank you to Mike & Lee Buccilli for chairing the Spring BBQ at Wings Flight of What’s Happening This Month Hope. The turnout by the club was great. Unfortunately, the weather this spring has See page three. been awful ☹️ but we did get to see over a dozen Corvettes in the parking lot. As I write this article I look forward the upcoming Memorial Day Parade in Williamsville, chaired by John Heffernan. This is one of the best attended events of the year. The month of June will be a busy month for COB members with a couple of out of town trips, our monthly club meeting, Ice Cream Social, and our Annual Super Cruise scheduled for June 28. If your attending a local cruise night or show in your area be sure to place a flyer in all the vehicles promoting our show. And if you have Corvette Caravan Flyers place one in all Corvettes as well. Don't assume they already have a flyer. In fact, talking to the owners in person always helps as well. For those interested, a Tech Night will be held on Monday June 19, at MR. Best Wrench Auto Service on Grand Island, owned by member Rod Reisdorf. Rod is a great mechanic/technician and would be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding your Corvette. After the short presentation on wheel alignment, we can drive over OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF to a monthly cruise held at Adrian's Custard & Beef on Grand Island Blvd. Hope to see you soon. Enjoy the start of summer. Frank www.corvettesofbuffalo.com CORVETTES of BUFFALO 1 Officers President ---------Frank Pastore ------ 716-694-9024 June Birthdays Vice President --Mike Buccilli-------- 716-648-2037 Treasurer --------Marianne Pastore -- 716-694-9024 Secretary ---------John Biggie --------- 585-492-2927 Board of Directors 1st Marie Fetes Sue Brownlee ------------------- 716-693-4654 th Dick Brownlee ------------------716-693-4654 5 Ron Rusin Debbie Schafer ------------------716-551-6999 th Bruce Graham -------------------716-741-3350 13 Jim Fetes Lynda Graham -------------------716-741-3350 20th Glen Gibson Skip Polowy ----------------------716-201-1889 th Rich Zahner ----------------------716-225-1188 20 Rodney Mitchell Committees st Membership Barbara Lipome 21 John Meyerhoff nd 716-691-8845 22 Paulette Krakowski Newsletter Dennis Buckley th 716-759-2972 24 Pamm Seifert Phone Comm. Lynda Graham th 716-741-3350 25 Diane Skeide Sunshine Comm. Karen Rothenberger th 716-675-9467 28 Sally Scudder Or Diane Skeide 716-876-1197 Webmaster Jim Bonus 716-695-7643 Activities Dir. Lynda Graham 716-741-3350 Club Photographer Dan Krakowski 716-675-5880 Face Book page Manager Dan Wroblewski 716-542-2041 Liaison for Out of Town Corvette Clubs June Anniversaries Mike & Lee Buccilli 716-648-2037 Meeting every second Saturday of the month at First Presbyterian Church 9675 Main St. Clarence, NY, 14031 Meeting starts 7:00 p.m. 1st Bob & Donna Harrer rd 3 Ken & Cheryl Bushley th Visit us at: http://www.corvettesofbuffalo.com/ 5 Skip & Maureen Polowy th 13 Mike & Lee Buccilli Send Newsletter Articles To: 21st Dick & Sue Brownlee Dennis Buckley 24th Jim & Lynn Kelly E-Mail: [email protected] 28th Lowell & Karen Rothenberger Submissions must be in by the 27th 29th Dennis & Mary Ann Buckley Late submissions will be published the following month. CORVETTES of BUFFALO 2 What’s Happening in June June 2-5 Louisville, KY Trip with Brownlee’s June 3 10th Annual Car & Bike Show Depew High School, Transit Rd. Depew, NY 5-9pm June 4 Village of Lancaster Car & Bike Show – Central Ave. 9am-4pm June 7-9 1000 Islands Trip – see Wayne Scudder June 10 Moose Cruisers Car Show, 905 Main St. East Aurora, NY 12-4pm June 10 COB Club Meeting – Clarence Church – 7 pm June 11 Street Machines of Rochester Car Show, 1120 Latta Rd. Greece, NY 9am- 4pm June 11 9th Annual Ten Lives Club Car Show, 331 Old French Rd. West Seneca, NY 12-5pm June 12-13 Heritage Museum Trip – Detroit, Michigan - see Mel Skeide June 14 WNYCC Joe Basil All Corvette Cruise – 10am- 4pm June 14 Lake Erie Italian Club Cruise–3200 South Park, Lackawanna, NY 5-9pm June 15 Akron Cruise - Corvette Night – 5pm June 15 Charcoal Corral Super Cruise Night, Perry NY - 4pm June 17 Engineering Society Car Show, Eastern Hills Mall – Gene Colucci June 18 Clutch Artist Spring-A-Rama, Father’s Day – 6114 Broadway, Lancaster, NY 9am 2007 Indy 500 Pace Car Replica For the car’s ninth Indy 500 pace-car appearance, Chevrolet offered another Pace Car Replica, which was available only with a black ragtop and Atomic Orange paint. Orange also trimmed the engine cover and the interior. Indy 500 logos were applied to the doors and embroidered on the headrests, natch. CORVETTES of BUFFALO 3 CORVETTES OF BUFFALO ICE CREAM SOCIAL WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21st @ 7:00PM AT WOODES ICE CREAM SHACK 4255 MCKINLEY PARKWAY HAMBURG, NY 14075 THIS IS NEXT TO BOUNCE MAGIC MORE INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN AT THE MAY 13TH AND JUNE 10TH MEETINGS THERE WILL BE A SIGN-UP SHEET AT BOTH OF THESE MEETINGS. ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED OF FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT MIKE OR LEE BUCCILLI. CORVETTES of BUFFALO 4 CORVETTES of BUFFALO 5 3nd Annual Car and Bike Show Saturday June 17th, 2017 New Location - Eastern Hills Mall! From 9am to 3 pm CORVETTES of BUFFALO 6 This is the car that could have “KILLED” the Corvette in 1954. So, Chevrolet, being GM's big sales and profit division, campaigned to GM to 'kill' this car. When Chevy was coming out with its 6-cylinder sports car with its 2-speed 'Powerglide' transmission and side curtains, there was a sports car from Olds with a big old V-8 engine with power windows. So, GM said, 'no' to Oldsmobile on building this car. 1954 Concept Old's Rocket F88 - the only one in existence. John S. Hendricks (Discovery Communications founder), paid in excess of $3 million to acquire this 1954 Oldsmobile F-88 Convertible Concept Car. After spending decades as a collection of parts stuffed into wooden crates, the F-88 was reassembled. In 1954, the F-88 was a Motorama Dream Car, and was one of only two (or an unconfirmed possible three), ever created. The F-88 seen here is literally the only car left of its kind and was sold to John and Maureen Hendricks at the prestigious Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona , for an unbelievable $3,240,000. This acquisition made automotive history and is in the cornerstone of the Gateway Colorado Automobile Museum, in its own special room in a rotating display, worthy of the F-88! CORVETTES of BUFFALO 7 What a gorgeous vehicle. Skip Polowy CORVETTES of BUFFALO 8 COB Chicken BBQ at Wings Meeting Place Sunday, May 21st was our club Chicken BBQ. We were so happy the weather cooperated for us. It was slightly humid but comfortable and even the rain held off till 4pm thank goodness because this way everyone could enjoy the great BBQ food and mingle with each other and not dodge the rain drops. We snuck in a 50/50 drawing and Sue Blum won, congrats Sue. Thank you to all the members and perspectives that came out to fill up on good food, drinks and to be with our Corvettes of Buffalo family, plus thanks to everyone who brought snack for us to munch on before and after dinner. I want to also thank the ladies who helped me out: Norma Joseph, Patti Kirkland and Debbie Wroblewski. Mike & Lee Buccilli CORVETTES of BUFFALO 9 CORVETTES of BUFFALO 10 Three Things You Need to Know About the Split-Window Corvette Reprinted from: http://www.corvetteonline.com / http://www.powerautomedia.com For many Corvette enthusiasts, the 1963 split-window model is the pinnacle of vintage ‘Vettes. It’s one of the most easily recognizable and widely appreciated members of the Corvette family; whether you’re a devoted aficionado or simply a casual admirer, chances are you understand the notability of the split-window. From a hardcore collector’s standpoint, it may not be as desirable as, say, one of the five original Grand Sports or an original L88 ’69, but nonetheless, it tends to top the Corvette-lover’s list of dream cars. And as with any historically relevant classic car, there’s some amount of backstory that’s always worth noting. The ’63 split-window is, of course, no exception. In our opinion, some of the coolest things about the American metal of days past are the unique circumstances and behind-the-scenes drama that lead to their inceptions. Unlike many of the high-powered, high-number performance cars of today, the beauty of classic automobiles isn’t in the facts and figures but instead in the historical and romantic value. Below, we take a brief glimpse into the rich background of (arguably) one of the most beautiful cars ever made. 1. The Story behind the Split-Window If you know anything about the ’63 Corvette coupe, you’re likely aware that its incredible value stems from the fact that it was the only year with the split rear window. That being the case, you’ve probably wondered at some point why the split- window design was used on the ’63 coupe at all (other than the fact that it looks magnificent). The answer? CORVETTES of BUFFALO 11 William L. “Bill” Mitchell. Mitchell was as important a figure to the Corvette as Zora Arkus-Duntov himself.