Alfantics articles...
Alfantics June 2003 Stories
One Month Til the National! Who's Going to Florida?
In just one month, Alfa Romeo lovers from every corner
of the country will be converging among the palm trees and soft sands of
Fort Lauderdale for the 2003 National Convention.
At least 10 representatives from our chapter, including
President John Kay, will be making the trek. Brad Mellor is driving down
with his son Austin. Gene Kessler is going to represent our interests on
the National Board.
Planning to drive down? Club Vice President Sherry Thackeray,
who grew up in South Florida and has made the trip many times, shares a few
tips:
* Allow about 17 hours if you drive. It is 1,039 miles each way.
* It's right hot down there in July! Plan to be toasty.
* Bring heavy duty sunscreen, and a hat. The Florida summer sun is vicious.
* It's gonna rain. No maybe about it. It may rain every day, and it may be
hard rain; though it often won't last long. But leaving the top down on a
Spider, or a sunroof open, in the afternoon will invite a flood. For yourself,
bring an umbrella.
* Be sure your coolant is topped up, and your wipers are in good shape!
So... What is an AROC Convention Like, Anyway?
By John Kay, President
If you want to enjoy the National Convention, sign up
now and make plans to head to Hollywood, Fla. (in the Fort Lauderdale area).
If you are considering coming but haven't yet registered, you may be wondering
what a Convention is like. So here is my poor description of what to expect.
Of course, each convention-goer will have a different view.
Mine is that of a sober companion, easily bored. There
will therefore be no account of raging parties, other than the official ones.
I hear that unattached club members will, however, find plenty of partying
that goes on quite late, or even to the next morning.
A Director's meeting is held each year, and will be on
Friday this time. Gene Kessler and Beth Bishop are current Board members
from our chapter, and Bill Oliveri and others have attended in the past.
The Board meetings are open to all members, and those with issues to raise
are invited to do so as time allows.
I have attended several Conventions, including 1977 in
Aspen, Lime Rock, Conn., Costa Mesa, Calif., and one that the National Capital
Chapter put on in Reston, Va. Unfortunately due to a back injury I missed
the more recent one in Baltimore, which was a great success, with our own
wine label
for the Maryland wine we dispensed, and Louis Dreyfus, one of the great early
European driving aces (whom I had met in Paris about 30 years previously).
The success of a Convention depends largely on the organizing
Chapter getting its whole membership to take part. We did very well in that
respect both in Reston and in Baltimore. Moreover, in Reston we invented
some rules for the rally-drive that made the outcome less dependent on computers,
causing a good deal of pleasure to many.
Another common factor is that Convention-goers need to
choose which events to take part in, since some are bound to conflict (though
the Florida schedulers seem to have largely averted this). Moreover, entering
all the events would add up to a good deal of money (up to $340 per person,
exclusive of the $175 Time Trials on the racetrack).
Since this Convention will be held over July 4, a drive
is planned for Friday evening to catch the fireworks on the always explosive
South Beach, Miami.
Saturday night's banquet ($50) can be another Convention
highlight. Veteran Italian race car driver Nino Vaccarella will share his
exploits driving high-speed Alfas.
In my experience, track events vary. At Costa Mesa, Calif.,
we were unceremoniously barred from competing in the time trials because
we turned up with a car looking more battered than prepared for having collided
with a coyote in western Oklahoma at 80 m.p.h. on a moonless night. The exclusion,
though justified, was a bitter blow. At first we thought that the 1600 Giulia
Coupe 1963 was as dead as the coyote. Water was coming from everywhere. After
many adventures, including ringing the National Technical Adviser from Santa
Fe, N.M., on a Sunday afternoon and receiving advice to fill the trunk with
ice to keep the gasoline cool, we arrived in Costa Mesa, raring to go.
At Lime Rock, I had no car of my own, so I volunteered
as a corner worker, and qualified for some rides round the track with Hal
Bruno in his extremely modified Ford Pinto wagon. He caused despair among
the Alfa owners because he had worked so successfully on his 1600 cc. motor
that he was a
good 10 mph faster than the 1600 Alfas!
At Aspen, the local club members were so keen to participate
in the time trials that we visitors held the stopwatches all afternoon in
considerable heat. I did, however, participate first. It was quite terrific:
I was completely lost on a course that twisted and turned among immense boulders.
It was quite high and we had no Rocky Mountain High jets, so we were frustrated
by lack of acceleration on the straight stretch.
Autocross will run all day Saturday, and Spiders will
be allowed without rollbars. This does not seem to be an event for a 164
automatic, though some people enter for fun with large American vehicles.
They get fine photos with extra lean on the curves.
Then there is the Concours d'Elegance. This is held the
last day along with the awards lunch. If you survive so long you should be
able to leave about 1:30 p.m., having spent several days doing nothing but
talk and drive cars and admire spectacular automobile bodywork.
If you have a spare million dollars or two, you will take
the opportunity to pick up a yacht while in Ft. Lauderdale. You will see
many moored outside houses that cost a good deal less. The western side of
the
city is a real disaster for driving until you reach the Interstate that goes
from southern Florida to Orlando very quickly indeed.
It would be a pity to go so far without seeing the rest
of Florida, including the Everglades and the Maritime National Park just
south of Miami, mostly under water but with admirable boardwalks where landlubbers
can see interesting shore birds.
Most hotels have swimming pools and the beach is kept
spotless by man and machine day and late into the night. In July the sea
will be warm enough for swimming if you find any time between the events
for which you have entered.
Alfa Again Dominates the Italian Car Tour!
What a great day we had for the Annual Regional Italian
Car Tour! The warm spring sunshine could not be beat. A strong field of 19
Alfas dominated once again; all the other makes combined barely matched our
numbers.
Still, it was a treat, as it is every year, to have a
chance to run with some real exotics. There were 10 Ferraris, four Lamborghinis,
two DeTomasos, two Maseratis, and three Fiats--including our member Jay Hinton's
rare Ferrari-engined Dino.
The Alfa contingent was unusually diverse. Joining in
were Paul Davidson, who won the Peoples' Choice Alfa award for the second
year running for his stunning Giulia Sprint Speciale; a Giulietta Spider;
one GTV; one Alfetta; one GTV6; one Milano; a 164L and two 164Ss; and a whole
flock of Spiders made between 1979 and 1991.
After meeting up at Criswell Lamborghini, we took off
at speed up Rte. 270, before driving on some lovely, sun-dappled smaller
roads. At two stops we were given playing cards; at the end of the tour,
participants used their cards to bid on prizes. Major thanks to International
Auto Parts, which donated a Car Detailing Kit and two Alfa mugs for our club
as prizes.
Chapter Vice President Sherry Thackeray also donated two
of her photic paintings, one of which featured the Davidson SS (and was won
by Paul's brother).
In the seven or so straight years that I've taken part
in this event, I have seen two speeding tickets (both issued to Ducatti motorcycles)
but never a breakdown or accident. Unfortunately there was a bang-up on this
tour, though thankfully with no injuries. From what could be gathered, a
Ferrari was passing a Lamborghini as both turned right. The Lambo, not anticipating
being passed by someone turning right from the left lane, went into the Ferrari's
right rear. Both cars were able to resume driving and complete the tour;
the Ferrari had some light scratches and a scraped wheel, while the Lambo's
fiberglass front was badly broken. Now, this will be an interesting one to
explain to the insurance company! "That's right, I was just innocently driving
my Italian supercar along, right at the speed limit,
when another Italian supercar happened to pull in front of me..."
Johnny DiFatta, who when last seen was wasting his time
driving a Nissan Z car, reentered the fold with a particularly stunning 164.
It featured european late-model projector beam headlights and handsome 16-inch
wheels, which DiFatta brothers sells.
Another sweet 164 was the S driven by Eric Mitchell, not
yet a club member but we pitched to him hard! His car was monochrome red,
as was Tricia Broud's Milano Verde, which made its local debut at the event,
and her husband Denny's Spider. Red was certainly the dominant color in the
Alfa field, to noone's surprise.
Beyond the fender bender car, there were only three other
Lamborghinis, but one was a vintage car that was trucked all the way down
from New York.
Kevin Sims of the Lamborghini Club has worked hard to
grow this event. Despite the lovely weather, this year was a poor exotic
car turnout.
Yet Alfas came out in force, and their drivers and navigators
had much fun. Our club should look into what we can do to work with Kevin
from the inception of next year's event to ensure its continued success as
a recreational opportunity for Alfa lovers!
May Meeting Minutes
Undeterred by periodic showers and the predictably unruly
Beltway traffic, 25 or so of the usual suspects gathered at Vicino's on May
5 for the monthly meeting of the Capital Chapter. In case you hunkered down
at home and missed it, here's what happened:
President John Kay asked us to introduce ourselves and
mention what cars we had driven to the meeting, rather than the Alfa(s) we
own. Despite the weather, several had indeed driven their Alfas, but most
left their Italian mistresses in the dry security of garages and drove more
mundane daily beaters.
John asked attendees to contact him if they would like
to go to Pipestem, W.V. in late August or early September. It is so spectacular
that visitors just reserve in June.
Treasurer Gene Kessler shared the good news that the chapter
is solvent and revenues and balances are where they ought to be at this time
of year.
Denny Broud is compiling an e-mail address book for club
members, to supplement the directory published here in April. Please send
him yours at dennisbroud@aol.com.
Newsletter Editor Brewster Thackeray led off with kudos
for the organizers of the April 27 Italian Car Tour. Just as with last year's
event, Alfas dominated the field, with 19 of our cars participating. Kevin
Sims of the Lamborghini Club earned praise for the efforts he put into making
this such a successful event once again. With our Chapter's strong showing,
we are in a position to play an increased role in upcoming Tours, should
we so choose.
Brewster then related that he and our Chapter V.P. Sherry
Thackeray participated in the Mid-Atlantic AROC Chapter's Spring Wine Tour
around Charlottesville, including a stop at International Auto Parts, where
all purchases had a 10-percent discount for the day. This led to the suggestion
that we could mount a similar tour focussed around Monticello with a picnic
in the surrounding countryside. The Thackerays urged interested parties to
help them pick a weekend and they will work with IAP to make it happen.
Sherry spoke briefly about her draft letter to the AROC
board requesting that the AROC website and the Alfa Owner include a listing
of states and the chapters serving them (currently they list only the state
where they are based, in our case D.C.) Such a listing would benefit chapters
as well as the national by making it apparent to prospective members from
states not now listed that chapters do exist to serve them. Sherry distributed
copies of her draft with a request that members who concur share this with
the AROC board (see p. 11).
With official business out of the way, it was time for
the main event, Todd Clark's presentation about fuel cell technology. Your
faithful correspondent has written this presentation up on Page 9.
Next month at Pulcinella's in McLean, Tim Fullerton will
discuss electric vehicles. The DIY videos on restoring a Duetto, a big hit
in Baltimore two months ago, will be shared after the meeting too.
Exchange Students' Diary: Tagging along for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter's
Vineyard Tour
On Friday, April 25, Marlena the cross-country 164 hit
the road south to Charlottesville, for the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of AROC's
famous annual wine tour. It was a great cross-cultural experience. My navigator
and I came away with much inspiration, as well as hopes that we can coordinate
future events
with our neighbors to the South (Mid-Atlantic covers the Carolinas and Southern
Virginia).
Delayed by heavy rush hour traffic leaving D.C., we arrived
just in time for a pizza dinner on Friday. We were greeted by several friendly
inquiries of, "Hey, do we know you?" and a warm welcome when we identified
ourselves. It was a good-sized crowd; 20 cars worth of people, many of whom
had driven as much as four hours to reach the English Inn in Charlottesville.
While this was billed as a wine tour, it was much more
about driving. Saturday morning began with a visit to one of our club's Meccas,
International Auto Parts. Owner Paul Opiela and VP Mark Lee opened up the
shop and helped us find diverse car parts and products, which they sold to
us at a 10% discount (plus no shipping charges, buying on-site!) Brewster
wished he had waited a couple of weeks to get that center and rear muffler
for our Spider... but I did treat Marlena to a new shift knob. Paul and Mark
generously donated several items for our club to present at the Italian Car
Tour later that weekend.
Leaving International behind, we headed off to Autumn
Hill vineyard. Here the very knowledgable and sociable owners, Ed and Avra
Schwab, gave us samples of their regular wares, then led us down to the cellar
for a rare "barrel tasting." That's basically putting a turkey baster into
a nearly ready-to-bottle cask and putting a bit in each cup. A real treat!
We also picnicked at this vineyard, mainly indoors due to a lingering light
drizzle. Fortunately the weather cleared up as the day
progressed, and we actually found some sunlight at the next vineyard, Veritas.
The roads between the vineyards were well-selected for scenery and driving
enjoyment; a couple actually overlapped with our own club's Spring Backroads
Ramble.
We were impressed with the aplomb with which Veritas shared
wine samples with a crew of nearly 40. The "Laid Back Pasta Eaters," as MAARC
call themselves, bordered on good natured rowdiness but none of us were kicked
out.
The line of cars outside the vineyards was a fine one.
There were four red GTV6s, three 164s, and a number of Spiders, most of mid-1980s
vintage. Two Duettos and a GTV made up the vintage contingent. All the cars
were in nice shape, and many of their owners reported having more than one
Alfa. The extreme was a fellow named Tom who has 14, 11 of them red! The
day ended with a climb in the fog up to event organizers Debbie and Chapter
President Dave Morris's ski cabin. A roaring fire and great pasta dishes
facilitated a delightful evening.
Future Plans
The IAP visit was such a hit, we talked to Mark and Paul about doing it with
our chapter, and will pick a date (input welcome!) and do so. The plan will
be to make a day of it: drive down Saturday morning, spend two hours at IAP,
picnic, then perhaps visit Monticello before motoring back north. Once we
set a date we can invite MAARC members to join us.
We also plan to extend them an invite to next year's Backroads
Ramble in Appomattox. We enjoyed meeting and driving with these fellow Alfisti,
and encourage you to meet them too. They're a hike but worth it. Especially,
this club is noted for its track events. Our club isn't strong in this area
so it's good to have that resource.
British Motoring
June 1
VEDDY BRITISH TOURING
Michael and Mary Ovitt of the Austin Healey Club have
invited our AROC members to come to and join a bunch of "little British cars"
in the Great Patuxent Valley Rallye & Picnic on Sunday June 1. For British
car lovers, this will be a treat! They had 65 cars last year. The picnic
on a farm will include music and more; bring your own food & drink! Details
are at www.chesapeake.net/~oritt/
The Rallye runs from Upper Marlboro to Saint Leonard,
Md., a 1.5 hour, 50-mile drive. It's an "observation rally" so you don't
have to set speed records--just keep your eyes open. Meet at the Giant Supermarket
1/10 of a mile south of Rte. 4 on Rte. 301 by 10 a.m. It's rain or shine
(like it ever rains in Britain!)
Fuel Cell Technology Comes Alive at Chapter Dinner
by Bob Kleinfeld, Executive Editor
Todd Clark, May's Dinner speaker, works for the Office
of Science at the Department of Energy, where he manages programs for undergraduate
research at the DOE National Labs. Todd previously taught high school chemistry
and physics in North Carolina and served as an Engineering Duty Officer in
the U.S. Navy. He holds a BS degree from Duke University and an MS degree
from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
After distributing a handout with six bewildering equations
and a list of resources dealing with fuel cells and their technology and
explaining that he works with students to encourage them to go into science,
Todd reminded us that the stone age didn't end because the world ran out
of stones. Similarly, the petroleum age won't end because we run out of petroleum,
despite gloomy predictions for the last 50 years that the last of the dino
juice will soon be consumed. It will finally come to an end as a means of
automotive power production because a better system will supplant it. Todd
believes that the better system will be the fuel cell.
Shifting to the equations on his handout, the ones that
baffled so many of us, Todd described the chemistry of the common lead-acid
battery, walking us through the first bewildering equation. The second and
third of his bewildering equations describe how lead oxide and sulfuric acid
in a storage battery are made to store electricity and release it on demand,
while his remaining equations describe the process by which water splits
into hydrogen and oxygen and how hydrogen and oxygen again combine to form
water. Understanding this, we now also understood in its most elementary
terms how to produce hydrogen, a process discovered around 1900. By now,
the equations were far less bewildering, not that any of us was about
to start splitting water into its constituents in our workshops.
All of the foregoing led to the definition of a fuel cell
as something that takes hydrogen and produces electricity, with its only
byproduct being water. It has no moving parts and can be stacked in as big
a
pile as needed to produce varying amounts of electricity to power an electric
car, or even a truck if the stack is big enough. By its nature, it will outlast
any conventional automobile, so manufacturers have designed a fuel cell chassis
that can accept various bodies as the owner's needs evolve. We won't always
need a station wagon, or a sedan, or a sports car, so why not just change
the vehicle body when our needs change?
Indeed, fuel cell-powered cars have not only been built,
they have crossed the U.S., and Honda is actually supplying Los Angeles with
a fleet of fuel cell-powered cars. There was even a race from Washington,
D.C. to New York City scheduled for May 14 consisting entirely of alternate
fuel cars, some of which undoubtedly fuel cell-powered. While electric cars
relying on batteries need frequent recharging and have limited range and
battery life, fuel cell-powered cars just need a ready supply of hydrogen,
from which they can derive electricity and exhaust water. And the recycling
of water is benign to the environment.
Sounds great, right? Well, we're not there yet. It's expensive
to build a fuel cell since we need some pretty exotic elements for its catalyst
to make it work. In fact, right now they're cost prohibitive except for research
and test purposes, although the scientific community is making steady progress
toward lowering fuel cell cost. And the effect of volume production will
lead to further cost reductions someday. Of course, we also need the infrastructure
to produce and distribute hydrogen safely and
economically.
Among ideas being explored for the economical production
of hydrogen are the use of solar energy to generate the electricity needed
to split the hydrogen from water. Research is also underway into the use
of microbes to similarly produce hydrogen from water.
Potential non-automotive uses for fuel cells include space
stations, where hydrogen could be used to produce both electricity and drinking
and washing water. Numerous military applications could also benefit from
fuel cell use in the field, freeing the military from the need to recharge
or replace batteries regularly.
Todd demonstrated a readily purchased model truck kit
that actually runs on fuel cell technology. The car nuts assembled for the
dinner meeting were universally enthralled by this tiny hint of the future
of
transportation.
For a copy of Todd's resource list, contact him: todd.clark@science.doe.gov.
Pushing for Progress: Chapter Listings
Mid-Atlantic President Dave Morris, a former AROC Board
Member, has joined John Kay and me in urging the National AROC to review
its policy of listing chapters only by the state where they are based. MAARC
is listed in the Alfa Owner and on the website as being based in North Carolina,
and Capital
Chapter in D.C.
A resident of Virginia looking at the site thinking of
joining AROC would infer there is no chapter to serve him or her--when in
fact there are two! A Marylander or South Carolinian would think there is
no chapter at all.
Both chapters have brought this issue to the Board for
six months, arguing not only would it serve our interests, it would help
boost membership nationally and can do no harm. The Board has not resolved
this seemingly simple issue, to our frustration and the detriment of membership.
Hopefully, it will be addressed at the Board meeting in Florida. Stay tuned.
I urge other chapter members who agree to contact the
Board (listed in the front of the Alfa Owner and at www.aroc-usa.org)
and urge them to make this simple change to benefit our Chapter.
--Sherry Thackeray
Upcoming Events
Il Calendario
GREAT PATUXENT VALLEY RALLYE & PICNIC
Sunday, June 1. Alfas invited! Michael and Mary Ovitt
of the Austin Healey Club have invited our AROC members to come to and join
a bunch of "little British cars" in the Great Patuxent Valley Rallye &
Picnic on Sunday June 1. For British car lovers, this will be a treat! They
had 65 cars last year. The picnic on a farm will include music and more;
bring your own food & drink! Details are at www.chesapeake.net/~oritt/
The Rallye runs from Upper Marlboro to Saint Leonard,
Md., a 1.5 hour, 50-mile drive. It's an "observation rally" so you don't
have to set speed records--just keep your eyes open. Meet at the Giant Supermarket
1/10 of a mile south of Rte. 4 on Rte. 301 by 10 a.m. It's rain or shine
(like it ever rains in Britain!)
JUNE DINNER MEETING
Monday, June 2 Pulcinella's, McLean, Va. Meeting is 8:00
p.m. but many arrive earlier! The speaker, on electric vehicles, will be
Tim Fullerton, who works for EDTA (Electric Drive Transportation Association)
of Washington, D.C. Also, the DIY Channel Alfa Duetto restoration videotape,
as shown at April's Baltimore meeting, will be shown by popular request.
Directions: Pulcinella's, 6582 Old Dominion Blvd., McLean, VA; 703/893-7777.
>From the Capital Beltway (495) take exit 44 (formerly Exit 13) to Georgetown
Pike East. At the light at the top of the hill, take a left and cross over
the Beltway. Make an immediate right onto Rte. 696b, Balls Hill Rd. At the
next light take a left onto Rte. 738, Old Dominion Blvd. Pulcinella's will
be on your left, shortly after going through the next traffic light.
SIXTH ANNUAL ALFA SWAP MEET/AUTOCRAFT OPEN HOUSE
Sunday, June 15, 10-3 at Stahlman's Autocraft, 1510 South
George St., York, PA. Capital Chapter,
Central Pennsylvania, and Delaware Valley Chapters participate and all Alfa
and Italian Car folks are welcome. Complimentary buffet lunch provided by
owner Jerry Stahlman. Bring Alfa goodies... new or used parts, books, models,
whatever, and plan to swap or sell as the opportunity arises. Directions
or info, call Erich Stahlman or Andy Kaufmann at 717/845-5314, or Mike Mihm,
717/741-0460.
POCONOS CONCORSA d'ELEGANZE
June 28-30. Skytop and Long Pond, Penn. Concours and
driving event in Pennsylvania is billed as "the largest 3-Day Italian automotive
event in North America." Regional Alfa Romeo Clubs among the participants.
See: http://www.mhkaye.com/Pocono_2003.htm
ANNUAL AROC CONVENTION
July 4 weekend in Florida. See Page 1 and www.aroc-usa.org.
JULY DINNER MEETING
Monday, July 14 at Mon Ami Gabi.
AUGUST DINNER MEETING
Monday, August 4 (Olive Garden, Laurel, Md.)
ANNUAL CLUB PICNIC
September, Date TBD.
100 CARS OF RADNOR
September 15, Radnor PA. Alfa Romeo joins Ford and Corvette as the featured
marques!
OCTOBER DINNER MEETING
Monday, October 6 (Vicino's) Speaker: A representative from the National
Tire Marketing Group.
SPRING BACKROADS RAMBLE
Friday-Sunday, May 21-13, 2004 Appomattox , VA
Always whistle a happy tune
When motoring in your Alfa this June!
Alfantics is the official publication of the Capital Chapter of
the Alfa Romeo Owners Club (AROC). Local membership and a subscription to
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last updated: May 2003