Notes from the President

Transcription

1 The Official Newsletter of the Indy Miata Club Volume 28 Issue 1 January 2017 What s Inside Page 2 President s column continued Classifieds. Page Club Events Page 4 IMC 2017 Motoring Challenge Christmas Party/Election report Page Regional Miata Events Page 6 Notes from the President By John Lyghtel Where to start? That is the question a new Indy Miata Club president needs to answer for his or her first column for our newsletter. I will start by thanking everyone who stepped up in 2016 for our club. We start with Ken Koehler for a great job leading us throughout the year, and of course Sara who was there with him. We thank Ben Hecht for taking over the duties of Treasurer I am sure Charlie has been of some assistance also. Thanks also to the Cady s Sonja for secretary and her father Dick for membership. We thank Steve Crouse for our newsletter always look forward to reading it each month. And we thank Sara McBride for keeping our website up and running. We also thank everyone who had a hand in our rallies, mingles and get-togethers during the year. Ken got us started with the annual Presidents lunch and board meeting. Sara McBride got us together for breakfast and a tour of the Indianapolis Speedway Museum over the winter, our annual PTBR in the spring, and Hidden Drives rally in the fall. Now Kathy and I understand how rattle can can be part of the rally name - something that we have somehow managed to miss out on until now. Kathy and I missed the Kentucky Cruisin Weekend and Marietta Madness Ohio trips but heard good things maybe we can make it this year. Ken Koehler, Tom Lewis, and Robert Elliot each put on a nice rally over the summer. Ken, Ben, and myself served as hosts for one of the mingles. Steve took a group to St. Louis Fireworks weekend, and then had a nice outing for Coffee and Classics breakfast and then a tour of Ray Skillman s Collector Car Sales. And of course we finished the year with a great Christmas party and dinner at Grindstone Charlie s with big thanks to: Ken and Sara Koehler, Kathy and Steve Crouse, and Ben Hecht who handled the raffle. Now who is going to step up this year? We have the potential for at least three mingles the annual Nights before the Indy 500, Brickyard 400, and Air Races. Maybe someone might also consider a Night before the Vintage in June either the 10th or the 17th as there will be vintage racing on two weekends this year at IMS. Continued on page 2 The RF in RED! Page 7 Door Bushing Replacement Page 8 Eric & Mike s January Gig Mazda racers Page 9 Funny Stuff? Page Advertisers 2017 Membership Update: RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP NOW. Forms are available on website / mail to Treasurer. Please correct any erroneous information on your member page. Looking for clothing with the Indy Miata Club logo on it? We've got two stores to help you out at the Clothing tab on our website. For digitally printed casual wear, head over to our Spreadshirt store. How about an embroidered shirt or jacket? Our Lands' End store can deliver the goods to your door. Polos, jackets, sweatshirts and more with the IMC logo embroidered on the item.

2 January 2017 Page 2 Open Road Indy Miata Club Officers 2017 President John Lyghtel president@indymiata.org Vice-President Dave Phares vicepresident@indymiata.org Treasurer Ben Hecht treasurer@indymiata.org Notes from the President, cont. We might have annual renditions of traditional rallies but we could also have new rallies or resurrect an old rally from the archives. As Sara and Steve did in 2016, we could meet for breakfast and, maybe, do a tour. Hemmings Motor News The Great Race 2017 will be visiting Indiana in June on Tuesday the 27th, lunch in French Lick and overnight in Franklin, and on the 28th, overnight in Auburn. Maybe a mingle in Franklin on a weeknight might work out? The first event for the New Year will be the President s Luncheon this year at George s Neighborhood Bar and Grille on Binford at 71 st Street on the northeast side of Indianapolis. This is the same place we have had the Christmas party and dinner previously. Check our website for details, and be sure to sign up if you plan to attend. Something to consider for June: during the vintage weekend at IMS there is usually a Show and Shine on Saturday (the 17th this year). You may enter most any vehicle not necessarily a vintage one. It will cost more than a normal admission but you get a nice parking spot inside IMS and, usually, a program and a gift (the past two years a nice LED flashlight). I have done this twice at IMS, joined this past summer with two other Miata Club members, and once at the Pittsburg Vintage Grand Prix. We will put information in the newsletter later in the year. With so much to do, we hope to see you all often this driving season. Secretary Sonya Cady Winter at the Speedway. secretary@indymiata.org Membership Director Dick Cady membership@indymiata.org Website Editor Sara J McBride webmaster@indymiata.org Newsletter Editor Steve Crouse editor@indymiata.org Limited Sale! Want an IMC sticker for your Miata or OTM? We've got them! Only $2 and only available if you attend an event! See Sara J! CLASSIFIEDS NC ( ) Mazda OEM Rubber Winter Floor Mats, Very good condition. Only $20 FOR SET! Contact Gary at or at popsw@me.com 15x7 Chaparral wheels: with 195/55 Kuhmo Ecsta 4XII tires, used only 5000 mi., $500 firm for set. tristan.w.liechty@gmail.com For Sale: A stock radio from a 2014 Miata. Asking $35. davephares47@gmail.com if interested. The Open Road is published monthly for the members of the Indy Miata Club. The Indy Miata Club assumes no liability for any information contained herein, or injury or damage resulting from the use of this information. The ideas, opinions, maintenance or modification tips expressed are to be used at the reader s discretion. Individual contributors and/or the editors express no approval, authentication, or endorsement. Thank you Sunburst Yellow, PRICE REDUCED!, $8,950, low mileage, w/hardtop, call Terry King, Pair of tan Wet Okole high-back seat covers for 2nd Gen. Miata, $50; contact John Lyghtel at or jrlyghtel@aol.com MazSpd Velocity Red, Many extras, 93K miles, NEW PRICE $12000, Details on club Classified webpage. Contact jceaw@sbcglobal.net

3 Page 3 Open Road January 2017 It s Time to Start Thinking about 2017 Rallies! Would you organize a rally, mingle or weekend trip? Get it on our 2017 calendar ASAP. Please report the date & info. to Event Coordinator, Dave Phares. Contact him at events@indymiata.org. Indy Miata Club Motoring Challenge A long-term club scavenger contest Beginning January 11. See the rules on our website Sunday, January 15 President s Luncheon & Board of Officers Meeting, See club website for location & time. April Quarterly Board of Officers Meeting Date & Location TBD Sat., May 27 Night before the Indy 500 mingle Organizer needed July Quarterly Board of Officers Meeting Date & Location TBD Sat. July 23 Night before the Brickyard 400 mingle Organizer needed October Quarterly Board of Officers Meeting Date & Location TBD

4 Page 4 Open Road January 2017 A New Long-Term Event for 2017 INDY MIATA CLUB MOTORING CHALLENGE The first-ever Indy Miata Club Motoring Challenge starts January 1! While it may be a few weeks before you re ready to be out and about in your Miata, you can sign up now and be ready as soon as the weather improves. The contest, which is similar to a scavenger hunt, is open to all Indy Miata Club members and will run through November 30. As a participant, you ll receive a list of destinations to visit and items to find. At each location, you ll take a photo of your Miata along with the 2017 Challenge poster. Some locations will also require a visible, permanent sign. There may also be additional bonus point opportunities during the contest. Points will be awarded for each destination visited. The participation fee will be $10, and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three finishers. The prize amounts will depend upon the number of entries. Gary and Linda Weidman will be the rally masters. If you have questions, please contact Gary at popsw@me.com. Enrollment forms and detailed instructions are now on the club website Christmas Party & Election report Without a doubt, our annual Christmas party is one of, if not the best attended and enjoyable club events of the year. If my memory serves, we had 58 members attending with a few people who planned on being there missing the fun because of interference in their plans. (Charlie was one of them.) The location this year was Grindstone s in Speedway. It turned out to be an excellent choice. (Thanks, KK) The room was sizable, the staff attentive and the food delicious, especially the DESSERTS! Our illustrious Candy Man showed up early and plied everyone with decadent candies to get the evening rolling. Yum! After dinner orders were taken, while waiting for them to be served, our entertainment committee led us in a lyric contest to The Twelve Days of Christmas, where each of the small groups had to make up a verse to coincide with one of the 12 days. When all the shouting (singing) was complete, the group voted for the best verse. Tom & Laura L and Sara M won with Seven Wrong Turns. That sure sounds familiar. Then, on to food. And conversation. But the action wasn t over yet. Following dinner, We held our annual nomination and election of officers. The club officers for the new year are as follows: President: John Lyghtel Vice-President: Dave Phares Secretary: Sonya Cady Treasurer: Ben Hecht Appointed Officers are: Membership: Dick Cady Webmaster: Sara McBride Newsletter: Steve Crouse And last but not least, we participated in the traditional gift (and STEAL) exchange. Again, there was lots of participation this year, with numerous gifts exchanging hands many, MANY times. We hope you all came away with something you enjoyed! If not, we ll try again next year. (Photos available on website.) It appeared as though everyone had a great time. I can attest that we did. And, we ll looking forward to the new year and lots of good times with member-friends. Don t forget that we have the new President s Luncheon coming up in mid-january. It s an excellent occasion to start warming up for driving season.

5 Page 5 Open Road January 2017 Regional Miata Events in 2017 Do you want to do something different this year? How about attending a Miata event outside our area? These gatherings are a great chance to meet Miata-fanatics from other areas of the U.S. Need help finding information? See links from Non-IMC Events page on our website, contact one of our club officers, or search Miata.Net. Saturday, April 8, 2017 Miatapalooza Tampa, FL May 31 June 4, th Annual Zoomin the Mountains of East Tenn. Johnson City TN August 3-6, 2017 Miatas at the Gap, XXI Deal s Gap/Robbinsville NC

6 Page 6 Open Road January 2017 The RF in Red.

7 Page 7 Open Road January 2017 Replacement of Door Bushings By Sara J. I think we re all familiar with the term snake oil, right? Well, earlier this summer, a club member was telling me about these Delrin Door Bushings that he installed on his car. They were priced at $65.00 and in the back of my mind I heard, Snake oil! Snake oil!. Time marched on and there I was, surfing the miata.net forum one night and I ran across a discussion of the Door Bushings and the good reviews they were getting. I went to other sites and read the reviews. I sighed, went back to the Flyin Miata web site and saw they were priced at $ OK, that s below my will buy line*. I ordered them. Why replace the stock door bushings? Chassis rigidity. Most cars have a solid roof that helps solidify the car, but unless you re running with a hardtop all year, our convertibles lose that stiffening point. The door in the Miata is a weak point when it comes to rigidity and Miata uses a soft rubber bushing (on the body) that fits into a metal cup (located on the door). Even when new, there s some play and give to the rubber bushing. Go open and close the door of your Miata, then open and close your OTM. (I ll wait.) The Miata doesn t sound like your OTM door closing, does it? Enter the replacement bushings. These bushings are made from Delrin and are machined to a very tight tolerance. What, you ask, is Delrin? It s Dupont s name for Polyoxymethylene. That s an engineering thermoplastic that is used in precision parts requiring high stiffness, low friction and excellent dimensional stability. The Delrin bushings allow the door to make a firm connection with the chassis and make your door part of the structure of the chassis. It s not like adding a cage or door supports, but it s cheaper and it does help. When my package arrived, it had the bushings and replacement bolts and even the bolts looked better. I could see how the new bushings would fit better into the cup on the door than the factory bushings. Onto the car they went and off I went for a drive. The difference these bushings make is not a OMG! What a Freakin Difference! but a subtle one. Going over bumps and on rough roads, the doors are now quieter, the chatter/rattle I had is gone. There s a slight seat of the pants feeling that the car is tighter, but again, it s a subtle difference. To install, just remove the bolts, remove the old bushings and put on the new ones. Yes, it s that easy. The tools you need are a Phillips screwdriver and a 10mm ratcheting wrench. Yes, not a lot of tools. Unscrew the old bolts and clean off the dirt that has built up on the frame around the old bushings. Put the new bushings on and tighten the bolts about finger tight and then close the door. Do this several times to get the bushing in the correct place for the door cup. Tighten the bolts again and close the door again a few more times. Your door shouldn t be anymore or maybe just a bit harder to close than it was with the old bushings, but it will sound much more solid. (Compare it with the door you haven t done yet. What a difference!) When you re happy with the fit, tighten the bolt with the ratchet. You might want to check the bolts after driving it for a week or so to make sure you tightened the bolts enough So, would I buy them if I had a second Miata? Yes. They are This is what the door bushings fit into. Old bushing is on the left. It s smaller, and doesn't fill the door cup as snug as the replacement on the right does. well worth the $45.00 I spent. The Delrin Replacement Door Bushings are available from several vendors including Moss Motors, Flyin Miata, Garage Star (use coupon code thecarpassionchannel at Garage Star s site for $3.15 off!). This would make a great stocking stuffer! Now I have to track down that rattle in my dash...or should I work on the suspension? * What s a will buy line? That s a sales term for whether you ll buy a product or not. Everyone draws a line at what they will pay for something. If the price is higher, then no sale on this for me.

8 Page 8 Open Road January 2017 Eric & Mike play Hopwood Cellars Winery Club Member Eric Drumwright, wants to let everyone know that he and his friend, Mike Click, will be performing again at Hopwood Cellars Winery (12 E. Cedar ST., Zionsville) on Saturday, January 28, from 8:00 to 10:00 pm. For those that don t know Eric & Mike are a vocal, guitar duo that performs songs from the 50 s to today. This will be a return engagement for them. They would love to have Miata Club friends come and lend support! So if the weather s not too bad and you have some time on the evening of the 28 th of January, drive on over to beautiful downtown Zionsville and enjoy a glass or bottle of great wine, while listening to some fun music! For info go to hopwoodcellars.com Mazda RT-24-P IMSA racer

9 Page 9 Open Road January 2017 Do you have any funny auto-related cartoons, photos or sayings? Indy Miata Club Funny Stuff?

10 January 2017 Page 10 Open Road Benefits for Indy Miata Club Members -First year dues to the Indy Miata Club after purchase of any Mazda -S-Plan Pricing to Current Members -15% off All Parts & Accessories -15% off Labor Rates -Maintenance for Life with the purchase of Any Mazda -Saturday Service Hours 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM -Free Cookies!! Contact Lauren Auld for more information. Now celebrating 40 years! Exclusive Discounts for Indy Miata Club Members Tom Roush Mazda, Indiana s first Mazda dealer established in 1972 has not only the most experienced sales and service staff in town, but also is the highest volume dealer in Indiana. We hope to serve you in our next 40 years as Indy s premier Mazda dealer. In support of the Miata Club member s we would like to offer the following benefits: 15% off regular door labor rate 15% off any accessory purchase S-Plan pricing to eligible customer s Extended Saturday service hours 7:30 3:30 US th Street Westfield, IN

11 January 2017 Page 11 Open Road Hughes Insurance Group is an Independent Agency representing over 35 insurance companies. Our ultra-competitive rates assure that you receive the most value at the best price for all of your home, auto or business insurance needs. For a limited time, I m giving away a $20 gas card with an insurance review and quote for your home, auto or business with no obligation! If I m competitive, consider allowing Hughes Insurance Group to write your business. If I can t provide you with a better value, you ll have the peace of mind knowing you re properly insured at a fair price. Tom Lewis Call or Indy Miata Club member Tom Lewis today! tom@hughesinsurancegroup.com Have a few dollars invested in upgrades? Ask about Agreed Value Coverage for your Miata! INSURANCE GROUP