INDY GTO ASSOCIATION blog

NEXT Indy GTO Meeting - Feb. 20

2012-02-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

OCTOBER INDY GTO MEETING

2011-10-30T20:38:00.004-04:00

GATHERING PLACE Rock 'n' Roll Show

2011-10-30T20:18:00.006-04:00

JEFF WYLER SHOW

2011-10-30T20:01:00.004-04:00

PONTIACS at FALL CARLISLE, PA.

2011-10-13T23:51:00.001-04:00

AMERICAN VETERAN'S TRAVELLING TRIBUTE CRUISE

2011-10-13T23:33:00.002-04:00

AUSTRALIAN John Hart's '68 GTO

2011-10-13T23:23:00.003-04:00

OCTOBER INDY GTO MEETING

2011-10-11T23:51:00.008-04:00

2011 TRANS AM NATIONALS

2011-09-03T06:18:00.004-04:00

PONTIACS AT GRISSOM AFB

2011-08-26T20:17:00.004-04:00

SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 - GTO MEETING

2011-08-20T08:05:00.000-04:00

PONTIAC MUSEUM GRAND OPENING

2011-07-24T11:32:00.002-04:00

PLANES and PONTIACS

2011-07-24T10:37:00.017-04:00

Connersville - Robert's Park and Kunkles

2011-07-11T13:27:00.007-04:00

INDY GTO JULY MEETING

2011-07-07T09:26:00.002-04:00

MUNCIE DRAGWAY / June 25, 2011

2011-06-26T21:01:00.006-04:00

2011 HOTROD POWERTOUR with THE PREZ

2011-06-12T21:35:00.001-04:00

Historic Auto Club Cruise - May 21, 2011

2011-05-30T18:33:00.002-04:00

Masterpiece Classic Cars Grand Opening - May 19, 2011

2011-05-30T18:29:00.001-04:00

Victor Watters' Birthday Jacket - May 2011

2011-05-30T18:01:00.006-04:00

Golden Corral Meeting and Masterpiece Classic Cars Museum

2011-05-16T20:34:00.014-04:00

May 19 - MASTERPIECE CLASSIC CARS

2011-05-02T20:38:00.003-04:00

May 14 - IGTOA MEETING

2011-05-02T20:15:00.005-04:00

Victor Watters' Birthday Meeting - April 30

2011-04-25T20:18:00.011-04:00

Christmas Dinner At Dawsons in Speedway

2010-12-05T10:59:00.002-05:00

Dave Fitzpatrick Remembered - Nov. 6, 2010

2010-11-07T21:57:00.002-05:00

Greenwood Rock n Roll Show / October 23, 2010

2010-11-07T21:50:00.003-05:00

INDY GTO GARAGE PARTY - October 16, 2010

2010-11-07T21:43:00.004-05:00

Noblesville Show / October 9, 2010

2010-11-07T21:36:00.003-05:00

TRANS AM NATIONALS / August 28, 2010

2010-11-07T21:15:00.006-05:00

AVON PARK SHOW / August 22, 2010

2010-11-07T19:53:00.010-05:00

INDY GTO ASSOCIATION August Meeting

2010-07-19T20:20:00.007-04:00

The Indy GTO Association

will have their monthly meeting at the

MAIN STREET ORGANIC BISTRO (www.mainstorganicbistro.com) at 922 East Main Street, Brownsburg, Ind., (317-286-3523) at 6:00pm on Monday, August 16th. They have an appetizer called Goat Cheese Nuggets. Expect to eat first then meet. We will discuss upcoming show/cruise opportunities, Christmas possibilities, the PREZ will review the agenda and we will have our car talk roundtable.

ALL Automotive Enthusiasts Welcome.

July Indy GTO Association Meeting

2010-07-02T10:11:00.007-04:00

Dooley O'Toole's Cruise-In

2010-07-02T10:00:00.010-04:00

The slideshow below is from the Wednesday night cruise-in at Dooley O’Toole’s on June 30, 2010. Dooley O'Toole's is at 162 E. Carmel Drive, Carmel, Ind. 46032 / (317) 843-9900

INDY GTO ASSOCIATION Open Car Show Highlights

2010-06-21T21:07:00.011-04:00

Our show at RETRO TECH in Brownsburg was great.
The rain stayed away for the entire show.
View the slideshow below to see some of the cars and attendees.

Indy GTO Association June Meeting At MCL

2010-06-12T09:36:00.002-04:00

Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour Update From Indy GTO PREZ

2010-06-11T23:59:00.005-04:00

Friday June 4th -- Well Pat, Fitz and I made it to Iowa yesterday with no issues. Went thru a little rain, but nothing too serious. We picked up Alan Stroh from the Brandywine Cruisers on the way as well. Made a stop at the "worlds largest truckstop" based just inside Iowa on I-80 ... don't get no better than that, maybe tomorrow we'll see the worlds largest ball of string or something!! :))

Sat June 5th -- Registraton went good and we had a great steak dinner at Grinnel, Iowa. Last night it rained like I've never seen before...one town near by got 5 inches of rain!!!!! Today was pretty nice and we took in the Sprint car hall of fame at the Knoxville speedway. That was pretty kool if you are a sprint car fan. Looked like our lucky day as the World of Outlaws are in town to race tonight... we planned to go, but the skys opened up again about 6pm (luckily we were already back at the hotel) and it rained monsoon like for about 30 minutes so the race was most likely rained out :(

Sun June 6th -- Everything is still going well! Had a great day of cruising today! Weather was great all day! Went from Newton, Iowa to Springfield, ILL. today with no issues. The drive through the small towns along the way was fun. There were tons of folks just sitting along the highway waving at us all as we passed. Kinda feel like a rock star. It's way kool!! Springfield really rolled out the red carpet and the whole downtown was shutdown for the Hot Rod Power Tour. :)

Tues June 8th -- We made the trip from DuQuoin IL to Bowling Green today. Beautiful day, the cars ran well all day. The HRPT was set up at the local airport. Very hot today, temps in the mid 90's. We got stuck in traffic entering the venue and the Prez's goat got up to 220 degrees before we got parked, a little too warm for sure! Along the road today we ran into 3 funky looking vehicles at a gas stop. They were some dudes from Australia driving 3 Holden vehicles (very similar to the Holden GTO's) except these were styled like the small Dodge trucks that were kinda "El Camino" esk. We also detoured from the pack to Metropolis, IL, as in Superman fame Metropolis. There was a Ford Tri-Motor airplane giving airplane rides today as well. The 3 amigos decided to stay planted on the ground. I got a few pix of the orange GTO ('64 conv) that was detailed in a recent issue of the legend. Its an '06 GTO fitted with '64 sheet metal. Very clever indeed. He drove here from Colorado!!! We decided to take in the Vette Museum since neither Fitz nor Pat had ever stopped to see it before. All in all a great trip and good day. Tomorrow we are off to Chattanooga, Tenn. and hope to make contact with Tom Hart, a past Prez of the Indy GTO Assn.

Till Then, Cruz'em if ya Got'em

Prez Bill

Wed June 9th -- Bowling Green to Chattanooga, Tenn. We took off and decided to pass on the cross-country drive due to the on slaught of rain and we took the major highways and interstates. Sounded easy, but co-pilot Fitz blew to the navigator duties multiple times, so Pat & I had to fire him and go with the Garmin :)). Today's event was held at the Chattanga Community College right downtown on the river front. Very nice venue, but once again a big crowd, big traffic back-up and the Presidental Goat was not happy about running around at +220 degrees. Today was my day in the barrel form a poor running car. On the way to Tenn. my Goat was beginning to miss out running down the highway and I was having trouble keeping it running when stopping at signals and stop signs. We headed to the venue and got our credentials stamped with no problems. However, once we got to the hotel, checked in and I went to move my GTO out from under the front door canopy and .... no start. Lots of crank'n but it flat refused to move any further. Of course when this happens in a public place like that, you get plenty of "help" from the peanut gallery. Well, I had plenty of gas being fed in, plenty of air, not so much in the spark deptartment. A quick inspection of the coil wire revealed it was lose on the coil and had arc'd pretty badly and needed repalced. A short trip to the local parst house and I scored a new coil wire, back to the hotel, replaced the wire and that beautiful sound of a 455 cid Pontiac came to life!! What a relief!! These trips are always a bit of a calculated risk, so it was good to resolve this issue with minimal interuptions. At least I wasn't at some gas station in the middle of "banjo music country" with no "back-up." What fun this is!! If you're a car nut and doing the HRPT isn't on your "bucket list" you might want to re-think you're bucket list!! :)) It's been hot as Hell the last two days and now we head .... South! Fitz is hanging tough and probably handling the heat better then me!!! We had dinner tonight with Alan Stroh (Brandywine Cruiser-Greenfield) and his co-pilot Dave tonight. They said on the trip through the country side today they came across a wadded up '69 Camaro in the middle of the street, then later at the venue saw a lime green Camaro with its tail end all wadded up ... oops, alegedly the Camaro "hit water and hydro planned" and the guy backed it into the guard rail. Bummer. Well, that's about all of the excitment from today . Tomorrow we are off to Birmingham, Al. Wish us luck!!

Cruz'em if ya Got'em

Prez Bill

Fri June 11th -- Goatsers, This was a complete bummer of a day. Friday June 11th there was a fatal crash on the power tour. Thankfully, no one from our group was involved and we all returned Saturday safely to Indiana with no issues (or at least very few issues). Please keep this family in your prayers. Prez Bill http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20100611/NEWS/100619954/1007?Title=Florida-man-killed-in-head-on-collision&tc=ar#

Mystery Cruise Saturday, May 15, 2010

2010-05-16T20:24:00.004-04:00

Bill and Rita Sanders put together a GREAT mystery cruise!!!
Enjoy the slide show below. Click the arrow to play again.
Click on any photo to go to the Picasa web album and see that photo and the rest of the photos enlarged. (Click the back arrow or button on your web browser to return to the blog!) The photos were taken by Betsy Fladung and Jean Gloudemans and Bill Sanders.

MAY 17 Meeting At MCL

2010-05-01T17:58:00.000-04:00

The Indy GTO Association May Meeting will be held Monday, May 17th at 6:00 pm in the back banquet room at the Castleton MCL Cafeteria 5520 Castleton Corner Lane, Indianapolis 317-845-5717. www.mclhomemade.com
We could use a good turn out as we are planning our June car show at RETRO TECH http://www.retro-tech.net/! We will also discuss upcoming cruise opportunities, the PREZ will go through the agenda, there will be a guest speaker and we will have a roundtable.

INDY GTO ASSOCIATION Open Car Show

2010-03-28T00:37:00.006-04:00

Club Meeting Monday night at Kings Classics

2010-02-14T16:06:00.003-05:00

We have an Indy GTO Association Club meeting at 6pm Monday night, Feb. 15. at Kings Classics 6370 S. Cozy Lane Whitestown, In. 46075. Jeff King is really putting on the feedbag for us so come out and play!! Pork Loin Sandwiches, and all the fixins! Do me a favor and respond back to me if you are coming so I can give him a headcount!
Thanks,
Prez Bill
sanders.bill@comcast.net

Daytona GTO.R photos from Bill Vantuono

2010-01-29T15:48:00.004-05:00

An email from Bill Vantuono:
Hey everyone!
Greetings from the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. Here's "our" GTO.R. She looks great! Our logo really stands out on the quarter panels. We're going to add a few small GTOAA decals on Saturday, on the nose, tail, and interior. Let me know what you think.

Bill Vantuono
National Chapter Coordinator
GTO Association of America
431 16th Avenue
Brick, NJ 08724
(732) 208-6860 (cell)
(212) 620-7240 (office)
chapters@gtoaa.org
www.gtoaa.org

John E. Jackson Nov. 01, 1942 - Jan 22, 2010

2010-01-24T00:24:00.000-05:00

John E. Jackson, 67, of Cory, IN passed away at his residence Friday, January 22, 2010 following a brief battle with cancer.

He was born in Oaktown, Indiana November 1, 1942 to Emmett and Anne (Wilkin) Jackson. He graduated from Connersville High School with the class of 1960, and attended Indiana State University graduating with a Bachelors degree in Education. During his college years he worked as a musician with many local Blue Grass bands. Mr. Jackson served in the United States Army, the Americal Division. He served in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart after being wounded in battle. He was honorably discharged as a retired Army Sergeant. Following his return from the military Mr. Jackson returned to ISU to achieve a Masters degree in education. He married Kim Antcliff July 25, 1984. He taught Industrial Arts at Otter Creek Junior High School. He served on the Board of Directors of the Fayette Bank and Trust in Connersville, IN. Following teaching he began farming in the Cory area until retirement.

In his free time John enjoyed hunting, clay pigeons and skeet shooting, driving his 1966 GTO, playing Blue Grass music, cowboy action shooting, and spending time with family.

He was a member of the National Muzzle Loading and Rifle Association participating in historical reenactments, Life member of the NRA and Ducks Unlimited, and participated in Hunters Helping Hunters. He taught, as a volunteer, hunters’ safety classes assisting with Department of Natural Resources. The Indiana Hunter Education Association honored him as the district 5 volunteer instructor of the year for 2005. He also served on various conservation committees throughout the valley and as a volunteer at the Cory Apple Festival for many years.

He was preceded in death by his parents Emmett and Anne.

Survivors include his wife Kim Jackson; sons Christopher Wilkin Jackson and wife Maria of Sacramento, CA, John Thomas Jackson and wife Puni of San Francisco, CA Lt. Jacob A. Jackson USMC stationed at Quantico, VA.

January 30th Indy GTO Club Meeting

2010-01-16T13:46:00.011-05:00

Happy New Year Goatnutz,

Your staff of diligent (or is that delinquent?) Indy GTO officiers, bored members and the US Congress have finally come to resolution on our health care bull, I mean bill and our first meeting of the decade that will lead on to become the twenty teens:

Date: Saturday January 30th
Place: RetroTech
Time: 11:30am-3pm
Address: 475 Northpoint Court, Suite 600,
Brownsburg, IN 46112
Phone: 317-858-3400

How do I get there: From Indy's westside: take I-465 to I-74west to St Rd 267 (Browsburg exit). Go south on StRd 267 to first stop light (Northfield Drive) and turn left (east), follow Northfield around until you see John Force Racing on the right. Just past JFR is Southpoint Circle, turn right on Southpoint Circle and go maybe 1/4 mile or so to Northpoint (its on the left). Go to suite 600

Our host, Mike Haluska, is providing pizza and sodas, so get there on time before the Jump family shows up!

Our agenda will cover our plans for our June show at RetroTech, Mystery cruise date, car shows we might want to travel to as a group, with plenty of time left over to socialize.

To kick things off, Mike Haluska will show us his new facility (he used to be over on Rockville Rd) and let us know what's happening in the world of "RetroTech".

So, mark your calendars NOW, show up to help us kick-off 2010 and this new decade.

Band of Brothers

2010-01-09T22:44:00.020-05:00

We send our best wishes out to two of our members dealing with serious illnesses. We are keeping both of these guys and their families in our thoughts and prayers at this time. Indy GTO Club Treasurer, William Dave Fitzpatrick, was lookin' good after his surgery. Here is a slide show of favorite Fitz pics.

Here is a slide show of photos of John Jackson, many taken at his place. (Thank you to John Jump and Bill Sanders for your help with these pics!)

Blog Editor Change

2009-11-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

My deepest apologies to our faithful readers! We are undergoing the need for a new blog editor as I have started a new job and we sold our GTO! Someone will step forward and be trained soon to pick up and carry the ball on this! I will try to do updates when I can until that happens. And the guys are faithfully updating members with emails. If you are interested in being involved, this is a great time to become a member! - Betsy Fladung

Elysian Foundation

2009-11-29T23:56:00.005-05:00

The Indy GTO Association made a contribution to the Elysian Foundation on November 7, 2009

Drive-N-Dine

2009-10-10T01:23:00.003-04:00

Ron & Sheri put together a grrrrrreat cruise for the herd, starting at Ron & Sheri's place in McCordsville and concluding, via back roads, at Birds Smokehouse BBQ in Daleville.

We had an excellent turnout for our first event of this kind... the Sanders, the Fitz's, the Lentz's, the Robertsons, Pat Siler & Sharon, Bruce Troyer, the George's, the Slaughter's, and of course, Ron and Sheri.

For those who missed it, you missed great company, great BBQ, great weather, and really fun afternoon.

Thanks, Ron and Sheri... ya done GOOD and we gotta do this again soon!!!

Submitted by David Fitzpatrick

Back to the Fifties Festival Car Show

2009-09-20T00:45:00.001-04:00

Report from John Jump V. P. Indy GTO Association
Saturday, Sept. 19 both Pat Siler and The Lentz's won trophies in Lebanon, In. Both were well deserved wins. We went to the ACE Hardware cruise-in afterwards www.thecar-ruptables.org in Brownsburg. One of the photos shows Pat Siler standing next to the Best Of Show 1932 Pontiac (out of 163 cars).

Next Meeting Oct. 15 at Dooley O'Toole's

2009-09-15T23:00:00.002-04:00

Our next scheduled IGTOA meeting is Thursday, October 15 at 6:00 pm at Dooley O'Toole's. Dooley O'Toole's is at 160 E. Carmel Drive in Carmel. Hope to see you there.

Sept 12 meeting at John Jackson's

2009-09-13T23:27:00.005-04:00

Pictures speak volumes....enjoy!

Photos from Pat Siler

2009-09-06T17:21:00.005-04:00

Pat Siler sent me some photos in August that I finally got posted to the blog! Thanks Pat! Enjoy!

Betsy, These are pictures from:
- the Gilmore Museum trip that me and fellow member Bruce Troyer went on Aug 1st. This place was fantastic and think the club should try to make trip up there in the futrue..

- the tri-power nationals up in Norwalk. There were several members in attendance...Chuck McDaniel, Carl Cruz, Kenny and Deb Lentz, Craig George, Paul Taylor, Sean Matingly, myself and others. Was a great show even though it rained Sat. Lots of very nice cars.

- POCI Show at Grissom AFB. In attendance was Kenny and Jennifer Mowery, Kenny and Deb Lentz and myself. Pictures include the award winning Kenny and Deb Lentz LeMans, what a good looking car, Mowerys awesome 70 GTO, and my triple black clunker......Pat Siler

Wedding Escort Sat. Sept 5

2009-09-06T11:30:00.003-04:00

A few convertible owners provided a wedding escort on Saturday, Sept 5 (including Bill Sanders, Fitz, Kevin Reading, Chuck McDanell, Tom Triol, and Mike Norman - Bill's neighbor w/a clean '65 Chevelle) in trade for a donation to the Elysians. This guys clean up pretty well, don't you think?

Sat., Aug. 29

2009-08-29T20:58:00.004-04:00

Metropolis Classic Car Show
Noon - 2pm

4th Annual Automotive Heritage Festival Weekend
All Day Event - CANCELED:
Weekend includes car shows, cruise-ins and Chrysler PQI Car Show. For more information, call Gary Loveless, 765-614-2886 or visit http://www.acc-indiana.org.

Great Meeting at Dooley O'Toole's

2009-07-21T18:13:00.003-04:00

The Indy GTO Association met Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at Dooley O'Toole's 162 E Carmel Dr Carmel, IN. Beautiful setting - beautiful evening! Great host, great waiter, great food, great meeting.

And just for fun, here are a couple of videos:
First... we appreciate other cars, too!
This is Gary Jump's '71 Cuda:

Gotta' love the sight and sound of Pat's sweet GTO!

July 18 Show and Hog Roast at Champion

2009-07-18T22:39:00.000-04:00

Several members and friends attended this open show Saturday, July 18 at Champion Chrysler Jeep Dodge 4505 W. 96th St. Indy. We met up at McDonalds and cruised in together so we could park in the same area and break out the lawn chairs. Registration was only $5 and that included free beverages and a dinner of roasted ears dipped in butter and BBQ pulled pork. Yummmm! One of our members won the 50/50 and one of our friends won Best Engine. Fitz didn't win for the car he didn't have there this time! The sky threatened rain but there there was no downpour! A good time was had by all! Enjoy the slide show below. Click on the slideshow to enlarge photos and be able to read the few captions.

GTO Nationals

2009-07-12T22:41:00.019-04:00

Some of our members (Bill Sanders, Ken Mowery, Kevin Reading, John Jump, Dave Fitzpatrick, Doug Reno, Brian Ray and others) spent a few days in Dayton, Ohio at the 2009 GTOAA - POCI International Convention, July 7-11, 2009.

Story to follow soon....(I hope.) The montage of photos below includes the convention at the Nutter Center and also their trip to the America's Packard Museum also in Dayton, Ohio. www.americaspackardmuseum.org

An additional entry! Thank you to Mark:
"Hey Betsy – I think the club blog is great! BTW, I was in Dayton too on Friday 7/10 & Saturday 7/11. Now I know we don’t have a GTO but our ’69 Grand Prix SJ 428 4-speed placed 1st in the FF 1969 Grand Prix category “Pop” vote on Saturday. And besides, I got a good chance to test the new window seals during the deluge on Saturday (and they worked too).
Just an FYI,
Mark Henderson
Indy GTO Club Member & Poncho Supporter!!"

"Glory Days" North County Times Article

2009-07-12T21:17:00.006-04:00

Former Pontiac Marketer recounts "Glory Days"
North County Times Californian July 5, 2009
OCEANSIDE -- General Motors is killing the Pontiac line, cars with 102 years of history. But in a garage just off North Avenue, the past is washed, waxed and ready to roar back at the turn of a key.... Click link to read entire article: http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2009/07/05/business/z6add302aaf8712cb882575e00076233c.txt

"Indiana's Largest Pontiac Dealer"...gone.

2009-07-01T22:27:00.003-04:00

Conkle Pontiac in Kokomo was, in 2007, Indiana's largest Pontiac dealership by volume.

Today it is history. A combination of mismanagment and the high gas prices of the summer of 2008 did the deed. A family owned business since the 1940's they moved from cramped downtown Kokomo facilities to this nice new state of the art dealership a few years ago.

Nothing left now, just a kodak moment for my 1966 GTO convertible.

Prez Bill

Mystery Cruz Report June 27, 2009

2009-07-01T00:19:00.003-04:00

Here's what we did:
8am - Breakfast at Elegance in Brownsburg. It was great!!
9am - Traveled US 136 west to St Rd 32 east to the Ropkey Armor Museum (www.ropkeyarmormuseum.com) just outside Crawfordsville. Pretty awesome collection of TANKS! This is the largest private collection of armored tanks in the country.
12 noon - Traveled St Rd 32 west to US 63 to the big town of Eugene. We dined at the world famous Covered Bridge Restaurant. (Don't bring a credit card cuz, they only take cash!)
2:30pm - Headed to Newport to climb the world famous hill used in the annual Newport Hill Climb and then to the small sleepy town of Dana and the Ernie Pyle State Museum.
Finally - Last stop was Mike Harding's house to look at his "man cave" and check out his '70 Orbit orange GTO Judge, '71 GTO HT, '66 GTO convertible and Buick Gran National.
Great weather, great food and great company!
Cheers,
Prez Bill

ABR-The Ultimate Driving Challenge

2009-06-29T15:03:00.009-04:00

Prez Bill passed along this info:
Do you or any of your club members like racing? My name is Mitzy Timmins, Marketing Director for Auto Barrel Racing. We are launching a new reality show "ABR-The Ultimate Driving Challenge" on Versus premiering Oct. 18, 2009 @ 1pm PST and currently looking for contestants. Would you be willing to post the attached flyer: (Click on image to enlarge)

on your club website or newsletter to give your members a chance to sign up. We are looking for every type of vehicle and driver. That's why we're contacting you. Checkout the website www.autobarrelracing.com If you have any questions call me @ 360-772-1740 or email Mitzy@autobarrelracing.com Thank you for your time. I hope to see you and your club members out there.
Sincerely,
Mitzy Timmins
Auto Barrel Racing
ABR-The Ultimate Driving Challenge
360-772-1740
Mitzy@autobarrelracing.com
www.autobarrelracing.com

Rush Power Systems: GTO Parts Source

2009-06-19T17:09:00.008-04:00

- An email from Mike Harding
In my constant endeavors to find GTO parts, I have come across a vendor in Utah that has been over the top in terms of knowledge, assistance and attention to detail. His company is Rush Power Systems and the owner’s name is Darren Flint . They specialize in replacement alternators and other electronic items. I was looking for a new, higher amp alternator and came across this guy on the web. He is prompt in his responses and knowledgeable about his products – everything is custom built to order, thoroughly tested and priced competitively. After looking for a new alternator for my 1971 GTO for over two months (and going thru everything the local guys – O’Reilly, AutoZone etc have to offer), I had yet to find anything that would work that would give me more than the 63amps I was getting. Darren came through and created a system that really delivered. For a few more dollars than the local guys, I had a 150amp powerhouse that fit in the same spot as the old one. I am bringing this to the club’s attention for several reasons – good vendors are getting harder to come by, and he will give club members a 10% discount if we put a link on our web site to his. If you order more than one unit, he’ll give a 15% discount. Rush Power Systems web site: http://high-amp.com

June 20 Meeting at Retro Tech

2009-06-16T23:00:00.003-04:00

Saturday, June 20 Mike Haluska hosted our June meeting at Retro Tech in Avon, IN. Retro-Tech's new web site is: www.retro-tech.net About ten of us got to see the crew at Retro Tech separate the body from the frame on a '73 Pontiac Tempest project car that promises to be a real collector car. There were also many other project cars to see. Mike also provided pizza and drinks for the group. A good time was had by all! John Jump chaired a short business meeting, stepping in for Prez Bill Sanders who was graduating today with his Masters Degree! Congratulations Bill! Photos below taken by Phil Fladung:

June 21 Father's Day Car Show Noblesville

2009-06-15T22:19:00.004-04:00

GoatNutz,
Don't forget the Annual Father's Day show this weekend on Sunday in Noblesville, IN. Remember, this show is done by the Central Indiana Vintage Vehicles (CIVV) (web site: http://www.civv.freeservers.com) who also support with 100% of the car show proceeds going to the Elysian Foundation. If ya can't go, send 'em a check if ya can! Its a great show in a nice shady park and the Indiana Transportation (train) Museum (web site: http://www.itm.org) is to be open as well. Where is it? St Rd 32 to St Rd 19, go north on State Rd 19, the park entrance is just past the train tressel - on the left. (Click on flyer below to enlarge.)
Cheers,
Prez Bill

June 13 Indy Pontiac-Buick-Olds Car Show

2009-06-13T21:18:00.004-04:00

Our Indy Firebird friend, Scott Andrews said, "We need 50 Goats of every description to show up!" for the Indy Firebird Club 24th Indy ALL Pontiac-Buick-Oldsmobile Car Show Saturday, June 13, 2009 at Reeves Buick/Pontiac U.S 31 just south of Greenwood... because Reeve's needed more Pontiacs on their lot (before GM takes them away...) plus we wanted to raise a ton of $$$ for the Little Red Door Cancer Agency in memory of IFC member Chuck Leavell. Phil Fidler ('66 GTO); Bill Sanders ('66 GTO); Kevin Reading ('69 GTO); Leonard Swope ('67 GTO); the Family of Carole Ray ('69 GTO Convertible); John Jump ('68 GTO Convertible); Phil Fladung ('05 GTO); and Steve Herring ('04 GTO) participated in spite of a threat of rain. And we had several Top 20 winners! David Fitzgerald was called up to accept the Dealer's Choice award! The problem was that, although Fitz had registered, his GTO was not there! A special congratulations to Phil Fidler whose '66 GTO won Best of Show.

Meeting May 20 Dooley O'Toole's Carmel

2009-05-18T23:10:00.008-04:00

The club met for dinner at 6pm at Dooley O'Toole's Restaurant at 162 W Carmel Dr in Carmel (317) 843-9900. On Wednesday nights, Dooley's is a gathering place for classic cars. I HOPE someone took pictures for the blog!

Pick up a Shelby Cobra at Mecum May 15

2009-05-14T08:58:00.019-04:00

We know... you're bummed that our Mystery Cruise was postponed... if you need a boost to spice up your weekend you could pick up a sweet Shelby Cobra up for auction at Mecum at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds Friday evening, May 15th:

When this Crown Jewel of American Racing powers across the auction block, Mecum anticipates the championship race car to garner the highest bid ever paid at public auction for an American automobile - eight figures and counting... possibly 10 to 15 million. The Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe will be sold on live national TV Friday, May 15, 2009, at 8pm during the company's series, "Mecum Auto Auction: Muscle Cars & More," on Discovery Communications' popular HD Theater. (22nd Dana Mecum Original Spring Classic Auction, Indianapolis TV Schedule: Thursday, May 14, 7-11 PM ET; Friday, May 15, 7-11 PM ET; Saturday, May 16, 2-6 PM ET)

We wouldn't object to adding it to our line up on our next cruise. It would be in good company:

Abe Barnett's blog post: Paramount Theatre

2009-05-11T23:23:00.011-04:00

Abe Barnett, of Hagerty Insurance, is blogging about his experiences as he travels Indiana getting acquainted with car club groups and their members.

Check out his blog post on the day at the Paramount Theatre in Anderson at: http://hagertyabe.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Victor!

2009-05-05T23:59:00.023-04:00

May 5th several club members had the opportunity to surprise a young GTO fan on his birthday. Seven GTOs rolled over the hill bringing gifts and good wishes to Victor. (See Victor's story at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/corinnewatters)

(Pictured left to right) Phil Fidler drives a maroon '66 GTO hard top; Debbie and Kenny Lentz drive a red '67 GTO hard top; Keith Rossell (father of twin boys, Owen and Elliot) drives a '70 GTO hard top; Betsy and Phil Fladung drive a phantom black metallic '05 GTO coupe; David Fitzpatrick drives a yellow '72 LeMans convertible (car not at the party); John Jump drives a verdoro green '68 GTO convertible w/hidden headlights; Prez Bill Sanders drives a deep blue '66 GTO convertible; Marvin Daughtery drives a red '65 GTO convertible

The first slide show below features photos taken by our host for the party, David Maurer. Thank you David! (Click on any picture to go to web album.)

The second slide show below features others' photos from the evening. (Click on any picture to go to web album.)

Below are some short video clips. Click on arrow to play.
Victor chose to take his first cruise with Prez Bill:

He REALLY enjoyed it!

Next he rode with Phil in the '05

Kids don't try this at home!

Before we left we sang Happy Birthday to Victor!

Vietnam Veteran's Car Show Pics 5/2009

2009-05-03T18:41:00.022-04:00

Watch slide show or click on any picture to go to album.

Prez Bill Makes the News May 3, 2009!
Taped from the news...not perfect but here it is!
Click on arrow to watch the video I taped.
Click this link www.theindychannel.com to check out web site.
For a better link to the original online video: CLICK HERE.

Prez Bill also had a photo and story in the Sunday Indy Star.
Check it out - click this link to go to www.indystar.com article.

That's our Prez Bill: "Cruz'em if ya Got'em"

Vietnam Vets Car Show Sunday, May 3rd

2009-05-02T14:24:00.017-04:00

Several of our members will be up bright and early Sunday morning, May 3rd to assist with parking for the Vietnam Vets "Endless Summer" car show. Here are some readily accessible details for those of you who are checking the blog before you head out the door! Registration: 8am-3pm 50/50 Drawing: noon-4pm Awards: 4pm Location: Lawrence Community Park, enter off of Franklin. Web site: http://www.vva295.org/ (Parking volunteers need to meet for a dry run Sat. 6pm Click here to review Fitz' recent post about that! Then hit your web browser's "back" arrow to return to the main blog.)

Reminder:
Don't forget your 2 lb. ABC Type, Dry Chemical Fire Extinguisher!
Prez Bill recommends that everyone have a fire extinguisher (definitely) under the front seat and also in the trunk of your GTO when participating in club events. I called the Fire Department and they recommended a 2 lb. ABC type dry chemical fire extinguisher.

Click on map below to enlarge:
(Hit back arrow to return to blog.)

Click on flyer below to enlarge:
(Hit back arrow to return to blog.)

WIBC News Article Quotes Sanders and Belk

2009-04-29T16:38:00.010-04:00

Car Clubs Bid Sad Farewell To Pontiac
GTO Was First "Muscle Car"
Article by Stan Lehr posted online April 28, 2009 at:
http://www.wibc.com/news/Story.aspx?ID=1087556

Your father's Pontiac is history. GM is dropping the nameplate born in 1926 and the car clubs are in mourning.

Bill Sanders of Noblesville, President of the Indy GTO Association, says he and his members are "not surprised but our Pontiac flags are flying at half mast." Sanders points to the design of the new GTO introduced in 1994 as an example of what went wrong at Pontiac. He says the car was "less than enthusiastically embraced" when it was unveiled to a meeting of the National GTO Association in Denver.

Pontiac was once a solid entry in the "muscle car" market. Others like Ford have forged a comeback, but Pontiac continued to struggle. Sanders says Ford "had a better idea" with the retro-look Mustang.

Bill Belk of Culver, Indiana, says he hates to see Pontiac die but he understands the decision to eliminate a brand that was not as profitable as some of the other GM nameplates like Buick or Cadillac. Belk, the owner of eight Pontiacs including five Fieros from the 1980s, says the price of automobiles--at $25 to $30 thousand dollars--makes profit margins harder to maintain. He recalls, "You used to buy a house for that kind of money."

Sanders and Belk say GM's decision could add value to their classic Pontiacs. But both say that's not an issue for them or their club members. Sanders says, "We drive our GTO's. Most of them aren't museum pieces."

Bad news about Pontiac Motor Division

2009-04-26T22:38:00.008-04:00

The Detroit News - Saturday, April 25, 2009
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090425/AUTO01/904250359
The Wall Street Journal - Saturday, April 25, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124060030328753755.html
Pontiacs We Will Never Forget - from AOL April 29, 2009
http://autos.aol.com/gallery/pontiac-all-time

Pontiac's GTO could very well be the most famous Pontiac of all and we're sure to never forget it. The 1970 GTO stands out in our mind for a few reasons: it was General Manager John Z. De Lorean's pet project and it also featured Ram Air, the sophisticated air induction system that creates more air pressure the faster the vehicle moves. "The Judge" trim line might look a bit comedic now, but GTO fans (and TV and movies of the time) found it to be all business.

Chrome Carnival

2009-04-26T15:24:00.008-04:00

John Jump and Prez Bill represented the club at the Indiana Freedom Cruisers' "Chrome Carnival" on Saturday, April 25 in Noblesville. The start of the festivities featured a live rendition of the National Anthem sung by a local young lady in combination with a vintage plane flyover. Very well done! Below is Bill's car.....

....and John's car.

Also included (below) is Bill's neighbor's street rod ('cuz Bill thinks its "waaay kool.") Its got a Ford 406cid w/3-duces and a 4-spd tranny.

What the ???? a low rat rod ... not for the timid ...

They had a record crowd this year of over 130 cars.

Thanks to Prez Bill for the article and pix!!!
And thanks to John Jump for this additional shot of the Sanders:

April Meeting at MCL Supported Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

2009-04-21T23:09:00.019-04:00

Great meeting! Thirty gathered for the April 20th meeting at MCL. Prez Bill brought us up to speed (sorry, I couldn't resist) on upcoming events: GTOAA Nationals in Dayton July 7-11, Save the Paramount Theater Cruise-In May 9, Vietnam Veterans Endless Summer Car Show May 3 (see Fitz' post below for details!!!), Mystery Cruise May 16, Indy Firebird Show June 13, Indy GTO Show Sept. 19, Chrome Carnival April 24-25, Edinburgh Fundraiser April 25, Summer Place Car Show May 23, Piston Poppers Cruise-In July 18...Thanks Bill for compiling information about car club events throughout the area. And thanks to members who volunteered for parking duties at several events that we are helping other car clubs with this year. (Click on images to enlarge then hit back arrow to return to blog.)

Member, Shelley Triol, (below) presented an opportunity for us to support her in a fundraising effort for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Hearing about adults and children affected by leukemia and seeing this drawing (below) by the young boy Shelley is sponsoring was more than enough encouragement for us to support the cause!

The 50/50 drawing was a great success.

And we received this very nice Thank You from Shelley:

Dear Goatsters,
Many, many heartfelt thanks for your support of my Woman of the Year fundraising campaign for the Indiana chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)!

I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for the donation by way of Monday night’s 50/50 raffle and the club match. It was truly overwhelming.

Your belief in the cause enforces what we hope will be true – that some day, we will use words like “easily curable” and “eradicated” when we mention blood cancers.

You are the best – and on behalf of the LLS and all those whose lives are touched by leukemia and lymphoma, we thank you!!

Shelley Triol
www.in.llsevent.org/shelley
striol@seasegerig.com

Second note from Shelley May 8th:
Hi Betsy!
Please convey to the Indy GTO Club my heartfelt thanks for their involvement in this year’s Woman of the Year fundraising campaign for the Indiana Chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS)! My grassroots campaign - through which dozens of individuals and groups graciously participated - raised $5,235! That is extraordinary! The Club’s belief in our organization’s efforts to find cures for blood cancers helped this year's total fundraising campaign collectively raise $145,200! What makes this particularly poignant is this fact - despite our challenging economy, that sum is nearly 20% higher than the chapter's fundraising goal for this year's campaign, and I certainly have each of you to thank for making it such a success! Again, I offer to each of you my most heartfelt gratitude for your participation and support!
Shelley Triol

Update on the Vietnam Vet's May 3rd Car Show

2009-04-21T21:58:00.011-04:00

We would like to see a Grrrrrreat "Gathering of the Goats" for this one, so please try to get your Goat dusted off and be at Lawrence Park on Sunday, May 3, 2009.

Since this is an "open" show, tell your friends with Fords, Mopars, Harleys, or whatever... the Vets need our support!

As we noted in the previous posting on the VVA Show, the Vietnam Vets have generously offered to donate a portion of their proceeds to our charity, the Elysian Foundation, so your participation is especially important.

The correct flyer for the show, including registration form, will be emailed to everyone. Due to a technical error, the "Vendor" form was previously published. Please note that the $15.00 pre-registration (with event t-shirt) ends on April 24. Day of show cost will be $20.00. Registration will be from 8:00 to Noon. Since time is short, please send in your pre-registration as soon as possible.

For more information, see the VVA website at www.vva295.org

At last night's IGTOA meeting at the MCL we got nine volunteers to help with show duties on May 3rd... THANKS y'all !!! There will be a "dry run" (for volunteer coordination purposes) Saturday evening, May 2nd, at 6:00 p.m. If possible, it would be helpful to have our volunteers present to be sure our 'ducks are properly aligned'. This should be a fairly short meeting with, in all likelihood, a brewski and a sandwich to follow. The assembly point will be at the back of Lawrence Park. Enter off Franklin Road and follow your nose or give Fitz a call at 753-6310 if you get lost.

Click on image to enlarge and print:

Spring Cruise April 18, 2009

2009-04-19T07:47:00.009-04:00

It was a wonderful day! Lots of fun! Put over 300 miles on the Goat w/the top down. About 8:30 am we headed to Rockville, IN. We buzzed the courthouse then headed south to Bridgeton and the old grist mill. Next to the mill is the new restored covered bridge. (The original was burned down back in 2005). The restoration is really well done. From there we headed south to Stohl's Lakeview Restaurant at Boggs Lake on US231 for a great fried chicken buffet lunch. Next we cruised south to The French Lick winery. After wine tasting we buzzed over to the beautifully restored West Baden Springs Resort. The place is awesome! From there we headed back north to Grey Bros Cafeteria in Mooresville. Since we were not that hungry, and John Jump had just called me to let me know he and Pat Siler were at the Suds in Greenwood, we did a drive by at Grey Bros, got some fuel nearby and headed to Greenwood for the Suds. The place was really hopping when we arrived about 6:30 pm. Pat Siler was there with his newly restored triple black '70 GTO HT. It is a very nice car.
Cruz'em if ya Got'em
Prez Bill

About 15-20 cars assembled to make the trip.

It just not a cruz if you don't get lost at least twice and somebody gets stuck turning around :)

Restored covered bridge

Bridgeton Mill

Carl's '68 at the grist mill

Cruz'n with friends on a sunny day - wonderful therapy. Zipp'n down the highway in a '66 GTO convertible at 70mph - exhilarating. Having your wife steer from the passenger seat while you take a picture of the action in the rear view mirror - PRICELESS !!!

Jennifer Mowery in the Mowery's beautiful "arrest me" red Firebird T/A Convertible

One of the Brandywine gang topping off the tank... just in case!

No indoor plumb'n at the grist mill

Covered bridge

No, I wasn't standing up in the drivers seat while Rita drove from the passenger side ... but the thought did cross my mind :) Rita took this one.

April 20th Meeting 6pm Castleton MCL

2009-04-16T22:28:00.014-04:00

The Indy GTO Association April Meeting will be held Monday, April 20th at 6:00 pm in the banquet room at the Castleton MCL Cafeteria 5520 Castleton Corner Lane, Indianapolis 317-845-5717. www.mclhomemade.com We could use a good turn out as we are planning our May calendar - lots going on there! Additionally, we need to make some decisions on our cruise-in for Sept. The club's portion of our 50/50 that night will go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Our guest speaker, Shelley Triol, has been nominated as a candidate for the Indianapolis Man & Woman of the Year campaign benefiting The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Winners are chosen based on their success in generating funds in honor of local blood cancer survivors, Josiah Nelson & Alyssa Lewandowski, the Boy & Girl of the Year. Shelley will fill us in on what the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society does for folks in our area. Shelley Triol is currently a Vice President at Sease, Gerig & Associates; past Executive Producer; Assignments & Ops Mgr. at WTHR-TV and Managing Editor, Producer, Assignments at WXIN-TV. (Click here for Shelley's Leukemia & Lymphoma Society page.)

See you Monday night!

Sunday Meeting at Dave Himes Canceled

2009-04-15T09:56:00.013-04:00

April 19th meeting at Dave Himes Automazing Performance Center is CANCELED due to soggy lawn parking. Prez Bill is making arrangements to have the April meeting at another location to be announced soon.

Scott Gibbs has moved his business

2009-04-10T20:44:00.001-04:00

We had a February meeting at Gibbs in the Castleton area. I (Prez Bill) stopped by there earlier this week and it was ... gone! Just by happen stance, I was on my way to Dave Himes shop in Westfield to retrieve my old 4-spd tranny he had been storing for me and there was Gibbs new shop at the corner of US31 and Thomlinson Rd (where you turn off US31 to go to Dave's shop. This is the building where someone sold Corvettes and then high priced imports (BMW, Mercedes, etc) for a while. It's a nice place for their business and he was doing a lot of work.

Here is their new info:
Gibbs Auto Interiors
18318 U.S. 31 N.
Westfield, IN 46074
317-804-9102 (new phone number)

Rocker We Donated Delivered to Riley

2009-04-08T22:40:00.007-04:00

A report from Prez Bill Sanders:
Fitz and I delivered the Amish furniture rocker to the Newborn Infant Intensive Care Unit tonight. Our rocker resides in NICU module #2. I want to thank everyone in this club who helps us out along the way each year so we have the funds to do these sort of things." (Pictured below: David Fitzpatrick with the rocker in NICU-2 at Riley Hospital for Children, Indianapolis, IN )

"It is always a sobering experience to visit the NICU. The babies in there are incredible fragile. It is simply amazing what these folks can do for a premature baby that only a few years ago would have had no chance at life." (Pictured below: Bill Sanders, David Fitzpatrick and a NICU RN)

"The RN's were very glad to see us and thanked us a lot. Perhaps we can deliver another rocker or two by years end." (Pictured below: NICU Staff)

Editor's note: Thank you Bill and Fitz for presenting this opportunity for our group to be a part of something so meaningful.

Before closing this post, I'd like to thank Bill and Fitz for this comic relief. Bill titled this one "Fitz will never grow up." I'm thinking "Fitz' new ride!" - Betsy

Vietnam Veterans Car Show - Sunday, May 3

2009-04-06T18:41:00.006-04:00

Prez Bill and Fitz have been slightly involved in the planning for this event and will be requesting help from the membership the day of the show to assist the Vietnam Vets with parking and logistics. In return the VVA has promised some portion of the show proceeds for our charity. A good showing of IGTOA Goats for the show would also be greatly appreciated. Should be a fun time and much different than most of the shows we attend!

A Thank You from Pat Wyman at the Spina Bifida Association of Central Indiana

2009-04-06T18:10:00.005-04:00

Dear Indy GTO Association,
Thank you so much for your generous donation to the Spina Bifida Association of Central Indiana. You are always so kind to include us every year in your donations. As you know, we serve over 90 families in the Indiana area - so the money will be well spent.
Thanks again,
Pat Wyman
President - SBACI
http://www.sbaci.org/htm/home.htm

April 11 Linders Technical Service Car Show on Gasoline Alley Road

2009-04-02T23:58:00.003-04:00

Saturday, April 11, 2009 The Indiana Street Rod Assn (ISRA) and Linder Technical Service (4-D Gasoline Alley, Indianapolis, In 46222) are having a car show and walking poker run, with visits to local Gasoline Alley specialty shops. Linder Tech is having a cookout at noon and free injector service is available, but this year the injectors will have to be left behind for service with shipment the following week. The building will be open at 9AM. Members may enter the car show, as all cars are welcome. The car show starts at 10:00am. Walking Poker run: until 2:00pm

Open house to all the listed businesses – all on gasoline alley, no sign up, free, open to public, folks drive their hot rods, show cars etc weather permitting. 11 different shops for the open house and walking poker run.

OPEN HOUSE and POKER WALK - $100 BEST HAND
(Poker walk starts at Linder Fuel Injection)

1. BUBBA'S HOT ROD SHOP
2. LINDER FUEL INJECTION
3. PRO MAX CARBS
4. OL CAR VENTURES
5. WATERMAN RACING COMPONENTS
6. STEVE LONG CUSTOM RADIATORS
7. ACT ADVANCED CORROSION TECHNOLOGES
8. AUTOMOTIVE HAMMER ART
9. VAN CRAFT
10. PETE'S SPEED AND FAB
11. FREELANCE LETTERING

Click on map to enlarge - use back arrow to return to blog.

A word from our Prez

2009-03-23T19:25:00.000-04:00

Some info I picked up reading the March 12th issue of Old Cars Weekly News and Marketplace:

Mecum May auction Indy (May 13-17) will feature a very rare Shebly Cobra. Its a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra coupe CSX2601. One of only 6 built by Carrol Shelby. This car has a storied race history as well as some dude in N. Dakota bought it many years back, after its racing days were over and drove it 300 miles/day to his six gas stations to pick up the receipts for a few years. This car one many races including the World Championship in 1965 with Bob Bondurant behind the wheel. This car is expected to bring over $10,000,000 !!! That's a lot of zeros !! If that happens, this would be the highest bid ever paid at auction for a US manufactured vehicle in history.

Crane Cams has shut its doors in Daytona beach, another victum of the economic downturn.

A one tank trip might be in order to the A-C-D museum in Auburn, Indiana. The artwork of nationally acclaimed automotive artist David Chapple will be displayed March 12th thru April 12th. Don't procrastinate or you'll miss it!

We had a great turn out for the ACC-I meeting at Ray Skillman's Classic car sales on March 14th. We accomplished a few things related to the classic car hobby and managed some time to wander thru the collection and drool.

We also had a successful club mtg at MCL on Monday March 23rd. John Jump graciously accepted the chairmanship of the September cruise-in ... wherever it may be.

Cheers,
Bill S.

March 16th Meeting 6pm Castleton MCL

2009-03-03T22:22:00.008-05:00

The Indy GTO Association March Meeting will be held Monday, March 16 at 6:00 pm in the banquet room at the Castleton MCL Cafeteria 5520 Castleton Corner Lane, Indianapolis 317-845-5717. www.mclhomemade.com

Sort of Good News re: SEMA Alert

2009-03-02T22:26:00.003-05:00

Indy GTO Association member, Brent Robertson, met with State Representative Jerry Torr on Monday, March 2nd and shared the concern regarding plans for the 25+ year old autos the ACC reported. According to the info found at the State House (after talking to his peers), the proposed ruling are only for Lake and Porter Counties and are based on Federal compliance. The program is ongoing and will not be expanded. (There are no plans to expand the requirements beyond the 2 existing counties.) Jerry will let Brent know if that changes.

Meeting Recap: Gibbs Auto Interiors

2009-02-22T22:26:00.009-05:00

Saturday, Feb. 21, 2009 we had a good turn out for our meeting held at Gibbs Auto Interiors: www.gibbs-auto-interiors.net

We would like to thank our hosts, Scott and Heather Gibbs, for their hospitality.

Art Lauer brought a bare '68 front bucket seat for Scott Gibb's to use to demonstrate his area of expertise.

We were all fascinated as we watched Scott work his magic on the seat.

Ta Da! A beautiful job done in less than 45 minutes!

Pontiac's long road comes to an end

2009-02-21T08:37:00.006-05:00

Feb. 20, 2009 MSNBC Nightly News with Brian Williams had a feature with James G. Cobb, automotive editor of the New York Times, talking about saying goodbye to the Pontiac, one of America's most storied car brands that brought the stylish muscle car to the masses.

The Garden State GTO Club had 26 seconds of bitter sweet fame in this piece starting at 2.21 with Mike Spizziri's car and finishing with Harold Murray's car.

Links to a story you won't want to miss:

MSNBC Nightly News with Brian Williams intro including the James G. Cobb Piece
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/29307802#29307802

James G. Cobb New York Times Automobile Editor Only
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/vp/29307802#29306980

SEMA Action Network Legislative Alert

2009-02-19T12:53:00.009-05:00

Indiana Regulators Propose to Redefine Antique Vehicles to Force More into Emissions Tests

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is proposing to redefine the term ‘antique vehicle” in order to force more of these hobby cars into the emissions inspection program. Under existing law, an antique vehicle is defined as “a motor vehicle or motor scooter that is at least 25-years old.” Under the regulation, the definition would be revised to require that the vehicle must be at least 25-years old, registered and plated as a historic motor vehicle, driven a maximum of 3,000 miles per calendar year, and include Federally required pollution control equipment for that make and model year. Under the plan, the vehicle would be periodically forced into a vehicle emission test site to verify that these requirements have been met. We (SEMA Action Network) Urge You to Submit Written Comments Opposing This Regulatory Proposal by March 13, 2009

Existing law in Indiana exempts any vehicle 25-years old and older from emissions testing. Indiana’s current emissions testing exemption recognizes the minimal impact of vehicles 25-years old and older on vehicle emissions and air quality. Vehicles 25-years old and older constitute a small portion of the overall vehicle population and are a poor source from which to look for emissions reduction. Antique vehicles are overwhelmingly well-maintained and infrequently driven (about one-third the miles each year as a new vehicle). Legislators and regulators are feeling the heat from a failed effort to meet air quality goals and are looking for a convenient scapegoat. The old car hobby should not carry the burden of their mistakes!

Mailed comments should be addressed to:
#08-674 (APCB) I/M Program - "Antique Vehicle"
Manda Clevenger: Mail Code 61-50
Rules Development Section/Office of Air Quality
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
100 North Senate Avenue
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204

Hand delivered comments will be accepted by the receptionist on duty at the tenth floor reception desk, Office of Air Quality, Indiana Government Center North, 100 North Senate Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana. Comments may be submitted by facsimile at the IDEM fax number: (317) 233-2342, Monday through Friday, between 8:15 a.m. and 4:45 p.m. Please confirm the timely receipt of faxed comments by calling the Rules Development Section at (317) 233-0426. Comments must be postmarked, faxed, or hand delivered by March 13, 2009.

Please e-mail a copy of your letters to us (SEMA Action Network) at stevem@sema.org Terms under which this service is provided to you: sema.org/disclaimer SEMA's mailing address: 1575 S. Valley Vista Dr., Diamond Bar, CA 91765 Copyright 2007 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) To view their original email as a web page, please follow this link

Hemming Muscle Machines March 2009 issue

2009-02-16T12:48:00.009-05:00

Goatfans,
Thinking of tackling a frame off restoration? It can be done. Check out Mike Spizziri's '69 GTO Convertible project showcased in Hemmings Muscle Machines March 2009 issue #66
Prez Bill

Don't miss our next meeting!

2009-02-14T20:25:00.007-05:00

Saturday, February 21, 2009 at 1 pm we have been invited to tour the Gibbs Auto Interior shop in Castleton. Gibbs is a highly rated auto interior expert. Our host, Scott Gibbs, will provide pizza and soft drinks for our dining pleasure. Scott will also be doing a "Show & Tell" session. Their address is 7201 E. 86th St., Indy 46250. (Click map to enlarge.) Phone: 317-845-1995. Check out Gibbs Auto Interior website at www.gibbs-auto-interiors.net

Elysian Foundation Check Presentation

2009-02-13T19:38:00.004-05:00

The Indy GTO Association was proud to present a check in the amount of $1,000 to representatives from the Elysian Foundation on February 13, 2009. The foundation raises funds to buy Christmas gifts and clothing for the residents of Normal Life based in Sheridan, Indiana. Normal Life is a home for patients who have permanent brain injuries. Our club has supported the Elysian Foundation for many years, raising over $10,000. If you would like to make a personal contribution, please send your check payable to the Elysian Foundation to: Reta Hannenberg, 1055 Haley Ct., Cicero, IN 46034. Your contribution is tax deductible. The folks in the picture are: Prez Bill Sanders, Wilma Heiney, David Fitzpatrick, Linda O'Dell and Tamela Grabb.

New Addition to the Rossell Family

2009-02-11T00:15:00.006-05:00

We have a new addition to the Indy GTO family!

Keith and Lisa Rossell have a new baby boy for their twin boys to pester! Dad was overjoyed, but in typical male fashion didn't send any vital stats like weight, height, birthday or favorite year GTO.

Looks like all are doing fine!
Prez Bill

Howell's 1969 GTO Judge Restoration

2009-02-09T00:42:00.004-05:00

One of our members, Gary R. Howell, Bloomfield, IN has a web site documenting his total off-frame restoration on his original 1969 GTO Judge. This GTO Judge was on the front cover of the July 2007 Issue of the "Legend" magazine. Check it out at: http://home.comcast.net/~de_judge/site/ The links to the various pages are at the top of each page. Look for the (2) audio links which feature his Judge and Blue Ram Air IV and the 2 1/2 minute movie/slide segment. Gary not only tracked down the car he had owned years before, he even stumbled across his original license plate at a sale. Great story!

A note from Gary: The photo of me installing the license plate was taken May 8, 2008. To think I installed that very same plate in May of 1969 on the very same GTO seemed so surreal. Words cannot explain it. I guess it is the true meaning of Pontiac Excitement! I even have my graduating class tassel hanging from the rear view mirror. I better hit the sack now, I have been working on the '69 Liberty Blue GTO's valve train all day...

Greetings Goatsters!

2009-02-08T22:01:00.004-05:00

On behalf of the officers and membership of the IGTOA, I'd like to extend a heartfelt "THANK YOU!!!" to Betsy Fladung for her development of this marvelous medium for communicating pertinent club info and for displaying items of interest.

The potential for utilizing the new "IGTOA News Blog" for the advancement of club activities and goals appears to be limited only by the input and creativity of the membership. So... if you have any ideas for contributions, let us know. The possibilities are endless and all thoughts will be given serious consideration. We look forward to your input.

2009-02-05T16:32:00.017-05:00

Greetings Goatnerds!
Got cabin fever yet? Well, we have a cure ... sort of...

Swap Meet: Sunday, Feb. 8th
The annual trip to Columbus, Ohio is upon us. The Central Ohio GTO Assoc. will present their All Pontiac Swap Meet on Sunday, Feb. 8th. (Yes, this coming Sunday! More info available at www.gtoaco.com) If you want to go as part of our car pool, show up at the Cracker Barrel at I-70 and Post Road on Indy's east side at 7:00 a.m. We'll eat there and head to Columbus at 8:00 a.m.

Next Club Meeting: Saturday, Feb. 21st
Our next club meeting is Saturday, Feb. 21st at 1:00 p.m. We have been invited to tour the Gibbs Auto Interior shop in Castleton. Gibbs is a highly rated auto interior expert. Our host, Scott Gibbs, will provide pizza and soft drinks for your dining pleasure. Scott will also be doing a "Show & Tell" session, so don't miss this meeting! Check out Gibbs Auto Interior website at
www.gibbs-auto-interiors.net Their address is 7201 E. 86th St., Indy 46250. Phone: 317-845-1995.

See ya at both events!!
Cheers,
Prez Bill

January 2009 Meeting at Gearhead - Recap

2009-02-04T01:08:00.034-05:00

The Indy GTO Association met January 24, 2009 at Gearhead in Crawfordsville, IN. Thank you to our host, Mike Sloan, for the tour, lunch and truly inspirational meeting venue. We had about twenty-five in attendance. Here are a few pics from the meeting:

IGTOA Club Officers for 2009: Our host at Gearhead, Mike Sloan, is pictured below with our President Bill Sanders, Vice President John Jump, Sergeant-at-Arms Leonard Swope, Newsletter Editor Betsy Fladung and (seated in front) Treasurer David Fitzpatrick and Secretary Sheri Bowron.

Mark your calendars for these events: (subject to change)
Feb. 21 - February meeting Saturday, 1 pm at Gibbs Auto Interiors 7201 E. 86th St Indy
March 16 - March meeting Monday, 6 pm at 96th St Auto (just east of Keystone)
May 2 - Vietnam Vets Car Show - Lawrence
May 9 - Spring Mystery Cruise
May 13-17 Mecum's Original Spring Classic Auction at Indiana State Fairgrounds http://mecum.com/auctions/schedule.cfm
July 7-11 - GTOAA Nationals - Dayton, OH
July-August - Gilmore Car Museum overnight trip - Hickory Corners, MI
Sept. 19 - Cruise In
Dec 5 - IndyGTO Christmas Party at Stookey's in Thorntown, IN (north of Lebanon on 52)

Article coming soon
The story behind this special pin:

We've gotta' have some video on here...

2009-02-01T21:30:00.009-05:00

2005 GTO
Old Corsa Sport with Stock Manifold Sound Bite