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Club Meetings

Club Meeting at

Gardner Westcott

January 27

February 24

March 24

Note March Date

Change due to Easter

Club Meetings are at 5 PM

Board Meetings are held at

3:30 PM prior to the Club

Meeting

(Except in the Summer)

www.motorstatestreetrods.org

Presidents Report By Bob Nash

Our hard working newsletter publishers request for an earlier deadline startled me at first. What can

I possibly write about in the middle of November? Then, as I settled down and thought for a

moment about the end of year activities we participated in, I realized, this won’t be too difficult.

There was Frankenmuth, Nats North, IDIDIT, The Gilmore, Fox Run, and more. All these events

were special and were over the top in the WOW factor. If you missed some of them, try and find

time next year. I know we can’t do it all but it’s nice to try. Now I’m looking forward to the

CHRISTMAS PARTY and the selection of MSSR RODDER of THE YEAR.

The October meeting featured nominations for officers for the next two years. Kurt, Jim and I were

each nominated for our current office and ran unopposed, therefore; no need for an election. Next

October we will have elections for Directors. Keep in mind our by-laws state, “to be eligible to hold

office, a candidate must be a current or former Board Member for at least a year”. Something to

think about – I’m just saying…

One of my resolutions for 2013 will be to become less of a garage hobbit!

MERRY CHRISTMAS

&

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Bob

Inside this Edition

New Club Members 2

New Club Member 3

Last 2012 Ohio Mile 3

Frankenmuth 4

Kalamazoo Nats 5

IDIDIT Open House 8

Fox Run Visit 9

Gilmore Museum 10

In the Garage 11

2012 in Review 12

Miles with MSSR 13

MSSR News Briefs 14

Weird Ideas 14

SEMA 15

Swap Meet 17

Birthdays 17

Anniversary’s 17

Ramblings 18

Coming Events 18

Officers 19

Featured Ride 19

Sponsors 20

Card Corner By JoAnn Nash

Get Well, Sympathy and Thank You Cards have been sent to the following:

Get Well

- Jim Sabo, Hand Surgery

- Dan Laskey, Repeat Knee Surgery

- Bill Ballard, Health Issues

- Jim Laird, Recovering from Stroke

Sympathy sent to: - To the family of an old MSSR Member in Florida, Art Krausman who passed away - To Audrey and Gary Lazette on the passing of Audrey’s Brother

Please, either call me (517) 223-4882 or email at bojonash@netscape.com if you know of someone we

need to send a card to.

January – March 2013

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New Motor State Street Rod Members – Ben and Alice Suthers

Ben and Alice Suthers joined Motor State Street Rods in September after hanging out with other members at various cruise nights and

car events. Russ Demers sponsored this great couple or rather drove them crazy while explaining the advantages of being a MSSR

member as only Russ can do.

Ben and Alice were born in different parts of the country and believe it or not, a car brought them together. Alice arrived into this world

in Denver Colorado while Ben chose Taylor Michigan for his birthplace. Ben attended the Taylor School System while Alice started

school in Denver and then moved to Lincoln Park and then Taylor attending schools there. Ben has always had an interest in cars

starting at the age of 10 but it was one particular car that brought them together. You see, Alice was working as a car hop at the Daily

Drive in on Ecorse Road in Taylor when Ben pulled in driving a 1967 Ford Fairlane 390 GTA and the rest of the story is history. Ben

likes to think it was he who Alice noticed first but if you really ask Alice it was the car first and Ben second. Alice shares her love for

Ben by going anywhere he wants to go Street Rodding.

Ben and Alice have made their home in Taylor for many years raising two children and gaining three grandchildren. Son Ben Jr. can be

found with Ben and Alice at most cruise nights and car events tooling around in a great 1936 Chevy Sedan. Ben is a retiree from the

City of Taylor DPW and

Alice works at the United

States Postal Service

and is currently on a medical

leave recuperating from

some surgery.

Favorite activities revolve around

cruising and car shows, the favorites

being Frankenmuth, Woodward

Dream Cruise, Downriver Cruise,

Telegraph Cruise, Kalamazoo

Northern Nationals, and finish the

year off at the IDIDIT Open House.

We at MSSR welcome this great

Couple and will help in adding a lot

of other events to their list of favorites.

Ben, Alice and family welcome to Motor State Street Rods

1936 Chevy

Ben & Alice Suthers

Happy Holidays

The Motor State Street Rods Board of Directors want to thank one and all

for your support during 2012 and hope you enjoyed some of the events

that were available to the membership. If you have suggestions or ideas

for the Board please let us know, we are always open for your comments.

Stay tuned in 2013 for more great MSSR outings.

Merry Christmas and Have a Happy Healthy New Year

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There is almost no need to introduce this couple to the fellow members of Motor State Street Rods since they are well known to a lot of

us. Danny and Judy Murray have been at a lot of cruise nights and car shows over the years that Motor State has attended and are

well known to me in particular since they are my next door neighbors, the best of neighbors you could want as a matter of fact. In

addition, their son Michael has painted Danny and Karen’s Plymouth, Art and Sandy Socher’s Convertible, Jorayne and Bob Wyman’s

Sedan as well as Rich Pickens’ Coupe. In addition to Michael, they also have a daughter Michelle who lives in Livonia. Michael has

two daughters and Michelle has a son and daughter who keep their grandparents busy. This year they introduced the oldest

granddaughter to Woodward and the Dream Cruise and created a new hot rodder who will be attending in the years to come.

Danny and son Michael spent time together doing a total restoration of the 1968 Pontiac GTO that has been in the family since almost

day one. There is also a 1965 Pontiac GTO setting in the home garage waiting restoration as soon as Danny gets time. If they need a

car to tool around Hines Park they simply take son Mike’s GMC 454. A couple of car nuts, YES, with Judy having the lead foot of the

family and she enjoys the car scene as

much as Danny.

Danny and Judy met as teenagers

and have spent their married years In

Garden City raising the family.

Danny spent many years in the

family business, “Murray Brothers

Tire Service” and currently works

at BCI Collet, Inc. In Westland

Michigan.

Danny not only works in the collet

manufacturing process at BCI but

helps maintain a 100 car collection

of 40’ through 60’s automobiles that

the owner has collected over the

years.

Danny and Judy, welcome to Motor

State, we guarantee a great time.

New Motor State Street Rod Members – Danny and Judy Murray

1968 GTO

Danny & Judy Murray

Last Ohio Mile for 2012 By Rich Pickens

September 29th and 30

th were the last two

days of 2012 for the Ohio Mile in

Wilmington Ohio. This was the last chance

for the Motor State “Need for Speed’ duo of

Bob Carter and Al Piggott to run flat out

and accomplish their goals that they have

been working on for the last three runs at

this now famous event. Providing moral

support and a little cheerleading were Don

McKinnon, Phil Reilly and Rich Pickens

who drove down on a beautiful sunny

Saturday morning. When we arrived the

cars were already in line that went ½ mile

by two deep waiting there turn for a flat out

run. Cars of all variety of home garage

engineering for nothing but speed.

First up was Al Piggott who threw down a

very nice 121 mph run and then ran a 122

run later in the day putting a smile on Al

who now holds the class record.

Next, Bob Carter ran a 184 and repeated

in the 180 range on his second run.

Great job guys, we will be watching to

see what 2013 brings both of you.

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Frankenmuth Autofest By Rich Pickens

Crowds and Chicken, Must be

Frankenmuth

Friday is the day for a fun time at the

Frankenmuth Autofest as the cars arrive at

the show and begin to assemble in the

park. While the count is not full you can

avoid the crowds and get an up close and

personal with the cars.

Cars in the Park

After a lot of car viewing in the park, the

legs need some rest so the butt is planted

Getting some R & R

on the main drag of Frankenmuth to watch

Guys and Sheriffs

cruising for a bit, followed by what else,

chicken for lunch at one of the inns followed

by more on street car viewing as they are

being assembled for the 5 PM hour where the

street is closed and a filled with cars.

The MAD Rush to Fill the Street

Motor State was represented by Danny and

Karen Ploplan, Bob and JoAnn Nash, Don

and Gerri McKinnon and daughter Kim, along

with Kurt Kiser, Dennis Peters and his son,

Jim Stocke, Phil Reilly, Pat Ambroziak and

Rich Pickens as well as Bill Ballard and his

nice Cadillac Limo. And we must not forget

our newest member, Ben Suthers and wife

Alice and son Ben Jr. who had their car in the

park and have made Frankenmuth a yearly

tradition by camping in their motor home just

like Pat and Sharon Ambroziak.

Bill Ballard’s Cady is somewhere under

this pile of admiring people

There it is and so is Bill

This is really a great show and a great

venue but is totally out of control on cost

as the hotels require a three night stay

with $200 per night charges. This

coupled with fuel to get there and food

brings the cost at around One thousand

dollars for the weekend. Totally

outrageous and if it continues in this

direction will eventually bring it down. So

if you want to experience the event, do

like most MSSR members do and go up

and back on Friday where you can enjoy

the festivities and avoid bankruptcy at a

car show.

The Crowds at Frankenmuth

A guy drove his car onto a bridge, got out

and got ready to jump off. Another guy

saw him and yelled, Don’t Jump, Don’t

Jump. Let’s talk about your troubles.

After 3 hours of talking they both decided

to jump

Two guys went for a walk in the woods. A

bear approached them on the path. One

guy whispered to the other; “I think we

should run”, the other guys said “Are yu

crazy, we can’t out run a bear”. The first

guy said, “I’m only worried about our

running you.

A Tennessee Sheriff pulled over a pickup on I-65. The trooper asked, "Got any ID?" The driver replied, "Bout whut?" The same Sheriff pulled up next to the guy unloading garbage out of his pick-up into the ditch. The Sheriff asked, "Why are you dumping garbage in the ditch? Don't you see that sign right over your head?" "Yep," he replied. "That's why I'm dumpin' it here, 'cause it says: 'Fine For Dumping Garbage.' "

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Kalamazoo NSRA Northern Nationals plus By Jim and Judy Stocke

Kalamazoo

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This

Wow, wow, wow!!! What a great event!

Kudos to God for providing perfect weather

– cool crisp mornings, moderate sunshiny

afternoons and cool nights good for

sleeping. Kudos to the MSSR members

and friends in attendance. What a great

club! The headcount varied somewhat with

members coming and going but there were

about 50 folks and about 20 cars present

at our campsite most of the time. Kudos to

Residence Inn for being the best hotel on

the planet.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

We get in our precious rides for the short

drive to Kalamazoo. Some race up the

interstate while others, led by Phil, leisurely

traverse the beautiful back country roads

through delightful and charming little towns

like Olivet, the home of Olivet College.

Now this is really too Leisurely

We arrive at the host hotel amidst a great

hustle bustle of show cars coming and

going. This gets the car guys juices

flowing. Registration goes smoothly and

Registration parking lot full to the brim

we soon, after a looksee around the

parking lot, go off to our home for the

weekend.

Russ can be Leisurely too after his race

to KZoo on the Interstate

Whoa, Nellie. How could any hotel be that

great? Oh? How about a free dinner

Thursday night with salad, Golumpki (pigs

in a blanket to you non Polish out there),

Muscatcoli, garlic bread and soft drinks.

But, Residence did not count on dealing

with MSSR’s strongest skill – eating. So,

they ran out of Golumpki and Muscatcoli

early. So improvise. Cook up some

macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets

and when that runs out, order pizza.

Talk about eating them out of house

and home

Eventually everyone was fed and everyone

had a great time. This first day is very tiring

so shortly after the big gorf out, we drifted

off to bed.

Friday, September 14, 2013

It rained Thursday night but Friday dawned

with no rain but very cloudy looking like

rain. 7:30 was the jump off time, late by

street rodder standards, to arrive a little

before 8. Thankfully our usual corner

Our Corner of Heaven in KZOO

location was reserved by five pop up

skeletons spread out to guard our spot.

Some of the girls came later with Sheila

around 10. The weather was perfection.

Skies blue with puffy clouds and temps in

the mid 70s by afternoon. There was a lot

of shopping at women’s world and lots of

car looking, vendor looking and swap meet

looking too. Ahh, that warm fuzzy feeling

came over us as we went about our

various activities including just sitting and

commiserating with each other under our

four canopies lined up in the middle of our

spot.

It’s Flat Black Jim, no Polish Needed

And now: Lunch. Yea. Rich and Russ

come through again this year supplying hot

dogs all around to be cooked by the ever

able chef, Karen with help from the hot dog

queen of MSSR, Shirley.

Cook them Dogs Ladies

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Continued from Prior Page

There was a substantial crowd by this time

and they ate till fully satisfied with some past

being just satisfied. Lots of chips, pretzels,

party mix, cookies – egad, Karen makes

mean coconut macaroon cookies.

Ummmmm. After lunch, full and supremely

content, we scatter off in all directions again

to drink in all the things this great event has

to offer not the least of which is that great

stuff, Aloe Vera Cream. Got to have that

fabulous cream and here is where we get it,

Yea.

KZOO Has a Swap Meet, which way Jim

KZOO Has Vendors

And KZOO Has Cars

God smiles upon us with temps in the mid

70s, puffy clouds and a light breeze.

Michigan in September can really be

beautiful. Oh, oh, the late afternoon is upon

us and we again jump into our beautiful

machines to parade back to the Residence.

Okay, dinner is being planned to hone our

eating skills. Some decide on the Fieldstone,

a very nice place with really good food a

short country drive away. But, that was

not to be. Seems they already had two

parties of 20 each and could not

accommodate us. No matter, the iconic

Brewsters, a hop and a skip away gladly

welcomes us to dine at two separate

tables: the good folks and the bad folks.

Oh, which was which? I will not divulge

that controversial fact.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Saturdays at these weekend shows is the

biggest, busiest and most fun of all three

days. Rich and crew left at 7AM and

arrived in time to wait in line till the gates

open around 7:30 or so when the line got

too long. Hustle to our campsite, move the

pop up skeletons in a line, park our rides,

put the canopies in place, move the chairs

under cover, set up tables (Bob and

Joanne figured out how to set up their

little table by this time), pile on the snacks

and let’s have at another great day. Sun,

Set Up Each Morning

sun, sun; light breeze, 70s temps – ahh.

The swap meet beckons, women’s world

beckons, beautiful street rods beckon,

chairs to relax in beckon, naps beckon,

walks beckon, lunches from the

cholesterol heaven places beckon,

conversations, gum flapping, meet and

gum flap with the new members Ben, Ben

and Alice and our Canadian friends,

Sterling and Pam – did I cover it all?

Yeah, it doesn’t get any better.

We do games every year so, at 10:30 the

Bill Carner our Game Coordinator gets

us in position

gang mosies over to the game area: Giant

Basketball Throw, Stack the Nuts, Bowling,

Craps (Roll a big die to a Hula Hoop) and

the ever popular Tattoo booth.

Basketball Slam Dunk MSSR Style

Fun with Kids

NSRA Photographer gets his yearly

tattoo from the MSSR Ladies

Continued on Next Page

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The tattoo girls even talked some of the guys

into one. The crowd count was down a little

this year but we still had a great time. Rumor

has it that games will be moved to a more

central location next year. A more central

location should increase attendance. Good

move if the weather holds.

Lunch was casual today. There was a variety

of snacks if that was your fancy. Of course,

the usual food vendors were available with

heart smart items as Philly Cheese Steak

sandwich or how about a large container of

French fries. Then there were deep fried

vegetables, ice cream and the ever popular

greasy cheeseburgers. Good for the body.

The afternoon was pleasantly passed with

conversation, car looking, women’s world

shopping, swap meet shopping and meeting

the new members and new friends. Wander

over to women’s world to “check out” shirts,

jewelry, food, and a myriad of other choices.

Some of us left early to watch the UM football

game only to find out that Residence does not

carry the Big 10 channel. But, not to worry,

things looked way up in the Residence lobby

a little later where all of us congregated for the

traditional Saturday night pizza and beer. Now

that is worth looking forward to. Dennis

supplied us with lots of Labatt’s Blue and the

pizza, orchestrated by Rich and Karen, was

paid for by a generous donation from Phil

Reilly and some leftover Hines money. Free

tastes better don’t you think? All told we

consumed 13 pizzas, an accomplishment of

Yep 13 empty pizza boxes

which we can be proud. After gorfing the pizza

and beer, some stayed to imbibe in fine wine

and stimulating conversation and some drifted

to the campfire behind the main building while

others went to watch football games in their

rooms.

Afterglow of the Pizza Party

But what would a weekend car show be

without laughable incidents? Okay, here

goes: Seems Danny Plopan fell asleep in

his room and he had both keycards.

Before anyone knew Danny was in the

room, Karen and everyone were looking

for him – panicsville! Oh well, everything

came out okay when Danny was

discovered. How about Dan Laskey going

into what he thought was his room and

finding wine on the counter. Hey, Dan

thinks, Residence is really thoughtful and

generous. Dan was deflated when he

found out he was in Plopans room and the

wine was from the Syracuse trip. And then

there was Nina who decided to lose her

wallet and phone. She wisely cancels her

credit cards. But, duh, she later finds her

wallet that she hid in her car. The Devil’s

hand first then God at work to rescue it.

And now Saturday is over.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

What? Another beautiful day? God is sure

smiling on us this weekend. Sunday is a

little slower and more relaxing. No need to

Relaxing at the Zoo

get there early, 8:30 or later works really

well. Again, let’s get in some more

shopping and car looking and

conversation. Okay, the big event today

We live for Awards

is awards and, guess what? Bill Ballard

won the Luxury Lane award with his

fabulous ’48 Cadillac limousine.

Bill Ballard’s Wonderful Caddy

Great Job Bill

Yea. And, one of our group, Don

McKinnon, won a gift – a Haywire

harness worth $266 and a $200 Lokar

gift certificate - cool. But, alas, no one

else won anything. Oh well, better luck

next year. Everyone peels out right after

the awards to enjoy a beautiful ride

home on a beautiful day in Michigan.

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IDIDIT Open House By Rich Pickens

Darn, it can be downright cold in October

and this October 6th was a reminder for

those of us in denial that winter is coming.

Cold weather did not stop a group of

diehard Motor State Street Rodders from

attending another outstanding IDIDIT Open

House. There are not too many companies

these days that you can truly say Made in

America but this is one that is 100% red

blooded American. And if this is not

enough, 100% owned by some of the nicest

people you will ever meet. When they

announced at the open house a number of

new jobs and employees that the company

has, no one wonders why they are

successful; you just know it by dealing with

Ken, Jane and the entire IDIDIT family.

This company and the people are the

reason why so many cars showed up on

the really cold day. Cars filled the street in

front of IDIDIT, the fields behind the facility,

the yards of surrounding companies and in

the vacant Tecumseh Products company.

Plates from Ohio, Indiana, Michigan and

even a few from Illinois were present with

the long distance winner from Alpena

Michigan.

Cars Everywhere

Registration Line, Long but Fast

We started the day with an all you can eat

pancake breakfast for 6 bucks with endless

Breakfast Club at IDIDIT

coffee and finished the day just prior to the

awards with a Hamburger, chips and pop for

5 bucks.

Lunch Bunch

Dynamic Duo Bundled Up

In between the food, we spent the time

looking at cars and there was one special

displayed vehicle, the old Seagraves Fire

Truck that is now totally restored and will be

uses as a hearse for any fallen Michigan

Firefighter.

Amazing vehicle with an amazing cause

behind it – Segraves Fire Truck

A look around the grounds revealed

some really nice iron. And if that was not

enough, there were NSRA Safety

Inspections going on and a lot of guest

builder picks for some of the nicest

trophies you will ever see which are hand

made by the crew at IDIDIT and both

Jane and Ken said more hours are spent

on these masterpieces than on the

steering columns. Low and behold, a

MSSR Member by the name of Jim

Stocke took home one of these trophies

although he was not present at the time

they were handed out, seems Jim said

the cold was getting to him and he had

headed home. Jim said he was returning

to gain his place in history. Nice job Jim.

Proud Owner of a Nice IDIDIT Award

All in all, a great show and the weather

did not hold us from going, MSSR was

well represented.

Also Seen at the Show

A Nice Ford Fat Fender Conv’t

Electric Blue Duece

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MSSR “Pays it Forward” at the Fox Run Senior Center By Rich Pickens

My 3 year old granddaughter likes to sing a

song from Sponge Bob called the “Best Day

Ever” when she is having a good time and

calls it the bestest day ever. Motor State

experienced a bestest day on October 17

when a sizable contingent of members

ventured to the Fox Run Rehabilitation

Center in Novi Michigan to bring some smiles

to the residences who are working to

overcome their ailments and health issues. It

was truly a day of “Paying it Forward” and the

weather could not have been better on this

70 degree day with total sunshine in what

has been a cool fall.

Sandy Kiser had arranged this outing through

a discussion with the center management

after noticing that most of the activities where

centered on the women and not much to do

for the men who are there. We had all

believed that we were going to spend a

couple of hours at the center letting some of

the gentlemen view the cars and relive some

memories in a low key event. As we arrived

at the appointed time for the event we all

went WOW, there was a live band on a stage

in the parking lot, a whole bunch of residents

lining the area, both men and women,

anxiously waiting for the cars to be parked so

they could come out and view the cars and

get a center stage seat for the band.

As soon as the cars were parked we were

greeted by the personal at the center offering

drinks, snacks and hot dogs as we too took

some time to listen to the band which was

very good playing Sinatra era music. We

spent time talking to many of the residents

about the time they had a car like this one or

about a 50 Olds that was the fastest on the

street in its day or about a lady who drove a

car just like the one Russ has to school as a

teen and even an ex-GM designer who had

worked on some of the original Corvettes.

Some of the men and a couple of ladies were

offered rides in the cars and since the

complex is sizable, it offered a chance to take

them on a 10 minute ride without going out

on the main roads. It was nice to see

someone in a wheelchair hop out of it and

into a coupe without much assistance. I

know I violated the 15 mile per hour speed

limit when the gentleman asked how fast it

would go. He told me that was the best part

of the ride when we returned.

Cannot say enough about the team at the

center and the welcome they provided telling

us that this was a highlight and would

be the center of conversation for time to

come. All in all, we became the real

winners; we made some really nice

people happy on the October day

thanks to Sandy and Kurt. Thanks for

setting this event up, we too had smiles

as we left, well all but one, Lori had to

get treatment for a bee sting.

When Karen’s Mom is Happy

Everybody is Happy

The Ladies Gather Around the Band,

just like they did in the 50’s

Enjoying the Cars and Weather

Enjoying the Music

Miles of Smiles with Phil

Thank you Lord for the Great Weather

I had one just like that!

Hey Kurt, let’s go Fast

Nice Nice Nice

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Road Trip to the Gilmore Museum By Rich Pickens

In an effort to prolong the car hobby

season before the snow flies, several

members of Motor State took a run to the

Gilmore Museum in Hickory Corners

Michigan on October 10th. Since it seems

the cold weather is moving in as fast as the

hot weather did this spring, we decided to

meet at Stockbridge Michigan for a nice

slow back road trip to Hickory Corners and

the Gilmore Museum. Forget the GPS, we

have Phil Reilly leading us on his well know

path to this area and the excitement

ahead. The trip was at the right time of the

year with nice color on the trees along the

way as fall is setting in here in Lower

Michigan.

Michigan Colors

We arrived and checked in at the welcome

center and headed to a short video

presentation in an onsite theater showing

the highlights and layout of the buildings on

the grounds.

Cold Outside, Warm Inside

For those of you that missed this trip, all I

have to say is you just missed arguably the

nicest collection of cars around the mid-

west. Just to prove my point, entry into the

main building and a whole lot of Duesy’s,

Packard’s, Cadillac’s and Roll’s greet you.

This is a Museum of very high end cars,

many one off’s and if not a one of one,

then a one of nine or nineteen or the only

survivor. Everywhere you look, something

to drool over, this complex has seven

current open buildings with more on the way.

I want one

There are multiple collections: Franklin,

Pierce-Arrow, Steam Cars, Motorcycles,

Cadillac, even a Tucker just to name a few.

There are modern 60’s cars, Pedal Cars, and

a Movie Set from Disney and if that is not

enough, you could spend hours just looking at

the vast collection of hood ordainments.

Pedal Cars Everywhere

We do not want to forget; there is a full gas

station where gas still shows 19 cents a

gallon and a Diner where we all had lunch.

With the tanks now full, we are off to see the

Cadillac collection, then the Motorcycles, the

Disney Movies Set and a Classic Car Club of

America Museum. Franklins are up next and

then into the cars of the 30’s and 40’s where

Fill it up with that cheap gas

Fill the stomach up at the Diner

Burgers and Drinks for All

a Tucker is located along with a

recreation of Preston Tucker’s office.

Motorcycles

This car was buried during WW2 for

60 years before being restored

And my favorite a 1906 Finch

Limited, overhead cam, valves in 06

We all headed home with sensory

overload and to let you know two more

buildings are planned for a Lincoln and

Caddy Museum, take a trip you will love

it and enjoy the automobile as art rather

than transportation, an era that will

never come back.

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 11111111

Darn it, did not have the camera at the

October Motor State Club Meeting as Art

Socher drove his beater truck to the

meeting, well it was a former beater truck

as Art went through it and it now spots a

great two tone paint job and a wood bed

out back that is to die for. Art as we all

know is one great wood worker and the

bed shows it. This goes along with the

recently acquired former Art Socher built

and owned Plymouth Convertible which

now makes for two shiny vehicles in the

garage that will keep the Mother’s Polish in

short supply this winter as Art removes the

drool from his vehicles left over from a

summer of cruising

Across town, John Schumont is busy at

work taking another beater rat rod in the

form of a truck into another great build as

he adds new suspension, new fenders, a

whole lot of body work that John is known

for and also some flat paint, another

Schumont trademark to this soon to be

old/new rolling masterpiece.

A short hop from John’s at the Keeney

homestead, Ron is busy tweaking the 34

Coupe into another great Street Rod that

we expect to be rolling to cruise nights

around town. Ron intents to keep this

vehicle traditional with a flathead for power

but with updated trans and driveline.

Cannot wait to see this one on the road

since Ron started with a great vehicle but is

making it even better.

Ok, over to the crazy house to see what

weird ideas are rolling out of Al Piggott’s

mind. Say it isn’t so, building a car with a

normal gasoline powered motor, yes but

that is where the madness begins, gas

power yes, but full race NASCAR spec

motor and an old NASCAR roundy round

car made to go straight line racing for one

mile at a time in a very fast way. This one

is Al’s build to go as fast as he can at the

Ohio Mile in 2013 and will in theory go to

the 200 mph mark in short order. Guess

the 122 mph in a slant six propane car was

just not enough and the faster the better.

We will be waiting to see this one.

Back to the west we see Jim Stocke still in

the garage putting bolt A into hold D for

what could well be the 400th time as he is in

the assembly process of the Factory Five

Hot Rod that he started in 2012 after well

over a year of research and attending a

build school on this particular car. Several of

us have helped Jim move the body back and

forth but we just got jealous on each visit

and tried to take the car home. Jim as you

know has done a few builds before and it

appears that he has not learned that it is

easier to buy than build but that is what

makes the world go round. So come on Jim,

we cannot wait another year; we want to see

this one rolling in 2013.

Bob Nash, you too need to kick it up a notch,

we have all been waiting to see the Willys

truck rolling along. JoAnn is getting tired of

lifting the fenders and truck bed on and off.

Yes we know that perfection takes time and

with the time we are expecting another great

vehicle to come rolling down the road this

summer. So far we are seeing three new

trucks coming out of MSSR garages so we

can now haul a lot of stuff to our rod runs.

Trouble is these trucks including Bob’s are

too nice to haul anything except the smiling

MSSR crew. Ok Bob, we are waiting.

Now, let’s turn our attention to another Bob,

who for what seems like most of my life has

been promising to get the 40 Ford Custom

redone for Autorama, will this be the year

Mr. Houchins or are you going to make us

wait longer. The old saying of good stuff

happens to people that wait sure applies

well to this case; this has got to be one

outstanding car because the wait is killing

us. Bob, in case you don’t know, we are not

cats, we don’t have nine lives to wait on

seeing this car. Ok Bob, this is the year, that

is the motto. See you on the road.

Ok, while I am in my mood, here is another

one that is taking way too long. Sharon,

please let Pat spend more time in the

garage this winter, the world needs another

Mopar on the road and Pat need to be

putting Bolt A into Hole D just like Jim

Stocke. The new paint will be weathered

thin before this one gets done at the present

pace. Someone call Chip Foose and see if

he needs another Overhauling project, if

he does not like Pat’s maybe we can get

him to take Bob Houchins over or better

yet give him a couple to work on.

Not sure what is going on Up North,

communication in the winter is a little slow

with this bunch, must be out snowmobiling

or shoveling I guess but I am sure that

after they all get healthy again there will be

activity in the Ballard and Laskey Garages

while Bob Wyman puts another can on the

shelf or mounts another sign on the wall.

Don’t have to get ugly with this group to

get the cars built; what the hell else have

they got to do with 10 feet of snow on the

ground.

One more on my get moving – tired of

waiting list is Dennis Peters, now we all

know that Dennis is a perfectionist and his

attention to detail is close to Ridler anal

but seriously, I need to see a blown Willys

at some car events in 2013. Every time I

see this car it is outstanding and each and

every part that Dennis fabricates and puts

on the car is show quality to the point

where you now have to spend some time

looking just to see it all. Dennis, we are

waiting!!!!!!!!

Cannot yell at Kurt Kiser, his repaint and

rebuild of the 40 is done and he like Art

Socher has only to polish all winter on a

job well done. Car made some nice long

distant trips right out of the box. Thank

God we have some members who actually

do get it done and drive them.

Then there is the rest of us doing a few

things here and there, like Russ Demers

looking for that elusive rattle in the back of

the car and spending time between

snowmobiling to find it. Don McKinnon

has reconfigured his coupe to get a

vibration out of it and now has a smile on

his face because he is sure he has got it

done. Me, I put a heater in the Model A

truck because it gets a little chilly in there

at times and working on replacing the bed

wood especially after seeing Art Socher’s

beautiful job although I am not going to

add shinny paint. And I am sure that a

bunch of you that I did not mention will be

spending time getting them ready for

cruising in 2013, well maybe not all since

some are basking in the sun in the south

or west. Ya all stay healthy and let’s roll

some miles when the snow melts.

What’s Up in the Garages this Winter By Rich Pickens

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 12121212

2012 in Review - A Whole Lot of Fun with Friends

What a year 2012 was for a car nut.

Summer started early and permitted

everyone to get the motor running and

start the wheels rolling sooner than any

year in memory. Sure, we had our typical

events that the club participates in like the

Woodward Cruise and Back to the Bricks,

the famous Summer Meeting at the

Reilly’s, the Kalamazoo Northern

Nationals, Columbus Goodguys and

others, but added a whole lot of new ones

like the Indiana Tour, the New York Tour

and Syracuse Show, and the non-

traditional Summer Meetings with the Up

North Chapter and at the Hines Park

Cruise and don’t forget the great Salem

Flag Day. In addition we attended in force

the South Lyon Cruise Night for the first

time and kept the burgers grilling at our

favorite cruise nights like the Tuesday

night cruise at the VFW, Mondays at Flat

Rock and Farmington, Wednesdays at

Plymouth and Redford as well as the all

time favorite, Sunday at Bakers.

Reminisce and enjoy the pictures of 2012

cruisin’ with MSSR.

Back to the Bricks

Columbus Goodguys

New York Tour

Syracuse Nationals

Up North Meeting

Reilly Summer Meeting

Meeting at Hines Park Cruise

South Lyon Cruise Night

Indiana Tour

Burger School Bebefit

Plus, Cruise Nights at Bellicino’s in Farmington, VFW in Redford, VFW in Plymouth, St. Roberts in Redford,

Big Boys in Flat Rock, Blue Sky Dinner in Romulus, Depot Town in Ypsi, Multi Lakes in Commerce

Township, Bakers in Milford on Sunday

More 2012 Fun on Next page

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 13131313

How many miles would I have travelled in 2012 if I was a MSSR Event freak?

Well ask no more, here is your answer (from Dearborn MI):

Ohio Mile

Street Rodder Tour at Bakers

Kalamazoo Northern Nationals

Gilmore Museum

Louisville

Woodward

Salem Flag Day

Garage Crawls

Frankenmuth

Traveling with MSSR in 2012

- Attended just one Ohio Mile, Wilmington OH = 500 Miles

- Attended NSRA Southern Nationals, Knoxville TN = 1,200 Miles

- Attended the Southern Indiana Road Trip and Tour = 1,000 Miles

- Attended all three Summer Meetings = 500 Miles plus untold cruising in Hines

- Attended Columbus OH Goodguys Nationals = 500 Miles

- Attended Syracuse NY Nationals and Road Trip = 1,300 Miles

- Attended NSRA Nationals in Louisville KY = 800 Miles

- Attended Back to the Bricks in Flint MI = 130 Miles

- Attended Frankenmuth Autofest = 180 Miles

- Attended NSRA Northern National in Kalamazoo MI = 280 Miles

- Attended IDIDIT Open House = 130 Miles

- Attended at least 20 Local Cruise Nights = 500 Miles

- Attended South Lyon Cruise Night = 80 Miles

Total Miles 7,100 Happy Miles

Total Gallons of Gas @ 15 miles per gallon 473 Gallons

Total Cost of Fuel @ $4/gallon $1,800 of Fun with Cars, Family and

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 14141414

MSSR News Briefs

Salem Flag Day 2013

The Board has agreed to support Gardner

Westcott by attending the Salem Flag Day in

2013 and ask for your support at this fun

event. We have been guaranteed Ice Cream

for being there and we know you like Ice

Cream.

Hines Park Cruise 2013

The Board has submitted the paperwork for

the Hines Park Cruise and we will be in the

same spot as last year so hope you all attend.

This was a highlight event of 2012 and looks

to be even better in 2013.

Garage Crawls and Meeting Speakers

As always, MSSR is looking for winter

activities in the form of garage crawls and car

related activities. Anyone with any ideas

please let a board member know.

If anyone knows of someone that would make

an interesting guest speaker at one of our

Membership Meetings let a Board Member

know.

Kalamazoo Northern Nats Rooms 2013

Sheila Sabo has knocked it out of the park

again for 2013 and obtained a 20 room

block at the Residence Inn Kalamazoo East

for Thursday Sept 12 and 28 rooms for

Friday and Saturday Sept 13 and 14. All

rooms are Studio Suites and include the

Russ Demers approved hot breakfast. Only

6 rooms are ground floor so use these only

if the stairs are a problem for you. Sheila

got a rate so good that I cannot publish it in

this newsletter due to outside circulation but

you will be pleased. To make a reservation

call: 800-331-3131. Please do not call the

Residence Inn directly. When you make

your reservation you must tell them that you

want a room from the Motor State Street

Rods block. Make sure you document your

reservation with date, name, rate,

confirmation number and any other details

of your reservations. After you have made

your reservations, please give Sheila a call

or send email to let her know the nights

you'll be there and if you need a ground

Why do

......drugstores make the sick walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions while healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.

.....people order double cheeseburgers,

large fries, and a diet coke.

.....banks leave vault doors open and then

chain the pens to the counters..

......we leave cars worth thousands of dollars

in the driveway and put our useless junk

in the garage

......we buy hot dogs in packages of ten and

buns in packages of eight..

.....they have drive-up ATM machines with

Braille lettering.

…..they sterilize the needle for lethal

injections?

Why is it

…..that “Abbreviated' such a long word?

…..that Doctors call what they do 'practice'?

… that lemon juice made with artificial

flavor, and dishwashing liquid made with

real lemons?

……that the man who Invests all your

money is called a broker?

……that the time of day with the slowest

traffic is called rush hour?

And Why

……Didn’t Moses swat the two mosquitoes

……If flying is so safe, why do they call the

airport the terminal?

And Ladies

…...The Mars rover proved men are not

from Mars, they found no signs of

beer, ESPN or Porn.

……Remember if he says he will fix it, he

will, there is no need to remind him

every 6 months or so

……And remember men have feelings too,

for example, we feel hungry.

……And judging by the frying pan that just

flew by my head I can assume I did

something wrong, can’t wait to find out

what it was.

Well this explains it all

Ever walk into a room with some purpose in mind, only to completely forget what that

purpose was? Turns out, doors themselves are to blame for these strange memory lapses.

Psychologists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that passing through a doorway triggers what's known as an event boundary in the mind, separating one set of thoughts and memories from the next. Your brain files away the thoughts you had in the previous room and prepares a blank slate for the new locale.

We're not getting too old to remember stuff after all; it's those damn doors. I agree with George on this one

Three friends from the local congregation were asked, "When you're in your casket, and friends and congregation members are mourning over you, what would you like them to say?"

Artie said, "I would like them to say I was a wonderful husband, a fine spiritual leader, and a great family man."

Eugene commented, "I would like them to say I was a wonderful teacher and servant of God who made a huge difference in people's lives.."

George said, "I'd like them to say, 'Look, he's moving!'"

floor room. You must make your

reservations before August 22nd

, 2013.

The cancellation policy is 6 PM the day

of arrival. If you are not going to be able

to keep your room reservation, please

contact Sheila first, in case we have a

waiting list for a room. If you need to

cancel, please don't wait until the last

minute to do so. These folks have been

very good to us and we need to treat

them right. We need to make sure all

our members that want rooms get them

first, before inviting our friends, so

during the last week of our block check

with Sheila for availability for friends. If

you have any questions or need further

information, please give her a call. 248

685 2268

Election of Officers

Bob Nash (President), Jim Stocke (Vice

President), and Kurt Kiser (Treasurer)

were all elected to another term on the

Board of Directors

Weird Stuff in My Head

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 15151515

SEMA By Jim Stocke

SEMA 2012, Las Vegas, NV

October 30 to November 2, 2012

2100 Vendors spread out over three

buildings to be poured over by over

110,000 people! Ha, and you thought

Louisville was big with its 300 vendors.

That kind of statistic hollers loud and clear

that the car hobby is alive and well.

The Las Vegas Convention Center is the

venue for this show. Compared to the

absolutely fabulous, flashy and elegant

hotels and casinos along the famous Las

Vegas strip, the Convention Center is

rather modest and even downright dowdy

looking. But, no matter, the overriding

feature of this venue is its humungous

size. There are three main buildings: North

Hall, Center Hall and, guess what, South

Hall. Well, even though I am equipped with

superior walking skills, it is impossible to

see everything especially since the strip

and all the associated glitz, glamour and

gambling is strongly beckoning. There are

literally millions of square feet of floor

space for the myriad of products to make

your personal ride more fun or even bring

it to life from scratch.

And now, Tuesday, October 30 is upon us

and to the shuttle parked in front of the

golden Trump Tower we go to be shuttled

to the Convention Center. Oh man, a car

lover’s dream comes true. I am greeted by

hundreds of magnificent cars parked in

front of the Center forming a great, unique

car show. These cars are built and owned

by the various participating companies to

showcase their prowess and products. The

cars are knockouts as the engineers and

technicians put their all into building them.

Alas, there were not too many street rods

around but, enough to make their presence

in the hobby known. One notable feature:

You could spend the better part of the day

just drinking in all this fabulous metal but,

the vendors are waiting so off to the

Central Hall which houses Hot Rod Alley,

Racing and Performance and Restoration

Marketplace we go. By far, for me anyway,

this hall was the most interesting.

Hit Hot Rod Alley first of course, but to get

there you have to go through the elevated,

long, skinny Ford exhibit. Hey, they show

some really impressive performance and

racing cars as well as a few of their regular

production cars like the new, knockout

Fusion. Let’s give equal time to the

Chevrolet (Not GM) exhibit. This one was a

large square more or less in the middle of

the hall. Several of their cars were set up

as race cars with all the requisite roll bars,

modified engines, greatly reworked

suspensions and very flashy paint jobs.

Competition for the Fusion: the new Impala

is also a knockout; very, very nice. Seems

every car that comes out today is

absolutely fabulous. Is the automotive

industry competitive? Move on, move on.

Hot Rod Ally is just ahead. Woo, hoo here

we are in hot rod heaven. Let say hello to

Marty, Scott and Ken at the Ididit booth

first. Then go over to the all important

Factory Five booth where they are

showing, for the first time, their new kit. It is

Ferrari-ish looking and gorgeous Dave

Continued Next Page

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 16161616

Smith, the president, was not there as he

could not get a flight due to the notorious

storm, Sandy. (He came later, though. Lots

of folks associated with the show were

stuck because of the storm.) All the usual

vendors we see at NSRA shows were here

plus a whole raft of products you do not

see at our usual show circuit.

Hot Rod Alley takes up a relatively small

area in the Central Hall. But, there are

many other interesting things to see in the

Racing and Performance area and the

Restoration Marketplace. By far, the largest

area in this Hall was the Racing and

Performance vendors. That fact speaks as

to what the hottest segment in the car

hobby market. There were many, many

modified racing engines to see and, an

outstanding new one the new Corvette

LT1. Also do you want a racing chassis and

all accessories and parts to make a car go

fast? Great fun to walk up and down to see

all this stuff. I was happy to see that there

were very few Chinese vendors – yea for

us.

Walk, walk, walk and walk some more to

see all these products devoted to a hobby

and not a necessity. The recession was not

alive and well here judging by the great

number of viable manufacturers that

support a hobby. There is a strong feeling

that the American spirit was demonstrated

to be alive and well. Creativity, engineering,

showmanship and just plain hard work

brings this show into existence.

Okay, exhausted, I hobble back to the hotel

to rest, have dinner and take in a great

Cirque du Soleil show at the New York,

New York casino. Wow, was that a beautiful

(and racy) show! Come bedtime, this puppy

is really tired. But, no SEMA tomorrow

though, Have to see the strip up close

including the shopping center at Caesar’s

Palace and then walk all the way to the

Bellagio ogling the sights along the way, a

distance of at least 175 miles, or so if felt

like it. Let’s go see The Jersey Boys stage

show about Frankie Valli and The Four

Seasons at the Paris. The songs really

brought back memories: “Sherrrrri, Sheri

baaaby, won’t you come out tonight” sung

in a falsetto voice. You get the idea.

Thursday and back to SEMA. It is a little

anticlimactic but still great fun. Hit the South

Hall second floor where the Trucks, SUVs

an Off Road vendors hang out. There sure

are a lot of parts, accessories, sub

assemblies and, especially suspension

components, available to conquer the rough

terrain of our great country. Sadly though,

there were lots of Chinese vendors. Poo.

Somehow, I would not feel right buying a

Chinese winch or rear cross member or

fog lamps or anything else for that matter.

Better get used to it. We will probably see

more of this in the future.

Again, drag myself back to the hotel to

rest, recuperate and no, not gamble. Not

me, not ever. I digress. All in all this

SEMA trip was a great experience. But,

the show is not open to the public. You

have to apply and prove that you are part

of the automotive industry to attend. That

hurdle is surmountable however, as

friends and friends of friends could

probably get you in. It is a chance to go

the great fantasy land of the west and get

your car fix too.

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 17171717

Congratulations to all and

God’s Blessing for many,

many more birthdays and

anniversaries to come

Birthdays

Anniversaries

Swap Meet

Hot Wheel Collection - 600 cars make offer

Bob Nash 517-223-4882

46 Ford right and left front fenders, 2 hoods,

dash panel

4-OEM 4 Lug 13” Mag Wheel/Mustang II or

Pinto $100 Firm

4-13” Wire Hub Caps OEM Mustang II/Pinto

$80 Firm

– Call Dan Plopan 248-477-6221

Various SUN Tachs, Al Piggott, 248-981-

7532

Golf Clubs, $100 Call Jack Miller 313-383-

4703

For Sale License Plate Collection, Pete

Deptula 734-259-0691

Newly rebuilt 1975 - 350 c.i. Police

Interceptor engine w/Tri-Power polished

alum. intake & 3-new Rochester carbs.

w/progressive linkage & fuel block. Plus a

new Phoenix transmission & chrome valve

covers. Asking $3,500. Contact Phil Lyon

734-578-6223

Set of 4 18:x8” Boyd Codington 5 Spoke

Wheels with new 60 Series Tires, $1400.

Pete Ballinger 313-534-0331

7;00x16 Firestones, 500x15 Ribbed

Firestones, Rat Rod Headers, Rat Rod Grill ,

Big Headlights, 1-15” Moon Disc’s, Baby

Moons, 46 Ford Trim John Schumont 734-

377-4522

10” Steel Lathe complete, $800, Pete

Deptula

CARS FOR SALE

ENGINES FOR SALE

GARAGE EQUIP FOR SALE

PARTS FOR SALE

MISCELLANOUS FOR SALE

Like new 33/34 Ford Fender Bra $60 Rich

Pickens 734 425 6676

4 grey leather bucket seats, both fronts are

power and they came out of a Windstar LS.

Looking for $200.00 Call for pictures Tim

Messer 248-446-1906

WANTED

454 engine rebuilt

396 engine needs rebuilding

Call Bob Nash

HEI 65K Distributor for Chevy V6, 3.8 or 4.3

New in Box, $60 -Edelbrock Intake 2114

for Chevy 4.3 Vortex Head Motor new with

gaskets $180 -Small block Chevy Water

Pump new, $35 -Ford 351 W Ford Racing

Flywheel, New $200 Rich Pickens

Crew members to help Bob Carter at the

Ohio Mile Events in 2013

1936 Pickup Truck, Hot Rod Project Call for

more information and a list of what’s included

(too much to mention). Priced to sell,

$5,000.00. Call Jim Sabo, Highland, Mi.,

248-685-2268. Email any time

sheilasabo@yahoo.com

1978 T-Bird, Dove Gray with Red Pinstripes,

400 CID, Automatic Trans, Like New, $7500.

See Jack Miller 313-383-4703

1976 Lincoln 2 dr. 81k actual miles; one

owner $8,000. Original everything. Tim

Keenon is the original owner, 313-563-9235

49 Ford Club Coupe

Stock Flat Head V8, Stick Shift, Overdrive,

New Radial Tires, New Radiator and Wiring,

A Great Driver - $19,000 Vic 248-373-4356

Jim Laird's 1941 Ford Pickup (Old Blue)

The truck has a stock body with no rust (real solid straight metal)/Straight axle / Small block Chevy w/ auto trans/NSRA Safety inspection Priced at $14000 – 313-506-2439 Call Jim's son Rob for details or to view truck.

LOST AND NOW FOUND

At Kalamazoo = A Person, “Danny Plopan”,

described as a guy about this high by the

search party headed by Claudia Williams,

Last seen at the Pizza Party, Karen did not

offer a reward but did say finder, keeper,

loser is a happy camper

At Kalamazoo = JoAnn Nash’s Cell Phone,

thought lost at Bruesters Restaurant or in

Jack Millers Back Seat. Someone please

call Jack’s back seat to see if it rings

At Kalamazoo = Nina Deptula’s Wallet, last

seen hidden in her secret hiding spot but

cannot now remember the hiding spot

location, if anyone knows where the secret

hiding spot is, let Nina know

January

Dan Laskey January 8

Lee Schlagel January 24

JoAnn Nash January 26

February

Bob Wyman February 17

Bob Paull February 17

Jim Sabo February 19

March

Sharon Ambroziak March 1

John Gavasso March 2

Donald Prine March 14

Pete Ballinger March 16

Jim Stocke March 17

Karen Popan March 17

Danny Murray March 20

Rose Jelkin March 26

January

Tom and JoAnn Mann January 27

Gary and Laurie Jefferson January 28

February

Bob Steinhaus and

Rochelle Jaffee February 14

Kurt and Sandy Kiser February 23

March

Dwight and Millie Fackender March 5

Pat and Sharon Ambroziak March 9

Ford OEM 15 inch wheels, Call Russ Demers

313-561-5579

4-235x45 17” Pirelli Winter Tires $75

96 -98 Mustang Bumper Cover No Tears $20

Call Doug Smith 734-529-5166, Dundee MI

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 18181818

Cruisin and Other Ramblings By the Editor

I cannot watch anymore TV shows that

show idiots buying cars, putting some

lipstick on a pig and then flip them at an

auction or pawn them off to a knucklehead

buyer. Gas Monkey Garage, Fast N’ Loud,

Texas Car Wars, and a few others really

give the car hobby a bad name when

someone sees them take a rusty hulk and

throw paint on it, get a motor to turn over

that has not moved for years and then

make a few grand at resale. Seriously, if

you were not a car person, you would think

this is a norm since the TV told me so.

Thank god, we are serious about what we

do and in most cases do it well and inspect

our cars to ensure they are safe and will

survive a trip. And don’t get me started on

the motorcycle shows; most of their

creations are not something you would

want to ride. I feel better now.

Where did 2012 go, Fast is the answer,

seems like we cannot live an endless

summer of street rodding and have to

endure winter some just to have fun again

in a car. So all you Florida and Arizona

travelers, have one on us and report back

all the neat things you saw and did while

we shoveled the snow for ya, and ya all

come back ya hear.

MSSR made the papers, well the Rose

City MI paper at least. On the Up North

Trip this year, we were photographed by

the local newspaper and we got the photo

to prove it, although we were called the

Rods and Relics, we don’t look that old

that we are relics do we.

I do not remember how it goes exactly but

the saying about a great lady behind every

man is really true in MSSR. Just think

back on 2012 and you will find it in the

planning and execution at every event we

did like the Up North Cruise with the work

of Joyrane Wyman, Kay Laskey, Audrey

Lazette, Lee Schlagel, and Janet Ballard.

The Indiana Trip Plan and Kalamazoo

room negotiations by Sheila Sabo. The

New York trip events planned by JoAnn

Nash and Karen Plopan. The lunch plan at

Hines Park by the duo of JoAnn Nash and

Karen Plopan. The KZoo cooking and

pizza party coordinated by Karen Plopan.

Last, but not least, the Christmas Party

planning and arrangements by Karen

Plopan. Thank you all we appreciate you

keeping us straight and well fed.

I ask this question each year just to make

sure so here goes, is there anyone out

there who would like to try their hand at

doing the newsletter because after four

years I could use a rest and I am sure that

a new face could bring some new

excitement to this paper. We are also

looking for any help that someone is willing

to give out in the form of a column, articles

or anything of interest. We have had some

help in the past, for example, Jim and Judy

Stocke are a go to for many of the articles

and Bill Carner contributes art work but we

can use all the help we can get. If you

think you cannot do this, just remember, I

was raised in the south where English was

not the first language and if I can do this,

you would really be good at it. Just let us

know.

We had two new members join when the

last issue of Rod Connection was being

printed so we missed the introduction by a

few months but we hope by now a lot of

you had the chance to meet and greet

these two new families introduced on the

first pages of this newsletter.

THINK SPRING

January Events

January 5, Garage Crawl, Miliken Ypsi

January 12, Traction Bar Lunch Noon

January 23, Aurburn Museum Crawl

January 27, MSSR Board Meeting-3:30

January 27, MSSR Club Meeting at 5

February Events

February 9, Traction Bar Lunch

February 24 MSSR Board Meeting-3:30

February 24, MSSR Club Meeting at 5

March Events

March 8, 9. 10 Autorama

Note Date Changes due to Easter

March 24, MSSR Board Meeting-3:30

Note Date Changes due to Easter

March 24, MSSR Club Meeting at 5

Mark Your 2013 Calendars

NSRA Nats South May 3, 4, 5

Salem Flag Day June 8

Goodguys Columbus July 12, 13. 14

NSRA Nationals – August 1, 2, 3. 4

3rd

Summer Meeting – August 25

at the Hines Park Cruise

NSRA Nats North - Sept 13. 14, 15

Stay tuned for announcements on the

June and July Summer Meetings plus

a lot of other events in 2013

Coming Events

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 19191919

President Bob Nash

Vice President Jim Stocke

Treasurer Kurt Kiser

Director Dennis Peters

Director Don McKinnon

Director Rich Pickens

Photographer Jim Stocke

Clothing Mgr’s Vic Hollingshead

Jan Quill

Card Lady JoAnn Nash

Web Master Gary Jefferson

Rod Connection

Editor Rich Pickens

Chief Reporter Jim Stocke

Womens World Help Wanted

Art Bill Carner

Historical Help All the old people

Others Welcome to Send in Articles and Reports

Send any comments/articles/swap meet

items/events/or general nonsense to

rodconnection@comcast.net

Deadline for next edition March 1, 2013

The opinions and articles expressed in the MSSR Rod

Connection do not necessarily reflect the views and

opinions of the board of directors.

Officers and Staff

Rod Connection

Featured Ride Motor State Street Rods

PO Box 2471

Dearborn Michigan 48123

www.motorstatestreetrods.org

Cruising since 1976

FUN WITH CARS, FAMILY and FRIENDS

The Motor State Street Rod Car Club was founded in 1976

as a social club to promote safe, family enjoyment of

modified vehicles.

The club is a non-profit benevolent organization

established to promote the enjoyment of older vehicles

and protect the specialized interests of its members.

In addition, the club lives up to its motto of "Fun with Cars,

Family and Friends" with less structured activities that may

include casual cruising, picnics, dances, dinners, swap

meets, car shows, rod runs, cruise-ins, and monthly

meetings. Funds raised every year are donated to various

needy causes.

Jim Laird’s 1941 Ford Pickup

“OLD BLUE”

Note: Truck is For Sale

Improved engineering and handsome styling made the 1940-1941 Ford half-ton pickup a popular choice among truck buyers in the 1940s.

Ford's chief designer E.T. "Bob" Gregorie gave the all-new 1940 light-duty trucks the crisp, clean "prow front" styling of the 1939-1940 passenger cars, and this carried over to the 1941 Ford truck line.

As fresh and distinctive as on the cars, that look has stood the test of time beautifully.

Behind the new face of the for the 1940-1941 Ford half-ton pickup was a host of mechanical improvements. Cabs were sturdier and wider, and windshields were fixed with cowl-mounted wipers (but crank-open windshields were available).

Sealed-beam headlamps were new, and mattress-type springs offered extra passenger comfort. The smart rectangular instrument cluster also resembled that of Ford cars.

Underneath, light-duty trucks retained what amounted to a Ford car frame: a double-drop design with X-member bracing, stamped from heavier 10-gauge steel instead of 11-gauge. Suspension was still by transverse leaf springs front and rear, which dated from Ford Model T days, plus lever shocks and, on some models, a front stabilizer bar.

The handsome new styling of the 1940 Ford half-ton pickup was a big asset against rival Chevy's carryover fleet in 1940, but Chevrolet's redesigned AK-series for 1941 was more formidable. Ford countered with minor trim changes, deciding there was no reason for wholesale revision of Gregorie's excellent design.

Standard engine in 1941 was Ford's 221-cid flathead V-8 with 90 bhp, though a Mercury 239 with 95 bhp and the small Ford V-8/60 were optional. In mid-season, the V-8/60 was replaced by a 120-cid four-cylinder engine from the Ford 9N tractor-a curious choice, and not very popular. Even rarer was the passenger car's inline six, a late-season no-cost option

The handsome trucks pictured with this article are painted a solid color, though it was possible to two-tone in 1941 by paying extra for black-painted fenders. Bodyside pinstriping was optional.

V o l u m e 3 7 , I s s u e 1 P a g e P a g e P a g e P a g e 20202020

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