Michiana Monthly

be $10. Ted Sauerbeck made a motion, seconded by George Wachs that we say here for our meeting place.

The motion was amended to read that we would stay here unless problems arise. This motion was passed with 2 opposed.

If you want to order a permanent name tag, please see Brad Milliken. He would like to have several requests before he places the order.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30. June Schmidt Secretary

One Reason CitiBank Needed the Bailout

Cancel your credit card before you

die... Now some people are really stupid!!!! Be sure and cancel your credit cards before you die.

This is so priceless, and so, so easy to see happening, customer service being what it is today.

A lady died this past January, and Citibank billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late Fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00 when she died, but is now somewhere around $60.00. A family member placed a call to Citibank.

Here is the exchange:

Family Member (FM): 'I am calling to tell you she died back in January.'

Citibank (C): 'The account was never closed and the late fees and charges still apply.'

FM: 'Maybe, you should turn it over to collections.'

C: 'Since it is two months past due, it already has been.'

FM: 'So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?'

C:

'Either report her account to frauds division or report her to the credit bureau, maybe both!'

FM: 'Do you think God will be mad at her?'

C:

'Excuse me?' FM: 'Did you just get what I was

telling you - the part about her being dead?'

C:

'Sir, you'll have to speak to my supervisor.'

Supervisor gets on the phone FM: 'I'm calling to tell you, she died back in January with a $0 Balance.'

C:

'The account was never closed and late fees and charges still apply.'

FM: 'You mean you want to collect from her estate?'

C:

(Stammer) 'Are you her lawyer?'

FM: 'No, I'm her great nephew.' Lawyer info was given)

C:

'Could you fax us a certificate of death?'

FM: 'Sure.' (Fax number was given) After they get the fax

C:

'Our system just isn't set up for death. I don't know what more I can do to help.'

FM: 'Well, if you figure it out, great! If not, you could just keep billing her. She won't care.'

C:

'Well, the late fees and charges will still apply.' (What is wrong with these people?!?)

FM: 'Would you like her new billing address?'

C:

'That might help...'

FM: ' Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Highway 129, Plot Number 69.'

C:

'Sir, that's a cemetery!'

FM: 'And what do you do with dead people on your planet???'

(Priceless!!) You wondered why Citi is going broke and need the feds to bail them out?

Treasurer’s Report: May 2009

Income

50-50 Drawing $31.50 Club Sales: Name Tags 17.00 _{This Month...} Member Donations 177.00 Memberships 280.00 ^{9 Kevin Price} Total Income 505.50 14 Ted Sauerbeck

^Expenses 16 Shari Knaak Club Activities: Meals $88.47

24 Vic Garrison

Donation: Cancer Walk 277.00 MCA Discount 35.00^{26 Mona Steiner} Newsletter: Postage 42.00

Printing 41.09

Total Expenses $483.56 _{Membership Anniversaries}

^{Membership Dues} Kami & Chad Woody 12 years

_May Darrell & Nancy Eggers 11 years

McClure, Pete & Marilyn Art & Becky Campbell 10 years

June Scott & Chris Anderson 4 years

Anderson, Scott & Chris

Kindig, Carl & Brenda Spitaels, Dick & Mona Woody, Kami & Chad

On the mend… Happy Anniversary!

Please keep these folks in your thoughts, and keep in touch with them as they return to good health... 9 Chris & Pete Delchambre (36 years)

• Dick Spitaels, from a broken leg and ankle ^{16 Pat & Bob Goeller (30 years)}

• Ted Sauerbeck, recovering from surgery last week ^{18 June & Jim Schmidt (49 years)} 19 Kathryn & Frank Schmidt

If I missed your birthday or anniversary, please let me know. Thanks!

2009 Events Calendar
June
13 (Saturday)	West Michigan Mustang Club Show, Grand Rapids
20 (Saturday)	Zeigler Ford Show and Shine, Elkhart
27 (Saturday)	Bremen Ford Show and Shine, Bremen
30 (Tuesday)	Bremen Independence Parade, Bremen (see note below)
July
10 (Friday)	Barille Ford Show and Shine, Valparaiso
11 (Saturday)	Eby Ford Show and Shine, Goshen
13 (Monday)	Michiana Mustangs Picnic, Twin Branch Park, Mishawaka
18 (Saturday)	Old Fort Mustangers Show, Fort Wayne
August
2 (Sunday)	Northern Mustang Corral Show, Bourbonnais, IL
3 (Monday)	Michiana Mustangs Monthly Meeting (at Concord Mall)
8 (Saturday)	Michiana Mustangs Mustang & Ford Show, Elkhart
9 (Sunday)	Mustang Memories All Ford Show & Swap Meet, Novi MI
15 (Saturday)	Woodward Dream Cruise, Detroit
22 (Saturday)	Lions Porkfest Parade, Kouts
September
5 (Saturday)	Track Day at Tire Rack, South Bend
12 (Saturday)	Zeigler Ford Show and Shine, Elkhart
14 (Monday)	Michiana Mustangs Monthly Meeting
October
12 (Monday)	Michiana Mustangs Monthly Meeting (Officer Nominations)
November
9 (Monday)	Michiana Mustangs Monthly Meeting (Officer Elections)
December
5 (Saturday)	Club Christmas Party at the Firemen's

Cruise-In Calendar Sunday

• Bonnie Doon, Lincolnway near Ironwood, Mishawaka

Monday

• Legends Restaurant, Edwardsburg

Tuesday

• Steak N’ Shake, 933 & Cleveland, South Bend

• Arby’s, Bittersweet & Lincolnway, Mishawaka

• JD’s Truck Stop, Niles

• The Pitt Stop, S.R. 23 & Adams Rd., Granger

Wednesday

• Blaz-N-Chik Restaurant, Niles

• Simonton Lake Drive-In, S.R. 19, Elkhart

Thursday

• Das Essenhaus, U.S. 20, Middlebury

• Long John Silvers, Nappanee St., Elkhart

Friday

• Advance Auto Parts, McKinley Ave., Mishawaka

• Aaron’s Plumbing, Roseland

Saturday

• Pizza King, S.R. 23 near Bittersweet, Granger

This information was provided by MichianaCruisers.com. If you hear of a cruise-in being scheduled, let me know. I’ll list every one I

Bremen Parade Information

The Bremen Independence Day Parade will be on June 30th. We will be meeting at Dave Yoder's house at 5:30 and leave at 5:45 to line up. The Parade starts at 6:30.

AND YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD A TOUGH TIME GOING TO A MUSTANG

EVENT…

Dave and Carol Cooper thought they were going to leave for Birmingham on Thursday the 16th but when they came home, Jim Schmidt was waiting for them and reminded them that the plans were to leave on the 15th. Not enough time to get the dog settled and get packed, so the Coopers left the next day, the 16th.

On the way down, the alternator went out so they had to have it replaced only to find that the replacement had the wrong pulley.

Carol discovered that she had forgotten her billfold with her driver’s license in it so the driving was up to Dave. She also forgot her breathing machine and pills so they had to stop to get her prescription filled.

They eventually discovered that they forgot the video camera they were going to use to take pictures of this fun trip to the 45th Mustang national show.

Maybe the most humiliating thing was that at one of the stops on the way to Alabama their car wouldn't start and they had to have a Chevy give them a jump.

Dave was driving hard and got almost to Birmingham when the right rear tire blew out and destroyed the thing. They put the spare on but couldn't find the chrome ring. And the spare was low on air. Dave wanted a used tire to fall back on until they could get home. He stopped at a tire store but the lady there very indignantly said, "We don't sell used tires, we sell new ones". So they drove home without a spare.

They didn't get to Birmingham until very late, had trouble finding the motel, which, by the way everyone did, and didn't get settled until after midnight. They later discovered that the motel key was missing. After some reflective searching and a phone call they found it at the Cracker Barrel where they'd eaten.

Then they learned from the motel that the cost to replace a room key would be $250.

The engine started missing and acted as it wasn't getting gas. It seemed to run better the more full of gas it was. First it balked when it got down to 1/4 of a tank. Then it balked when it was half full and then ¾ full. Afraid to risk not getting it home, Dave contacted Penske for a truck and trailer but was told that they wouldn't rent a unit for a classic car. They then contacted U-Haul for a truck and a trailer. First U-Haul said they didn't have one available and then advised they'd located one. Dave later found out that he had to drive over an hour to get it. First he was told the place closed at 7 pm but found out that they closed at 5 pm. Curly had offered to follow them home and swap his car for Dave's on the trailer if Dave’s couldn't make it home so Dave took him up on it. Dave found that if he didn't try to maintain speed going up hills all went well, the trailer wasn't needed and he arrived home OK.

Someone told him that his brake lights didn't work. Nothing could be done to fix them on site. But the sequential turn signals worked OK. So that fix will have to be done at home.

On the way home Dave discovered that the gas gauge didn't work. Sometimes the needle wouldn't move and other times it moved but was obviously not accurate. So fill ups were based on miles driven.

Saturday evening the Coopers went to dinner with a group. When Dave went to leave, he realize that he'd locked his key in the car. So he stuck his hand along the black glass, found the zipper and got the window open. Lying on his back on the trunk lid he reached in and unlocked the door. Later, he found that he had put a small dent in the trunk lid when he laid on it. More

work to do at home. The reason Dave took the '67 to Birmingham was to get a picture of it on the track when they had the parade lap on Sunday. They paid $10 to get on the track. Well guess what? It rained Sunday morning and they wouldn't let people out on the track, so after all this... NO PICTURE. They did get their money back. Then it quit raining and they let race cars out onto the track.

Dave decided that he'd like a FORD banner from the show. In attempting to cut the banner down with his trusty pocket knife, the knife closed on his thumb, cutting it badly. So badly they looked up the onsite EMTs to have it wrapped. The EMTs didn't treat it; they just put a wrap on it. There are pictures of the encased thumb.

On the way back to Indiana, the Schmidts led, followed by the Coopers, with Curly bringing up the rear to provide stop light coverage for Dave. At one of the gas stops, the pump Dave tried to use was out of order.

Dave and Carol were remarkably cool through the whole thing. No doubt this trip will be one the Coopers will remember for a long time. We were impressed. Hopefully things are going better now.

Reported by Curly Long

My First Mustang

My first Mustang was a … are you ready for this? No, I’m not making it up! Really, it’s true! It was a 1970, 428 Cobra Jet Mach 1. It was rough, it was rusty, it burned oil, the paint was terrible, and I wish I had it back. I was 14 when I bought it and my dad about came unglued. I paid a whopping $500 for it. The car I really wanted though was my neighbors Boss 302. But sweeping floors at 14 years old wasn’t going to swing that, even in those days.

I had 2 years before I could legally drive and that gave me time to try and fix it up the best I could. I learned a lot by tinkering with that car. I’d pull stuff off and take it apart and put it back together again. I’d get it wrong and my neighbor would show me what to do. I started buying some basic hand tools instead of borrowing them from the neighbors. That car got me started down the path of being a “car guy”.

I was able to have several adventures in it before getting my license (as you might guess). After doing burnouts in the driveway one afternoon, the police decided to stop by and tell me that if they ever caught me on the street in that car “I’d go straight to jail” (as he kicked over the posi rubber tracks laid down by the 14” styled steel wheels). I tried to look innocent and the car was hidden in the garage by then, but the tire marks sold me out. Sometimes a buddy and I would cruise around after dark – it was a small town.

I repainted it grabber blue in my driveway. It practically glowed in the dark. It wasn’t a good paintjob, it had a lot of bondo in it, but it was a cool car. The 428 was pretty tired at 90k of what I’m sure were hard miles back in the day, but I never had to prove much with it. Most of the other guys at the time didn’t have very nice cars either and weren’t interested in going up against a big block Mach 1. So, I drove it for about a year. I was officially hooked on Mustangs. One morning my mom woke me up to tell me that someone had hit my beloved bondo beauty. I had it parked on the street at the time because my parents used the driveway. A guy who lived down the block had dropped his coffee cup, and while leaning over to grab it, swerved and bashed into the rear of my fluorescent blue fastback. Big hunks of bondo lay in the street. This was far beyond my teenage car mending skills. So died my first car.

I always kept track of that Boss 302 though. My neighbor lost interest in it and it sat in various places over the next 20-25 years until the motor seized up. I own it now, which by the way, was the first car anyone ever let me drive. Well I tried to drive it anyway; I wasn’t much with a clutch at 13 years old. It runs and drives fine now though!

Bob Baracani

The Best-Laid Plans…

This year’s Spring Fling included the 10th annual ‘Pony Trail’. 92 cars gathered on a doubtful looking Friday morning for a trip to the Salem Speedway for track time before going into downtown Salem.

Dan Aiken has done a great job of organizing the Pony Trails over the years. Occasionally, though, he gets some unexpected ’help’. As we drove down IN-446 south of Bloomington we came upon ’Oily Roads Ahead’ signs (Huh?). We soon found the cause of the oily roads...the road was being resurfaced with loose stone for traffic to embed in the existing tarmac. Thankfully, at this point the work was being done in the oncoming lane, but a few of us had stones bouncing off our windshields. I’m sure the drivers of the Ford GTs and Cobras were terribly pleased at this development, but we didn't see anyone turning off or around. We all just slowed down and tip-toed through this section of the trip. When we got to U.S. 50, you could tell by some of the driving that people were glad to be off that section of road.

Mother Nature also had a surprise for us. Our route was to take us down IN-235 into Medora. The ‘Road Closed’ signs suggested otherwise. Rains the previous day had washed out a bridge just before Medora. One more detour, and we made it to the Speedway.

Apparently the outside influences decided to leave us alone once we arrived at Salem Speedway. The weather cleared into a hot, sunny day and we had no incidents at the track or for the return trip. If you’ve not done it before, driving on a banked track is a different experience. I know my car had much more to give than I was able to handle, but it was still a good time.

Our cars surrounded the courthouse square in downtown Salem and overflowed onto side streets. This being the third Pony Trail to Salem the locals were ready for the invasion (and the influx of business). From what I could see, everybody had a good time, and traffic through town had quite an eyeful as they navigated the square.

If you get a chance to do a ’Pony Trail’, I would certainly recommend it. The routes are planned for the maximum driving experience possible, and I’ve always had a good time. I’m willing to bet Dan is on the phone to the Highway Department next year!

AC

Things For Sale! Two Engines

One is a 5.0 and has been rebuilt and is ready to be bolted in. I also have the fuel injection to go with it for $1,000 or best offer.

The second engine is the 3.8 from the 1983 Mustang. It has been totally rebuilt and has only 1,000 miles on it.

If you have any questions, you can e-mail Harold at hjedrzejewski@yahoo.com

***

I still have 5 like new P185/75R14 tires for sale, white wall. One has NEVER been on the ground; still have the wear tips on yet. The other 4 have 4/32" wear left on them. They are already off the rims.

For anyone who is a club member of M.C.A. or the Ohio Classic Mustang Club I will sell ALL 5 for $175.00 (That's $35 ea.) Four of them are SEARS tires & one is a Cooper Tire, but all of them match.

If anyone wants these tires, they can e-mail me at phigley@srscnet.com

I still have a 289 Engine (Block, heads & intake). Also a FoMoCo 1965 Ford Mustang AM Radio, LIKE THE ONE THAT WAS IN THE CAR when it came off the line. Good condition. Will sell for $50.00.

Phil (Higley) M.C.A. member

***

1985 mustang 5.0 ho, automatic, lx hatchback. All original except exhaust and paint. Motor has new oil pump and timing chain, but transmission needs work. Very drivable after trans repair but lieu of, very good for parts. Like to sell for $950.00. Well worth it just in motor and rear axle. If interested please call Harry Scholz at 574 -291-9085 home, or 574-386-7512 cell.

***

• 9“ Ford center section - 4.56 gear with spool set up for a 31 spline axle $450.00

• 428 4-barrel intake (C68E) $150.00

• Set of cast iron factory headers for a ‘71 429 $250.00

• 428 FE block (C6ME) $200.00

For more information call Ken Reed (269) 6412120

***

• 1994-95 Automatic Transmission; 80,000 miles, works great. $150.00

• Black 1994 convertible interior; no tears, a little sun damage. $250.00

• (4) Stock 17” rims (no tires); good condition $100.00

Call Steve York 574-532-4810

Looking For... ***

WANTED: 1965/1966 parts car for use as an assembly guide to finish my convertible. Tim Janowiak at 574-271-7568.

***

I am Looking to BUY an O.E.M. ‘65 FORD RADIO.

Must have a ‘5’ in the upper left hand corner of

the face of the dial & play. If you have one, or know of someone who has one for sale, e-mail phigley@srscnet.com

If your item has sold or is no longer available for sale, please contact the newsletter editor.

From the Back Seat…

Midterm Grades?

I’ve been at this for six months now; what do you think? Do you like the changes in the newsletter, do you see more that should be done, or are you looking about for someone else to do this job? I’m not looking for a pat on the back; those never hurt, but that’s not what’s important here. I want the newsletter to be something that our members look forward to each month, and I need your help and opinions to get there. I have a few formatting issues to resolve yet, but for the most part I think the layout of the newsletter is getting close to finished. Please let me know what you think.

Along those lines, I’m once again asking for contributions for content. I currently have one more profile for the ‘Getting to know…’ section; nothing for the ‘Pony of the Month’ and ‘My First Mustang’ articles, and I still believe there are some ‘the one that got away’ articles out there. In this issue you can read Curly Long’s story about Dave and Carol Cooper’s trip to Birmingham; a few years ago we read about George and Shirley Wachs’ adventures to Brown County and Detroit for an MCA show. Surely there are more stories like that out there? Let’s share!

I want to remind all owners of first generation Mustangs that this year’s Paul Houseman Award is up for grabs at next month’s picnic. Let’s see a big turnout of cars.

As you can see from the calendar on page 5, there are plenty of club events over the next few months. We know that most people cannot do all club activities—life does get in the way sometimes! If you can make it, please do, even if you can’t stay the whole time. As Bob said in his remarks, this is how we thank our hosts for their generosity, and large turnouts make it that much easier to generate sponsorships for next year. Perhaps an even better reason to come is the time spent with your fellow members. This is especially true for our newer members. Show and shines are a great way to get to know people. They are very low key and relaxed, and visiting is one of the top priorities. If you have not come to a show and shine before, make this the summer to start! We’d like to get to know you.

Have a good month...

From Machine Design Magazine March 5, 2009

12 Thoughts

1. Marriage changes passion. Suddenly you're in bed with a relative.

2. I saw a woman wearing a sweat shirt with "Guess" on it. So I said ”Implants". She hit me.

3. How come we choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

4. A good friend will come and bail you out of jail....but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying ,"Darn ... that was fun".

5. I signed up for an exercise class and was told to wear loose-fitting clothing ... If I HAD ANY LOOSE-FITTING CLOTHING; I WOULDN'T HAVE SIGNED UP IN THE FIRST PLACE!

6. When I was young we used to go "skinny dipping," now I just "chunky dunk".

7. Don't argue with an idiot; people watching may not be able to tell the difference.

8. Wouldn't it be nice if whenever we messed up our life we could simply press 'Ctrl Alt Delete' and start all over?

9. Why is it that our children can't read a Bible in school, but they can in prison?

10. Wouldn't you know it ... Brain cells come and brain cells go, but FAT cells live forever.

11. Why do I have to swear on the Bible in court when the Ten Commandments cannot be displayed in a federal building"

12. Bumper sticker of the year: "If you can read this, thank a teacher--and since it's in English, thank a soldier!!"