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PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
May 2017
“SHIFT’N GEARS FOR OVER 20 YEARS”
First of all,, I want to say the delay of this month’s newsletter is my fault! I got busy
and did not send in this message to Tammy. She is so kind to wait for my letter instead
of just eliminating my notes here…Thanks, Tammy!!
Anyway, there is a lot going on in May to kick off the season… Meeting the 3rd, Pot
luck the 10th at the Club House, 12th and 13th big car show and concert at Dakota Square
and the Pepsi arena (for the concerts) Some confusion ensued with some. So to be
clear, there is no charge for the car show at JC Penny parking lot outside. The fee is for the concerts. Then
on the 20th of May we will be having our Annual Presidents Spring Cruise to Ray, ND to see Darrol Meyers
collection and that will be spectacular! I hope you can attend for an AWESOME day of fun and
adventure! Details on the hotline. Also on the 13th is the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch Car show and plant
sale! Come to all!!!
When I was the VP and P of the NDSRA, I would give updates on my car projects with either my personal
collection or the cars I’ve been working on for customers. Since leaving office, and as I would go to either
the Annual meeting or car shows, I got a lot of feedback about what I had been doing and wondered about
what I am doing now, so here goes. I am only going to highlight a few of the things here, so here goes:
I recently bought 3 cars for myself of which I have not gotten all of them yet. One is a 1967 Austin Healey
Sprite. Not running for over 7 years, but I picked it up last week and need to figure it out! Then I bought a
’39 Dodge 4 door sedan and a 55 Dodge Royal from a family up in Lansford. As of this writing, I have not
picked either of them up yet. (but soon).
The biggie for me is the Woody. After considering all of the procedures it needed for me to keep my
business rolling forward and still get stuff done on the Woody, I made a major decision to send it over to
Rob & Rich in Lake Park, MN for completion. I think I am on target for getting a completed car around
Labor Day weekend in September. I think this goal is attainable for them. My other cars are all the same
and doing well.
We finished the ’55 Chevy 4 door sedan for Jason up in Lignite, ND, and will shortly finish the ’40 Chevy
for Larry in Minot, and the ’66 Chevelle for Steve & Cindy up in Kramer, ND. Now, the ’54 Ford for
Vickie is being painted today. The engine is up in Maxbass being re-built and all of this should come
together within the next 30 days. After that is a ’66 Dodge Polara 500 that will be painted and we will put it
back together later this summer. We are busy with projects, as you can see.
Then, since the Woody is not getting done by me, I decided to look for a ‘’55 Chevy two door sedan and I
found one (through the NDSRA Newsletter). It was down by Nome, ND and when I bought it, it was really
a parts car. But I have access to many 55 parts and I decided to put this back together. I want to paint it
“merlot and platinum”. I am going to make it really nice. Probably will take me a year to do this one.
So, I am enjoying my retirement from the USAF and Civil Service. I’m trying to keep active and so far it is
working!
George
Remember: 852-5277 (KARS) for all updates!
Supporters of Dakota Cruisers
Dad’s Garage-Lonn Satron 701.420.2003
Fastenal-Craig Lundgren 701.839.7566
KR Auto Body Repair-Kurtis Reid 701.339.3447
Master Restoration-George Masters 701.240.6771
Niess Impressions 837.2767
Premier Physical Therapy-Blerim Dibra 701.837.8441
Sebo Motorsports-Ryan Sebo 701.837.9967
State Farm-Kellie Thorman 701.839.4999
Tuff Enuff Inc. 701.837.8833
Country Hillside Embroidery 701.340.7415
When in need, please consider using one of our advocates.
I can’t dance to save my life, but I step in dog poop and I can moon walk better than
Michael Jackson.
A police officer stopped a car on the highway and went up to the driver. He saw the man, and said:
"You've just won $1000 for wearing a seat belt! What are you going to do with your prize money?" The
man thought, and said back: "Maybe go to the driving school and get my licence!" His wife told the cop:
"Don't listen to him, he's a smartass when he's drunk". All of this talking made a passenger in the back of
the car wake up, and he blurted out: "I knew we wouldn't get far in this stolen car. Why didn't you change
the number plate?" A knock emerged from the trunk of the car, and the person in the trunk said: "Are we at
the border yet?"
Cars in the 1920s
http://www.retrowaste
The automobile industry entered the mainstream in the 1920s. Finally,
the average family could consider owning a car. Manufacturers had
found ways to make cars more efficiently, and safer to drive.
Roads designed for horses were being replaced with roads for cars. Engines were more powerful than ever
before, and some interiors were almost as comfortable as home furniture.
Tunnels were being built, gas service stations were popping up left and right.
Owning a car completely changed people’s lives. Suddenly families could travel to the city on the weekend.
A new, mobile society greatly helped the already bustling economy.
Ford was by far the most popular automaker in the United States, but there were a wide range of other,
smaller car shops making legendary vehicles in the 1920s.
Anyone who has even seen the movie “The Great Gatsby” has seen some of the most luxurious rides from
the decade on decadent display.
Cars in the 1930s
Cars in the 1930s began to become a bit more luxurious than their
1920s counterparts.
For example, they included radios and heaters! The body design got a
bit more sleek and rounded. Other important new inventions include automatic transmission and V-8, V-12
and V-16 engines. Power had suddenly been completely redefined.
There were about 6 new cars introduced in the 1930 line. Cadillac released a new V-16 engine that
redefined personal power in the “affordable” automobile.
Frankly, in the 1930s cars actually became what we know of them today. Before that they were mostly
carriage-looking buggies with big, hard spokey wheels.
Cars in the 1940s
Cars in the 1940s were much more streamlined than cars in the 30s.
Also many improvements were made to conserve materials.
Because of WWII, many changes had to be made. Shortages in
materials like aluminum zinc and copper forced carmakers to go back to cast-iron and steel. However, the
cars still got bigger and more luxurious.
You can clearly see the transition auto manufacturers went through to get from the 30s to the 50s. And even
though they were beasts, cars in the 1940s typically got between 15 and 20 MPG.
Cars from the 1940s in good condition, especially convertibles, are extremely valuable now. Simply put,
they command attention rolling down the street.
Cars in the 1950s
1950s cars were some of the most classic, powerful and unsafe cars
ever driven. The modern designs and acceleration abilities were
getting more and more amazing every year.
If you ask someone who loves classic cars what their favorite car is,
8 times out of 10 they’ll say ’57 Chevy.
The auto industry was starting to experiment with a new concept
called a “sports car.” By the end of the 50s, Americans fell in love
with the sports car. After all, the 50s gave birth to the Corvette.
The outstanding feature of the 1951 model year was the popularity and extension of the “hardtop
convertible” introduced in 1950 models.
It was announced that air conditioners would be available as optional equipment on three 1953 cars. Power
steering had its use extended to five cars.
Research & engineering teams worked hard at making the 1954 models safer, less expensive and easier to
drive. The wrap-around window was a nice look though.
Many striking design changes were made to the 1958 models. And for the first time in history, the US
imported more cars than they exported.
C ARS
IN THE
1960 S
In my humble opinion, cars from the 1960s are the best. Not too
modern, not too old. Just right. Mustang. Camaro. Road Runner.
The list goes on and on.
Detroit stated 1964 models were designed with serious
consideration for the needs & tastes of American women.
Women represented over 1 million sales a year.
1965 was called the “the year of the stylist.” Engineering changes took a back seat to changes in overall
appearance. The Ford Mustang dominated.
1966 models brought the first front-wheel drive car since 1937. People were shocked that someone would
make a car that would pull by its front wheels!
Continued improvements were made to electric cars in 1966. Ford showed off a lab model of a sodiumsulfur battery that was 15 times lighter than the average battery.
Cars in the 1970s
Car manufacturers were dealt some serious challenges in
the 1970s. Federal regulations were starting to take over
style and power design meeting rooms and many of the
cars style took a major hit.
While some were making great iconic new designs (see the
1973 Lamborghini Countach or the BMW 5 Series), many
others were pumping out cars like the Pacer and the Pinto.
Most of these compact cars were disposable, dangerous, unreliable — but had much better gas mileage.
Muscle cars in the early 1970s, like the Challenger, Cuda and Corvette were unbelievably great. But sports
cars were overtaken in the mainstream by the compact car because automakers were having an impossible
time keeping the power and getting rid of the smog.
By 1972, compact cars had won the sales race. The GM Vega, Ford Pinto, and AMC Gremlin battled the
imports – most notably Volkswagen, Toyota, and Datsun.
In 1974, BMW introduced the first 3 series. One of my favorite cars ever, the old school Jaguar XJS was
also released that year. Hatchbacks were extremely popular as well.
C ARS
IN THE
1980 S
Cars in the 1980s were up and down. Sales were really struggling
and manufacturers were forced to come up with new ways to entice
buyers.
Of course, the luxury sector flourished with the more lavish
lifestyles in the ’80s. Ferrari, Lamborghini and others posters were popping up on the walls of suburban
teens everywhere.
The late 80s brought us some nice cars. I have a personal soft spot for ’80s Camaros. I used to have an ’83
Camaro. My dad put a 4-barrel Holley carburetor in it. I think it got 6 miles per gallon. It had some get-upand-go, but couldn’t hold its pants up against my dad’s ’69 Roadrunner.
1983 car models came with great warranties. Chrysler introduced the 5-year/50,000 mile warranty on power
trains, external body panels and maintenance.
In 1987, Chrysler purchased one of the largest and oldest auto manufacturers in America: AMC. The
purchase cost $1.1 billion. Chrysler now owned Jeep.
POSITION
NAME
President
George Masters
Vice President
Dave Alberts
Secretary
Pricilla Jevne
[email protected]
Treasurer
Cara Olson
Newsletter Editor
Tammy Kloehn
Board Member
Ken Amundson
Board Member
Craig Eraas
Board Member
Greg Olson
Board Member
Steve Smith
Board Member
Doug Frazier
Webmistress
Sherie Saltveit
PHONE NUMBER
240-6771
838-4309
720-8058
721-1627
721-5345
263-1809
721-5500
721-5531
833-3434
721-7203
721-7501
E-MAIL
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
WEBSITE ADDRESS:
www.dakotacruiser.com
[email protected]:[email protected]?subject=Dakota
Cruisers Web Site mailto:[email protected]?subject=Dakota Cruisers Web Site
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ADDRESS CORRECTION
SERVICES
800 31st Ave. S.E., Lot 900, Minot, ND 58701
Next General Meetings at
the Vegas:
May 3 & June 7, 2017