President's Report
Life's Short
It has come to my attention over the last month that it
appears that we do not have
enough time in our lives to share it around equally. In the
past 4 weeks I have been at work for 20 days spent 3 days in
Sydney with great friends Tom & Mark Vanderreyden and a
family friend at the muscle Car Masters at Eastern Creek.
The Fathers day week end was a
great time to drink and dine together and enjoy
some real muscle car racing
with Corvettes, Mustangs, Comaro's,
Gt Falcons, Monaro's, Torana's
and a top array of other vehicles.
The following Friday night I had to travel to
Rockhampton and returned on
Saturday night. Wow one day at home with the family. On the
weekend of the 16th, Concourse week end, I spent all day
Friday cleaning the car. Saturday with the family and then
Sunday at our Concourse. By the way Sunday was a great day
that I enjoyed immensely.
I would like to congratulate all of you who won a
prize on the day, thank
everyone for the effort that they put into their vehicles
for the display and all of you for your great company for
the day. I feel that it was a very successful event and I
believe one of our biggest displays in the last ten years. I
would also like to express my gratitude to the previous
committee as they played the most
significant role in organizing the event, Brad Stumer for
organizing the venue, Nev Solomon and Karen, our
wonderful caterers for the day, our great sponsors, all of
the volunteers who made the day what it was and the other
clubs that arrived and supported us on the day . I am
looking forward to our next years event.
Oh, getting back to the time issue (You do the maths),remember
don't forget those closest to
you, make time for them and tell them how you feel about
them.
Take care, keep safe and we will catch up again next month.
Chris Livermore
President
Queensland Corvette Club.
(NEW)
Meeting Venue!!
Our monthly club meetings are held on the first Wednesday of
each month at the Springwood Bowls Club, "Club Springwood", on
Cinderella Drive, Springwood.
(Except January, when the meeting is deferred one week to allow
for public holidays)
The bistro serves delicious meals and our private room is
spacious and well appointed. There are jugs of iced water and
refreshing mints on every table plus hot tea, coffee and
biscuits on the supper table.
Why not plan to arrive a little early and enjoy a great meal
with your friends. The lovely staff at Club Springwood will happily
serve your order in the meeting room if you wish. This option
is becoming popular, with quite a few members taking advantage
of the peace and quiet afforded by our comfortable private room
to relax and enjoy their dinner and drinks with friends before
the meeting.
We are a socially orientated group of people with the Corvette
Marque our common focus. If you are like minded and interested
in joining, please feel welcome to come along to our monthly
club meeting and introduce yourself. We'd love to get to know
you.
Members, guests and visitors are reminded that Club Springwood
is located on Cinderella Drive, Springwood.
Find Club Springwood from the Pacific Motorway southbound - take
exit 19 Rochedale Road, move into the left lane and turn left
into Springwood Road. Move into the right lane and turn
right into Cinderella Drive. Continue along Cinderella
Drive and watch for Club Springwood on your right.
Find Club Springwood from the Pacific Motorway northbound - take
exit 20 Logan Road. Turn right under the motorway into
Logan Road and continue through Fitzgerald Avenue turning right
at the intersection with Cinderella Drive. Continue along
Cinderella Drive and watch for Club Springwood on your right.
Member Information
All members are reminded that 2012/13 memberships are now
overdue
and
must be paid directly to the Club Treasurer, returned by post or direct deposited into the club
account. If direct depositing, please include your name as
a reference and phone or email the Club Treasurer advising of
your payment.
Suncorp BSB: 484 799 / Acc No.
001670655
Members failing to renew their membership will not receive
copies of the Vetteletter Magazine and those enjoying Special
Interest Vehicle Registration will be in breach of the rules and
regulations pertaining to this scheme. Please renew ASAP.
Please be warned, the State Government is cracking down
on Club Registrations (Special Interest Vehicles) due to a
perception that some members of the community are abusing this
very welcomed scheme.
QCC members utilising Special Interest Vehicle Registration are
reminded to visit the Queensland Government link or collect a
brochure from their local Qld Transport Office and read, understand and comply with the current
rules.
Due to the large number of members now seeking concessional
registration, the Committee has decided to make the following
changes to how such requests will be handled.
Cars that are already registered, or able to be transported, can
now make an appointment for a free inspection with either:
Southside, Peter Turner 0409 003 300 or Northside,
Kevin Silk 0418 722 987.
Corvette owners who require a home or workshop on-site visit will be asked
to donate $50 to the Qld Corvette Club.
This brings us into line with the current practice of other car
clubs in the region
25th Australian Corvette Nationals
Easter 2013
Friday 29th March to Monday 1st April
The committee and members of Corvettes Down-Under Car Club
invite all Corvette Owners to attend the 25th Australian
Corvette Nationals in Toowoomba, 2013.
There is an early bird prize for all entries paid by 31 December
2012, one lucky entrant will win the cost of their accommodation
at the Burke & Wills Hotel for the convention.
I am advised that over thirty rooms at the venue have already
been booked (July 2012), so my advice would be to book a room
now if you have any thoughts of attending. There are
stand-by accommodation arrangements but, all of the action will
take place at the Burke & Wills so this is where you'll want to
stay.
Please click on the top banner for a link to the hotel website.
An entry form is included for your convenience as well as the
official event program brochure - print these off and consider
making your registration and hotel booking ASAP. Remember,
you need to book and pay for your hotel accommodation separately
but, mention the convention to be included in the block booking.
If you don't have Acrobat Reader click on the image below to download
the latest free version.
2013
Nationals Entry form
2013 Nationals Brochure
Members also discussed the inclusion of an Honour Board on the
website to recognise the contributions made by our hard working
volunteer committee members over the life of our club. I
am pleased to include this link, which may also be found in the
top right corner of our Committee page, to the QCC Honour Board
page. Additional committee positions and incumbents names
will be added as the page evolves.
Member Information
Carson Automotive
Chris Carson is one of Brisbane's foremost Corvette specialists who has
dedicated his professional and personal life to the Chevrolet Corvette.
Based on Brisbane's Bayside at Unit 5, 20 Enterprise Street, Cleveland,
Chris is a connoisseur of C3 model cars.
Chris' passion for Corvettes benefits owners with a depth and breadth of
knowledge that allows him to fault find with a precision others can only
aspire to. Mechanical repairs, servicing, restorations,
compliancing and fine tuning are handled professionally yet with a
personal interaction that is not possible at larger facilities.
All Corvette owners are welcome at Carson Automotive where Chris will
attend to the needs of your pride and joy with a passion only
owners know. Chris can be contacted by phone on 3821 3351, email
at carsonL88@hotmail.com or you're always welcome to call into the
workshop at Cleveland.
A timely reminder to members with convertibles to maintain them
in top condition through the use of world renowned soft top care
products from Renovo Australia. Neil McAllister has a full
catalogue available and offers a 10% discount to QCC members.
Products can be ordered on-line and will be shipped straight to
your door. Please email Sally or Jaimes for the on-line promo code.
We continue our exclusive offer from Jimmy Gamble, proprietor of
"bolts nuts screws on-line," for members of the Queensland
Corvette Club to receive a 20% discount across his enormous
range of fasteners.
Your membership details must be provided to redeem your
discount.
Please visit our Special Members Only Deals page
New Members
The Queensland Corvette Club continues to attract new members,
and we encourage all Corvette owners and enthusiasts reading
this article to consider joining our club as a means of
expanding your social circle while learning more about the
marque we all love.
So, please enjoy your Vette..... and say
G'Day to these lovely
new members when you next meet.
We welcome these great Corvette
fans into our club;
Ross and Jenny met quite a few of
our members at the American Lakeside Day on 1st July, and joined
on the spot. We love their decisiveness and their ability
as fine judges of character. This is their Mulsanne Blue
1970, 454 big block couple, and a great example at that.
Geoff and Robynne purchased this
low mileage, 27,000 mile, 1981 Corvette Coupe while holidaying
in Dallas Texas last year. Chris Carson looked after the
compliancing and we look forward to socialising with Geoff &
Robynne at our club events.
Dave from
Maryborough, recently bought his first Vette as a Birthday
present to himself. His love affair with Corvettes began
in 1975 after seeing a black coupe while visiting Hawaii, and
plans to restore this beauty to it's original orange paint
scheme.
Jaimes' 82 Collector
Edition Roadster
Darren's beautiful side piped C3
Warren and Wendy with their Blue
C3, (Hey Pete, where are all the Red one's??)
Ray McShane and his
classic
1968 C3 coupe,
Tamara is living proof that women
love Corvettes too. Pictured with her magic 1973 C3,
New members are encouraged to email a recent photo of their
Vette and membership details along with any other facts they
would like to see posted on the members page or printed in a
Vetteletter issue. Of-course, existing members are always
welcome to email up-dated photos or details at any time.
Photos can be sent to Jaimes for
the website by clicking on the parking sign for a convenient
email link.
Vette Items of Interest
Last month, Pete received an email from Hans Tore Tangerud from
Kristiansand, Norway. Hans is an IT consultant and
freelance automotive journalist and Corvette owner.
In-fact, Hans and his wife each own Corvettes, Hans a Red 75 C3
Convertible and his wife a Red 78 C3 L82 Targa Coupe.
Hans
discovered the Queensland Corvette Club through our website and
loves checking in to see what activities we're enjoying and
of-course, what Vettes our members are driving.
Hans invites QCC members to visit his Norwegian Auto Blog by clicking on his photo.
He is also a member and Web Administrator for the Norway Corvette
Club.
Please feel welcome to visit the Norway Corvette Club's website
by clicking on the banner above.
On behalf of the committee and members of the Queensland
Corvette Club, I'd like to extend a warm thank you to Hans for
making contact from the other side of the world and wish him all
the best in the hobby we share.
Brad sent this C3 gem. Can't imagine how poorly this would
drive.....
How's this for a cool boat? A designers take on a high
performance Corvette styled race craft. Click for more
info.
Noticed this C3 Stretch Limousine for sale in Spain - click for
more photos
Sally found this great site that make beautiful posters and
display boards of your pride and joy. Looks very good and
quite reasonably priced too.
Ernie suggests this link to a great Australian site specialising
in genuine quality Australian made art and giftware. Check
out the Corvette Tribute series of giftware by Australian artist
Simon Read.
Ernie's forwarded an interesting link for C3 owners, who at some
stage of their ownership, will have to give thought to repairing
the clock in their Vette.
When you check it out, scroll to the bottom of the page and
click on "tips main page" for more handy C3 & C5 maintenance
tips.
Members looking for hard to find glass for their pride
and joy should contact Ralph with their details.
Ralph Moore Autoglass Pty. Ltd.
All Autoglass parts supplied & Installed, Prestige & Restoration
Model Specialists, Since 1964
6 John St., Mascot, New South Wales Australia 2020
Telephone
(02) 9667 1933 or (02) 9669 1628,
Fax
(02) 9669 6605, ISD code (61-2)
Email:
autoglass@bigpond.com
Website
www.ralphmoore.citysearch.com.au
National Corvette Museum C5 / C6 Build
Sheets
If you own a 02 - 10 Corvette, you'll be pleased to know the
National Corvette Museum recently received an additional 85,000
original build sheets from the Bowling Green Assembly Plant.
Each build sheet went down the line with it's corresponding
Corvette while the car was being assembled. Some still
have masking tape on them while others show pen markings by
assembly line workers, grease, dirt or even footprints from when
they were discarded after vehicle assembly.
In total, NCM has approximately 185,000 original build sheets in
it's possession. Purchase price is $40 each for NCM
members and $50 for non-members.
For more information, contact the Museum's Library and Archives
by email
betty@corvettemuseum.org
or check the NCM website
Ernie has recently organised re-gassing the
gas struts for the rear hatch glass in his ZR1 and is very happy
with the results. For the benefit of fellow members,
details of the gas strut service are included;
"Gas Strut" Sales & Service 3890
4044.
3/1029 Manly Road, Tingalpa Qld 4173
email -
sales@gasstrutsales.com
Salesman is Ronnie
Is your vehicle registered under Qld Transport's
Special Interest Vehicle Scheme (SIVS) ?
Corvette owners
utilising this great scheme are reminded to maintain their
knowledge of changing vehicle usage and club membership
requirements. Details are available from Queensland
Transport Offices or their website
.
"Failure to comply
with the conditions of the SIVS
is an offence and serious consequences may apply."
All QCC members driving SIVS Vettes are urged to familiarise
themselves with the regulations by clicking on this link.
Members are encouraged to have a look at our QCC
Knowledge Base - click on link, top right menu bar.
The idea of this initiative is to help share our understanding
of the beast that is Corvette, by providing contacts that
members can turn to for reliable local information.
Please email the website co-ordinator to volunteer your
assistance with this program. The more the better - then we can
become more specific with our knowledge descriptions and reduce
the likelihood of misdirected enquiries.As an addition to the
Knowledge Base, we would like to know who has OEM service
manuals. Please let Jaimes know if you'd be happy to
volunteer reference to your manuals. You are certainly not
expected to hand over these important reference books but help
out by phone or maybe with a photo copy or scan of a needed
page.
Please
take the time to visit our QCC Sites of Interest
page. This can be found by clicking on Links and then
choosing Other, or by clicking on the chequered flags.
If you are a QCC member, have a permanent
commercial website and would like it added to this page, please
send our website co-ordinator a brief spiel and your web
address.
There's no charge for including sites of
interest - this is a service to our members.
Spectacular Photoshop
Images
Ever dreamt of having your favourite Corvette photo artistically
altered into a work of Vette-art?
Anthony Grima
is a retired photographer with an artistic and very creative
flair ( and a mastery of Photoshop ) who can work wonders with
your favourite Vette-pic. QCC members are welcome to email
Anthony to start the ball rolling at
grimatm@optusnet.com.au
The only stipulation for putting members in-touch with Anthony,
is that you share your completed Vette-art with the world by
sending Jaimes a copy for our Wallpaper page.
Alternate Motoring Events
Members and visitors are reminded to
regularly check our Auto Happenings Page and use the link to
Pinky's for information on all things Automotive in Queensland
and Australia for that matter. I'm constantly astounded by
the number and quality of events happening in Queensland.
Members are welcome to volunteer as leader for any of these
events, in conjunction with our Events Co-ordinator to plan an
official QCC run. Who knows, it's quite likely other
members will share your passion, so step up and plan a run in
2011.
QCC Website Statistics
May
We welcomed 90,236 visitors during the month of
May.
Thank you to everyone who visits, please feel welcome to attend
our monthly Club meetings or join us for a run when you next
visit Brisbane.
Our highest number of daily visits occurred on Tuesday
29th with
4,658
Visitor Totals for previous six months
May 90,236
April 91,274
March 80,828
February 76,377
January 72,801
December 76,861
Best use of Advertising for the month;
1. Nuts and bolts online with 11,291
links to their website ( gotta be happy with that Jimmy )
2. 1,533 links to QCC Websites of Interest - members send
Jaimes your business site details for free listing
3. 787 links to How to Buy a Corvette
4. 732 downloads of the May 2011 Vetteletter
5. 642 links to the Fox and Hounds Christmas in July info
6. 603 links to Ernie's photos ( should be selling
advertising on your photo bucket site Ern )
7. 581 links to Performax News
8. 576 links to Member Discount Page ( advertisers
note, make the club an offer and be noticed for free )
9. 562 links to FND 15 June, Richlands Tavern
10. 510 links to Recent Events, Mt Glorious write-up
11. 485 links to the Vetteletter Archives
12. 481 links to Camp Quality website
13. 472 links to Coming Events Caboolture Car Show
14. 468 links to Club News
15. 441 links to QCC sites of interest ( Members
advertise your business for free )
1,422 various editions of the Vetteletter
were downloaded during the month
28,401 visitors have the Queensland Corvette Club website saved
as a favourite. That's 31.4% of visits for the month -
thank you to everyone who saves us as a favourite. It's
the greatest complement a website can receive.
Top 30 visits by Country
1. Australia 25,144
2. USA 22,310
3. US Commercial 19,740
4. Netherlands 1,622 (great effort, thank you)
5. Germany 1,241 (another huge increase, well
done)
6. India 1,010 (excellent numbers from our
Indian friends, thanks)
7. United Kingdom 629
8. Ukraine 607
9. Canada 549
10. New Zealand 427
11. Singapore 248
12. Italy 243
13. South Africa 233
14. Turkey 208
15. United Arab Emirates 200
16. Finland 177
17. Indonesia 173
18. Thailand 145
19. Russian Federation 144
20. China 133
21. US Military 122
22. Mexico 122
23. Hungary 113
24. Czech Republic 112
25. Sweden 111
26. Viet Nam 111
27. Non-Profit Organisations 96
28. Ireland 95
29. Greece 93
30. France 87
Corvette Photos
Club stalwart, Ernie Whittle has very kindly offered viewing
access to his collection of Corvette photos on a photo hosting
site. You are welcome to view these pictures and to submit your
own for Ernie to add.
Please click on this link to view Ernie's photo's.
Business offering special deals to members of the Queensland
Corvette Club has proven so popular, it's been decided to
dedicate a new page on the website for this purpose.
or
by clicking on the dollar sign short cut on our home page.