3rd Quarter 2008
A Quarterly Publication of the Texas Vehicle Club Council
Website: http://clubs.hemmings.com/TVCC/
We encourage your Newsletter Editor to reprint articles from the TVCC News in your local club's newsletter.
Please contact SunShine Jackson for an MS Word file to assist in that situation.
Please give TVCC authorship credit.
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
We are accepting corporate memberships for
individuals or businesses. We have a “Club of the
Month” feature where a particular club is
showcased in an issue of The TVCC News. For
more information, contact:
Nick Harper, 8415 Old Moss Rd
Dallas, TX 75231-1610
COMMENTS FROM THE
GENERAL CHAIRPERSON
We had a great TVCC Board Meeting this past July! It was
great to see Mr. Dunnington again, along with his associate
Mr. Grisso, and also Mr. Phil Dammeir.
I recapped some of the topics from the 2nd Quarter Meeting,
which included Code Enforcement issues. In “our” realm of
things, these things usually concern vehicle(s) “stored” on
private property, typically car and truck vehicles. Shortly
before our meeting in July, an article appeared in the Fort
Worth Star-Telegram newspaper regarding code issues and
RVs and small motor homes parked in their owners’
driveways. One tipping point in this situation was an
ordinance, which specifies how close a vehicle in a driveway
can be parked to the street (or curb at the edge of the street).
Stated issues in this “distance” specification were the
unobstructed use of the existing sidewalks (near the street) and
the unobstructed view of the street being entered from the
driveway (i.e., oncoming traffic and a driver’s view of the
vehicle exiting the driveway into the street). Typically, those
in non-compliance were unaware of the distance specification.
From this part of the situation, there seem to have been some
complaints regarding these RVs being parked in the
driveways. The article stated that a compromise for the new
ordinance was reached during discussions with residential RV
owners and those who didn’t like them being there. This
situation tends to indicate that even an “operable” vehicle
parked in a residential driveway can be offensive to some who
might have issues about it being parked where it is.
Many municipalities have ordinances regarding vehicles
parked in front of a residence, on the street. These ordinances
typically include a certain hour limit as to how long the
vehicle can be there without being moved. In other cases,
mail service might be delayed somewhat if the postal delivery
vehicle can’t have easy access to the residence’s curb-location
mailbox, if the mailbox might be blocked by a vehicle parked
at the curb.
There were many lively discussions on the Code Enforcement
issues as many of the TVCC Board Members related particular
information on various experiences, as did our visitors. It was
a great interaction and much information was exchanged!
Another subject which I recapped from the 2nd Quarter
Meeting was motor oil for our vintage vehicles. I mentioned
that a good bit of the information which might be found on the
Internet on this subject can be highly dated. This does not
decrease the validity of the information, but it can result in
recommended products not being currently available or their
prior formulations having been changed to comply with more
recent OEM requirements.
In general, it seems that API “SL” (gasoline engines) and “CI4+” (diesel engines) oil performance ratings tend to correlate
for oils generally designed for heavy-duty diesel engines.
From here, it can become a little “sticky.” In the realm of
gasoline engine motor oil, when the “SL” rating was upgraded
to “SM” as the main specification, the levels of zinc additives
were decreased to meet enhanced durability standards for
emissions system components, BUT the zinc was not deleted
altogether (as some seem to believe). I might also add that
zinc is not the only component in a motor oil’s anti-wear
additive package arsenal, but it can be a key player.
When the diesel engine oil specs were upgraded to “CJ-4” for
the current production OEM diesels (which have a particulate
filter as part of their emissions system, downstream from the
catalytic converter in the exhaust system), these same “CJ-4”
motor oils also meet the API gasoline engine rating of “SM,”
which should otherwise allegedly disqualify them from serious
consideration for use. In studying the postings of unused
motor oil analysis on the www.bobistheoilguy.com website, it
appears that the zinc levels in the new CJ-4 diesel engine oil
are similar to those of the CI-4+ oils. A significant difference
appears to be in the CJ-4 oils having a “TBN” (Total Base
Number) of about 10.0 compared to 12.5 for the CI-4+ oils.
This is significant for fleet maintenance people who use oil
analysis to gauge when to change oil in their vehicles (usually
before the TBN reaches a much lower level, as in “2.0” from
the original number). In delivery fleets where the prior oil
change mileage was approximately 25,000 miles, the use of
CJ-4 oil (and it’s lower starting TBN), the oil needs to be
changed about 10% sooner. I somewhat doubt any vintage
vehicle owner will have those issues to be concerned with. I
will continue to monitor this situation to see if more recent
data being posted indicates the continuance of earlier
suspicions and trends . . . or otherwise.
Our ongoing research on copyrighting and/or trademarking the
TVCC website is . . . ongoing. There are many items to be
considered and complied with. Our “Thanks” go to TVCC
Board Members Gary Butler and SunShine Jackson for being
highly involved in this research so that we might ultimately
obtain our desired goals in this area.
I have mentioned the Texas Online website, from which you
can go pretty much “anywhere” in the Texas governmental
area where you might desire to (some do require registration
and an “account” to access) to research public records or
Texas legislative items of interest. In a recent issue of PC
Magazine, I read of a website that was keyed toward the
United States Congress, with respect to pending legislation. It
is www.OpenCongress.org.
I thought this might be an
interesting website, so I investigated. I found that it does live
up to its billing of tracking proposed and pending legislation
in the United States Congress, plus members of Congress in
their legislative activities as individual representatives and
their service on various committees. It also has a listing of the
pending/proposed legislation (some with “highlights” for
additional attention) and “Most Researched” lists of legislation
and legislators.
The downside, if there might be one, is that the website also
includes a “blog” as a significant part of it. This can be good
or not so good, but it also makes me wonder about the stated
owners of the website and what their particular orientations
might be. Said orientations might influence the postings and
commentaries in the blog, with all due respect, which makes
me (personally and professionally) a little hesitant to
recommend this website. If used for pure data research and
acquisition, then its stated purpose will be fulfilled, but
reading the blog might be similar to which cable news channel
you might like to listen to (i.e., there might be some hidden
agendas at play in the blog commentaries and postings). The
“Most Researched” lists can be helpful, in a general interest
sort of way, but even those can be manipulated to a certain
degree. It is with significant reservations that I suggest you
might use the OpenCongress website as an “easier to use”
information portal for United States Congressional legislative
issues. Its use still might require a lesser amount of “wading
through” than going to other similar websites, but it might be a
good research tool for information and data gathering.
One of the areas mentioned in several articles in PCMagazine
concerned “digital rights management,” which can also
include many items related to copyrights, trademarks and
“original content” materials. My initial contact with these
concerns happened several years ago at a Kinko’s copy store-a parent had a picture from a newspaper or magazine which
they wanted the Kinko’s employee to copy for them so their
child could use it in a report for school (the next day). The
Kinko’s employee advised the picture was “copyrighted” and
they could not copy things like that. Similar to the dialogue at
the end of many sports broadcasts about the use of that
broadcast’s accounts and images by others not authorized to
use it, unless they had permission to do so. Typically, though,
such pictures can be purchased from the newspaper or
magazine (the “owner”) for a nominal fee. There are many
facets to this whole discussion of “rights” to “original works”
(and other similar things) which are attempting to be
addressed in legislation in the United States Congress (which I
found via the OpenCongress.org website). What has already
happened in this area and what might be getting ready to
happen can determine how the TVCC might determine the
best way for the TVCC proceed in this area (concerning the
TVCC website and related items).
When you receive this 3rd Quarter, 2008 issue of The TVCC
News, several things will be in process of happening. School
will have started, so attention to school safety zones is
imperative. The car cruise event season will have begun
tapering down, but will probably be more enjoyable due to
two things—generally cooler temperatures and lower gasoline
prices. Still, there will be car events and happenings for many
more months to come, so please participate whenever you
might be able to. Similarly, it can be time to plan those winter
projects, too!
Take care and keep your wheels turning!
Willis Bell
General Chairperson
2008 TVCC BOARD MEETING DATES
Fourth Quarter, 2008
October 19, 2008
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Buffalo
Starting Times for each meeting will be 1:00 p.m. as
noted in the TVCC NEWS and on the website:
http://clubs.hemmings.com/TVCC/. Any changes to the
venue or starting times will be updated on the website
during the week prior.
Electronic (Soft Copy)
Newsletters Requested
Greetings from your TVCC Calendar of Events
Chairperson; if your club publishes electronic copies of
your newsletter to your membership, please consider
sending the TVCC Calendar of Events Chairperson a
copy. Having an electronic copy will make it much
easier to include your events in the TVCC Calendar of
Events. We can use any file type, PDF, Word
Document, ASCII text, etc. My email address is
SunShineJ@jackson57.net.
Thank you,
SunShine Jackson
Calendar of Events Chairperson
Opinions anyone?
Did you know that the TVCC has a web site? Well, we DO!
It is located at: http://clubs.hemmings.com/TVCC/. Have you
looked at it at all yet? If you have, do you have any particular
opinion about it in any direction? I’d LOVE to hear your
feedback! PLEASE email your ideas/opinions about the
Newsletter OR web site to SunShine Jackson at
SunShineJ@jackson57.net, ANY of our Board Members or go
to the Contact the TVCC link on the website. Thank you for
your time and consideration!
SunShine Jackson
Newsletter Editor and Webmistress
TEXAS VEHICLE CLUB COUNCIL
Minutes
Board Meeting July 20, 2008
Board: Willis Bell, Gary Butler, Nick Harper, SunShine
Jackson, Wendall Spreadbury
Visitors: Phil Dammeir, Gary Dunnington, Lyle Grisso
Minutes of 27 April 2008 meeting – moved, seconded
and approved.
Treasurer’s report – Board members advised of
checking account activity.
Board Member Reports and Updates
Wendall has his 1969 hydrogen-powered Volkswagen
up and running. Requests assignment of accounting line
item numbers to each member club by Membership
Chair.
Nick Harper - Dallas Trinity River Project expressway
under long-term review by Army Corps of Engineers.
Corps may request some aspects of the project to be
modified.
SunShine – Website received 6,060 inquiries up to 15
July. Two clubs (AACA Deep East Texas Region and
Edsel Owners Club of America) have not renewed for
2008 and will be dropped from membership. (New
TVCC plaque was shown with color logo. Color logo
was approved.)
Gary Butler – Ongoing research on copyright of TVCC
logo.
Willis Bell – Trademarks and Copyrights have different
uses and must be policed by the holder.
Old Business
Code Enforcement issues revisited to recap what was
discussed at the prior TVCC Board Meeting. Fort
Worth, TX, has an ordinance concerning vehicles (RVs,
for example) parked in driveways (must be at least ten
feet away from street, to allow for use of sidewalks and
visibility when entering the street from driveways).
SEMA has proposed model legislation concerning
inoperable and hobby vehicles which is being approved
in several States. In some states, proposed Codes do not
allow items to be near a stored vehicle or items stored
inside said vehicle. Air pollution non-attainment areas
set 0.085 to 0.09 ppm particulate per eight-hour day in
2007. That has lowered to 0.075 ppm per eight-hour day
in 2008. Twenty-two Texas Counties are over 0.075
ppm.
New Business
Willis commented on zinc content in motor oil. Too
much zinc negates the effect of detergent additives in the
oil. New OEM diesel particulate emissions standards
require the use of a particulate filter in the exhaust
system, which has caused changes in former diesel
motor oil specifications.
SunShine requests our news articles be submitted before
02 August for inclusion in the third quarter newsletter.
Next Meeting: Sunday 19 October 2008 at Dickey’s
conference room, Buffalo, TX, 1:00 p.m.
Nick Harper
Secretary
Logo for TVCC Members
The TVCC Member Logo is available as a digital file from me
via email – SunShineJ@jackson57.net. Feel FREE to ask!
SunShine Jackson
Newsletter Editor and Webmistress
Membership
Renewals/Additions
We have openings for a few select clubs. New clubs may
submit a membership form and dues to Nick Harper,
our Membership Chairperson. Please forward a
CURRENT
TVCC
Membership
Application
(http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/TVCC/Applicatio
n.html) to me with your membership renewal check.
Please contact Nick Harper via snail mail, telephone
or email:
8415 Old Moss Rd.
Dallas, TX. 75231-1610
(214) 349-6584
harper1425@sbcglobal.net
You can check your club’s membership status on the
TVCC web site http://clubs.hemmings.com/TVCC/ by
picking the Membership link on the left side of the
page. The web site should be updated shortly. If you
have any questions, feel free to contact Nick.
If you are a member, please contact SunShine
Jackson for your TVCC Member Logo and URL
combination for inclusion in your club’s newsletter.
TVCC Calendar
We hope you are all safe from our ACTIVE Hurricane season this year! We have several events for you to attend, listed below. Please
send a copy of your Club’s Newsletter to the TVCC Calendar of Events Chairperson upon each publication, in order to have ‘your’
events current in this publication. Here are the current categories: EAST (East Texas), WEST for West Texas and PAN for
Plains/Panhandle locations, Dallas – Fort Worth (DFW), Houston – Gulf Coast (HOU), and Central (Austin/San Antonio) (CEN).
Happy Cruisin’
SunShine Jackson
Calendar of Events Chairperson
ONGOING EVENTS
Weekly:
HOU
HOU
HOU
Friday: Space City Cruisers host the Cruise to the Park in League City from
6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: Home Depot Parking Lot on FM 518 and Dixie Farm Rd. in
Pearland.
Saturday: Niftee50ees Classic Drive-In at 8745 Spring-Cypress Road & Champion
Forest Drive from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. www.Niftee50ees.com Any Classic car from
whenever to 1979 and, with that in mind still, draws over 400 cars; you have to see this
one. Well organized and hosted by Randy & Molly Shannon and their volunteer crew!!
Monthly:
HOU
3rd Saturday: Wings and Wheels Saturday Hobby Airport (West Side) 1940 Air
Terminal Museum, off Telephone Road fly-in, drive-in, antique planes and cars. Cars
displayed in front of original terminal building, 8325 Travelair Rd. - 713-454-1940.
Ticket price includes lunch, Static Aircraft Tours, Special programs in the
Starliner Theater, Museum Tours and admission to the museum.
Ticket prices: $10 Adults, $5 Kids (12 and under). Free lunch for car owners, come
and go, 10:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. Contact Allen Moore @ 713-204-6570.
http://www.wingsandwheels.org
DFW
Last Saturday: Special Interest Fords Car Show @ Fabulous ’50s Diner
2424 W. Park Row - Arlington; $10 Entry Fee; Trophies, Dash Plaques & Door Prizes,
50-50 Pot; Food Drawings / Contests for all Ages; 5:00 – 9:00 PM, beginning April
through October. Contact Don Spears: 817-271-9364 - http://www.fordsofthe50s.com
SCHEDULED EVENTS
September 2008
Southwest Swap Meet - Rangers Ball Park - Arlington, 1900 block of Road to Six
Flags (East of the stadium)
Faith Covenant Church Show – 1:00 p.m. - 416 N. Oak, Mineral Wells
12 - 14
DFW
14
DFW
18 - 20
CEN
18 - 21
HOU
Rosanky Swap Meet & Car Corral. Contact: Bo or Susan Franks, 512-360-3562
(rosankyautoswapmeet.com)
4th Annual Houston Leake Car Auction – Reliant Center
20
DFW
Cowtown Cruisin’ for a Cure – 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - Downtown Fort Worth
27
DFW
O’Reilly’s Springtown – 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
27
DFW
Guys & Gals Cruise-In & Show - 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Jacksboro Square
27
CEN
28
HOU
Elm St. Rod Run - downtown Hillsboro, TX - open to rods, customs, bikes &
classic cars - co-hosted by Roadside America & the Cruisers Club.
Registration opens 8:00 a.m. - $20 entry fee
Early Irons Swap Meet, Dragstrip, Baytown.
October 2008
3-5
4
DFW
DFW
Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, GoodGuys Rod & Custom Show.
Greenwood Volunteer FD Fundraiser, Greenwood Fire Department.
4
DFW
Cruise Nights on the Square, 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Decatur Square.
5
DFW
11
DFW
Good Eats/Cars Roadshows, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., I-35N & Loop 288 North @ Antique
Mall.
Hooter’s Midnight Madness, 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., 5350 Southwest Blvd, Fort Worth.
11
DFW
Riscky’s Show, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 6701 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth.
18
HOU
19
24 - 26
25
25 - 26
EAST
DFW
DFW
DFW
Fall Car Show @ League Park, 500 East Main, League City. Sponsored by Space
City Cruisers Car Club.
Ph. Info: 281-338-1218, 800-979-4071.
http://www.spacecitycruisers.com/
TVCC Board Meeting - 1:00 p.m. - Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Buffalo - Eat at Noon.
Autumn Trails - Winnsboro
TX Country Reporter Festival & Parade – 9:00 AM - Waxahachie
DFW Swap Meet - LaGrave Field, Fort Worth
November 2008
2
DFW
8
15
DFW
DFW
Good Eats/Cars Roadshows, 4:00 - 8:00 p.m. - I-35N & Loop 288 North @ Antique
Mall
WW II Re-enactment – 3:00 PM - Waxahachie
Riscky’s Show – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. - 6701 Camp Bowie, Fort Worth
26 - 30
28
HOU
DFW
Houston AutoRama – GRB (George R. Brown) Convention Center
Fort Worth Parade of Lights
March 2009
15
HOU
Come to the Special Interest Fords 26th Annual Old Car Picnic and see hundreds of
classic cars around the Monument, none newer than 1980 models. Bring your picnic
basket and enjoy good food, folks and fun! RAIN or SHINE! Gates open at
9:00 a.m. and awards are presented at 2:00 p.m. Vehicle registration fee is $5.00
donation for those entered for the show; spectators are free. Proceeds go to the Park.
There is a $1.00 Park Admission Fee for 13 yrs. old and older. More information
about the annual Old Car Picnic – to be announced.
CEN
56th Annual Texas Tour in Fredericksburg; hosted by the Central Texas Region
AACA. Headquarters Hotel will be the Fredericksburg Inn and Suites on Barons
Creek. Judging and Car show will be on the grassy grounds of the Lady Bird Johnson
Municipal Park. For additional Information, contact Greg Herbert, Tour Chairman
5704 Wilder Ridge, Austin, TX 78759-6259
512-795-974 - Email: TexasTour2009@aol.com
May 2009
28 - 31
TVCC Information Requests
Please provide the Senate Bill (S.B.) or House Bill (H.B.) numbers when requesting information regarding
legislative issues, either pending or approved. This would make it easier to research.
Feel free to contact any TVCC Board Member or
http://clubs.hemmings.com/clubsites/TVCC/contactus.html for any issue.
CLARIFICATION
A member had a question about an item in the TVCC Board Minutes of the 4th Quarter 2007 TVCC
Newsletter which stated, “SunShine Jackson (Newsletter & Website) - will remove notice of password
protection from online newsletter.” This does not state that the password will be removed from the
online newsletter on the website. It refers to the fact that the notice (article) regarding the announcement
of the password for the online newsletter will be removed from the next newsletter. My apologies for
any confusion.
SunShine Jackson
TVCC Newsletter Editor and Webmistress
Let us showcase your Club!
TVCC Club of the Month Club Information Sheet
Member Club’s Name: _________________________________________________________________
How many members do you have?
_____________________________________________
How long has your club been in existence?
_____________________________________________
Do you have a group picture of your club members?
YES
What Marques and Types of Vehicles Does Your Club Recognize?
NO
_______________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Single or multi-marque?
Stock/Original?
Modified?
Custom?
Race?
Is Your Group Affiliated with a National Club Organization(s)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Do you have any Civic/Charity involvements?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Do you sponsor/associate with particular cyclical events (weekly, monthly, annually)? If so, what are they?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your time and participation in the Texas Vehicle Club Council!
Please send your TVCC Club of the Month Information Sheet to:
TVCC Membership
c/o Nick Harper 8415 Old Moss Rd.
Dallas, TX 75231-1610
Or E-mail to: harper1425@sbcglobal.net
Please check your Newsletter Address Label for
the expiration date of your club’s membership.
FROM:
Texas Vehicle Club Council
SEND TO:
SEMA Government Relations Office
1317 F St., NW, Suite 500
Washington, D.C. 20004
http://clubs.hemmings.com/TVCC/
19251 Spanish Needle Drive
Houston, Texas 77084-4343
(202) 783-6007
FAX (202) 783-6024
Next TVCC Board Meeting
Steve McDonald: VP, Government Affairs
Stuart Gosswein: Director, Federal Government Affairs
Jason Tolleson: Director, SEMA Action Network
Ben Burdick: Research Coordinator
The next TVCC Board meeting will be October 19, 2008
in Buffalo, Texas, at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit at 1:00 p.m.
[Eat at Noon or sooner.] Phone: (903) 322-5248
For more legislative and regulatory information,
check out the SEMA website:
http://www.semasan.com
Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is located on the west side of
Interstate 45 at the Highway 79 exit (Exit 178). For more
information, contact your local TVCC Board Member.
The TVCC encourages all members and guests to
attend.
TVCC Board Members 2008:
General Chairperson
Willis Bell
220 E. Second Street
Weatherford, TX 76086
(817) 594-3558
C-BODY@webtv.net
Membership Chairperson
Nick Harper
8415 Old Moss Rd.
Dallas, TX 75231-1610
(214) 349-6584
harper1425@sbcglobal.net
Secretary
Nick Harper
8415 Old Moss Rd
Dallas, TX 75231-1610
(214) 349-6584
harper1425@sbcglobal.net
Treasurer
Wendall Spreadbury
7437 E. St. Hwy 21
Nacogdoches, TX 75961
(936) 564-0620
wendall@suddenlink.net
Co-Chairperson
Gary Butler
315 W. 17th Street
Houston, TX 77008
Newsletter Editor and
Webmistress
SunShine Jackson
(713) 862-4686
gtbtlr@cs.com
SunShineJ@jackson57.net
Calendar of Events Chairperson
SunShine Jackson
(281) 381-6211
19251 Spanish Needle Drive SunShineJ@jackson57.net
Houston, TX 77084-4343