Oh this is a long awaited, much anticipated spring!!

If ever we were in need of cruise nights, car shows, rallyes, and more; this is the year!

What a drudgery this winter was. Even early spring had little to offer but cold temps and rain. But, the sun has made a come back and boy is it fine outside!

HEY! – We got a theme again to this edition of the Newsletter. Its an Oldsy but a goodie!

I am not going to spend much time on this month’s intro. I just came in from cleaning up my Charger R/T and I’m heading back out again to pick up my 5 year old from school with it. He’ll be delighted! That boy is crazy for cars, the Charger in particular!

He knows we are heading to a Tuesday night cruise this evening too, so he is rarin’ to go!

What a day!

Later!!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

1 Editor’s Introduction

2 Picture Caption Contest

3 Cruise Night Information

4 Guest Writer’s Columns

AutoMat

Marty Himes

5 My Car Story x 2

6 The Archive

7 Editor’s Closing

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Long Island Classic Cars.Com’s

AUTOMOTIVE PICTURE CAPTION CONTEST

Submit your entry along with your name and e-mail address to: newsletter@liclassiccars.com

This contest is open to everyone! (LI Classic Cars.com paid personnel, regular column writers, and business advertisers are not eligible.)

Winners will be notified by e-mail and/or phone.

Please submit all entries by the 10th of the next month. (ex: for May’s contest the entries are due by June 10th)

No substitutions of prizes will be allowed.

In the event of prize choices, winner will be given the opportunity to select the one they want.

All decisions are final and are made by the paid personnel of Long Island Classic Cars.com

Winners must claim their prizes within 30 days of contest end or forfeit the prize to the runner up.

A few simple rules:

1) Be funny and creative!

2) Keep it somewhat clean!

Here is last month’s winning entry from Leo Cerruti.

"Hey boss! I need some help over here, I just drove the..."

Leo wins a Mr. Clean AutoDry Car Wash kit! Congratulations! Very creative entry!

OK - Here is the picture for our May “Caption Cut-Up Contest”!!

Go to it! Send in your funniest, wittiest comments by 6/10/07 and win the prize!

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“EXTRA EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!!”

The Cruise Nights are all up and running!! Here’s the latest on them…

2007 Cruise Night location updates:

TUESDAYS: McDonald's. Metropolitan Ave. & 69^th Road, Forest Hills, NY.

Sponsored by East Coast Car Association/Toys For Tots

TUESDAYS: Audrey Ave. Oyster Bay, NY

Sponsored by Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce

TUESDAYS: Bald Hill Cultural Center. North Ocean Ave. Farmingville, NY

Sponsored by the Farmingville Fire Department

WEDNESDAYS: KFC. William Floyd Pkwy & Montauk Hwy. Shirley, NY

Sponsored by Bow Tie Boulevard Camaro Club

THURSDAYS: Wendy’s Shopping Center. Montauk Hwy and Locust Ave, Oakdale, NY

Sponsored by Steve’s Collision.

SATURDAYS: Sonomax Station. 278 Greenpoint Ave. Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY.

Sponsored by East Coast Car Association/Toys for Tots

SATURDAYS: Kohl’s. Corner Grand Blvd and Commack Rd. Deer Park, NY.

Public gathering.

SATURDAYS: KFC. William Floyd Pkwy & Montauk Hwy. Shirley, NY.

Sponsored by Bow Tie Boulevard Camaro Club

SUNDAYS: *AM Cruise* Ocean Pkwy, Captree Beach Parking Lot through May, then at OBI.

Public gathering.

I also heard that the Tuesday night K Mart show in Levittown has MOVED to the Ruby Tuesday's parking lot across from the old Grumman factory on Rt 107. Can anyone confirm this is where it will be for 2007??

Also, anyone have info about a possible Massapequa Cruise Night going on? Send it to us!

What about Nathan’s in Oceanside? Is that active, who sponsors it, and do they charge to get in?

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GUEST WRITER(S) COLUMN(S)

Tom Sebastian is on hiatus this month. Our intrepid secret agent is out saving the world from the bad guys. He will return in July.

Justin from AutoMat gives us a look at another growing segment of the car hobby; the Resto-Mod. Check it out!

PS – Hey! We finally got a headshot of Justin! Check him out – not a bad looking guy.

Marty Himes’ column returns. This time out, the feature is about Marty himself! It is written by his grandson Bryan Johnson and delves into the bio and auto racing career of this hometown Long Islander.

In this month’s double feature of “My Car Story”, we have two beauties from different eras. They both come from a recently axed GM division that has a long and storied history! Here’s the lineup….

Leading off - Paul Jacobs showcases his ’41 Oldsmobile. I saw this car at a recent show up in Centerport. Nice car with even nicer owners! Paul and his wife Gloria were gracious enough to spend some time chatting with me about its history and theirs. After hearing what they had to say, I knew we had to have it featured!

On deck – Ed Wheaton tells a tale about his beautiful ’71 Cutlass Convertible. This car has one of the most beautiful color combinations you could hope for on a machine! We met at a show in Smithtown a couple weeks back. Ed had the family out with him, and boy, did he have the right car to go cruising in!

Enjoy…

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This DEFINITELY Ain’t Your Father’s Oldsmobile!

Written by Justin Appelbaum

Beyond restoration and beyond modification there is the new category dubbed the “resto-mod”. This Oldsmobile 442 falls under this category. As part of a new series for ESPN in conjunction with Funk Master Flex, this car was built by Outlaw Motorsports for competition in this series.

When the 442 arrived at AutoMat Co. in Hicksville it was basically finished with the exception of the interior and the audio/visual system. No expense was spared in the construction of this stunning ride. The body was meticulously restored and all of the chrome was replaced. The engine was fully built with new heads, cam, ignition system, pistons, intake manifold, and carb. For added measure a large shot of nitrous was plumbed in for those quick bursts of power. Handling all this power is a completely modern suspension system consisting of new shocks and springs, anti-sway bars, and a full Baer disc brake conversion. Keeping the 442 rolling is a set of 18-inch FOOSE wheels.

In preparation for the cars arrival, the interior and audio plans were laid out ahead of time. The exterior of the car was painted jet black with green tribal flames airbrushed up the sides and across the hood. The materials that were chosen for the upholstery were gray suede and black ostrich vinyl. A completely custom design was created for the front and rear seats, the door panels, rear quarter panels, and the dash. Above, the headliner and sun visors were finished in the same gray suede as the seats.

The audio/visual system would be one of the main foci of this project so it had to be BIG!!! JL Audio was one of the main sponsors of this project so all the speakers and amps were supplied by them. Custom mounted into the ostrich and suede wrapped dash, a state of the art Pioneer Z1 7” touch screen AM/FM/CD/DVD player was installed. With the front passengers entertained, what are the passengers in the rear going to do, play the road-sign game? This day and age, I think not! Remedying this, the factory headrests were modified to accept a 7” monitor in each one of them, totally trick! From the front they look completely stock. In the finished trunk the amplifiers and crossovers for the component speakers were mounted. So what is left? Oh yes, the subwoofers! Well, AutoMat thought that it would look sweet if the rear seat was cut in half and the two subs were stacked one on top of the other - Viper style. I can tell you one thing you won’t see that move done too often. There was much modification and reinforcement that wa performed in order to pull this one off, but it worked!

This basically wraps up the 442; keep an eye out on ESPN for the actual show and some footage of AutoMat Co in action.

(Justin, cool resto mod! That is indeed a growing segment of the hobby!) Pete

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                    MARTY HIMES HAS BEEN THERE, DONE THAT AND,
                      FORTUNATELY FOR US ALL, PRESERVED IT ALL
                                                    by: Bryan Johnson

Marty Himes, born August 29th 1939 in Oceanside, Long Island, moved to the Freeport area in 1952. In 1952, at the age of 12, he entered a soapbox derby. The event was sponsored by the Nassau County Police Boys Club (PBC). The events were held at the well known Freeport and Islip Speedways.

He continued until 1954 with racing soapbox derbies. At the age of 15, the always industrious Himes, got a job parking cars in Robert Smalley's parking lot across the street from the Freeport Stadium. One night after working in the lot, Himes walked across the street to find out what was going on behind the walls at the Freeport Stadium. After getting an eye full of the stock car races that were going on, it sparked an interest for Marty to begin his infamous racing career.

Marty's Dad was an entertainer. He played guitar, accordion, sang, ate glass, and fire. Chewed razor blades, and sat on top flagpoles. Marty had only one regret -- that his father didn't live long enough to see what he would accomplish in his life. Reginald R. Himes, Marty's father was killed in a freak accident just before Marty would make his first appearance as a driver in a real stock car.

The car was a 1937 Hudson sedan with a radio in it. This is the car that started Marty's racing career. He ran stock cars on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturday's. Marty competed in every division at Freeport Stadium starting with the Novices then moving on to Sedans, Non-Fords, and then Modifieds.

In 1962 Himes became the Novice track champion. This was an amazing feat because he did it with out winning a single main event. Freeport had a huge Novice division, drawing sometimes fifty cars in a main event. During his racing career, Marty and his crew won the Best Dressed award three years in a row. The following year, 1963, Marty entered the sedan division as the year went on.

Later in 1963, Marty moved into the highly competitive Modified division. Marty continued to drive in all three divisions throughout his racing career at Freeport Stadium. Himes accumulated a few cards and had other famous drivers besides himself driving some of his cars out of the Himes stables. Marty drove at Freeport Stadium until July of 1965 when there was a drivers strike at the Stadium.

The Fearless Freeport Flyer, as he was known at this time flat-towed his Liberty Electric Special, a 1956 Ford Sedan out to the Islip Speedway and to the Riverhead Raceway. It was mostly a two-lane highway all the way. When he got there, he discovered this little country track still had dirt pits. You would jack up your car, and the jack would sink halfway in the dirt.

If you dropped a wrench or a lug nut forget it -- you would never find them. At this time Tommy Washburn was the starter, it would take two or three warm up laps to get lined up, and then Tommy turned the field loose. Going into turn three, Marty recalls, my throttle stuck wide open. He had split-second visions of joining the famous swamp club behind turn four. Killing the ignition wouldn't help, It was too late.

So he broadsided the car along the third and fourth turn wall, and got the car back under control with out ever joining the swamp club. Through out the years Marty had his share of close calls, but for the time he put into racing, he basically was about as lucky as Ed Brunnhoelzl, Sr.

Marty Himes continued his racing career at the Islip Speedway driving in the Modified division. The car at the time was a, 1937 Chevrolet Coupe, powered by a 396 cubic inch Chevy engine. The car ran well, but was never a main event winner.

Marty did not have the greatest racing equipment or mechanics. He used to say to Jimmy Hendrickson who he pitted next to at Islip, "The only difference between your guys and mine is, you've got engineers, and I've got pioneers." Marty could get up to the front, but most of the time his equipment couldn't keep him there. But somebody has to come in second, third, and so forth.

Marty recalls a few stories still fresh in his mind, the first being a twenty-five lapper. Marty led it for twenty-four and three-quarters laps. Going into turn four of the final lap, Butch LaFrance in his No. 10-pins, which was parked in the infield for almost a half-dozen laps. LaFrance got his car re-fired and drove out in front of Himes and Gomes, Gomes edged Himes out for the win by only inches.

The second recall, involves Gentlemen Jim Hendrickson in this white and blue No. X3. Marty saw the X3 in his mirror. It haunted him lap after lap. Now that's an unusual sight for most drivers, squinted to see if it was really Jim driving. When they pulled into the pits, Marty went over to Jim and almost apologized. "Geez, Jim, I'm sorry if I was in your way," Marty Said. "Was I taking up too much room?" "No Marty," came Gentlemen Jim's casual reply, "It was your night." Another time at the Islip Speedway, it was Marty's night.

While leading the heat race with Art Tappen and Charlie Jarzombek breathing down his neck, Himes' steering box let go. A track steward was pointing to him to warn him. Marty knew, but when a driver is in the heat of it all and leading the race with some big guns behind, Marty wasn't about to stop. Marty took it that night, steering the last few laps by using the steering column like a tiller on a boat. So the No. X50 Modified ran at Islip with Himes behind the wheel until the conclusion of the 1972 auto racing season. After hanging up his helmet and goggles, he returned to Islip as a fireman with the grounds crew.

After hanging around the track for twenty-some years you can't just walk away from it all. So Marty started the Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia in 1975. It all started with one single picture photograph of the one legged driver, Bill Schindler. Since the year 1975 the display has grown just a bit, grown into a mobilia monstrosity. When people walk into the front door of the museum it is a religious experience, the first words out of peoples mouth are "OH MY GOD." Sitting out front is a ticket booth from the now shut down Freeport Stadium, with a mannequin sitting inside, with tickets ready to sell, and signs proclaiming "Welcome Race Fans!" greeting you as you enter.

A trip to the Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia is like a trip back into the past. Marty Himes of the Himes Museum has acquired such a complete collection of both the sport and the period that one cannot help but be totally impressed. His collection includes the following: four full midgets, eight 3/4 midgets, three half midgets, nine stock cars, one early sprint car, a Crosley Tow Truck, three soapbox derby cars, and one racing motorcycle. He also has, more then 300,000 photographs, 125 pounds of unprinted Black and White negatives, racing uniforms, helmets, trophies, club arm bands, posters, tickets, programs, model cars, antique bicycles, and much, much more.

Marty Himes. has dedicated much of his time and money into gathering and preserving this huge collection of racing memorabilia. None of the great stories he tells are put down on paper, and were never on paper. All the great stories he tells to everyone that visit's the museum are stored only in Marty's memory.

His greatest hope s that his collection will stay together for many future generations to enjoy as the times roll on. It would be such a terrible loss to all if his collection is not kept together. When he opened his home display in 1975, his entire life and finances have been dedicated to keeping the memory of racing alive.

The Himes Museum of Motor Racing Nostalgia has been visited by many, sports stars, artists, celebrities, and just fans in general. His collection of racing history is stored at his home in Bay Shore. Although Marty will welcome anyone, into his museum free of charge, donations are greatly and thankfully accepted. Before you make a trip out to the museum, give Marty a call at 631-666-4912, because you never know when Marty is out picking up more of racing history. No ones gives a tour of the museum like he does, so call first.

The address is: 15 O'Neil Avenue, Bay Shore, NY, 11706

www.thehimesmuseum.com

(The Museum is a place every racing fan on LI should go and check out!) Pete

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My Car Story Paul Jacobs: 1941 Oldsmobile 76 Club Sedan

When I retired from the Federal government in 1996 I started thinking about owning a vintage car as I’d now have the time to work on it. Ever since I was a kid in the Bronx, I always loved cars and each year looked forward to the GM Motorama held at the Waldorf Astoria right after the introduction of the year’s new models. It was the fabulous fifties and those big sculptured fenders and tons of chrome just drove me wild. Well, it’s not a fifties beauty that I bought, but a 1941 Olds Club Sedan. My wife and I were on our way to New Brunswick for a vacation in the summer of ’96 and while passing through Portland, Maine we took a walk along Union Wharf and came upon the car parked in a lot next to a fish processing plant. As my wife posed for a photo standing next to the car a voice called out from the second floor of the plant: “Wanna buy it?” The rest is history, as they say.

As you can see from the photos, the car is a “fastback” model, the first of a new style GM made popular in the ‘40s. Olds called it a Club Sedan. Olds had three car series: 60 Special, 70 Dynamic, and 90 Custom Cruiser, each with two engines, a straight eight and a six, both flatheads. Mine is a model 76, the “6” denoting the engine. Years later in the Olds “rocket era” when they finally eliminated the 6-cyl. engine they pared down their model nomenclature to 88 and 98.

I’m the fourth owner. The third owner almost doesn’t count because he had it less than a year. The second owner found it in a barn (where else?) in Maine in 1983 where it had been sitting for 19 years. He kept it 12 years and drove it in parades. It was bought new in Lewiston, Maine in July, 1941 by the wife of the assistant superintendent of the Maine state mental hospital… who, I’ve been told, was rumored not to “play with a full deck” himself….and drove it until 1964.

The engine is a 238 cu. in, 100 HP, flathead (valve-in-block) with a 6.1:1 compression ratio. The tranny is a 4-speed automatic, the second year of the Hydramatic transmission. The tires are 7.00-15 BF Goodrich Silvertowns bias-ply wide whites with tubes. Wheelbase is 125”. The suspension is coil springs front and rear with hydraulic lever action shocks. The front end is the standard king pin and upper/lower pivot pin set-up. There’s no oil filter (an option in those days) so oil changes are frequent. The car was repainted garnet red (maroon) over the original black by the second owner. It was an amateur paint job, but I’ve managed to bring the shine up fairly well. The car’s body, engine and drivetrain were in pretty good shape when I got it, but as usual, it needed a complete brake overhaul. Before doing anything, I armed myself with a shop manual and a master chassis and body parts list. Anyone who attempts to work on an old car without these references is asking for trouble.

I reconditioned or replaced as many of the mechanical and body components as I was able to do myself; just about everything short of the engine block, tranny, and rear end. I also replaced or had replated many chromed trim pieces. And since I had recently retired, I enjoyed every minute of it, getting immense satisfaction from knowing that the job was done right! What’s especially satisfying is that the mechanicals are so easy to work on. Plenty of space under the hood and no computers and emission sensors! I was even able to replace the rear main seal and adjust the bands in the transmission (with the help of my son, I must admit). The interior was pretty tattered, so I had that professionally restored, but I re-did the dashboard and garnish molding wood grain myself.

The car has a couple of interesting features. It has what’s called a “throttle cracker”. When activating the starter motor with a foot pedal, a lever contacts a cam which pushes on a link across the top of the head to “crack” open the throttle plate in the carburetor while the engine is cranking. To adjust the lash on the valves on the side of the block, the fender liner is removable with sheet metal screws allowing you literally to sit in the wheel well and do your thing with your tappet wrenches while the engine’s running. The pivot pins in the front end upper control arms (actually part of the lever action shocks) are eccentric which means that by turning them with a ¼” Allen wrench you adjust both camber and caster. In the absence of precision equipment you can get pretty close to spec by taking measurements using a carpenter’s square as described in the shop manual. The clock mechanism is interesting. It has a pair of contacts attached to the mainspring. When the spring unwinds the electrified contacts touch, and the current flow causes them to repel (they must be magnetized with the same polarity) which winds the spring to repeat the cycle!

My wife and I have enjoyed the car over the years as it continues it’s work-in-progress. It’s not the peppiest on the road what with the Hydramatic mated to a six and the gear ratios are not the best, but we enjoy taking it to shows and the grandkids think its from outer space. It’s a great example of automotive style in the pre-war period -- boat shaped hood and large wing-like front fenders. Especially now that Oldsmobiles are no longer made, I’m glad I’m able to keep this fine example of automotive history on the road for others to see.

(Paul I am glad you have it for us to see too! Great story!) Pete

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My Car Story Ed Wheaton: 1971 Oldsmobile 442 Convertible

I remember living in Ohio when I was about 16 years old, and as a kid I had a friend who owned a yellow and black Cutlass SX and that car was crazy! We would go out on those deserted roads just cruising like maniacs doing hole-shots and chasing squirrels. That car would move and ever since then I've always loved the Olds Cutlass’s 1970 to 1972 body style.

When I returned to L.I. after turning 17, I bought my first 1971 Cutlass, a red car that I ran into the ground - being young and stupid. After that I have had several Cutlass's during my younger days. I remember many great times in my 1972 gold Cutlass Convertible going to the Bayville Beaches, runs to Rum Runners in Oyster Bay, cruising Hempstead Turnpike, and anywhere else on Long Island with my car and good friends. We would just cruise around because it was such a great feeling with the top down.

I also met my wonderful wife in the same car at Chaplins in Hicksville. We had lots of great times in that car. Because of all those feelings and memories, I had been searching for several years for a good specimen. All the ones I looked at were rusted out or insanely priced. But one day last March while searching the internet, I came across a place called ANBclassics.com in Malone, N.Y. They had a 442 Convertible in Viking Blue with white top, stripes and interior! It was a frame-off restoration!

This car is equipped with a 455 engine, Ram-Air hood, His & Hers shifter, power windows and the W30 package!

I just had to have it!!! It was a reasonable price for a car I basically had to do nothing to - except enjoy! No rust, no problems, no issues!!! All the things the dealer told me about the car were true – the car arrived just as he described it to me. It was a pleasure doing business with them. Since I've had the car, the only complaint I've had are the drum brakes. So I'm in the process of converting them to four wheel discs as this is written.

It's great to have that feeling again with the top down and power under your feet! It's indescribable. I love to just cruise with my wife and kids and share that feeling on a beautiful sunny day!!!

(Ed, as they said back in the day “I can dig it!” We must have cruised some of those same LI spots!) Pete

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Here is where you can access previous editions of the Long Island Classic Cars Online Newsletter.

http://www.liclassiccars.com/Newsletter/

You can also access the previous Newsletters through a link on the main page of the website.

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I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Newsletter! Some great stories from our guest writers! Many thanks to them!

Ok, unless its nighttime right now, quit reading and get outside!!

Take that cool car and go!

See you at the shows and cruises! Stop by and say hi.

Pete Giordano

Editor

Long Island Classic Cars.com