|
Sponsors:
| |
 
|
|
|
Welcome to SPEEDSTER!
In the Driver's seat again ... AACA members and guests of ALL
ages participated in two more entertaining AACA National Tours ~
the April 15-18 Southeastern Divisional Tour in Birmingham,
Alabama and the May 4-9 Founders Tour in Midland, Texas! Thank
you to the
AACA Dixie Region
and
AACA West Texas Region
for all your hard work and long-range preparation that went into
making these tours such pleasurable experiences.
AACA Touring,
a unique motoring opportunity. Explore interesting places,
connect with other spirited hobbyists, and get the chance to
drive, show-off and share your antique treasures with others.
What more could you ask for ... Gas up and Go!
Over the next month, magnificent antique vehicles and
impassioned hobbyists will assemble to enjoy the activities at AACA
National Meets around the country ~
Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Tennessee! 
attend an AACA event with family and friends... Visit the
Calendar Spotlight,
Click here or
Call Headquarters 717-534-1910 for details. Thank
you for helping AACA to thrive as the premier destination and
resource for the collectible vehicle community!
New "road trip" added for
the Prior Lake, Minnesota Central Spring Meet ... a
fascinating Friday morning excursion! Registration
deadlines have been extended for the Central Spring and the
Southeastern Special Spring Meets! See
the Calendar Spotlight section below for details.
|
|
 Test
your Automotive Trivia Knowledge! Try your hand at the Questions
below...
1. What automobile had the first
dash-mounted gas gauge and when did it become a normal
accessory?
2. Who first produced over 10,000 cars in a single day?
3. What current farm machinery makers once made cars?
4. This man is famous as the father of two American luxury cars
which survive today. Who is the man and what are the cars?
Curious?
Scroll down for the Answers!
|
|
AACA HISTORY IN MOTION ...
|
Headquarters Starting
Grid... Meet Kathy Armstrong!
You open the mailbox to find your favorite car magazine
delivered. Now imagine hundreds of them spilling out! Well,
Kathy can, as Assistant to the AACA Librarian she manages over
200 monthly periodicals and display magazines that the Library
receives to ensure each is recorded, filed and classified
properly.
Kathy has been with the AACA family since 1993, shifting
to full-time status in October 1997. In addition to periodical
administration, her primary duties include
cataloging literature details, checking inventory, reviewing
current holdings, updating the physical stacks, evaluating
item quality, cleaning/making minor repairs with specialty
tools, managing literature donations, and updating the
collection's electronic database. She also assists patrons
with requests helping to locate specific information from the
vast wealth of automotive historical material housed in our
AACA Library.
"While I enjoy all phases of my position, I find cataloging
particularly exciting as it provides an opportunity to
continue learning about cars, to discover new facts and
interesting information," Kathy explained. "And, building
relationships with members, working with the prestigious
specialty and 'one marque' collections housed at the AACA
Library continues to be very rewarding."
A true "car-gal", Kathy is an active Board Member
of the Susquehanna Valley Vintage Sports Car Club, a
non-geographic AACA region,
and the Mustang Club of Central Pennsylvania. Along with fellow
hobbyists, Kathy and her husband, Sam, organize and participate
in various automotive events. They own a 1992 Mustang GT Fox
Body and 2001 Mustang Bullitt. While her family has been
involved in some type of auto racing since 1959, presently they
appreciate racing events as spectators whether attending sprint
car races or watching all forms of competitive broadcast racing
from Formula 1 to NASCAR.
Kathy is also an avid reader, enjoys photography and creating
recipes in the kitchen, and even finds time to volunteer at
Hershey Theatre and AACA Museum. A native Pennsylvanian and
graduate of Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), prior to
AACA Kathy worked for 18 years in public television. She has a
son, Jon, and a granddaughter, Renee who has inherited her love
for cars!
When in
Hershey, be sure to visit your
|
Who are the DFers? 
The AACA discussion forum
is a FREE online community for those interested in exchanging
ideas and information about all antique, classic and collectible
automobiles. Share news, ask questions, provide answers, convey
anecdotes, post a picture, and connect with "car-nuts" across
the globe.
It's informative, it's interesting, it's "laugh out loud funny",
and it's even been IMPROVED.
Just recently, the
"mechanics" of the forum have been upgraded! A revolutionary
change to new forum software using vbulletin technology will
offer many new features including dramatically better search
tools, individual blogs, spam protection, better/faster photo
support, video support, new calendar features... and the list
goes on. Future plans include addition of AACA-style YouTube and
expanded social networking.
Forums may not be
available until May 17 due to upgrade!
So, be sure to check back!
What DFers are
saying about the FORUM...
"..for me it has provided
entertainment, a knowledge base, a source for parts and
automobilia, and
 the
chance to meet people.."
"I was so lost on my car projects until I stumbled across this
forum. Every day that I log on to this forum, I learn
something. I meet really good people.. "
"It's a wonderful feeling knowing that someone from the other
side of the world is looking at this site and helping others
out."
"99.9% of the people I would love to meet sometime. I have
been involved with old cars since late 50's early 60's...I
couldn't believe the help out there.."
Explore, Read, Contribute and
Enjoy...
JOIN THE
CONVERSATION!
|
|
AACA Library & Research Center NEWS
HOT OFF
THE PRESS!
Be careful, you might get burned... because the AACA Library &
Research Center's new
informational brochure is hot off the press. We
are very excited about this 12-page, full-color brochure!
The brochure provides a general history of the library, details
of the collection, and the services we offer. The beautiful
photographs were
generously provided by Michael
Furman.
Just as your AACA Library &
Research Center is unique, our brochure is
unlike any other library brochure currently available. You can
download a copy of the brochure from
our website or
by
following this link.
Feel free to spread the word about the library and pass the
brochure link on to your email contacts!
A few weeks ago, a message was posted on the AACA Discussion
Forum asking for help identifying a bumper. The requestor
also forwarded an email to the library with a picture
attached. The bumper had an emblem on it that read, "WEED".
The man who owned the bumper thought it might be for a car
manufactured by the Weed Automobile Company, however no such
company existed.
 As
it turned out Weed Bumpers were an aftermarket bumper option
that fit more than 180 vehicles in the early 1920's. And, the
library actually owned a catalog for Weed Bumpers! We were
excited with the find and highlighted the catalog cover as our
" Image
of the Week". It was rewarding for the
library to make a connection for someone like this. Holding
the Weed Bumper catalog made this act of research even
more enjoyable. 
Another "Image of the Week" featured the March 1888 issue of
"The Hub", an example of one of our Library's older holdings.
If you think the library has something in its collection that
you would like to see as our " Image
of the Week", feel free to ask and we will
do our best to post an image as soon as possible.
|
|
How did you do? Trivia
Answers!
1. What automobile had the first
dash-mounted gas gauge and when did it become a normal
accessory?
Answer -- The
1914 Studebaker had the first dash-mounted gas gauge, but it
did not become a regular feature on production autos until
1922.
2. Who first produced over 10,000 cars in a single
day?
Answer -- Ford set
a single day production record in 1955; 10,877 vehicles rolled
off the lines.
3. What two current farm machinery makers once made cars?
Answer -- International Harvester and Case.
4. This man is famous as the father of two American luxury
cars which survive today. Who is the man and what are the
cars?
Answer -- Henry Leland created both the Cadillac
and the Lincoln.
Thanks for playing!
Source: Automotive
Milestones, Trivia of a Most Unique Machine, Edited by
Clark Cassell and Charles Merritt, Braddock Publications.
|
|
|
Calendar Spotlight!
Central Spring Meet
Prior Lake, Minnesota ~ June
4-6, 2009
NEW Friday Morning Activity at the Meet!
Join us on Friday, June 5 at 8:30 am for a fascinating
excursion! You will have an opportunity to take a short
tour and see a relatively new idea in Auto Hobby space
needs. The
Auto MotorPlex Minneapolis
is located in Chanhassen. One of our members, Richard
Bury, will host our group at the clubhouse for coffee and
doughnuts. His garage space (one of over 60 spaces) will
be open for viewing and his collection of automobiles is
well worth the trip alone!
You may tour using the maps and directions provided, a
total of 18.5 miles to the MotorPlex and 14.3 miles
returning. Your collector car can be driven, some of you
may opt to go modern, if so, try to condense passengers in
the modern cars. The route is, for the most part, easy and
scenic and the only caution is after 7 miles on
the return trip, you will encounter a 1/2-mile downhill
descent. We will depart from meet headquarters, the
Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, starting at 8:30 am. You may
return as desired.
Any questions, please contact Tom
Anderson, the Meet Chairman.
Otherwise, see you Friday morning!
Click
Here to VISIT the Antique
Automobile Club of America's (AACA) online calendar.
Attend and Participate
in these Upcoming 2009 National
Events:
November 5-7 - Western
Fall Meet, LaQuinta, California (Palm
Springs area)
If your AACA Region or
Chapter would like to sponsor a future
National Event, please contact Hulon C.
McCraw, Vice President of National Meets &
Tours at 828-606-2918.
|
|
 Speedy's
News and Notes
● Father's
Day is June 21 ... Hats, Shirts, Ties, Jackets, Signs ...
AACA has a wide array of quality
gear and merchandise for him, his garage, and his prized antique
vehicle! Call us at 717-534-1910, if you
need gift ideas or help with a purchase.
● Join the
AACA Family for a memorable
Night at the Museum
during "Hershey", Wednesday, October 7, 2009 from 6-10 pm.
Tickets are on sale Now!
Consider Sponsoring this exciting automotive event or even
Donating an auction item ~ Click
Here for additional information or
contact Myra Toomey, 717-566-7100.
● View SPEEDSTER
issues ... Click
Here to access the SPEEDSTER
Archives! Read and
print newsletters, visit the links provided in each
section for more information, join our mailing list,
edit your profile, and share issues with family, friends
and future AACA members.
● The
Judges Newsletter is available
online - Register today to judge at
an upcoming meet, it is another interesting way to
enjoy our wonderful hobby!
● Your Hobby
is always under attack so make sure you are keeping
up with local, state and national laws that could
affect you and your hobby. An excellent
source of information is
www.semasan.org.
|
|
| |
 Contact
Information
Phone: 717-534-1910 Email:
speedster@aaca.org
About The Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA)
The Antique Automobile Club of America, a 501(c)(3)
nonprofit corporation, is the country's premier resource for
the collectible vehicle community. Since its formation in
1935, the Club, through its national office, publications, and
membership, aids individuals, museums, libraries, historians
and collectors dedicated to the enjoyment and preservation of
automotive history.
For additional information on the AACA family, please visit
www.aaca.org,
www.aacalibrary.org,
|
|
|
|
