Dear Family, Friends & Soon To Be Friends,
It is with a heavy heart and incredible sense of urgency that I ask for your help…not for myself, but for my younger brother, John Gudenkauf, and his family.
Just this past week John found himself helpless & crippled by extreme stabbing pain that radiated through his back, abdomen & leg. The excruciating pain & swelling continued & within five days John was hospitalized. The urologist told him he had a sizable tumor & most likely, testicular cancer. Within hours the tumor was removed & he was sent home to recover over the next few weeks. He has an appointment next week at the Cancer Center for final diagnosis & begin treatment (chemo or radiation, at this point too soon to tell).
Under most circumstances this type of news, albeit devastating & difficult to wrap one’s head around, would be manageable. But not in this case, for John doesn’t have health insurance. Over 2 ½ decades ago, John experienced a massive heart attack, leaving him with 50% heart functions & to this day, unable to secure health insurance.
John’s tragic circumstances are further compounded by his current financial challenges. For 13 years, since his wife was diagnosed with SLE (Systemic lupus) and could no longer work, John has been the sole provider for their family, working 60 to 80 hours a week to provide for his wife and two sons, one of which still lives at home. Due to chronic health conditions, neither John’s wife nor his son can work outside the home. Just like so many other business owners, John’s business was hit hard by the recession, forcing him to let go of all employees and close the doors & go back to his roots as an independent handyman. A lesser man would have given up & put his head in the sand, but that’s not John. John chose to take the honorable, responsible route by working hard to fulfill his financial obligations, while providing for his family…little by little whittling away at his debts, while paying for their living expenses. Always on time & never defaulting.
John is a man of great integrity, with an open & kind heart towards his family, friends & at times, complete strangers in need – always the first to help others no matter how seemingly hopeless his own circumstances may be. Heck, just today – two days after surgery – I witnessed John opened up his home offering a safe refuge & comfortable bed to complete stranger, simply because she was in needed.
This time John is the one who needs the help of others. Best case scenario, he’s looking at a few weeks recovery, a mountain of hospital bills, & certain eviction. Worst case scenario, John is facing all the aforementioned expenses along with costly & debilitating cancer treatments, depending on the further testing.
Please consider donating. Our goal is to raise enough funds to get John & his family through the next couple months’ living expenses, till he’s back up on his feet again & able to work, thereby giving him what he so willingly gives to others: peace of mind & time to heal.
On behalf of our entire family, thank you for time & consideration to this urgent matter.
I watched the event on History Channel – more thoughts on that later. I didn’t actually see this particular Corvair, but I thought, wow that is a lot for this car.
$40k Corvair. I wonder what the largest sum every paid for a Corvair?
A crowd estimated at 10,000 people, including 3,400 registered bidders, helped to shape the spectacle at the Lambrecht Chevrolet auction in Pierce, Nebraska this past weekend. … 1963 Corvair Monza Coupe, 6 cyl. 4-speed …
So far GM has been mum on the C7 Corvette Stingray’s Nurburgring time but we just know that setting a fast lap would be on the table. Remember that 7:19.63 Corvette ZR1 time that was set by Mero in 2011? While they were …
Those that are in the know about Bonneville realize that the weather plays a huge part of the Bonneville Salt Flats racing season. There have even been times when Speed Week has been, like a baseball game, called on …
It’s good to have friends or acquaintances at place where car stuff happens, even at ‘stealerships’.
I was on my way home from work when may phone rang, normally I don’t answer when I’m driving and almost never when the number isn’t in my contacts. But I answered it (hands free people…hands free!!!) and the voice on the other end wasn’t immediately familiar.
“Tim, this is Scott, from —– Chevy.” I then remembered having a couple conversations with him about Vettes, one of them dealing with the chrome on the Grand Sport.
He continued by reminding me of our Corvette conversations and then said…”I have a the new Corvette in and….” I interrupted and in a high pitched tone said… “Can I see it!?!?!?!” (sounded like a little kid, I’m sure.) He said…”We getting it ready for the buyer to pick up….” I interrupted again….”I’m two blocks away. I can be there in five!!!” He responded “Yes, I can get you back there to see it.”
I give my C6 a little more air/fuel mixture and got there in 4 minutes.
The dealership was having one of those 24 hours sale and there was a live band, one of the local Corvette clubs had a row of 50’s – now Vette generations (minus the C7), a couple of 1920’s Chevy’s and a T.V. news crew.
I parked in front and weaved my way though the cars and people and headed inside. I was stopped by a salesman and asked for Scott.
(Reading this back to myself..you’d think I was picking up my very own C7!!!)
Salesman led me inside and there was Scott in one of the salesman cubes. He’s says “You want to see it?” I said “Lets go.” Trying to be a bit cooler than I was on the phone.
We chatted on our way to the rear of the facility and I mentioned my numerous trips back to Kentucky and visiting the assembly plant. I’ve seen the a C5 being built and a couple C6’s. We got to the back of the building and headed outside to the prep-area. No C7 in sight.
While Scott took a call I wandered around the bays and then back outside. Then as I turn to my right, I heard the wonderful sound of American Muscle in low gear (given the C7 is 7 speeds I guessed it was in 3rd gear) and I saw a most magnificent machine moving toward me and then it hung a left (all in slow motion ) and gave me a broadside view and parked in one of the prep bays. There it was, my first in person encounter with the new C7 and the first C7 to be delivered in my area.
Once I got my legs moving (again in slow motion) I headed to the bay, Scott had just joined me. I had about 60 second of “alone time” before the crew was there and someone started shouting…”We have 5 minutes…lets move…we have only 5 minutes.” It was like being in the pits at a NASCAR race or (I reflected later ) like a maternity ward when a baby is being delivered.
I managed to get my phone out and in the rushed atmosphere I managed get a good look at the interior and some outside shots, while dodging the “pit crew”. It was a thrill!!!
It truly is an impressive vehicle.
The interior is reminiscent of the C6 but clearing a step above.
Share your first encounter with AFCRMR, leave note below.
General Motors has reportedly filed a patent for an all-new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission the company hopes to develop in the coming years. With similar seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions being increasingly used in supercars, including the …
If you live in the greater Detroit area or in one of General Motors’ favorite testing zones, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the C7 era is already upon us – Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupes are thick on the ground in every color of the rainbow …
Yes you can build a Camaro from the ground up with new frames/bodies and parts everywhere. You can clone a Boss 302 and you can build your own 1957 Chevy and find all the after market parts you need.
But there are other, equally cool cars that you might take a fancy too and want to restore. Finding stuff can be a problem. My feature “Wrecked” might help you out with finding those parts.
I’m doing this in conjunction with listing on PartingOut.Com they pull together a lot of cars and many are southwestern cars, that means less debilitating rest on the parts you need. And that’s were I found this very nearly completed parts car.
1962 Mercedes 190 series
This 1962 190 Series has a lot of useful parts. Why would anyone want to restore a car like this? It had classic 60’s European styling. I’ve often thought how cool it would be to have a fleet of classic 4 door sedans for taxis – weird? Maybe. But I like lines on these
This one has a lot great parts, fenders, doors and where are you going to find those bumpers and that chrome around those over-under headlights.
I’m not seeing much in the way of engine parts…..
Yeah…no engine parts..but no rust either!!
Series 190 was in it’s second year and came in two flavors – gas and diesel both were 4 cylinder. They have tons of room for carrying passengers and luggage. Oh… they made great taxis…maybe I have something there.
There were a lot produced of these 130,554 190c and 225,645 190Dc and I’m betting only a fraction of those made it to U.S. soil.
I bought a 1962 Mercedes-Benz 190C 1.9 I4 in mint condition. I drove it for a few years at weekends and stuff, but eventually didn’t have time to keep it on the road, so I put it in my garage in the late 80’s, and haven’t removed …
I had this forward to me, so I don’t know any of the individuals but the names have been omitted so I do have to get a “real” grief.
I have belonged to many clubs – NAWCC, AWI, 4 or 5 car clubs, Optimists Club, Knights of Pythias and more. People love their clubs. Hanging out with other people with the same interest and enthusiasm is fun. But there is often a couple members that use membership or a position in the club to fill a void in their lives. (Especially older peeps – sorry it’s true!!!) That is one reason I like my Corvette club – Arizona Corvette Enthusiasts (ACE). No membership fees, frequent get togethers and drives, and if you show up to stuff for a while….doesn’t matter….you need help a bunch guys will show up at your place and give a hand. That’s cool.
Here’s an interesting letter from the leader of a club, although towards the end it sounds a little like a Mafia Car club.
Dear (club name omitted) Member or visitor,
This letter is not intended to single anyone out, and I owe a lot of people many thanks for all the kindnesses and support they have shown me over the years. If it wasn’t for some of you I would not have a car. But, we still have some major hurdles to overcome. Please read below and don’t skim read:
Saturday, September 14th, 2013
Dear (club name omitted)Member or visitor,
As you know, we are living in very challenging times, both morally (morally???) and financially. The (club name omitted) Club is barely surviving, and for all intensive purposes, the active club really exists solely in Southern California. There was also our original facebook page, which was hijacked by someone in Wisconsin who is against everything I stand for. Facebook in general is becoming a poor substitute for car club events. The users just surf the web, many of which partake in immature flaming. Thankfully, we are still getting new people, but the participation rate is not what it was in 2012. I also get significantly fewer responses to my emails than in previous years, and I think many of our members really do not care about preserving the XXXX-car or appreciate the effort it takes to keep this club going. However, I am optimistic because I have a VP, (name omitted), helping me, and I still manage to recruit more people. We have to try to do something to offset the massive turnover rate in participation. Many come for one event, and then we never see or hear from them ever again. When (name omitted) and I try to help people with their car problems, we often get a lot of whining and then no response. The (club name omitted) is growing by leaps and bounds, and (name omitted) is doing a stellar job. If I can’t find a successor for my presidency, I will be handing over the entire international club to (name omitted) of Mexico. It all depends on what is going on with my life, and it might be sooner than later. They are motivated. Many Americans in the car club culture are not anymore. They’d rather put others down and brag about expensive rides. The (club name omitted) is supposed to be the example of the model car club, and we in SoCal do our best to do just that.
In short, we have a very big show coming up on Saturday, October XXth in Van Nuys, Ca. This is the most important (omitted) show on planet earth. It is how we started, and the larger club at this event (Chrysler Performance West), honored us last spring with the club participation award. Let us not disappoint them. I don’t want us to show up with just four cars. It would be awesome if we actually had more than twenty, like we did in Spring 2012. One only needs to attend between 10:00 AM (when the gate closes), and 1PM. There is food and fun besides. It is $25 dollars, like last year, but it goes for a good cause, the largest Mopar show west of the Mississippi, and that is per car. I expect you to be there if you live within 60 miles of Van Nuys, that is if you have nothing better to do on a Saturday. The club needs your support. If your car is down, please bring yourself.
Why do we do what we do? Because it is fun for me and many others to go out to dinner, go to a car show, go on a boat ride, and enjoy sharing our cars with each other. We share the history and significance. We get to know one another, help each other out with repairs, and basically have fun. That is what a real club was traditionally, and what a real club is all about. Dealing with many competing club facebook pages that poach the traditional club forums and flame their deposed leaders is not my idea of fun.
How are we going to grow the club and solve the communication problem? Well, quite simple. Either we fail, and I let the Mexicans take us over, or we try a new strategy and you guys get behind your leader. I was toying with the idea of just deleting people who ignore my emails, and other punitive actions. Yes, I get offended by the lack of courtesies. However, dealing out punitive actions is not the mature way of dealing with the issue at the hand, and not what a real leader would do. It is kind of immature, and I really am an easy going person until I get really pissed off. I have always gone out of my way to help members and had an open door policy.
So, here is the deal. I have decided to charge $20 a year for all members across the board, and it is an annual membership fee that will stay the same. That is much cheaper than gas, and this club costs $500 a year to run, not including my hours on the computer dealing with people 2000 miles away. Ed XXXX is completely exempted from the dues. He has been a major contributor to this club. These dues will be slowly implemented day by day by me culling through a large roster of 2000 people. If you volunteer to assist me in a club position for six months, and you bring about some good for the club, you get free membership. If you attend one of our two big shows a year, your annual dues is $10. If you attend both shows, free. This will allow me to slowly weed out the inactive people who don’t care about what we do. Each person will have 30 days to pay their fee. If they don’t, they will get one simple email “Your account has been deactived by the president. Your posts have been archived. You did not pay your dues. If the president is in error, inform him to the contrary, pay your dues, and your account will be reinstated.”Also, anyone caught selling their car without telling us will be found out by me. I search online for cars for sale a lot, and there are not a lot left. I will find you easily. I expect your full cooperation at that point, or not, but it is the right thing to do. You should also know most of our models are now bordering on extinction, because most people don’t care about our cars. They have all been crushed now, and most junkyards are running out of parts permanently. Pulling out of our fleet without a word hurts the organization tremendously.
Your fearless leader (the one who made the (club name omitted) a reality).
Mr. Xxx X. Xxxxxxxxxxxx
The International (club name omitted) President
XXX-XXX-XXXXP.S. As a courtesy to me, if you want to support us next month at the show by attending, call me and let me know.
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