by
Gloria and Allan Moon
From the
first day of check-in to the last day of check-out, there was no
rain, no unbearable heat, little humidity, no cold or snow –
just lots of 300s, bunches of 300 nuts and non-stop talking. In
other words, meet hosts Tom and Marie Trexler had a perfect meet.
Thursday was
arrival day, getting the meet packets, looking at 300s and in
general, doing not much but enjoying the 300s. It was also the day
that we were interviewed by the Philadelphia Inquirer’s
reporter. Poor lady hadn’t the faintest clue what a 300 was.
After 5 hours of “interviews” with 300 nuts, she may have
learned more then she cared to. Saturday’s edition had a nice
story about us, complete with pictures.
Friday our
tour directors, Tom and Marie, took us of to the New Hope Barge Ride
followed by a leisurely do what you want shopping trip. That evening
the club held its busines meeting, lasting 1 hour and 20 minutes.
New members were amazed at its great length, veterans were amazed by
its brevity.
Saturday we
parked our cars on the grass at Peddlar’s village. Lots of
300s, Mopars and lots of people who were looking at old cars were
there. One even referred to us as the Chevrolet 300 club. Is that a
first? A cash bar and banquet with People’s Choice awards
followed that evening. After the formalities were over, the
hospitality room provided us a place to watch movies and slides.
The only 2
Letter series years that weren’t represented were the 300D and
the 300H. We missed them. Roger Williams brought his very nice
white C300 and pictures of his 300C which is for sale. Roger is the
second owner of the C300. The car shows its caring ownership. Roger
took second place in the People’s Choice award in his category.
300B was
represented by Bob Valpey’s Kiekhaefer stick, 355 HP, tach
mounted, totally street illegal, fast, loud and exciting B. We’d
like a nickel for every picture that was taken of that car. We truly
wish to thank Bob for bringing this piece of racing history for us to
enjoy. (He’s still racing it.) Bob’s B took first place
in the People’s Choice.
Two 300C
convertibles were at the meet. Gary Hagy’s white C is in the
Enquirer article, leading the pack of us to the Mule Barge ride. The
other C was a black convertible owned by Bill DiCiurcio. Bill had to
have one after watching the tv series “Crime Story”. We
all agree that is one show that should still be around. The C had
mouse problems when he bought it. Did you know that mouse pee can
eat entire carburetors and valve covers? Beware of cars stored near
chicken coops. Now the car is absolutely beautiful.
The beautiful
silver E convertible was in the line up. Robert and Rose Young have
put 60,000 miles on the E since he restored it. It doesn’t
show at all! They really know how to enjoy their hard work. Robert
took home second place People’s Choice in his division.
Chris
Frederick’s Dad, Jerry, owned a white 300F. When they started
restoration on it, Chris said that he sure would like to have one
like it. Dad said “Take this one” and with that, he also
took first place in People’s choice in his category. At an
earlier meet, while restoration was in progress, Chris could only
bring a huge picture of the car. The wait was worth it Chris –
it is nice and it was also featured in the Inquirer article. Another
old friend, Bill Codner’s white 300F convertible. Eileen has
her hands full with a fellow who can tell you with a straight face
that a 413 with rams can fit into a 300D body as long as they are the
short rams rather than the long rams. Don’t bite on that one.
Tony and Mary Ann Paino drove their white F down from New York on
Saturday. It was a last-minute decision that we are glad they made.
They will soon join the ranks of Floridians who own 300s.
Three white
Gs were on show. Don Verity brought his from Rhode Island. It has
one of the nicest original interiors. Don likes to drive his G all
over the east coast. He found it a few years ago sitting on a used
car lot, proving that there is still hope. Andy Mikonis’ white
G from Illinois decided to act up at the meet. Friday, instead of
mule barging, he made a parking lot repair to the ball and trunnion U
joint. Allan Moon was chauffer to Andy and the driveshaft, taking
them to lots of exciting places. Saturday the 3rd G showed
up, driven by Bruce Paul. We’ve seen his other Mopars and we
were glad to finally see his G.
George Riehl
showed up bringing Eleanor and the black J. The J is one of those
dependable 300s. (Eleanor is pretty dependable too.) We must note
our disappointment that George did not treat us to one of his famous
parking lot burn-outs. And he only mildly increased the heart rate
of passengers on route to New Hope with a J demonstration of speed
and power. Next time!
Peter Fitch
brought his Silver Series 300K – a sharp car. This was Peter’s
first meet. He promptly joined the Pentastate Region so it couldn’t
have been too bad. Every car has its tale. To avoid removing all of
the rust preventers under the paint, Pete and his crew removed the
original paint with razor blades. It is a handsome job, but we still
would have liked to watch this. The always immaculate beige 300K
convertible was driven from Canada by Bill Elder. Louise is one of
the charter “Shop till you drop” clubbers. Bill’s
K had a mysterious heating problem the last few meets. At high
speeds and (Bill doesn’t say how high) the coolant would leak
out. He found the problem just before the meet. The lower radiator
hose clamp (original hog, knuckle buster type) had so neatly and
precisely cracked in two that it remained in place but had no holding
power. Don Cole brought his black ram 300K convertible. It ran
great. Those who went to the Boston meet may remember it as a mobile
sculpture in his garage, a piece here and a piece there. We recall
the engine on a stand as a great place to park a beer. Hard to
believe that it is the same car. Don took home the first place
People’s Choice award in his category.
Jerry
Frederick was not without a 300. His black on black 300L convertible
was usually parked next to Chris’ F. Jerry can make the best
air conditioning hoses around, not to mention the rest of the car.
By far the
biggest concentration of cars was the great Hurst horde. Howard and
Vivian Stoll not only brought one but bought one. (Howard’s
line.) We’re not sure of the Hurst count but we think it makes
4 – maybe 5 for Howard. Dudley and Maxine Finneyfrock brought
their always-looks-good Hurst. They discovered that rush hour on
I-95 on Friday afternoon with an overturned tractor trailer is no fun
at all. But THEY are. Jay and Katherine Fisher brought their Hurst.
Like many Hursts, it did not care to sit and idle and made it clear
to Jay that it was happiest when moving. Jay received the second
place People’s choice award for his category, 300J –
Hurst. Jeff and Leslie Miklas came with some of their tribe in the
Hurst. This was another used car lot car but it never quite made it
onto the lot. Excellent timing! Allan and Gloria Moon brought
“Thirsty”, his aptly named Hurst. For the first time in
its existence, it did not require an on-road repair job, but it was a
short trip from Maryland and so does not guarantee future excitements
may not be theirs.
The rest of
the club members had mainly Mopars to drive. Many had tales of woe
about their 300s. All were green with envy and vowed to have their
300s ready, soon.
Our club’s
official first Charter Member Octogenarian was in his ’68
convertible. Lew Frazer is always a treat. We wish you many more
Lew. Every meet, Lew manages to fish out a receipt from the depths
of his filing cabinet 300 to show us how much cheaper things used to
be. The other ’68 300 convertible was driven by Ken Anello and
family. Ken had his car equipped with a burglar alarm system that he
sells.
Ray and Jo
Ann Jones brought their van. Between a bad power steering pump and a
quick trip to Virginia to become first time grandparents, they ran
out of time to get their Hurst ready. Frank and Gladys Moran came
from Connecticut in a Dodge. Frank had radiator hose problems and
like many of us missing the caravan, discovered that Peddlar’s
Village is not easy to find. Just ask Bea and Tom Gorse. They
absolutely promise that their ram K will be at the next meet. They
say that it might not be cosmetically restored, but it will be
running. Tom and Bea bought it on the way home from the Virginia
meet.
Don Rook
drove a greenhouse. He and Kathy may have been issued tags for a
Chrysler van but we know better from looking at the interior.
Another Arkansan showed up at the meet (No not Bill). Marlin Thyer
will argue with anybody that the 300B is the best of the 300s. Ask
him at the next meet.
Dave Schwandt
brought his decal-ed tractor trailer complete with “Hemi”
his million mile plus cat. Good name for a traveling Himalayan.
Dave also supplied much of the entertainment Saturday night, with
videos of the 300F story. Showing his blue F at the Texas meet and
buying the big blue 300D in Bandera. Dave with the assistance of his
East Coast Distributors also brought the 300 logo mugs that he is
selling.
Rus Vaughan
finally made it. He was trying to get to a meet for a long time and
we are glad everything worked out. Another New Englander showing up,
Jerry Kocur brought his ’73 Challenger he’s owned since
new. That F of his is stubborn. Jerry gets it ready weeks in
advance of the meet only to have it break down just prior to
departure. Don Warnaar is a true 300 nut. Not too many people would
show up with screws holding one’s broken wrist together.
Ouch! Don apologized for not driving a 300, but the new van is much
easier on the wrist. Terry McTaggart flew a big bird to the meet.
He has promised to not only have the D convertible at the next meet,
but also the F.
Fall meet
hosts Bill and Bev Spear enjoyed the meet without their C. But we
surely did miss it. They promise a superb meet, complete with
folding chairs and a moveable keg. They are planning an all-out good
time meet. Len and Betty Astroth, spring 94 co-hosts, were there to
let everyone know that they are planning an absolute bang-up meet
too. Len just looks so much better in a black F though.
Mike and
Linda Burke brought the Club Store van. Mike also had the sample
leather for Fs at the meet. Looks very good. Aside from hauling
club stuff with him, he also brought the C&D hood letters with
him that Ken Mack had made up. They sold like ice cream on a
95-degree day. The Burkes, along with the Riehls will co-host the
1994 fall meet in Michigan.
Tom Turner
did not bring a 300, but was one half of the required weight
allowance for the back seat of George’s J. Tom is a glutton
for punishment. Why else agree to be president of an unruly mob?
The vice-president of said unruly mob was also 300-less, but he did
have Carol with him. Gil Cunningham is also another future meet
host. The 25th annual spring meet in Tallahassee, Florida
should prove very interesting. Another southern twosome, Frank and
Carolyn Markert of North Carolina drove up just to see the meet.
Frank has a ’57 Saratoga, but he is looking for a C.
It snowed
just two weeks before the meet where Bruce Brownell lives in upstate
New York. His C had a slight charging problem and there wasn’t
enough time to work on it, but Bruce still made it with his meet
crew. Dedication! Mark Rayner brought his silver ’63 and was
seen training his young son on the finer points of how to judge cars.
In fact, son spotted a defect that was worth at least 5 points that
Dad missed!
Less and
Priscilla McCurdy showed up. Les was driving a ’90 New Yorker
5th Avenue Special Edition. It looks just like a
convertible but it isn’t. We were all happy to see Les since
his stroke. It’s not quite a 300 meet without those two there.
Bunches of
locals showed up Saturday at Peddlar’s Village. Ron Chuchola
dropped by with his ’68 New Yorker. Rick Yiengst came with
tales of horror, but no L. Bob Brown and Bob Donatucci both kicked
some tires and chewed the fat with us. In fact, Bob Brown got two of
his buddies to join the club right then and there. Welcome new
members Gus Martini and Miles Buchman. Miles owns a shell pink C and
a red G. We hope to see them and their 300s soon. Tony Rinaldi and
Ken Pippart, two more “close-by” members, also checked
in.
Tom and Marie
Trexler, our meet hosts, brought their ’57 Saratoga. Tom has
owned this one for almost 20 years. Nice paint on it too. (Should
be too, as Tom works for Sherwin Williams). They both did an
outstanding job as hosts. There has never been a meet host yet so
conscientious as Tom, who even wore an apron in the hospitality room
so we would all know who he was. Aside from keeping the weather
perfect for us (How did they manage?), the hotel was friendly and
courteous, the parking lot roped off, the trips well planned (and not
too many to detract from parking lot duties) and the slide show
Saturday night of the 1972 Ann Arbor meet was a real treat. Thanks,
you two. We all enjoyed it. Hope you do it again real soon.
People’s
Choice Award Winners
Group
1: 1955 C300 – 1958 300D
1st
Place: 300B owned by Bob Valpey, Center Harbor, New Hampshire
2nd
Place: C300 owned by roger Williams, Easton, Pennsylvania
Group
2: 1959 300E – 1962 300H
1st
Place: 300F owned by Chris Frederick, Pottsville, Pennsylvania
2nd
Place: 300E convert owned by Robert Young, Damascus, Maryland
Group
3: 1963 300J – 1970 300 Hurst
1st
Place: 300K convert owned by Don Cole, Irwin, Pennsylvania
2nd
Place: 300 Hurst owned by Jay Fisher, Clark, New Jersey
Long
Distance: Andy Mikonis – 300G – 770 miles from
Rivergrove, Illinois
Hard
Luck: Don Cole – 300K convert – rear U joint failure on
interstate
300s
at Bucks County
C300:
Roger Williams
300B:
Bob Valpey
300C:
Bob Hagy convert, William DiCiurcio convert
300E:
Robert Young convert
300F:
Bill Codner convert, Chris Frederick, Tony Paino
300G:
Andy Mikonis, Bruce Paul, Don Verity
300J:
George Riehl
300K:
Don Cole convert, Bill Elder convert
300L:
Jerry Frederick
Hurst:
Dudley Finneyfrock, Jay Fisher, Allan Moon, Jeff Miklas, Howard Stoll
(2)
1963:
Mark Rayner
1968:
Ken Anello, Lew Frazer convert
Thanks to Bill Elder for typing this article for the web