WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

[Duke W.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

All articles pubished in The Corvette Restorer are contributed by NCRS members, and I know Vinnie endeavors to find a balance of articles that will appeal to various members' interests.

Not everyone is interested in how to overhaul a 1955 windshield wiper motor, and some members tire of "barn find" articles, but I think most members are interested in major events such as regionals and nationals, and it's also a way to publicize Flight awards and the various other awards for service to the organization and recognize those individuals, nationally, so some pages are reserved for such articles.

I recall suggesting to Vinnie that he increase the number of pages, but there was some reason, I think technical, that this could not be done. (Maybe you can refresh my memory, Vinnie.)

I've authored/coauthored about a half dozen articles in the last ten years, mostly fairly technical (tires, axle overhaul, steering gear overyhaul, 300 HP engine restoration, managing compression ratio, and ignition points come to mind), and IMO if you have a gripe about lack of articles that appeal to you, get busy and write one.

Duke

[Rich C.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

It doesn't sound like a 'shortage' of tech articles. I own a 73 and a 96, I know the multitude of resto articles that are submitted are going to be about C-1 and C-2's. I would NOT gripe about that. Restoration techniques can often be applied to all generations of Corvettes, I find all of them interesting! But the show coverage...one issue covers the national convention, then coverage of the Cypress meet. To be blunt I don't care to see photos of what everyone had for dinner!!! Why not post show coverage on the NCRS web site for those that want to see it? Someone did that for one of the regional shows and it was great, large format photos of the attendees and their cars.It's starting to look like Vette Vues as far as show coverage. If this issue had come before I re-newed my subscription last week, I think I would have let it run out.


1973 LS-4 454 coupe owned 24 years (7 of those with a respectable front bumper)
1996 LT-4 Collector Edition coupe owned 13 months
Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA-currently on tap!

[Mark D.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

Ahh dubble dawg dares ya Cramden!

Anonymus to

I'll go back to Vetteheads:-))

[Jim D.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

The Restorer needs more substantive restoration content. Event coverage seems to take over many issues, but that's content only salient to those who attended; and that's probably only 20% of the membership, if that. I have two restoration-type articles in the queue right now and they cannot find their way into print because of event coverage.

I, as well as other members I've talked to, have ZERO interest in event coverage. I've always thought it was used as filler due to the lack of meaningful RESTORATION articles (hence the name "RESTORER").

[Gene M.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

Vinnie, This is Susan responding regarding you not receiving the WNY-Newsletter. I just spoke with our Editor, Jim Kronenwetter, who does an excellent job on our publication. He confirmed that he uses the National mass mailings through the NCRS web-site and sends each issue to the following people: Editors, NCRS Board of Directors, Officers, and Team Leaders and has been doing so since he became Editor. If you are not receiving our newsletter, we need to find out why.
Susan Manno, Chairperson Western New York Chapter

[Al R.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

I, too am in favor of ditching the event coverages and having more tech articles. Doesn't sound like articles are a problem from Vinnie's e-mail response. Event coverages, meals, road tours, etc can be on the web site for those who wish to view them. I was also dis-appointed with all the coverage devoted to pilots, when a large # of other service men who purchased vettes with their hard earned combat pay were basically forgotten. Enjoyed the early history lesson on the founding of NCRS, though. The year of the 64 was also disappointing without any tech articles. Just my 2 cents worth!! Al

[Vinnie P.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

I was also dis-appointed with all the coverage devoted to pilots, when a large # of other service men who purchased vettes with their hard earned combat pay were basically forgotten. Al

Al...I'm not getting in a war of words with anyone, and I appreciate your input...however, apparently you missed the inside front cover where I quote

While this story is specifically about the association of military aviators and Corvettes, I would never think or want to slight or exclude any veteran and I take this opportunity to thank ALL of our veterans/members. So thank you, every one of you who has served and also thanks to your families for their sacrifices while you served.

AND the bottom of the page of the inside rear cover

While this story was about military aviators, this issue is dedicated to the literally hundreds of NCRS members of the military aviation community and the thousands of our members who, as veterans and active duty service members, have bravely and honorably served and defended this country in peacetime and war. Thank you all for your service. Also a huge Thank You to each and every one of their spouses and families for their sacrifice.


And I'm closing this thread now.

[Vinnie P.]

Re: WHERE'S THE RESTORATION ARTICLES??? In the 'RESTORER?'

I received this email earlier today from Tom Russo member # 22903 and shared it with NCRS President, Dick Capello. He advised me to post Tom's response and re-lock the thread.

I was drafting this response this AM to add to the discussion re "where's Restorer articles." If you wish, you can add it as a final before or after closure

This question about the content mix has been raised before. I recall that under the former editor, he was always scratching around for articles. Now, the backlog is eighteen months. It very well could be that the tech-article advocates waited too long to fill up the article coffers and allowed the event-oriented advocates to fill the void with regional, national names, photos and award winners.

The board stepped in sought balance and set up The Corvette Restorer reward program...write articles and get hats, shirts and jackets. What we won't do for free, we do for a t-shirt! Now we have a plethora of articles, aging and waiting for their sole shot at a full-color, sixteen-thousand circulations, multi-Golden Quill awarded publication.

Editors do a great job for the membership in terms of balancing the demands of membership and, of course the board of directors. While I sit squarely in the tech-article advocacy camp, those 800 attendees at national conventions, also represent regional attendees who invest time and treasure to support chapters who host multiple chapter and regional events. So give em a few pages for their event-oriented stuff and keep em doing what they do...so I can continue to do what I believe should be the sole mission of an automotive hobby publication. Besides, some outside body thought enough of The Corvette Restorer with its mix to award it numerous times with the Golden Quill award.

I have contributed nearly a dozen technical articles to the Restorer, and with two in the queue, the first was published in 1997. This article described jack date codes for 1977-82 jacks differentiating the date code location from earlier C3 jack date codes. Other articles included yellow tire rims, Pace Car decal boxes (we judge em...I write em) and a series of three articles on Corvette buildsheets. Some obscure topics that popular Corvette magazines are not going to publish...they have to appeal to seven generations of Corvettes, original, restored and modified. I even get compliments from time to time.

As a freelance writer, I appreciate the tremendous effort to put a successful publication together like The Restorer and recognize that it represents our shot to reach 16,000 members, advertisers and sponsors. And, let's face it: No other hobby organization does what we do...build and maintain the Corvette body of knowledge.


Tom Russo
Corvette Buildsheet Book: A Study Guide to 1973-82 Build Records
www.hunt4cleanair.net
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The dream lives...enjoy the ride!