The "CRUISER" Newsletter

JAN. 2025 - THE CRUISER NEWSLETTER

AS THE WHEEL TURNS

By Roger Beauchamp, President

It was a great week, November being half over we decided to make the best

of the cool fall days. We did a quick trip Thursday to the Savoy in Cartersville. We just had to check out the new exhibit of expensive supercars, followed by a stop in the Savoy café for coffee and snacks.

Saturday we found our way to Jasper for the little league benefit car show. Our first thought was to just stop by and check out the cars, but the weather being mid 70s with sun we opted to spend the afternoon and show the Mustang. As the day progressed the sun dropped lower in the sky the wind definitely had that feeling of fall. Our usual cruising friend Greg was off for a Drive and Dine cruise with the Blairsville ‘Vette group. With no other Mountain Cruisers in attendance, we depended on new found show friends for conversation.

Its now one month later and the mid 70s temp have been replaced with 40s and cloud cover. With temperatures falling the car show season is about to close for another year, but still lots of Mountain Cruiser’s car activates coming up. An event is planed Saturday, January 18 to the Savoy followed up with a lunch stop in Cartersville. Coming up on the last Tuesday of each off-season month, a Drive and Dine. Pick your favorite eating location, and share the enjoyment with fellow cruisers. January’s choice is the Chevelle 66 in Murphy, NC. We will meet up at the Poole’s BBQ parking lot rain or shine. Bad weather, we will dine locally. Also last Saturday of each month our Cars and Coffee at the Ellijay Burger King, when it’s cool outside there is plenty of room inside for

conversation and fellowship.

Last…. If the opportunity pops up please join us at any business

meeting we welcome your comments and ideas.              

Roger

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR JANUARY, 2025

This calendar is dedicated to car events OTP (Outside The Perimeter) covering the North Georgia area.  www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com

---RECURRING EVENTS---

Saturday, 4th - Cars & Coffee at Morganton Baptist Church - 9511 Old Hwy 6, Morganton , GA. 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. (Recurring event-first Saturday of the month)

Sunday, 5th - Caffeine and Octane Car Show. Town Center at Cobb - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Sunday, 5th - WORSHIP Vintage and Classic Car Event - 1135 Woodstock Rd.,Roswell, GA. Vehicles must be 18 years old or older. 8:00am - 11:00am (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Friday, 10th - Apple Country Auto Club Cruise-In - Poole’s BBQ, 164 Craig St., E. Ellijay, GA. 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. (Recurring event-second Friday of the month)

Tuesday, 14th - ELLIJAY MOUNTIAN CRUISERS CLUB SOCIAL DINNER at El Reys Azteca. El Rays Mexican Restaurant - 6:00 PM (Second Tuesday)

Sunday, 12th - Dahlonega Car Club Cruise-In. 140 S.Chestatee St, Dahlonega,GA. 9:00am - 12:00pm (Recurring event-second Sunday of the month)

Saturday, 18th - Roo Mountain Winery Cars and Coffee. Roo Mountain Vineyards - 8:00 AM - ? (Recurring event-third Saturday of the month)

Saturday, 18th - Po Boys Cruise-In, Riverstone Plaza, 1447 Riverstone Parkway, Canton, GA. 3:00pm - 6:00pm (Recurring event-third Saturday of the month)

Friday, 24th - Georgia Mountain Classics DQ Cruise-In. 380 Progress Circle, Blue Ridge, GA. Blue Ridge Dairy Queen. 6:00pm - 8:00pm (Recurring event-fourth Friday of the month)

Saturday, 25th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS CARS AND COFFEE  Ellijay, BURGER KING - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-fourth Saturday of the month)

Tuesday, 28th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS DRIVE & DINE - Chevelle66 in Murphy, NC. Meet at Poole’s BBQ Ride-Share lot @ 11:00am.

NOTE: MANY RECURRING EVENTS HAVE SUSPENDED FOR THE WINTER. ALWAYS CHECK TO SEE IF AN EVENT IS ON-GOING

ADDITIONAL EVENTS FOR JANUARY

JANUARY 12TH, CRUISE-IN FOR ZACH @ WOODSTOCK OUTLET MALL - EXIT 6 I-575N - 11:00AM - 3:00PM

ZACH WAS DIAGNOSED WITH OSTEOSARCOMA AND AT AGE 15 HAS HAD MULTIPLE SESSIONS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, RADIATION AND LIMB AMPUTATION. DESPITE THIS HARSH TREATMENT, HIS CONDITION HAS WORSENED AND HE AND THE FAMILY HAVE DECIDE TO STOP TREATMENTS. ZACH LOVES CARS AND WOULD LIKE TO SEE AS MANY GREAT AUTOMOBILES AS POSSIBLE IN THE TIME LEFT. MEET ZACH AND FAMILY WITH YOUR COOL RIDE ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 12TH FROM 11:00AM TO 3:00PM AT THE WOODSTOCK OUTLET MALL OFF I-575 IN WOODSTOCK.

Saturday, 18th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS DRIVE TO SAVOY WITH LUNCH - DETAILS TBD - Meet up at Dollar General on Hwy 382 - wheels rolling at 9:30am.  This month lunch in the deli at the savoy!

7 Grocery Store Items Every DIY’er Should Have in the Shop

By Kyle Smith

(Reprinted by permission of Hagerty Media)

It’s easy to find things you “need” for your garage or shop while walking the aisles of a parts store or tool outlet. We often spend more time trying not to buy things in those situations. All those specialized items are designed to solve some problem we have during the processes of diagnosing, fixing, and maintaining our cars. But there are also a whole host of things not specifically designed for working on cars that are good to have in the shop, and a lot of them can be picked up on your next trip to buy pizza rolls. Here are seven items from the grocery store run that are worth having in the garage.

Distilled water

Clean water for rinsing parts as they are being cleaned or topping up batteries and cooling systems can be a lifesaver. Distilled means the water has been brought to a boil, the steam then condensed and collected in a storage container. As the water boils it leaves behind many of the impurities typically found in water, making the perfect H2O for situations where introducing things like calcium or iron can cause problems. Either of those chemicals can cause issues over the life of a lead-acid battery, or can lead to corrosion inside the coolant passages of an engine. We don’t need water this clean for everything, but it is handy to have.

Beverages

We gotta hit the obvious answer, right? The water may not be for drinking, but there should be some form of rehydration available in the garage. A coffee machine might be a better choice over a kegerator, and can likely be found on aisle six. Cans of pop, soda, or Coke are also great choices.

Muffin tins and baking sheets

Keep the nuts and bolts of your project organized by dropping them into muffin tins that can easily be labeled and shuffled about the shop without mixing things up. Baking sheets are nothing more than small, shallow drip trays and are perfect for keeping parts from rolling away during a tricky assembly or disassembly process. While you can buy these new, we have to recommend buying your garage muffin tins or baking sheets used. It’ll save you money and give a second life to tired old tins and sheets.

Aluminum foil

The utility of aluminum foil is surprising. It can easily be folded and scrunched to create masking for painting parts or shielding assemblies from fluid flowing out of a poorly placed drain plug. It’s also useful for blocking or containing weld spatter in tight interior spots where a tack weld might be needed but welding blankets or other protection might not fit.

Petroleum Jelly

I mean, it’s right there in the name. Why would anyone doubt if this stuff should be in the shop? A little dab of petroleum jelly is great for holding gaskets or seals in place during assembly or to give just a little extra slip to an o-ring so it doesn’t get pinched. It also helps with dry hands that come from working with solvents.

Turkey baster

Gross brake fluid is downright annoying to get out of the reservoir and the last thing we want to do is push said fluid through the system if we don’t have to. A turkey baster uses suction to pull up and hold a small amount of fluid, perfect for emptying out power steering pumps, brakes, and even coolant overflow tanks.

Scouring pads and cleaning brushes

After dinner we have to scrub metal pots and pans clean from baked-on grease and grime, then we walk out into the garage some nights just to do the same thing again. While we are often able to use much more aggressive solvents and detergents on car parts compared to cookware, the soft and non-marring yet tough scrubbers from the kitchen aisle are great for using on car parts too. Be extra careful around painted surfaces, though, and test just how abrasive the scrubber is on a small spot somewhere inconspicuous before really getting to scrubbin’. Brushes are perfect for small-parts cleaning, but be careful that the bristles don’t fall out and cause issues if left inside something like a carburetor.

OUR CLUB SPONSORS

Local companies and club Sponsors offer discounts

to Ellijay Mountain Cruisers members for car parts,

service specials and automotive events.

Being a REGULAR member of Ellijay Mountain Cruisers

allows members access to special group discounts for club related events and shows

and other discounts offered by vendors and sponsors!

Visit: www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com

and click CLUB SPONSORS for more details about each sponsor.

link to sponsors

NEXT CLUB MEETING:

Tuesday, 14th - ELLIJAY MOUNTIAN CRUISERS CLUB SOCIAL DINNER

at El Reys Azteca. El Rays Mexican Restaurant -
6:00 PM (Second Tuesday)