Our Corvette Club is dying on the vine...how to save it?!?!?!?
09-12-2011, 07:03 AM
#21
I hate to say it, but part of the problem is the Corvette Forum. I never looked to join a club because a lot of the time I would join a club just for information about my car or motorcycle or whatever I need to know about. Now I'm not saying everybody should quit the Forum so they can join a car club. But you must admit THIS is an online car club. And that's why I haven't looked to join an actual club.
09-12-2011, 08:01 AM
#22
My personal feeling about corvette only shows is that when you attend them, numerous people will enter one that is right off the showroom floor. To me, there is no purpose in doing that when you've spent no blood, sweat, & MONEY reviving an old classic.
09-12-2011, 08:15 AM
#23
Drifting
I looked into joining the Richmond Corvette Club which has a nice show annually but when I looked at the club calender it was rich guys and their significant others finding ways to drive their C5-6's to The Homestead for a weekend of golf or something similar. it wasn't about the cars at all so I didn't join. I'd like to be part of a group that likes to drive our cars somewhere interesting in a day, a morning, an evening, and maybe even have sessions together around taking care of these cars, etc. There is a classic vehicle show here every Friday night at a sports park where about 100 classic vehicles of all kinds show up but it's a static show, not one that goes somewhere. I'd like to go on rally's where we have to do it in a specified time, find a place with a simple map and no gps, face some modest challenges, go to VIR and watch others race for an overnight, etc. No such luck so far.
I've found the club route to be a non starter so far but maybe I'm too new at 68 to the Corvette Scene when I bought the car and raced it, re engineered it, modified it to my tastes, drive it weekly and love to drive on routes 5 and 10 in Va. where the corners sometimes say 35-45mph max and I go through them at 60-75 hoping cops aren't looking.
Lance P.
I've found the club route to be a non starter so far but maybe I'm too new at 68 to the Corvette Scene when I bought the car and raced it, re engineered it, modified it to my tastes, drive it weekly and love to drive on routes 5 and 10 in Va. where the corners sometimes say 35-45mph max and I go through them at 60-75 hoping cops aren't looking.
Lance P.
09-12-2011, 09:02 AM
#24
Drifting
i'm reading this thread and see that the c3 crowd, including myself,don't seem comfortable siting around doing non car related stuff.i think i would feel much more comfortable with a classic car group that turned their own wrenches.how about a 60 plus c3 club.i'll join next year.
09-12-2011, 09:03 AM
#25
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St. Jude Donor '11
Unfortunately most clubs have turned into social clubs and not car clubs. That's why I ceased to be a member. When I find one that's more about the car then I may rejoin.A few c-3s but you might as well be driving a mustang.
Club’s Motto: “We Meet to Eat and Cruise for Food.”
Well, you get the idea.
09-12-2011, 09:23 AM
#26
Drifting
If we had four or five or six or ten of us we could have fun over the road destination races with a limit of ten over the speed limit, interesting roads, drive the skyline drive as a group, rent a lift and pore over each other's cars underneath to fully understand them, etc. Rally's on time, etc. Car based things.
Heck, I'm just getting to the point of beginning to think about sway bars and their role and to be honest don't understand all of the conversations concerning them front and rear quite yet. A member who had them done who could put their car up on the rented for the day lift and explain it to the rest of us would be worth their weight in gold. How about the distributor recurving? I have the kit and plan to do that this winter in my garage....another mild adventure.
This winter I'm going to unbolt my seats and find out how to do the carpet and insulation better so the carpet doesn't move when I get in...another new thing for me.
I agree with Bill Carson and will only tell you what someone told me when I turned 60....."we may all live to 85 or so nowadays but it won't be without accommodation from age 60 on!" He was right two artificial knees and two artificial hips later!
Lance P.
Heck, I'm just getting to the point of beginning to think about sway bars and their role and to be honest don't understand all of the conversations concerning them front and rear quite yet. A member who had them done who could put their car up on the rented for the day lift and explain it to the rest of us would be worth their weight in gold. How about the distributor recurving? I have the kit and plan to do that this winter in my garage....another mild adventure.
This winter I'm going to unbolt my seats and find out how to do the carpet and insulation better so the carpet doesn't move when I get in...another new thing for me.
I agree with Bill Carson and will only tell you what someone told me when I turned 60....."we may all live to 85 or so nowadays but it won't be without accommodation from age 60 on!" He was right two artificial knees and two artificial hips later!
Lance P.
09-12-2011, 09:46 AM
#28
Le Mans Master
San Diego still has a Corvette only show - Plastic Fantastic - which usually gets an excellent turnout of all years of corvette, its sponsored and put on by one of the Corvette clubs here in town.
I can however relate to the woes of car clubs mentioned in the above posts, I've been a member of two different clubs, one was so top heavy with older folks that I was the same age as some of the other members children, they had large events like barbeques at the bay where a member would bring his ski boat and folks would go skiing, but it was hard to relate to the other members.
The last club I was in had less of that, there were some younger members with C5's who did speed events out in the desert, right up until one of them destroyed his car then the club had to distance itself from activities of that sort.
We were sponsored by a local chevy dealer, who would clear half their lot for the annual show, there would be decent turn out of members and even some non-members but the turn out would always be 90% C5, the last one I went to had 2-C3 entries.
It was nice to have a dealer sponsor, we even had a standing discount at the parts department, thats a pointless perk for a C3 owner though, chevy parts departments carry no parts for C3's anymore, they carry almost no parts for the ubiquitos gen I small block.
The clubs that seem to make it to most events out here tend to be hot rod clubs, the mopar club here is very active and has probably the best looking muscle cars in the county,
I have been back with the street machine club that I cruised with in the late 70's - all the same guys as then, some with the same cars, we go to the local cruises with our cars. There are no dues, no meetings (scheduled anyway) we still work on each others cars. Several of us took the road trip to hot august nights this year, we plan to drive up to some los angeles events in the near future. still go to swap meets.
I will probably never be a member of a corvette only club again.
I can however relate to the woes of car clubs mentioned in the above posts, I've been a member of two different clubs, one was so top heavy with older folks that I was the same age as some of the other members children, they had large events like barbeques at the bay where a member would bring his ski boat and folks would go skiing, but it was hard to relate to the other members.
The last club I was in had less of that, there were some younger members with C5's who did speed events out in the desert, right up until one of them destroyed his car then the club had to distance itself from activities of that sort.
We were sponsored by a local chevy dealer, who would clear half their lot for the annual show, there would be decent turn out of members and even some non-members but the turn out would always be 90% C5, the last one I went to had 2-C3 entries.
It was nice to have a dealer sponsor, we even had a standing discount at the parts department, thats a pointless perk for a C3 owner though, chevy parts departments carry no parts for C3's anymore, they carry almost no parts for the ubiquitos gen I small block.
The clubs that seem to make it to most events out here tend to be hot rod clubs, the mopar club here is very active and has probably the best looking muscle cars in the county,
I have been back with the street machine club that I cruised with in the late 70's - all the same guys as then, some with the same cars, we go to the local cruises with our cars. There are no dues, no meetings (scheduled anyway) we still work on each others cars. Several of us took the road trip to hot august nights this year, we plan to drive up to some los angeles events in the near future. still go to swap meets.
I will probably never be a member of a corvette only club again.
09-12-2011, 09:47 AM
#29
09-12-2011, 09:55 AM
#30
Le Mans Master
- Stuffed dolls leaning up against the car or posed within (WTF do dolls have to do with cars?)
- Little plastic models of the car on a turntable set on the air cleaner (dude! I'm standing next to the real thing, I dont need to see a plastic model of your car)
- Signs (OK if you are going for the Riddler trophy a sign might be appropriate, but if you have a plain ol 69 camaro with a DZ motor built by local shop X I dont give a flying flip)
- stuffed animals (belong in your daughters bedroom)
- Mirrors (if you are going to put a mirror under your car, make sure there is something to look at other than a chrome diff cover and traction bars)
09-12-2011, 09:59 AM
#31
I get diaasapointed when I see a late model vette at a show and I walk over to it to see the only thing different than a showroom example is an airbrush paint job on the underside of the hood. It's not an art show, it's a car show.
09-12-2011, 10:18 AM
#33
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DC Area Events Coordinator
Use this as an example. We have a blast!
http://www.corvetteclubofamerica.org/
Look at the events page. Get going! DO IT! It's easy to generate enthusiasm as we all love our cars. Have a C3 night! Sponsor a tech session on waxing. Changing shocks, tune-up, reading codes on a C3, setting-up the interior, etc.
http://www.corvetteclubofamerica.org/
Look at the events page. Get going! DO IT! It's easy to generate enthusiasm as we all love our cars. Have a C3 night! Sponsor a tech session on waxing. Changing shocks, tune-up, reading codes on a C3, setting-up the interior, etc.
09-12-2011, 10:41 AM
#34
Use this as an example. We have a blast!
http://www.corvetteclubofamerica.org/
Look at the events page. Get going! DO IT! It's easy to generate enthusiasm as we all love our cars. Have a C3 night! Sponsor a tech session on waxing. Changing shocks, tune-up, reading codes on a C3, setting-up the interior, etc.
http://www.corvetteclubofamerica.org/
Look at the events page. Get going! DO IT! It's easy to generate enthusiasm as we all love our cars. Have a C3 night! Sponsor a tech session on waxing. Changing shocks, tune-up, reading codes on a C3, setting-up the interior, etc.
09-12-2011, 10:46 AM
#35
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DC Area Events Coordinator
Not really, just who showed up that day. THere are lots of C3 owners. Yes, there are C5- C6 owners as well, but they are all Corvettes with a passion to share, be together, and enjoy the car!
09-12-2011, 10:48 AM
#36
09-12-2011, 11:25 AM
#37
Melting Slicks
I've been trying to find a good vette club since I bought my '70. I've gone to meetings and talked to members but they all are supper clubs. I'm looking for a group that likes to work on the cars and drive them like they were meant to to be driven. You would think that in the Chicago area there would be enough people with the same interest that we could start a club and enjoy these machines. But unfortunately all I have found are a bunch of C5-6 owners getting together to eat. All they have in common is they all own a vette. Sorry but I would rather have greasy hands than greasy food! 
09-12-2011, 11:42 AM
#38
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09-12-2011, 12:16 PM
#40
Melting Slicks
Obviously you need to be doing something different. Try a few of these.
1. Get your old mailing list of members and send them a questionere. Call it an exit interview. What would they like to see/do different. Offer them a one time dues discount to rejoin. They were members once, maybe some of them would again.
2. Do something similar from the lists from your old shows (say maybe back 5 years). Try NOT to solicit members of other clubs, if possible.
3. If you're not affiliated with a dealer, do so now. Have them include a membership application with every new Vette they sell. Leave more at the parts counter. Keep some in your car, when you see a car you don't know, put it under the wiper.
4. Join a national organization like NCCC if you are not already. For a small group, the savings in insurance alone will be worth the cost if you do 1-2 events per year that require it. Then get involved! Drive as a club to their shows, rallyes, auto-x etc.
1. Get your old mailing list of members and send them a questionere. Call it an exit interview. What would they like to see/do different. Offer them a one time dues discount to rejoin. They were members once, maybe some of them would again.
2. Do something similar from the lists from your old shows (say maybe back 5 years). Try NOT to solicit members of other clubs, if possible.
3. If you're not affiliated with a dealer, do so now. Have them include a membership application with every new Vette they sell. Leave more at the parts counter. Keep some in your car, when you see a car you don't know, put it under the wiper.
4. Join a national organization like NCCC if you are not already. For a small group, the savings in insurance alone will be worth the cost if you do 1-2 events per year that require it. Then get involved! Drive as a club to their shows, rallyes, auto-x etc.