Story and photos by Mark Wing (unless otherwise noted)
Larry held a work day at his garage immediately following the Tn’Vittles breakfast. There were a lot of members in attendance. In addition to Larry’s Garage regulars, we also enjoyed the company of club members that we see less frequently such as Les Haley (Amarillo, Texas), Joshua Line, Les Mathson (who joined the club recently), and Paul Musgrave (who had been working out-of-state for the past two years).
Les Haley brought along a 1926/27 engine block and other parts for restoration and rebuilding. Soon, Larry is going to take the block to Empire Engines for machining. Les wants to build this car with a wood speedster body that he has in his inventory. On this day, Les was going to get all the parts unloaded and then have Larry assess their condition.
Joshua Line works for the local chapter of the Ballut Abyad Shriners. “Shriners are a brotherhood of men committed to family, engaged in ongoing personal growth, and dedicated to providing care for children and families in need. Our backgrounds and interests are diverse, but we are bound together by our shared values, our membership in Freemasonry, and a desire to have fun, do good and build relationships that can last a lifetime.” Among Joshua’s duties is to maintain a Shriner-owned Model T firetruck. The starter for the firetruck was smoking so he removed it and brought the parts for Larry’s opinion and help. Larry determined that a loose connector to wire contact was making a high-resistance contact and would need to be soldered by a local shop in the vicinity that has the best equipment for the task.
Joshua also told us that a 1919 Model T calliope, currently in the possession of another Shriners chapter, will be relocated to our community. We’re really looking forward to seeing that calliope!
Les Mathson and his wife Terry joined our club almost a year ago, but due to the COVID-19 shutdowns, almost no one had met them. Now that things have opened up, the Mathson’s 1917 Model T touring car was transported from Rio Rancho to Larry’s Garage in Corrales. Paul Duncan provided the transport on his flatbed trailer on June 4th, the day before the club breakfast and work day. This family heirloom was bought new by Les’ great-grandfather so it’s been in the same family for 104 years! The Mathson’s lived in Wisconsin until 6 years ago when a work opportunity brought them to the southwest. Les had recently inherited the T after his father’s death and, due to the pandemic, had driven it very little. Prior to coming to New Mexico, this Model T had always been a Wisconsin car. At Larry’s shop, it was an opportunity to change the oil, flush the radiator, tune up the coils, check the wheels, and consider replacing old white tires that are showing signs of deterioration. Previously, Les had found the touring car hard to start. After the coil and carburetor adjustments (Corrales is at a 5,000 ft elevation), it started very quickly and sounded very smooth!
Welcome new members Les and Terry. We’re really looking forward to your participation in upcoming Tin Lizzie events!
Kirk and Kameron Peterson were busy trying to solve an electrical problem on “Buster” in preparation for the upcoming Montana 500 race. Kirk first suspected a faulty ignition switch was preventing the 1924/25 coupe from running on magneto, but further research showed that an aftermarket charger was to blame. Now that that problem is sorted out, some additional tweaks and and Kirk and Larry should be ready to begin their road trip to Montana. The race is headquartered in Kalispell, MT with most participants arriving at the Hampton Inn between June 17 – 19th. Good luck and best wishes Kirk and Larry and thank you Larry for a fun and memorable work day at your garage!
