Sunday, February 20, 2011

New Tin Block Times Out the Door - Finally!

Finally got the new issue of the Tin Block Times in the mail this weekend.  Took a little longer than I'd have liked to get this issue done, but we had a few wrinkles to iron out, not the least of which was deciding to print some extras and mail a copy to every Crosley Auto Club member on the West Coast who isn't a member of West Coast club too- we gotta let these folks know what they're missing by not joining the West Coast Region! 

Another slowdown was the changeover in designers. My pal Richard Hansen has been doing the graphic work on the TBT since I took over as editor a few years back.  Richard always turned in a stellar job, and many club members went out of their way to let me know that they loved the way the magazine looked... so it was a big bummer when Richard had to head to Scotland for an emergency trip with no return in sight.    Enter Dean Seavers.
Dean has been a car guy from day one- he rebuilt his first engine (a Buick big block if I remember right) at 13 and has owned everything from an Isetta to a front engined slingshot dragster, with a big focus on British sports cars.  Dean has been heavily involved in the vintage Go Kart scene over the past ten years and designed the Kart club's newsletter- which was very similar to the TBT.  He'd long ago mentioned that if I ever needed help on the TBT he'd love to do it.  Richard left big shoes to fill, but Dean did a great job.

It helped that there was a lot of great stuff to work with- Mike Bainter turned in his as-always excellent blow by blow of the Sept meet, we concluded Marty Stein's epic history of the 1953 Nardi-Crosleys, new member Chuck Latty detailed his search for just the right sedan, and I reported on October's Joe Puckett Cup Hmod Race.  We wrapped the whole thing in a cover inspired by the Sportscar Specials Trend book from 1958:
All in all another great issue.  If you're a member, you'll be seeing it soon!