The Annual Meeting of the Montana Cross Country T Association 2009

The meeting was held in Haugan, Montana on October 11th, 2009. The meeting was called to order by President Mike Robison at 11:00am.

Members and officers present: Mike Cuffe, Doug Langel, Mike Robison, Mark Hutchinson, Janice Hutchinson, Mike Stormo, Jackie Stormo, Nan Robison, Dave Robison, Tony Cervoski, Janet Cervoski, Susie Carnegie, Bill Mullins, Rick Carnegie, Tom Carnegie, and Jillian Robison.

The minutes were passed around (as printed in the newsletter). Corrections were noted. There was a motion to approve the minutes as corrected. It was seconded and passed.

The floor was opened to nominate two directors to fill the openings left by Doug Langel and Tom Carnegie for the one year term they were elected to last year. Doug Langel. was nominated and seconded. There was a motion to close the nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Doug Langel Motion passed and Doug Langel is a director.

Tom Carnegie was nominated and seconded. There was a motion to close the nominations and cast a unanimous ballot for Tom Carnegie, Motion passed and Tom Carnegie is a director. These are two year terms.

The floor was opened for rule changes. There was a motion and a second to change rule #7 to replace the word “drafting” with the word “tailgating”. Issues discussed were the fact that it is unsafe for a Model T to drive in the left hand lane in order to not draft during a pass or after being passed. The motion was amended to also include in rule #7, “Drivers must maintain a safe following distance.” It was seconded and passed. The amended motion passed.

There was a motion to change rule #12 to include a sentence stating “Turn signals are optional.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion and a second to change rule #16 to include a sentence stating “Windshield wiper of any type required.” Discussion included the need to require a windshield wiper or to make it optional. The motion was amended to change the word “required” to “optional.” The amendment was seconded and passed. The motion was seconded and passed.

There was a motion and a second to change rule #32 by deleting the first sentence that states “Modifications of the venturi and throat of carburetors allowed as long as the Association’s .710 gauge does not pass.” and adding in its place “Throat of carburetor may be smoothed as long as the Association’s .710 gauge does not pass. No altering of the basic carburetor design is allowed.” Issued discussed included leaving the carburetor stock with no smoothing, how you could gauge if someone has smoothed the carburetor in 80 years, and this change makes the rules more objective. The motion passed.

There was a motion to strike from rule #33 “performing enhancing.” It was seconded and passed.

Discussion included monitoring issues and using pump gas only for the entire race. There was a motion and a second to add after rule #34 a rule stating “Coil box material optional.” Discussion included glue not being conductive in plywood and the fact that reproduction parts not being made of wood. Motion passed.

There was a motion and a second to add a new rule stating “Coil box must have divider in place.” Discussion included precluding anyone from using a Tru-Fire Ignition System, it is stock to have it in there, and also making more rules makes more work. The motion failed.

There was a motion to add a new rule stating “Engine splash pans are optional.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion to add a new rule stating “Hot air stove optional.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion to add a new rule stating “Type of high speed clutch optional.” It was seconded and failed.

There was a motion to change rule #38 to include a bullet point allowing the use of Timken Taper Bearings on the pinion bearing in the rear axle. It was seconded and failed.

There was a motion to change rule #38 to state that “Ruckstell rear ends must be locked in low.” It was seconded and failed.

There was a motion to change rules #65 and #66 so that they do not conflict. The motion was to add to rule #66 after “until three have been found qualified.” “as per rule #65.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion to add a rule stating how the cars are to be flagged out on the second day. The motion was to flag out the cars by lottery the second day. It was seconded and discussed. The motion failed.

There was some discussion about issues from the prior year race and if rules needed to be made to address these issues. One issue was whether or not a car should have a seat riser. This was decided it was a non-issue. Another issue discussed was replacing the stock ignition switch with toggle switches. There was a motion to add a rule stating “Original ignition switch must be used.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion to add a rule stating “The use of neoprene seals is optional.” It was seconded and passed.

There was a motion to add to rule #22 a sentence stating “Radiator must be made of stock material.” It was seconded. There was discussion on how to enforce this rule and the advantages to having an aluminum radiator. The vote was 6 to 6 and the president voted against the rule to break the tie. Motion failed.

There was discussion about the material that can be used for babbitting. Types of bearing were discussed, but it was decided it was a non-issue. There was a brief intermission at 12:20pm.

The floor was opened to old business. All old business was handled during the year. The floor was opened to new business. Mike Cuffe. gave a congratulations to Mike Robison and Jillian Robison for their marriage over the summer. Also, he discussed the issues during the prior year Montana 500 event and how well the president handled them. Finally, Mike Cuffe. discussed the Montana Majestic Mountain T Tour that will be held during August 2010. For more information please visit www.montanamajesticmountainttour.com.

The route for the 2010 Montana 500 was discussed. There was a motion to have the 2010 Montana 500 run from Fairview to Lewistown on day 1, from Lewistown to Lincoln on day 2, and from Lincoln to Missoula (Bonner) on day 3. It was seconded and passed.

Other discussion included a route from Fairview to Jordan, Jordan to Great Falls, and Great Falls to Missoula. Also, discussed was the idea of having a cut off date for registration so that hotels may be reserved. Mike R. will look into the host hotel at each city. It was decided to not have a registration date cutoff or a limit to the number of cars.

There was some discussion about getting new artwork for the 2010 advertising. There was a motion and a second for Mike Robison. to look into new artwork for the 2010 adverting costing up to $100. It was seconded and passed. Discussion included using the original artwork from the first run and making the artwork look safer than what is currently being used.

There was discussion about adding other classes such as coupes, no motions were made. The meeting was adjourned at 1:03pm