Issue link: https://imageup.uberflip.com/i/111779
crusin��� cronies The ���Automobile Aficionados Group��� or ���Car Buffs��� meets on the first Saturday of each month (except in December). We welcome all Sun Lakers and guests who enjoy car talk, taking tours with our new or old cars and having a meal out. Our first Saturday of the month meeting begins at 8:30 am in the parking lot of the Main Clubhouse to show off our cars, look at everyone else���s cars, and socialize. From there, we either meet in the Clubhouse or caravan to a different location to have our monthly meeting and breakfast. The exact location is announced well ahead of time. As of this printing, our next meeting will be Sat., March 2. All group activities are planned, organized and directed by volunteers. We are a great group. Join us. If you have suggestions for future activities or would like more information about the Crusin��� Cronies, contact Ron Chesnut at 769-3253, ronaldinventor@ aol.com; Richard Kramer at 769-9157, tacoo1@msn.com; Dick Sinner at 9415129, rsinner@dc.rr.com; Lavinia Mount at 769-2781, dlmount@dc.rr.com; or Jay Jesus 845-4205, lakcej5@dc.rr.com. Gordon & Lori Morache: The 1970 El Camino. Some call the El Camino ���the Cowboy Cadillac,��� a vehicle that offers the comforts of a passenger car with the hauling capabilities of a truck. The Moraches have had a love affair with the 1970 El Camino since seeing it on the showroom floor in 1970. Gordon didn���t know how he was going to talk Lauri into the cowl induction hood with the white racing strip on it. One evening after work, he took her to the Long Beach dealer near them. The dealer was closed but they looked in the window at a black El Camino. When Lauri said, ���Oh, look at that hood; we have to have that hood,��� Gordon knew he was going to get what he wanted. They ordered their El Camino new and drove it home in the spring of 1970, for $3,973. It was going to be used in Gordon���s job supervising construction of homes located from San Diego to Porter Ranch. Soon, Gordon had put on 180k miles and decided to put a new engine into it. Gordon built and installed a 402 cubic inch V/8 engine with 450 hp, keeping the old engine to rebuild someday. That ���someday��� came soon enough. In 1978, the car was stolen and stripped. The Sheriff found the shell of the El Camino in Watts, in south L.A., just as some teenagers were getting ready to set it on fire. The little monsters had transmission fluid smeared everywhere to hide any fingerprints. They went to the salvage yard and cried after seeing what had been done to their beautiful car. They bought back what was left to build her back the way she had been. They spent two years looking for original parts in junk yards, counting themselves lucky to have the original SS-396 engine. Gordon blue printed it and it now has more horse power than originally. The engine was installed along with all the other parts they had found so the car has matching numbers now. They enjoy driving her on cruises with the ���Sun Lakes Cruising Cronies.��� She has been part of the family for 43 years and they hope to never part from her��� until their son inherits the ���Cowboy Cadillac.��� 24 | sun lakes lifestyles | march 2013 | social clubs & groups | sun lakes lifestyles | march 2013 |25