Loading

The Accelerator JANUARY 2019

The Mustang Owners Club of SouthEastern Michigan (MOCSEM) was founded in November 1975 by a group of people with the desire to protect the Ford Mustang’s role as one of the most attractive and fun-filled cars ever made. We are enthusiasts of all ages and from all walks of life who are enjoying a love affair with all generations of America’s premier Pony Car. Whether it’s a coupe, convertible or fastback from 1964-1⁄2 to the current models, we love them all. The mission of MOCSEM club members is to enjoy, collect, restore, and preserve the history of the Mustang along with the stories of the people and the roles that they played in making this one of the greatest cars of all time. Although Mustang ownership is not a requirement for club membership, your enthusiasm, expertise, and/or love of the automobile are most welcome.

Contents

  • From the Editor
  • The Boss' Corner
  • On the MOCSEM Calendar
  • MOCSEM Spreads Joy at December Meeting
  • MOCSEM Visits the Gilmore Museum
  • December General Meeting
  • Featured Member - Redux
  • Classified Ads

The Accelerator is the official publication of MOCSEM. Questions, comments or story ideas can be submitted to the Editor at editor@mocsem.org.

From the Editor

by Craig Zygmunt, MOCSEM Editor

I joined the MOCSEM Board in January 2010 as the Editor of The Accelerator, a job which also included the management of MOCSEM's web site. At that time, The Accelerator was published monthly and formatted for printing. Increased membership and rising production and postage costs forced us to rethink how the newsletter was distributed. Instead of mailing it to every member, we posted it on the MOCSEM web site for downloading and mailed it only to those who specifically requested it. Even with that model, my kids and I spent many a night stapling and folding newsletters for mailing and the club spent several thousand dollars a year producing hard copy newsletters.

Over time, we split the jobs of Editor and Web Administrator so I got out of the newsletter business and focused on the club's online presence. Distribution of the newsletter eventually evolved to online only, but it was still monthly and still formatted for printing. The club grew and thrived and basically became a world power during Mustang's 50th Anniversary year. If you were there, you know what I mean. Through all that, The Accelerator remained the center of the club, not just a source of news and information, but the consistent thread that tied everything together. It's the window into the soul of the club.

Out of necessity, I took a break last year from my job as MOCSEM's Web Administrator and lived life as a civilian. I've now rejoined the MOCSEM Board where I started years ago, as Editor. As I reflect on what The Accelerator has been for the club, I also need to look forward to what it needs to be. So with that in mind, I would like to introduce you to the new Accelerator.

This is a new format intended specifically for online consumption. It's modern, interactive and adaptive to any device. It's also built on a very easy to use platform that will allow us spend far less effort producing the newsletter and focus that effort on the content. We will publish monthly around the first day of each month. Content will continue to include information about club activities, insights from our President and others, member profiles, and Mustang news. Most importantly, The Accelerator will continue to be an integral and critical part of the MOCSEM world.

We're always looking for new and interesting content for The Accelerator. If you would like to have your Mustang featured in the newsletter, send us some photos and a short article telling us your Mustang's story. If you don't have photos, we make arrangements to get some at a club event. If you have an idea for an article, we'd also love to hear from you. All submissions should be emailed to editor@mocsem.org.

I'm looking forward to the coming year and am feeling very enthusiastic about taking The Accelerator forward in its new direction.

The Boss' Corner

by Mike Rey, MOCSEM President

Time sure does fly. Hard to believe it is 2019 already. Although we are hoping to make it one of the best years ever for MOCSEM. We have a very strong Board of Directors for 2019. This will be Sarah’s last year of grooming to finally step up and take over as President in 2020. She has done an amazing job as VP for last few years and I truly could not have done it without her and the rest of the board.

Looking forward to our 2019 planning meeting in February. Please don’t forget to strongly consider coming to Carlisle this year with the club as it is always an amazing event. Also Mustang Memories should be another big and successful event in Dearborn on August 18th. Hope everyone enjoys the new format for our newsletter.

On the MOCSEM Calendar

by Craig Zygmunt, MOCSEM Editor

MOCSEM is starting off the new year with a January 5th visit to The Stahls Automotive Foundation in Chesterfield. For those looking to travel as a group a caravan will be leaving at 11:45 AM from the Auto Zone at 8923 Telegraph Road in Taylor. Admission is free but donations are accepted at the door. You can find all the details at www.mocsem.com.

In the coming weeks we will be planning club events for 2019. If there are any events you think the club should consider or if you would like to help organize an event, please email me at mocsemsocial@gmail.com.

January 2019

Stahls Automotive Foundation Tour: Saturday, January 5, 2019 • 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm • 56516 North Bay Dr., Chesterfield, MI 48051

January General Meeting: Tuesday, January 8, 2019 • 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm • American Legion Stitt Post No. 232 • 23850 Military, Dearborn Heights, MI 48127

February 2019

February General Meeting: Tuesday, February 12, 2019 • 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm • American Legion Stitt Post No. 232 • 23850 Military, Dearborn Heights, MI 48127

MOCSEM Spreads Joy at December Meeting

(Photo: Mark Donell)

by Craig Zygmunt, MOCSEM Editor

The weather may be cold but hearts were warm at MOCSEM's December General Meeting and Kids' Santa Party. The club supports a number of causes throughout the year in a variety of ways, but Christmas is the time for donations for several local charities. This year MOCSEM was proud to present cash donations to The American Cancer Society, JDRF, Humane Society of Monroe County, Bennett’s Beavers, and The Assistance Fund. Several of the charities had representatives on hand to share some of the great things they do with the donations. Members also brought toy donations for Toys for Tots and food donations for the Humane Society of Monroe County.

Another highlight of the night was a visit from the big man himself. Santa Claus stopped by and shared special gifts with all the children in attendance. He made a big impression and left a lot smiling kids as he headed off to the North Pole.

(Photos: Mark Donell)

MOCSEM Visits the Gilmore Museum

by Craig Zygmunt, MOCSEM Editor

MOCSEM's Exclusive Mustang Parking on the Museum Grounds (Photo: Kevin McElroy)

The weather didn't exactly cooperate, but that didn't deter the group of MOCSEM members who visited the Gilmore Car Museum in September. About 20 Mustangs made the journey along with another 10 or so daily drivers. Mustangs were treated to exclusive parking within the museum grounds and members were free to explore. This was my first trip to the museum and it didn't disappoint.

The campus consists of about a dozen buildings on very well-maintained grounds. Each building has a particular them such as the Ford Model A Museum, the Steam Barn and the Lincoln Motorcar Heritage Museum, among others. The are over 400 historic vehicles and hundreds of various artifacts such as an amazing hood ornament collection. There is also a fully operational diner. I was extremely impressed by the quality and variety of the collection and look forward to visiting the museum again.

As we make plans for 2019, we will be including another outing to the Gilmore Museum so keep an eye on our calendar. It's a couple hours away and well worth it so it makes for a great day trip. This is one not to be missed.

Some Mustangs in the Museum (Photos: Kevin McElroy)

December General Meeting

by Lisa Sielski, MOCSEM Secretary

(Photo: Mark Donell)

The December General Meeting was held Tuesday, December 11th at the American Legion Stitt Post. Click the links below to read the minutes or view a video of the meeting.

Featured Member - Redux

by Craig Zygmunt, MOCSEM Editor

Craig Zygmunt's 2017 Mustang GT Premium (Photo: Craig Zygmunt)

One very popular article we'd love to revive in The Accelerator is the featured member. Every month we showcase a member's Mustang with photos and the member's story. Stories typically include how the member got into the hobby, when and why they bought the car, how they've restored and/or modified the car, what they like to do with the car and maybe what their plans are for the future. We'd love to feature your Mustang! All you need to do is send a few high resolution photos and your story to editor@mocsem.org. Don't worry if you're not a seasoned writer, I can help out with that and your Mustang is what we're really interested in. The only requirements we have are that you must be an active member of MOCSEM and the car must be a Mustang.

To start things out, this month I'll tell you a little about my current Mustang. I previously owned a gorgeous '93 Mustang LX 5.0 Hatchback but had to let it go a few years ago to focus on other priorities. A couple years ago I had the itch again and the means so I decided to get another Mustang. I thought hard about getting either another Fox Body or even a 1st generation car, but after thinking about how I really wanted to use the car, a new coupe made the most sense.

So I ordered a 2017 GT Premium with the performance package in ingot silver and two years later I continue to be thrilled with that choice. I've made a few mainly cosmetic modifications such as red center stripe, carbon fiber grille and spoiler, carbon fiber steering wheel, lowering springs and a cold air intake. I've done all the work myself am satisfied with the progress. I really need to change the exhaust so I can actually hear the car, but I've got two girls in college right now so I'll just have to image what it will sound like for a couple more years.

(Photos: Craig Zygmunt)

Classified Ads

For Sale - This Fox Body is a 1984 Gt 350 Hatchback with a 302 V-8, 5 spd, PS, PW, PDL. It has 39,000 miles on it. I have the original rims and air cleaner. Am asking: $11,500.00 obo for it. Dennis 517-414-7644.

For Sale - 1965 Mustang. Ypsilanti, MI. It has a 1985 5.0, T5 5 speed, 600 Holley carb, Edelbrock Performance intake, Hooker headers and Flomaster exhaust, 3:55 gears. Asking $21,500. For more information contact Kent @ 734-961-7201 or kentp@att.net.

Please Support Our Sponsors

Credits:

Cover Photo: Bill Cook

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a copyright violation, please follow the DMCA section in the Terms of Use.