The "CRUISER" Newsletter

APRIL 2026

AS THE WHEEL TURNS!

BY ROGER BEAUCHAMP, PRESIDENT

And just like that it’s spring! Temperatures have been in the low 80s, sunshine and that’s great car weather! The calendar turned over another day and it’s now officially spring 2026, and----- the temperatures are falling, and I need to dress for the fall season again.

What a fun Drive and Dine this month of March. Back to the Steel Wheels in Benton TN. This time the weather was spot on, and the traffic was light; it was a great cruise to Benton. There was a point in the drive, radio playing the right tune, and with the right stretch of 411, I was wondering if this car would do 100? I was sure it would but I’m glad Gary was leading and my common sense said, “that’s not a good idea.”

Ron and I took a trip to Paradise Drag strip, an 1/8 mile strip that has been in operation since the 60s. Not having helmets, we took a easy ride down the track, I did not make a timed pass, and no I didn’t get beat by the noise tuner car in the short video I posted on FB. Sitting just 50 ft from the track, we watched a variety of drag and street cars before a modified S10 did a 45 deg wheelie and came down hard. This compressed the front suspension to the point the oil pan hit the track, split open and dumped engine oil for 100

feet of the strip. Clean up was dragging on so we packed up for the day leaving them to finish the track restoration . We will be heading back for the next “Thrills on the Hills” event at Paradise. This event, which is really a car show with the strip open for timed runs, testing only, no car to car racing.

Coming up Saturday is the next Cars and Coffee at the BK in Ellijay. Maybe it won’t rain. Hey weather maker guy, it’s spring so be nice to us car guys!

Please follow the Web page www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com for up to date information on events.

Roger

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR APRIL, 2026

This calendar is dedicated to car events OTP (Outside The Perimeter) covering the North Georgia area.  www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com

---RECURRING EVENTS---

(Some events may be seasonal; always check with the host group)

Sunday, 12th - Caffeine and Octane Car Show. Town Center at Cobb - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Sunday, 4th - WORSHIP Vintage and Classic Car Event - 1135 Woodstock Rd.,Roswell, GA. Vehicles must be 18 years old or older. 8:00am - 11:00am (Recurring event-first Sunday of the month)

Friday, 10th - Gilmer Street Rodders - Shane’s Rib Shack, 289 Highland Crossing, E. Ellijay, GA. 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm. (Recurring event-second Friday of the month)

Tuesday, 14th - ELLIJAY MOUNTIAN CRUISERS CLUB SOCIAL DINNER at El Reys Azteca. El Rays Mexican Restaurant - 6:00 PM (Recurring event -Second Tuesday)

Sunday, 11th - Dahlonega Car Club Cruise-In. 140 S.Chestatee St, Dahlonega,GA. 9:00am - 12:00pm (Recurring event-second Sunday of the month)

Saturday, 18th - Po Boys Cruise-In, Riverstone Plaza, 1447 Riverstone Parkway, Canton, GA. 3:00pm - 6:00pm (Recurring event-third Saturday of the month)

Friday, 24th - Georgia Mountain Classics DQ Cruise-In. 380 Progress Circle, Blue Ridge, GA. Blue Ridge Dairy Queen. 6:00pm - 8:00pm (Recurring event-fourth Friday of the month)

Saturday, 25rd - Pickens Freedom Crusiers Crusie-In, 104 N. Main St., Jasper, GA., 4pm - 8pm (Recurring event-fourth Saturday of the month)

Thursday, 23rd ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS DRIVE & DINE - Ellijay, GA. Meet at the parking lot next to McDonalds-11:00am (Recurring Event - Third Thursday of the month)

Saturday, 25th - ELLIJAY MOUNTAIN CRUISERS CARS AND COFFEE  Ellijay, BURGER KING - 9:00 AM (Recurring event-Last Saturday of the month)

ADDITIONAL EVENTS FOR APRIL, 2026

Thursday-Saturday, 2nd - 4th - Georgia Mountain Ford Nationals, Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, Hiawassee, GA. 8am - 5pm daily.

Thursday, 2nd - Freddy’s Cruise-In, 120 E. Main St., Cartersville, GA., 5pm-8pm

Saturday, 4th - Piedmont Church Cruise-In, 570 Piedmont Rd., Marietta, GA., 8am-11am

Friday, 10th - Cruise-In with a Purpose, 221 Sam Pitts Creek Cir, Clarkesville, GA., 4:30pm-7:30pm

Saturday, 11th - Civic Guardians of NE GA Spring Bash Car Show, 789 Bradford St. SW, Gainesville, GA., 1am-5pm

Satruday, 11th - Texas Roadhouse Car Show, 2150 Cobb Place Blvd., Kennesaw, GA., 10am - 2pm

Saturday, 11th - Cookout & Car Show, 850 Jamerson Rd., Marietta, GA., 11am-3pm

Saturday, 11th - Chickamauga Depot Round-Up, 200 Gordon St., Chickamauga, GA., 10am-3pm

Sunday, 12th - Car-B-Que at the Flat Cruise-In, Big Easy BBQ, 2864 E. Cherokee Dr., Canton, GA., 9am-12pm

Friday, 17th - Fannin Middle School Car Show, 4560 Old Hwy 76, Blue Ridge, GA., 5pm-7pm

Saturday, 18th - B-O-P-C Car Show, 570 Piedmont Rd., Marietta, GA., 8am-1pm

Saturday, 25th - Drivin’ Out Cancer Classic Car Show, Etowah River Park, Canton, GA.,4pm-9pm

7 Tools Hiding in Plain Sight on Your Workbench

By Kyle Smith

(Reprinted by permission of Hagerty Media)

Tools have a habit of disappearing in many shops. Set one down and look away for a moment, and poof! it jumps into an alternate dimension. That happens enough to be a trope, but finding new tools in your shop? Now that’s a wild concept. Could every day be new tool day in your garage? If you know where to look, you’ll probably find these seven.

Funnels

Something that is cheap, plentiful, and all of us have a few of that we can never find when we need them. Or worse, are never clean when we need them. Pouring oils and other chemicals can be messy and annoying at best and dangerous at worst, but funnels help keep the liquids flowing where we want them.

And when looking around your shop, a whole host of items are only one sharp blade away from being perfect funnels: Empty oil containers are the prime example. Cut a quart oil container in half, turn it upside down, and suddenly there is a funnel. Empty soda bottles are a great one to consider while on a road trip.

Breaker Bar Extension

Sometimes we just need a little extra oomph to get a stuck lugnut or suspension bolt broken loose, and while battery impact wrenches are getting smaller than ever, there is still a time and a place for an old-school breaker bar. And when the two-foot breaker bar still doesn’t have the leverage? Well, make it longer.

There are a few prime things to grab for this, which are often hovering around in a home shop. The handle of a hydraulic jack is often right nearby, but an old metal fence post or other off-cut of tubing is perfect. Be aware though, extending the handle of a breaker bar can create a lot of force for a little effort, so be careful and maybe even prepared for the head of the breaker bar to fail. Don’t put force on the handle in a way that would harm you should it let go. Of course, if you are at this stage, don’t forget penetrating oil and heat as helpers on your stuck-hardware journey.

Light-Duty Jack Extension

Floor jacks give us garage-dwellers superhuman strength to pick up and place our rusting hulks on safe stands for work. Sometimes these same jacks are called in to help support items during a repair or maintenance process. Supporting a transmission or lfting a control arm to release the spring pressure from a ball joint are prime examples.

In these instances, it can sometimes be a balancing act to get the car at the right height for the jack to actually reach and provide assistance. For these situations, there is a simpler solution: the good ol’ chunk of wood. Of course, this is something to be used carefully and specifically, and, as always, you should never get below something supported only by a jack. For the example above, the engine is still in its mounts but this block of wood keeps the whole thing from tipping back; the jack alone wouldn’t have reached high enough.

Small Lathe

For anyone who reaches a certain level of DIY, the capabilities of a lathe can unlock a kind of superpower. Few of us have the shop space or power required to install a lathe, though, and thus miss out on most of the benefits that come from having a machine to spin parts and pieces. However, you likely have a tiny lathe on your workbench and don’t even realize it: a drill.

Most corded or battery-powered drills have a three-jaw chuck that can hold up to a 1/2-inch round item. This can be useful for cleaning hardware quickly and easily. Chuck small round parts like caliper slide pins in a drill and turn them slowly, giving a perfect even finish when combined with an abrasive pad or polishing compound.

Drain Pans

Much like the funnels above, drain or catch pans can be anything—assuming they are well placed. Large sheet drip pans are great for catching the small drops that happen while parked between drives, but smaller catch containers are nice when doing work, and in my shop one that gets heavy use is a coolant jug with the side cut out. This leaves the lid for easy pouring when full.

Wrench Extender

Sometimes all that fits on the bolt you need to get out is a wrench, and while there are some of us who multiple copies of each wrench in various lengths, others have the one set in hand and nothing else. Although a jack handle can be used here as seen in example 2 above, it can be tough to get a pipe that fits over the end of larger wrench sizes or that works well on smaller ones. Instead, look in the same wrench drawer rather than elsewhere.

Grab an open-end wrench a few sizes bigger than the one needed and combine the two to make plenty of leverage. Hooking the two wrenches together does take a little staring and thinking to get right sometimes, but in the end this is often a great solution.

Painting Hangers

Whether it’s putting a fresh coat of paint on an old part being restored or putting a more durable coat of matching paint on a new part going onto an old car, spraying paint is a common DIY task, and anyone who has done enough of it is familiar with the over-spray on fingers and hands that often comes with trying to hold something while spraying. Instead, grab lanyards or wire coat hangers to enable trouble-free suspension of parts, not only for cleaner and more even paint coverage (not to mention cleaner fingers), but also for easy drying.

OUR CLUB SPONSORS

Local companies and club Sponsors offer discounts

to Ellijay Mountain Cruisers members for car parts,

service specials and automotive events.

Being a REGULAR member of Ellijay Mountain Cruisers

allows members access to special group discounts for club related events and shows

and other discounts offered by vendors and sponsors!

Visit: www.ellijaymountaincruisers.com

and click CLUB SPONSORS for more details about each sponsor.

link to sponsors