2011 San Diego KF convention

[joefrazer]

A natural combination for a national meet would be to partner with one of the Jeepster clubs and/or with the Graham Owners Club. Or, better yet, with both!

[darrin502]

might be worth investigating to see if there may be mutual interest. Do they have large memberships?

[Jim B PEI]

THAT is an excellent idea. Now, if we could organize a 2012 meet in/close to Indiana, then besides South Bend 2012, there would be Kenosha, Cinncinnati, and Willow Run, as well as Auburn, Cord, Deusenburg near-ish and do-able.

[AZ_HJ]

Has our friend to the north ever thought of having a Kaiser-Frazer Canadian meet? I would love to go to like Hailax, N.S. for a meet in Aug. Weather is quite nice then compared to Phoenix, AZ at that same time.

[Gordie]

We once had a National meet in Canada, it was held in London, Ontario in 1964 so it is do-able.

[Jim B PEI]

It wouldn't work having it in Canada any more. 1) most of the KF people are in the US 2) most of the Canadian KF people are close to the US. 3) Canadians have passports by and large, more so than Americans 4) crossing the border is such a hassle--a few years ago a northern group--Seaway?--tried to do a day tour through Canada to end up at Brockville ON for lunch before heading back to the US by the Ivy Lea bridge--by 2:30 *most* of the people were there, and not in the best of moods. This was before a lot of the more recent silliness of HS, so all the old car people only got the second degree, and the car searches. 5) Try bringing across parts to sell. Hoo Boy!!! third degree time.

I once thought that if I won a lottery, I'd sponsor a summer vacation trip for Kaiser/Frazer drivers to PEI, a true International, with free motel stays at certain spots along the way to help make the long trip worthwhile.  This was back when Charlottetown also had a very nice little elegant restaurant called Manhattan's in the historic district down by the harbour. Once they visited PEI, they'd love to return.

[joefrazer]

The Graham club's 2011 natonal meet will be in East Lansing, Michigan...their website doesn't mention 2012 but I suspect, like the KFOCI, it'll be seomwhere out west as they like to move things around too. The WOJC (Jeepster club) doesn't hold formal national meets so we might be able to persuade them to join us in Indiana in 2012.

[HJ-ETEX]

Jim B perhaps also remembers when the Studebaker Drivers Club was slated to have an (inter)National near Hamilton, ONT - the final assembly plant for Studebaker cars. (A lot of the Studebaker cars sold in the US beginning in 1962 were actually from Hamilton, NOT South Bend). I feel sorry for the Canadian organizers who tried to have that meet - and this was before 9/11. Basically all the persons from the US, their cars, and the contents of the cars would be subject to search. Nothing new or unexpected there, but car parts would be subject to Canadian duties. This would be a real hassle for people carrying repair parts for their Studebakers such as belts, fuel and water pumps. There was also the question of the US charging duties for the same items when people returned to the US. The big parts vendors would have the same problem and they would be under closer scrutiny because they were obviously commercial agents. So the well known Stude parts vendors had to say no attending. Well, the SDC also requires a performance bond, so when it was starting to appear that the customs problem would prevent the big time event the (inter)National Board expected, the Canadian organizers ended things by refusing to post the performance bond. I hope their reply was impolite.
As a result, members of the (inter)National Board had to think quickly and remembered a guy down in College Station, Texas who wanted to have a SDC (inter)National Meet. The replacement Meet went off well, but the experience had some deep negative influences on the SDC Members in Texas.

[HJ-ETEX]

I also recall another SDC (inter)National Meet. The (inter)National Board had no bids one year. Don't even think about South Bend because while the women at the tourist bureau may be enthusiastic, the few people left there that remember Studebaker aren't thrilled at all. So the Board members contacted everyone they thought they could sweet talk. They came up with a member who agreed to have it in the Black Hills of South Dakota but 1) it would be after Labor Day when the tourist season was over and rates were cheap, 2) it wasn't near an international airport, and 3) they wouldn't have flags of all nations at the banquet. So the organizer started off stating he would break 3 "set in stone" requirements of the SDC (inter)National. He probably bent a few more. And you know, it wasn't a disaster and people had fun.

[Jim B PEI]

About Customs Duties--there are none entering Canada if the part was North American built and would have been covered by Autopact. I get all my US parts for Studebakers and Kaisers duty free. Customs and Excise taxes have been replaced largely with the neutral Goods and Services Tax GST.

If the parts are with you, and are your personal goods (backup parts) and not for resale, then no tax applies. However, if you have 27 waterpumps with you, it ain't personal, its something commercial-like, so tax applies. If you leave Canada without selling it, you can claim the tax paid back, and entering the US, if you can show it originated in the US (like the notice you paid GST going into Canada), you shouldn't have to pay tax on it going back. Like all hobbyist situations, the paperwork (to get the tax back) is a frigging pain because it doesn't differentiate from hobbyist level and Wal-Mart. Oh, and like certain states in the US, some provinces are right eager to squeeze every possible drop of money out even if it cuts their nose off to spite their own face.

[HJ-ETEX]

Jim B summation points out the uncertainty over duties which strangled the SDC (inter)National meet in Hamilton. "If we are wrong, the duties will be refunded when the proper forms are filled out and processed." I can sell you a bridge in Brooklyn and it has a REBATE!

[Fid]

I remember when we left the national in Dearborn back in '74, the first place we went was across the border into Canada.  All they did was ask if we had any firearms.  After that, they let us through. We drove up to Toronto to visit my uncle, then back down through Niagara Falls.  It wouldn't be that simple today. That's really too bad.

[Jim B PEI]

On one of my "drive 4 hours, pick up parts in Calais ME, re-enter Canada and pay 5% tax, and then drive home 4 hours" trips, I made a back of the envelope calculation error on the value by $1200, estimating About $2.1K rather than the correct $3.3K. Now, I have always stopped and stated, "I have a lot of antique car parts with me as a personal, non-commercial importation, all the receipts with me, and I have to pay tax on it all"  It was over 90 that day, and the A/C was not working again in the Jeep, so I was a bit stressed. When they found the error, it was like WWIII had started. It had made their day. Fourth degree grilling, even though I had all the boxes open with receipts attached to each, and another copy in hand, and the envelope where I had goofed on adding up about 50 separate little items. I have never tried to evade anything, and keep receipts for $2 items I might purchase locally at the hardware store, for example. Still, they threatened me with seizure of my car and huge fines "for not reporting the correct amount of imports". Apparently, you HAVE to make a $ amount declaration, and they can use that amount you guesstimate to assign penalties if you are wrong!!!

Now, I just state that "I have all the receipts, I don't have a calculator with me and I'm hopeless at adding things up in my head, and I need to have someone add them all up properly so that I can pay the tax owing. There is enough stuff here that I have to pay tax, but I don't have any idea how much, because I paid for different items over time and today I'm just bringing in the items that have arrived to date" They try to get me to indicate a $ amount, but I just keep smiling and say "I have no idea at all, but I have the receipts and somebody with a calculator can figure out how much tax I have to pay." They hate that, and but eventually give in. Sheesh!!!!   

The only thing that is a consolation to me, is that US Customs is much more picky.

[HJ-ETEX]

I remember being tricked into going into Canada during the KF National at Grand Island (Buffalo) NY. I was told to "Follow that Van" except that van (John Hewlett's Ford) was going into Canada. We stopped at a booth where I talked to a guy who was a US agent interviewing people leaving the US. Turns out he had lived in Texas for a while and we would have talked longer except I noticed the cars were lining up behind me. He didn't seem to care. 300 feet beyond and I met the Canadian entrance guard. Have you ever seen the cartoon series Rocky & Bullwinkle and remember the enemy agent Natasha Fatale? I swear this woman must have been from the same country. She had a curt manner and certainly had the same strange accent - Eastern European learning English as a second language. And as you may have guessed, it was easier LEAVING the US than getting back. Richard Bailey almost got me shot by the US border guard, but that is a story for another time.
Basically, like many things you do often, border crossing gets to be a minor hassle (I won't said it is trivial) to people near the border. But to people from the interior of the country, it tends to be a big deal.

[edc1953]

What are the dates of the 2011 Convention in SD, Ca. ?

Thanks,
*EDC*