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24 years of building friendships, Chevrolets
and having fun !!
Founded in February, 1984 and haven't stopped yet !!
We have 147 members and would love to have you also. The registration form is under the "Register or Renew Membership" tab.
The Northern Illinois Chevelle Club is dedicated to the preservation and restoration of 1964-1987 Chevelles, El Caminos and 1970-1972 Monte Carlos.
You can find out about us, and even fill out the NICC registration form. Please check back frequently for:
- Information on upcoming events.
- Pictures, videos and reviews from current events.
- Pictures and videos of members cars.
- Select articles from the NICC monthly newsletter.
- Updated classified ads.
- Current news not available in the newsletter.
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NICC Welcomes New Members
Richard Morton, member # 652.
Owns a 1965 Chevelle, 300 model, 2-door wagon. Oh, the members are gonna love seeing this one!!Paul & Kimberly Mueller, member #653. Live in Aurora and own a 1970 Chevelle small block.
Matt & Abbigale Onik, member #654, live in Burr Ridge and own a modified 1965.
Welcome and PLEASE come out to any and all of the meetings this coming summer, starting in May.
Oh yes, Jerry and Marilyn Lemire and Andy & Lisa Marchiando each have a new grandchild to make sure are well taken care of:
This is Carter Alexander Golk, dreaming about driving one of Grandpa Marchiando's hot rods. Visions of Big Blocks dance in his head.
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This is Marin Elizabeth, granddaughter of Jerry and Marilyn Lemire. Reports are this is Marin's reaction to being asked what she thinks of Fords. Wise girl, yes indeed.
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On Saturday, May 17th, at 5pm, the NICC will be going "back to our roots", that is, where it all began. In February, 1984 a select group met at Jim & Mary Holbach's for the inaugural meeting of the NICC. Since then, I believe we've spent each May since then starting the cruising season at their house, and it is the same this year.
Be there at 5pm. We have club business to take care of; announcements, discussion of the summer’s activities and then the election of officer’s that was postponed from the April meeting. The officer elections were postponed until the May meeting, so it is important that you attend the May meeting. The offices of President, VP, Treasurer and Board are up. If you want to keep the same officers, that is fine. If you want to run for something, that is fine. Just come and let us know. From there we'll cruise our cars to some fun in the NW Suburbs!!!
ADDRESS
: 144 N. Greenwood Ave., Palatine, IL.DIRECTIONS:
Rt. 53 to the Palatine Rd. West Exit. Go to Greenwood and turn right. Holbach’s house is on the left about 2 blocks N. of Palatine Rd.QUESTIONS:
Call Jim at 847-934-7556.![]()

MAY 31st

The first drag outing of the year will be at 'Da Grove on Saturday, April l9th. This will be a joint outing with the Chicago Gearheads. Plan on getting there about 2pm at the latest. There is "program" racing prior to that. The NICC and Gearheads hang-out together in the pits.
For any questions, call Ralph Weidenbach at 630-918-5552.
See you 'Da Grove !!

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OPOKA FAMILY INVITE THE NICC
TO A MAY 31st CRUISE-IN
By: Jim & Maryann Opaka, #620
My 14 year old son Luke (who was at the picnic in ‘06 and at the Built-Rite meeting) is graduating from 8th Grade. We are holding his party on Saturday May 31st.
Since 3 kids on our block are graduating, we decided to have a block party. Our entire block long street will be closed down from Noon to 10:00 p.m. that day. I will be cooking up a storm, We will have music from a DJ, a jumping jack tent for the kids, a fire pit, etc., etc.
We would like to invite and host the NICC members and significant others, kids, grandkids, etc. to cruze on over and attend. I know Luke would get a kick out of it! No crowds, no BS, just hanging out enjoying food, fun, entertainment, and conversation (and maybe let a few people look at out cars). I could line us up in front of my house in a designated section since I am only a few houses off the corner. Let’s shoot for arrivals starting around
3pm and ending whenever. I would like an RSVP of some sort to get an idea of what to plan for. You can reply either at jimopoka@comcast.net or call the house at 708-422-7325. No need to bring anything - just your rides and appetite!ADDRESS:
3530 W. 97th St. in Evergreen Park. Easy to get to off of 294. I will give you my direct cell phone number to guide you in when you RSVP. Thanks, I hope you will be able to make it. All are welcome to attend !!
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april 19th meeting recap
There were approximately 18 members in attendance for the April meeting. We had a couple of members who drove their Chevelles to the club for the first time. That was nice. John Sonnefeldt spoke about the Hot Rod Power Tour this June and his arranging an overnight cruise to Rockford on Saturday, August 2 and then up to Freeport for a large car show. We did this several years ago and saw some great sites, including Hooperstats shop where a 50’s Auto Show Dream Car was being restored. Go the Activities section of this website and the year 2005. There is a recap of our last trip there with pics.
Jim Holbach, NICC member #1, spoke about the May cruise, which is in this newsletter and also the possibility of the NICC Christmas party being at Holbach’s house this December. That would be so close to the 25th anniversary of the first NICC meeting in the exact house where the NICC was started in 1984. How cool would that be?
The officer elections were postponed until the May meeting, so it is important that you attend the May meeting. The offices of President, VP, Treasurer and Board are up. If you want to keep the same officers, that is fine. If you want to run for something, that is fine. Just come and let us know.
Jim Karg's '66The car under the cover is Tom's '72. Tom is having the engine redo after some trouble, attributable to what he chalks up to "25 years of pounding the snot out of it". Big block Chevy's can take alot of abuse, and Tom's right foot is right up there with the best. Long live Big Blocks!!!
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By: Jim Opaka #620
A few weeks ago, my 97 Ford F-150 Truck with 80K miles and a 4.6L developed a miss in the engine. There was also a consistent pop through the exhaust that pointed to a valve either stuck or not opening. A free Auto Zone engine scan revealed a miss-fire in cylinder #1. Starting with the obvious first, I changed all the plugs, wires, and coil packs (since it was time) but it still didn’t correct the problem. I took it to a friend of a friend who is a mechanic at a major Ford dealer. He ran a scan and compression test. He determined that the #1 cylinder was not firing and the #2 had low compression. The opinion of the mechanics there was that there was probably some lower end internal damage. Bottom line is that I would need an engine rebuild, salvaged, or remanufactured replacement. Price - about 2 to 4 grand depending on which route I go. Not good news. Wanting a second opinion, I took it to another Ford dealer across town. They gave me the exact prognosis and options. More bad news.
I did a lot of research about the engine on-line and looked at bone yard,
remanufactured, and crate engines options. Having attended our last NICC
meeting, which was held at Built-Rite Engine Rebuilders in
Bill was in the middle of finishing a Cutlass build so he took the truck to his house. Over the next few days he began diagnosing the problem. He prefers cylinder leakage tests over compression tests as a more accurate gage of engine condition. Yes, there were issues with Cylinders #1 and #2. He pulled the valve covers off expecting to find a broken spring. What he found was that the rocker arm had fallen off the #1 intake. The valve was obviously not working properly in that state. No broken springs and resistance tests on the other springs showed no problems. No valve problems and no damage. He re-installed the rocker arm, put on new valve cover gaskets, re-set the computer, re-ran the cylinder leakage test – which now came back normal on both cylinders – job done -problem solved. Amazing! I went from 3-4 thousand dollars minimum to paying for a few hours labor and a new set of valve cover gaskets. Excellent news!
Honesty, integrity, skill, experience, professionalism, easy to work with, and nice people to do business with. Everything we expect and demand as consumers, especially when it comes to our classic cars. Bill, Scott, and Jim at Built-Rite Engine Rebuilders demonstrated all of these qualities – and more. They are “car guys” who will take care of car guys. They will have all of my engine work in the future and I highly recommend them to any NICC member or anyone needing engine work or building an engine.
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Online Registration and Paypal Renewals
There is a new, easier, and faster way to sign up or renew your membership to the NICC. Paypal will let you pay your membership with a credit card, bank account, or a paypal account balance. Registration and Renewals
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Comments and Suggestions: georgeprimm@cs.com
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This page was last updated on
05/04/08.