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My car was violated...

To: british-cars@hoosier.cs.utah.edu
Subject: My car was violated...
From: paisley@cme.nist.gov (Scotty Paisley)
Date: Fri, 2 Oct 92 13:16:25 EDT
Last night, my TR6 was violated.  I would say that it was broken into,
but since the taneau(sp?) was the only thing "protecting" the car, I
guess it was just violated.  I suppose the thieves were looking for a
radio, but I didn't have one as I like listening to mechanical music,
and I didn't want my radio stolen... :-) Anyway, the only thing that
was stolen was the walnut shifting knob!  Let me tell ya, I didn't
realize how important that part is!  That stick can hurt your hand if
you forget that there isn't a knob there.  (ouch!)  Anyway, the other
thing that REALLY bugs me, is that the gas cap was open when I found
the car.  I'm very concerned as to what (if anything) may have been
added to the fuel.  I felt sort of confident that no sugar was
involved, as I checked the area around the cap really close and found
no evidence of any power or dirt.  (of course they could have used
cubes I guess) The fuel filter is new, so I feel like I'm somewhat
safe from rocks and dirt, but not sugar.  Anyway, I really didn't want
to leave the car there over the workday, so I drove it into work.
(about 2 miles) The engine seemed ok, and it ran fine.  My question
is...

    How long does it take for sugar to seize an engine?  

I would assume it depends on the amount of sugar.  Should I not drive
my car one mile further till I remove the tank?  I've called several
places around the Washington area, and have been unable to find a
place that can test fuel for contaminates.  There probably are labs
around here, but then again, I could probably buy a new engine for the
price of a test.  Also there is a car show tomorrow about a three hour
drive from here in the Virginia blue ridge mountains, and I really
want to go.  Shall I buy some "dry gas" and fill the tank?  Chances
are that the thieves were kids just messing around.  I highly doubt
that they had sugar in their pockets.  *sigh*

If your not on the digest, and can shed some light on my ailment,
please do so before I go home.  My engine only has 3000 miles on it,
and it would be a real bummer to rebuild it.  (again)

Cheer(io)s,

-Scott


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