Well, I'm back. It was a long journey filled with peril but
the reward is very sweet. traveled Detroit - Salt lake City - Las Vegas
- Los Angeles - San Fransisco - Lake Tahoe - Los Angeles - Detroit.
The trip started poorly. I had been working on my truck getting it ready
and I thought it was in perfect shape. I gave it to some friends over the
weekend and it came back with this horrid knock. It sounded like a bad
rod. I checked and checked until I was able to convince myself it was a
collapsed lifter. So I pulled the top off the engine and replaced them.
No luck. Turns out a piston had come apart. So, several thousand dollars
and one new engine later I hit the road five days behind schedule. I
was moving some people out to L.A. and they were being reimbursed for
moving expenses. I had this dream of driving a few hundred miles a day
while spending the nights in posh hotels. Not to be, we had to get out
to L.A. in three days. About Nebraska, the oil pressure gauge hit zero
as well as my heart rate. Of course the engine immediately sounded
like it was on its last legs. Five hours later the a Ford dealer
pronounced the engine healthy. The sender had failed. The noises I
heard?, all mental. Twenty miles further the trailer had a blowout.
The spare didn't fit. I thought I was doomed to die in Nebraska.
I made it through the night. I managed to time my arrival in Park
exactly with a snowstorm. I'd say about 6 inches worth of snow. Imagine
driving a truck loaded to the gills with people and cargo as well as
having a trailer attached with a car on it also loaded to the gills. Then
picture 6% grades covered in snow. Top this image off with a BIG
mobile home turned sideways out of control in front of me. By Salt Lake
City I was a nervous wreck. I had been doing most (all) of the driving
up to this point. And the other people thought it was about time they
drove. Driving a heavy trailer is not as easy as it looks. You see, the
trailer has this nasty habit of trying to pass truck when you are
slowing down. All is well until we reach some mountains in Arizona. I
get the impression we are going sort of fast when I look at the speedometer.
75 miles an hour. I look out front, we are at the TOP of a long steep
grade. Alexa SLOW DOWN!!!! (Alexa was the driver). Sudden application
of the brakes sends the trailer out of control. Bill!, Help! Panic,
prayer, mountains, prayer, cliffs, panic, prayer. O.K. Alexa you have to
accelerate until the trailer settles down. Panic. 80, 85, almost 90 and
the trailer smooths out. Apply brakes very carefully. We get enough
braking to slow to 70 mph by the end of the grade. We pull over with a
cloud of smoke emanating from each wheel, "Bill why don't you drive?"
We hit Las Vegas that night. I thought I was in hell. The trip went
well after that. I picked up my Healey frame and it was much better
than I had expected. Everywhere I hit it, good, solid, rust-free metal
rang true. Some of the Bay area people met me for lunch. It was fun,
but there was a definite lack of working british cars in the lot.
Just kidding... It took me five days to drive home by myself. I
enjoyed spending the time alone. In fact, I doubt I even spoke a
word for a couple of days. I sort of put life in perspective especially
with a solid Healey on the trailer in the rear view mirror :-)
woodruff@caen.engin.umich.edu
From rwg1@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu Tue Sep 11 11:33:27 2001
From: (Roger Garnett) rwg1@postoffice.mail.cornell.edu
To: british-cars@autox.team.net (SOL)
Date: 24 May 93 11:29:47
Subject: Re: Gilbern GT
> Subject: Re: Gilben GT
^^^^^^
And, before anyone else replies, shame on me for this Monday morning typo-
That should be Gilbern, not Gilben!
For those of you who don't know what this one is, it's another tube-frame,
fibreglass coupe (Like Peerless/Warwick) but they used mostly BMC
drivelines instead of Triumph, were manufactured in Wales, and were never
officially imported. There's a vintage racer from Western NY state who has
a 1622 street car, but I haven't seen it yet.
Also, there's a good article on Gilberns in the latest issue of British
Car Magazine.
> As with any 'weird' car, parts are very hard to come by. It took this
> guy 2 years and over $600 to locate a replacement windscreen.
Yea- I need a rear window for the Peerless :-(
How bout this one- at the VSCCA Pocono race 3 weeks ago, I was loking at
this Turner 950, and noticed some *surface rust* where the paint was
chiped! At first thinking it was one of a few steel bodied cars, the owner
finially made direct contact with Turner himself, who said hell no, there
was only one, the prototype; that's all they needed to make the molds
from.
Got or know of an odd LBC? Let me know!
Roger -I wouldn't mind a Fairthrope- Garnett
________________________________________________________
"The South Lansing Centre For Wayward Sports Cars"
"All donations of stray, orphaned, odd, neglected, etc.
sports cars and bits in need of a good home accepted."
"The drop off bin is right there- behind the barn..."
|