Gee, just got a 'digest' for the first time in 2 weeks; I'm riding
it out until "the list is fixed", but that's a long time between digests.
Oh, well.
I don't have any technical questions or answers, but did get the GQ
out this past weekend, and I thought I'd share...
On Saturday, I finished up pouring some concrete in the back yard in
time to attend the Greenway Center Custom Car show nearby (like, perhaps 3
miles away). About 50 cars, the usual Ford/GM mix, plus a well-used Rolls
Corniche, and me. I got _lots_ of questions about the car. To simplify
things, I made up a "brag sheet" with all of my modifications listed and
printed it out on the computer and laminated it in plastic, and placed it on
the windshield under a wiper blade. I made use of the "Tiger Font" in part,
btw, thanks again.
And whaddaya know; I got a trophy. No way to beat the trio of
_flawless_ GTO's that were on display together, and a couple of actual
pre-'48 true hot rods, but I actually beat those Mustangs & Camaros! The
judge told me afterward that I came really close to not winning a trophy
because I showed the car with the hood closed and he had to take off
points.. I really need to detail the engine compartment sometime & figure
out how to fix the paint under the hydraulic cylinders where leaks once ate
the paint -- without gutting the engine compartment.
Sunday I went to a "All-Ford" car show and drag meet near Frederick,
MD. Susan didn't want to go, so I took my nephew along, the one with the
Trans-Am that attended the TE/AE United in 1998. We went out early, and took
semi-back-roads , a nice drive of 43 miles (big woo, eh?) each way. The
event wasn't much fun, though. The field was filthy with debris from earlier
events, and when I offered to clean up the area they couldn't even find me a
trash bag. Actually, they didn't offer to try. The drags were the main
activity, and they should have called it the 1987-Up Mustang Show & Drags,
because that's about all that was there. The local Cougar club brought 6
cars, and there was a really tired 1971 Galaxie, and the Garage Queen, out
of 40 cars in the show. I got placed into "special interest" with three late
model stock Saleens, one of them won the class. As for the drags, one guy
w/a trailered-in 'Stang, gutted, tubbed, etc., ran 10.01; and Jerry Porsch
would've outrun the entire remainder of the field had he been there. Some
kid in a Taurus SHO got in something like 40 runs in, however; gotta give
him points for sheer fortitude.
On the way home, I saw a beautiful black Pantera going the other
way, got a nice wave from the driver; I rarely see those around here. And I
got into a "speed contest", ahem. About 1/2-way home, where the road we were
on opened up into a couple of lanes each way, I see a blur out of the corner
of my eye. Some guy in a BMW 3-series, small wing, fat wheels that look like
TSW Hockenhiems, is weaving and darting from lane to lane trying to line up
by us at the next light. I figure it's an M3. Well, at the light, he's
revving the motor on his Beemer, and my nephew says "I'm braced; take him";
last time I accelerated hard with him in the car I caught him off-guard.
I didn't "launch" at all really, and the BMW got 1/2 to 3/4 car
lengths ahead. Then I "depressed the throttle pedal fully". By the time I
got wound up in 2nd (guessing, still no tach!) I was 7-10 car lengths ahead,
so I let off, and gave the kid a thumbs-up as he came by. Then I saw it was
a 325i. Oh, jeez, if I had known I would have left him alone. He took it
well, though, with a smile and a thumbs-up back.
That's it for now, I promised I'd take a breather from cars shows
for a while and anyway we're going white-water rafting this weekend. I look
forward to the next digest in a couple of weeks. :^/
Lawrence R. Wright
"I can't get no-- Satis-Traction"
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