When one is on a mostly vegan diet, eating turkey sure is nice. But
Gawd, I'm glad the weekend is about over. As I described some weeks
ago, I recently finished putting a rebuilt tranny into the Spitfire.
Its inspection sticker expired back at the end of July but I haven't
had it out of the garage for 5 months. Since the brakes had become
mushy recently I drove it over to a good lbc mechanic, and figured on
getting it inspected afterwards. The brake bill came out to $800,
about what I expected considering that they had gone untouched but
functional for nearly 20 years. Still steep but I'm just not
equipped in my garage to do some things.
So on Saturday when I'm driving the car home the new tranny stuck in
OD, something it had also done when I drove the car over to Chuck's
garage 2 weeks earlier. Later, a quick phone call to Quantum
Mechanics told me what to bang on the free it (if it didn't free
itself, which it did), and John Esposito at Q.M. assured me that with
enough in/out operation that problem would soon go away.
So while I'm on a limited-access, divided highway driving home from
Chuck's garage and worrying about the stuck OD and hoping I won't
have to pull it again or go into reverse before I can stop in my own
driveway, I noticed a state police car about 1/4 mile back in the
left lane, lights flashing, doing what must be over 90. A bunch of
us pulled over to the far right lane and he went on by. A mile up
the road I slowed and flipped my turn signal to take the exit ramp
for home. There he was, pulling onto the grass just past my exit,
lights off and looking like he wasn't quite sure what to do next. As
I went by he pulled across the grassy triangle, fell in behind me,
and flipped his lights on. Now what? Worrying about the OD as I was
I sure hadn't been speeding or driving aggressively or anything, and
it was full daylight so he couldn't claim I had a burned out
headlight. He walked up, asked for license and registration and said
my inspection sticker had expired. I told him the car had been in
the garage for a long time and I had just picked it up from having
brake work. I also had the bright idea of handing him Chuck's
invoice along with my license and registration. After a few minutes
back in the cruiser, he came back and said he'd let me off with just
a warning, that it required no fine and served as a written notice
that I had been warned, which I suppose might come in handy if I was
stopped again before I got home. He then commented as how most
people were taking cars like that off the road at this time of year,
whereupon I re-iterated how doing the tranny had taken me much longer
than I wanted. Anyway, he left and I pulled away gently in a rather
high 1st gear (OD still on), made it home safely. But that kind of
stress I don't need. Afterwards I wondered what was up. He'd come
flying by on a mission and had gone right by me and others, surely
not seeing the expired sticker on the right side of my windshield.
Even on the exit ramp he wouldn't have had a good view of it until he
pulled me over. If I'd had the brain cells to think of it I would
have asked whether he had been looking for me, and if so, why. I
wonder if he might have had notice of a stolen car similar to mine,
small and white, and maybe another cruiser had reported me going by.
Still, why didn't he pull me when he went by? Perhaps he was too
busy driving to seem me. IIRC, I had seen a helicopter overhead on
Rt128 on the way home. Could they have been tracking me by air for
10 miles before getting a cruiser in place to stop me? Nah...
So today I took the car for inspection, dropped it off, picked it up
a few hours later with no trouble. I got the GT6 washed and dried in
preparation for its long winter's nap. But later in the day I tried
to open the Spitfire's bonnet to change the oil only to discover that
the dweeb at the local garage had apparently opened the bonnet just
enough for the bonnet prop to catch, and then forced it closed,
bending the prop instead of pulling it backwards like you're supposed
to. Must have taken quite a push. I couldn't get the bonnet open
very far because the now-bent prop was much too short. After driving
back over there to vent my anger (alas, the boss wasn't available) I
went back home and spent the next half hour re-bending the two sticks
of the prop back into more or less factory-installed shape. Never
did get the oil changed. It got dark in the meantime. Don't know
what I'll do next, let them worry about it for a while or go back and
scream again. I'll probably go back and show them how I straightened
it and then show them how one is supposed to open and close it.
Yeesh. They're a neighborhood gas station and a reliable place for
things like inspection and Sunoco Ultra (no longer 94 octane tho').
Tomorrow I have to call the courthouse to see whether I do or don't
have jury duty starting on Wednesday.
Getting the Spitfire back on the road: Priceless!
But, Gawd, I'll be glad when November is over.
--
Jim Muller
jimmuller@pop.rcn.com
'80 Spitfire, '70 GT6+
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