hot rod power tour 2012.
This year began with an innocent enough email from my dad on May 15, a few weeks prior to our planned Memorial Day weekend departure for Michigan:
Vette isnt leaking so i am ok... must have leaked when i had car jacked up. Radio works great at 60 mph but wont recognize ipod :(.
No more leaks on Cammie and i checked oil filter and pan bolt. ..both good.
I got all bins but tools packed. Everythings piled up in workshop. Snitches work good and found walkie talkies.
You need to fix turn signals. The drivers door jammed again so i greased it. Wonder if door lock linkage is wonky as it looked like the lock knob wasnt going up all the way. You need to clean red cooler on shelving...its all dirty. Then need to clean up Cammie interior and console in workshop. Pulled fans down from shelf so you'll have 'air conditioning'.
Both cars could be washed if you were inclined. My wheels look terrible.
When i get back i need to pack tools, and fix my taillights . Wash car if you cant.
Get ready to rumble!!. Luv dad
Sounds simple enough, right? Oh if only....
Vette isnt leaking so i am ok... must have leaked when i had car jacked up. Radio works great at 60 mph but wont recognize ipod :(.
No more leaks on Cammie and i checked oil filter and pan bolt. ..both good.
I got all bins but tools packed. Everythings piled up in workshop. Snitches work good and found walkie talkies.
You need to fix turn signals. The drivers door jammed again so i greased it. Wonder if door lock linkage is wonky as it looked like the lock knob wasnt going up all the way. You need to clean red cooler on shelving...its all dirty. Then need to clean up Cammie interior and console in workshop. Pulled fans down from shelf so you'll have 'air conditioning'.
Both cars could be washed if you were inclined. My wheels look terrible.
When i get back i need to pack tools, and fix my taillights . Wash car if you cant.
Get ready to rumble!!. Luv dad
Sounds simple enough, right? Oh if only....
Steppen Wolf sang about' looking for adventure' and ' going to be wild ' but he had no idea ...
You guessed it ....It's Hot Rod Power Tour time!!!
At least we hope so!!
This year we will run 780 miles in about 12 hours from Atlanta to Detroit on Friday and Saturday AM. Joining us will be John in his heavily modified C5 Corvette and we'll meet up in Detroit with Bob and Debbie in their equally modified 1970 AAR 'cuda tribute. After Saturday running the race tracks at General Motor's Milford Proving Grounds, we will leave Detroit starting Sunday as follows:
Sunday 215 miles to Muskegan Michigan for some autocrossing fun
Monday 320 miles to Champagne Illinois
Tuesday 230 miles to Madison Illinois... did someone say something about drag racing??
Wednesday a very long 360 mile haul to Miami Oklahoma to try our luck at at the Buffalo Run Casino
Thursday 240 miles to Miami Oklahoma
Friday 360 miles to Quik Trip Park.. home of the Dallas Cowboys
Saturday ...Sunday another 815 miles back to Atlanta
So thats the 3320 mile plan. At least it is if we can get the Cammie cleared to go!
Last Friday we ran into problems with its neutral start switch which led to the starter engaging when the car was already running and in reverse or later in drive. OUCH what a racket! Then the Cammie wouldnt start! So instead of getting an early start driving the cars to Detroit on the Memorial Day weekend, Morgan and I spent three days chasing parts, removing the exhaust headers, replacing the starter, rewiring the starting system, replacing the battery, replacing the distributor cap/coil/spark plugs, installing new header gaskets and re-installing the headers.
[ Did you know Atlanta stays hot and humid even at 230 am on a Sunday? I do! ]
The good news is that at 6 pm on Monday I got the Cammie to start on the first crank!!! Good thing too as I had a plane to catch at 10 pm to take me back to San Diego after a restful weekend (LOL). Currently, we are awaiting a final blessing from a real mechanic in the hopes that I got everything right and the Cammie is good to go.
Hope to be back with a second chapter soon as I can. Keep an eye out for us and our 2500 Long Hauler friends at: http://www.hotrod.com/eventcoverage/hot_rod_power_tour/
Regards Your Favorite (and probably only) Long Haulers,
Morgan and Steve
You guessed it ....It's Hot Rod Power Tour time!!!
At least we hope so!!
This year we will run 780 miles in about 12 hours from Atlanta to Detroit on Friday and Saturday AM. Joining us will be John in his heavily modified C5 Corvette and we'll meet up in Detroit with Bob and Debbie in their equally modified 1970 AAR 'cuda tribute. After Saturday running the race tracks at General Motor's Milford Proving Grounds, we will leave Detroit starting Sunday as follows:
Sunday 215 miles to Muskegan Michigan for some autocrossing fun
Monday 320 miles to Champagne Illinois
Tuesday 230 miles to Madison Illinois... did someone say something about drag racing??
Wednesday a very long 360 mile haul to Miami Oklahoma to try our luck at at the Buffalo Run Casino
Thursday 240 miles to Miami Oklahoma
Friday 360 miles to Quik Trip Park.. home of the Dallas Cowboys
Saturday ...Sunday another 815 miles back to Atlanta
So thats the 3320 mile plan. At least it is if we can get the Cammie cleared to go!
Last Friday we ran into problems with its neutral start switch which led to the starter engaging when the car was already running and in reverse or later in drive. OUCH what a racket! Then the Cammie wouldnt start! So instead of getting an early start driving the cars to Detroit on the Memorial Day weekend, Morgan and I spent three days chasing parts, removing the exhaust headers, replacing the starter, rewiring the starting system, replacing the battery, replacing the distributor cap/coil/spark plugs, installing new header gaskets and re-installing the headers.
[ Did you know Atlanta stays hot and humid even at 230 am on a Sunday? I do! ]
The good news is that at 6 pm on Monday I got the Cammie to start on the first crank!!! Good thing too as I had a plane to catch at 10 pm to take me back to San Diego after a restful weekend (LOL). Currently, we are awaiting a final blessing from a real mechanic in the hopes that I got everything right and the Cammie is good to go.
Hope to be back with a second chapter soon as I can. Keep an eye out for us and our 2500 Long Hauler friends at: http://www.hotrod.com/eventcoverage/hot_rod_power_tour/
Regards Your Favorite (and probably only) Long Haulers,
Morgan and Steve
Hail from the Motor City!!!
Yes Troops, we made it to Detroit and Day 1 is done.
After fixing all our challenges with Cammie, we finally left Atlanta around 215pm Saturday. After a 1 hour stop for a business call ( Morgan's , not mine!!) we made the 8 hour trip to Cincinnatti within 7 hours driving til 1030pm, catching up with John in his 1998 Corvette.
The reason we made such good time is that my Corvette had a problem. For the last 4 years my speedometer has been consistently reading overly high. When my speedometer read 70 I was really only doing 63 mph. So this year I knew I would have to keep the speedometer at 77 so that the car would be really going 70 mph. Wwe were starting off so late and since most states dont ticket you unlessyou go +10mph over the speed limit, I knew if I the speedometer read 88 I would only be going 80mph and not have to worry. No wonder the Hemi powered Kentucky state trooper didnt pull me over, although he sure took along time to pass me.
Well Sunday am as we start off on a 4 hour run to the General Motors Proving Grounds, Morgan cautions me that I should take it slower.
She says 90 mph is too fast!! Sure enough John clocks me and we find my speedometer is reading my exact speed!! I guess the state trooper didnt think the judge would believe someone would drive a 45 year old car at 90 miles an hour in the middle of the nite in Kentucky.
The weather has been cool so the cars and the drivers are in good shape, albeit tired from the hectic pace to get here after all the Cammie's challenges. We met up with the Bett's in the AAR'cuda. Four weeks ago, they thought they had starter problem too, but it turned out that their starter turned but their motor didn't!! Oil starvation at an autocross event caused bearing failure and damaged the crank. Bob ended up rebuilding the motor - thats two rebuilds in two Power Tours!!! New work included reground crank, new rods, new bearings. Makes cammies new neutral start switch, battery, starter and exhaust header gaskets seem a bargain.
The Proving Grounds were filled with cars but it wasnt as impactful being there a second time. Unfortunately with so many cars and spectator cars , speed around the track thsi year were mostly 5 mph with a couple of 50 mph bursts around the banked track and the road course.
If I am sounding a little flat tonight, its because its 1 oclock and we just came back from having Johns corvette towed to the chevy dealer. We all had a great Italian dinner and lots of good conversation. But when John started up his car he had no oil pressure. After checking for oil, a bad guage, a blown fuse, etc... the noise of the car on start up made it apparent that the oil pump had failed. Amazingly Morgan's cell phone contacts included her boyfriend mechanic Beren, a C5 Corvette racing driver, and a GM Engine Tech at the Proving Grounds. We had a lot of help at our finger tips!!
So John will stay back and get a new oil pump on Monday while we move on to Muskegan and then to Champagne Illinois. Happily John caught it right away and saved the motor from damage. The rest of us will motor on and look forward to him getting back in the fold soon.
Well thats one day and one car. Six more days to go!! ?
Steve and Morgan
Yes Troops, we made it to Detroit and Day 1 is done.
After fixing all our challenges with Cammie, we finally left Atlanta around 215pm Saturday. After a 1 hour stop for a business call ( Morgan's , not mine!!) we made the 8 hour trip to Cincinnatti within 7 hours driving til 1030pm, catching up with John in his 1998 Corvette.
The reason we made such good time is that my Corvette had a problem. For the last 4 years my speedometer has been consistently reading overly high. When my speedometer read 70 I was really only doing 63 mph. So this year I knew I would have to keep the speedometer at 77 so that the car would be really going 70 mph. Wwe were starting off so late and since most states dont ticket you unlessyou go +10mph over the speed limit, I knew if I the speedometer read 88 I would only be going 80mph and not have to worry. No wonder the Hemi powered Kentucky state trooper didnt pull me over, although he sure took along time to pass me.
Well Sunday am as we start off on a 4 hour run to the General Motors Proving Grounds, Morgan cautions me that I should take it slower.
She says 90 mph is too fast!! Sure enough John clocks me and we find my speedometer is reading my exact speed!! I guess the state trooper didnt think the judge would believe someone would drive a 45 year old car at 90 miles an hour in the middle of the nite in Kentucky.
The weather has been cool so the cars and the drivers are in good shape, albeit tired from the hectic pace to get here after all the Cammie's challenges. We met up with the Bett's in the AAR'cuda. Four weeks ago, they thought they had starter problem too, but it turned out that their starter turned but their motor didn't!! Oil starvation at an autocross event caused bearing failure and damaged the crank. Bob ended up rebuilding the motor - thats two rebuilds in two Power Tours!!! New work included reground crank, new rods, new bearings. Makes cammies new neutral start switch, battery, starter and exhaust header gaskets seem a bargain.
The Proving Grounds were filled with cars but it wasnt as impactful being there a second time. Unfortunately with so many cars and spectator cars , speed around the track thsi year were mostly 5 mph with a couple of 50 mph bursts around the banked track and the road course.
If I am sounding a little flat tonight, its because its 1 oclock and we just came back from having Johns corvette towed to the chevy dealer. We all had a great Italian dinner and lots of good conversation. But when John started up his car he had no oil pressure. After checking for oil, a bad guage, a blown fuse, etc... the noise of the car on start up made it apparent that the oil pump had failed. Amazingly Morgan's cell phone contacts included her boyfriend mechanic Beren, a C5 Corvette racing driver, and a GM Engine Tech at the Proving Grounds. We had a lot of help at our finger tips!!
So John will stay back and get a new oil pump on Monday while we move on to Muskegan and then to Champagne Illinois. Happily John caught it right away and saved the motor from damage. The rest of us will motor on and look forward to him getting back in the fold soon.
Well thats one day and one car. Six more days to go!! ?
Steve and Morgan
Had a smooth drive today of about 250 miles from detroit to Muskegon MI. The Vette, Cammie and 'cuda ran without flaw and the drivers enjoyed cool by Atlanta standards low 70's weather and a constant breeze. I used the gps today to check my speedometer. The good news is that the speedometer is optimistic by 10% so I wasnt being irresponsible driving at 90 mph...I was doing 80 mph as planned.
Muskegon remains a great small town in our hearts... really friendly people and a unique art deco main street.
Arriving at 230 pm we had lots of time for autocrossing. Morgan ran 4 times dropping her laps from 54 to 48 secs, and the vette dropped from 50 to 46 secs. I had both an instructor and a 'rider' ask to go in the vette. The rider was really impressed with how a hi horsepower car with big tires could be forced to spin around at the back and piroutte around the sharpest of corners, before quickly jumping on the gas to power our.
But the hilite of the day goes to the driver who autocrossed a $75,ooo 4 wheel drive Cadillac CTV "crossover' .. part station wagon part SUV. He really blasted around the autocross with great speed and as he came to the finish line he had to go over a bump in the pavement. Suddenly there is a loud POP and the car stops instantly. After a minute of silence, the driver steps out, removes his helmet and yells at the car before slamming the door shut. All the side air bags have gone off ...at $300-600 a bag ...ka-ching!!! Adding insult to injury GMs on board 'valet' On Star calls him on the radio system to ask if he has been in an accident and needs help!!! The next thing you know the guy gets a pair of scissors and starts cutting the bags out so he can drive the car. Can you imagine what he told his bride at the wedding that nite in Muskegon ...Seriously this is their honey moon car!!!
Tonite Morgan and I had a burger with Barry Lohman and his team. Barry is a public relations consultant with a serious addiction to fast cars. His team just launched www.motoramalive.com where they are covering a week of power tour. Check it out for a forthcoming interview with Morgan. Additionally Barry would like Morgan to become a correspondent for car related events in the southeast so I guess the cammie is going to burning up more fuel.
After a busy day we thought wed retreive the bags from the cars in the parking lot at 9 and hit the hay. Not so! Four local classic car dealers want to know all about the vette. Then they want to sell Morgan a Bonneville Salt Flats racing truck that will do 178 mph foir $13ooo. As we wind up with them, my autocross rider comes back and shares his excitement for the days run. Morgan meanwhile has another couple with her. Thinking we can leave, we find that teh GM engine tech who tried to help with Johns C5 problems the nite before is one parking deck below us trying to help his dad get their leaking radiator repaired in their el camino. Two of their friends have already fallen by Day two with a bad coil and a bad water pump.
And the tour goes on!!!
Muskegon remains a great small town in our hearts... really friendly people and a unique art deco main street.
Arriving at 230 pm we had lots of time for autocrossing. Morgan ran 4 times dropping her laps from 54 to 48 secs, and the vette dropped from 50 to 46 secs. I had both an instructor and a 'rider' ask to go in the vette. The rider was really impressed with how a hi horsepower car with big tires could be forced to spin around at the back and piroutte around the sharpest of corners, before quickly jumping on the gas to power our.
But the hilite of the day goes to the driver who autocrossed a $75,ooo 4 wheel drive Cadillac CTV "crossover' .. part station wagon part SUV. He really blasted around the autocross with great speed and as he came to the finish line he had to go over a bump in the pavement. Suddenly there is a loud POP and the car stops instantly. After a minute of silence, the driver steps out, removes his helmet and yells at the car before slamming the door shut. All the side air bags have gone off ...at $300-600 a bag ...ka-ching!!! Adding insult to injury GMs on board 'valet' On Star calls him on the radio system to ask if he has been in an accident and needs help!!! The next thing you know the guy gets a pair of scissors and starts cutting the bags out so he can drive the car. Can you imagine what he told his bride at the wedding that nite in Muskegon ...Seriously this is their honey moon car!!!
Tonite Morgan and I had a burger with Barry Lohman and his team. Barry is a public relations consultant with a serious addiction to fast cars. His team just launched www.motoramalive.com where they are covering a week of power tour. Check it out for a forthcoming interview with Morgan. Additionally Barry would like Morgan to become a correspondent for car related events in the southeast so I guess the cammie is going to burning up more fuel.
After a busy day we thought wed retreive the bags from the cars in the parking lot at 9 and hit the hay. Not so! Four local classic car dealers want to know all about the vette. Then they want to sell Morgan a Bonneville Salt Flats racing truck that will do 178 mph foir $13ooo. As we wind up with them, my autocross rider comes back and shares his excitement for the days run. Morgan meanwhile has another couple with her. Thinking we can leave, we find that teh GM engine tech who tried to help with Johns C5 problems the nite before is one parking deck below us trying to help his dad get their leaking radiator repaired in their el camino. Two of their friends have already fallen by Day two with a bad coil and a bad water pump.
And the tour goes on!!!
Note from Morgan
I'm missing the email recap from breakdown day. But let's just say a lot of SOS tweets were sent. I finally met Josh from Brown Dog Welding & Kenny from kcox photography. Cammie ended up on a trailer behind a Ford. I'm soldiering on as a passenger. And these instagram pics should give you a good storyboard of the day (minus all the frustration).
Today was a 'short' 170 mile run to St Louis for drag racing. Had a nice initial section of two lane roads thru cornfields and small town with temperatures around 75 and a blue sky dotted with white clouds. Vette up front, then the Raptor, the F 150 Harley Davidson ( with Cammie) and the 'cuda. Just a classicly beautiful ride. Oddly lots of people out to wave to us - the hilite and a first time record was a young girl sitting in a lawn chair petting two chickens on her lap. imagine that - two!! LOL!! glada to have such a great morning as Barry Lowman and his MotoramaLive crew were able to really understand what the Power Tour is really all about. I too was amazed to see the kids and teens who recognized the Raptor with two thumbs up and a WOW!!! Look at that .
The gang at Mid America Motorworks Corvette parts did a great lunch for us on their grounds.Live 70s rock band, great food and a special Corvette collection were there for all too enjoy.Plus photo ops at a reconstruction of the St Louis corvette Assembly plant and a 50s service station.
After that we quickly blasted to St Louis for the drag racing. Morgan's friend Kel arrived with the Ram and quickly left to take the Cammie back to Atlanta - an 18 hr round trip...Thanks Kel . Then it was a rush to get the Vette thru tech and up to the starting line. Unfortunately my ignition died again this year... a strong launch off the line, a quick shift to second, the revs climb to 4000 rpm , and the engine cuts out by the 1/8th mile. I had hoped a new Computer control module and a coil would solve l this problem that I actually first had last year. Obviously not, so I have another project on return.
We did have some good news though. Out of 58 entrants Morgan acheived 29th ( just .001 sec slower than the 4 wheel drive 550hp cadillac that blew all its airbags. And the Vette placed 12th!! The Vette is the lead pccture on the Autocross website editorial. See us on the Hot Rod website along with the Raptor and the Harley Davisdon F150:
http://www.hotrod.com/powertour/2012/hrdp_1206w_royal_purple_performance_driving_experience_autocross/
Well off to sleep...350 miles tomorrow!!! Best Steve and Morgan
Yes We did It !!! Although not without challenges.
Sorry for the absenteesism since Stillwater OK. We have had some long days driving it on home.
Before touching on the Stillwater to Dallas run, I forgot to mention that Morgan is now the south eastern correspondent for #Motorama Live, a Wednesday nite 9-11pm chat show on Twitter. I washed the vette - now officially named Ray - on Wed nite as Morgan did her first show with Barry and crew speaking about the Power Tour. I got involved briefing a local Okie on what to expect at a drivers meeting, and suddenly realized that because we were speaking loudly we might be interfering with Morgan's meeting. Just as I was about to caution him to lower his voice, I suddenly realized the show is on Twitter so its all typed not spoken! LOL!
For the run to Dallas on friday we were on our own. Everyone was staying 30 miles ahead of us and had their own routes given work or personal preferences. We followed the route which was more small towns, two lanes or old divided highways til we got about 1 1/2 hrs outside of Dallas. One of the hilites was following a homebuilt stealth car thru Oklahoma twisties ...picture a flat black nose cone of a stealth fighter on 4 wheels.
One of the lowlites was having the car completely die while going uphill in the left lane passing three Mustangs. With absolutely no engine I tried to tuck in quickly behind the second Mustang except he tried to slow to help me pass. Meanwhile the 3rd Mustang was closing the gap between him and teh second Mustang - the same gap I was trying to squeeze into. Luckily I did!
The engine quit because the MSD coil expired and stopped providing electricity to the spark plugs. happily i had my spare and the spare the M
SD rep gave me so in 5 minutes was back on the road to Dallas. Albeit carefully sensing another potential MSD coil failure might occur before we could get back to Atlanta.
Barry , the Raptor and the MotoramaLive team met us an hour outside of Dallas...their home town. Collectively with teh Harley F150 and a Mini Cooper and a BMW Z4 we all rolled into the QuikTrip Ball Park. Yes ! The last stop! We were here. We had done D2D Detroit to Dallas. All we had to do is show up the next day and get back to Atlanta.
Steve
Sorry for the absenteesism since Stillwater OK. We have had some long days driving it on home.
Before touching on the Stillwater to Dallas run, I forgot to mention that Morgan is now the south eastern correspondent for #Motorama Live, a Wednesday nite 9-11pm chat show on Twitter. I washed the vette - now officially named Ray - on Wed nite as Morgan did her first show with Barry and crew speaking about the Power Tour. I got involved briefing a local Okie on what to expect at a drivers meeting, and suddenly realized that because we were speaking loudly we might be interfering with Morgan's meeting. Just as I was about to caution him to lower his voice, I suddenly realized the show is on Twitter so its all typed not spoken! LOL!
For the run to Dallas on friday we were on our own. Everyone was staying 30 miles ahead of us and had their own routes given work or personal preferences. We followed the route which was more small towns, two lanes or old divided highways til we got about 1 1/2 hrs outside of Dallas. One of the hilites was following a homebuilt stealth car thru Oklahoma twisties ...picture a flat black nose cone of a stealth fighter on 4 wheels.
One of the lowlites was having the car completely die while going uphill in the left lane passing three Mustangs. With absolutely no engine I tried to tuck in quickly behind the second Mustang except he tried to slow to help me pass. Meanwhile the 3rd Mustang was closing the gap between him and teh second Mustang - the same gap I was trying to squeeze into. Luckily I did!
The engine quit because the MSD coil expired and stopped providing electricity to the spark plugs. happily i had my spare and the spare the M
SD rep gave me so in 5 minutes was back on the road to Dallas. Albeit carefully sensing another potential MSD coil failure might occur before we could get back to Atlanta.
Barry , the Raptor and the MotoramaLive team met us an hour outside of Dallas...their home town. Collectively with teh Harley F150 and a Mini Cooper and a BMW Z4 we all rolled into the QuikTrip Ball Park. Yes ! The last stop! We were here. We had done D2D Detroit to Dallas. All we had to do is show up the next day and get back to Atlanta.
Steve
We almost missed the Drivers meeting as I was so tired I set Saturday's alarm for 6pm instead of 6am! But we did make it for the final group photo standing in the outfield of QuickTrip ball park.
As much as it was a celebration, Saturday was also a terrific let down. We missed having John be with us to celebrate the accomplishment. It had been great spending time with our friends, the Betts's. We had now gotten to know Barry, Sean, Shane, Ken and Josh from the MotoramaLive group so well they felt like family. We missed Matt who had gone back to New Mexico on a work emergency. And there were the more recent Dallas acquantances- Jennifer, Ryan, Mini Rob and Marcus. We couldnt forget Alex, Ryan, Mike, Kevin and the Iowa crew who helped us out last year and came with mostly new rides for 2012. Goodbye Matt, a GM engine tech we met last year who supported us thru the Memorial Day Weekend starter thrash, and guided us on replacing the Cammie's motor. WOW it was over. These closely knit folks who we'd never met before, who helped us thru good and bad, were going to leave. And we wont be seeing most of these folks for another year. Morgan and I felt pretty lost for words.
Nonetheless we said our goodbyes, promised to stay in touch, and committed to coming back to Dallas for the start of Power Tour 2013. The adventure is over. Life goes on.
Wait, did I say the adventure was over?? NOT with 12 hours of driving to get back to Atlanta!! NOT with another bad MSD coil failure looming ahead. Not with thunderstorms threatening us.
I made the decision to delay leaving Dallas until I had another coil as back up since I had no way of knowing how often they would fail during a hi speed 12 hour interstate drive home. We left Hot Rod Harrys Speed Shop with a "No Name" coil as my 3rd back up feeling good. Five hours later the Betts came by us on Hwy 20 replacing the coil. One down, one spare on, one spare left in reserve... 7 hours to go. Not feeling so good.
We pressed on 2 hours past the Betts's stop to get to Tuscaloossa to be as far ahead of the thunderstorms as possible. The MSD coil was red hot at each stop...tick, tick, tick! Feeling worse.
Sunday am I awoke and with the bad weather ahead and a "HOT" but working MSD coil. Using wire ties, I decided to 'McGyver' the No Name coil to sit side by side with the MSD coil so with three small bolts I could quickly make a wiring switch in the rain. And then I decided I would start with the No Name so that if it failed I would have a proven but iffy back up. Well 3 1/2 hours later at a consistent 75-80 mph I can say the No Name coil is barely warm and a solid performer. We made it home and all 3 of the MSD Blaster SS coils are now in the garbage. Problem solved.
So thats it for Power Tour 2012. Five Long Hauls for me. Six for Morgan. Both Cammie and Ray appreciated by all and appearing on Hot Rods website and several Twitter tweets. Morgan with a 29 out of 58 finish at autocross. The Ray finishing 12th overall and with a good chance of appearing in October's magazine special on the Power Tour. Lots of new friends made and old ones appreciated. Ray is back in our Norcross shop. Tommorrow I will drop Cammie off with the mechanic regarding a new motor. John still awaits an update on his motor.
And the planning begins anew for 2013. Hot Rod announced its definitely a Dallas start and the locations will be published very soon. Internet rumors saying its going to be a southern tour : Dallas, Texarkana (Smokey and the Bandit!), Little Rock, Memphis, Birmingham, Chattanooga and Charlotte (NASCAR Country).
Hope you enjoyed our adventures. Now we need a vacation!! Best Steve and Morgan
As much as it was a celebration, Saturday was also a terrific let down. We missed having John be with us to celebrate the accomplishment. It had been great spending time with our friends, the Betts's. We had now gotten to know Barry, Sean, Shane, Ken and Josh from the MotoramaLive group so well they felt like family. We missed Matt who had gone back to New Mexico on a work emergency. And there were the more recent Dallas acquantances- Jennifer, Ryan, Mini Rob and Marcus. We couldnt forget Alex, Ryan, Mike, Kevin and the Iowa crew who helped us out last year and came with mostly new rides for 2012. Goodbye Matt, a GM engine tech we met last year who supported us thru the Memorial Day Weekend starter thrash, and guided us on replacing the Cammie's motor. WOW it was over. These closely knit folks who we'd never met before, who helped us thru good and bad, were going to leave. And we wont be seeing most of these folks for another year. Morgan and I felt pretty lost for words.
Nonetheless we said our goodbyes, promised to stay in touch, and committed to coming back to Dallas for the start of Power Tour 2013. The adventure is over. Life goes on.
Wait, did I say the adventure was over?? NOT with 12 hours of driving to get back to Atlanta!! NOT with another bad MSD coil failure looming ahead. Not with thunderstorms threatening us.
I made the decision to delay leaving Dallas until I had another coil as back up since I had no way of knowing how often they would fail during a hi speed 12 hour interstate drive home. We left Hot Rod Harrys Speed Shop with a "No Name" coil as my 3rd back up feeling good. Five hours later the Betts came by us on Hwy 20 replacing the coil. One down, one spare on, one spare left in reserve... 7 hours to go. Not feeling so good.
We pressed on 2 hours past the Betts's stop to get to Tuscaloossa to be as far ahead of the thunderstorms as possible. The MSD coil was red hot at each stop...tick, tick, tick! Feeling worse.
Sunday am I awoke and with the bad weather ahead and a "HOT" but working MSD coil. Using wire ties, I decided to 'McGyver' the No Name coil to sit side by side with the MSD coil so with three small bolts I could quickly make a wiring switch in the rain. And then I decided I would start with the No Name so that if it failed I would have a proven but iffy back up. Well 3 1/2 hours later at a consistent 75-80 mph I can say the No Name coil is barely warm and a solid performer. We made it home and all 3 of the MSD Blaster SS coils are now in the garbage. Problem solved.
So thats it for Power Tour 2012. Five Long Hauls for me. Six for Morgan. Both Cammie and Ray appreciated by all and appearing on Hot Rods website and several Twitter tweets. Morgan with a 29 out of 58 finish at autocross. The Ray finishing 12th overall and with a good chance of appearing in October's magazine special on the Power Tour. Lots of new friends made and old ones appreciated. Ray is back in our Norcross shop. Tommorrow I will drop Cammie off with the mechanic regarding a new motor. John still awaits an update on his motor.
And the planning begins anew for 2013. Hot Rod announced its definitely a Dallas start and the locations will be published very soon. Internet rumors saying its going to be a southern tour : Dallas, Texarkana (Smokey and the Bandit!), Little Rock, Memphis, Birmingham, Chattanooga and Charlotte (NASCAR Country).
Hope you enjoyed our adventures. Now we need a vacation!! Best Steve and Morgan