May 9th, 2000 - BigRed leaves North Carolina, conquers the mountains, and arrives safely in Grand Blanc, MI.
May24th, 2000 - BigRed pukes on the highway.
May 26th, 2000 - Engine disassembly reveals a blown intake manifold seal. Phew! That coulda been the big one, 'Lizabeth!
June 6th, 2000 - BigRed pukes again. A cooling system flush with some block-sealer seems to fix it.
June 10, 2000 - BigRed's Distress Find
On my way to a squadron activity (parking detail at a car cruise) I saw a fire chief speeding to something. I tuned my transceiver to the local FD channel and I hear "...Dalton Airfield, the plane is on fire but the people are out. Pull into the backyard..." !!!!!!!!!!!!! I hit the flashers and the wig-wags, blared on the horn, and I was off!!!
I got to the scene just as the people were being taken away and the fire was being put out. The local authorities directed me (and the ambulance that was following me to) to the site. After having no luck getting anyone on my radiop, I turned the ELT off and down the numbers and information from it. Might not have been a legit pip on the ol' find ribbon, but at least I have bragging rights!!
August 12th, 2000 - BigRed makes her Michigan Wing RedCap debut! She performs dilligently, and we got a "Trade'n Times" on the way home to look for a new engine for her.
September 4th, 2000 - The Talk
Okay, so the wife and I talk about what it's gonn take for me to get BigRed fast, reliable, and whatever else it takes so she can drive her truck to school and work. It boiled down to this: She agreed that we would do whatever was necessary to get it up and running to my specs. Hehehe....
October, November 2000 - Electricity...
Oh, how I hate electricity. Here's the deal. This is what I replaced:
Alternator - 4 times
Belts - 4 times
Battery - 2 times
Cap, coil, rotor, sparkplug wires
Water pump
Flexfan/clutch fan and spacer - 2 times
Completely removed the car's computer and everything; every wire that was attached to it.
The problem turned out to be a small short in the main wiring harness that goes through the firewall. Ahem..... $350 dollars to repair it.......
January 24th, 2001 -
BigRed Rescues Family of Three
My wife and I finally got out to go see a movie tonight. Well, it snowed a good deal just before we left, and the roads were terrible. On the way there, we're coming off this exit ramp and we see a car pointing towards us, ON IT'S SIDE. I pulled over/slid over to the side of the road, and ran over to the car. With the shadow I saw, I figured it was only one person, but upon approaching the vehicle, I noticed that there was a baby seat in the back of the car. I got a little nervous then. I opened the back door of the four-door saturn and looked inside to see a man, his wife, and their 12-18 month old child lying across the bottom (driver) side of the car, about five feet down. I grabbed the baby, handed him to my wife, and procceeded to pull the other two people (both alot larger than myself) out of the steaming vehicle. I ran back to my car and got blankets for the family and I got my traffic directing flashlights out. Another motorist stopped and called the police, and we tilted the car back upright and moved it off to the side of the road, facing the right way. Twice I was almost hit by the speeding motorists as they zoomed past us, but all went well, and we left the scene after the police arrived. Missed the movie, but did some good for a family.
February 1st, 2001 - BRAKING the BANK
I took my car in today to have the brakes checked out. I expected to pay about $400, because I thought I needed a new master cylinder, rotors, calipers, pads, ya know, the works. The first shop wouldn't even TOUCH my car. The second shop didn't want to touch it. WHY? Because the quote was $1800! That's what I paid for the entire car! It seems that my powermaster brake system, featuring a nitrogen charged electric brake booster, is one hell of an expensive thing to replace. I said "NO thanks", and I'm gonna retrofit a newer or older (but definitely) much simpler vacuum powered braking system. In fact, the conversion might cost me $100 with new parts. Thanks alot, GM engineers!
May 20th, 2001
Today I made a life-flight. A road trip. Okay, so I drove to Ohio. I left at 3:42am and got to St. Lousville Ohio at 8:42am. We tore an Olds 350 v8 out of a 77 nova (!?!) and I left the dude's house at 11:47am. At 3:42 pm, I arrived back in Grand Blanc. I've already started tearing the engine down to see why it only cost $50! Turns out that the holddown for one exhaust valve was cracked. No biggie, though, since my Olds 307 currently IN BigRed has 8 good ones I can use!
May 21st 2001
Well, if you checked the photos (when they were up), you'd notice that the assholes that sold me the engine sold me a 260, not a 350. So, once again, more cash down the drain.
August 18, 2001 - BigRed Cruises Woodward
Today, BigRed made it's Woodward Dream Cruise debut! With a fresh cleaning, fresh oil and lube, and a jerry-rigged blow-by system to keep it from smoking at stoplights, it was certainly a sight to see. Now, if it was just 10 years older...
That's okay. We'll be rollin with real power next year!!!
September 22, 2001 - BigRed is First on Scene
While cruising out to see a lady-friend, BigRed and I came upon a car in the ditch on I-75, hood open, with smoke and steam coming from an open hood. I immediately pulled over, grabbed my fire extinguisher from under my seat, and ran down to the vehicle. The dazed driver was stand in the driver door, and I told him to get away from the car. There was no fire, but I still took the driver away from the vehicle, laid him down, and started treating him for shock. He had bruising and near-abrasions on his chest and belly from hitting his steering wheel.
Apparently, he had been working the late shift, and was driving home too fast and too fatigued. He had dozed off long enough to plow into another vehicle, possibly injuring 3 of it's occupants. I told the police what I had done, and I left after EMS showed up. DRINK YOUR COFFEE!!!
December 24th, 2001 - Tis the Season
On my way to drop off some gifts today, I came upon a young lady who had smashed her S-10 into a barrier wall on the Freeway. I pulled over, approached the vehicle, and through her tears she told me that someone had already stopped and called the police and her parents. I surveyed the scene, noticing that the vehicle could be driven, then I got in and backed the truck up and parked it against the guard wall. I then went out and tore off her bumper (still attached with about half an inch of plastic) and threw it in her truck bed. I sat in the truck with her for about 15 minutes or so until the police and her parents showed up. I kept her talking, because she was really shaken up, and it turns out she works at my bank and she goes to school with some of my cadets.
Well, her parents and the police thanked me, and I was on my way. I can tell this is gonna be a busy season for BigRed.
