38Buick 80C Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 Mike, I didn't think I could be any MORE Italian, but I think you just accomplished that."dePaoli" Ehh it's close enough, heck Rick Young had it as "DePauli" on the name cards at the BOD meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 1, 2010 Author Share Posted August 1, 2010 We're soon to be "off like a herd of turtles" destination tonight central Oklahoma where the forecast temperatures are 100-110*Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 107 degrees in Oklahoma at 5:30. We plowed ahead and made it back to the Texas border and stopped for the night. The AC is doing it's best, but that ain't much. I vapor locked at around 1:30 so I had to run the electric fuel pump the rest of the day. I believe this will be the last year of driving a "bone stock" 55.Stick a fork in me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Sorry to hear that Mike. I was so looking forward to seeing the 55 convertible someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Those "Chrome-adorned" turtles did some movin' to get to TX that soon!Tale care . . . in our own 100+ degree heat!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 2, 2010 Author Share Posted August 2, 2010 I stopped in Muskogee OK at 5p after 500 miles @15mpg due to 105* temps, struggling A/C and vapor lock even while running the electric fuel pump. It ain't fun driving in those conditions. The available fuels suck! Like Mike said bone stock is gone next year.Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 Sorry to hear that Mike. I was so looking forward to seeing the 55 convertible someday.I pretty much was dared to finish by Charlotte, so you will see it, I just won't drive it. (And that car WILL be bone stock) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick5563 Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 CLANG (bell ringing).HOME.Need a shower! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 It was great to meet you Mike!Glad to see you made it home safe, sound and without as much drama as the inbound trip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted August 3, 2010 Share Posted August 3, 2010 I am home now too.. Dragging a trailer aint a whole lot of fun but at least I had A/C and a thermometer so I could see how hot it was in Oklahoma. 106 was what it was when the tire blew. Thanks to Willie's patented tire changing apparatus, I was on the road in 15 minutes, hot and sweaty.Stopped yesterday at home and dumped the car and then returned the trailer and had Mexican food. Ran into the worst construction of the whole trip 30 miles from home.. 3 lanes of I 35 into 1 lane, took me an hour to go 10 miles. Now its time to clean out the truck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 Made it home 3 days ago---no issues on the final day.Last performance stats and a few comments:2500 miles total...only 2000 miles round trip, so where did the other 500 come from (pleasant driving around Iowa).mpg ranged from 14 to 18...15 overall average...radial tires made for worse mileage with only marginally improved handling and much worse ride/noise.60.6mph moving average; 84.9 mph max speed (gps).Passenger side front door molding damaged when parked somewhere...no note of course.The meet I think was the best yet, maybe because those that put it on are friends and asked my feedback for the last year and limited help at the meet.Disappointments: BCA members (who were not registered) and their families 'pigged-out' in the hospitality room which was not monitored. One even helped some and that was his justification for not registering (on top of that his prolific posts made it sound like he was in charge). Shame on you Jake!...why do you think you are better than others who worked AND registered.My last count of the Texas Road Warriors was 15 who either drove , flew, or (choke! gasp!) trailered a "trailer queen". I did not see anyone from the very large Flint Chapter. That is a slap in the face! We go to their meets, leave money...oh well it's their loss.Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 It was great to meet you "Old Tank"!This isn't the first we've heard of members showing up at the meet unregistered.Seems like there should be a way to fix that. I guess $50 to attend THE BEST CAR SHOW ON PLANET EARTH is just too much for some. Usually, the goodie bag is worth a few bucks to me.This is my 3rd national meet and I didn't even know about the hospitality room at the first one, found out on saturday last year and barely even used it this year. I think I had 2 sodas.Interesting comments about the radial tires....I may have bested you on highest MPH, but my GPS doesn't keep score, I just know the 80mph alarm was going off through most of Indiana! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 I may have bested you on highest MPH, but my GPS doesn't keep score, I just know the 80mph alarm was going off through most of Indiana!Yep, I had one of them on the way back too. His name was Mr Coker!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrEarl Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 I guess $50 to attend THE BEST CAR SHOW ON PLANET EARTH is just too much for some. In these hard times it very well may be. I really wanted one of the Buicks in a Barn t-shirt but had to decide between that or some parts I just had to have. Times are tough, not much extra change gets left on top of the dresser at our house these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wildcat62 Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 In these hard times it very well may be. I really wanted one of the Buicks in a Barn t-shirt but had to decide between that or some parts I just had to have. Times are tough, not much extra change gets left on top of the dresser at our house these days.Similar problem here Lamar, I kept wanting to go back and pick up a shirt there and also one for the Heartland Regional next year and kept thinking I'd go back and get one after hitting the swap meet just in case I needed something more there.Then it was after a meeting.Or judges training....or after judging....after the forum breakfast...after the open car show...Where the heck does the time GO at a National? They are never long enough.Lesson learned. Buy shirt first. Too many other shiny things to distract me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redrob Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 (edited) My brother and I in his '65 Sportwagon had a small radiator leak in Jewell on Friday night and we got by with some Barz leak, antifreeze and crossed fingers. It's been a tough summer, and the radiator finally broke near Albert Lea, and we were towed home.The rest of the story is that it was a broken weld/seam and not the entire radiator core, and it has already been welded and re-installed and is now home. Edited August 8, 2010 by Redrob (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted August 9, 2010 Share Posted August 9, 2010 In these hard times it very well may be. I really wanted one of the Buicks in a Barn t-shirt but had to decide between that or some parts I just had to have. Times are tough, not much extra change gets left on top of the dresser at our house these days.I too had to pass on the shirt, but did pay half on shirts for the kids.This was a cheap national for us. I think we kept it between $600 & $700, but we were only there 3 nights and got a priceline hotel for $65. (very nice at the hampton by the way!)Roughly 1300 miles total for us.Very little shopping and cheap food for the most part.....I also had to bite my wallet quite a bit at the swap meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 27, 2010 Author Share Posted August 27, 2010 Somewhere in Iowa: choose the image(s) that apply... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thriller Posted August 27, 2010 Share Posted August 27, 2010 That guard rail on the right reminds me that I nearly had an incident with my trailer on the day we left. West of Ames on 30 there was construction on a bridge (read valley bottom). There were warnings about over width vehicles...the thing is that the construction was right at the bottom on the east side of the valley, and the left lane was the remaining one. So, as you get down the hill you need to change lanes...on your right is pylons (possibly some other form of barricade) and on the left was a concrete barrier for the side of the bridge. I was heavy on the brakes as I came through there, then, in part because I wasn't used to worrying too much about the left side of the trailer (I tend to use the right side mirror to maintain lane position...not entirely sure why) - when I checked the left side mirror, the trailer was within an inch or two of the barrier. I did manage to get through OK, but on the next stop, I did look over the trailer just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted August 28, 2010 Author Share Posted August 28, 2010 Gotta feed 'em...probably @ ~$40 each for another 250 miles.Earlier NTX5467 asked about ethanol and mileage. There is no way to avoid it, at least until we got to Iowa. It seems that the regular 87 octane is 'real gas' and is 10 cents a gallon higher than the higher octane fuel which has 10% ethanol. The 500 miles we drove around Iowa was the best mileage. Curiously the locals were observed all using the real stuff and that button on the pumps had the most wear. Seems they grow the corn, make the ethanol, maybe drink some, but don't use it in their cars. At least they have a choice.Willie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivgs Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 The first 2 photos look like there were taken at the valet parking lot at the casino a few miles from my house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Earl Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 If I burn ethanol in my delivery vehicle, it goes from using about 25 gallons a day, to at least 31 and sometimes 35 gallons a day. The worse mileage is when it's windy. That stuff is terrible and the truck has been that way since I got it. It had 850 miles on it when I started driving it and it's supposed to be "ethanol freindly". It makes me wonder if people are going to wake up about that stuff. Of course around here in North Iowa, after most of the ethanol plants around here went belly-up the oil companies bought them up and now all the negative publicity has gone away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 At our chapter meeting last Saturday, many members noted that the super unleaded (with ethanol) was less expensive than the "normal" regular gasoline in Iowa. Fuel economy was also mentioned, with the ethanol blends being lower.The main advantage of FlexFuel vehicles is that they will automatically adjust for E85 fuels. This gives the consumer more fuel purchase options. One reason for the many GM flexfuel vehicles on the road today (unbeknownst to their owners, in many cases) was that FlexFuel vehicles had their CAFE numbers upgraded from what they normally would have been. This kept GM selling Suburbans and Tahoes/Yukons while they were very popular, without it significantly affecting their CAFE numbers (something from the "Bush Years").I became aware the GMPowertrain is not doing their variable displacement engines now. From what I suspect, when GM went to FlexFuel as the "default"/standard engine in many vehicles (for model year 2009+), the Variable Displacement feature went away. Why? From what I understand, as others who did that situation turned off spark AND fuel to the inactive cylinders, GM's system would let the injectors barely cycle once every 4 firing cycles, resulting in an 8% fuel economy gain, when operating in that "1/2 engine" mode. The injectors for FlexFuel engines need much more flow capacity than injectors for just gasoline, so that little "every 4th cycle dribble" might have made the whole system ineffective for fuel economy in the Variable Displacement mode. I also suspect that "FlexFuel" is a greater marketing issue than "Variable Displacement". These are just MY own gut suspicions . . .Interesting observation of the buttons on the gas station pumps/dispensers in Iowa, Old-Tank!NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhclark Posted August 28, 2010 Share Posted August 28, 2010 I feel like an idiot....I only filled up once in Ames, and thought they had made a mistake at the pump, so I pumped the super because it was cheaper!I didn't notice any signage showing why.My '59 doesn't seem to mind and we still got 16 mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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