JohnD1956 Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 Took to the road today for Strongsville Started as a hot trip but we decided to go top less. We didn't get too far on the road less traveled when we hit construction season. And it got really hot in the sun. But we persevered till Syracuse. When we filled up, put the top up, and hopped on the Thruway for the last hour and a half. Ran the AC and kept an eye on the temps Medium fan speed but recirculate system And it eventually dropped to 50° Got to the overnite early and was happy I had a car with AC 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buick Regal GS Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 we've been here all day stocked the hospitality room ,,,noone will go hungry plenty of water ,pop,,,got both of my cars here 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 10 Author Share Posted July 10 Getting ready to head out. Could be some heavy storms enroute today. My sons, and family,are also coming. Doug is using the Regal GS for the trip. And Justin is planning to drive his 72 Centurion . Hope that he does. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Take care, John - Beryl has spawned several tornado warnings across central NY this afternoon. @KAD36 and I are leaving from Binghamton tomorrow morning. We should be in Strongsville for dinner. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Cleared hot for 9am tomorrow. Fed her a radiator pill per Dr @EmTees prescription, some rain-x on the windshield, a shot of R134 and half quart of 10-40. Running like a top. Even with a couple thousand pounds of spare parts in the trunk just in case there will still be something forgotten lol. Kick the tires, light the fires, Strongsville here we come. See you tomorrow. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 We rolled in around 530pm. This was quite a change from last year. Seem like the car hardly warmed up yet it too forever. Part of that was caused by taking a wrong exit off RT390 out of Rochester. We were directed in the right general direction so we just went on with the GPS instructions and ran many miles of back roads through NYS. with many a gorgeous vista and midwest like roads we went through many isolated rain storms and then sunny, dry weather. Ran the AC the entire trip and was very comfortable. we stopped for lunch in Jamestown NY at a Fifties ice cream stand. There was even a Buick there. Then we headed directly to Strongsville. The GS ran great! And I am looking forward to catching up with friends. A National meet is a great part of this Club. 12 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 Color me ENVIOUS!! Aren't GPSs great? BUT I have a sneaking suspicion the programmers were on something stronger than water and cigarettes part of the time. Enjoy!! Ben 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 @EmTee and I rolled into the Best Western about 5:20. Smooth sailing, 65-73 mph, some occasional rain, 4 solid lanes of traffic outside of Toledo and some nut stood their car on its nose locking up and smoking the tires ahead of us. We left plenty of distance. Car did 17.2 mpg. What!? Fairly flat driving, AC off and checked the math twice. Seems we have this second rebuilt engine dialed in pretty good. We shall see if it was a fluke or not. A slight drumming noise started showing up from either the front end or center of the car between 60-65 with 110 miles to go, couldn’t really pinpoint but all was quiet at 68 mph. EmTee though it might be road surface. A remote check in discussion with chief mechanic @old-tank back in Mission Control yielded a number of possibilities but the outcome was always the same - “well just stay at 68 mph and turn up the radio some more. Proceed”. which was followed as instructed and it was smooth as silk the rest of the way in. Heck I was just happy the freakin engine parts all stayed where they belonged and nothing fell off that caused EmTee to conduct evasive maneuvers. Temps were 185-190 deg the whole way in (11:00 position on the guage) with oil pressure just below the H, brief temp spike to 200 (N) at standstill traffic for those that want to compare guage notes. We had great beer and Rueben’s at Schnitz Ale Productions. Menu is limited but the quality made up for it. Will register tomorrow and hunt down our fearless leader. 14 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Now the fun begins! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 12 Author Share Posted July 12 I am so glad that the trip was a success! I am envious of 17 MPG. I am choosing not to report MPG with the GS because it sucked! 🤑 Nonetheless it is here. There is a nice turnout of cars. Your two cars will just make it better! 7 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 14 hours ago, JohnD1956 said: am so glad that the trip was a success! I am envious of 17 MPG. Hmmmm... Me too! Especially since he rarely let his speed drop much below 70 mph most of the way. I think he must have been looking at the wrong scale on his slide rule! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 Was going to launch the bat hook to the bumper of JDs GS to help catapult the 55 across congested traffic to get to dinner. Boy that GS has some giddy up. EmTee said “ and there goes JD”. And it was like Cripes how’d he get way down there already!? @Machine Gun piled in with us for the trip to The Rail for burgers and beers and it was very good. It was great seeing folks cars, finally putting faces to “handles” and getting to talk for more than just a few minutes. Great stories and lots of laughs. Funny how so many of us have similar “adventures” putting these things together - don’t realize it until someone asks about a nuance on their car…then the story makes the car. 15.3 mpg on fillup tonight which included the around town between hotel and extended idling jaunts. Much more within expectations. Remembered that this engine (the third - a 56 322) has a lighter spring from the PSBs in the vac advance, unsure how much of a contributor that is or not. Looking forward to the show tomorrow! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 3 minutes ago, KAD36 said: Looking forward to the show tomorrow! Me too - despite the fact that @JohnD1956 has put us to work judging cars! 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 13 Share Posted July 13 19 minutes ago, EmTee said: Me too - despite the fact that @JohnD1956 has put us to work judging cars! See….that'll teach us to wander around the hospitality room scarfing cookies 🤣 But wait, there’s more. Congratulations and welcome to our newest BCA member! (You have 2 Buicks already Comon… it was only a matter of time);👍 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 13 Author Share Posted July 13 Sharon was looking for what type of Buick she'd like. but then a 65 called put to her... a sweet 65 GS with a 4 speed, But then Pete Phillips let her sit in his 65 Wildcat! I think we have a tough search ahead. 11 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machine Gun Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 I had a wonderful time meeting up with you ladies and gents. Here's wishing you safe and mechanically reliable travels home. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 15 hours ago, JohnD1956 said: Sharon was looking for what type of Buick she'd like. but then a 65 called put to her... a sweet 65 GS with a 4 speed, But then Pete Phillips let her sit in his 65 Wildcat! I think we have a tough search ahead. Oh man!! Slippery slope ahead! Nice Roadmaster for sale. Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 (edited) Wheels down on deck about 4pm, with the exception of puking some engine oil in about an 5 inch wide puddle from the inspection cover, trip was uneventful. Whatever the drumming was on the way down was barely perceptible on smooth new road at 60-63 mph so am thinking that was tire or road surface. Ran the AC and some Eagles CDs and was a pretty uneventful ride back, will save the rear main seal painting a fresh oil puddle for another project. 16.1 mpg back on 89 mid grade, AC on whole way, 90 deg out according to weather app, 205 est max temp on the climb to 2110 feet overlooking Chautaqua lake otherwise 195-200 whole way home. 825 miles round trip. Special thanks to @EmTee for swinging down the extra mileage to Binghamton - after 3 summers of chasing engine, ignition and electrical freak failures that plagued the car in rapid succession, it was reassuring to see his 67 Riv planted in the rear view mirror during this first “real” shakedown trip. Wasn’t able to get a good action shot unfortunately. Great meeting everyone and hope to see you all next year! Update - Got one at the rest stop Edited July 15 by KAD36 (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 As they say, unless you're the lead dog, the view never changes! Today's 'pit stop' to offload some spent coffee... Beautiful day for a drive through the Southern Tier of NY. 10 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Sorry to report to @old-tank that I failed to achieve my dead bug quota on this trip. I guess they just weren't biting today... 2 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 I'm really sorry I didn't get to meet you in person, @EmTee. I met a lot of other guys, but I seemed to miss you when I stopped by your car. Hopefully next time. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Me too, but we can blame @JohnD1956, since I was likely out on the field judging! I really wanted to see your shop and @Machine Gun and I had good intentions Friday, however, there's just so much going-on in such a short amount of time... Maybe Charlotte? Albany (2026) is already on my calendar for sure! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 15 Share Posted July 15 Approximately 930 miles round-trip. The new tires performed well; I was concerned after hearing Willie's experience with his Nexen N'priz. Balance is good and ride is smooth. I'm currently running 35 psi at all corners. My DIY toe adjustment seems pretty good so-far; no evidence of any unusual or uneven wear thus far and the car seems to handle better than before the adjustment. (RF wheel was previously toed-out, while LF was at about zero. Spec is ~0.25" toe-in.) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 15 Author Share Posted July 15 I never tracked the mileage on the way out nor till the first gas stop on the way home. Then I did track two tank full gas milage. The GS was only getting 12 mpg with the AC on but 15 with it off. May be time to look at the points again since I last checked em in 2008. But it ran smooth and strong, so I may just leave it alone. We went to Shanksville PA to visit the flight 93 memorial on the way home. And still have a few hours drive today to get home. I highly recommend a visit to this memorial. It is somber and fitting! 10 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 16 Author Share Posted July 16 Returned home yesterday around 4:30 pm. Took my favorite highway , Rt 88 , from Binghamton NY but decided to detour and add a few miles for a country drive to Delhi, NY, and across Rt 10 back towards home. Late last night I used Google Maps to re-run my route and add up the miles. We drove the GS 1,209 miles on this trip with an overall gas MPG of 13.4. If it wasn't such a nice riding and excellent handling car, I might be a tad concerned with the MPG. But WTH! We only live once, and the drive, show, and memorial, were all worth it individually, and much more collectively. Looking forward to next year at Concord NC. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 16 Share Posted July 16 2 hours ago, JohnD1956 said: Took my favorite highway , Rt 88 , from Binghamton NY Did you see any cars? 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 7 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: Did you see any cars? Wasn't there a Twilight Zone episode filmed in that area...? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror_Image_(The_Twilight_Zone) 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 RT 88, imagine the circumstances surrounding a picture of the Gilbertsville-Mt. Upton central school building. You don't just happen to be driving by. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 (edited) On 7/16/2024 at 8:38 PM, EmTee said: Wasn't there a Twilight Zone episode filmed in that area...? Episode Mirror Image: Picture if you will, another 67 Riviera. Gold. Road wheels. Black Interior. Pristine dash and gauges. The clock works. NY Plates. Air Conditioning. With a trunk full of brand new R12 refrigerant canisters enough to last a lifetime. Closing Narrative: Obscure and metaphysical explanation to cover a phenomenon. Call it parallel planes or just incredibly lucky. Whatever it is, you’ll find it in the twilight zone. They just don’t make shows like that any more. They were absolutely brilliant. Edited July 23 by KAD36 (see edit history) 1 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 In that parallel universe, those individual cans of R-12 would not leak, over time. I bought some on the last day they could be legally bought. I took them home and put them in an interior closet for safe keeping A few years later, I moved them to get to some other things. The boxes felt lighter, so I checked each can for weight. About 95% of the stated weight of gas had "left the can" empty! Oh well . . . When "The Twilight Zone" was on, I was too young to really understand it, other than it was about unusual things happening. I did like and understand "The Outer Limits", though. I liked the many Warner Bros. detective shows, though, as "77 Sunset Strip" and "Hawaiian Eye", though. Check the vintage TV channels for replays! History and Icons channel replays "Star Trek" every weekday night, from 7pm to Midnight. Starting with the first generation all the way to the end, in order, ending with Scott Bakula as the Commander, in the "Enterprise" iteration. Daytime includes "Hawaii Five-O" and "Nash Bridges", among others. Another similar channel has marathon "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Rockford Files". THEN there is "Buzzer" which has many of the game shows from the 1960s and 1970s! Various years of "The Match Game", various versions of "Password", original and current iterations of "The Newlywed Game", and several generations of "Family Feud". Not to forget original "To Tell The Truth", with Gary Moore. I can get all of that in DFW on broadcast TV, too! Neat to see how much better the stars tended to dress back then! Can't forget "The Price is Right", when Bob Barker's hair was still dark! Enjoy! NTX5467 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Watched the same shows. Outer limits and original Star Trek were also great. Probably why today curse of oak island and skinwalker ranch are two of my favorites. Dig holes, hunt metal, shoot rockets, look perplexed.. 10 years of Tuesday nights I’ll never get back. Also never successfully executed a Rockford spin on dry pavement with my dad’s Olds but remember the attempts. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 Yep, Rockford did lots of things I would never try with my '77 Camaro LT! Never did find out what that "mild-mannered Pontiac" had had done to it to do what it did with seeming ease and no body flex. On normal whitewall tires and no flying wheel covers! NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) 1 hour ago, NTX5467 said: On normal whitewall tires and no flying wheel covers! A wheel cover will definitely come off a ‘78 Delta 88 Royale. Just sayin. In comments to that link above one person apparently nailed it after much practice with his fathers Buick. Edited July 24 by KAD36 (see edit history) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Don't guess any wheel covers could fly off which were not on the car. Perhaps I should have said "trim rings"? ------------------------ ONE of the videos which came up after the J-Turn video mentioned how the FBirds were modified for the show. Quite interesting that Garner chose the lower trim level to match the orientation of the Rockford character, BUT the cars had Formula/TA chassis upgrades and a 400 V-8 in them. THAT answered a LOT of questions I had about the car and how it did what it did. Thanks for the video link! NTX5467 Edited July 24 by NTX5467 (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAD36 Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 44 minutes ago, NTX5467 said: THAT answered a LOT of questions I had about the car and how it did what it did. oh… So you DID try it with the Camaro lol 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 At the 1993 national meet in Phoenix Arizona there was a tour of the GM proving grounds. Club members got the ride in some of the cars doing that same maneuver. I rode in a 1993 Buick century packed in the backseat with others. After 10 runs the car was retired because of severe wear on the tires. I couldn't believe they actually had to pay the driver to do that. I couldn't tell if there was anything special done to the car; just a good driver driving that anemic sedan. 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 6 hours ago, KAD36 said: oh… So you DID try it with the Camaro lol NO. If I'd tried some of that stuff, the body flex between the front sub-frame and the body would have made the fenders enough to see them move. Just like on a washboard road surface a bit too fast. Those FBirds must have had sub-frame connectors, too! NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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