Texas Road Warriors to invade Rochester

[old-tank]

We had so much fun and adventure last year ( Batavia ) that we will try it again.

I will be driving the same car...the one in the avatar and will leave Seguin (San Antonio area) TX early tomorrow morning and try to meet Bill Stoneberg in Norman, OK.

Willie

[jscheib]

Hope all goes more smoothly then the trip to Batavia. A couple of us are taking the cowards way, flying to Rochester. See you there!!

John

[Guest BJM]

Any troubles in mid-Iowa (southern Iowa on up) I am ready to assist. I have a full set of tools in the garage, cool drinks and a buddy with a truck/trailer in an emergency. We will be leaving for Rochester on Wednesday at noon.

Contact number - Work 7:30am to 4pm on Monday and Tuesday 515-324-2261

Home 515-795-2522

Jake

[Pete Phillips]

I'm also driving up from Texas, leaving Tuesday at 6:30 a.m. in my 1961 Buick Special. Thanks for the offer of help in southern Iowa, if needed.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

Sherman, Tx

[imported_buick5563]

Pete,

I will be right behind you. I'm leaving Tuesday in my 55 three and a half hours south. I hope to catch up to at least one of you guys.

Mike

[Bill Stoneberg]

I am not taking the 47 this year as I am taking my 82 year old father with me. My wife can handle no A/C, Dad can't. So we are driving my 88 Wagon.

Willie, See you in Norman tonight.

[Smartin]

Be ready for rain tomorrow morning through St. Louis! I'll be leaving in the morning around 9am.

[Barney Eaton]

We departed Georgetown at 7:00am today and tried to stay in Wichita but there was no room in the inn(s) staying in Emporia. Expect to stop at antique stores in KC tomorrow and stay somewhere around Des Moines tomorrow....don't think we can make it to Rochester with all the stops planned.

[old-tank]

We made it to Norman, OK yesterday ~460 miles. No car trouble, 16mpg. It was very hot 100+ in north TX and OK. The factory AC was barely adequate. Then last night were some heavy rain....at least i did not have to drive in it. Met with Bill Stoneberg and his dad for dinner and they report no problems. Tonight maybe Council Bluffs...need to get off this boring I35.

Willie

[Bill Stoneberg]

No problems today because I caught the one main one yesterday while changing oil. I had a big bulge in my upper radiator hose. It only showed up while hot and under pressure. That would have made for a problems sometimes.

Excitement pulling out of my driveway, the mat got caught under the gas pedal and made me go fast and have pretty poor brakes.

Listening to weather, it will be 100 in Oklahoma today, I hope it will be cooler in Rochester.

[Guest BJM]

Forecast for Tuesday in central Iowa calls for high of 80-82 degrees - we just got out of an all day soaking BUT WE REALLY NEEDED IT. Now, the temps are supposed to toggle upwars. Wednesday no rain high of 90. Thursday no rain high of 92. Friday and Saturday in the mid-90's. As for Rochester, expect about 4 degrees cooler as it is 200 miles northeast of Des Moines and closer to the jet stream BUT still lower 90's

[Guest BJM]

Willie just called from south of Kansas City. He is going to try and make Bethany Missouri (half way between KC and Des Moines for a Tuesday night stay. One member is stranded in Fort Worth with a burnt distributor rotor for using Pertronix per Willie. Be sure to have back up parts if possible.

Jake

[Bill Stoneberg]

We made it as far as Cameron MO tonight. Dad and I headed North to Nebraska this afternoon. We got onto a "Scenic" Drive and enjoyed what we saw but it sure put a crink in milage and time. So we got back on the fwy to relax and made it to see Willie. Dinner tonight and some libations and then on to Rochester.

My Wagon has got 17.5 mpg most of the way, driving 65 - 70 on the fwy. Inside of the car is cool and we are cranking the tunes on the IPOD.

Who says the drive to the Nationals has to be a chore last last year ?

[old-tank]

We decided to stop in Cameron also...maybe I can out-fumble Bill for the check again. 430 miles; 16.6mpg. Mike (Buick5563)is back on the road again near Oklahoma City after a delay getting towed and replacing a burned distributor rotor...the same problem that I had last year. Pertronix struck again! He will look for a loaded distributor at the swap meet and will need a timing light. Hint: Jake??

Willie

[Pete Phillips]

Hey guys,

I'm a little ahead of you, having stopped for the night in Osceola, Iowa along I-35, about an hour south of DesMoines. The '61 Special is doing fine.

Pete Phillips

[Guest BJM]

I'll bring my timimg light Willie. No problem. Sorry about recommending Mexican last night. That's so midwestern of me!

Jake

[imported_buick5563]

Hey Y'all,

I made it to Wichita last night after the burnt out rotor and a hailstorm. I also have the Hagerty roadside assistance that Bill mentioned last year. A flatbed was there to assist within 40 minutes. My rotor was entirely toasted so I will be going back to the old fashioned way. Even after reading and hearing about Willie's adventure last year, I still didn't even check mine. OOPS. Sometimes I forget that this is an old car, not just a "regular car". I just changed the oil and emptied the fuel filter and "took off like I knew what I was doing" (Old Tank)

The only other thing to report is that we saw several signs that said it was 105 degrees yesterday while driving through OK. (But Mike, those signs are in the sun and they are on blacktop)... Yeah, well so am I!

Anyway, I will call to see if my room will be ready today instead of my scheduled (tomorrow) arrival. Otherwise, I may head through South Dakota since it is the last of the lower 48 I have never been in.

See you soon,

Mike

[Bill Stoneberg]

Willie and I and Pete all made it up to Rochester today. Most of us got in Midafternoon. We left early this morning and drove through the fog most of the morning. It was nice and cool. In the afternoon it got hot though. Found some cool local beer to help that situation.

Nice cars up here, I can't wait to see them all in on Friday and Saturday.

[imported_buick5563]

Man, I love these hotels with free internet access and a computer attached. Awesome. I figured I was going to have to find Willie or Bill to post for me.

Well I pulled a combination of my last post. I drove through South Dakota (Sioux Falls) to see my final state in the contiguous US. Then we drove to within 2 hours of Rochester and had dinner. I called to see if I could get in a day early and got the last room in my hotel for the night.

So we made it last night at around 9 pm, just enough time to try one(or two) of those Schells amber beers that I had heard about earlier. Mm Mmm. We ended up going over 1200 miles with the S.D. detour and averaged right around 15 mpg.I really need to find the car wash right now. Last year with the fresh paint, I stopped every night and found a place to wash it. Oh how things change in a year. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I hope to meet some of you guys here. See ya.

Mike

[old-tank]

What is the difference between the Kahler Grand hotel and a Super8?....the Super8 has intenet access! Dang snooty hotels.

But hey, I'm here to have fun. the car is washed and parked. Last 2 fill-ups=14.5 mpg (10% ethanol); 16.2 (the good stuff again).

Got to meet some forum members and look forward to meeting more.

Willie

[imported_buick5563]

Aargh.......!

So it looks like I will be judging for the first time.

This morning when I tried to register and pick up my packet I was informed that I wasn't registered. What? .....But I registered at the hotel, surely there must be a mistake. Nope. I just drove 1200 miles. Nope. But it's a Senior, I want to try for a Preservation award. Nope.

OK, I'll call my wife, I'm sure there must be a misunderstanding. She leaves work, goes through my checkbook. Nuthin'. Apparently I filled out the form and never mailed it. I dunno, she couldn't find it. So this is probably the biggest brain-poot I have ever had.

Any way, I WILL have a good time and meet some of you forum folk, now I have more time to look for you.

BTW, I will now be voting for the points system in Flint now. Tonight, I will be just using the PINTS system.

Mike

(Too angry with myself to use these gremlins)

[NTX5467]

Well, Mike, that just proves that your head is headed in the correct direction (with respect to attending BCA National Meets)! One BIG fuel economy and "shake down" run, getting ready for next year? Rules are rules . . . .

Hope your head doesn't hurt too much in the morning! hehe

Take care and enjoy the sensory overload of Buicks one more time!

Willis

[imported_buick5563]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">One BIG fuel economy and "shake down" run, getting ready for next year? Rules are rules . . . .

</div></div>

Very true sir,

<img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Mike

[Guest imported_MrEarl]

What a bummer. Man I know you must have been upset. But as my dad said during my first driving lesson as he was pullin himself up outa the floor board....Dem be da breaks.

Oh well, at least you'll have more time to spend at the swap meet. Oh by the way did you see my want list post

[old-tank]

Last night 21 warriors got together to eat Italian food. My last count of Buicks from Texas was 6 driven and one trailored.

Willie

[Barney Eaton]

Mike, I was wondering why your car was not awarded anything during the banquet.

While we had a great time, we were on the run all the time. Not getting enough votes for my second term on the BCA board may be a blessing. Bill Stoneberg will discover the next three years that his time is not his own, you are expected to be at the general membership meeting, must be at the board meeting, and should attend the division meeting. No time to get a car ready or be a vendor. I judged and that requires attending the judges meeting and the judges breakfast, plus the time it takes to judge..........

Don't get me wrong, I made the choice because I love the cars and the people.

I will have my reservation in for Seattle by the end of the month. The next decision is about running for the BCA board in 2007.

[imported_buick5563]

Barney,

Since I didn't get my registration ( apparently since I didn't send it) I wasn't judged. No judge, no award. They weren't going to break the rules for me or (as I heard later) two other Senior cars whose owners apparently had senior moments. I heard nice comments in person and in private messages about me and my car and it was appreciated. Hey no hard feelings- It was my fault. I actually felt really bad for Roy Faries who was put in the position of having to turn me away. He spoke with the head judge on my behalf to no avail. There is always next year, but Seattle is so far away, there is no way I will be able to drive given my vacation schedule. If I don't go next year there is always Flint <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> .

Oh well, I could just put it up on blocks and not enjoy it. Yeah right. <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Mike

[imported_buick5563]

Here is the final installment on my trip.

It was hot as Hell yesterday. We got on the road by 6 am. By 11:00 it was hot enough to try the AC. We rigged some cardboard behind the ducts to direct even more air toward us because the vents in the back were pretty much just pointed straight at my cloth headliner. It did OK but by 2 the temp gauge was pegging and I had to run my electric fuel pump full time because the gas was just boiling under the hood. The problem is that the electric pump puts out more pressure than the regular pump so the whole underside of my hood is all gas slobbery this morning. Up until this point I was getting 15 mpg. With the AC running full time I got over 16 for two tanks in a row. Somebody call Mythbusters, they got it wrong. When we stopped for dinner at 7:30 my dad asked if I would mind continuing. He couldn't bear another sunny day in the 55. We headed on after dinner, but it never really cooled down.

So, we arrived this morning after 20 1/2 hours of pretty much non-stop driving. We averaged just a bit over 15 mpg for the trip and for the return trip 56 mph including pit stops.

All things considered, even after my previous post, I had a great time. I met Thriller, ate next to GS John at the awards banquet, judged with jscheib, and finally met Adam Martin. I'm sorry that I didn't meet 3jakes to thank him for bringing the timing light ( I tried, I guess I had the wrong number, sorry).

I also enjoyed hanging with Bill and Willie, who along with their wives and my dad, found something good to eat and drink pretty much every night.

Dad is trying to convince me to fly to Seattle next year. I wouldn't qualify as a Road Warrior, but I would love to do it again.

Mike Middleton

home

[Centurion]

Mike, it's a sunny and pleasant 75 degrees in Seattle today, so we're not suffering with the heat like most of the country -- although it'll be somewhat hotter by the upcoming weekend. I hope you'll consider being a "Road Warrior" again in 2007. I know that your vacation schedule might be a limiting factor, but many of us did the trip to Flint in 2003 with just 2-weeks vacations or a bit more. We'd love to see you and the fine '55 here!

[FireballV8]

Brian

What are the dates for Seattle in 2007? When will info be available on the website?

thanks

[Centurion]

The dates are July 25 - 28, 2007.

The meet director is traveling home from Rochester, but I'm e-mailing him today with Roberta's e-mail address -- so that he can furnish the appropriate links for the BCA home page. I'll watch for this, and will alert you all when it shows up.

The registration forms and the initial invitation to the meet will appear with the August "Bugle".

[Pete Phillips]

I rolled into Sherman, Texas (home from Rochester) at 4p.m today, 106 degrees here. The '61 Special did fine (1900-mile round trip), except for one incident of vapor lock in central Missouri yesteday in 100-degree heat. I let the gas gauge get down to 1/4 of a tank, and as happened in my previous '61 Skylark on a similar day 25 years ago, the engine quit and the gas was bubbling in the glass float bowl. After pouring a gallon of reserve gas that I had in a can in the trunk, and letting the engine cool down for 15 minutes, the engine started again and ran long enough to get to the next town for a full tank of gas. No other problems except very uncomfortable heat in a non-air-conditioned car, and always 20 mpg or better with the 215 V-8.

Thanks, Minnesota members, for a wonderful meet.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

[Smartin]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">All things considered, even after my previous post, I had a great time. I met Thriller, ate next to GS John at the awards banquet, judged with jscheib, and finally met Adam Martin.

</div></div>

Mike, it was great meeting you! Did John Williams ever talk you into joining the BDE? <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> He threw a hell of a sales pitch at me at the bar that evening, but I just don't have the time or resources to do something like that. I would if I could, that's for sure.

Glad to see you all made it home safely, guys!

[jscheib]

This is probably a good time for me to post a hearty thank you to all the Texans for allowing a couple of Yankees to crash the party (but we did bring a new Texan BCA member with us, or actually he brought us, when he found you were having the gathering). And Barney, you may get to enjoy the meal more next year, with a bit more time. And Pete even had to have his dinner delivered.

Mike, it was a pleasure judging with you and you did not show any frustration of the registration problem - a true Texas gentleman. I was not aware of the problem until reading this thread.

I hope we can make it to Seattle next year, but if not, for sure Flint. I am not sure if I would bring a car to Seattle, unless I do something like Brian coming from Flint (with the spouse thinking you are crazy), or a trailer or transported.

Anyway, for all you Texans, I have a confession which may really get me dis-invited to any future Texas gatherings. Both my son and I are graduates of OK State. But you all have your own intra- Texas battles between four schools, so two more from OK should not be too bad. I spent most of my career working for a Texas A & M graduate, so there should be some redemption there.

Both Rich Dayton and I enjoyed your company and thanks again for letting us in.

John

[jscheib]

Also, I think someone from Seattle said they had their own web site for the meet, already. I did not take it down, but it may be on thgeir form when I can find it. Busy catching up with a lot of stuff at home.

John

[Bill Stoneberg]

Now that I ad dinner, a couple of beers, and a nap I feel like getting back on the computer again. I took a break from them as I know I probably have at least a thousand emails at work to deal with tomorrow.

We made it home about 3 pm today. The most aggrevating part of the trip was waiting for a single cashier to check 20 + cars out of the airport parking lot where Dee left her truck.

Got worse milage going home then going up to MN, one tank was 11 mpg. By the time I got to Texas it was back up to 15. 2756 miles round trip. We went on a scenic drive through Kansas that added a few and went to the Mississippi River to see how big it was up there compared to my part of the country.

Had a great time, met a lot of people and made a lot of new friends. Barney is correct, lots of meetings on Friday and Saturday. The second annual Texas dinner was a lot of fun, we were happy to have friends from CT. And we wont mention the Oklahoma schools.

I found a turn signal lever for my 50 so the swap meet was a sucess for me.

I cant wait to go to Seattle and we will see about dragging or driving a car up there.

To anyone from the host chapters who may be reading this, Thanks for a good time and I hope you will do another National.

[Centurion]

John, there is a website dedicated to the meet, but it is down for some updates. I'll try to keep tabs on this and let you know when it's up.

[BUICK RACER]

The Northern Cascade web site for the National in Seattle in 2007 is web page but will not be available for at least a few days, when they all get back from MN!

[old-tank]

Being old and slow, I'm still on the road, or off the road in McKinney TX....I gave up 300 miles from home. Leaving Kansas City area this am the temps were in the 90's after 9am and were 102-108* in southern OK and N TX. The temp gauge was pegged and the ac could not keep up. No problems other than the brutal heat. Still fighting poor internet connections, so I will wait till I get home for closing details.

Willie

[Guest imported_Thriller]

Good to hear things went relatively well...we got home this afternoon after spending Sunday winding down in Rochester...of course, I wound up getting restless.

With the exception of Pete, I think I actually met all of you, if only for a brief moment or two.

Two driven awards in a year gives me the opportunity to take a year off, right? Actually, we are making a list of pros and cons of a few ideas for what we might want to do for next summer...some of them may surprise you.

At any rate, I had a great meet, in spite of not being able to get to the swap meet until Saturday when a number of vendors were already shut down...as consolation, I bought a couple of '29 ads.