Warning: long report of a first road trip which tickled the writer but
which was probably shorter than many California commutes.
Kermit the frogeye was pretty much finished in Oct. 1992, and driven about
1200 miles around town during Oct., Nov, and Dec. Summer of 93, I only
drove him about 300 miles because he was one place and I was another. As
a result, last weekend's 260 mile round trip excursion to Hildene was the
first trip longer than 40 miles we have taken. I was a bit apprehensive,
but I needn't have been.
I washed Kermit on Thursday, and planned to take the day off Friday for
more preparation. In the event, my preparation was laughable. I could
not find my spare coil (I am gearing up for my second move of the month to
a new [to me] house) which I wanted to take on the theory that any part I
had a spare of would not fail. I could not find my Castrol DOT4 brake
fluid, so I bagged that. I checked the jack, and there was one, but no
lug wrench. It would be most embarrassing to have a flat, and not have a
wrench, but my rollaround box and 1/2 drive sockets are at the back end of
my ex's garage, under a truck load of other stuff.
So I checked the fluids, pulled Kermit out of his rented garage, put the
Prelude in his place, and went to Sears to buy a 11/16 socket and a
breakover bar. It proved cheaper to buy a full set of sockets. It always
is, because of some wonderful marketing philosophy that I do not
understand but which may have something to do with Sear's recently
dimished status as a retailer.
After that, the trip down was uneventful and very pleasant. The
weather was spectacular, and we in Vermont appreciate such days as Left
Coasters never could. Kermit seemed to appreciate the outing; he ran
better with every mile and never missed a beat. At 52 MPH, he cruises
happily. There is more speed in hand for overtaking, as car testers used
to say, but with a 4:22 rear ratio 52 is a good cruising speed.
We stayed with SOLer George Haynes' upstate NY MG club. A row of MG's,
with one lime green frogeye in the middle. But the group was most
accepting.
My companion greatly enjoyed the drive, the Mt. Equinox hillclimb, the car
show, and our tour of Hildene, Robert Todd Lincoln's summer home. The
weather held out to the bitter end: clouds gathered late Sat, and Sunday
was threatening, but the rain held off. We missed meeting SOLer Doug
Phillips, met Bob Lang briefly, and had dinner with George Haynes and his
fiancee Beverly. George trucked a differential to us that Alan Costich
had sold me. I love this list!
Just before leaving, George and I briefly traded cars for a 10 minute run
up the road. George's Dove Grey MGA is wonderfully set up for touring,
with back up lights, interior lights, and my favorite, overdrive. My
companion had never seen overdrive; her response was, "it relaxes the
car." George's is a special car, which it was a privilige to try. I wish
the road had been twistier.
On the way home, the rains began in Rutland, and quickly became heavy.
Kermit soldiered on at 52 mph, his wipers flicking steadily despite
"intermittant wiper" jokes. My companion thought the miniature wipers
were pretty cute. I was surprised they coped so well with the rain. I
ducked into a service station with a canopy and installed the side
curtains. Thus enclosed, we endured the differential whine. I look
forward to a quieter one. My brakes began gradually to improve--I turned
the drums myself on the department lathe, but I did not have the linings
radiussed to fit the drums. They are only now starting to bed in.
Increasingly, my companion and I began to recognize that Kermit is a *real
car.* Tiny, cute, sure. But basically also a functional car. Everything
crucial works, and works pretty well. We plowed through the rain, having
a great time, 2 mph over the speed limit, stopped to look at a Volvo PV544
in a repair shop forecourt in Rutland (have a shabby new house, need a
lumber hauler, why not a vintage lumber hauler, but this one not for sale,
alas), explored an art gallery, had dinner, did all the stuff you do in a
car, and before long it seemed pleasant without feeling oddball. What are
those people looking at our car that way for?
I think Kermit has a permanent home and increasingly will be used. Why
not? He works well, the Stage IV 948 pulls like a train, and I can always
rebuild whatever breaks. I need to do more of what the Brits call
fettling. Install the new diff, get a tonneau cover, maybe a front
bumper. Of course, the transmission is noisy, and one of those 5 speed
kits would be nice. Everything else seems about right, though.
Excelsior!
Also, long drives in Kermit have a considerable side benefit. The 7 yr
old Prelude now feels so luxurious and so *new* that I wonder why on earth
I was thinking of trading it in. Look there! Push that and the air gets
cold and dry. What will they think of next?
Ray Gibbons Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics
Univ. of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, VT
gibbons@northpole.med.uvm.edu (802) 656-8910
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