[Shotimes] FW: Convention Adventures (long), was: Fuel Tank and Pump

[Ron Porter]

FYI,

Forwarded from Tech SHO.

Ron

-----Original Message-----
From: John Hrinsin [mailto:john.hrinsin@mrgasket.com] 
Sent: Monday, July 19, 2004 3:53 PM
To: TechSHO@topica.com
Subject: RE: Fuel Tank and Pump

Glad to see you made it out and back okay. How was the convention?  Any 
interesting stories?

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Convention was great! Thunderhill is excellent, and IMHO safer than
Gingerman if you run off. 3.1 miles long, and actually kinda easy on brakes
& tires.

The caravans to & from were an adventure, but we made it only 1.25 hours
past schedule on the way in. I totaled about 5,400 miles for the trip. The
only day of travel without car trouble was the last day (yesterday) coming
home. The "trouble" list is as such:

Saturday 7/9: 
Starts out with Tony Fullone's '98 refusing to start for a few minutes at
the rest area where we pick him up. Later, Paul Nimz is dumping tranny fluid
in Nowhere Iowa. Turns out to be a $.99 gauge to test pressure on the test
port (150 psi or so) that he didn't remove after running the test. The gauge
self-destructed. Ben Bentley drove many miles to get a 1/8" pipe plug.

Sunday 7/10: 
Ben seemingly tosses a wheel weight and has horrendous vibration. Got
delayed at lunch while he fruitlessly looks for a tire store on Sunday in
Nowhere Nebraska. We all gas up.....Kirk is the only one to get the
alky-based 87 octane (I & others get the 85 or 91 octane). 30 miles past
lunch, in Farther Into Nowhere Nebraska, Kirk's car dies. After a 2.5 hour
delay, it appears to be a dead fuel pump. Some scrambling on Kirk's part
finds the local (Kimball NE) mechanic who has a tow truck. We leave the car,
and Kirk makes plans for a rental for the convention, and will pick up the
car on the way home. Later looks like vapor lock.....maybe too high of an
alky content, together with an old fuel pump and 98-100-degree temps. The
mechanic doesn't replace the fuel pump, and Kirk keeps kicking himself for
the new fuel pump at home on his workbench that he never had time to replace
before the convention!

On a side note, after getting rid of the plain-jane Impala rental that he
got in SLC, Kirk picks up another Impala with a 3.8 motor and slightly
better suspension. He does a fantastic driving job with it in the Advanced
group at Thunderhill!!

Monday 7/11:

Tony's '98 dies within a mile of out lunch stop outside of Battle Mountain
Nevada (voted "The Armpit Of America" per their billboard!!). Determined to
be a weak battery, combined with his VAK that keeps the alternator off
during the climbs up the mountains in 99-degree heat. Luckily, Battle
Mountain has a NAPA. Tony buys a new battery to carry, unplugs the VAK and
never has another problem. Also along the trip, e ran over some dead truck
tire carcasses, and the car ahead of him kicks up a piece that shatters John
Semchena's plastic drivers mirror mount on his '02 Maxima (this was his only
problem the whole trip). After finally breaking off a day later, black duct
tape holds the dangling mirror to his door.

Friday 7/16 (return trip):

Larry Eck's '97 starts overheating climbing the mountains in east CA. Once
we past Reno, He & Kirk go out and find a new reservoir cap (for those who
don't know, the Gen 3s have a pressurized reservoir where the radiator cap
resides). 25 miles farther, in the desert were it's HOT, as well as In The
Middle Of F**king Nowhere,  Larry's car eventually dies in clouds of coolant
& oil smoke. We leave the car and Larry & family eventually driver John's
Maxima to Chicago. Latest story from the Ford dealer in Fallon NV is that
the motor has no compression and is toast. Larry will ship it home and get
another motor. 

Saturday 7/17:

We stop in Kimball NE for Kirk to pick up his '91+. Drives good until a rest
area. Tony then drives to car (we have to drop off Kirk's Impala rental in
North Platte NE), and it dies shortly after the rest area.....but luckily
near an off-ramp with gas. Kirk's car stumbles into the gas station, and
after 5-6 gallons, never has another issue for the rest of the caravan.

Sunday 7/18:

The last day, leaving Grand Island NE we had NO car issues!

Every car had an issue of sorts. On the way out Kris Angermeier's '93 had
very intermittent A/C, then didn't start a few times in Vallejo. Bob Harris
has a seemingly dying ATX in his '93, but made it through the caravan and
track event despite it. My car momentarily didn't start after dinner with Al
Fitz on the way out. It did the same at the Utah border, but Kirk recognized
the issue and unplugged/reconnected the 4 connectors under the fan shroud
and it started. This also happened once on Saturday on the way home. I will
clean the contacts, regrease with dielectric, then tape them (the one big
one had broken clips). That was my only problem, and was very good for a
186K '94!

We finally met with Al Fitz on the way out, and on the return. It was nice
to meet Al for the first time, and I want to publically thank him for his
hospitality on our trip!!

Ron