[DeTomaso] Fun Rally Chronicles, Day 11
Boyd Casey
boyd411 at gmail.com
Tue Jun 3 06:40:28 EDT 2014
Chris,
Did you ask the Arbys lady if the clutch went out on their shake machine?
Good luck on the rest of your trip. I'm rooting for you!
Boyd
On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 2:30 AM, Christopher Kimball <chrisvkimball at msn.com>
wrote:
> Day 11, June 2nd: The only thing thats constant is changeas in travel
> plans
>
> First, the good news: Im writing this from a hotel in Redding, CA, and
> Pandora is parked in front of my room resting under her car cover. I
> babied the clutch and made it here without spraying parts all over the
> freeway.
>
>
> But let me start from the beginning of the day. I woke up and had a
> rather sparse breakfast. Stress can affect ones appetite, it turns
> out, and I was worried about what today might
> bringmechanically-speaking. I had a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a
> yoghurt, and that was it.
>
>
> I packed up and gingerly drove from the hotel to Highway 101,
> accelerating rather briskly a couple of times to make lights that had
> the audacity to change to yellow just as I was approaching. Once on
> the Highway, things were great. The only problem was that every couple
> of hours one of my stereo amps would thermally shut off. After a short
> while it would come back to life so I could once again enjoy the high-
> and mid-frequencies. Some would say this is an indication Im listening
> to the music at a higher-than-necessary decibel level. To that I have
> only one response: Did you say something?
>
>
> I had mapped out a route that would have taken me from Highway 101 east
> to I-5 on some roads numbered 46, 41, and a few others, but as I
> approached the cutoff it appeared they were much smaller roads filled
> with stop lights and other things which are not desirable when one is
> driving with a questionable clutch. Until then I had been able to
> travel at or above the speed limit on 101 without any problems, so at
> the last minute I decided to follow the GPS (more foreshadowing) and
> stay on 101.
>
>
> This was fine for a while, but all of a sudden, for no reason, everyone
> driving on the freeway decided to come to a complete halt. I have a
> picture of that, but its not very good, since I was trying to drive
> without shifting in bumper-to-bumper traffic while taking the picture.
> If I can do that, at least I know it is quite possible for me to walk
> and chew gum at the same time. In the picture, youll notice the gap
> between my car and the car in front of me; thats because I was trying
> to leave my car in 1^st gear and just creep along rather than stopping
> and starting over and over. It worked quite well, except when the
> occasional dork saw the gap, realized his or her life would be complete
> by achieving that extra 7 feet of forward motion, and cut in front of
> me. Doh!
>
>
> It was sillypeople just stopped! There was no merging, no accident; it
> was almost as if they somehow got together beforehand and discussed the
> best way to frustrate Chris Kimball.
>
>
> The backup eventually cleared and I still had a clutch, so I breathed a
> sigh of relief. That sigh turned into a gasp a short while later,
> however, because out of nowhere there suddenly appeared a toll booth.
> This was on a six-lane highway! Dont they collect enough taxes already
> without having to set up obstacle courses for those of us with dodgy
> clutches?
>
>
> Unlike the mystery toll-booths I ran into on my way down to San Diego,
> these had actual human beings in them. They were taking money the
> old-fashioned way, which means they had to give change to almost
> everyone (which is odd, since the toll was an even $5). This mean
> progress at a snails pace.
>
>
> If there is a worse situation in which to be when you dont want to use
> your clutch pedal, I dont know what it would be. I was behind about 25
> cars and could only move forward one car-length at a time before having
> to stop again. The tragic irony of the situation was more than I could
> stand. I tried to be quick as I could with the in-and-out motion of
> the clutch pedal, but even so, as I inched forward in the 90-degree
> heat I could almost hear the clutch disintegrating.
>
>
> Unbelievably, I made it through the stupid toll booth as well as a
> couple of other traffic jams and arrived at the Quality Inn in Redding
> in one piece. I can tell I have more free-play in the clutch pedal
> than I did a week ago, and when I engage the clutch and put the car in
> gear the motor lugs a bit. The car doesnt creep forward, but I think
> that may begin to happen soon. Lets hope soon means after I get to
> University Place.
>
>
> I dont trust gas gauges much, so I stopped to refuel about 40 miles
> before I got to Redding, and while there noticed an Arbys right next to
> the gas station. I was quite pleased since I love Arbys food, and
> their Jamoca Shakes are great. I was even more excited to find their
> shake-of-the-month was Orange Creamone of my many favorites.
>
>
> You can imagine how distraught I was when they told me their shake
> machine was broken. WHAT? We can put a man on the moon but we cant
> keep our Arbys milkshake-makers working? What is wrong with these
> people??
>
>
> Some people know how to improvise when their car breaks down. Im not
> so good at that. Some people know how to improvise when Arbys
> milkshake-makers breaks down. Im very good at that. I immediately
> went to the little store which was a part of the entire
> Arbys/Subway/convenience store/gas station complex, and purchased a
> pint of vanilla ice cream and a vanilla Frappuccino (bottled). Using
> the microwave oven to soften the ice cream, and with the help of a
> plastic fork for blending, it wasnt long before I had a very tasty
> milkshake.
>
>
> You think a broken machine is going to stop me from having a
> milkshake? I might get stranded on the side of a freeway thanks to
> faulty mechanicals, but no way am I going to miss out on my staple
> diet. You can see the before and after photos of the ingredients and
> finished product. I also had an Arbys chicken sandwich. It had some
> lettuce and tomato slices on it, so it was really nutritious.
>
>
> While I was enjoying my feast, Clarke Hamm called me. He said he was
> wondering about my progress. It turns out he and his wife, Wilma, will
> be travelling North on I-5 tomorrow, heading home. He wanted me to let
> him know if I ran into trouble, since they would be able to catch up
> with me if I needed help. Once again, the spirit of The Pantera Owners
> Club of America is clearly demonstrated. Know this: If Clarke and
> Wilma ever have a blender malfunction right before an important dinner,
> I stand ready to return the favor.
>
>
> The nice woman who greeted me at the reception desk of the Quality Inn
> recognized Pandora as a Pantera, which I thought was pretty
> impressive. It turns out she used to own a red, 1970 Corvette. I told
> her that was the exact kind of car I was intending to buy before I
> ended up buying a Pantera. What I didnt tell her was that if I had
> purchased a Corvette instead of a Pantera I probably could have been
> retired by now.
>
>
> Heres the best part: We chatted for a few minutes, and she gave me a
> room between unoccupied rooms. She did this specifically so Pandora
> would have a good chance of being parked without other cars around
> her. She even said shed tell the person on the next shift to fill the
> rooms at the front of the hotel first, to keep this part of the parking
> lot sparse. Only a car person would get that whole idea. Not only
> that, because I was such a nice guy, she gave me a 25% room-rate
> discount on top of the AAA discount for which I already qualified.
> This unequivocally proves that being friendly is better than the
> alternative.
>
>
> I got to my hotel room in time to watch 24. Except for the torture
> scenes, I enjoyed it as usual. Its good for me to watch that show and
> heres why: Now Ive discovered for sure my cars air-conditioning R-12
> has all leaked out, I can put my suffering in perspective. Im just
> sweating a little while the poor people on 24 have to deal with bad
> guys who force them to talk by using Tasers and electric drills
>
>
> After tomorrows complimentary breakfast (I always tell them how good
> the breakfast isisnt that what youre supposed to do to make it a
> complimentary breakfast?) Ill be driving for almost 10 hours. This
> will be the longest continuous drive during the whole trip.
> Compressing the number of days is hard on the gluteus maximus (even in
> newly-recovered seats), but does get me home a couple of days early,
> which will be nice.
>
>
> Note to my staff: Dont worryI still wont come into the office until
> Monday. Well, maybe for a short time on Friday
>
>
> One more day to golets hope Pandora comes through in the clutch (get
> it??)
>
> _______________________________________________
>
> Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
>
> DeTomaso mailing list
> DeTomaso at poca.com
> http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
Chris,
Did you ask the Arbys lady if the clutch went out on their shake
machine?
Good luck on the rest of your trip. I'm rooting for you!
Boyd
On Tue, Jun 3, 2014 at 2:30 AM, Christopher Kimball
<[1]chrisvkimball at msn.com> wrote:
A A Day 11, June 2nd: A The only thing thats constant is changeas
in travel
A A plans
A A First, the good news: A Im writing this from a hotel in
Redding, CA, and
A A Pandora is parked in front of my room resting under her car
cover. A I
A A babied the clutch and made it here without spraying parts all
over the
A A freeway.
A A But let me start from the beginning of the day. A I woke up and
had a
A A rather sparse breakfast. A Stress can affect ones appetite, it
turns
A A out, and I was worried about what today might
A A bringmechanically-speaking. A I had a bowl of Frosted Flakes
and a
A A yoghurt, and that was it.
A A I packed up and gingerly drove from the hotel to Highway 101,
A A accelerating rather briskly a couple of times to make lights
that had
A A the audacity to change to yellow just as I was approaching.
A Once on
A A the Highway, things were great. A The only problem was that
every couple
A A of hours one of my stereo amps would thermally shut off.
A After a short
A A while it would come back to life so I could once again enjoy
the high-
A A and mid-frequencies. A Some would say this is an indication Im
listening
A A to the music at a higher-than-necessary decibel level. A To
that I have
A A only one response: A Did you say something?
A A I had mapped out a route that would have taken me from Highway
101 east
A A to I-5 on some roads numbered 46, 41, and a few others, but as
I
A A approached the cutoff it appeared they were much smaller roads
filled
A A with stop lights and other things which are not desirable when
one is
A A driving with a questionable clutch. A Until then I had been
able to
A A travel at or above the speed limit on 101 without any problems,
so at
A A the last minute I decided to follow the GPS (more
foreshadowing) and
A A stay on 101.
A A This was fine for a while, but all of a sudden, for no reason,
everyone
A A driving on the freeway decided to come to a complete halt. A I
have a
A A picture of that, but its not very good, since I was trying to
drive
A A without shifting in bumper-to-bumper traffic while taking the
picture.
A A If I can do that, at least I know it is quite possible for me
to walk
A A and chew gum at the same time. A In the picture, youll notice
the gap
A A between my car and the car in front of me; thats because I was
trying
A A to leave my car in 1^st gear and just creep along rather than
stopping
A A and starting over and over. A It worked quite well, except when
the
A A occasional dork saw the gap, realized his or her life would be
complete
A A by achieving that extra 7 feet of forward motion, and cut in
front of
A A me. A Doh!
A A It was sillypeople just stopped! A There was no merging, no
accident; it
A A was almost as if they somehow got together beforehand and
discussed the
A A best way to frustrate Chris Kimball.
A A The backup eventually cleared and I still had a clutch, so I
breathed a
A A sigh of relief. A That sigh turned into a gasp a short while
later,
A A however, because out of nowhere there suddenly appeared a toll
booth.
A A This was on a six-lane highway! A Dont they collect enough
taxes already
A A without having to set up obstacle courses for those of us with
dodgy
A A clutches?
A A Unlike the mystery toll-booths I ran into on my way down to San
Diego,
A A these had actual human beings in them. A They were taking money
the
A A old-fashioned way, which means they had to give change to
almost
A A everyone (which is odd, since the toll was an even $5). A This
mean
A A progress at a snails pace.
A A If there is a worse situation in which to be when you dont want
to use
A A your clutch pedal, I dont know what it would be. A I was behind
about 25
A A cars and could only move forward one car-length at a time
before having
A A to stop again. A The tragic irony of the situation was more
than I could
A A stand. A I tried to be quick as I could with the in-and-out
motion of
A A the clutch pedal, but even so, as I inched forward in the
90-degree
A A heat I could almost hear the clutch disintegrating.
A A Unbelievably, I made it through the stupid toll booth as well
as a
A A couple of other traffic jams and arrived at the Quality Inn in
Redding
A A in one piece. A I can tell I have more free-play in the clutch
pedal
A A than I did a week ago, and when I engage the clutch and put the
car in
A A gear the motor lugs a bit. A The car doesnt creep forward, but
I think
A A that may begin to happen soon. A Lets hope soon means after I
get to
A A University Place.
A A I dont trust gas gauges much, so I stopped to refuel about 40
miles
A A before I got to Redding, and while there noticed an Arbys right
next to
A A the gas station. A I was quite pleased since I love Arbys food,
and
A A their Jamoca Shakes are great. A I was even more excited to
find their
A A shake-of-the-month was Orange Creamone of my many favorites.
A A You can imagine how distraught I was when they told me their
shake
A A machine was broken. A WHAT? A We can put a man on the moon but
we cant
A A keep our Arbys milkshake-makers working? A What is wrong with
these
A A people??
A A Some people know how to improvise when their car breaks down.
A Im not
A A so good at that. A Some people know how to improvise when Arbys
A A milkshake-makers breaks down. A Im very good at that. A I
immediately
A A went to the little store which was a part of the entire
A A Arbys/Subway/convenience store/gas station complex, and
purchased a
A A pint of vanilla ice cream and a vanilla Frappuccino (bottled).
A Using
A A the microwave oven to soften the ice cream, and with the help
of a
A A plastic fork for blending, it wasnt long before I had a very
tasty
A A milkshake.
A A You think a broken machine is going to stop me from having a
A A milkshake? A I might get stranded on the side of a freeway
thanks to
A A faulty mechanicals, but no way am I going to miss out on my
staple
A A diet. A You can see the before and after photos of the
ingredients and
A A finished product. A I also had an Arbys chicken sandwich. A It
had some
A A lettuce and tomato slices on it, so it was really nutritious.
A A While I was enjoying my feast, Clarke Hamm called me. A He said
he was
A A wondering about my progress. A It turns out he and his wife,
Wilma, will
A A be travelling North on I-5 tomorrow, heading home. A He wanted
me to let
A A him know if I ran into trouble, since they would be able to
catch up
A A with me if I needed help. A Once again, the spirit of The
Pantera Owners
A A Club of America is clearly demonstrated. A Know this: A If
Clarke and
A A Wilma ever have a blender malfunction right before an important
dinner,
A A I stand ready to return the favor.
A A The nice woman who greeted me at the reception desk of the
Quality Inn
A A recognized Pandora as a Pantera, which I thought was pretty
A A impressive. A It turns out she used to own a red, 1970
Corvette. A I told
A A her that was the exact kind of car I was intending to buy
before I
A A ended up buying a Pantera. A What I didnt tell her was that if
I had
A A purchased a Corvette instead of a Pantera I probably could have
been
A A retired by now.
A A Heres the best part: A We chatted for a few minutes, and she
gave me a
A A room between unoccupied rooms. A She did this specifically so
Pandora
A A would have a good chance of being parked without other cars
around
A A her. A She even said shed tell the person on the next shift to
fill the
A A rooms at the front of the hotel first, to keep this part of the
parking
A A lot sparse. A Only a car person would get that whole idea.
A Not only
A A that, because I was such a nice guy, she gave me a 25%
room-rate
A A discount on top of the AAA discount for which I already
qualified.
A A This unequivocally proves that being friendly is better than
the
A A alternative.
A A I got to my hotel room in time to watch 24. A Except for the
torture
A A scenes, I enjoyed it as usual. A Its good for me to watch that
show and
A A heres why: A Now Ive discovered for sure my cars
air-conditioning R-12
A A has all leaked out, I can put my suffering in perspective. A Im
just
A A sweating a little while the poor people on 24 have to deal with
bad
A A guys who force them to talk by using Tasers and electric drills
A A After tomorrows complimentary breakfast (I always tell them how
good
A A the breakfast isisnt that what youre supposed to do to make it
a
A A complimentary breakfast?) Ill be driving for almost 10 hours.
A This
A A will be the longest continuous drive during the whole trip.
A A Compressing the number of days is hard on the gluteus maximus
(even in
A A newly-recovered seats), but does get me home a couple of days
early,
A A which will be nice.
A A Note to my staff: A Dont worryI still wont come into the office
until
A A Monday. A Well, maybe for a short time on Friday
A A One more day to golets hope Pandora comes through in the clutch
(get
A A it??)
_______________________________________________
Detomaso Forum Managed by POCA
DeTomaso mailing list
[2]DeTomaso at poca.com
[3]http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
References
1. mailto:chrisvkimball at msn.com
2. mailto:DeTomaso at poca.com
3. http://poca.com/mailman/listinfo/detomaso_poca.com
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