Well, here goes the long version!
I was going to keep you guys in the dark for a while, disguising my road trip as the first long-distance test of the '89 out to visit a friend or something:
I was planning to start posting some photos later that night during my shift away from the wheel. But this describes how well that idea was going...
None of my photos turned out. I couldn't get the camera to do what I wanted. But I finally did get one good photo from the trip:
So I'll have to improvise with some help of BC's photos.
Flying one way and renting to get back or having a 3rd party ship it was not an option for my budget. So that left a 2600 mile round trip, averaging 16MPG cost $250, and $150 to rent a trailer for 2 days. That was something I could do, but needed to borrow a truck from somebody first, that could tow and average 16mpg, and find a co-pilot. The co-pilot was the easier part, I had 3 options. The truck on the other hand... It had to be capable of towing the Uhaul and a car. So, I did something I normally try not to do, ask my dad to donate his truck to my plots to collect every car I can get my hands on. That's the aforementioned '04 GMC 1500, 4.8l with automatic, no 4x4. Next was to check the weather to make sure we didn't get caught in bad weather towing without 4WD. Then I had to line up an extra day off work, in case we got delayed while towing, pack a suitcase, arrange a time to pickup the car that worked with BC's schedule, and head out.
I had to go from work out to my dad's place on the west side of MI, so we didn't really get out on the road until 8:00pm local time. The plan was to drive in 9 hour shifts, and sleep when not at the wheel. Everything was going according to plan; I got out of work a few minutes early to make up for the time it would take to grab dinner and fill up the car with gas, danced the I-94 traffic mambo for 3 hours, leave my LeSabre at my dad's place and hit the road. We set off in good spirits, after all it's not often you get to go on a 48hour round trip car ride with your dad, right? Somewhere around Effingham, IL we hit a snag. The official record is that the weight of the trailer altered how level the gas tank sits relative to the ground, and changed the reading of the gauge, such that when the light came on it has less fuel in it than is normally expected. So, we were surprised that when only 10 miles later the tank was empty, about 2 miles from the planned gas stop. But that's OK, we have roadside assistance, so we called them up and... and.... annnnnnd....... sat on hold for 40 minutes waiting and listening to elevator music in a cold truck. Finally on the line with a human being it took another 10 minutes to arrange the roadside assistance. Then another 45 minutes waiting for the tow driver, whom was called out to a DUI on his way over and that was given priority. But finally, after a boring 2 hours of trying to take a nap to store up energy for my shift at the wheel we were back on the road again!
Except I wasn't really able to fall asleep. I've slept in the car before many times, but in a truck pulling a trailer where the chair cannot recline very far is completely different. I managed to get a few hours of rest however and around 8am I took my seat in the pilots chair and hit the road again. Everything seemed to be going smoothly, and by 11:30 we were in Texarcana. We were making good time, the roads were mostly clear with no traffic. So we stopped to grab some quick food and some snacks for the road, filled up at the gas station, stretched our legs... and lost another two hours somehow, I still haven't figured that one out. But I figured it can't be that long now, we're already in Texas, right? Right?... A glance at the GPS told a whole new story. 300 miles to go. After just a few minutes on the road though, the speed limit cranked up to 75, which was a nice change of pace, until 5 miles later it dropped back off to 40 through a town, then back up to 75, going up and down hills for 10 miles, then back to 40 through another town. And it was like that the rest of the way. 5 hours later, though we finally arrived. And I got to see this in person, for the first time, and put a face and a voice to the name on my computer screen:
My only regret is that it was 75 degrees out, and of course I was sweating by the end of the day, but I think I actually smiled for a photo, I mean actually let somebody take my picture?! I must have been tired or something..
After an hour or so, we loaded up the car. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I'll have to be content that I met a new friend.
And we said our goodbyes:
And once again, we found ourselves on the road again. I drove the first hour of the trip until we stopped to top off, and got my only good picture. Then it was time to sleep again. Or at least, try to. There was no Interstate the entire time in Texas, and the state route we were on was in the process of being converted to an Interstate. However, this led to the signage being not quite up to standard, and oddly shaped incomplete shoulders where the exit split away along with the GPS not matching the road at times... which led to a perfect storm. I had fallen asleep right after taking the co-pilots seat, but was woke up by hard braking, a quick swerve, and then airborne for a few seconds.. Turns out there was a big hole at an exit ramp where there shouldn't have been one at all and by the time you could see it you didn't have time to react, and the truck pegged it once we realized we weren't supposed to be on the exit ramp and cut back over (which must happen a lot for a hole to be there in the narrow patch of dirt). Thanks to an experienced driver, low speed, and some help from above, the trailer straddled it and aside from a little bounce nothing bad happened to us or the truck or the car.
The rest of the trip until the shift change went without incident. We stopped to visit my brother in southern IL, took a quick shower and lunch break, wrapped up the car to keep any hint of road salt off it, and continued back to pick up my LeSabre. A final fuel stop in Kalamazoo, and the famous I-94 mambo later we arrived back home at 9:00pm and unpacked the car. I figured that after a few things not going to plan, I'd let the cat out of the bag a little early for you guys, and hit the hay.
And here it is, proof that we made it back safe and sound! I took advantage of the weather to clean the car today, and park it under a roof and got a proper car cover.
I'm glad I got to be the one who's going to see this car live on, and hope that the original owner can make it out here to visit someday! Now I'm sure many of you are wondering what I'll be doing with the old girl, but I'm going to keep my lips sealed shut on this one. I have something special in mind but I need to finish the current project before I start a new one. You can all rest assured it's going to be deserving of a rust-free gem like this, 1 part immaculate show car, 1 part Mattstrike, 1 part muscle, and 1 part mad scientist!
