Ten Fifty-nine

[merbesfield]

Hey, Mark . . .

I went back and reviewed your thread about you fixing your gas leak . . .

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...light=gas+leak

. . . got all motivated to dig into mine, but haven't been able to locate the 7.5 mm and 10 mm cloth-covered fuel line, or those cool anodized clamps. Checked Wurth, Pelican, Stoddard's --- nada. Any help would be most appreciated.

Rick Kreiskott

PS Your mail-box is full.

Hi Rick,

I thought the fuel line was available thru Wurth, but I just called my rep and they only have 7.0. He is sending me a sample to see if it will work. I think Ed Mayo posted a source. Maybe he will chime in. I will post if I find a source. I know I found the source for the clamps but it might be on my computer at home. Thanks

[LongRanger]

Some shots in the trunk --- basically, all the stuff that's hidden behind the press-board cover.

1) and 2) Right-side ducting and detail up and behind --- looks like a fastener is missing from a cover stamped 'BEHR'

3) Moving right

4) Overall shot --- from right to left. Strut brace is as-found, added by a Previous Owner. Heavy bit.

5) Right-side ducting, as viewed over the fender --- what's with the 99-cent Store stickers, on the duct housing, there near the hood shock?

Rick Kreiskott

[Mr9146]

Some shots in the trunk --- basically, all the stuff that's hidden behind the press-board cover.

1) and 2) Right-side ducting and detail up and behind --- looks like a fastener is missing from a cover stamped 'BEHR'

3) Moving right

4) Overall shot --- from right to left. Strut brace is as-found, added by a Previous Owner. Heavy bit.

5) Right-side ducting, as viewed over the fender --- what's with the 99-cent Store stickers, on the duct housing, there near the hood shock?

Rick Kreiskott

C'mon Rick. You should know what those stickers are.

They're QC stickers ...

[LongRanger]

1) Right-side rear trunk floor

2) Moving Right

3) Center-left-side --- fan housing and left-side ducting. More stickers. The sheet-metal brace, in the center of the picture, running diagonally between the trunk floor and the cowl, was originally missing, and was added by John Esposito when he did the bodywork. This bracket, and the cowl it's attached to, have an effect on the hood fit/adjustment

4) Left-side vent ducting. Something's missing from that right-side arm on the cowl brace --- a clamp to rout some cables, maybe? Small bracket/nut-plate on the floor at the bottom-left secures the press-board cover attach; directly above, on the lower-side of the cowl, is the upper

5) Left-side detail. Note the clamp securing (once) clear plastic tubing to what looks like a cowl vent (?) That plastic reminds me of fuel line.

Rick Kreiskott

[LongRanger]

C'mon Rick. You should know what those stickers are.

They're QC stickers ...

Hey, Marco . . .

Are those stickers more modern or are they vintage? I would expect ink-stamps, something more permanent, on a vintage bit. (Some of the stickers look to have already gone missing.)

Rick Kreiskott

[LongRanger]

1) Driver's side, rear floor, close

2) Driver's side, close-up

3) Overall shot, from left to right. More stickers

4) Trunk mat close. Top-side's not bad, but the back-side . . . . crusty, like old tar-paper. Fits well.

Rick Kreiskott

[LongRanger]

Memorial Day is 1059’s First Anniversary of coming cross-country with me. Done some driving with her since John finished the panels/gaps/paint, mostly short stuff, 10-50 miles, sometimes more, doing some cars shows, visiting . . . fun, but not exactly satisfying. That San Diego trip was close but . . .

Time for A Drive.

Santa Ana to Fremont, CA . . . . then back.
Total distance was 1692 km or 1051 miles.
Total fuel was 55.3 gallons. And $243.77.
MPG for the trip was 19.00. Gas is probably accurate but all mileages were taken off of 1059's speedo --- not so sure about those. Also added 1.5 quarts of 20W-50 when it was all over. Left at 4:00 AM, got back around 10:45 PM.

No real drive times or average speeds, either. I had a few, er ---- distractions? --- going up, plus?, got a little turned-around in Fremont, loitered there some, loitered a lot in Morgan Hill, then came back a different way . . . to see some sights.

Just doing my part to warm The Planet.

I have some family, friends, old hang-outs, favorite roads, up in The Bay Area . . . 400-450 miles north --- actually lived in The East Bay for a few years. Going there has been a standard day-trip since I was in school. Decent roads, nice weather (still) this time of year, always enjoyed the scenery (mostly) . . . Plus? I actually had time to blow, just driving. I’d tried to go once before, back in February --- a friend was celebrating her 100th birthday --- BIG party planned, really looking forward to that, too ---- and A Drive --- but I got sick . . . made it as far as the Sepulveda Basin, turned back. Could barely keep on the road.

Anyway, Saturday 21-May was my first Free Day with Good Weather, since. Took the 405-to-The-Five North, cut over at the 152, through Pacheco Pass to Gilroy, then on to the 101, up to Fremont. Stayed on the 101 all the way back.

Preparations? Topped-off the tank, checked the pressures . . .

Good.

To.

Go.

1) Km = 66259. Engine on, out the door 4:05 AM PDST, late start. (I know what she’s smiling about.)

2) 405N, around Bolsa Chica. Looks like the Power Station, over on the left. ‘Nother great reason to leave earlier --- not a lot of traffic. 55 minutes to Santa Clarita.

3) Coming down The Grapevine, CA's Central Valley up ahead. Checked Weather on Demand the night before, 10-20% chance of rain. A little anxious --- no dum-dum in my radio-hole, yet --- but only saw some damp patches

4) 1st gas stop . . . Buttonwillow

5) 650 calories (no $h!t --- I counted) in 3 minutes or less. Only do this when I’m on A Drive, lasts me about 500 miles. This little repast, plus three beers (2 Coronas and a Stella Artois ---- and yes, I was very responsible), some chips (with a little brie and some artichoke dip --- see?), two hits of home-made trail mix, and a large Micky-Dee’s choco shake, constituted the day’s personal intake.

You think speed kills? --- pass me the menu . . .

(I will sooooooooooo hurt you.)

Oh --- and great gaps, John. (Burp!)

Rick Kreiskott

[edmayo]

A couple items of interest here Rick,,,,,the cowl brace is from a later car that had (I think) the cruise control brain bolted to it, so you're not missing anything. Second, the black plastic box under the left side of the cowl is the vapor collector and is missing the black square section rubber band that secures it to the two brackets. That has been NLA for years. I go to my local friendly ACE hardware and get some 3/16th's bungee and an aluminum double ferrule. Make a circle 4 1/2" in diameter with the bungee and use the ferrule to clamp the ends together. That will be the right size now to strap that vapor collector into its brackets.

[LongRanger]

The Five is the main North/South highway in CA. And ---- in the Central Valley? --- one very boring-a$$ drive. Up until a few hundred thousand years ago, whole area was a shallow inland sea, and, until a few hundred, a really big marsh. Now? Farmland mostly. Some ranching, groves, orchards. All flat. Very flat. And dry. Especially by summertime. Only distractions are the Aqueduct, a coupla cattle ‘processing’ lots --- ‘roll up those widows’ --- the company of your Fellow Travelers, and . . . . The California Highway Patrol.

Now . . . you can really get going out here. The actual road surface itself is $h!t --- all the Big Rigs running up-and-down, 24/7 just pound it, especially the Right Lane --- but, with The Five running basically straight for almost 200 miles, well . . . one's feet can get a tad heavy. I’ve gone from South OC to The East Bay in under four hours. (It was foggy. At night.)

Speed limit was raised to 70, a few years back, and so, for the most part, regular traffic moves along here ~75-80 MPH, no problem. On this particular stretch --- from the 99-split to The 580, up at Tracy ---- my usual MO is to tool along, wait for a motor home, or some big pick-up hauling, like, a trailer, or maybe a stick of 4 or 5 cars, going fast but looking/behaving somewhat ‘legal,’ then . . . . tag along, hitch a ride. Really pumps up my fuel economy numbers, too – maybe 20-30%? --- being pulled along by a 75 MPH train.

If I can’t find any company, I try real hard not to look ‘fast’ . . . stay to the right, signal everything, slooooow lane changes, ease down whenever I pass anyone, only opening it up when I’m well clear of any traffic. Try never to be conspicuous. Unless someone has a clock on me (and I try real hard never to give them reason) --- no one'd ever know how fast I was going. Or have reason to check.

Planes. CHP uses aircraft to video violators --- big white ‘X’s on the shoulder, every ¼ mile --- then call a pursuit car. CHP also has radar. I try to look slow, not give anybody reason to eyeball me, but if driving The Five is boring, then flying it must feel like going into a coma. Anything that moves . . . .

Planes are nasty. Tough to spot, even when I was young. ‘Nother good reason to drive at night. I'd calculated that the unsettled weather, and winds forecasted up above Kettleman City would keep the planes down.

Traffic was pretty light, nobody to really full-back for me. Kinda broad daylight, too . . . . couldn’t be totally sure if the planes were down. Didn’t see any CHP, either side. Still, took a while for me to get comfortable enough to pick up the pace. 3000-3200 rpm = 75-80 MPH.

Then this big JEEP Wagon thing comes steaming-up behind me . . . fast. Brand new --- paper plates, temp reg sticker in the window, pearl white, UGLY. Stays in the left lane, too --- even when he’s not passing. Bugs me. As he pulls in, I gently speed up--- he wasn’t using my lane anyway.

Got my full-back.

To anybody seeing us from a distance --- in, say, a Cessna 170 or a Ford Interceptor --- I figure it’ll look like a faster JEEP is trying to pass a slower Porsche --- ‘Slower Traffic Keep Right’ . . . . as long as they don’t look too long. Or put a clock on us. I keep the JEEP in my 7 o’clock, our pace picks up. There’s a trade-off. I’m burning fuel running at the point, while JEEP saves fuel riding in the draft. But I get to look slow.

We move along like that for 15-20 minutes, me getting up to 4000 RPM, at one point --- speedo needle is out of view, but, maybe 95-105 MPH? --- ‘till The Inevitable. Come up on a string of cars lined-up behind One Big Rig (doing 65) trying to pass Another Big Rig (doing 64). Stupid. There’s no back-up in the right lane (mine, the slow one), so I just ease up on the whole formation, move up until there’s a gap on my left, slowly/politely/signally move over (there’s always room for a Porsche), clear the slower Big Rig, back to the right, ease away.

JEEP, meanwhile, is stuck in a ten-car conga line that doesn’t look like it’ll clear anytime before supper.

As I move off, look back, I also now have a beautiful radar-absorbing wall consisting of two 20-foot-tall 18-wheelers in one lane, and about a dozen assorted mini-vans/SUVs/cars --- including a new pearl white JEEP --- in the other.

Can't you just smell that target-richness?

Moving on, staying in the right, glance back in the rear-view, watch the queue shuffle past the Rigs, one by one, JEEP slowly moving up, then? Finally, painfully . . . clear. . . .

You just know he's gonna be moving.

I’m hanging around 3000-3200, waiting . . .




Red light.




Steady. Bright. Back maybe ¼ mile behind the pack.

!

Clutch, neutral, boot the throttle, clutch, match revs, get down into 4th RIGHT D&MN NOW --- don’t touch the brakes --- off the throttle --- WOOooooooooom! Little car leans forward, nose down, 15 MPH gone --- like that.

Off ramp, off ramp --- now, now, NOW. (Lucky.) Gotta get off this freeway --- RDN!

No signal. No brakes. Get small --- really, really small.

Gas station/fast food/hotel complex 500 yards West. Go, go, go, go, go, go. Need to disappear.

Roll up the off-ramp, make the intersection at the top, down through all the gears --- no brakes, no turn-signals, no looking back ----- no nothing. No traffic? Fine --- down to walking speed in 1st, roll the stop, left, squeeze, cruise over to the complex. Sideways glance South. Red lights flashing, blue lights, too, turn signals . . . . white sedan. JEEP.

Done. Zip in behind a gas station.

Hop out.

Take a break.

1) and 2) Not bad weather. Unless you work at 5000 ft. (I hope.)

3) Small.

4) Not a good picture. The First and Second Fastest Guys on The Five. 2nd-place pays ~$500 . . . plus penalty assessment, traffic school, higher insurance premiums, less money for gas and entertainment . . . . and probably some couch-time --- if that was your Ol' Lady sitting next to you . . . telling you to slow down.

5) Cental Valley Spring. Already blonde.

Rick Kreiskott

[Reza]

dude, your narrative is making me jump in the car ; )