Pilot's Log

Attempted to take Mum to the store this afternoon and we didn't get far in Moonshine--it was quickly evident that the rear passenger side tire was going flat. So back at Rather Manor we try to reinflate the tire and Dad notices a nailhead in the tread.

So Mum and I take Dad's Buick to the store, and when we get back Dad's in his pickup going past us into town--and Moonshine is up on a jack.

After a while he returns. "I missed the fellows at the tire garage by five minutes. This will have to wait for Tuesday."

Now, I'm willing to think this is just lousy luck. But at the same time...

Last week our neighbor across the street was away from his place and Dad sees a couple men there. So he went over there and asked them what they were doing. They were looking for a car the man there owned. Dad knew that the neighbor had lent it to a friend, so Dad sent them in that direction.

Turned out they were repo men from the bank; the neighbor had quit payments on the car, and so his passing it to a friend was legally theft and the friend's having it was possessing stolen property. So the repo men taking the car were saving both the neighbor and his friend from going to jail.

The neighbor didn't see it that way, of course. He was very angry about it and cussed both Dad and Mum when he found out. We aren't on speaking terms, and I wonder if my car is out of action due to sabotage rather than a mere piece of bad luck.

Makes no difference to me, of course. If it was bad luck, I'll just move on and forget it. If it was the neighbor trying to get back at us, I'm going to ignore it and not sink to his level.

But if it happens again, I know who to call. I believe in justice, not vengeance.

Still going through my research addiction on racing sports cars and GTs and kit cars and so on. Latest question running through my mind: "What are the ultimate racing cars built by the marques that are/were cars my family owned?"

* Oldsmobile. The final racing Oldmobiles were mainly in IMSA's last years before the reorganization to American LeMans. In addition to Olds-engined WSC cars (the Riley & Scott, Spice, and Courage chief among them), race-configured Aurora sedans were competing in the GT3/GTS-1 classes.

* Chevy. Well, the Corvette and Camaro programs are on-going of course, as well as ongoing NASCAR ubiquity.

* Ford. Mustangs, NASCAR, GT40, Probe GTP--take your pick.

* Pontiac. The final version GTO saw action in GrandAm just before the marque's demise. There was also a Drift/GT-configured Solstice or two. And Pontiac-powered prototype racers in ALMS.

* Buick. NASCAR (up to twenty years ago), dragsters, GTP cars, but not much lately. Buick is sponsoring Holden race cars for Asian circuits, but it's not the same.

* Dodge. The Viper WAS the ultimate racing Dodge, but 2010 was the final year for the car. Can the Challenger pick up where the Viper left off?

* MG. There is a new MG LeMans car? Hmm. Need to find out more about it.

* Toyota. NASCAR, Formula, tuners, drift--they're all over the place.

* Nissan. Z Cars in GT, of course, plus prototypes, touring, drift, some Formula.

* Audi. Dominating P1 in ALMS for years. Plus running in GT, touring, drift, and so on.

* AMC. Well, when I got my Concord, they had already faded from the pale, got acquired by Renault and then Chrysler, and had become Eagle. Their ultimate racers were and always will be the Javelin/AMX family.

Have I left anything out? Must come back to this later.

PS: As a matter of fact, I left out:

* Mercury. NASCAR, hot rod dragsters, Cougars and Capris in IMSA...but not much after 1990.

Dad got the replacement killer engine today and it looks to be a perfect match. But we've all heard that before. :/ Once again, it's our Mechie's problem to see if the shoe fits the foot.

FP

Two truck rides today: one to Strawberry Plains to pick up the freshly-looted engine, one to our Mechie's to deliver it. I was basically there to hang around (insert silly parody Lucasfilm imagery here), but I did help our Mechie with the aparatus he used to lift the engine out of our truck and onto the dolly he's using to get it around his garage, prior to setting it in the Buick engine bay.

Mechie says the engine is in really good shape for the mileage it has.

FP

Our safari took us to the Sevier County side of Strawberry Plains, and East Tennessee Auto Center. So under the blazing August sunshine, we braved endless grime and nasty mosquito attacks and a vast array of junked cars, row upon row.

Found two engines (one in a Chevy Corsica and one in a Lumina), either one of which might fit our needs. The price is very tempting and we'll get together with our Mechie tomorrow for a pow-wow.

FP

1) We can't fit a Pontiac engine into our Buick because the makes have different motor mount schemes. So either we try to find out if we can use a Chevy or Oldsmobile engine, or we have the prospect of another Buick engine that may only be slightly better than the one being replaced.

So what happened? Our Mechie showed us at his garage. A retaining ring behind a valve disintegrated, and the pieces went into the piston space and chewed up the cylinder and piston.

I found seven leads for "new" engines via car-part.com. The nearest Buick engine is in Maryville. This looks to be an adventure...I am a Raider of the Lost Part.

2) Social Security isn't paying what they owe Cariten for my mother's health care program. Or at least that's what it looks like. Mom & Dad were looking over a bank statement for last month and saw a withdrawl Cariten made without telling them. They called Cariten, and Cariten blamed Social Security.

3) I got my letter from Human Services formally stating that I was rejected for Medicare. So I'll have to take it to the psychiatric clinic tomorrow.

My horoscope for this week said that what happens to me this week will determine how I remember 2007. That thought holds no comfort for me.

FP

Hey.

This afternoon, I had to follow Dad as he delivered his Buick to a repair shop and then bring him back to the house in my car. Current theory is that a gasket is leaking and water is entering into the crankcase. The ultimate result is a massive trail of visible fuming from the exhaust pipe...as well as a tendency for the engine to quit at low revs.

I don't know how my father finds his mechanics. The one we went to is in a neighborhood of the Jefferson County hinterlands I'd never seen before. The trip was rather dicey, but we made it there in one piece, even if it wasn't pretty.

FP