Reply to "Pre Kingston Run To Ottawa"

Thanks Mark, Andy, Rob, Carmen and Jonathan for a great day. Of course we couldn't all get together without my usual longwinded description - so here it is:


Today started out grey. Or is it gray? Whatever, either way it sucked. The skies were dark and not a patch of blue was visible. To make matters worse, the weather for next week's event in Kingston was also solid rain. Okay, it's a week away and a lot will change. But after all that work to get this organized clicking on weather as I rolled out of bed was not a good idea.

Anyhow, I was getting up to take a run to Ottawa with Rob and Carmen and relishing running with Carmen's 560 HP wild hornet. But it was grey and cool on a day that was supposed to be sunny and warm. And I am the only pussy of the three who doesn't drive in the rain. So I searched for some weather forecast that would be positive and found a half hour where the sun would break thru.

So I got my 24 yr old wipers out of their reserved spot in the 4th garage drawer (the "hardly ever" parts dept) and stuck them in the trunk along with my usual travel equipment - 20 qts of oil (exaggeration) and a couple of cans of octane booster. I wondered if the rubber wiper blades would actually cut thru the rain, or just dissolve in the wet. I never did get a chance to try them out.

Oh yeah, about the oil, my stroker drinks the stuff, about a qt every 3 hours of running at speed on the highway. I am not pulling the engine apart and all else runs great, so I just keep a big supply of GTX 30W-50 and have various containers for it, depending on the length of the trip.

As I packed my travel tool case and tied it down to the stiffener bars in the front trunk, I wondered why I do this. I always bring tools but have never broken down. Actually, I always broke down in the old days - points, rotors, distributors, belts, fuses, switches - you name it. But since I've redone the car it's pretty much problem free. But out of habit, I carry the tools. It's not like a 3,000 mile tour to Vegas. But Murphy's law is real - sort of like bringing my wipers makes sure it doesn't rain. Same with the tools.

Rob, Carmen and I met up at the Petro Canada station, on the outskirts of town, for a sip of 94 Octane. Carmen's car is pretty wild. It looks and sounds awesome and I was anxious to test my cat against it. Not like I'm competitive or anything.

The trip to Ottawa was faster than usual, Carmen and I pushing eachother wherever we could. It sure made the ride fly by.

Mark told me to call him when we close to his house so he could get a shot of the three of us turning down his street. As we rolled into the sleepy neighborhood I saw mark and Andy (Carbo19) with cameras in the distance. And the shots they got were great as you can see.

It was nice to meet Andy who has a real nice car - just got it last year. He will be getting a lot of help from us as he gets it into shape. It's a nice solid Pantera with some decent upgrades already done.

Ever the gracious host, Mark treated us to an incredible blast from his GT40. Folks, this is by far the best thing I've ever heard. He keeps threatening to take it out and spank us, but we're still waiting. I think he probably could teach us a lesson, if he could ever get the power down on the road. That is one mean machine.

We left Mark's and headed to our favorite Tim Horton's (famous to all Canadians for hockey and Panteras). It was nice to see a long line of awesome machines twisting through the quiet streets.

I deleted this next part when Carmen learned how to use his computer. But since he got over the defeat, I'm putting it back. Anyhow, my victory is temporary - until he gets his new motor in.

<< I told Carmen to get beside me when we found a light. When we finally got to a stoplight we sat and waited until it turned red. I wondered whther or not I would have enough for his 565HP. And I had a passenger, too. I leaned over and told Michel, that it's going to be an expensive week if I don't beat Carmen.

As the revs came up we waited and as it turned green we both got a little sideways but as we hit 2nd I was pulling away. Shifting into 3rd I left Carmen long gone.

That was too easy. We stopped at the next light. Now our tires were hot. As it went green I hit it just right, slightly feathering the clutch and got away with no wheelspin. I got a big jump on him, so I lifted and let him get by, then hammered it and tore by him. Just had to be sure.

I was grinning like an idiot as we turned and headed to our destination. My beast did good! I felt a little bad for Carmen, knowing what he would be doing next week - but hey, better him than me. >>

When we arrived at Tim Horton's Mark told us that the street where we carried out our noisy duel was the most heavily policed zone in town. Nice time to tell us.

Carmen, Robert, Andy, Mark and I assumed our usual spots in the Tim Horton's parking lot to wait for the arrival of Jonanthan (Detomaso83) in his red '83 GT5. We left a space for him and as usual one Dodge Caravan after another Honda Civic drove into the spot like they were part of the crew. But most just gawked and asked the usual "kit car" questions. But a few old school hot rodders knew what they were looking at. Soon enough, Jonathan roared into the parking lot. He has a sweet ride indeed.

We hung for a while and traded the usual cop / ticket / courtroom stories and shared a lot of parts information. We also discussed the upcoming Kingston event and crossed our fingers for good weather. Michel, a soon to be new owner of a Pantera, who is searching high and low for a good car (so let us know if you have one for sale) was happy to gather so much information. I bought my first car without knowing anything which was an expensive decision he should avoid.

Robert was sporting his Jersey Panteras t-shirt and I was wearing a nice Pantera racing shirt Rob had picked up for me at Pocono.

Eventually we headed out and got ready to hit the road home. Mark and Yasmin had prepared a fried chicken spread for us - but time and stuff to do at home was calling all of us. So we stopped for fuel and hit the highway back home - fast, ticketless but somewhat less furiously than the ride up in the morning.

The rain never came. The sun peeked out now and again. I had a smile smeared across my face. And I am happy that my white machine did its duty against a tough opponent. For now, anyhow.

I'm looking forward to Kingston and meeting several more Pantera owners. Just think, a couple of years ago, I didn't know anyone with a Pantera. I was in my own little pleasure world. Now I have many friends to share this passion with. And we all met eachother on this Bulletin Board. It has been a real source of enjoyment and friendship for all of us. Thanks PI.