Man .. some nice rides
Just got back to town after getting our ‘nuther’ C-5 Vette home from Tucson.
I am still laughin ..it was *epic* car fun!
Ok so wife tells me I should 'haggle' .. several times ..as we are on the way.
Yanno .. that sounded like a great idea until Jason opened the garage, and I walked around the Vette.
Then I asked if I could start it up .. he says take it out for a spin for a bit .. I make a lil run down the street and back.
My face feels wierd .. huh .. I am *smiling* again!
I try to remember the last time I drove a hi-performance automobile with a clutch ..
..my 440 Duster, when I first put it together
..4-gear, tunnel-ram, 4:88's and 13 to 1 compression .. no traction in any forward gear, sideways was easy !!
..ya .. I converted it to an automatic to tame it down! ..in 1976.
I had forgotten The Growl as you come off a lite.
How good it feels to grab second. Workin it ..oohh yaaa.
I was soo sold.
Wife was irritated .. LOL .. I said pay the man, we be takin this baby home.
Turns out he's the 3rd owner, been garaged all it's life, and while not 'pristine' ..it is a damn fine automobile.
'99 coupe, Glass top, F-55 suspension, black w/firethorn red interior, all stock except for the Z06 chromies and the shift knob
(I like the skull ..fits the black beauty fine
So .. the Vette and I get acquainted otw back to the freeway, wife followin in our trusty Nissan pick-em-up.
No issues .. so we hit the freeway and set sail for Phoenix and home.
Then the epic part begins.
Wife flashes her lites, we pull over a bit short of Eloy (not quite half way home)
Puzzled R Me.. I walk over and ask 'hmm?'
She says something came off the pickup, right front ..??
We walk around
..there's a strip of tread missing about 2 inches wide and a foot or so long
and the steel belts are all showin their fuzz from bein used for traction (!!)
ROFL!!
I mean .. the truck has 25k miles since it was new, original tires still have *great* tread on 'em
..well .. except for that strip that's GONE!!
So we go tip-toeing along hopin it wont pop as we try to find a place that can replace it ..coupla stops ..
..in Eloy there is a 24hr tire place ..and the guy came when we called and was a great person to deal with.
On the way in, I get beeped at and the Vette says right front is 24 psi.
??
Then 21.
Then 20.
So I ask the guy if he can fix a flat too? ..
..oh heck ya, and he just jams ..pulls a damn 6 inch NAIL out of it ..at this point I am laffin so hard it begins to hurt.
I mean.
Truck gets a tire problem so Vette, bein jealous .. has to have one too.
On the same corner. ROFL!!
So I am thinkin ..ya .. vette ..guy is gonna ream us.
I just know it.
He charged us for the tire and the time to replace it, told us to have a nice day.
Wife pinned him down 'what is the vette repair gonna run?'
I cringed.
He said 'no charge ..that's a damn fine automobile you got there'
If it weren't that I was leanin on the counter I prolly would have fallen over.
I said 'Sometimes..you just meet nice people, thank God you were able to fix 'em for us'
So .. we got back on the hi-way . .cruisin .. stereo ops check GOOD ..into Phoenix runnin the I-10 ..
..past the Black Canyon turn off .. comin up on the 101 ..almost there..
Wife is flashin again?
I take the 43rd ave exit and we pull off into a parkin lot.
Wife looks ..well .. disgusted would be the polite version..
..she gets out..walks to the left front, points.
I am sorry.
I could not help it.
I laughed out loud.. loudly .. it was just too funny.
An even bigger chunk of tire was gone and the steel fuzzies were out in force.
What Are The Odds?
Well ..we drove it to the Discount Tire on 43rd and Glendale and locked it up.
Yanno .. I was thinkin when we got home I would see if the wife was up for a lil cruise in the Vette.
ROFL .. she got one cruisin home from Discount Tire.
Gonna call 'em tomorrow or Monday if they're closed on Sunday.
Will post pix of our new baby when I can.. tired out right now *LOL*
-Frank, has *way* too much fun and *knows* it
