By Ted Godett in Wolverine Country
Dave, Dr. Rich and I caravaned back to MI yesterday after participating in the Road Tour. After a good night's sleep, I think I'm ready to try and provide an account of the BG events.
Rick and his fiancee, in his eye-grabbing GS, along with his brother Craig and notoriously attractive friend (sorry Craig, but I just can't remember her name--please apologize for me!) in his white LT1, left from Flint and met Dave and the Doc in East Lansing (home of the MI State Spartans---bleeech!<g>). Rich has quite a collection of vettes, but elected to ride in 1st class comfort with Dave in his immaculate, black 94 ZR1 and, as King of the Hill, was the unanimous choice to be caravan leader when we met up in Marshall, where I-69 from Lansing meets I-94 from Ann Arbor---Wolverine Country!!!!! Go Blue!
Mystery #1: Where in the continental US do gasoline prices vary from as high as $1.47/gallon (A^2) to as low as $1.22/gallon (Marshall), for the same brand of 93 octane---and within a 75 mile radius? Yes, both stations are just off main interstate exits. I do not exaggerate--I have witnesses!
Sumpin' fishy goin' on here! Although I had filled up the night before, The Corvette Club of Michigan had a road tour that evening and I was down about half a tank--so, of course I topped off at $1.22!!
Our group was as calm and collected as we could be, given the anticipated excitement of the upcoming trip and the first taste of putting faces to the email posts. I had met Rick in Ann Arbor a few months ago--a truly nice guy, and proof that they don't always finish last. Rick had some great photos of his white ZR1, which inspired us to tease him for not driving it on the trip----but we forgave him, because that Grand Sport made a great back door! No matter how far back he was during the traffic tie ups, we could spot the Admiral Blue with the white stripe at a glance. And if we couldn't the truckers did and gave reports over the CB. But I'm getting ahead of myself--
We had two route options recommended by AAA--thru the Indiana speed traps (55 mph on I-94, a good quality 6-lane with medium traffic) and Chicago construction, or thru Indianapolis and it's construction and potential rain. Since I was going topless, I voted for Chicago and for reasons (I think I'm stretching the suitability of this word in this instance<g>) beyond my comprehension, the others agreed. Little did we know that AAA neglected to indicate the 25 mile stretch of I-80 around Chicago that was down to a single lane.
So off we went, DA ZR1 (New Yawk mobsta pronunciation), RTE 6T6 next (Craig), followed by the triple black roadster with her lowly L98 and mundane 4CE N99 tag, but newly waxed clutch and con rod bolts and denim Vette hat attached to my seat back with a shoelace for a lifeline (I've lost more than one hat due to a "gust" of wind at 125 mph<g>) and GRNDSPRT at the back door. FWIW, my tag was selected at random by the MI Secretary of State office, but it's preety cool, even if I don't have any idea what it means! How can we define Force #99? I'm open for suggestions!!!!
The first leg was fairly uneventful, with the truckers' CB chattering about the vettes, particularly Dave's ZR1 and Rick's GS---both real eye-catchers. I was not on CB, since they are fairly useless with the top down at 75-80 mph----I just cranked up the stereo!!! We stopped for lunch in Indiana in the middle of the speed trap zone, after about 160 miles, passing thru the first of several construction zones omitted by AAA in they're route map.
And then the nightmare portion began----traffic began backing up on I-80 as we approached the toll booth--nothing unusual here--but a portent of things to come was some first class twit in the leftmost lane deciding he wanted to cut across 4 lanes of 55-60mph traffic in 100 ft and coming to a COMPLETE STOP!!!!! Yes, two cars in front and partly into my lane!!! Cars managed to swerve around him on the left shoulder and also around his right without the big crash but I just couldn't believe he just sat there with cars slamming on their brakes, dodging around him on both sides, while he waited for a gap large enough to make somebody else panic stop while he tried to cut across 4 lanes!
We inched thru the toll booth and onto the 20-25 mile stretch of I-80 that first necked down to 2 lanes, then one after about a mile. Some little old lady and family in a Impala wouldn't let Rick and me merge as the road narrowed, despite signaling--oh well! As we inched along in 90+ heat, I was thankful for the fan relay bypass switch I bought from Gordon Killebrew at Carlisle, that allowed me to keep my coolant temps between 200-220 while I air-conditioned the greater Chicago Metropolitan area.
Finally, the road opened up to two lanes! What happened? That little old lady in her Impala drove side by side with a fully loaded semi at 55 mph without passing for several miles. That poor semi couldn't do any more speed up the gentle slope, and the Impala was keeping the traffic lined up behind her. When I finally got passed her I could not see a single car in front of me--I casually communicated my humble opinion of her lack of driving acumen and took off--105 mph for more than a minute before I caught sight of another car!!! Finally, after another 30 miles or so, Rick managed to catch up to the rest of us---this was the only time we couldn't actually spot the GS in our rear views.
Somewhere in this stretch, a brain-dead scooterist entered the freeway and challenged Dave. No-contest up to 130mph, when Dave backed off since he realized this guy, wearing shorts, t-shirt and no helmet, would probably splatter himself on the road before conceding. We pulled off for fuel and a break after the heat and stress of the bumper-to-bumper experience.
This is when I found out that the trucker next to the Impala thought I was signaling him when I offered my opinion to the Impala driver. Talk about chatter!!!! The CB was already alive with bitching about the construction when suddenly, "Hey that Vette flipped me the bird!!!" came on the air! No, guys, not you! You were a victim of driving incompetence, too, not a cause. Still, we were glad to be outta there!
The remaining leg of the trip was fairly uneventful and extremely pleasant, with occasional darts above 100mph thru the moving chicanes to catch up to Dave. One final bit of excitement occurred when an Autozone semi began to drag something while Rick and I were still behind him. As debris began to bounce and luckily fly over our heads and cars, we managed to get passed him safely, while another trucker pulled him over to warn him of the danger. That's pretty cool, the way they watch out for each other. I'm told that the ZR1 and GS were clearly the hit of the trucker CB chatter---great choices for front and back doors!
We finally arrived at the Hilton, checked-in and cleaned up a little (I only clean-up so much, ya know!<g>). Rick, Craig and their ladies smartly chose to "relax" while Dave, Rich and I headed to the fairgrounds. They were registered for the ZR1 seminar, which was full when I had tried to sign up. I wanted to get my Glass Pack registration package and tried to "audit" the seminar----they musta known I was coming, because they wouldn't let me in!!!<g> Those guys are pretty sharp!
I elected not to storm the seminar and went back to the hotel to wash the dust, grime and insects from 3 states off my car. And while we didn't collect the amount of miles, states and insects as the Wilkensons (~2500 miles, whew!!!), we had to pass thru Chicago!<g>
The parking garage attached to the Hilton had reserved the 1st level for Vettes only--they should have reserved the first two floors, because several never did manage to find parking spaces there. But the hotel provided a car wash area, with hoses, buckets and boxes of white terrycloth washcloths for our convenience.
While washing down my roadster, I spied a pretty brunette with long straight hair and sporting a VetteNet t-shirt. Being a shy kinda guy, I promptly said, "Well, there's a VetteNetter! Which one are you?" She wisely looked at me warily, for I was covered with the grime I had been washing off the car. OK, let's face it. Any brunette (blondes and redheads, too!) should eye me warily, whether grimy or cleaned up---and for good reason!<g>
She finally offered that her name was Nina--and something clicked in that portion of my brain that was still functioning after 8 hrs of top down caravaning in 90 deg heat. "Nina? Are you Nina 'No Shift' Spitzer of VNSW fame?", I asked.
She realized I must be a VNer, too, or a well informed maniac, or both! I then gave it up. "I'm Tedster." She was still wary, but looked thru me at my roadster, apparently counting the various blacks. She appeared to be thinking, "Hmmm, black body, black interior, black top-----triple black roadster? Tedster? It's really him!". And suddenly, after months of communicating via email, missing the opportunity to meet at VNSW (my fault, of course) and a few "interesting" moments, it was like meeting a long lost friend for the first time in years.
After some additional meetings and introductions, thanks to Nina, I figured I had better get upstairs and take a shower so I wouldn't frighten away other pretty netsters. After a much needed clean-up and 10 winks (that's a REALLY short snooze), I felt somewhat refreshed and headed back to the garage, where folks were hanging out and swapping lies. My kinda crowd!<g>
Dave and Rich made an appearance after the ZR1 workshop with some great stories about the seminar. First, they wondered what had happened to me because so many people just walked in on the workshop. I told them they wouldn't let me in--that's what I get for asking instead of just doing it! But I was raised to be polite, even if it does't always show! One item that came from the workshop tales was that the undisputed biggest performance bang for the buck was to upgrade to a 4.09 rear end.
Being a rapidly deteriorating old f*rt, I packed it in early while the gathering was still hopping. As has been the curse of recent months I was up again a 5 am and spent much of the next hour in the shower massage, trying to soothe the soreness from my aching bones and muscles.
I met up with Dave and Rich at 7:30 for a real breakfast on our way to the gloriously failed attempt at breaking the world caravan record. Hey, guys, don't bust us for doing this---the ticket was included in the Glass Pack package---I had no idea it cost extra! No wonder it failed so miserably---and all I got was this lousy t-shirt instead of a listing as a member of a Guiness World Record team!!!<g>
Our first rush of the day came as I tried to keep up with Dave in my L98 as we headed to the caravan starting point. Dave would open it up with me right on his tail--till I hit 4500 rpm. As my L98 began gasping for air and dropping back, his LT5 was just hitting its stride and was gone--and damn, it has an awe inspiring exhaust song! I caught up on the entrance ramp to I-55 and we both hit the expressway at about 100 mph.
Weeeeeehaaaaaaaa! We did this little dance quite a bit throughout the weekend, and I highly recommend this as a cure for whatever ails ya!
The 'caravan' ended up at the fairgrounds where we entered the Goldfield looking for our respective parking areas. I came upon the VN aisle and Dave continued on to the Screamer section with plans to meet up there.
It really helped by locating our cars in the center of everything, simplifying logistics with a centrally located, easily found meeting point--the VN tent, and facilitating practical issues like restocking the carry-cooler from the larger one in the car. Besides, it's way cool to park on the infield!!!!!<g>
I never did make it to the Screamer section because I first had to dig up and fly my VN and Red Wings window flags--again, thanks to Maureen for hand making the VN flags for last year's BG. The Wings flag was a tribute to the Detroit team as well as a symbol honoring and wishing well for the two still comatose from a tragic limousine accident following a team golf outing celebrating the championship. (BTW, the latest report has them stirring from their comas and being upgraded to serious, from critical condition.)
After meeting a few more netters at the tent, I headed towards the screamer section to look for Dave and Rich. I heard a distinctive voice tinged with a southern drawl, calling out my name and knew immediately is was the always irascible Doug. I turned to find a smiling face with the signature cigar. This guy just knows how to have a good time! We backtracked to the VN parking area so he could show me his 100,000 mile 92 LT1--we all know his Black Beast is being parted out at Automasters!<g>
Dave and Rich tired of waiting for me and found us at the VN tent, where I introduced them to Doug, before heading off for our first wander thru the crowd.
We found the NCM booth and Maureen, finally. The booth was doing brisk business, so I left them to their tasks with an offer to assist if needed. We found the cool vendor row---DRM, LPE, Flowmaster, Walker and the Hypertech Dynojet. Dave thanked Doug Rippie for the new chip for his LT5, which I gotta tell you, worked like a champ. Doug. was on my case regarding upgrades to my L98--but I figure rather than disturb a very well-running stocker with 72,000 miles, my $$$ would be better spent for this year's track events getting a set of SS braided flexible brake lines from DRM and the spacers for my AR wheels (w/R1s) to get some clearance between the wheel spokes and HD calipers, while saving up for a ZR1 or C5.
Rumor had it that author, Jim Schefter, was on site signing autographs at the Mid-America building. So I returned to my car, grabbed my copy of ACAR (All Corvettes Are Red) and went off to find him so I could add his signature to the growing list of notables who've adorned the pages with their John Hancock. So far, the list includes Will Cooksey and several other plant engineers and workers who made themselves available for a Q/A session at the unveiling in January, Larry Shinoda, and Jeff Nowicki. The MA folks said no, he's at the Special Collection. Before heading to the Special Collection/Hall of Fame building I ran into Kenny, and we headed off to the air-conditioned building in search of the author's signature and some respite from the sun, heat and stupidity---uhh, I mean humidity.<g>
We didn't find Shefter, but there were some great cars on display, including CERV I, Mako Shark I, and Grand Sports #001 and #003. There was also 1953 EX-122, the first of the hand built '53s, first shown at the GM Motorama in New York. While there were fewer cars here compared to last year, it was still a fine display of Corvette history. And if they haven't already, I hope the NCM can arrange to have some of these gems on display, where they truly belong.
After cooling off a bit, we headed out towards the dynojet again and came across somebody driving a C5 with ACAR decals. I did the obvious, and stopped him to ask where I could find Jim Schefter. And while he gave accurate info as to which vendor stand (Corvette Club of America), he gave us faulty directions, so we hit the info booth for a copy of the vendor map, nailed down the CCA booth, but of course, Jim was on lunch break! Yes, Murphy's Law strikes again! We finally caught up with him about after hitting the food court for some needed drinks and a dose of good ol' fried fast food.
We got to talking about various anecdotes in the book and I mentioned that my favorite was the one attributed to Earl Werner, who after leaving for Harley Davidson, was asked which of the two most notable American icons he has worked for was larger. When I mentioned that Werner's choice and rationale had me laughing for days, Jim offered up a wonderfully obscene joke in a similar vein regarding tattoos.
Oh, there's a whole lot more to Ted's Bloomington tale. Read the rest in Bloomington Gold Part Deux.
Copyright 1996 Barbara Spear
