Frozen Volvo Adventure

I'm in Dayton, OH. If you need any assistance along I-75 south of aussiemg and north of Cincy, I'd be happy to help.

Some day I look forward to getting to The Convoy Compound but now I am at the lake in Sandusky as boats and sailboat racing begins to overtake all my free time.
I did see that you are planning a BABE run. That is something I should do.
Attending the Challange as crew is another thing I should do.

The racing trade show was a bit of a bust when I visited last year. Some neat vendors, but the entry fee was far too high for what was there. I went, hoping for a SEMA-light type experience, and left, feeling like I'd been to a flea market.

Having said that -- a GRM presence would really improve things.

JG, if you decide to come back an alternate way, the border crossing at Ivy Lea is not too crowded. You'd be welcome to stop in for a beer and a rest in Kingston, too.

The wheels are ATS I think and are pretty rare nowadays.

Beer stop in Metro Detroit area?

Somehow I envision this trip being like the running of the Olympic Torch. The streets will be lines with admirers and well-wishers as the classic Volvo makes its way past.
Years from now, old men will tell their grandchildren of the day the 142 went by.

ZOO wrote: The racing trade show was a bit of a bust when I visited last year. Some neat vendors, but the entry fee was far too high for what was there. I went, hoping for a SEMA-light type experience, and left, feeling like I'd been to a flea market. Having said that -- a GRM presence would really improve things.

Yeah, this is sort of an exploratory visit. The scheduling worked out, so we thought we should give it a lookover. I'm not sure if it would be a show that we would have a booth at in the near future, but it certainly might be on the list of our sales guys for a visit.

By the way, Florida appears to be preparing me for the weather on the trip. Our official forecast for this evening calls for "Ice Pellets." That sounds sinister.

And chains = hotel in my mind. I don't need to be back bad enough to do anything stupid. I have a whole bunch of Hyatt coupons I got from some credit card points I cashed in, so I'm traveling in style.

jg

I can be your Charlotte connection for a set of metric combination wrenches. Sorry, no towing available... I will PM you a #

If'n you got good grease in the bearing and a clean gas filter, I don't expect you to have any problems.

steve

The big day approaches. I'll be leaving this Saturday morning for Toronto. Sunday I get to visit with family, and do any last minute prep on the car, Monday we go to the DMV first thing in the am, then I'm on the road.

The car has been with a mechanic for a few days and almost everything has checked out just fine. But I might need an assist on one thing if anyone has resources. The brake booster is on its way out. I did manage to find a rebuild from http://boosterdeweyexchange.com/, and he's sending it right to my uncle.

Here's my concern: The booster got shipped Thursday from Portland, OR, via USPS Express Mail. That should be plenty of time to get to Ontario, but international mail can be weird.

Soooooo... if anyone out there has a spare, I might want to arrange a backup plan in case the USPS hoses me. Going up there with one in my suitcase would make me feel better if I don't get word that the new one has arrived in a couple of days. It would just be a temporary arrangement, and I'd get the booster back to you as soon as I got back to Florida. Probably wrapped in CMS and GRM goodies.

If anyone has a spare and can help out, shoot me a PM, or email me at jg@grassrootsmotorsports.com or jg@classicmotorsports.net

Like I say. I might not even need the thing if the USPS hooks me up. Just trying to get all the ducks in a row. Worst case I suppose I just block off the manifold vacuum line and push REEEEAAALLL hard to stop.

jg

Cool car! Good luck on your endeavor!

In reply to JG Pasterjak: you might want to talk with Dan Stewart (Ian's dad) at maitland importers in orlando he an engineer who retired from volvo canada and if i remember right he said some canadian engine parts etc are different from usa . if it was me i'd hate to have something break and discover not compatible. plus he may have some stuff hidden in his stash of parts.

Good luck with the trip J.G. sweet looking car

good luck with the trip, i'm never along anyone's route because the highways from the south all deadend at lake erie.

On the plane headed for canadia. Delta tried to bump me because they were in an "oversold condition" which I assume is airline speak for "we are to dumb to count."

jg

That reminds me of the Seinfeld episode at the car rental place:

Jerry Seinfeld: I made a reservation for a mid-size.

Agent: Okay, let's see here.

Agent: I'm sorry, we have no mid-size available at the moment.

Jerry: I don't understand, I made a reservation, do you have my reservation?

Agent: Yes, we do, unfortunately we ran out of cars.

Jerry: But the reservation keeps the car here. That's why you have the reservation.

Agent: I know why we have reservations.

Jerry: I don't think you do. If you did, I'd have a car. See, you know how to take the reservation, you just don't know how to hold the reservation and that's really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them.

.

Good luck with the drive back. If you run into problems between Toronto and Windsor/Detroit I'm about 5 minutes from the border on the Canadian side and spend most of my time at home finishing my thesis and would be happy to help you out.

Bob

914Driver wrote: If Burford was closer to Montreal than Toronto I would off you and the Swede food and lodging on the return.

this thread is haunting me, guns in gloveboxes and shovels in trunks and now a direct death threat....

JG Pasterjak wrote: which I assume is airline speak for "we are to dumb to count." jg

you probably did that on purpose, but i thought i'd point out the ironical bit just in case....

AngryCorvair wrote:

JG Pasterjak wrote: which I assume is airline speak for "we are to dumb to count." jg

you probably did that on purpose, but i thought i'd point out the ironical bit just in case....

Not on purpose, but typing with my thumbs on the ol' iPhone rarely doesn't produce some typographical gem.

Long story short: I'm in central Ohio and down for the evening. Car is running great—actually seems to be getting better after a couple hundred miles, which doesn't surprise me since it's had about 250 miles put on it in the last five years.

I have a bunch of the April GRM to prep and upload, but I'll try to get a longer post and some pix up before I hit the sack.

And a HUGE shout out o the Kitchner/Waterloo Rally Club who quite generously and unexpectedly gave up their Sunday working on the car.

More soon.

jg

In south central Ohio, try the Skyline Chili.
http://www.skylinechili.com/
Have a large 3 Way or 4 Way. Remember to ask for a bib.

Skyline chili is just wrong. Pasta and chili aren't supposed to be on the same menu, never mind the same plate.

lol gotta agree with that, sorry Cinci

jrw1621 wrote: In south central Ohio, try the Skyline Chili. http://www.skylinechili.com/ Have a large 3 Way or 4 Way. Remember to ask for a bib.

Now there's a great idea for someone driving from Ohio to Florida.

JG Pasterjak wrote: Long story short: I'm in central Ohio and down for the evening. Car is running great—actually seems to be getting better after a couple hundred miles, which doesn't surprise me since it's had about 250 miles put on it in the last five years. jg

Old cars from Europe often do that in my experience. One of my favorite example is in Gumball Rally- the two old tweedy englishmen in the Mercedes leave New York with the car smoking and audibly running poorly, and roll into LA (in a movie which was shot in sequence) with not a trace of smoke, and sounding like an old German car is supposed to.

I suppose it might have blown up and been repaired, but I choose to believe what I choose to believe.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Skyline chili is just wrong. Pasta and chili aren't supposed to be on the same menu, never mind the same plate.

Steak and Shake Chili Mac Supreme!!!

I put my chili on a bed of macaroni... But my chili is probably nothing like what most people consider chili. It has huge chunks, and will blow your head off. You need the macaroni in there to keep it in check.

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Skyline chili is just wrong. Pasta and chili aren't supposed to be on the same menu, never mind the same plate.

It's not even real chili. They put beans in it.