The Nashua Meet had potential, but someone sort of ruined the fun. That someone was, of course, me. Or should I say, it was my Vic. Here's the story:
We all met at the Pheasant Lane Mall parking lot, and there were a few new cars and faces, most I unfortunately never met. We all hit the highway and some of us were on radios. I was about in the middle of the lineup. Sixteen Crown Vics driving down rt3 must have been quite a site! My view of the front was blocked by Alex's tailpipes and of the back by Dave's "Like A Rock" PI. I noticed that I was loosing some power, and the engine was sluggish. Someone behind me said on the radio that they smelled something nasty. Someone saw smoke. Then my engine light started to flash. They said to shut off the AC, and I did. But I lost more power, then everyone behind me started to smell eggs even worse. Poor Dave lost a few brain cells, I can tell you... I realized the car would not make it too much longer on the highway. Thankfully, we were almost at the McDonalds parking lot we were heading for. After almost stalling at the end of the off-ramp, I limped into the lot with everyone, and the investigation began. The engine was shaking, and we all decided it was misfiring. It was HOT under the hood, but the coolant temp was normal, and no other lights were on on the dash. But there was smoke from the tailpipes and the smell. We decided to unhook the battery, have a bite, then start it up again. I could only manage half a Sprite. I tried to keep my cool, but though I did better than I thought I would, I still lost it a bit. The embarrassment was a bit much... We went out and started Vic again, with some difficulty. There was a strong smell of gas, and we found that gas was coming out of the tailpipe! I shut it off right away, and Greg The Savior offered me one of his AAA+ tows. About an hour later, a guy shows up with a towtruck, when I had asked for a flatbed. The guy ended up being nice, and he went back to get one. He said he didn't want to damage the car. Soooo, another hour later, only a few Vicsters were left. The flatbed showed up, and the cameras came out! The idea of my car being on a flatbed was a perfect photo-op. Even I took a shot! Let me tell you, I thought it was a large bed, until my car was on it. These cars ARE big! I sat in the truck for the roughly 15-18 mile trip on the highway, with Vic directly behind me. It was odd seeing it through the window! Every big bump in the road made me nervous. THEN, the truck's brake warning light went on!!! What a day... We dropped the car at my mechanic's place with a note, I got a ride home in the "Rock", and that was that. As of this afternoon, the culprit is a bad fuel injector. For updates, check the What's Up With Vic? page... All I can say is, where was Jim and his code reader????? The one time he actually NEEDED it, and it was nowhere to be seen! Perhaps it was "under his bonnet", eh Stuntman?? :-) There were no roofs for Jimbo to climb onto this meet, so the panorama above was taken by myself from atop the 3" cement base of a streetlight.
The shiniest broken down car ever flatbedded.......... Thanks Greg!! :-)
I'm always on the end!! Note that I ALMOST was no longer the only silver car at the meet. "Unmarked" has himself a GRAY Vic. Word is, he almost got silver... My exclusiveness is intact... So is the "Smiling Vic"
The total turnout was 15 cars, 16 if you count George's gray '90 that stayed for a short time. There was a Mustang hanging around as well, but I never got down to that end of the line to find out why. We had one box-body other than George's, as well as our first Grand Marquis. We got harassed by mall security, but Stuntman Jim had gotten permission days before, and they just drove around after, giving us nasty looks...
We were all looking foward to our first SAP. "Beemer's" maroon one does not have the monochromatic paint, but does have the wheels and floor shifter. He also added a black '01 PI grille....
"Two Car Joe" brought his '00, complete with black electrical tape on his chrome bumper trim. We was trying out the look, and had the real black inserts in his trunk. While waiting for the flatbed, he decided to do a little on-site installation of a new black grille. With some help from Tom, Dave's ratchet, and Greg's deep socket, it was installed in no time. The look of the car was completely changed. Now if only he would donate that one ploshed rim to a needy silver LX...............
Compare...
I would like to thank all of you at the meet who were nice enough to stick around in my time of stress. It was very kind, and I appreciate it very much. Perhaps I can repay you all by hosting the next meet? Here at home... so I don't have to DRIVE anyplace!!
