Another Fb travel story (by Jim)
05-22-12, 09:47 AM
#1
Another Fb travel story (by Jim)
Some members will recall I seem to write about astronomy related road trips every summer and this year is no exception!
This past Sunday saw a rare annular solar eclipse pass over most of North America. The best place to see it was down in New Mexico where during the early evening the Moon covered almost all of the Sun for a few minutes. I wasn't able to make it down there but saw a small bit of it up here in the Toronto area where only a portion of the Moon started covering part of the Sun just before the Sun set below the horizon.
But I wanted to take an image of it happening over the waters of Lake Ontario, somewhere absolutely flat with no obstacles. This meant a drive! I had decided we needed to make a 200 mile round trip to Niagara on the Lake. Renowned for icewines and the Shaw festival, driving down there is like driving through the Napa Valley in California. Except for the historic battlefield monuments and forts. You see, Canada and the US fought a vicious war that started in 1812.
I phoned Shawn, a fellow eclipse chaser, "It's on! We leave your place no later than 6:30. We have a choice of cars. Fast, noisy but exciting or fast, boring but with AC (Audi A6 Avant)". Shawn chose wisely.
Tearing off the car cover revealed the patiently pristine Fb. My last trip with her was more than 2 months ago where I almost ran head on into Sam at Respeed so I checked oil levels and the lights since I would be driving back in the dark. The multifunction switch was never designed to last 30 years and corrosion/pitting of its fragile electrical contacts has made me lose lights at inopportune moments. (In stark contrast the Audi has a beautiful bank of relays under the hood to prevent this problem)
We had exactly 1.5 hrs to drive nearly 100 miles in heavy holiday weekend traffic (Queen Victoria's birthday) but traffic cooperated and there were only two minor accident related delays. The car was performing perfectly and making delicious sounds from another era. I couldn't get enough of downshifting where I would blip the throttle to allow smooth engagement of the lower gear, the aural symphony of this simple procedure was intoxicating. Unfortunately in this part of Canada there are not enough winding roads to make this routine. No matter, there are no shortages of rear view blind drivers hogging the passing lane, downshift, WOT, turbo boosting, wind noise starting to drown out everything else and blasting pass on the inside lane.
I was fixated on this beautifully restored green Mustang with plates that read MINT68GT. The best of Detroit Iron was burbling out of its twin pipes and I couldn't help ponder the many similarities existing between us. The Mustang was derived from the lowly Ford Falcon and yet became more than the sum of its parts bins and was a market revelation offering affordable performance and style. Only ten years later would it be repeated with the Fb, except the Fb seems so much more modern from an engineering perspective. Shawn could not believe he was sitting in a nearly 30 year old car. And I had to agree, the last series interior has stood up well and has become as timeless as the exterior lines.
We were entering the town limits about 5 minutes from the beach when I was pulled over by the Niagara Police for speeding. Apparently I hadn't been given the chance to respond to the sudden drop in speed limits and had been doing 70 kph in a 50 zone. The oldest trick in the cop book. Oh well cops have to work too but I've always wanted to say ... is this really what you thought you'd be doing to serve and protect?
The worst part was the interminable 10 minutes it took to write up the ticket. Would we miss first contact? (when the Moon starts its ingress into the Sun).
"I dropped the charge to ten over the speed limit so the fine's only $40 and no points. 70 is a little too fast so slow it down. By the way beautiful car." (and his shooting hand never rested against the butt of his closed holstered Glock).
We made it with about 10 minutes to spare and it was worth the mad dash. I experienced my first partial solar eclipse and it was over in 20 minutes with the sunset at 8:40. The drive home was even more enchanting. Some of the neighbourhood kids wanted to look at Saturn and I told them it would be in its best position by 11 so it was another race. Shawn and I got tired of shouting at each other to be heard above the din of the car so I turned up the stereo and we listened to Sarah Brightman singing opera with Andrea Bocelli on cd. Believe me it works. The darkness, the haunting voices and the fire spitting and popping out of my exhaust must have made an impression on slower traffic. New tires and a realignment had driven the last of the gremlins from last summer's epic 400 mile drive and the car had road grip and feel like never before. The car is a true GT, gulping mile after mile and happy to run at the rev limit all night. A white 3 series BMW was up ahead swerving stupidly from lane to lane in a demonstration of his driving prowess. Even the iconic 3 series has grown flab over the years, where are the lithe 2400 lb cars with tiny economical engines? Remember the Honda CRX returned over 50 mpg on the highway 2 decades ago before all this hybrid nonsense. I unleashed the full fury of the Fb and spewed fire and noxiously rich gas fumes into the face of the BMW and flashed my illuminated rear panel at him. I doubt he even knew what an Rx7 is much less an Fb.
Jim
This past Sunday saw a rare annular solar eclipse pass over most of North America. The best place to see it was down in New Mexico where during the early evening the Moon covered almost all of the Sun for a few minutes. I wasn't able to make it down there but saw a small bit of it up here in the Toronto area where only a portion of the Moon started covering part of the Sun just before the Sun set below the horizon.
But I wanted to take an image of it happening over the waters of Lake Ontario, somewhere absolutely flat with no obstacles. This meant a drive! I had decided we needed to make a 200 mile round trip to Niagara on the Lake. Renowned for icewines and the Shaw festival, driving down there is like driving through the Napa Valley in California. Except for the historic battlefield monuments and forts. You see, Canada and the US fought a vicious war that started in 1812.
I phoned Shawn, a fellow eclipse chaser, "It's on! We leave your place no later than 6:30. We have a choice of cars. Fast, noisy but exciting or fast, boring but with AC (Audi A6 Avant)". Shawn chose wisely.
Tearing off the car cover revealed the patiently pristine Fb. My last trip with her was more than 2 months ago where I almost ran head on into Sam at Respeed so I checked oil levels and the lights since I would be driving back in the dark. The multifunction switch was never designed to last 30 years and corrosion/pitting of its fragile electrical contacts has made me lose lights at inopportune moments. (In stark contrast the Audi has a beautiful bank of relays under the hood to prevent this problem)
We had exactly 1.5 hrs to drive nearly 100 miles in heavy holiday weekend traffic (Queen Victoria's birthday) but traffic cooperated and there were only two minor accident related delays. The car was performing perfectly and making delicious sounds from another era. I couldn't get enough of downshifting where I would blip the throttle to allow smooth engagement of the lower gear, the aural symphony of this simple procedure was intoxicating. Unfortunately in this part of Canada there are not enough winding roads to make this routine. No matter, there are no shortages of rear view blind drivers hogging the passing lane, downshift, WOT, turbo boosting, wind noise starting to drown out everything else and blasting pass on the inside lane.
I was fixated on this beautifully restored green Mustang with plates that read MINT68GT. The best of Detroit Iron was burbling out of its twin pipes and I couldn't help ponder the many similarities existing between us. The Mustang was derived from the lowly Ford Falcon and yet became more than the sum of its parts bins and was a market revelation offering affordable performance and style. Only ten years later would it be repeated with the Fb, except the Fb seems so much more modern from an engineering perspective. Shawn could not believe he was sitting in a nearly 30 year old car. And I had to agree, the last series interior has stood up well and has become as timeless as the exterior lines.
We were entering the town limits about 5 minutes from the beach when I was pulled over by the Niagara Police for speeding. Apparently I hadn't been given the chance to respond to the sudden drop in speed limits and had been doing 70 kph in a 50 zone. The oldest trick in the cop book. Oh well cops have to work too but I've always wanted to say ... is this really what you thought you'd be doing to serve and protect?
The worst part was the interminable 10 minutes it took to write up the ticket. Would we miss first contact? (when the Moon starts its ingress into the Sun).
"I dropped the charge to ten over the speed limit so the fine's only $40 and no points. 70 is a little too fast so slow it down. By the way beautiful car." (and his shooting hand never rested against the butt of his closed holstered Glock).
We made it with about 10 minutes to spare and it was worth the mad dash. I experienced my first partial solar eclipse and it was over in 20 minutes with the sunset at 8:40. The drive home was even more enchanting. Some of the neighbourhood kids wanted to look at Saturn and I told them it would be in its best position by 11 so it was another race. Shawn and I got tired of shouting at each other to be heard above the din of the car so I turned up the stereo and we listened to Sarah Brightman singing opera with Andrea Bocelli on cd. Believe me it works. The darkness, the haunting voices and the fire spitting and popping out of my exhaust must have made an impression on slower traffic. New tires and a realignment had driven the last of the gremlins from last summer's epic 400 mile drive and the car had road grip and feel like never before. The car is a true GT, gulping mile after mile and happy to run at the rev limit all night. A white 3 series BMW was up ahead swerving stupidly from lane to lane in a demonstration of his driving prowess. Even the iconic 3 series has grown flab over the years, where are the lithe 2400 lb cars with tiny economical engines? Remember the Honda CRX returned over 50 mpg on the highway 2 decades ago before all this hybrid nonsense. I unleashed the full fury of the Fb and spewed fire and noxiously rich gas fumes into the face of the BMW and flashed my illuminated rear panel at him. I doubt he even knew what an Rx7 is much less an Fb.
Jim
05-23-12, 08:50 AM
#4
Thanks DF and 82TransAm, very kind words indeed and glad you enjoyed it. I added some images of the car to my personal album. It had a full body repaint last summer but I preserved some of the original patina. The wiper arms have seen so much wind and grit that most of the paint has been blasted off them and bare metal is showing through, the front and rear bumper fascia has seen their toll of parking lot incidents and I kept their scars. Body rot is probably present but kept to a minimum from lack of winter driving and it was dealer rustproofed back when my Dad bought it new in 1985. Still I did see some surface rust in the bin area when I installed the rear FC seats and treated it.
Jim
Jim
05-23-12, 10:51 AM
#5
Roller into Roadster
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I remember that getting tickets judged in km/h always scared me over in Europe. Good to hear you got to enjoy the eclipse. I kept hoping that it might cause my wife to finally go into labor (we are sitting on +5 of the due date).
05-23-12, 07:20 PM
#6
Thanks, and I hope your wife delivers soon and doesn't have to be induced.
Speaking of Europe ... even though gas prices are marginally more expensive in Canada vs the US (more gas taxes which is really something Obama should try) it still is WAY less than in Europe. The big three German car makers offer wonderfully economical but sporty diesel engines on the same models sold here in North America ... but they won't bring them over!
Jim
Speaking of Europe ... even though gas prices are marginally more expensive in Canada vs the US (more gas taxes which is really something Obama should try) it still is WAY less than in Europe. The big three German car makers offer wonderfully economical but sporty diesel engines on the same models sold here in North America ... but they won't bring them over!
Jim
