coolest things 0f 04 1st.......... Finding a slew of nos parts to sell (savin for another BUICK) :laugh: 2nd........ don't know if this qualifies as COOL? but getting my hands done for carpel tunnel ! suffered for 18 months No sleep 3rd......... Loved the BPG nats Fairly close to home & meeting FACES from the v8 board!! :bglasses: :3gears: Oh yeah!! see'n the motor swap at Salem right in the pits :bglasses: :bglasses:
Best for me was getting my daughter off the drugs. She is finally home and I now have a new job and will be moving next weekend. Anybody wanna help?! :laugh:
Heading to Maine with the kids for vacation was the highlight of my year. Lets not forget, buying my 1969 Deuce and a Quarter. :Brow:
Getting my 70 GS done after 4 years of working on it and going on a cruise to the Bahamas . That was so cool being out on the ocean seeing nothing but water
Where to start? Chronologically: 1. Mortgaged the farm and bought my dream car "Lucille" :beer 2. Found this forum! Subsequently, met a bunch of great people who have fostered my new addiction. :Brow: 3. Made the mental shift that I can do anything I put my mind to - and drove myself to Salem where the seeds of racing were planted... :bglasses: 4. Re-learned to walk without any assistive devices!!!! :TU: 5. Pure Stock Drags in Stanton, first trip down the strip (as a passenger) :laugh: 6. RACED RACED RACED RACED RACED :beer
Driving to Salem for the BPG Nats in my GS - by myself because I missed hooking up with the convoy - Cruisin' down the highway....top down, sun on my face....munching down the miles listening to the beautiful music only a Big Block Buick can belt out singing at 3K and 80 mph..... .....thinking about the fun 5 days ahead - all the cool cars and people Im going to see....thinking about finally meeting all the new friends I've met here and through the BPG....the anticipation of watching and endless stream of GS's make the trip down the 1/4 mile.....The TA Wagon.....Scotty....Doug....Rick....the Csordas family ....Zerucha's....Paine's....a sea of names Im going to watch race ....and then seeing a Blue GS all alone on the side of the road with its guts spilled all over the highway. Making a new friend instantly while me and my GS gave him a ride to Salem - almost as if me missing the convoy was for a meaning. Seing how he wasn't going to let his blown motor and having to leave his GS behind ruin the trip.....still excited instead of totally bummed..... .....and then watching how not only his old friends but new friends and strangers pitched in to wrench form dawn to dusk to toss a big block buick into the engine bay where a dead small block sat days before ....and then watching the car make several passes down the 1/4 mile AMAZING !!!!! Here's to Kevin, the MassHoles, and everyone who had a greasy hand in pulling this project off http://itnmedia.com/alan/bpg/wolverine1419.wmv ....
Getting back to work on the race car! Having my Buick buddies and my family over for a cookout. Watching my two boys shoot there first real guns. Watching both boys smoking the competition at the Cub Scout turkey shoot! I think we actually came out money ahead this year! Watching my oldest son, 8, kill his first deer. Having my yougest son, 6, sitting in my lap in a tripod stand watching the deer walk by. Best of all having them in the GS doing a major burnout, holes in the asphalt, and then going back around to the house so the boys could show my mother in law what we had done with clouds of smoke still in the air. Making new friends on the v8 board. Missing the first BPG event due to a hurricane. Now that I think about it I could go on and on. See y'all next year.
Not sure it classifies as coolest, but most memorable: I had not driven my Stage 1 for two years. I could not get it inspected due to exhaust manifold leaks on both sides. I had been asking around at local garages for the last 4-5 years looking for someone reputable to do this job as i did not want to pull the heads off if I could avoid it. No one wanted the job. After being at Buick's 100th anniversary in 2003 without my car, I vowed I would not miss the 1st BPG Nationals and I was going in my Stage 1! I decided to do the job myself. I quickly realized the only way I was going to do this without pulling the heads off was to pull the motor. I can't remember what day I started (sometime the end of July) but the short version of the story is the motor went back in the car at 3:30 p.m. on 8/11/04. I finished hitching up the wiring, etc. and started the car at 1:30 a.m. on 8/12/04. Left for Salem at 1:00 p.m. on 8/12/04. Rolled into Salem and drove by the "pit area" where the famous engine swap took place at 2:00 p.m. on 8/13/04. It was a great trip and enjoyed spending the time with my sons (12 and 16) and meeting many people on this board at Salem. The only trouble was throwing off the power steering belt 2 miles from home. Local auto parts had two of the belts - I bought both and never had another problem! This would not have been possible without the help of my brother (in the picture), Greg Gessler (quickly shipped me stainless steel manifold bolts), Jim Lore (suggestions on how to do the job and suggested the Bill Hirsch manifold paint) and others. The highlight of the whole trip was opening the most recent copy of the Build Sheet and seeing the article Rick Martinez did on my car! Thank you Rick. Making plans for Salem in 2005!
Memories of 2004 Bought the rarest car I have ever owned 1972 Stage 1 Suncoupe ! Lost a dear friend to cancer . Finished rehabbing my rental property ( just to rent it at no profit to my daughter and her family ) My wife winning her class at GS NATS . Selling the 70 post race car ( the only way I could pass the purchase of the Suncoupe off with the wife ) :beer and meeting many new Buick friends on the board and at the NATS . Next year the BPG NATS is the place I want to go and hope to see you all there :TU:
The date and time stamps on the previous photos are 1st photo: 8/8/04 9:43 p.m. 2nd photo: 8/10/04 3:29 p.m. 3rd photo: 8/11/04 3:34 p.m.
Winning the Quick 16 at Norwalk was the coolest thing I did this past year! :TU: Especially cool to beat another 8-second GS (the Zerucha's) by less than a fender in the final round! :beer
Coolest thing........... Came to the States in May, stayed with and helped my friends work on a Bad, Black and Blown Skyhawk at the GS Nats which then ran 8's at just under 160mph. Back in England, tuned a 4600lb '71 Riviera to run a 12.87 @ 106mph. Things are good!!!!!!!! :beer
Went down the strip at Salem with Beth on her first run in the new car...I'm so bad - but it was great! Thanks Beth! - Bill
The coolest things from 2004, Breaking Outrageous at the BPG test & tune, then going home for the old reliable 71 GS455 & racing her for fun with the GSM guys and getting to the finals against John Zerucha the next day. The best was racing at Cecil with Outrageous against the best racers, Csordas, Chilenski & Martinez...& winning my first class win with her. Randy
2004 the best thing i did was i FINALLY QUIT SMOKING! its been close to 1 year now, not only do i feel a lot better, im not wasting money and killing myself at the same time. i think i finally beat cigarettes!
