Enroute to this year's 2011 Downriver Cruise, I got stuck at a light while the parade passed by. I kept a mindful eye on my temperature gauge, and the engine remained plenty cool at about 190 degrees. Heading south on Fort Street, the temp started rising, and I knew the 4 electric fans should have been on well before hitting 205. As the heat rose to nearly 230 degrees, I quickly ducked onto a side street for an itpection as to what went wrong. I popped the hood to discover coolant shooting out my overflow can...nice.
I turned the key to the on position and found my fans weren't working. I first bypassed the relay, still no luck, so I checked the fuse (which made the most sense, considering a bypass didn't work), and found the 20 amp fuse blown. I figured it was only a matter of time before my fans caused me issues, as they draw about 44 amps, and are wired into a 20 amp circuit. For now, I popped in a new fuse, a 30 amp for now, and hit the road trouble free. I've been meaning to rewire my fans, and ultimately, even wire them up so 2 come on at a lower temp, and all 4 perhaps 15-20 degrees warmer.
Once parked, I called a few friends, trying to track down a couple gallons of water, to replenish whatever was boiled over. I knew it was minimal, and it only amounted to about 1-2 quarts. After a quick shine and whipe down, I headed out on foot, trying to get as much ground covered as possible before wife and baby showed up.
Wife and little Emma showed up a few hours later, Emma sporting her "Kid Racer" tee picked up at Milan Dragway last season, courtesy of a neighbor. She was a real trooper, not fussing a bit all day, and seemingly enjoying the show. We stuck around until about 6:30, when upon I nervously merged into traffic, hoping for a trouble free commute home. Aside from the normal finickyness of the engine being cold, she ran fine. Next up, I'm going to regap my plugs, as I feel they may be responsible for my engine miss on the freeway, as they are way tighter than my MSD ignition recommends.
On a final note, I really like the Downriver Cruise. Where as the Gratiot Cruise is spread out over 2 miles, with very few big parking lots packed with cars, the Downriver Cruise stretches over 6 miles, though the majority of it is packed into a fairly tight area, which is easily walkable, and plenty of spots to set up chairs to watch. Where as Gratiot has a very strong Mopar presence, the Downriver Cruise seems to have a much greater variety as well. So, on that note, onto the show!
I spent a few hours on cleaning up my car this time, including a rubbing of the wheels and polishing the chrome. She looks damn good now.
A very nice Firebird parked nearby. I hope my sees such a quality restoration in coming years.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd's Mopar...Blue on Black (can't see the blue center stripe in this picture) Very nice car.
Another artistic take on the throttle blades.
I think this is a 34 or 35 Ford.
A Morris Minor. You don't see too many of these on the road.
Very nice truck. It's hard to see, but that chrome stack by the bed is actually the exhaust, which rises up and follows the top of the bed rail. Very cool idea.
My favorite streetrod at the show.
Sharp blown Mopar.
A Mercury Capri, their version of the Mustang. My Sgt who was on his way to the show owns one, and you don't see many, yet I saw three at this year's cruise.
A radical streetrod, most likely a glass car. You don't see many of these around, not like you did 10-15 years ago. Leaves me wondering, where did they go?
A row of buckets.
My favorite truck at the show, a 1947 Dodge with a Buiuk Nailhead for power. This was JJ and Lyne's Stone Soup Nailhead. I'm not sure if it's this year's giveaway, or a past giveaway. Whatever the case, this truck is bad as can be. You don't see many trucks from that era this large, as most are about 2/3's this size, at best.
A Willy's Coupe, one of my all time favorite streetrods.
This is THE one, my wife said "It's perfect, you don't need to change a thing...did you bring the check book?" Ironically, it was also for sale, for a cool $24,000, which in my opinion is a great price! I would have absolutely zero issue buying such a car, and hope to sometime in the future.
Cool Charger. Not too many people put the bumble bee stripe on the back.
1983 Aston Martin. VERY, VERY strange. I'm confused by the apparent flip up headlights, as there are already exposed headlights. The only word that came to mind when I saw this car was UGLY!
One of the many Buick Grand Nationals at the show. These cars were one of the few shining stars during the 1980's, and their styling looks good even today.
One seriously badass Mercury wagon.
Sweet little Anglia, though can't say I'd have picked the avacodo green.
Here is another car that was HUGE in the 80's and 90's, the lead sleds. Where did they all go? Are they sitting in garages across the country collecting dust? You sure don't see them on the roads and at the shows. This was possibly the only one I spotted all day.
The 63 Split Window Vette, one of the most recognized cars in automotive history.
AMC's on the other hand seem to be breeding, as I've never seen so many AMC's as I have in recent years.
Nice custom. While I dig the color, stance, white walls, and white interior, I'm not sure I could live with looking at that color every day.
This is exacly like the Charger my dad had. An SE model, black on black, 400 engine, leaves me wondering, could this be his old car?
Beetles come in many forms, this one is pretty over the top.
An old neighbor from college sent me an email out of the blue, asking for input on buying a GTO. He's never owned an old car, yet has this burning desire to own a 68-69. He wants a driver, though nother perfect, as he wants to spend around $10,000, with a little flexibility. I was shocked at how many GTO's were at the cruise, since I was really paying attention, though not a single one for sale.
My friend Jody's (The Mechanic) latest purchase to flip. Bought for $700, and with some elbow grease, is now cruise worthy. As always, it's for sale. PS...check out the gold tooth on the front. LOL
My friend Marty's 69 VW. This thing just screams Summer Fun!
Judging by the colors, this car may have been done awhile ago, but it's still very cool. It has a classic look that perhaps will never go out of style, and alway remain unique at the same time.
My favorite Hoopty of the day, this land yacht of a Cadillac done up nicely.
My Sgt's 1976 Trans Am. While a lot of these cars were ran into the ground, you are starting to see a resurgence of them these last few years. Thanks to companies like Year One and Detroit Speed who have stepped up to the plate to make parts to both restore, and modify them.
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