On a back country road

Seems my choice to drive my Camaro to work proved to be a smart one, as the morning after I realized it wasn't totally uneventful. We went out to the garage to leave for church and I immediately smelled gas. It wasn't a faint smell of gas, it was full force, something major leaking smell of gas. A quick look under the car verified my suspicions, I had a hole in the main fuel hose. I guess the hose WAS a bit too close to the tire after all, and it burned a hole through. Better for the hose leak to have happened in the garage as opposed to 50 miles away, with no tools, hose, or means to repair it. Initially discourage, thinking the car wouldn't be making the trip up to the in-laws later, I soon realized I had a bigger problem. I had filled up the night before, and my tank had a full 19 gallons, minus the gallon or so that had leaked out. Unfixed, I would lose the whole tank of gas. Church would have to wait until next Sunday. I was lucky to have ordered up 25' of fuel hose, which left me with about 6' extra. While it didn't solve the issue of needing to remove and reuse the fittings, at least I had the hose. I first removed the end going to the filter, and was relieved that no fuel leaked out, due to the line being slightly higher than the sump fittings. After I had the first fitting installed on the new hose, I got my 5 gallon bucket ready to catch the free flowing fuel. I also had my knife, torch, and hose oil ready to make sure the installation of the second fitting went as quickly as possible, allowing me to install the new hose and prevent the bucket from over flowing. I barely made it, as fuel was about a 1/4" from the top of the bucket when the new hose was installed and secure. I need to drop the tank next winter so I can install clamps on the frame rail. As it is, the hose is routed shorter so as to prevent any tire interference. With the hose fixed, I checked the fluids, and shortly after we hit the road...wife and baby girl following behind. While my speedometer read 68 mph, my wife later informed me we were only going about 60 mph. The car also ran hotter than I would like, but survived. After about 15 miles, the rising/dropping temps settled in at a constant 225 degrees. I have a few theories on what I can do to lower that temp, but that fact that it was about 90 outside played it's part. Once at the in-laws, it wasn't long before my father-in-law wanted to go for a ride. Never one to baby my cars, we got into it good. I hadn't tested out my new combination to this extent yet. First gear, I can turn the tires over with 1/4 throttle, and by feathering it, can leave a set of black marks as far as you wish. Second gear, I can slowly apply more throttle, get her going straight, and find the floor. In second, I still shifted at a high of about 6,000 rpm's, a good 1,200 rpm's below peak rpm. Let me just say, she pulls like a rocket ship, and I can't wait to get some stickies out back! I left a bit early, as I wanted to make home prior to darkness arriving, since I still lack interior gauge lights. Right around the Detroit city limits, I observed a bright yellow new Camaro with black stripes coming down the on ramp. The driver tried to get next to me, but was blocked by a car, and quickly crossed three lanes to come up on my driver side. I looked over, gave him the nod...knowing he was thinking the same thing I was "nice car." As I looked over to the passenger side, a guy in a beat up old Nissan pointed at the new Camaro now speeding off ahead, shook his head, gave it a thumbs down. He then pointed at my car, and gave big thumbs up, head nod, and smile ear to ear. Part of the joy of taking my Camaro out is watching the smiles it puts on the face of others. :)