The three travelers in Terre Haute |
This
July was the 24th FFO-07 of Fiat Lancia Unlimited was held in
Pontiac, Michigan, which is 1100 miles from Norman, Oklahoma. So I, of course, decided to drive my
red 1979 Fiat Spider there in a test of old time touring in an open car. Two others joined me. Jim Wagner with Johnathan Rodebush as
co-driver and Csaba Vandor who represented Vick Autosport. Thus the Herd of Cats tour developed as
a way to meet up on the road and tour in the company of other Fiats. Why Herd of Cats? Have you ever tried to herd cats?
The
tour was broken into two stages with an overnight stop in Terre Haute,
Indiana. This leg was about 700
miles and made for a relatively easy 400 mile run into Pontiac. Twice while filling up with fuel, the
attendant rushed out to hang an out-of-order sign on the nozzle that I had just
used. This did not inspire
confidence in what watery dregs I had just pumped into my tank. The car immediately began to stutter
while accelerating onto the interstate and the idle went to pot. The first time was fixed with some gas
additive and a filter but the second was not so simple and the car remained a
bit tentative during acceleration and I had to bump the idle to 1500 rpms for
the return journey.
Csaba has a
taller 5th gear that he installed with a lot of crafty engineering
and we compared fuel usage each pit stop. My dirty gas did not hurt since I was getting close to 30 mpg and Csaba
a bit over 31 mpg on the cleaner high test. Cruising at a 70 mph pace or more spirited 75-80 mph seemed
to make little difference. Csaba's
white spider had the most personality with an occasional non-functioning
starter and a cantankerous fuel pump as well as a severed exhaust pipe on the
return trip. |
Parking at FFO-07 Doug and Ron's cars finally meet |
We got it repaired in Norman at my friendly muffler shop and, much
to the surprise of both of us, Csaba was not charged for this service. My spider decided to hook an electrical
wire around the trunk lock mechanism to create a moment of never-get-in
the-trunk-again panic. Jim's
purple Spider began to suffer from the lumpy idle related to the poor fuel
quality and heat issues when using his air conditioner.
We arrived in
Pontiac about 4pm in time for a cleanup and dinner and lined our cars next to
nearly 100 other Fiats. The
security camera or maybe an observant Fluster caught me as I prepared my car
for the show. This consisted of
hiding my traveling stuff, tossing old water bottles and washing off the bugs
and road grime. This driver was a
bit ripe as well and not yet fit for company. So a shower and change of clothing were next. One of the first to meet me in the
lobby was my brother, Doug from Ottawa, who now has a very good Pininfarina
Spider that I had helped to assemble while it was restored Oklahoma. This would be a rare treat to get both
of our sports cars and us together. I could tell the cars and the show impressed him. He was a Midget owner for 25 years and
favorably compared FFO to the many big British car shows. He has tossed away
the Brooks cap and wool smoking jacket with elbow patches of the English
gentleman for the more debonair look of the European jet set. This happens when one drives an
Italian sports car. It suits him. |
Oil, coolant and brake fluid and Jim |
My
impression of this event was that it was well organized and run. The cars were of the highest quality
restorations with a good variety of models and a few special examples. Meals
were very good Italian cuisine served family style or pass the bowl of
linguini, please. The driving
events were for the others who had not just spent 20 hours on the road with 20
more to come but the time spent around the parking lot was not wasted. Friendships old and new developed
around the cooler of beer and groups formed and reformed long into each
evening. I was particularly
interested in the Ottawa group since my interest in Fiat was rekindled only
after I left there for warmer climes and I have met some on trips back to the
north.
I
disassembled the carburetor and found some fluff in the main jet and some
litter in the float bowls but in now the car is ready to go again and the
stumble is fixed. My
old tires are tired so it is time to install new rubber onto the refurbished 13
inch Cromadora Iron Cross wheels that were a common upgrade for these cars over
the heavier steel. This will be a
change from the chrome hubcaps and trim rings that I think suit the Fiat but
were never used on the 1979 Spiders. |
