************************************************************************************************************************
'02
************************************************************************************************************************

****************************************
2002 PENSACOLA FIASCO
****************************************
Its coming time for the Southern Trans Am Regionals in Pensacola, FL. ... Much work is still to be done. I am planning on having the new hood on for this show. This means Joe and I have a ton of block sanding to do. John, the painter, got us some filler primer. And we went to work. We got it ready and waited for him to get back in town. Tuesday the week of the show, John took the hood.

In the meantime, I decided to install the overhead console. It seems easy enough.

John had the hood painted and ready Friday so it could finally be installed for good. He had a few spots he wanted to touch up, but it looked awesome.

************************************************************************************************************************
On to last minute cleaning and 12Am Sat Morn. off to the show in Pensacola, FL. ...
************************************************************************************************************************

Well, things got a bit crazy on the way down. There was an Armadillo in the middle of the highway. There was no way I could avoid it. I hit it square and it was dead on impact, Thank god! We pulled over to check the car out.

The exterior was fine, except that the driver's fog light was now out of alignment. I was so glad the fang had not been installed. It would have been toast. The car was running really rough, so I popped the hood. The air filter and its reducer were gone. In the reducer, was the temperature sensor and the NOS nozzle.

So the search began...

Joe ran by the car as I backed up to the impact site. Still no filter. We decided to go to a gas station to get some panty hose for the intake and to try to drive up on the site to see better. We had to get off and turn around and go back an exit. Got the panty hose and went back. Still no filter. We then went to another gas station for a flashlight. We figured it must have been thrown off the road.

To the gas station we went, they had no flashlights, but the guy at the counter let us borrow his. We searched again. Still nothing. I told Joe I thought we should go further past closer to where we stopped to check the car. And there it was. It was practically crushed. We think a truck ran it over and tossed it to the side. We pushed it back out to shape as best we could and reconnected it. After this 2 hours delay, it was on to FL.

************************************************************************************************************************
After stopping to eat & catch a nap in the car, we got there at 8AM. We began to clean the car and unpack. By about 1pm we were on the way to the show. It was about an hour from where we were staying.
************************************************************************************************************************

In Gulf Breeze, I heard a clunk and then smelt radiator fluid. We pulled over and popped the hood. Radiator fluid was everywhere and the belt was gone. We looked closer the alternator was missing its bolt and pulley. We pushed the car off the road and I took the hike this time.

About a mile back where I had heard the clunk lay the fan belt. I couldn't see the pulley anywhere. Then I walked a bit further. There it was on its side in the middle of an intersection. I ran out when traffic allowed and darn there was the bolt too.

I ran back to the car. Joe got a ride up the street to a Discount Auto to get a socket to reinstall the pulley. I stayed and cleaned the car. We discovered that as the belt came off it nicked the radiator overflow hose, so I patched it. We got everything back together and discovered the alternator would not charge. We made it to Discount and got a new belt and a new Alternator.

************************************************************************************************************************
On to the show...
************************************************************************************************************************

Of course, everyone was gone. Thank goodness the judging was not until Sunday. We went back and got up after the fog had receded on Sunday. We to the show on Sunday with no problems.

************************************************************************************************************************
I decided it would be a better idea to leave on Monday instead of Sunday night.
************************************************************************************************************************

We took some shots on the way back.

It was a good thing we waited & came back later because the car threw its belt again on the way back. It turns out the power steering pump had lost a bolt on its bracket. It was then leaning and allowing the belt to walk off. Here we are sitting on the hwy.

Joe was off getting some water to replace the coolant we lost when the belt came off.

We tied it down and made it to Dothan, AL. There we found an AutoZone and bought a short enough belt to bypass the power steering pulley all together.

************************************************************************************************************************

HOME PAGE

Follow this link to additional information on the car not found on this site!
************************************************************************************************************************

DIRECTORY FOR RAIF'S HISTORY SITE
01 Site Overview
02 (1987) Options and window sticker...
03 (1989) Stock pics...
04 (1990) Bottom Accent color changed to Black, Enkei rims, & Tint
05 (1992) Wreck & Added 2 amps
06 (1994) Changer, Alarm, Taillights painted red, Emblems Modified
07 (1998) Engine�s top end rebuilt
08 (1999) Major mods began...Misc. trim, exterior lights, & Alpine head unit
09 (2000) Journal of events
10 (pre July 2001) Journal of events
11 (post July 2001) Journal of events
12 (pre March 2002) Journal of events
13 (March 2002) Pensacola Fiasco <<<
14 (post March 2002) Journal of events
15 Grey and Black Interior
16 Old Sub box
17 Cop Stories
18 Old 2.25 Inch Exhaust
************************************************************************************************************************