Thursday April 15, 2021
Planned Activities
Register at the Event
See the opening ceremonies
Register at the Hotel
Meet the Group on the road
Attend the reception
Cruise to downtown
5:30am:Up and at 'em. I am tired but excited to get on the road. The hotel had a Continental breakfast so I got some goodies and coffee for Jo and got ready for the morning. I had the car ready to go and we sat in the parking lot until everyone arrived and we could hit the road. We decided to get breakfast on the road to save time. I was told that one of our group knew where the speedway was so we had no worries.
6:50am: On the road to Nashville. We're ready to have some fun. We figure we are about an hour and a half or so away from Nashville. We will register, see the show, and get into our hotels. We are all staying at the MAA hotel except Big Mac and Eagle 1. They opted to stay at the MCA hotel.
7:40am: Taking a break at a rest stop. I cannot believe it but it is the same rest area I stopped at in 1978 when my Duster broke down on my way to New York. What are the chances? Brought back some memories. (Can't decide if they were good or bad. Either way they are memories) Back on the road
Time? We stopped for fuel and food. It now appears we do not know where the speedway is and apparently neither do the folks working here. We bought a map and decided we now knew where the speedway was! I am getting nervous that we will not make the opening ceremonies at 10:00. I hope I didn't leave the group for no reason. We got some food and are back on the road.
Time? We have arrived in Nashville. I seem to have forgotten to record times or events here as I think I was too excited. I will just go with my memory (hope it hasn't left again!) One thing that bothered me was the car started to hesitate. It seemed like I was out of gas the way it was jumping. The tank was almost full but it kept hesitating. I stepped on the gas and it seemed to quiet down. I did not like it al all. I would keep an eye on it.
Time? We are sitting by a speedway but which one is your guess. It appears we got lost and are in downtown Nashville in a part of town you do not want to be in with the cars we (they) had. The best part is the one who "knew" where the speedway was did not lead so 2 cars got more lost than we were. We gave the other lost pair directions to get where we were and low and behold they got lost again. I cannot recall the exact time but we were getting dangerously close to 10:00. I knew we were not going to make it. Oh well, I was not going to let one little glitch stop me from continuing my fantastic week. I just put the thought out of my mind. The one good thing that came out of all this was we were much earlier than anyone else so we should get registered quickly and that alone was worth the price of admission (if you know what I mean). While we were waiting for the others to arrive we finally got directions for the real speedway. It seems the real speedway is about 30 or so miles out of town. What happened? Does Nashville not like NASCAR or racing? We still had quite a way to go. While we were waiting another Mustanger pulled up. It seems we were not the only ones to get bad directions. They had directions written down. Between both kids I bet their ages didn't equal 35. I was not sure if we should trust them but they did wait around for us. When the lost sheep finally showed up we took off. At first we followed the kids but when they made a critical error and headed for I 40 west we knew they were not on the right path. We went I 40 east and we were soon (if you consider 40 minutes soon) at the Nashville Motor speedway.
10:27am: We finally arrived at the speedway and as I predicted missed the opening ceremonies but as was also predicted the line was very short. We were met and had our registration packets in about 5 minutes. The packet contained our dash placard, gate passes, Window display (Fig. 40), and tickets to the various events we paid for along with other items of interest. The MCA did a great job in their registration setup. We did not have to even get out of our car. Everything was set up so the registrars came to us.
Concourse vehicles were under the grandstands. I got parked and walked around for a little bit. There were not many cars there at all so we left for the day and went back to the hotel to register. Finding the hotel was a show of futility. There were several Marriott's in the same area. I stopped at all of them before I found out the one I wanted was at the top of the hill. As I was on my way up the car died. I sat on the side of a big hill and could not get my car started. After a few minutes I got it going but it ran like sh**. It kept stalling and stalling but I finally got to the hotel. I actually ended up coasting into the hotel because the car stalled again. I met up with Tony Sousa there and told him of my troubles. I told Tony I planned to meet the caravan on the road and drive in with them but was not sure now because of my car troubles. He said he planned on it also and if I got my car fixed we could go out together. We would leave at 2:15pm if my car was running. I checked in and got Jo to take our things to the room while I worked on the car. It took a while just to get the car out of the driveway and to the side. The hotel had a reserved parking area set aside just for us and after awhile of starting and stalling I got the car to the parking lot. The only thing I could think of was the timing. Just before the trip I put on a Carb from Pony Carburetors and the way they said to do the timing was what I thought bizarre. The video said to not use a timing light and to time the car by ear. They said to keep advancing the timing until the engine started to ping. They said to move the distributor ahead a tooth if needed, which I did. I now thought that was the problem. I pulled the distributor and moved it one tooth back and again the car purred like a kitten. I had just enough time to take a quick shower and meet Tony in the parking lot and we once again headed for the highway. I think we missed an exit and by the time we got turned around we missed Sam and the first part of the convoy. We made it back to the Hotel as everyone was checking in. We swapped stories from the day and talked until it was time for the reception.
We went to the MAA Arrival reception and had a great time. Even though I was still kind of upset that I missed the last days' drive and the opening ceremonies I was comforted to know that we were already registered and the rest of the group had a wait and a half to get in tomorrow. We talked for a while and we left to get ready for the parade downtown.
6:00pm: Sam led our group to the staging point at the Two Rivers Baptist Church. All was right with the world again. I was back in the pack right behind Sam and Tony, where I belonged. We drove into the church parking lot only to find out we weren't alone. I would be willing to make a wager there were already 500 to 600 cars. We added about 150 to 200 to that list. What a rush to see that many Mustangs in one spot.
6:30pm: We had a drivers meeting. The speaker was using the PA system on an old SSP (Special Service Package or old cop car) to make his announcements. I am sure by that time we were at about 800 to 900 Mustangs. The crowd was enormous. It was so cool. After, we relaxed in the room for the evening awaiting the wonders of tomorrow.
Friday April 16, 2021
It is our first full day at the racetrack. After I was all set up I met up with a friends from the drive. Donnie Boese was parked across from us with his 1968 Mustang. We sat and chatted for a while about the drive. I met Donnie on the drive. As we were passing him I could hear a ticking in his rear end. (The car, the car. Get your mind out of the gutter) He told us he could not figure out what was happening but the car was running fine. I was glad. Turns out the cars rear differential (better?) went out after he got home. I next found the 2005 Mustang GT on display. It looked better in person than it did in the magazine. I wanted one right there but alas, they refused to let me have it. (sore sports!) I took several pictures of this new beautiful car and pined for the day when it would go on sale.
As we passed the Roush display we were pleasantly surprised to find Sam's Roush pace car (the other Mustang 1). It still had all the decals and stickers on it. It was a great advertisement for what we had done. I didn't have that much time or film to take that many pictures. I know now I should have taken some more but I can always go to the MAA website and drool.
We left for the afternoon at about 3:30pm. The show wasn't officially over until 4:00 but we wanted to get a jump on the crowd. Besides we had tickets to the grand Ole Opry. To my surprise as we were leaving there were still cars coming in. I could not believe it. It took all day to get registered. I felt real good about coming in early. We got the oil changed in the car and headed for the hotel. We made it back to the hotel and just relaxed for a bit before we got ready for our night on the town.
Saturday April 17, 2021
We arrived at the track bright and early. I walked around for a while and I found a booth where they were selling souvenir photos. What it was is you can take your car on the speedway and get your picture taken by the Nashville speedway sign. I immediately signed up. It cost $40.00 but I thought I could get a picture of my car on the speedway. It was worth it. Later, we met up again with Donnie and sat and chatted for a while. Donnie is about the nicest guy. Donnie also came prepared for the day's events. Like us he didn't want to pay the high prices at the track so he went to Wal Mart and bought drinks and food (smart man).
The judging was scheduled between 12:00 and 3:00pm. When my car was judged a sticker would be placed on it to show it had been looked at. When all the judging was done a flyer would be placed on the dash of the car if it won an award. It seemed like forever until the winners were announced. I was sitting behind my car with Jo and Donnie when I saw a judge come by me with a flyer. He was heading for the car whose owner was the one I originally saw with the red T shirt. She won an award! I don't know what made me look but I went to the front of my car and there on the dash was a flyer saying my beautiful Mustang had been chosen for an award. I sat there stunned for a moment then shouted out for Jo to come. Donnie and her both came up to where I was and I showed them my prize. I was without words. It was a dream comes true. This trip just kept getting better and better all the time. I couldn't wait until Sunday when I could get my award. We stayed for a little while longer then left to get ready for the General Jackson Riverboat Cruise.
TRAGEDY STRIKES...
While on the way home we decided to stop at Wal Mart and pick up a few items before we went to the hotel. As we were approaching the exit I felt something was not right in the car. I tried to accelerate and see what was wrong only to find the engine had died in the middle of Interstate 40. This was not good. I coasted off to the side of the road. I tried to restart the car but it would not catch. It kind of felt like it wanted to start but not quite. I again thought it was the timing from when I put that carburetor on. I tried moving the distributor to no avail. I pulled the distributor out and tried to move it back one more tooth. Again, nothing. The car was now starting to backfire through the carburetor and a couple of times it started on fire. I now knew it was in the timing. I hadn't worked on a car in years but even a first year student can spot a timing problem. there was nothing I could do now. During this time several fellow Mustangers stopped to help. I got lots of advice but nothing worked. One of the cars that stopped belonged to one of my fellow MAA travelers, Mike Epperstien. His parents Mike and Joyce were also on the trip. Mike stayed with me for over a half hour to try and get me going but again, nothing. As he left I called my insurance company and made arrangements to get my car towed to a repair shop. It is unbelievable but I could not find a Ford dealer in Nashville that could work on a 1970 Mustang. When I asked why they replied most of their techs were not born when my car was built.
What I ended up doing was having the car towed back to the hotel and I would make my decision from there. While I was waiting for the tow truck Mike and Joyce Epperson pulled up. After I told them I tried everything I told them what I was most upset about was we would miss the General Jackson River Boat ride. The Epperson's told me they too were going to the cruise and they would give us a ride. For those who do not own a Mustang believe me the car was not really made for 4 people but that didn't stop the Epperson's from opening their hearts and car to us. I cannot say enough about them. I accepted their invitation. I knew it was Jo's dream to ride a riverboat and I didn't want to miss it. We made arrangements to meet before the show. Now, all I had to do was get the car to the hotel, clean up, and get ready for the ride. Even with the loss of my car I still was having such a good time. You really find out who your friends are when the chips are down and my chips were in a chasm!
We hooked up with the Epperson's and got to the Riverboat on time.
Sunday April 18, 2021
I woke up at about 6:00am. I let Jo sleep while I went down to the car and again tried to induce that self healing mode in my Mustang. It still was not working. I knew it wouldn't but it was worth a try. I saw Sam and Sidney in the elevator and relayed what happened. Sam was sorry but I knew there was nothing he could do. I went to the front desk to see if there was some kind of shuttle service going to the track. Of course there was none. After I told my sad tale one of the desk clerks named Delores offered to give me a ride to the track after she got off work. I asked her if she knew the track was 31 miles away. She said she did and was still willing to drive me. I was elated. We left about 7:30 for the track. It was a very pleasant ride. We got to the track just after 8:00.
I walked around for a while and looked at all the vendors of used car parts. I could have had a field day but I had no car to get anything home with and I had to save every penny for the car repair. I looked again for the picture people but it appears they were no where to be found I met up with Tony and told him about my current situation he said he was planning on leaving the track about 3:00 and he would be glad to give me a ride. The problem, he already had a car full. I would have made 5! I knew that was too many but I told him if I could not get anything else I would call him on his cell phone. While I was walking around I heard 2 Mustangers talking. One was saying he was planning on leaving in about ½ hour. I stopped in and asked for a ride home. As it turned out he was a fellow driver from the MAA run. What luck! He told me he was leaving in about ½ hour to 45 minutes and he would gladly give me a ride home. I called Tony, thanked him and told him I was on my way back to the hotel and I would see him at the goodbye banquet. When I got back to the room I had lots of time to reflect on what had happened over the past week. I couldn't believe my good fortune. There was so much to be thankful for. I had made several pillows to mark the occasion and I wrote a sentiment on 2 of them. One for Sam and one for Tony. I just wanted them to know how I felt.
We made our way to the banquet early so I could give them the pillows alone. I found Sam getting ready for the banquet. I felt awkward but gave him the pillow and my thanks. He graciously accepted it and said it had been a pleasure to ride with me. I reciprocated and told him I couldn't wait for the next one. A short while later Tony arrived and I gave him his pillow. Tony was really taken with the gift but what he did really meant alot to me. It was like going back in time and reliving those carefree days of youth. There is no price you can put on that.
The dinner went off without a hitch. The food was 10 times better than the General Jackson. We had a great time. Sam had his computer set up to show a slide show of the trip. We all laughed at ourselves and the silly poses we were caught in. While we were talking someone passed their MCA dash placard and asked me to sign it. I thought what a great ides and I had as many people as I could sign mine I got a ton of signatures. What a great souvenir. The guest speaker for the evening was Art Hyde. He was on the Ford design team who designed the new 05 Mustang. He made it a point to show the back end was taken directly from the 1970 Mustang. Now a piece of my car would be immortalized. The other nifty item was the gas cap. looking at the car you will see what looks like the gas cap as it was on the older Mustangs. Mr. Hyde spoke for about an hour and was pretty funny. He had some of the audience members come up and play a game. It sure made them look silly but what the heck we had fun. The dinner broke up around 10:00 or so. For the first time I felt like it was over. I knew after tomorrow I would not see anyone again. What a feeling. It was like leaving family. I wanted to do another drive right then but alas, no car.
We retired for the evening with one thing on our minds. Getting the car fixed.
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