Viva Las Vegas 2009

"Drive it like you stole it!" Quoted from an intensely intoxicated man just before he threw himself into a fight outside a Del Taco in San Diego several years ago.... Thats what our trip to Vegas is all about. 350 miles through the desert. A couple of old cars, trunks full of parts, spare tires, sleeping bags and flashlights. Last year we didn't finish the run. 80 miles into the return trip, the Olds burned up her crank bearings and we had to flat bed all the way home. Thanks to the shitty quality of Fram oil filters. Got'em? Get them off your cars!... AAA made no money off me last year.
You take your licks, suck it up and start rebuilding. This time we added a beefy race cam and few other tricks for some definite attitude enhancements. She's still a work in progress, needs paint and some body work, but we made it through this year. Desert trips are always the hardest. Running in the day with high temps can be harsh, traffic makes it worse. The winds get crazy out in the Mojave. I've seen it strong enough to rip the hood off Rick's car a few years back. Tore it from the hinges like paper. You never know what you're going to run into. One year it was butterflies. Millions of butterflies. So many that they were choking up radiators. Things you can never predict.
This year we pulled it off. The Oldsmobile made the full round trip. Being able to get a little redemption feels good. To put your motor through 700 miles of crazy driving conditions constitutes a decent break in tour. We survived 80 miles of stop and go holiday traffic in the sun, got to do some flat out open running at high speed, and had a great time. In the end, thats what its all about. Getting out on the road and testing what you've labored over for so long while trying to keep an eye out for trouble. That same guy at the Del Taco, having lost the fight and limped away, also said something else I remember... He yelled, "Your momma puto!" after running back, hopping a railing and sucker punching me in the head while I was ordering my grub. God Bless America...