SHIMBIMMER
Well-Known Member
Don't think of this as a sad story - think of it as a great story.
I live in NYC. I grew up in rural West Virginia. Those are very disconnected settings. Further, one is incredibly easy to visit and the other feels as remote as a Columbian jungle.
My mother was hospitalized last week and I needed to pay my respects and visit her. The options were to fly to either Pittsburgh, PA or Charleston, WV. Either would present a 45 minute trip to the airport, one hour early for a 1.5 hour flight followed by another 45 minutes to get a rental car and THEN a 2.5 to 3 hour drive up into the mountains where I grew up (Elkins, WV). That's a 6.5 to 7 hours (my math is fuzzy) to fly and drive - or 7.5 hours to drive door to door from NYC to Elkins. I chose to drive.
At first I weighed the rental car options. Then I checked the weather and made a last minute audible play and fired up my coupe. I had no idea what to expect. I threw caution to the wind. I packed my bag, threw on the amber lensed Aviators and went to battle.
Terry Conners and Don (SF) had done quite a bit of work to my '72 CSI in 2010 while I was living in Europe. The longest trip I had driven was when moving from LA to SF that same year - in a car that was mechanically not doing so well (**** mechanic not knowing what he was doing in LA nearly killed me). Terry and Don went through the car tip to tail giving it a new suspension, brakes, new hoses throughout, multiple adjustments and replacements and garnished it with an Alpina package (wheels, steering wheel and shifter knob to complete) but I had only driven it lightly in SF. When I had it shipped to NYC I had visions of driving it to Montauk or Upstate NY every weekend...but the reality of work travel squashed that. Quickly. Nevertheless, I knew the coupe was in excellent shape and I had zero reservations about firing it up and driving home. Well - maybe a few I chose to ignore.
And I was more than correct to bet on my car and their work. The car performed flawlessly. It never concerned me at all - from mile one to the last.
My car is nearly 100% original. The engine is the same one that rolled out of the factory with the car. Even at 3500 to 4500 RPM's in 4th gear for hours straight - the car begged for more. The last time I drove my own car into my hometown was nearly 20 years ago. I was 18 then and my whip was a 1975 530i (I'm 38 in September). Pushing the e9 through the mountains of Central Pennsylvania, Northern Maryland and along the Allegheny range of West Virginia was a complete and utter joy. The only threat was the weather (I feared I would certainly get hit with rain or a storm) - but to my surprise and delight...not a drop. Not even remnants of moisture on the road.
These cars simply love to roll. Drive them like you stole them. I thought of Murray on this trip - making every effort to find the "blue roads". Trust me. Find yourself in North Central West Virginia and you'll find more than you ever imagined.
18 hours total in 48 hours. Not a hiss. Not a gurgle. Not a hesitation. Just pure growling, road gripping excitement. Pure joy.
Enjoy.
I live in NYC. I grew up in rural West Virginia. Those are very disconnected settings. Further, one is incredibly easy to visit and the other feels as remote as a Columbian jungle.
My mother was hospitalized last week and I needed to pay my respects and visit her. The options were to fly to either Pittsburgh, PA or Charleston, WV. Either would present a 45 minute trip to the airport, one hour early for a 1.5 hour flight followed by another 45 minutes to get a rental car and THEN a 2.5 to 3 hour drive up into the mountains where I grew up (Elkins, WV). That's a 6.5 to 7 hours (my math is fuzzy) to fly and drive - or 7.5 hours to drive door to door from NYC to Elkins. I chose to drive.
At first I weighed the rental car options. Then I checked the weather and made a last minute audible play and fired up my coupe. I had no idea what to expect. I threw caution to the wind. I packed my bag, threw on the amber lensed Aviators and went to battle.
Terry Conners and Don (SF) had done quite a bit of work to my '72 CSI in 2010 while I was living in Europe. The longest trip I had driven was when moving from LA to SF that same year - in a car that was mechanically not doing so well (**** mechanic not knowing what he was doing in LA nearly killed me). Terry and Don went through the car tip to tail giving it a new suspension, brakes, new hoses throughout, multiple adjustments and replacements and garnished it with an Alpina package (wheels, steering wheel and shifter knob to complete) but I had only driven it lightly in SF. When I had it shipped to NYC I had visions of driving it to Montauk or Upstate NY every weekend...but the reality of work travel squashed that. Quickly. Nevertheless, I knew the coupe was in excellent shape and I had zero reservations about firing it up and driving home. Well - maybe a few I chose to ignore.
And I was more than correct to bet on my car and their work. The car performed flawlessly. It never concerned me at all - from mile one to the last.
My car is nearly 100% original. The engine is the same one that rolled out of the factory with the car. Even at 3500 to 4500 RPM's in 4th gear for hours straight - the car begged for more. The last time I drove my own car into my hometown was nearly 20 years ago. I was 18 then and my whip was a 1975 530i (I'm 38 in September). Pushing the e9 through the mountains of Central Pennsylvania, Northern Maryland and along the Allegheny range of West Virginia was a complete and utter joy. The only threat was the weather (I feared I would certainly get hit with rain or a storm) - but to my surprise and delight...not a drop. Not even remnants of moisture on the road.
These cars simply love to roll. Drive them like you stole them. I thought of Murray on this trip - making every effort to find the "blue roads". Trust me. Find yourself in North Central West Virginia and you'll find more than you ever imagined.
18 hours total in 48 hours. Not a hiss. Not a gurgle. Not a hesitation. Just pure growling, road gripping excitement. Pure joy.
Enjoy.
