If you read Hot Rod Magazine, you know that our 1968 Chevelle SS396 convertible was 'Rescued' last fall, and lots of problems were found, and fixed, so after disasterous tours in 2011 and 2012, and not even going in 2013, we were Really excited to start HRPT 2014, and hopefully experience a relaxing? ride. After the Rescue, I was really ready to get going with the tour, and drove the car about 2000 miles prior to leaving. If there was to be a problem, I wanted to know sooner, rather than later. The longest trip I took prior to leaving was only about 3 hours, but the car and all systems were working properly to that point.
Deb was only able to get off work Friday before the tour, so we left home at 7:30 am Friday morning, met up with friends/travelling companions in Evansville, Wi, and hit the road headed for Bristol, Tn, which was our destination for the first day. The car ran flawlessly all the way, even delivering several fuel runs that exceeded 20 mpg, until we stopped for gas in Corbin, Ky at about 6:30 pm. I filled the tank, and started the car to leave the station and head up over the mountains toward Bristol. Almost immediately, the car started to sputter and miss. I immediately thought I had filled the tank with diesel, or had gotten water in the gas, I didn't know for sure, but just knew we had to get whatever was in the tank OUT! Went to the Pilot Truck plaza where they had a shop open24 hours, and pumped the tank, then refilled the tank from a different gas station, adding octane booster, fuel injector cleaner, and Heet, thinking those would help eliminate contaminants, but the car ran no better, popping, sputtering, no idle, shooting flames out the tail pipes, and just being a real PITA to drive. After getting lost in the mountains, twice( it's hard to concentrate on where you are going when all your energy is used trying to keep the car running), and having to stop 4 more times for gas in 140 miles, we arrived at our accommodations in Bristol at 3:30 am! The car ran just long enough to get into the gate at the condo complex, and we coasted to a stop in the parking lot. The car would not run again at this point.
We got up Saturday and rode with friends to Concord where we checked in to registration, and I went to the Holley trailer to talk to them about buying a carburetor and getting back on the road. I told our story to a Holley rep who said I needed to talk to Luke, their EFI guru. I waited to talk to Luke, explained the problem, and about winning the system in 2010, and the other problems we encountered. He was a little unsure what to do until I showed him the April issue of Hot Rod with the Rescue article in it. At that time, he got out his phone and called Holley HQ. He talked to HQ for quite a while. When he was done he asked if we could get the car to Knoxville the next day where they would check out the system and repair or replace it as necessary. I wasn't sure how, but I told Luke we'd get the car to Knoxville somehow. After exhausting several options, we called UHaul and were able to rent a truck and trailer, pushed the car onto the trailer, and headed for Knoxville.
Once in Knoxville, Luke checked out the system and deemed it was DOA, and said if we could remove it, he would accumulate the parts necessary to install one of Holley's new Terminator systems to replace the ailing Avenger. It took several hours to remove the old system and install the new one, but the Holley guys did the install, setup and fine tuning after we removed the Avenger, and the car started up and ran, WELL!
We returned to Bristol to return the truck/trailer to UHaul, and finally, drive the car back to the condo, finally looking forward to driving the car again on HRPT. The drive from Bristol up to Charleston was great, and the car ran great the rest of the tour! I pushed the car harder than I normally would, because if there were to be any more issues, I wanted to find them before the tour ended!
At Bettendorf, I asked Luke to check out the system, and reset the idle. He brought his laptop over, reset the idle, checked the fuel maps, and adjusted the secondary throttle plates which were not closing completely.
The new Terminator system is performing flawlessly, the car feels like it has 50 more horsepower, and we're looking forward to many miles of troublefree cruising.
We want to extend a special thank you to Holley, and their representatives/employees for the help and, as you would expect from a top notch company, standing behind their products!
We also want to say Thank you to Hot Rod Magazine for The Rescue, Hot Rod Power Tour, and a great Magazine!
And we can't forget Norm and Jim at Westech Automotive in Silver Lake, Wi. You guys are awesome!
Deb was only able to get off work Friday before the tour, so we left home at 7:30 am Friday morning, met up with friends/travelling companions in Evansville, Wi, and hit the road headed for Bristol, Tn, which was our destination for the first day. The car ran flawlessly all the way, even delivering several fuel runs that exceeded 20 mpg, until we stopped for gas in Corbin, Ky at about 6:30 pm. I filled the tank, and started the car to leave the station and head up over the mountains toward Bristol. Almost immediately, the car started to sputter and miss. I immediately thought I had filled the tank with diesel, or had gotten water in the gas, I didn't know for sure, but just knew we had to get whatever was in the tank OUT! Went to the Pilot Truck plaza where they had a shop open24 hours, and pumped the tank, then refilled the tank from a different gas station, adding octane booster, fuel injector cleaner, and Heet, thinking those would help eliminate contaminants, but the car ran no better, popping, sputtering, no idle, shooting flames out the tail pipes, and just being a real PITA to drive. After getting lost in the mountains, twice( it's hard to concentrate on where you are going when all your energy is used trying to keep the car running), and having to stop 4 more times for gas in 140 miles, we arrived at our accommodations in Bristol at 3:30 am! The car ran just long enough to get into the gate at the condo complex, and we coasted to a stop in the parking lot. The car would not run again at this point.
We got up Saturday and rode with friends to Concord where we checked in to registration, and I went to the Holley trailer to talk to them about buying a carburetor and getting back on the road. I told our story to a Holley rep who said I needed to talk to Luke, their EFI guru. I waited to talk to Luke, explained the problem, and about winning the system in 2010, and the other problems we encountered. He was a little unsure what to do until I showed him the April issue of Hot Rod with the Rescue article in it. At that time, he got out his phone and called Holley HQ. He talked to HQ for quite a while. When he was done he asked if we could get the car to Knoxville the next day where they would check out the system and repair or replace it as necessary. I wasn't sure how, but I told Luke we'd get the car to Knoxville somehow. After exhausting several options, we called UHaul and were able to rent a truck and trailer, pushed the car onto the trailer, and headed for Knoxville.
Once in Knoxville, Luke checked out the system and deemed it was DOA, and said if we could remove it, he would accumulate the parts necessary to install one of Holley's new Terminator systems to replace the ailing Avenger. It took several hours to remove the old system and install the new one, but the Holley guys did the install, setup and fine tuning after we removed the Avenger, and the car started up and ran, WELL!
We returned to Bristol to return the truck/trailer to UHaul, and finally, drive the car back to the condo, finally looking forward to driving the car again on HRPT. The drive from Bristol up to Charleston was great, and the car ran great the rest of the tour! I pushed the car harder than I normally would, because if there were to be any more issues, I wanted to find them before the tour ended!
At Bettendorf, I asked Luke to check out the system, and reset the idle. He brought his laptop over, reset the idle, checked the fuel maps, and adjusted the secondary throttle plates which were not closing completely.
The new Terminator system is performing flawlessly, the car feels like it has 50 more horsepower, and we're looking forward to many miles of troublefree cruising.
We want to extend a special thank you to Holley, and their representatives/employees for the help and, as you would expect from a top notch company, standing behind their products!
We also want to say Thank you to Hot Rod Magazine for The Rescue, Hot Rod Power Tour, and a great Magazine!
And we can't forget Norm and Jim at Westech Automotive in Silver Lake, Wi. You guys are awesome!
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