Carlisle

Corvettes @ Carlisle
Carlisle, PA
August 22-24, 2003

This was our 6th year as a guest at Carlisle, usually the largest Corvette gathering,
with typically 10,000+ Corvettes on the grounds.

Wednesday, August 20

Leaving Maine.

I spent the night with my parents in Philadelphia.

Thursday, August 21

After arriving in Carlisle mid-day on Thursday, checking in at the Ramada and at the fairgrounds, and confirming our usual
excellent booth space assignment, I spent the rest of the day scoping out the grounds for people I wanted to see.

Mike of Lusso Wax asked if he could use my C5 as a demo.
Worked for me - and the car never looked better!

The Dale Earnheart C5R, now owned by Chip Miller.

Dick Guldstrand drove in from CA in one of his signature series Z06s.

Friday, August 22

Our display, fully set up.

Interesting and superbly crafted Corvette Nomad replica.

Gary caught me using the Waterblade after a brief shower on Friday.
The shower signaled a front coming through that brought welcome relief
from the intolerable steam bath that we endured Thursday & Friday.

Saturday, August 23

6:42 am: the dawn of a new day on the Carlisle Fairgrounds.
You couldn't imagine better weather for a Corvette show than we had Saturday & Sunday!

This was my "Celebrity Pick" from the 2250+ Vettes in the Fun Display:
John Battista's Pennant Blue '54. The first Vette I ever saw in the flesh
was just like this, and I got a ride in it... in 1954! I was 12. Unforgettable!

The Charity Auction, which became a benefit for the American Cancer Society because of Sandy's efforts, this year raised
$9100.00
for the American Cancer Society.

Our own fundraising section: between our "Bullet Holes" and the '53 die-cast model raffle
(donated by Dave Castellano of Franklin Mint) we raised an additional
$678.00
for the Harrisburg, PA office of the American Cancer Society.

Chip Miller achieved his goal of having 53 1953 Corvettes on display.
(Amazing when you consider that only 300 were made!)

This one needs TLC!

View from the hill.

Gary, Cheryl & Taylor staff the booth.

Corvette Chief Engineer Dave Hill waits patiently while I clean off the spot under the hood
that I had reserved for his autograph, then ponders a few moments before starting.

Thanks Dave!

Corvette Plant Manager Wil Cooksey
autographs the fuel rail cover of Cheryl's '01.

Seen in the parking lot at the Carlisle Ramada -
what are the chances of this happening? And yes, it was totally by chance, not staged!
(Check the plates)

(Ohio & New Jersey)

> On to Phase 2 of this trip <

Sunday, August 24

Instead of heading home to Maine at the conclusion of Corvettes @ Carlisle Sunday afternoon, we turned West toward Ypsilanti, MI.
That is the location of GM Powertrain Division's Engineering Center.

Background: For the past 4 months, we had been getting the Check Engine light from error codes in the car's computer indicating
a slipping condition in the automatic transmission. The condition was not noticeable in normal driving. That is, until the computer
put it into a fail-safe mode that would actually cause the tires to chirp shifting into second gear pulling away from a traffic light! Embarrassing!
If I cleared the codes, operation would be normal again until the next incident. I asked friend Powertrain engineer (and serious Corvette guy)
Bill Nichols about it, and gave him the codes that were reappearing. He did some research, and determined that probably a valve was wearing.
He managed to convince the powers that be that it would be a useful exercise for them to examine this trans with 150,000 real-world miles on it.
With Chief Engineer Dave Hill's OK, GM would replace the trans for me!

Monday, August 25

At 6:16 Monday morning I was in front of the Powertrain Engineering Center in Ypsilanti.
The car and I were immediately directed into the shop.

Long story short: at a little past 3:00 we were back outside with a new tranny!

That's Powertrain Development Manager Dave Stark on the left and the tech who did the work on the right.

Unfortunately, GM Security impounded my camera immediately upon entering the facility,
so I couldn't get any photos while inside the building. Bummer!

Back on the road to Maine.

This would be Toledo!

It was immediately apparent that the new trans felt more positive in its shifts. I also quickly noticed that both the trans and engine were running about 20 degrees cooler. By the time I got home, early indications were confirmed that the ole C5 was getting about 1 mpg better average mileage than it had for quite awhile. Whatever was wrong in the old box must have been causing a power drag and generating extra heat from day 1.

Final stats for the trip home from Ypsilanti to Maine.

Thank you Bill Nichols, Dave Stark, Dave Hill and Chevrolet for making this happen!
And this Vette has STILL, after well over 150,00 miles, never put one drop of any fluid on my garage floor,
other than the usual a/c condensate. Not too shabby!

They are meant to be DRIVEN, Folks!

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