2016 Oldsmobile Nationals Kingsport, TN

Pictures at the end of the Blog.

It’s Monday and close to 4:00 and my car is still being worked on. Not even sure if the car will be in drivable condition to make it out to Kingsport, Tennessee for the 2016 Oldsmobile Nationals. Fighting traffic after leaving Ashburn, Virginia trying to make it over to Lorton, Virginia. I finally get home in Lorton at 5:30 and make a quick change from my suit into something more comfortable. The smartphone is on the dresser and I quickly dial into it and hail an Uber to take me over to Black Wolf Automotive in Woodbridge, Virginia.

Traffic, traffic and more traffic plus it’s thunder storming very hard. Eventually the Uber ride pulls into Black Wolf at 6:45. Chris is walking out and I see the 4-4-2 in the bay. Chris tells me that he drove the 4-4-2 for 45-miles with a cruising speed of around 75 mph. The issue all along has been an overheating issue that has been as elusive as a Mande Barung. Chris informs me that his test was a success and the 4-4-2 temperature did not go over 210 °F. I have always wanted to participate in an Oldsmobile Nationals event and this was as close as it was ever going to get. There was also the pressure of not letting my fellow club members down since I had already committed to attending the show. After talking to Chris and making a few last minute adjustments around the 4-4-2, I started her up and took her back home.

Tuesday morning comes and the car is packed my wife and I say goodbye and off I go to Ashburn, first to work to finish up some last minute tasks. At 8:45 I promptly head over to Scott’s house, where we decided we would all meet and drive all our vehicles together. Joe, Mike and Ken are all at the house. Joe informs us that Scott is at the Uhaul in Chantilly, Virginia and the two ladies over there will not let him take the tow dolly trailer out of the lot. They tell Scott the right turn signal is not working on the trailer and it is due to an issue on his Jeep’s tow harness. The fuse box had no blown fuse so it was a head scratcher. Scott makes it back to his house without a trailer. However, we do have a super hero in the club . . . Joe.

Joe tells Scott to pop the hood and then he brings over his multimeter and starts to do an analysis of the harness. Joe knows, what most of us don’t, the Jeep’s tow package has a separate fuse box for the harness. Joe pops open the secondary fuse box and like a doctor, pulls out a yellow miniature fuse that is blown. Now, who the hell would have one of those? That’s right, Joe darts back to his truck and comes back with a box full of fuses. He finds the correct one, installs it, tests the harness again and it works!

Scott jumps back in the Jeep goes back to Chantilly and then eventually returns with the trailer. We put his beautiful 1962 Jetfire on it, strap it down and then off we go hitting the road.

I was the only one going there without my car in on a trailer. However, the anxiety was hitting me hard – would I make it or will she just breakdown from overheating somewhere along the way. As we hit route 81, I could not maintain over 70 mph without the temperature gauge creeping towards 210 °F. The rest of the guys drove ahead and I decided to not push it and took a solitary ride to Kingsport.

My solo ride.

After four stops for fuel and one stop of lunch, I made it to the Marriot MeadowView Conference Resort & Convention Center and the rest of the gang were already there. We all got registered, took each of the cars off the trailers. I parked my 4-4-2 in space 16b-03, which was reserved for the modified class 1968 to present.

Arriving at Kingsport, Tennessee

Then we headed towards the space reserved for the swap meet. Yes, Joe filled his truck with parts for the swap meet. Joe pulls out a box that is filled with white metal tubing. It looked like a complicated puzzle – but Joe knew each tube’s number by heart and which tubes slide into their respective counter parts. Surely, a very large frame started to emerge that would be for the tent. We eventually got the tent up and ready. Scott and Ken were staying at the same overflow hotel as me, the Comfort Suites, so I hitched a ride with them. After check-in, we all decided to head somewhere for dinner (except for Mike, who was staying in Bristol). New town, a few wrong turns, getting lost, finding a place to eat – only to walk in as they are closing up, we finally found a Mexican restaurant that was still open. Had a decent meal after a very long day.

Wednesday, morning Scott, Ken and I go to the Marriot. Joe was having an issue with the u-joint on his truck, even though he replaced it not too long ago. Turns out that Joe forgot to lube the bearing caps and that ended up chewing up the trunnion. Joe did manage to find a machine shop close by with the right tools to help Joe put in the new parts, and also to make sure it’s greased really well this time.

We finally meet up with Joe at the Marriot. We empty his truck and setup the parts in the tent for the swap meet. Joe has already sold a few items and is thrilled. I drive my car over to AutoZone and purchase some supplies to wash my car and get all the bug splatter, dirt and grime off. The event had a space designated for washing the cars with a watering hose. I get down to business, get the car washed and return back to my designated space on the show lot. I spend the better part of the day waxing, polishing and detailing every part of the exterior. It would have been too much to hit the interior that day.

Ken, Mike and Scott are going to Bristol Raceway where Mike will be racing his car on the half-mile oval track. Joe and I decided to go back to the hotel and then meet up for dinner later. As we get ready for dinner, the text start coming in from Ken at Bristol. Apparently, there was a very nice 1968 Hurst/Olds being driven by an elderly gentleman with a total of five people in the car. He was moving along gingerly and Mike along with all the other cars could not open up their cars on the race track. Regardless, they were obviously having a blast!

Here is a video of one group of Olds running the track!

Thursday, we all focused on making sure our cars were in pristine condition ahead of the judging that will take place on Friday. I started working on my interior – using leather conditioner, vacuuming, polishing, etc. I open the driver’s door and I find my vent window handle on the floor. I go ahead and start taking it apart so I can reattach it. The hex head on the bolt is completely striped. I took it to Scott who tried without success. I knew if anyone would be able to get this bolt out, it would be Joe. I waited for Joe and when he arrived, he went ahead and found a slightly oversized Torx bit and took a mallet and jammed the bit into the head. He was then able to take it off. What a life saver. No sooner did I make it back to the 4-4-2 to complete the handle fix, I opened the door and the inside door handle came off as well. Fortunately, I was able to get that disassembled without issue.

Meanwhile, Ken, Mike and Scott go to Cherokee Race Park to do 1/8 miles runs on the strip. As usual, they came back with massive grins on their faces! Mike’s car, on the third and final run, over heated and they towed it back to the lot. They waited an hour for it to cool down and also dissipate any bubbles causing vapor lock. Luckily, Mike’s 1970 4-4-2 Cutlass, fired right up.

Friday morning and it is judgement day! The judging starts at 9:00 and we got to the Marriot early so that we can finalize our cars for the judges. At 9:25 the judges in my class started to judge the cars. There were five judges, each one was designated to review specific parts of the car with one judge being the head judge. They spent about 30-minutes per car and asked very few questions. For me, they asked me to see if a tiny mark on the car was a scratch in the paint or dirt on the paint. It turned out to be dirt, which I quickly removed. I did make a note for the judge that my car was driven here and not on a trailer and some dirt might be found. I spent the rest of the day answering questions about my car, walking the show floor and talking to some wonderful people.

Saturday the judging for awards in first, second and third, based on points would be announced starting at 10:00. All four cars (fourth was Bennie’s 1964 Starfire) scored enough points to be placed in first. After lunch, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the awards banquet to close the show. The awards banquet hands out awards for Best of Class and other awards like longest drive, hard luck, etc. Again, our club had a great night! Bennie and I both received Best of Class awards for our respective categories. Great way to cap off my first Oldsmobile Nationals event.

Sunday we checked out then helped Joe pack up the swap meet. We also helped Mike the day before to get his car on the trailer, he left a day early. When I tried to fire my 4-4-2 up, it would on catch (no spark). I tried several times with no luck. Joe, took the filter cover off and the carb was flooded. After a few minutes, it still would not start. I pushed all the points on the distributor down with a little wiggle, and then tried again and this time it started. Finally, at 8:00 I hit the road back home.