I'll be done with my grand 'venture soon-ish. Today's marathon drive made me realize how tired these old bones are getting.

Also...

Flotsam and Jetsom (band) still exists. I highly recommend you DO NOT go find out who/what they are/were. It's not good music.

Also, Google keeps telling me that King Crimson has new albums out. I don't know if it's a glitch and telling me over and over, or if they've released more than one album.

I keep forgetting to mention that.

And, seriously, don't go listen to Flotsam and Jetsam. Trust me.

I can't say that I recommend buying one.

There is nothing this car does as well as my M6, and certainly nothing it does better.

Well, it goes through more fuel, sounds bitchin', and looks pretty good.

I just saw the missus off, as she's headed home. The baby is still running a bit of a fever, nothing to worry about, but it means I don't have baby time today.

Later, I get to go out and get the car and return the loaner that I'm using.

I should change the gear ratio and stick a blower on it. Well, I should think about doing so.

Perfect timing by the missus, by the way. We got our first frost last night (back home). The last of the garden will be ready to harvest. All the squash and pumpkins will be done.

It could be a grand adventure. It's in great condition, so it shouldn't break down and screw with us.

It's also insanely loud, like near the absolute legal limit under even the slightest acceleration. I haven't really had it up at highway cruising speeds, but that's fine.

It's only got an AM/FM radio! LOL It doesn't even have an 8 track player, or anything like that. Everything is stock on it, as near as I can tell. It's a complete "numbers matching" car.

What's awesome is the condition. You can see the condition well enough, and the whole car is like that. Here's the kicker - it's unrestored. That's its condition. Not even the paint has been touched up. The only thing that might not be stock is the knob on the gear lever, and tires surely. I'm not sure if the gear lever knob is stock or not. I've never seen one like that in a GTO, but I'm not actually a GTO Encyclopedia.

I am technically the third owner and have all the paperwork with it. I haven't gone through the paperwork yet, but I'll give it a glance and organize it. My understanding is that it belonged to the seller's father and then they bought it from him and I'm the third owner. I'll figure out more when I have the paperwork to hand and have gone through it.

Given their level of honesty, I'm inclined to believe them. They indicated the driver's seat was in poor shape, and it's really not. It's just a little worn and there's a place where it split at the seam, so I can get that fixed pretty easily. It's nice enough so that I'll probably take it to a few car shows and let people see/touch it. Cars like this should be seen heard, and driven. It won't be a trailer queen, but will get driven to shows - if I go that route.

EH thinks she'd like to drive it frequently, but that's just silly. I mean, she can, but she has a much better car. This car is special, but it's not better than her 3 series. Her car is safer, more efficient, likely faster, handles better, etc... This is a classic car that does none of those things well - it just goes great in a straight line. It's a muscle car, not really a sportscar. They only handle well in the movies, or if you HEAVILY modified the suspension.

But, if you want to race stop light to stop light, it's really good at that.

Her current car is much, much better than this. She'll find that out in short order.

It's also powerful enough to really bite you, and safety was an afterthought. So, I'll have to make sure she understands all this when she splits the driving with me. We head out on Thursday and we will be back in Maine by Saturday afternoon. We'll be spending Friday in Cambridge, MA. I'm going to get some more studio time in, but it's going to be just her and I this time.

Pics uploaded for @Nadeshda

I don't need to outrun the cops. Fuck 'em. I can pay the ticket costs. They'll be out-of-state tickets (should I get any on the drive home). I'll pay 'em right there on the spot, if they'll take Visa. If they piss me off, they can wait down the road and write me another ticket. It will have no impact on my license. If anything, I'll frame the ticket.

They're supposed to be in a nearby parking lot at 09:00. The only thing that will need restoration (according to them) is there's some wear on the driver's seat. (That usually means it's been driven hard, but there aren't many miles on it.) 

If I buy it, we'll go over to the credit union and I'll transfer the cash to them. After that, there's a garage that has an open bay and mechanic. They'll go over it and they said that (unless there's anything major) it'll be ready to reliably drive to Maine by the end of the day, including new tires.

When I get it home, it's going straight into a shop long-term, to get new suspension and new brake systems. Ye Olden Brakes kinda suck and they make conversion kits, so it'll be Wilwood or Brembo on all four corners. I'll have 'em tear the top of the engine down and rebuild that. I might even have them stuff a blower on it. 

I am not the least bit concerned with keeping it stock. It's a GTO. It's not rare. They made MILLIONS of them.

And, yes, it's an automatic transmission. 'Member my smashed femur? That's why I'm okay with it being equipped with too few pedals. I might have 'em stuff a Hurst shifter into it, but that's actually for aesthetic reasons! 'Snot like I'm actually going to go out dragging it at the strip or at stop lights. I'm just gonna cruise around and make some noise with it a couple of times a year.

'Snot much longer 'fore they'll be in the parking lot. They're supposed to send me a text when they get there.

Damned right!

Cruising up I-95, headed back to Maine, I'll pretty much always have the coolest car in sight. I bet it sparks tons of conversations at gas stations, people honking and waving, and young kids that think I can be pressured into racing with them.

It's also probably a cop magnet. So, I can't be that outlandish.