It was an adventure!
So Cliff meets me at my place very early and off we go to the Ferry, so far uneventful. We get to the US/Canada Border at 0930. Cliff is going to hang out onthe Canadian side and I'll walk the 3 blocks to the tire shop where the vehicle is. It's all ready but a big exhaust leak...the pipe is disconnected at a point just below the floor pan on the passenger side. The tire shop owner manages to reconnect the pipes and secure them inplace with the already existing fasteners (barbed wire!). Ok...seems to work and the vehicle is relatively quiet although the muffler is shot. Process through US Customs was quick and the officer was very helpful. Thanked him and then off to the Canadian side for more paperwork and spend pay the import charges (GST) and the a/c levie. Forgot to mentionthat in the short 3 block drive back to the border I received numerous waves, thumbs up and horn honks.
Canadian processing goes well and Cliff is busy snapping pictures (I think he'll be posting some and maybe something on YouTube. Off we go in tandem with me in the lead. Stop for fuel (the gas guage does work nicely) and Cliff demands that we put the hub caps and fender skirts on because the vehicle looks badly without them.
Nice 30 minute drive to the Ferry Terminal and we arrive in time to catch a 12:45 ferry. The car drives just fine, steers well, doesn't wander, and stops well without pulling.
The ferry terminal lot has HUGE speedbumps and it is impossible to drive around them. So I manage to dislodge the exhaust pipes on the first bump I go over and the rear pipe is now hanging by a few strands of barbed wire. OK...can't reconnect them and the Ferry is on time and we load in 10 minutes. After a quick size up Cliff and I decide that a quick dismantling of the exhaust is in order. He works on the rear and I work on the front and it all comes apart. We then load the exhaust pipe and muffler (all 9 feet of it) in through the passenger front window (the rear door doesn't open as yet), through the glass slider, onto the cot and secure it with the cot seat belt.
Now on the other side of the water after we unload and after 5 minutes of driving I notice that the cab is filling with smoke. Pull over and check the engine...maybe some trans fluid splashed up but can't really see anything. carry on for another 10 minutes up the road and now it's really getting thick in cab...kinda like being in a Cheech and Chong movie when they drive around. Pull over again, look underneath to see sparks falling under the vehicle. This can't be good. Cliff feels the passenger floor and it's very hot. Seems the hot exhaust is exiting right under the floor pan where the pan has rotted through. The heat is actually setting the underpad of the floor mat on fire! Pull out the smolderring bits and check for extension. Next we fashion a diverter for the exhaust with an exhaust flex extension that I brought along. The floor is now open to the road and the engine is VERY loud but at least the floor is no longer burning.
Other than that, the rest of the trip was uneventful.
Had a great time with Cliff as always...thanks Doug for phoning...sorry but I had turned my phone off when in Customs and didn't get the message until later. Don't think we'd have had time to meet up given your location.
Oh the joys of procar ownership. I work the next 4 days straight so won't be able to post any pictures until Tuesday.
oster_oops:
