Okay, here's the deal. My wife and I are going out to the Haus in a couple of weeks to pick up my freshly swapped 87 and I'm taking my time driving back. Halfway cross the country, South Dakota, to be exact, and I'm looking for stuff to do on the way back. Cool Fiero people to meet and cool cars to see. I don't mind making this trip go in something other than a straight line! I'm not looking to get back in record time, but I may not want to get out of the car, either! There are a few things, cars, people, that I have in mind that I'd like to see and talk to, but I'll wait and see who pops in on this thread. Any ideas? Sight seeing along the way? My wife is a camera buff and loves to take pictures, so anything interesting would be appreciated.
Vince

Well if you plan on passing through indianapolis, my wife and I would love to have you stop by for dinner or something. Maybe we could grill out and talk fiero's for a while. I only have two, so it's not quite like passing through archies shop, but it's sure to be a good time!!

My family and I have made several trips out to the black hills, I never understood why, thought it was pretty boring myself. But the one attraction that I enjoyed was the Cosmos Mystery Area. http://www.cosmosmysteryarea.com/ Take a look at that, not sure how to explainm, but its neat!

[This message has been edited by 1988holleyformula (edited 06-05-2010).]

Fieroguy, we would love to. I'm still in the prestages of planning. No sure how much actual planning is going to be done! This is gonna kinda be a spontaneous trip, no set schedule or anything like that. But that is the direction that I'm leaning in going. Should be in your area Saturday the 19 or Sunday the 20th. Mapquest wants me to drive the interstate all the way into omaha or so and north from there, I was leaning on a road less traveled. Interstate is definately going to be part of it. How am I going to open up the new motor with out it!

Formula, we are actually on the otherside of the state from the Hills so we won't be out that direction, at least not now. We do road trip out there about once a summer, though. We've lived in
SD for a long time, so that's not really a vacation for us! We don't hardly ever bother with the tourist stuff out there anymore. You live in close proximity to something for so long and it stops being a novelty. Kinda like Sturgis. I just don't see what everbody gets so excited about anymore.

[This message has been edited by vrossiter (edited 06-05-2010).]

Well, if you make your way through south-central PA, I would be glad to meet ya', and see your new swapped ride!

Vince, I'm in Grand Blanc, MI, not too far from the MI, Ohio border, and as you probably know by now I'll be making this same trip as my 88GT is getting the Haus treatment too. I could put you up for the night, force you to drink a beer or two or whatever and you could tell me about your trip and we could swap Fiero lies. Your wife could take my picture lol. Get here on the last Mon. of the month and you could go to a meeting of the MI Fiero Club. Let me know at least an hour in advance ok?

Dave, will definately try to get up to your neck of the woods.

Hulki, I would be honored to pay you and yours a visit! After everything I've seen you put forth here on the forum you can definately count on seeing us. It would be a pleasure!

The only thing I ask is that you guys, if your serious, PM me your addresses and or phone numbers, so I can tell where I'm going!

Anyone else?

PM sent

Okay, it's late and I'm tired, but I'm gonna make a little post and then go to dream land for a few hours. Our trip has officially begun! We are staying in Omaha tonight, about 5 minutes from the airport. Our plane leaves at 6:45 in the am and we should get in around 10 and some change, if I remember right. I'll be sitting in my car in a few more hours. Since I bought it last year, Dave's had it more than I have! I'm getting pretty excited at this point and I just can't wait to get in it and blast!
Enough mindless, sleep-deprived babbling. Pics and road trip updates to come!

Hulki--PM sent.

Here is what Vince is picking up from the Haus today....

------------------

www.hausofguru.com

Okay, I've been at the Haus for about 24 hours now and I've been in the car for almost that much time, and this thing is crazy. The clutch is still pretty new, so I'm trying to take it easy (yeah right!) and give it some break-in time, but I've been trying to follow Joey around so I'm taking it as easy as I can and still keep up!

I will be posting some pics and more info as the next couple of days go by.

We are about to get in and start the road trip!

More later!!

You should stop at Cedar Point, huge roller coaster park in Sandusky, OH. Good times..

quote Originally posted by vrossiter: We are staying in Omaha tonight, about 5 minutes from the airport.

Vince, I wish I had known you were in Omaha...I live about 40 minutes west of the airport, and was actually in Omaha that day. Would have come over and said hello...

Ive been thinking bout cedar point, might do it. litespd, we'll be back through Omaha in the next couple a days, if your gonna be around early next week let me know, we'll get together!

Okay on to some pics!

Thursday morning, about to land at Laguardia


We witnessed this on the way into Jersey.....its a Honda!!


This is what we saw when we pulled into the shop....


My first question for Dave, was 'Isn't this an import shop?'
He said, 'Yeah, we park the BMW's outside'


Joey doin what Joey does.....


This ones a little dark, but getting ready to leave posing with the Guru.....


So we're on the road and what do I see......hehe


Didn't take long to change the view!!


Decided at that point that I need some of these...


Hey, PK, this ones for you, I know it aint a Hummer, but it's the best I could do!


Every Fiero shoul be here at least once!!


And this leg of the road trip ended when arriving at Hulki's around 8,
we were there till almost 11 before we knew it!


I have WAY more pics, but the motel doesn's have a 3 prong outlet for me to plug this thing in, so I'm trying to hurry. Anyway, more to come!!

It was a lot of fun having Vince and Kassie to our neck of the woods. He took some getting used to the local hospitality here (the reason I want out of NJ). I'm curious if Vince ever asked anyone on the street for the time? I told him to expect the response to be "Time to get a f**kin' watch, Jerkoff" (in a thick NYC accent)
Anyway, from the Haus we went driving in the backroads in the Fieros to our house to have a BBQ. The next day, I did a few final checks on the swap before it left for the big journey. I'm glad it is running well. I only had three days of testing on it before it was picked up. I normally like to see more road time on it, but the alternator bracket we designed didn't meet my final standards and will be taken back to the "lab" for a redesign.
Dave

If you decide to pass through KC, shoot me a PM. We'll get together and talk cars and I can throw some ribs or something on the grill. Would love to see your swap.

I recognize that CRJ900 wing! I have probably flown that exact plane. If you remember the flight number send it to me. I am dieing to find out. If you have a photo that shows the aircraft id numbers let me know what it was.



Best of luck with the new engine. Keep the photos coming and have a great drive.

Well, here we are in East Berlin, we're gonna have some burgers and hot dogs (with love ), thanks, Dave, and then we're gonna head out and see if we can't put in some miles yet tonight. We have had an offer to stop in KC, and it sure seems like thats where are travels are leading. Heck, who can turn down real KC barbeque? So, PM's are in order for fieroguy and thumper. I have pics, but I will have to wait awhile to get them posted. This is why I like this community, driving half way across the country and you guys have convinced my wife that this is something that we should be doing EVERY YEAR!!
As long as its her idea, we're all good!

Race, if I remember right the flight number was 8340 or 8304, one of the two. We are gonna have to get together and talk planes now too. I was flying a 182 when I was about 12!

Thumper and fieroguy, PM's will be sent here in a bit.

If you happen to be near Des Moines after 11:30am on Thursday or anytime later this month let me know.

If your coming anywhere near Algonquin let me know. I am about 45 minutes between Chicago and Rockford off of I90. We can go boating and if you need a place to crash.

And maybe stop in Minnesota

It was really great to meet Vince and Cassie. Awesome and funny people. Today, we took a cruise through the Gettysburg battlefield and went to Devil's Den and Big Round Top. When we got to Big Round Top, my fuel pump started giving up the ghost, but I limped it home. Vince's car was issue free the whole day. Here's some pics from today.

Vince by his car and my wife by my car when we met up with the Rossiters at Wal-Mart in G-burg for our cruise.



Taken from up on the rocks at Devil's Den







Vince's best Joey pose



The smile that has been on his face the last two days





Taken from Big Round Top







Good luck and stay safe on the rest of your journey guys!

Well, thanks Andy, that was most of the pics from our cruise that I was gonna put up, so you saved me some space! But some jerk parked a Camaro right in front of my car!

Here's one without the junk (no offense Alltrbo!).....


This is how we do it in SD!! Yep that's ALL me!


The only issue I've had so far was a chk engine light that popped on after we made our way back to Andy's after the cruise. Sent a text to Joey and we came up with an intermitant high idol issue. Since I'm running the stock 5 speed, and it wasn't necassarily meant to go with this motor, this is where it came from. Since I don't have the software to reset it, my options were to check the fluids, gauges, etc. and make sure everything was good.

So we pulled into the next station, popped the decklid and did an inspection.......and to my shock.....



Just kidding! We're all good..........


And we're back on the road!!
I tried again, Andy, and I think I came up with a better 'Joey' pose........


We picked up a couple of stalkers on the road. These 2 guys were driving a Jeep and pulling about 7 dirt bikes. They went past us exceeding the posted limit and I thought it was only right to return the favor. I'm not sure how Kassie got such a good pic going by em, lets just say my GPS can hit 3 digits pretty quick!! We did get the thumbs up.



We didn't make it as far tonight as I had wanted to. We ran into a pretty nasty rain storm that had us pulled over for a bit. 300hp and 15 inch tires driving through a lake is not a good combo the way I figure it. Just for the record, Dave mentioned in the Haus thread that he's caught some flack for where he mounts his coils. Let me just say, from experience, that after driving through what we drove through tonight, I have absolutely no concerns about where they are mounted. I thought I was driving a boat for awhile, and not even a hiccup. Some hydroplaning, but no issues!

Stay tuned......more to come!!

LOL... great thread!! Good stuff!

Jeff

Okay, I'm a little more rested and I thought I'd post some more pics of our trip. These are proly gonna be all mixed up, but I'll try and give some background at least.

Yesterday morning we were driving around Gettysburg kinda looking for a place to eat, and I thought we'd drive through town the other direction and just see what what was out on the east side of town and I see a yellow 67 camaro convertible and about a 66 GTO turning onto the same street in front of us. I start following these 2 cars and kas says, 'I thought we were going to eat?'. My reply was simply, 'I'm going where they are.' We went a few miles down the road following the sweet exhaust tone of 2 classic muscle cars and what do we run into?


No, not Bo and Luke! It was a show!

No Fiero's but there were at least 3 of these........


59 Buick, if I remember right......


Hey, whats that I see?


Yep, that'd fit in the back of a Fiero!! Heyyy, Daaave!


Saw this in Mechanicsburg at an ice cream shop, to many people around to go huntin though! Don't think I'd try this one in motion!


This was before we left. Us hicks from South Dakota don't care bout blocking doors!!!


In Gettysburg, on the cruise, before fuel pump issues..........


In Gettysburg, on the cruise, after fuel pump issues.......

I didn,t have the heart to take any pics of Andrew. He said there were to many people around for him to express humself properly.


This guy was at the station were we stopped to check the car before getting on the road. He thought Kas was trying to get a pic of his 'hog'.
No, you perverts, the scooter!!


It's official, I HATE TOLL BOOTHS!!


This ws a shop in Gettysburg. Hmmmm, draw your own conclusion!



Time to pack up and hit the road. Oh, and by the way, Joey, you guys were right, the light went off after a couple a hours!

Same bat-time, same bat-channel!!
More later.

Looking forward to seeing you and your car tomorrow. Do ya want Ribs or brauts? Also, there may be a few of the KCFOG group showing up to see your car as well, lol. Man, I am gonna be outclassed with both mine and the wife's, lol. Oh well, more incentive to get the swaps started, lol. Have a safe trip from Indiana, and we'll see you tomorrow.

vince and cassie stopped by today, we had a great time!! Our wives got along well, though they apparently still don't understand the addiction that us forum members have with our cars, Lol. Vince's car looks awesome, by far the cleanest 3800 swap I've ever seen. Very nice work Guru!!!!

Cassie took lots of pictures that I'm sure will be up soon.

Also, i'm catching alot of crap from people about the possibility of not being able to attend the Frazee show this summer, so it looks like I'm just gonna have to find a way to get there. Not sure yet how I'm going to do it, but I'll figure it out.

Vince, I promise I'll do my best to find a way to finish my Formula and make it up there!!!

Update Time!!

After the storm last night, wet roads, getting tired we decided we were better off stopping, getting some rest, and starting fresh this morning. We left New Stanton, PA about 8:30 this morning or so.....

Gassing up for the first leg.....


We drive for awhile and see a sign for Cabela's. Finally a look like home. So we decide to pull in and make a pit stop, but Cabela's wasn't open yet. We went to turn around and see this. Every town needs one of these!!


We missed the signs that said leaving PA and entering WV, but we saw the next one.....


We made good time and didn't take many pics today. Still haven't found anyone who really wanted to play. Saw a couple of cool cars, but no one paying attention. Saw an MR2, we saw a cool Saturn Sky Turbo and this......PK, this ones for you! j/k


A couple more pit stops, one stop for gas at Columbus, six hours and some change later, and we arrive at fieroguy123's place in Indy. First thing I do is pop the decklid. Nobody cares about me, they just want to see the heart of the beast.....


Fieroguy's got himself a couple of projects, one being his 2.0 turbo 88 Formula t-top. Insane work, just a beautiful car. This is definately a must see car!


From there we were invited to the guys parents house for some sandwiches and cake.....good friends and good conversation. You have a great family fieroguy.


The time came and we decided that we better get our wives away from each other, cause now fieroguy123 has to make hotdogs with love too!! Again, thanks, Dave!


Oh, and Hulki, I just want you to know you jinxed me. Doesn't matter what in it, it's still a Fiero and there's little things with em all. Hulki asked me the other day how my headlight motor's were, and at the time they were.....well thanks alot Andy!!


Joey did ask me to do something for her earlier today, so here goes Joey.
This car is the biggest piece of *&%%*& that I've ever (*&^(&)%$# been in!

Joey said I needed to stop braggin up Dave's work, cause she can't handle him getting any more PM's about MORE swaps!! If that's the case, then we've done our job on this trip. Dave's work is topnotch, and, as far as I'm concerned, second to none. For him to build a car, put 200 test miles on it and then be comfortable enough to let the customer make an 1100 (which turned into closer to 1500) mile road trip, says something. Every time I've had a question, he's had an answer and I haven't had to wait. Joey reply's within seconds. There is no bragging needed for this car. It's just coincidence that I'm taking his swap half way across country and people are looking at it. The car speaks for itself, I have to do very little but sit in the seat and take it from place to place.
I can't wait to get into KC tomorrow, and my wife says we need to have ribs, thumper. I look forward to seeing you and your family, and please, tell any of the guys, I'm willing to show this car off for any number of people! The best part about this trip, even more than the car, are all of the people that we have been able to meet and spend time with. I feel like I'm making some lasting friendships. Of course, that wouldn't be possible without the car....so.....yeah, maybe not more than the car, but just as much for sure!!

More to come!!

Ribs it is. See ya'll this evening

Alright, so I wake up this morning to waffles and Joey sending text's! This is what I was talking about, just wanting to find out how things were goin. Right after I woke up, it started to rain again It's tapering off a bit now, and we've got some things to do, so we might be okay when we're ready to head out.

I got hungry last night after we got to the room and guess what I found across the parking lot............


So, we've got some stuff to do, so I'm getting 'the look'.

I will post updates later, looks like we might have some weather moving in from the west, hopefully we'll be able to put some mile in before we run into it.
But first, I think I need some pics of the Missing Piece at the track. What do you guys think? hehe
And then it's on to KC. thumper, send me an address where you want to meet, so I can GPS it, if you would please.

Hulki, call me when you get home tonight, something to discuss with you.
Alright, alright. The look went from a look to a glare.

Gotta Go!!

Hope you made it to the Indy 500 museum okay, my directions were pretty vague. If cass took pictures (and I know she did) you had better post 'em up!!

Yep, we made it. Directions were perfect! Got some great stuff, I'll post em up later.

We made it to KC and we are sitting here eating ribs and baked beans with thumper and his wife, talking Fiero's and just have a good time.
It took us a little longer to get here than I thought it would, but we made it.

Yesterday I drove the Missing Piece for mileage to see what we could get out of it. We made it to Indy and made about 26 and I was relatively nice.

Today was more or less a durability test. I had this thing wound up all day. 7 hours and I ran at between 75 and 90 the whole way. I'll have to check the GPS, but I think our moving average was about 78, including going through Indy, Columbus, and a couple other places I can't remember, and about 4 or 5 pit stops. Not one issue. It ran a little hotter today, but I had this thing wound up and the AC was blasting cold all day! We made pretty good time.

I've got some great pics of the Indy museum and the trip that I'll post later.

Vince

quote Originally posted by vrossiter: We drive for awhile and see a sign for Cabela's. Finally a look like home. So we decide to pull in and make a pit stop, but Cabela's wasn't open yet. We went to turn around and see this. Every town needs one of these!!

Vince, if you're hungry when you hit Council Bluffs, there's a Quaker Steak and Lube right near the Mid America Center and the Bass Pro Shop. You can see both of them from I-29 / I-80 (they merge for a bit on the south side of Council Bluffs). Wish I could get away to meet up with you in CB, but I'll be working all day, and then the wife has me tearing up some flooring in preparation for new carpeting. Hopefully, you might consider coming down to Omaha for the Pontiac Show in August...if so, I'll get a chance to meet up with you then!

We had a great visit with Vince and Kassie. Good food, great visit with Fiero friends, and an AWESOME ride in the 3800. Riding in Vince's car has really got me rethinking the 4.9 swap in my 87, and the wife is now DEMANDING I get her 3800 swap done. All I can say is WOW, and Guru, you and Joey do outstanding work.
Vince and Kassie, your more than welcome to stop by any time, and I'll trade ya my 85 notchie any time ya want, lol. Have a good trip, and we'll talk to you soon.

P.S. I'll trade you my seat backs for those GT lace's your sporting (Maybe the wife won't notice they are missing, lol )

[This message has been edited by thumper_64735 (edited 06-22-2010).]

Alright, I'm finally done resizing pics, so I guess it's time to post some, huh?

Like I said, we got started later than I wanted to today, but we ended up in the same place.

Took a bit to find the track, but with a little help from my friends, and a little driving around the city......


We got to here.....


Wait for it......


Wait for it.....


Tada!


Gotta have a shot of this.....


I couldn't be left out....


This was one of the coolest cars I saw....


We tried to be quick, so there weren't alot of pics of the museum. The one car Kas HAD to stop and take a picture of was the Ferrari that was there. I couldn't find that pic, so if I run across it I'll post it. It'd be a cool rebody.

Just one more 'have to do' before we left the speedway....

They actually had the fountain turned off, but the nice lady in the security booth turned it on for us to get a couple of shots with the car in front of it!

Before we left Indy, we had to grab a bite. Kassie thinks the thread should now be called, ' Vince and Kas go to White Castle'!


On our way!! No, it's not the Joey pose, I'm trying to be different!


Into Missouri!!


I about crashed when I saw this.
Knob Noster? Doesn't sound like a town to me!!


And we finally made it into KC at about 8, and were eating BBQ by 8:30. But once again, the car stole the show. Believe me, if this thing could drive itself, nobody would even care if I was there or not!


Thanks, thumper, we had a good time too, and the food was awsome. Good luck in the sand box, keep in touch!

Well, there's one more day left of our little adventure, and then it's back home to the kiddies and real life. I'm not gonna say goodbye just yet, but we are getting close and I wish it didn't have to end, but, the great thing about an ending, is that there can be another begining!

So, we'll finish up this little adventure tomorrow, and see where it goes from there!

Here is the "said" hotdog with love for you non married folk....
Dave

Lol Dave.

Kassie was sure to bring up the story not long after they got here. My wife had a good laugh over it. You do amazing work, and the wife a had a smile from ear to ear after taking a ride in it. (I did too, lol) I am seriously thinking of have 2 3800 sc's instead of the 1 and a 4.9 in the other.

Where are you now? I can not tell you how jealous I am of your car and roadtrip. I can only dream about an experience like the one you are doing right now. Safe travels.