November 8th I participated in a car rally with my girlfriend’s son. The first time I’ve ever done such a thing. It was called “The Hunt” and there were 110 cars in total, including a Lamborghini Diablo, a Ferrari FF and an Acura NSX.
This rally was a trip from Indianapolis to Cincinnati and back, with detours off the interstate to keep things interesting. I went with 4 other cars from the Bloomington Auto Club, where we met up at 6am.
After a swift drive up to the place where we were staging, the cars started to roll in. We had made it around 8am, and were not set to head out until 10. So we hung out, checked out other cars and after checking in we all had a catered breakfast.
I felt a little embarrassed while we waited. Here I was in a incomplete 32 year old survivor car. Surrounded by vehicles worth more than my own home. I was with car people though, and several came to tell me how happy they were to see a 3rd gen Camaro. One guy even took photos of almost every angle imaginable. My car is of the elder generation now, and the respect it is shown makes me very proud.
The rally was started with a fury like no other. Speed limits didn’t exist. Before I realized it we were out of Marion county. We took an exit off I-74 onto a country road that met back up with I-74. I hit a bump on one corner, which put me in a slide that I was able to control. Tyler was loving every minute of the action.
Meanwhile on the app we were using for the rally, messages of “COPS ARE EVERYWHERE” were being blasted. Apparently our shenanigans had caused the phone lines at many police departments to light up.
As pictured, our first official pit stop was something else. We completely filled up the parking lot in this gas station, with additional cars parked on the side of the highway. If you look closely, you will see my car.
That pit stop lasted about 30 minutes or so. When my fellow BAC members finally decided to take off, I went with them and within 15 minutes it all fell apart.
We were cruising on the interstate at nominal speeds, nothing insane, when I seemed to have lost all power. The engine was still running but driving at speed was impossible. I did not want to stop on the side of the interstate, and so I hobbled along 12 miles to Greensburg, IN. During that 12 miles, the temperature gauge began to spike, the car died once. When I made it to the exit – there was no gas station in sight. So I had to make some evasive and illegal maneuvers to keep the momentum going to make it to a gas station about a mile away.
I got the car parked in a way where it could be towed if needed. I then popped the hood and it began to overheat. So I turned the fans on (a little trick is to turn the AC on with the car off) to do what I could to help it cool. After about 30 minutes, I started the engine. Almost immediately, it sounded like a pop can rattling inside one (or two) of the cylinders. Cylinders 1 or 3 to be exact.
That’s when I knew the course of action. We were done, and the car was not going to move under it’s own power. This was to be the last time I took the car out for the year, and what a way to go out.
This was meant as a pressure test on the car for an eventual trip to see my family in Oklahoma. My father bought this car in 1988, and none of them have ever seen it in the flesh. I would have had a massive emotional breakdown if it wasn’t for Tyler, my girlfriend’s son. His positive attitude kept me positive through the whole ordeal. The tow bill? $575.
After I contacted my fellow guys in the BAC, I was a little shocked as to what happened not too long after my break down. There was a road block! One of my guys pulled a U turn and got a ticket. There was also apparently LEO’s in the Cincinnati area trying to catch Rally goers. My red Camaro would have been easy to spot from a mile away.
At this point, the probable diagnosis is a broken valve. It could be much worse however. A piston or rod could have had a problem. The head could be warped. The absolute worst case is that the block is damaged beyond repair.
I have ordered a scope to get a look inside the engine and am still waiting on it’s arrival. Once I get that initial diagnosis in, I’ll get a better idea of what direction I have to take. I have no issue rebuilding the top end of the engine with better flowing heads, valves, and to port the intake or find one of those “big mouth” bases for a TPI.
As I told the BAC, I’m down – but not out.