Barrett Jackson is over

Just a quick note to tell everyone that Barrett Jackson Car Show is over. I just talked to Mark and he said that they have left the auction and are driving thru the snow in Flagstaff on the way to their big meeting in Oklahoma City with Chesapeake Energy.

Mark told me one of the highlights of the trip was when Speed did the special on the CNG GTO on Friday night. That spotlight on the GTO was seen by some people who then made a special trip to Barrett Jackson mainly to see the GTO. Mark said that they were Prius owners and were our kind of people. Americans who are ready to make a difference in our dependence on foreign oil by stepping out and taking action. Thanks Guys we appreciate it.

The thing that made the biggest impression on me was that out of hundreds f people that stopped by to talk, it was unanimous that everyone agreed we needed to end our dependence on foreign oil. It didn't take any explanation, they already fully understood and no explanation was necessary. Several times the guys stopping by did a more eloquent job of making the point than we could have done. This confirms to us both that there are lots of true Americans out there all with the same beliefs and convictions. Its just a matter of time before American ingenuity rises to the occasion and squashes this problem flat. I am totally relaxed and confident that it is coming.

First Day at Barrett Jackson Car Show

Today was our first day at Barrett Jackson Car show and it was tons of fun. We were able to pull the GTO outside because it was a beautiful sunny day although a bit chilly and windy all the way up till 5 pm when the rain returned. Hundreds of people stopped by and looked at the CNG GTO today. Lots of people guessed that it was propane powered due to the components under the hood. This is a very knowledgeable car crowd. Most people were shocked to see the two huge 7 gallon containers in the trunk. We had some people get really excited about our trip and we passed out hundreds of cards with our website address. People were buying our Tshirts, and asking lots of questions. One guy wanted to go back and convert his daily driver because of the high octane in CNG. We had time to go inside and see all the cars for auction and watch some bid off.

Thanks to Bridgestone for the opportunity to show the GTO at the Barrett Jackson car show.

We are setup across from the Speed Channel boom camera and we already have word that the GTO was shown on the show tonight!!!

http://www.barrettjackson.com/

FLAT TIRE #1

Friday morning on the road Mark and the gang noticed rubber coming off
one of the trailer tires. By the time they got off it was shredded.
The floor jack wouldn't lift the trailer and car so they went to a
truckstop. One new tire later and they are back on the road.

Final Preparation

Once the trailer was ready Mark drove the CNG GTO up the ramp and very slowly into the trailer.  We tied down the car to D rings in the floor of the trailer with tie down straps.  Joseph put the cover over and the cabinet doors were taped shut to be sure nothing came out.  Mark got the tree boxes of Route66GoatGas shirts and put them in the trailer.  Tools for the road were loaded.  Earlier while watching the car run, we found a loose coil wire and got that thing tightened back up. It was making a blue spark and you could see the reflection in the chrome under the hood.  Everything loose in the trailer we removed or secured.  Mark left heading for Memphis and was on his way.

The Trailer and Scottsdale Departure

Listen to this fun!  Patricks friend stored some furniture in the race trailer and wasn't available clean it out for the trip.  He had to send a couple of his guys over to move the furniture out and bring the trailer up from south of town.  We got the trailer around 5pm on Thursday, the night that Mark planned to leave out for the trip with the GTO.  No one had seen the trailer in quite a while so it had a few problems.  We parked across the street in a large parking lot and hooked the trailer to Patrick's Dodge Truck.  But when we started to plug in the lights, someone noticed the wiring harness for the trailer had been cut due to the frame scraping on the ground.  Me and Mark spliced the wires back while Patrick and the guys worked on wiring the 7 way plug.  It was cold working out and it was getting dark.  We plugged it in and nothing. We swapped some wires around and still nothing.  So we got on google and found the wiring color codes for the 7 way plug for the Horton Hauler Trailer.  We switched everything around per the schematic.  Almost an hour later we were ready to try again.  I could tell Patrick didn't want to look at the trailer while we plugged it in because he didn't have much hope.  We pushed the plug in and the whole trailer light system lit up like a Christmas tree. Everybody was celebrating about getting that done so hard it brought people out of the house to see what happened.  That was the last hurdle to cross before Mark could get on the road.  It was an ordeal but probably just a little taste of the fun and challenges we will surely face on the road for our project.

Monday Preparations for Barrett Jackson

Everything is falling into place for the trip to Barrett Jackson. I got word on the trailer and truck provided by Patrick Small this afternoon and its still on go. Mark has the business cards and he says they look sweet! The Tshirts are being printed and will be ready in time to go on the trip. Mark's dad and brother are getting into the trip and really pitching in and helping out.

If all of this wasn't good enough news, we got the official word from Talledega Superspeedway that the CNG GTO will be allowed to make a run around the track and may set the speed record for a Compressed Natural Gas powered car. (It will be the first CNG car to race on the track). That should qualify the car to go into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and Museum.
The track management says that on race weekend there will be 10,000 people a day tour the museum. www.motorsportshalloffame.com

The only thing we are holding our breath on is the UPS delivery of our Ecopia Tires from Bridgestone!

Ready to Go

Plans are being finalized this weekend to take the GTO to Barrett Jackson! Bridgestone sent our tickets for every day of the event...THANKYOU BRIDGESTONE!! Hotel reservations are made. Patrick Small is bringing the trailer on Tuesday and we will get it ready to go for the trip. Mark has busted it hard to get the Tshirts finished for the trip. Yep. They will be for sale at the event. Marks dad and brother are going on the trip so this is turning into a fantastic family event full of fun and thrilling excitement. The anticipation is killer a week away.