Thursday, August 9:
We started out bright and early Thursday morning and headed for Floyd Garrett’s Musclecar Museum. We were greeted by several new cars who joined our caravan. No caravan to the Mopar Nats is complete without at least one Bluesmobile, and we now had one. Also joining us was what looked to be a 1930s touring sedan that just screamed “style”. As soon as you walk in the door at Floyd’s you’re hit with a screaming red Chevelle SS. Floyd has amassed one of the greatest collections of American iron we had ever seen.
If musclecars had a hall of fame, this would be it. From a 1 of 1 Chevelle COPO wagon (wood sides, gotta love that), to a brand-new Ford Lightning, to an all-original Shelby Cobra that was actually found in a barn. In one corner sat probably the most original Corvette in existence. It had sat in crates for years before finally being assembled. It had never been started and the odometer showed a total of zero miles. Over at the other corner of the showroom sat a real piece of NASCAR® history. How would you like to race in a CONVERTIBLE stock car? The guys who drove these cars were REAL men. Mopars were well represented here, with an all-original 1971 GTX, along with several Barracudas, Chargers, and Challengers. While only technically a Mopar (barely), there was even a Super Stock AMX with an all-American red, white and blue paint job. I spent a good 2 hours zigzagging my way through the showroom. It would take a full day to take in everything. The next time you are in Sevierville, stop by Floyd’s-- you won’t be disappointed.
We left Floyd’s and headed out on the last leg of our caravan. It was Brice road or bust (unfortunately, that is just what happened). Year One’s own Aaron Holmwood was piloting his 1974 Duster on this trip. I was lucky enough to score a ride with him for a few picture-taking opportunities. We left out of the rest stop on a banzai speed run that I’m sure would have landed us both UNDER the county jail had we been caught.
Aaron’s tranny wasn’t up to the punishment his engine could dish out and started leaking tranny fluid at the front seal. Luckily, Roberto Cavazos and his family had an empty trailer with them. The Duster was trailered and Aaron jumped in Kevin Bucheger’s Charger for the ride to Columbus. Kevin was still having trouble with his car burning oil. The rest of the ride to Columbus was fairly smooth.
Aaron and Kevin attacked their cars as night fell, with most of Year One’s show crew lending a hand. Aaron’s car went up on jack stands while Kevin’s car started to lose its top end. It wasn’t long before Kevin’s intake was sitting on the curb and they were assessing the situation. A new intake gasket had been located earlier in the day and they thrashed on the car until well past midnight to put it back together. Unfortunately the new gasket did not work.
It was found later that a machining mismatch lead to the failure of the gasket. In the next space over, Aaron was wrestling the transmission out from under his car. With everyone helping, he had it out in less than an hour. The torque converter was the culprit, the input snout had actually snapped, which then ate the seal. A new converter would have to be located tomorrow. I wandered out onto Brice road and watched a few impromptu street races. This isn’t what everyone said it would be like, but I had no idea what was in store for me in the coming days.