My new truck:
Specs:
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4.8L V-8 Engine (code: l4R): 275hp, 285 ft-lbs torque
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4L60E transmission (w/a .70 overdrive)
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Dry weight: 4246lbs
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108,000 miles
Dad bought himself a new 2004 GMC Sierra 1/2 ton pickup. 5.3L v8, automatic tranny, decent option level. Sticker was $28k, and he got it for $19.6k, after all discounts. So, in a fit of amazing generosity, he’s *giving* me his old truck.
Yeah, it’s the anti-mini. Been a pack-a-day smoker’s car for 3 years, so it pretty much reeks inside. But it’s got a ‘Murican V-8, baby. Needs just a bit of work:
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brakes have never been done
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Tranny is a bit slushy
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There’s some highly annoying squeak in the left side of the cab
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coolant: never changed
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never had a tuneup
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seats are excruciatingly uncomfortable
Had a wonderful day on Saturday w/Mom and Dad, really. and I brought home a new member to the stable. Might call it “big red,” but I haven’t decided…
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Today was, well, okay.
I awoke at 6 to leave at 7 for Kentucky Speedway in sunny (and deserted) Sparta, KY. Sparta is about 30 mins South of Cincinnati on I-71, and I made the trip in a little over an hour, after stopping at a truck-stop to fill my 135 psi portable air tank.
The day was kind of bad from the beginning: I got side-tracked chit-chatting w/my guys I know at the autocross, and only walked the course twice. It was a wide-open course laid-out before the main gate of the speedway.
My class was pretty full (7 drivers) and I ended-up 3rd, behind Scott from our region and a guy named Brian from Cincy. Get this, though: Brian had a MINI w/Street tires. Yeah. Basically, I made good, quick runs, but hit cones on EVERY ONE. I had one clean run, but it was desperately slow. Fastest time in my class (Scott) was 42.6, and my fastest clean run was 45.3 My other runs were closer (in the 43’s) but each w/2 cones.
We got 5 runs and ran 3 heats. I lucked out (yay!) in that I worked 1st heat and ran 2nd heat, so I could slink out the back after my embarrasment. »sigh« Yeah, went into this year thinkin’ I was gonna be the car to beat in HS in the 3 regions, and i’m turning into an also-ran. Frustrating.
On the bright side, had a wonderful drive back from Sparta, eschewing the interstate for US 127 and KY 227, which runs from Owenton, through Stamping Ground, directly to G’town. I took out some of my frustration on that narrow ribbon of uneven asphalt, and it felt good. The Pup is a wonderful vehicle, really. It’s just the nut behind the wheel that needs tightening.
Got back in time to attend Northside Christian for the 1st time in 6 weeks; as ever Dwight’s evening sermon about Ecclesiastes Cptrs 4+5 was edifying an moving, as well as educational. I’d always seen Ecclesiastes as a very, very depressing, morbid work of the aged Solomon. Dwight framed it in terms of a man who was powerful, rich, and wise, but empty: He had no direct heir, no good works, and his greed had left him hungry for more, despite his ‘fullness’.
So yes, maybe all is vanity.
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On another note, Keenland had its highest-attendance day ever: 31,000 on Saturday. the great weather and derby tuneup contenders brought the Lexintonians out.
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