The Arrival

We've imported 5 cars now. The first four (Wendolene, Feathers McGraw, Lady Tottington, and Preston) came through the port of Tacoma. It was about a 3 hour process all told to collect, although I once did it in under two hours.

The port of Baltimore, however, had its entry system designed by Rube Goldberg while he was on crack. Trusty roadtrip buddy Denise and I left her place at 9am. We got back to it at 7pm. I won't bore you with the details, but they involved massive semi truck traffic jams, "turn around" passes, and cards that must be stamped before you can leave... but of course they don't tell you that, so you have to dive back deep into the heart of darkness to *get* that stamp.

Anyway, the truck looks great, appropriately battered and utterly adorable, but I had a bad scare when I stopped at a Denise's house on the way back. I was horrified to see an oily water river streaming across the driveway. I was thinking blown gasket, (or worse) and cursing that eBay seller. Then I realized the spare battery he'd put in the left front floor space had tipped over, and was leaking. It went through the drain holes and washed off the undercarriage. Shaun was fine! *whew* Smokes a bit, but don't they all?

High on the priority list:
Seat that's actually fixed to the truck, heater (brrr!), fuel gauge, temp gauge, interior lights.

Tomorrow is Series Garage Day for the Rover Club, so I hope to actually learn something about my new baby.

USB on my computer is down, and Matt's is at work with him, so you'll have to survive with stock footage (thanks, Fred!) and a phone-video of his oh-so-basic dash, complete with engine sounds.