When we got to Warren it was 101 degrees, the temps of the road, the turns takes its toll on the car. Turn signals, horn didn’t work. Running on battery only, we chugged our way to the Packard museum. We don’t know how it kept running on no battery. When we got to the hotel we found a repairman, Ward, who knows alot about old engines and we determined it was the generator and we put a new one in I had brought along. Everyone is going out of their way to help us. We are travelling on a wing and a prayer and the good wishes of everyone and a lot of help from both earthly and heavenly intervention.
Friday was a test of nerves as we struggled with our battery and generator. Hot temperatures in the 100’s, twisting turns and hot asphalt take a toll on old engines. We barely made it to our start position after lunch, leaving Franklin, Pennsylvania with just four seconds to spare. When we did get the car started after enormous team effort and a famous flying start, we discovered we had no other power in the car, the horn didn’t work, no power. The generator was shot and we were running on what was left of the battery. I did bring along a new generator that would have to be installed at the evening stop. At the Packard Museum we had a front row spot along with the other Packards in the race. We couldn’t believe we actually made it to the checkpoint with only a 29 second penalty to our time, but our beautiful 71 year old lady never gave up. Truly she is now “the little engine that could.” When we got to the hotel to take care of the repairs to the generator, we were not alone. The cameraderie of the other racers, the efforts to find a knowledgeable mechanic resulted in help from Ward, who helped us install and rig the new generator so that we could continue on in the morning. It’s not a 100% perfect solution but for now the “little engine that could” is still hanging in there as we head to our next stop.
Mary Stahl and Thomas Karr give Ward a big thank you as we finished up installing the new generator. We are glad to have met you Ward and we really appreciated all your help and all the concern from the other racers.