Working for a Living - Wanderings of a Blue Collar 911

[Laneco]

I've had Butters, my 81 coupe for more than a year now. We jokingly refer to him as "Butters - da UBER BEATER" as a reflection of his $3,500 price tag. Tell you what, though, this is the best $3,500 car I've ever owned... Not just a daily driver, but also my work car. I've rolled well over 18,000 miles for work on this car in the last year. Other than a voltage regulator issue on the last trip (to Sacramento), the car has run perfectly. Even with that, we limped home safely. The cool part is that my company pays me mileage. At 53 cents per mile, even with me buying the fuel, this car has paid for himself plus the engine freshening/headstud replacement that we had done when I first purchased the car. So... the 53 cents per mile now goes into "future repairs." You know what those are? Well, I was thinking about corner balancing, new torsion bars, yada yada... You know, stuff I "need"!

My job takes me to alot of interesting places, most within driving distance of Medford, OR. A 25 year old 911 is not everyone's idea of a great work car, though it is most definately mine. Working is not always fun... But driving a 911 for work does make even a crappy day a whole lot better.

Thought I'd share this trip I'm on now with you guys and gals.

Oh and the picture is the LAST trip where the voltage regulator decided to throw out 16 to 19.2 volts... Thanks to smart Pelican's, I wired up the voltage meter to the clock circuit. Everytime the voltage spiked up, I turned out fans, a/c, blower motors, heater blower motor, rear window defroster, etc., to drop the voltage. it worked - drove about 300 miles home that way... Rebuilt alternator/new regulator now installed.

angela

[Laneco]

My trip actually started on Sunday, February 1st. This was the long driving day for my planned week. The car cover was frozen on Butters.... I hadn't driven him since replacing the alternator (couple of weeks ago). Yeah, Butters lives outside - he is definately a "working class - blue collar 911"....

It was nasty and foggy in Medford. Most winter mornings are like this for us. We get a decided temperature inversion that delivers freezing fog on most mornings. Blech. I let Butters warm up while I'm loading my trip essentials. Computer - check, clothes - check, camera - check, tools - check... Garmin - check. Hmm... something seems a little wonky with the Garmin. Turns out there will be more on this later...

It seemed to me that it was about 12 hours from Medford to Los Angeles. But on Saturday night, I'd run MAPQUEST which indicated just 10 hours. Mapquest is a bald faced liar! I plug in the address I'm heading to (Monterey Park) and my trusty Garmin tells me to expect 11.5 hours behind the wheel. GAHHH!

Well, being a Pelican (even an estrogen enhanced one), I'm pretty sure that I can beat that time!

angela

[Jim Richards]

Brilliant!

[The Gaijin]

LA sounds nice this time of year. Keep posting..

[Rikao4]

Angela..what can I say..
your incredible..
you love dogs,
made some interesting comments regarding 'other things' that can be done on a workbench..
doing something awesome for your dad..
McGivered 'Butters' as well as any top mech..in a pinch..
your a keeper...
be safe..

Rika

[Laneco]

Yeah Rika - when it comes to "alternate uses for workbenches" - well, all I can say is never pass up a good thing...

Butters dispatches the climb up the Siskiyous with ease as we fly past laboring trucks making their southbound journeys. The top of the pass is cut into the mountain rock and marks the highest point on I-5 between Mexico and Canada. ODOT has widened this area on both sides to allow trucks and other travelers a safe place to stop, adjust loads, check brakes, etc.

We drop down the otherside to Hilt - the most norther freeway exit in California of interstate 5. I'm only mentioning this place to share a little secret with you all. The store in Hilt sells the best home made milkshakes I've ever had. Anytime the kids are with me we stop here. Not today though, got places to go...

Mount Shasta comes into view off to the left. This big mostly dormant volcano is shrouded with snow right now. No matter how many times I see this mountain, it is always intriguing to me. Starkly beautiful. It is visible most of the time between Yreka, CA and Weed. Yeah, "weed". It's a real town.

[jyl]

Butters deserves a new dash pad, for being such a good car.

[Heel n Toe]

A woman having a blue collar '81 911 as a daily driver and loving it... awesome

Hooking the voltmeter up to the clock circuit on the blue collar '81 911 as a way to get her home from a trip... double awesome

Blogging this trip in the blue collar '81 911 for us here... awesomer still



I hereby request that you please start signing your posts as "awesome angela."



(Please post a photo of Butters parked in front of the eclectic truck stop or diner where you have your evening meal.)

[Laneco]

The next stretch of I-5 is the funnest one for me to drive. The freeway threads it's way downhill through Dunsmuir to arrive at Lake Shasta. The road surface is fairly smooth with great traction. The corners are slightly banked and Cal-Trans has left plenty of "margin" on both sides.

Butters makes me feel like a driving super-hero. The little rear engined car grips the road as tenaciously as Rosie O'Donnell holds a cheese cake. I gotta say, when German engineers get it right, it's right the way nothing else in the world will ever be. Other people can have their new cars because a 911 is what perfect feels like to me.

Redding comes and goes. The drone begins. My favorite stop is Corning, CA at the Olive pit. I always buy olives and olive oil here. Most of the stuff is grown locally, even processed locally. Tastes great! Plus they have free samples of their more exotic olives. They vary from fabulous (mexican) to "aquired taste" (beer olives). There's usually a few local vendors selling fresh fruit, but clearly it's a bit early in the year for this.

Well, at this point, it's time to start making time. Traffic speed begins to pick up and I blend along as the miles roll away. Steve put a stereo in Butters a couple of months ago. The car had some weird old cassette player in it but now has a decent little CD player. I've got a nice eclectic group of music. Lynard Skynard, Alice in Chains, Neil Diamond, Juice Newton, 38 Special. Whatever flipped my switch on the way out the door this morning. Now that I think about it though, some would say I should be committed for that particular grouping...

I openly despise the section of I-5 between Stockton and Lebec (just north of the LA basin) and that part is next...

[speeder]

What do you do that has you driving all over like this?

[Laneco]

Originally Posted by jyl

Butters deserves a new dash pad, for being such a good car.

You are definately right on that one! This car deserves that and more. I should throw that into the list of things that I want (torsion bars, corner balancing) that the car is effectively paying for!

The dreaded section of I-5 is upon me. This is where I start to get a little tired and discouraged. Then, along came an Audi....

Not just any Audi mind you, but a BLACK AUDI WAGON... The car has Texas plates and the driver is intent on making good time. Whomever he is, he drives well. Not just fast, but smart. He's clearly been getting away with driving fast for a long time. Neat little tricks like moving left and slowing just before the crest of the hill (so the guy following you zips over first and gets the ticket). I chase loosely, but Butters is finally getting down on fuel. With disgust, I pull over at the Firebaugh exit.

Without question this is the WORST place on I-5 to stop. Rude people and filthy restrooms every time. I fuel up and check the oil. I move Butters off to the side as I am going to brave the restrooms. Well, I'll "consider" them first... A black turbo Cayenne pulls in and unloads a mixed group of men and women. The women head to the restroom at the same time that I do. The restrooms are acceptably clean - thank heavens. However, two of the women in the group fail to wash their hands after use... Doesn't matter how much you spend on your car, for heaven's sake make everyone WASH THEIR HANDS - BLECH!!!!

Completely disgusted, I head out to the car and jump back on the freeway.

As darkness approaches, a wretched foul odor of unbelievable magnitude fills the car. Horrid and powerful, my nose refuses the autonomic impulse to breathe. A sign advises me of what my olafactory system already knows - we are in Coalinga....

I think that Coalinga means "cow**** capital of the planet" in some obscure language and there are cattle yards VERY close to the freeway. Apologizes to those who live there, please move soon as you deserve to be in a better place. I pull my shirt over my nose and try to breathe through my mouth. Then the impression that "Eau de Cow Anus" is coating my throat with a slimy film of stink makes me gag vicously. Pedal to the wooden floorboard, we get the hell out of there.

The rest of the trip is pretty uneventful. Night falls as we near the grapevine. The sky changes from hazy beige to a most beautiful indio as the sun slides from the sky. We arrive at the hotel around 6:15pm, some 45 minutes early (per the Garmin) even with my stops.

I park Butters in the under ground garage and head for my room. Tomorrow will surely be another adventure filled. (monday in Los Angeles).

angela

[Jim727]

Great narration, Angela!

Love the Shasta pic - I used to point Shasta out to our passengers and made sure to tell them the smaller cinder cone next to it was called "Diet Shasta".

Btw - good area you are from; I'm an Eagle Point HS grad.

[Laneco]

Originally Posted by speeder

What do you do that has you driving all over like this?

My current job is working for a company called ARAMARK. I do the safetly compliance for their fleet (trucks) in the western United States. Most people are familiar with our Uniforms trucks (big red star on the side). But that is only one side of the business. My side of the business does office coffee services, vending, state and national parks, food for K-12, colleges, catering and...ahem...food for Amtrak. That's a big contract for us. We use the trucks for delivery of food, bedding, etc., for Amtrak. I make sure they are safe and that the drivers are qualified.

Monday dawns warm and clear, just another winter day in southern California! I've been to the Amtrak facility in Los Angeles before (back in October) and realizing that I will DEFINATELY get lost trying to find it, I leave early for my 8:00am appointment. Traffic is moderate and in just a few minutes, we're at the I-10 get-off ramp that leads to the station. Now I'm not talking about Amtrak passenger station, I'm talking about the facility where the warehouses are located. It is basically underneath I-10. At the base of the ramp, the Garmin assures me the facility is right there to the left. It is most definately not... Then the Garmin begins to have a series of power-down seizures that will plague it the rest of the day (and the next).

I wander around a most gritty neighborhood for about 45 minutes. I know where I should be in relation to the freeway but I can't find the facility. I pull over to re-boot the Garmin. The sidewalk to my right has a big refrigerator box on it. Seems odd... Then a person craws out. Oh, my bad, that's not a box, it's a house... The Garmin reboots and I pull from the curb. The next light is a big traffic jam. A homeless fellow in a wheelchar is blocking the lane begging for change. When he doesn't get it, he's bumping cars with the wheel chair and screaming. I leave a gap, timing myself for a green light, then zip by/around him. He's pretty quick, but not quick enough for Butters! We escape without any wheel chair black marks or spittle on the fenders.

Nice neighborhood, huh? Wait til you see the next pic...
angela

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Laneco

Monday dawns warm and clear, just another winter day in southern California!

*scratches head*

Oh... hmmm... so, we're not "live." Okay... carry on.

But please post a pic of Butters in front of a cool diner or truck stop... eventually.

[Laneco]

Originally Posted by Jim727

Btw - good area you are from; I'm an Eagle Point HS grad.

Dang! Small world, isn't it? Eagle Point has the BEST fire works show in the valley and it's FREE! I love 4th of July - it's my favorite holiday. Flags, parades and stuff that blows up, YEAH BABY!!!

Okay - yeah - This is still Monday in the story line.

The Garmin seizes again... This will prove to be a terminal issue, but I don't know this yet. I call a friend who is at work and have him look up the back door phone number for me. It is on my computer but I don't want to stop, unload the computer in THIS neighborhood and wait for it to boot up... I'm quite concerned that my employment benefits do not include hobo stab insurance.

I get the directions and find the facility. The people here are entirely decent human beings, but the location.... If I had to work here every day, I would probably go completely bananas. Of all the locations I am responsible for, this one is my absolutely least favorite.

The pics are where I had to park Butters. Believe it or not, this was the BEST place to park him... I am concerned that he will be violated by a gang of fart can civics. I keep the fuel pump relay in my pocket while I work...

angela

[Laneco]

Okay - we survived working there Monday. After work, had agreed to run to a couple of truck stops and look for a regulation book for the drivers. I went to two of them, but none had what I was looking for (and I didn't think to take pictures - DOH!).

For Tuesday - I needed to return to the location. This time, I had to make it in the still dark early morning hours. Now I got fabulously lost yesterday (monday), but I'm sure that I can find the location today, even if it is dark. Well, that sense of optimism proved to be most inappropriate.

Took the ramp off the I-10 and spotted Hunter Street. Wow - check THIS out! It's RIGHT HERE! I was completely delighted, crossed the road to Hunter and then everything looked just plain wrong. I should be going down Hunter a couple of hundred meters, then making an unmarked left hand turn to Enterprise. Well this "hunter" ends in a truck parking lot and the local denizens are not very enthusiastic over my arrival. They were even less enthused when I came BACK into their lot about 15 minutes later (lost)....

Assuming that Hunter was actually a series of truncated streets, drove in increasing radius circles until I found the location again. Oh I HATE THIS PLACE!!!! Spent about half of Tuesday there and then headed north for my next site visit in Oakland. A phone call informs me that another location near Oakland (Dublin) has an "incident" that occurred which needs my tender loving investigative touch. I call the Dublin manager twice to make an appointment for Wednesday. He ignores me, so i email him and explain that "I look forward to meeting him in person on Wednesday at 8am".... Sucks for you Buddy - I know your address.

Sometime around 12:30, I head north with a full tank of fuel. Tell you what, alot of people bag on CIS systems, but they offer smooth driveability and get terrific fuel economy. I'm actually had a ball driving in Los Angeles. Quite of few of the ramps are curved or change elevation. What a hoot to just KICK IT!!!! Plus when the traffic is moving, it's moving "right along." Pay attention, keep your foot in it and you can actually have fun driving in Los Angeles. Aggressive driving is bad, but "assertive" driving is rewarded here!

I jump off I-5 in Tracy to 580, heading toward my hotel in Oakland. This drive takes you through a wind farm area. I think every time I come to California, I see more wind turbines. We're getting quite a few of them in Oregon/Washington along the Columbia River Gorge as well. Arrive and park safetly at the hotel.

[Heel n Toe]

Originally Posted by Laneco

crossed the road to Hunter and then everything looked just plain wrong. I should be going down Hunter a couple of hundred meters, then making an unmarked left hand turn to Enterprise. Well this "hunter" ends in a truck parking lot and the local denizens are not very enthusiastic over my arrival. They were even less enthused when I came BACK into their lot about 15 minutes later (lost)....

Assuming that Hunter was actually a series of truncated streets, drove in increasing radius circles until I found the location again. Oh I HATE THIS PLACE!!!!

I would never have suspected that you were one of those women (who are too proud to stop and ask locals for directions).
Heh heh.


Thanks for the shot of Butters' butt... send us a profile when you get the chance?

[Laneco]

Okay, now we're on to "real time". It's Wednesday and Butters and I are in Oakland. My 8:00 appointment called at 7:30 to reschedule for tomorrow as I they need to arrange security access (my appointment was at a corrections facility). We supply food and often laundry for numerous corrections facilities. This particular one had the misfortune of flopping a truck over on it's side a few days ago... I've got questions.

I find where the truck got towed to in Hayward. After cleaning the windows and bugs off of Butters, I tried to punch the address into the Garmin. The niggling issues over the last few days have proven to be a serious symptom and the Garmin refuses to power up.

***I'm REALLY PISSED NOW! It's my birthday and my Garmin just died****

I pull the fuse and check it (good), reinstall. No go. Clean the contacts (no go). Take it apart completely, see nothing amiss with the naked eye, put it back together and still no go. Fire up the computer and find a nearby store. Buy a new one. The old one is out of warranty and I suspect that the high voltage from the previous trip may have caused a problem. With the new on installed, I head to the body shop where our truck is at.

For a tip-over, the damage is pretty light on the truck. This will fix just fine. The guard dog for the yard takes quite a liking to me and tries to follow me home. The guys in the body shop are mostly Hispanic. They think Butters is pretty cool but that he needs a set of "dubs".

I gather some information I need for my report and to Starbucks. I've been working 12 to 16 hour days for the last two weeks. A few hours off is warranted, especially on my 45th birthday. My Daddy just called to wish me a good one. That most definately made my day!!!

I'm going to head over to the Amtrak facility now. Maybe I can get a picture of Butters with a train! Now that would be smokin'!!!!

[targa911S]

Give ya $4,000.00 for butters.

oh ...and happy birthday!

[Laneco]

Originally Posted by Heel n Toe

I
Thanks for the shot of Butters' butt... send us a profile when you get the chance?

Well here ya go! One at LA yesterday (in the hobo-stab-land) and the other at an autocross this summer.

angela