Better late than never, right? You've heard most of the story from everyone else about the show. All I'll add it is my sincere appreciation to everyone who had a hand in organizing it. It was truly an unbelievable event. As for my view of it... it started at about 7am outside of the DMC Houston mobile home. By this point, Stephen Wynne had gotten used to seeing me on his doorstep each morning anxiously awaiting my fuel pump. It finally arrived, and I put it in post haste. The new problem was that Vixen now "cycled" up and down in RPMs severely, and would bearely maintain an idle. It seems the new fuel pump was a slightly different pressure than the old, and it was wreaking havoc on the sensitive K-Jetronic plumbing. Up until this point, all I had wanted to do was drive my half-resurrected D over to the show. This was my goal. This would be my victory; my vindication over the folks who said it couldn't be done... but... it just was not to be. I couldn't keep her running long enough to drive her across the parking lot, let alone over to the show. With a heavy heart, I muscled her back up on the trailer and dragged her over to the show. Arriving at the pier, Ken Koncelik pointed me to a space where he wanted the car to be displayed. However, I had already pulled too far up onto the pier, and for those of you who have ever used a car dolly, you know that you simply cannot back up. It's like trying to push a piece of chain... they pivot in too many directions at once. Sooo... I unhooked the D to push her off in order to free the trailer and allow me to get out of the way. I jumped in the Vixen, put her in Reverse, and bumped the starter to bump her downn off the ramp. To my complete and utter suprise, she took off backwards like a bat out of hell -- running strongly and perfectly. Now normally I would consider this a Good Thing, however, with the three inches of water sloshing around inside the car, it made it nearly impossible for my wet size 13 boots to stay on the pedals long enough to stop the car. I was flying backwards at great speed... heading directly at another D. The look of terror on the owners' faces was likely only matched by my own petrified mug as I slammed the emergency brake and swung the wheel hard left. The car spun 180, and stalled. There was a stunned silence for a moment as everyone tried to figure out exactly what had just transpired. I had wanted a grand entrance. I guess -that- was accomplished, and then some. I regained my composure a bit, restarted the car, and with a bit more control, parked her where she was supposed to be. Aside from a severe sunburn, the show went well. I truly enjoyed having the "Visible Vixen" available for others to see. Few folks ever get the opportunity to see what I have stared at every day for the last seven months -- a D sans skin. At the end of the show, I decided to 'make a run' for the parking area. The car cooperated fully and I achieved a simple goal... one I had looked forward to for months. I shifted into second gear. =) And that's the story of Vixen's trip to Cleveland. -Dave Stragand http://www.ProjectVixen.com VIN #05927