Sleeping Bag . . .

It may not be feasible, soon, to drive my old muscle car – the Great Pumpkin, also known as the Orange Barchetta – courtesy of the maniacs pushing the price of gasoline to $5 and probably a lot more to come, soon.

But I’d like to be able to start it up every now and then, to remember. And so that it’s ready to drive again, someday.

The Pumpkin needs premium – 21 gallons of premium unleaded. That’s $100 to fill ‘er up at current (today) prices and while I love to drive it I love to eat even more. But I remain hopeful the day will come – eventually – when I’ll be able to afford to drive my car again – and eat. It may be a long time coming, though.

Hence, getting gas. And getting ready.

I wrote the other day about servicing the transmission. Today, I change the oil – which for my car means changing it with specialty (read, expensive) oil made for old cars that have engines that need the additives no longer generally available in the oil available at Wal Mart and other such outlets, courtesy of Let’s Go Brandon!

The Pumpkin uses AMSOIL (Z-Rod formulation) and it costs about as much to change out six quarts as it costs to buy 21 gallons of $5 per gallon Let’s Go Brandon!

But I got those six quarts before they cost as much as 21 gallons of Let’s Go Brandon! will probably cost a week from now. I recommend you consider taking the same preemptive measures, before you are no longer able to afford to take them. Fill ‘er up now, while you still can. While you can still afford to fill ‘er up. Ideally, with non-ethanol gas, which stores better over the longe haul.

Adding fuel stabilizer is smart, too.

Carefully rationed start-’em-ups once a month or so and you should be able to make a tankful last year, maybe even longer. To circulate fluids in the rest of the drivetrain – the transmission, rear axle – use a floor jack under the differential to raise the rear wheels up off the ground; safety stands under the axles tubes or frame rails are a good idea. Now you can “drive” your car a little, for a little while.

Watch the odometer click over the “miles.”

It’s probably a good idea to buy some tires now, if you’re even close to needing them. Tires being made of rubber and rubber being derived from oil. You won’t get far without tires, no matter how much gas you’ve managed to sequester. Keep them aired up (assuming they don’t kibosh electricity, too, your compressor still ought to work) and not sitting on the same contact patch for too long. So as to avoid flat spotting them.

Fans belts, hoses, fuel filters  . . . keep in mind all of those things you may need but which you may not be able to get, in the world of artificially scarcity being created by Let’s Go Brandon! – who is desperate to keep the public from realizing just how hard and deep they got it over the past two years, in the name of “stopping the spread’ of a “virus” that was never much of a threat and far less a threat than what was done to us in the name of “stopping its spread.”

So desperate he may just trigger a war – one that comes here – to keep the public’s mind off of it.

I never thought, all those years ago, when I first heard the Rush song, Red Barchetta that I would one day be living it.

Just orange rather than red.

. . .

Got a question about cars, bikes or anything else? Click on the “ask Eric” link and send ’em in! Or email me at [email protected] if the @!** “ask Eric” button doesn’t work!