Unfortunately, Gary decided it was a good time to lie down on the job.

Come to find out, he was just tying-up some loose wires so the ’59 would be ready for showin’ ’n goin’.

I looked under the hood to see my one request for this year’s Tour — gone were the dual four barrel carburetors, and in their place was Edelbrock’s Weber fuel injection unit.

Gas may be $2.00 a gallon, but we’re going to squeeze every last mile we can out of it.

Cars in good order, we made a trial run down to the Pontiac Center, where the party was to be. We found a swell little joint called the “Have a Nice Day Cafe.”

We bumped into our good friend, Catherine Girard-Cobb of Power Tour Events fame.

She had on her usual radiant smile as she stomped out fire after fire. I wish I had half her energy. I’m not sure who the guy behind her is, but it looks like he’s about to ask her where he’s supposed to go. . . I think she’ll be able to tell him.

Dry run complete, Gary’s keen ear picked up the sound of an exhaust leak on the ’59. And this while inside the Vista Cruiser with the windows up. So we headed to Top Value Muffler, a shop in nearby Waterford, which was recommended by the GM Motor Medics. A quick inspection found a broken weld on one of our mufflers.

It looked like we scraped something, cracking the inlet flange where it met the body of the muffler. Two minutes later, our new buddy Phill had us welded up.

Gary’s keen nose then found a minor gas leak at the sending unit on the new fuel tank, which he tightened up. Cars in perfect order, we headed back to sign-in at the Pontiac Center.

Unfortunately, a couple other folks had the same idea.

Fortunately, they knew they were in the presence of greatness, and the sea of humanity spread much like Moses parted the Red Sea. We registered and picked up our packet in mere minutes.

With some time to spare, I walked the exhibits, spotting a Ford SVT Focus. But, something didn’t look right. A quick count showed two cylinders too many under the hood.

John Coletti and troops, cool Ford SVT guys that they are, had somehow managed to shoehorn the 2.5 liter SVT Contour motor (all 200 horses of it) into the tiny engine compartment of a bright red European-spec Focus.

Oh man, I gotta get me one of these for a daily driver. I ran back to our cars to get a bottle of Showtime® Instant Detailer to remove the drool I left all over the body panels. This SVT Focus redefines pocket rocket.

As I approached our display, I noticed a television crew filming Gary.

My first thought: “Oh great, ’America’s Most Wanted’ has finally caught up with me.”

Fortunately, Gary kept my secret and they left. I saw them later, near our buddy Todd Ryden of MSD Ignition fame.

Todd’s bright orange “Wagoon,” featured in the latest issue of Hot Rod Magazine, is now fed by three deuce carbs on a 455. Looks like Gary’s Vista-Cruiser is going to have its work cut out for him in the drags of the wags.

Working the displays, I found lots of great muscle cars. Hemis populated every row, it seemed. Even some great old Chevy V8s made an appearance, including a cherry ’64 409 Impala. Car expert that I am, it was actually easy to spot.

Sometimes they make motor IDs really easy.

The temperature was an unseasonably warm 85º, so the crowd moved towards the covered garage and tent areas.

Some brave souls survived thanks to creative headware.

I think it’s a hub cap off a ’46 LaSalle.

I’ve often dreamed of having my ship come in (financially speaking), but really wasn’t prepared for it to be a train instead.

I’m hoping it was a heat-induced mirage.

As the evening shadows grew longer, the crowd cranked-up their mischevious activity, signalling our time to head for the hotel. Others had the same idea, and in desperation, the local law enforcement closed the streets, creating a gauntlet for the exiting masses.

We passed the test, leaving Pontiac and Woodward Avenue in our mirror. The trip back to the hotel was uneventful, save for the nagging question of why the General Motors plant called “Pontiac East Assembly” made Chevrolet pickups, and not Pontiacs.