Of course that's probably because we got married!

Mrs. RCToTheFuture and I had our wedding this past Saturday and it was everything we could have wanted and more. Had a traditional wedding in a Catholic Church, allowing our family to give readings and feel like it was done properly.

We then had pictures taken at the local quarry/park which should look pretty good! We then had our reception at the local Elk's Lodge in Milwaukee. My family and the Bride's family went above and beyond to provide an amazing meal, lots of drinks, beautiful tables and decorations. It culminated in a loud, drunken, and incredible night for us.

The following day feels like it didn't happen and our day off Monday consisted of us opening up lots of lovely gifts and having it hit us that we were married. Gotta say, it really hasn't fully hit me yet. Can't thank all my family and friends enough and I look forward to married life, somehow.

So a funny thing happened the other day, I got reached out to by Pabst Blue Ribbon on twitter to see if I'd be interested in being sponsored by them for a photoshoot. As you can see, I gladly accepted.

A few months ago, PBR on Twitter put out a tweet asking if anyone had a Probe. I, being a PBR fan, saw the post and replied with the beloved OppoProbe. They liked my photo and followed me, my favorite beer company follows me! I was pretty happy and just thought it was one of those user interaction posts...

NOPE.

A month later they reached back out asking if I still had the Probe. I responded that I did and they offered to send me a bunch of stickers to put on the car and photograph for a campaign and they'd pay me for it. I gladly accepted and a few weeks later a package came in the mail.

I cleaned up the Probe and took quite a few pics using the stickers and they ended up posting them on Twitter, apparently more are to come which is cool!

So yeah, the Probe is now a sponsored race car. Which is cool! I included a few more photos that were some of my favorite!

We actually got home on Saturday night, just been busy with life that I haven't had the time to post the Probe here or tell the story!

So as said on Saturday, the Mrs. and I loaded up her new Sorento and headed north to visit @derpwagon in Minnesota. A nice 5 hour trip across the great state of Wisconsin and we entered the Twin Cities. We stopped at a local U-Haul and got a tow dolly, with a very nice lady working there help me load it up. Stopped over at Derp's and checked out his fleet, loved the house and all the space for activities! Gives me some goals for the future He's got a lovely family and I hope I can stop by again once the Probe is up and running.

We loaded up the Probe (pushing it on the dolly) and all the spare parts and headed South.

After leaving, the Mrs. wanted to stop at Mall of America to check out Boxlunch and The Disney Store. I figured since she was putting up with me getting a car, I could put up with a stop at the mall. Haven't been there in a few years, but it was insane being in a building that loud and crowded in over a year, gave me a little anxiety actually.

We got back in the Kia and headed home, stopping for dinner in the Dells. The ride was pretty easy, however the Sorento didn't have a tow mode so I had to keep in 5th manually throughout the trip, manually dropping down to 4th for hills. Around 8:30 we finally hit the driveway. I used a hand winch and my Mini's tow hook to winch the Probe off the trailer as it wasn't going to come off being pushed by hand.

Now she's sitting in the driveway, waiting for me to order some parts and figure out the plan. My goal is to get the car running and driving with the stock engine and transmission as it needs a water pump and timing belt. I'll get it up and running, replace some failed parts and decide if I want to "resto-mod" it or swap in a KLZE and maybe do some other custom stuff. Next post will be going through my repair checklist and some cool stuff I've found on the car that Oppo might enjoy.

Thanks again @derpwagon! You are awesome for letting me pick this up, even more awesome for helping me load it, and truly amazing for saving all the parts and letting me have them. Like I said, you have an incredible home and family and I appreciate the hospitality.

Evening Oppo, had a hell of a day.

The Mrs. $400 4Runner had a leak from the fuel tank and I had to swap out the fuel tank for a new one. I pulled the cover, pulled the old tank out and siphoned the fuel out into a fuel jug.

I went to pull the bolts off the fuel pump cover and it went ok. The vent though gave me some issues, 2 bolts stripped so I would have to drill them out. Knowing from history and reading recommendations, I went to fill the fuel tank with water. I grabbed the hose, filled it up and started drilling. I had the tank on my steps to my deck, so I could siphon it down to a fuel tank.

As I was drilling, the tank shifted and fell, spilling out all over the steps and down onto the walk. The water went up to my deck and smelt a little like gas. I wasnt too worried, as I thought I just smelled gas on my hands or something. After refilling with water, and putting my knee into the tank to secure it, I drilled again.

Now mind you, this is where it all went wrong. I had the drill on "Auto" and now with wet hands and a wet tool, it slipped out of my hands. It fell onto the ground, and it shut off. What happens when an electric motor stops? It sparks!

Up like a light, the fuel water mix lit on fire and I was in the middle of it. I screamed, jumped out of the flames and yelled for the Misses to get the extinguisher. I used the hose running at full pressure to get the steps. I hit the tank onto the ground and it started up to. I got the small kitchen extinguisher and swept the flames on the steps, not realizing the flames we're headed down the whole side of the deck.

While I was fighting the flames, the Misses called the fire department who were there in a few minutes. They used their extinguisher and got it all calmed down. They went under the deck (I removed the lattice this winter and haven't replaced it yet). They verified nothing else was on fire and left me to clean up.

Needless to say, it was one of the scariest moments of my life. I couldn't control the flames, I couldn't stop them from hitting the deck, and it was just me not realizing the danger around me.

Thankfully I'm ok, just singed hair and a ruined pair of shoes. Misses and the dogs are all ok too. I have some boards to replace now and some new paint to do, but I'm so thankful it wasn't worse. Always make sure you have a fire extinguisher around and work safely when working near gasoline!

Anyone want a 4Runner that needs a new fuel tank installed?

It's been a crazy past few weeks and the Mrs. and I prepare for our wedding. Every weekend we have a wedding/shower/event up until our own so free time is few and far between. That means no boat, no fun, no work on the weekends. However, this past Friday I had some time to get the 1995 Probe GT that @derpwagon graciously offered to gift to me over a month ago.

Here's how it currently sits.

I removed some of the silicone that Derp had to use to keep water from entering the cabin. I removed it on the rears and put a black silicon under the rubber weather-stripping on the rears to clean it up a bit.

I figured I'd take it Vice Grip Garage style. Lay out what's there, what's not there, and then figure out what it needs to run. Now this car was derp's daily for awhile so it saw regular use and repair, which is good news for me. What was not so good news, was that it had sat for 5 years with a quarter tank of gas. Luckily I need some deck stain, so it all worked out! I started off by getting a new battery as the car didn't have one. I would use that battery to power the car up and allow me to jumper the fuel pump and get that pumping out the old nasty fuel. The only problem is, I grabbed the wrong battery. The Probe requires a 58R and I grabbed a Group 35.

So it fits in the tray spot, but it's too tall for the hood. I could relocate it to the rear, but for now I just latch the hood and will go back to Walmart to get a correct battery sometime later this month.

After hooking up the battery, I added a few gallons of fresh fuel to the tank to help with the cleaning process and gave it the jumper. A few gallons squirted out the fuel hose in a weird green/brown/clear mixture that wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I apologize for no pictures of this, my last incident with fuel meant I gave full focus so that my deck didn't go up in flames... again.

I then took an inventory of everything that Derp had left me in these 2 Gorilla Cases that he had given me. All the parts were there (radiator, maf, intake, battery tray, radio, etc.) and in really good shape.

I started off by putting the MAF on and giving the car a crank to see if it would start and run. I cranked the car over to check if it had oil pressure and it sputtered and hiccupped. I shut it down out of fear of doing damage. I remembered these silly Probes need all the vacuum hoses and throttle linkages hooked up to run right.

I put the radiator in, and I gotta say this was so easy. @derpwagon left all the bolts in the factory positions and tightened them down. All I had to do was unbolt them, put in the part, and rebolt them up. No chasing bolts, no finding missing hardware, it was all right there and it made life 1000% easier for this revival. I then made sure the radiator connections and clamps were good and filled it with water.

After the radiator was in and connected, I finished hooking up the intake and making sure all vacuum hoses and throttle linkages were hooked up. I blocked off the ports for the cruise control vacuum pump, as if you hook up these wrong the engine runs away on you and it's no fun to deal with on an engine that sat for several years. I then added quite a few more gallons of fuel, along with a bottle of Barryman B12 carbon cleaner. I hopped in the driver seat and gave it a first start.

As you can see it started but ran really rough, check engine light was on immediately and I was worried I caused some form of damage just by being a little too eager. I hopped out and checked all the connections, only to find the MAF connector loose.

If that doesn't give a good signal, the KLDE will run on a "limp home" mode map by guessing where the TPS is situated and guessing how much air is coming in. I reconnected the harness and tried again.

It came up a little high in idle, then settled down. It's running a tad rough still, but I imagined there was a lot of carbon, a gunked up fuel filter, and of course just needing to get the cobwebs blown out of her.

I decided now that the car ran, it was time to do some maintenance.

Old oil is not something you should be revving on. So I let the car warm up, made sure the thermostat and fans kicked on, and then put it in the air. I drained the oil and chunks or glitter were in it. The filter looked good and had no issues from what I saw. I had grabbed the cheapest oil at Fleet Farm ($11 Mobil Semi-Synthetic) and an oil filter from Advance as Fleet Farm was all out. I also grabbed a bottle of Gumout Fuel System Cleaner. After getting the new oil in and getting the filter tight, I started the car and made sure oil pressure was good. It quieted down a little more and I figured it was a good time for a carbon cleaning.

I unhooked an intake vacuum line and ran it into the Gumout can and started the engine. 30 seconds later, the can was empty so I shut it down and let the cleaner go to town on the valves and pistons. With the B12 in the fuel tank, this was going to make for one hell of a smoke show.

After about 15 minutes of cleaning myself up, I went ahead and started the car. What followed was an acrid, disgusting white smoke of burned off carbon. As you'll see in this video, I had accumulated a puddle of water and carbon at the end of the car.

After the cleaning was almost done (there was still some smoke), I let it idle and go through some fan cycles. I figured it was best to make sure it wasn't going to overheat on me. I then got in and tested the clutch. Derp had mentioned the clutch had this weird point where it would go down, stick, then actuate the clutch. I put the clutch to the floor, and put it in reverse. Slowly letting the clutch out, there was very little room for engagement but it moved in reverse! Put it in first, and it moved forward! Hit the brakes, they work too! Alright, no issues! I proceeded to back in and out of my driveway and verify the brakes did work. They sounded like hell thanks to the rust buildup I neglected to look into, but they stopped the car and worked perfectly.

At this point, I was pretty happy. I had a running, somewhat driving, Ford Probe with no discernable issues. i wanted to go for a spin around the block but it was getting late so I waited until today when I had some time on my lunch period. As you can see, it went well:

All in all, I'm super happy to say the least! This is a gorgeous little Probe that needs some loving care and I can't wait to give it that love after the wedding! For now, the plan is to continue with general maintenance (valve cover, water pump, timing belt, plugs and wires), new tires, and getting the radio working along side the A/C system. After that, it'll be body work time!

I've jokingly been calling this the OppoProbe or the Ford Hyphen, anyone got a better name for it? Here's an exhaust clip for your time:

Gotta tell you guys, it's been a tough weekend for me and the misses. On Thursday, my fiancees sister end up leaving her abusive relationship but didn't have anywhere to go. We helped her out and gave her the couch until she can figure her stuff out. Her boyfriend was holding her stuff (clothes, laptop, etc.) Hostage until she paid her last 2 months of rent. She of course has been low on cash thanks to paying her boyfriends bills and was in-between a rock I'm a hard place.

I fronted her the cash, even though we have a wedding in 2 weeks and I needed that money for our DJ and the church. So to make up for that loss, I sold my boat. I didn't want to, I wanted to take it out for our mini-moon but family comes first. Of course the misses feels awful, but I'd rather her sister not be in her situation and that she's safe. So $1509 later, it's gone

Right after I sold it, I got a call from one of my groomsman. His wife (a bridesmaid) has a grandfather who fell ill and may pass sometime this week. If he passes this week, the funeral would more than likely be the day of our wedding. Of course I'm heartbroken for them, but their kids are also supposed to be our ring bearers so that just makes the whole situation worse. Life really is a kick in the nuts sometime, hope everyone is having a better weekend than me!

I don't know about you, but it sounds perfect for your average Miami boater

So yesterday we took the boat out for its first time and things didn't go as expected.

We drove out to a small lake near the house and it was empty, not a single soul out there. Looking over the lake there was some dark clouds headed our way, but I figured if I got it up to full throttle and checked the temperatures I'd be good enough. I backed the boat down, unhooked it and hopped in.

Putting the engine down, I squeezed the fuel bulb a few times and then cranked it over. About 4 crank cycles and she was up and running. Let it run for about 30 seconds and then put it in reverse. It banged into gear and slowly moved out. This is where the trouble started.

Almost immediately my bilge pump kicked on, not sure why but I saw my outlet above the water line was actually taking on some water. I guess I had the engine trimmed out too low so I bumped it up a little and put it in drive. No bang. "Uh-oh".

I gave the boat some throttle and it went faster in reverse. Shifting to reverse just changed my throttle speed. Oh shit, I'm stuck in reverse. The Mrs. had stayed on the shore to watch and assist if need be. At this point, the rain was coming and I'd have to load this sucker by hand. GREAT. So I turned the boat around, headed for the dock and gave it a full blast and attempted a J turn in the water.

I got to the bow and threw a line to the shore and the Mrs. tied me off. I walked the boat up to the dock using the line on deck and re-tied it off so I could back the trailer in. Backed the trailer in, hooked up the winch and started to pull her in. She was coming in sideways, so I walked down to bring her in straight. Sure enough, the ramp was slippery and I fell in. Luckily all that was hurt was my pride, but it was cooling and refreshing. I winched up and secured the boat on the trailer, and we pulled it out. Pulled the drain plug, tied down the transom strap and we headed for home, just as the downpour started.

Getting it home, in a massive rainstorm, was a little nerve wracking. We got home and I threw my rain coat on to get the cover on the boat and then inspect the engine and drive unit. On these old Chrysler's, there is a selector rod that goes up and down for your drive and also pushes your throttles open once you're past half throttle. It's all held in by one cotter pin, which I replaced at the time of the impeller job. Sure enough, it was missing. Funny how that ruined my whole day! I looked around and saw if I had any extras... "Hey, isn't that the cotter pin in my toolbox that I remember putting back on when I did the service? And then removed because I had to reseat the housing?"

Yep, forgot to put the pin in and never thought to even check that on my impromptu checklist. Beyond that, the engine fired up and ran and the boat didn't sink. So all in all, not a bad day and I got to go for my first swim of the year. Going to be raining the next few days so I'm hoping to get the boat out on Sunday so I can check the head temps and verify voltage output. (sorry there are no pictures, was too busy worrying about the storm!)

After hovering over my mailbox for the past few weeks, I finally got my OPPO shirt! I'm no male model but it fits good and is pretty comfy. Can't wait to cover it in oil and other gunk while working on the Probe!

Welcome everyone to another edition of "Underappreciated" where we look at the underappreciated racing cars of the past, relegated to the history books. Today's entry is about the mid-tier, mid-grade, mid-life crisis that was the Winston Cup Buick Regal!

In the 1980's, GM was the king of NASCAR. They were racing Chevy, Buick, Pontiac and Oldsmobile. Arguably, Chevy was the most popular brand as they made up famous teams like Richard Childress Racing and later Hendrick Motorsports. For a time though, Buick looked like it was on it's way to taking over Chevy's crown.

Buick was involved heavily in racing in the 80's and 90's. Their V8's could be heard at Daytona, their Turbo V6's at the Indy 500 and IMSA tracks, and their Regals on the streets embarrassing Corvette's and challenging Ferrari's. Buick was selling the world on the idea that Buick was a name not just of quality but of speed and performance.

Buick's history in NASCAR is a long one, harkening back to the 1950's and the dirt tracks of the era. Factory support was not as strong or existent for Buick as compared to Ford and Chrysler in the 60's and 70's. This meant that Buick's last win in NASCAR was in 1956. However, in 1981 Buick decided to take the "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" approach to new heights as they redesigned their Regal coupe to be a more aerodynamic and smoother shape for the sole purpose of running a faster race.

At the time, NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National cars were built off of factory body panels and designs. No one could modify a Winston Cup car to be more aerodynamic, it had to sit as it did from the factory. Buick was serious about racing and winning, they wanted to prove that Buick was the next name in Motorsports, from the race track to the stoplights.

In 1981, NASCAR changed the rules and sizes on what cars could be. Cars went from full size beasts to a midsize, standardizing a wheel base of 110 inches. This was to make the cars more "recognizable" to the common midsize coupes available on dealer showrooms. The cars were now smaller, tighter and more difficult to drive. Buick decided to hop into NASCAR in 81' with full support and they decided they were going to win.

The Regal was released for 81 with a smoother front end that was sloping along with a matching hood which gave a much cleaner airflow to slightly more raked windshield and allowed for better drafting and faster lap times. The Regal's were designed to be more stable then the Monte Carlo and Thunderbird of the time, especially as the new wheelbase was considered very unstable. All Buick's in NASCAR ran the same GM 357 engine that Chevy, Pontiac and Olds used, so Buick believed that the aero change would give them the competitive edge. This was proven almost instantly.

As Richard Petty set out on Lap 1 of the Daytona 500 in 1981, he would be driving the new Regal around the famed track along with other famous drivers such as Terry Labonte, Darrel Waltrip, and The King's son Kyle Petty. The Buick was not the favored car to win as the 1980 Pontiac LeMans with it's sloped rear windshield was seen as the conventional "fast car" of the time. Buick had not been a traditionally fast or competent make at Daytona, so there was some questioning over why Richard Petty had decided to run them at all.

After a long, hard fought race, Richard Petty showed why he picked Buick. The 500 was won by Petty in his STP Buick and "The King" added his 7th Daytona 500 trophy to his collection. Many drivers would switch from Oldsmobile and Pontiac to Buick after Richard sang his praises of his car and the speed that Buick gave him.

Buick's were not much different from their GM cousins on short tracks, as aerodynamics weren't as important on the half mile high banks of Bristol or Martinsville. However, Buicks were driven by some of the best short track racers (Darrel Waltrip) meaning that Buicks were a threat from Daytona to Darlington to Bristol to Riverside. The Regal was a winner through and through, a shock to the system for Ford and GM at the time. The wins and success were unprecedented, and many Ford/Chevy/Olds/Pontiac teams were asking their manufacturer what they planed to do to combat the success.

In 1981, Buick racked up 12 Wins and 21 top 5 finishes in the 30 race season. Buick and the Regal would take the championship with Darrel Waltrip and cemented it's self in the history books. Buick would follow-up the dream season of 81' by winning the 82' Daytona 500 with the help of the #88 Bobby Allison Gatorade Regal and would go on to win the 82' season championship again with Darrel Waltrip.

The early 80's were good for Buick, but it wouldn't last forever. For 1983 Ford made significant changes to it's Thunderbird to make it more aerodynamic and make a faster race car (front end and rear end design changes). Of course, some will say this was just coincidental as the previous Thunderbird was an ugly hunk of junk. I'd like to think Ford bosses were tired of their cars getting beat by a Regal every week for 2 years.

GM would make the same changes, offering a more competitive Monte Carlo SS for 1983. Cale Yarborough would make history by going over 200 MPH at qualifying in Daytona (and then wrecking the car) with the 1983 Monte Carlo. Chevy would later release a special edition of the Monte Carlo in 1986 called the "Aero Coupe" with a special glass rear hatch that offered better airflow for Super Speedway races and offer an even more competitive edge.

Buick and the Regal would still compete in NASCAR through the 80's and into the 90's. Buick was upsetting it's cousins in the GM family with it's sporty image stepping on Pontiac's "Excitement" brand and putting Oldsmobile in a situation where it wasn't seen as the fastest nor the most technological brand. GM would pull a GM and ensure that Buick's funds weren't spent on regular upgrades to the body of the Regal. This meant that it stayed the same from 81-88 when the Regal was put on the W platform, a massive investment for GM at the time.

The Regal was still a competitive car, it's just that the other teams were breaking records and becoming faster each year. So while Aero Coupe Monte Carlo's and Turbo Coupe Thunderbirds would "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" in NASCAR, Buick focused elsewhere for their glory.

Buick would finally bow out of NASCAR with their 3rd generation Regal in 1992. The last Regal win was in 1990 at North Wilkesboro, the first win for Brett Bodine and is considered one of the most controversial races of the era (a possible scoring error was noted as the pace car possibly did not pickup the correct car on a caution flag). Oldsmobile would soon follow suit, leaving GM with Pontiac and Chevrolet in NASCAR in the early 90's. Chevy and their Lumina and Monte Carlo's would become staples of nostalgia for racing fans of the time. From the Black #3 of Earnhardt, to the rainbow #24 of Gordon, Buick was long gone and GM was happy to have it that way.

Buick would go onto remain a staple of IndyCar racing into the 90's with their Turbo V6 program before bowing out of racing altogether into the 2000's. Buick would go back to being the midrange of GM's portfolio and gaining an ever popular presence in China.

The history of the Regal in NASCAR is somewhat tainted in my opinion by the fact that it wasn't the record breaker. It wasn't the crazy "Aero War" type car that late 80's NASCAR Winston Cup Cars were. The Regal was a fast race car. It came from a company that wanted to be known for more than quality and comfort, they wanted Buick to be known for speed. After all, the Winston Cup Grand National series name was honored by the now Legendary Buick Regal Grand National. Yes, the famous turbo coupe of GNX and "Lord Vader, your car is ready" fame is named after Buick's success in early 80's NASCAR.

So while the race car may be underappreciated and even forgotten by some, it's name lives on today. For if it wasn't for the NASCAR Buick Regal, we wouldn't have the legend of the Buick GN and GNX.

Xbox controller never had this issue, maybe it's the grip? Scrub it with a brush and some Simple Green.

@trivet Don't, don't do that to me. I've already got the OppoProbe to work on!

@mr-ontop Jesus, he must have had a hell of a crash. Glad he lived though, and he has that cool metal detector trick now!

@mr-ontop It actually was a safety experiment for GM's honeycomb design at the time. It was one of the safest cars GM made for the era, of course by modern standards that's not saying much.

I love the GT Fastback. Hopefully I can find one for under 8k one of these days!

People love the Voodoo and I don't get it, just sounds like a high revving V8 that's stuck about 2k RPM below what it's supposed to be.

This engine though, it's so European I'm sure people will hate it. I love that about it.

AMC show cars were rad.

I love the Illinois requires a plate for trailers. I've found plenty of cheap boats, trailers, and campers south of the border thanks to this dumb law.

Was going to say Monte Carlo but it's not rounded enough. Olds 442?

@taylor-martin if we need a V6 FWD car I got a winner

@whoistheleader As much as I love that thought, Subaru replacement would have been impossible. Subaru's AWD system didn't become it's selling point until the 90's. Gotta survive to then, and I don't know if they could have. But to dream...