Bullrun 2008 Recap: Part 2

Ok, so for the past week now people have been asking me for a description and/or some insight into what went wrong with our 1969 Dodge Daytona replica on this years Bullrun from Calgary to Phoenix. Well, let me start by saying A LOT went wrong. We had planned to have a grand ole’ time on this years Bullrun, and we did–we just hit a few snags along way.

If you haven’t already, read Part 1. And now for Part 2:

Kalispell, MT and the gathering of "TEAM ANGRY": June 18th, 2008
MONTANA!! The land of red meat, frontiersman and a great friend name Tim MacGowan. We arrived in Kalispell, MT the afternoon Thurs., June 19th and proceeded to the Red Lion Inn where we were scheduled to pick-up the cars and stay for one night. The next day we’d drive up to Calagary, AB to rendezvous with the other Bullrunnners. This was the first time that all the members of TEAM ANGRY were finally together and due to this fact I don’t think Kalispell will ever be the same again. In the beginning TEAM ANGRY started off with 10 members but by the end we’d almost doubled that number. I have to say that these men and woman are possibly the nicest most generous individuals I’ve ever had the good fortune of befriending and I consider them all family. Continue reading…

TEAM ANGRY consists of but is not limited to the follow rock star individuals:

FERRARI F430 / CORVETTE C6 RAGTOP
- Todd Ford
- Tyler Ford
- Basil Ford
- Ken Holman

BMW 335XI
- Kristine Elezaj
- Marash Elezaj

AUDI R8
- Andre Betz
- Larry Kosilla

DODGE DAYTONA / FORD FUSION (yes… I said Fusion and it friggin’ ROCKED!) / Mercedes S 550
- Mike Musto
- Peter Bergman
- Tim MacGowan
- Lamont Reeves
- Jennifer Nicole
- Cardmomain’s own John Coyle

MERCEDES CLS 55 AMG
- Ty Durekas
- Gabe Rinaldi

June 19th – Run for the Border
It’s Thursday now and all the members of TEAM ANGRY are itching to finally get on the road. Before leaving however we spied a graphics shop called "X-treme Graphics" of Kalispell, MT and decided to stop in and get some vinyls done for the cars. Little did we know, however, that we’d be there for the majority of the afternoon. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t the shop’s fault, it’s just that we kept thinking of cool stuff to get made so it took us a little longer then we planned. This was also the point where we had the pleasure of meeting Tim MacGowan. I knew Tim from DodgeCharger.com as he is a fellow Charger nut who happened to e-mail me a week earlier to say hello (I think he may now regret sending that email). Anyway Tim showed up with Ranger (his really cool border Collie) and proceeded to pull out the old camcorder. We talked with Tim about the all the cars, Bullrun and our plans for the week. Little did he know however that he would play a major roll in the outcome of the rally.

Problem #1
After leaving the graphics shop we got on the road and after about 25 miles hit problem #1. One of the Daytona’s spark plug wires had fallen against the headers and burnt right through, thus causing the Daytona to sputter, fart and come to halt on the side of the road. Basil Ford, Todd’s dad, came to rescue by diagnosing the problem immediately, and after a quick fix with electric tape we we’re back on the road… at least for now. We continued for another ten miles before the quick fix let go. We stopped in front of "Bob’s Garage" where he lent us a spark plug wire. The wire, however, had the wrong type of end on it, but then, just as we thought all was lost, this happy biker dude stumbled out of the bar next door and said he could save us with a new wire. I have no idea what his name was, but I doknow that his wife has the biggest natural breasts I have ever seen. I only say this because she showed us… just because, well, she wanted to. It was actually a freaky experience, and one that we have on video that WILL NOT be shown on CarDomain because they simply won’t fit in the browser window. Anyway, the wire arrived, Father Ford worked more magic and we continued on.

Problem #2 June 19th – 20th
We were now cruising towards the border and after a short run-in with the law on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation we started making progress until of course the Daytona gremlins once again bit us in the ass. You see, ladies and gentleman, whilst driving I was being followed by the lovely Kristine and her father, the King of Cactuses, Marash. They thought what there were seeing coming off the back of the Daytona was just dust or sand from the roads we were driving on. As it turned out we had a MASSIVE fuel leak. Before Bullrun we had a custom 44 gallon fuel tank constructed which would give us a range of about 550 miles. What we didn’t know was that the fuel inlet in the tank was very sharp and thus cut through the rubber grommet that generally keeps the fuel from leaking out. This was bad.

Keep in mind now that we we’re probably 80 miles from any type of garage, repair shop and/or part supplier, it is now 8pm and we are in a 1969 Dodge Daytona stuck in the middle of Montana. Things looked grim for us and I mean GRIM. With that being said, the rest of Team Angry proceeded towards border with me, Todd and Father Ford staying behind with the wounded Daytona.

I decided to call Tim MacGowan, who was and still is the only person I know in Montana, to see if he could help us out. Well, not only did Tim help us by providing us with the fuel tank and all its accessories from his own 1968 Charger, he drove probably 500 miles to get us the tank and parts, and then helped me install it at 5 am on the parking lot of the gas station where our misfortune occurred. Ladies and gentleman, if you want to know the definition of a completely unselfish human being than look no further than Tim. He IS the definition of good people and I owe him a lot.

Problem #3 June 20th
With our fuel situation now solved and with the sun coming up we now proceeded to once again, hit the road. We bid Tim farewell and headed for the border. Life now seemed to be good. The Daytona was running ok, I was not too worried about turning into a giant fireball due to a fuel leak and I was just cruising listening to the sounds of Todd’s F430 Ferrari in front of me. We crossed the border without incident and  cruised into Calgary. Well at least the Ferrari did. About four miles from the hotel and after 300 miles of cruising the Daytona once again decided to show who was boss. It sputtered and farted once again, and just as I turned into the parking lot of a nearby shopping center we heard a VERY loud BOOM! This boom was coil… it EXPLODED… and not like some little pop… it was a big BOOM!!! Scared the crap out of everyone. I was now getting discouraged. However, just as this happened my co-pilot Peter Bergman called me from the airport and said he was on his way with this box of tools which included a new coil. Pete got to the car and in about two hours the Daytona was once again running and pulled up to the Hotel Arts in Calgary.

It was all worth it
It really was, too. Picture this: you’re sitting in front of this ultra-ritzy hotel, parked out front are super cars from all over the world. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Sypkeres. When what rolls up but a NASCAR spec. flatte black 1969 Dodge Daytona that sounds like war. Heads turned, jaws dropped and the oohs, aahs and HOLY SH*T’s began. This out of all the moments on Bullrun was our victory dance. People could not believe this car and it, amongst all the other cars in the Bullrun line-up was the meanest, nastiest most hardcore thing anyone had ever seen. At that very moment, life was perfect.

Tune in tomorrow for Part 3 of my Bullrun 2008 recap.