They had to get back to work at an Indian museum so they invited us there and we went.

They sent us down this trail to a valley where there were things to see and I'm thinking to myself this is a setup, we're dumb asses and they really don't work here and when I get back up there the Cutlass will be gone and nobody here will of ever heard of them.

Edited April 29, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

Showing us how the Native Indians in this part of Virginia lived.

It was time to get out of there and head to the nearest town with a population greater than 50 and find a DMV so I could get a transit. We headed for Wytheville, Virginia and found a DMV right across the street from a Chevy dealer. My Cutlass was sold new from a Chev / Olds dealer in Marion, Virginia which was about 45 minutes further south on I-81, not the way I was headed so unfortunatley I was not able to get there. I would of loved to have gone there and taken pics of the car in front of it and to see if anyone there was around in 77. This looked like a good place to eat in Wytheville.

Edited April 29, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

We decided not to stay in Wytheville for the night and instead head a few hours north to Roanoke where there would be some action and some bars to go to at night. So we drove 2 hours through some serious thunderstorms and heavy rain but made it there okay. Roanoke was a nice place with a cute downtown area and market place with some bars and restaurants. The guys went out bar hopping but Sean and I stayed at the hotel. I couldn't sleep that night, I kept waking up and checking outside to see if the car was still there.

The Montana and Cutlass outside the hotel in Roanoke, two distant relatives who were both born in Doraville, Georgia.

Some guy who worked at the hotel came up to me to ask me about the car, he thought it was a Monte Carlo at first then he told me he thought it was worth 30k. I told him for 30k it was for sale and he was first in line. The people you meet on road trips.

Edited April 29, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

Finally the sun came out on Friday for our 5 hour drive North to Carlisle , PA where we were meeting friends at the car show. The guys wanted to get off I-81 for a bit and take the Blue Ridge Mountain Parkway for some scenery. I wanted to also but was a little concerned how the Cutlass would be climbing the steep mountain grades considering the car hadn't been driven much in the last few years and I had a bad experience with a Cutlass after Whiteface Mountain in the Adirondacks many years ago.

Better stop and get directions ( whoever said men don't ask for directions.

The Cutlass makes it to the top!

And we make it down the mountains without any brake trouble.

Edited April 29, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

Stay tuned for the Carlisle part of the trip and the Cutlasses journey through the Empire state and into canada. Lots more pics to come.

Its great that everything went well fo you!

You were really down in the southern part of Virignia. It's kinda backwards down there, if you hadn't noticed.

I'm enjoying this picture book journey. More, please!

HOLY COW!!!!!!!

Cool pics from an awesome trip!

And, that Cutlass keeps looking better 'n' better . Again, CONGRATULATIONS!

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"We're outta here" ... Steve Azar ... 'I Don't Have To Be Me 'Til Monday'

I must say the photos are quite nice and the story behind them make it better! Thank you for sharing.. Waiting for the rest..

Filling up before heading for Carlisle

I was there just after the VT shooting so there were a lot of flags flying low.

You know your in Carlisle when you see this

I had an 80 Grand prix like this, not two tone just Gold, loved that car too. I had the Rally wheeels. I don't know why the Grill is painted all black.

Found a nice safe parking spot

Edited April 30, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

Wow that's a beauty of a car, congratulations on your journey and your new car!

My friends have been parking at the same house every year for a few years now and they meet up with the same people every year. Some of them are from the area and some are from Cape Cod. Its right across from gate 3 and walking distance to the auction. The guitars came in handy again.

Its a great place to sit and have a beer cause you never know what kind of old classic will pull up.

Edited May 2, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

I have a lot more old car pics from the carlisle show but I think I will post them in the lounge where they will be seen by more people. I'll continue on with the Cutlass journey here.

Great story and pics!

Too bad I couldn't have caught up with you earlier, would have loved to kick back and listen to some guitar while sipping a Canadian beer!

Beer is Canada's finest ambassador.

Keep those pics coming!

Great story and pics!

Too bad I couldn't have caught up with you earlier, would have loved to kick back and listen to some guitar while sipping a Canadian beer!

Beer is Canada's finest ambassador.

Keep those pics coming!

BTW: I know the lyrics to way too many John Denver songs. :AH-HA_wink:

I enjoyed the photos again sir.. I have one question here for everyone.. Looking at your car and the others, why doesn't GM make cars like that anymore. I remember when you looked forward to every model year. I remember when you like each car from division to division. I remember you had a car that you just liked from GM. Everything was right on the car even control placement. There was not a thing you would change..

Now.. I can honestly say there is not one GM car that would make me want to trade my cars in. Even the ones that come close have too many short comings or control placement is wrong more it is lacking something.

Maybe there is hope for the future...

BTW: I know the lyrics to way too many John Denver songs. :AH-HA_wink:

You can never know too many, you can't have campfires without denver.

Left Carlisle Sunday morning headed for Saranac Lake, NY near Lake Placid, NY.

The Cutlass makes it to the Empire State and takes a breather at the welcome Center.

Then we take I-88 East towards Albany.

Edited May 1, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

At the Albany interchange we get on the 87 North for about 2 hours. This is and always has been a great road. Well taken care of and a nice drive through the mountains. We get off at exit 30 and take route 73 towards Lake Placid and see something i wasn't expecting..... SNOW!

Some of the lakes were still frozen.

These are the ski jumps that were built for the 1980 winter olympics.

Edited May 1, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

It was almost dark by the time I got to Saranac Lake so I don't have any photos from there and when I went back up there Thursday to bring the car across the border I forgot my camera. I have more pics coming later this week from the cars welcome home party. I can't drive it now until I bring it for a mechanical inspection but I'm hoping for an appointment for that this week.

Man!

Thanks for posting all those pics, it has been way too long since I last saw those ski jumps.

Did you have a drink at The Back Door in Saranac? Is it still open?

You can never know too many, you can't have campfires without denver.

*nods*

AMEN!!!!!!

And, thanks for continuing to post the pics! So very very awesome!!!

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I'll always be around" ... Willie Nelson ... 'Highwayman'

Wow... awsome roadtrip.

I love this kind of thread. f@#k arguing about cars and nit-picking some

new 2007 models that I do not care about. This is what the car hobby

is all about. Fill up an old GM boat that breaths through a quadrajet, hit

the road & be liberal with a digital camera.

I can not wait to take my Buick to Tulsa, OK. That will be the highlight

of my decade. If I break down it'll be interesting to see what happens

and if I drive the 3500 or so miles without incident then I'll be ecstatic.

Man!

Thanks for posting all those pics, it has been way too long since I last saw those ski jumps.

Did you have a drink at The Back Door in Saranac? Is it still open?

Don't know that one but the Rusty Nail is still open.

*nods*

AMEN!!!!!!

And, thanks for continuing to post the pics! So very very awesome!!!

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"I'll always be around" ... Willie Nelson ... 'Highwayman'

I wanted to tell you before i forget if you're ever in Ontario, Canada on highway 401 near a 1000 islands there is a motel called the Monte Carlo. Didn't get a pic of the sign since it was dark but it would make a good post card for you.

Wow... awsome roadtrip.

I love this kind of thread. f@#k arguing about cars and nit-picking some

new 2007 models that I do not care about. This is what the car hobby

is all about. Fill up an old GM boat that breaths through a quadrajet, hit

the road & be liberal with a digital camera.

I can not wait to take my Buick to Tulsa, OK. That will be the highlight

of my decade. If I break down it'll be interesting to see what happens

and if I drive the 3500 or so miles without incident then I'll be ecstatic.

That is so true. We're so spoiled nowadays that we want to bitch cause a car has a 4 speed automatic and not a 5 or complain about the size of panel gaps in the sheet metal. Your trip to Tulsa will probably be a blast too. 3500 miles is a lot, my trip home with the car was about 1100.

I wanted to tell you before i forget if you're ever in Ontario, Canada on highway 401 near a 1000 islands there is a motel called the Monte Carlo. Didn't get a pic of the sign since it was dark but it would make a good post card for you.

Oh NEAT! I'm glad you told me ... I'll have to swing that way someday....not sure exactly when, but someday .

Some MC friends in PA took some pictures of a pizza parlor named "Monte Carlo" ... definitely post card material, too . he he!

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"It's a freedom that we all want to know" ... Restless Heart ... 'Wheels'

The beauty in your trip was buying the car and getting to enjoy the journey. The other aspect are the memories and photos and more. The other thing is the special feel in an Oldsmobile..

I passed the Gov't inspection yeterday so the car is officially on the road now. Will post some more pics in the next few days.

Mission accomplished!

And, now your car has a great story to go with it!

I think a trip North will find its way onto my agenda sometime this year, maybe I'll have to have a drink at The Rusty Nail. :AH-HA_wink:

I have a feeling that I'll be hitting Montreal too.

A lot less to worry about with an older car in terms of the

state safety/emissios inspection. Here in Massachusetts a

car older than 1984 does NOT have to be tested to any

degree by the smog sniffer. Yet another reason why I got

rid of my 100,450 mile 1984 Datsun & got a 83,700 mile

1977 Cadillac. But really I was just in the mood for a 2dr

car with a leather interior & a 400+cu.in. motor. It's kind

of cool to go from a "BIG" 2.4L inline-six from Japan to a

"downsized" 7.0 liter V8. So my fleet will have the exact

combined liters it had before even though I'm selling my

4.6 liter Northstar. 7 - 4.6 = 2.4

Good for you.. This is indeed good news..

Well luckily here we don't have emission tests yet for any year of car. we don't even have annual inspections that cars have to pass. You only have to go for an inspection if you are registering a car for the first time that came from outside of the province or if it has been off the road for more than a year or if you get pulled over by the cops and they suspect that your car isn't roadworthy. Its stupid because old junkers can drive around and never have to go for and inspection but you bring a 1 year old car into the province and you have to have an inspection. Anyways the Cutlass is in good shape and everything works on it so it did well in the inspection. I found out through someone that there was a GM dealer 30 minutes outside the city that was certified to do these inspections so I went there hoping the GM guys might go easy on me. I went last week and it was a thorough inspection and the only thing they found wrong was one of the axle seals was leaking fluid, the tail pipe had a few pin holes in it so I had to change that and the wiper washer pump wasn't working (I forgot to check that) and the rear seat belts were not out so they had that marked down on their paper. Even the guy said that's pretty good for a 30 year old car. All the front end, brakes, suspension, steering, frame etc were all okay. So I fixed the problems they found and went back yesterday.

Edited May 10, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

There she is waiting to go back in for the recheck.

Mr. Goodwrench pulling her in.

Up she goes

Edited May 10, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

Finally! The month long journey is compete. Pulled in front for some last photos.

Dam that's a nice shot. I only wish the Olds sign was still up there.

The Z06 you can see in the showroom was 101K CDN so I don't feel so bad.

Edited May 10, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

I want you guys to know this car is not perfect. Its a great 20 footer but the body has lots of little nicks and scratches and the front passenger fender was repainted recently and it wasn't a very good job. The trim around the opera windows needs to be changed and the vinyl roof is starting to bubble in one spot but at least I have something to fool around with now. More pics to come when the Cutlass meet her new family.

Edited May 10, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

I passed the Gov't inspection yeterday so the car is officially on the road now.

Woo hoo!!!!!!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

And, awesome additional pics. Thanks for sharing your journey with us .

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"It's a freedom that we all want to know" ... Restless Heart ... 'Wheels'

Very, very cool pictures and story. Glad the ebay purchase worked out. I am on ebay continuously looking for a 1976 442 that my wife will let me buy. She doesn't understand that it IS a necessary purchase and WOULD benefit her and my 3 year old son greatly.

Glad to see the love for the mid 70's cars still alive. I've owned a couple 76 442's and a 77 Monte that I would love to have back.

Very nice!

My first 1976 442 is in my signature. I didn't get a picture of my other 76 442 since I bought it to resell and did so within two weeks. Just enough time to wash it.

Here is a pic of my 1977 Monte Carlo that was given to my girlfriend, at the time, by her Grandmother. I then 'bought' the car for $1.00. It had 35K on it in 2000.

When I got it:

When I got ready to sell it:

Here is a pic of my 1977 Monte Carlo that was given to my girlfriend, at the time, by her Grandmother. I then 'bought' the car for $1.00. It had 35K on it in 2000.

Heh ... I bought my '81 MC SC from my parents for a $1 .

Looks like that was a sweet '77 MC ... why'd you sell it?

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"It hurts to feel like such a fool" ... Dan Seals ... 'Addicted'

Sold it to make money...and piss of the girlfriend when she was caught cheating. But pretty much just for some profit. It was only a 305 2 barrell, but was a nice car. That was at a time when I turned cars around pretty quick...buy 'em, clean 'em, sell 'em. Had I put different tires on, I may have made more $$$

Thanks

Ahhh...the smorgasboard of reasons . He he

I never really have (nor will I ever, I don't think) buy a car and keep it only a short time. Course, I only had my '88 MC LS for about 3 years ... my '97 Corsica (er malibu) for 2 years ... followed by my '00 LS for nearly 3 years. Other than that ... long term ownerships .

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

PICS:lego.HO.model.MCinfo.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"Something's haunting you" ... Marty Robbins ... 'Some Memories Just Won't Die'

I've been having fun with the car so far this summer going to some of the local old car gatherings around town. It stalled on me last Monday night and I had to get it towed home. It was the distributor module. I was back in business for a car show last weekend in upstate New York and that was fun since the car came in 2nd place for 1970's unrestored. As soon as I get my camera back I will have pics.

I've been having fun with the car so far this summer going to some of the local old car gatherings around town. It stalled on me last Monday night and I had to get it towed home. It was the distributor module. I was back in business for a car show last weekend in upstate New York and that was fun since the car came in 2nd place for 1970's unrestored. As soon as I get my camera back I will have pics.

Good for you.. I hope you have not had any more trouble with that car. It is nice you are enjoying your car as much as you are.

As soon as I get my camera back I will have pics.

Awesome ... lookin' forward to seeing 'em .

Heh ... I was just wondering about you the other day ... and how your "new to you" Cutlass was treating you . Good to see you post an update!

Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker

WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort

"An open road and a road that's hidden" ... Steve Wariner ... 'Brand New Life'

Some more pics of the black beast before she goes to sleep for the winter

Edited October 22, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again

The Olds section of my garage

Edited October 22, 200718 yr by I hope GMRULES again