Tuesday, July 21, 2026

I’ve had the 55 wagon under its car cover for more than a week, though I did take time to replace the 110-amp alternator with a 200-amp one last week.

Last Friday I planned to take the wagon to the Depot Street car show in Bloomfield, Ky., but the show was canceled early Friday due to the weather forecast for rain and storms. It was a good call, because just past 5 p.m. we had a helluva gully washer hit at my house, and the storm slowly moved to the East — right toward Bloomfield. The rain cleared within 90 minutes, but the event had already been canceled and rescheduled for Sunday afternoon.

Frankly, I almost decided against going on Sunday. My son didn’t want to go but got in the car and headed out.

The car ran fine, as usual.

The turnout at 2 p.m. on Sunday was very light, given the beautiful weather. I was surprised, really. My wife met me at my usual parking spot — at the far end of Depot Street in front of City Hall. My wife brought me a meatball sub and a drink, which was appreciated since I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

We had a good time talking with passersby. Many people have questions about the Chevy, most often i get asked if the car is a Nomad. I get to quickly explain that the Nomad is the top-of-the-line model wagon; mine is the 210 model, the slightly less decorative trimmed model.

I enjoy showing the car and the questions I get. I still don’t think the car is *that* attractive, given the lack of interior and carpet. But I enjoy the hell out of owning and driving it.

TRI-FIVE NATIONALS. The Tri-Five Nationals are 22 days away. I have to review my hotel reservations to see if we’re leaving on Wednesday or Thursday. Probably Thursday, but it would be nice to pick up my credentials on Wednesday, then leave early for event on Thursday and find a decent place to park.

On Thursday I may try to go back to the area on the far side of the drag strip down by the Barren River and the tree line. Last year it provided some shade until about midday. We’ll have a golf cart this year, so we’ll have wheels and be able to go to the swap meet, the drag strip and the vendor tents. My son will be the one who will drive the golf cart, then we’ll have to locate a place to park.

We really need to leave the hotel by 7 a.m. or so and hustle to a parking spot. We’ll have a tent to set up,, chairs, etc. And that reminds me, I need to make sure I can get full oxygen tanks for the trip.

ICEMAKER? Yeah, I told my son I’m thinking of bringing my shop icemaker. I can run it off a deep cycle battery and an inverter, and make ice for our own use during the day.

I plan to pack light — underwear, t-shirts, jeans. I need to locate a damn spare tire this year, just for safety’s sake. I’ll need to pack a jack and some tools.

So to run the icemaker, I’ll need a good deep cycle battery and an inverter. Probably need to take a small charger to charge the battery every night. Noted.

LOWERING BLOCKS GONE? The rear of the Chevy is equipped with 2-inch lowering blocks and I really need to remove those before we go. I think this week my son and I will jack up the Chevy as see if i want to tackle it or not. I may just call the shop and have them do it. I just don’t want the rear end falling loose halfway to Bowling Green, lol.

My son weighs well over 200 pounds, and I’m hoping with the lowering blocks removed the car won’t bottom out so much. Actually, the problem is the exhaust dragging. Maybe there’s a way to pull it up higher, i don’t know.

Well, I better get going. In the coming days I have my new valve covers to install since I have all the hardware. Still need to get gaskets locally. I would like to also change the oil, but want to use a high-zinc oil. Need to do some research.

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