HEMIWagon Project Log: Update! Lapped the Glen

"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst) 10/05/2016 at 23:04 • Filed to: HEMIWagon Project Log, HEMIWagon, Watkins Glen

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So this weekend the HEMIWagon got a chance to meet it’s maker. Literally.

Went up to Watkin’s Glen for a BMW CCA event to do photography for a friend, and the man himself, Ralph Gilles was in attendance. Lordy.

I have never met someone so awesome. When you meet him, you shake hands, and like it’s absolutely nothing, all he says is “Hey, my name is Ralph.” Oh trust me, I know. But it was awesome being around him. Super nice, super cool. Even his wife is super nice and way cool too. Those are some relationship goals we can all work towards. They’ve been married for over 20 years so far. Husband and wife track days? Why do you think Vooodoo and Bella were there?

Oh the stories from this weekend. I couldn’t even begin to tell them. I’m not even allowed to. Off to write a book about it so 50 years from now I can finally spill the beans about how I saved the weekend.

Time on the dashcam video is an hour behind, but who cares. I met a personal hero of mine, and literally had a weekend that I’ll remember for the rest of my life. I half wanted Ralph to sign the car, but at the same time, I may gut things apart, change the car, and I wouldn’t want to rip something out that has sentimental value like that, so I had Ralph sign the inside of the manual.

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So in a weekend, I:

-Went to Watkin’s Glen International

-Met and hung out with Ralph Gilles, his wife, and some awesome other people

-Drove the HEMIWagon around the track

-Toured the Apex Inn

-Fixed a car, made everything awesome

-Put over 500 completely trouble free miles on the car

-Broke 185,000 miles

Never ever ever let the bad outweigh the good, and take chances. You never know what kind of stories you’ll be able to tell when it’s over.

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The Crazy Kanuck; RIP Oppositelock > JGrabowMSt 10/05/2016 at 23:15

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Ralph Gilles is the CEO all automotive CEO’s should be.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 07:47

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Haha that damn jeep in front of you. Every single corner with the brakes and uhh interesting racing lines. Obviously parade laps arent going to be all that sprited but that guy had to of aggravated you at least a little bit.

arl > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 09:00

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Damn you for making me consider buying a new FCA product again. I had an 11 Charger R/T that was great in every way except it developed electrical gremlins the dealer could never fix.

I sold it for a Honda. And my soul cries out for American torque every time I hit the accelerator.

The new Challengers are beautiful. But that FCA reliability........what’s a man to do?!

The Stig's former college room mate > arl 10/06/2016 at 09:23

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How many miles were on your Charger when it developed gremlins? my 11 R/T has 33k and has not had a single issue. My fleet consists of 3 FCA vehicles- the charger, an 11 wrangler and i just bought a 16 RAM 1500. none have given me any trouble. I still own an 06 Ram and that’s a POS. So was my 05 Magnum RT. I think the DaimlerChrysler era cars were exponentially worse than the FCA ones.

The Stig's former college room mate > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 09:26

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1) I’m jealous that you met Gilles. He’s one of my heroes.

2) I’ll be lapping the Glen at speed next week in my Hemi Charger. Watkins Glen is my favorite track out of all that I’ve driven.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 09:30

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No video of fast laps?

Wagon sounds great.

WHATS IN THE BOX! WHATS IN THE BOXXX!!!!!

JGrabowMSt > The Stig's former college room mate 10/06/2016 at 10:40

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Where do you live that youre visiting the Glen so easily?

Ralph is simply awesome. One of the coolest people I have ever met.

JGrabowMSt > StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 10/06/2016 at 10:42

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No fast Parade laps. My car wouldnt make it through tech right now, and I wasnt registered with the event as a driver, so no fast laps this time. When I do the brakes and subframe, maybe Ill register for some seat time during a session.

JGrabowMSt > arl 10/06/2016 at 10:59

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My 05 Magnum has not been anywhere close to a decent walk in the park, but honestly, weekends like that make me love the car more and more.

I was not, and still dont fully consider myself a die hard Mopar guy. I love Corvettes, Ive fallen hard for the SL Class, and am honestly seeking a 914 in the next few years as a project car. The Magnum was the V8, modern OBD-II, RWD station wagon that I could afford (I keep telling myself at least). This year has been a rough year for the car, lots of things broke, but I keep pushing through because when its working, its amazing. I would get another in a heartbeat if I had the chance to. Ive learned how to do so many jobs on them, I dont really care who makes it, I know I can keep it on the road.

The gremlins are just a speedbump to see how much you enjoy the car. I wouldnt call them normal, my Magnum had the PCM fail, but overall, the car to me is worth the time and money to fix. I dont care if it goes up in value or even if it went down. Its mine, and Im going to enjoy it. Is it my forever car? I dont know, but Ill treat it like one for sure.

All I can say is that if the dealer couldnt fix your last car, find a new one, or have FCA reimburse you for a shop that can fix it. Theyre not complicated cars. The elctrical troubleshooting is actually very basic and a short list.

arl > The Stig's former college room mate 10/06/2016 at 12:24

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It was at about 26K miles when the issues popped up. First the main Nav/media screen died. They replaced it. Then the replacement Nav/media screen died. They replaced it. Then the CD player died. They replaced it. Then the replacement, replacement Nav/media screen died. They replaced it. Then the backup camera died. They replaced it. They kept looking for a short, PCM issue, etc. No root cause was ever found.

By the time the backup camera died, I was at 30K miles with a 36K warranty. I was starting to hate the car and I couldn’t stand the dealer-drop-off-pickup-coordinate-rides madness any more.

arl > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 12:26

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I wish they still made the Magnum, I always thought they were very cool cars.

A 914 with a Subaru engine swap would be fantastic! Just do eeet! :)

The Stig's former college room mate > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 14:24

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About 30 minutes south and east of Syracuse. The Glen is only a two hour drive for me.

StndIbnz, Drives a MSRT8 > JGrabowMSt 10/06/2016 at 14:54

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Well, still awesome. I’ve met Ralph and his wife before, and seen quite a few of their cars. They are both awesome people.

JGrabowMSt > The Stig's former college room mate 10/06/2016 at 16:13

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Not bad, it was closer to a four hour drive for me.

Next time I go up there Ill let you know!

JGrabowMSt > arl 10/06/2016 at 16:21

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There are actually several 914s in my area with all sorts of different motor swaps ranging from chevy 350 V8s to Subaru flat 4 and flat 6 engines. They are animals on the track. There is also an original 914-6 with the period correct SCCA widebody kit.

You could say a lot of people like them and the prices are climbing rapidly as a result.