[Spridgets] Our LOTO Saga

[Brashear, Jack, N]

This is our hard luck odyssey to LOTO in short phrases.  Left Little
Rock Wednesday a.m.  Weather was beautiful and our orange Mk2 Sprite,
the Mammoth Orange - I'll call her the MO from now, was doing well.
Getting into steep Ozarks highways just north of Conway AR.  Drove on
about 70 miles to Clinton AR.  Stopped for gas.  MO was reluctant to
restart.  Wife squirmed in her seat.  Soon restarted but wife remained
nervous about any little noise and remarked about all the times the MO
had stranded us over the last 30 years.  All was still OK until Marshall
AR where we held up by a flagger for a one-lane pavement project.  Sun
was hot, MO was hot, wife was hotter.  MO began to sputter.  Wife went
pale and began to hyperventilate.  Drove on after 15 minutes with MO
sputtering more and wife in apoplexy muttering about being stranded in
the boonies where cell phones don't work.  Drove on about another 30
minutes mostly sounding like one cylinder was about it.  Pulled off at a
road side hash house, found a shade tree, stopped.  Wife's body temp was
about 104.  Put on spare fuel pump.  MO restarted and we drove on with
no problems except wife's vitriolic grumbling about Never Getting In
That Car again.  Heavy traffic in Harrison AR (about 150 miles short of
LOTO).  MO sputters again.  Wife needs Med-Evac, can barely breathe.
Hard right into a local Auto Zone.  MO lets out a loud POP and expires.
Further popping noise comes from veins in wife's forehead, eyes rolled
back, jerking spasms.  Work in hot sun about 90 minutes but can't
repair.  Wife has turned odd color and is spouting fury.  Turns out to
be a combo of fuel delivery and distributor drive problem.  Wife is
beyond listening to explanations, begins to weep.  Here's where things
changed by a couple of strokes of good luck  Through the kindness and
connections of the Auto Zone lady, rented an old Dodge from a local
Harley dealer who graciously towed the MO to secure storage.  Drove on
toward LOTO in Dodge.  Car had AC which helped wife a little.  Wife's
body temp now about 103 but atmosphere feels seriously chilly where I'm
sitting.  Teeth still grinding.  Repeating herself.  Arrived Inn at
Grand Glaize about 4 hours later than we had hoped.  Quick shower, food,
and nice folks improved wife's troubles.  Outlet malls the next day
helped even more.  It was a bummer to have to leave the 50th early but
we had the MO to get back to LR.  Drove about 650 miles on Friday from
LOTO to LR back to Harrison then home to Little Rock with the MO in tow.
Wife and I are again on fragile speaking terms.  Here's the Good Part:
It was a short but wonderful time at the 50th all because of the hard
work of the meet organizers and the great companionship of a fantastic
group of Spridgeteers.  Can't wait to do it again!!  Aren't our little
cars Awesome??  Cheers,
Jack Brashear