this is what I get for not driving it enough...

[Steve Marinello]

It has probably been close to three months since I pulled the urq out 
for a run.  I had put a new battery in a week or so before the last run, 
after Houston heat seemed to have killed the five year old DieHard.  So, 
this time I turned the key and half expected it would  have discharged, 
which it had, but the lights were all on and I thought I'd jump it 
instead of charging.  It fired right up. 

Headed out with the 'now with permit' 15 year old son and just ran 
around for maybe 40 minutes on the back roads.  No good turns and no 
hills...I miss Colorado!  In any case, just after after tuning to catch 
a state highway 4-lane to take us to I10 for a final blast, all the 
engine starts to shut down.  Instruments on, but the tach is going home 
to bed and giving it gas isn't doing anything.  So, it dies and we coast 
along a bit, but after letting everyone else getting on the onramp pass, 
we're still rolling and judicious 2nd gear clutch work has us restarted 
and going again.  Hmmm...  I put it away with a full tank of Chevron 
Supreme, but in the humidity and heat of Houston, must have picked up or 
freed something in the fuel.  We roll out and all seems fine, until a 
few miles later, at, of course, the stop light before getting on I10.  
We've been sitting a couple of minutes and the tach suddenly drops, but 
I catch it with some more gas to keep it going.  Of course, this time, 
I'm stuck behind a semi in the left lane that wants to be in the right 
lane and I'm just blipping that throttle trying to keep it alive in 
traffic.  As the light turns green and we start rolling, it decides it's 
going to shut down again.  Geez!  Luckily, there's a U-turn turnaround 
that I manage to coast into and out of traffic.  Wide eyes on the kid 
this time.  "Dad, we can't get on the freeway with this!!!  What if it 
dies at 80 mph?!"  Umm, you deal with it?  Anyway, while he freaks a 
bit, I let it sit a bit and wait about a minute.  Turn the key; it fires 
belches, and pops out the tail pipe as I pull away...and there hasn't 
been anything since.  Made it home, on surface roads, while I explained 
to my son that I would have been better off on the highway where there 
was a shoulder and plenty of people than on a two land back road where 
there isn't even a shoulder.  Glad I didn't need the cell phone.

Anyway, you think it was just something in the fuel system from sitting 
that got me, or should I check something more as soon as I get a 
chance?  I really wish I could figure out how to afford the time and 
money to flat bed it to Denver to have Bill Darling give it a once over 
and install my rally spoiler that has been 'borrowed' for several years 
and then flatbed it along with his cars to Sears Point for Nationals in 
October...but I haven't figured that one out yet.  And unfortunately, 
the kid can't get his license until mid-December.  Otherwise, it would 
be an absolute, just do it, sort of thing.  Ahh, I bet I still couldn't 
beat my old times in the GT6 from my college days.

Let me know what you think,

Steve