John Colter Trail 1807 — 1808

Day 5: August 18th, 2005 Pittsburgh (Car Work)

First thing in the morning is to check my order at Summit Racing: It is put “On Hold”! After a longer phone call and some internet research I figure out that the billing address must be identical to the credit card address! Would be great if someone would have told me this before…

I adjust my address and drive over to the garage to continue my work. First I fill up again my automatic transmission oil. Then Lisa shows up and tells me that Helen has called: I must pick up my rims directly at Summit Racing. Therefore I call her back and she explains to me, that the rims would arrive on Monday. But the rims are in stock at Ohio and I could pick them up there.

Therefore I just change the most critical vacuum hoses, PCV and air filter. Then I drive back to Helen around noon. There I put on some clean clothes and around half past twelve I am on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The fee with $2.50 is not too bad. Around a quarter past one I arrive at Summit Racing in Tallmadge, Ohio — a giant building. After a little bit of searching I find the spot, where I can pick up my rims. When the lady at the counter realizes, that I am from Germany, she says: “Oh my gosh, you are from Germany?”

Then she starts looking for a Summit Racing shirt for me and hand it over to me for free. This is absolutely super nice!

An employee delivers the rims right to my car and he also helps me to load them into my truck. Then I drive immediately to Pep Boys. Around 4pm I arrive there and leave my rims with them to put on my tires. They should be ready around 6pm.

I drive back to Helen and we have dinner. Then I help her to get the old couch out on the front porch. Originally the new couch should have arrived today, but the delivery guys forgot to load them on their truck. But tomorrow the garbage collection will do their round and they will take the old couch with them. Therefore it must go today. Bill should come with his truck and drive it up the hill.

After dinner I leave again and drive over to Pep Boys, where I arrive around half past six. The employee is pretty upset about some other customers who ask endless questions, but never buy something. They mount my new tires on the truck and I help them to squeeze my old ones in the trunk. Now I can tell how small this truck really is.

I pay and leave the shop. But with my first little turn of the steering wheel I must realize, that the tires hit something. I assume it is the plastic cover on the fenders. Also the tires stick out of the wheel housing a bit, which is usually not allowed in Pennsylvania. It seems like the other guy was right with the aftermarket rims. But that does not help me right now. Lucky me the tires only rub at a certain angle. So I can still make it back home. Seems like I have to make some room tomorrow with my saw…