I’ll spare you a lot of details since I’ve complained enough over the past few days. But to sum up, for those that are interested in mechanical things, it seems the distributor was the culprit.  The mechanic explained the vibration of a slightly bent stem (or whatever it’s called) as being the speedo, whirring sound.  The bucking was most likely the cam sensor (replaced the day before). It took a couple hours for the distributor to arrive… and then another hour to install… And then the engine wouldn’t start. Say what? I never have starting problems. So the mechanic spent about 2 more hours checking everything, de-corroding connections, replacing wires… and then I was off. With fingers and toes crossed.

No more whirring or humming or bucking. But. The acceleration still sounds a little different to me. Kind of higher pitched. Which concerns me and which I mentioned to the mechanic after the repairs. He couldn’t hear it. I also have a squeaking sound from the front panels not being put back just-so. He took it out for a test drive to fix and banged on them to fix. Of course, that “fix” didn’t last an hour. I’ve been banging on them myself to no avail. Maybe I’ll get used to it. Four more weeks of it though just might drive me crazy. City driving in Chicago tomorrow should be a real test!

So, we didn’t get moving until early afternoon.  I decided to stick close to Fort Wayne for awhile in case I needed to go back to the shop. But after 5 hours or so of uneventful driving, it’s full speed ahead.  The dogs are happy to get back to a) barking at motorcycles and b) sleeping. Two of their favorite activities in life.

Let’s move on to the photos. I’m sure you’ve missed them!  These first few photos were from before all hell broke loose and I got stranded.

I’d been worried that this one in Lafayette might be gone since I last saw it maybe six years ago.  But the  place is now a thrift shop or something and the sign’s been left to linger.  Sorry about the white background — truly crappy rainy weather that morning:

This building in West Lafayette, now a Chase Bank, was designed by Louis Sullivan.  Pretty small scale compared to the other buildings I’ve seen of his:

Glazed terracotta details:

A nice two-fer from Akron:  a payphone and a vitrolite-fronted drug store:

This photo was taken en route to the mechanics in Fort Wayne — glorious blue skies torturing me since I’d be sitting all day, nearly two days there.

This one from Fort Wayne was taken on a test drive that didn’t go so well… had to go back for another day because the whirring sound came back.  This sign is most likely modern in entirety — but still a fun name and bubbles: 

A couple fun yet sad banks — must’ve been part of the same chain — both abandoned now — both in Fort Wayne:

Kitty corner from the first bank was this sign I’d been wanting to see.  Oddly enough, there’s only a boarded up old baby box 1920s-ish gas station on the lot.  Must’ve been a tiny drive-in with lots of room for the cars.  I assume there was a Humpty Dumpty figure on top of the sign originally:

Still on pins & needles in Fort Wayne… I think this is finally the first Azar’s Big Boy I’ve seen.  This Wikipedia site covers the Big Boy variations & history far better than I ever could:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Boy_(restaurant)

Finally moving on with some optimism — from Syracuse:

Also from Syracuse — but alas, this place is no more.  Just concrete slabs where the greens used to be.

Stuck at a long light somewhere, forced to stare at this ahead of me (hence the bug-smeared windshield quality).  I’m sure the owners of this truck find this artwork awesome.  But it looks awfully 8th grade to me.  Those eyes are haunting, aren’t they?

And last one for the day — making progress through Indiana at a rapid clip — the Pang Ford Motel (Google says it’s two words) in Mishawaka.  What an odd assortment of elements:

So — I hope you’re ready for us Chicago!  I’ll see what we can bang through tomorrow.  Technically, I should really be starting Day 1 or Iowa tomorrow.  But I’m going to allow myself one day in the Big City before hitting the interstate.  Maybe a few choice, not-to-be-missed-this-time stops in Illinois on Wednesday.  And then it’ll be time to focus on the big three for this trip:  IA, KS & MO.  If we fall behind, it’ll just be tough for the other states planned for the way home.