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Hi All- The T-3 burnout was awesome, but I wanted to share an epic burnout story of my own to warn others of the potential hazards of such activities in a stock T-3. Back in 1983 I had just turned 16 and my parents (as promised ;) turned the stock family 68 squareback over to me. I was really excited about "tricking it out" as one of my neighbors and best friends at the time had been given a 68 squareback by his parents two years previous, and I had watched and helped as he "Cal Looked" it out (lowered, dechromed, wink mirror, hurst shifter, tinted windows, header/exhaust etc). In those two years (age 14 to 16) all I could do was dream about inhereting my parents squareback and making it as "cool" as Josh's. Now, in between our houses (on Greenleaf St. in Sherman Oaks, CA) there was an alley that ran down to one of the major thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, still known today as Ventura Blvd. ;) Because of bad drainage and the constant use of sprinklers in this suburban 'hood, there was ALWAYS a large patch of greasy, algae-crusted standing water at the corner where the alley met Greenleaf St. Even on hot summer days, the water patch was there.... SO (to get to the point ;) every time Josh would drop me off in front of my house after cruising up the alley, he would put on a little show. He would align his rear tires in the water, rev up the motor, dump the clutch and instantly crank the wheel to the right - most often succeeding in making a beautiful 90- degree sliding burnout/turn that lasted until the water smoked off and the tires caught dry ground. It was the definition of coolness, and I couldn't wait to get my own squareback and begin treating it "right" the way my elder mentor demonstrated. ;) WELL. One day in the summer of '83, just a few days after my parents had officially "given" me the family squareback, I was outside in the front of the house washing it and planning out how I was going to alter its stock profile with my new cash flow (q whopping $3.10/hr flipping burgers at McDonalds!). As I was drying off the car, my buddy Josh drove up the alley and honked. I went over and we started talking about my car. He was like "Man, when are you going to get that piece of s**t lowered?! TAKE that roof rack OFF!! Lookit that pinner exhaust!! HAHAHA..... etc." Of course, I was in complete agreement with my elder TIII Guru, and looked longingly at his gold EMPI wheels, stinger enhaust and wink mirror. SOMEDAY I WILL BE THAT COOL I thought/hoped. OK HERE"S THE POINT: We got done talking, and Josh set up for the obligatory Alley Power Burnout... He reved his engine (stock 1600 w/ carbs) WAY UP this time, and as he dumped the clutch yelled affectionately "SEE YA LATER MOTHER F*$#%ERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I will never, ever forget the sight or sound of Josh's motor self destructing in front of my eyes!!!!!! The second his tires hit the dry pavement there was a loud "thunk-BANG!" before the engine died and a small stream of oil started pouring out under the rear of his car!!!!! I ran over as he got out of the car cussing a blue streak. At the time neither of us knew anything about T-3 motors (obviously) so it took a local mechanic's diagnosis of a thrown rod/blown head before we were sure that Josh had, in fact, killed his motor doing the ultra-cool and seemingly benign Alley Burnout. Needless to say, I never ended up following in Josh's footsteps, and he decided to save his new longblock the pain and $uffering, so thus ended the Greenleaf St. Burnout Ritual. I wanted to share it with the list for two reasons: a) it's a classic tale donchha think!? ;) b) I want people to be aware of the possible results of regular and/or sustained burnouts..... the part that blows might not be the tire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cool runnin' to you all, Dave Y. 68 Square 65 Caddy ------------------------------------------------------------------- Too much? Digest! mailto:type3-d-request@vwtype3.org Subj=subscribe