James Bailey

The u-haul truck and trailer is really the best option....get the car back home to Las Vegas. Otherwise it becomes a logistical nightmare. And there are really no 928 shops along Rt 40 in New Mexico.

VegasGnome

Thanks for that info James. Unfortuntely, Gallup does not have any rental trucks in town--though they do have car carriers. I need to find a way to Farmington NM (budget rental) or Window Rock AZ (Uhaul rental). Still working solutions.

oldfrat

I don't know how hard it is to replace a 928 water pump. If there is nothing unique about it, a mechanic in Gallup may be able to do the job. Google shows one mechanic there that does foreign cars. Foreign Automotive Specialty Service. 505-863-6132.

Good luck!

Brad

JWise

I checked the OC records. There's only one other member in NM and he's also in Albuquerque, which is a good distance away.

James Bailey

Maybe try Uber in Gallup...it is less than 30 miles to Window Rock.. negotiate a deal with the driver.

the flyin' scotsman

The OC site is not working for me either..........wtf?

sending out SOS!!!

linderpat

Brad - as the timing belt has to come off to do this job, I would not trust it to just any mechanic (of foreign cars or otherwise); too many bad things can happen as a result of someone working on the car on such a critical job wihtout the special knowledge of these cars, especially if the OP has an interference engine.

VegasGnome

It is an interference engine so with the information at hand I will be trailering it home.

Enterprise car rental is .1 mile from my location, so I will risk driving there in the morning, rent a car, drive like hell to Omaha, pick up my brother and drive like hell to Mi. We might miss most or all of the viewing and funeral, but we will make the burial.

Then the effort to find a rental truck/trailer will begin again on 3/4 May

Thanks all for your input, it is greatly appreciated.

And I hope none of you ever have the misfortune of breaking down in Gallup NM.

dr bob

Your plan assumes no sleep is needed between Gallup and at least Omaha, probably UP Michigan.

Fly to Michigan, sleep on the flight. There's an airport in Omaha that I know well, with flights to Michigan. When you are done, fly to LV, rent a truck and carrier there, and go recover the car. Focus on the primary goal here.

FredR

The 928 is both repairable and replaceable. You might be repairable but you are not replaceable.

Last thing your family needs is another funeral or huge repair [hospital] bill.

Hopefully good sense will prevail and you make a good recovery.

Rgds

Fred

curtisr

Here's a feeble attempt at making your car situation less, well, lousy.

I bought a '77 924 with a plan to have it become a donor car. I was pretty excited as it had a lexan sunroof, Foha spoiler, euro bumpers, plaid interior, etc, etc. I hooked up my tow bar, waved goodbye to the owner and headed on down the road. It couldn't have been a klik when the car started to slalom in a way that would have made JC Killy envious. To on-coming traffic, it looked like a tail-gating maniac was trying to pass and wouldn't take no for an answer. The cars headed my way started to ditch themselves all the while getting everything they could out of their horns. I was afraid to stop and just kept going. I tried to turn around and go back to the sellers but the road was so narrow that I couldn't even do a 10 point turn. I managed to finally pull over at a gas station and called my insurance company for a tow. The Underwriter was a bit surprised when I insisted that he send one of the non-AAA guys. Naturally they wanted the job--any job--and hooked up the 924 and towed it home for me. Then and there I swore that I'd get myself a James Bond license plate...

Worse yet, I had to vacate storage for one of my 924s or pay for another Spring month and my buddy told me he couldn't come help tow me home. So my wife took me over to where it was and I decided that it would probably be safe to simply drive it home even though it looks like a wreck, had no rear brakes and certainly no license plates. But it was all quiet, neighborhood streets and I wouldn't exceed 40 kph. No sooner than I cross the one and only busy street an encounter with a bump sent my hood straight up for all to see. Luckily the hydraulics kept everything where it should be (of a sort) and I stuck my head out the window and made off for home as fast as I dared. I made it and no one was hurt. Still, those few kilometers seemed like an eternity and I hope that I never have to live them again.