Hi oldtimer Clark!
speaking of 'that time of year' ... this is probably the time of year you and the other Paramedics and Firefighters here in socal are keeping an eye towards the horizon too. It seems like our fires out here have gotten bigger the past handful of years but i guess its a drought pattern. (did i just spell drought or draft? .. i'm too lazy to do a spell search )
hows that Alfa working out? that thing was an object of beauty there buddy

and Tommie, whoops for me forgetting your 509 vs 502 c.i.,
fact is, i'm not really sure of their substantial difference anyway, other then, like you said, 7 cubes

great to talk with you guys

Hey Mike...
Yes it is getting to that time of the year, we just spent 2 weeks doing training brush fire drills in the Palos Verdes Hills. After last year, boy was that fun... NOT! Unfortunately, most of the fires are started by idiots, it was a bummer working so hard to save someones home only to watch it burn anyway.
The Alfa's looking good, actually spent the day cleaning inside and out as we are going to use it this next weekend up in Pismo Beach, my son is graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obisbo on Sat. Then it's home for a couple days and then were hauling it up to Lake Shasta and the surrounding area for 2 weeks. THAT'S gonna cost a few $$$$$$$$$$$$$!!! But I did read last week that Alfa closed their doors due to the economy mostly. I was worried that my extended warranty was caput, but I called the company and they stated that it was still in force and they would honor it (good news)!!!

It's awesome that some of use old guys are still around...

Take care Mike & Tom.

Clark