V6 Vandals - D5 4-6a - “Smoke!”
Amy hurtled the Ishu Truckling into the gas station, tires screeching as they left a huge blue cloud up the road, with some smoke still rolling out of the hood. She pulled the fuel door release and the hood latch at the same time, shut the engine off, and bailed out. Luke got out as well, threw the hood open, and looked around.
“Well, shit.” Luke said as Amy filled the tank.
“Is it bad?” Amy asked, releasing the fill handle in the event the Truckling wouldn’t be drivable.
“Should still be able to drive on it, but she’s pissing oil all over the back of the engine. It’s getting everywhere, too. Can’t see where it’s coming from, could be rear main seal, could be heads, could be a split block. We’re putting oil in at every fuel stop now.” Luke said, pulling the dipstick. “One quart low. I’m gonna give it another bottle, maybe half of another after that.”
Luke added oil, and Amy got back in the driver’s seat. Cody and Jake made sure their seatbelts were tight as Amy fired up their twin-turbo 2.7 liter V6, rev-tapped the limiter at 8,000 RPM, and dumped the clutch, leaving a rolling cloud of blue smoke in the gas station, mixed with some from their tires. The engine screamed as Amy pushed the limits now, every gear change was either at the limiter or just before it, and they were covering the highway in blue fog behind them.
“Could be worse.” Jake said, seeing the cloud behind them.
“Don’t. Don’t tempt Murphy, not this close to the line.” Amy said, turning the air-conditioning on, as well as the heat.
“What’s the point of that?” Cody asked.
“Air conditioning dries out the air. Weather check for a few miles south of here, it’s humid and raining. We might be able to avoid a bit of the misery.” Luke said. “But it’s cold, so we need more heat. Well, you three need more heat.”
“So, who’s winning?” Amy asked.
Jake grabbed the GPS and looked, then said, “Looks like the Redneck and their truck, followed by the granny-wagon with Team Harcourt-Entwhistle. If I’m reading it right, we’re third. Don’t rightly know where we passed the cops, but I’ve got no doubts that they’ll be able to find us.”
Cody glanced out of the rear window, seeing the smoke rolling out of the exhausts, now actually blowing out of both exhaust tips. “Holy fuck, that’s a lotta smoke. I thought I’d seen some oil-burners in my day.” Cody said.
“About a quart a gas tank now. Doesn’t take much to make that signature blue smoke, and it’s everywhere.” Luke said. “Now’s when I wish we had an oil-gauge and not just an idiot light.”
"Could almost rename the team to “Smoke Machine.” Jake said.
“No. We’re the V6 Vandals, and we’re driving the Smoke Machine.” Amy said. “We’re vandalizing the air with our bright blue air pollution, and every parking lot with our oil drips and burnouts.”
MRL: +19 (+1) - We’re still moving!
FTG: +3 (+3) - My god, what a mess!
WAY: 8 (+1) - Chalk another one up to the Smoke Machine.
GAS: 2/3 - That’s hardly efficient anymore. But race-cars never are.
FST: 9 (+1) - Another tank of Premium to make explosions with.
OIL: 3.5 quarts - At least it’s well-lubricated…
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