Well Charlie, if I may be so bold as to call you Charlie. I hear you
but I don't think I am really hearing you! Sounds crazy but I honestly
do not believe you DON't WANT to own a GMC. Even if it means bringing
it up to speed so to speak. I bough my 78 Eleganza in 89 after some
poor fun in with health problems. Heart Surgery in 81 at the age of 43
and now the lost 1/2 lung in 89 and I told my wife, Hannelore, (Hanna
for short) that there might not be a retirement and that I wanted a
motorhome to, if nothing else go camping in on weekends, suppers down
the coast watching the sun sets etc. I looked at lot's of motorhomes
and one day I spotted the GMC coming down US 101, as I got closer the
way is wiggled and giggled and moved from side to side fascinated me. I
followed it off the freeway to a gasoline station in Buelton, Ca near
the RV Camp called Flying Flags. I waited for the driver or somebody to
disembark the beauty, which he did in a short fashion. I asked him
about the GMC and it was not until then that I found out like you they
were no longer in production. I was asked in and sat down on some very
plush seats in white leather and the entire coach looked like a very
elegant bar. The lovely lady in the coach looked like on of Hugh
Hefners' Bunnies and it was one fantastic evening. That GMC was the
fanciest thing hI had ever seen. It could have passed for Air Force One
it was done finished in Air force Blue and had the Biggest Gold Stripe I
had ever see, well needles to say anymore I was hooked. I started
looking. In those days I did not have Internet, and GMC people to help
me. I did not know about GMCMM, and I certainly did not know there were
only 13,000 of these beast made and at beast maybe half of them still
operational. But I was determined and in several months found the 78
Eleganza. It was home based in O'Fallon, Ill. Just across from St.
Louis. My wife and I talked to the owners who were in Florida for the
winter months. But we made arrangements to meet, Memorial Day
week-end. We flew there and were hosted by the Clendennys for four
days. Jim took us all over the GMC, on top underneath and taught us how
to drive it. How to change the tire if we needed to, How to, How to and
How to. He put us on the road to Nebraska and on into Wyoming. We sat
through our first and only Tornado, and that is a story in itself. We
got home and have had 10 wonderful years in the GMC, each time I had a
problem, it was ignorance on my part and even to this day I still do no
know why my first engine failed. Number 4 and 5 cylinders had two
cracked rings each and each had spun rod bearings. This happened to me
in Salt Lake City. Barber Olds put a newly remanufactured engine in and
300 miles down the road it failed, 5 months and 700 miles down the road
the next engine failed. I have a Mondello and Tom Green Engine in it
now. It will burn a sizable strip of rubber if you want to, I have a
completely remanufacture transmission by Rick Quintrans with all the
trick stuff Caspro puts out and most of the little extras one picks up
on the way. On the outside it still looks just like the day I purchased
it, Shiny and more Shiny. The insides is clean neat and not fancy. It
is napable and I love my GMC. Have I had other problems. You bet! So
have all my other friends that have SOB motorhomes. Do they talk about
them like we do. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I wonder why. Well for one reason
they do not have a club of experienced people like we do. I think you
will get the picture. Put in another way. It will keep you out of the
bars so to speak. You will probably never go anywhere in your GMC that
somebody will not try to buy it right out from under you. See Ya Chuck
but I don't think I am really hearing you! Sounds crazy but I honestly
do not believe you DON't WANT to own a GMC. Even if it means bringing
it up to speed so to speak. I bough my 78 Eleganza in 89 after some
poor fun in with health problems. Heart Surgery in 81 at the age of 43
and now the lost 1/2 lung in 89 and I told my wife, Hannelore, (Hanna
for short) that there might not be a retirement and that I wanted a
motorhome to, if nothing else go camping in on weekends, suppers down
the coast watching the sun sets etc. I looked at lot's of motorhomes
and one day I spotted the GMC coming down US 101, as I got closer the
way is wiggled and giggled and moved from side to side fascinated me. I
followed it off the freeway to a gasoline station in Buelton, Ca near
the RV Camp called Flying Flags. I waited for the driver or somebody to
disembark the beauty, which he did in a short fashion. I asked him
about the GMC and it was not until then that I found out like you they
were no longer in production. I was asked in and sat down on some very
plush seats in white leather and the entire coach looked like a very
elegant bar. The lovely lady in the coach looked like on of Hugh
Hefners' Bunnies and it was one fantastic evening. That GMC was the
fanciest thing hI had ever seen. It could have passed for Air Force One
it was done finished in Air force Blue and had the Biggest Gold Stripe I
had ever see, well needles to say anymore I was hooked. I started
looking. In those days I did not have Internet, and GMC people to help
me. I did not know about GMCMM, and I certainly did not know there were
only 13,000 of these beast made and at beast maybe half of them still
operational. But I was determined and in several months found the 78
Eleganza. It was home based in O'Fallon, Ill. Just across from St.
Louis. My wife and I talked to the owners who were in Florida for the
winter months. But we made arrangements to meet, Memorial Day
week-end. We flew there and were hosted by the Clendennys for four
days. Jim took us all over the GMC, on top underneath and taught us how
to drive it. How to change the tire if we needed to, How to, How to and
How to. He put us on the road to Nebraska and on into Wyoming. We sat
through our first and only Tornado, and that is a story in itself. We
got home and have had 10 wonderful years in the GMC, each time I had a
problem, it was ignorance on my part and even to this day I still do no
know why my first engine failed. Number 4 and 5 cylinders had two
cracked rings each and each had spun rod bearings. This happened to me
in Salt Lake City. Barber Olds put a newly remanufactured engine in and
300 miles down the road it failed, 5 months and 700 miles down the road
the next engine failed. I have a Mondello and Tom Green Engine in it
now. It will burn a sizable strip of rubber if you want to, I have a
completely remanufacture transmission by Rick Quintrans with all the
trick stuff Caspro puts out and most of the little extras one picks up
on the way. On the outside it still looks just like the day I purchased
it, Shiny and more Shiny. The insides is clean neat and not fancy. It
is napable and I love my GMC. Have I had other problems. You bet! So
have all my other friends that have SOB motorhomes. Do they talk about
them like we do. ABSOLUTELY NOT. I wonder why. Well for one reason
they do not have a club of experienced people like we do. I think you
will get the picture. Put in another way. It will keep you out of the
bars so to speak. You will probably never go anywhere in your GMC that
somebody will not try to buy it right out from under you. See Ya Chuck
