Are there any Hawaii Marauders still??

[kartherma]

I might be on the big island for a few days and was wondering if there is still any members on the island??

I'd love to meet up for some coldies!!

be good, Curt

[magindat]

There's one car on the island that I know of, but the member who owned it traded it in. From what he said, they f-ed it up in transport over there.

I bought his marauder jacket. PM me for his email. He seemed cool. I don't think he'd mind.

Have a great trip.

[Bluerauder]

From what he said, they f-ed it up in transport over there.

Man, that is a dayum shame. :( Hope that he was able to make good the claim with the contract shipping company (I assume this was a military move).

Shipped my POV* overseas on four different occasions (to-and-from Germany twice) and few were without incident. It is best if they are containerized because it cuts down on handling, tampering and pilferage.

I think the ship's crew used my '74 Dodge Charger SE as a party barge on the way over to Bremerhaven in 1975. When the car was delivered there were about 5 cases of empty beer cans in the back seat, my tape deck was destroyed and the battery was dead.

On a return trip in November 1989, I had to have my '84 Dodge Van steam cleaned and absolutely spotless inside and out before shipment. (yeah, I went through a van stage). Supposedly, this was for customs & agricultural reasons. When I picked up that car, there was about 1.5 inches of rust, scum and debris all over the van. Seems that the crew hosed down the ship and my car was in a bad location. :mad2: Well, so much for customs and those nasty agricultural germs.

When my cars went by container, they were good as new on the receiving end. Of course, I did see one "brand new" Oldsmobile that was flattened by a loose container in a bad North Atlantic storm. Well, not completely flat -- but only about 18 inches tall. :rolleyes: The folks at Bayonne had it under a tarp and showed it to me when I walked in the gate. I was prepared for the absolute worst outcome until I noticed the white paint. Whew -- glad I bought the blue Charger. :rofl:

Of course, even in a container doesn't mean that you are completely off the hook. In the late '80s there was the case of a major storm that broke loose a bunch of containers and they fell off the ship. Yep, there are a bunch of cars in boxes at the bottom of the Atlantic somewhere. :cry: On a happy note ... I suspect some of them were Hondas, Toyotas, and BMWs. :rofl:

POV = Privately Owned Vehicle (in military talk)

[Cheeseheadbob]

Charlie, in my stint in the Big Green Machine, I noticed most POV's were POS.:D


POV = Privately Owned Vehicle (in military talk)

[TAF]

My nephew (Clay) who goes by Gunslinger (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=2337) here has an '04 Black and is stationed over there...but only for a few more weeks....then he's off to Ft. Knox...then Ft. Bragg. Hit him up....and see if you can hook up with him.

[marauder307]

The guy who traded his away is me.

It was a gov't move (DoD). Matson Shipping Lines/American Auto Logistics trashed the suspension by various means. After spending roughly $2500 on it over 6 months, I gave up.

I'm pleased to report that it didn't last long on the used lot; it's now in the hands of a Honolulu PD officer who uses it for his duty vehicle. The Hono PD has a unique arrangement: Officers who've been in for 2 years can apply to have their own patrol vehicle. Those who qualify are given a stipend by the department to go out and find a vehicle from a department-approved list---the Marauder is near the top. They are given money to make the downpayment, make the payments, and keep it in gas and maintenance.

You see a lot of weird vehicles that way tho---I've actually got a picture of a Toyota Avalon with a blue strobe mounted on the roof. There's a fair number of SUVs running around, but my HUMINT on the subject says that the chief just took all the SUVs off the list because officers were trying to use them as pursuit vehicles...with not-so-good results...

Now...the thread starter mentioned that he was going to be on the Big Island. I'm on Oahu, but I was just on the Big Island last week for my honeymoon. I saw 2 Marauders out there, one black and one silver. There's a VERY big dragstrip in Hilo, and the Hilo FLM dealer has a Tungsten Grey Ford GT sitting in his showroom (broke my heart to see that---my wife couldn't figure out why I was tearing up. There's only a few roads on "Da Big Island", and they're mostly two-lane...not so good for a GT...)

Hope this helps!

[marauder307]

Man, that is a dayum shame. :( Hope that he was able to make good the claim with the contract shipping company (I assume this was a military move).

POV = Privately Owned Vehicle (in military talk)


Made a claim---it was denied. The way the shipping company gets out from under any responsibility is to set a rule that any damages must be claimed before you drive out of the shipping yard---after that, they're not responsible.
Suspension damage is not something that makes itself readily apparent; but after I'd had to replace all the shocks, all 4 of the front control arms, and at least one of the front end links, all at only around 35k on the odometer...well, it becomes pretty obvious what did it.

The replacement vehicle is leftover 2005 Pontiac Bonneville GXP---pretty much the Marauder's GM parallel in every respect, save for the FWD. Even has the same size engine (4.6L Northstar vs. 4.6L Mach 1/Aviator engine). It's great, but I'm still dreading the return trip when this tour is over. I've decided that I'll let the shipping company take it as far as Long Beach, then pick it up there and drive it the rest of the way to my next assignment....

[marauder307]

My nephew (Clay) who goes by Gunslinger (http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/member.php?u=2337) here has an '04 Black and is stationed over there...but only for a few more weeks....then he's off to Ft. Knox...then Ft. Bragg. Hit him up....and see if you can hook up with him.

Yeah, I met him early on in my tour, last fall. He's a busy guy; haven't heard anything from him since about last September.

ROADWARRIORSVT and MADDOG are here; RWSVT usually hangs out over at the SVTP site.

[kartherma]

OK, so am I reading this correctly that there are three or four mm.net members in Hawaii???

If so, I am looking for a (car-less) meet at maybe Moose's (or insert your favorite pub) for some coldies?
On one or more of the nights a pretty little bird from Australia will be in Hawaii for a little "meet" of our own...gotta love the internet!!!

Anyone who is interested, lets say the last friday of the month?

be good, Curt

[marauder307]

OK, so am I reading this correctly that there are three or four mm.net members in Hawaii???

If so, I am looking for a (car-less) meet at maybe Moose's (or insert your favorite pub) for some coldies?
On one or more of the nights a pretty little bird from Australia will be in Hawaii for a little "meet" of our own...gotta love the internet!!!

Anyone who is interested, lets say the last friday of the month?

be good, Curt

Are you talking Big Island, or Oahu?

[kartherma]

I have finalized plans and will be in waikiki (sp?)