All,
well, here's how the trip went...we were scheduled to leave at 8am on
July 2nd. By noon that day we still had not packed the RV and I was
already tired from working on the RV until 2am to fix a leak in the
auxiliary fuel tank. At 1pm we finally appeared ready to go but as I
pulled out of the driveway the right tire of the trailer scraped the
curb and went flat. It was really a blessing because it was not
apparent that both tires were in fact dry rotted and in need of
replacement. Finally, after replacing the trailer tires, we left Los
Angeles at 4pm, the heart of rush hour on a Friday, 4th of July
weekend. Needless to say, I was not happy.
I had had the RV checked out by a mechanic just prior to leaving. He
said to me, "I think your fan clutch is bad. It's CRITICAL that you
replace it." Naturally, being a man, I did not listen. Well, on the
Cajon Pass coming out of the LA basin, the clutch gave up the ghost and
the RV overheated, 500 hundred yards from the top. So we waited for
about an hour and then limped the final miles into Victorville. There
I purchased a new clutch, put it in, and we were on our way again.
By the time we reached Vegas it was about 10pm and it must have been
over 90 deg outside, in the dead of night no less!!! I had made
reservations at various RV parks for our stops along the way. The
first was to have been Cedar City, Utah. My wife and her folks (who we
brought along to help watch the kids, 2.5 years & 8 mos boys) were
telling me to stop in Vegas. But me, being the bull-headed male that I
am, had to fulfill my goal. And besides, it was hot as hell in Nevada.
So I plugged on for over ten hours until we reached Utah and our first
stop at 2:30am. So far, so good.
The next day we set out at about 10am. In Beaver, Utah one of the
rear tires on the RV lost it's tread. Turns out it was a used bias ply
I had recently purchased because the tires in back were pretty dry. So
much for avoiding future disaster by thinking ahead. After stopping at
one tire place and having the guy try to rob me (he totally went
ballistic when I politely told him his prices were too high) I went to
the place next door and purchased 4 slightly used radials (I had
purchased new radials for the front days before leaving). The people
there were quite nice and went out of their way to help. I had driven
off when one of the mechanics chased me down to say that my hitch ball
looked loose. It in fact was and they fixed that at no charge. I
shudder to think what could have happened to the Alpine should the
hitch have come loose. Another mishap that turned out to be a blessing.
So, we're going again. About 100 miles down the road my NEW fan
clutch decides it doesn't like me. It seizes, making this God-awful
noise, and we limp into Nephi, Utah, a god-fearing Mormon town that
does not observe the 4th of July on Sunday, so everything is closed on
Saturday because it's the 4th to them and I can't get any auto parts.
Sunbeam Alpine to the rescue!!! So I untrailer the Alpine and drive
some 35 miles to the next town where there's an open auto parts store
with a new fan clutch. I buy 2, and a water pump. I'm getting
nervous. We make it to our next stop in Pocatello, Idaho at about 11pm.
Last day of driving, about 200 miles to go. We make it in without a
hitch. The only problem is towing the car up the hill to the resort.
I can only go like 25 miles per hour in first. We decide to leave the
car there while we camp out at the RV site down the hill. The next day
is the Concours show and I have little time to clean the car up. I'm
able to wash and wax it. But it's too dark to get the wax off, so I
decide to do it the next morning before the show. I never did get to
vacuum it.
Monday morning I'm running late and scrambling to get the wax off. I
barely make it by the deadline. I'm still cleaning the car and putting
on my Lucas headlights after the "Rags down" time. A couple of judges
joke about it, but they're running late, too. No harm, no foul. I
never did get the stock air filters on. There are a ton of beautiful
cars there. I had originally intended to show my car in the
Personalized class. But when I noticed that there were only about 7
cars in the class and many more in the Stock class, at the last minute
I change my mind. Big mistake. I wanted my car to go up against as
many cars as possible, I show it as Stock. My competitive nature, I
guess. But my car was not stock and had some notable changes of which
I'd soon find out about. So now I'm thinking, after looking the
judging sheet over, "I'm not going to win a thing" and "I wish a judge
had steered me right." Oh well, my first show, live and learn. Many
people admired and commented on my car, and that was really enough
affirmation for me. The many photos taken were all compliments as far
as I was concerned.
The next day was a free day. My family decided to go to Bozeman. So
what happens? The fuel gauges in the RV decide to take a vacation.
I'm no electrician so I take it to a mechanic (big mistake). He
charges me $125 to fix a loose wire. I would have gone off on the guy,
but I was just too tired and somewhat defeated after the long drive up.
Charlatains don't only live in LA. We camp in Bozeman for the night,
very nice. That was Tuesday. Autocrossing starts the next day but I
am not scheduled to start until Thursday so we sightsee on Wednesday.
I autocross for the first time on Thursday. I am instantly hooked.
I keep getting these really fast times, one minute. What's this,
"DNF"? "Did Not Finish"? Not only the first run, but the second as
well? I have to have someone drive me through the course to figure out
what I'm doing wrong. On my third run I get 1:02:786, I'm happy. On
my fourth run I am screaming through the turns. On the far corner I
stomp the gas and nothing happens. My head screams, "I've lost my
diff!!! I've dumped my clutch!!! My tranny bit the dust!!!! Turns out
the thing just popped out of gear. After some crying to Max, he
graciously lets me do my 4th run over with a passenger as a penalty. I
improve my time by 10 one-hundredths, but I hit a cone and lose 2
seconds. Oh well, I had a damn good time.
Friday, last day. Awards Banquet. I'm a little anxious. I'm hoping
against hope to win something. All those years, thousands of hours,
thousands of dollars. Just a little recognition, please?? I am amazed
when my name is called for the Autocross. Second Place, not bad for a
greenhorn that really only had one good run. I am gratified. Next,
Rallye, both my wife and I are called. We are perplexed, but joyful
nonetheless. Finally, Councours, I am called. Elation. Who cares
what place. I expected nothing. I saw some really awesome, bone stock
cars. Second Place. Wow. Ear to ear, baby. The rest of the vacation
is a write off, as fas as I'm concerned. Give me a Newcastle and a
stogie.
We met some great people at SUNI. Next time we'll stay at the
resort. I didn't get to participate in many of the other activities.
Next time no kids and no in-laws. Next time I drive the car there.
The event was great and I really appreciate everyone who volunteered to
make it such.
The trip home was fairly uneventful except for a failure of the
wipers in a rainstorm, which I fixed, and the fact that the Alpine had
to be untrailered in order to get the RV over some mountains. Rock
chip damage to the car was notable, but not major. All in all it was a
great time and I can't wait to do it again.
Many thanks to all of you who helped me with my car with both
technical and emotional support.
Christopher
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