Ron's Oregon 09 trip

[rlux4]

We made it! A little over 2700 miles and everything went great. The car did excellently. The only issues were a sputter when we were about 30 miles from home on the way out. I smelled gas, so I pulled over and found the hose from the end of the fuel rail up to the cold start injector was leaking. The sputter was no doubt from the fuel pressure drop. I had recently replaced all the fuel lines in preparation for this trip and I hadn't tightened this one enough. The other issue is a leaking right rear caliper. I had to lock up the brakes once in heavy traffic and I think it pushed brake fluid past a marginal seal. I'll need to either replace the rear calipers or rebuild them. I've already replaced the front ones, so the rears were next on the list anyway.
We got about 28 mpg on most of the trip. The lowest was 25, and the highest was 29.
The Oregon campout was fantastic. The group there is worth the trip and this year I got to meet Pete Angel, who I've wanted to meet for quite a while. (He came in from Colorado)
The group:



Dave Decker spent his Saturday in his temporary garage replacing a bushing on his rack and pinion steering;



Chris Obert came with a nice looking car for sale:



Now Larry (Gopapa), you should skip this part, lest you get embarrassed.
As he said, we stopped overnight at his and his wife, Diane's house. I can't express how great it was meeting this couple! They opened their house to us, fed us a fantastic dinner (BBQ porkchops) and breakfast. I had been wanting to meet Larry since he showed up on the forum and I gotta say, he's as nice as he seems by his posts. And Diane was super, putting up with us Fiat freaks. And on top of that, I scored! We were out at the car talking as I was putting a sheet over the car. I told him I was going to get a car cover "one of these days". He said he had his left from when he sold his 82, and he pulled it out and gave it to me! What a guy.
Here's the three of us (Krissy's taking the picture) at his gorgeous place in the woods:



Here's a picture of the car with the trailer with Mt. Shasta in the background on our way back home;



And then on the last leg of our way home... there it was... THE TEJON PASS! This pass is famous for the cars lining the sides from overheating. It rises from 1400 feet to 4140 feet at about 6% grade the whole way. We went over it when the temperature was about 90° and the car never got over 191°! Woohoo!
It was a hot one, but worth it for the times we had on the trip.
Next: Oregon 2010!
Ron

[ventura ace]

Welcome home, Ron and Krissy! Sorry that we couldn't hang with you on this trip, but we're looking forward to the next one.

Alvon

[htchevyii]

I'm glad you made it home with no (major) problems. thanks again for your delivery service.

[racydave]

Boy, after last years adventure, you deserved a good break! The pics all look great. Im goin campin! I need a pic of your hitch set up too.

[rlux4]

Dave, in case you miss it in "Off Topic and Social", here's the thread showing the hitch;

http://www.fiatspider.com:16080/f08/vie ... f=4&t=6665

Ron

[GOPAPA]

Now Larry (Gopapa), you should skip this part, lest you get embarrassed.
As he said, we stopped overnight at his and his wife, Diane's house. I can't express how great it was meeting this couple! They opened their house to us, fed us a fantastic dinner (BBQ porkchops) and breakfast. I had been wanting to meet Larry since he showed up on the forum and I gotta say, he's as nice as he seems by his posts. And Diane was super, putting up with us Fiat freaks. And on top of that, I scored! We were out at the car talking as I was putting a sheet over the car. I told him I was going to get a car cover "one of these days". He said he had his left from when he sold his 82, and he pulled it out and gave it to me! What a guy.
Here's the three of us (Krissy's taking the picture) at his gorgeous place in the woods:



Me get embarrassed ? maybe a blush once in awhile ,,haha I will add a couple more pics to yours and show off your car and trailer in our drive way.
I bet Ron didn't notice that the long grade comming up into the hills to our place is a 6% climb for at least a couple of miles .. and from it you can see Mt Rainier and Mt St. Helens on a clear day.. Just thru that in to give Oregon a boost in tourist trade.. LOL Thanks again Ron and Krissy for sharing some time with us on your trip..

Okay ..first picture is of Krissy ,,Ron and I and my wife taking the snap shot .. ( remember when we used to called it that ? )



Second picture is of Rons Spider and Trailer sitting in our drive way and ready to roll..



This third Picture is Ron and Krissy trying to get on thier way and someone is hitching a ride it looks like ..

[rlux4]

Great pictures Larry. I love the last one, I think the expression on my face is "Did I forgot to tie something down?".
Thanks again for your and Diane's hospitality, the car cover and mixed bag of Fiat stuff.
BTW, I did forget the grade going to your place. I was so concerned about the "Grapevine" it slipped right by me. That and the Siskiyou pass didn't even get me above 190°!
Ron

[ga.spyder]

Welcome Home!!! I am glad the car was 'bulletproof' for the whole trip.You and Trey both did a great job of documenting the trip.And LD...you gotta get another Spider.
Craig

[racydave]

I have never been west. All I can say is that is some beautifull country. Glad you all had a good time. I know how much fun it is to visit!

[kristoj]

Ron,

Congrats on the successful trip! When you say the car didn't get above 190, do you mean the engine or the cockpit? 90 degrees outside with no aircon had to be rough -- especially if you get anywhere near the heat out of your tranny tunnel that I do. But you have to be psyched that your car performed so well and such a long trip.

[rlux4]

You're right John, even though I've put 15,000 miles on it since I got it 2-1/2 years ago, and felt confident that it would make the trip OK, there's still a bit of nervousness during the trip. Especially when we passed through Grants Pass, Oregon, where I had to stop last year because of the overheating. I have to admit, I gave Grants Pass the old "up yours" when it was in the rear view mirror!
Like you, I spent many rears driving motorcycles, mostly in the desert, so we're used to the heat. A cooler of water and a squirt bottle for misting the old bod and we're good to go.
The temperatures on this trip ranged between 90 and 104 in the afternoons. It was camping the whole way and each camp we stopped at was either on the lake or a river, so we were able to cool off at the end of the day.
Ron

[launieg]

Like you, I spent many rears driving motorcycles, mostly in the desert, so we're used to the heat.

Ron, I did not realize that riding a motorcycle was that tough on the old bod

[rlux4]

It wasn't the motorcycle Launie, shoot, a Goldwing is about as comfy as it gets. But the heat can get to a guy. I remember the heat from the engine coming back at me while driving in 100°+, and it could get brutal. I see guys now when it's that hot and they're wearing full protective clothing. I wonder how they can stand it.
Ron

[Europa]

Like you, I spent many rears driving motorcycles, mostly in the desert, so we're used to the heat.
Ron

Ron, I think, maybe, Launie was referring to the highlighted word in your response. Gives it a whole different meaning!

[launieg]

Ron, Europa is right, but your sincere reply deserves an honest response We are having a heat wave right now, and I can't understand how anyone can ride a bike, let alone wear the gear. I guess it is what you are used to. We think this is boiling at 85 degrees. Fortunately, last night we went down to the ocean (about 3 miles away) and the temperature dropped at least 10 degrees - came back home and it was still up there though.

By the way, the photos of your spider and trailer are having a very positive effect on our household (i.e. wife) in thinking about making a journey next year. Also, I'm really impressed that you have put on that many miles so far! All I have to do is make sure the engine is reliable, the brakes are checked over, the suspension is renewed.... oh oh.