[FC] Rampside Road Trip Report

[J R Read_HML]

Congrats on your trip!  That is what I like to hear about - Vairs that are 
actually DRIVEN.

Check the cable first.  Might not need a speedo head.

Attachments (if any) are scanned with anti-virus software.

Later, JR

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <vernmcintosh at eoni.com>
To: <corvanatics at corvair.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 08, 2005 3:37 PM
Subject: [FC] Rampside Road Trip Report



List,

Saturday I arrived home from a 2422 mile, 12-day road trip in my '64
Rampside. I've made the trip to Palm Springs a half-dozen times, this year I
expanded the trip to include an excursion into Arizona.

I left Bend (Oregon) Tuesday morning, 10/25, and drove south on US-97 to
Weed, CA, then south on I-5. I drove 60-65 mph, (the speed the big trucks
were driving) on the highway, and 65-70 mph as necessary when the highways
turned into urban freeways - Sacramento, Stockton, and Los Angeles.

I spent Tuesday night in Stockton, and Wednesday afternoon I arrived in
Camarillo (Ventura County), CA, and visited with Vair friends until Friday
morning when it was time to head for Palm Springs. In Camarillo I did the
only maintenance of the trip - I took off the grill and squirted some lube
into the upper and lower shaft bearings of the gas heater combustion blower,
which I had noticed was making noise early Wednesday morning. The noise
stopped.

At the 'Toss I saw and visited with the usual suspects, the swap meet itself
continues to grow smaller. The weather was perfect with temps around 80
degrees, and several folks were amused at the pair of studded snow tires I
carried in the bed of the truck.

Sunday morning I headed east on I-10 to Desert Center, then worked my way
northeast to US-95. At Needles I crossed the Colorado River into AZ and up
AZ-95 to Fort Mohave, where I visited with friends I had not seen in 38
years.

Tuesday, 11/1, I back-tracked to Needles, then west on I-40 to Barstow,
south on I-15 to the I-60, west again to Chino Hills where I visited with
family. I began watching the PNW weather reports to plan my trip back to
Bend. It appeared that Saturday would be the best day to re-cross the
mountains between Weed and Bend.

Friday morning I left Chino Hills at 0500, in order to cross L.A. before the
morning traffic rush, also to get through Sacramento in the afternoon before
their rush. I stopped in Dunnigan, north of Sacto, before 3 pm, I wanted to
time my trip through the mountains for mid-day Saturday.

Saturday morning all was routine through Weed, even the two 5k+ passes north
of Weed on US-95 were dry. As I approached Klamath Falls, OR, I began to see
snow low on the hills and it began to rain. North of KFalls the rain turned
to snow, and the last 100 miles (all over 4000 ft) were in a full-blown snow
storm. It was mid-day and just warm enough that the pavement was not icy; I
did not stop to put on my studded tires. Everyone was driving sanely, so it
was not uncomfortable through the storm. I arrived in Bend with a 3" mask of
snow on the front of the truck, only the headlights and windshield were
clear.

2422 miles, 20.13 mpg for the trip. Avg gas prices, about $3/gal for 91-92
octane. Highest oil temp ~240 degrees in the CA desert, on a long, gradually
uphill stretch of about 15 miles. Normal trip oil temp, ~215 degrees.

The truck ran like a top, smooth and quiet as usual. Lots of XM music. Many,
many gestures, comments, and conversations about the truck. The heater
easily kept the windows clear. The only mechanical issue was that the 
speedometer
gradually started waving around, I'll have to replace it again. I'll also
replace that gas heater blower motor with a new one.

Vern McIntosh
Bend, Oregon


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