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Hello all of you arm-chair drivers!! I thoroughly enjoy reading Brewster's Journal along the East Coast, so I thought that I'd begin one for the West Coast tour that is about to begin. This year, it's special since the Annual Meleo/Farris Six-Cylinder Tour is being combined with the Southwest Fall Tour led by Dean Echols. Two for the price of one!! I'm departing 5 days earlier than anyone else, since I'm going to meet with the folks at the MontBlue Hotel at South Lake Tahoe. Dave Cufr is flying out from Ohio and I'll pick him up at the Reno airport. Then we will spend 3 1/2 days finalizing the logistics of our upcoming 55th Anniversary Meet next year. In fact, I plan on taking some video with my DRONE while we're there!! So you might want to be on the lookout for that too. Departure for me is Tuesday at O-dark-hundred. I'll make another post before then. Oh, for the record, I'm towing my 1936 Coupe Pickup. It should be right at home in the desert of eastern Nevada. --Bill Barker
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At Seattle Washington. All packed and ready to go. First stop, Yreka California. About 500 miles. And the 1936 Coupe Pickup is all snug-as-a-bug in the trailer.
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Nice, low profile trailer, bet it cuts through the air nicely. :dance:
What brand is the trailer and what length ?
1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan / purchased from second owner 6-19-2000.
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Yep. I love the low profile. Surprisingly the company stopped making them. They prefer to build horse trailers instead. The are out of Springfield, Oregon. Called Silverlite. This one is 20 feet. Originally I thought that I wanted an 18 footer. Thankfully, the only available one was 20 feet. It's just like a garage. No matter how big it is, you'll find a way to fill it up!!! And then you find out it's still not big enough.
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Backyard Mechanic
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I'm looking forward to your updates. I hope you guys have a good time at the Montblue. Once you drop him off, the real fun can start.
Chris
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Have a safe trip. Wish I was going.
Roger
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Backyard Mechanic
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Bill was successful picking me up at the Reno airport and we are now at the MontBleu in Stateline Nevada to work with facility personnel to make the 55th Anniversary Meet the best we can! In one year from now the Meet will be history; we will try to make it a memorable one for all who attend!
I will try to not tire Bill out so he can enjoy the Nevada sites in his '36 Coupe pickup. I am envious of Bill and wish him safe travel after we finish our immediate business for the Meet.
Dave Cufr #12505 1927 Capitol coupe 1928 National 4-door 1928 Speedster 1936 Standard Town Sedan 1975 Nova Custom Hatchback
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yadda yadda. Okay, here's a photo out my window on the 10th floor of the MontBleu at South Lake Tahoe. And here's an expanded view showing all of the construction going on. They finished upgrades to ALL ROOMS - cost $24 million. Now they are repaving the parking area along with widening the entrance etc. Inside the building, they have the entire registration area blocked off (behind plastic tarps) and are redoing all counters, carpets etc. Next month they begin a complete face lift of the Convention Center (where we'll hold seminars, club store, etc) and they will replace ALL carpets and chair covers in the Banquet Room. Should all be done by Christmas this year. We will come in August to a completely refreshed hotel. Pretty good timing, huh? ha ha. By the way, during this visit to our future Meet Hotel, the following people showed up to begin their roles as Committee Chairpersons - Dave and Lynn Koetje, Dave Gowan, and Jim and Roberta Martoza. They all spent long days surveying and taking notes. Naturally, Dave Cufr was here too from Ohio. Tomorrow I drop him off at the Reno Airport again... and if he keeps posting here, I may D-R-O-P him off!!!! Tomorrow morning I continue my trip to Ely.
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Howdy from Ely, Nevada. (Pronounced: E-Lee)Arrived at 9 pm last night to find that my room (all 6 nights) had been "accidentally" canceled by the manager as a "No Show". Ha!! Not a good thing to happen to you after 11 hours of driving. A couple of photos driving Highway 50 - " The Loneliness Road in America." This is a good place to fire a few rounds from your handgun if you happen to have one with you in a locked metal box. Just sayin'... And some "proof" of the Durmax. At 60 mph, in 88 degree weather I was getting 13.3 mpg. And note that I was on cruise control. Now at the hotel in Ely, NV, here is a photo across the parking lot. At this time, I "think" that every single vintage car was trailered. Not sure, but I'll find out. With cancellations, the expected attendance will be 41 vehicles. The people that I ran into so far, are from California, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Washington and Montana. Here are some snapshots of where people parked while they carried clothing to their rooms. The last two hours last night were in total blackness while I was coming over the last summit of 7,640 feet. It's a two lane road that is many curves. General speed limit was 60 mph, but there were a dozen turns with 35 mph posted. So you really needed to stay on your guard. During a 10 mile stretch, I nearly ran into 3 different "herds" of Elk. The first one was two cows (females) and a gorgeous buck with at least 10 points. Magnificent. I jumped on my brakes and got down to 30 mph while the three of them casually sauntered across the highway. Again, it was pitch black so I couldn't see them before or after they left the front field-of-vision of my headlights. Then a heard of 6 more standing on the edge of the road eating grass. And a mile later, another heard of about 4. Absolutely beautiful animals. And... huge!! Now the bad news. Just before it got too dark I saw a bird fly very close to the front of my truck. Didn't hear anything. This morning I found that the poor little fella didn't make it. We depart for our first tour Tuesday morning. It's over 80 degrees outside right now. Got gas, and got water. And -- got a large straw hat!! Doctor's orders.
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Your Duramax seems to run all of the same stats as my 5.3L when pulling. Granted, your trailer a little heavier, and in the wind...
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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As a footnote Bruce, if you have not seen this, you may be interested in this long 5 page thread, speaking of the 5.3 AFM engines. I came upon this, looking to assist a frien
If worthy of any conversation , a new thread could be started.
http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/264300/
1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan / purchased from second owner 6-19-2000.
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Hello Bill: Now concerning your hotel room being cancelled as a "No Show". I think that someone in the VCCA arranged that for you. I believe the logic was that they told the manager that you were living on a fixed income and that you spent your life roaming aimlessly around the USA. dtm just kidding
the toolman 60th Anniversary Meet Chairperson Dave VCCA # L 28873 VCCA #83 Tool Technical Advisor for 1914-1966 VCCA #83 1940 Chevrolet Technical Advisor
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Amazing .... I can send this link and open it to anyone, but it won't open here on VCCA. http://www.chevytalk.org/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/264300/tp/1]
Last edited by Bill Barker; 09/24/15 02:05 AM. Reason: Fixed Link.
1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan / purchased from second owner 6-19-2000.
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UPDATE ONE - Tuesday:Got an update on the attendance. 42 Vehicles arrived representing: Arizona, Utah, Washington, California, Oregon, Colorado, Indiana, Minnesota, Texas, Montana and Hawaii. How about that? And 3 vintage cars were driven here, one which was a 1932 for 728 miles. Another vintage car was offloaded in Boise, Idaho when the tow rig malfunctioned. The truck and trailer were left behind there and the car was then driven the rest of the way approx 388 miles. Arrival of Steve after his epic journey from Oregon. Other cars in the parking lot: Tuesday. We drove a million miles, or 88... can't remember - in 85+ degrees across the Nevada desert. 42 cars departed at 7:30 am and 35 returned on their own power at 5 pm. What?? Yep, it was that brutal. Almost as bad as Custer's last stand. We went to the Lehman Caves. Toured in a very narrow, and low, tunnel system to 152 feet below ground. My back hurt when we got back topside, from having to bend over so much! But the temperature was very nice, even a tad cool - until we started climbing back up. Then folks got heated and out of breath. But absolutely worth the experience. Very interesting with an outstanding narrator guide. Amazing views no matter where we were. Cars taking a breather after another climb above 6,500 feet. Tomorrow we go star-gazing. And... We get our cars the dirtiest that they've ever been.
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Sounds like 36 people (35 on the tour and a tow truck driver) had a good day.
Was it all trailer queens that needed a ride on the tow truck?
The limestone caves generally maintain an even temperature all year round despite what the above ground temp does.
Tony
1938 1/2 ton Hope to drive it before I retire
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I was thinking how much I'd enjoy doing a western tour someday... Not so much now!! Lol! My '50 never passed up a tow truck ride!
Those accustomed to the finest...find it in Chevrolet. 1953 Belair Convertible 1951 2dr Deluxe Sedan 2015 GMC SLE 4X4
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[quote=brewster]I was thinking how much I'd enjoy doing a western tour someday... Not so much now!! Lol! My '50 never passed up a tow truck ride! [/quote]
Knowing the snags a "restored" car can provide to the owner, AFTER being restored, it's a good idea to have GOOD flatbed towing insurance, in effect, BEFORE the next VCCA meet arrives. :dance:
1951 Chevy Styleline Deluxe 2 door sedan / purchased from second owner 6-19-2000.
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Nope. Not a single trailer queen in the bunch. I think that we've gone 240 miles so far. Went over 3 mountain passes (twice) that were approx 7,000 feet high. Probably dropped 2,000 before we got to them. Our motel is about 6,400 feet. Rode the train for 20 miles. Two guys rode in the engine. I don't think that they'll ever do THAT again!!! And last night drove approximately 20 miles round trip on a dirt washboard road that nearly shook my teeth out. When I hosed the car off this morning I found more dirt INSIDE the car than was on the outside. My pants and shirt are already messed up just from getting in and out of the car twice. No breakdowns on Wednesday. And, I'll count, but I think 4 out of 5 from Tuesday are back on the road with new fuel pumps and other fixes. Gas and water boiling were the two main issues. At 7,000 feet it's tough to prevent vapor lock in 85 degree weather. And while the photos show lots of flat ground in the distance, we seemed to always be going UP or DOWN one of the steep mountain roads. Next update includes the Moon and Saturn. And somebody who... well.. I'll save that for later.
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UPDATE TWO - Wednesday:Ah, the big day. Took a train ride on a STEAM locomotive. Traveled 10 or so miles. A couple of guys got the "privilege" of being in the engine. They had to put on long-sleeve shirts. It was H-O-T and sooty. Both had soot on them afterwards. And they had to STAND for the entire 90 minute ride. Remember this the next thim that you volunteer somewhere. Some photos of us parking at the station - and having our picture taken my Jim Seiber on a hi-lift. At 3:30 pm we departed for a really interesting tour. (Now about 38 cars?) Went to the WARD CHARCOAL OVENS. That's where they used to "make" charcol between 1876 through 1879. Not used anymore. Drove 7 miles on d dirt road to get there. Extremely dusty. Then after dark the local astronomy club gave us a 1 hour class outside under the stars. They had a very professional telescope set up and we all got to view the MOON up close. Then later it was the SECRET viewing. This heavenly body had a large RING around it. You can guess which planet it was. Frankly I had never seen Saturn (oops) before. Fascinating. Our reward was when we got to make SMORES over an open fire. How old do you have to be before you STOP enjoying this? Ha!! Our Tour Master, Dean Echols said that this was the very first time in his life that he had ever had smores. So they took a photo of him eating it. Some wag in the crowd said that " You always remember your first time."
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UPDATE THREE - Thursday:We gathered again with Chip calling us from afar. We went on ANOTHER train ride. This time it was a Diesel locomotive. Traveled to the far side of town where the Renaissance Society has re-created a miners living area of 8 small homes. They handed out samples of different ethnic foods in each home - Italian, French, Slavic, Russian, etc., along with an adult drink of wines or beer representing that region. Outstanding. Then, you guessed it, another train ride back to our cars!! An afternoon tour took us to Cherry Valley - site of an old silver mining town which is still populated. Along the way, we stopped at a roadside area which was exactly on the route of the Pony Express. Read this sign carefully and see if you qualify. Ha!!... I didn't think that you did.
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UPDATE FIVE - Saturday:Time to head home. The local newspaper featured us on the FRONT PAGE. We were on the lower half though, because Rand Paul was in town the same day and he got more coverage. Departing at 6 am headed North by Northeast. As I exited town, I was glad that my gauge read "F". A typical view for the next 3 hours. Wear different sunglasses and you'll see different colors in the hills. And along another stretch of road in Nevada...... And then I entered Idaho. Thanks for letting me be your tour guide. -Bill
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Looks like most of you at least had a good tour but I dont think that straight road would be much fun to travel and especially at night. Thank you for posting your view. Tony
1938 1/2 ton Hope to drive it before I retire
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I invented the steering wheel tether while on the way to the tour and forgot to test it on the way back home.
We had a "BALL" thanks to Dean Echols, Tom Meleo and Jim Farris. If you haven't been on a VCCA tour you have missed a lifetime adventure (or more). 3500+ miles to get there and back home but worth every mile especially when you add the scenery going and coming.
Only went on a few short sections of straight road on the entire tour. Went over a few passes and some natural earth roads. Found out that at 7000+ feet alt. water boils at near the running temperature under climbing load. Water bottles became a necessity for both the vehicle and folks. 15% humidity produces "toasted" bread in minutes.
Thanks for the photos Bill, especially bugle boy.
How Sweet the roar of a Chevy four!
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What percentage of the participants take their wives to your tours? I dom't see many in the pictures.
See you Touring the Back Roads
Joined VCCA June 1, 1961
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