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Great day for a car ride in the country

Brass is Best

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TTR 10,000+ Points

TTR

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Had a yet another great 120+ mile early am Sunday excursion with the PB Roadster up to Idyllwild (& back).

Weather was great with heavy overcast from Riverside to Hemet but once I had ascended above it around 3000 ft. on Hwy 74 sky was clear and sunny.

Once I descended down to Banning/Beaumont via Hwy 243 couple of hours later, the overcast was still there. 

 

Once I was back home, around 10-10:30am, had an early lunch of some leftover steak Fajitas, accompanied by an Eldorado Margarita, followed by a nice cigar and a nap, after which I went to my shop for few hours to work on some prep for welding and machining repairs needed on a pair of "cross ram" intake manifolds from a 1960 Chrysler 300F I'm rebuilding an engine and transmission for.

 

A funny incident occurred during that ascend up the Hwy 74, east of Hemet/Valle Vista, which is several miles of wonderfully twisty section for sports car type driving and I had it pretty much to myself, but after awhile, climbing and going through the "twisties" at appropriately spirited speed, I noticed another vehicle, maybe half mile ahead of me.

It was seemingly going up at pretty good pace also, but I just decided to see if I could catch up with it before the intersection of 74 & 243 in Mountain Center.

Well, to achieve it, I had to put my Roadster through her paces even harder and less than 1/4 mile before we both got there, I finally caught up, only to realize it was an CHP vehicle. 

Once we reached the stop sign, I got right behind it, both of us preparing to turn left on 243, heading north, and after the CHP made the left turn, he/she pulled to the right, off the road and stopped, rolled down the drivers window and when I was passing it, I noticed an arm with a thumb up extending out. 👍

And no, he/she didn't appear on my rearview mirror later.

 

Edited by TTR (see edit history)
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TTR

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1 minute ago, JACK M said:

They are not all a***s.

In my 40+ years of driving experience, I've never encountered one (a***s) and believe they're all just doing their job we're paying them to do, keep the roads safe. Same goes for all other LEO's I've ever encountered

Also in my experience, anyone receiving a ticket or some other reprimand from them, usually deserves it.

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TTR 10,000+ Points

TTR

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On 9/18/2023 at 9:09 AM, TTR said:

In my 40+ years of driving experience, I've never encountered one (a***s) and believe they're all just doing their job we're paying them to do, keep the roads safe. Same goes for all other LEO's I've ever encountered

And mind you that I’ve been apprehended, jumped (by SWAT), held at gunpoint by multiple LEOs on more than few times in my life, all due to mistaken identity and/or being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but on each occasion the LEO individuals/groups involved handled it very “professionally” and I’ve always maintained myself calm and cooperative (which they appreciated), so everything ended up just fine.

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Paul Dobbin 25,000+ Points

Paul Dobbin

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6 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

Getting ready for a jaunt in the 1948 MGTC to our 48th Annual Tidewster Region car show.

20230912_142838.jpg

  Nice 48 MG!  Never saw one that color though.    John Russell here has a black 48 TC,  always playing with the Carbs.

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pmhowe 5,000+ Points

pmhowe

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XK140 roadster. Beautiful car. Years ago, I had a 1956 XK140 drophead coupe. I loved that car. I put almost 90,000 miles on it. At the time, I was a bachelor, living in MD, but dating a girl in Connecticut. The Jag was great for long trips.

 

I had to rebuild the engine once, due to my own negligence: The weather had turned cold, but I had neglected to have adequate antifreeze in the radiator. As a result, one night the water turned to slush in the radiator. The following day was very cold. The next evening, I drove the car from Baltimore to Philadelphia (almost). With slush in the radiator, the engine overheated to the point where it stopped. I retrieved the car the next day and drove it without issue for several weeks. Then, one day, for reasons not relevant to the discussion here, I got rambunctious and wound the engine up to just under the redline. Should have been no problem. However, the overheating apparently weakened an exhaust valve, which broke, destroying the piston in the front cylinder. Hence the rebuild.

 

I remember the engine as having lots of torque. Third gear was a delight. The Moss gearbox has a reputation for being very slow, which it is. However, I found that, at certain rpm, shifts could be made smoothly as fast as I could. At those rpms, the gearbox wasn't limiting, it was me. Fun, fun car. I miss it.

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Marty Roth 25,000+ Points

Marty Roth

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13 hours ago, Terry Bond said:

Getting ready for a jaunt in the 1948 MGTC to our 48th Annual Tidewster Region car show.

20230912_142838.jpg

Nice !

 

My 1948 TC was #4749

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alsancle 25,000+ Points

alsancle

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10 hours ago, pmhowe said:

XK140 roadster. Beautiful car. Years ago, I had a 1956 XK140 drophead coupe. I loved that car. I put almost 90,000 miles on it. At the time, I was a bachelor, living in MD, but dating a girl in Connecticut. The Jag was great for long trips.

 

I had to rebuild the engine once, due to my own negligence: The weather had turned cold, but I had neglected to have adequate antifreeze in the radiator. As a result, one night the water turned to slush in the radiator. The following day was very cold. The next evening, I drove the car from Baltimore to Philadelphia (almost). With slush in the radiator, the engine overheated to the point where it stopped. I retrieved the car the next day and drove it without issue for several weeks. Then, one day, for reasons not relevant to the discussion here, I got rambunctious and wound the engine up to just under the redline. Should have been no problem. However, the overheating apparently weakened an exhaust valve, which broke, destroying the piston in the front cylinder. Hence the rebuild.

 

I remember the engine as having lots of torque. Third gear was a delight. The Moss gearbox has a reputation for being very slow, which it is. However, I found that, at certain rpm, shifts could be made smoothly as fast as I could. At those rpms, the gearbox wasn't limiting, it was me. Fun, fun car. I miss it.

 

Did your car have the up-rated engine with the "C" head?   A lot of engine in a little car.   I chuckle to myself as some mom in a van with 3 kids blows by me at a stop light.  I'm thinking to myself, this was one of the fastest cars you could buy in 1955 and these days it is in the way unless you rev the engine up.

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TTR 10,000+ Points

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On 9/18/2023 at 9:09 AM, TTR said:

In my 40+ years of driving experience, I've never encountered one (a***s) and believe they're all just doing their job we're paying them to do, keep the roads safe. Same goes for all other LEO's I've ever encountered

Also in my experience, anyone receiving a ticket or some other reprimand from them, usually deserves it.

Ironically, last (& the second* in my life) time I was stopped and ticketed for "speeding" was about 10 years ago and while I am 100% sure I wasn't.

I was on the freeway #1 lane, going less than speed limit and getting ready to exit, while there were several others vehicles on #2, #3 & #4 lanes going significantly faster, I'm guessing 10-20 above the limit (or at least that much faster than I was), but for some reason the CHP officer had decided to take me as a low hanging fruit and after pulling me over on that exit ramp I had been aiming for, claimed he had my truck on his radar scope having shown a speed reading of 8 MPH above the limit.

I even told him so, but didn't wish to argue and just told him to write it up, so we can both get on with the rest of our day. 

And yes, instead of going to court or getting some lawyer to "defend" me, I just paid the fine and moved on. Life's too short for trying to game the system.

 

*First time was about 25-30 years ago in Europe and yes, I was going about 10 or so MPH above the highway limit, but since the fines are/were issued promptly based on ones annual income (i.e. tax bracket, which LEOs had direct access to in their onboard computers) and mine showed up as "O", the fine was minimal and I (deservedly) paid it too, even though they would've not been able to collect it later, as I didn't wish to get hassled if/when ever traveling in same location in the future.

Man has to do what man has to do to be a man, I guess.

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Packard enthus. 1,000+ Points

Packard enthus.

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"A GREAT DAY FOR A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY"...?

i AGREE!   For those of us who really love living with a collector-era car.....ANY day is a great day (just be sure your windshield wipers work....!) For those interested in automotive travel history,  if you are ever in western Arizona, be sure and visit the museum where you can learn more about U.S. Highway 66...what it was like in earlier times for our collector-era cars. (attached photo is my '38 Packard V-12, which I bought in '57, went to high school in it...college...law school....and used it to get groceries the other day.....!) (this particular photo taken the othe day on my return from California, and the spectacular SAN MARINO MOTOR CLASSIC...!

PACKARD Kingman arch.jpg

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Angelfish 2,500+ Points

Angelfish

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1 hour ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

@Angelfish, happy to see the SL now in service and it appears you have confidence in it!!  Great cars to spend 3, 4 hours in.  Top down, AC on - Enjoy!

Thank you.  It wasn't without a certain amount of trepidation that I set off, but it was overcome the lure of a twisty mountain pass and the last warm day of summer.  Turns out that the worst thing to happen was the discovery that my expected lunch stop is closed on Mondays.  Talk about a disappointment.   But the car ran beautifully and I expect to use it for the 8 hour run to Denver so my son can look at Colorado School of Mines. 

 

No AC for me, I get to change out the compressor this winter, sounds like a bit of a job. 

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Brass is Best 10,000+ Points

Brass is Best

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1 hour ago, alsancle said:

85 miles is a healthy jaunt in a car that early.   Fall weather needs to be enjoyed while it lasts.

The Cadillac is a great road car. The two-speed rear end lets us cruise at 45-50 mph with ease. We have had that car out for some day trips in excess of 100 miles. 

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edinmass 25,000+ Points

edinmass

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21 minutes ago, Brass is Best said:

The Cadillac is a great road car. The two-speed rear end lets us cruise at 45-50 mph with ease. We have had that car out for some day trips in excess of 100 miles. 


I can confirm you can get a 1914 Cadillac to do 78 mph going down hill if you’re stupid enough. There may have been some more to get out of it, but by 70 it felt like I was at the drag strip running sixes all day long!

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TAKerry 25,000+ Points

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B is B, I love your photos and the surroundings. I live in a pretty rural area with quite a few dairy farms. But we dont have any small roads in the area that I could park my car on long enough to get out and take a picture. No quaint old buildings either. Keep them coming.

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Terry Bond 25,000+ Points

Terry Bond

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On 9/18/2023 at 3:56 PM, Paul Dobbin said:

  Nice 48 MG!  Never saw one that color though.    John Russell here has a black 48 TC,  always playing with the Carbs.

It's called Clipper Blue. The car was restored long before we got it and the color is a bit lighter actually, but it's pretty with the maroon leather. MG painted radiator slats to match. Everybody wants them British Racing Green but this blue one sure gets a lot of thumbs up on the road. Oh, it's my wife's car. She let's me clean the wire wheels  and navigate.

Terry

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Brass is Best

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11 hours ago, edinmass said:


I can confirm you can get a 1914 Cadillac to do 78 mph going down hill if you’re stupid enough. There may have been some more to get out of it, but by 70 it felt like I was at the drag strip running sixes all day long!

I tend to run old cars where they feel right. More by sound and well how the car feels. This Cadillac feels happy at 45-50. There is certainly more left in it. 78 would certainly be a ride. I broke 60 once in a Ford Model T with some speed equipment. That was a religious experience. 

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Brass is Best

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1 hour ago, TAKerry said:

B is B, I love your photos and the surroundings. I live in a pretty rural area with quite a few dairy farms. But we dont have any small roads in the area that I could park my car on long enough to get out and take a picture. No quaint old buildings either. Keep them coming.

That railroad bridge is on an old section of the Lincoln Highway from the 1913 route.

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Packard enthus. 1,000+ Points

Packard enthus.

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ANY  DAY IS A GREAT DAY FOR A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY cont:

Le me supplement my earlier (see above) post showing my Packard Twelve at the museum in Kingman, Arizona recently. 

 

The attached photo shows wife and I enjoying our collector car on the Pacific Coast Highway headed to the Hearst museum at San Simeon.    Two lane highway, typical of what major U.S. highways were like in earlier times

 

The point?    50-60 mph is about as fast as it is comfortable to go on such roads.  Explains why most pre-war cars were geared so much lower than post-war practice.  A quick summary of the problem - the "lower"   (higher numerically)  the "final drive" ratio, the faster the entire drive-line must spin for any given speed. 

 

Bottom line...the typical post-war car's motor  (with its much less abusive shorter stroke) is operating at approx. half the rpm of the longer stroke motors of earlier eras.   Explains why modern era cars seem so much more relaxing to be in on modern highways.   For the simple and obvious reason their drive lines are spinning so much lower than the lower geared cars of previous eras.   Think of how much harder you are stressing EVERYTHING...not just the connecting rods....when driving the  earlier collector-era car in modern conditions!

 

My suggestion - accept the technical limitations of the earlier collector cars by operating them within the speed ranges,  and on the roads they were designed for.   

 

A bit of snobbery here - late Packard Twelves have significantly more competent brakes than late Cadillac V-16's.   Those of us lucky enough to have the most powerful, most technically competent "super cars" of earlier eras can re-gear them to cruise comfortably at today's speeds.  ( Mine has a 3.23 rear end gear ratio in place of the stock 4:41.)   "Do the math"......On a thousand mile trip,  a stock-geared car will have to go another 350 miles to arrive at the same place!      

 

So what!    Bottom line - isn't the enjoyment of a collector era car best realized if we operate them in conditions best related to what they were designed for?    Yes, I personally can cruise my own Twelve down the modern Interstate with the best of them.   But the real enjoyment is when I get off,  leave the modern era behind,   and try and duplicate the experience of by-gone times.

PACKARD Coast hghy.jpg

Edited by Packard enthus.
crrected my miserable spelling & grammer ! (see edit history)
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Packard enthus. 1,000+ Points

Packard enthus.

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1 minute ago, demco32 said:

yes it is a jaguar  I think an xk 140 roadster

You lost me.  Thought I explained my Packard Twelve is a Packard Twelve.  I never lied to you..never tried to pass my Packard Twelve off as a Jaguar.

 

For those who do not know,  Packards are American cars - Jaguars are English.   Big difference - for example,  American cars use Mazda-related electrical systems.....meaning...Delco or Auto Lite (Owens in the earlier ones).  (Mazda is the Greek god of light).    British cars have Lucas electricals - the British god of darkness.......!

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CChinn 5,000+ Points

CChinn

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1 hour ago, Packard enthus. said:

ANY  DAY IS A GREAT DAY FOR A RIDE IN THE COUNTRY cont:

Le me supplement my earlier (see above) post showing my Packard Twelve at the museum in Kingman, Arizona recently. 

 

The attached photo shows wife and I enjoying our collector car on the Pacific Coast Highway headed to the Hearst museum at San Simeon.    Two lane highway, typical of what major U.S. highways were like in earlier times

 

The point?    50-60 mph is about as fast as it is comfortable to go on such roads.  Explains why most pre-war cars were geared so much lower than post-war practice.  A quick summary of the problem - the "lower"   (higher numerically)  the "final drive" ratio, the faster the entire drive-line must spin for any given speed. 

 

Bottom line...the typical post-war car's motor  (with its much less abusive shorter stroke) is operating at approx. half the rpm of the longer stroke motors of earlier eras.   Explains why modern era cars seem so much more relaxing to be in on modern highways.   For the simple and obvious reason their drive lines are spinning so much lower than the lower geared cars of previous eras.   Think of how much harder you are stressing EVERYTHING...not just the connecting rods....when driving the  earlier collector-era car in modern conditions!

 

My suggestion - accept the technical limitations of the earlier collector cars by operating them within the speed ranges,  and on the roads they were designed for.   

 

A bit of snobbery here - late Packard Twelves have significantly more competent brakes than late Cadillac V-16's.   Those of us lucky enough to have the most powerful, most technically competent "super cars" of earlier eras can re-gear them to cruise comfortably at today's speeds.  ( Mine has a 3.23 rear end gear ratio in place of the stock 4:41.)   "Do the math"......On a thousand mile trip,  a stock-geared car will have to go another 350 miles to arrive at the same place!      

 

So what!    Bottom line - isn't the enjoyment of a collector era car best realized if we operate them in conditions best related to what they were designed for?    Yes, I personally can cruise my own Twelve down the modern Interstate with the best of them.   But the real enjoyment is when I get off,  leave the modern era behind,   and try and duplicate the experience of by-gone times.

PACKARD Coast hghy.jpg“Ask the Man Who Owns One”!

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TTR 10,000+ Points

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Another great 120+ mile Sunday drive, including 20+ miles on rough, single lane camping/fire/forest service roads & couple hours of hiking in the Cleveland National Forest near Tenaja Falls (again). 
And in case I haven’t made it clear, I LOVE DRIVING MY PB ROADSTER, even, or perhaps especially, on a rural single lane & very twisty canyon/hillside roads, which due to limited visibility & (rough) road conditions often limits the speed of travel to 5-25 MPH, but fortunately have very little other traffic (very rare here in SoCal, but better for me).

958C5C16-4E05-445E-9A65-AF69C8B8FA11.jpeg

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TTR 10,000+ Points

TTR

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P.S. Close(r) up photo from yesterday’s wilderness adventure.

Sometimes (like yesterday) I wish I had a one or two teens/twenties sports car type vehicles to drive/enjoy them in similar environments and study their chassis (brake/handling/suspension) characteristics. 
Maybe in next life.

 

1684F453-50A9-4D43-93B5-E08DF4B357B5.jpeg

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Paul Dobbin 25,000+ Points

Paul Dobbin

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Saturday I led a short 65+ mile tour south into Georgia to Lakemont GA.  A small community that time has passed by on the Old Historic U.S. 441 South.   We drove through Clayton GA, Tiger GA and nearly to Tallulah Falls to a private collection.    A nice building full of Corvettes and GM muscle cars & trucks.  All very nice, plus a Model A Roadster Pickup and a 34 Ford Pickup.    

I led in our 35 Buick followed by a 1924 White Bus  (Yellowstone Tour Bus), a 33 Buick, a 35 Ford V8 Fordor, a big 36 Packard sedan, a 51 Ford Victoria, and a 67 Chrysler 300  2DHTP. 

We enjoyed a nice Cars & Coffee breakfast of sausage & biscuits & pastry.   Good conversations while enjoying another man's collection in a fabulous new building.   Lunch was pulled pork, chips and soft drinks.   As we were preparing to leave, a all original, but repainted 1937 Pontiac arrived.  It had a sign in the window,   (For Sale 1937 Pontiac,  one family owned for 3 generations)   A nice looking black car with a nice interior and ran very quietly as we all admired it.   It was Glidden Tour ready too.  It SOLD immediately at an undisclosed price.   We then headed back north to our mountain homes, with some of our group stopping for a Car Show in Clayton GA. and the Yellowstone Bus went on to Cleveland GA for a Truck Show.    As usual, I failed to take any pictures.   

A beautiful day for a ride in the country.   I even spotted a restaurant to go back to on another ride in the country, when we have more wives with us.  Only half the wives went this time because we left so early.
 

Edited by Paul Dobbin
spill check & correct (see edit history)
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