Central Valley Classic Cars - Roads & Trips

Monterey Car Week Engines

2010-08-17T19:07:00Z

At this years, events, I found myself snapping pictures of engines this year. Had I put any thought into it a head of time, I would have gone out of my way to get important engines from each of the great marques. But I didn’t. So here’s a somewhat random collection of the expensive metal that was on the Moneterey Peninsula for the 2010 events.

Buying A Lotus

2009-09-25T03:59:00Z

The problem with telling this story is that nothing interesting happened. Sure, I ended up with one of Chapman’s little Bread Vans, but 500 miles in a vintage Lotus during the blazing heat of summer should have been ripe with struggles. And it just wasn’t.

It all started with my last Lotus. I only owned the car a mere three weeks, but in those few weeks it left a lasting impression. I was hooked and bent on getting another one as soon as I could afford it. Unfortunately the term afford becomes awfully vague when saving up for a span of multiple years. Things inevitably happen. Changes that affect priorities. The first was my office moving from walking distance from my house to somewhere further. The distance wasn’t the problem though. The problem was that I did occasionally drive to work. Which was fine, we had parking at the old building. But in our new place parking was only in a multilevel garage with prepaid parking permits. And my only car has no roof or windows. So a paid for (and expensive) parking permit could be easily stolen.

That’s okay, I’ll move the time table up and get myself another Lotus. If I needed a car with a roof it might as well be a Lotus, right? I was going to save up more money then I spent on my last Esprit Turbo and get a nicer Esprit Turbo, one of the Peter Steven’s styled cars. But I’d be happy with a cheaper older Esprit Turbo if I had to get one sooner than planned. The older, and worse shape its in, the less I would worry about it. Great.

And then more changes. I went to Africa. I liked it. Wait, no I didn’t. It made the Valley in summer feel like Antarctica. But still I want to go back. And do more traveling in general. So what if I found an even cheaper car that was fun like the Esprit? More money saved for other things. Toyota used to make that MR2 thing. Lotus even helped them design the first version. But the second generation offered a turbo. And turbo’s are fun. I could get one of those for half the price of an old Esprit in bad shape.

Then Car Week hit. I couldn’t have a Toyota. That would be too wise or responsible or something. All things I aspire to avoid. I wanted another Lotus. But I want a mid-engined car and I need something with a roof. Now Lotus hasn’t made that many different models so that really narrowed it down. I had seen old Europa’s for sale before but never in person and thus never gotten to drive one. I didn’t know if it would cut it. Especially with my wife’s comments that it looks like an ‘alien baby hearse.’ All that changed at the Monterey Historic Races. I saw for the first time in person; a Lotus Europa. It was tiny. I loved it.

I went right home and found two for sale in the LA area. Not exactly convenient but doable (and the price was just what I was looking for). I should mention there was also one in San Francisco, and another in Monterey, but neither was running and the most important thing I needed to know about the car was that it was fun to drive. So after a few failed attempts to fly down there with a buddy, I made plans with my wife to visit her family in Bakersfield. The trip would provide a stepping stone to LA where I made arrangements to see one of the Europas.

The weekend came and with it, record heat. Santa Cruz was over a hundred degrees. SANTA CRUZ! The boardwalk was reporting 93 degrees a few yards from the waters edge. And this was the weekend I would be traveling inland and possibly driving home in a 40 year old car with no A/C, which I’m sure would break down, leaving me to sweat it out on the blazing hot asphalt ribbon running 500 miles between my start and stop points.

Seeing the car in person didn’t excite me to the point of forgetting the 108 degree heat out that day, or the fact that the car wasn’t in LA, but Costa Mesa, and extra 45 minutes south. It was even more awkward looking then I remembered. Its particularly odd shade of blue inspired my wife to call it the ‘Smurf Alien Baby Hearse.’ I knew full well why everybody save my two closest friends were either adamant that I not buy the car or avoided replying to my emails of pictures of the car completely. Its not as awkward looking in person as it is in photos. But it is awkward.

It was in worse cosmetic condition then I thought but mechanically impressive. I was expecting the opposite, and that threw me a little, but I progressed with the testing and took the car out for a drive. It was fantastic. It felt very little like the Esprit. It was a combination of the same nimbleness but with an old car simplicity. It felt classic. From the cockpit with its simple wood dash full of all the necessary gauges and lack of sound deadening, it reminded me of the Trans Am racing Boss 302’s that I dreamed of turning my old Mach 1 into.

Needless to say I bought it. And drove the thing 200 miles to Bakersfield. And then another 200 miles to Merced. All in 100+ degree weather. And neither I nor the car was fazed by the heat. I filmed much of the trip, hoping for some Lotus-itis to make for a memorable documentary about the crazy guy trying to drive a Lotus 500 miles without a breakdown and all the breakdowns he then endured. But the car let me down (by not letting me down).

I presented the car to my Dad, I would be leaving it with him for a week until I could come back and paint some racing stripes on it (I needed to do something to help the car’s looks). He warmed up to it. Perhaps just because I already owned it and there was no reason to berate my purchase. Or perhaps the drive in it changed his mind (he left some tire marks in the driveway).

A long week of sitting at work thinking about what all I’d do to the car when I paint the stripes later, I came back to Merced and fulfilled a long time dream of mine. To have a car with Le Mans style racing stripes. And for the first time in a long time, I had my own car again. A car which I tuned to my preferences and driving style. Which is modified in ways I think are better. Which is blue with white stripes (that I decided on, designed and painted). It feels right to. Not too showing, not expensive, plenty interesting, and not full of gadgets I don’t want, will break down, and add weight. Its like a race car. Its just right for me, and I now remember how good it feels to take a car out for a drive, just to take the car out for a drive. Criticize its looks all you want, I love it.

It made the last 100 miles to Santa Cruz without a hitch and its winning over the people who told me not to buy it one by one. Not that I care terribly much. I spent the money and I’m glad I did.

Pebble Beach Tour 2009

2009-08-17T18:00:00Z

Just when you thought the CVCC fun of Monterey Car Week was over for another year, we surprise you another fun collection of Les Ellis photos.

From Les:

The Pebble Beach Tour is one of the neatest events of Car Week.

The Pebble Beach cars are all “invited” to rally around the Monterey Peninsula. The “carrot” to accepting the invitation is that if two cars on a class are judged to a tie and one participated in the tour it wins (tie-breaker). The public find viewing spots along the route and get to see some of the rarest and neatest cars in the world for free.

The Cars with Green Decals on one headlamp are the “official” participants, but, as you can see, some really neat “spectator” cars join in.

Many thanks to Les for sharing his great photos with us. You can find high quality prints at Woodies at Crossroads in Carmel. Or contact us for more info.

Problem: Oil Leak; Solution: Hills Motors

2008-07-24T05:19:00Z

This week I took a little road trip to my old stomping grounds on the San Francisco peninsula to have some work done on the Jaguar XK8 coupe by the good folks of Hills Motors in San Mateo.

The mechanics at Hills did the initial inspection of the XK8 for me. Over the following year, I got to know them and they got to know my car as they helped me with project work. Since the move out to the Central Valley, the car had been leaking a small bit of oil from at least two spots on the garage floor. I called Mike at Hills to see if he knew anyone with Jaguar V8 experience in my area. He didn’t, but he noted that they had previously fixed an oil leak among other engine work that they guaranteed; if I brought the car to them, they’d do a free inspection; if the oil leak was related to any of their previous work, they’d fix it for free.

Back to the SF Bay Area

I still work in the Bay Area, but I usually take Amtrak. The opportunity to take the XK8 out on the road sounded good, but sitting in commute traffic did not. Attempting to beat traffic, I headed out about 5:45am. The first leg went well and I was over the Altamont pass within an hour. Then traffic went down hill along with the road and moving through the Livermore/Pleasanton area was less than fun. It’s a blessings that the XK8 is a really good grand tourer, not only because it’s fun to drive on the open road, but also because it is comfortable in molasses traffic.

After Pleasanton, things began to move again. But this was short lived. Then came 238 -> 880 -> 92. I detest this stretch of road. I’ll leave it at that. From 92 on was fine. FasTrak is a good thing. All said and done, I pulled into Hills Motors at 8:45am… the second leg took twice as long as it does without commute traffic.

Jaguar Mechanic Investigative Reporting

John lifted his head from under a hood to greet me as I came in and Mike emerged from the office to do the same. Mike has always taken the time to chat with me about my car and their work and this time I came prepared with a list of questions. Mike was gracious and patient and gave me lots of good info I’ll disperse in a couple of posts over the next week or so.

Worth immediate note is that Hills is offering a discounted price on replacing the upper timing chain tensioner (for $1600) or completely redoing the whole timing chain system, including chain, tensioners and guide rails (for $3900) of 1997~2000 Jaguar V8 engines. Both quotes reflect $100 off their usual estimate. They’ve seen enough 4.0 AJ-V8s ruined by chain tensioner failure. I had them do the complete job awhile back, and they did solid work. From what they’ve seen, just replacing the top tensioner greatly reduces the chances of failure, and I highly recommend doing this if you still have the original, plastic-encased tensioners.

Rollin’ Executive Style

With the XK8 in Hills for the day, Mike tossed me the keys to an XJ Vanden Plaus – an extended, executive saloon. I headed over to Raj Tiwari’s home office on the lagoon of Foster City. It was like sailing through Venice. The day was cool and overcast on the peninsula for the morning, but the clouds burned off in the afternoon and the blue skies reflected beautifully off the water.

Then Came the Bad News

Turns out the leaks weren’t related to any of the previous work done by Hills. And it wasn’t two leaks, but three:

Engine oil pan (which looked bruised but functional at purchase) – $155 for replacement, plus a couple hours to install and clean up the mess.
AC pressure line o-ring – $180 to discharge the AC and replace the coupler o-ring, plus $195 to evacuate and charge the AC.
Power steering cooler hose at connector – estimated at $417.

This was well beyond what I could do at the moment. That little voice in the back of my head was saying “what was the budget for this project car again?” This wasn’t on the charts. I had them skip the power steering drip for now – I can watch that and buy some time.

After doing the work, Mike showed me the beat up oil pan and failed gasket. Apparently, some time in the past, the pan had encountered something hard and had bent but not broken. Instead of replacing the pan, the gasket was augmented with silicon. Eventually the gasket gave out at the silicon edge.

On the Road Again

The Hills Motors guys got the work done quickly and had the car ready by 3:30pm. I traded them the XJ for my XK8 and jumped on the road in more vain hope of beating traffic. The trip back was pretty much a mirror of the trip out – bridge/92: a breeze; 880 -> 238 -> 580: painful; 580 through the Tri-valley: fluctuating; over the Altamont/down the Central Valley: mostly smooth sailing.

A Fun Trek and a Job Well Done

I made it home, safe and sound, with time to wash the car and the garage floor before parking it for the night. I’m pleased to report that when I pulled the car out the following evening, only a small drop of power steering fluid had blemished the floor.

Hills Motors
4011 Pacific Blvd.
San Mateo, CA 94405
(605) 573-7425

The Less Beaten Path to Santa Cruz

2008-03-16T17:00:00Z

I think I found the best route yet, between Santa Cruz and Burlingame. At least it was a very enjoyable drive yesterday.

Going down, I had my sister with me, so I took the traditional 101 -> 92 -> 280 -> 85 -> 17 (very direct, lots of cars, nothing I haven’t seen many times). But on the way back I was by myself, so I experimented with the route.

First stretch: Hwy 1 from Santa Cruz to San Gregorio State Beach

We all know this stretch well, often the less congested segment of the coastal route; curves here and there that open often to straight-a-ways, lots of amazing ocean view, occasional jaunts through the hills just inland, small passing lanes when the hills prevent clear sight on the straights. It was late afternoon, and the sun was breaking though the rain clouds of the earlier, road was dry and smooth. Not sure if the speed limit is 50 or 65, people drive the range, but there weren’t too many out and I had plenty of opportunity to explore the xk8’s possibilities. I stopped once to take pictures of kite boarders.

Second Stretch: 84 from San Gregorio to La Honda

Traffic on 1 was building, and I’m no fan of the congestion in Halfmoon Bay or 92, so I cut inland at 84 (good recommendation Ben). I had driven this many years ago, but the road was not in the shape it is now. From 1 to La Honda, it’s all fresh asphalt. A very nice balance of bends and straight-a-ways. A truck and an SUV, the only cars encountered, both slowed as dotted-yellow straights opened up, inviting me to pass, which I did with ease. Road is not windy but was really fun in the xk8 – just right for the grand tourer. Scenery is beautiful and easy to take in, rolling green pastures hemmed in by tree lined ridges, specked with wildflower color. No posted speed limit much of the way, occasionally reduced to 45 while passing through small communities.

From La Honda to Sky Londa

The road is much older asphalt, feels harder, rough, but no potholes. Much more windy as you climb into the mountains. Curves are tight and banked decently. As is often the case on mountain roads, visibility isn’t great as you snake around the outer ridges, but there are plenty of curves where you can see the oncoming road across a gully. I eventually got stuck behind a truck with surfboards out the back, but he clearly knew the road and was going about as fast as he should so it wasn’t a total drag to be behind him. Much of this area is posted as a 35 mph speed limit, with turn warnings ranging from 15 to 30 mph.

Third Stretch: 35 from Sky Londa to hwy 92

I love this stretch of road. Climbs higher along the ridge. Thick tree cover at the base, lightening slightly as you climb. Road is also old asphalt and could use a repaving, occasional potholes, but nothing I could not avoid while still staying cleanly within the lines. But the rhythm of smooth bends accented by tight curves and short but open straight-a-ways is most enjoyable. This stretch had a bit more cars on it as there are some get-way hotels/rustic resorts nestled here and there, but passing was never a problem, and some of the other drivers are there for fun too (passed 3 new looking Ferraris heading the opposite direction – one clearly a 430, other 2 likely 612s, and a Carrera S was getting off as I was getting on). A couple of miles south of 92 you crest the highest ridge and the view opens up to a breathtaking panorama of Albert Canyon to the west and Adobe Gulch and Crystal Springs Reservoir to the east (but my eyes were mostly on the road). I think stretches of 35 are posted at 50 mph. Much of it is unposted and the straights beg you to open up.

Final Stretch: 92 to 280 to Burlingame

Well, I had to get home, 280 beats 101 any day.

I’ve done 35 down to 9, through Big Bason before too. You can cut over to 17 at Felton or take 9 through Henry Cowell State Park all the way into Santa Cruz. That’s also a good drive, but it’s much of the same winding through forested mountain roads. Redwoods are impressive and everything, but this route had a bit more variety to enjoy:

A Google Map of the Route