Wishing for Spring

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tyang
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Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 10:28 pm
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Wishing for Spring

Post by tyang »

O.K, I know it's only January, but I've had enough of the snow and the cold weather! It's worse when you've got a Vintage Ferrari waiting to be driven! With snow in the forcast for my "Ferrari Frday" it doesn't look like I'll be working on my car this week!

Can I live vicariously through the guys in warmer climates? What are you doing with your Ferraris?

Hey Luke, how did the anti-football run go?

Tom
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lukek
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Joined: Tue Sep 03, 2002 12:34 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

re: spring

Post by lukek »

Got to Starbucks at 8.00 am. My son did not cooperate and kept me up most of the night, so I headed for coffee before even looking for other early arrivals. Once I came out, I was floored to see a Tatra. Now, this is a 2nd world war era design, with a rear mounted air cooled V8, a giant dolphin fin at the back and cyclops like headlight in the front. I am familiar with these things since the people responsible were our neighbors to the South (Chechs), so I have seen a couple here and there in my teens. The founder of the event turned out to be the owner!!! He is the same guy who organizes the CA Mille Miglia, a local financier, car nut, and philanthropist, Martin Swig.
Other cars, and there were about 50, included a very rare one off 50s Ferrari belonging to E. Zausner (I am told that he is well known in Ferrari circles, he has his toy shop next to Patrick Ottis in Berkeley). There was a Lusso. Its owner turned out to have been an architect. He also did a stint working for Santiago Calatrava (small world). Do look up Calatrava's work, if you have any interest in design. Georgous scheletal, anthropomorphic structures, bridges, train stattions, etc.
Others were the usual mix: Morgans, MGs (I was stuck behind a TC for a while), Healeys, 2 "real" Minis, 308s and, Dinos, later GT4s, one old Lancia Aurelia, vintage Bentley 4 door, two DB6s in perfect shape (it pained you to see them go through the mud, they were so clean), a Fiat 1100 TV, Porsches (356s and 911s), a Shelby GT350, some Cobras, and a Maserari Mexico. An SVT Mustang from 2002 sneaked in, too.
Once I got my pin, sweatshirt (new automotive related quote on the back every year), sticker, and route map, we set off down HW 1 by the coast. I am sorry to say Tom, but it was clear and sunny. A little chilly, but pleasant. Roads ranged from 2 lane HW 1 with 60 mph stretches to near jungle like forest passages climbing Mt. Tam, with leaves, bark, and wet slimy matter covering the super curvy blacktop. We also went on this "Oh, my God, how can two cars pass and not fall into the ocean" kind of roads. And this is where the Austin Healey overcooked it. We just saw a guy waving to slow down and then spotted the car, roots embedded in the grille, the side bashed in. The people were OK, and nobody took a bath. The only other mishap was an Alfa GTV hitting something, but I was not nearby. Funny, because there were no crashes on 01/01/01, my first Anti-Football run (I took the E-type).
My navigator, Doug, was great. We only missed one turn, and I got to learn about what the lasers are doing at the Lawrence Livermore Lab. Cool stuff, in additional to the mandatory car banter that took place.
We cheated a bit on the way back, taking the slightly faster route for 10 miles or so. I was worried about not making it back for 1pm, concerned about other participants scrafing down the Il Fornaio lunch. But there was plenty left.
Cars were all cordoned off in the restaurant parking lot, so the event became a show for the public, with us in the joint getting to know even more car people. I sat with my long time Alfa mentor and good friend, Felix, talking about his Giulia Sprint Speciale, the crappy economy, and all that other stuff.
The GTE was great, never overheated, brakes never faded, plenty of torque, little need to row the box. The suspenskion was a little bounce and that back setup a little noise, but I am probably spoiled by newer cars. On the way back (5 miles from home), the OD gave up ghost, It happenned with smoke and great thrashing mechanical noises, so at first I got spooked and thought the T/O bearing "unfixed" itself. I think I will have 4 gears till' I pay off the XMas bills and pay my property taxes.
Hope you nejoyed this report, and I do very much recommend these types of events. Not too much pressure, good scenery, good length (4.5 hrs, ~200 miles). One day, I might organize one of these things, also for charity....
Hope spring comes soon to your parts.

Later
Luke, 1963 250GTE
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tyang
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Joined: Wed Nov 27, 2002 10:28 pm
Location: New York
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Post by tyang »

Hi Luke,

Thanks for the story! It really makes me want to live somewhere that I can drive my car year round, but then I'd have to give up all the other things that NYC has to offer, like security checkpoints, dropping murder rates, and drug stores on every corner!

It's 33 degrees outside, so the rain keeps changing over to sleet. Further north where my car is spending the winter, it's probably all snow. I didn't even bother trying to go up there, but I'll still be posting a story about Ferraris tonight. It's a story I saved for a dreary day like this to tell.

Tom
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