2020 Tour de Smo' - after all

I'm in, with my lovely wife! Looking forward to it.

I'm in as well, with my bride Anna.

I'll be there, but Michelle is staying home this year, watching Charlie.

I'll be driving the truck with Spyder inside the trailer. It will be a long trip, but this is why I bought it.

Lenny is my wingman this year, it will be his first Smo'.

Yay, Lenny!

I need to talk to the guy that owns the place we ate at last time. He has a new restaurant in town. I might be able to reserve our own room for lunch. I also know the guy that owns the business behind him and he'll let me rope off his small parking lot for us to park in. It's only a 7 spot, but if we have it all to ourselves, we can pack them in. So if I'm able to do this, the Deliverance run will have to happen on Saturday. I can also meet you all on Friday to do the Rattlesnake. I've never been in that area, so someone else would have to lead that one.

Stan led the Rattler last time. I'd wager he'll do it again. It's more getting to the start of it. It ends in a cute town with a great screened open-air pub/restaurant for lunch. Then we backtrack to the beginning.

Don't ask me the name of the town or the restaurant. But we should investigate if they're open.

Carlos, sounds promising for your run.

@Panhandle Bob posted:

I'm in as well, with my bride Anna.

Bob, you'll love the roads. Your bride may not. The Rattler has a lot of sharp LONG bends, like 270 degrees.

The end point of the Rattler is in Hot Springs. Thanks, Carlos.  Your plan certainly works for me.

I'm booked for Friday night, so I get to dance around the fire with youz guys. Cool.

Danny: 

She may well be off doing other stuff. She is going for the scenery, to meet other wives and because she sorta' likes me.

Twisties aren't her thing.

I’m a definitely maybe. As long as things stay on the straight and narrow I should be able to pull this off. I’ll be solo as the Mrs. works and needs to tend to the 16 Yr old boy. 

@MikelB--

How about you and Dianne? I'd love to see you again.

Jus got back from an exploratory run on some of the roads we'll be brappin on. It was in the high 70s, took 2.25 hrs and it was 84 miles long. My shoulder is feeling it.

You know it's twisty when your steering wheel gets loose....  What torque is that center nut anyway? This has been happening since day one. Should I red lock tight it? There isn't much room for a wavy or lock washer either.

90 percent of the time your in 2nd or 3rd and that little dead zone in that not-so-awesome VW steering is pretty annoying.

If Panhandle Bob can make it - I'll be there with my wife (Patti).  I know she want to tour the Biltmore.  Maybe she can go off with Anna. I hear there are some micro breweries nearby too. The Rising Sun Miata will be there!

Outstanding! 

Great, Greg!  Just be advised that we're staying about an hour west of Asheville.  That shouldn't stop you, though.  Last time we went into downtown Asheville one evening for dinner and live bluegrass.

Greg, finish your car, I thought you only had a few hours work on it......

Bentley book says 36 ft. lbs. for the steering wheel. I'd use blue Loctite so you can remove it later.

Carlos, I'll bring my steering box tools. I've adjusted just about all my play out, it is darn good now. Grease the front end and double check your wheel bearings before the Smo tour. If somebody brings a jack and stands we're good.

@Lane Anderson posted:

Great, Greg!  Just be advised that we're staying about an hour west of Asheville.  That shouldn't stop you, though.  Last time we went into downtown Asheville one evening for dinner and live bluegrass.

And that night was EPIC!

Snappy's(the Italian place across the street) and the breakfast place next door are open, but for takeout only. Works for me.

The pub we had lunch at in Hot Springs IS open for dining, so that's good.

Danny, In my grand plan, I'd like to eventually make an access panel to get to the steering box top adjustment nut. I guess I could find one of those plastic plugs and use a hole saw. 

I was going to run the front end up on some ramps and toe it in a touch. The front wheels are almost parallel right now. I could tell today. I'll check the hubs and grease what needs it while I'm in there. Maybe freshen up the clutch fluid some.

I did get my sway bar cut and the ends milled square. I started cutting the arms from 3/8 aluminum plate today. I still have to make the brackets for the bushings and the tabs for the suspension arm. That will not be done before Smo though.

I did have a set of 50s idle jets, so I put them in. I brought the timing down to about 29ish, reset the idle speed to 850-900ish, balanced the carbs and linkages at idle and 3500rpms, and did the dance with the idle mixture screws for one half turn past peak rpms. I'm still at about 11 at idle. Cruising went up to 12.9-13. WOT I don't know, I was too busy staying on the road today. It ran well today. It burps a bit during transition sometimes though.

I ordered some 47.25s, O rings, and some gaskets for the carbs. When they get here, I'll recheck the floats, spray out the passages put some fresh gaskets and new idles in and start over. I'm going to also recheck my valves. We'll see. I'll post up my findings on the other thread I started earlier. 

Carlos, it all sounds pretty good. I usually run my volume screws(they really aren't mixture screws, as you already know the mixture is set by the jets) an eighth or sixteenth turn rich of peak rpm. With 57.5 idles I'm running 13.5 or so at warm idle.

RE: the steering box

I think the top nut is a 17mm, and a right -angle screwdriver does that, no hole or panel required. The front locknut is 41mm, and a 7/8" or 22mm nut welded to a flat plate can get the front worm adjustment. The front adjustment needs to be done first before the top adjustment. Like I said, I'll bring them down with me no problem. We need the wheels hanging. I should be able to get a jack and stands in the trailer. All you gotta do is show up, and nurse that shoulder.

My mother grew up a little north of Asheville so I've spent a lot of my life driving those roads. I wish I could be with you!

Well  old age has caught up with me......  I'm in the middle of an apparent arthritic flare up with not much in the way of relief except non exertion.....  It comes and goes at random and when its here its no fun.....  Wish I could be there but long haul driving is a B@#%H.... Did a 140mile round trip to Gainesville Ga. and it took a day and a half to recover....  Like I said, NO FUN!!!    So I'll have to sit this one out.....  Best wishes for an enjoyable run through the mountains.....  Sorry to miss it....  

😢 Sorry to hear that, my friend.  You will be missed.  We’ll raise a glass or three in your honor.  You might even get a call from the fireside at some point.

One day we will make this event.  I've always wanted to visit that area, but with the border closed (no wall as yet...), it would be impossible for us to get there.

2021...

@LeonChupp posted:

Well  old age has caught up with me......  I'm in the middle of an apparent arthritic flare up with not much in the way of relief except non exertion.....  It comes and goes at random and when its here its no fun.....  Wish I could be there but long haul driving is a B@#%H.... Did a 140mile round trip to Gainesville Ga. and it took a day and a half to recover....  Like I said, NO FUN!!!    So I'll have to sit this one out.....  Best wishes for an enjoyable run through the mountains.....  Sorry to miss it....  

Leon Have you been checked for Fybromyalgia?  (They first thought Lyme or RA) I have the Fybro..  Intense flu like body aches every day and also get intense flare up's ..Gabapentin  Rx does help quite a bit.  

Alan.....   I just got the negative results on my test for Fibromyalgia.....  Was glad...It would not have made my day.....  Lyme was a neg. also....    Just falling apart I guess..

I've had Psoriatic arthritis for decades....

So everybody is bringing a vehicle to bang around turns in.

I know that my wife can't tolerate it due to a recent Seadoo accident. I don't know if the other wives are hardcore right seaters or not, so my question is, is anybody bringing a vehicle that could be used by those who aren't interested in the daily drives, or is there a place in Maggie Valley to rent something for them?

Anybody know?

@Panhandle Bob posted:

So everybody is bringing a vehicle to bang around turns in.

I know that my wife can't tolerate it due to a recent Seadoo accident. I don't know if the other wives are hardcore right seaters or not, so my question is, is anybody bringing a vehicle that could be used by those who aren't interested in the daily drives, or is there a place in Maggie Valley to rent something for them?

Anybody know?

If I trailer (and that's an "if"), I'll have the limo.

@Stan Galat posted:

If I trailer (and that's an "if"), I'll have the limo.

You set the limo up for towing the Speedster?

MY MAN STAN!!!

There's a sight you don't see every day.

@Stan Galat posted:

If I trailer (and that's an "if"), I'll have the limo.

And I have to miss this...

I don't know if I ever commented here or not, but I was thinking about a trailer-draggin' limo from the start.

Hilarious! But still cool with me.

Yank the rear seat out of the Limo, sleep there saving the tariff at the No Tell Motel ~

tequila fixes all my old age problems,well, most of them..

Bob

The Asheville airport is maybe an hour away.  If there’s nothing closer you can certainly rent something there.

@Alan Merklin posted:

Yank the rear seat out of the Limo, sleep there saving the tariff at the No Tell Motel ~

The backseat is out right now, to access all the wiring for the trailer connection. I’ve got to run a couple of wires up front for the trailer brake controller, but the battery is under the back seat which helps a lot.

I thought about sleeping in the back of the limo, but Mrs. Galat is graciously accompanying me, so we’ll spring for the indoor plumbing.

@DannyP posted:

I don't know if I ever commented here or not, but I was thinking about a trailer-draggin' limo from the start.

Me too. That was a key consideration. Ideal would be the limo dragging a nasty flatbed with a porta-pot strapped down with highway straps.

Glorious. 

There's a sight you don't see every day.

Especially with the Presidential seals and flags.  

The traffic just parts in front of El Presidente.

Bob: there is a Miata too

https://turo.com/us/en/car-ren...23?searchId=eGa0Sa9s

@Stan Galat posted:

The backseat is out right now, to access all the wiring for the trailer connection. I’ve got to run a couple of wires up front for the trailer brake controller, but the battery is under the back seat which helps a lot.

I thought about sleeping in the back of the limo, but Mrs. Galat is graciously accompanying me, so we’ll spring for the indoor plumbing.

Oh, man, I was looking forward to hosing you down every day after you "ripened" in the sun LOL!

Get out the cameras.