John Austin's Epic Road Trip - San Diego to Edmunton, CA

Well I said goodbye to my Roadster today. As you might recall I sold it to John Austin in January and it was stored at my place until today.

John and his co-pilot Jim flew in and went to the DMV for a one-trip permit. After a few hours of fun at the DMV the guys called me and I picked them up. I checked them out on the car and discovered a problem with the brake lights. I was going to take it to a shop tomorrow AM but they decided to carry on and fix the problem on the road.

First leg of this road trip is up to Laguna/OC area today with a stop over at VS in the morning to fix the problem. Hopefully Kirk can take care of them.

John will send me updates and I will pass them on as the road trip progresses.


Dave

Kirk will take care of you, great guy!

Bummer to see your car drive off to its new home, Dave. But at least you're still hanging around with us knuckleheads!

Ya got anything new in mind, or are we gonna lose you, Dave?

Well, Dave may be carless for a while, but he will NEVER be lost. As I hear it, there WILL be another Speedster, just not sure when.

Well, like Kelly says I am carless for awhile but not leaving the SOC.
I miss the tub now that it is really gone.

Got word from the boys last night, the made it to Kirks (VS) and he took care of them. It was a loose connection at the master cyl brake switch, that is why it worked intermittently. They got to see Kirk's shop and then went up the road some more. So the trip continues....


Thanks Kirk, I talked to him in the morning and he was waiting for the boys to show up and said he would take care of them.

Kirk and VS are the best!!!

Agreed, Kirk, Mary, Kathy and the VS Team are good people, I've been dealing with them for about eleven years to date. ~Alan

Dave, sorry the tub is gone, but we will work on getting you back into something just as much fun.

John is in SF already, making good time and getting some sightseeing in to.

Here is a cut and paste of his latest update:

dave

must get sleep so short note
played with light pull switch and found that with enough wiggling the head lights & park light come on with dash lights too. thats good
thanks for temp info
yes ladies open car windows to yell at us.....fun that
we slept on the beach, stopped at a hippy style gas station by Big Sur,took many photos of flowering cacti
at at Mels in San Fran original not retro

John and Jim made an inland turn to Sacramento with a side trip to Reno for some ribs. Driving into the hot country now. here is his update:

Well, we stayed near Sacramento....divey.....drove to Reno had ribs at the Circus Circus...no beer it is too hot...Im keeping my shirt soaked with every stop. But did brown bag a beer at a gas station in nowhere....I live for Coors....jim drove...he has a summer cold and is trying to cure it with brandy, coffee and cigars....Needless to say I'm driving, when he drives he rides the clutch, and accelerates.decelerates too fast..save it for the track. He is a great navigator, except for when he is medicated....go figure.
We laughed our heads off (plop) when we read about the medical marijuana that they will deliver to you with a donation.....or the free gram of your choice to new customers...this is new to us.
Windows down top up and cruising at about 65 thru Nevada.....everyone passes us but they slow to look
My nose looks like Rudolph's....maybe Ill buy myself a present!
Just went for a swim at the Thunderbird Motes in Elko....the pause that refreshes
will write more when we have time...drive, eat , sleep take photos....etc
john and jim
ps. he told me I looked like Gilligan ( the island Gilligan...you know Ginger and Mary-Ann) I wanted to ditch him rite there...but he evens the weight out in the little car. onward

We pulled into the shade of a gas station an my trusty copilot jeers the door handle.... Well it fails to with. He looks at me and says"cheap German crap, preplanned obsolescence, that's why they lost WWII....... Well, me being Canadian, I wanted to knock his uvula off with a hockey stick, lucky this is Nevada. No hockey
John and Jim go on a road trip

The humanity.....

OMG, I have GOT to meet these guys! The hockey stick comment was hilarious! Whatta couple of entries they are to the SOC patchwork quilt of crazy people!

angela

Would someone tell Jim that the car has enough torque that you dont even need to use the gas to start rolling, just feather out the clutch. But, NOOOOO Jimmie has to rev it up to 4000rpm and then slowly, oh so slowly let the clutch out. These Cadillac owners, I just dont know, just dont know. Well he gears up, and again drives erup to 45000 rpm then drops it into 4th in such awat that my butt slides a half an inch on the fine fine fine Mazda seats Dave installed. Well, at least I can breath again...untill he starts tailgating...my pet peeve.
It happens the guy in fron hits the brakes and his lights come on....Jimmies is forced to stand on his and sownd shifts with a Bengal Tiger Roar. I just focus on my toes and do not look. Why Why Why...iss make me craqzy. GIVE YOURSELF SOME ROOM, because the guy in front may have just downed a 24 of Coors or is in need of a 24oz Coors. Besides the fuel tank is just above my knees.
Ya ever notice that the little car is so narrow that one could reach over and choke the driver with BOTH hands, thumb on the jugular while sterring with the right knee....i HAVE.

MORE LATER Jimmy and Johnny take a road trip.

Don't overlook the elbow as a driving improvement tool. A good crack across the head with your left elbow might just straighten things out a little bit - LOL!

angela

So we leave Daves and Sally Forth feeling all cocky. Driving as Jim sez from pee break to pee break. Damn that middle age thang. I spot the Rib Place that I visited once before while staying up the hill from Laguna Beach. Yes, that was the same place, looks they havent even dusted since last visit. Nice to see the waitress has a figure that suggests she eats there. Good recommendation. She was a natural for the Rib Joint. On the walk in I spot a gut pretending to take a hit of a joint and walk right up to take my pretend hit. He just about fell down with laughter. Jimmy and Johnny order the TRYEVERTHANGFROMTHESMOKER for two. Beers were cold and the waitress takes one bottle in side to peel the lable off for me. Sweet. I feel a generous tip comming on. Kills me that one must exit the rear door to go outside to use the washroom....yup, kills me. Food was great. We stayed next door at the Holiday Inn. Probably the nicest and priceyist motel we sampled. Just so you know, Jim snores like a sownshift to 2nd gear with one pea-shooter tailpipe missing. Ya, ya Ill tell about the tail pipe later. Geees.
I woke up three times to make sure I could still pee and each time I walked like a NINJA in my daintys down the upper balcony to see my new baby parked so sweetly next to those ordinary cars.
Breakfast was one of those serve-yourself bars. I love those. Muffins toaswt juice cereal banannas and an apple for the road. Meanwhile Jim has found the free pamphlets (did I spell that correctly) rack and the free morning newspapers, well now the passenger footwell is full of stuff and bannanas, muffins and apples.
We drive on to Hawaiin Gardens. Where are the gardens...where is the Hawaii stuff...I was so disappointed. Vintage Speedsters....What a bonus field trip for this owner. Kirk was accepting an order of car bodies...business looks good. Repaired my brake lights, and let me walk all over the place. I saw the banjo steering wheel I want so much. Met an owner who drove Porsche many years and now drives Vintage because its possible and affordable. Jim took a taxi to a wheel company he deals with. Son of a .... probably will write it off on his business taxes back home. Kirk faxes my documents to the border people. Makes me nervous. They have too much power, and one bad emotional day could... well...you know. Horror stories abound. To soothe this fear I drive about a hundred yards to the liquor store. bought a 24oz Coors in a plain brown wrapper and a long sleeve white t-shirt. The beer was magnificent and the t-shirt probably saved my hide from the sun.

. . . I remember saying something like 'I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive....' And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge bats, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down to No Cal. And a voice was screaming 'Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?'

Then it was quiet again. My attorney had taken his shirt off and was pouring beer on his chest, to facilitate the tanning process. 'What the hell are you yelling about?' he muttered, staring up at the sun with his eyes closed and covered with wraparound Spanish sunglasses. 'Never mind,' I said. 'It's your turn to drive. If you ride the clutch again I will extract your small intestines through your left eye socket.' I hit the brakes and aimed the White Guppy toward the shoulder of the highway. No point mentioning those bats, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough."
(apologies to HST)

OMG you read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas? ULTIMATE road trip! You know, aren't you guys supposed to be heading for Canada?

angela

... this is priceless ...

As in: one FG Speedster -- $15K; a case of 24 oz Coors, $20.00, a long sleeve T-shirt - $9.99 -- Several days in a little car with my homey -- . . . I'm just sayin'

OH YA, slipped my mind (denial), di I tell you how I was rearended in San Fran. Jimmy was behind the wheel ... go figure. He tried to start at a red light with 4000rpm and the car mistakenly in 3rd ... didnt work so well and the Roadster stalled about 15 ft into the intersection ... thats when the cab bumped us. I just focussed on breathing while JImmy jumped out. Im hard of hearing, but the conversation at the rear of the car led me to believe there was damage. So I held my breath and got out to look. NO BODY damage ... whew, but the tail pipe was knocked off, lic plate lamp crushed and a verticle crack in the bumper. He he he

We just laughed, watt ya gonna do! Soom the cabbie was laughing and when his superviser arrived he started laughing too. Life is too short to get upset. We were unhurt and the damage was bolt ons. Henry will have the answers. Good excuse to cross the Rockies again an see the IM shop!

Jim is driving over tonight in his 60 Coupe de Ville and I may mistakenly brush a cigar coal against his upholstery. OOPs

jez jokin

Oh ya, two things

last nite I saw a bat swoop over the car and I ducked. Made me think of the Hunter Thompson quote ... lol

Another great road trip book Ive read was On the Road by Jack Kerouak of thebeat generation. We have members who may remember those days. Tea, jazz, Rt 66. Jacks epic trip starts in his mothers apt in NYC where Jack lives. Moms home ... where it ALL starts. I must read up and see if the Greek Odysee starts in some mothers home lol

Still another one is "Blue Highways" by William Least Heat Moon

Right up there with Kerouac, IMHO and way better than Hemingway's "Travels with Charlie".......

gn

If you're going to beat someone with a hockey stick, use an Easton aluminum one.....

Gordon,

Me thinks you mean "Travels with Charley," by John Steinbeck! Heminway was an ocean guy and Steinbeck did the road thing a couple of times!

Bruce

Mike, I grew up in Edmonton playing street hockey in sub zero farenheit temps. No way could wee cheer for Toronto so we were Les Habitants fans and bought Sherbrooke and CCM sticks. old school

Ya Travels With Charley and Blue Highways. Thanks for waking up that Neuron inside my skull.

Mike, I grew up in Edmonton playing street hockey in sub zero farenheit temps. No way could wee cheer for Toronto so we were Les Habitants fans and bought Sherbrooke and CCM sticks. old school

Ya Travels With Charley and Blue Highways. Thanks for waking up that Neuron inside my skull.

"Blue Highways", the book my father was reading when he passed. I finished it for him.

"Epic Road Trip - San Diego to Edmunton, CA". Edmuntun...???? Is that like a 5 mile trip?

Well, the car now lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with a climate like Moscows. One more reason to visit Morro Bay 2012.

You know, I crossed the border hoping my paper work is correct and Jim sez that if any os the i s are not dotted or the ts not crossed the take the Roadster out behind and make the owner watch as they crush the car!!!!! thnx jim

So, I pass, thats the good news. First I have to pay a (VAT) tax called the GST (also known as the gouge and screw tax) and becausr Alberta has no provincialsales tax they find another tax for me. The Auto Insures tell me to pay &400cdn, $380usd to inspect the car to verify ther are no STOLEN parts. Holy cow why me, ask the theives to pay the tax. I already paid for the car. What man would dteal a 1.8l flatfour air cooled from an old beetle. Tyres, tranny, brakes jeeze its all old tech whoed steal that. The theivery is the $499 for the inspection. There now I feel better.

Jim is driving his 60 Coupe de Ville here for the Blues Fest and Im gonna make sure I drive his sluce box 2 speed auto all over town. Think those tranny bands may slip a little ... he he he

john