Western N Carolina

Lane Anderson posted:

If the clutch can be resolved without pulling the engine (seems unlikely) then there's a chance I can get it done.  Not really wanting to pull the engine.  And I am still on restricted activities post-op, so I can't really do much for a few more weeks.  After I can be a bit more active I will get it up in the air and inspect the forward transaxle mount. 

I had bad clutch chatter when taking off on a hill ( that fxcking hill when leaving the Caddy Shack )  for instance for a few years in a row and thought it was my clutch. It was the rear tranny mounts. One broken and one cracked. The front was fine. I replaced all with genuine VW heavy duty mounts and the chatter disappeared. 

I third a launch yesterday and it seemed almost normal.  I plan to check tranny mounts when I can get it up on a lift.  If they're ok I won't let the chatter stop me from driving it.  Tires are a must to take it on  a trip, though.

That should "tried," not "third."

Musbjim, take note: Long pants and real shoes required for SN tour! LOL!

Re: SN Tour

You gentlemen are free to do as you like, but I've got zero desire to fork over a Benjamen so my wife and I can be held hostage for 3 hrs in a brewery. If the rest of the gang decides to do it, that's cool-- I'll happily locate a nice lunch spot for Mrs. Galat and I, and perhaps buy a bottle from the dining establishment (should I be so inclined). I might light the remaining $50 on fire (after the lunch and the beer)... which would be vastly preferable to using it to be willingly held hostage for the afternoon with a bunch of folks who are dying for free beer (and are willing to pay a lot for it).

I'm with Stan.  I do not want to pay for a 3 hour tasting tour.  I guess a 90 minute free tour is ok but that's not why I came to the smokies.  If the weather is nice I'd rather be soaking up the hills and mountain air.  Guess we could make reservations for the free tour.  If its beautiful outside we'll cancel.  If its raining we'll drink some beer.

I agree. A quick stop to eat, recharge, and pee. Pick up a six or a growler to go, then drink it at night back at the lodge.

DannyP posted:

I agree. A quick stop to eat, recharge, and pee. Pick up a six or a growler to go, then drink it at night back at the lodge.

Yeah, I think I'm with Danny there.

I'm with you guys. The only tour I want to see, is the tour that beer is going to take across my lips while I'm sitting at a table or on the patio snacking on some food.

It'll also leave us open to whatever we want to do during the drive without being on a time schedule.

And the "nays" carry it. I'm taking a bunch of time off, and crossing a few state lines and one time zone for a singular reason: to drive some of the best roads in America.

I move we not muddy the waters. Drive 'em.

Just remember, Stan......  That once you cross that time zone into "Smokey Mountain Time", everything slows down.   Twenty minutes late is a half hour early "Smokies Time".   (Seems to be a "mountain thang".   I saw the same effect in the mountains of Honduras, 50 years ago.)

Not necessarily a bad thing, you know?

Gordon Nichols posted:

Not necessarily a bad thing, you know?

I think not. Tick tock! We're burning daylight here, Mr. Nichols. 

Are the folks from Illinois going to drive there in one day or do an overnight stop on the way?

I would like to try and make it one day, and think it is possible without killing myself if I leave in the early morning hours.

In my many years of professional driving ( 3,000,000 miles) 58mph is the overall adv. no mater how you plan it. Traffic, munchie stops, gas or when THAT burrito decides to inflict havoc and certain doom to the time line, it's 58 mph .

Blues Brother's quote of the decades: 

"Elwood: There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses."   

'We cancertainly beat 58 miles oper hour'

If Mrs. Galat is coming with: two days. If it's just me and my beef jerky: one.

It's only a thousand miles.

Al: I I were driving for a living, I'd probably find that you are right. I don't, and when I'm alone I travel... um, somewhat faster than that.

Gordon Nichols posted:

"There's 106 miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark out, and we're wearing sunglasses."

We're on a mission from God.

There was a time back in my prime I made multi trips (In a Thunderbird turbo coupe w/ Lay's chips, RC Cola and Moon Pies) North Jersey to Pompano Beach Florida in 19 hours and did so, only because my God given angels kept up with me.

I've never really found my endurance limit in a Speedster.

Long distance, there's always someone in the right seat who will suffer in silence once her limit is reached, only to remind me of the fact periodically, at strategic moments long into the future.

It's my mission to sense when that limit is being approached and to take remedial action in time.

So, I've never gone more than two hours without some diversion, usually involving food. And the daily journey ends around 200 miles.

How long could I go unimpeded? What would get me first? The rasp of the engine? The whine of the fan twelve inches from my ear? A cramping leg? Rapture of the highway? Narcosis of the buttocks?

Driving a Speedster is an exercise in self exploration.

Around 350 miles in a Speedster and I start getting grumpy, especially if it's hot.  My last day's drive home from Carlisle is (I think) about 450 miles, and the last couple of hours is always hot and steamy.

You ever pan through responses, semi-reading, not really paying attention, and then "Narcosis of the buttocks..." catches your attention. Wait. What? 

Butt narcosis eventually leading to necrosis.

280 is the most I've done in my Spyder, solo. I think I can do more. 

58. Really, that's it? I made it to the Drakes through NJ. Four hours flat. That's 70 average, with stops for fuel and bathroom.

I usually stop every 100-150 miles for gas, potty break, and to get circulation back in my butt.  I find that the stress level is greatly reduced in the Speedster when not trying to win the non-stop distance award.

I get 160 on a tank, so I'm right there with you, Lane.

Start early,  roll up as many as possible early in the day, take care of business when you need gas, eat beef jerky and mixed nuts in the car.

I go between 200 to 250 miles per tank. It's a game with me-- I never aim for the end, I aim for the next gas break. 200 miles, then another 200 miles. Lather, rinse, repeat. Before you know it, you've gone 1000 miles.

I couldn't pull that off in the BMW, much less the Speedster.  I bow before your awesomeness, Mr. President.

I need 2 more gallons to manage that feat, Mr President.

I can make it ~200 miles, but I don't like pushing it that far.  I usually try to gas up by 150 miles.

How many miles between Lubbock TX and Pittsburgh PA?  (~1700 mi, 25 hrs, says Google) That would be my record.  A few facts: 1956 A coupe, starting to be November of 1967, weather turning ugly, no heat, too cold to sleep in the car (I tried), no hotels anywhere (in western Tenn and WV), starting to snow, 21 years old, a six week old kitten in the right seat.  Should be dead down a mountainside in West by God Virginia (where there is not 100 contiguous feet of straight and level road anywhere), but I musta borrowed one of Alan's angels that night.  So am here to tell the tale.  pretty much cured me.  I figure 500 mi is a l-o-o-o-o-ng day's drive in any car.  Five or six hours a day with frequent stops is about the most I manage these days, and usually less.

18 trips back and forth to Beaufort, 1,100 miles each way.  Me, Kathy and the two Jack Russells in a 4-door diesel pickup.  16.5mpg towing the trailer, 38 gallon fuel tank.  The math says 600+ mile range or one entire driving day. Would always do 600-700 miles the first day, 6-7am start to 5-6 pm stop, usually including no fuel stops, lunch stop (we shared our sandwiches with the pups) and two puppy/adult breaks.  That would usually get us through the Washington DC rush hour traffic (which was ALWAYS awful on the Beltway, especially hauling a trailer in heavy traffic) by the end of the first day.  Jersey/Philly/DC traffic was why we moved inland to I-81.  100 miles farther, exactly the same travel hours.

Second day, out by 5:30-6am (usually couldn't sleep well in hotels), fuel up ASAP and then morning puppy break, noon lunch stop, 2pm puppy/adult break and home by 3:30pm.

Trip notes:  Service stops almost anywhere outside of New England are great - PA north into New England they pretty much suck with New Jersey and Connecticut vying for the worst on the east coast, especially if you have dogs.   There is at least one Virginia state cop per mile on I-95, starting 15 miles from the state line, to the state line (both north and south) - all with RADAR.  Georgia has no service/rest stops remaining on I-95, either direction.  They may have eliminated their "Welcome" stops by now.  SC has the lowest gas/fuel prices and they usually increase 15-20 cents per state as you drive North.  The motels along I-81 in W. Virginia are reasonably nice - the people are a little weird.  I will always trust semi-trailer drivers WAY more than I will ever trust a car/pickup driver.  The federally illegal "Speed Trap" on I-95 in Ridgeland, SC (just north of the Georgia state line) has been eliminated and physically torn down by the Feds.  Before the Feds took Ridgeland to court (and won, stopping their issuing of tickets on a federal highway) the town was getting ticket revenue upwards of $600,000 per year for 2 - 3 years.  

I love driving - it's the "getting there" that's boring.

I have never driven a speedster for a very long distance, but google says it 633 miles from my house.

I am planning on stopping every 150 miles with a 30 minute rest stop.

If I leave at 5 in the morning, that puts me in the area around 4 pm(5pm with time change)

Thats my plan, if I am not thereThursday night,I will catch up with the group on Friday.

Good plan Tom, if you get tired just pull over amd sleep a few hours off the highway.   Sandy usually goes with me, so we break up a trip that far over two days.   Going  home we just go straight through if the body is up for it.  You  know she sleeps most of the way anyway. 

Tom Boney posted:

I have never driven a speedster for a very long distance, but google says it 633 miles from my house.

I am planning on stopping every 150 miles with a 30 minute rest stop.

If I leave at 5 in the morning, that puts me in the area around 4 pm(5pm with time change)

Thats my plan, if I am not thereThursday night,I will catch up with the group on Friday.

Your estimate about on the same track speed wise that we travel, Tom.  All in all, over many years of long distance travel with the Speedster we always plan on 50mph overall each day.  My self inflicted common sense limit now is about 500 miles per day. I really like 400 or so traveling with company, taking well into account the old IM low bux Speedster that I drive. 

I'd sure support and contribute to a new thread about travelling on the "secondary roads rather that the Interstates" as suggested by Phil somewhere else earlier. 

On the way back from Carlisle this year we barely diverted Syracuse, NY with a two hour delay due to an accident on 81N and evaded heavy rain as well. Phil from Norfolk apparently is good at this and plans for it.

David.  You are correct.  Always took the road less traveled in the 356.  I know this runs contrary to most, but if I have to go by interstate I think I might as well trailer it.  My spyder will never see an interstate.  And yes I will eventually get a trailer.

Creekside Lodge reserved for Fri 9/29 through Sun 10/1. Nine total rooms now reserved by SOC that wkend. Now for the big question: who's in charge of the weather ? ��

"Who's in charge of the weather"

Hah, that's a good one.

Weather is a crap shoot in the mountains.  You just have to hope for the best.

...who's in charge of the weather ?

Why, George Burns is of course!