Poor boy driving his cheap GT car

pwd72s · 09-15-2009, 07:54 PM

Still mulling over whether or not to keep the Mustang. So took a little run today, including a drive over the crookedest road in Oregon. First pic is at the beginning of this road, and the corner you see in the pic marked at 25mph should be considered one of the high speed sweepers. 7 miles further along, the road narrows to about 22 feet wide, full of swichbacks as it climbs from an elevation of 2,000 feet to over 5300 feet in 11 miles or so. Corners are then marked at 10-15-20 mph, and you'd better stay on your side of the line because you can't see vehicles going in the other direction until they are right in front of you. The corners ARE that tight...road visibility ahead of you gets awfully short.

Tho I've never been over the tail of the Dragon, I'd be willing to bet this one is twistier. It's an old wagon road connecting Eastern Oregon to the Willamette Valley. It was blasted & dug during the late 1800's...probably black powder days.
Blasted, because it literally cuts through old lava flows.

At the top, a scenic pull out. Other pics taken there. Sorry no pics of the really twisty bits. I was busy, and Cindy was hanging on.

Note the sign in this pic...we drove the road from West to East:

Now at the top...pics taken from the viewing area parking lot. Here you see the South & Middle Sisters Mountains:

Old man enjoying an espresso..note the lava flow. Imagine the technology of the time...building a Wagon road through this stuff.

Glad I made the drive...200 miles later, I'm not tired...air conditioned comfort while entertained by CD tunes all the way. Rapid transit...and comfortable transit.
Yep, I'm going to hang on to the Bullitt for a spell...It's a very easy car to drive.

Gogar · 09-15-2009, 07:56 PM

Nice Pics, Paul!

Hawktel · 09-15-2009, 08:00 PM

Some moons ago I hiked that country all over the three sisters. I even know the road you mention.

A man could have a much worse day than running his Stang around in that part of the world.

slodave · slodave's Garage

Good for you, Paul. Enjoy every minute of it!

McLovin · 09-15-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Still mulling over whether or not to keep the Mustang.

Why are you even considering selling it? From all I've read in your posts, it seems like you thought the car was the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Tobra · Tobra's Garage

That, and more important, the little woman digs it.

m21sniper · 09-15-2009, 08:32 PM

I sure wouldn't mind having that poor boy's GT car.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

glad you enjoyed my driveway

BTW - parts of the hwy differ from the old wagon road - you can walk along the old parts for a few miles in some places

HardDrive · 09-15-2009, 09:19 PM

Paul, that is a great looking car. No wing, not ornamentation, all business.

pwd72s · 09-15-2009, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RWebb

glad you enjoyed my driveway

BTW - parts of the hwy differ from the old wagon road - you can walk along the old parts for a few miles in some places

More than a few old wagon roads in the area. One section is still dirt, you can see the old blazes pioneers chopped in trees...if you look up. Not far from Browder ridge, North of Clear Lake. My deceased buddy & I hunted the area decades ago...The "high Cascades" hunt...an early season. I haven't bought a hunting license since he died...dunno if the game division still has that special hunt or not.

I dunno...had a period there where I wondered if I wouldn't have been happier replacing the old '77 Power Wagon with a newer full sized 4X4 truck. But after this run, think I'll keep the Mustang. I've driven the same route in the old 911S...the S would be very slightly quicker over the very twisty (think tight autocross with elevation change) bits because of it's modded suspension & shorter wheelbase. Those sections where V-8 torque & power mean little. Over hwy. 20? Through the South Santiam pass with high speed sweepers, I'd give the Mustang the edge...and the Mustang is light years ahead in ease of driving & comfort. Great seats, air blowing cold, and able to handle twisties very well.

Over the 200 miles I drove today, none of it freeway? I'd have been bone tired when I got back home after driving the 911S. Its that much more work to drive quickly than the Mustang...

livi · 09-16-2009, 12:38 AM

Paul, I just read a review in a Swedish car mag. They tested four new American irons: The Mustang, the Challenger, the Camaro and the Corvette. As expected, the Corvette was in another league - the only real sports car. The test crew said the three other cars made them laugh (in a positive) way more than in any other previous test. Traditional American cars with big engines but not the chassis, brakes, suspension and tires to back it up. They truly had a lot of fun burning rubber on that air strip! One of them said: If you don´t like this cars you must be stupid! Commenting the engines: A classic V-iron with a lot of horsepower that produces a lot of engine sound.

Jeff Higgins · 09-16-2009, 06:01 AM

Very cool, Paul. Neat area with lots of fun roads - I've been on many of them with cars and bikes. It would be fun to take a big, growling V-8 American hot rod over them. I'm envious.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

re bone tired

Age catches up with all of us. Bruce Anderson switched to a Boxster a decade or more ago.

For those of us not near a Pcar dealership; or who venture onto the backroads of the Intermountain West, a US or Japanese model makes a lot of sense.

I expect to drive my 911 until I am your age Paul, but I don't figure I'll drive it forever. After the 911 goes someday, it'll be something more modern & cushy -- maybe after that I'll hot rod a wheel chair...

pwd72s · 09-16-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livi

Traditional American cars with big engines but not the chassis, brakes, suspension and tires to back it up.

There I differ with those Swedish writers, Livi. The Bullitt Mustang very much has the brakes and suspension to back it up. They perhaps didn't drive a Mustang with "track pack" suspension? Brakes? Quite good. Tires? Yep, I plan on going a bit wider and stickier once the 235/50 ZR 18 BF Goodrich G force TA's wear out.
But box stock, a Bullitt pulls past .9 on a skidpad. In other words, I don't think a Bullitt Mustang would be slowing a normally aspirated Porsche down much when running over the S. Santiam pass. During this drive, there certainly wasn't anybody on my rear, wanting by. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Randy's right...Fast in the 911S was a lot of fun...but I prefer fast with luxury now. It's less tiring. And it is sad but true...when you're 65, you definitely don't have the energy you had at 25.

Then there is the peace of mind...knowing I'll never again make 180 mile round trips to Portland to have skilled work done on a car. When the car had to be in the shop for more than a day, these trips turned into two car convoys, Cindy following in the Ranger. As nice as the '72S was, these trips became a royal pain in the butt...

No regrets over the nearly 40 years of P-car ownership. Many fond memories there. But it was time to move on.

VaSteve · 09-16-2009, 05:02 PM

I went to the NASCAR race last Friday. (Joke all you want). They had a demonstration where they were drifting Mustangs around a short course with some really soft tires. Very little shrieking sounds. I liked whatever body style this green car has when it came out, but the newest style, a bit refined from this one, made me go to the Ford site. I'd love to try one out.

911pcars · 09-16-2009, 05:18 PM

Paul,
Lower the ride height about 3/4". Will look and feel better.

Sherwood

pwd72s · 09-16-2009, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 911pcars

Paul,
Lower the ride height about 3/4". Will look and feel better.

Sherwood

I've ridden in one that has the Ford racing coils, lowering about 1/2"...looks great, doesn't aid handling that much while yielding a rough...very rough ride. Part of the looks lies in the fender design, I think. Ford design should have dropped the fender openings a bit, perhaps.

Bilstein also makes a coils/shocks package for the car...but I dunno, as is, the car drives out very nice, despite the high looking stance. Actual measuring under the car reveals it's pretty low already. Guys on Mustang boards who have done the lowering are complaining about not clearing speed bumps, sloped driveways, etc.

But so far, haven't enough info on coil rates, shocks valving, bar sizes, ect. to form a baseline. So, just waiting and watching.

Steve? Many of the goodies on the '10 GT's are on the '09 Bullitt...the Bullitt was kind of a test mule. Purely a taste thing, but I liked the '09 lines better than the
'10 models with their camaro like hood and overly rounded rear fenders. Thus, asking the local dealer to chase down an '09 Bullitt for me as the '10 models were coming out. No Bullitts in '10 either...and GT's have the stripes & spoilers...I didn't want those. Again, just a taste thing.

VaSteve · 09-16-2009, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwd72s

Steve? Many of the goodies on the '10 GT's are on the '09 Bullitt...the Bullitt was kind of a test mule. Purely a taste thing, but I liked the '09 lines better than the
'10 models with their camaro like hood and overly rounded rear fenders. Thus, asking the local dealer to chase down an '09 Bullitt for me as the '10 models were coming out. No Bullitts in '10 either...and GT's have the stripes & spoilers...I didn't want those. Again, just a taste thing.

The rounded rear fenders is what did it for me. They seemed more compact. That and the headlight area is a little smaller, like they drew down the hood a bit. I found a magazine from the summer where it got pretty good reviews. I might go test drive one....that's free right? It looks like they tweaked the inside as well. I wasn't really in the market in 2004 when I saw the last one, but I thought they tried too hard to be retro with the interior styling. At the expense of modern era convenience.

pwd72s · 09-16-2009, 05:57 PM

Yep, test drives are free. Be sure to ask to drive one with "track pack" suspension. Interior? Well, Bullitt package added about $3K to the sticker. Part of the package is full leather seating, using the same sports seats as the GT 500.

If you buy, strongly suggest the HID lighting option if you do any night driving.

VaSteve · 09-16-2009, 06:01 PM

I meant for the interior, they set it up like the old 2 pods of the 60's Mustangs. IIRC the cigarette lighter was in some odd spot considering everyone has a nav/radar/cell phone these days. (Yes, I know....

)

HIDs are nice on my wife's van. I have the hardest time at night any longer and I'm only mid 30's. I very rarely drive at night (just my schedule) and I always seem tired when I do bu that's a different thread.