Porsches across the West

All,

My family will soon embark on a road trip from Seattle to Denver with our two old Porsches. One is a 1988 911 3.2 with 91,xxx miles, and the other 1 1989 944S2 with 123,xxx miles. The family is my wife, our 21-yo daughter (an accomplished PCA track day veteran of over 40 days) and my 15 yo son (a budding pilot on a learner's permit).

Should be lots of fun. We'll switch off car/driver/rider combinations, and will have two iPod enabled vehicles, so the tunes will be blaring. The S2 has working A/C and thus may be in high demand.

I got laid off from work in March, and this should be a good break from worrying about it. I'll pack the usual spares and plan for the best.

[Jagshund]

Going without spares might make it more interesting.

[Paul K]

If you come through La Grande give me a shout!

[MT930]

The high west is the best !

Enjoy your Trip!

[GH85Carrera]

We will make the same pilgrimage to Keystone CO from Oklahoma City. It is only 750 miles for me and my 85 Carrera.

[Grady Clay]

madcorgi,

Originally Posted by madcorgi

All, My family will soon embark on a road trip from Seattle to Denver with our two old Porsches. One is a 1988 911 3.2 with 91,xxx miles, and the other 1 1989 944S2 with 123,xxx miles. (emphasis added)

HA!
Those are NEW Porsches, in their prime.
The brave soles do this in a ’64 or ’68 with 500K.

Obviously regular maintenance and service are prudent. After, do an extended ‘test drive’ to high altitude (to see if the engines track altitude correctly) and across the Channeled Scablands on a hot day (to insure the cooling systems work correctly).

Now for the really fun part; The Route.

I assume this is Seattle-Denver-Seattle. A “Great Circle Rout” is most spectacular. I’ll also assume you have taken the kids touring the PNW so a fast and long first day will get you into new territory.

MT930 is correct:

Originally Posted by MT930

The high west is the best!

Another fun aspect is to do some research of the history, geology, wildlife, explorations, etc. along your route. What caused the Cascades? Why the features in the Channeled Scablands? Where do you cross the “Oregon Trail”? Stay off the Interstates where possible or appropriate. My 911 has handled roads that could barely be called ‘improved’.

Perhaps a route to Banff N.P. and then down to Glacier Park, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain and Denver might be fun. Many of our family trips included organized day-adventures; whitewater rafting, aerial tours, steam trains, day trip on horseback, etc. With some organization (and a little help from your friends) this should be possible on a budget.

There are places in Wyoming where the covered wagon tracks from 1880 are still visible. You can look down from the train above Boulder and see the outlines of teepees from the 1890s. You don’t luck into these features, planning is necessary.

Depending on your family’s camping and backpacking experience, many simply go among campsites across the West. State and National Parks are full of great campsites. With a motel (& pool) stay every few days, it can be fun and comfortable. A 911 packs well as a backpack. We have come out of a 4-day trek to the 5-star Broadmore.

I assume you have a destination here in Denver. Perhaps we can organize a Pelican Party. There is every imaginable Porsche service available. Some organized events include the PCA Parade and the Colorado Grand in addition to a track event or tour almost every weekend.

Please post more on your preferences, route and time constraints. Your Pelican and PCA friends can help.

Best,
Grady

[Winter]

I second Grady on the camping. Both of my old VW campers (air cooled) saw a lot of that country. Keep in mind that camping is free and unlimited on the BLM lands across the west. Usually you can exit off of two-lane blacktop and drive down access roads a short bit to find easy and free spots for car-camping. Of course, the vans had a bit more clearance for the gnarly roads, but most of the time simple prudence will suffice and you don't have to go far to feel the solitude.

And hot springs. . .natural hot springs. Aahhhh. Many of them out there, do some research.

---

Tom '75 targa

[GH85Carrera]

My idea of camping is no free high speed internet connection. To each his own.

[Grady Clay]

A fun aspect of doing a Porsche Tour anywhere is you can have all of the Pelican world involved. This allows you to tap the incredible resource to plan your trip, to recover if you have a problem, what to see next and meeting like-minded Porsche people. The trip is archived forever. Others can experience your planning and trip to better plan their own – not only vicariously experience your trip.

Quite a large number of Pelicans have done this. We even helped organize a tour of the West by some of our friends from Down Under.

Of course this means stops with internet access. While the admonition to ‘take your cell phone and AAA card’ applies, keep in mind a lot of the West has marginal cell coverage. If you are going to real ‘back country’, there are other communications alternatives. When packing into the National Forrest, it is prudent to alert the Ranger Station to your plans.

What is the plan?

Best,
Grady

[herr_oberst]

I'm in Portland, PM me if you feel you need a contact (if you are even going this way)

(I think a pilgimage to meet Grady would be worthwhile by itself)

Thanks to all for the suggestions and interest. I have been out of computer range for the past few days and came back to a lot of replies.

We sort of have no plan as yet, though my wife is working one up. I doubt it will be anything too adventurous or back country, but it will be a blast nonetheless. I like the two-car arrangement because it will give a great opportunity to drive two similar vintage but oh-so-different cars from Porsche back to back. Should be a very cool time warp back in time.

Terry

Leaving today. Itinerary:

Tues 7/7 Leave Seattle. Drive to Enterprise OR (Hell's Canyon Scenic byway)
Wed 7/8 Play in Hell's Canyon (jet boat ride down the river). Drive to McCall Idaho
Thurs 7/9 Payette scenic byway thru Idaho. Then over to Idaho Falls.
Friday 7/10 Wyoming Centenniel scenic byway (part one) down to Saratoga WY
Sat. 7/11 Snowy Range Road across Southern WY. Turn right and go to Golden, CO.
Stay with friends in Golden, CO.
Mon 7/13 Drive to Dubois WY
Tues 7/14 Wyoming Centenniel scenic byway part 2, Yellowstone, up to Livingston MT
Wed 7/15 Rt. 89 up through MT to Great Falls, then down and over to Missoula
Thurs 7/16 home to Seattle

Four people, two Porsches with combined ages of 40 years and combined mileages of 215,000, tools, spares clothes, guitars.

Terry

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by madcorgi

Leaving today. Itinerary:

Tues 7/7 Leave Seattle. Drive to Enterprise OR (Hell's Canyon Scenic byway)

Terry

Enterprise isn't far from here, but I suggest you go a tad further to Joseph. Great little brewpub, Wallowa Lake (with campground), lots of other cool stuff to see.

Unless you're already there!

Cheers,

Paul.

Day--release me!

Yesterday we jet boated down the Snake River in Hell's Canyon, which forms the border between Idaho and Oregon. I won't bore you with how beautiful it was--insert favorite nature cliches here.

The road in, though, was indeed a thing of beauty, and we exercised the cars pretty hard for over 50 miles of tight second and third gear sweepers and switchbacks. The 911 was living in its sweet spot of 3000 rpm in third, where it has lots of torque and quick responsiveness. My daughter Emily had no trouble keeping up in the S2, and mentioned it too is a torquey car, especially after her Ford Focus. Which isn't.

The best part of the day, though, was the release we had to sign to go on the jet boat. It went a bit beyond the usual release language and got quite specific about the perils that could befall us:

"I understand that the interior structure or topography of the jetboats--which may feel different than a normal building--may include areas of low head room, stairwells, low hatch covers and overhead beams, small or cramped spaces, etc., all of which may feel unnatural and cause me to become disoriented and trip or fall.
. . . .
I will be jolted, jarred, bounced, thrown to and fro and shaken about
. . . .
poisonous snakes or plants
. . . .
I may encounter . . . actual fish and may be attacked or poisoned.
. . . .
I acknowledge that [this trip] will require me to interact with other guests and participants with who I am also unfamiliar; [this] can cause my discomfort and stress and have inherent risks.
. . . .
latrine issues, while they seem open and obvious, also have inherent risks associated with them."

We were so terrified we almost stayed on the dock. Eventually we screwed up our courage and went, barely avoiding the poisonous snakes and attacking trout. I did have a latrine issue with another guest with whom I was unfamiliar, which caused discomfort and stress, though no apparent inherent risk.

Today, on across Idaho to Brigham City Utah for a wild keg party.

Terry

The Porsches at Snowy Ridge Road in the Medicine Bow National Forest, Wyoming, 10,874 feet above sea level.

Cars have been flawless, though they are way down on power at high altitudes. Even the AC has worked very well.

I have switched back and forth between the two each day, and it's remarkable how different they are, given that they came from the same manufacturer at roughly the same time. After a long stint in the 911, the S2 feels a little soft in the steering. Then, after switching back, the 911 feels a bit nervous. The S2 has a bit more torque. When we pull into little towns, the 911 attracts the attention, and the S2 seems to vanish from sight like a homely sister.

As always, I can never decide which one I like better--they are both great.

Terry

This morning, we drove up Mt Evans with our Colorado friends Will and Christina. Mt. Evans has the highest paved road in North America, at more than 14,000 feet. We took Will's two BMW's and the 911. The drive up was spectacular.

Part way up the mountain, we were stopped in a scenic overlook when an outlandish vehicle pulled in. At first I thought is was a Dodge Viper with the world's most elaborate bra on, but the I realized it was a heavily disguised prototype of some sort. As it rolled to a stop, a guy jumped out and opened the hood. I saw a large V-8 with the letters AMG on the valve covers. I tried to strike up a conversation with the guy, who appeared to be a young Aryan Superman. straight from der Fatherland.

Me: What is this?

YAS: Nothing. Uh, it ees a V-8.

Me: I see that. Hmm. AMG, must be a Mercedes. Hey, are you over here doing altitude testing?

YAS: Zees I cannot say.

Me: Can I take a picture?

YAS: Nein, Nein! . . . . Well, not of the engine (slamming hood).

I took these before he managed to drive away:

[MattKellett]

Damn nice - Return of the Gullwing

[LakeCleElum]

Great story and pictures, keep 'em coming.

. . . and then, trouble struck.

We were at a rest stop in Boulder, Wyoming (population 75) when the 911 refused to start--battery dead. A good samaritan loaned us his jumper cables (I forgot to pack some) and we got it running. A bit up the road was a little car repair place on the prairie that just happened to stock the right size Interstate battery for the application. All seemed well.

Unfortunately, all was not well. While passing through Pinedale, Wyoming (population 1474) a few miles later, I saw the alternator light flickering at idle. The light would go off when I revved the engine, but then come back on again at idle, although the car seemed to run fine. I called my good friend Monty (Redmond European in Seattle) and he said the diode pack in the alternator was most likely dying. He advised against proceeding further, especially since we were about to head up into the Grand Tetons.

Pinedale has a NAPA, but they said it would take a week to ten days to get the part Down the street was a Car Quest. They didn't have it either, but the manager knew a guy who does auto electric repairs, and he had one! It is supposed to be here in the morning.

I pulled up Pelican and found a comprehensive how-to on alternator R&R, and, working in a hotel parking lot, was able to get the old one out in less than an hour using the tools I had packed. The only hard part was separating the alternator from its shroud, which required leaning the shroud assembly up against a curb and whacking at the alternator until it came out. Nothing broke, and I only dropped one of the little teeny nuts down into the bowels of the engine compartment. It's in there somewhere.

Now I have my fingers crossed that the new part will arrive tomorrow, and that it will be the right one. I'm trying to convince my wife that this is all part of the fun and adventure of taking old cars on long trips, but she seems unamused. Fortunately, Pinedale has a liquor store.

Gratuitous beauty shot from Mirror Lake, Snowy Ridge Drive, Wyoming.

Terry