75 Spider West Coast Tour - DIY Spider Bits

[Andyblahblah]

your spider is looking pretty sharp.

Thanks!
I'm happy with it, but I can't help but think that it probably just photographs really well.

[Andyblahblah]

Just fuelled up headed up from SF to Boise tonight look for us in between

[Dawgme85]

Have a safe journey! Sorry I won't be in town when you arrive. Be sure to look up Fiat Enthusiasts Northwest when you get to Seattle (www.fiatnorthwest.org and on FB).
All the best,

LeRoy

[Andyblahblah]

Thanks LeRoy, I will.

I suppose it was inevitable, I'm on a side road in Bend, OR with a broken alternator bracket. It wouldn't be a big deal if the lower bolt hadn't sheared off as well. My partner is running to the hardware store to get some things and I've got everything prepped for repair. Should be fine. Luckily, we have a 'support' vehicle for this leg of the trip.

Thought I'd take the opportunity to catch up the thread on our progress. It's been a long, mechanically uneventful couple of weeks and the car has been running as good as or better than could be expected.

Southern California was hot, we lost a drag race to a 68 Mustang, stopped at Disneyland and taught a bunch of kids CAD. Up through SF to Boise, then over to Bend last night. We're on the way to Portland tonight and then on to Seattle on Thursday. If you're in Portland tonight, we're going to be at Core77/Hand Eye Supply's space.

Funny enough, as I'm sitting here on a rock typing next to the car with the hood and trunk up, a little red MG tooted by without so much as a look to see if everything was OK. He went to the end of the block, did some business and then tooted back by again on the way out. I guess one can't expect everyone to stop.

I just got a text that the boys are on the way back, so with that...

[AriK]

Road trips lose their fun factor when unexpected breakdowns occur . I've travelled to FFO on Tuesday and it's always on the back of my mind when I'm on a stretch of road or a bridge where shoulders to pull over are not provided. That said, the repair itself can become pretty overwhelming when you're on the lookout for the cars that blow by you at 70mph. I've seen far too many dash camera videos of accidents involving folks who sideswipe or smash into pulled over vehicles. Always carry triangles or a couple of road flares.
Good luck on your roadside repair. The fun factor quickly returns when the repair is successful. Get back on track quickly and enjoy your roadtrip.

[Dawgme85]

Andy, there are FEN members along your route to Seattle who watch the FB page, so check it out, too, if you run into any further troubles in Washington. Good to hear your Spider is generally running well.

LeRoy

[Andyblahblah]

Thanks guys -
We made it to Seattle with only a couple little bumps. We covered about 2700 miles in 12 days in steady >90 degree weather. It was hot and my copilot reminded me of that about every 20 minutes - he's used to a very mild SF.



Our last little bungle happened about 60 miles south of Tacoma, when the car just died with no warning at about 65 mph. I steered over to the shoulder and after some searching saw that the distributor cap was cockeyed. Not sure what came first or who touched it last, but the rotor cracked and banged around inside the cap, or the cap wasn't screwed on all the way and let the rotor come off.
AND of course, that's the one part I didn't bring a spare of - I had everything else, but the rotor didn't get put in my order before we left and I didn't have time to run out for another. I did, however, bring lots of zipties and self-adhesive tape, so...



It limped home the last hour, but we made it! I have a couple more workshops to wrap up the tour, but once I got the car home in Seattle, I grabbed my truck keys with no shame. If you want to appreciate your newer vehicles, drive a 40 year old manual car for a couple thousand miles and your 2003 Tacoma will feel like angels are carrying you on your own special air-conditioned cloud chariot.

The trip was fun, I'll make some vids and post pics - the kids will be stoked, too.