2008 GTTSR: Going To The (Rain) Rally.

I’ll be frank: The weather today just plain sucked. It rained, and rained some more, and then it rained. Did I mention the rain?

Thankfully, due to the wonders of information technology both Mark & I knew today was going to be like this, so we were prepared. Last night we battened down the hatches on the 65E as best we could: Rain-X on the glass, aftermarket weatherstripping applied to the top of the windshield, and preparing the interior for two ~6-foot guys folded into the cramped cockpit. Since the wide-angle adapter of the JagCam was full of water I relocated the cam to the interior of the car.

We dragged our butts out of bed in time for breakfast, but somehow managed to miss the drivers meeting while we were packing the car. Francoise Reyns provided me with the details we needed, and we went out and got the JagCam running and managed to leave at the back of the pack. Here is our route for the day… most of it proscribed by the Rally Route Book but some of it improvised later in the day:


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We left Bozeman and went north, passing a few rally cars. Then we came to a 6.3 mile long straightaway that begged for a high-speed run. I won’t admit in public how fast I drove, but watch the JagCam footage and note that I pretty much passed the entire rally of hard-driving sports cars. Have I ever mentioned how much I love this E-type, and Montana, as a combination? (Starts about 1:10 in the JagCam movie.)

The first car dispatched was an Iso Griffo being driven quite hard. What follows is a long string of Porsches, Jaguars, Ferraris, etc all being run by like they are standing still. from 1:00 through 1:30 in the video basically.

We then stop for gas, since I was burning it at a prodigious rate, and Mark noted that my fancy ITG air filter had broken.


Photo by Mark Collien

The element is glued to a plastic ring, which is held to the plenum by a metal ring. The glue has failed. Ironically I had some inkling that this would happen since several other folks who own this type of unit have notified me in advance. I re-glued it at lunch time and tie-wrapped it together to allow the glue to set. We’ll see how that works.

The next stop was lunch at the C. M. Russell Museum in Great Falls. I snarfed down my lunch, then went to work repairing my filter. I also grabbed a few photos:

(By the way, Mark has been shooting more photos than me… and they are awesome! Way better than my work. Have a look for yourself.)

After that I went back in to wash my hands and was met by somebody with some Jaguar problems. A misfire. I went to have a look and sure enough, the fuel filter bowl was filled with crap… water, rust, sediment, etc. I pulled it off the car, then while cleaning it out had a clumsy moment and cracked the glass bowl. D’oh!

With some silicone, and some duct tape, I made an attempt to repair the bowl.


Photo by Mark Collien

I actually think it would have worked, except I pinched the rubber gasket (which was very old and worn) when I reinstalled the filter it leaked pretty bad. The rally mechanic showed up and took over. He found a similar glass bowl at a NAPA nearby and the XK 150 was on the road again. I ordered a new OEM Jaguar glass bowl from a west coast supplier which I had shipped to the hotel in Whitefish. Hopefully it arrives in time.


Photo by Mark Collien.

We got back on the road ourselves. Since we were now very late we took the I-15 shortcut towards Helena. Once going that way we decided it would be too short, so we sought out a way to rejoin the rally route west of us on MT 200. It took us two tries, but we found our way and enjoyed it much more than the Interstate.

As you can see the weather broke as we approached Helena. The camera fell off about 10 miles outside town and stopped recording. You’ll also note that the camera was mounted inside for most of the day… sorry about that but given the weather I didn’t have much choice. We tried mounting it a few other places but this spot on the window was the only one that the mount stayed put. I also had problems with it swiveling on the mount for a while in the morning. I promise a better location for tomorrow, especially if the weather cooperates.

We checked into the hotel, took a short nap, and then enjoyed a nice live auction for charity hosted by the Govenor of Montana, Brian Schweitzer. He spoke to us about the state and its history, and did an amazing job as an auctioneer.

Let’s hope the sun comes out and the rain goes away tomorrow for the drive up to Whitefish.

4 thoughts on “2008 GTTSR: Going To The (Rain) Rally.”

  1. “Here is our route for the day… most of it proscribed by the Rally Route Book but some of it improvised later in the day…”

    You say “proscribed:” You mean they disallowed you certain routes? Or did you mean “prescribed?” Just curious and puzzled!

  2. Hint for repairing anything that gasoline touches….NEVER, ever use silicone! Silicone won’t dissolve in ethanol/methanol, but turns to *glop* in gasoline. I *always* pack ‘Shoe Goo’ in my road kit! It doesn’t dry fast but it will resist gasoline well.
    Also, gaffer’s tape can be used for temporary gas line repairs quite effectively: NOT ‘duct tape,” NOT Gorilla Tape, but “gaffer’s tape.”

  3. “By the way, Mark has been shooting more photos than me… and they are awesome! Way better than my work.”

    Not to take anything away from Mark Collien’s fotos but…yours are better.

    Remember, I say this from the ground-of-being as a lifelong observer of *many* car fotos, and as an avid fotog, myself. Mark’s fotos are nice, no doubt…but a bit on the’nice, predictable side.”
    Yours have that lopsided mental view I so admire you for which gives them *life* something I think I’ve never captured in a car pic (I’m a landscape fotog..sowwy!). Your fotos are dynamic, leaving little doubt that the car in the pic is in *motion,* or showing the car’s ‘life force,’ if it’s sitting still. Your car fotos are *alive,* dynamic, a bit….dirty, soiled, like cars are supposed to be!
    Whereas Mark’s are almost all static, somewhat posed. Good, but WAY too many high-angle 3/4 shots…one of my pet peeves of car pix.

    Mark, again I like your fotos and I hope you accept these comments in the spirit they’re given!

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