2008 GTTSR, Helena to Whitefish: Going To The (SUN!) Rally.

Great day, as the sun came out! It was also a relatively short driving day. Here is the JagCam footage:

We left Helena at the back of the pack, as we had some issues getting the JagCam mounted and running properly on the back shelf of the interior. Mark did a fine job taping it into place, but I had laptop-related issues.

Photo by Mark Collien

Above: Chuck mutters bad words about his laptop while Gary Herzberg loads up his ’63 E-type FHC in the background.

Photo by Mark Collien

We kept the top up as scary clouds loomed to the northwest and a view of the weather radar showed rain and snow where we were heading. Leaving Helena on US 12 we basically retraced the route from last year’s last day, where I rode in Philipp’e XKSS and later Wayne Golumb drove the wheels off the 65E. No such driving today, as the roads were wet. Leaving US 12 and heading north on MT 141 (one of my favorite roads, ever) we encountered the two red E-types of Garth Norton on the side of the road with one of the Rally Mechanics tending to the Series 2. (You can see me talking to them about 1:24 into the JagCam movie). They lost an alternator bearing. The mechanic had re-belted the water pump to the front main pulley and they carried on under battery power alone.

Photos by Mark Collien

Above: Scenes along US 12 west of Helena.

Photos by Mark Collien

Above: Scenes along Montana Highway 141.

It rained on us, off and on as we continued to the Paws Up Ranch for a mid-morning coffee break. I had noted that the steering column had gained a pronounced wobble, while losing its usual groaning noises. When we arrived at Paws Up I inverted myself into the driver’s side foot well to asses the steering column situation (around 2:36 in the JagCam video.)

Photos by Mark Collien

Above: Scenes along Montana Highway 200. The Reyns’ SS100 and the Mattei Allard, complete with Mountain Man headgear.

Photos by Mark Collien

The u-joint looked good and the connections were tight, so I fired up my blackberry and asked a question of the E-type Cognoscenti on Jag-Lovers. They confirmed that it was the column bushings, so the car was safe to drive. The repair can wait until the car is down for winter maintenance.

Our exit from Paws Up was delayed by Kathy Nell, who needed some help with the XKSS. Philippe Reyns helped her block off the car’s radiator to help it run a little warmer in the cold mountain air. I got down on my side to help Philippe with the task, running some duct tape up the passenger side of the radiator.

Photos by Mark Collien

We dropped the top, as the weather appeared to be breaking for the better. We pulled out of Paws Up with Mark driving the 65E and I was ready to whip him mercilessly to drive like the wind as I wanted to photograph the rally cars ahead of us.

Photos by Chuck Goolsbee with Mark Collien’s camera.

The light was perfect from behind us… but my camera batteries were dead! So we pulled into a gas station where Montana 200 and 209 met. I ran in to grab some batteries and go… and some guy who was aimlessly wandering the store literally stepped right in front of me as I was reaching for the package of AA’s. Grrr. Then he managed to do the exact same thing when I turned to go to the register! THEN… he went to pay for his candy bar with a damn credit card! Finally armed with a functioning camera, we flew northbound.

Thankfully there was some RV traffic which slowed up the cars ahead of us and I was presented with the near-perfect setup for some trademark chuck shots:

Above: Passing the Reyns’ 1938 Jaguar SS100.

Above: Passing a 911, which I think is driven by Dennis Birkheimer

Above: Passing the Henry J, a special built for the La Carrera Panamerica.

The next stop was for lunch at the Flathead Lake Lodge, which was a wonderful place. We had a great chicken dish and salad, followed by cookies that defy description. Biggest chocolate chips ever. Mark wandered around and looked at their boats, while I chatted with Francoise Reyns and showed her photos of my kids. She’s met Nick but not Chris.

Photo by Mark Collien

I snapped this shot of the restroom queues for some odd reason:

I went out front to shoot cars, since the sun was out. Unfortunately the shady setting made for challenging photography…

Above: The Henry J, and it’s unique powerplant, a Hudson 302ci flathead six.

Other than the Henry J, the light wasn’t so good for shooting, for example, here is Eric Zausner’s Iso Griffo:

See what I mean. Great car, nice lines, bad lighting.

So I switched my digicam to movie mode and did this:

yeah… not exactly Spielberg. My camera has a crappy microphone.

From here the route was through the relatively populous (by Montana standards) Flathead Valley up to Whitefish and our base of operations for the next day and two nights, the Lodge at Whitefish Lake. This is a great place and I hope to come back some time… maybe get a little skiing in, or just get away for a weekend.

We arrived and checked in, and got a great room, right at the top of the stairs on the third floor. I went back downstairs and parked the car, and found one of the rally mechanics, Don Dean performing surgery on the half-shaft of a big-block Corvette.

That’s Nick Blackman’s leg holding it in place, though it wasn’t Nick’s Corvette being worked on… go figure.

Today’s Route on Google Maps (You may need to zoom out, as I can’t get the embed link to show me the whole route.):

View Larger Map

The great day finished in a great way, drinks, dinner, and music out in a tent by the lake. Rob Quist and Jim Salestrom serenaded us into the evening past a gorgeous sunset. I left my camera in the room, so no photos, sorry.

The very first thing I did was walk up to the bar and order beers in bottles, which I immediately walked out to the rally mechanics, still busy with various ailing cars in the parking lot. They were very happy to see me carrying refreshments. After it became too dark to work they finally joined us all in the big tent for dinner, and were greeted with applause by all.

Tomorrow we drive the Going To The Sun Road!