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The first day of rallying was clear and pleasant… well, the weather that is… the rallying was unclear and unpleasant for Dad & I. We were very rusty on TSD rallying, and messed up several times… including the very first odometer-calibration segment where we missed a turn! That put us completely off the rest of the day. Oh well. We enjoyed ourselves though, as we can never take ourselves too seriously. The story follows…
Continue reading “2007 Classic Motorcar Rally, Day One. Photos and Story.”
Autoblog is giving away a car. Mind you, it is sort of ugly, lacks a Diesel engine, or a convertible top, but hey… it is FREE. If getting something for nothing turns your crank, go enter. I’m pretty sure it is only open to US residents, so some of you are out of luck.
Autoblog is in my list of daily reads via RSS. My URL is embedded in my comments and they send me a lot of traffic that way. My car was even voted a “Reader Ride of the Day” (and week) and almost made “Reader Ride of the Year” last year. I figured I’d give them a link. 😉
This is the best photograph I took on Friday, day one of the 2007 Classic Motorcar Rally. It is a pair of Mercedes-Benz 300sl cars reflected in the coachwork of a Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster undergoing “recreation” (more on that later.) First, I’ll fill you in on the events of Thursday and our arrival…
We arrive at the Majestic Inn in Anacortes, WA around 3:30 PM Thursday, check in, attend the Rally orientation, and put the car through tech inspection. Of course, my brake lights had failed. This is an annoying issue with E-type Jaguars. Thankfully it is an easy fix. I zip over to NAPA, where I have three models to choose from (Part #s: SL143, SL145, & SL147) They have the SL143 in stock, so I purchase it and install it later, after the car cools down enough for me to thread my arm under the frame and have my face next to the exhaust headers:
Top photo: NAPA part# SL143’s box lying in a strategic spot as I prepare to install it.
Bottom photo: Looking down between the headers and frame at the brake light switch installed.
Feeling confident, we amble across the street for dinner at the Star Bar which turns out to be VERY good. Dad has a salad and short rib, I enjoy the tuna and a beef tenderloin. We drink a bottle of Chilean wine and really enjoy a great meal. If your travels take you to Anacortes, I highly suggest a dinner there. I’ll probably take Sue there sometime as it is pretty close to home. After dinner, we head back over to the hotel bar for a drink and run into the rally mechanics Craig & Dave:
Great guys. I share the news with them that my brake lights are working again, and after the malts are down, wander off to bed.
No pictures again… sorry. I’ll upload them as soon as I can.
We finished the rally today. We did much better than yesterday. We went through all the checkpoints in the correct direction, at what we thought was a pretty reasonable time. There was one where we knew we were a bit late, but it was right after a VERY difficult bit of navigation that trapped a LOT of people. In fact we saw many of the leaders getting suckered. They were MUCH later than we were, so we came out better. In rallying it isn’t about being flawless, it is about screwing up less than everyone else! 😉
As soon as I can post photos, I’ll tell the whole tale, as it is photos that I use as mental bookmarks to be able to relate it all.
The hotel is blocking both AIM and FTP traffic, so I can’t chat with anyone, or upload photos, sorry. 🙁
I’m in Anacortes, WA, with my dad, and we are participating in the 2007 Classic Motorcar Rally. We arrived yesterday afternoon, and rallied all day today. It was very difficult TSD rallying, and we’re doing very badly… currently in dead last place. The consolation prize is that less than 30 penalty points separate 1st from last place. If we screw up less than a few more folks, we could finish very well tomorrow. Ever the optimist! 😉
I’ll share the full story when I can add photos.
A gorgeous old Packard. I have always had a soft spot for Packards. Truly elegant machines.
