Portland ABFM

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 01 Sep 2009 02:44

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by Last TR</i>

Assuming it runs as well as it did in May, I'll plan to be at the ABFM all day Saturday & Sunday. Anyone for a Wedge tour?
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What did you have in mind?

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 01 Sep 2009 03:59

Maybe a short drive on some local twisties. Across the St. Johns Bridge (SW of Portland International Raceway,) up Germantown Road to Skyline Drive. Probably early or late in the day, don't want to miss too much of the activity around PIR. It would be fun to get a few photos too.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

Spectatohead · Postby **Spectatohead** » 01 Sep 2009 06:03

I just drove Germantown Road a couple weeks ago in the Maxima coming back from British Auto Works out in North Plains. It was actually quicker at that time of day than going the Highway 26 to I-5 route. It is also way more fun. I'm not sure if my ten year old tires would be up to it though.

Jim Clark
'80 TR8
'97 Maxima 5spd

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 01 Sep 2009 15:56

With all this talk about old tires on the bulletin boards, I guess I should figure out how old my tires are. I'm thinking of a fairly leisurely drive, though.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 01 Sep 2009 18:21

Haven't been to that area. I take it it's picturesque? If you pump up your tire pressure a bit there is less tire flexing, also stiffens up suspension, better gas mileage. I always run mine higher.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 01 Sep 2009 18:43

The hills west of Portland are rolling farm and forest, or were when I was a kid. More houses now than there used to be. Still a lot of fun roads. A really beautiful drive is the Columbia Gorge Scenic Highway east of Portland. That one needs a half day or more; I probably won't have time to do that. Check this link for the Scenic Highway. http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2141/

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 02 Sep 2009 00:57

Yes, I was thinking of Crown Point as a beautiful photo op but a bit far out with all that's going on. When we were stayed at Whispering Woods a couple of times we'd head around the east side of Mount Hood, stop at the fruit stands at NE side, tour the Bonneville Dam, stop off at Multnomah Falls, go up to Crown Point and go round through Sandy to shop at Factory discount store and end up at WW again for a full day's drive.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 02 Sep 2009 03:05

Yeah, I may go up the Gorge with family on Friday after the ABFM. Last fall I took my TR8 there with the Columbia Gorge MGA Club (see my photo from the Vista House at Crown Point;) in May I was there again with my 87 year old mother in my top-down 8, plus my sister and her husband in their Midget.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

Spectatohead · Postby **Spectatohead** » 02 Sep 2009 03:41

A better photo op is from the Portland Women's Forum, which is a view point just west of Crown Point. You can get great shots of the Gorge with Vista House and Crown Point in the background with the cars in the foreground. Sam Hill was the driving force behind the Highway. His mansion is now the Maryhill museum. A little past that is the Stonehenge replica. It makes a great photo spot. It is, however, a two hour drive on the interstate each way. Probably not feasible. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Hill

Jim Clark
'80 TR8
'97 Maxima 5spd

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 02 Sep 2009 06:17

The Womens Forum is a great viewpoint indeed. I just added a couple photos from last May. Check the second page of my album for one from Crown Point.

Maryhill and Stonehenge are pretty cool too. Haven't been there for many years. One of these years I want to go to the hill climb there.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 03 Sep 2009 17:15

So I fly into Portland tomorrow afternoon, pick up my car in Forest Grove, and head for the tire shop before they close. After thinking about all the driving I plan to do next week, I decided my fifteen-year-old tires have got to go, despite still looking pretty good. Not much selection in 205 60 tires other than mail order.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

Spectatohead · Postby **Spectatohead** » 03 Sep 2009 19:35

I went by Les Schwab yesterday and they said that my 10 year old tires were still good. They said that it looked like they hadn't been exposed to much UV in that period. One less thing to worry about, for now.

Jim Clark
'80 TR8
'97 Maxima 5spd

FI Spyder · Postby **FI Spyder** » 04 Sep 2009 02:12

There is a code on all tires that tells you when they were manufactured. There was a big to do a number of months back about tires older than seven years blowing up on the highway with disasterous results. They were on SUV's mostly if I remember right. The thing is many new tires sold as new are manufactured before the seven year cut off as they sit in warehouses for years before being sold. That being said I drove my seven home 1,000 miles on tires that had worn out, then sat for seven years on the car (in a garage). I did pump them up to 34 lbs to minimize flex (most tire failures are due to under inflation) and stuck to 50 mph. Best to err on the side of caution though.

TR7 Spider - 1978 Spifire - 1976 Spitfire - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra

Last TR · Postby **Last TR** » 04 Sep 2009 06:16

The codes on my tires showed that two are 11 years old and two are 16 years old. Though they look good, I decided new tires were pretty cheap insurance, 'cause I'm planning on driving all over Oregon for the 10 days I'm there. And now I shouldn't have to think about tires for another 10 years. Les Schwab assured me that my new tires will not have sat in a warehouse for years; I'll check the codes.

Ken
Anchorage, Alaska

1980 TR8, 1973 TR6, 1965 Volvo PV544, 1958 MGA, Jeep Cherokees

Spectatohead · Postby **Spectatohead** » 08 Sep 2009 05:43

Okay, I came home a bit early, yesterday. There was a hole in the rain clouds just long enough to get packed up and blast home. Still hit a few drops on the bridge back into Washington and it started pouring again 10 minutes after I got the car back in the garage. I met Last TR and FI Spyder and was parked next to them on Saturday for the show. This was the most rain I've seen in over 25 years of going to this event and I was camped out with a car that has no top. Oh well, it was a lot of fun anyway. Hopefully next year we'll have more typical sunny weather. I took a bunch of pictures. The All British Field Meet was held in conjunction with the Columbia River Classic vintage car race. I missed the "All Triumph" race but got some shots of cars in the paddock.

http://www.sovren.org/

http://community.webshots.com/album/574 ... =community

Jim Clark
'80 TR8
'97 Maxima 5spd

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