On Sat. Oct. 4th (the first Sat.- not the usual 2nd Sat. ) our monthly event will begin at 10 a.m. sharp with Club members departing for a wonderful 3 hour tour of our beautiful coast range with our destination being the Seaside home of Tom and Skip Monaco.

Everyone will gather from 9:30 a.m.-10 a.m. just off Sunset Hwy (Hwy. 26) exit 65 where- from 26 you can see the Phoenix Inn on your right (north side of 26). Take a right turn at that exit stop (NW Cornell Rd.) and just ahead you’ll see (also to the right) a Minit Mart/fueling station where we’ve met many times before. Here, you can fuel up and grab a quick cuppa joe or snack for the trip.

Hopefully the weather will co-operate so that we can get the full enjoyment of the winding roads and trees turning their spectacular autumn colors.

We’ll wind up the drive in Seaside at Tom and Skip’s beachhouse located at 1832 S. Roosevelt Dr. (Hwy 101) at approx. 1 p.m. We’ll be treated to a delicious chuckwagon style meal (compliments of AHCO) with attendees needing to only bring their beverages of choice. Meeting will begin at 2 p.m

For those who wish to stay the night in Seaside, there are 2 very reasonably priced motels close by. MicroTel Inn, 2455, S. Roosevelt Dr., 1-800-771-7171. Motel 6, 2369 S. Roosevelt Dr. 503-738-6269.

So that the “Cookies” (a chuckwagon term, you know) purchase and cook the appropriate amount of food, please go to the ‘comments’ section and leave your names so that we know how many to expect. Thanks for the cooperation, Pardner.

All of us have had the experience.  You go to the local store on an errand and you drive the Healey. Before you get out of the car somebody is standing next to it and says something like, “What year is your Healey?  I used to have one when I was in college.  I should’a never sold that car. ”  This interchange occurred about 37 times for me yesterday afternoon.  The local Bales grocery store had a Show and Shine car show in their parking lot.  Things were a little slow at Casa de Schneider so I drove the Healey down to the show and parked it.  

   I have included a shot of my Healey next to a very nice        1960 Corvette.  On the other side of my car was a  DeThomaso Pantera.  Both pretty cool cars but guess which  car got the most conversation?  Healeys are wonderful ego boosters.  I used the opportunity to  talk up the forthcoming ABFM.  Notice the poster on my  windshield.  I was also allowed to install another ABFM poster on the event registration table.  See everybody next weekend.

Austin Healey Club of Oregon members planning to attend the August meeting faced a tough challenge getting to the meeting venue. The meeting was held at Gary Jackson’s beautiful home at Eagle Crest near Sisters, OR. The challenge faced by the travelers was extreme afternoon temperature, well into triple digits. Two groups of members left separately from Portland, two Healeys on Friday and three cars on Saturday. However, both groups were impeded by the high temperatures.

The Koebers and Hands started out in their Healeys about 3:15 PM Friday afternoon. George and Jaci covered only about four miles before the car quit with vapor lock and a fouled fuel filter. George contacted other members of the Koeber clan and was rescued when they brought a trailer to transport the Healey back home.

Bert and Betty made it a little further than the Koebers. The Hand Healey suffered from the vapors just passed the last I-5 off-ramp for Wilsonville. The car stalled and had to be pushed out of the right traffic lane by Betty and a good Samaritan who stopped to help. Another big help to Betty was the M&M Towing Company (503-682-3700). M&M apparently is experienced in dealing with collector cars. They provided a flatbed truck and kept the car well protected in their lot until later in the evening when Betty picked it up and drove it home. Betty said that M&M couldn’t have been more professional or caring. Unfortunately, Bert also suffered from heat related problems but much more serious than those that sidelined the Healey. Bert was transported to the hospital via ambulance. Fortunately, he was released later Friday evening. We understand Bert has recovered from heat stroke and is doing well this week at home.

Saturday morning the Schneiders and Jakobsens joined the Carters and Bob Wallace in Silverton to caravan over to Eagle Crest. The caravan was small but contained both Sprites and Big Healeys. Well… actually it contained one of each. Bringing up the rear of the group was the Schneider Green Dragon BJ9.

All went well for the little group at first. We even stopped for a lunch break at the Upper Arm picnic grounds of Detroit Reservoir. After lunch the automotive fun began as we reached the summit of Santiam

and the air temperature crept passed 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Bob Wallace’s 1960 Healey began suffering, the engine running rough and stumbling at idle. (See Bob’s piece. “Breakdown on the Santiam Pass” on this website). During the third stoppage in less than a mile the problem a new car joined our little caravan, John Wilson and Joan Wilson arrived. John correctly diagnosed the problem as vapor lock. It was decided to call the AAA and have Bob’s car taken to Gary Jackson’s where we knew there was cold beer, Healey expertise and tools. At this point the Carters, Jackosens and Schneiders left a very warm Bob standing by the crippled Healey and drove on to Gary’s. Subsequently, Bob’s car cooled down sufficiently to overcome the vapor lock. Bob got the Healey started, canceled the AAA tow and drove down to the meeting at Gary’s home.

During the meeting Gary and Jan served hours devours and after the meeting provided a dinner of tacos, enchilada casarole and other south-of-the-border treats. The latter included a key lime pie for dessert. The club members owe Gary and Jan a huge “thank you” for their generosity and hospitality which continued well into the evening.

On Sunday morning they continued their graciousness by serving brunch before members began the trip back to Portland. The homeward travels were less stressful than the previous day probably due to getting an early start in the coolness of the morning, smaller climb to the summit and a handful of wooden clothes pins.

One last note on the wonderful time we all had at Gary’s home. The Saturday evening activities may have become a little rowdy. I can’t comment on the details as I wasn’t there witness what actually happened, or who did what to who but the picture of George holding a reconfigured screen door does suggest it must have been interesting.

See more photos in the photo gallery.

Just a reminder, if you haven’t registered yet, you can register on-line at http://www.abfm-pdx.com/2008/doreg.htm

Click for large view

Driving from Portland, Oregon to Redmond, Oregon is a trip of about 170 miles. The high point of the journey is the Santiam Pass at 4817 feet. If you examine the photo to the left (click to enlarge) you can see that my 1960 BT7 decided to make an unscheduled rest top just at the summit of the pass.

It was running beautifully for over 100 miles, purring along, when at the very top of the summit is started to miss and then die. Fortunately there was plenty of room on the side of the road to pull over. To make a long story short, it was about 105 degrees F. and the result was vapor lock. John Carter and Mark Schneider continued on, leaving me to wait for the car to cool off. It takes a while to cool off at 105 degrees. I finally got going again and pulled into our destination about an hour after everyone else. At that point I think I was suffering from vapor lock. There was a tub of ice with bottles of beer in it. I skipped the beer and shoved my hands into the ice.

So this was my first experience with vapor lock. Googling it gives this definition at wikipedia:

Vapor lock (also known as vapour lock) is a problem that mostly affects gasoline-fueled internal combustion engines. It occurs when the liquid fuel changes state from liquid to gas while still in the fuel delivery system. This disrupts the operation of the fuel pump, causing loss of feed pressure to the carburetor or fuel injection system, resulting in transient loss of power or complete stalling. Restarting the engine from this state may be difficult. The fuel can vaporize due to being heated by the engine, by the local climate or due to a lower boiling point at high altitude.

The last sentence tells the story: Austin Healey (not a cool running car), 105 degrees outside and 4817 feet. So what do you do about it. Well once it happens you typically have to wait for the car to cool down enough. But being at a club meeting, it was expected that there would be some suggestions made. Especially since the next day I was going to drive back over the pass. But I have to admit, I was somewhat skeptical when it was suggested that I used wooden cloths pins on the fuel line. Not that our club members would ever stoop to a practical joke.

Well further googling found plenty of people saying the same thing. That clothes pins act as heat sinks to dissipate the heat from the fuel line. Of course half the people claimed it worked and half claimed it was an old wives tale. Since it didn’t get up to 105 on the return trip I can’t say one way or the other.

More permanent and rational fixes are replacing your mechanical fuel pump with a low pressure electric one, adding an electric fan with a heat sensor, and not driving over passes on 105 degree August days.

References:

• http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-vapor-lock.htm
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vapour_lock

Thank You’s:

• To John and Mark for the moral support on the side of the road.
• To John Wilson who first suggested Vapor Lock
• To the club member whose name I forgot (after standing in 105 degrees for an hour) who pulled over to help.
• To Gary Jackson for the bucket of ice, bottle of water and other first aid when I showed up at his house soaked in sweat and babbling incoherently
• Jack Jacobson for lending me his cell phone and pen. I owe him a pen, I returned the phone.

Northwest Meet September 18-21 registration form

Aug 2, 2008 -Tour to Centralia, WA with over night at Olympic Club Historic Hotel, Pub and Movie Theater

The day began cloudy and guess what? It pretty much stayed that way through the tour. We began our tour at Milepost 7 on I-5 at the Burger King at 10:00 am with tour guides John and Judy Carter. After a short stint on I-5, we re-gathered at Milepost 27 at the Rebel Truck Stop. We then began our back roads tour to Centralia.

This is the old Pacific Highway which pretty much parallels the freeway. But most of the time, you wouldn’t know it for the trees, farms, etc. We drove north through the towns of Kalama and Carrols, then through the heart of Kelso. We continued north, paralleling the freeway until we reached Castle Rock. This was our lunch stop. Hattie’s Restaurant graciously accommodated our large crowd (15). It is a lovely, ‘country’ style restaurant, decorated with hat paraphernalia (hats, hat boxes, etc.) We took our time and had a great visit, then time to go; John and Judy had arranged a tour of the old Jackson Pioneer house, so we had to get going. Unfortunately, John had lost the ignition key for his Healey somewhere between parking and eating. While several looked outside, some had time to check out the gallery next door. Luckily, John found his key on the sidewalk, so it was back to the highway. This time we headed east on Highway 504, toward Mt. St. Helens.

We travelled past Silver Lake and through the town of Toutle. I really enjoyed this part as it has been several years since I have been in this area. It was amazing to see the banks of ash still in evidence. Just east of Toutle, we took a left onto Highway 505, which took us west through beautiful valleys of farm land, ending in the town of Toledo. At Toledo, we turned north and connected with the Jackson Highway. We passed through Lewis and Clark State Park and then just short of Hwy 12, we arrived at the Jackson House, considered to be the oldest pioneer home north of the Columbia.

“Not far south of Hwy 12 is the Jackson House. This well-preserved 1848 cabin served as the home of John R. Jackson and was the first “white-man” house north of Vancouver. Well worth a stop, if only for the history explained on the signs and stone posts at the gate. John Jackson settled here around 1844 and the house became a famous stopover on the trip north. It is said that the governor of Washington once stayed here while traveling to Olympia in 1854. The house also served as a courthouse for a time in the 1850′s.” (Northwest Ramblings, Friday, May 26, 2006)

We were treated with a tour by a Parks employee. Since you are only allowed access to the main room on the ground floor, this didn’t take long, but our guide was sweet and informative. We saddled up for our final push up the Jackson Hwy (not sure if it was named for John Jackson or Governor Scoop Jackson). I have to admit I can’t remember the time we arrived but I think it was around 2:30 or 3:00. We were all able to park (7 Healeys and one vintage Mercedes Benz) in the public parking lot right next to the Hotel.

After checking in (each room is named for an infamous character that had notable association with the hotel, the club or surrounding area), we gathered for ‘Happy Hour’ in the Club. We shared info about our rooms’ namesakes (ours was Floyd Duell, a regular at the Olympic Club poker tables between 1940s-60s. He also did some numbers work for the betting racetrack up in Seattle.) Some went out antiquing, most visited, including a few of our friends from the Cascade Club who came down from the Seattle area for the afternoon. The Olympic Club was established in 1908 as a ‘gentlemen’s resort’, which posted signs “Ladies Patronage Not Solicited”. Lot’s of booze, poker and what not above the main floor. A lot of bootleg liquor made its way from Canada to this very spot. Easy to understand, as in 1926, the county sheriff himself was arrested on bootlegging charges.

By the way, I want to note that the Olympic Club Hotel was a railroad hotel, one block from the train station. We noticed early in the evening that trains were coming by about every 15 to 20 minutes and began to worry about being able to sleep! Not to worry for most! Many of us went to dinner across town near the freeway at the Country Cousin for another down home meal (meatloaf, stew, and liver and onions were ordered), then back to the hotel for night caps. Let me back track a bit, John Carter had planned a ‘car’ movie for the guys, using his DVR in the afternoon. Unfortunately, no one could make it work. So in apology by the management, they brought us 3 bottles of McMennimin’s Edgefield wine. So after much visiting and drinking our apology wine, sharing stories, etc., most of us retired upstairs to the hallway outside our rooms, where we visited for another hour. We were still hearing train whistles on a regular basis!! Those of us in the hall retired at 10:30, promising to meet in the morning for breakfast. The trains kept coming.

All in all, the facilities were great, the trains romantic, the company beyond compare! In the morning, we coordinated on getting home, some on tour via the Monaco’s, some on their own. It was a great Healey experience and I hope the Carter’s will plan another for next year!

Aug. 2008 Healey Northwest Newsletter

Issue posted at http://issuu.com/healey-oregon1/docs/august_news

Austin Healey Club of Oregon Grill Badge: $40.00

Description: Heavy enamel, approximately 3 inches by 3 inches, comes with two mounting screws to mount to grill badge.  Requires a mounting clamp.

To order or get more information see the “ordering regalia” page.