Austin Healey Club of Oregon

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.

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When we got to a certain point in the restoration of my BT7, I was asked by Tom and Geno if I wanted side mirrors mounted. My initial reaction was “No Way!” Too much time and effort was put into making the fenders perfect to drill holes in them. They suggested that I mount mirrors in the side curtain sockets instead. Since I don’t drive the car in inclement weather (not by choice anyway) and I don’t have side curtains (or a top for that matter) it seemed like a perfect solution.

At the last club event several participents admired my mirrors so I thought I would describe how to do this. I wish it was a difficult task, but it isn’t. They really just bolt on.

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Over the years with the club I have noticed a few unfortunate things that seem to happen on club tours.  I feel sorry for the poor car or cars that end up being last in the tour group.  ”Tail-end Charlie” is in an unfortunate position. It is likely that He or she is going to get caught behind a slow truck or get stopped by a yellow traffic light  as it turns to vibrant, “Ahh crap!!!” red while the rest of the tour disappears over the horizon.  I saw it happen last weekend.  

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Thirty Years Ago

The Club was knee-deep in activities. Bob and Donna Brunhaver hosted a potluck (complete with a keg) together with the Club meeting on the first Saturday of the month. Members of the Morgan Club (who knew there was one?) were invited to come over, but none of them made it. The next weekend, Club members attended the Rose Cup Races, where the Club had a special assembly area. Club members attended the Sheridan Days car show on the third Saturday, which was combined with an overnighter at the Regeniers, complete with another potluck and keg. On the final Saturday of the month, Club members trekked over to Blue Lake Park for the second-annual British Field Meet. Whew. It exhausts me just reading it all.

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Most everyone has probably already read this in Healey Northwest, but I thought I’d start to get in the habit of posting these article here also as we transition from the newsletter to the web site.  For new readers, since February 2006, I’ve been extracting some tidbits of interest each month from the past issues of Healey Northwest, at ten year intervals.  If I have the fortitude, this should keep me busy writing (and you reading) for ten years without repeating myself.

Thirty Years Ago

Club members met at the parking lot under the Interstate Bridge at the Jantzen Beach Thunderbird, then toured through Clark County, Washington.  The Club stopped at Beaver Bay on Yale Reservoir to picnic, held a meeting, and then proceeded on to Woodland and the Ape Caves, the world’s longest lava tubes.  Also worthy of mention from 30 years ago: Richard Mayor joined the Club.  And, he’s still a member.  Congratulations!

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As of February 1, 2008 the “Healey Meets LeMans” is well on its way. The previous winning team of Hans van de Kerkhof and Rinus Sinke is again accepted. DD300 (this year’s poster car) will be there for sure. Two 100s race cars will duel it out with the bigger six cylinder cars. And, another 6-Healey race cars have signed up already.

The Healey population from around the world is also signed up for their weekend of thrills. Over 160 Healeys are coming from France, Germany, England, Belgium and even the USA. Still, with four months to go before the entrée is closed, this is going to be the event of a lifetime for the true Healey nut.  There’s still time to sign up. Event posters and other regalia has arrived from Holland and is available at www.tomsimport.com (one of the event sponsors). Catch all the action on the web at www.healeymeetslemans.nl .

We bought our Healey from the original owner when we lived in Richland, WA. Those readers who attended the 2007 Rendezvous know the Tri Cities is a desert climate. This includes very ugly windstorms complete with blowing sand. As a result the windscreen on our BJ8 was scoured and pitted. The windscreen condition grew worse over the years. The glass became so bad that it was difficult to see through it especially if I was driving into a bright light source directed at the glass from a very low angle. For example, driving towards a rising or setting sun that was just above the horizon. The windscreen glass had to be replaced. Read more »

Strategy #2 total Restoration - BJ8 Windscreen

In this strategy steps (a) through (e) from the previous article (Strategy #1) must be
completed first. You may also complete step (f) but the separation of the windscreen from the side pillars can also be completed after the removal of the intact windsreen/pillars assembly from the car.

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