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So after the postponement and eventual cancellation of Carlisle, and Ron and Maddie bowing out of the Tour de NoGA this year, Stan, Danny, and I were all bemoaning the lack of a gathering this year.  We decided that we would meet in Maggie Valley anyway.  What could it hurt, right?  We settled on the first weekend in October, arriving on Thursday the 1st and leaving on Monday the 5th.

Of course Carlos G. was going to join us since he's nearby.  Ditto Pieter van Rossum.  Then there was a bit of "Why don't we see if <fill in the blank> wants to come.  Before we knew it we had a Tour de Smo' as big as any in the past, so it seemed logical to go public and say "Y'all come!"  We are staying at the same place we did the last couple of times - the Maggie Valley Creekside Lodge, 2716 Soco Rd. Maggie Valley NC 28751. Phone 800 621 1260.  I'm booked for four nights at $483 total.

We plan to do the Rattler again, as well as the incredible unnamed route that Carlos came up with last time.  All of us so far do not plan to do the Tail of the Dragon because "Been there.  Done that" multiple times.  All who want to are free to go there if they wish as we can leave one day free for self exploration.  there are plenty of other things to do and see.

If you're interested I would get on it ASAP, as rooms in the mountains tend to disappear quickly this time of year.

1964 Beck Super Coupe

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I need to talk to the guy that owns the place we ate at last time. He has a new restaurant in town. I might be able to reserve our own room for lunch. I also know the guy that owns the business behind him and he'll let me rope off his small parking lot for us to park in. It's only a 7 spot, but if we have it all to ourselves, we can pack them in. So if I'm able to do this, the Deliverance run will have to happen on Saturday. I can also meet you all on Friday to do the Rattlesnake. I've never been in that area, so someone else would have to lead that one.

Stan led the Rattler last time. I'd wager he'll do it again. It's more getting to the start of it. It ends in a cute town with a great screened open-air pub/restaurant for lunch. Then we backtrack to the beginning.

Don't ask me the name of the town or the restaurant. But we should investigate if they're open.

Carlos, sounds promising for your run.

Jus got back from an exploratory run on some of the roads we'll be brappin on. It was in the high 70s, took 2.25 hrs and it was 84 miles long. My shoulder is feeling it.

You know it's twisty when your steering wheel gets loose....  What torque is that center nut anyway? This has been happening since day one. Should I red lock tight it? There isn't much room for a wavy or lock washer either.

090520 550 ride 2

90 percent of the time your in 2nd or 3rd and that little dead zone in that not-so-awesome VW steering is pretty annoying.

090520 550 ride 3 

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Greg, finish your car, I thought you only had a few hours work on it......

Bentley book says 36 ft. lbs. for the steering wheel. I'd use blue Loctite so you can remove it later.

Carlos, I'll bring my steering box tools. I've adjusted just about all my play out, it is darn good now. Grease the front end and double check your wheel bearings before the Smo tour. If somebody brings a jack and stands we're good.

Great, Greg!  Just be advised that we're staying about an hour west of Asheville.  That shouldn't stop you, though.  Last time we went into downtown Asheville one evening for dinner and live bluegrass.

And that night was EPIC!

Snappy's(the Italian place across the street) and the breakfast place next door are open, but for takeout only. Works for me.

The pub we had lunch at in Hot Springs IS open for dining, so that's good.

Danny, In my grand plan, I'd like to eventually make an access panel to get to the steering box top adjustment nut. I guess I could find one of those plastic plugs and use a hole saw. 

I was going to run the front end up on some ramps and toe it in a touch. The front wheels are almost parallel right now. I could tell today. I'll check the hubs and grease what needs it while I'm in there. Maybe freshen up the clutch fluid some.

I did get my sway bar cut and the ends milled square. I started cutting the arms from 3/8 aluminum plate today. I still have to make the brackets for the bushings and the tabs for the suspension arm. That will not be done before Smo though.

I did have a set of 50s idle jets, so I put them in. I brought the timing down to about 29ish, reset the idle speed to 850-900ish, balanced the carbs and linkages at idle and 3500rpms, and did the dance with the idle mixture screws for one half turn past peak rpms. I'm still at about 11 at idle. Cruising went up to 12.9-13. WOT I don't know, I was too busy staying on the road today. It ran well today. It burps a bit during transition sometimes though.

I ordered some 47.25s, O rings, and some gaskets for the carbs. When they get here, I'll recheck the floats, spray out the passages put some fresh gaskets and new idles in and start over. I'm going to also recheck my valves. We'll see. I'll post up my findings on the other thread I started earlier. 

Carlos, it all sounds pretty good. I usually run my volume screws(they really aren't mixture screws, as you already know the mixture is set by the jets) an eighth or sixteenth turn rich of peak rpm. With 57.5 idles I'm running 13.5 or so at warm idle.

RE: the steering box

I think the top nut is a 17mm, and a right -angle screwdriver does that, no hole or panel required. The front locknut is 41mm, and a 7/8" or 22mm nut welded to a flat plate can get the front worm adjustment. The front adjustment needs to be done first before the top adjustment. Like I said, I'll bring them down with me no problem. We need the wheels hanging. I should be able to get a jack and stands in the trailer. All you gotta do is show up, and nurse that shoulder.

Last edited by DannyP

Well  old age has caught up with me......  I'm in the middle of an apparent arthritic flare up with not much in the way of relief except non exertion.....  It comes and goes at random and when its here its no fun.....  Wish I could be there but long haul driving is a B@#%H.... Did a 140mile round trip to Gainesville Ga. and it took a day and a half to recover....  Like I said, NO FUN!!!    So I'll have to sit this one out.....  Best wishes for an enjoyable run through the mountains.....  Sorry to miss it....  

@LeonChupp posted:

Well  old age has caught up with me......  I'm in the middle of an apparent arthritic flare up with not much in the way of relief except non exertion.....  It comes and goes at random and when its here its no fun.....  Wish I could be there but long haul driving is a B@#%H.... Did a 140mile round trip to Gainesville Ga. and it took a day and a half to recover....  Like I said, NO FUN!!!    So I'll have to sit this one out.....  Best wishes for an enjoyable run through the mountains.....  Sorry to miss it....  

Leon Have you been checked for Fybromyalgia?  (They first thought Lyme or RA) I have the Fybro..  Intense flu like body aches every day and also get intense flare up's ..Gabapentin  Rx does help quite a bit.  

So everybody is bringing a vehicle to bang around turns in.

I know that my wife can't tolerate it due to a recent Seadoo accident. I don't know if the other wives are hardcore right seaters or not, so my question is, is anybody bringing a vehicle that could be used by those who aren't interested in the daily drives, or is there a place in Maggie Valley to rent something for them?

Anybody know?

So everybody is bringing a vehicle to bang around turns in.

I know that my wife can't tolerate it due to a recent Seadoo accident. I don't know if the other wives are hardcore right seaters or not, so my question is, is anybody bringing a vehicle that could be used by those who aren't interested in the daily drives, or is there a place in Maggie Valley to rent something for them?

Anybody know?

If I trailer (and that's an "if"), I'll have the limo.

Yank the rear seat out of the Limo, sleep there saving the tariff at the No Tell Motel ~

The backseat is out right now, to access all the wiring for the trailer connection. I’ve got to run a couple of wires up front for the trailer brake controller, but the battery is under the back seat which helps a lot.

I thought about sleeping in the back of the limo, but Mrs. Galat is graciously accompanying me, so we’ll spring for the indoor plumbing.

@DannyP posted:

I don't know if I ever commented here or not, but I was thinking about a trailer-draggin' limo from the start.

Me too. That was a key consideration. Ideal would be the limo dragging a nasty flatbed with a porta-pot strapped down with highway straps.

Glorious. 

@Stan Galat posted:

The backseat is out right now, to access all the wiring for the trailer connection. I’ve got to run a couple of wires up front for the trailer brake controller, but the battery is under the back seat which helps a lot.

I thought about sleeping in the back of the limo, but Mrs. Galat is graciously accompanying me, so we’ll spring for the indoor plumbing.

Oh, man, I was looking forward to hosing you down every day after you "ripened" in the sun LOL!

@LeonChupp posted:

Well  old age has caught up with me......  I'm in the middle of an apparent arthritic flare up with not much in the way of relief except non exertion.....  It comes and goes at random and when its here its no fun.....  Wish I could be there but long haul driving is a B@#%H.... Did a 140mile round trip to Gainesville Ga. and it took a day and a half to recover....  Like I said, NO FUN!!!    So I'll have to sit this one out.....  Best wishes for an enjoyable run through the mountains.....  Sorry to miss it....  

Super bummed about this, Leon. I was hoping to see you, my man.

@MikelB posted:

Smoky Falls Lodge 2550 Soco Road 828-926-7440. It's just down the street, we ate there the first time we went to the mountains with the group. We didn't solicit the other hotel as this was on our list from the last trip.

I went to the website-- that's a nice place, and also has the fire pit/ picnic table set-up along the creek. We'll have to set up down there one night!

As far as the hurricanes-- you're gonna' be fine. You were under about 6 ft of water the last time we did this, so you've already done your stint for the decade. Looking forward to seeing you!

Last edited by Stan Galat

Do we have a total number of peeps for the Saturday drive? I need to decide on where to have lunch.

I just got back from a back roads errand run. I've been tweaking the carbs and had the filters off, of course, if you mess with the filters you are going to get a clogged jet. Luckily it was 69 degrees and I was in the shade while I did what had to be done to get it happy again. I need to order those jet doctors.

Last edited by Carlos G

We are getting hammered by Sally! Not the winds yet, but the rain, as we are on the eastern side. Folks in low lying areas are voluntarily evacuating. The local high school just became a shelter. We just got a flood alert and the numerous ponds where we live are staring to overflow. The bayous are the same, out of their banks and onto the roads in a couple places I was today.

We are fine at our place but the yard has become a bog.

Non stop mostly torrential rains since last night about 8:00 pm, after a day of repeated shower bands coming through.

The winds are starting to pick up now with gusts up to 25 mph Looks like we are going to go to 40 mph sustained.

They are predicting 15" to 20" of rain by the time this is over.

We are making orange/carrot soup and roast beef and provolone sandwiches and settling in for an evening of Netflix as the satellite has become unreliable today.

Stay safe out in Cali! You guys have it tougher than we do.

So as it stands:

@Panhandle Bob    X1  ?

@Stan Galat  X2  Speedster

@DannyP  X1  Spyder

Me   X1  Spyder

@Chris MacDonald  X2  (in the SPYDER and his brother in the COBRA)

@Lane Anderson  X1  BMW

@MikelB  X?   ?

@Jimmy V. X?   ?

Just trying to get a number so I can arrange lunch on Saturday. I have 3 choices depending on number. I'm going to try and get a private room. Hopefully we have reserved parking, at least for the toy cars.

You guys keep sending all of these storms up to New England!

And if that wasn't bad enough, the Californians are sending all of their smoke this way, too!  Look at the weather RADAR and you see nothing.  Look outside here, and the sky is clouded over gray/white from all of the wildfire smoke from the west coast.

 It looks like this, at 11am with zero clouds on the Radar and low humidity:

IMG_0971That ain't blue sky!

Not affecting my allergies, yet, but the weather people are cautioning us to stay inside if we have asthma or seasonal allergies.  Still, this is one helluva lot better than what you all have in California!  Stay safe out there.  Stay safe on the Gulf Coast.  We all want you guys to continue to be regular posters on here.

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You guys keep sending all of these storms up to New England!

And if that wasn't bad enough, the Californians are sending all of their smoke this way, too!  Look at the weather RADAR and you see nothing.  Look outside here, and the sky is clouded over gray/white from all of the wildfire smoke from the west coast.

 It looks like this, at 11am with zero clouds on the Radar and low humidity:

IMG_0971That ain't blue sky!

Not affecting my allergies, yet, but the weather people are cautioning us to stay inside if we have asthma or seasonal allergies.  Still, this is one helluva lot better than what you all have in California!  Stay safe out there.  Stay safe on the Gulf Coast.  We all want you guys to continue to be regular posters on here.

Thank your lucky stars Gordon, if I go outside for more than 10 minutes I start coughing, due to my asthma. I can barely walk the dog. We had 3 fires start within 50 miles of me on Sunday. 

Really sucks because I'm burning up the beautiful fall driving days. (Pardon the pun) 

@Carlos G posted:

So as it stands:

@Panhandle Bob    X1  ?

@Stan Galat  X2  Speedster

@DannyP  X1  Spyder

Me   X1  Spyder

@Chris MacDonald  X2  (in the SPYDER and his brother in the COBRA)

@Lane Anderson  X1  BMW

@MikelB  X?   ?

@Jimmy V. X?   ?

Just trying to get a number so I can arrange lunch on Saturday. I have 3 choices depending on number. I'm going to try and get a private room. Hopefully we have reserved parking, at least for the toy cars.

Brother isn't coming. I am rolling solo. 

@Carlos G

 

My wife and I are going to have to bail.  Our condo on Santa Rosa Sound (NW  Fl) really got hit by Sally starting last night around 3 am.  Condo is okay but 2/3 of 500' pier is gone.  Laura was just a week or so ago - some pulled their boats off lifts but we got NADA from Laura so this time no one bother to pull their boats!  Land fall for Sally was expect to be 160 miles West but ended up moving to just 15 miles west of us - so we got the East side wind/rain.  2 more storms right behind this one.  I'll post separate topic on this.

BLUF - if any needs a room at Maggie Valley Creekside - I'll be calling to release mine.  It's 2 Queen beds @ $99/night.  I have reservation 1 Oct with check out Sunday 4 Oct (not thru Monday like others).  PM me and when I cancel room - I'll ask to have your name put on it - provide me email/phone in PM.

 

Last edited by WOLFGANG

Sorry to hear that Wolfgang.

Chirs, I don't know what Carlos your talking about, but this Carlos will be there, even If I have to drive my 4runner. I lived in south Floriduh for a bit and dealt with all that storm crap and too many people. I left and never looked back. A herd of wild elephants on crack with their nuts wrapped in barbed wire couldn't drag me back.

Last edited by Carlos G
@DannyP posted:

Indian summer starts this week. It'll be sweet October 1st down there, cager(that's what the motorcyclists call people in cars with roofs).

True. And after a bit of a scare at the first of the month, it looks like we're going to have a nice one out here. 80's all week.  I almost put the top up on my 968 and put it away after my drive on Sunday. Then I thought "nah, give it another month."

 

As for the Spyder, I'm not going to put it away in "mod mode" this winter. My only project is to replace all the brakes, but that's going to be a weekend project. I'm planning on driving it every chance I get this winter. (One advantage it has, as a "four-wheeled motorcycle," is that I don't have to be wary of sand/salt.)

Last edited by dlearl476

And out from the cellar of Speedsters past he rose..............

I have risen from the dusty table of spent single malt bottles where Cory, Hoss, Marty and others have sat, to join your tour on Friday, Oct 2nd. BIGBIRD will have wheels up around 5 AM. Plan is to ETA at Creekside Lodge before you carburetor breathing tubs depart for breakfast. Wish i could stay for the weekend, but too many things goin' on on this side of Sam's Gap. FYI: Audi Club / Carolinas chapter is running the roads of WNC that weekend based out of Blowing Rock. PLUS..........a fleet of slightly overpriced Italian Stallions from Maranello are doing the same out of the Grove Park Inn in Asheville.

I've been watching, and I believe (out of compassion for Jeanie) we'll be trailering. Those lows look nippy.

I've got a hitch, trailer brake, and related wiring in the limo, and I'm getting new rear tires at Discount Tire this afternoon. I've got a new Aluma trailer I'm itching to pull anyhow, so I think we'll be giving the entire 40 ft long rig a try. 

"President for Life" wrote: "I think we'll be giving the entire 40 ft long rig a try. "

HOLY MOLY!   That rig is two feet longer than my 4-door pickup and trailer was!

Does it have an intercomm from the driver to the passengers in the way-back?

As you pass tractor-trailer trucks do they flash their headlights to you when the rear of your trailer is clear?  

I really think you should have a CB radio in there to hob-nob with the truckers as you travel.  I used to get a lot of trucker interest in what Pearl was as we were traveling, along with a lot of helpful info.  Your choice on the handle, but "President for Life" has a good ring to it, especially in these overly weird times.

I can just see the conversation with you and Jeannie:  "Well, I suppose we can drive down to Georgia in a noisey, smelly, windy, bouncy Speedster with mediocre heat and no A/C and room for maybe two small bags for you and I can carry an extra pair of underwear in my pockets, or we can trailer it and ride in the Limo with Climate Control and a decent stereo and a suitcase or two each.  - What'cha wanna do?"

Last edited by Gordon Nichols

We have a ton of work to do this week, inspections, meetings, tours, showings and closings, so while I am going to drive in on Thursday as originally planned, my wife Anna will fly in on Friday to Asheville.

Much of this is deferred/delayed from our friend Sally's little venture through the south.

I may miss the morning festivities on Friday to pick her up, but we are looking to have a great time on this trip. 

We really need a little break.

Looking forward to meeting you all!

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