After considerable development time Marguerita was on the road just in time for a first drive to Solvang and back. We started our drive with less than 10 miles on the car since start up and encountered no real issues for the entire 2700 mile trip. This was a testament of the completion detail of the guys at Sports Imports who helped me accelerate completion. Kudos to Ross, Dave and Mike for without their effort and commitment, I would have been forced to make the trip in the Rogue again. On the way down the engine ran a little rich but at Solvang I had the good fortune to meet Dave "Dr. Mikuni" Preamo who expertly re-jetted and tweaked the carbs, resulting in a dramatic difference in performance and fuel consumption. Thanks again Dave. Our caravan partner and Shedd Oregon host Bill Neal offered his fully equipped shop for fluids and filter changes on the return leg. While underneath the car I found the cause of the occasional starter hesitation I was experiencing, a cracked solenoid terminal board Removal of the compact style H20 starter was a breeze and a local electrical automotive replaced the solenoid in 5 minutes. I suspect the defect was self-inflicted and a result of a little inattention on my part during engine insertion. I was looking forward to spending another night in Shedd but the whole replacement took less than 2 hours. Bill Cole provided technical direction to the exercise! Thanks Bill and Bill!
A few highlight pictures
Installing the license tag the morning we headed off
Our caravan at an I5 rest stop near Shasta. Cars driven by Bill Neal, myself, Bill Cole and Dave Neal,
At Pismo Beach after Ted and Richard joined us
The first hour Saturday morning at Solvang
My work in progress
Stopping on the Shedd back roads on the return home.
Frost on the roadster in Arlington WA did not prevent taking the top down for the final leg drive into Canada.
The drive was 2700 miles of great scenery and fantastic roads, even the twisty bits through Napa where Bill Neal challenged an Mazda RX8 briefly. The opportunity to share it with great companions with no drama and no regrets, priceless! The sun and wind burn, sore butt and minor additional hair and hearing loss are just a bonus.
Finally!
