[AlanPerry]

As folks start arriving home from Sno*Drift, hopefully they will post their stories from the event.

Here's mine, though it isn't too interesting.

I was doing another one-off co-drive ride with Roland McIvor in his 2nd gen Eclipse in Pro PGT (I had previous co-driven for Roland at Ojibwe).

Roland didn't have any service crew, so I drove the rally car during the pre-event stuff (tech, fueling, etc.) as well as to Friday's parc expose and Saturday's start. I have never driven a 2nd gen Eclipse before, so I don't if this applies to them all or just Roland's car, but I thought its handling was diabolical. The way that the back end behaved was just weird. (I drive my own 323GTX in brisk TSDs in the snow in Canada and can keep my car under control; I am not sure that I could keep that Eclipse under control under the same conditions.)

Anyway, I mention this, because we did a lot of spinning, at least one major spin per stage (except for SS7). I know Roland is a better driver than that, but the car set-up was just too far off. And with each spin, he seemed to have less confidence in the car and kept slowing down. We started Friday 34th and started Saturday 45th.

It was a little embarrassing to start Saturday behind a Club Chevy Cavalier, but this was only my second ProRally event and I wanted a finish of any kind. However, it was not to be. At the end of SS9, Roland noticed that the car wasn't running right and on the transit after the stage, we pulled over to check it out. After he switched off the engine, it continued running, even with the master switch off. After stalling the engine, he checked the oil level and found there was almost none. Then he discover a gear driven by the timing belt was a bit askew. The cover that it was normally behind was gone and the gear was extending out and rubbing against the accessory pulley (the pulley was stopping the gear from coming completely off). And there was oil all over everything in that corner of the car, though no obvious leak point. We were out.

Anyway, it was a great event with really great organization and what looked like really good roads if only the car was up to it.

alan perry

 

[mgpsmith]

Ice, glare, and more ice....rally on this with rear wheel drive, solid axle with leaf springs, and lever-arm shocks...

And you think you had diabolical handling!

A slow and tentative drive but no spins and no offs. Result: a decent finish in both ClubRallies, and the best part is my prep for 100AW is now just a thorough inspection, check the valve clearances, and wash the car! No bent metal to fix...good deal!

 

[Pete Kuncis]

QUICKIE VERSION:

- 2120 miles round trip from Boston >> Michigan >> Boston.
- Sheridan Valley Motel is a joke.
- Cold on Fri nite.
- Snowed 750 of the 900 mile ride home.
- Tired and ready for bed.

Great event!

Alan: I saw you guys slide off at the end of stage 9
Phil: MG looked great out there!

Pete
(PS: ~300 pics from the event to be posted on Monday nite)

 

[Flores]

You didn't say HOW it was diabolical, but it sounds like something wasn't bolted on quite right back there...

Or maybe the 'rally' setup for his 2G was a bit to much setup?

Wooped up at a few rallyx and autox with my 2G, can't say the handling was bad, from the back, except when I made the mistake of running tires that had almost no tread on the back of the car, right after a rain storm....

Woo! I never knew you could drift that way on pavement!

 

[AlanPerry]

>Alan: I saw you guys slide off at the end of stage 9

Yeah, that was a dumb one.

We were going pretty slow over the yumps that preceded that section. The folks that were going fast over the yumps were apparently having problems making the right turn afterward, including the TT. The co-driver of the TT had seen a lot of cars almost go off as they had, so was really waving to let folks know that they should slow down. I guess he couldn't tell how slow Roland was going. Anyway, Roland got on the brakes to slow down some more and lost it.

>Phil: MG looked great out there!

It certainly did!

alan

 

[Pete Kuncis]

My longer version:

Worked my normal 8 hour work day and left Boston at 9pm on Wednesday nite. The New York Thruway looks better at night than it does during the day. Started snowing a little after Albany. Made our way across Ontario and into Michigan w/o a problem. 14.5 hour drive, ~900 miles.

Got to Lewiston and went to get our reservation at the Sheridan Valley Motel. HAHA! Small rooms and no hot water. Ended up saying at Lovell's Tavern & Inn 12 miles further down 612. Place was nice except for the fact that the pipes were frozen. A space heater took care of that after 4 hours. Went to Atlanta for info & maps, then got some well needed sleep. Total time awake: 33 hours

Friday: Hit practice stage. Just watched this time, I usually am watching through a viewfinder, it was nice to see the cars go by w/o a camera on my face. Wandered around Park Expose a bit. Then went off to stage 2/4. Got to the spectator area and walked down the stage 2 miles to where there was a wicked set of corners. Red MR2 went off there and broke on stage 2, red Golf couldn't make it up the hill on stage 2, a bunch of cars biffed the mount on stage 4 (total sheet of ice by then), and a Sentra nailed a tree right there (got a great pic of this!!). Was cold by that time of nite.

Saturday: Went to stages 9 & 11. Was cold, but warmed up to the 20's quick. Another slippy corner we were on. It was the end of 9 and beginning of 11. Nothing too exciting there. A nice open area to photo around though. Then off to Atlanta for service & lunch. Then out to stages 14 & 16. Hung around the spectator area. Stage 14 was nice, but stage 16 it was snowing like crazy. By this time, I was just ready to be inside. Headed up to Hillman for some pizza. Stood in line most of the time waiting for more. Too tired to hang around for awards.

Sunday: Left at 8am, started snowing around 10am, didn't stop snowing till I got home at 1:30am. 16.5 hours. Niagra Falls is pretty in the freezing temps when there is a snow storm going on!!

Here is the 1 pic I've got online now:
http://www.onalimbracing.com/stuff/teaser1.jpg

Pics later tonite!

Pete

 

[Foghorn]

Pete,

What, no comment about the waitress at the Coach's Corner on Friday night? They were spectacular. The owners at the Sheridan Valley got hte furnace fixed by the time we got there Thursday after dinner but the place was a dump! Saw a few of your pics Friday evening. Nice work.

Kent Gardam

 

[AlanPerry]

>Got to Lewiston and went to get our reservation at the
>Sheridan Valley Motel. HAHA! Small rooms and no hot
>water.

Oh yeah. I forgot to comment on the infamous Sheridan Valley Motel, where we stayed.

The room had a single queen-size bed and I got the floor. The gap between the bed and the opposite wall was around a foot. There was no phone and the TV only picked up two channels off of UHF. The light was out in the bathroom and the shower was a broken plastic box with exposed plumbing. And it was broken. There was a split along the top of the plastic pipe to the shower head. The water was hot, though.

I didn't think there would be any other accomodations and Roland was paying for the room and was showing up late anyway, so I really couldn't change motels.

Do the Olsens read this? They had the three rooms next to ours. Wonder what their rooms were like.

alan

 

[Pete Kuncis]

>What, no comment about the waitress at the Coach's Corner on
>Friday night? They were spectacular.

OH YEAH! Damn, I forgot about that. Had a tough time paying attention to something other than Lisa's (.)(.)

Pete

 

[Steve Irwin]

>Got to Lewiston and went to get our reservation at the
>Sheridan Valley Motel. HAHA! Small rooms and no hot
>water.

Stayed there the first year we entered Sno*Drift (2000). Had some heat after they bled the pipes. No heat in the toilet though, ice cold fixtures. No drywall on the outer wall, just bare studs and wiring. I could just about touch both sidewalls in the room with my arms outstretched. Ah, those were the days...

>Got to the
>spectator area and walked down the stage 2 miles to where
>there was a wicked set of corners. Red MR2 went off there
>and broke on stage 2..

Er, that would be us! Hope you enjoyed the show!

 

[bolson]

I sort of felt a part of your team, what with the single-ply walls & all! I would have to say that the motel was a great topic of conversation all weekend...

The first impression was classic - walk into a bare room with no wall or floor coverings, and a telephone sitting on a counter (sort of) in the middle of the room. You are then instructed, in a hand-written note, to read the various other hand-written notes on the walls before calling to have someone arrive to collect your cash, up-front, for the room. You do get to check the room before paying - in fact they sort of require you to look at the room before paying.

The front counter was sort of a reception area for Scott Harvey and Kent Gardam's room, which opened right into the telephone counter. As a result we had the pleasure of numerous spontaneous conservations, since I had to pay on the installment plan as I wasn't aware of the up-front cash requirement going in. Had to make the phone call each time.

We had a 747-sized fly banging into the walls or whatever, but only when the lights were off. Couldn't see it otherwise. If you were lucky enough to have soap, its because the guy before you bought some and left it. I'm proud to say that our successors have a bar of slightly used Irish Spring!

What the heck - the price was OK and all we did was sleep there, pretty much...

 

[jake himes]

RE: Lenghty Sno*Drift stories

I had a terrific weekend. The event was run very well. The workers got the job done for us. My car still drives straight. Our hotel had hot water, too. It just didn't smell very good.

Sno*Drift is quite slippery. It's so slippery the car floats like an air hockey puck at times and all you can do is pick your spot in the woods. My rally car was humping trees and berms and banks like a wound up doggy all weekend. We were off the road about 15 times. Good thing I had my helmet to protect me from my codriver who also maintains the car.

We started pretty much last on Saturday. Passing cars is fun but we passed 14 of them. That was a little too many. It was cool doing a double off with Sanford/Sanford though. I was hoping that eventually I would catch up to the zamboni(car #??) that was entered so we could get some good roads once we got by him. We never caught him.

My crew is awesome. Great repair guys and they even pull for you in the woods. They used up all my straight suspension parts over the weekend though. We left with a bunch of links and arms and came back with just one control arm. Hmmmn.

Pace notes rock. Out of nostalgia for the wild trips I used to make back to Houghton in blizzard conditions I decided to push hard on the last stage in the lovely seasonal snowshower that we were being blessed with. It was awesome, just like the song "Jingle Bells". Silas (co-driver) was tightening his belts out of pure joy as we whisked along the stage.

My codriver, and bro, Silas, is already a master of the notes. In only his first attempt (2nd rally) he picked up the stage notes like a total pro. All I was picking up the time I tried notes was a barfbag. He even started working on his Finnish accent.

You all are going to be damn impressed when my current co-driver starts to drive. He's fast. Really fast. Any of you yoopers out there (except Sheriff Dean Rushford) should call him up and go for a ride in his suby in the snow. I'm thinking of giving him the keys for the Keewenaw Challenge.

Rallies are fun.

 

[w3xbf]

>The first impression was classic - walk into a bare room
>with no wall or floor coverings, and a telephone sitting on
>a counter (sort of) in the middle of the room. You are then
>instructed, in a hand-written note, to read the various
>other hand-written notes on the walls before calling to have
>someone arrive to collect your cash, up-front, for the room.
>You do get to check the room before paying - in fact they
>sort of require you to look at the room before paying.

We were there, also. You'll remember us as the kids in the Black Jeep who seem to be stalking you cross country.

We had hot water, but the shower didn't work. Did anyone else have a whirlpool bathtub? We had that.. No phone, the bathroom door didn't latch... Houghton was better, and we slept in the car!

 

[john bathgate]

started off from wellsboro at 9 pm on thurs night drove all night till 7am when we reach gaylord days inn. snowed and white out the whole way. slept till 1030. drove with my own maps to the practice stage watched 15 20 car . made our way to the 1/5 stage cross road w/ stage 2/4. met tim mckinney and some mitsu press fella's. saw the first 15 go past on stage 1 and made our way over to see all the cars go by on 2. gathered wood made a fire and settled in . wait to watch the first 15 or so and made our way back to stage 1/5 to catch all the cars go by. talked to a local guy while I stood beside the stop sign . he told me about a good place to go on sat. back up at 7 we head to the official spectator spot. not a bad place saw lovell almost hit the speed guy when the subi left the road and tried to climb a 3 ft bank.. left after burmeister went spinning around the 90 left. headed to stage 10 saw the mitsu press guys and tim mckinney again . gathered some wood made a small fire and waited. got to see lauchlin osullivan almost eat the banners as he slid slide ways into a small bank. Watch a lot of ppl turn the wrong way at the intersection (must be your other left huh).lol. left that stage and headed to a spot on stage 13 . met some nice ppl from michigan again chatted away made some food waited. very fast section 85- 100 mph prob. hmm no lovell? after about 20 or so cars here comes Lovell slow . rips it into the cross road we were at . engine fire or something. chatted awhile time to head out go to stage 17 middle of. got there early. we made a fire and started chatting w/ppl as they came by. some irish guy wanted me to blow some donuts in the subi but i passed i turn around there he is in a navigator blowing donuts in the intersection. place starts to get crowded. decide to put the fire out and move load up the car and head towards the start of the stage .found a one lane bridge w/ no guide rails .watched all the cars go by almost had a winner in the "lets see who will go in the water" award. red neon srt prob about and inch more and in the water he would have been. cold by now w/no fire ,frozen gloves ,and snowing like a B. head back to gaylord to go to sleep . wake up head back to wellsboro a 100 mph get home 730. sit down and play V rally 3 till mid night .


1600 miles
saw cars rallying 9 times
best rally spectating for ur buck. if u have to travel.
stpr 4 times one day 0 miles to travel.

 

[Pete Kuncis]

I thought that there was a bunch of snow at Sno*Drift.

Here is what we got today:
http://www.onalimbracing.com/stuff/snow10.jpg

This is our 3-6". 16" so far and more to come.

Pete (½ way done shoveling)