A Mercedes, a Rabbit, and a Dragon

426949From Taylor, BlythBro #1:

I initially heard of the ‘Tail of the Dragon’ through a friend about four years ago and had (regrettably) never done any research or looked for footage from the twisted roads of which he spoke. He had been down there in his stupid-fast Integra and told me that various car clubs usually hold a meet there every year or so. Lucky for me, I had recently purchased a 1987 190E 2.3-16 and was all set to start work in eastern Tennessee for summer of 2013. I knew the car needed some work to get it back to its original Bremen-spec racing form and had invested in a new suspension to start things off. Graham, just four and a half hours away, decided to stop by for the weekend to take me to meet up with a few of his friends at the Dragon.

Graham showed up at my place very late Friday and we noticed that the 190E was running a little louder than normal, as it was fresh off a natural muffler delete. Graham and I were able to pull a rear wheel up onto a sidewalk as we needed a quick solution to get under the body kit. Some 10 gauge wire strung to the rear control arm was good for holding up the remains of the cat-back system. It seemed somewhat stable. The new suspension, Bilsteins and H&R sports all around, had about 6 hours of total driving on them- including none by myself. Graham did the work on my car over at his place as I got to hoon around some nuclear laboratory lots in his GTI for the week. The fabled SLS system had failed/leaked beyond what I was willing to pay to fix and the decision to eschew it in favor of standard struts was not too difficult to justify. For any concerned purists- the SLS components have been living out their days in a very nice bucket in Indiana. Other issues such as a slight oil leak, idle issues, and very worn tires brought my 16v down a bit from its perch as a top-notch driver’s car. The 1984 GTI was much more aptly equipped in terms of tires (Dunlop Star Specs), brakes, and- perhaps most importantly- driver ability (an experienced autocrosser and former FSAE driver… whereas I am the type who sometimes dares to lay down some clutchless shifts and is no stranger to hypermiling).

Decision Prologue: Elfer Edition

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From Matt, the Blyth dad:

Central PA car blog posts should be about powerslides, emergency avoidance maneuvers around errant hay bales or road apples, impromptu buggy races, and the like. But this one post has to lay out the story behind a car purchase that was 28+ years to consummation.

My U.S. Army tour in northern Germany started in March 1985. Thankfully, the balloon never went up; as a result, other than countless cold nights on an M1 tank and later in a HMMWV, my most lasting memories mainly involve cars. How could I fight it? Within an hour of initially landing at Hamburg Flughafen, I was in the back seat of a Jetta sedan doing around 140 klicks on Autobahn 1. Timing of my arrival was mere days before a five-week field exercise and tank gunnery. But having nowhere to live right away, my initial quarters consisted of the floor of 1LT Mark Wiltse’s apartment in Bremen-Vegesack. Ostensibly paired with Mark to get up to speed quickly on my duties, speed quickly took on other meaning. I had known Mark at West Point, where his red ‘82 Firebird was a hit. But Mark had succumbed to the Apfel-Korn, and was in the process of ordering a new M635CSi to replace the ‘bird; most notably, the strong U.S. dollar brought his price to under $25,000. Mark’s dark blue M-car proved to be stunning, and he also introduced me to a German lieutenant with an Oetteiger-engined Golf GTI , which I somehow finagled into borrowing for a weekend visit at my sister’s near Dortmund. That’s another story, but my Cold War was starting swimmingly, to say the least.

6,000 miles in the 84 GTI (in ten days)

 

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Earlier in 2013, I decided that I wanted to go for a substantial roadtrip.  I settled on taking a 318is, but figured I’d sell mine and buy one in better mechanical condition.  After a 1,500 mile trip to make that acquisition, I wound up with a car that needed the drive shaft to be balanced, had less AC than the seller implied, and needed 4 new tires.  Normally these would be simple enough fixes, but I wasn’t able to get the car ready in time for the trip.  So, I decided to take my 1984 Rabbit GTI and every tool I own.

I had just driven my GTI, ‘the Git’, to the Tail of the Dragon on Dunlop Z1 Star Specs (and demolished them), and during the first 50 miles of my road trip, I realized that their ability to, um, not kill me while driving through a rainstorm was limited. So, I rerouted to Peoria, IL, where my friend Andrew would let us stay in his apartment so that I could get some tires mounted in the morning.

After getting the tires mounted in Peoria (and resisting the temptation to spend hours in Harbor Freight), we started for Seattle, and didn’t rest until we made it there.

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Once underway, there were only two instances of undesired shutdowns.  The first was the result of water dripping down the windshield onto the cowl, and through the old seal onto the fuse box.  All of the relays take on water when this happens, but the first to go was the fuel pump relay.  After an hour of troubleshooting, we figured this out, and were able to make a jumper to get power to the fuel pump.  Later on, I bought a switch to make the start-up process quicker and more fun.

The second issue was my unskilled interpretation of the fuel gauge.  Luckily, we were 2 miles from the gas station in Brandon, IA when the car sputtered to a halt, and even more fortuitously, I had packed a skateboard, which made the descent from the Interstate into the town a breeze.  I’m surprised that my girlfriend didn’t have me drop her off at the nearest airport at this point.

After that calibration exercise, we made it to Minnesota, where the sun began to set. That state is so green that I can see Al and Tipper Gore settling down there, if they ever get back together. And I really hope they do, because the love story at the beginning of An Inconvenient Truth is the segment that everyone can agree upon.
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Getting back to the drive, South Dakota took up the whole night of driving, during which I took a sleeping shift, so I have no idea what happened there. Here’s my best guess: We drove straight for hundreds of miles.  I woke up in the Black Hills area and took over driving again. With my girlfriend asleep, the GTI managed to hit 104 on a downhill section.

A quick note on food: I had chicken-fried steak in Illinois for my meal of the day. As in, I ate that in the morning and let the fat burn for the rest of the day. I ended up doing the same thing in Wyoming.  I’m not a fan of food-strategy or dieting in general, but I liked the lump-in-the-stomach energy delivery that it provided.

The mountainous ascents in Montana and Idaho were the next major obstacle, though the GTI made quick work of them.  Having recently driven my 318is at altitude, I would say that the GTI felt less anemic.  Passing power remained adequate and it wasn’t a strain to maintain our typical hot hatch driving style.

After crossing the flat plain of eastern Washington, the dark descent into Seattle was particularly perilous.  I-90 seemed to spiral endlessly to sea level, challenging my fatigued brain along its tortuous path.  Heavy traffic arranged in 3-4 lanes made for an adrenaline-soaked final stint.DSC_1811DSC_1829DSC_2187DSC_2305

Making our way out of Seattle, we spent an entire day courting Mt. Rainier.  Following a quick oil change in the Autozone parking lot, I gave the GTI a proper workout through the breathtaking surroundings, driving at 9/10s for  200+ miles.  That drive alone justified the trip.  When traveling so far from home, the front wheel drive comes to be an advantage, as it makes the driver really work to get the ass-end of the car out.  And really, once the car starts to get sideways, the odds of returning home in one piece suffer drastically.  The GTI simply excels at safely guiding its occupants through punishing drives.

The route we took along the Oregon Coast was scenic, with a more relaxing drive in store. And, the GTI’s tall greenhouse and sunroof made for some excellent touring.  The cloth seats remained cool and dry, the vent windows maintained a great cabin temperature in the absence of AC, and the foam seat cushions made up for any harshness in the suspension.

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After visiting Crater Lake, Mt. Hood, and Portland, we started to make our way back to Indiana along the Columbia River, eventually arriving at Boise.  Two long days through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois culminated in our arrival back in Indiana.

We were mostly lucky to make it so far with so few problems.  That being said, there is something to be said of taking a simple car, investing the time and money into maintaining it and developing intimate mechanical knowledge of it, then hoping for the best.

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A.L.F.A: Always Looking For Another

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Only in my case, it would be Always Looking For Another Because One Broke, or ALFABOB.  I imagine somebody already has the as a personalized plate – likely in California, where extroverts seem to thrive.

Now, I’m not the first person to experience a broken Alfa, but both my ’89 Milano Verde and my ’95 164LS both have experienced bottom end failure within their first weeks in my garage.  I am documenting the Verde failure and rebuild, but to summarize, it threw a rod while I was doing 75mph on the Interstate.  Since I missed it so much, I bought the 164LS to have something over-the-top to shuttle me around in while the Verde engine is on the stand.  Well, the 164LS developed rod knock while driving at 55mph on the highway.  Luckily, it will only need new rod bearings, which I can manage to replace with the engine in the car.

Trollhättan Turbo: 300k mile 1989 Saab 900 Turbo

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Andrew provided us with the photos and the following to say about his Saab:

“At 300,000 miles young, we like the burble of this Swedish sled. It only gets better as a whine overpowers it and boost creeps in, typical of the laggy days of yore. Its nimble reflexes that gave it a rally pedigree almost make you forget it can also swallow half that Ikea store.”

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Fintail and friends

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Drove to Louisville to inspect a 318is candidate. I walked from the 318is, and ended up finding a photogenic 1967 230S sedan. Later on, a 2.3-16 passed me on the highway. Naturally, I spent the rest of the evening on Ebay/Craigslist…

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The ideal BMW (and an e30)

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I couldn’t italicize the title, so I had to save it for down here: the e34 is the ideal BMW.

Andrew brought his e34 down to Brown County, IN, where we took the cars out for an Italian tune-up or two.  The 3er was, understandably, the nimbler of the two German sausages, but the 5er has a pleasingly deliberate way of moving.  When it came to changing speed, the e34’s smooth, torquey M30 ‘big six’ reacted with aplomb, and reigned supreme in the undulating terrain.  Of course, I had no issue reservations with keeping the e30’s M42 at full boil.  None at all.

 

Thanks to Andrew for the photos!

 

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Sixteen Valve Sunrise: 2.3-16 and 318is

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The M-B 190E 2.3-16 most directly compared to the e30 BMW M3, and rightly so, given the pair’s history of competition in DTM as well as the marketplace.  But, the current market values of these special models has diverged; these days, e30 M3s are priced as high as a new hot hatch, while 2.3-16s can be had for common e30 money.

In light of this shift, the e30 318is presents an interesting alternative to the 2.3-16.  Dual overhead cams, hydraulic lifters, timing chain, forged crank and rods, 10:1 compression, 4 valves per cylinder, and a tubular header from the factory raise the M42 engine in the 318is to the upper echelon occupied by the 2.3-16’s Cosworth-headed lump.  A limited slip differential option further boosts the 318is performance credentials, but with no dog-leg gearbox or ground effects, it lacks the uniqueness integral to the experience of the 2.3-16.

As for driving dynamics, the 2.3-16 is easier to slide, yet slower to react due to its steering box.  The 318is also reacts more quickly to throttle inputs, especially wide-open inputs broken only for shifts at the 6,300 RPM.  Now, the sounds effects of the M42 are plenty satisfying – that is, until you’ve stomped on the 2.3-16.  Wide open throttle in the M-B yields an intoxicating induction growl that is solely to blame for the 50% reduction in fuel economy whenever I drive Taylor’s car.  You’d think the reduced pumping losses at WOT would be on your side…

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Bought an Italian Saab.

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And I posed for the iPhone while holding a stereotypical Italian beverage in dorky, Saab-inspired fashion.

How is the Saab-Alfa to drive?

Well, power is just right for the 3,450lb sedan.  Starting at the base LS-spec 211hp, this car adds the Q-spec intake runners and a Squadra chip for a total of 240hp.  So with a power/weight on par with a VW R32, it moves.  The Stebro exhaust is blatant auditory affirmation of any throttle input.

In the curves, it belies its Saab underpinnings, starting neutral, and progressing to lift-throttle oversteer when needed.  This replaces my e30s, and around town, it feels tighter and more alert.

Of course, in true Alfa fashion, it’s currently out of service for what started out as a bad Motronic H20 temp sensor, and progressed to a full-fledged Alfa 24V V6 timing belt job.

In spite of this, I’m smitten with the car.  Ask me about the interior sometime – especially if you have a full afternoon to listen to me waxing about the peanut butter leather and Alfa logos embossed into each seat.  I’m in way too far with Alfas, and I don’t have any reason to believe that I won’t be that guy with 25 Alfa parts cars sprawled in the front yard, say, 5 years from now.

 

 

2.3-16 makes it to Indiana

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We met Taylor in Lousiville, before he headed up to Indiana for a brief visit.  At the end of the weekend, Taylor set off in GTI, and got to experience the elite peril made possible by a set of bald set of Dunlop Direzza Z1 Star Specs in heavy rain.  The sensation is somewhat akin to driving on a rumble strip, but without the ability to change direction.  But he made it back…

Perhaps as an acknowledgment of the danger I exposed Taylor to by lending him my GTI, I installed H&R Sports and Bilstein Sports on the 2.3-16 for him.  The self-leveling rear suspension now resides in a bucket.  Not even a bucket I paid for.  It was free at the Brown County Winery.

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