Trip Report To SUNI IV in Park City, UT July, 2004
Hi All,
It has taken me a few days to catch my breath, take care of some family
emergency matters, and to clear out the 160 emails I received during my 20
day, 5837 mile round trip to Park City, Utah attending the Sunbeams
International (SUNI IV) gathering. But this is notice that I'm
back...safely.
To say the trip was exciting, beautiful, tiring, challenging, rewarding,
frustrating, lucky, educational, and fun is an understatement. It was all of
those and more. As I wrote before I left, John Webber (JW) and I drove our
Tigers out to SUNI for several reasons: the fun of the trip itself; the
people we know from previous trips or through emails or phone calls; the
historic cars that were to be assembled there - one for only the second time
ever in the US; because Carroll Shelby, his wife Cleo, George Boskoff, and
other honored guests would be there; to meet some of the people we see in
the various newsletters of the clubs we belong to; and to meet new friends
that might attend.
The trip out was as expected. We drove 2617 miles through 14 states mostly
on US or state roads. Only about 300 miles were on Interstate roads. Most
of that was in Colorado where we met up with several of the Colorado Assn of
Tiger Owners(CATO) - Ken & Sandy Tisdale and Bill & Colleen Pass - whom I'd
stayed with during SUNI III at Big Sky, MT in'99 - Mike Mason and Terry
Rice. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
On Monday, 28 June, I met JW at 0815 and we proceeded out of Fla through
the beautiful horse country around Ocala. There are many beautiful horses
and farms. The roads are nice through GA and we spent the night in
Sylacauga, AL. We went through Auburn, AL so I could get a replacement
little Tiger "mascot" for The Funbeam, but the bookstore at Auburn was out.
After breakfast the next morning at Kitty's Cafe we drove up to Talladega
Speedway and went to the Talladega Motorsports Hall of Fame, a complex of
three buildings full of race cars, an airplane and a boat. JW and the
librarian in the museum talked shop and knew some of the same people.
Interesting place. They let us take pictures on their lawn in front of the
museum. We then proceeded to Vance, AL where the only Mercedes production
facility (SUV's) in the US is located. We happened to get there during the
European custom of two weeks plant shut down so we couldn't get a tour or
pick up any rejects or souvenirs. So off we went to KY and had some finger
lickin good barbeque at Hills Bar-B-Que. Overnighter in Mayfield and then on
to the same totally steel bridge (even the bridge roadway was steel with
holes in it and all) over the Ohio River into Illinois that I'd crossed when
I went to Tahoe last year. It was raining then, but nice this time. Had some
bridge construction so we had to wait on the bridge and when a big dump
truck came across towards us, the entire bridge shook. JW said he didn't
particularly like that feeling. We crossed to IL then came back across the
Mississippi River on another bigger bridge into MO. We then dropped down to
AK and ate lunch in Pocahontas, AK then to Hardy, AR where there is a small
but nice Antique/Classic Car Museum. It pored buckets as we went in the
museum but when we drove on there was only a drizzle for the next few hours.
Overnight in Springfield, Mo and left in rain and it rained for 5 hours.
Noticed that many local cars didn't turn on their headlights when it rained.
Only us tourists. Saw the first oil wells just outside of Gas, KA. Somewhere
near Eureka Kansas, at mile marker 392, on US-54, I was stopped by Kansas'
Finest for and given a warning for Excessive Speed...Imagine that? 75 in a
65. Thanked and told the nice young man that the 40 year old car didn't have
an accurate speedometer and it was nice to have an official reference.
Stopped for lunch in Eureka and had to get my tail pipes spot-welded and a
new header-tail pipe gasket as there were holes and they were getting
louder. $20 and the guy was quite thorough. Stopped in Greensburg for a
"Photo-Op" at The World's Largest Well. Didn't go in, but it must be
something to see. At a restaurant where we were having lunch, a waitress
came up and asked if we were driving those Ferraris outside! Also in Kansas,
at a convenience store, we met a guy from New Zeeland. Said he was over here
for several months following the wheat harvest while it was out of season in
New Zealand. Only in America! Finally made it across Kansas to Liberal, KA
and spent the night. I told JW that I thought Columbus was wrong. The Earth
IS flat.... especially if you drive across Kansas. Also, after all that
rain, The Funbeam got a much-needed shower, shampoo and a rubdown. We had a
brief run through the panhandle of Oklahoma and into Texas. JW stopped us
for a "Photo-Op" at Conlen, TX where there's this big Texan cowboy statue
appx 30' tall near this abandoned restaurant and several other buildings. We
moistened the parched ground, as well. We lunched in Raton, NM and drove
over the ever-beautiful Raton Pass into Colorado and on to Colorado Springs,
then on to Denver. I purchased some smaller jets for my Holly carb as I was
running really rich because of the altitude and installed them in the
morning before proceeding on to meet up with the CATO group for the trip
over the mountains. As I was installing them a woman came from the motel and
asked if my car was a Cadillac! Should have said, "No, it is a Ferrari!!!"
We met the CATO group early on the next morning and proceeded on US 40 then
thru the Eisenhower tunnel and across the 11,315 foot Berthoud Pass. The
Funbeam ran cool and quick. Loves the twisty mountain roads. Bill & Colleen
provided a wonderful lunch in a park in Steamboat Springs. A little stream
running through the park was COLD! We saw two antelope along the way.
There were absolutely gorgeous views and not too much traffic, considering
it was the 4th of July weekend. We had an overnighter in Vernal, UT, 4
Tigers, one Alpine & one support vehicle. JW & I left early and proceeded to
Park City, arriving around noon. The room was ready, registration was smooth
and got a nice cap and t-shirt, so we got settled in. JW washed his car and
I took a tour of the town.
Monday was Day 1 Autocross. Got 5 runs in. One was a "practice" as they
didn't have all the kinks out, but I was glad. I was the first off and was
in first place for a while.... until the next car ran, then I was
second...then I was third, then 4th,etc. I really don't know where I
finished. As I've said before, if you're not a podium performer, you just go
out to have fun, and I had great fun. I did get to "navigate" for Dave
McDermot in his Works Rally Tiger. That was a blast. Lots of power there. We
autocrossed again on Tuesday and I did about the same as Monday. Had great
fun again. Really good challenging courses both days. Good job by David and
his crew. I think we all had a good time. The Tisdales of the CATO group
invited JW and me for a much appreciated home cooked meal at their suite.
Food was terrific and the company was fun. We thank you for that.
Wednesday we had a fun rally through the mountains. It was fun and saw some
of the beautiful scenery of Utah. Entertainment that night was good. One old
movie was about newlyweds in BC in a new Alpine. Also, good promo film about
"Harry", the Harrington Tiger. Sorry Bill is selling it. He's a wonderful
man that I met last year in Tahoe. Hope it stays on the road and is shown in
the future. It's a beautiful one of a kind car. Also a good slide
presentation by Steve Alcala.
On Thursday we went on a tech tour to Boyd Butler's Shop and to Kirkham's in
Provo, UT. Butlers shop manufactures specialty exhausts and mufflers,
especially for NASCAR. The tour was very informative and I wanted to put an
order in for a complete system right then and there. We had a nice lunch and
then to Kirkhams via a really scenic, twisty rally type of mountain road. I
managed to get in front and really rip through the mountainside and around
the curves. It reminded me of the "Tail of the Dragon" near Townsend, TN
that has 318 curves in 11 miles. What a hoot. An 11 minute adrenaline rush.
This road was shorter, but just as exciting. Almost hit a huge deer that
pranced across the road in front of us. We won't talk about the poor
bird...They manufacture brushed Stainless Steel Cobra replicas. The sheet
metal and frame components are manufactured in the shop they own in Poland
and are shipped to their shop in Provo where they are assembled with
suspension and other parts they CNC there. Beautiful cars and they provided
refreshments, as did Boyd. On the way back, I had trouble #1 - I don't count
the muffler leak. After waxing Nick Kintner uphill on the I-state, the pin
in the shifter fell out as I downshifted on the off ramp to Park City. Nick
went to the Hotel, got his truck & trailer and came back and The Funbeam was
on a trailer for the first time. I almost wept. He let me drive it to Provo
to Kirkhams the next morning as they had the part to fix it. There might be
a tech-tip out about how not to have this happen to you. - Just a matter of
putting in longer bolts into the shifter bottom. Many, many thanks, Nick.
While I was there, I bought a short-shifter at a very reasonable price. They
have more, if anyone is interested. Thanks to Dave Kirkham for his time and
effort to fix the shifter pin and installing the new short shifter. I drove
back and missed the judging of the concourse, but The Funbeam couldn't
compare to most of the beautiful cars that were there, so I just washed off
the dirt and put it on display. I'm told there were 84 cars, 60 Tigers, the
rest Alpines, Imps, and Hillmans. Carroll Shelby was a trooper, as always.
Signed and signed, took photo after photo. Dave McDermott only let us get
one item signed, but that was OK. Mr. Shelby would still be there signing
and photoing. Of course, other than The Man being there, The Cars were, too.
The 1924 V12 original Sunbeam Tiger that held the land speed record of 135
mph with Sir John Seagraves driving, the #9 LeMans Tiger of Darryl Mountjoy,
the Monster Tiger that temporarily got the LeMans Tiger's parts and then
gave them back up after being restored later, the Miles Prototype Tiger, and
the unrestored "Shelby" prototype that went to England and was the car that
was accepted by Lord Rootes as the prototype for production. What a great
historic opportunity for us all that attended. We saw the Original Tiger
that has only been shown twice in the US, and for the first time, the
collection of these cars together. Awesome. That night Mr. Shelby and George
Boskoff entertained us with some stories and George got philosophical on
us...At least I think that's what it was. I got a "DumbSiht" Award for
breaking down on a Tech tour. Well, in retrospect, I think it was a lucky
break...so to speak...Lots of fun and laughs. Congratulations to all the
award winners. Well deserved and I know it was tough for the judges. I would
like to say that Max did a splendid job of organizing the whole thing. He
had a lot of excellent people that worked hard to make this event happen. It
seemed to me to run smoothly and I, for one, had a fun and relaxing (for the
most part) time at the lovely resort. Well DONE to you all.
Saturday 10 July, - Day to leave - At 0515, the fire alarm went off on our
floor. Someone said there was a false indication in the laundry room. JW and
I were the only ones out of our rooms. So we just packed up and took off.
There are beautiful valleys from Provo to the Continental Divide. In Provo,
we came around a bend in town and there were three or four horses prancing
around the 4-lane street. We and others slowed and they went about 1/2 mile
down the road in front of us and finally got off the road at a fence where
there was a cute young filly looking over the fence at them. Ahhh, love in
the AM...We spent an uneventful night in Alamosa, CO. Nice roads to Taos and
Santa Fe, one of the most beautiful of cities in the West, but we bypassed
Santa Fe - too much traffic. Got to Las Vegas, NM, and as we pulled off the
exit to go to lunch, I heard a "Ping" and the car started running rough when
starting from a traffic light. We ate lunch and JW said it sounded like a
valve spring went. So we called the local NAPA store asking for a reputable
repair shop and they directed us to Michael's Precision Automotive. I won't
bore you with all the details of the repair except to say that I "flat lobed
the cam" in two places and had to have the cam and lifters replaced. This
took from Monday until I left on the next Saturday. JW moved on towards home
on Tuesday noon when it was apparent I just had to sit this out and let it
be repaired. The shop is immaculate; the folks that work there are super
nice, knowledgeable, and professional. I was treated like family from the
get-go. I was treated to breakfast burritos in the morning, and each noon,
one of the wives or girlfriends would provide lunch of lasagna, or
enchiladas, or Michael would Bar-B-Que ribs, & pork chops or grill
hamburgers and bratz and hot dogs. Friends, family, children, dogs would all
gather and Michael shared his hospitality with them and with me. It was
quite and experience. Jessie, the Apache-Texan - first I'd ever met- that
worked on my car was top notch. But, after this ordeal, I'll bet he'll be
skeptical about working on a Tiger ever again. Michael, a Master ASE
Certified Technician oversaw all the work and checked the final work. I had
mixed emotions about leaving. I enjoyed knowing all of the people there, but
I had some family matters to take care of so I had to head home.
I drove through some of the most gorgeous desolate land I've ever been on in
my life - sign read "Next gas 76miles" - on Rte 104 from Las Vegas, NM to
Tucumcari, NM. The valleys stretched to the horizon and were absolutely
stunning. A car or truck passed every 15 minutes or so. But, I noticed after
being in Texas for some while that I had some "missing" in the engine. But
only when I accelerated form stoplights in the small towns I was passing
through. I attributed it to the small jets I had in the carb for the higher
altitude. I pressed on and decided to get off US-82 in Texarkana and drop
down to the Interstates, as it didn't act up with the cruise control on at
70 or so. I made it to Arcadia, LA - about 865 miles from Las Vegas, NM. The
next morning I installed the original jets in the carburetor and took off.
It seemed to be OK for a while, but soon the same problem came back. This
time, it was worse - backfiring through the carb, and some out the tail
pipe. Even though I was getting tired after driving 725 miles that day and I
was so close to home, I pressed on. On I-75, about 10 miles out of
Gainesville, FL, I saw an SUV pulling a beautiful speedboat - like a Donzi
or Fountain - off in the ditch. People on the CB said it was slick. It had
rained earlier, but it was dry enough that the car in front didn't put spray
up on my windscreen. I was running 70 on cruise control and in the center
lane of three lanes going southbound, the car's rear end swapped with the
front. I hit the brake to get of cruise control and spun the wheel in the
opposite direction of the skid, applied power, but it was like glass. It
went all the way around and then across the slick grass on the shoulder and
I ended up backwards in the ditch with about 6" of water. I started the car,
moved ahead about a foot, but got stuck. So I got out called it in and
waited for the police. The local Sheriff responded and called an AAA tow
truck, which pulled me out, and I was on my way. The Sheriff said "no harm,
no foul". I did bend the antenna but that was all the damage to the car.
Surprisingly, I was calm the whole time. With all the trucks that were
nearby, the cars that were passing me up to the time I spun.... Go figure...
the Good Lord was really looking out for me on this one. If anyone should
think I should get a Hard Luck award, I'll say I really should get the "GOOD
LUCK" award. I was so fortunate the entire trip.
I got home at 11PM Sunday night18 July, washed The Funbeam, and hit the
bed. The car is still not right, for some reason. I will have someone good
look at it and fix it and I'll be ready to go again. I also found that after
all the excitement of spinning on the Interstate, I forgot to totally
release the hand brake. After sitting for a day, the brake shoe lining stuck
to the drums and it is obvious from the burned off paint on the drums that
they got really hot. I have since ordered new shoes and have turned the
drums and they are OK. More good luck.
But, I still say The Funbeam did live up to its name, once again. In 20
days, it went a total of 5837 miles, through 21 states - 15 different ones -
387.642 gals gas; averaged 15.05MPG; average cost of $2.02 per gal. Keep in
mind I used Premium most of the time and all the time in the West where
Premium was only 90 Octane. Paid the highest for Premium of $2.33 in
Silverthorne, CO, and the lowest was $1.84 for mid-grade in Milan, TN
There are plenty of adverbs and adjectives that are in the dictionary. But
there are no words that can adequately describe these 20 days. I still say
this is the greatest country in the world and every time I drive across it,
I am so pleased... no, so overjoyed to find such wonderful, giving, caring,
unselfish people. That's what makes the Sunbeam Community and America so
great, and they are still out there. The land is so diverse and so
magnificently indescribably beautiful. In New Mexico, where the license tags
read "Land of Enchantment", I told a lady in a restaurant that had waited on
me that the people of New Mexico are what make it the Land of Enchantment.
Most all of America is that way. I'll be ready for the next SUNI, too.
All the Best,
FunbeamChuck
Photos are on www.ofoto.com; If you can't get to them, email me .
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