"What do I need airconditioning" I said. "We'll be in the mountains where
it is cool" I said. "We should pack some jackets" I said. I've said
dumber things in my life but not much.
Wyoming was HOT. For a place that has gates on the interstate so they can
close them down due to snow, it was HOT. Even though the elevation
averaged 6,000 feet, it was HOT. Sure it was a dry heat, it was still HOT.
And the car doesn't care about humidity. Heat is heat.
Physics lesson #461:
At elevation water boils at a lower temperature. At 6300 ft water boils at
about 193 degrees F. If the thermostat operates at 195 and your cap
doesn't hold pressure you've got a recipe for a steam generator. Ask me
how I know. Sure I had a mixture of ethylene glycol and water which has
raises the boiling level and that saved me whilst I was under way but each
stop brought forth my own little geyser.
20 miles out of Laramie we stopped at a rest stop and I lost, yet again,
what seamed like an insignificant amount of coolant. when we left Brad
took off down the highway and I stopped for a photo-op. "No problem" I
said. "I can catch up" I said. "No you won't, either" destiny said. No
sooner did I get back on the highway than the temp gauge began it's slow
steady climb toward "hot." I happened upon a service station in the middle
of no where with a friendly, if not very helpful attendand with $10.00
antifreeze and a hose full of alkyli water.
45 minutes later, with crossed fingers, we hit the highway again and
although the tempgauge was reading higher than before it held steady. No
chance of catching Brad (unless he broke down) but we did some hot footing
it anyway. The TR8 likes 80 MPH. It will easily handle 85 or more even at
altitude. The problem with driving 85 (besides the possible legal
problems, but in Wyoming???) is that there is a stop at 85. If you drive
85 the speedo reads 85. If you drive 100 the speedo reads, what? 85. I
guess I'll have to start searching for a 140 MPH speedo.
200 miles to Rock Springs and the temp held steady. The altitude ranged
from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. The temperature was in the 90's. My radiator
cap was not holding pressure. The engine temp held steady all the way.
Until I stoped for gas. During the three hour break in Rock Springs (while
the wife visited with her cousin whom she hasn't seen in 11 years) Brad
and I headed off to wash the industrail strength water spots off of the
car. At the auto parts (where the car, once again barfed up some coolant)
store I bought some cleaning supplies, some stop leak and a radiator cap.
It was only after I put on the cap and the symptoms seemed to disapear that
I comprehended physics lesson #461. I guess I should have replaces the
thermostat with a 165 degree model but we were headed for Utah and lower
altitudes. Anyway, I figured the cap would solve most of the problems.
The trip into Ogden Utah was uneventful except for the fact that as a
midwesterner, living in the rolling hills of the Ozark Moutains, driving 40
miles, downhill, continously, I mean not up and down but down, is a bit of
a culture shock.
BTW, It didn't get any cooler as we descended.
Dave Massey
On the road in Ogden Utah
P.S. I still have that bottle of stop leak in the trunk. Maybe I'll donate
it to the auction.
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