Epic Shasta road trip

[Gregs672000]

Love it Erik! Now, listen to me closely... you MUST do the run to the rocks, i.e. the top of Mt Shasta... do NOT skip this... waaaaay too much fun both up and down, what these cars are all about! Many warp drive memories!

[funkaholik]

After the show today, Keith Williams put on his annual carburetor clinic, where he tunes peoples' SU carbs for free. This year he patiently tuned 25 cars in the afternoon heat. Cars line up in the Swiss Holiday Lodge parking lot and wait their turn to roll up and have Keith work his magic.

Tonight was the banquet where the awards were given out, prizes were raffled off, and there was even a presentation recapping the 40 year history of the Shasta meet. If you haven't been to this event, it's a must. The Saturday show itself is just a small piece of the weekend's festivities. It's really about the camaraderie of fellow Datsun enthusiasts and enjoying these great cars together. There are adults here that have been coming since they were kids, and kids here today that'll probably be coming here as adults in the future.

[Stick]

That last picture (from post #14) is the EPIC shot with the street full of Roadsters - If you have that in high res I would submit that for the next calendar cover!

[Gregs672000]

Looks like a pretty good turnout! I didn't know it was the 40th. I was there for #3 and I think that's where my sense of family for this group started. I see faces I recognize from years gone by... so lucky to have owned this car and been part of this group for so many years. Right about now you're probably figuring out what place to have some breakfast before having that one last cup of coffee with some new Roadster friends. Have a great drive back!

[the550 Roadster]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Looks like a great time. Maybe one day for this East Coaster.

[cole455]

[quote=Gregs672000 post_id=348449 time=1719162785 user_id=2222]
Looks like a pretty good turnout! I didn't know it was the 40th. I was there for #3 and I think that's where my sense of family for this group started. I see faces I recognize from years gone by... so lucky to have owned this car and been part of this group for so many years. Right about now you're probably figuring out what place to have some breakfast before having that one last cup of coffee with some new Roadster friends. Have a great drive back!
[/quote]

Greg, you missed dad then! He actually came out for the 40th

[david premo]

It was a great time this year, I love the Shasta meet it’s your summer family. Of all the shows I like this one the best , it’s 3 days of camaraderie with all kinds of different people that love the cars. Something that just has to be experienced. And a big thanks to Erik for doing this thread.
Dave

[funkaholik]

Epilog: The Day After

Sunday, I woke up at 7:25 am when David Premo called to see if I had a spark plug socket since there was a roadster that wouldn't start and they think it was fouled plugs. Yes, I actually had a socket and 4 new plugs. Turns out the plugs were a bit too high-performance and had preset wide gaps that wouldn't work well for a stock Roadster, so off to O'Reilly's they went. Dave later let me know that the car was running and all was good.

Next was a group text from Bernard Chen that he was 20 minutes south of Shasta and lost all oil pressure. Oil was full but zero pressure and the engine sounded dry - so the gauge probably wasn't the issue. He erred on the side of caution and called AAA for a tow all the way home. If I remember correctly, he waited about 4 hours - not bad for being in the woods. I've waited that long in town!

Jenny and I had an uneventful ride home and stopped for lunch at Granzella's in Williams. Boy was it HOT! When I got down into the flatlands I found a shady spot and swapped my usual pilot jets back in since it was now running lean with the Shasta jets in there. I guess I am now officially a "shade tree mechanic" since I swapped carb jets under a tree next to a family having a picnic lunch. Filled up when I got home and calculated the totals:

897 miles
50.256 gallons of 91 octane fuel
$279 burned up in fuel costs, heavily padded by paying a whopping 6.69 a gallon in Truckee! Robbery.

Looks like I got an average of 17.85 MPG. Not stellar, but not too bad considering all the mountains and hills we climbed, how rich and inefficiently my car was running at altitude, and how heavy my right foot tends to be. Not to mention that it's 2155cc with thirsty Mikuni 44's. All in all, I feel like I got my $279 worth of good times, doing it in a Datsun.

What a great group of people and an awesome bunch of cars. Can't wait to do it all over again...

[Solex68]

Thanks for sharing so many photos of the trip!

[bchen]

This was my first Shasta event and I really enjoyed meeting all of the amazing people! I had so many conversations about Roadsters re: carburetors, cooling systems, engine upgrades, DIY paint jobs, and good maintenance habits. I also refined my goal with my roadster - to reach a point where it's dependable enough to make 500+ mile drives with confidence.

On that note, thanks to Erik (and Tim and Leo) for providing advice when my 1600 lost oil pressure on the way home. It went 400-ish miles on this trip - 300 miles to Shasta, 84 miles around town, then 20 miles towards home. On that drive home, the oil pressure dropped to zero and I pulled over at a convenient offramp in about 300 feet. Engine still had plenty of oil but was smoking when I opened it up. I've got a call with Mike Young next week to get some wisdom on possible fixes...

Here are some pics of the Fun Run and the Show and Shine.

[martinmmartinezc]

It’s always a relief when a quick fix turns a rough start into a smooth ride. For future road trips, having a reliable backup plan is key. When I was on the road last year, I stayed at this resort during a similar journey, and it was great for unwinding after a long drive.