April 12-15, Southern/Central CA, Bottom Buster Motoring Tour 2021

[FergO2k]

Event just announced, details below.
My goal is to get clutch replacement completed and 2 weeks of road trials prior to this, so the "garage gauntlet" is thrown down!

These events are great fun, non-competitive, great scenery, almost exclusively backroads except for the occasional transit stage, and always great gearhead talk.

BOTTOM BUSTER MOTOR TOUR
UP AND RUNNING FOR 2021 – A FUN 4-DAY DRIVE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO
DRIVE THEIR OLD/CLASSIC CAR ON CALIFORNIA’S HIGHWAYS & BYWAYS
NO FRILLS – NO FEE – NO PRE-REGISTRATION
DATES: APRIL 12, 13, 14 & 15, 2021

As a courtesy, please RSVP to Patty@CaptsCook.com -- Let me know if you will be joining us this year; if you wish to come to the various dinners (*subject to any COVID restrictions at the time) and if you will be skipping Pasadena and starting at Ridgecrest.
You will have to make your own lodging reservations; however, some rooms have been set aside for the Bottom Buster Motor Tour.

SCHEDULE:
APRIL 11, 2021 For those who wish to start at the Rose Bowl, Pasadena CA.
Some rooms have been set aside for the Bottom Buster Motor Tour, at:
Hyland Inn (formerly the Comfort Inn) (626) 405-0811, 2462 Colorado Blvd, Pasadena. Dinner at 6:00 PM, place TBD
APRIL 12, 2021 ROSE BOWL Front Entrance, N Arroyo Blvd off Seco Street
Meet: 7:00 AM Leave: 7:30 AM
Enjoy the back roads of Southern California with a special Ice Cream Stop on the way to Ridgecrest for the night.
Roadway Inn & Suites Heritage, (760) 446-6545, 1050 N. Norma St., Ridgecrest, CA 93555.
Dinner*: ALE’s Steakhouse & Bar, 7:00 PM
APRIL 13, 2021 Leave: 8:00 AM – Enjoy a scenic drive heading east, through desert, and mountains to Paso Robles for the next two nights.
Lodging: Adelaide Inn, (805) 238-2770, 1215 Santa Ysabel Ave., Paso Robles, CA 93446.
Some rooms have been reserved for $93.06 + tax. Dinner on your own.
APRIL 14, 2021 Leave: 8:00 AM – Enjoy another day of scenic driving and return for Happy Hour & Dinner*:
A J Spurs Saloon, 508 Main St., Templeton, CA.
APRIL 15, 2021 Leave: 8:00 AM – Your option to enjoy another day of scenic driving back to Pasadena or break off whenever you wish and head for home.

Patty Cook, Scribe to the Disorganizer
(714) 743-3221 -- Patty@CaptsCook.com

[bossbob]

Looks like fun, you'll all be cruising right into my backyard. Paso Robles and Templeton. See you soon.

[mraitch]

I'm a going - Yippee

Ferg - if you need a hand - I can offer one

[FergO2k]

Thanks Peter.
Hard to schedule set times at my house, but I will let you know.
I was fortunate in that I got a loan of a hoist and leveler, so can take my time ('cept for the new deadline!)
Have done a good bit of clean and scrub, but trying to avoid an ever-growing list of "well, since I am here, I might as well...."
Take care,
FergO

[todd lorber]

I'll try to see if I can get a hall pass. I've committed to Solvang for the roadster, but I'd be up for a drive and can take the Z. The roadster won't be ready for that drive by then.

[ted heaton]

Did one day of this Tour in 2017 when it was the same week as Solvang.
It was a strange tour and I would not recommend it.
An internet search shows that this event was large in its early years with 100+? cars.
Evidently it got overwhelmed by racers and was not held for a couple of years, if I recall correctly.
We (Richard, Erica and I) did the third day N along the Coast Range from Paso Robles to Hollister with the Turbo roadsters.
There are some great roads in the Coast Range and some rough "Bottom Busters' sections.
Met the tour group in Paso Robles in the AM. Did not know what to expect and found only about 15 cars.
Folks were not overly friendly. The Tour had shrunk to a small group of old friends out for a multi day drive.
Many newer cars. The destination was a Mission Park by Gilroy.
It looked promising but before we left a couple of the old cars departed, too much for the vehicles.
We headed N and the group kept shrinking. Soon we were down to 4-5 cars.
There was a tour but about 2/3's of the cars went their own way as they did not like the route.
The "bottom buster" section was the Los Gatos Rd north from Coalinga.
Paved but with very rough spots with streams over the road.
Best for stock roadster suspensions, and at slower speeds.
Most met up at the park as planned and it seemed all found the process acceptable.
Not my idea of a "tour". May be different in 2021 but I doubt it.
Probably the same old small group of friends but 4 years older.

Ted.

[mraitch]

Well, indeed it is NOT the No Frills Iron Bottom Motor Tour of yore, the last one of which was held in 2010, Ted being correct with regards to its demise, as designed, due to some idiots posting 160mph+ speeds going through Taft. As Ed stated, 'if sued I cannot afford to win'.

The "No Frills Iron Bottom Motor Tour" is dead, long live the "Bottom Buster Motor Tour".

I haven't done this since for some time, but my experience differs significantly from Ted's. Along with the California TT and Tad's 2 day fling (October) there are a host of wonderful roads throughout the whole of SoCal.

Yup, it has shrunk, the people who typically participate in THIS type of tour (older cars) are getting older and thus their numbers are shrinking.

Even in the NFIBMT days, there were some not so ideal sections, but so what! I have seen $100K+ Bentley R-Type Continentals flying along dirt roads, scoring rivulets in their formerly pristine aluminum coachwork, pre-war Bentleys, Lagondas et. al. happy to take on the challenge and TR2's essentially performing like landing craft approaching Normandy Beaches.

While indeed the 'bar-car' was missing, my experience of the participants was not that of Ted's. Granted, there were only a couple of people whom I knew from past outings, but all were car people and ran the gamut.

For me, to spend 3/4 days wandering around the beautiful roads of So/Mid Cal is right up my street.

May not be for everybody, clearly not for Ted, And no one was concerned about the orientation of their gas-caps - lol.

The NFIBMT was originally created as a Doo-Dah Parade sort of option to the California Mille, and indeed was suggested to Ed Pasini by Martin Swig (the founder of the Mille) as a low cost alternative. There were no organised events, per se, and certainly no charge for participating, beyond obvious costs of accommodation,fuel and food.

Again, up to the individual. I respect Ted's opinion, or at least his right to opine, but prefer to leave evaluation up to experience.

praeteritis, praesentibus non - I just made this motto up!

And as long as the red car is up to the task, I, along with Ferg, Todd and maybe others, will be roadstering.

As Tad would say, though I have no idea why, "See you on the road, bronze"!. Ferg, could YOU explain?

[FergO2k]

Well put Peter, and No, have never figured out the "Bronze" reference, other than Tad (the organizer) is very much a Renaissance man (who else has a annual party themed for Robert Burns, the Scottish poet).

What is also true is that with mixed marque tours (unlike Solvang) there is "critical mass" (which Ted's experience fell below) and then there is also "respectable mass".
Respectable mass is the number that, when exceeded, there is a cadre of attendees who have the opinion "ya know, I never liked those cars because..." feel they can be an A$$ and say that out loud, within earshot of the owner because you know, if we have 16 modern P-cars then we are a force deserving respect, even if all of our work is done by one person who is along this time, and all we do is polish and make upgrade shopping lists for him to install on our cars. (and that shop owner isn't making those cracks, he is appreciating all the vintage hardware in the parking lot)

Example: Citroen's are goofy, and they are never in the "fast group".
But, I had the opportunity to follow 3 of them driving in a line for 45-60 minutes of twisties, so I got to watch their wacko hydraulic suspension design, but not only one car go around a corner, but all at once I could view one car going into the corner, the same model 1/2 way thru, and the same model exiting the corner.
So not my cup of tea, but fascinating to watch and cool that they are out here on the road, giving it a go.

I hate the sound of rotary engines, but they have an incredible low Center of Gravity, and their exhaust manifolds run at like 1900 degrees because of all the spent fuel being ejected, so the engineering of heat management has to be well done.

Too many words, but tolerance and respect is the moral of the story. Find the right pack of folks that drive at your pace and you don't mind jaw-ing with at the stops.
Peter knows exactly which scratches and scrapes he will see on my car when he sees me next, and the unfortunate event where they happened in 2010.
And the appearance of those "anomalies" factor into the joy of seeing him again and whatever he is driving (even if something broke and it is his DD) precisely Zero on the scale.

See ya on the road. Hopefully better tour pics this time.

[todd lorber]

The "Bronze" reference is from the original Mad Max. The Bronze are the Po Po, and one of the bad guys was taunting one of the cops. Although technically it was one of the cops saying "We'll see you on the road scag" to one of the bad guys.
This was all before the days of Mel Gibson's odd tirade, which ironically occurred when pulled over by the "Bronze".

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=se ... &FORM=VIRE

[mraitch]

Thanks Todd.

Now I can get on with my life having added yet another piece of obscure trivia to the bucket - lol

[todd lorber]

Hey Peter & Fergus,
Are you guys still planning on going to this?

[mraitch]

if I can get the red car running - made all resvtns - shud be no problem!

[FergO2k]

Funny, but my car is maroon, which makes my answer same as Peter’s. (Though I have not yet made bookings)
We have a family vaca and a college campus tour in early April, so will need to be completed by 3/31 to allow time for proper road trials prior to an event this long. (Out of AAA range! And I am by nature a worrier.... what was that noise?)

Some of the other marque driving buddies might be going, but they have been sent info on Targa California as well, which is coming up as well. I think you are a veteran of that as well Todd?)
I can send along info if needed.

[todd lorber]

Yes, I think I will run the Targa this year. Dave told me that is happening in June. The main reason I'd do this one (I'd use the Z for it) is if you guys are running it. But I can use the extra time here to try to get my roadster road worthy for Solvang. I just got a new water pump and rebuilt alternator on it, but it is still on the rack and I need to weld the inner fenders back in. In fact, I might just sneak out of the office now to get a couple hours on it.

[buenavides1]

That looks fun, but I haven't got my vaccine yet so going on an event is not currently on my to-do list this year.