By Jeff Glucker
I could see the hills in the distance. There would be dust, dirt, and bumps. My Montero looked far too clean, so I decided to fix that. The run through Santiago Canyon occurs at a slow to medium pace, as it’s a tight bit of tarmac with houses on both sides. Beyond them, the canyon walls rise up sharply. Keep following that road and eventually you’ll reach a gate.
If it hasn’t rained in a bit, that gate will be open and you can motor on towards the trailhead. There’s still asphalt for another mile or so but soon that yields to mother nature. The trail immediately turns sharply to the right and the pitch rises.
It’s not challenging. Any stock off-roader will have zero issues, and most will find no reason to even switch into four-wheel drive. Still, it’s a bit of fun dirt that leads to scenic views, and it’s not far from home. It was a fun way to burn three hours (roundtrip, from my door and back again) during part of a long weekend.
Did you do anything with your car or truck this past weekend? If so, share your story below.
Kamil Kaluski
Just drove around the neighborhood making sure that everybody remembered to display The Flag!! https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/85a91580a51f9b367e5653105a1075c30d113234ed34843225fe5656becda8ef.jpg
The shape of the radiator is surprisingly similar across a range of marques but the shape of the badge, of the tips of the fenders, and of a few other details makes me think this is a Sheridan.
https://www.autoinformant.com/wp-content/uploads/2014-01-1013-03-14CUA000382.jpeg
“Cars all look the same these days”…
I had never heard of the Sheridan before, the first blind alley for GM? Certainly not the last.
I hit the “Share” button at the bottom of your post in order to see if you were correct that it was a Shareidan. Nothing happened. So I hit the Cher button. It’s an Excalibur.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DebLHi9XcAEAKB-.jpg
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b6c326d30f3cae4ad3e0a5f3276a0c2453052ca8cb9fc20c2407f4a8c036cf04.jpg
And the beater goes on.
I got U-turn, babe.
Thursday: Worked on the SAAB 96. The rebuilt engine is installed and nearly everything is hooked up and ready to go.
Friday: Worked on the SAAB 96. A couple of issues arose, but after scrounging through my parts collection, nearly everything is hooked up and ready to go.
Saturday: Took a bit of a break to attend the vintage races at Pacific Raceways. Upon return, worked on the SAAB 96. Found a couple of new issues, but nearly everything is hooked up and ready to go. The throttle linkage works much more smoothly now that I’ve repositioned the galvanized plumber’s tape and trimmed the length of repurposed radiator hose that actuates the triple carbs.
Sunday: Worked on the SAAB 96. The great thing about these two-stroke engines is their simplicity. I’m sure I’m getting close to everything being hooked up and ready to go.
As mentioned on Friday, I sold my Fiat 124 Spider. It was simply too much of a heartbreaker to keep around. Then on Saturday I bought what is quite possibly the polar opposite to that little sports car, a 1949 Kaiser. I’ll share more details when I bring it home later this week.
The good news is that without the Fiat you can save up to $579.
http://www.oldcaradvertising.com/Kaiser-Frazer%20Ads/1949/1949%20Kaiser%20Ad-01.jpg
But I was able to buy this one used, so it only cost half it’s original MSRP.
The savings are already grand!
Quite the change of pace! Looking forward to more.
I drove in an Independence Day parade, then gave a quick tour of the area to a colleague who recently arrived in town.
I put a new air filter in my Acura CSX. I spent about 10 minutes trying to get the airbox to close before I realized I’d put the new one in the wrong way around.
I had to Google “Acura CSX” because I didn’t remember such a model. My U.S. myopia is apparently pretty severe.