Crossed the Rockies today by way of Monument Pass and were greeted in Montrose, CO by the local classic car club with a surprise rest stop. Apparently, one of their members had recently heard of the Rallye to Reno passing through their small town. They organized their club awning and banner at a corner parking lot and parked a bright red MGB-V8 conversion on a small rise right at the corner to get our attention as we passed down the main street. Coolers of water, soda and iced tea, along with home baked cookies and blondies, made us feel welcomed to the western slope. It was a work day afternoon and they had a dozen old cars there, including some MGs, a 20's Buick, and a '55 Chevy. Unexpected hospitality from strangers who just wanted to say "welcome!
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| PJ Lenihan and hitchhiker |
I navigated for P.J. Lenihan today in his MGB GT with the Camaro 3.6 liter V6 motor. Perfect combination for pulling steep mountain passes. Compared to the 4-cylinder MGA and MGB traveling with us, P.J. never needed to even touch the shifter to power around slower cars. Given the nice V6s that were available in Europe, it's too bad British Leyland never tried to use that compact and sturdy design in the later Bs.
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| Jerry Foster, Owego, NY...1957 MGA, high plains of eastern Colorado |
Tomorrow, we cross into Utah and what has been called the "American Sahara." I'll ride with P.J. again, especially since he fitted his GT with an A/C unit before leaving South Carolina. It's amazing what you can do with enough horsepower.
Don't forget the MGC! That 3 liter straight six was a fine car with tons of torque. I've crossed many an enjoyable mountain in my old friend Dan's 'C'. Nice handling car too, but no A/C.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the ride.