Forest Grove Concours 2015

I drove the car down to Forest Grove, OR for their annual concours.  It was the drive from (actually to) hell.  I left the Seattle area around 10:30 after the Exotic's Saturday cars and coffee.  I knew from last summer when driving the car to Whistler, that I had a fuel vapor lock issue when it's hot out.  Well, it was forecast to be in the low 90s in Seattle and mid-90s outside of Portland.  I had taken a gasket by the phenolic block where the fuel pump mounts.  After doing some measurements, I thought that the pump rod was slightly pushing on the pump lever and hopefully causing a full stroke.  I didn't disconnect the pump as the fuel tank was full.  So by removing the gasket, there was .017" less space between the block and the pump, hopefully changing the stroke for the better.

I had planned on going back roads, missing the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia I-5 traffic and then through Longview over the Columbia river down highway 30 to miss the Portland traffic.  That plan only partially worked as the traffic around Tacoma, even on the back roads was brutal.  Going through one small town, the car vapor locked, but I was able to pull over.  After about 5 minutes or so, the electric pump sound went back to normal and I was able to continue.  This kept occurring with less time and miles in between as the day heated up.  Eventually I got to Hillsboro where my motel was.  Of course, there was an air show with the Blue Angels that afternoon that had just finished, so I got caught in that traffic.  The car stalled, for the eighth time, right in the middle of traffic and a couple of by-standers and a cop had to push me to the side.  At this point I was only 1.3 miles from my motel.  By now it was so hot that it was taking 20+ minutes for the under hood temperature to drop down enough for the fuel to re-liquefy.  Eventually it did and I was able to finish my journey.

The day of the concours was forecast to be even hotter by a degree or two.  I wasn't worried about getting to the concours as it was only 6 miles away and the morning temperature was still in the 60s.  So I got to the concours and situated.  Then there was an issue about my car being in class T-2, FCA display only.  It should have been in T-1 to be judged.  That got worked out and a couple of judges came by.  Everything worked on the car and I answered the few questions they had.

The venue was great at Pacific University, with all of the cars parked on grass and plenty of large trees for shade.  Of course, by the afternoon, with the air temperature in the mid-90s, everything is hot even in the shade.

I also have a Datsun 240Z that I bought new in 1972.  In the Z class, there was one that was identical to mine, persimmon (orangey/red) paint and white interior.  But it only had 34K miles and in immaculate condition, while mine has over 200K and 35 year old paint with a dings, garage rash and rust bubbles.  At least I know what it could/should look like.  BTW, that car won first in class and a preservation award.

About noon, someone came by and said that I had been awarded First in Class.  My reply was that it wasn't too hard since my car was the only judged Ferrari as a registered Dino never showed up.  He did mention that a First requires 92 or more points, so it is possible to not get any award even being the only judged car.  Then I got worried about driving the car by the stage to receive the award as it was quite hot out by now.  However, I shut it off, but kept the electric fuel pump on each time the line of cars stopped.

Originally I was planning on driving the 200+ miles back to Seattle after the concours.  However, I knew that it would be a long drive with many stops to wait out the vapor lock.  So  I spent another night at the motel, got up early and left about 5AM.  The drive home was uneventful in much cooler weather and only took four hours as compared to the seven hours to get there.

I did leave the fuel tank with only a gallon or two in it as the red warning light kept coming on during corners.  So now I'll be able to take off the pump, really figure out the problem and rebuild it if needed.  I have enough fuel line fittings from the coupe for me to be able to hook up a pressure gauge at the rear of the log (where the electric pump line attaches) and determine if the pump or possibly the pressure regulator is at fault.