Better Late Than Never: World of Speed 2012

So I got WAY off track with my posts at the end of last year... I finished up the 2012 Meet report and then dropped into a wormhole of work.  I skipped some stuff.

The biggest thing I skipped was a whirlwind trip to World of Speed at Bonneville.

Finally.

I started the DMV paperwork to get a set of correct vintage plates assigned to the Plymouth back in August when I bought the car. After six months of hoops and hurdles, I got the approval (and registration stickers) this past week.
The directions from DMV were vague about how to display the original '62 sticker, the '56 on the plate itself AND the two new stickers (for month of expire and year). I've usually seen the extra tags displayed on a metal tab that sticks up above the plate, but I didn't have that option with the recessed design of the Savoy's rear. I ended up fabricating two little 'wings' that stick off the sides.. not ideal, but that was about the only place they fit, so that's where they went.

I bought those plates in a San Francisco junk shop for $35 almost 15 years ago. I bought a 1951 set the same day- I've got those slated for my Super Sport if I ever get it finished.

1200 Miles to Home

Though it doesn't make for much drama in the narrative, the simple truth is that the car ran great.  We covered 1200 miles in three and a half days, much of it through the mountains.  The worst thing that happened was that the heater stuck on when I was fussing with the controls. I'll keep this short and let the pictures do most of the talking.
Here's the hotel we found in The Dalles.  Clean, great rates, and the 1950's bathroom was absolutely unchanged from the day the place opened, right down to the clear fiberglass toilet set with embedded flowers!
Multnomah Falls outside of Portland.
The park ranger at Big Trees was sour when we asked where the Tour Thru Tree was- turns out it's on private property.  As we walked away the people behind us asked him the same question.
Strangely, no mention of the Georgia Bigfoot in the freezer.
We stopped at the Olive Pit in Corning a couple of hours from home.   I pulled around the back to find some shade and encountered Mike Harrell and his KV1 microcar, fresh from his 'Worst of Show' win at the inaugural Concours D'LeMons in Monterey!  Ironically enough, he beat a Crosley Hotshot for the honors.
The KV1 was a French microcar belt-driven by a 125 cc 2 stroke moped motor - and that's the normal part.  The abnormal part was that the drive was transmitted to the wheels via friction drive- a grinding stone that turned each wheel!  I'm not sure I'd have believed this if I hadn't seen it... especially when i learned that this car was built in 1980!  They were built to target a very specific market- a loophole allowed them to be driven without a license!  2000 were built over 12 years or so.  Harrell has two.

Almost as impressive as the KV1 was the fact that he'd towed it down from Washington behind his 1974 1/2 MGB!  He had a long way to go, and had to be back within 24 hours to teach his class at the University of Washington.  We wished him luck and headed on home to Sacramento...

The New Addition

After spending a day at the Salt Flats we headed east to Salt Lake City.  Liv spent a big chunk of her childhood there and hadn't been back since she was 11, so we checked out her old neighborhood and saw the sights.  Remembering the uptight SLC of 20 years ago she was happily surprised to be able to order a beer in a restaurant, and was even more surprised to see a SLC gay newspaper.  Change DOES happen!  From there we headed north.  Way north.  Almost-to-Canada north.

I've been looking for a daily driver to replace the much-beloved '62 Valiant wagon I sold over a year ago after it was hit for the fifth time.  I obsessively surfed Craigslist and last month I found a clean, two-owner, low mile 1962 Plymouth Savoy for sale in Newport, Washington, about an hour north of Spokane.  I wasn't really looking for a full size four door, but the condition, slant six motor and three-on-the-tree were very intriguing.  So was the owner- Mike, a Mopar nut who was selling off the last of a large car collection that had included a 413 max wedge car, a '62 Fury wagon (that was sold to Disney) and a Ferrari Dino.  When I asked what the Savoy would need to make it to Sacramento he said, 'Nothing.  I'd drive this across country right now.'  That's what I wanted to hear.  

I hemmed and hawed for a week, but when I finally showed pictures of the car to Liv it was a done deal. She loved it, so that made the decision for me.  I sent a check, Mike sent the title and we arranged to pick it up in Newport after the trip to Bonneville.

The car was pretty much as described, although I think it has 161,000 miles (rather than the 61,000 Mike thought) based on pedal wear.  Still, it's a clean (almost too clean for me to be comfortable) car with lots of life left.  He'd had the head rebuilt to run unleaded gas a few years back, the brakes and tires had about 1000 miles on them, as did the clutch, radiator and all the hoses.  The keys fit in the door locks, but the works are all gummed up- he'd never locked it.

 Mike gave us a quick tour of the car’s quirks and I hopped in.  It fired right up and we headed south.  Only 1200 miles to home…