Great day for a drive in a vintage auto
We drove through some amazing scenery on the way, with a planned stop south of Breckenridge to hike McCullough Falls.
Nice lake
Cool Buttes
Well none of the guides said the road to the trailhead was gravel. But how bad could it be?
Jane goes off-roading!
Even though there are lots of minivans and passenger cars on the road, none of them were as low to the ground as Jane. I had to get out in a few places to help direct around particularly bad ruts (really it was too lighten the load!).
We made it almost to the trailhead and got turned around and parked (not an easy feat). Needless to say we got quite a few strange looks and double-takes from all the jeep drivers!
We had noticed that the (new) fuel pump had started making a lot more noise. We had a lot of pressure in the fuel tank and could actually hear the gas boiling - not a good sign. So good thing Kelly fits under the car.
Not again!
Kelly determined that the fuel line had gotten kinked (car technical jargon) from when we had bottomed out too hard at some point prior to the off-roading. We also thought that the check valve on the gas tank vent had gotten stuck, causing the tank to pressurize. A good shake was the hoped for solution to the check valve issue.
We went ahead and started the hike to the waterfall to let the car cool off and ate lunch next to the stream. Hearing that it was another hour to the falls, we decided to turn around and get back on the road to see if we could find someplace to look at Jane.
Well, there wasn't anything in Breckenridge and the guy in Frisco said he was booked until August 17th, so we decided to press on. The good news was that the fuel tank pressure issue seemed to be resolved. The drive up to Steamboat was beautiful.
Kelly cruising by the mountains
About 50 miles from Steamboat we started seeing these signs. Must have seen a hundred of them describing all the brands they carry. I guess they're the "South of the Border" of highway 40 in Colorado!
F.M. Light - Since 1905
Made it to Steamboat without further incident, but the pump was still running loud. Our plan was to find a shop in the morning to have the rear sway bar removed, which is what was crushing the fuel line. After dinner, we decided to try it ourselves.
Kelly spent the next hour wedged under the car, but we were successful in removing the sway bar and reformed the fuel line a bit. We'll see how she runs in the morning and what the effect is on the handling.
This is definitely an adventure!
Steamboat - much different looking than in winter
I think Kel should save the four-wheeling for the truck - OMO!!! Miss you!
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