Convoys

Some of my best memories of Carlisle are of the drive to the event. Seeing people and cars for the first time in over a year is a great experience. This year was no exception. There were convoys from the Northern Virginia area, the famous I-70 convoy from St. Louis and the 'Snake' convoy from New England/NY/NJ.

If you have any pictures of convoys, please email them to me for inclusion here.

This year we had ten cars in the convoy, which started out from Oakland NJ (I-287 exit 58). Joe Nemr joined us in a dramatic merge maneuver, meeting up with us by screaming up in the fast lane at the junction of I-287/I-80.

The drivers were: Rosemary Datil Jon Lipovac Richard Modica Joe Nemr & family Peter Orlinski Paul & Andrew West Dave Weiner Dave & Eve Ziminski Henry Ziminski Nate
The meet-up at Dunkin Donuts lot in Oakland , NJ.	On route 80 with Joe Nemr following Paul West

For the first time we took I-80 out to I-81 south rather than take I-78. This was a great improvement over the endless construction delays we have experienced in past years. All went well until we ran into the first stop and go delay two hours into the trip on the outskirts of Harrisburg. Rose reported (thank goodness for 'Talkabout' radios!) that her XR was making a strange noise and that she could 'feel' the noise through the pedals. We split into two groups and listened to the car. She was right - it was a very strange noise!. We decided to 'baby' the car along and it was never heard again.

At the Friday night ice-breaker party, Mark Mandragona had the probable answer. The starter gear was inching forward and engaging with the flywheel. This apparently happens if the starter shaft is 'gummed up' with dirt and oil, or the yoke return spring is weak, which which prevents the starter drive gear from returning. That noise was exactly what Rose, and the rest of us were hearing. Stopping and restarting the car caused the gear to reseat and it was not heard again all weekend.

The rest of the journey to the hotel and showgrounds, and the return trip on Sunday, was uneventful.

Click here for pictures of the I-70 convoy from Chris Anglin's MC2 racing site.

If you have any pictures of the NOVA convoy, please email them to me for inclusion here.

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Convoy page