MTFCA Forum

Althea and I had a nice visit with some folks you may recognize, as they left Yellowstone on the way to So. Dakota. Fortunately for us, their route over Dead Indian Pass and down the Chief Joseph highway took them right past us and they generously took a side road to test their suspensions and tires getting down to our place on the Clark's Fork River. Sadly, the unrelenting fires in the West obscure some of the natural beauty of the vista for these photos.

Great photos


FJ

Great to see the cars being used (not show), how are they doing in the heat?

They're actually doing well. They stopped prior to the peak at Dead Indian Pass (not realizing they were within a mile of the top) to let things cool down). Dean's lost the neck off of the radiator and rather cleverly modified a gatorade bottle, inverting it and pressing it into the radiator to work as a recovery system and other than occasionally blowing off and having to be replaced, it works remarkably well according to him.

I was very pleased to be able to query both George and Dean regarding their gearing. Dean manages his load with a common Ruckstell with standard Ford ratio while George pulls his trailer successfully with a Warford (and do I remember 4:1 rear axle??). Even with their loads, they maintain a speed on the flat that is at the edge of my comfort zone in my cars.

We were really pleased that they had the time and willingness to stop by. It was a treat.

I've known George for a long time and he has always been a good shepherd to my dad back in TN when dad was still running tours. George never failed to wait for or look for my dad to make sure he was OK. I met Dean for the first time in MN on a National Tour years ago, which I'm sure he doesn't remember, but it was very nice to see him again and hear about the trip and see his rig.

The Gatorade bottle is a classy look. Not sure why more people don't
run with them. I meant to chat Dean up at the Clock Tower event in
Spokane, but before I could, he vanished ! I had to settle for taking
Ed and Karen Archer out for lunch. Maybe I will catch Dean on another
run ? Good to see people out there beating these things like rented mules.

Glad to see George and Dean haven't been eaten by the bears and are headed towards home. George I spoke to Ramona Saturday to help her with her Sunday School lesson prep. All is well on the home front.

Stay safe boys and enjoy your adventure,

Dom

Thanks for posting Scott. Someday when I dont have a business to run, I hope to make some road trips happen. They are livin the dream. I have never met George but he keeps good company.

The bottle doin' its thing: