Sunday started with breakfast at the Chilcotin's Ranch. We thought maybe they confused our group of 12 for a group of 30 at dinner the night before, but Breakfast proved that these folks simply like to eat! We were fed as though we were going on a 4 day backpacking trip and this would be the last meal we ate. I'm not complaining, anytime I can eat a whole pig-worth of bacon I'm game! Following breakfast, a quick tune and check over on the cars was completed before we departed.
"yup, looks like the engine is still there"
For the Sunday run, our group split up into two. The Mini and 356, which were sporting rather low clearance levels, chose to head out the way we came in. The rest of us were going to brave the Hurley River Pass road, a 4x4-only, summer access road which is
not recommended for classic cars. How bad could it be!?! Warwick, the other photographer on the event, was in the Mini so that means most of the day's photos are without my bug.
First stop was the bustling gas station in the town of Bralorne...
And then off to check out some of the abandoned Gold Mines in the area.
With the sight-seeing done, we were off! Being the adventurous types, we agreed as a group that we shouldn't take the "main" Hurley River Road, but instead venture down the 20km Bralorne short-cut. It's essentially a Goat-Path through the woods in some sections...but we were all in rally cars. Well, everyone except Bruce and Greg in the lowered Volvo :P. To say I was driving gingerly on these rocks would be an understatement!
Once on the main Hurley we found the road to be wide, in good shape and relatively quick travel. I was averaging about 60kph, which allowed for dodging the odd hole or sump-tearing section of granite sticking out of the road.
The group made it through to the end, with only a minor exhaust pipe issue hampering the progress. After a couple of hours on the pass, we descended into the town of Pemberton and met up with the rest of the group.
It was a quick zip down the highway to Squamish, where we finished with the traditional (for me at least) Campfire Grill smoked BBQ.
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Upon arriving home, I took quick stock of the Bug. The interior is so dusty and dirty the passenger seat is looking brown. There is dirt and dust caked on the headliner, and the whole underside of the car still looks like I just went racing in the mud at that RallyX. The Great Canadian VW Show is this coming weekend, which means I need to get the car back to looking as close to "new" as possible. After a quick body wash, it was up on stands to clean the wheel wells and suspension.
I guess, like I have many times with this project, I got a little carried away next. Out came the creeper, and I scrubbed all the dirt and such off the bottom of the floor pan. I'm pretty sure my neighbours think I'm insane...washing the underside of my car in the driveway. The worst part is you can see I missed some spots, which means I'll be getting soaked again later today when I roll back underneath. Can't do a half-assed job, right?
While the car was in the air, I thought it was high-time I took care of the rather sad looking state of my rear fenders. The vinyl has been chipped through pretty good by the rocks, but at least it's protected the paint somewhat?
Well, peeling off the vinyl reveals that there is more damage then initially meets the eye. The passenger side was even worse, with large chucks coming out of the paintwork. Oops!
New vinyl covers most of the damage, in photos it looks fine but when the light hits it right you can see the divots underneath. At the end of the day though, one has to accept that fenders are replaceable, and this is a bloody race car not a show queen.
For the front fenders, I've always had a problem with the front right and where it meets the running board. In the following photo you can see the dark patch where I've had to cover the factory running board hole which didn't line up
at all.
Both front fenders now sport a black vinyl treatment, which matches the rear and hides the error.
So now I have to deal with the front trunk, the interior, the engine bay and all the body lines and door jams. Oh, and a wax of the silver paint...and matte wax on the black to remove the watermarks which are impossible. yee haw.
-Dave