DanielForest
True Classic
Hi,
Since most of us are struck at home, I found the time to do the translation of an article I wrote about a trip I made in 2000. I will update everyday, giving me some time to translate some more from French. There will be at least 3 or 4 other parts to come...
An Australian, a Canadian and a Fiat
Some unforgettable vacation
by Daniel Forest
Article written in 2000 following the misadventures of Daniel Forest who participated in Canada's first Central AutoSlalom Championship.
I met Ben "on" the Internet. Ben Boyd is a young Australian infatuated with Fiat X1/9. Between jobs he decided to make a memorable trip through North America and Europe. As he planned to move to the Northeastern United States at the beginning of August, he asked me (by email) if he could come to Quebec to watch a competition of autoslalom, a sport I practice. I told him that it was not just a matter of attending, but he must participate. "Is this an invitation to drive your car?" he asked me? "Of course," I replied.
So, that's it. Ben was going to come and spend a few days in Quebec with me. My girlfriend was looking forward to the beautiful evenings spent between two car maniacs chatting about Fiat and motor racing. But the Machiavellian plan of two motorsport enthusiasts was still in its infancy.
After brief discussions, Ben was also going to accompany me to Gimli, near Winnipeg, to participate in the first Canadian National Autoslalom Championship. Crossing half the continent and camping, that's it, he thought a great way to discover a country. If the experience seems benign at first glance, read on my lips:
-a Fiat X1/9: 2 seats, very compact, 20 years old, not renowned for its reliability
-with two people on board and a trailer (installing a ball on an X1/9 is already a sacrilege)
-over a distance of 4000 miles
-with camping gear, spare racing tires, etc.
-and if that's not enough, I point out that said car is a little uncomfortable due to its low competition suspension, its solid engine mounts, its "sporty muffler", its twin carburetors, etc.
Before D-Day
Before departure, I worked a complete week on my transmission. Finally, after disassembling 4 of them in pieces and trying to order some new parts, I realize that I will be forced to put back gears and syncro in a suspicious state. The new parts would have taken too long to arrive. The result is depressing. The transmission makes atrocious noise when you want to move to second or to fourth. We'll have to live with it. We'll make 1-3-5 on the highway to save the gears.
Meanwhile, I pick up Ben at the train station in Montreal. Was he shy or are all Australians like that? Despite my efforts and those of my girlfriend Jacinthe, it was difficult to get him to say more than “yes” and “no”. I don't have a problem with that. In the Fiat you'll have to scream to talk to each other. We'll scream less often!
After the transmission was "done", I finish the wire connections of the trailer (which I just bought), I install a fire extinguisher in the passenger footwel in order to meet the requirements of my class in competition and then I replace the camshaft. Indeed, earlier in the season, I had installed one too radical that offered a small torque at low speed and developed its power only from 5500 rpm.
After installation, while letting the engine run I realize the radiator fan never start. We're fixing it and ran a wire to be able to start it manually. Then, when it's finally settled, it's the gas pump that quit. Fortunately I have a used one lying in a box. Oddly enough, the dashboard clock also died. If you've ever taken a look at the huge spaghetti dish that acts as the Fuse Box of the Fiat X1/9, you'll understand why I'd rather pass a new parallel wire to the electric pump rather than find the guilty circuit . The clock will wait. After all, I have a watch! (It was before cell phones became so popular).
Meanwhile, my girlfriend who assured me for several weeks that she had recovered the tent that had been loaned to a friend this summer must finally realize the obvious: it’s not at home!!! After some deep thinking, she remembers having stopped at the grocery store that day... three months ago. A phone call to the grocery store and, yes, we have a camping tent that has been lying around there for three months!
Start
8:45 Here we go. The trailer behind us, we're on our way. Leaving Lanoraie, we had waited for the hour of traffic in Montreal to pass. Bad choice. Work on the Ile-aux-Tourtes bridge and an overturned semi-trailer across the path will make us wait two hours. The bridge is completely closed for quite some time and motorists sit on the bridge parapet waiting for the traffic jam to clear. Sitting next to the Fiat we think we still have a long way to go!
Out of Montreal, the shifter knob stays in my hands. Never mind! But would that be a destiny sign? After a few hours the sun suddenly makes way for threatening clouds. The roof of the Fiat is stored (in the front trunk) and we are driving at high speed when the torrent falls on us. Normally, at highway speed, it is easy to drive in the rain without getting wet, except for the tall guys who will have their hair wet. But this time we're flooded. Wind pushes the rain inside from the rear and hits the windshield from inside. The rearview mirror is completely fogged. It's a shower for the pilot and his passenger. Fortunately, it won't last.
After the sun returns, we stop at a gas station to refuel. The poor gas station attendant will work hard to clean our windshield without understanding why he can't. The dried droplets were on the INSIDE!
The car, clean at the start, is now brown. This was a black car. The numerous works on the highways quickly made to draw muddy patterns throughout the vehicle. And when it's not in the mud that you have to ride, it's on a scarified pavement for 15 miles. The car is still shaking.
We will camp in Hagar after only 450 miles of road. The two hours we lost in Montreal penalized us.
Day two: August 16
From Sault-Ste-Marie, Highway 17 offers stunning views of Lake Superior. On the other hand, roadworks are numerous and slow down our pace. In a section of road under construction, a rock well thrown by an oncoming truck will make a big chips in my beautiful new windshield.
Gas stations are not many on the road. The one we choose doesn't look good. The rugged and unpaved terrain seems to have been bombed and only two petrol pumps are available to you: regular or regular! It's also nearly 1$ per gallon more expensive than elsewhere, but hey, when you're 150 miles from the next town you have to lend yourself to the game.
After 500 miles of road we will stop at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. Unlike the previous campsite, which was grassy, the soil is made up of a mixture of rocks, branches, hardened earth and fir spruce. Cheered up by my energic snoring, Ben will find the night hard. Ah! These Australian kids!
Stay tune for the following... (and excuse my French accent!)
Since most of us are struck at home, I found the time to do the translation of an article I wrote about a trip I made in 2000. I will update everyday, giving me some time to translate some more from French. There will be at least 3 or 4 other parts to come...
An Australian, a Canadian and a Fiat
Some unforgettable vacation
by Daniel Forest
Article written in 2000 following the misadventures of Daniel Forest who participated in Canada's first Central AutoSlalom Championship.
I met Ben "on" the Internet. Ben Boyd is a young Australian infatuated with Fiat X1/9. Between jobs he decided to make a memorable trip through North America and Europe. As he planned to move to the Northeastern United States at the beginning of August, he asked me (by email) if he could come to Quebec to watch a competition of autoslalom, a sport I practice. I told him that it was not just a matter of attending, but he must participate. "Is this an invitation to drive your car?" he asked me? "Of course," I replied.
So, that's it. Ben was going to come and spend a few days in Quebec with me. My girlfriend was looking forward to the beautiful evenings spent between two car maniacs chatting about Fiat and motor racing. But the Machiavellian plan of two motorsport enthusiasts was still in its infancy.
After brief discussions, Ben was also going to accompany me to Gimli, near Winnipeg, to participate in the first Canadian National Autoslalom Championship. Crossing half the continent and camping, that's it, he thought a great way to discover a country. If the experience seems benign at first glance, read on my lips:
-a Fiat X1/9: 2 seats, very compact, 20 years old, not renowned for its reliability
-with two people on board and a trailer (installing a ball on an X1/9 is already a sacrilege)
-over a distance of 4000 miles
-with camping gear, spare racing tires, etc.
-and if that's not enough, I point out that said car is a little uncomfortable due to its low competition suspension, its solid engine mounts, its "sporty muffler", its twin carburetors, etc.
Before D-Day
Before departure, I worked a complete week on my transmission. Finally, after disassembling 4 of them in pieces and trying to order some new parts, I realize that I will be forced to put back gears and syncro in a suspicious state. The new parts would have taken too long to arrive. The result is depressing. The transmission makes atrocious noise when you want to move to second or to fourth. We'll have to live with it. We'll make 1-3-5 on the highway to save the gears.
Meanwhile, I pick up Ben at the train station in Montreal. Was he shy or are all Australians like that? Despite my efforts and those of my girlfriend Jacinthe, it was difficult to get him to say more than “yes” and “no”. I don't have a problem with that. In the Fiat you'll have to scream to talk to each other. We'll scream less often!
After the transmission was "done", I finish the wire connections of the trailer (which I just bought), I install a fire extinguisher in the passenger footwel in order to meet the requirements of my class in competition and then I replace the camshaft. Indeed, earlier in the season, I had installed one too radical that offered a small torque at low speed and developed its power only from 5500 rpm.
After installation, while letting the engine run I realize the radiator fan never start. We're fixing it and ran a wire to be able to start it manually. Then, when it's finally settled, it's the gas pump that quit. Fortunately I have a used one lying in a box. Oddly enough, the dashboard clock also died. If you've ever taken a look at the huge spaghetti dish that acts as the Fuse Box of the Fiat X1/9, you'll understand why I'd rather pass a new parallel wire to the electric pump rather than find the guilty circuit . The clock will wait. After all, I have a watch! (It was before cell phones became so popular).
Meanwhile, my girlfriend who assured me for several weeks that she had recovered the tent that had been loaned to a friend this summer must finally realize the obvious: it’s not at home!!! After some deep thinking, she remembers having stopped at the grocery store that day... three months ago. A phone call to the grocery store and, yes, we have a camping tent that has been lying around there for three months!
Start
8:45 Here we go. The trailer behind us, we're on our way. Leaving Lanoraie, we had waited for the hour of traffic in Montreal to pass. Bad choice. Work on the Ile-aux-Tourtes bridge and an overturned semi-trailer across the path will make us wait two hours. The bridge is completely closed for quite some time and motorists sit on the bridge parapet waiting for the traffic jam to clear. Sitting next to the Fiat we think we still have a long way to go!
Out of Montreal, the shifter knob stays in my hands. Never mind! But would that be a destiny sign? After a few hours the sun suddenly makes way for threatening clouds. The roof of the Fiat is stored (in the front trunk) and we are driving at high speed when the torrent falls on us. Normally, at highway speed, it is easy to drive in the rain without getting wet, except for the tall guys who will have their hair wet. But this time we're flooded. Wind pushes the rain inside from the rear and hits the windshield from inside. The rearview mirror is completely fogged. It's a shower for the pilot and his passenger. Fortunately, it won't last.
After the sun returns, we stop at a gas station to refuel. The poor gas station attendant will work hard to clean our windshield without understanding why he can't. The dried droplets were on the INSIDE!
The car, clean at the start, is now brown. This was a black car. The numerous works on the highways quickly made to draw muddy patterns throughout the vehicle. And when it's not in the mud that you have to ride, it's on a scarified pavement for 15 miles. The car is still shaking.
We will camp in Hagar after only 450 miles of road. The two hours we lost in Montreal penalized us.
Day two: August 16
From Sault-Ste-Marie, Highway 17 offers stunning views of Lake Superior. On the other hand, roadworks are numerous and slow down our pace. In a section of road under construction, a rock well thrown by an oncoming truck will make a big chips in my beautiful new windshield.
Gas stations are not many on the road. The one we choose doesn't look good. The rugged and unpaved terrain seems to have been bombed and only two petrol pumps are available to you: regular or regular! It's also nearly 1$ per gallon more expensive than elsewhere, but hey, when you're 150 miles from the next town you have to lend yourself to the game.
After 500 miles of road we will stop at Rainbow Falls Provincial Park. Unlike the previous campsite, which was grassy, the soil is made up of a mixture of rocks, branches, hardened earth and fir spruce. Cheered up by my energic snoring, Ben will find the night hard. Ah! These Australian kids!
Stay tune for the following... (and excuse my French accent!)
