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Forum 43
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Topic starter
13/10/2019 3:29 am
A mini-Forum43 meeting at the Lane Museum yesterday....
...with Karl, Skip, and me in attendance. My daughter Kacyn and I drove a RHD TVR roadster, while Skip and Karl tried out an Alpine 310. Early morning showers gave way to a glorious sunny Tennessee day, great for exploring 150 miles worth of backroads to the west and north of Nashville.
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13/10/2019 4:32 am
Sounds like a fun day. You all are looking good.
13/10/2019 6:52 am
What a terrific museum! How did you get to drive those cars?
Retired in Dunedin, Florida.
Topic starter
13/10/2019 8:12 am
Ka-ching and timing.
Early in 2020 the Lane Museum will come out with their list of cars for the proposed rally dates in October (there were 26 cars this year). Typical costs for the day are $600-$800, with a few going for more. A portion of this fee is tax-deductible, since the Lane is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. If you want to get on the list, contact Meghan Palik (palik@lanemotormuseum.org). But be forewarned, past participants get first choice, and there are a lot of returnees.
13/10/2019 8:34 am
Karl I expect to see photos!
Seriously I would love to drive a TVR
Topic starter
13/10/2019 9:03 am
Careful what you wish for Maz. Our S-2 was not made for anyone over 5'8".
Topic starter
13/10/2019 10:20 am
I had driven an RHD car before, but mostly on RHD-friendly roads.
My daughter kept admonishing me to get right of the centerline, as I did her. When you're on the right on LHD roads, your view of the center of the road ain't great. I scared her once when a dump truck was headed our way. To make matters worse, some of these roads had zero real estate right of the pavement, with steep drops to ditches. This was her first experience in a RHD car, but by the end she had gotten used to it.
Performance-wise the S-2 seemed similar to the Miata, probably because the V-6's technology is 20 years older than my old Miata. I had a problem with killing the engine trying to start off from a hilly road at a stop sign - could have been the driver, but I might argue the idle was set a little low.
Though sunny, it was a cool day, so we left the top up. Condition of the car was pretty good, but the horn didn't work, the gas cap liked to pop loose on bumpy roads, and the speedo crapped out by afternoon (said Jeff Lane "Hey, it's British" by way of explanation).
13/10/2019 11:06 am
Wow I envy you guys! The Lane Museum is on my list of visits as soon as we close up the pool and can lock up the house for a weekend in Nashville. I've also heard they're into music in that direction too. Nothin' quite like little cars and country music. I cain't wait.
Topic starter
13/10/2019 2:57 pm
It has been our father-daughter thing three years running now.
13/10/2019 4:21 pm
Renault Alpine
The 1985 Alpine was indeed fun to drive. The shifter was a bit balky at times, but didn't present a big problem for us. The 3 pedals were very small and located very close together; that proved to be a bit more of a concern for me at least (guess I have big feet!). But it was a great day driving through Tennessee countryside.
Karl and I did a "post-Rallye" analysis and concluded that we preferred (marginally, at least) last year's ride - the 1991 Alpha Romeo Sport Zagato. But I have truly enjoyed each of the 3 years now that I have done this.
Skip Johnson
Tonawanda, New York
16/10/2019 8:52 am
Alpine photos!
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16/10/2019 11:14 am
Topic starter
16/10/2019 12:03 pm
Karl drove that red Alfa last year!
Check out its steering wheel:
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