My First REAL Road Trip!!! Crater Lake, Performance, MPG, Impressions, PICTURES!!!
10-04-2012, 10:33 PM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
My First REAL Road Trip!!! Crater Lake, Performance, MPG, Impressions, PICTURES!!!
Bought my '72 back in Oct '06, spent years and much $$ resto-modding it into something I thought would be a good "road tripper"....ZZ4, 2004R trans, Vintage Air, tilt/tele, power windows, C5 seats, new suspension, dynamat, cool paint job, sidepipes, etc, etc...
Time goes by, and this summer I realized I had never been further in the Vette than Seattle, only about 40 miles north of where I live! At the beginning of this summer, my odometer had registered only 4400 miles since I had gotten her roadworthy, in a time-frame of about 3 years. My son had driven the car down to Salem, OR several times (about 200 miles each way) but I had ventured no further than 40-50 miles from home!!
My 34th wedding anniversary is Oct 7th, so we figured we would spend a couple nights at the wonderful Crater Lake Lodge in central Oregon. Got reservations for the 1st and 2nd, weather was forecast to be glorious, so we decided to hang it out there and drive the Vette! After 7 years, I STILL have never installed the wipers, charged the A/C, correctly adjusted the windows, put in the radio, or installed the interior door pulls.. Don't need that stuff, RIGHT???
Anyway, left Gig Harbor (near Tacoma, WA) mid-morning on Sunday 30th, for the 200 mile drive to Salem, OR, where our son is in Law School. Straight down Interstate 5 all the way. I drove non-stop, between 55 and 90 all the way, 202 miles, 2hrs 46 mins, and burned 7.96 gals of premium....25.37 MPG at 73mph average!!!
Left Salem to drive Oregon Highway 22 up and over Santiam Pass to Bend, OR. That is about 130 miles, climbing from almost sea level to over 4900 feet. It is full of twists and turns, and nice long sweeping curvy stretches. We have a home just south of Bend, that is where we spent our first night before going down to the Park. I got just under 20 MPG on the Santiam Pass Highway, needless to say it was a SPIRITED 130 miles!! ALSO... the ZZ4 has enough torque (advertised 405lbft) that the car never even automatically shifted out of UNLOCK, unless I put my foot into it..
With the ZZ4 and the 2004R, and my 3.08 rear end, I turn just under 1600 rpm's at 60 MPH. I have it set to lock up at 58 MPH.
Monday morning we headed down to Crater Lake National Park. You take Highway 97, long, straight, boring. Its about 90 miles from our house to the Park. Once nearing and in the Park, the scenery changes dramatically...!!
Checked into the beautiful Crater Lake Lodge around 4. The lodge was built around 1915, but was built so poorly that it was closed in the '80's for several years and almost completely rebuilt!
The lake side of the Lodge
Inside... WOW!!!
On Tuesday morning, we got up, had coffee on the deck watching the sunrise over the lake..
....went for a short hike, then headed off on the 33 mile drive around the rim of the crater. The day was glorious, hardly a cloud, about 80 degrees... T-tops came off!
This is a small spur road, off the loop road, called Cloudtop. Its the highest paved road in the state of Oregon at just under 8000 Feet above sea level..
We spent Tuesday night at the lodge, then headed back Wednesday to Bend, Salem, and back up I-5 to Gig Harbor. It was a wonderful FIRST road trip in my 72 Vette. We covered 1012 miles, burned 44.8 gallons of fuel, and averaged over 22 mpg!!! The car performed flawlessly!! The C5 seats were a dream, better than expected. The VBP suspension was a little on the harsh side, and may get changed out for rubber bushings and Bilstein HD's (instead of poly and Sports). I will be getting new rear wheels with more backspacing, as the 255's rub the wheel lip on dips in the road, as the rear tires stick out a little too much. It was noisier than I expected for long trips, ear plugs next time!
All in all, I was extremely satisfied. It was exhilarating to drive in the mountains, plenty of power, nice handling, lots of torque. The odometer now reads 8193!! My son and I have logged almost 4000 miles on her since July!!
Winter's project...500hp 383!! and Keisler 5 speed!! Already have the motor, and I have contacted Keisler for ordering info!!!
Stay tuned!!
Time goes by, and this summer I realized I had never been further in the Vette than Seattle, only about 40 miles north of where I live! At the beginning of this summer, my odometer had registered only 4400 miles since I had gotten her roadworthy, in a time-frame of about 3 years. My son had driven the car down to Salem, OR several times (about 200 miles each way) but I had ventured no further than 40-50 miles from home!!
My 34th wedding anniversary is Oct 7th, so we figured we would spend a couple nights at the wonderful Crater Lake Lodge in central Oregon. Got reservations for the 1st and 2nd, weather was forecast to be glorious, so we decided to hang it out there and drive the Vette! After 7 years, I STILL have never installed the wipers, charged the A/C, correctly adjusted the windows, put in the radio, or installed the interior door pulls.. Don't need that stuff, RIGHT???
Anyway, left Gig Harbor (near Tacoma, WA) mid-morning on Sunday 30th, for the 200 mile drive to Salem, OR, where our son is in Law School. Straight down Interstate 5 all the way. I drove non-stop, between 55 and 90 all the way, 202 miles, 2hrs 46 mins, and burned 7.96 gals of premium....25.37 MPG at 73mph average!!!
Left Salem to drive Oregon Highway 22 up and over Santiam Pass to Bend, OR. That is about 130 miles, climbing from almost sea level to over 4900 feet. It is full of twists and turns, and nice long sweeping curvy stretches. We have a home just south of Bend, that is where we spent our first night before going down to the Park. I got just under 20 MPG on the Santiam Pass Highway, needless to say it was a SPIRITED 130 miles!! ALSO... the ZZ4 has enough torque (advertised 405lbft) that the car never even automatically shifted out of UNLOCK, unless I put my foot into it..
With the ZZ4 and the 2004R, and my 3.08 rear end, I turn just under 1600 rpm's at 60 MPH. I have it set to lock up at 58 MPH.
Monday morning we headed down to Crater Lake National Park. You take Highway 97, long, straight, boring. Its about 90 miles from our house to the Park. Once nearing and in the Park, the scenery changes dramatically...!!
Checked into the beautiful Crater Lake Lodge around 4. The lodge was built around 1915, but was built so poorly that it was closed in the '80's for several years and almost completely rebuilt!
The lake side of the Lodge
Inside... WOW!!!
On Tuesday morning, we got up, had coffee on the deck watching the sunrise over the lake..
....went for a short hike, then headed off on the 33 mile drive around the rim of the crater. The day was glorious, hardly a cloud, about 80 degrees... T-tops came off!
This is a small spur road, off the loop road, called Cloudtop. Its the highest paved road in the state of Oregon at just under 8000 Feet above sea level..
We spent Tuesday night at the lodge, then headed back Wednesday to Bend, Salem, and back up I-5 to Gig Harbor. It was a wonderful FIRST road trip in my 72 Vette. We covered 1012 miles, burned 44.8 gallons of fuel, and averaged over 22 mpg!!! The car performed flawlessly!! The C5 seats were a dream, better than expected. The VBP suspension was a little on the harsh side, and may get changed out for rubber bushings and Bilstein HD's (instead of poly and Sports). I will be getting new rear wheels with more backspacing, as the 255's rub the wheel lip on dips in the road, as the rear tires stick out a little too much. It was noisier than I expected for long trips, ear plugs next time!
All in all, I was extremely satisfied. It was exhilarating to drive in the mountains, plenty of power, nice handling, lots of torque. The odometer now reads 8193!! My son and I have logged almost 4000 miles on her since July!!
Winter's project...500hp 383!! and Keisler 5 speed!! Already have the motor, and I have contacted Keisler for ordering info!!!
Stay tuned!!
10-04-2012, 10:37 PM
#2
Le Mans Master
Really nice. Thanks for posting the pictures.
That stripe looks good. I've been kicking it back and forth to put one on mine and I just can't decide. Unfortunately, it isn't like putting on a set of wheels, where if you change your mind, you just swap them out.
That stripe looks good. I've been kicking it back and forth to put one on mine and I just can't decide. Unfortunately, it isn't like putting on a set of wheels, where if you change your mind, you just swap them out.
10-04-2012, 11:03 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
Member Since: Mar 2010
Location: Surrey British Columbia
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That was just absolutely amazing Mako. I loved the pictures and the commentary. Trips like that are custom made for a C3.
Thanks for the note on the suspension. I have poly throughout with Bilstiens, grand touring front coils and rear monospring. I'll use your comments and compare them to my hardware.
Thanks for the note on the suspension. I have poly throughout with Bilstiens, grand touring front coils and rear monospring. I'll use your comments and compare them to my hardware.
10-04-2012, 11:26 PM
#6
Team Owner
Beautiful car - great pics.
10-05-2012, 12:26 AM
#9
Safety Car
I would have to take that car into the room with me and never out of my sight!
That is a car you pull up to anything and grin knowing your ride is better than theirs for sure!
That is a car you pull up to anything and grin knowing your ride is better than theirs for sure!
10-05-2012, 08:18 AM
#15
Le Mans Master
Beautiful vette and scenery, thanks for the complete write up inc mpg and performance. Is your new ZZ383 a complete kit or did you order the AFR heads specifically for your build?
Combining your new engine with the 5 sp will give you a lot of power/torque with even better mileage. Which final ratio are you going to order for the 5 sp? What carb are you running as well?
Combining your new engine with the 5 sp will give you a lot of power/torque with even better mileage. Which final ratio are you going to order for the 5 sp? What carb are you running as well?
10-05-2012, 11:04 AM
#17
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Beautiful vette and scenery, thanks for the complete write up inc mpg and performance. Is your new ZZ383 a complete kit or did you order the AFR heads specifically for your build?
Combining your new engine with the 5 sp will give you a lot of power/torque with even better mileage. Which final ratio are you going to order for the 5 sp? What carb are you running as well?
Combining your new engine with the 5 sp will give you a lot of power/torque with even better mileage. Which final ratio are you going to order for the 5 sp? What carb are you running as well?
http://www.sallee-chevrolet.com/Chev...8s/383-500.cfm
I started with a new GMPP ZZ383 long block, had new AFR heads milled to Sallee's specs to bring the CR up to about 10.3:1. I contacted Chris Straub to cut a custom cam (to outperform the GMPP Hot Cam used by Sallee).. http://www.straubtechnologies.com/... I am using a Holley Street Avenger 770 "Ultra" carb with vacuum secondaries (as per Lars' recommendations). Since Sallee used a single plane intake, my HP numbers may be slightly less (5-8%) than their motor, as I am using an Edelbrock Air Gap dual plane manifold, but I am after max lower end performance.
They also used the AFR rev limiter kit to run above 6000 rpm's. I used Scorpion link bar 1.6 rockers, so couldn't use the rev limiter, but I am not going into the over-6000 rpm regime..
I plan to keep my 3.08 rear. Keisler's website has a Speed Analyzer link http://www.keislerauto.com/gm/corvet...page_tabs.html that shows with their RS500 kit, my first gear ratio will be equivalent to a 4.11 rear end, with the .67 OD 5th gear, cruising at 65mph at about 1700 rpm's.
I think the fuel mileage will suffer a little with the 770 carb cfm (vs the 670 I currently run on the ZZ4) and more power and torque means more foot!!
Still waiting to hear from Keisler on the wait times and final price of the transmission, but I plan to do the swap after the holidays...
10-06-2012, 05:27 AM
#20
Great pics and story to go with it. My parents visited Crater Lake a few years ago and they were raving about it. Seeing your pictures confirms what they're saying. But they were doing it in a Suburban with an Airstream and not in a classic chromebumper C3. What's your next trip going to be? Don't forget to share.
Roadtrip-lover Martin
What's your next trip going to be? Don't forget to share.Roadtrip-lover Martin