Spring Thaw 2011...

[silas]

our good friend dave (asf local & Zündfolge Car Club member) and his buddy warwick are again organizing the amazing 3rd annual Spring Thaw!!!!

this is a 3 day, approximately 1200km adventure down some of the most amazing and scenic roads BC has to offer. open to all sports & touring cars built before 1980. all makes & models.

the frose brothers (art, rob, lorne, gerry...from avr), and andrew (red baywindow, 914) have been 2 years in a row. lori & i went the first year but sat out last year.

please keep in mind that the price includes the entry fee for driver & co-pilot, a route book, decals for your car, 2 nights in a hotel (for driver & co-pilot) aswell as saturdays dinner, sundays breakfast, a lunch on one of the days, and a goodie bag. pretty good bang for your buck.

if you're looking to try something different and get that beast out on the open road for some spirited but non-competitive driving...the Spring Thaw 2011 is what you need. it would be so great to get some more locals with their vintage german steel out for this trip!!

the entry deadline has been extended to friday december 31st...so dont hesitate...sign up for some good times!!

see link below for all info including entry forms, etc...

http://www.classiccaradventures.com/event-information/spring-thaw-classic-car-adventure/event-info/

 

[silas]

posted by dave on the spring thaw forum...

Last Minute Entries...

Classic car projects being what they are, we always have one or two last-minute cancellations. It seems every year I hear in the weeks post event about someone who would have entered in the final days if they knew they could! Our Short-List entries have been notified of any spaces, and I know in the next day or two I will have some more open up.

If you're looking to be "one of us" with a last minute entry...contact Dave by phone or email.

- Dave Hord
604 849 0076 - Cell
888 717 1517 - Fax
dave@classiccaradventures.com

just if you feel like joining...it's gonna be souper fun!!!

[silas]

all fueled up & ready to roll in the am!! we'll try & post some highlights as the trip progresses.

there are some other asf locals going too...dave, rob (reppin for strictly german) from avr & his wife, his brothers lorne & gerry, and andrew & his son kenzie! should be fun! 

[silas]

day 1 complete!!

squamish, whistler, pemberton, duffey lake road, lilloet, left on 97N just outside of cache creek, clinton, 100 mile house...and currently digesting massive buffet and getting ready for a bonfire & xtreme mountain bike movie debut at the hills health ranch!!

2 small setbacks...a 356 with nasty metal bits in the valve covers and a bmw 2002 that had a piston exit the side of the block ! good attitudes and friendly folks all around tho...onwards and upwards! 

the frose clan & andrew and his son kenzie in the 914's plus a mini on duffey lake road...



Zündfolge Car Club deep in the heart of cowboy country...just outside of cache creek...



our resting spot for the night...

[Jeremy]

Great pics Silas. Keep them coming if you can.

[silas]

thanks brodie!! so far, so good!!

day 2 is now complete!!

from the hills health ranch we took hwy 97n back to 100 mile house, horse lake road, lone butte road, watch lake road around green lake, hwy 97 to clinton, cache creek, hwy 1 to spences bridge, hwy 8 (amazing road) to 97c, to logan lake, to 97d, lac le juene road, kamloops, 5n to old hwy 5 to our resting spot for the night at sun peaks resort. incredible roads with outstanding scenery today.

unfortunately, we lost another couple comrades today. sprite with clutch troubles and lornes 914 alt pulley grenaded. they limped it as best they could, unfortunately couldnt source out spare parts, and continued on in an alternate vehicle. bummed, but happy they're still with us!!

Zündfolge Car Club & Strictly German VW Association contemplating the days activities at the start of day 2...



just outside of cache creek...




spences bridge...



hwy 8...



lac le juene road...



sun peaks resort...



tomorrow starts early with another 400km jaunt to the end in hope (the long way)!! good times!

[silas]

day 3 complete. mission accomplished!!

from sunpeaks resort down to hwy 5, kamloops, hwy 1 west, princeton-kamloops hwy, quilchena, nicola, merrit, 97c (okanagan connector), aspen grove, princeton, crowsnest hwy, manning park...to the finish line in hope!!

more carnage today...356 that had a crank pulley explode on it...and a beaumont that hit some nasty bumps & rocks so hard that it put such a huge dent in the trans pan it cracked & warped the seating surface! didnt see exactly what happened to the 356 but pretty sure it got flat decked home. when we left the beaumont they were in good spirits and were waiting for friends to return from the princeton lordco with parts...hopefully they were able to limp it home.

all i can say is...WOW!!! what an epic adventure. totally worth it. the people are outstanding, the cars get ridden hard and put away wet, and the roads are some of the most scenic and fabulous roads you'll ever drive in bc!! the cars, drivers and co-pilots get worked pretty hard...but i'd recommend it to anyone to at least try it once!!

also...the whole weekend is so well thought out, planned & organized. my hat is off to dave & warwick for doing such an amazing job!! kudos.

here are a few more pics, sorry they're mostly of the black turd (i know you're getting sick of seeing it), i'll post more pics of all the other cars involved (some beautifull machines), some vids and some more stories as time allows!!

during the drivers meeting this morning in sunpeaks...



following the 356 (before the pulley s#!t the bed) down the mountain...



somewhere on the princeton-kamloops hwy...



allison lake about 30kms out of princeton (we came across the beaumont right after this stop)...



the finish in hope...

[Jeremy]

Again great pics Silas. Congrats on finishing. 

I like the sign in the back window.

[RAD356RS]

OK... indeed!
Thanks for the great, up-to-date coverage Silas.
This event always conflicts with business demands but it sure is fun to join in vicariously.

[silas]

thanks guys!! lori & i really enjoyed the whole weekend and it was fun putting up little updates from each day!! rad356rs...maybe one year you can play hookie and come along for the adventure!

lots of pics from participants are being posted. follow the link below to see them...

http://www.classiccaradventures.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=129

plus i'm working on a little slideshow/video as time allows...should be up soon!

[owdlvr]

Thanks for the all the posts Silas, kinda fun to see the event through another set of eyes. We definitely should have spent more time together, but the weekend was so busy for me I didn't even pull out my big camera! We did have a good friend, Andrew Snucins, come out to shoot some photos...and he nailed down some of the ASF crew. Once he's finished editing I'm sure I'll have the rest of us.







Day one was challenging for some folks. Here I am diagnosing an odd-noise on Dave Koszegi's 356 Porsche. The motor ran, but with a fairly significant knocking noise...opening up the valve cover sentenced the car to a trailer back to the island.



After a hiccup on Thursday, and a late night tear down session right before the event, my bug performed flawlessly all weekend. I'm really quite happy with the build, even disappointed that this will be my last summer with the car. I've got the power and handling package dialed into exactly where I want it for the how I use the car. It's quite a bit of fun to surprise other drivers with the Beetle's ability to keep up, or pull away from all sorts of vehicles.

The Spring Thaw isn't about speeds though. It's all about twisty roads, classic cars and great people. I think my favorite point of the whole weekend was standing around the bonfire realizing that we're no longer a group that has the british, italian or german folks hanging out with their own groups...we're just one big crowd of car nuts.










If you've always thought about coming to the Spring Thaw, but it just doesn't work out, mark your calendars...we're doing the Fall Freeze the weekend of September 23rd. Details won't be posted for a month or two, but suffice it to say the Fall Freeze is going to be another "must-drive" event.

-Dave

[silas]

hey dave...you certainly had your hands full this year...and you did an outstanding job making sure everything & everyone was well taken care of!! big thanks from lori & i!!

glad to hear your car ran & handled so well!! it sure sounds & looks badass!!

speaking of which...i'm pretty happy with the way the 64 ran aswell. it's not really set-up for this type of event but it handled it well. keeping up with the volvo amazon, a 2002 and bills alfa with the 914's behind us enroute to logan lake was fun and i think i might have surprised a few people when they couldnt shake the black beetle from their rear view!! we smoked the sway bar really good a few times (bumps) and navigating the car through some of those corners with 135's on the front is like wrestling a jello monster in a bag of rubber bands!! plus apparently i'm toed in on the right front because that tire is worn!! otherwise...pulled well and cruised well, didnt burn any oil, didnt pull out any tools or spare parts, and ran like a champ!!

I like the sign in the back window.

that sign was a new addition for 2011 and given to all participants. "OK" on one side, "HELP" on the other. hang it in your back window when you pull over and pick the side that applies and it makes it alot easier for passing motorists to know what's up!

[Geoff]

Awsome job on the Spring Thaw Dave, Great pic's Silas. I better make it out to the next one.

[70's Looker]

Awsome job on the Spring Thaw Dave, Great pic's Silas. I better make it out to the next one. 

[Chris W]

Great pictures!

[silas]

video/slideshow i made of the spring thaw 2011.

crank up the volume & enjoy!!! 

http://www.youtube.com/user/mrspb26#p/a/u/0/849xtYT3dAc


 

[RAD356RS]

Good job on the flick.

[Mike Scott]

Wow, looks like an amazing time!

Thanks for pics!

[DarrenE]

Nice job on the video Silas!     'Looks like a good time was had by all, with great weather too!