And I thought Wyoming was hot. What gives? I thought Idaho was in the
mountains and the mountains were cool. Well they are cool in that the
scenery is tremendous. Or at least it would be if the view wasn't
obstructed by all the smoke haze from the brush fires that seem to be
everywhere out here this year.
It was 105 when we got into Ontario, OR at 5:00. It must have been 110 at
some points along the way. And this was aggrevated by the fact that the
TR8 has louvers in the bonnet which emit copious amounts of hot air that
finds it's way into the car with the windows down. And, yes it's a dry
heat but we still lost copious amounts of bodily fluids which must be
replenished, unlike the TR8 which behaved itself quite nicely with the new
radiator cap.
Checked the gas milage. We averaged 22 MPG (US) from St. Louis to Cheyenne
WY. From Cheyenne to Rock Springs it dropped to 20. Rock Springs to Ogden
it fell further to 19.5. And that was down hill. And that was when I
found the gas leak. The compression fitting on the fuel filter at the
carbs came loose and was leaking petrol on the intake manifold. A quick
tightening with some wrenches and we were off again. Ogden, Utah to
Jasper, Idaho is 170 miles. We consumed 6.7 gallons (US) for a 25 MPG
result. And 23.8 MPG on the next leg. What a difference it makes when ALL
the fuel gets to the carbs.
No mishaps on this day. Tomorrow we drive up Mt Hood.
Dave Massey, on the road in Burns, Oregon
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