The Long Way to Van Nuys

According to google maps, a drive from my house to Woodley park is 333 miles and should take about 5 hours and 20 minutes.  Add a couple of pit stops for fuel and snacks and this whole trip should take a bit under 6 hours. But if you are doing it in style in a 58-year-old BMW with 17 other vintage BMWs you will take your time and enjoy every mile, every turn, and every moment with your friends.

The planning for the trip started months ago as Eric, @002rescue ordered the stickers, printed the flyers, and started reaching out to people in the 2 previous Neue Klasse and Kaffee. I was lucky enough to meet Eric for a couple of beers to discuss a different project when he pulled out Paper California Road Atlas and decided to share the planned route. With the usual starting points in the Bay Area, an obligatory stop at an Old Saloon for lunch, and lots of twisty roads the stage was set for a fun Friday.

Sorting and packing began several days before the departure. New 2002FAQ branding has increased the number of items I had to bring. The beer serving equipment was also added to make things easier and colder on the event day. Fitting it all in the BMW 1800 would be a challenge. The great thing about the Neue Klasse cars is that moving the front seat forward and reclining it all the way back allows for a full flat seating surface, great for sleeping or the canopy. The rest of the items would be spread through the trunk and the back seat with some remaining items being spread between Jan @pichos1 and Alex @aecheverri.

At the last moment, @zane71 and Haleigh volunteered to drive the BMW 2002 Touring, so things got easier. A little work needed to be done to rearrange the items, but the drive south would be a bit more fun when the car is not completely loaded. At 8:00 AM, Florida BMW 1600 (Stinky Segundo), BMW 2002 Touring (FAQ Wagon), and BMW 1800 (Grandpa) were ready for the road.

We left my house in the Santa Cruz mountains and headed to the second gathering point for the rally in Salinas. A little time in mountain roads, some on the freeway, and then some driving through the busy farmland allowed for some good flow. Took us about an hour to get to the first stop. Neither Stinky nor Grandpa have a functioning fuel gauge, so we did a splash and go. The 1600 does have a 2.4L engine breathing through a pair of Weber 45s, so it did burn about 25% more fuel than the Touring or the 1800. 

The rest of the group arrived and after a few photos, everyone was on the road. Our initial group, plus Dr. Suave, driven by @pichos1, stayed together as we tried to navigate the first part of the rally. We did have to turn around several times as we were first led by a car without a navigator and then missed when the River Rd made some sudden right-hand turns. Without too much excitement we made it through the farmlands and Vineyards of Monterey County to our first regrouping point of Jolon Road in King City. 

At the first stop, it was discovered that the leading car, BMW 2000 of the Friis’ was not running to its full potential. Eric was fully engaged in trying to resolve what seemed to be a fuel delivery issue. After a few minutes of messing around, and replugging the hoses, we were back on the road.  Unfortunately for Eric, this was not the last repair stop. Lucky for him, there were 27 mechanics and 17 cars full of spares. 

At the next unscheduled stop, the diagnostics continued. Someone already had a space distributor in hand when the true issue was discovered. A dirty and corroded fuse connector was shorting out the electrical fuel pump. After a bit of cleaning and a new fuse, the car was back on the road. Not too much further, just past some shooting ranges in the middle of nowhere, we were on the side of the road again. The main distributor to coil wire was sitting on the exhaust manifold and shorting itself. At this time the wire was taped up as the core was not damaged and all wires were pulled up above the manifold to keep from further damage.  

80km on this path got us to the next regrouping point at a Sinclair Gas Station. I do not remember ever seeing one in California, but I understand there are a few of them in SoCal. I think I was in Minnesota last time I stopped at one. The dinosaur looked a lot bigger there. This long stop was a good opportunity to check on Eric’s car. The burnt wire was replaced with a new one. The belt that seemed a bit loose was replaced with one that was a little bit too tight.  It took some effort, a couple of engine rotations, and 2 burnt forearms to get it in place. 

More of the fantastic roads took us through a series of vineyards around the Paso Robles area. We were on the way to a lunch spot at the Longbranch Saloon in Creston. The menu consisted mostly of Burgers and some local Paso Robles beverages. Firestone Walker for the win! I was pleasantly surprised that the Jalapeno Burger actually had some heat to it. Obligatory “family” photo and back on the road. At this point, it was after 2:00 PM and the shortest route would take at least 4 hours to the hotel. After a bit of discussion, we continued with the original plan of 58 East to 33 South to 166 East to 33 South.

Leaving the vineyards and the farmland of San Luis Obispo county you get to see what most tourists visiting will miss and that is the dry California valley. Rolling hills with dead grass, smooth roads, and fantastic long views greet you as you travel on some of the high-speed runs by the solar farms and into the oil fields. Some great photo opportunities of the BMW 1800 by the pumps in Derby Acres.

Unfortunately, we did not get to the canyons of highway 33 until after dusk. French edition amber headlights were not too helpful but I am sure they were easy to spot by other drivers in the caravan. At some point, I was able to see several cars ahead at the bottom of the hill as I looked through the passenger side window and several cars at the top of the hill through the driver side. This portion of the drive was a bit tiring as it required a lot of concentration. 

The last fuel stop was in Ojai. From that point, the streets and roads were a bit crowded. We mostly separated from each other in the Ventura County traffic and by the time we got to 101, it was hard to spot the 2002s on the road in the fog. All of us made it to the hotel and the celebratory parking lot beer tasted great!

Thank you, all for a fantastic day!

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