We completed the final day of driving in the NW Classic Rally last night! It was filled with excitement and a few struggles too. We started the day off feeling confident that we could stay on course and hopefully move up in the rankings a bit. I’m not sure how well we actually did yet, but we sure tried. Heck, we even passed a Mercedes Gullwing!
The first few legs were covered without any issues, but a couple of dead ends and some cleverly written instructions threw us off and we weren’t alone. Sports cars were running back and forth frantically trying to find the correct route. We finally figured out the trap and headed the right direction, but were too late to make up much time. It did give us a chance to see what the old Volvo could do…
We basically drove around Mount Hood today. Some of the roads were tree lined with beautiful views of the mountain peak peeking out on occasion. Other times we were in rolling hills that were lined with vineyards and farms. We even saw some desert with sage brush on one side and a river filled with rafters on the other. The scenery and the roads were great, but there were a few highlights.
TSD rallies are great. Where else will you ever get the opportunity to pass a car like this with your Volvo station wagon? Well, technically he let us because were trying to make up time, but it still felt pretty good to downshift and overtake such a special machine. It was also fun joking about the experience with the owner of the car afterwards. Some of these guys could easily turn their noses up at our humble entry, but for the most part everyone has been very kind.
That dang rallymaster is a sneaky guy! Some word trickery and lots of signs ended up sending us in all directions once again. That frustration all melted away as we made our way back down the mountain towards the resort though. We were sandwiched between a Porsche 911 and a Maserati Merak. Ironically, a SAAB 96 lead the pack and I must say that our Swedish brother did a great job flying down that mountain!
Once we got back to the resort, we parked our cars on the golf course and had a little Concours d’Elegance. The Volvo looked like a lumbering giant next to all those sleek little sports cars. It may have only been worth a fraction of the price of its neighbors, but it preformed wonderfully and I can guarantee that we had just as much as anyone there! We are headed back to Boise soon, but first we need to find out how we actually did…
Read all the stories about our rally wagon:
- We Are Headed To The NW Classic Rally!
- Rally Update: We Have Arrived In Portland!
- Rally Update: The Race Is Over!
- Our Rally Wagon Is For Sale!
Congrats…Well done…You did us proud
Thanks Jim! It was a good time, even if we didn’t win!
Great job y’all I really enjoyed reading your posts and living vicariously through you !!
Glad you enjoyed it Phil!
This is very sympathetic and with quite a bunch of interesting and rare cars. The “Rally Wagon may seem proletarian but you were at your place among fellow classic cars nuts. I feel the great times you had.
Warm congrats.
B.
France
I love a good preformence. I hope you got a medal.
We were in the Malaga 73 BMW 2002. We met these guys a couple years ago at the rally when they were running the Mustang. It was great to see them again, loved the wagon. The are awesome guys to talk to. The NW Classic is a great event, with a bunch of great people, hope to see you guys again!
John & Angie
Hi John,
It was great to see some familiar faces! Hopefully we will see you both at the next NW Classic.
Josh
P.S. Don’t forget to send us some photos of your dad’s Mustang!
Looks like the weather was excellent. The main thing is, you had fun, although I hope you also did well! Looks like some very special cars were there. My brother and I were driving through Muskoka,Ontario last Fall,when dozens of Ferraris, Lambos, Porches, Aston Martins,etc.passed us in our Nissan Micra, the cheapest car in Canada! That was both awesome and embarrassing, at the same time.
I can relate to your Rally exp with tricky directions it is funny to pass people who left well in front of me my biggest problem my Navigator had gotten drunk the night before. He normally is very sharp but he was not the day of the rally due to the fact he had too many pitchers of cheap beer. I did enjoy myself and only wished i had done a few more. Did do one on a Motorcycle one time was pain in the ass to read directions as had no place to mount my route map.
Thanks for the pictures did you have any problems with the Volvo and did you keep track of your MPG if so what did you get ?
The Volvo did great! With the Bilsteins and big sway bars, the things handles like it’s on rails. We had one little hiccup on the way back, the overdrive stopped working consistently about 50 miles from Boise. It’s working again, so we are going to give it a full service and check all the wiring. We didn’t track the MPG on the way home, but going we averaged 22 mpg.
No kidding that was my guess 22mpg !
Swell adventure!
Congratulations on having fun, guys! To me, this type of event is the absolute most fun you can have in one of our cars! Keep the events and coverage coming 🙂
Jealous! Sounds like a great event. Glad you guys got to fly the BarnFinds flag and have some fun!
Your write up of the adventure was appreciated. Now its time to camp out near Madras or nearby and wait for the Eclipse. Oh, wait, its still two weeks away.