Event Coverage 2016 Hot Rod Hill Climb

We had so much fun last year at the Hot Rod Hill Climb, we decided that we had to return. Last year, I attempted to get by without retuning the car, and it ran horrible for the most part. So this year, I decided to put a little effort into tuning it for the elevation. That coincided with a need to replace the passenger head gasket, which had developed a leak on #4 cylinder. I suspect that was due to my lack of keeping up on torquing the heads repeatedly in the beginning. I nursed the car through Woodward week, and pulled both heads for a regasket job.

I went ahead and pulled all 48 studs for the opportunity to reseal them. It also afforded me the opportunity to clean the block easily. While I was at that point, I pulled the intake to remedy a gasket that seeped a little oil, and gave everything a good cleaning. The valve lash checked out good, so I buttoned everything back up. That left me with the carbs, so I disassembled them for a good cleaning, regasketed them, and reinstalled them sans the center carb. That was my solution for the higher elevation - maintain my current jetting, but with one less carb.



With the car back in operating order, we loaded up and started the rod trip west. But first, we dropped south and met up with our friend Jon Wright. He, and his friend Chuck, traveled west with us through KC where we spent the night and departed the next morning with John Swander. On a fuel stop in Salina, we picked up Jim Smith, from Hot Rod Garage, and John's brother, Jay. With the convoy complete, we continued westward until arriving in Central City - the new location for the Hot Rod Hill Climb.

Thursday morning, we got around and decided to explore. We fueled the cars, and headed west to Georgetown. There, we reminisced about last year, and even climbed Guanella Pass, far beyond where we stopped last year.

 

More from Thursday's exploring....

 

Friday morning, we rendezvoused with the group in Central City, and headed to the start of the Reliability Run at the Wooly Mammoth Lot.

 

There were a ton of cars gathered at the Wooly Mammoth lot, ready to hit the 100 mile run. It was great to catch up with some people we hadn't seen yet, and take in the sight.

 

That looks like a great time. Awesome pics


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More great coverage! Thanks, Cory!
I have to go, before I get any older.

 

Great pics!

 

I'll get the rest up soon....loading 180+ is going to take a while...

 

Yes, great pics, thanks

 

Thanks for posting all the photos.


Bob

 

The wife and I were just there back in July. Cool little town. Thanks for the pics.

 

thanks for posting.....

 

Cory, did the elimination of the one carb "fix" your altitude problem or did you have to further downsize the jets in the other two carbs? More info on your findings would be helpful. Thanks

 

OK, OK, OK......I'm sick of you guys having too much fun....yes

Really......nice run!!!!!

 

That's correct - I only removed my center carb, leaving the outer two. I left the jetting alone, as I run it back here in Michigan. The car ran better than I could've expected!

 

More of the Reliability Run....

 

Thanks for sharing the great pics!

 

And finally, the morning of the Hot Rod Hill Climb.....

 

Very cool! Already planning on going next year!

 

Just beautiful! Gotta get there next year

 

thank you

 

Who belongs to the rusty Kansas City roadster? I like that.

 

Thanks for sharing! @MrsBinger and I had a great time too! How many runs did you make up the hill. It seemed your beautiful roadster made a lot of passes.The motor sounded great!

 

My guess.....John Swander.

 

Yes. John Swander. He goes by swanwaco32 here on the Hamb.

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Thanks for posting the pics.