2002tii on the 2021 Coastal Range Rally Classic

[cda951]

I had a great weekend in my '73 tii (Tii Roundie, Tii for me, a tii junkie !  ). After several years of slumber (while I worked on other projects) I dragged it out of the shed a month or two ago and got it back to its previous rally-ready status. I installed the Danjer Motorsports wide front control arms and non-offset roll center spacers to replace the previous setup with offset IE spacers----what a difference! The steering effort is now a bit lighter, but more importantly front end grip in turns is improved thanks to less scrub of the tire contact patch. A bonus is no more tire rub on the rear wheel well thanks to more positive caster.

 

Anyway, the rally consisted of excellent roads that are likely familiar to anyone who has done fun road rallies in the CA central coast area. We started in Carmel and while many did the well-known and excellent Carmel Valley Rd, a brave few of us took the alternate dirt road route of La Gloria Rd between US 101 and CA 25. It was 11 miles of washboard, but also pretty fun :). After that, the always excellent CA 25 to CA 198 and then Parkfield Grade Rd---there the 2002tii was in its element charging up the paved but very tight uphill section, and the dirt downhill portion was much smoother than La Gloria Rd!

 

The second day was the classic combination of CA 229 (one of the greatest roads of all time, extremely twisty/mogul section that is made for 02s) to CA 58 to CA 33 to taft for lunch, and then the reverse route back to Paso Robles. CA 58 is one of the better roads out there, with a good variety of sweepers and fast sections, with an amazing tight and technical section with good flow and elevation change.

 

Today (Sunday) was a short one, but we explored some great roads outside Paso Robles amongst the many vineyards and ranches in the area (Nacimiento Rd, Chimney Rock Rd, Klau Mine Rd [crazily narrow and bumpy and gnarly], Santa Rosa Creek Rd). We then headed to Hwy 1 and checked out the elephant seals near San Simeon before parting ways.

 

It was an excellent weekend, and the 2002tii ran great. Mine is the perfect car for such road rallies: it has upgraded springs/shocks and sway bars, E21 LSD, etc, but it is not too low or too stiff, its has incredible front end grip and never fully bottomed out, even on the insanely bumpy and potholed roads that we traversed. It felt so good to be back in this car! The only issue was the E21 alternator bushings gave up, so I had belt squeal during extreme engine load changes when the alternator was loaded (headlights on for safety), but it was manageable and I will replace the bushings when I get a chance.

 

 

[bmw_e30]

looking good out there

[jp5Touring]

Looks like a ton o fun.