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An E30 amongst hundreds of Miatas..

 
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tncean



Joined: 26 Feb 2005
Posts: 1652
Location: Chattanooga, Tn.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 8:09 am    Post subject: An E30 amongst hundreds of Miatas.. Reply with quote

My sister and her husband are into Miatas. They each have one, with His and Hers tags to back it up. The 3rd weekend of July is an annual Miata rally that is held in Western North Carolina, near a small town named Robbinsville. Lots and lots of twisties that wind through the lush mountains. The notorious "Tail of the Dragon", which is mostly in Tenn, is nearby.
Since the rally brings my sister to within only a few hours drive, I checked the air in the tires, the oil and coolant level, and made the 3 hour or so drive from 'Nooga to Robbinsville. The almost 20 year old car made the journey remarkably well. Even climbing up 9% grades for 6 or 7 miles at a time, and climbing from 700 to 5,000 feet, it did so without a miss, and a temp gauge that never got to the halfway point.
From Tellico Plains, Tn, I took the Cherohala Skyway, which terminates near Robbinsville, NC. A limited access 2 lane roadway of about 50 miles, it is routed across the Great Smoky Mountains through the huge Cherokee National Forest. Lots of pull-offs are scattered along, with parking areas, picnic tables, and many offering views that are astonishingly beautiful. As the song says, you can see for miles and miles.
Speed limit 45 mph on the Cherohala. Dramatic elevations changes, double S curves and switchbacks. A nervous driver is easy to spot, rarely getting to 45 and riding their brakes on every curve. The look on most of their faces when I downshifted and went around them with ease was usually astonishment mixed with raw fear. Even got the finger one time, from a Plymouth Voyager van. I grinned.
Watch out for the motorcyclist. They'll sometimes come around the blind curves so leaned over you'll get a quick look at their nose hairs. From my lane, again I grinned. Only one guy grinned back. Speaking of motorcylces, any brand, type, variety can be spotted. From the full dressers with momma on the back with a speakerphone helmet to a wide ass open Ducati cafe bike. And, everything in between.
There were, I'd guess, a couple of hundred Miatas at the rally area, which was held at a large (and nice) facility called Fontana Village. Their "group photo" had well over 100 cars. Looked like someone had spilled a couple of extra large bags of Skittles, with all the reds, greens, blues, yellows, whites, silvers, etc.
The vendors were interesting, to me. Lots of gadgets, like led kits, headrest speakers, gauges. A few turbo kits for the 16 valve dohc 4 cyl. A couple of suspension outfits. Custom seat covers. One of the busiest guys there was a man that popped out body dings while you waited.
For you power guys, there was one Miata with a 5.7 L Corvette engine in it.
No one disparaged the E30. A few folks even came over and asked what year, etc, my car was. "Wish I'd of kept mine", was heard a few times.
As I was enjoying a picnic lunch with my sister and a group of her friends, someone came up and said, "We were behind you on the way here. Your car hardly even leaned in the curves. I couldn't believe you were driving with one hand and drinking coffee." Again, I grinned.

tncean
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