Our destination this month is Hurricane Ridge, on the northern slopes of the Olympic Mountains. We'll meet in Port Townsend at Old Fort Townsend State Park, on Old Fort Townsend Rd. We'll make our way on a combination of backroads and highway to Port Angeles before headin south and climbing the wonderfully windy and scenic Huricane Ridge Rd. We'll motor past the Visitor center and lunch at the Huricane Ridge picnic area then spend a bit of time back at the Visitor Center for those who want to learn more about the area. Then it's back down the ridge and onward to Kingston, getting in a couple more winding back roads before catching the ferry home.

Please note, there is a a fee for entry to Olympic National Park. $15 for car and driver. The pass is good for a week, so if you'd like to do more exploring you make your way over to Sol Duc (another great drive, but way too far for a one day trip unless you have an iron backside) and down the west side of the peninsula.

Other things to be aware of, there was road construction on Huricane Ridge Rd when I pre-ran the route. While there may be sections of unpaved road, they'll be very smooth and relatively short. There's also lots of fresh pavement fo rus to enjoy.

As usual, more details and registration at http://www.the-winding-road.com/modules/eg...vent.php?eid=41

 

Hey Kris check your email or pm.

 

Sorry, haven't been online since Saturday Mid-day. Obviously you made it. BTW, Nick and I saw you go by in Edmonds. You may have notice, probably not, that the M3 was on a Flatbed on your boat. Took the tow-truck 2.5 hours to get to us. His previous call was pulling an RV out of a ditch. Then he had to stop and fix his tail lights and wound up missing our boat, so we pulled over and waited.

So, the diagnosis, con-rod through side of block. The car's owner was cool about it though. He understands that it would have happened any way, so he's not throwing any blame my way (knock on wood).

Glad you could make it. I had a great time. Too bad we didn't have more S's out, though.

 

So, what happened with this M3?

 

Hey Kris, yeah I seen the flat bed with the m3, I called you and left you a messge about it, I parked right behind it waiting for the ferry. I wasn't expecting that at all since it was so late.

Yeah just as I wizzed by... i seen a black rx8 but didn't see who was in it.

Wow threw a rod through the block... amazing! Well count your lucky stars, that is great this guy is cool about that and recognizes it wasn't your fault... wow!

Well I will see you in September Kris

 

You should have been there Cam

 

wow, that's harsh. Well, at least you had your fun with it before it detonated on you. I'm sure you're looking at the prices for slightly used late '90's M3 engine.

 

Since there is a thread here about the same subject, I'm pasting my response to the similar thread on rx8club.com earlier today.
-------
I'm Christian, the M3 owner whose engine Kristopher blew up.

I have followed this thread for more than a month with interest, but refrained from commenting or contributing to it thus far. I think it's time to clear up some things on what happened.

My engine didn't blow up on its own. The car has been inspected by a reputable shop and we've arrived to the conclusion that the engine damage was due to over-rev. Being that the car has an electronic rev limiter, this could only have been down via a down-shift.
Not only does the damage go beyond 1 cylinder (and thus can't be a deffective con-rod) but the damage pattern and all the evidence have proved the engine was over-revved.

Moreover, Kristopher has lied about what happened. He made up a false and inconsistent story about "cruising" at 3K rpm in 3rd gear when it happened. Later on I've learnt that he was actually overtaking (not cruising) a van and he was doing 70-80 mph, which would be close to redline in 3rd gear in my car. In fact, at 3K rpm in 3rd gear an E36 M3 would be going about 40mph.

I have tried for weeks to settle this with Kristopher but he refused to cooperate. He apparently sees it fit to leave me with a multiple thousand dollar repair bill as payback for my lending him my car when he needed it. In fact, he flat out ignore most of my correspondance with him on the topic even though I offered to pay for the labor and other expenses out of my own pocket if he had agreed to just buy a replacement engine.
The M3 was my only car.

As such, I was left with no other option that contacting my attorney, whom I'm working with right now to settle this matter in any way necessary.

It's really sad to see that this is the way Kristopher decided to repay me for trusting him with my car, and it leaves me with no other option than pursuing the matter in a court of law.

I just thought I'd clear up the events of that day since I know some of you were on this specific group drive.

 

ahhhh, the old go for 4th and grab 2nd instead trick ..... I hate it when that happens!

It ain't called the "MONEY SHIFT!" for nothing

 

You just reminded me to add MONEY SHIFT to the PacNW FAQ definitions section.