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Northeast USA 4WD Compact Car Adventure 11/25/12

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    Northeast USA 4WD Compact Car Adventure 11/25/12

    I am looking for members here from the northeast who would like to join us for some "soft roading." That's mild off roading that a stock 4WD compact can handle. Mostly just dirt fire access and seasonal back roads. The route is just outside of the Capital District [Albany] area of upstate NY.

    I would like to get a few compact 4WD cars together for such activities. I have put together a few routes in and have a small group of like minded enthusiasts lined up to go along, including my 4WD Sentra wagon, an RT 4WD Civic wagon and two Suzuki SX4's.

    We'd love to have a 4WD Protege join us!

    We're not into mud bogging. Just challenging routes where you have to pay attention to stay damage free, but not beyond the capabilities of a compact 4WD car.





    There were a few streams that flowed across the road to make it interesting.













    If this looks like fun let me know. We'll bring lunch and take some pics of our 4WD compact cars up in the woods.

    We're looking to head out for the first ever northeast 4WD compact car tour coming up on Sunday, Nov.25th.

    Mike
    Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

    #2
    wish I still had my 4wd pro. maybe if I ever get my butt in gear and finish the 4wd festiva swap.
    2011 BMW 128i 6 Speed Manual -- dd
    1990 Protege 4WD 5 Speed

    Comment


      #3
      Festiva swap sounds awesome. Is there a build thread somewhere? Would love to follow that.
      Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

      Comment


        #4
        its on fordfestiva.com under the same screen name
        2011 BMW 128i 6 Speed Manual -- dd
        1990 Protege 4WD 5 Speed

        Comment


          #5
          Update: I have postponed the event one week and we will now be having it on Sunday, December 2nd.

          Who knows, we might even get some snow by then!
          Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

          Comment


            #6
            All set to commence the first ever northeast 4WD compact car event on Sunday morning.
            The meet details have been sent to all who have signed up. Pics to follow.
            Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

            Comment


              #7


              The first northeast USA 4WD Compact Car Adventure went great! The two local Suzuki SX4's did not show up, so it was an all old-school turnout of compact 4WD's yesterday. The Historic Subaru forum's Paul S. easily took the honors for the most historic entry with his '78 Subaru 4WD wagon. He also took the honors for the lowest hanging exhaust system.



              Paul and his son Luke drove out 2 3/4 hours from Bridgeport, CT.



              Seeing one of these in the snowy salt belt of the northeast is quite a rarity these days.



              Paul's 1600 cc flat four engine.

              After meeting up in West Sand Lake, NY we headed straight for the hill climb portion of the event. For some reason pictures don't portray depth of field very well, or in this case how steep the angle of the climb was, but hopefully this will give you an idea of the length of the hill.





              Mark's '91 Civic Real Time 4wd Civic wagon powers up the hill.



              Another Historic Subaru forum standout [Subafreak] Jesse N. was next up the hill in his clean '85 Brat.





              Next we headed out into the woods.













              Jesse's Brat clearly had the best ground clearance of all of us. Nothing on this trail bothered the Brat!





              Just before the lunch break I placed my meatball sub sandwich on my valve cover to warm it up. Worked out pretty well!













              A good time was had by all and by the end of the day no one got stuck or had any mechanical problems. More pics will be added later as I get them from my friends that came along.

              Mike
              Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

              Comment


                #8
                Looks like y'all had a great tome. If I wasn't on the opposite end of the contnent I'da tagged along for sure.
                '90 AWD Protege, full GTR drivetrain swap, ~320 whp daily driver, RIP, and
                '90 AWD Protege, yet another GTR swap, Open class rallycar with a Toyota GT4 gearbox swap, thus crossing the line between hobby and mental illness. And a Brabus E55 K8, removing all doubt.
                http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/vbpi...?do=view&g=110
                http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2599486

                Comment


                  #9
                  Thanks I hope someday a lone 4WD Protege will emerge in the northeast to come out and join us.
                  Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    The tinworm prolly ate em all out that way..
                    '90 AWD Protege, full GTR drivetrain swap, ~320 whp daily driver, RIP, and
                    '90 AWD Protege, yet another GTR swap, Open class rallycar with a Toyota GT4 gearbox swap, thus crossing the line between hobby and mental illness. And a Brabus E55 K8, removing all doubt.
                    http://www.wihandyman.com/forum/vbpi...?do=view&g=110
                    http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2599486

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Looks like a lot of fun, I wish I could have made it out. Looking forward to more pics.
                      sigpic
                      1992 Familia GT-X
                      1988 323 GTX
                      2011 F150 Lariat Ecoboost
                      2014 Civic Touring

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by jay View Post
                        The tinworm prolly ate em all out that way..
                        Ah but the tin worm can be defeated. Here's the quick story on my '89 4WD Sentra.

                        I got the car for $50 back in '99 or so. It was wrecked and was in a barn for five years getting coated in Pigeon poop and looked like this:



                        In this condition and with 150-k miles on it, surely the next stop would be the junkyard right?



                        I mean, what fool would try to bring a car like this back into shape? Well, I figured the price was right and 4WD Sentras don't grow on trees. So I jumped in with both feet.



                        I had a friend saw off everything ahead of the shock towers with a his gas powered cut off wheel. I secured another wagon as a doner parts car for the project and did the same to it. Then I grafted on the straight front clip.

                        Then I started on the rust. As usual it just seemed like a few bubbles in the paint, but then after some poking and digging.......







                        Rebuilding the inner structure. This is a jacking point for this car.













                        Here's how it looked after many months of work.



                        I was able to source the correct colored front end parts from local salvage yards so I did not even have to paint the car!
                        Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          nice recovery .. seriously !!


                          Comment


                            #14
                            Here are a few more pics from my friend Jeff.







                            And check this out, Jeff's camera has a setting called "miniature effect" which make our cars look like Matchbox cars!



                            Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Since my event there have been a few fellow northeasterners that have taken notice and would like to join us in the future. One of them lives in Middleburgh which is a gold mine for trails and unpaved roads. He knows where they are and is considering putting a run together like I did. Stay tuned for more details.

                              I too, will be looking for more roads/trails in the future. I am especially interested in steeper climbs as I want to exploit the 4WD feature of our cars more during future events. It's a balancing act to find just the right roads for our cars, smooth enough to stay damage free, yet challenging and fun. Of course snow will add a nice element of challenge, for roads that may not be challenging enough when dry.

                              I also know a few people who want to get in on the action and are looking for a 4WD car. I saw a Corolla All-Trac for sale on the side of a road in Canaan and will get info and pics tomorrow for them. This stuff is contagious.
                              Check out my 4WD Compact Car thread.

                              Comment

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