Truckee to Chester - Thursday 28th September

At the start of the day Lloyd headed for home. With both headlights out due to the earlier accident he decided that it was the best plan to avoid getting further from home. This way he good still get home in one day's driving. This was also the departure point for Mike Humphries though in his case, this was always the plan. We wish them both safe travels home.

Lloyd says his goodbyes in Truckee - safe travels home

The plan for today was to visit the National Auto Museum in Reno, and then drive to Chester. Since Debbie and I had an urgent errand to perform, we left the hotel early with the intention of rejoining the group at the museum. Unfortunately, as the car warmed up on the freeway heading to Reno, the oil pressure dropped steadily from its normal level of 40+ psi to around 20-25 psi. We pulled over to check the oil level which was OK, but added another quart more in hope than expectation. We proceeded on to Reno but the gauge continued to show around 25psi at 3000 rpm, dropping to close to zero at idle. Our errand took much longer to complete than we'd planned, so by the time we reached the museum the group was on the way out. 

The National Automobile Museum has a collection of more than 225 one of a kind, antique and collector cars, most of which come from the collection of William F. Harrah. 

The only Jaguar in the collection - an XK120 OTS

After a group open-bonnet session with Earl which was inconclusive (we were still hoping that the problem was a faulty oil pressure sender) we all adjourned for lunch at a nearby bar. Suitably fortified, we set off for our next overnight stop at Chester. Debbie and I didn't get beyond the nearby gas station before deciding that heading further north was pretty foolish. At low engine revs with oil pressure registering zero, and with what sounded like noisy valve gear (hopefully not rod knock) to continue made no sense. We headed for the I-80 freeway with the intent of seeing if we could make it closer to home (Monterey) given that the engine seemed to sound fine at 3000rpm and oil pressure registering  around 25psi. Nothing changed for the next 100-150 miles with oil pressure steady at freeway speeds, and the engine sounding fine. When we ran into traffic near Sacramento, we were back to very low oil pressure readings but kept going. At some point, we convinced ourselves that we might even be able to make it to Prescott, AZ the following day and turned south with the intent of spending the night with family in Fresno, CA. It was while in traffic in Fresno that it became clear that the IGN warning light was coming on below 1500 rpm - probably had been all along, but not noticeable until it was dark. On the 1966 E-Types, the IGN warning light is driven by an oil presure switch, so any delusion about a faulty oil pressure sender went out of the window...

At this point in the blog, I will be covering the remainder of the Oil Leak route with a description kindly provided by Glen Barker, and photos from several participants. Unfortunately, Debbie and I did not rejoin the group for the remainder of the route.

The drive from Reno to Chester started on Hwy 395 before turning west on CA-70. The route passed through some of the areas that were affected by the 2021 wildfires.

Scenes of the aftermath of the 2021 wildfires along CA-70 near Portola

The roads invited the use of a heavy right foot and one of the party (name withheld but available on request for a fee 😀 ) attracted the attention of the local CHP...

 

On reaching Chester we drove to out lodgings for the night - some at the Bidwell House B&B, and others at the Best Western. Dinner in the evening was enjoyed at a new local brewery.

A little fall color at Bidwell House B&B in Chester