2013 Corvette roadtrip through Italy (Tuscany), day-by-day diary
05-14-2013, 01:47 AM
#21
Burning Brakes
Good morning to everybody,
For those who wait for the continue everything is ok but Martin has connection issues as he has more datas to upload and the connections in the hotel are not the best and often break while you upload the pics.
All cars are running exept mine, ihad to change a wheel, I was the only with a spare tyre
and when she is hot she wont start till i have another cappuchino.
So lets wait for Martins updates
For those who wait for the continue everything is ok but Martin has connection issues as he has more datas to upload and the connections in the hotel are not the best and often break while you upload the pics.
All cars are running exept mine, ihad to change a wheel, I was the only with a spare tyre
and when she is hot she wont start till i have another cappuchino.So lets wait for Martins updates
05-14-2013, 02:46 AM
#25
Pro
Thread Starter
There are just some of these days, when you don't have a single spare minute to upload pictures or write a few words. In short: There was too much going on for me to write much... ok, I admit I was too lazy. So I'm lagging a little behind. Here you go:
Day 2 – A Day At The Races
When you have about 25 Corvettes in one place, spanning from '67 to '12, you're bound to have a few among them who like to let it rip. So it's a good idea to have the hot heads let off some steam before the touring starts. For that purpose we had a day planned to spend at the racetrack of Modena. And thanks to the Corvette & Camaro club of Italy, it was a “GM only” day there. From “Lago di Garda” it was about a 100 mile trip to Modena. The sky was overcast and it started to rain on the “Autostrada”. I don't consider myself a great driver so I like to take it slow on wet roads. But we couldn't lag behind either so it was gripping the wheel and stepping on the gas. Driving at about 70 mph, it started raining cats and dogs. See the old Jag Roadster overtaking us at 100mph? Insane.
Kate was busy keeping the windows defogged and stuffing rags into the gaps where the first rain drops where leaking through. My main worry was gas though. I was running dangerously low. In the end, I had to exit before we reached the racetrack. Running on fumes only, we barely made it to a gas station. Let me tell you something about Italian gas stations (any Italian readers here on the forum? Chime in if I'm wrong): Finding one in the middle of nowhere is difficult enough. Finding one where other pumps than Diesel are in working order is another. Or finding one where you can pay at the pump with anything else but cash. And it's completely impossible to find a gas station with anybody working on a weekend. They literally close shop and put up a “good luck” sign (or something like that).
So I grudgingly inserted two 20 €uro bills which got me about one third of a tank of regular, or should I call it mystery gas? The Premium pump was broken. Great with a 11:1 compression engine. (not a Picture of the actual gas Station but close enough)
We left and drove the last 20 miles to the race track following small back roads. To our surprise, we were the first ones to arrive at the track. I parked the car and shut off the engine. Or let's say I tried to shut it off. It kept on coughing for almost 5 seconds; never had anything like it. Hmmm... so much for Italian gas stations in the middle of nowhere. But their coffee is great, though.
A few minutes later our buddies arrived and even the sun broke through. The parking lot filled up and everybody started milling around busily trying to sign up for a few laps on the track. Of our group, 5 C3s signed up. We got our helmets and queued up.
I liked the way it was organized: Because you had old and new cars there, they only let 7 cars on the track at the same time. Three laps and then the next group. We got transmitters for measuring the lap times. Kate had gotten me a brand new Hero GoPro3 camera for my birthday (no need to sing guys, but thanks). I mounted it right behind me and to shoot a video. I'll be putting that one up as soon as I get home. Only pictures for now.
In front of me was Markus (“Zuendler” here on the forum) with his '69 and 502 engine. He shot off as soon as the flag went down and left me eating dust. I put the hammer down and tried to follow. To my surprise, the engine ran relatively well with the mystery gas. Still, I was more like “Driving Miss Daisy”. My personal goal was to break the lap record with noise instead of speed.
By now it was almost 2 PM and our Road Captain gathered his flock for the next part of the trip. It would lead us over back roads through the mountain area of Monte Cimone and San Marcello Pistoiese. We waved good bye to the Italian friends of the C & C club and off we went. Kate shot worried looks up into the sky, watching as the clouds started to overcast again. My eyes were glued to the road and the country side. I'm familiar with Swiss mountain passes. But it's entirely different in this part of Italy. Thanks to the warmer climate, the vegetation is lusher even at higher elevations. Flowers blooming everywhere.
Suddenly we were jerked by thunder and lightning and within seconds heavy rain drenched us. We scrambled to put the top up and jumped back into the car. Starting it up, I pushed the window wiper button.... nothing. Again... nothing. Crap. I pulled the switch under the dash for the wiper door. Nothing. Damn. Opening the door I tried to move it by hand. It was firmly stuck and it looked as if a fellow human being had leaned heavily on it and managed to push it down. So it was driving without wipers. Actually it was a fortunate thing that it rained so hard. The drops were huge and I saw more through the windshield than it would have with misty fine drops.
An hour later it was all over again. With the top down we arrived at the “Villa La Principessa”, an old residence of the 12th century were the Duke of Lucca used to live. That's where the actual fun started. You'll read all about it tomorrow.
Part 2 coming up.
Day 2 – A Day At The Races
When you have about 25 Corvettes in one place, spanning from '67 to '12, you're bound to have a few among them who like to let it rip. So it's a good idea to have the hot heads let off some steam before the touring starts. For that purpose we had a day planned to spend at the racetrack of Modena. And thanks to the Corvette & Camaro club of Italy, it was a “GM only” day there. From “Lago di Garda” it was about a 100 mile trip to Modena. The sky was overcast and it started to rain on the “Autostrada”. I don't consider myself a great driver so I like to take it slow on wet roads. But we couldn't lag behind either so it was gripping the wheel and stepping on the gas. Driving at about 70 mph, it started raining cats and dogs. See the old Jag Roadster overtaking us at 100mph? Insane.
Kate was busy keeping the windows defogged and stuffing rags into the gaps where the first rain drops where leaking through. My main worry was gas though. I was running dangerously low. In the end, I had to exit before we reached the racetrack. Running on fumes only, we barely made it to a gas station. Let me tell you something about Italian gas stations (any Italian readers here on the forum? Chime in if I'm wrong): Finding one in the middle of nowhere is difficult enough. Finding one where other pumps than Diesel are in working order is another. Or finding one where you can pay at the pump with anything else but cash. And it's completely impossible to find a gas station with anybody working on a weekend. They literally close shop and put up a “good luck” sign (or something like that).
So I grudgingly inserted two 20 €uro bills which got me about one third of a tank of regular, or should I call it mystery gas? The Premium pump was broken. Great with a 11:1 compression engine. (not a Picture of the actual gas Station but close enough)
We left and drove the last 20 miles to the race track following small back roads. To our surprise, we were the first ones to arrive at the track. I parked the car and shut off the engine. Or let's say I tried to shut it off. It kept on coughing for almost 5 seconds; never had anything like it. Hmmm... so much for Italian gas stations in the middle of nowhere. But their coffee is great, though.
A few minutes later our buddies arrived and even the sun broke through. The parking lot filled up and everybody started milling around busily trying to sign up for a few laps on the track. Of our group, 5 C3s signed up. We got our helmets and queued up.
I liked the way it was organized: Because you had old and new cars there, they only let 7 cars on the track at the same time. Three laps and then the next group. We got transmitters for measuring the lap times. Kate had gotten me a brand new Hero GoPro3 camera for my birthday (no need to sing guys, but thanks). I mounted it right behind me and to shoot a video. I'll be putting that one up as soon as I get home. Only pictures for now.
In front of me was Markus (“Zuendler” here on the forum) with his '69 and 502 engine. He shot off as soon as the flag went down and left me eating dust. I put the hammer down and tried to follow. To my surprise, the engine ran relatively well with the mystery gas. Still, I was more like “Driving Miss Daisy”. My personal goal was to break the lap record with noise instead of speed.
By now it was almost 2 PM and our Road Captain gathered his flock for the next part of the trip. It would lead us over back roads through the mountain area of Monte Cimone and San Marcello Pistoiese. We waved good bye to the Italian friends of the C & C club and off we went. Kate shot worried looks up into the sky, watching as the clouds started to overcast again. My eyes were glued to the road and the country side. I'm familiar with Swiss mountain passes. But it's entirely different in this part of Italy. Thanks to the warmer climate, the vegetation is lusher even at higher elevations. Flowers blooming everywhere.
Suddenly we were jerked by thunder and lightning and within seconds heavy rain drenched us. We scrambled to put the top up and jumped back into the car. Starting it up, I pushed the window wiper button.... nothing. Again... nothing. Crap. I pulled the switch under the dash for the wiper door. Nothing. Damn. Opening the door I tried to move it by hand. It was firmly stuck and it looked as if a fellow human being had leaned heavily on it and managed to push it down. So it was driving without wipers. Actually it was a fortunate thing that it rained so hard. The drops were huge and I saw more through the windshield than it would have with misty fine drops.
An hour later it was all over again. With the top down we arrived at the “Villa La Principessa”, an old residence of the 12th century were the Duke of Lucca used to live. That's where the actual fun started. You'll read all about it tomorrow.
Part 2 coming up.
05-14-2013, 02:55 AM
#26
Pro
Thread Starter
Sorry guys. I have troubles with posting. Whenever I click on "submit reply", I'm getting a database error. But apparently, it posted anyway. Could one of the mods delete the double Posts please?
Thanks, Martin
Thanks, Martin
05-16-2013, 04:55 PM
#29
Pro
Thread Starter
Day 3 Marble days in Carrara
We staid in Lucca and took a very special day trip: Have you ever driven your C3 through a tunnel? Probably. But have you ever driven into a mine? That's what we did today. The Carrara region is famous for the marble quarried there. It's been used for centuries and the quality is among the best in the world. And we were in for a treat.
We started off from our Hotel on a sunny and warm May morning. A lovely hotel on the outskirts of Lucca.
We found it a bit difficult to keep 25 Corvettes together on Italian back roads. They are narrow and a lot of cars tried to sneak into our treck, effectively separating the group. The C3s were at the tail end so no one had to endure the perfume coming from the exhaust pipes (this topic will be covered in a separate post in this thread a bit later on). So it didn't take long for us to get lost.
Mucki's Mulsane Blue 71 started acting up with its carb or fuel line and Roma's starter wouldn't give a budge every now and then. We followed the group the best we could, enjoying great mountain roads and beautiful late spring weather.
I had my GoPro camera mounted behind us and took pictures every 10 seconds to get a fast motion movie.
When we reached the quarry, we expected a tour on foot through the mine. We were totally surprised by the announcement of the tour guide that we would be allowed to drive into the mine with our Corvettes if we wanted. That sounded cool and off we went.
First it was like driving through a regular tunnel on a dirt road. But suddenly it opened up into a huge squarish space, walls, floor and ceiling pure raw marble. Unbelievable. The floor was wet, giving off reflections from the lights of our cars. We parked them and started taking pictures. Talk about a special backdrop for car pics. I'm just posting teaser pictures here because the result from the shooting is worth a separate post.
When we were done, we drove down to the sea shore, which was only 10 miles away. And we found out it can be quiet difficult to get lunch after 2PM. Even at the beach most places were closed until the evening. We finally found one and got a good laugh out of watching this dog:
No day on the Tuscany tour is complete without an Italian dinner. Today was no exception. I love the starters with the ham, salami, fresh bread and olives. This is one of many things I love about beautiful Italy. Small towns with fantastic restaurants.
Stay tuned for the next update. The plot thickens...
Martin
We staid in Lucca and took a very special day trip: Have you ever driven your C3 through a tunnel? Probably. But have you ever driven into a mine? That's what we did today. The Carrara region is famous for the marble quarried there. It's been used for centuries and the quality is among the best in the world. And we were in for a treat.
We started off from our Hotel on a sunny and warm May morning. A lovely hotel on the outskirts of Lucca.
We found it a bit difficult to keep 25 Corvettes together on Italian back roads. They are narrow and a lot of cars tried to sneak into our treck, effectively separating the group. The C3s were at the tail end so no one had to endure the perfume coming from the exhaust pipes (this topic will be covered in a separate post in this thread a bit later on). So it didn't take long for us to get lost.
Mucki's Mulsane Blue 71 started acting up with its carb or fuel line and Roma's starter wouldn't give a budge every now and then. We followed the group the best we could, enjoying great mountain roads and beautiful late spring weather.
I had my GoPro camera mounted behind us and took pictures every 10 seconds to get a fast motion movie.
When we reached the quarry, we expected a tour on foot through the mine. We were totally surprised by the announcement of the tour guide that we would be allowed to drive into the mine with our Corvettes if we wanted. That sounded cool and off we went.
First it was like driving through a regular tunnel on a dirt road. But suddenly it opened up into a huge squarish space, walls, floor and ceiling pure raw marble. Unbelievable. The floor was wet, giving off reflections from the lights of our cars. We parked them and started taking pictures. Talk about a special backdrop for car pics. I'm just posting teaser pictures here because the result from the shooting is worth a separate post.
When we were done, we drove down to the sea shore, which was only 10 miles away. And we found out it can be quiet difficult to get lunch after 2PM. Even at the beach most places were closed until the evening. We finally found one and got a good laugh out of watching this dog:
No day on the Tuscany tour is complete without an Italian dinner. Today was no exception. I love the starters with the ham, salami, fresh bread and olives. This is one of many things I love about beautiful Italy. Small towns with fantastic restaurants.
Stay tuned for the next update. The plot thickens...
Martin
05-17-2013, 08:12 AM
#32
Instructor
What a trip! I took this same route a few years ago except it was in an Audi A2. We went from Stuttgart to the southern tip of Lake Garda. Beautiful ride. It must be an unbelievable ride in your favorite car.
05-17-2013, 02:20 PM
#34
Instructor
Member Since: Apr 2012
Location: St. Charles Missouri
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Very cool yellow.
I should mention that I'm envious and hate you. (not the hate part but the envious part) I only wish I could drive my car on the roads where you've driven yours.
I should mention that I'm envious and hate you. (not the hate part but the envious part) I only wish I could drive my car on the roads where you've driven yours.
05-19-2013, 01:49 AM
#35
2nd Gear
Member Since: May 2012
Posts: 2
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really, it was an amazing trip through northern italy, its a pitty, but its over now
Thanks for your envious spot99, i understand how do you mean this
Hope its a little comfort for you, i bought the lady 3 years ago in alabama, also a little part of the amercan spirit is always with me
Robert
05-19-2013, 02:45 AM
#37
Burning Brakes
On the 4th day I had to change one of my wheels. The tyre had a small dent and while driving it was not very comfortable 
Maybe it was from the racetrack and getting worst with the time.
Fortunatelly I had a sparewheel
Maybe it was from the racetrack and getting worst with the time.Fortunatelly I had a sparewheel
05-19-2013, 08:18 AM
#38
Pro
Thread Starter
Interlude – the „Eau De Corvette“ Perfume episode
Who among you has ever made the Corvette scent test? It appears as if among the different Corvette generations, there are also slight differences as to the exhaust aroma and how people following you perceive them. Last year, some of our friends with their later generation cars were complaining about unpleasant odors, nausea, difficulty in breathing and other slightly unpleasant side effects after inhaling the fumes of a C3.
That called for drastic measures: For this year’s tour the Captain ordered all C2s and C3s to the tail end of the convoy where we could only stink up each other.
Sooooo… I mean we couldn’t just let that one slide now, could we? Driving a C3 brings out the creativity in you. If our friends were not allowed to enjoy the real deal, at least they should be able to get a souvenir of it instead. So we created what we called “Perfume Eau De Corvette”, the “Chanel No. C3” edition. The ingredients are of course top secret but I think you get the idea.
The perfume bottles, the label, everything was lovingly selected, filled, wrapped and then presented on the second evening.
Let me tell you, they had all had tears of joy in their eyes.
We just knew that deep in their hearts, the C4/C5/C6 drivers were experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they couldn’t inhale the real perfume that emits from a carbureted V8. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them secretly sniffing the bottle while driving.
...more to come
Martin
Who among you has ever made the Corvette scent test? It appears as if among the different Corvette generations, there are also slight differences as to the exhaust aroma and how people following you perceive them. Last year, some of our friends with their later generation cars were complaining about unpleasant odors, nausea, difficulty in breathing and other slightly unpleasant side effects after inhaling the fumes of a C3.
That called for drastic measures: For this year’s tour the Captain ordered all C2s and C3s to the tail end of the convoy where we could only stink up each other.
Sooooo… I mean we couldn’t just let that one slide now, could we? Driving a C3 brings out the creativity in you. If our friends were not allowed to enjoy the real deal, at least they should be able to get a souvenir of it instead. So we created what we called “Perfume Eau De Corvette”, the “Chanel No. C3” edition. The ingredients are of course top secret but I think you get the idea.
The perfume bottles, the label, everything was lovingly selected, filled, wrapped and then presented on the second evening.
Let me tell you, they had all had tears of joy in their eyes.
We just knew that deep in their hearts, the C4/C5/C6 drivers were experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they couldn’t inhale the real perfume that emits from a carbureted V8. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them secretly sniffing the bottle while driving.
...more to come
Martin
05-19-2013, 09:20 AM
#39
Drifting
Interlude – the „Eau De Corvette“ Perfume episode
Who among you has ever made the Corvette scent test? It appears as if among the different Corvette generations, there are also slight differences as to the exhaust aroma and how people following you perceive them. Last year, some of our friends with their later generation cars were complaining about unpleasant odors, nausea, difficulty in breathing and other slightly unpleasant side effects after inhaling the fumes of a C3.
That called for drastic measures: For this year’s tour the Captain ordered all C2s and C3s to the tail end of the convoy where we could only stink up each other.
Sooooo… I mean we couldn’t just let that one slide now, could we? Driving a C3 brings out the creativity in you. If our friends were not allowed to enjoy the real deal, at least they should be able to get a souvenir of it instead. So we created what we called “Perfume Eau De Corvette”, the “Chanel No. C3” edition. The ingredients are of course top secret but I think you get the idea.
The perfume bottles, the label, everything was lovingly selected, filled, wrapped and then presented on the second evening.
Let me tell you, they had all had tears of joy in their eyes. We just knew that deep in their hearts, the C4/C5/C6 drivers were experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they couldn’t inhale the real perfume that emits from a carbureted V8. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them secretly sniffing the bottle while driving.
...more to come
Martin
Who among you has ever made the Corvette scent test? It appears as if among the different Corvette generations, there are also slight differences as to the exhaust aroma and how people following you perceive them. Last year, some of our friends with their later generation cars were complaining about unpleasant odors, nausea, difficulty in breathing and other slightly unpleasant side effects after inhaling the fumes of a C3.
That called for drastic measures: For this year’s tour the Captain ordered all C2s and C3s to the tail end of the convoy where we could only stink up each other.
Sooooo… I mean we couldn’t just let that one slide now, could we? Driving a C3 brings out the creativity in you. If our friends were not allowed to enjoy the real deal, at least they should be able to get a souvenir of it instead. So we created what we called “Perfume Eau De Corvette”, the “Chanel No. C3” edition. The ingredients are of course top secret but I think you get the idea.
The perfume bottles, the label, everything was lovingly selected, filled, wrapped and then presented on the second evening.
Let me tell you, they had all had tears of joy in their eyes.
We just knew that deep in their hearts, the C4/C5/C6 drivers were experiencing withdrawal symptoms when they couldn’t inhale the real perfume that emits from a carbureted V8. I'm pretty sure I saw a few of them secretly sniffing the bottle while driving....more to come
Martin
Great pics guys!
05-19-2013, 11:51 AM
#40
Team Owner
Member Since: Sep 2006
Location: Westminster Maryland
Posts: 30,173
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Hi Martin,
It looks like you all have been having quite an experience!!!
The picture in the marble mine HAS TO BE A FIRST!!!
The scenery is really quite striking as is that hotel in your picture!
I'm enjoying your posts!
Regards,
Alan
It looks like you all have been having quite an experience!!!
The picture in the marble mine HAS TO BE A FIRST!!!
The scenery is really quite striking as is that hotel in your picture!
I'm enjoying your posts!
Regards,
Alan
