It's Road Trip Season -- Going for a BIG E28 drive!

[geordi]

You are welcome to crash with us in Jackson WY. At least let us take you out on the town.
I'll be working in GTNP again this year so if you need anything regarding the Park let me know.
If you plan to be hiking in the Teton, I know most of the routes.
If you are car camping or plan to overnight in one of the backcountry campsites, I can get those for you.
I'll PM my addy. Got a garage, e28 supplies, and tools should you need.
Door is always open!

[garageboy]

Goddamn... I'm blushing at your offer of hospitality... reminding me once again that it's the people, not the car... The E28 is just a catalyst.

Thanks for your kind offer. I will admit that while I've hiked in the Adirondacks since college, I'm doing fat-old-man camping in Jackson. I'll send you the details privately as well (got your PM, thanks), and, yes, I will be looking for hiking ideas in the Tetons!!

And we left today, btw... Thank goodness my friend kept me focused... she even let me replace the A/C button because the light was out... We're in Ohio tonight...


Our first stau... a garbage truck flipped and spilled all kinds of garbage all over the highway...

[geordi]

Thanks for your kind offer. I will admit that while I've hiked in the Adirondacks since college, I'm doing fat-old-man camping in Jackson. I'll send you the details privately as well (got your PM, thanks), and, yes, I will be looking for hiking ideas in the Tetons!!

If you are car camping with a tent, Jenny Lake in GTNP is the best hands down. 49 tent sites, and tent only.

[garageboy]

Todd, Stuart, and I are in the Minneapolis St Paul area if you wanted to stop by. I could host at my house and include others here on the board that are board lurkers but live in the area. If that works for your itinerary and route let me know a date to plan for.

I have a lift if you needed to do any mid road trip repairs.

I have to apologize for not being able to visit. It would have been nice to meet. I didn't make it that far up north, although we went through Wisconsin and Minnesota instead of Iowa and I am very glad we did... significantly less popo harassment there it seems... it's all relative...

We enjoyed some quality time with Mr. Thornton in Sioux Falls last night since I was driving directly through (L->R, my friend, Karin, from Belgium, me, and Mr. Thornton). He got to drive the car and did us the honor of showing us the best parts of town... I hope he liked the car...



My E28 at the Massacre at Wounded Knee


Clouds over the mass grave at Wounded Knee


Oh, and the car has been solid... even though tonight, on a Saturday night, all alone on SD-44, turning onto a 9.1 mile dirt road, on a holiday weekend, I drove my E28 to get through the Badlands to Wall, SD.

[garageboy]

Here's some more adventures as we've traveled through South Dakota and Wyoming... 2650 miles so far.

First, at Mount Rushmore, looking at Washington's profile on a rare foggy day:


At a T-shirt store in Deadwood, South Dakota. No comment needed.


At the Crazy Horse Memorial... also in the fog...


At Devil's Tower in Wyoming the next day!!! PERFECT weather!!!


And then tonight, crossing the Bighorn Mountain range and heading up into Montana. I will be in Yellowstone on Sunday. I'm VERY excited!!

[waynet1]

Great pics....keep 'em commin' .
Did you get a chance to stop in South Bend and say Hi??
How those heater hoses holding up?

[garageboy]

Great pics....keep 'em commin' .
Did you get a chance to stop in South Bend and say Hi??
How those heater hoses holding up?

Hey. Poor internet here in Yellowstone. Leaving in the morning... will post more, with photos...

I made contact with the campaign office in South Bend. Success.

Car is running beautifully in every way so far. 3300 miles right now. About halfway, I think. Day 17 of 45. Wonderful trip so far.

Ok, here's a couple photos...

[garageboy]

Hi all. I'm in Glacier National Park now, and will be here until Sunday, ending in Kalispell, Montana...

My E28's windshield has broken a few days ago, and the crack is growing (about 6 inches long now). I thought I would be able to deal with this when I returned home in July -- ordering the proper item from Germany, having it shipped to the bodyshop, etc. -- but at this point, I would like to find a place here in Montana (or close) that will at least stop the problem from growing further so that I can make it home without threat of ticket.

I really must resist the idea of replacing the windshield DURING this adventure. I cannot take the chance that the new windshield, aftermarket crap that I will have no control over no doubt, will fit and not leak. At least at home, the car is garaged so I have the ability to deal with the problem without threat of ruining the car's interior/electrical system/etc...

As Sunday (June 16) marks my first day on this trip without other travelers, I will have time to deal with the windshield at that time. Any help is greatly appreciated. And here's some more photos:

Me, standing behind my car:


My friend, Karin, standing in front of my car (much nicer photo):


This was in Cooke City, we ate at the Ore House. It was a dirty, old Ore House.


This was on the Beartooth Highway, on the pass entering Yellowstone National Park from the Northeast. In June. Yeah.


This was just a photo I took, while driving, out the window.


One nice highlight was being able to meet George Davis (geordi) in Jackson, Wyoming. His M5 is real nice and he's a real hospitable guy! I was lucky to meet him when I passed through!! If you're ever in NYC, George, let me buy YOU dinner!

My E28 is abysmally filthy right now, inside and out. It's a real beautiful sight -- I will post more photos on Facebook to make my detailer scream. There's nothing like using the crap out of an E28, getting it dirty, and then cleaning it up all over again. It's been flawless this entire trip (except the windshield, which, like tire problems, is, kinda, just a pain in the ass).

[Mike W.]

About halfway, I think. Day 17 of 45. Wonderful trip so far.

I know it's a few days old, but day 17 of 45? Wow, now that's a vacation!

[Adam W in MN]

Sorry to hear about the windshield but everything else looks like a great trip!

[davintosh]

What crack? I don't see a crack.

I can't help with recommendations, but any reputable chain windshield shop should be able to drill & epoxy the ends of the crack to keep it from growing. If it does keep growing, I wouldn't worry too much about it; it's not going to shatter into pieces and fall into your defrost vents or anything. After a while you don't even notice it. My daily driver is an '05 F-150, and It's had a crack across the windscreen as long as I've had it (over a year). My wife drove it one day, and asked how I could stand to drive with that crack; I asked, "What crack?"

Glad you got to catch up with George; great people!

[garageboy]

I owe you folks some photos, but for now, here was one when my cousins showed up in Jackson Hole Airport during a blizzard and brought two large suitcases (under what you see here, somehow).... they were with me for eight days and we had a lot of fun together... even let my cousin drive my car (yes, I was a nervous wreck)... but he learned in the mountains that there is this thing called a manual transmission that will smoothly glide you up and down the mountain passes without constant braking... I couldn't quite get him to learn to exclusively brake in a straight line, but I was less petrified as the trip went on....

Started 22 May at 127,500 mi... today at 133,020 (5500 mi thus far).

Now by myself in Colorado visiting friends and family... seeing Stevie Wonder at Red Rocks tomorrow.. the guys at the hotel here in Boulder were SO nice with my car; the young man running the valet parking and bellhops is an E30 enthusiast and parked my E28 in a special spot in their private garage. Very kind people. I'm a lucky SOB.

[garageboy]

After nearly 8000 miles, where the car has been great, I now have a problem... I have allowed others to drive my car... and now, it seems my lower seat frame (electric, comfort seats) has cracked and needs to be welded (we're not all the same size). This happened once before a few years ago (right rear) and it was welded; this time, it broke on the other side (left rear) of the seat frame.

Does anyone have a lower seat frame for sale? I do not need motors (can transfer existing ones). It just must be solid and not twisted/bent or anything.

I'm still in Colorado, heading home to NYC next week I think. I'm fairly flexible in terms of where I need to be at any given time, so hopefully someone can help me out. Please! I really would prefer to fix or replace this before I travel any further if possible. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!

[davintosh]

Wasn't me.

[garageboy]

So I'm going through the photos and I promise to post a bunch soon... here's one...

But for now, here's the stats:
- 11,470 miles
- 51 days (May 22 --> July 13)
- 1 cracked windshield (this is a big problem now to replace )
- 1 broken new Hella Low-beam (received a new one, installing it tomorrow)
- 1 extinguished OBD display backlight (already fixed because I'm an electrical engineer and can solder which means I am old!)
- 1 broken seat frame (just met Foonfer who is awesome and practically gave me his old pair of seat frames!!! this will be fixed in the next few days)

That's it, BUT after driving 2000 miles in two days to get home quickly, the seal on the AC compressor gave up.... the day after I got home. I cannot complain. The car ran flawlessly the entire time. There is NO WAY I could have trusted the E39, or ANY modern BMW, for that matter, to sustain all the abuse this lovely E28 took in those seven weeks. I'm already thinking about and planning the next big road trip. And this trusty friend... this E28 will be the car I take. No question whatsoever.

[knunger]

Bravo!
Well Played

[T_C_D]

Average MPG for the trip?

[Karl Grau]

I love this thread. It's like the old days.

[a]

I was about to send you a lower frame.. A buddy fixed one for me by adding a triangle inside corner brace. . Your experience pretty much was similar to mine with the Borman 6. A well sorted, even less well sorted 528e is a great road trip car. Seeing some body doing it with a 30 yr old 528e is cheering. Well done Garageboy!

[garageboy]

I was about to send you a lower frame.. A buddy fixed one for me by adding a triangle inside corner brace. . Your experience pretty much was similar to mine with the Borman 6. A well sorted, even less well sorted 528e is a great road trip car. Seeing some body doing it with a 30 yr old 528e is cheering. Well done Garageboy!

In fact, our friend, Foonfer, in Brooklyn, had both left and right (hey, ya never know) frames that he sold to me for a very reasonable price, as he appears to be a very reasonable man. So, while I'm under the E39 again, for the 3rd time in the month since I've returned, I haven't put the E28 seat back together yet... nor gone through my photos... nor sent out the E28 compressor for rebuild... nor....

Good to hear from you! And thanks!!

[garageboy]

I was about to send you a lower frame.. A buddy fixed one for me by adding a triangle inside corner brace. . Your experience pretty much was similar to mine with the Borman 6. A well sorted, even less well sorted 528e is a great road trip car. Seeing some body doing it with a 30 yr old 528e is cheering. Well done Garageboy!

Hey. Since I am having my old one repaired, would you kindly send a photo or two of the modification if you can do it without having to remove anything? Much thanks!

[Foonfer]

can you believe I had not seen the photos and the evolution of this thread, even after meeting you in person. WOW!

What a trip man, what a trip. I can only imagine the memories and the sights, old and new. Glad you took the reliable car with you...

cheers!

[garageboy]

can you believe I had not seen the photos and the evolution of this thread, even after meeting you in person. WOW!

Glad you enjoyed them. It was great to meet you! I still need to do a photo album... a year plus later.... ugh...

I forgot my friend Jason took this photo in Colorado on my road trip. I think it was a beautiful photo for many reasons.

[topher800]

I forgot my friend Jason took this photo in Colorado on my road trip. I think it was a beautiful photo for many reasons.

We can start the Colorado guessing game. I'll say that was taken on East side of Independence Pass, and that is the gully off the south slope of Mt Elbert.

[garageboy]

I'm not sure if I want to start a new thread... for now, I can ruminate here and see how it develops...

After a successful pre-pandemic road trip to SD, WY, MT, and CO from NYC in 2019, I'm thinking about the next road trip. I'm thinking about the summer of 2024, taking TWO MONTHS for this journey. I have a family event in Colorado on 24 Aug 2024. I would consider interrupting my trip if I'm in a place from which I can fly there and back. However, I think the more sensible plan might be to plan the trip from 15 June 2024 -- 15 Aug 2024, and then just fly from NYC to CO a week later after I've returned.

The general counterclockwise route of the trip is NYC --> Maine --> New Brunswick --> Prince Edward Island --> Nova Scotia --> St. Pierre and Miquelon --> Labrador --> possibly as far north as Torngat Mountains National Park --> Labrador City --> Quebec City --> Montreal --> Vermont --> Adirondacks --> home to NYC. I'm thinking about parking the E28 somewhere in Labrador, renting a vehicle to drive far north that can handle dirt roads with less discomfort.

Since Maine is a relatively short drive away, I might choose to minimize my plans in Maine during this trip if it makes sense to spend the bulk of my time in Canada. I can always return to Maine any time I want. I need to calculate how many days in the attractions along the way before I know how much time I want in Maine. I also am pretty sure that I don't need weeks of advance notice to make a reservation, even in the summertime tourist season because there just aren't that many people there.

So I have some highlights in each of these areas noted so that I can continue to do research on what I want to see. My last road trip was 11,400 miles because I drove around so much in the states I visited. I expect to easily do 8000 miles on this trip. I'm looking forward to putting my car in a ferry a few times,,.

First questions:
-- bugs / mosquitos in the summer? any issues there?
-- can I get super (93 octane) fuel everywhere?
-- is there enough to see and do (inside and outside) in the Atlantic Provinces of Canada?

THANKS!