Day 1 starts with a series of pops, misfires, and cranky engines. A group of enthusiasts from Oklahoma City are clustered around a Sprite trying desperately to get the timing adjusted for altitude while various other adventurers work to stem the flow of leaking power steering fluid, check the oil, and chat about what the coming day might hold.
My co-driver and I have more to worry about than most. We’ve chosen to bring our 71’ Fiat 124 on this year’s adventure, making a bold gambit that our recently re-worked suspension and engine will stand up to the three day romp through whatever remote stretch of the Rockies has been cooked up this year by Dave Hord, the event’s organizer.
At the Driver’s meeting we stand outside the hotel lobby alongside 75 or so other enthusiasts that have traveled from all over North America to attend this year’s event. Dave keeps it short and light, welcoming newcomers into the pack of existing friends, close-knit by shared trials on previous years’ adventures.
This is our third Silver Summit, a classic touring experience put on by Classic Car Adventures, and we’ve already gained some notoriety in the group for resurrecting untested forlorn “classics” which barely managed to limp through the last two events. This year we’ve placed our bets on a marque synonymous with quality and reliability… Fiat.
After the driver’s meeting concludes our intrepid group treats the rest of the guests at the hotel to a mechanical symphony ranging from a 36hp Volkswagen beetle to 400hp Panteras, with a few air-cooled Porsches thrown in for good measure.
This weekend’s event takes the group from Colorado’s front-range over steep frigid passes and down canyons with enough corners to challenge even the most seasoned co-driver. It passes through Telluride, where the organizer has arranged high-luxury evening accommodations, through Moab and Grand Junction, and deep into the wilds of northern Colorado. Each evening the group settles down for dinner with tales of excitement and adventure, most often followed by an unofficial “Parking Lot Concours” curated by the legendary Erik Bergman into the wee hours of the morning.
As we near the close of this year’s Silver Summit, Dave asks us if we are interested in a little “extra” adventure. After hearing us answer in the affirmative a mischievous grin creeps across Dave’s face and we clamber into our classics. Dave leads our ragged Fiat in his rally-prepped Beetle, up a circuitous road and out of Moab. As we left civilization the smooth tarmac turned to rutted gravel and ultimately dirt. There were more than a few ATVs and rock crawlers surprised to be passed by 50 year old classic cars 30 miles from the nearest pavement!
Dave pressed on, driving farther and farther into the wilderness, with boldness given by confidence from a car prepared expressly for this sort of road. Meanwhile, 200 yards back into Dave’s billowing dust cloud things in the Fiat were getting a bit hairy. Fasteners fell like raindrops from underneath the dashboard as the car bounced its way across the broken earth. As fewer and fewer components in the interior were held together the dashboard finally decided it had had enough and abandoned its post — falling out into our laps. After a quick stop to set the dashboard back into place we were off again, but with the interior in such a state it was hard not to imagine what condition the rest of the drivetrain was in, and it was with trepidation (and a bit more caution) that we journeyed on.
All in all, the Fiat tackled over 30 miles off the beaten path and, aside from the dash mishap, had completed the jaunt dusty, but intact. Once we regained the tarmac outside Gateway, CO we put the pedal down and pushed towards the hotel, hoping not to miss dinner! We reached the hotel just before 6pm and were greeted by relieved faces of other participants who wondered what had become of us while we were out of cell range on our detour and eagerly awaited a happy hour report of the day’s adventure.
This year’s event had a bit more excitement than most, from lost oil drain plugs, to failed alternators, to a minor engine fire, but our band of enthusiasts pulled together each time and ensured that every car made it to the finish line. We were all surprised to find that in stark contrast to its reputation, the Fiat had carried us all the way to the finish (in spite of our best efforts to the contrary) and had ensured that grins stayed plastered on our faces the whole weekend.
As the event’s closing ceremonies finish up most entrants are exchanging contact info with new friends, discussing what they’d like to bring next year, or debating the merits of various winter projects. As for myself, I’m already looking forward to next year’s Silver Summit. Though perhaps we’ll gamble on even longer odds this time and bring something British!
A recount of the 2018 Classic Car Adventures Silver Summit
Article by Ross Nellums
Header Photo by Andrew Snucins Photography — https://www.andrewsnucins.com
