. Reno Hot August Nights 2015?

[Sarge]

Hi all,

Anyone with plans to attend the Reno Hot August Nights August 5-9? I think my car will be done with it's restoration before then (barely) and am looking into going up for a cruise.

Has anyone participated with their car as an entrant into the show? No competition judging or anything, just cruising. Since my car will be fresh out of paint at that time, is there any real risk of driving it up and cruising the strip (outside of the obvious rock chip/crash, etc)? I have no experience at having a car fresh out of restoration so don't know if I should "baby it" for 6 months or ??? I would be driving up from Sacramento, and it wouldn't be trailered.

Thanks in advance for any advice,

Robert

 

[robert campbell]

Robert,
Will it have a newly rebuilt motor?

Rob

 

[Sarge]

Good question, yes it will. Thanks for the question Robert!

 

[robert campbell]

Robert,
This event is HOT HOT HOT. I went once a few years back. They had 5 or 6 "mini" car shows at various venues around the city. The cruise was very safe and they block off the streets and only cars that are entered are allowed. Very slow.

You may want to tell your engine builder to install a 160 degree thermostat for added safety. You can install a 180 towards this fall.

A drive from Sac to Reno would not be good on a brand new engine. I would like to see ate least 300 miles on it before I left. This will work out the links and discover the leaks. You engine should be driven around Grass Valley with nice ups and downs. It needs mild acceleration followed by mild deceleration by down shifting the trans into second at say 35 to 4 miles an hour. This works the rings back and forth in the piston ring lands and breaks them in. Do this for at least 50 miles or so to break it in. Constant speed freeway driving is not good for a fresh engine. The rings do not break in.

After this change the oil.

And after this I would test this baby out in downtown Sac traffic. Lots of stop and go on a hot day. You need to ensure your cooling system is up to the task. New engines run hotter than normal. Make sure you have lots of side routes to get out of traffic if it climbs to fast! And a shade tree to park under.

Just the climb over the pass to Reno will be a task. Do it early in the morning when it is cooler. The used to have an event that takes you up some step hills to high altitudes at Hot August. Drive is mid day and the road can be littered with cars not ready. Carry at least 2 gallons of water, some chewing gum, and grey tape.

If you carry this your car will be fine. And you can rescue someone else!!

Rob

 

[Sarge]

Thanks for the break in rules Rob! Definitely good to know, and I'll probably print the post so I can have the do's and don'ts with me. Probably just as well, I was having a hard time finding rooms that were at a reasonable rate. This is Reno after all, not Las Vegas. Next year, I'm going to start looking into this sooner in the year.

Thanks Rob,

Robert

 

[Powell]

Robert good luck with finding reasonable rates anytime for HOT August Nights. We have taken our GT/CS to every year for the last 15 years. Robert is spot on about the trip there and the event itself being HOT,HOT but is a great deal of fun. You'll find trying to go from one venue to another is very frustrating, given you've left a good parking spot and now find very few parking spots available at the next venue. Again Hot idleing thru the parking lots looking for a place to land. We have found that it is best to bite the bullet and pay for a room at one of the venues, like the Grand Sierra and plan to park in the display and just enjoy the show and other people there. If you want to take in another venue, plan on moving your car to that one early in the morning and plan on an all day.