I finally took my 91 Delica on a trip over the big mountain passes here on the way to my place in Keystone, Colorado. On the way out, I did a bunch of back roads then I went on I70 thru Eisenhower Tunnel (11,158 feet). The I70 bit was pretty stressful. Dropped below 40 mph for a few sections, trying to keep the EGT in the acceptable range. People were lining up behind me or passing at 75 mph. Not a ton of fun, but I went late at night so I wasn't too much of a hindrance.
The low headlights are horrendous, which added to the stress on the back roads. The highs are decent, but too bright for oncoming traffic. So, windy twisty roads are a pita...
On the return, I went over Loveland Pass (11,990 feet). The Deli handled that fine, as everyone goes slowly up and over that pass due to the scenery and twisty roads. The rest of the way, I just patiently puttered along at 60-67 mph. The turbo was tuned to push 13psi (and occasionally 14), so she'll go faster, but I generally keep things in the 60-67 mph range so I don't have to worry about bumping up the EGT's on slight rises.
The van was fun to drive while up in Keystone. Does fine on gravel, town roads, etc. Tons of space for hauling my bikes, standup paddleboard, chairs that I was taking to my condo, etc.
A few pics from the trip...
The low headlights are horrendous, which added to the stress on the back roads. The highs are decent, but too bright for oncoming traffic. So, windy twisty roads are a pita...
On the return, I went over Loveland Pass (11,990 feet). The Deli handled that fine, as everyone goes slowly up and over that pass due to the scenery and twisty roads. The rest of the way, I just patiently puttered along at 60-67 mph. The turbo was tuned to push 13psi (and occasionally 14), so she'll go faster, but I generally keep things in the 60-67 mph range so I don't have to worry about bumping up the EGT's on slight rises.
The van was fun to drive while up in Keystone. Does fine on gravel, town roads, etc. Tons of space for hauling my bikes, standup paddleboard, chairs that I was taking to my condo, etc.
A few pics from the trip...
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..I bet that helped a ton coming down
