Our adventure begins from Groveland, a town that pre dates our car. Tank full of gas, radiator filled, tires pumped up (55 PSI), and passengers seated in the open with no seat belt. We opt to follow the original highway into Yosemite as much as possible. This is to retrace the historic route and to stay off the high speed highway whenever possible. Our top speed is about 45 MPH, but this is just a guess as we don’t have a speedometer. However, in an open car with no seat belt 45 feels quite fast enough.
Driving an old car on modern highway’s and with modern traffic presents some obvious and not so obvious problems. For sure our slow speed is an aggravation for faster traffic, so we do our best to keep the pace up when on the regular highway and try to pull over whenever possible and prudent. I say prudent because pulling over and stopping on an incline means starting out going up-hill which is hard on the old cork clutch, and then gaining speed back is another matter. Usually when we pull over in a passing lane people are able to get by us before we have to stop and that is what we try to do. Few modern day drivers realize how little stopping power old cars have. Modern four wheel power disc brakes with anti skid have all but eliminated most braking problems and allow the modern day driver to stop in the shortest distance. Our 1911 Hudson has brakes only on the rear wheels and they are primitive drum type, non-power, linkage operated brakes. Our tires are 55 PSI and very narrow tread wise, so our stopping footprint on the road surface is quite small. All this combined makes for very long stopping distances at even a moderate speed and on a wet surface we may have little to no braking ability at all. What this means is that we try to maintain a good amount of distance between us and the car in front. Unfortunately, many drivers take this as an invitation to pass and fill in the space which makes for a hazardous situation until we can again create safe spacing. The last concern is steering and suspension. Modern cars have power steering and suspension which keeps the tires on the road surface through out most conditions. My 1911 Hudson has Armstrong steering and the suspension is stiff, which means when I hit uneven pavement I may not be able to keep the car where I would like to. (In the old days they would say the car would walk) This can be dangerous on a corner if the car wants to “walk” into the on coming lane. So you can see there is a lot to think about when driving one of these vintage beauties.
Just a short distance out of Groveland, headed east on Highway 120, we turn right on Old Highway 120 and follow it for about 2 miles before rejoining Highway 120. Another mile or two we turn left and follow Sprague Road west for a couple of miles, rejoin Highway 120 for a short distance, then turn right on Sprague Road East. We follow this until rejoining Highway 120 at Smith Station Road. Now we are on Highway 120 for several miles passing through Buck Meadows and over the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. Rain Bow Pool is located here and it is a favorite swimming hole for locals and travelers alike. Our next piece of old road is at Hardin Flat. A right turn puts us on several miles of very scenic old highway. I believe this is part of the original Big Oak Flat/ Yosemite Highway. We rejoin Highway 120 just a mile or two outside the Highway 120 entrance to the park. At the entrance we try not to get hung up in the long line of traffic waiting to enter the park, remember that cork clutch.
Once in the park we are almost as fast as normal traffic, plus no one should be in a hurry when viewing this beautiful scenery, so I am not as self conscious about being slower than the rest of the traffic. These old cars do remarkably well on down hill grades because they are standard transmission, and we use the compression of the engine to hold the car back when going down hill. Lower gears also allow us to go up fairly steep grades, albeit at a much slower speed. From Crane Flat on it is down hill into the Valley Floor. The new highway crosses the original highway along this route; however I have never seen it from the road only the air. The original road was one way . Traffic was allowed to go down for two hours then up for two hours. You can still hike this road, and you should be able to see it from the road which enters the park via Wawona. Touring the park in an open car is by far the best way for all to enjoy the sights. We do a loop of the Valley Floor, stopping for lunch along the Merced River. When ever I stop I try to be on an incline because I have to hand crank the engine to start it. It starts well when cold but is balky when hot. However if I can just get the car rolling a little bit it will start easily by popping the clutch.
We make a complete loop of the Valley Floor and then reverse course to head back to Groveland. The entire trip takes most of the day and puts us back into Groveland just in time for dinner. We have gone back in time when the pace was much slower and retraced, as much as possible, the original route into Yosemite National Park. This trip would have taken at least two days, and perhaps more, in 1911.
Maybe on your visit to Yosemite National Park you will see some old cars doing as we did. Enjoy them, talk to their owners (generally they are proud to tell you about them), and remember that their drivers have a lot to think about, especially stopping, so give them room, and enjoy a safe day in the grandeur of Yosemite National Park.
Capt. Larry “Sez” Jobe
Driving an old car on modern highway’s and with modern traffic presents some obvious and not so obvious problems. For sure our slow speed is an aggravation for faster traffic, so we do our best to keep the pace up when on the regular highway and try to pull over whenever possible and prudent. I say prudent because pulling over and stopping on an incline means starting out going up-hill which is hard on the old cork clutch, and then gaining speed back is another matter. Usually when we pull over in a passing lane people are able to get by us before we have to stop and that is what we try to do. Few modern day drivers realize how little stopping power old cars have. Modern four wheel power disc brakes with anti skid have all but eliminated most braking problems and allow the modern day driver to stop in the shortest distance. Our 1911 Hudson has brakes only on the rear wheels and they are primitive drum type, non-power, linkage operated brakes. Our tires are 55 PSI and very narrow tread wise, so our stopping footprint on the road surface is quite small. All this combined makes for very long stopping distances at even a moderate speed and on a wet surface we may have little to no braking ability at all. What this means is that we try to maintain a good amount of distance between us and the car in front. Unfortunately, many drivers take this as an invitation to pass and fill in the space which makes for a hazardous situation until we can again create safe spacing. The last concern is steering and suspension. Modern cars have power steering and suspension which keeps the tires on the road surface through out most conditions. My 1911 Hudson has Armstrong steering and the suspension is stiff, which means when I hit uneven pavement I may not be able to keep the car where I would like to. (In the old days they would say the car would walk) This can be dangerous on a corner if the car wants to “walk” into the on coming lane. So you can see there is a lot to think about when driving one of these vintage beauties.
Just a short distance out of Groveland, headed east on Highway 120, we turn right on Old Highway 120 and follow it for about 2 miles before rejoining Highway 120. Another mile or two we turn left and follow Sprague Road west for a couple of miles, rejoin Highway 120 for a short distance, then turn right on Sprague Road East. We follow this until rejoining Highway 120 at Smith Station Road. Now we are on Highway 120 for several miles passing through Buck Meadows and over the South Fork of the Tuolumne River. Rain Bow Pool is located here and it is a favorite swimming hole for locals and travelers alike. Our next piece of old road is at Hardin Flat. A right turn puts us on several miles of very scenic old highway. I believe this is part of the original Big Oak Flat/ Yosemite Highway. We rejoin Highway 120 just a mile or two outside the Highway 120 entrance to the park. At the entrance we try not to get hung up in the long line of traffic waiting to enter the park, remember that cork clutch.
Once in the park we are almost as fast as normal traffic, plus no one should be in a hurry when viewing this beautiful scenery, so I am not as self conscious about being slower than the rest of the traffic. These old cars do remarkably well on down hill grades because they are standard transmission, and we use the compression of the engine to hold the car back when going down hill. Lower gears also allow us to go up fairly steep grades, albeit at a much slower speed. From Crane Flat on it is down hill into the Valley Floor. The new highway crosses the original highway along this route; however I have never seen it from the road only the air. The original road was one way . Traffic was allowed to go down for two hours then up for two hours. You can still hike this road, and you should be able to see it from the road which enters the park via Wawona. Touring the park in an open car is by far the best way for all to enjoy the sights. We do a loop of the Valley Floor, stopping for lunch along the Merced River. When ever I stop I try to be on an incline because I have to hand crank the engine to start it. It starts well when cold but is balky when hot. However if I can just get the car rolling a little bit it will start easily by popping the clutch.
We make a complete loop of the Valley Floor and then reverse course to head back to Groveland. The entire trip takes most of the day and puts us back into Groveland just in time for dinner. We have gone back in time when the pace was much slower and retraced, as much as possible, the original route into Yosemite National Park. This trip would have taken at least two days, and perhaps more, in 1911.
Maybe on your visit to Yosemite National Park you will see some old cars doing as we did. Enjoy them, talk to their owners (generally they are proud to tell you about them), and remember that their drivers have a lot to think about, especially stopping, so give them room, and enjoy a safe day in the grandeur of Yosemite National Park.
Capt. Larry “Sez” Jobe
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