Event Coverage Berthoud CO to Edmonton AB in a 59 Catalina!

So I recently bought a '59 Catalina convertible off the HAMB from Hot Rod Cowboy (Jeff........ a great guy unfortunately dealing with the estate of his Father). A buddy and I are flying into Denver on Wednesday, August 1st to drive the car north. The planned route takes us through Casper, Billings, Great Falls, Sweetgrass, Calgary and then Edmonton. Just wondering if anyone has suggestions on interesting things to check out on the US side of the trip and/or are along the route and wouldn't mind passing along contact info and location in case of emergency.
If you see us on the drive north, give us a honk! I'll provide updates during the trip if there's interest. Hope to be back home sometime Friday/Saturday. 1234 miles. Hopefully all goes well.

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

Safe travels!
Grab a coffee and a donut @ the Donut Mill in Red Deer on your way through.

 

Wrong side of the highway! lol
....... but thanks for the “safe travels”.

 

Fort Collins (just north of Berthoud), has more micro-breweries than you can count.....if you're into micro-beers. Buffalo and Sheridan WY are neat little towns, good restaurants for a lunch stop. Little Big Horn Battlefield (Custer's Last Stand), just after you get into Montana is a few miles east of the interstate. Not car related but interesting history. Share your trip with us, we love road trips!!!

 

I forgot......Pinkees Rod Shop, Windsor, CO, just east of interstate at Crossroads Boulevard, (between Loveland and Fort Collins), can check out some high end builds. They also have a micro-brewery attached called Mash Lab. https://pinkeesrodshop.com

 

If you have never been ther take a side trip through Yellowstone national park. It’s really worth it. The shoot up through glacier nat in Montana right above yellow stone. What a ride by the way nice car. I wont show this to my wife when we met she had a cat convert.

 

I second Yellowstone. In that car...man oh man what a sight

 

I'll pm you my number in case you need anything (even a beer break, lol). I live about 5 minutes off the Deerfoot

 

Thanks for all the suggestions. Definitely would love to take in Little Big Horn and Yellowstone. Keep the suggestions coming, and thanks for the contact info along the route.

 

If your going through Billings, Detour south to Red Lodge and go up Beartooth Pass and down into Cooke City and then into the East entrance of Yellowstone. Would be fantastic in that convertible. One of my favorite drives in this area. Highly recommend!

 

oh yeah, you have to check out Red Rocks amphitheatre outside Denver, and if it was me going, I'd try to catch a Broncos training camp session..

 

Love those road trips, awesome car BTW. Don't forget photos of your sojourn.

 

Been there, done that. lol
Beautiful!

 

Safe travels. And share lots of pictures of your road trip.

Sent from my hand held online shouting device.

 

So Jeff (Hot Rod Cowboy) had the tires replaced (they were dated 2004) and an alignment done for me today as well as an oil change and lube he did himself yesterday. A day away from what I hope is an enjoyable and uneventful drive.

Thanks Jeff. I really appreciate you doing what you can to help with the drive!

Photos coming. lol

 

Those cars drive so nice, the trip should be pleasant.

 

Picked up the car this afternoon, drove to Laramie including a trek up to 8600ft on Interstate 80. Car was running driving beautifully. Stopped for gas in Laramie, went to check the oil and noticed the generator smoking a bit. Started the car back up, generator was charging the battery according to the gauge. Got back onto the interstate and within half a mile the generator gauge went dead. Pulled off at the next exit and car died and smoke started. It appears the generator fried and the power feed from the generator to the gauge didn’t fare well.
Does anybody know of anyone in Laramie that could help. I do have a replacement generator that is supposed to be here by 3:30 tomorrow but need to replace the wiring from the generator to the gauge. The gauge is smoked up pretty good also so hopefully it’s not fried.

All help would be appreciated.

Off to grab a beer. lol

 

Well i and the misses was just in Laramie last Thursday on the way back from Yellowstone i know that doesn’t help you but if you have access to a computer I’m sure you can find a diagram or you tube video on wiring up the gauge. I haven’t screwed with a generator in 30 yrs forgot that part of it. Hope you get it sorted out.

 

Bummer- but at least you got it out of the way early

 

Wallace racing has the wiring diagrams if you have a laptop along. http://www.wallaceracing.com/MWire5765-330.jpg
If you are at a motel you might be able to print it out if they have a computer and printer for customers.
On my laptop if you click on it it expands to where it is easy to read.

 

Awesome car. Your road trip should be a real kick in the pants. Have fun, be safe and good luck!

Bobby

 

I would test the ammeter before connecting it. It could have been the source of the problem. Most of the ones I have seen burn up were due to the connection to the gauge is loose or corroded. There is a chance the voltage regulator is bad also. I had a 60 Merc that the contacts stuck and let some smoke out of the generator. Replaced the regulator and the generator still worked!

 

I'd be looking for a short in the wire from the regulator to the ammeter. It's a red wire in he diagram I posted.

 

Went and took a look at the car this morning. Wiring under the hood is undamaged, appeared to have a new regulator. The only crispy wiring is right at the ammeter and the ammeter looks toast. Is there a reason I couldn’t by pass the ammeter and just direct connect the red to the yellow (from the wiring diagram........ thanks for that!)? Start the car, unhook the battery, and as long as it still runs that tells me the battery is charging?

Thanks in advance.

Allan

 

Bypassing the ammeter would be the wisest thing right now. Just hook the wires together.... not a problem doing that.

 

"Generator smoking a bit" That ain't good.

If they are passing too much current, the armature will start slinging solder. The regulator determines the current output.

Or, if the voltage cutout relay sticks closed the battery will then backfeed into the generator. That will let the smoke out too.

 

The ammeter tells you the amps passing through the wire. If the gauge is removed all should be fine, you just don't know what current is passing by. Ammeters have been replaced by voltmeters anyway - you could hook one up and that'll tell you whether there's a charge or not.

Disconnecting the battery when the engine is running will tell you there's a charge at least sufficient to power the ignition. Whether it's charging the battery is another thing. I've run for a long time on a charged but not charging battery, but not in the dark!

Chris

 

Just went down to the car. I think it was a bad ammeter gauge. Gauge is melted, about 3” of insulation on each lead to the ammeter melted away as well. Removed the wires, twisted them together tightly and wrapped the F out of them. The car now starts and runs but stalls when I remove a battery cable. There’s an automotive electric place in Laramie I’m going to stop by and see if they can check the charge. I didn’t bring a multimeter.

Unfortunately the ammeter was so hot it melted the connection to the fuel gauge.

The adventure continues.

 

Ouch. A shop manual wouldn't hurt either. Generators are obsolete tech. Check the Nursing Homes?

A good motor shop is what you want, they can spool up the generator and regulator together and check that everything is working as it should, and adjust regulator for correct output. A "new" regulator may be trash, they aren't held in very high regard by the motor guys, I know that.

 

1959 was a truly watershed year for Pontiac. It was the year that Pontiac dropped the Indian emblem and went with the arrowhead for the first time. And it was the first time for the split grills. (They did revert back to a single in 1960 due to a difference in styling opinions, but from '61 to the end it was all "splits".) And, and the much advertised wide track was another first in '59 models to better match the wider bodywork styling.

The OP example looks like a great one and it's red which in my opinion is the best color for a '59.