Event Coverage Tell about your long trip in a pre-war hot rod!

Specifically:
-How far?
-How many miles per day?
-Alone or with a passenger?
-Solo or in a caravan?
-Tight schedule or leisurely pace?
-Breakdowns?
-Bad weather?
-Vandalism?

I'm considering driving my A sedan to some far- far-away events next year.
I drove my '55 Chevy coast-to-coast twice while in the Navy, but this feels more daunting.

 

This is gonna be a good thread.

 

I'll bet Squirrel could speak to this subject.

 

Did the 9-hour trip from Charleston, WV to Hershey, PA last week for the AACA fall meet. Was with a buddy in his flatty-powered '39 Ford sedan. Great trip with only issues being the time it took at fuel stops when folks came up to us asking questions about the car! Been making this trip in this car for many years. Getting there is half (or more) of the fun!

 

Andy @OL 55 ....This thread is right up your alley. Let us know about some of your many trips. Road Warrior! Bonneville, Wooloroc and countless other.

 

My wife and I took a trip to Big Fork Montana from central Illinois in our Model A. 4,000 mile round trip. Leisurely pace. No breakdowns. About 200 or so miles per day. Drove 55-60. Biggest challenge for banger 4 cylinder
engine was going up 6000 Ft Mac Donalds pass in the Montanna Rockies. I have a F 150 3 sped with overdrive and determined If I could go 40mph in 3rd uphill I would not lug Engine. I only had to downshift a couple ion times. Going down the pass the pass I was thankful for the Lincoln hydraulic brakes. The worst weather was wind. Tudor was tiring to drive. Every one we met were very friendly.
Many good stories from that trip. Pic of my wife and her brother at his house.
John

 

Been driving my avatar coupe to Bonneville for 30 plus years. 700 miles one way. A few years ago I built a teardrop trailer to have a place to sleep. I used to drive it straight through, but now I take a little more time to enjoy the ride.
Never had a break down but always carry tools and some extra parts

 

Where is Ronnie Roadster ?

 

In my coupe (avatar) about 900 miles round trip is the most I've done. I've broke down twice in this car, once a valve spring and one axle bearing. I have just short of thirty thousand on it so I guess. Tits or tires right. Had a 48 Chev Aero that we had on the east and west coasts both north and south borders. Plus all over central Canada. Had a 327, TH350 and a 9in. In 20 years car never left me down.

 

Great looking teardrop!

 

OK, here's mine. I found a '36 3-window in the classifieds in the Early Ford V8 club magazine about 35 years ago. It was a completed restoration, but had a lot of incorrect parts (e.g. '34 engine), but that was OK, because I was going to put in a modified later flathead, etc., etc., etc. Made the proper arrangements, and bought a one-way ticket from Minneapolis to Dallas. I was going to rent a car in Dallas and drive to Longville where the car was. Everything was going fine until I got to the rental car counter. The clerk took one look at my DL and told me it was expired. My birthday was the 19th of June and this was on about the 27th or 28th; I had completely forgotten about it. After a little quick thinking, I explained to her that in Minnesota, if you renewed your license before it expired, you had a 30 day "grace period" after the date of expiration to receive your new one, and that during that period, your old license was still valid. This was a complete fabrication, but the clerk bought it. I got the rental car and got to Longville about 6 PM, went to the owners house, inspected the car, (it looked real nice, but it was a "put together" car), which was all right with me, so I made the deal.

The next day, we finalized all of the paper work, and I took off. The car still had the Texas antique plates on it, which seemed to be OK. After I drove about 50 miles, the car started running sour, missing and bucking etc. I stopped and filled it up with gas, and added some diesel fuel, because I had heard it would help stop vapor lock, which I thought was my problem. I took off, and everything was great for about the next one hundred miles, when it started running rough again. Stopped, bought some tools and continued on. That afternoon, I got into Oklahoma and started north on the turnpike; (Indian Nation or something like that, I believe). More problems; running rough to the point it quit on me. Sitting on the side of the road, a couple of local boys stopped to see what was wrong, I told them what it was doing, and they figured that maybe I was out of gas. They had a 5 gallon of two-cycle mix which I bought from them. We put it in the tank, and the car started right up and ran, so I took of again.

Twenty miles down the road, it happened again. This time an Oklahoma state trooper stopped to help. I explained what was going on, and he decided it was probably out of gas again. The patrol cars in Oklahoma have a unique feature; they have a "tee" between the fuel pump and the carburetor, with a valve and a coiled up hose. All they have to do is let the car idle, open the valve, and they can give you a gallon or two to get you going. He did this, but the car still wouldn't start. On a whim, I disconnected the flex line on the firewall, and asked him to listen at the gas filler while I blew into the line. At first, I couldn't get any thing through, but all of a sudden, something let go, and he said "Hey! I can hear bubbles!". I tried to start it again, and after some cranking, it started right up. After that, It was obvious that some thing was floating around in the gas tank that would drift around and clog the pickup after a while. I thanked him, and took off again.

It was now about 4 or 5 PM, and it was getting hotter every minute. I got to Muskogee and the Bank thermometer read 104. The oil pressure gauge was showing 10 lbs, so I stopped at a service station and talked them into changing my oil to 10-40. They were about to close, but did it when I explained my plight and said I would buy a full tank of gas.

I took off again, and got to the Kansas border before dark and decided to try to make it to Pittsburg (Kansas, that is) by dark. Well I missed that one, so here I am, driving in Kansas as night falls. I was trying to keep track of my oil pressure, but after dark, it was apparent that the light in the gauge wasn't working. In an attempt to see the gauge, I reached up and turned on the dome light. Poof! There goes the single 30 amp fuse for the entire lighting circuit. Now it's after dark and I have no lights. So I tuck myself in behind a semi and make the last 30 miles to Pittsburg. I find a motel and get a room. It's Friday night in Pittsburg and, of all things, it was cruise night. I parked the '36 on the street and watched all of the cars go by and talked to a bunch of nice people.

The next morning, I bought a box of 30 amp fuses and take off. I made it to Kansas City and decided I should gas up again. I pull off the freeway and go to the nearest gas station and fill up and check the oil, adding a quart. While I'm doing this, I start looking around and realize that I'm probably in the absolute worst part of town. Had to pay through a 2 inch thick window with bars on it. I beat a hasty retreat, and am soon back on the freeway headed for Iowa. I start smelling oil and see some smoke. I pull over on the freeway, and lo and behold, in my hurry, I left my oil filler cap at the station in Kansas City. I stuffed a rag into the filler and proceeded onward. I stopped at the next station and topped off the oil and bought a couple of extra quarts.

All during this, the car would stall out every 100 or so miles. By now, i had figured out the solution was to disconnect the flex line and blow back through the line to the tank to clear the blockage. After doing this a few times, I realized that whatever was in the tank was probably floating in the tank, because it never happened if I had more than a half a tank of gas. From that point on, I made it a point to stop for gas every 80 or so miles, and never experienced the problem the rest of the way home. I got back to Minnesota about 6 PM that same night. All of those troubles, and I still made it from Longville, Texas to Prior Lake, Minnesota in two days. Remarkable,

I ended up putting in a "3/4 race" '50 Merc, a rebuilt '39 toploader, hydraulic brakes, and 4.11 gears. I now had the ultimate car I had lusted after for 40 years. Alas, it was not to be; the Merc had enough power to break any part of the drivetrain at will, but the worst part was that the car was so small inside, I was always cramped up when I drove it. It was very uncomfortable for anything but short trips. I sold it later to a local guy for about what I had in it. I heard later that it went to New Zealand for $45,000 US.

The gas tank problem? I was going to fix it, but after I got it home, it never reared it's ugly head again. Never again did I have a problem, no matter how low on gas I ran it. Whatever was in there probably dissolved.

 

Quite a few years ago I wondered how fast my 32' fiver would go so I decided to find out. I live in the Catskills now with plenty of curvy mountain roads to enjoy, but not a lot of non curvy road sections to fine out. I knew about the yearly land speed event held by the Loring Timing Assn. up in Limestone Maine. It is 612 miles from where I live to get there. I asked my wife if she was up for the ride up there in the coupe to ring it out and the answer was no thanks. Well I set out by myself. I had no idea of how far Limestone was, but I was about to find out. It took almost two days to get there. I tried to stay off the Interstates. When in got above "civilization" on I 95 in upper Maine, I drove for hours without seeing another car or truck on the road, only big signs warning of possible moose disasters. Finally I caught up to a truck pulling a race car trailer and I tailgated him till we got to the meet. On the way up there I had plenty of time to think about the possibility of trashing something mechanical in the car, but as soon as I saw that two mile runway, I didn't care, I was going for it. Just like Mickey Thompson, I walked the entire 2 mile runway to see what it looked like at slow speed. I made only one pass, but I beat the old girl as hard as I could and got it up to over 124 mph. It has a sightly modified Chevy 350, M-21 and a 3.0 9" rear. I left it at that as the thought of blowing something apart and walking home came back into my head. The ride home was just as long, but I had no regrets of the hours I spent alone in my hot rod rolling down the road with a smile on my face.
0

 

My wife and I drove our Model A roadster from our home in Ontario to Spokane, WA in 2 weeks. Mid 60's 225 Buick V6 and Turbo 350 was the driveline. Side curtains, blanket and hot water heater were installed for weather issues. Oh, yes, she was 2 months pregnant. Ran in to heavy rains first full day in, caused from tornado 200 miles south of us. Nice fellow in WI offered the use of his detail shop to dry car eongh to get side curtains, and sealing mechanism(duct tape) installed. Stopped at Wall Drug, Corn Palace, Murdo's, Mt Rushmore, Devils Tower, all sort of stops along the way. I had mounted the cruise control servo under the car, and by WY, it had stopped working. Police chief, in Cody offered use of his home lift to work on it and get it drained out. He was a hot rodder. Sherrif in Worland stopped to chat while fueling up there, another hot rodder. Drove through and spent 1/2 day in Yellowstone.
Too much to write here, but great trip, just the 2 and 1/2 of us.
Met lots of friendly people along the way, ran both interstate and 2 lanes. I think it was around 4500 miles.

 

My longest trip was just one day's drive each way; about 8.5 hrs. non stop. Just stops for food and gas here and there. My '39 Chev had 500 miles on the build when I started the trip, and it went flawlessly. 430hp SBC 350/700R4, 8.8" Ford axle with 3.73 posi. Still in primer when I made the trip and I was a bit apprehensive at first. Put a spare and tools in the trunk, but never needed them. By about halfway through the first day I began to relax and enjoy the drive. Before that I was watching gauges, and unsure how it would go. By the time I headed home I was wishing the trip was longer!

 

About 10 years ago i was able to buy a hot rod back that I had sold in 2000. It’s a 41 Willys pickup that I finished in ‘95 and had out about 30k miles on before I sold it. Typical street rod stuff Sbc 3 speed auto and an independent front end.
The truck looked virtually the same as when I sold it. The owners had added some pinstriping and some chrome to the engine. It even had the 20 year old tires on it. They are gone now.
My Dad and I flew out to Carson City Nv and drove the truck home to central Iowa. Before leaving town we stopped at a harbor freight to buy a cheap tool kit. We also stopped at wal mart for an 1157 and some sweatshirts as it was chilly there in the early spring.
The trip home was over 1600 miles and the only trouble we had was a pesky steering wheel that kept coming loose. We turned it into a 3 day trip with a stop at the speedway museum in Lincoln Ne.

It was a memorable trip with my Dad that I will never forget. We’ve had quite a few of them over the years but his health doesn’t allow him to go far from home these days.

 

....Surely hate when those steering wheels come loose.

 

Well 46’ isn’t pre war but I’ve taken it seven hours each way and the only trouble I’ve ever had on a trip is replacing a water pump or some weird issue that just made me slow down for the rest of the drive home. No real issues.

@BigJoeArt has roughly 20,000 miles in the last two years in his T taking several thousand mile trips and really past his initial “test drive” to Austin Texas he really doesn’t seem to have had many issues at all. That first drive had some wheel bearing and brake issues that were more the first thousand shake down mile issues not road trip issues. And he ate a shit load of rocker arms that weren’t up for the job of keeping up with that big roller cam. But again it never saw a trailer.

I think traveling with a group can help you feel more confident, or if that’s not an option having checkpoints along the way to meet friends. Best case you stop and have a snack and see a friend. Worse case you’ve got a buddy with a shop available.

on a long trip in an old car I tend to prefer staying with people I know along the way or air b&b’s where I have off street parking.

I can’t recall his screen name but Colton Leige has driven his fresh 32 and friends A from the Detroit area to the roc 3 or so times. I think they stopped for an oil change and that’s about it.

@CTaulbert would be another good guy to talk to. He’s driven from the Detroit area in early cars to Austin, LA, the Roc and everywhere in between a ton of times.

Seems mechanical wise if it’s a car that gets driven regularly you probably won’t have any major issues.

 

As a kid, multiple long trips in the back seat of a chopped 33 tudor from the middle of Iowa to Nationals in Memphis and St Paul, Coloradans near Estes Park, and many statewide rod runs. Flat tires, hoses breaking, big rain storms, and traveling with a group that seemed to need to stop at every gas station. There was no better way to grow up.

 

Not prewar, but pretty bold on my part. In 2005 I spent 9 months resurrecting a "behind the barn find" '53 Studebaker, which I promptly drove solo from Atlanta to Indianapolis to pick up my brother Bill and do the power tour, all the way down to Kissimmee, Florida, and back to Atlanta. I put in a proven blown 454/turbo 400, but the car needed everything else. Other than some cooling issues in Florida, the car was stellar. It even got featured in Hot Rod Magazine, which lead to me getting a job at a racecar shop.

 

Good story, did you get recycled while you were in Virginville? I'm pretty sure I did while I spent a year in the Virgin Islands.

 

Great stories! Thanks for sharing guys!!

 

Sorry Alan......

No matter how much you want it to, it DON'T Grow back! LMAO!!!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

Hey Gary,

I hope when you say "Driving my A Sedan to some far away events next year" you are including Lloydfest 2026!!!!!

God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

It’s a bell 4 spoke and it didn’t have collared bolts on it. It does now. Seems to have fixed it.
Surely a loose nut behind the wheel.

 

For over 50 years my wife and I have traveled ALL OVER the USA mainland and most of Canada in our daily drivers, by airplane and rental and 170k+ miles in my hot rods.
In the rods we mostly ride solo. When we've toured with other rods we've driven hundreds of miles to get to the start of the tour.

From the Chicago suburbs, we've been to Nova Scotia, Victoria BC, SoCal , Austin, Pensacola, Virginia Beach, and many, many places in between.
When we are going to a destination, 300 to 400 miles per day is maximum.
In all these years and miles, we've only had one breakdown that slowed us multiple nights. Luckily we were in a city where a GOOD rod friend lived which made it a minor inconvenience .
There were many years when we logged more than 8k miles. Now, I've retired from long distance touring, but I would encourage others to continue on without me.
@Just Gary send me a conversation for more precise details.
Yes, every gas stop is an adventure. But, when I'm behind the wheel, I feel INVINCIBLE.

 

@pprather good stuff!!

 

Not really a long trip but I did get bored one day. Decided to try and drive my 1938 nash lafayette to mount raineer. Mind you this car is extremely original, especially the wiring and pretty worn out flathead. Managed 40 mph all the way up 410 to the top of Chinook pass. Bout 150 mile round trip. Burned 4 quarts of 30wt. Hot at idle the oil gauge reads 5psi. With overdrive, 55 mph is the absolute end of the world.

 

I would have gone with you in a heartbeat. Stuff like that makes your blood pump.

 

Love these posts

 

@Just Gary
Next month you could do the Turkey Run Daytona , Roughly 900 miles one way
Interstate 95 , or 17, 301 , Rt1 or 29 to the panhandle Pensacola 1,200 ish