I've been through NM and there are a lot of places where the cars on blocks would provide the parts needed. Hope it doesn't come to that. I've always scoffed at the 'parts in every town' rationale for using the SBC, but here we are. Hope he can get the stuff. This morning here is the first chill of the season. He picked a good time, although his wife and new mother might not agree.
He’s headed to Amarillo on 7 cylinders. The local Napa must have been out and I know they are in a hurry to get to Oklahoma. I think it’s probably to big of a cam and this set of heads and stock valve train doesn’t like it. if a 3ooo mile road trip in under a week is good for anything it’s finding the week spot. 80+ mph for 800 miles a day will find whatever doesn’t work. But like you said it’s a sbc it’ll get him home one way or another
Well, as I posted in the other thread, it's the best 'fuse' to have. Better than pulling studs, or bending/grinding stuff. I'm not well schooled on SBCs, but didn't some aftermarket come with a longer slot in the bottom of the rocker? https://www.autozone.com/engine/per...chevy-steel-long-slot-rockers-arms/750769_0_0 If that's the root cause, those studs should be unhappy too. Best to swap them after he gets home.
Snapped a motor mount in half in Tampa Texas. Ratchet strapped it more or less together and kept going.
Holy shit! I was excited for the updates and story of this trip, but damn, he's having some hard luck!
Looks like he made it to pawhuska for the night. He made it! I think he lunched his 4th rocker, cracked his distributor cap and is using a ratchet strap as a motor mount. But he made it more or less on time, don’t think anything could stop him at this point.
Saw Joey yesterday at the roc. He’s got about 300 more miles to get home leaving earlier this morning. He’s got quite the laundry list of shit broke and to fix but I think it should get him home.
Had a tube lose its functionality south of KC, the south Omaha boys got him sorted. Should be in the middle of Kansas City in about 25-30 minutes. I’d say he’d be home around. 3
Are you guys ready for a story? lets start at 3:21 on Saturday October 5th. After a night of packing, a few hours of sleep, and making coffee, I started out. My first stop was in Atchison Kansas. This was about the time I realized that the top was gonna make getting in and out a real pain. but it also made the chilly morning air not that much of a problem. I hopped onto the interstate at Topeka (after a detour through a neighborhood, Whoops) and I got into a nice groove, buzzing down the road. But at some point I realized that my headlights looked a little dim, and then realized that my driver side lightbulb had no low beam. So I drove with just high beams for the rest of the time it was dark. I stopped in Junction city Kansas for a fillup and a break. averaged around 20mpg for this first leg. I stopped a few more times on my way out, chasing air pressure in the tires, trying to lessen a bounce in the passenger front at 80+mph. I finally stopped in Salina to re-tighten the throttle linkage on the carb. Ah to be oblivious, hopeful and somewhat rested. I didn't yet know how this day was gonna go. I also wrapped the oil breather in an attempt to keep my windshield clean. it didn't work, mostly cause it wasn't oil. but at this point I'm still ignorant and happy. I stopped to get some coffee at a Casey's, and found some guys with old cars, that asked if I was going a few miles west for a car show. they didn't know what to think when I told them I was headed for Albuquerque. I drove on headed for great bend. I made it to Great Bend and stopped at the O'reilys for a headlight and a quart of oil. I also filled up with gas in Great Bend, and promptly lost a half hour retracing my steps when I left my gas cap on my trunk, and it fell off when I rolled out of town. after I got lucky and found it in a ditch, I was off again. After stopping for a bathroom break, I checked and topped off oil, and promptly forgot that cap too. luckily it rode there (to the left front of the carb) till I stopped again and replaced it. eventually I hit Hugoton KS and was tired of my water temp spiking when I slowed down. After a break for a sandwich, I went to a car wash and washed the radiator down thinking it may help. it didn't help. It was then I thought to look and see how much water was in it... turns out water cooling only works if you have water. so I added a Overflow and a gallon or so of water, and it worked great the rest of the trip. High class, I know. Soon I entered Oklahoma, and found more new freinds. and after getting beat to death on the rough roads of Oklahoma, I eventually made it to New Mexico. I cleaned off the bugs, and headed down the road feeling good. well, for a while anyway. I topped a hill just poking along following someone and waiting for a place to pass, and all of a sudden it started popping and banging. then it started backfiring out of the carb. as I rolled to a stop I racked my brain as to what it could be. I checked my phone. No Service. Shit. I checked everything I could think of and didn't find anything out of place. Luckily a very nice guy, Juan stopped and checked that I was ok. We double checked everything we could think, and found a couple fouled plugs, so after moving my car into a driveway of a ranch, Juan drove me to the nearest town back the way I came, 33 miles, to Clayton NM and the nearest parts store, when I got new spark plugs which did... Nothing. So I started pulling plug wires, and found if I pulled the number 4 spark plug wire, the motor ran. So Juan followed me down the road, 44 miles further west, on 7 cylinders, to springer NM. This is where Juan had to split off, and I went into a gas station to see if I could find anybody in town that could help. I got directed to the local park, where there was a festival underway that had apparently had a car show earlier in the day. After fumbling around a bit, I called my buddy willy, and he nailed it with a diagnosis of a broken rocker arm. (photo taken the next day) So after talking around to multiple people, A guy, Chester, who had a blown sbc rear engine dragster in his trailer, said he had some extra rockers, and could help get me fixed up, but he lived 68 miles away in Las Vegas NM. So I pulled the plug, rockers, and pushrods from the number 4 cylinder. and I followed Chester to his house, running on 7. once at his house, Chester offered a new plan, Sleep. It was 11pm, and I had been up for over 20 hours. he offered the bed in his RV and that we could figure the car out in the morning in daylight. I thought that sounded like a great idea. So 20+ hours, and over 700 miles from home, I settled in.
I don't care what anyone says, this is the best thread on the HAMB. The adventure stories are just as good as the build itself...
Day 2, Sunday October 6th. As I rolled out of my luxury accommodations, I found Chester searching his spare parts for a pushrod to replace my bent one. As its an oddball 7.2" length, due to the stock style roller lifters, He didn't have one, and we proceeded to straighten the old one on a 2x4. Once that was fixed, We turned to finding a rocker suitable for replacing the old one, and we found one in a truck he was parting out. Once Chester showed me how to set lash, and we double checked a few other points, I was on my way. Filled with fuel I was able to make my way through Albuquerque and south on 25, where I stopped again for fuel. After yet another fuel stop in Magdalena NM, I made my way down into the valley where I saw the very impressive NRAO "Very Large Array" of satellite dishes. As I continued into the mountains, My car was less and less happy about the elevation, the little 2 barrel practically drowning the poor motor in fuel. I eventually went over the continental divide at over 7500 feet above sea level. and after what seemed like forever, I made it to Show Low AZ. I continued from there, to Payson and then down to Phoenix. Nobody told me how many mountains are in-between those places. By the time I hit Phoenix, I was tired of mountains and stupid drivers. Luckily it went smoothly, and I was able to avoid interstate through town to get to Chip's. After 600+ miles and countless hours, I made it. And we celebrated, As you should. With Mexican food. After dinner, Chip took me for a drive though town and explained some neat local history, and we finally came back at his place, where I unloaded my stuff and hit the sack. .
As we follow along I was thinking, did you run the new Anderson air filter? I was curious how it did or didn’t effect mpg. It also came to mind when you mentioned reaching thin air.
Joey, it's been a pleasure knowing you, in no small part because I love your particular brand of crazy. I always tell people, uneventful trips are fun in the moment, but eventful ones give you something to talk about for years.
Day 3, Monday October 7th. This day started kinda slow, but after a game of fetch with Calhoun and Tin-Tin, we laid a game plan for the day. this started with giving my car a once over so we could do whatever it needed. So I give you: Chip fondling carburetors. We didn't find anything too out of place on the car, save for the rear brake mount bolts being loose.. On both sides... with that disaster averted Chip gave me a tutorial on how to lay out and punch louvers. and after helping strip another hood and prep it for lovers, Chip decided that my car needed some louvers. So we tore the rear of my car apart. I took the turtledeck off so I could work on it in the shade. Good thing too, cause come to find out, there are 9 rivets, and 5 spot welds holding each hinge on to the decklid and trunk. but I persevered and before you could say "Leaks Amore" we were punching slots! He even let me punch the last two rows! Not too bad, almost looks like he knows what he's doing. We finally hit the part of the day when even the shade was getting miserable, and decided to go pick up some parts and drive around. So we hopped in the hot rod central shuttle (with AC!) and headed out. once we got back from traversing the town and seeing more historic spots, we proceeded to stick my car back together (with a break for whattaburger) and after another late night talking car and history nonsense, decided to hit the hay.
Day 4, Tuesday October 8th. The day started off with another game of fetch with the dogs, and then Chip had to spend the morning taking his Mother to the hospital. So I decided to run around Topless in Phoenix! I decided I'd start the day taking a 30 minute drive down to Chandler, and visiting Squeeg's Kustoms. I was not Disappointed. there was ton of killer hot rods and kustoms there, and I got to see the chassis (and pictures of the body) of his Wild nitro hemi powered Dodge A100. after chatting with Doug and a bunch of his guys, I headed back over to the Haifleys ( we visited the night before on our parts run) I got prime parking. I hung out here for a few hours, and helped a little with some stuff on the vicky they were debuting at the ROC. I also helped wash Doug's roadster down. and on top of that, we had pizza and I got to pet shop dog maggie. It was a solid day overall, and I went back to Chip's where we buttoned my car up, ate del taco and fogged my decklid with some purple paint. I was to meet the Haifleys at their shop at 6 to leave out for Oklahoma. . Side note, I got to see Chips bucket in person finally, and I totally forgot to take a picture. But it looks great with 3 deuces and SP tops. kinda like this artwork I drew for him. Chip got this photo when we were shuffling cars for the night. . .
The first day of your trip sounds like a months worth of traveling on the road. I love your determination to keep moving forward. Speaking from experience, its usually the trips we've made that involve breakdowns in the middle of nowhere, that are the most memorable. Thanks for sharing your journey! P.S. though its hotter than the surface of the sun, I sure miss Arizona!
Day 5, Wednesday October 9th. After saying goodbyes to chip, and putting all my stuff in the trunk, I headed out. I got the Haifleys before the sun came up fully and helped them load up. eventually we were all present and ready to go. we found our way out of the city, and met at a gas station before we hit the mountains to Payson. as we were going up and down the mountians, my car kept needing to be cleaned out, and finally I just took off ahead and tried to stay out of traffic. So after some 80+ downhills and some sharp hairpins, we got to Payson. That was when I got a reality check. The bolt that holds my tierod to the passenger spindle, decided to jettison the nut at some point coming down the mountain. So I was only steering the driver side wheel. after I recovered from almost shitting my pants, I dug around and found an extra nut, and Doug had a couple wheel washers that fit to cover the shank. The bolt must have been loose for my trip to Phoenix, cause it ate through a cotter pin. once I got that sorted I filled up and we were off. we hit major road delays in the mountians between Payson and Show low, and lost an hour or more just sitting in line. this meant once we got to Show Low, we had a decision to make. We decided that we had lost to much time, and needed to just head north on hwy 77 to Holbrook and hop on I40 to make time. It was cool to go through Holbrook with hot rods, and see all the cool buildings and signs. We stopped in Mentmore for a fuel stop and then again the Sky City Casino the whole time we were on I40, 3 things were true. 1. Semi Trucks. SO MANY SEMI TRUCKS. 2. Its ROUGH. like wow It was bad, and It comes back to bite me too. 3. It was beautiful . so many killer views and lookouts into valleys. I have so many pictures out my windows of this stuff. We stopped again in Moriarty and fueled the cars, And then parked and ate at the diner there. we decided Tucumcari would be our end point for the night, and headed out. then it happened. it had been running off for a bit, and then all of a sudden it started farting out the carburetor again. You didn't have to tell me twice what was happening, it was a broken exhaust rocker again. but this time we were in the middle of nowhere. on interstate 40. So I buckled down and pulled the cover off, where to my surprise, I found not one, but two rockers broken! #6 intake and #8 exhaust this time. I don't know how long the intake rocker had been broken, as I didn't hear anything too unusual. I pulled the rockers off #8, and took out the pushrods and spark plug. I then replaced the broken rocker in #6 with the good rocker from #8, giving me seven cylinders again. All this, by flashlight on the side of interstate40 with semi's whizzing by. I finally buttoned up and made it to the truck stop at Santa Rosa, where I could check over everything under the big lights. We determined there wasn't gonna be much to do other than keep going, so we trudged on the 50+ miles to Tucumcari where we re-convened in the parking lot. after searching and calling everyone we could think of, we determined our best bet would heading the 100+ miles to Amarillo in the morning. The guys let me bum a spot on their floor for the night, and I slept, after 20+ hours and 600+ miles, like a rock. .
I like this whole thing, except your issues. People don't always appreciate the beauty of the arid southwest, seems you got into it. I'm also liking how close you got to the Purple for the trunk lid respray!
I think he keeps a few cans handy. I keep thinking one of those busted rockers would make a great key chain…. Until you had to stick it in your pocket lol.
The Jalopy Journal
