I'm looking at a car in Vegas, and I'm thinking about flying in and driving it home. It's about 1500 miles however so I'm a little leery about making the trip in an unknown (but supposedly solid) car. I'll also be going solo. Does this sound like an adventure or just plain stupid???
I probably wouldn't do it, but your timing is pretty good. Maybe you could go get it over Easter weekend and hook up with some people headed back from Viva Las Vegas.
I bought a car in Connecticut and flew out planning to drive it home to Seattle. He was a little bit overconfident in the mechanical condition of the car. I shipped it home and flew back. So if you fly down dont be surprised if you may have to fly back.
I've done it before....do your homework on the car before you fly out. And check it over real good before you leave. Put together a survival bag of tools and spare parts and go for it.
I am flying out tomorrow to do this same thing. 51 lincoln in SF, and I am in PHX. It'll be a hell of an adventure. DO IT!
I actually did get another HAMBer to take a look, and he said it was solid and sounded good and would make the drive back. That's what got me thinking about doing it. Then I remembered I'd be going solo for 1500 miles in a relatively unknown car, and that's what got me doubting myself. BTW, that was the coolest thing-- the HAMBer going out to look at the car. I posted up about the car, and in a couple of hours I got a call from the guy. The next day he took a look and gave me the scoop. How cool is that, from a guy I've never met?? The HAMB is a cool deal...................
If you take the northern route, it might be better getting home. I'm not sure where Edna TX is, but the route through Colorado and south would be more likely to provide help in case of trouble. I've driven from Houston to Vegas via 10 and then north and there's LOTS of dead road west of El Paso that you can go a LONG time without seeing folk or anything bigger than a berg. Take plenty of cash and your AAA card and enjoy the adventure.
IF you take the northern route I have some buddys in Albuquerque and Amarillo. Then drop down through Lubbock were I am. Have any trouble in those areas and call me on my cell at 806-790-4601 Your not living close enough to the edge if you dont fall off once in a while! Never doubt yourself, only others.
You couldn't have picked a more desolate stretches of road in the country if you tried. I-10 is a lot of nothing west of San Anton in my opinion until you get to Vegas. Do it though. Be a hell of a good story and experiece. Search "Goodman" on here he drove LA to FL in a chopped channeled A coupe that he bought!!! I did a South Dakota to Houston last August, with a new rod, and incorporated the HAMB Drags. Great time!
Looks like you finally found something. What is it? As far as the drive, go for it! People used to drive across the country in old cars all the time, plane tickets were much more expensive, and this was before cell phones. Make sure you have that valuable tool with you, by the way.
It sounds like an adventure and or just plain stupid. I'd fly out with plans on driveing back but the understanding that most folks don't really tell you the truth about a car. I sold a galaxie to a guy in Houston that he could have driven home a couple of years ago. I was driveing it every day. He towed it home instead. he drove it a week or so and replaced a wheel cylinder. No biggy on the road, but better at home in the drive way. But I drove out to kansas to buy a 57 Chrysler that needed a back glass. It was a driver, I had to fix the brakes before I could test drive it. I drove it around the block and left it where I saw it. Ya just never know.
I drove my newly bought 72 F-100 from Houston to Colorado Springs in October...With a trailer behind it and everything I own!! Then in December I packed it up again and hauled everything I own from Colorado Springs back to Vegas! Just changed the oil before I left, blew out the air filter with compressed air, and took all the drums off to make sure nothing was missing/broken/leaking in the braking system. I think people make a huge deal about taking spares for every part on the car. If the car is in good mechanical shape, and you're just cruising at 55 on the highway, you will make it there. I wouldn't hesitate to drive my truck cross-country today after it proved itself to me by moving all my stuff twice. Just get AAA for the towing services, charge your cell phone, bring water and a few tools, and roll the windows down and cruise! Nick
Just thought of something else, make sure the cig lighter works on the car. Might want to keep the cell phone charged. If you go down I-40, don't detour to Sedona without double or triple checking the brakes. Fun road. Dan
Like the said cell phone and apre trip check should do it, if you want to make it real exciting take the US50, just joking about the 50. I bought a 1961 F100 from Medford OR and drove it down US50 only used quart of oil every 3 hours (the seller forgot to tell me about that, rear main leak on a Y block) but was fine, yet I bought a 1967 GMC to do a parts trip and did 10,000 miles in 4 weeks, it broke down 22 times and had to replace the motor within the first 2,000 miles, broken rings. So you can not be as unlucky as me but here I am still here to tell the stories and boy do I have some stories about good folks and some long waits on the highways. Dont use the 10 but most any other way further north should be fine and dont rush it. Best wishes, Russ.
I'm in Amarillo. I-40 runs right thru here. Cadillac Ranch on the west side, right on I-40 need help call me at (806) 670-1849 Vance
I got the car back to Texas</ST1, but I sorta wussed out and drove up with my Dad pulling a car dolly just in case the car wouldn't make it back. It turned out to be a smart move, because when I got there the brakes had very little pedal-- the pedal went almost to the floor in fact. I was able to bleed the brakes and got some air out, but the master cylinder must be shot because the pedal still went almost to the floor. It was better, but still not good. <O</OI was still excited about the car, so I paid the guy and took off with my dad following me. He didn't really like the idea of me driving it through downtown Vegas on the freeway without good brakes, and looking back it was probably pretty stupid, but like I said I was pumped. I got it across the Hoover</ST1 dam, very carefully and with the help of the emergency brake, and made it all the way to the<ST1 Grand Canyon f</ST1or a total of about 250 miles. The brakes were almost totally gone at that point, and I was tired anyway so I put it on the car dolly and pulled it home the rest of the way. One thing I noticed, and I've never driven an old hot rod so this may just be the way they drive, but that sucker darted all over the road when the pavement wasn't really smooth. I was going 70 on I40 through the hills, and every once and awhile I'd hit a rough spot in the road and it was all I could do to hold it on the road. The front end seems tight with no slack. It has a king pin setup in the front and coil overs in the rear with a 4 link. All that looked really new and in good shape. The tires are Coker bias ply-- L78-- 15 rear and 6.7-- 15 on the rear. The engine ran great and the trans shifed perfect, and I kinda thought it would since they are out of a 95 Vette. Strange combo for a 29 Model A, but it worked pretty well and had plenty of power. The car has kind of a 60's retro look which I like, although it's got a lot of busy looking crap on it that I may remove eventually (spider webs and other doo dads). Anyway, thanks to everyone for the help on this deal. And especially thanks to Jason who went to look at the car in Vegas for me. I owe him one for sure.<O</O
May be a problem with the front end geometry causing some bump steer or maybe just an alignment problem. Put a pic of the front end on here so we can see what kind of steering set up it has.
Bias plys are going to wander on the road a bit more that radials that you are used to. Could that be what is going on? Shouldn't be jerking hard or "darting", but they will feel different. Edit: Oh, and Congrats. Looks like a nice car!
I say go for it. I've done St Louis to Philly in a 57 pickup over a weekend. Definitely no problems nodding off in that thing. Good to stop every hour or so in the first couple just to check over things. Burned oil so as mentioned have oil, water, and brake fluids and a couple basic tools on hand. Also drove a 65 El Camino from Halifax Nova Scotia to philly over a weekend, but that was a driver so no problems other than an electrical one. About 6 or so hours into the trip, somewhere in northern Maine late at night, no moon, all lights in the car went out. Got off the road without running into anything. Got a good shot of adrenaline out of it. A flashlight is good to have! No blown fuses, messed with the main wiring harness connector and hit the road again. Made it back no problem.
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