HAMB Relay - Western Kentucky (Island,Ky) to Charlotte, NC

Good evening. I wanted to check and see if anyone would be traveling from western Kentucky to Charlotte with some free space in a truck. I purchased an engine and was hoping someone could pick it up on the way through. I know the Goodguys Show is in Charlotte this weekend and maybe someone would be willing to help.

Thanks for looking.
Matt

 

Early morning bump.
Let me offset your fuel cost getting to the Goodguys show at Lowes Motor Speedway.
Thanks again,
Matt

 

Still looking for some free space in a truck bed.
Thanks for looking,
Matt

 

My apologizes if the bumps are annoying, just need as many people to see this as possible.

Thanks for looking,
Matt

 

Back to the top.
Thanks for looking.

 

Why not say Owensboro, KY, rather than Island (which is a podunk nobody more than 10 miles away has heard of). Just curious, what kind of engine?

 

I'm not familiar with the area, that's why I put western Kentucky in the ***le. The address the guy a bought it from is in Island.

The engine is a Chrysler Industrial Hemi. The seller has a hoist to load and I've got a hoist to unload.

 

I took a day off from the office and went to pickup the engine. I left out at a quarter till one in the morning with a quarter tank of gas and high hopes of being back home in time to p*** out some candy to any trick or treaters that may happen to stop by.

As is typical with most of my trips to unknown places, I took a couple of "sight seeing detours" that added to the time and distance of my trip. It's funny that missed the one exit I knew I needed to take. I drove right by the I-40 interchange in Statesville and finally caught on that I was in the wrong place about 40 miles later. At 2:11 AM, I turned around in Elkin at the Wilco, filled the tank, and drained the lizard. 24 gallons at $2.27/gallon for the truck and a couple bottles of H2O, a pack of Mallo Cups, and some chapstick and I was back on the road. There's nothing like backtracking at 2AM to sour the mood.

With the early morning detour behind me, I put the old Daily Driver Dodge in the wind. I didn't stop again until 5:55 AM in Jefferson City, TN. The two bottles of water I had drunk were calling so I stopped for a pit stop and breakfast. A sausage biscuit from Hardee's was the preferred breakfast on the road. $1.42 for the meal (I still had some water) and I was back on the road.

I made good time through the mountains in NC and TN. My next stop was for fuel at the Shell station in Gordonsville, TN. 25.41 gallons at @ $2.50/gallon and the truck was full. I’ve got to insert a little grip here regarding “Pay at the Pump”. I am a “PATP” type of person. I choose to PATP so that I can avoid going into the store. Why then when I want a receipt am I required to see attendant? This always irritates me. A short visit to the facilities and I was back on the road.

I pulled into Taylors’s Dairy Freeze in the small community of Island, Kentucky at 11:15 AM. I purchased the engine from Mr. Taylor via an Ebay auction. A short drive over to his house and the monster was loaded and strapped down for the trip back home. I stopped back by the Dairy Freeze to pick up some lunch for the road.

Being born the 1975, I don’t exactly know what a 50’s buger stand would look like. The Dairy Freeze in Island is what I picture as a small town 50’s burger stand. I pulled in and parked the truck and walked up to one of the two windows. I placed my order for two BLT’s and a large Iced Tea (sweet) and went back over to the truck to wait for the loudspeaker to announce my number. The old Hemi caught the eye of a few fellows waiting on their lunches. A half hour of car talk later and I was back on the road. It was around 12:15 when I pulled out on the way back home. $5.00 for two BLT’s (they threw in the tea). I may have just been really hungry, but those were two of the best BLT’s ever and the tea was perfect. If you’re ever in Island, stop by and visit Taylor’s Dairy Freeze. Tim’s a car guy and makes a mean BLT.

I made my second “sight seeing detour” on I-65 near the KY-TN border. I meant to take highway 31-41 over to I-40. After missing my exit I decided to continue on I-65 to Nashville and catch I-40 there. I don’t really even want to know how much time and mileage my error cost me. The worst part was that it put me driving through Chattanooga in rush hour.

My final stop was for fuel and facilities in Silver Point, TN. 24.20 gallons at $2.44/gallon, a couple granola bars, and a pack of gum for the mountain drive and I was back on the road.

I pulled back into the driveway at 9:11 PM. I’m not happy that I missed my first Halloween at my new house but I’ve got my Hemi. I didn’t take many photos along the road but I’ll post picks in my build thread. The trip stats are shown below.

Hemi Trip:

12:45 AM - 9:11 PM = 20.43 total hours
1191 miles
58.29 mph average

If responding, please post in the build thread.
Thanks,
Matt