is it just me or has anyone else been so freaking scared to drive there first build? every little thing I hear or see that doesnt seem right gets me on edge and think you have it all jacked up
geez, you live in Nebraska... I hear they have some rural roads there Imagine a new build in Metropolis USA. If you tried to go slow, they'd run you over...and no place to pull over if you want to check something. Find a place where nobody else is, and drive it. Bring a jack, just in case you drive the wheels off of it.
Once you get used to the song its playing they that all goes away.You get to know what is normal and what isn't.
I can deal with anything going on, except for one thing... true low speed death wobble. Your live flashes before your eyes.. ..as well as things not bolted or welded good enough. I can deal with no brakes and I even lost steering once as a teen. Just run it with common sense...stuff that is going wrong will give warning signs.
make sure all the fluids are full, the lug nuts are tight and your cell phone is charged up then hit the road.
Man, I drove mine on the road and was waiting for the worst. After about 2 miles and nothing fell off and it stopped when I hit the brakes...... I punched it and then the smiles came. Double check your stuff and go for it.
I was so stressed, I hardly remember the start!! No BS first drive in my 53 Chev was from Victoria BC Canada, to Las Vegas!!! Didnt have a single problem except for a fanbelt. You'll be just fine.
"Death wobble" is some scary stuff man! It happened to me on my 3rd or 4th time out. I hit a pothole and a manhole at the same time and shit hit the fan!! i thought my entire front end was going to come apart. I was on a busy street and had to pull over into a driveway. After doing some research I adjusted my tire pressure and re-reamed my spindle bushings. It has been good ever since.. but it still haunts me bigtime!!!
well I drove it about 5 miles and everything seemed pretty good just a few little things like the turn signals and gauges but drove pretty strait with no shakes or shimmy`s shifted good and runs verry strong I cant wait to get the motor broke in and see what she really has, I did also have to go with a 20# heavier spring in the back
Looking back to the first drive of my first complete build 23 years ago....I should have checked ALL the fluids. And I didn't need one of those new fangled cell phones, it died within walking distance of a friend's house.
ive been building cars and bikes for around 40yrs now. and every first run scares the shit out of me.and the second and the third. do you think i might have a problem? do i worry to much? hell yeah i do . lol
I've always subscribed to Captain Ron's philosophy................ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmcsr0wt4wk Don
second trip didnt go so well, drove to the next town about 15 miles away and was pretty good untill the way home I started noticing some wet spots hitting the windshield and I started to slow down to pull over then it started getting alot worse when I got stopped it was spewing oil out of the front seal pretty fast lucky my wife was behind me to go get the trailer. now I guess its time to have a few beers to get over whining about it and tear it apart tomorrow to see where it went wrong
It's a shake down cruise. The more you drive it the more your confidence in your ride and your workmanship will grow until you won't be afraid to drive it anywhere. It's a learning process. You are learning to trust your car. It's not automatic and it can take some time sometimes. We all go through it enjoy the process and learn to laugh at the problems.
my first outing with my old 37 chevy coupe was from walterboro,sc to maxton, nc. my son was riding with me. the whole trip there i hardly said a word, and i think my son knew better than speak. we made it with no problems. on the way back , you couldnt shut me up.
Going through the same thing now myself after a three year build. Each trip takes you a little further from home. Today I called a friend to bring a tow strap. My new Mallory coil from Hot Heads took a crap. Bought a cheap Chinse replacement and I'm now on the road again. Sometimes it just takes a while to sort things out.
got it pulled apart today can see a possible problem with the seal in the timing cover it is a cheaper alum cover, but Ialso took the pan off also and noticed some metal in there not alot but some should I be worried? most is real fine but one or two are noticeably bigger
The first ride is the best ride, the one you remember most. For me.. its always foot to the floor till 70 or 80, the lift off, the overwhelming feeling that you're still alive. Last time was with the customer in his fresh 36 chev pickup, he was terrified, then beamed all over the place telling everyone who'd listen how it was...yep, the first ride is the best.
Even after a life time of first rides it gets me sometimes. Not necessarily the first one, that's usually around the block or so, no big deal. Last week I drove my 40 to a cruise night across town, first time farther then a few miles and first time in rush hour traffic and hot weather. Fresh flathead with a .125 overbore so yeah, my eyes were about glued to the temp gauge! Nervous the whole way but got there, motor a tad warm but it didn't overheat or puke. After that, the ride home was what it's all about, absolutely worry free and pure enjoyment of driving your new hot rod you been building for what seemed forever.
I remember the first in the t-bucket, nursed it out to a giant cruise at a fairground, about 40 minute ride. I lapped that fairground like nobody's business, on the way home about 2 miles from the fairgrounds it broke a rocker arm. Two nights later I was taking it on an hour drive to another town for their cruise, made it there and most of the way back. We stopped to have dinner and we came out I had a flat tire and of course no spare..lol The first ride is always interesting and I'm about to do it again in the Henry J !
In my early twenties I finished my first full custom reconstruction.I then drove the car with my dog and friends on a 15 hour + round trip from georgia to nebraska and back.First drive over 5 miles and with known battery issues.No money,no credit cards,no phone,no seat belts,no wipers,no heat.Sometimes we have to ignore the sting of fear.Still cant believe i did that.
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