OK, I asked for it and since no one else stepped up to the plate, I'll start, but hope others will share their experiences also. First, I wish to apologize for any and all spelling and writing mistakes. English is not my native language nor have I ever received any formal eduction for it, but having used it pretty much daily for past three+ decades, I hope my writing is sufficient to convey the what I'm trying to express. As I mentioned in the "1933 Plymouth" thread, one of my more recent trips was from Riverside, CA to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and back, during which wife and I did 2756 miles in two weeks through 6 States, 4 National Parks, several State Parks, all in the comfort(?) & confines of a 85 year old vintage Hot Rod with 65+ year old drive train and technology, including 6 Volt electrical system, etc. We encountered nearly 11000ft. elevation changes, temperatures ranging from below 40*F to above 110*F and driving/road conditions including just about everything except snow or ice, though I had prepared for those too by carrying chains, just in case (I heard of current snowfall in Yellowstone less than 3 weeks before the mid-July!! beginning of our trip). During preliminary planning stages for this trip, my wife had expressed some reservations about the comfort or lack of such in my Roadster, especially for extended driving/distance periods of the journey. All her friends and siblings had also expressed concerns regarding our trip in "that thing !?!". I offered her several options, which included planes, trains & automobiles of more modern sort, all which she could switch to at any time she felt she'd had enough with discomfort in an old Hot Rod. To my surprise and that of many others, she proved to be "a real trooper" and managed to ride along the entire trip without hardly any complaints and in the end, she even proclaimed the trip having been "EPIC" and what clearly made it more so was the car !! Oh yeah, the car: 1932 (and a half) Plymouth PB Sport Roadster with '52 DeSoto 276" Hemi, '49/'52 Dodge 3-spd stick and '51 Dodge rear axle + brakes, original body and frame with boxed engine bay sections + original front axle & brakes. Other than folding top (for shade or rain protection), no power assist or "creature comforts" of any kind, not even radio (but who needs one with cool enough car anyway ;-). As mentioned earlier, the car has no technological features that would not have been available in early 1950s, as that was my guiding principal when I built it nearly 30 years ago and have been enjoying it tens of thousands of miles since. Pre-trip prep, which included fabrication of rear spare tire mount for two different sizes without wheels, installation of new tires, replacement of a broken leaf in RH front spring and some exhaust hangers, annual/general service, etc :
Sir, I salute you. Epic is an under statement. I have nothing but respect, for folks like you & your wife. The one's who step up, call their shot and deliver. VERY well done.
Welcome to the HAMB! What a great car you built. I know it takes courage and passion to mount the road in a vintage car. I've done it but not as long as your trip. Send us more details of the car and pics ...........................
Thanks guys ! This wasn't my first extended road-trip with this car, but so far single most longest. In last 5-6 years I've done one or two 1000-1500 mile trips per year with this car, usually including my annual "pilgrimage" to attend/spectate many of the Carmel/Monterey/Laguna Seca/Pebble Beach car week events. I've also done many across US, coast-to-coast (and back) type trips with variety of other vintage cars too, most of them more "modern" examples from late '50s & early '60s, but for now, let's just stick to traveling with Hot Rods. Take off @ 4am, couple of months ago: To be continued...
Welcome to the HAMB, fitting place for your Hot Rod! So, you've been Dodging bullets on your journey's. Hope it stays that way and keep on pushing those miles.
Sounds like your wife's family and friends underestimated you both. Congratulations on the EPIC road trip,I hope you both rack up many more miles and smiles together in your hot rod! HRP
Make sure to pack accordingly. Everything on the table in front of the car demonstrates what was in the trunk throughout most of this trip, including all her personal luggage (shapes & sizes simulated by the 3 large cardboard boxes), spare parts, tools, coolers/food/water and all other "gear", etc. The green dufflebag seen in other pictures strapped to front chassis rails had my personal luggage.
This has the makings of a great story. I just want to see how you got all of that in the car as I doubt it would fit in the back of my pickup. My wife and I did a similar road trip to Texas and back in my pickup in 1980 5000+ miles with no windows and every weather condition you can imagine. We even hit Yellowstone on the way back. Keep the story an photos coming.
... First day through California and Nevada desert was rather uneventful as we were just trying to get it done a.s.a.p. Neither one of us likes sun baked hot temperatures, which by early afternoon were creeping up to and above 110* F. For last couple of hours of driving we had to put the top up to help alleviate our misery. When we finally decided to call it a day in Mesquite, NV it was already mid afternoon. We quickly got us a room in some casino-hotel. Next morning we got up and going before sunrise again in attempt gain some mileage before the heat would become unbearable, but we also had couple of interesting sightseeing stops we wanted to do in Southern Utah. First was Kolob Canyon and once up at the vista point we decided to do some hiking to stretch our legs a bit. By the time we were leaving Kolob (around 9am), temperatures were getting pretty darn nasty again. Our next stop was at Cedar Breaks National Monument.... ... and that's where I discovered my recently acquired pre-war vintage German altimeter was a bit off at higher elevations. It only showed a little over 9000ft at Cedar Breaks overlook (+/- 10350ft.). It has turned out to be pretty accurate up to about 6000-7000ft. It was also here the carburation mixture exhibited some slight misbehavior first time, but nothing too bad. To be continued...
Damn son you guys must be very creative packers. That is a ton of stuff for that little Mopar to haul around. Great story keep um coming...
I've been on several long distance roadster trips throughout the years and reading about yours brought back some good memories . Thanks for sharing .
Luv that car...I would say your experiencing Heaven without actually being there...Just awesome, perfect and all those other things...and please do keep us up on the adventure in paradise...
Most likely there is a calibration screw on the back, when you are at a known elevation adjust the screw so the needle to corresponds to the correct figure. Great pictures. Happy motoring!
Subscribed, that sort of thing is on my bucket list when I retire in 2019. Keep the updates coming as we tag along for the ride
Sub'd. Have to admit though, I like coupes a lot more than rag tops. But there isn't much more fun than interesting and challenging auto trips, eh? Gary
awesome trip,...heck, I just wanna make a trip around the perimeter of Iowa and haven't done that yet!...good luck!
Thanks for all the nice comments, but I sure hope others will start contributing with their experiences.
I hear you about an open car in the heat. I can remove the top on my '30 sedan and sitting still it can get hot. What did you do about leaving the car in parking lots? like overnight at hotels? Oh, great photos!
Utilized any and all shaded spots available... Well, depending on forecast and parking availability at given locations, either left it up front as is... P.S. In spite of appearance given by multiple vehicles in front of this cool vintage hotel (in Soda Springs, ID) celebrating it's centennial, we turned out to be only guests in it that night.
... or handed the keys to valet along with driving & covering instructions, like here at the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone where they left it up front under the covered entrance (seen at right) and were treating us like celebrities(!?!) or nobility(!?!) throughout our 2 night stay... ... or just covered it myself...
The Jalopy Journal
