I remember those cars when they were taxi cabs all over the country but I've never actually rode in one or even looked in one I don't think considering the outside of that car is fairly small for a 50s sedan That thing has a ton of legroom It actually looks comfortable.
Lol 1000 thumbs up... It might be because it's going on 3:00 in the morning but I got a good laugh out of that
It's a big car! Had fun driving around W PA in the 15-30 degree weather. The heater works, but the little six just doesn't seem to make enough heat to heat up a big old car. The defroster works ok, and the wipers and washers work ok. Got done with the checkpoints and to the hotel early. Lots of other cars still out when it started the freezing rain around 6pm We were out to dinner, the drive back to the hotel was fun! slow going, no issues. Saw two trains coming around the Horseshoe Curve in Altoona, that was fun! They met in the middle, passed each other.
It seems the Rally masters missed a page out of the "When not to visit Pennsylvania" book when they organized this rally. The heater might work a little better on Sunday with temps at 30 plus but the warmer temperature may bring freezing rain on your route. Be safe.
Cardboard in front of the radiator! Just when you think it's safe, Jim makes you look twice. Wow, a Checker. WOW, an Arizona front plate in PA winter! This guy is weird! What's the opposite of a Snowbird? South in the Summer, North in the Winter?
If you woulda let the new radiator clog up a bit with debris? It would run warmer ? More heat in the cab?
So where are you going to enjoy your funnel cake? Some more trivia Pennsylvania Dutch history for you: they started calling themselves Pennsylvania Dutch when being German became unpopular during the Industrial Revolution. When the masses were pushing for 5 day work weeks, the Germans said they were fine with working 6 days a week. This caused a lot of fights. The Germans that didn't want to be involved started saying they were Pennsylvania Dutch since most Americans couldn't pronounce Deutsche. Some adopted the more American spelling of their names if Ellis Island hadn't already taken care of that for them. Back to the funnel cake, I'm unaware of any specific bakery credited with making funnel cakes popular in the US, so I would think any bakery open on a Sunday to get your funnel cake picture should suffice. Enjoy!
I didn't mean the car was small at least not compared to today's cars but I think they're only around 200ish inches long, back when they came out in the late '50s I remember seeing an advertisement at one of the car swap meets that advertised the marathon as smaller car for city driving with big car in room and after seeing a picture of the inside of yours I'm going to have to agree I think it has more legroom than my 63 Cadillac had... As for your heater inside the car not working real well Block part of the radiator with a piece of cardboard The air from the fan should hold it against the radiator and you can experiment with getting the car warmer by cutting the cardboard to be more or less restrictive. When I was a kid my first car was a Ford pinto that for some reason was missing the thermostat and instead of spending $5 on it I had four different pieces of cardboard I would stick across the radiator on those really cold nights to get the heater to work lol It actually worked fairly effectively You just got to remember to pay attention to the temperature gauge until you figure out how much cardboard works best. Although now thinking about it I don't know how well that would work with a thermostat because essentially the thermostat just won't open if the heater core is pulling enough heat out of the engine water although I guess it's worth a shot either way.
Thanks for the funnel cake ideas! We did find a Dutch bakery that's open Sunday morning to try. Well be OK with the heater as it is. The Checker is still one of the better Lemons cars I've driven.
Welcome to PA winter! Yesterday I worked late, wanted to swing up to Carlisle & see the car and you in person. Wishing you a safe journey home, don't freeze!
No snow? We got 6" here on the Island and it looks heavy. Supposed to hit 35+ and turn to rain later..
Made it to Pittsburgh last night, this morning visited one of my Drag Week buddies who lives there.And tightened up some screws on the carb, it was coming apart at the base. The fuel system has been acting up, we're planning to replace the sending unit with another one with a pickup tube, but no sender. And the speedometer died...the cruise had been acting up, I finally figured out the problem was the speedo was grabbing and affecting the speed sensor. So once the tank is fixed, we will have to keep track of mileage carefully to not run out. Phones are ok for that. a chunk of ice flew off a truck an dhit the taxi light. Figure the odds.
removed the fuel sender, and installed the modified 59 Chevy truck unit. No sender, just the pickup tube.Seems to run OK when I drove around the block.
No post all Monday, figured you were heading back. I didn't know how many days the run lasted. Sorry the ol gal is not just purring along with new vigor, but the issues seem to be minor (from the comfort of my chair). Will unscrewing the speedo get back cruise? Gotta love a sending unit that doesn't require cutting the floor or dropping the rear axle and exhaust! Built strong and serviceable. No wonder it's no longer being made, it doesn't have $500 pieces of plastic everywhere you look!
it's been a rough drive home, the car is running kind of crappy, and doesn't have much power. But made it to Albuquerque. Had to swap the starter tonight, it wouldn't get going after stopping for dinner. saw a neat car on the turnpike near Tulsa. and the obligatory pic in Shamrock. lots of wide angle action, so it's a wonky one.
There's a GREAT diner about 1/2 mile from the Shamrock. Look for all the pickup trucks, think it's red.
We mostly rolled right through Shamrock.... going to try a little tune up this morning, will see what happens.
Best of luck, Jim! It's funny, reading that post about it having issues coming home reminded me of the often quoted phrase. " I'd get in it and drive across country, no worries". Jim does that with rescued refugees!
It sucks when the car doesn't want to go back home... I'm pretty sure Jim can get it back under control. Every mile gained is closer to home.
I still haven't figured out what's wrong with it, but I got home anyways. I'll play with it in the next few days, then wish I'd have figured it out sooner, of course. Time to catch up on my rest. the back seat is a mess, kind of like my work bench at home usually is.
What a hot rod journey! Glad you made it home. A solution for the poor running could be the BBC under that engine crane, lol.
The Jalopy Journal
