A fun Mountain Drive through 4 states in a Volare' F Body

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slant six

Do More With Less
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I had a nice Trip through the mountains over the weekend with the '79 Volare
/ Duster F body coupe.
The route I had planned took me through the mountains and highlands of
Western PA, extreme Western Maryland, Eastern / Central West Virginia, and
Central Virginia.
Mountain Peaks and Twisty Roads abound everywhere, as I only ran about ~20
miles of interstates on the trip south.

It seems that The Megasquirt II EFI is running pretty good. I had a little
hiccup on the way to my destination where the sock filter in the fuel tank
pickup came off and then allowed some trash to get lodged in the fuel pump.
I was able to nurse the Car about ~100 Miles south on US 220 Through WV and
VA until the Traffic Lights got dense and the car was unable to safely run
in traffic at 17-22 AFR..I pulled over and it was towed the last 60 miles. I
got 21-23 MPG through the mountains and was not using "OD" on the return
trip back to PA.

We dropped the fuel tank to find that the spectra premium fuel sending unit
lost its' sock filter -It was replaced and clamped back onto the the pickup
tube.. I guess it's a pretty poor fitting part as I have never seen that
happen before : :shock: We flushed the gunk out of the fuel pump and
reassembled pump and tank as needed.

That solved the issue - the Return trip home was all good except it wanted
to get stuck in "OD" and not shift back to 3rd gear.... Issues caused by me
not checking engine block / to bell housing runout when I installed the OD
trans about 20 years ago. That all needs fixed now... Or I might just fix
the bellhousing runout and put a T5 Transmission in the car. ( that's what I
should do).

Some trip documentation:
Got an early start from Home:

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Trip Included US 219 in Maryland and Seneca Rocks in WV - Stopped for a
morning hike to the top of the rock. I had it all to myself :)

US 219 In Maryland Near WV Border:
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Seneca Rocks, WV
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F Body Mountain Drive continued:

A Nice Vista on Mountain Valley Road / VA 39:
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A Cool old Sign in NC..
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Morning Hike to an old Water Mill Site:
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On the Way Back - US 33 in VA then WV.
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Some Glamour shots of my rusty old daily driver along some beauitiful valley pulloffs on the route:
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770 Miles Round Trip, not extensive but a good spring trip.
 
F Body Mountain Drive continued:

A Nice Vista on Mountain Valley Road / VA 39:
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A Cool old Sign in NC..
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Morning Hike to an old Water Mill Site:
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On the Way Back - US 33 in VA then WV.
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Some Glamour shots of my rusty old daily driver along some beauitiful valley pulloffs on the route:
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770 Miles Round Trip, not extensive but a good spring trip.
Just absolutely stunning pix thanks so much for posting! Nice car too!
 
Now I really want a F body even more :mad: Hint hint :)..
That makes 3 of us now. You, me, and the other guy, Sorry I missed you when I had the '78 Sedan for sale... :-(

Carlisle is featuring the Malise misfits this year.... I applied to put the '79 Disco Wagon in the featured event.. have not heard back yet. I have had F bodies for 25 Years now... The car in this post has only 236,000 Miles Hope to put lots more on it!
 
If you find any at Carlisle let me know.
I posted a wanted ad on F M & J bodies when I missed out on yours. Not one reply.
One will show up when I won't be able to buy it for sure..
 
No just me. Not many people that I know closeby that would want to do a crazy trip for working on old cars.

I met up with 2 slant 6 nuts in NC. The whole point of the trip was to do ~3 Days of wrenching on my buddy's 74 duster. Its a slant 6 with a remote turbo. Got rid of the blow thru carb and began installing the MS3 pro for fueling and timing duties.
 
Great pics.....thanks for sharing. Where in NC did you see the Winn Dixie sign? They have been gone for years after Food Lion bought them out. :(
 
I saw this on FMJs, fantastic inspiration. You're motivating me to move on the aspen wagon.
 
Great pics.....thanks for sharing. Where in NC did you see the Winn Dixie sign? They have been gone for years after Food Lion bought them out. :(
Just West of Eden. Near the Eden Drive in. Old Store that i think is abandoned now.
 
Had a mega rare 1979 Aspen R/T that was a rattle trap...I always wanted a 77 with vertical louvers..nice car and scenic trip..
 
What kind of hitch did you use on the wagon? Do they make for a aspen / volare or is it another application that just fits?
Aparrently someone did make them at some time. but Yes they would be fairly easy to fab with the proper lengths of steel and tubing. All FJM Hitches would be the same.
 
I really liked the pics, yes it is beautiful in this state.
 
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