Purdy cool man! And with Mr. Mustache hisself. lol
Poll - How far away from home do you drive your classic?
- Thread starter ChuckDock
- Start date
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Purdy cool man! And with Mr. Mustache hisself. lol
I was trying to say I kept the spare parts in the deal and took $500 profit. I figured that was a good deal to the buyer.
doogievlg
Well-Known Member
When you did your coast to coast what color was your Dart?
ChuckDock
Well-Known Member
Good deal! I'll be checking you guys out. Going with a group on a longer trip offers a piece of mind for sure. Thanks!
Cuda Al
Well-Known Member
ChuckDock
Well-Known Member
And a great adventure it sounds like for sure. Great read.
I see you have had that car for a long time. You listed the disc brakes and sway bars, but what other mods have you done to make it so reliable? What speeds do you go on the highway?
383Scampman
Well-Known Member
Drove Scamp 1320 feet
Cuda Al
Well-Known Member
Nothing, the engine was recently rebuilt. I made a virtually identical trip 10 years ago, drum brakes, no sway, worn engine. The Cooker bias look radials like to grab grooves. I’m the adventurous type, long as you are prepared who cares.
If you have driven your car a accumulated 2500 miles without issues then there is no reason you should worry.
I cruise at about 70, no problem pushing 80 to pass, even if the speed limit was 80 I’d probably cruise at 70
Alan
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
I never understood why so many guys are scared to drive their classic car. As long as you put it together right you are good to go. These cars used to drive all over when new and probably less maintained back in the day.
ChuckDock
Well-Known Member
Back in the day they weren't 52 years old, lol. There are just so many pieces of mechanical parts to a car that could fail, considering their age. Bearings, wiring, cooling system, motor, trans, rear end...unless you have replaced all parts, something could fail on a trip. And then there you are, waiting for AAA to tow you to a near by hotel, and now your wondering how you get yourself and the car back home. Thankfully I make a good amount of money so it wouldn't be an issue, but not everyone is in the same boat.
So yea, that's why I can see why taking my new truck on a long journey and not even think about it, versus a long trip in an old car.
Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely taking trips in my 67 cuda this year but I do realize it can break down.
And that's why Alan's trip is awesome, and inspiring.
abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
oh brother.. now thats pussy *** outlook right there.
.. if you have a classic car i'm sure you went over it yo some extent.. hell you should do that atleast every spring anyway.... no need to replace every wire or component in the car to make a trip.. what you are saying is like a guy who never leaves the house because he might get hit by a car or something...not for nothing but there is a ton more **** that can go wrong on that new truck then on your classic car..
when we had the 69 dart we owned and drove it about a year then took it on the 7 hour trip to the mopar nats. 100,000 mile 273 with low compression in cyl #1, original wiring and suspension with a noisy 7 1/4 rear... took it out twice infact.. second trip to the nats it had a quiet 8 3/4 rear in it.. then many 2-3 hour trips over the next few years... never even a hickup.... seriously whats going to go wrong on it?
my 71 dart i stuck a used stockish 360 in it and two weeks later took it 2 hours and a ton of driving around carlisle pa...
our 70 dart 100.00 mile 225 and old *** suspension we put 700 miles on it in a week going out to carlisle and the surrounding areas... the following year i changed it over to a built 360. took it 80 mile round trip to work a few times and 3 weeks later headed 3 hours and a ton of cruising while in the ocean city md area and never thought twice about it. car performed flawlessly..... to this day the car still has the original wiring. has a 8 3/4 that i put together back in the mid 90's. ofcourse it has been updated to a fresh suspension and disc brakes over the years but that happened piece by piece.. don't need to be a million air to have these cars perform well on a road trip...
look at all the cars on the power tour.. you really think they are all new front to back? some yes bit a ton are just old drivers..
bottom line is you need to give yourself and the car a little more credit.. personally i think its easier on the car when doing a road trip then around town..... like stated before.. if i cant drive it anywhere i want to go then there is no use of owning it...
ChuckDock
Well-Known Member
oh brother.. now thats pussy *** outlook right there.
not for nothing but there is a ton more **** that can go wrong on that new truck then on your classic car..
when we had the 69 dart we owned and drove it about a year then took it on the 7 hour trip to the mopar nats. 100,000 mile 273 with low compression in cyl #1, original wiring and suspension with a noisy 7 1/4 rear... took it out twice infact.. second trip to the nats it had a quiet 8 3/4 rear in it.. then many 2-3 hour trips over the next few years... never even a hickup.... seriously whats going to go wrong on it?
my 71 dart i stuck a used stockish 360 in it and two weeks later took it 2 hours and a ton of driving around carlisle pa...
our 70 dart 100.00 mile 225 and old *** suspension we put 700 miles on it in a week going out to carlisle and the surrounding areas... the following year i changed it over to a built 360. took it 80 mile round trip to work a few times and 3 weeks later headed 3 hours and a ton of cruising while in the ocean city md area and never thought twice about it. car performed flawlessly..... to this day the car still has the original wiring. has a 8 3/4 that i put together back in the mid 90's. ofcourse it has been updated to a fresh suspension and disc brakes over the years but that happened piece by piece.. don't need to be a million air to have these cars perform well on a road trip...
look at all the cars on the power tour.. you really think they are all new front to back? some yes bit a ton are just old drivers..
bottom line is you need to give yourself and the car a little more credit.. personally i think its easier on the car when doing a road trip then around town..... like stated before.. if i cant drive it anywhere i want to go then there is no use of owning it...
you Jersey guys, lol
But yes, all very true. I've just had mine for 2 years now and mostly have been working on it, a lot. Still have the old 7 1/4 and most original wiring. My lights strobe a little, gauges work seemingly at half mast but it does have a fresh motor and trans. I'm finishing up the front end now though, with the offset bushings so I can do a real alignment on it and then it should drive well on the highway.
I guess my biggest worry is electrical, so I should really replace all that next. I'm driving along and thinking..do I smell something burning...lol, not fun.
But yea, I'm 57, and I owned dusters and cudas in the late 70's/early 80's and drove the **** out of them. Coast to coast. Sure, I may have had vapor lock, or an intake gasket that started leaking, but I was able to fix a lot on the road side, true Roadkill fashion.
Oh, I was born and raised in NJ until I escaped at 13 years old..
oem6pak
pure stock forever
usually just within 50 miles of home,and trailer it further,just make sure you have a good fire extinguisher
Walker434
Well-Known Member
These cars are sooooo simple to work on. If it breaks down, fix it on the side of the road or in a parts store parking lot.
retractable
Well-Known Member
I have taken the 66 Barracuda on a week long car cruise in Wi a couple of years ago. We had a good time and no problems. Then we were going on another week cruise here in Mn and then reverse went out after 100 miles -904 auto- we drove it like that for 2 days then went home and changed cars for thew rest of the cruise.
I drive em when I feel like it, period.
The more of the old car I've had my hands on the more likely I am to use it.
Of course, there are going to be limitations on some, mostly safety and comfort related.
We just did a r/t to LasVegas in the wife's car. 2000 XK8... Perfect choice for the drive.
Taking the Demon wasn't even a thought.
The more of the old car I've had my hands on the more likely I am to use it.
Of course, there are going to be limitations on some, mostly safety and comfort related.
We just did a r/t to LasVegas in the wife's car. 2000 XK8... Perfect choice for the drive.
Taking the Demon wasn't even a thought.
Escaped from New Jersey. To Michigan! Remids me of the guy who asked, how did you end up in Chicago? Answer: That’s how far my grandfather got on the Train to California before he was thrown off.
Two years ago I picked this up in LA & drove it to the the top of Nova Scotia,then back to Wi. Last year the wife & I drove it Fogo Island Newfoundland.I also use it as my daily driver in the summer.It still has points & drum brakes!
greymouser7
Vagrant Vagabond “Veni Vidi Vici”
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Because some of us have had bad experiences. You claim we can pull into a parts store and replace stuff, no problem. (In another post) explaining what an ecu is to the typical counter person is joke more than a challenge.
I have had bad voltage regulators which burned up coils, c & constantly replaced Chinese 4 prong ballast resistors on my first few mopars. Driving around with your 19 year old buddy in the hot south and waiting for 3 hours for a tow? The wiring connections from the alternator loose enough to swing to discharge from charge, wrong pulleys misaligned belts that blow off when the clutch is engaged; inefficient radiators + cast pistons + slow traffic or really fast traffic, bad gas tanks... There’s hundreds of things that can go wrong and some of us are not ten minutes from civilization.
I checked, double checked, test drove my road runner-and STILL lost my running lights 500 miles into an 1130 mile move.
Probably unlike you, my dad didn’t know more than that plugs and I had to learn on my own.-much through you guys and few friends from the previous generation to me.
I should have enjoyed that cruise, but have had too many previous problems, on my current budget and timeline, I couldn’t afford a single hiccup.
The power tour has a dedicated GM repair trailer, with hundreds of people that help out.-people have been known to pull up, extinguish a fire, check on the driver/passenger and disappear with taking credit for the save. The power tour is the safest drive to reference, not grueling with a ‘parachute.’
Abodyjoe I wonder if you ever started with a low budget project car and had problems.
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abodyjoe
Well-Known Member
first off no my father barley knew what a screw driver was... he couldn't help me with ****. i started playing with bmx bikes and as i got older my interest turned to cars. pretty much self taught. i asked friends fathers how to do things on my cars when young. they would explain something to me and i'd go home and do the step they explained to me.. then i'd go back over for step two then three..etc.., pulled things apart and figured out how to put them back together... so take that stupid *** assumption and shove it up your ***...
as far as starting with a "low budget" project car goes.. what the **** is that supposed to mean?? first car was a rusty 73 lemans.. i learned a lot on that car.. i ruined a lot on that car... then moved to a $100 64 valiant with a bad slant in it.. learned how to do an engine swap in that by putting a good slant in it and daily driving it... down the road i converted it to a 360. learned alot doing that because back then no one knew **** about early abodies.. few more years down the road i converted it to a 440/727. learned even more with that one because any mopar guy i knew told me a 440 wouldn't fit in an early abody. no mounts were made no exhaust was made, learned how to do a disc conversion with that one too. hell i even learned how to do an electronic ign conversion by tracing all wiring on a friends 78 cordoba that came original with electronic ign wiring. was confusing at times but i finally figured it out and it worked.. a ton of other **** was learned on that car..... so i don't know what that sutpid question is all about. none of my toys were bought for big money ready to go. all needed some work before i could take/trust them on a big road trip... when i want to do something to my toys i'll do what i need to in order to get the parts i want. i'll sell ****, work OT if/when i can, i'll let the car sit an extra 6 months till i can buy the parts i wont. i won't compromise and buy cheap garbage that i don't want. i'll save till i can do it the right way in my eyes... i'm no millionaire here....
my trunk always has a tool box in it with basic tools, an extra coil, ballast,ecu (when i was running one) and voltage regulator. **** takes up next to no room and is cheap insurance... that extra ecu has helped a lot of mopar guys out over the years.. its called planning ahead... not an expensive thing to do either...
in reality i can't ever remember burning up a ballast.. maybe i did back in the day but don't recall ever doing so.. i did have an electric fan go 2 hours from home once. got to my destination by shutting the car off at lights and **** like that.. car would cool down as i drove. if need be i'd have pulled over and waited for it to cool down. luckily we were going to a mopar BBQ and a guy there had a spare mechanical fan swapped to and made it home and never ran an electric fan again.. as far as regulators,coils and that stupid **** goes i already addressed that... loose wiring connections should have been addressed early on in ownership. wrong pulleys is just stupid. find the proper ones.. info is out there and if we are talking years ago you learned by going to yards where these cars were still in and looked at original cars and what pulleys were used from the factory. how do you think i learned? today all that information is just a click away...inefficient radiators? no excuse these days for that.. so many options out there for them... you can't drive a car with cast pistons?? news to me.. slow traffic? ok so where the problem there? really fast traffic?? whats wrong with that? get in the right lane and drive where you are comfortable... bad gas tank?? should have been taken care of to begin with.. all just bullshit excuses here..
no one is saying buy a car and the next day take it on a thousand mile road trip, though i know guys that have done so..... you buy a car, work on it make it reliable and safe (not hard or expensive to do) and then when you do want to take it on a trip be prepared with little things you may need. its not rocket science, its called being prepared.. as far as alts, starters, water pumps and **** like that go. they are still easily attainable at parts stores.. if you need to be towed so be it..
bottom like is if you want to enjoy the car make it safe and reliable and deal with any problems that may come up as you drive. its part of the adventure. or you can just be a pussy that doesn't go more then 5 miles from home. doesn't matter to me either way but don't sit here and try to tell me that an old car can't be reliable and go on long road trips because thats just not true.... i'll drive my cars and enjoy them making memories in the process. i'm not scared and if for some reason i have to be towed then i have to be towed.. had a friend drive his cuda from jersey to south carolina a few years ago.. he blew his trans there (all his fault too). towed it home, fixed and improved the trans and is planning that trip again this or next year.. not a big thing. didn't kill him.. you figure it out... pretty sad that some will give so fast and easily.. pathetic actually...
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It really is as simple as being prepared for potential problems, of course it isn't practical or possible to carry a spare "everything", but making sure that the car is reliable before starting off is not that difficult. I also learned most things by doing them myself, because I couldn't afford to pay someone else, and my brothers and old man didn't have the time or care enough to help. At 16, I changed a fuel pump on a small block Chevy in 35 below weather, in the dark, with my car stuck in a back alley behind a friend's house, had no clue what I was doing, froze my fingers, took me about two hours, but I didn't give up and have never forgotten that lesson. Yes the Power Tour has the Motor Medics from GM Performance, and they will gladly repair any car, regardless of make, as long as you supply the parts, but that satisfaction of fixing your own junk is in my opinion ultimately more satisfying. Bottom line, take the time to make your ride reliable, use quality parts, and ask questions if you need help.
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