Lee Pratt and I left Dripping Springs, TX yesterday morning at 7am. Lee was driving his fabulous shoebox Ford while I rode shotgun and played navigator. In Austin, we were joined by the Kontinentals - namely Steve, Reggie, Gary, and Norm. The goal? S... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
Sorry to hear about Lee's car. Glad you guys made it safely to Salina, though. See ya in a few hours! Malcolm (the links in your Journal entry aren't working)
What a shame for such an amazing car. At least everyone made it ok and you had somewhere safe to drop the car.
Bummer!!!! I ripped a whole in my oil pan a month or two ago and it's a complete buzzkill. It make me wonder why more cars do not run skid plates if the car is going to be pretty low. I'll tell you what, the Hussy has one sitting in the garage waiting to be installed. On the flip side, you made it with the help of some friends and thats fucking plain old cool.
I was reading this thread and wondering the same thing. Have been thinking about lowering my car, and was wondering whether people who do so put skid plates under the oil pan. Got 'em on my SUV under the radiator, oil pan, and front pumpkin.
Thanks for the "live" updates. Sorry about the drive up there, but building memories. That is what the pops and I say on old car roadtrips. Chris
That's a bummer! I sure love Lee's shoebox and even with an ill flathead it'll still look sweet...enjoy the rest of the trip and I'll be looking forward to the updates
Man that's a sad deal. Way to be persistent though and still make it out to the show! So what's the plan for Lee's car now?
I can't make it this year so I am looking forward to lots of updates. Sorry about the not so great start, but I guess it can only get better, right?
I love going on trips with good friends we persevere thru thick and thin and we make it happen. Makes for great stories
This is going to sound crazy, but some of the most fun I have had has been as a result of on the road breakdowns.... -Had a t fitting on an oil pressure guage/ Idiot light break on the way to pistons and paint05. I had 3 mechanics and an automotive engineering student in the car at the time. pulled over to discover the huge plume of smoke was from a steady stream of oil pouring onto the long branch manifold. reached down to see if it was just loose and it broke off in my hand. simutaniously, all 4 of us proclaimed "OH SHIT!" backyard mechanic- "Jam a stick in it!" my top gun here at the shop- "Where's the closest parts house? I will go get an easy-out" engineer- "wow. why did it fail?" me- "I got it!" walked to the back of the wagon, opened up the spare tire hatch, and found my torx bit kit and a 1/4 inch ratchet. and a 1/2 inch ratchet. used the big one to hammer the torx into the broken brass, backed it out, pulled the mechanical guage off of the T fitting, threaded it into the hole, added 1 quart of oil, and we left. start to finish, it took like 13 minutes. the next Year, I decided to go it alone. I had just installed a new ,supposedly rebuilt 425 in the olds. this time, the motor let go in Belton. I sat at this gas station drinking Miller High life "mega cans" for 5 hours. My wrecker driver came and went, and I was convinced that my rescue team had missed the exit, all the while, the wrung out looking counter girl was hitting on me, and the locals were looking at me like they were figuring out where they were gonna hide my body. I have NEVER been so happy to see a station wagon full of palookas in my whole life. and I was sufficiently drunk enough to maintain a good beer buzz all the way to denton. Last Year when G-man lost his hood, and subsequently the trunk latch, I have to say that I have never seen anyone keep thier cool in a rough situation like that. and me and d.w. wedged in the tiny gaps between the compressor and body was one for the humor history books. what was cool was I was in there for so long, when I got out, there was this big crowd of people that had arrived that I didn't know was there. it was fun in a twisted kind of way. coming home from the Hamb drags is always an adventure....
It's a shame some of the highway's in Oklahoma are in such bad shape. I was towing a car from Dallas to OKC last weekend and there are area's of the highway that are pitiful. Maybe some of those stimulus dollars will find their way to fixing some of these nightmares.
Not a great start for your trip no doubt - the videos seem to show that things are going better now. Have fun. Al
I'm sorry about the motor, but it's reassuring to hear stories about keeping your cool and persevering. Think about all the suckers safe at home watching TV while you guys are on an adventure! Good luck on the rest of the trip.
You know I was standing next to this cat looking at a roadster and he told me that same story !!!! HOLY SHIT DUDE THAT WAS YOU !!!!!!!!!!! Nice to meet you Ryan !! >>>>.
Sure sorry to hear about Lee's shoebox. It's been an inspiration to me in my own build. Glad you guys are okay, and hope it's back on the road soon.
Family and friends sure come in handy every once in a while. Then sometimes a complete stranger will just stop and lend a helping hand. It's all part of the adventure we call life.
Sorry to hear about the rough start to the trip , I knoe kinda how you guys felt. I tore open the pan on my Satellite once on a rock and it is not lowered, only I got it shut down in time with no other damage.
I think you guys had a fine weekend, in spite of the 'down time'. As always, stuff happens. Great story, pictures and videos, Thanks. Al