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Hot Rods Trust miles-how do you handle?

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by 50desotocoupe, Oct 30, 2014.

  1. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 55,934

    squirrel
    Member

    tools won't do a lot of good if you don't have spare parts...so bring some baling wire.
     
    Chili Phil and saltflats like this.
  2. Petejoe
    Joined: Nov 27, 2002
    Posts: 12,263

    Petejoe
    Member
    from Zoar, Ohio

    You've reached the second best thing about restoring building cars. Of course for me it is building as number one. But the thrill and excitement of actually using and driving your dream/reality project is number 2.
    The first few miles is a testament to your ability. Keeping it on the road for years is the final testament.
    AAA helps. :)
     
  3. stimpy
    Joined: Apr 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,546

    stimpy

    as a heavy mechanic , its a trip or 2 around the block to check it out , then off we go . If I wouldn't trust my work I be walking , have to have self confidence in doing your work otherwise you should ship it out .
     
  4. flynbrian48
    Joined: Mar 10, 2008
    Posts: 8,220

    flynbrian48
    Member


    You're worried about driving it 25 miles from home? Our shake down run for the Diamond T was to the muffler shop, then we hitched the trailer to it and drove 250 miles to go camping, then a 4000 mile trip pulling the big Spartan trailer. Have some confidence in your work, carry a cell phone and a credit card! You've already driven it that far, get in it and drive!
     
  5. ridenlow559
    Joined: Mar 6, 2011
    Posts: 37

    ridenlow559
    Member

    Can't think about breaking down. Makes it ten times worse when it does happen. Just go and enjoy the drive. Your only going 50 miles. When you work up to the long haul just be prepared with AAA in the case it can't be fixed. Take some tools, belts etc. And drive with friends who will stop and help you out until it's back on the road or on the back of a rig. Be nice to have a car that made it to every show, cruise and long drives with no problems. But that's part of having and building these things. The joy you get out of fixing and customizing them with you own hands.


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  6. Kiwi 4d
    Joined: Sep 16, 2006
    Posts: 3,564

    Kiwi 4d
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Had some friends that had an old coupe they thought was unreliable ,so they sold it to an unsuspecting buyer but he didn't know it was supposed to be unreliable , now he has done 4000 trouble free miles.
     
    clem and kiwijeff like this.
  7. 49ratfink
    Joined: Feb 8, 2004
    Posts: 18,828

    49ratfink
    Member
    from California

    25 miles??? really, 25 miles?

    just go.
     
  8. Traveling with buddies and bringing a few tools, a sturdy tow cord, some jumpers, a can of Fix-A-Flat and my AAA Plus card has bailed me out of many an on the road issue.
    A gas can and a jug of coolant also for the long trips
    A cell phone is the best tool we can all carry. Duct tape is a good thing too.
    Days after any break down I've been involved in we always get a good chuckle out of the experience.
    It's all part of the learning curve of hot rodding.
     
  9. It's all part of the adventure! Make sure it's safe, which it sounds like it is, then jump in and go. I'm making a 4 hour trip Saturday on my newly rebuilt 4 speed. It might have 50 or 60 trouble free miles on so why not? I have tools, AAA, and friends if I get in trouble. This will be the long shake down run before the Turkey Run trip to Florida.
     
  10. Ebbsspeed
    Joined: Nov 11, 2005
    Posts: 6,250

    Ebbsspeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Drive that Desoto. Hell, you can walk 25 miles in six hours or less.

    About 20 years ago I bought a 1937 Buick from a fellow in eastern Missouri, The car hadn't been run for nearly 20 years. Trailered it home, re-gasketed the pan and rocker arm cover, new hoses, belts, rebuilt brakes and master cylinder, flushed the radiator, freed up the stuck clutch, had the gas tank boiled out, put a new diapraghm in the fuel pump, checked the lights, fired it up, drove it to the gas station to fill it, 5-mile trip to the grocery store for road snacks, then me and two buddies headed out from Shawnee, KS to Tulsa for a shits and giggles road trip. Zero issues, 500+ miles on a maiden voyage, 6-volt battery and generator doing their thing all the way there and back.
     
  11. oldsman41
    Joined: Jun 25, 2010
    Posts: 1,556

    oldsman41
    Member

    drive it like you stole it. really though the guys i know ussually get together to go on trips of 200 miles or so. 25 miles isnt much and if it breaks put it on a flat bed triple AAA.
     
  12. Tony
    Joined: Dec 3, 2002
    Posts: 7,350

    Tony
    Member

    Kinda hard to add anything more than whats been said already really....just get in a drive.
    I was at one point leery of going any real distances with the stuff i built...but with some good egging by close friends i got behind the wheel now and drive.
    The shakedown run for my 6-71 blown 32 was a 220 mile round trip to the Syracuse nats, alone..no problems and a great ride!!
    My 52 Chevy truck has been a daily for the most part since i finished it aside from the past couple years with other projects ive finished.
    It has over 40k on it now and has NEVER left me stranded. One time i headed to the Showdown in Pa, 300 miles from my driveway (its done that 600 miles trip many times now), by myself with nothing more than my tool bag, cell phone and AAA card in case a repair is too big.
    I normally roll with a great group of guys so when and if something does happen, we all do what needs to be done to get back rolling...and shit does happen.
    It becomes part of the journey.
    So go out and have fun!! Wont take long for you to want to just keep driving.

    Tony
     
    Last edited: Oct 30, 2014
  13. tfeverfred
    Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Posts: 15,791

    tfeverfred
    Member Emeritus

    It took me a few "test drives", before I felt confident enough to go for the distance. The 3 things I carried then, are what I carry now. A collection of tools, a spare belt, friends phone numbers and my AAA card.

    25 miles? I don't count anything less than 75 miles a cruise. Just go for it.
     
  14. joeycarpunk
    Joined: Jun 21, 2004
    Posts: 4,446

    joeycarpunk
    Member
    from MN,USA

    Trust gained by use, 25 miles is nothing really. Or 50 for that matter. Gotta start sometime and cell phones make it easy or caravan with someone.
     
  15. nwbhotrod
    Joined: Oct 13, 2009
    Posts: 1,243

    nwbhotrod
    Member
    from wash state

    Incoming Pictures 032.jpg 50 miles I am driving this 55 Chevy to AZ from wash next weet for Good Guys in Scottsdale why have them if you cant drive them
     

    Attached Files:

  16. Couple of weeks ago saw a newer BMW along I-40 being loaded on the back of a AAA. Sh** happens.
     
  17. Interesting thread.
    I got my Hudson on the road two years ago, and drivin it daily since then, rain hail or shine.
    Had total confidence in it, and recently put a finned coil cover on, and did new coil, plugs, points, condenser and leads. Left it outside work in the rain all arvo, and drowned it.
    Now my confidence is not so good on the wet days, and I live on the edge of a rain Forrest, so it rains a lot.
    I say just drive it, if it breaks, fix it. All part of the hobby.
     
  18. with old cars the number 1 thing that has caused roadside break downs has been rust/crap in the tank. nothing worse than a full tank of fuel, a mechanically good running engine and no way to connect the two.
    Tank clean= go for it.
     
  19. I keep tb33anda3rd's phone number handy:rolleyes:
     
    tb33anda3rd likes this.
  20. verno30
    Joined: Aug 25, 2008
    Posts: 1,148

    verno30
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Trust miles for me have been once around the block. Then I pack a tool box and take my cell phone. Bombs away.
     
  21. Last year, my O/T but fairly old van, I just put ball joints and tie rod ends in it, fixed a bunch of other little stuff, and took off from New York to North Carolina, then South Carolina, and back, put like 2500 miles on it in a week.

    This year, I have a new to me and still older van, fixed a few more things, it still needs a thermostat but that's an involved pain in the ass to change, put 300 miles on it last Sunday and drove it out of state at that. No problems other than crappy mileage. I just carry tools and some more obvious spare parts. Which, now that I'm on my third very similar vehicle, I have a lot of spares.
     
  22. topfuel55
    Joined: Apr 18, 2010
    Posts: 145

    topfuel55
    Member
    from Hebron IN

    I thought I was the only one that silently freaked out about test miles. I built my car from the ground up, the whole chassis and suspension is hand built. I've got quarter elliptic springs and I worried about one of them breaking. Well after two years of driving the car every chance I get, I pretty much trust it I also know what to watch and what road conditions it doesn't like. I've had a few issues, running the trans out of grease, and a couple of no starts after getting caught in the rain. No big deal. I built it I can fix it. I drove it for a week as my daily driver this fall cold and all. Drive it, enjoy it, fluids and a phone and a roll of tools and some friends, coast to coast is within reach!


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  23. Be a man! I rolled my old 33 ford pickup out of the garage to see if I got the box on straight...with 3, 5/16ths bolts. Hmm, looked pretty straight so I thru a few wires on it to see if the old generator would charge...yup! It did. Aired up the bias plies and drove it on a car-tote for the pull down to Kansas City for the 1st annual HAMB Speed and power meet. Duct taped a cardboard floor and firewall in it and proceeded to drive that sucker [with T-man and Janglehead] over a hundred miles around the K.C. area with a pair of fingernail clippers and a toothpick for tools and had to loan my prize toothpick to Chris Nelson to fix his headlight wiring. My 14 gage electrical wire throttle linkage broke in downtown K.C. but after T-man and my brother pushed me outta traffic, I scored a used hunk of old original 33interior.jpg 33atspeed.jpg wire from under the frame and "replaced" my throttle linkage in the dark.
    What a blast!
    Go on your shakedown cruise with q few tools and a hunk-a-wire.
     
  24. cvstl
    Joined: Apr 15, 2009
    Posts: 1,499

    cvstl
    Member
    from StL MO
    1. H.A.M.B. Chapel

    Due to some bad weather and other conflicts during the week before, I had only driven my car 5 miles (gas station and back) when I took off on a 600 mile run to OKC. It did blow oil all of the way there and thanks to Roothawg, I was able to swap the pan before we headed home, but we did 1200 miles in 3 days with no issues that weren't easily fixed.

    Get in the seat and drive that thing!!
     
  25. 50dodge4x4
    Joined: Aug 7, 2004
    Posts: 3,534

    50dodge4x4
    Member

    First hot rod I ever built was a from the ground up to a driver. Built the frame from scratch, installed everything, did my own wiring harness, well, you get the picture. 1st trip out of the garage went around the block. Second trip went 10 miles home, then 10 miles back to the shop. Third trip out of the garage, 500 miles, one way. It was my wife, me, a few hand tools and our stuff for the weekend, before cell phones, and traveling by ourselves. There were a few stops on that 500 miles to fix a few glitches, but the return trip was flawless. We put 13,000 mile on that car that first summer, between the end of May and the end of Sept.

    If your concerned, put the car on jack stands and check everything. Fix anything that might need attention, then drive it. Gene
     
  26. fatkoop
    Joined: Nov 17, 2009
    Posts: 713

    fatkoop
    Member

    There are SO MANY guys going to, returning from, or at the Golden Cruise that would help you if you got into a jam, it's a no-brainer. Don't be afraid to drive 'em!
     
  27. Rattle Trap
    Joined: May 11, 2012
    Posts: 358

    Rattle Trap
    Member

    25 miles? You really asked this question? I took off from San Diego on a Harley that I had just done the cam and top end on. Ended up in Tahoe the next morning. Where is your sense of adventure man? Get out and live a little.
     
  28. THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Joined: Jun 6, 2007
    Posts: 5,367

    THE FRENCHTOWN FLYER
    Member
    from FRENCHTOWN

    Essentially I agree with everybody urging you to make the trip.

    One more thing I would do is take a short ride before you go and do a full blown PANIC STOP! Better to learn of issues that way than when that deer or woman pushing that baby carriage darts out in front of you.
     
    tb33anda3rd and rustynewyorker like this.
  29. rprice76
    Joined: Jun 4, 2011
    Posts: 441

    rprice76
    Member
    from Palominas

    Get in and go! Take tools, a AAA membership card, and some phone numbers of people you can call if things go south. Its all part and parcel of having a classic.
     
  30. gimpyshotrods
    Joined: May 20, 2009
    Posts: 23,263

    gimpyshotrods
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    'Round the block, once.
     

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