Haven't done a solo trip like that since my youth, but I sure do remember that "what if I break" stage. What was that? Did the brakes/tranny/rear sound different? Past that part is blissful. Hope all is well with your thoughts. Welcome back, Cat Love the Olds 'vert!
The ole car just rolled man... The speed limit most of the time was was 65mph, so that's what I did. I averaged about 16.5 mpg and burned just under three quarters quarts of oil over 967 miles. I think it handled the trip like a champion. I love that damned car. As for the Blue Bonnet Cafe... That place rules.
Thank for sharing the great pictures, I truly hope that collection remains in tact. Also, I thank you for sharing the experience and story....I am most grateful.
there is nothing as theraputic as a road trip in something put together with your own hands. Love the black and white pics too
Ryan, I am glad to see u really enjoy that c-dan,,, thats one car thats got alot of soul...kinda like a good old blues songI did not make the round up in my 39 still working the bugs out its getting close!!!!
Very nice. A reflective road trip in your '39...all by yourself...perfect for the purpose of your trip. God bless your good friend. And thanks for sharing some of your history. Good to know a little of your roots. You were heavily influenced at a very young, impressionable age. That explains a lot. So we all kinda owe a debt of thanks for this kick-ass traditional hot rod site to your friend Don. Maybe your mom too, for dropping you off there.
The finer pleasures of life...... Nice to enjoy them, slow down and take a personal moment in time. Good for all who had a safe trip and good time; if alone on the road or with friends.
like a typical peon I did not know the boss was "out of the building" ...head down ... worked hard...gosh I hate when I screw up and miss goofing off..
I remember the time my dad & I took a '52 Chrysler convertible from Maryland to the Inch 500. That was 1959........does that count?? ;-)
Thats what we wanted to hear. Wow, what a collection, a great place for a youngster to get the fever. ~sololobo~
I always say that if you expose kids to this stuff,they'll get into it.I always spend extra time with the little people,whether it's a vintage toy show,antique radio show,or the local car show.
I drove my Chevy from Phoenix, Az to Des Moines IA, then back to Oklahoma City in the summer of 2006. Best. Trip. Ever. My only regret was that I was on a schedule and had to haul ass. 75+ MPH all the way. In retrospect I wish I would have slowed down, taken back roads, and stopped more often to enjoy Americana.
I made one cross country solo trip in 1968. I drove a 63 Pontiac Catalina with a 421 Superduty engine. Crower 80R roller cam and Crane cams rollerized rockers. The engine bent pushrods with the wrong ratio rocker arms. The new roller rockers solved that problem. No bent push rods on Thursday so I set out for Cali on Fri. I had no choice Uncle Sam said... be in Cali by Tuesday the 8th and some pals had said don't go to Cali without a car. Good advice. I stopped in a picnic area in Indiana to reset the valve lash at 500 miles as per instructions. I got 10 MPG at 60 MPH with the stock rear end. I'll always remember that trip. My son recently had me fly out to Arizona to help him drive home to Md. I wanted to say you don't need me for help but times are different. It was fun just the same.
Glad to hear the trip was a success. I don't get out enough any more; gotta figure out how to fix that.
Ah yes the road trip in something old, In my case, something old and beat up, my 55 Chevy bread truck, after a 20 year slumber, max speed of 55, puking out about a quart of oil every 100 miles, and then 500 miles from home, the motor blew up. would I do it again? aside from the motor blowing up.. YES! lol
Back in 1993 I was going through a divorce and I decided to take a trip in my 59 El Camino to San Antonio to visit my sister who was interning at a hospital over there. Just me, myself and I, no radio, no heat, no air, just the road. I thought it would clear my head, it didn't work, I came home and there I was.
Might as well share one of my best ones. I'm 16 years old and just acquired a stock 1929 Model A coupe. It's summer vacation and I want to see my grandparents. I'm at an Air Force base in northern Michigan living with my folks, dad is stationed there flying B-52's and I'm going to be a junior in high school. My grandparents are in Pennsylvania. Against my mom's wishes I throw a couple of changes of clothes and my Craftsman toolbox in the A and head out. Drive south over 100 miles and cross over into Canada at Port Huron, MI. Head east to Niagara Falls and cross over into the states and New York. YAHOO!! Only about a hundred miles to go. The A is purring right along and about 5 miles from their place the A just quits cold. I coast to the side of the road, get out, put up the hood and start to look for the problem. About 5 minutes later Grandpa comes driving up. He's on his way to town ,not even expecting to see me. We throw a rope on the A and he tows me to his house. Spent the summer helping him on the farm and after chores each night we take the flathead V8 engine out of the 1947 Ford school bus I rode to school in on the first day of first grade and transplant it into the A. End of summer I drive back to Michigan with a grin ear to ear behind the wheel of my Av8. Drove that old girl the rest of high school and the first two years of college. Lots of drama during that time............a lot of growing up........and that flathead to share it with me. Frank
Glad it went well. The pictures are killer. The one with the '39 at the Oklahoma sign looks like it could be 1939. The Merc. and the Eddie Meyer engine pics are also cool as hell.
it is a world apart from today . when we were kidds my dads friend took us to the dragstrip every thrusday nite in his 40 ford , 52 years later im still hooked
I remember talking with an older guy at Hershey about 25 years ago. He was an old hard core type. He said the damn streetrodders think nobody ever drove across country until 1955 when the SBC came out. He then proceeded to tell us some great stories about trips he and his buddies took to get an old clunker home to hot rod it. The forefathers of our hobby were not wimps.
The Jalopy Journal
