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6 Days on the Road

Discussion in 'New to the H.A.M.B.? Introduce yourself here!' started by tom1000, Aug 13, 2011.

  1. tom1000
    Joined: Sep 9, 2008
    Posts: 19

    tom1000
    Member
    from Houston TX

    6 days ago I hooked my 67 Chevy Pickup to a car trailer and drove to San Diego, CA from Houston, TX to pick up a '36 Ford Coup. The drive out was going OK till somewhere in Arizona I lost my cell phone with the guy's info that I was going to see. I felt pretty alone then, realizing that I didn’t even know what time it was anymore. I thought about calling someone from a pay phone (If I could fine one) but all my phone numbers were loaded in the damn phone and I’m too weak minded to remember anyone’s number. Luckily, I found a TMobile store in Tucson, Arizona that was open on Sunday and was able to get a new phone, and thanks to Google I got all my contacts and numbers back.

    The trailer was an old car hauler that a friend loaned me. It was very heavy all by itself and the truck was having problems pulling it across the desert in August. I had to shut off the AC to keep the temps down to a manageable 210 – 215 degrees. I was wondering what it was going to be like with the Ford on the trailer.
    I made it to California without any major heat issues other than sweatin my ass off. Then I hit the mountains that lie just before the California Coast. The truck was runnin hot going up those very long pulls. At times getting up to 230 degrees. I kept slowing down until I was doing about 10 mph. By this time I had both windows down and the heat on. The outside temperature was about 106 degrees. The inside of the cab was a lot hotter. I crept up one long hill after another for what seemed like an eternity but probably was more like 1 ½ hours. Then after cresting the last mountain I was able to gain some speed and shut the damn heat off.

    I got to the guy’s house and we made the deal on the car. I told him about my adventure coming over the mountains and the heat issues. He said that it would not be as steep if I took I-10 out of LA. So that was the plan. Drive to LA pick up I-10 and ease back to Houston. That was the plan. What happened was I blew a tire on the trailer in LA rush hour traffic causing it and me to swerve across 2 lanes of traffic. After I made it to the side of the freeway I had to figure out how to change the tire without getting myself killed. It was not easy, but I can testify that I am, actually, still alive.

    Back on the road after the tire changing thrill, things went OK till Palm Springs where there was another very very long climb. Engine Temperatures reaching 240 degrees caused me to pull over and open the hood and try to keep the motor running while it cooled. It was dark now and the trailer was not as well lit as I would have liked. I was terrified that someone was going to run into me and destroy my new purchase, the trailer, my Chevy pickup and myself. I was not as happy as I should have been just buying a 1936 Ford. Well, the motor cooled and I was off doing a whopping 10 miles an hour again with the windows down and the heater running full blast. After Palm Springs things leveled out and I could go faster. I stopped for gas and a trucker told me that there was another long pull about 80 miles ahead of me. I stopped and got a motel for the night.

    Next morning I went to a NAPA Auto parts and bought a new “heavy duty” fan clutch for the 67. I had it changed in about a half hour and was eager to see what happened when I hit the long pull the trucker warned me about. The fan clutch helped. It didn’t cure the problem but I didn’t have to turn the heat on any more on the way home. On the long pull hill, I was able to do 40 mph and not 10. Of course it was morning and the outside temperature hadn’t reached 100 degrees yet, and it was a different hill than the one at Palm Springs. Actually, I was able to turn the AC on unless I was going up a steep incline and keep the temperatures at 215 or less. That was great.

    Now I’m home and I have a 1936 Ford flat head V8 that I know absolutely nothing about. All I know it that it’s beautiful. I hope the HAMB will help educate me and hopefully someone can recommend a good book on the flat head motors.
    Thanks for reading this and remember to change your fan clutch before heading out to the desert in the middle of summer.
    Tom
     
  2. WOW! Welcome Tom. What a great story. Glad you...and the '36 made it home safely. Good luck with the new project and enjoy your HAMBtime....Don.
     
  3. Tom,
    Quite a trek.
    Welcome from Michigan.
     
  4. travisfromkansas
    Joined: Mar 23, 2008
    Posts: 2,805

    travisfromkansas
    Member

    Hell of a first post, welcome from Kansas!
     

  5. ODDTC
    Joined: Jun 11, 2011
    Posts: 3

    ODDTC
    Member
    from montana

    I know the route, Tom. Some years back (before cell phones) I pulled Dennis, my buddy as he steered a 36 Ford PU with mechanical brakes, remember? At least I had Dennis there, but could'nt talk to him as he was behind me and my chain. At that time I had a '39 Chevy 2 dr sedan with a hopped up 235 six (yes, I had to move the radiator & mounts forward to accomidate the longer block), but I kept the peanut 3 speed transmission with closed drive. I did get to talk to Dennis every time I replaced the u-joint through the floor board.
     
  6. Tom, great story and welcome! But ya know, round here, it didn't happen without pics...
    Show us that beauty!
     
  7. Just Gadget
    Joined: Aug 7, 2011
    Posts: 1,130

    Just Gadget
    Member

    Welcome to the H.A.M.B. from New Deal, Tennessee!
     
  8. Machinos
    Joined: Dec 30, 2002
    Posts: 761

    Machinos
    Member

    I hauled a car to Phoenix on I-10 in 2007 with my '03 Dodge 4.7 when it was 126 freaking degrees out, and I (unknowingly) had a weak fan clutch too. The border guards were pouring bottled water on their poor dogs. Going 10mph with the windows down and the heat at full blast was not an experience I will forget.

    That truck currently has 223,000 towing miles on it and is still going strong despite overheating it I don't know how many times!
     

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