Driving from California to Illinois--with 2 X H.A.M.B. friendly vehicles

Damn, you went right past the Bonneville exit and didn't stop????

This is a great trip you got going here. By the time you get home all the bugs will be out of the truck.

10mpg is great while towing.

What kind of technology are you using to be intouch with the world while you do this? This really impreses me.

Happy motoring!!

 

On a positive note, you are finding all the weak links of the truck right now, every couple of hours.

You should repost your route, maybe some HAMB'ers are close and can help you keep the truck running good.

I'm thinking the surging going uphill was from not running on all cylinders and driving under a lot of load.

 

Great meeting you sweetheart... you couldn't have had better timing coming through Green River on my lunch break! I hope my lunch reccomendation was good for ya, and didn't cause a premature pitstop lol! whenever i make it up your way, i'm definitely going to stop in on ya and check the progress! both rides are awesome... gotta say, i'm a bit jealous and wish i coulda jumped in as navigator just to be along for the ride since i have a 4 day weekend starting now! all the best luck to you the rest of the trip....!

 

Awesome story! Keep us posted and hope you make it home safely!

 

Well, I hate to impose any jinxes on myself... But all seems well... I just pulled into Rawlins, WY and gassed up... Knocked down 12 mpg on this part and I'm heading on eastward... For anyone following-- I'm staying on I-80 as far as it will take me where I'll drop off the '41 at my dads place in Manchester, IA.. I'll probably stay over the weekend..

Right now-- praying that this ol girl keeps together for me--- I'll get to my dads sometime late tomorrow.. My GPS tells me I have 939 miles to get into Manchester.. One mile at a time...

For those wondering.. I've got Verizon Wireless cell service and I have the Yellow Pages app on my IPhone... I'm no tech genius-- but this app has allowed me to figure out all my stop points for self-rescue..
(oh, and I can get on the HAMB as long as I have cell service... Very importante!!!)

I'll update at the next stop... If all goes well, I should be in Cheyenne in a few hours...

 

You woulda had the best seat in the house on the flip-up passenger seat!!! And dontcha know-- lunch was awesome!!!

 

Good trip ,looks like a blast......

I like both car and truck ,

BUT I love that Suburban...

You did good and POP should be proud,
a lot of people could not have pulled off the trip that you did......

 

Thanks for the updates. All that fun and 12 MPG to boot!

Jealous in Texas...

 

You've got brass balls man, thanks for bringing us along on your adventure!

 

Hey everyone.. Just pulled into Cheyenne.. She's still running good... Took till Friday to work out all her kinks.. The only thing now is the trans oil is actually coming through the seam of the removable trans tunnel... Can't check it tonite-- I'll pull the plug in the morning and top it off..

Oh-- and since I'm monitoring the MPG as a means to know how far I can go.. I just clicked 12.7 after 159 miles...

Oh--- and that "brass ball" comment.... Thanks dude!

Don't let it be any secret about it-- the notion of giving up came to me many times--- but with that thought came that feeling of "what the he'll do I do if I give up?"... I never planned for that option.. Maybe that's where the motivation to continue comes from...

Thanks for following along everyone... This has finally become enjoyable--

 

Sounds like a great road trip and alot of fun, er experience. Really cool. Sounds like I need to take a road trip.

 

Great story. This reminded me of a trip me and a buddy took in college (1997) in an abused '78 transam bandit style. Rolla, MO to Detroit and back in 5 days. Car caught fire, lost the brakes, and the exhaust fell off. Still have the car and the buddy.

East bown and down. Good luck.

 

Great story. This reminded me of a trip me and a buddy took in college (1997) in an abused '78 transam bandit style. Rolla, MO to Detroit and back in 5 days. Car caught fire, lost the brakes, and the exhaust fell off. Still have the car and the buddy.

East bown and down. Good luck.

 

Hope your newfound good luck holds out for the remainder of the trip. Now get some rest, even jarheads need sleep.

 

Right on man! Too cool.

 

I just stumbled on this thread...if you need any tools or a spare hand I'm free in the morning

 

You must have drove right past Laramie. (home of wyotech) if you need a fix I'm sure they would be glad to help also!

 

I drove clear through Wyoming once I got going... Tonite I finally stopped in Big Spring, Nebraska.... I was starting to feel a headache mounting as the previous two days have been tough with regard to sleep, the struggle to keep on the road, and anxiety...

A good nite sleep is needed!! I plan on hitting Speedway Motors tomorrow if they are open in Lincoln... Hope it is!!

Grabbing some food now at the greasy spoon, Grandma Maxs... We will update tomorrow... The past few hundred miles have been great!!

Oh-- and your story above about the Trans Am sounded like a hoot!!!

 

At the risk of jinxing you I hope all the headaches are behind you. Been following since the start and gotta give you credit for doing that trip in an unproven truck. The obstacles you've overcome would have stopped a lot of people.
In '96 I drove my '56 F100 from Virginia to California (see avatar with U haul behind it?) Fried a starter in Kansas but luckily the only auto parts store in a tiny little town called Wakeenee had one 429 Ford starter. Changed it with the tire up on the curb for room. Went through a few header collector gaskets and a shitload of gas, but compared to your trip mine was a breeze.
Hang in there man, we're all rooting for you. Sure it may be tough now, but when you're done you'll have great stories to tell. Hell you can even embellish them and who's gonna know? When you're telling the story, change that cattle truck to a bus full of Hooters Girls and I'm sure someone will eat up every word!
Eli

 

great story dude...hope the old chevy treats you well for the rest of the trip!

 

RULER!

Good luck! Don't give up! You are almost home. You will be able to tell this story 10,000 times in your life and every time you will feel great knowing that you did something that very few people have done or even tried to do.

 

Good morning to all of you on this fine Saturday morning.. Other than having to employ the screwdriver across the terminals of the starter again --- the suburban is running beautifully for the second day in a row... It's a record!!!

So- in my excitement I've decided to take a massive detour to visit a HAMBer up in Beresford, SD to possibly obtain some sheetmetal for my '61 and the '41... This is a long jaunt north and will hopefully be worthwhile.. I'll get to see some of tgd lesser seen areas of Nebraska and SD.. I'll post pictures when I'm home on Monday... (assuming the dinosaur keeps chugging along..)

 

John, Good luck! It's an Awesome Drive. A few years ago a best friend (322ski) and I made the trek from Nor-Cal to Detroit in my '56 Olds. Rt 66 I-40/44? (Can't remember which one runs along 66). Hoover Dam is a must The small towns off rt.66 in Arizona and New Mexico have cool old Deco buildings (pretty much the architecture icons in the movie Cars is all along the way) If you pop down to the top of Texas there's the Caddy Ranch/ or Cadillac Stone Henge, Cool old gas stations all along the way. We even drove in a Blizzard (We=me, as my buddy keep saying F**k I'm glad you're driving and not me) through the rockies (New Mexico) And then there's the PCH 1 in Cali (where Rt 66 starts at in Santa Monica) go North....Around Big Sur (I think) there's another awesome Deco Gas Station from the 20's. Very picturesque .... I should post the pics some time when I have some extra time. But Rt 66 is an awesome drive.

 

This thread is, with out a doubt, the best read I've found on the HAMB in a good while.
The man has no fear even when going where angels fear to tread.

East bound and downnnnnnn Loaded up and truckin'

 

I hope your bravado isn't your death knell

 

...I think you should put a 292 inline into that 41 coupe!

 

What an adventure!! This is something you can still talk about when they put you in an old folks home. We have all done some questionable car retreivals but this will be hard to top.

 

One of the best threads ever!!

Roll strong my friend!

 

Here's hoping the detour isn't the straw that broke the camels back. At this point I'd just want to get home in one piece. You have more grunt than me and wish you well. The last thing I want to be able to say is I told you so . ;-)

 

...a dandy thread, how's the weather been for ya?