Art & Inspiration What car would you take?

"Everything is in walking distance if you have enough time."
Steven Wright

 

I think you would be better off just using your thumb !!!!! LOL

 

Have any of you guys ever driven across the country? I made my first crosscountry trip from San Diego to Pa. in 1963 in a '58 Corvette. Top down all the way, 52 hours. The interstate was just being built and much of the western portion was still on rt.66. 18 years old, got near home with about 25 cents and an empty gas tank. Remember stopping at a cheap gas station spent our last quarter on 18 cent a gallon gas to get home.Got a red light at the local Eat'n Park (our hang out) Light turned green, dumped the clutch,blue smoke and squealing tires. Then I saw the local cop car with his red bubblegum machine flashing! Told him our story and he let us go with a just a warning.
That was a much simpler time and a different America.Best of luck to you and your fantasies. Remember, fantasy meets reality in the middle of Nebraska.

 

nope!!! that thing is ugly but thats just me.

 

I'll give it a go.... Right - the only US postal code I know is 90210. I put that in eBay USA looking for classic cars within 20 miles and under $2k.

I like the look of this for £1800 BIN;



65 AMC 770 2 door. Runs, drives, stops, steers (they say). I'd need to buy a kit of spares and some tools.

 

You must have drank or smoked to much at the party last night. Quit imagining,it would be a 1 in a million if you find a car or truck for $2000 or under that will get you across country . Stay home , save money and look for something closer,build it,do a road trip. Pay that much for that Lancer and you automaticaly lose money when you pay for it.

 

Sorry but being a long way from home with no transportation would be bad enough without knowingly,eventually,having the baggage of a broke down car (old or not)to worry about getting it home also, does not appeal to me.

A couple hrs away,maybe, any further, no way.

 

That sounds like a lot of fun!

That sounds like a great experience!
I haven't flown all that much but I have been all over this great nation. When I was a kid we took a family vacation (road trip) every summer and I have a lot of great memories from that. Flying commercial airlines makes me feel like I'm some form of livestock, they shut the door and MOO!! there you are until they let you out, I just don't like to fly. I've spent a lot of my life on the road, mostly in these things - that's me in the Colorado Rockies.

I like it!

 

I gave it a try. It's just a game, if I didn't have the constraint of HAMB friendly car it would be easier and I would pick an OT car. But pre 65 and under $2k running is a tall order.

My top pick was this 61 Dodge on the local CL for $1950. Says it currently runs and drives. If it truly was reliable I could see beating around town in this.

 

I like the idea if not the car. Nothing agenst the "Slant 6" just think I'd like something more like this.


Either way the adventure would last a lifetime. Make sure you find a car that is road worthy-ish. Most things on eBay seem to be something different than advertised, I thought of driving my '58 home from Mich. when I bought it (add said 15,000 miles on 15 year old rebuilt engine) the guy I bought it from told me that the gearing wasn't right for highway and I should just have it shipped. That's what I did more for time than anything else. It ran ok when I got it but would go through water and over heat a lot. I had a 312 that was slated for the engine bay before the truck ever got to me so I wasn't worried about it so much. Swapped the 272 for the 312 then took the 272 apart. Amazing the thing ran as good as it did. One head was cracked (water consumption) but the interesting part was that a wrist pin clip had come out at one point and dug into the cylinder wall in one hole, pretty deep too. The clip was replaced, piston stuck back in the hole and by the looks of the gaskets it had all been done fairly recent. Not 15 years ago as advertised. The rest of the truck was great and I feel I got it for a good price, glad I didn't try to drive it home though.

 

I would do this in a second, but I'd find something a bit better and/or cheaper on CL. I think that's kinda spendy for the Lancer. Keep in mind, though, the cost of the gas, time, and potential breakdowns will quickly negate any "deal" you might find. You'll be paying for an adventure, not getting off cheap.

 

That Dodge looks like a great ride! I used to ride to Sunday school in a Dodge just like that one, the only difference I can see is that one was tan and it was practically new then.

 

You guys are right, ebay is not the best place to look. Local listings like newspapers or craigslist are better.

Here's another good one.



It's a 1960 Ford Falcon 2 door with a "rebuilt" 170 cubic inch straight six (only 1000 miles since rebuild) and 3 on the tree. It's listed on Craigslist for $3,500 which is alot, but I'm sure some shenegeling could be done to get it down a bit. I think this is actually a fairly good buy!

Wow, there are some great stories coming out on this thread!

Thanks guys!

Pete

 

I have been watching that one also. Plan to go look at it this week before I go back to PA. Still won't drive it back though! Seems that all that I do here in cold,rainy CA is take the granddaughters to the mall and look at cars on the web. If you plan to drive one back east don't forget antifreeze, good tires and wipers! It's a long way across.

 

Highschool dreamin,I remember the days.
I admire your ambition

 

And it's probably best to wait for another time of year than the dead of winter.

 

Last year about this time, I was searching ebay just like you were, and found a car that was a little more ($2500) and wasn't quite across the country (500 miles) but it WAS a 1973 Q code Ford Ranchero with less than 60,000 original miles, a 351 Cleveland Cobra Jet and was originally a 4 speed California car(still has clutch pedal)... I couldn't resist and won her! I flew up, picked her up and early the next morning drove her home... Since then, after almost, a year I found the numbers correct RUG BG2 toploader, Hurst factory shifter, bellhousing, z-bar, clutch fork (and just about everything else) to put it back to being a 4 speed car. and yes, I would do it again. So much fun!

 

I am not a risk taker, not at all, but if there is any adventurer in me at all, it is the kind that would at least try and drive a car like that Dodge across the country. If it were me I'd find something that has seen more recent maintenance. There are a number of simple things that a lot of these old cars have in common: gas tank full of varnish, bad fuel pump, poor tires, brake problems, etc. With some money and 3-4 days you could have all that taken care of, but why not search until you find something that has already had that stuff done? I challenge the notion that no $2k car will make it across country; I can think of oodles of stuff from the 90s that would do it (including my daily driver). Harder to find something older that meets that criteria, but it can be done. You are right to be looking at things like 4 door Falcons, Valiants, Ramblers. Be prepared, mentally, for breakdowns. Enjoy them, savor them, don't be bothered by them. Last spring my 250k Dakota had a caliper stick coming down a mountain in Middle of Nowhere, Kentucky. An annoyance for my wife, but kinda fun for me, getting to visit the world's smallest Mopar dealer and look over their collection of memorablia/junk while they fixed me up. A good memory to me, and I wouldn't have had it driving in a brand new car.

 

Ok going west to east here is a candidate - plus Lone Pine is east of LA so it's the right direction








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Drove a '56 Ford pickup home from LA in 1975, cost $2,200. I look for another pickup if I was going to do it again. Bob

 

Wow, these are some great stories! I just had time to read all the posts thoroughly and boy, the advice and personal stories are just priceless! I'll quote as many as I can... This may take a while.

That's probably the best idea, get 'er going and THEN set off. It'll save alot of trouble rolling around under the car on the side of the freeway (or rt. 66!) I can understand, but for me in my 17 year old frame, that's the fun part!

Haha, boy that would be a fun project! It reminded me of this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Hv_jRQMv8

Haha, that's the spirit! THANK YOU!

I like the idea! My issue with pickups was the low-geared rear ends, but on route 66, you wouldn't want to go over 45 or 50mph especially in the deteriorated condition it is in today. Perfect!

Sorry Exner fans, but I couldn't agree more!

Trust me, if i ever get the opportunity to do something like this, it will be well documented! Any clues on what the thread is called, I'm having trouble finding it...

Wow! What a Falcon! Haha, I hope I don't have that kind of luck!

Just bought the book on amazon.com.

Yes! That's the spirit! I love the Plymouth and pickup, I like the Caddy even more though because it's so huge that you could sleep in the back seat!

Haha, I'll join ya! My grandpa and I go up to far north Idaho every year (near the Porthill border station), so I could ride with ya up 'till that point! (wink = sarcasm)

That is such a great story! Wow! What happened to America? I've got a similar story that I heard from my grandpa. I'll post it later.

Haha, that's a pretty great username! 90210! I believe that's beverly hills? I like it!

Wow! I'll agree, airplanes are no fun. I've always wanted to try being a long-haul trucker. Mainly for that reason! Yet another one of my crazy ideas. Great!

Sweet car! I agree, Idaho does rock! I'd die without those summers with my grandpa up in a tiny log cabin in far north Idaho!

I'll agree, I got stiffed pretty bad buying my '40 Chevy Coupe on ebay too. That's kinda where this idea came from... My grandpa wanted another '40 Chevy like the one he had back in the 50's. He showed me a picture of it, and about 4 hours later, I sent him the link to one on ebay with my signature quote, "wanna buy it?!" He did. We wanted to drive it back from Albuquerque, NM, but the thing was in pretty sad shape. Here's the link to the thread: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=682917&highlight=40+chevrolet) Buying "sight un-seen" is VERY risky.

Haha if ya buy it, don't worry about shipping it back to PA, I'll take it for ya! (wink = sarcasm) I know exactally what you're talking about. I sometimes sit for hours in the car waiting for my mom and sis to get out of the mall. It's never ending, brutal. Good advice!

Even better advice!

Haha, great story! I love those Ranchero's too!

That's exactally the point. It's all about breaking down in Middle of Nowhere, Kentucky! It's not about the money, or the time it takes. It's completely impractical (like most of my ideas...) It's all about having a good time and making some memories to bore your grandchildren to tears with.

Haha, there we go! Put a camper shell and a matress in the back and head out! Cool!

Thank you guys so much! The support, advice and stories on this site are great. I apologize, this thread is probably a bit off topic, but I thought it would be kinda fun... And this last post was about a mile long...

You're the best!

Pete

 

i got between 15-18mph around town out of my 69 d100 with the original slant 6 and 3 speed stick the body was about to fall off the frame but id have trusted that truck to get me to california if i had to be there ....it never let me down

 

Change of tactics...Ugly CB750F Honda. I say ugly cuz they have gone up in value...Great bike, you will get to the other coast and and head back and it will never brake down. 38 MPG...faster N stink for the money. And if you've never traveled by motorcycle well your missing out on one of life's best adventures..... nothing like riding past campgrounds in the early morning in the high sierra mountains...you can smell the bacon and coffee, the camp fires...you will even realize you can smell water even though you never though you could....until you come upon a lake or river while riding. Saddle bags, babe on the back....oh ya!

 

the lancer would be a great bet. i have a 62 lancer and love it. i still think it is ugly, but it has grown on me.

 

There used to be a crazy old Englishman who lived around here named Derek Arnold. He was always messing around with old airplanes, cars, double decker buses and various kinds of junk.

One time he showed up with a Morris Minor convertible from the fifties. He told me he was in California and found it in the junkyard. It had been stripped of a few parts but he found a carburetor on an English Ford that fit, and a few other parts, and got it running. It burned oil so he bought a case of cheap oil and put it in the trunk, threw his suitcase in the back seat and headed for home.

Home in this case being Cobourg Ontario. I forget where he bought the car but Google your own map from southern California to Cobourg Ontario and imagine making that drive in a junkyard refugee Morris Minor convertible with no canvas on the top.

Did I mention he was bat shit crazy?

He said he made the trip with no problems. It was not the fastest trip he ever made but it was restful.

As time went on the engine burned less and less oil until by the time he got home it burned no oil at all and the blue plume from the tailpipe had vanished.

I don't doubt his word, as I have seen him do crazier things, like tow a full size van home with an old post office Jeep. Right hand drive. 150 miles @30 miles an hour.

So, if you are sympathetic to old cars, have some mechanical savvy and some luck, a cross country trip in an old car is possible. I have driven some derelict old cars home years ago when law enforcement was not as all pervasive as it is now.

Maybe we could start a new reality show "extreme motoring" see our contestants buy, tinker up and drive a shitbox coast to coast???

 

hey rusty, i like your idea on the show! when we were younger and totally broke, that was half the fun of a road trip (FIXING THE CARS ALONG THE HIGHWAY)
don't think i would enjoy that anymore. i guess that's what made us hotrodders though, not afraid to tackle any challenge.

 

The EXTREME MOTORING CHALLENGE.

Each team gets $7500 cash. With this sum, they must buy a car and drive it from Los Angeles to New York. The $7500 must cover all expenses, cost of vehicle, repairs, gas, oil, food, lodging etc.

You may bring 1 suitcase and 1 toolbox. Size up to you as long as you can carry it 100 yards in your hands and load it in the car.

It might be interesting at that.

 

Nothing HAMB friendly caught my eye on the local CL. Only HAMB sort of cars were basket cases or big money. Closest things matching the criteria were some somewhat later era trucks, but I don't know that I'd want to drive one of them across the country even if they'd make it.

FWIW the best bang for the money vehicles I've ever owned were both bought for $400, both branded as Dodge although built by someone else, both had the same 2.5 liter 4 banger. One a car, one a truck. I'm not a fan of rising sun vehicles other than as cheap transportation, but I did gain a little respect for that engine.

 

$7500, hmmmmm....

I'd lean towards a more common engine just to help reduce repair costs, and ease of finding parts.

Found a '65 Chevy truck that might fit the bill for 3K? A $2500 '66 Nova, transmission won't shift out of first. Could be an easy fix? $1500 '66 F100 that wants a brake job...