Event Coverage road trip: rte 6 coast to coast.

i just heard from David. he had a couple electrical issues that have been cured by swopping out the generator to an alternator. he had a flat and the spare had gotten soft [15 lbs] but he had a spare tube. he is now broken down in Clinton Iowa with a carb issue . any body in the area?

 

I would hope he's a member of one of the national Model "A" clubs and has a membership roster with him. There are two "A" clubs in the Omaha-Lincoln area (US passes by my house between Gretna and Ashland, and the original alignment is the road I have to take to get to my place, which is near the KOA West Omaha Kampground) with members willing to assist another fellow traveler. Be aware that there's bridge work between the Platte River and Ashland that may create a slight delay. If in Clinton and he gets the carb sorted out, that may put him in my area late Monday-Tuesday. US 6 passes very close to Speedway Motors' warehouse/museum in Lincoln just west of downtown if he needs to look for some parts that might cross with a stocker.
And, for the record from one of the previous posts, the town that Pioneer Village is in is Minden, not Menden. Well worth going through.

 

http://driving.ca/chevrolet/auto-ne...rman-senior-treks-across-globe-in-1930-hudson
Maybe they can hook up and caravan. No, this article is 2 years old but this 78 year old woman is taking it a step further, circumventing the globe in a 1930 Hudson.

 

I'm subscribing now, hope he gets that carb sorted out. Years ago I had one (model A) that began to run extremely rich all of a sudden. Checked float level and etc. finally found that the tapered end pin on the end of the mixture needle that also operates the choke when pulled, and adjusts main jet mixture when turned had stuck in the seat of the mainjet, and when the adjustment knob wasa twisted ccwq, it screwed the jet out of the hole and was actually running, although rolling out black smoke, with nothing in the hole and pouring gas into the carb throat.

 

he got help from a AACA member who got him running. but he is going to have a garage look at it tomorrow.

 

garage tinkered with the distributor and he is back on the road. he is heading towards Iowa city.

 

We were just in that area of Iowa a few weeks ago. Glad to hear he is back on the road.

Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The annual Iowa Historic Route 6 cruise is September 15th through the 17th. If he can make it to Davenport Iowa by Thursday the 14th he can travel from Davenport to Council Bluffs Iowa with the group on the 15th and 16th.
http://usroute6iowa.org/Cruises/River-to-River-Retro-Road-Trip/2017/Trip-Info

 

actually at Bishop you do get on 395. However, 395 and old 6 followed the same path at that point until you get close to Ridgecrest. At that point 395 heads for San Bernardino and state route 14 assumes the old route 6 path. Follow it through Mojave and get off at the first interchange south of town. Turn left and go over the freeway to the stop sign and turn right. You will be back on original route 6 now called Sierra Highway. Stay on it and you will follow the route all the way to the "old road" in Santa Clarita. Turn left and you can pick up old Sepulveda Blvd. which will lead to Santa Monica Blvd. and the boardwalk and the ocean which is the end of route 6 and also route 66 . Have a great trip!

 

Glad to hear he's back on the road. Makin' some good progress too!

 

well it wouldn't this morning start despite the mechanics valiant efforts to "go through" it . he may leave the car at their shop and get a ride home so they can take their time making the repairs. he can then take car of some business at home and then come back to drive in the Iowa historic rte 6 cruise that was posted by @36cab. thanks for the info.

 

Any updates?

 

he called me yesterday the car is in a shop in clinton iowa. the shop is having a tough time trying to find the problem. won't start, getting fuel and spark. new distributor, coil. good compression. when it starts it runs smooth as glass and has power. i had the same problem when it was here and found burnt points and a loose ignition wire. i replaced them and tightened all the connections. they checked the wiring also.
Dave said he has a couple things coming up here so he may not continue the trip till spring if the "window" to drive over the rockies in the winter closes. he is determined to finish!

 

I live a few miles south of HWY 6, in Pella...if you need something when motoring through the area, send me a PM.

 

Hah! I like your wisdom Statesblue! Can I use that saying?
Gotta admire young David in the A. 83 years young! As we say down here in Oz.. Good on 'im!
Drove my mate's A to an agricultural machinery show a few months back. About a 20 minute ride down the highway (or freeway, as you blokes call them). Gotta say I was pleasantly surprised at how well it rode at 45 - 50. Mind you, you have to plan your braking pretty early. And you don't drop back a gear or you hit your nose on the windscreen! There's quite a few teeth difference between 2nd & top!

We got a few challenging backroads in Oz that shake your teeth. Across the nation on highway 1 is all tarmac, but there's plenty of looong outback roads that sound a bit like your back roads. Reading about this blokes journey motivates me. Don't think I'd be as game as him though. I'd be doing it in something a bit more current. I take my hat off to him & I'llbe checking in on his progress. It was blokes like him that led us outta the primeval swamp !

 

"Runs smooth as glass when it starts" sounds like the innards of that damn armored cable. If I unscrewed my dash panel and let it hang mine ran like a top. Screw it all back together, it would run great for 1 minute or 20 and then quit. Took it apart-the wire's insulation inside was powder. It's hard to make an A not run. I hope they get it sorted out. Great Trip!

 

so when we last left our super hero, he had a break down in Clinton Iowa, in late september of last year. he had appointments he needed to keep so he left the car with a capable mechanic, who could also store the car till a window of good weather and an opening in his schedule to continue. a few weeks ago he flew back out, the mechanic had solved the problem and had the car prepped for the remainder of the trip. on the remainder of the trip he experienced air temps of 115, had a couple flats including tearing a tire up and having to wait for a replacement, a couple rain storms he chose not to drive through, lost both wind wings and a side view mirror. he met hundreds of people along the way. said he would do it all again, but next time in a phaeton so he had more room for stuff.
he travelled the whole "old" rte six from cape cod ma. to california.
he had the car shipped back and stopped to see me today.

 

Now that must have been an adventure! I had forgotten it was a A!

 

yeah and he made the trip all by himself.........even tho he did it in two "phases", it is really quite the achievement..........i wonder what he will do in his late 80's?

 

That A looks huge beside that fella...
I suppose it's at regulation height as well.

When I get in the Ole Hotrod I don't have much wiggle room at near 6'

Glad he finished his Adventure with a Capitol A...

 

Congratulations! Glad he had a good time. Those two junk tires that came off the car when he first stopped in will become rollers on my Grandson's A Chassis project. That adds a bit of history to the collection of castoff bits. Bob

 

I'm so glad he persevered. That's a heck of a trip in an A!

 

Please offer your friend my highest regards and sincere compliments.
Obviously a real vintage car guy choosing to spend his time doing instead of reading or writing about it on the web.
As a long time long distance vintage traveler myself, I sure hope I'm able to carry out and enjoy such trip(s) when or if I ever reach that age.
I had made plans to drive my Roadster from California to New York & New England area next month, but it's starting to look like I have to scratch that idea.

 

Ted, This is the same guy that wanted to take horse back riding lessons, right?


Bob

 

Great accomplishment! Congrats and glad he was able to complete it!

 

yes and he entered into a horse race in England and placed.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if he has some ideas for future adventures, which may or may not be car related and may or may not be intended to top this, but I wish him best of health and perseverance with any.

I also hope he has done it already, but if not, please ask him to consider writing down details or a (day-to-day ?) journal of this adventure and any he might be planning for in the future.

 

Great story!

 

Great story,...just found this thread this AM,..he should write a book...