97 replies to this topic

[Matt Sheldon]

Great looking toy, Greg! Congrats.

[beardogracing]

Good luck Greg, have fun, you deserve it.

 

Chris

[Cheater]

Are you planning on Interstates or the secondary highways on the way back? I have always liked the "backroads" as opposed to the soulless superhighways.

Some of both, if the car can maintain the 40 MPH interstate minimum. Want to get east of Denver as quickly as we can for weather worry reasons, and after that we'll probably do more back roads. As much as I'd like to make it a leisurely trip back, I really need to try to get the whole thing complete in two weeks or so, if possible. And if we have any downtime for repairs, that's probably not going to be do-able.
 

On the way I suggest a stop in Durango. I think you will enjoy a photo of your new, old Ford in front of a steam Locomotive.

Al, I live about ten minutes from the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA, and less than two hours from the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chatanooga, so I expect to have many oportunities to take such a photo.
 

Stop by Northern California and we'll take it down Hwy 1 to BPR.

Dennis, I wish that could be possible. See my reply to Phil above.

I drove Hwy 1 from Malibu to Oxnard and back in a '59 Caddy convertible with the top down back about '78 or '79 and have great memories of that little jaunt.

[Phil Hackett]

I've drove Hwy 1 from Malibu to Oxnard and back in a '59 Caddy convertible with the top down back about '78 or '79 and have great memories of that little jaunt.

 
In today's world that's a commute... LOL. It's only about 25 miles or so.

[Cheater]

I did it on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend IIRC. I couldn't even find a place to pull off the road to get out of the car...

[Don Weaver]

Getting on the Interstate is going to kinda be like putting a Womp on the track with a G7 wing car. Way too close to being a disaster for my taste. Think this through...
 
Don Weaver

[Cheater]

Don,

I understand your concerns, but in the far west it's probably going to be necessary, especially due to the need to get east of the Rockies as quickly as we can due to weather concerns. Once we get to the more crowded middle and east, we'll stay off the interstates as much as we can.

Couple of things make it a little safer than might otherwise be the case.

First, my "chase car" will be following behind the Model A and I expect we'll be running the car's emergency flashers a lot in heavy traffic.

Second, I'm adding a high-tech LED third brake light/running light to the rear window. Here's a pic of one of these lights on a Model A coupe.



Third, both cars will have "slow moving vehicle" triangles on the rear.

I do appreciate your concerns, Don.

There were a couple of musicians making a long-distance trek in a 1930 Model A coupe over the last few weeks and their recent experience is pretty sobering.

Here's their initial post about their trip:

My buddy and I are going to drive my stock 1930 Coupe from California to Louisiana, to Arkansas at the end of September. I am 25, and my buddy is 33, and we've been back and forth across the country many times in many different ways, but not yet in an antique automobile...

We both play traditional fiddle music, love cars, love America, love adventure, and love antiques so this seems like only the right thing to do. We'll be driving short amounts every day, camping and playing music in small towns on backroads and probably even playing music at gas stations hopefully in return for gasoline! We're giving ourselves 30 days to make it from Concord, CA, to Lafayette, LA. We'll be leaving around the 25th of September, so until then I will be going over my car hundreds of times, re-checking things more than they need to be checked, and vaguely planning out our route. It's also fun just to see where we end up, and not completely setting the route in stone. Hotels are not part of the plan, instead we have military canvas pup tents and wool blankets; it's fun to pretend like it's the old days while my body is still young...

They made it to Austin, TX, on October 12...

Got into a bad accident last night, 10/12/2014, in Austin, TX, when a guy took a left in front of me while we had a green light. After inspecting the intersection, there is no way for him to turn left without a green arrow. We had a solid green light for a good while. I came out of it bruised up and sore all throughout my body, and a couple scrapes; my buddy Lane who was in the passenger seat has a broken nose and a few bruises and cuts, but we're alive and doing OK...

As you can see below, the car is pretty darn messed up, I have yet to find out what will happen with the insurance companies. We were on a long distance trip, as some of you may have read in a different post, from California to Louisiana to Arkansas. We're stopped dead in our tracks at the moment here in Texas, so I will need to figure out a way to transport the car to my parents' garage, since I hope to keep it and restore it. Just goes to show that no matter how safe you drive, they are still dangers out there, but I won't let that keep me from driving old cars.

You can be certain their experience will not be out of my thoughts the entire distance.

[Rick]

That's why they make trailers and the web site "U-ship", LOL....

[Cheater]

Those are only for you old guys, Rick... LOL!

[MSwiss]

Third, both cars will have "slow moving vehicle" triangles on the rear.

Sounds like you're converting to Amishism. LOL.

[Pappy]

Push it! 

He might end up pushing it yet. 

[Bill from NH]

Greg, be sure to take along a journal and write lots of notes. When you get back to GA, you'll be able to write a book.

[Cheater]

Yep, Bill, that's in my thoughts as well.

 

I've been checking the ten-day forecasts on weather.com for the major western cities on our route this morning and they're pretty darn encouraging. Not even a mention of frozen precip for McMinnville, OR, Boise, ID, Salt Lake City, UT, or Denver, CO for the next ten days. And the projected temps, both daily highs and lows, are quite moderate as well. I realize they're just forecasts but I like the way the things are looking weather-wise at this point.

[Phil Hackett]

You're going to take the I-80 route? If you're really concerned about the weather I-40 is much less "wintery" than going through SLC and the Rocky mountains (well, just the southern end of the Rockies in I-40s case). I-40 has less mountain grades, too. Check it out.

 

But whatever the route you take home, have a great time and don't rush and be safe.

[Cheater]

Phil,

 

Here's the route Mapquest suggested but it's not engraved in stone. I'm picking up a full Rand-McNally atlas to carry with us today, to be able to select non-interstate roads when we can.

 

 

I'd rather go through the mountains, as part of the reason for this crazy trip is to see some parts of the country I've never seen.

 

Don't believe the Model A will have too much trouble climbing reasonable hills and I am told this car doesn't overheat even in parades in over 100 degree ambient. Nice thing about a Model A is that there is a carb mixture adjustment inside the car, so the mixture can be tweaked for thinner air on the fly.

[MSwiss]

If you're dead set going through the mountains, go for it, but IMO, heading south and picking up Rt. 66 in Santa Monica might be a more interesting trip.

[Cheater]

Well, I actually have a real expert helping me now with the route planning.

 

Our best man, Donald R. Peterson, probably has driven more miles in collector cars than just about anyone in the country (he just got his 60-year pin from the Classic Car Club of America!). Don also has a near-photographic memory for roads and geography plus he's driven in tours over many chunks on or near the Mapquest suggested route over the last decade or so.

 

I've put the route planning task largely in his hands and will await what he recommends.

[Rick Crutchfield]

Greg,

 

That is a sweet car! Be sure to take plenty of pictures and be safe!  

 

Rick

[Cheater]

Thank you, Rick!

[Noose]

Keep it in the slot, Greg. LOL.

[Matt Sheldon]

Keep checking I-80 as it is getting to that time of year where the winds start to act up.

Let me know when you have a date set to come through CO and I will buy you lunch.

[Hworth08]

Not sure it's the safest, and not the shortest, route but I might consider dropping down to Los Angles and going east on I-10. Anyone that's never driven through the desert would likely really enjoy the experience. So different from anything in the east.

[Cheater]

Thing is, I've driven through the desert a couple of times, Don.

[MSwiss]

You get to Portland, through the mountains, in a car where you won't be so stressed, and come back on a flatter, safer route.

Have you driven through New Mexico?

IMO, it's really scenic.

[DPmax]

Can't wait for the pictures and write-ups as the trip progresses!

 

Wish you great success and a safe trip (saw the post about the other guys... ouch), maybe you should tape woopie cushions to the steering wheel and dash just in case you need some airbags!