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[Cheater]

After having two short days to start our return journey (due to needed adjustments and repairs), we're a little behind the schedule I wanted to try to keep. So we decided to get an early start on day 4 and the image below proves we did.



We stopped last night in Mountain Home, ID, southeast of Boise and about a third of the way across Idaho along the route we're following. We wanted to get out of Idaho and through the northeast corner of Utah and into Wyoming, though just barely so; our hotel in Evanston is at exit 3.

Thursday's planned distance is much shorter. There's no way we can make Cheyenne today, as it's 360 miles away. So we're shooting for Rawlins, WY, a mere 210 miles up the road.

We need to do a little maintenance on the Model A: re-grease it and we're going to try to change the oil. Might even install the new plugs I brought along. I didn't bring enough of the non-detergent ZDPP-fortified straight 30 weight the Model A vendors sell to do another change so I need to hit the local NAPA store (conveniently enough it is on the same street as our hotel) as they're just about the only place that carries ND 30 wt, and if all they have is detergent 30 wt, I'll use that to finish the change with the ND 30 I brought.

The long-running argument over what is the "best" or "proper" oil to run in a Model A Ford makes the Retro motor wars look like a mild disagreement between good friends. Some say ND straight 30, others claim detergent oils are fine, others say modern multi-vis oils like 10W-30 are the best.

Then there's the question of whether it is safe to change to detergent oil in a motor that has been running non-detergent. Some say the detergent action will dissolve all the sludge that has accumulated and cause problems. One opinion I read recently says non-detergent oil allows the sludge to accumulate safely in the bottom of the pan, whereas detergent oil carries the sludge and particulates in suspension (as it actually is designed to do...) and thus risks damaging the soft babbit bearings as it passes through them. Not sure I buy into that.

What I end up doing is going to be determined by what kind of oil I am able to purchase on the road. We plan to change oil today and perhaps one more time before reaching home.

Here's some landscape pics, almost all of which were taken from the moving car as we knew we had to stop as few times as possible to make it to Wyoming. Most of these are in Idaho. I-80 from the I-84 bypass around Salt Lake City goes through some very lovely canyons, with a few mild climbs. Really gorgeous.













We've had wonderful luck with the weather, except for some rain and very high winds in Oregon. Hope it continues.

The traffic from Ogden south toward SLC was thick and extremely fast. This is the first day we've traveled entirely on the interstates with the Model A and while I was a bit concerned about that, it's worked out OK. The big trucks blasting past at almost twice the speed I am going don't move the car around very much and with the interstates being more than two lanes, traffic doesn't back up behind me requiring me to pull over often to let it past. The interstate roads are much smoother than the state routes so the Model A tramlines a lot less and is easier to steer, though there are still stretches of grooved pavement that are a pain, as anyone who has ridden a motorcycle over such roads knows well.

I passed exactly one vehicle today in 340 miles of travel, a double-trailer truck that was struggling to get up a moderate climb. Of course, he repassed me after cresting the hill.

The water pump seal continues to require attention. We can tighten the packing nut and stem the leakage but after a few hours it starts leaking again and requires a few more turns. We didn't start greasing the bearing next to the seal when we cinched it up until yesterday and that may help. One possible reason for the leakage continuing to come back may be the condition of the water pump shaft. With two more new seals in the tool box and a gallon of water always in the car, I'm pretty sure we can keep this under control for the duration of the journey. Just in case, we're going to stop in at Bert's Model A Center in Denver tomorrow to pick up another package of water pump packing as well as a few more spare parts.
 
Got another mileage data point from fill-up to fill-up: 111.5 miles took 6.518 gallons, which computes to 17.1 MPG. Not bad at all. Part of the increase may be due to a generally downhill route but some may be due to using a feeler gauge to reset the point gap properly after James Wendell gave me a "shadetree" tip on how to get the dist cam positioned under the point rubbing block. The car is certainly starting quicker with the point gap set correctly.
 
On to Rawlins, WY, and we may actually be able to explore the town a little if we arrive early enough.

[Cheater]

Arrived in Rawlins, WY, about forty-five minutes ago after a 210 mile run from Evanston, at a hotel I Pricelined at lunch.

 

The Oak Tree Inn has an interesting set-up, in that the hotel is right next to a stainless steel classic diner, with both businesses obviously owned by the same parties. Why do I say that? The registration desk for the hotel is in the foyer of the diner!

 

After taking a look at the hotel's website, I am surprised to find that it is a chain with 32 locations across the country, except, of course, in the southeast. Which is probably why I have never hear of it. Smallish but very nice room, with an overstuffed lounge chair in the corner and a granite countertop in the little kitchenette. Price is less than we've paid on the trip for a much poorer quality Days Inn with none of these amenities.

 

Geoff's off to do wash our dirty clothes in the hotel's laundry area and I am going to stretch out to see if I can get my back feeling better and my butt actually to have feeling again... LOL! In case you don't know, ergonomics wasn't a concern when they designed the Ford Model A. In fact, the word hadn't even been created...

 

The A is parked in the most level space we could find at the rear of the hotel with her drain plug pulled and the oil draining into a pan. I think I'm going to leave it there all night to drain, as it doesn't take any time to refill the oil in the morning.

 

FWIW, the NAPA Auto Parts store in Evanston, WY, had quarts of non-detergent straight 30 wt in their oil rack along with everything else. They also has detergent 30wt next to it and here's what I think I am going to do for the refill: add one quart of detergent 30 wt along with the 3-1/2 quarts of ND oil, just to start chipping away at what sludge might exist in the engine. As a reminder, we do plan to change it again in about 1,000 miles and I've purchased enough oil to do that.

 

Took some more scenery pics from the car today and will do my normal early morning trip report before we head for Denver tomorrow.