made it to Phoenix yesterday after a 36 hour run, including a 4 hours nap in a rest area in Texas... I had left Miami at 4am sunday...
only tech glith is the A/C belt tensioner that's on the way out, the bearing screaming to be put of its misery... only happened right before Tucson, 130 miles from Phoenix, scared me since it really sounded bad... for a moment I thought it was something real serious like the chains or
something... I'm going to try to get a remplacement otherwise I'll just cut the belt out (it sits behind the main belts... a pain to get at... so if I can't get a remplacment tensioner in, I'd rather cut it...)
otherwise, car ran flawlessly... cruising around 80/90 most of the time...
stopping just for fuel, 1 quick dinner last night and a 4hr nap. I love
those long runs... taking a 30 year old car, many consider unreliable (out of ignorance...) is fun and exciting...
The series 3 seats are unbelievable... no cramps, no aches, the position
is perfect, with just the right amount of support. I done long runs
before, 1500 miles but never 2400 hundred in one shot... I'm amazed at how
fresh I feel.
Sealing the rear hatch vent removed the exahst smell in the cabin....
usually I smell teh exhaust on my clothes, not anymore...
Fuel wise, 16mpg... not bad since I'm heavy footed. The 5 speed helps
there... 8 fuel stops, I used about 150 gallons...
other problem is a $105 ticket from a Texas trooper... 77 in a 65 ...
They use SUVs in Texas which I dind't know... I always check all crown vics, impalas, etc.. carefully before passing but didn't notice that truck was an unmarked trooper... not easy to see at night either. also, many of them now use instant on when driving which I had never seen before... in the past, instant on could only be used when they are ambushed... when driving, they had to leave the radar on at all time making them easierTTo spot... not anymore... which make ID'ing cars real critical... first speeding ticket in 23 year of driving, can't complain...
scenery is real nice in this part of the country... I once drove from San
Diego to Vegas, but never into Az. The ride on I10 out of New Mexico and
into Tucson was great! Tucson to Phoenix is a bit boring but seeing all
these mountains from my hotel window is a change of scenery coming from flat Florida ... I can't wait to driving tomorow.... I'm going to go check out the route for those who can make it to the Jag Lovers tour on thursday morning...
Pascal Gademer
72 E-type 2+2
Submitted by cleavefamily@c… on Tue, 04/29/2003 - 22:44
Oh, to be young again.....rememberances of youth. Driving between Wharton, New Jersey and Bozeman, Montana in my '65 MGB (my first of four); about the same distance.....same time, except I would sleep for 6-7 hours. Oh, the interstate wasn't complete in the late 60's .... and this easterner learned quickly about the west's open range laws somewhere around Harding, Montana, in the dead of night, misbelief...sharing the road with steers, or more poetically, steering to miss steers, but they were cows to me back then. Learned to find the sweet spot behind and just to the left of the semis for temporary respite; where the roar of the engine and noise of the wind would melt away as the semi's vacuum sucked you along in tranquility....until, feeling rested, it was time again to press on.
Stew Cleave
JOCO Chief Judge
'69 E-Type 2+2
and other LBC's